HISTORY OF THE WHALE. 
13 
turned, and so on, till the whole has been exposed, 
and the blubber removed. The bones of the head 
being then taken out, the remainder, a huge heap of 
fleshy and muscular substance, is abandoned, either to 
sink, or be devoured by the flocks of ravenous birds 
and sharks, which duly attend on this high occasion. 
The pieces of blubber are afterwards put into large 
boilers, and the oil extracted therefrom by boiling. 
The scraps and pieces of carcass are used for fuel. 
The oil, when first extracted, is neither nauseous nor 
rancid, and as a proof of its sweetness, the cakes fried 
in the boilers are considered a great delicacy by the 
sailors. 
The flesh of this animal is a dainty to some na- 
tions ; and the savages of Greenland, as well as those 
near the north pole, are fond of it to distraction. 
They eat the flesh, and drink the oil, which with 
them is a first-rate delicacy. The finding a dead 
whale is an adventure considered among the fortunate 
circumstances of their lives. They make their abode 
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