Cutting Blanket-Piece Blubber
A harpooneer armed with a boarding-sword slices a hole in the lower part of the swaying blubber mass, into which a second tackle is hooked to maintain grip. After warning all hands to stand clear, the swordsman makes a series of desperate sidelong cuts, severing the mass completely into two portions. The shorter lower section remains fast while the longer upper strip, called the “blanket-piece,” swings clear and is lowered through the main hatchway.
Blubber-Room Processing
The blanket-piece descends into an unfurnished parlor called the blubber-room, where nimble hands coil the massive blubber as if it were “a great live mass of plaited serpents.” The simultaneous operation continues with both tackles hoisting and lowering, the whale and windlass heaving, the heavers singing, the mates scarfing, the ship straining, and all hands occasionally swearing to relieve the tension of their coordinated labor.
CHAPTER 68. The Blanket.
In this chapter, the narrator examines the question of what constitutes the whale’s skin, arguing that the thick blubber layer—which ranges from eight to fifteen inches in thickness and yields up to one hundred barrels of oil in large sperm whales—should be considered the whale’s true skin rather than the thin, transparent isinglass-like membrane that merely overlays it. The chapter describes the sperm whale’s distinctive linear markings, which appear to be engraved upon the body itself rather than the outer membrane, bearing an resemblance to hieroglyphics or the mysterious characters found on Indian rocks along the Upper Mississippi. The narrator explains that these markings are often partially obscured by irregular scratches, likely resulting from encounters with other whales, particularly among mature bulls. The chapter draws an extended metaphor comparing the whale’s blubber to a blanket or poncho that enables the creature to maintain warmth and survive in frigid Arctic waters where human sailors have been known to freeze solid. Concluding with an aspirational reflection, the narrator suggests that humans should admire and emulate the whale’s remarkable vitality, urging readers to remain warm among ice, cool at the equator, and fluid at the Pole, though observing that few indeed possess the domed stability of St. Peter’s or the vastness of the whale.
The Whale’s Skin Debate
The narrator has given considerable attention to the question of whale skin and has engaged in debates with experienced whalemen and naturalists. Though his original opinion remains unchanged, he acknowledges it is merely an opinion.
Blubber as the Whale’s Outer Layer
Blubber possesses a consistency similar to firm, close-grained beef but is tougher, more elastic, and compact. Its thickness ranges from eight to fifteen inches. Since no other dense enveloping layer can be found on the whale’s body besides blubber, the narrator argues that the outermost layer of any animal, if dense enough, must constitute the skin.
The Whale’s Thin Isinglass Coating
From an unmarred dead whale, one can scrape off an infinitely thin, transparent substance resembling the thinnest shreds of isinglass. Before drying, this substance is flexible and soft like satin, but after drying it contracts, thickens, and becomes brittle. The narrator uses dried pieces of this material as markers in his whale-books. However, this coating should be considered “the skin of the skin” rather than the whale’s proper skin, since it would be ridiculous to claim that the massive whale’s true skin is thinner than a newborn infant’s.
Whale Size Estimation From Blubber Yield
When a large Sperm Whale’s skin yields one hundred barrels of oil, and considering that oil represents only three-fourths of the coat’s substance by weight, one can estimate the enormous size of the creature. At ten barrels per ton, this represents ten tons for just three-quarters of the whale’s skin material.
Hieroglyphic Marks on the Sperm Whale
The visible surface of the Sperm Whale presents numerous marvels. Almost invariably, it displays all-over oblique crossed marks resembling fine Italian line engravings. These marks appear to be engraved upon the body itself rather than on the isinglass coating. They often serve as a ground for hieroglyphical delineations, earning the whale comparison to mysterious inscriptions on pyramids or ancient rocks on the Upper Mississippi. Like those ancient markings, the whale remains undecipherable.
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