432 



SPERMACETI AND AMBERGRIS. 



from the oil, and in a short time is sufficiently firm to be removed and put into a different 

 vessel. 



There is yet a considerable amount of oil mixed with the pure spermaceti, giving it 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 without any admixture of oil or extraneous 

 substances, it is boiled in alcohol and is deposited 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 supposed to be a morbid 

 secretion peculiar to the animal, and analagous to biliary calculi. 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 imme- 

 diately 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 successful whaling voyage, and yet return home without finding a single ounce of amber- 

 gris in all the Whales killed. Ambergris is generally employed as a perfume, and is prepared 

 for the use of the purchaser by being dissolved in alcohol. 



It sometimes happens that a stray Cachalot blunders into the shallow waters of the 



Bermudas, and being unable to discover the pas- 

 sage 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 bear- 

 ing 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 stunned. 

 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 detennined, that they will 

 actually leap from their boats upon the Whale's back, and, setting 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 carcase 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 actually 

 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 a basket, bears it to the scene of slaughter, 

 and is at liberty to take as much Whale's flesh as he chooses. The connoisseurs in Whale's 

 flesh assert that there are three qualities of meat in every Whale, the best resembling mutton, 

 the second quality imitating pork, and the third resembling beef. Captain Scott, an eye- 



6KULL OP SPERMACETI WHALE. 



