There are many different kinds of whales; namely, sperm whale, right
whale, finback, humpback, razor-back, sulphur bottom whale, and the
narwhal. The two former species are the more often sought after. The
sperm whale was so called because it was the only kind that furnished
sperm oil, which is a richer and more valuable fluid than the ordinary
whale oil. This species was also called “cachalot.” It has one spout
hole through which it blows vapor (not water as is generally supposed),
which resembles one’s breath on a frosty morning; it has also about
fifty teeth on the lower jaw which fit into sockets in the upper jaw,
and very small eyes and ears. This kind of whale usually employed its
mouth as a means of defence, whereas the right whale used its immense
tail. A large-sized whale will yield about eighty barrels of oil, but
they have been known to boil even larger amounts. Captain John Howland
of New Bedford captured two whales which produced over four hundred
barrels together. The tongue alone often produced twenty-five barrels.
In order to attract the squid, or cuttle-fish, which is often lured
by a shiny object from the dark recesses in the great depths of the
ocean, the jaw and inner side of the Brobdingnagian mouth are lined
with a silvery membrane of phosphorescent whiteness, which is probably
the only thing the squid sees when the dark body of the whale is at
the great depths to which it sometimes descends for food. Huge pieces
of shark and hundreds of mackerel have been found in the stomach of a
sperm whale, showing what a carnivorous animal the sperm whale is.
[Illustration: A ship on the northwest coast “cutting in” her last
right whale, showing the jaw with the whalebone being hauled on board.]
The right whale was so called because it was supposed to be the “right”
whale to capture. It differs from the sperm whale chiefly from the fact
that it has long strips of whalebone in its mouth which catch the small
fish for food, the whalebone serving in place of the teeth of the other
species. A right whale usually has about five or six hundred of these
parallel strips, which weigh in all about one ton; they are over ten
feet long, are fixed to its upper jaw, and hang down on each side of
the tongue. These strips are fringed with hair, which hangs from the
sides of the mouth and through which the whale strains the “brit,” on
which a right whale feeds. The “brit” is a little reddish shrimp-shaped
jellyfish which occurs in such quantities in various parts of the ocean
that often the sea is red with them. With its mouth stretched open,
resembling more than anything else a Venetian blind, a sulphur bottom
or right whale scoops, at a speed of from four to six miles an hour,
through the “brit” just under the surface and thus sifts in its search
for food a tract fifteen feet wide and often over a quarter of a mile
long. As the whale drives through the water much like a huge black
scow, the sea foams through the slatted bone, packing the jellyfish
upon the hair sieve. When it thinks it has a mouthful it raises the
lower jaw and, keeping the lips apart, forces the great spongy tongue
into the whalebone sieve. It then closes its lips, swallows the catch
and repeats until satiated. Another difference between the sperm and
the right whale is that the latter has two spout holes instead of one.
The sperm whale is found in the warm waters off the coasts of Chili,
Peru, Japan, New Zealand, Madagascar, California, and Brazil; in the
Caribbean, China, and Red Seas, in the Indian Ocean and Persian Gulf;
off the Azores, Java, Galapagos, Society, Sandwich, Fiji, and Samoan
Islands; and off the Cape de Verdes. The right whale is found in the
high latitudes of the Arctic Ocean, in Baffin’s Bay, in the Ochotsk
Sea, near Tristan d’Acunha and the Desolation Islands, and in the Japan
Sea. There were many other cruising grounds, but these were the most
frequented.
The finback is even longer than the other varieties, but whalers rarely
attack it owing to the thickness of the blubber and also owing to
the fact that it swims so fast that, to use a favorite expression of
whalemen, it “will run the nails out of the bottom of the boat.”
The “narwhal,” or nostril whale, has a horn five to ten feet long
protruding forward from its jaw. This species is also spoken of as the
“Unicorn.” Opinions differ as to the use of this horn; some think it is
used as a rake to turn over its food at the bottom of the sea, others
think it is employed as an ice-piercer, but the author of “Moby Dick”
suggests that it would make an exceedingly good folder for it to use
in reading pamphlets. In ancient times this narwhal’s tusk was used to
detect poison in food and wine, the idea being prevalent that the tusk
would be discolored if it came in contact with any poisonous substance.
