第27章 ABNER'S WHALE(4)

The ship was some three or four miles off to leeward, so we reckoned she would take at least an hour and a half to work up to us.Meanwhile, our part of the performance being over, and well over, we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves, lazily rocking on the gentle swell by the side of a catch worth at least L800.During the conflict I had not noticed what now claimed attention--several great masses of white, semi-transparent-looking substance floating about, of huge size and irregular shape.But one of these curious lumps came floating by as we lay, tugged at by several fish, and I immediately asked the mate if he could tell me what it was and where it came from.He told me that, when dying, the cachalot always ejected the contents of his stomach, which were invariably composed of such masses as we saw before us; that he believed the stuff to be portions of big cuttle-fish, bitten off by the whale for the purpose of swallowing, but he wasn't sure.Anyhow, I could haul this piece alongside now, if Iliked, and see.Secretly wondering at the indifference shown by this officer of forty years' whaling experience to such a wonderful fact as appeared to be here presented, I thanked him, and, sticking the boat-hook into the lump, drew it alongside.It was at once evident that it was a massive fragment of cuttle-fish--tentacle or arm--as thick as a stout man's body, and with six or seven sucking-discs or ACETABULA on it.These were about as large as a saucer, and on their inner edge were thickly set with hooks or claws all round the rim, sharp as needles, and almost the shape and size of a tiger's.

To what manner of awful monster this portion of limb belonged, Icould only faintly imagine; but of course I remembered, as any sailor would, that from my earliest sea-going I had been told that the cuttle-fish was the biggest in the sea, although I never even began to think it might be true until now.I asked the mate if he had ever seen such creatures as this piece belonged to alive and kicking.He answered, languidly, "Wall, I guess so;but I don't take any stock in fish, 'cept for provisions er ile--en that's a fact." It will be readily believed that Ivividly recalled this conversation when, many years after, I read an account by the Prince of Monaco of HIS discovery of a gigantic squid, to which his naturalist gave the name of LEPIDOTEUTHISGRIMALDII! Truly the indifference and apathy manifested by whalers generally to everything except commercial matters is wonderful--hardly to be credited.However, this was a mighty revelation to me.For the first time, it was possible to understand that, contrary to the usual notion of a whale's being unable to swallow a herring, here was a kind of whale that could swallow-well, a block four or five feet square apparently; who lived upon creatures as large as himself, if one might judge of their bulk by the sample to hand; but being unable, from only possessing teeth in one jaw, to masticate his food, was compelled to tear it in sizable pieces, bolt it whole, and leave his commissariat department to do the rest.

While thus ruminating, the mate and Louis began a desultory conversation concerning what they termed "ambergrease." I had never even heard the word before, although I had a notion that Milton, in "Paradise Regained," describing the Satanic banquet, had spoken of something being "gris-amber steamed." They could by no means agree as to what this mysterious substance was, how it was produced, or under what conditions.They knew that it was sometimes found floating near the dead body of a sperm whale--the mate, in fact, stated that he had taken it once from the rectum of a cachalot--and they were certain that it was of great value --from one to three guineas per ounce.When I got to know more of the natural history of the sperm whale, and had studied the literature of the subject, I was so longer surprised at their want of agreement, since the learned doctors who have written upon the subject do not seem to have come to definite conclusions either.

By some it is supposed to be the product of a diseased condition of the creature; others consider that it is merely the excreta, which, normally fluid, has by some means become concreted.It is nearly always found with cuttle-fish beaks imbedded in its substance, showing that these indigestible portions of the sperm whale's food have in some manner become mixed with it during its formation in the bowel.Chemists have analyzed it with scanty results.Its great value is due to its property of intensifying the power of perfumes, although, strange to say, it has little or no odour of its own, a faint trace of musk being perhaps detectable in some cases.The Turks are said to use it for a truly Turkish purpose, which need not be explained here, while the Moors are credited with a taste for it in their cookery.

About both these latter statements there is considerable doubt; Ionly give them for what they are worth, without, committing myself to any definite belief in them.