532 



THE SPERMACTI WHALE. 



a yellow, greasy aspect, which must be thoroughly removed before the spermaceti can 

 assume its silky, crystalline appearance. The process of purifying it is rather a long 

 and complicated one, consisting of various meltings and re-meltings, of squeezing 

 through hair bags, and of treatment with a solution of potass. It is then sufficiently 

 refined for commercial purposes, but if it should be required to be perfectly pure with- 

 out any admixture of oil or extraneous substances, it is boiled in alcohol and is de- 

 posited in pearl-white laminated crystals glistening with a silver sheen and separating 

 easily into small scales. 



The amount of spermaceti which is produced from the head of a single Whale is 

 very large indeed. From a Cachalot that only measured sixty-four feet in length, and 

 was therefore by no means a large one, twenty-four barrels of spermaceti and nearly 

 one hundred barrels of oil were obtained. 



Ambergris, that curious substance whose origin so long baffled the keenest inquirers, 

 and which was formerly only found at rare intervals floating on the waves or cast upon 

 the shore, is now often discovered within the intestines of the Cachalot, and is sup- 

 posed to be a morbid secretion peculiar to the animal, and analogous to biliary cal- 

 culi. Fifty pounds weight of this substance have been found in a single Whale, and 

 on one occasion a single piece of ambergris of the same weight was discovered on the 

 coast of the Bermudas by some sailors, who immediately deserted their ship and escaped 



to England with their valuable 

 prize. The value of ambergris 

 is rather variable, but it is always 

 a costly article. 



It is seldom, if ever, found in 

 young and healthy Cachalots, so 

 that a ship may make a very suc- 

 cessful whaling voyage, and yet 

 return home without finding a 

 single ounce of ambergris in all 

 the Whales killed. Ambergris 

 is generally employed as a per- 

 fume, and is prepared for the use 

 of the purchaser by being dis- 

 solved in alcohol. 



It sometimes happens that a 

 stray Cachalot blunders into the 

 shallow waters of the Bermudas, 

 and being unable to discover the 



passage through which it passed, is caught like a mouse in a trap, and falls a ready 

 victim to the intrepid and almost amphibious natives. 



As soon as a Whale is discovered in this helpless situation, the populace is all astir 

 and full of excitement at the welcome news. Boats are immediately launched, filled 

 with men bearing guns, lances, and other destructive weapons, which would be of little 

 use in the open sea, but are very effectual in the shoal waters of these strange islands. 

 No sooner does the Whale feel the sharp lance in its body, than it dives with its ordinary 

 velocity, forgetting that it is no longer in deep water, and strikes its head against the 

 rocky bed of the sea with such unexpected force as to bring it to the surface half stun- 

 ned. The hunters take advantage of its bewildered state to approach closely and to 

 ply their deadly weapons with fatal effect. Some of these men are so cool and deter- 

 mined, that they will actually leap from their boats upon the Whale's back, and, set- 

 ting their shoulders to the butt of the spear, urge the sharp blade by the weight of 

 their bodies. ^ The Whale soon yields up its life under such circumstances, and the 

 huge carcass is brought to shore amid the shouts and congratulations of the spectators. 

 The fat and ivory of the slain animal are divided among the hunters who were act- 

 ually engaged in the chase, but the flesh is distributed gratuitously to every one who 

 chooses to apply for it. Every one who can own a barrow or basket, bears it to the 

 scene of slaughter, and is at liberty to take as much Whale's flesh as he chooses. The 



SKULL OF SPERMACETI WHALE. 



