CHAPTER XIX 

 WHALES AND WHALING 



A profitable if risky industry One or two historical details The 

 home of the whale Old and new methods of catching him 

 Harpoons" Blowing "The whale's trail Throwing the harpoon 

 A nerve-destroying trade The tow-line Other shots at the 

 monster A cut at the tail The death Cutting up The whale's 

 enemies Rorquals and cachalots A modern whaler and its 

 equipment The harpoon-gun and the bomb-lance A disappoint- 

 ing whale Various uses to which the carcass is devoted Sperm 

 oil and ambergris. 



THE Cetacea, the order to which the whale, as well 

 as the porpoise and the dolphin belong, are marine 

 mammals, more or less fish-like in form, warm- 

 blooded, breathing by means of lungs, and inhaling air 

 while on the surface of the water. You may seek 

 throughout the animal kingdom and not find a creature 

 more valuable after it is dead ; not an ounce of it need 

 be or, nowadays, is wasted; blood, bones, skin, en- 

 trails, all are of some use ; and the man who gave two 

 hundred pounds for a carcass might look to make cent 

 per cent profit on his investment. 



The body is more or less spindle-shaped, ending in a 

 tail which, unlike that of the fish, is transversal or hori- 

 zontal. It is this member that is mainly instrumental 

 in moving the enormous body, for its flippers are rela- 



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