Peter Parley's Wonders of the Earth, Sea, and Sky

CHAPTER IV. (2)

THE WHALE.

It seems strange that the largest animal in nature should live in these regions, where you would think everything must be starved by the cold. But so it is, and it should lead you to reflect, how wonderfully the principle which animates living beings, by the outward form and constitution which it gives to the bodies of animals, adapts them to support the various circumstances in which they are placed.

There are many kinds of whale which all agree in these particulars. They are very much larger than any other creatures existing; they live in the sea and yet suckle their young with milk, and have warm blood and lungs like land animals, so that they can only breathe by putting their heads above water. Some people have doubted whether it was proper to call the whale a fish, but on the whole it is certainly more like fishes than it is like any other of the great divisions of animals, seeing that it swims with fins, and cannot live out of the water.

The Greenland whale (naturalists call it Balena Mysticetus,) is the most important of the varieties, as it is the one which produces train oil in the largest quantities, and whalebone. In common with all the others, it is a most awkward looking creature. Here is a picture of one. Its usual length is from 40 to 60 feet; and the circumference of its body about 40. It not unfrequently weighs 60 or 70 tons, which is more than the weight of 180 fat oxen.

The tail is commonly about 6 feet long, and 25 feet wide. It lies flat upon the water, and is what the creature principally uses in swimming, for the fins near the head appear to be used merely to keep the body steady in the water. It is also a weapon of defence, and possesses prodigious strength, as you shall hear by and by.

The inside of the mouth is, perhaps, the most wonderful part of the whale, both from its size and construction. I was once in one, which was 15 feet in length and 7 feet wide.

It is from the mouth that the Whalebone, as it is called, comes. The jaws are not furnished with teeth, but in their place there is something which forms a curious sort of shrimp-trap, which I will describe to you. The whalebone is ranged along in blades upon the jaws, like the laths of a Venetian blind, and the inner edge of each blade is furnished with a fringe of fibrous stuff almost like hair.

The natural position of the whale's mouth seems to be open, and it mostly swims along or lies near the surface, with its lower jaw hanging down. Little fish and insects, most of them of the smallest size, thus come in contact with the smooth edge of the blades of bone, slip between them, and become entangled in the hairy fringe of the inner edge, so that they can never get out again. When the whale thinks he has got enough in his mouth, he immediately raises his enormous lower jaw and swallows. One of his mouthfuls must often consist of millions of living creatures, respecting the kinds of which I shall have something to tell you in a future page.

I told you that he was obliged to rise to the surface of the water to breathe. You would like to see him ascend for this purpose, and snort out a jet of thick vapour to the height of twenty feet, or more, and making such a noise, as may be heard at a distance of several miles.

Under the skin, all over the body, there is a covering of yellowish fat of about a foot thick, which keeps the animal warm, answering the same purpose as the fur does on land animals. It is necessary, because the whale is not cold in the inside like other fish, but has warm, red blood, which is of a higher temperature even than that of a human being. This is another circumstance which becomes the more remarkable from the cold climate in which he lives.

This fat is generally called blubber, and is what the oil comes from. When first it is taken from the whale, it has not the least unpleasant smell, and it is not till the cargo is unstowed that a whale ship is at all disagreeable.

The largest sort of whale is called the razor back, from a ridge that runs along his back. They are often 100 feet in length. I never saw one of these taken, but the sailors told me that they were very difficult to come near, and after all, not worth the trouble of killing, for they have very little blubber.

Then there is the Cachalot, or Sperm Whale, which is smaller, and much more slender than the common whale. It has teeth, and is of a very quarrelsome temper. It often fights with its own kind, and I have seen several of them which had been wounded in the jaws, and made blind by such conflicts. It is from the head of this animal that spermaceti is obtained.

A number of vessels are sent out every year to catch these great creatures, and this is the way in which they manage their work. Every vessel is furnished with five or six boats which are hung on the sides of the vessel in such a way as to be easily lowered into the water on the shortest notice. One or two of the boats are usually kept upon the look out, in each of which there is a harpoon attached to a rope above 700 feet in length, and about as thick as a man's thumb. This is the shape of the harpoon.

