114 



The teeth of aged males commonly weigh from 2 to 4 pounds each ; 

 the ivory of which they are composed is hard, and capable of taking a 

 high polish ; but for commercial purposes it is held in much less estima- 

 tion than that obtained from the tusks of the elephant. 



" The crown jewels of Viti were kept in a wooden box, in charge of 

 the widow of the late Governor of Namose. First, there was a neck- 

 lace of whales' teeth, the first that ever came to the mountain ; secondly, 

 a large whale's tooth, highly polished and carefully wrapped up in cocoa- 

 nut fibre (whales' teeth are in Fiji what diamonds are with us) ; 

 thirdly, a cannibal's foot in the shape of a club, and bearing the name 

 of strike twice, that is, first the man and then his flesh." 1 



The rare and valuable substance known as ambergris is produced, as 

 a morbid concretion, in the intestines of sickly or diseased cachalots, 

 and usually found floating in impure masses on all the seas of warm 

 climates, or thrown upon the beach ; it is then of a greyish colour, 

 mottled with black, somewhat hard and brittle, and when heated, emits 

 a strong, fragrant, musky odour ; these lumps occur from a quarter of a 

 pound to forty in weight, and the retail price, of course freed from all 

 impurities, is about one guinea the ounce. Ambergris is now only 

 used as a perfume, its medicinal virtues having long fallen into disrepute. 



To those of my readers who take an interest in the details connected 

 with whalers and whale ships, I recommend the perusal of the enter- 

 taining descriptions given by Sowerby, Bell, Beale, Bennett, and 

 Jardine, all of whom enter largely, beyond the scientific portions, into 

 many interesting anecdotes relative to the capture of these cetaceans, and 

 to the hardships occasionally endured by the men engaged in their pursuit. 



These hardships undoubtedly arise from the protracted servitude on 

 board, inclement seasons, and frequent shipwrecks. 



I take no pleasure in recounting the sufferings of these harmless 

 creatures, nor do I especially admire daring of men when subjected to 

 no danger, except that caused purely by negligence or accident. I do 

 not consider, as amusement, the many acts of cruelty recorded in these 

 and similar works, unnecessarily committed by sailors, when wholly 

 unrestrained by wholesome enactments. 



In conclusion, I cannot refrain from offering a passing tribute of 

 thankfulness that, in my own time, other grand products, profusely 

 derived from inorganic matter, and of an infinitely superior and more 

 economic character, have been discovered to provide for the illumina- 

 tion of our streets and dwellings and for lubricating our machinery, 

 and which have already had a direct tendency to stay the cruel hand, 

 and reduce the waste of life to within much narrower bounds. 



I allude to gas and kerosene, which, when supplemented by steel, 

 are steadily superseding in many branches of our industry the employ- 

 ment of whale-oils and whale-bone. 



1 Yiti : an account of a Government Mission to the Vitian or Fijian Islands, in the 

 years 1860-1861. By Berthold Seeman. 



