Bowhead whale

“ The capture of a single whale repays the expenditure incurred in outfitting a steam whaling ship, and if more than one is killed on the voyage, it means large dividends to the owners and small ones to the officers and crew of the ship.
Several species of whales are found in the waters of the northern ice-laden seas, but there is only one prize, known amongst other common names as the Greenland whale, Right whale and Bowhead whale, and scientifically called the Balaena mysticetus, L. From its mouth is obtained the precious whalebone. ”

“ During our crossing I saw numerous baleen whales belonging to the three species unique to these southernmost seas: the bowhead whale (or “right whale,” according to the English) , which has no dorsal fin; the humpback whale from the genus Balaenoptera (in other words, “winged whales”) , beasts with wrinkled bellies and huge whitish fins that, genus name regardless, do not yet form wings; and the finback whale, yellowish brown, the swiftest of all cetaceans. This powerful animal is audible from far away when it sends up towering spouts of air and steam that resemble swirls of smoke. ”

“ They feed on the surface—their food being small crustacea or “brit,” which they scoop up with open mouth and strain through the rows of baleen which hang from the upper jaw.
3—BOWHEAD WHALE. The Arctic or Greenland whale. Living in the cold waters of the high latitudes the blubber of this species is much thicker than that of Sperm or Right, one Bowhead rendering as much as three hundred barrels.
The quality of its oil, however, is much inferior to sperm oil, and for years it was hunted for its whalebone alone. ”

“ Ordinarily, in the summer time, the bowhead comes to the surface and [196] breathes every forty minutes or so. But now and then, for some cause or other, one will sulk, and the natives have watched them lying close in shore in shallow water for five days without seeing a movement or attempt to come to the surface to breathe. Such whales are denominated “sleepy heads,” and when killed are found to have a blubber that is watery instead of full of oil. The blubber of more than one whale is thrown overboard after being cut in, because it is deficient in oil. ”

“ In the Greenland right whale of the circumpolar seas, the Bowhead of the American whalers (Balæna mysticetus) , all the peculiarities which distinguish the head and mouth of the whales from other mammals have attained their greatest development. The head is of enormous size, exceeding one third of the whole length of the creature. The cavity of the mouth is actually larger than that of the body, thorax, and abdomen together. The upper jaw is very narrow, but greatly arched from before backward, to increase the height of the cavity and allow for the great length of the baleen ”

“ Both the bowhead and right whale live upon minute crustaceans, called “brit,” which are strained out by means of the mat of bristles on the inner side of the baleen plates; when the mouth is closed the whalebone folds back on both sides of the tongue, but straightens out again as the great lower jaw is dropped.
On the extreme end of the snout the right whale always has an oval roughened area, some two feet in length, called the “bonnet.” This growth is produced by whale lice (Cyamus) and barnacles (Coronula) , and although it is never absent in this species it is not found on the bowhead. ”

“ While a fifth, the SOUTH PACIFIC WHALE (B. antipodarum) , occupies a strip from the South American coast to New Zealand and Australia. The two latter have points in common with the others, and are only distinguished as separate species by supposed structural variations.
The habits of all these animals are exceedingly alike, and only in the first two is there very decided distinction in appearance. Such being the case, we may refer in detail to the Greenland Whale, Bowhead, or great Polar Whale of the Americans. ”

“ The heart itself is more than a yard in transverse diameter. The toothed whales carry the teeth in their lower jaw, the most valuable of this lot being the Spermaceti or Sperm Whale or Cachalot, the Pilot Whale or Ca'ing Whale, the White Whale or Beluga, the Killer or Orca, the Narwhal, and such small fry as Blackfish, Porpoises, and Dolphins. Only the toothed whale eats fish; the others live upon animalculae and the most minute of marine life, called "brit" by the whalers. The Bowhead that we have come up to the Arctic to see feeds on the smallest infusoria. ”

“ Although all the large whales make such extensive travels, except the bowhead, only the gray whale spends so much time in sight of land. The other species are truly oceanic at all times, and never seem abundant because of the vastness of the oceans. Like the gray whale they congregate in polar seas during the summer months, moving into temperate and subtropical waters for the winter months. To this day, much of the migration route is unknown. Perhaps some day a scientist will attempt to trail a group of whales along the entire route. ”

“ The right whale is found only in temperate waters and does not go into the far north or south. It is 249frequently taken by the shore whalers on the coasts of Japan, Australia, and South America, and is much less timid than the bowhead; it is also much quicker in its movements and is consequently a more dangerous whale to attack for the men who hunt in small boats with a hand harpoon and lance. ”

“ This race of whalemen has, however, been supplanted by another of younger men, who were brought into the field by the prolific grounds of the Arctic Ocean and Ochotsk Sea, inhabited as they were by myriads of bowhead whales that had never been chased or interfered with by whalemen; consequently, they had not learned from the past to use all the expedients furnished them by nature to avoid and combat against the wiles and stratagems of men. ”