When they see a whale showing himself above the surface of the water, the man who is to throw the harpoon, stations himself at the bow, and the rest pull away as fast as they are able till they approach the whale as near as possible, and this is often to within a very short distance in consequence of his being slower of hearing than most other animals.

The harpooner then throws the harpoon with all his might, and if he is lucky, it goes through the poor creature's skin and blubber, into his flesh. The moment he feels the wound, he mostly sinks to a great depth, and drags out the line which is carefully coiled at the bottom of the boat, at a tremendous rate. One man stands by with a mop to keep the edge of the boat over which the rope runs constantly wet, lest the friction should set the boat on fire, and another holds a hatchet ready to chop it in two in case it should become entangled. If it goes out smoothly, they add lines as long as they are necessary: and on one occasion, for a whale which was very refractory, Captain Scoresby actually joined together three miles and three quarters of rope, the weight of which was nearly two tons! Was not this a great fishing-line?

As soon as the whale is struck, they hoist a flag, and the men who are in the ship, and constantly upon the look out, immediately come to their assistance. If the signal is made when any of them are asleep, up they come with their clothes under their arms, and dress afterwards as they can, for not a moment is to be lost. This is no joke, when the cold is more than thirty degrees below the freezing point.

However, they are obliged to go; and as many boats as there may be, then watch anxiously for the re-appearance of the whale on the surface. As soon as he shows himself, the men of the other boats immediately strike their harpoons into him, and so secure him till he is faint from loss of blood, and at last comes up to the surface, spouting out blood mixed with the vapour from his nostrils. They then despatch him with an instrument called a lance, and the great carcass rolls over upon its back. It is afterwards lashed by strong ropes to the side of the ship, and the blubber is cut up into lumps of convenient size, and stowed in casks.

It occasionally happens, after the harpooner has thrown his weapon, that the creature in agony, flaps about his tail with tremendous violence before he goes down. Many boats have been upset in this manner, and Captain Scoresby relates an instance of a boat being dashed completely in two.

Some people have thought the whale a very stupid creature, but there does not seem much ground for this notion, though we can never be in a condition to see much of its instinctive wisdom. As far as we can see, it is the very best thing it could do when struck by the harpoon, to go downwards as it does; and this seems to prove that it has quite its share of intelligence; and it is still more remarkable, that if a mass of ice be near when it is pursued, either before or after it has been struck, it gets under it as quickly as possible, and often thus baffles its pursuers.

But the most interesting thing in the character of the whale is, its extreme love for its offspring, and a cruel use is often made by the whalers of this beautiful disposition. They often strike a cub or sucker, as they call the young whales, which would not be worth taking itself, because they know its mother will instantly expose herself to an attack in its defence. You shall hear what Captain Scoresby says on this, "When the young whale is struck, its mother joins it at the surface of the water, whenever it has occasion to rise for respiration; encourages it to swim off; assists its flight, by taking it under her fin; and seldom deserts it while life remains. She is then dangerous to approach; but affords frequent opportunities for attack. She loses all regard for her own safety, in anxiety for the preservation of her young;—dashes through the midst of her enemies;—despises the danger that threatens her;—and even voluntarily remains with her offspring, after various attacks on herself from the harpoons of the fishers. In June 1811, one of my harpooners struck a sucker, with the hope of its leading to the capture of the mother. Presently she arose close by the 'fast-boat;' and seizing the young one, dragged about a hundred fathoms of line out of the boat with remarkable force and velocity. Again she arose to the surface; darted furiously to and fro; frequently stopped short, or suddenly changed her direction, and gave every possible intimation of extreme agony. For a length of time she continued thus to act, though closely pursued by the boats; and, inspired with courage and resolution by her concern for her offspring, seemed regardless of the danger which surrounded her. At length, one of the boats approached so near, that a harpoon was hove at her. It hit, but did not attach itself. A second harpoon was struck; this also failed to penetrate: but a third was more effectual, and held. Still she did not attempt to escape, but allowed other boats to approach; so that, in a few minutes, three more harpoons were fastened; and, in the course of an hour afterwards, she was killed."

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