His CAPTORS. 83 



Whalebone in the Rough. A Satiu Cushion. 



or eight feet long, narrowing to a point as they 

 approach the lower jaw. 



They hang perpendicularly from the crown 

 to the jaw, with their thickest edges out; they 

 are set about half an inch apart, something like 

 the slabs of a Venetian blind made very close. 

 The inner edge of each slab has a fringe of hair 

 about an inch long, so that, on looking into the 

 cavity of the head, the sides of it appear as if 

 lined with felt or hair-cloth. Upon the lower 

 jaw lies the enormous tongue, which is a mass 

 of fat containing four or five barrels : it appears 

 like a large cushion of white satin, so exceed- 

 ingly soft and delicate is it. The lips are at- 

 tached to the sides of the lower jaw, and extend 

 nearly the whole length of the head on each 

 side. Except when feeding, they are closed 

 over the sides of the head, their upper edges 

 fitting to the skull or crown, and the whole 

 head appears as a solid mass ; but when it 

 takes its food, the whale unfolds the lips, and 

 they drop upon the surface of the water. 



The food of this whale, as we have already 

 observed, is a species of shrimp, of a blood-red 

 color. Some of them are very minute, and 

 few are found more than half an inch long; 



