WHALING. 



203 



succadeneum for huile de morue, I shall recom- 

 mend to her this shark-oil as an article of supe- 

 rior nauseousness. 



The whale fishery reminds ns of what it was 

 on the Brazilian coast a century ago. The mam- 

 mals are sometimes found in soundings, and a 

 wounded sperm-whale lately entered Zanzibar 

 harbour. In May, June, and July, ships of 200 

 to 600 tons visit the waters south of Mafiyah 

 Island ; if the capricious leviathan be not found 

 there and then, it is waste time to cruise about. 

 In July, and at the beginning of the N. East 

 monsoon, schools migrate up the coast in search 

 of food as far as the Red Sea. Erom 30 to 

 60 lbs. of ambergris have been brought in one 

 year to the island, and a little of it is exported 

 to Europe. This high-priced article (1 lb. = 

 £14) is taken from the rectum of the spermaceti 

 whale : it seems to have caused constipation and 

 disease, and the oil drawn from these fish is 

 yellow and bad. The Arabs burn it in pastiles, 

 and use it not only internally but externally like 

 musk. Old travellers report that the Somal 

 taught camels to hunt for it by the scent, in the 

 same way as pigs learn to find truffles ; and the 

 tale has been told to modern travellers. The main 

 virtue of ambergris is probably its heavy price. 



