The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1895-06-05

does not extend beyond the back of the
mouth. The gullet is very narrow, not
over an inch and half even in the lar
gest, so that animals not much larger
than ones thumb cannot pass down their
throats. The skull is not symmetrical,
the right side being larger than the left;
the flesh is red, and coarse, the skin is
naked and moistened by an oily fluid.
Parasites infest the skin, and some spe-
cies of mollousks burrow and live in 1t.
Below the skin is a thick layer Of blub-
ber from foot to two feet in thickness,
sometimes weighing over thirty tons.
This keeps the animal warm and enables
it to resist the great pressure OF the
water in the depths to which it descends.
The tail is FIVE or six feet long and twen-
ty to twenty-five feet broad, and is a
most powerful weapon of defense. The
eyes, not much larger than those of an
OK, are on the sides of the head, about
foot above the angle of the mouth.
Whales weigh from fifty to 1875 tons, and
of their weight at least half is OF value
and finds ready market.
There are two kinds of whale hunted,
the spermaceti whale, Of inferior size and
worth, and the Greenland or show
head" whale, the larger and more valu-
able. In addition to the two tons OF
whalebone there are about 300 barrels of
oil in bow-head whale, while the sper.
maceti whale does not afford over sixty
barrels of oil, and the whalebone is very
brittle and scarcely worth taking to mar
ket. Besides the bone and oil whales
also afford very valuable product
known to commerce as ambergris. 1t is
morbid secretion of the liver and in
testines of the sperm whale, a solid,
opaque, ash.colored inhamable sub
stance, lighter than water, OF
@ consistence like that OF
wax, and having, when heated, a
fragrant ordor. 1t softens in the heat
of the Sand, melts below PIP degree:
Fahrenheit into kind of yellow resin anc
is highly soluble III alcohol. is usually
found floating on the surface of the
ocean or cast upon the shore in regions
frequented by whales, as on the coast;
of the Aleutian islands and other
North Pacific islands, sometimes in
masses of from sixty to 225 pound:
in weight. In this substance are
found the beaks of cuttle-fsh. on which
the whale is known to feed. 1t is
highly valued as a material for perfu
mery, and was formerly used in medi
cine as an aphrodisiac and for splicing
wines.
Sometimes as much as twenty or thirty
pounds is found in one whale, and all
this is additional profit of course.
A bow-head whale is worth from e70O
to 1900 sterling, or from $500 to about
$1,000.
They feed by swimming along with
their mouths opca. When it closes the
water is strained out through the valves
at the sides, and some is spouted mp
through the blow-holes. The small fish
and molu.ks thus captured make up
their food.
Now for the mode of hunting them.
On all the whalers lookout is kept from
the 'crow's nest" on the mast, and
when one is sighted spouting the look
out reports "there she blow!" "Where
avay2" is called from the deck. 1.-Two
points on the starboard bow, sir" OF
Wherever else it may be. Immediately
boats are lowered and the chase com
mences. The least unusual noise vii
friphten them, and after sail IS set on
the boat no one is allowed to speak o.
move foot even. If there is no breez'
to carry the boat, then the man IN the
stern paddles in the direction as noise
lessly as possible, not daring to use an
oar, for fear the splash vii
frirhten the victim. The boat fol-
lows as closely in the wake OF tho
whale as possible. and the bowman
stands in the bow, harpoon IN hand.
This harpoon, or s'iron," as it is called,
is a broad-bladed spearhead three or
four ieet long, very sharp and having
about SIX inches cutting surface on each
side. and is fastened on pole about ten
feet long, just ahead of gun that Is
fastened to the same pole. A spring
connecting the harooon and the trigger
of the gun so that when the harpoon
enters the flesh the pressure backwards
pushes the trigger spring and the boom
is exploded. Then comes the fun
Stunned and stung as be is, the whale
starts down to escape. but the bowman