It is difficult in the present day to appreciate the wholesale fear of
poison which existed up to quite modern times. This fear was so general
and pressing that no one of any position dared to eat and drink without
a previous assurance that what was set before him did not contain some
poison. Some authorities vouch for the fact that the tusk was also used
as salts for fainting women.
The chief products of the fishery are sperm and whale oil, whalebone,
and ambergris. Spermaceti, meaning a foot of “sperm oil,” was the most
valuable and was found only in the sperm whale. This oil was formerly
used chiefly in the manufacture of sperm candles, and at one time
there were eight factories for the manufacture of these candles in New
England, Nantucket alone turning out three hundred and eighty tons
annually before the war. In the olden times this oil was considered
a sure cure for almost any kind of disease and was worth its weight
in silver. Shakespeare makes reference to it in these words—“The
sovereign’st thing on earth was ’parmaceti for an inward bruise.” At
present it is used chiefly in making refined oils for lubricating.
Whale oil was procured from all the other varieties of whales, and
was formerly used as an illuminant in the old “whale oil” lamps; it
is used now to a certain extent in the tanning of leather and in the
manufacture of soaps, but chiefly in making heavy lubricating oils.
Whalebone has been the most important product of the whale fishery for
a number of years, and in fact whaling would undoubtedly have died
out altogether had it not been for the discovery of its use in making
women’s stays. Many a whaleman has lost his life in the endeavor to
improve the female figure. It is a curious fact that fifty years or
more ago this product was always thrown away as worthless. The value
has gone down in the past few years on account of the invention of
steel stays, which take the place of whalebone.
The high and low prices of these three commodities are of interest.
Sperm oil was $2.55 per gallon in 1866, and is 46 cents now. Whale oil
was $1.45 per gallon in 1865, and is 26 cents now. Whalebone was $5.80
per pound in 1904, 8 cents in 1809, and is $1.75 now.
Ambergris, the rarest and most valuable of all the products, is a
secretion from the intestines of the sperm whale and results from a
disease. It is a very rare article and is worth almost its weight
in gold, selling usually at $300 a pound. Its chief use is in the
preparation of fine perfumeries. It is believed that the largest amount
taken by one ship was brought back by the “Watchman” of Nantucket,
which vessel found eight hundred pounds in 1858. Small amounts were
sold every year in New Bedford even up to the year 1913. The Turks used
it in cooking and also carried it to Mecca for the same purpose that
frankincense is carried to St. Peter’s in Rome. Some wine merchants
used to drop a little into their wine as a spice, and it was said that
the Moors used it in green tea as a flavoring to present to their
guests.
The whale is used for food chiefly by the Japanese and Esquimaux, and a
famous doctor belonging to the latter tribe some years ago recommended
the blubber for infants. In fact, the whale would perhaps be considered
a good dish were there not so much of him. Whale-meat is said by some
to resemble boarding-house steak. In France, during the Middle Ages,
the tongue was considered a great delicacy, and by some epicures the
brains, mixed with flour, were much sought after.
The largest income received by the whalers of America in any one year
was in 1854, when they netted $10,802,594.20, although the record size
of the fleet was attained eight years before. The five years from
1853 to 1857 inclusive yielded a return of $51,063,659.59, the catch
of each year selling for fifty per cent. of the total value of the
whaling fleet. The total value of the cargoes from 1804 to 1876 was
$331,947,480.51.
Captain W. T. Walker, of New Bedford, is called the counting-house
hero of the American Whale Fishery. He purchased in 1848 an old
whaleship called the “Envoy” that was about to be broken up, and
when ready for sea this ship stood the owner $8,000. He could get no
insurance; nevertheless he “took a chance,” and after a three years’
voyage he returned and had netted for himself the extraordinary sum
of $138,450, or 1,630 per cent. The largest profit, however, was made
by the “Pioneer” of New London, in 1865, the value of her cargo being
$151,060. For a short voyage Frederick Fish, who has been mentioned
before, holds the record for his ship the “Montreal,” which brought
back a cargo worth over $36,000 after a voyage occupying only two
months and fifteen days.
There were many unprofitable voyages, and many were the ships that came
home with barrels filled with salt water instead of oil for ballast.
Some vessels, as whalemen say, didn’t have enough oil to grease their
irons.