The Whale, its dissection--Uses of the different
parts of the Whale
After dinner, which we partook of an hour earlier than usual, I made
a search for some barrels in which to put the blubber of the whale,
I did not want to take the empty barrels we had at Falcon’s Nest
and Felsenheim, as I knew that it would be impossible to remove the
disagreeable smell of oil. My wife reminded me that we yet had four
tubs in our boat, which would answer my purpose very well. I fastened
them to the stern of the canoe; and, after having armed my sons with
knives, and hatchets, and saws, and all the cutting-instruments I
could find, we weighed anchor, and directed our course toward the
island where the whale lay.
Our whale looked like those of Greenland: the back was greenish
black, the stomach yellowish, the fins and tail black. I immediately
measured it, and I found that it was between sixty and seventy feet
long, and about forty in diameter, which is about the ordinary size
of these monsters of the deep. My children were astonished at the
proportions of the head, which formed a third of the whole creature;
its mouth was immense; and its jaws, which were full twelve feet in
length were furnished with flexible appendages called “dewlaps,”[6]
and which in Europe form an article of commerce. One thing which
struck Fritz was the smallness of the monster’s eye, which was not
larger than that of an ox; and the opening by which his immense mouth
communicated with his throat, was scarcely the diameter of my arm.
Fritz and Jack entered the head of the whale, and working with the
hatchet and the saw, cut out the “dewlaps,” which Francis and his
mother carried to the boat; we cut out more than two hundred pieces
of different sizes. While this was going on, Ernest and I cut several
feet deep into the fat which covered the sides of the animal; we
literally swam in grease, for walls of solid fat rose on each side
of us. But we were not long the only claimants for the whale. A
multitude of winged robbers surrounded us, eager to associate in
our work. They flew round and round our heads; then, gradually
approaching, they were so bold as to snatch pieces of fat from our
hands. The birds were very troublesome; but my wife having made the
remark that their down would be of use to her, I knocked down some
with a club, and threw them into the boat. I cut from the back of the
whale a long and large band of skin, out of which I wanted to make a
harness for the ass and the two buffaloes. It was a difficult task,
the skin was so thick, and so hard to cut. The tubs were placed in
the canoe, and we set out for the coast with the new cargo we had
acquired. It was for us a precious treasure, but far from agreeably
obtained.
The next morning we again embarked in the canoe; but this time
Francis and his mother were left behind, as they could have been
of no use in the work I intended, which was to penetrate into the
interior of the whale, and, if possible, to procure some parts of its
immense intestines. A fresh wind was blowing, and we soon arrived
at the island, which we found covered with gulls and other marine
birds, who, in spite of the canvas with which the pieces that had
been cut from the whale were covered, had made a plentiful meal. It
was necessary to have recourse to fire-arms to drive away this horde
of pillagers.
We took care, before commencing our work, to strip off every article
of clothing, excepting our pantaloons; then, like true butchers, we
opened the animal, selected from the mass of entrails those which
would best suit our purpose; I cut them in pieces of from six to
twelve feet long, and, after having turned them inside out, washed
them, and well rubbed them with sand; they were then placed in the
boat.
We abandoned the rest of our prey to the voracious birds; and, after
having loaded our boat with a new cargo of whale blubber, we set sail
for Felsenheim.
The reason that I had taken so much trouble to obtain the whale’s
intestines was, that I wished to use them as vessels to contain the
oil.
When we arrived at home, we found my wife anxiously expecting us;
but the sight of our greasy habiliments almost frightened her, and
she anticipated the labour of washing them with no very pleasurable
sensations; but I consoled her by promising miracles from the rich
treasures of whale oil, and the entrails we had brought home. We
washed ourselves completely, and, after an entire change of clothing,
set out for Felsenheim.
FOOTNOTE:
[6] Whalebone.