“ The Bowhead is hunted for his "whalebone"; the Cachalot or true Sperm, the lord of the toothed whales, for that great lake of sperm oil and spermaceti which he carries round in a portable tank in the top of his head.
It is customary to call whales "fierce," "savage," "murderous," but this is rank libel, for the whale is timid and affectionate. Every family, however, has its black sheep. The Orca or Killer is the terror alike of sealing-rookeries, fish-schools, and whale bone whales. ”

“ His eyes, too, set obliquely, enable him to command the sea at all points save dead ahead, and it is accordingly from this point that the fishermen approach him. But however stealthily they move, the opportunities for disappointment are many. Big as he is, the whale is not sluggish. In an instant he may sink bodily from sight; or, throwing his flukes high in air, "sound," to be seen no more; or, casting himself bodily on the boat, blot it out of existence ”

“ A large school of porpoises had just joined us, in their usual clownish fashion, rolling and tumbling around the bows as the old barky wallowed along, surrounded by a wide ellipse of snowy foam. All work was instantly suspended, and active preparations made for securing a few of these frolicsome fellows. A "block," or pulley, was hung out at the bowsprit end, a whale-line passed through it and "bent" (fastened) on to a harpoon. Another line with a running "bowline," or slip-noose, was also passed out to the bowsprit end, being held there by one man in readiness. ”

“ And whether large or small, toothed whales or whalebone whales, active as the dolphin and the huge fin-whales or rorquals, which dash through the water although some are nearly a hundred feet long, or lazy and harmless as the Greenland whale is unless attacked, in one thing all the whale family betray their high place in the animal kingdom. Nowhere, either on land or in the water, can mothers be found more tender, more devoted, or more willing to sacrifice their lives for their children than whale-mothers. ”

“ Certainly, when once a boat is smashed, it is rare for a whale to deliberately try to destroy the men in the water. The sperm whale tries to bite; the right whale—it is from him your whalebone comes—strikes with his vast flukes. He will lie quietly in the water and brush his flukes back and forth across the surface, feeling for his enemy. If his flukes touch a floating tub, an oar, a man, they coil up like an enormous spring, and slap down with a blow that crushes utterly whatever they may strike. The whalemen have a proverb: "'Ware the sperm whale's jaw, and the right whale's flukes." ”

“ Brown’s boat was not completely hauled in, and there were some fathoms still hanging down from the bow. The whale caught this frayed end between his jaws as he passed, and worried it as a terrier does a string. The effect was the same as if it had still been fast to the iron in his body. The line tautened instantly, and whirled the bow around, and then, as no attention was being given to the loggerhead end of a frayed line with a few fathoms over the bow, it began to snake out of its tub. ”

“ The head is surrounded by a large swelling, at which point the double orifice of the blowhole forms an obtuse angle. The adult is almost black, the young bluish-grey, the lower parts of the throat cream-colour, and occasionally dispersed whitish markings on the body. Gregarious in habit, they go in twos and threes, but sometimes in greater numbers, even in large flocks; but the herds now are indeed rare. Among the most remarkable peculiarities in this Whale are the nature of its food and its mode of feeding. ”

“ A few more wallows’ of despair, the great tail-flukes thrash the water with lessening force, and presently the huge body, inert, lifeless, lies quietly on the surface. Hawsers are made fast to the dead whale, and while the boats return to their stations to watch the remaining nets it is towed by the launch to the flensing jetty ashore. ”

“ He rolls over heavily and slowly; a few convulsive movements shake his mighty frame; then he floats motionless on the water—and the whale is dead!
Ropes are now made fast round him, and he is slowly towed away to shore, opposite the whaling establishment. A crowd is collected to see his huge body hauled up on to the beach, and to speculate on his size and value. In two days all his blubber is cut away and melting in [Pg 846] the coppers. Vultures are feeding on his flesh, and men are cleansing his bones. ”

“ The full-grown males, or “large whales,” almost always go alone in search of food, and, when they are seen in company, are supposed to be migrating from one feeding-ground to another. The large whale is generally very incautious, and if alone, he is without difficulty attacked and easily killed, as he frequently, after receiving the first blow from the harpoon, appears hardly to feel it, but continues lying like a “log of wood” on the water before he rallies or makes any attempt to escape from his enemies. ”

“ Occasionally we were called to look over the rail and see the fin-back whale sending his spout in a spiral column towards the clouds; or the blackfish, grampus, or porpoise, gambolling amongst the great waves. At times the scene was diversified by the appearance of the shark, dolphin, benita, and flying-fish, each preying on the other. The last three mentioned are easily caught, and are eagerly angled for by seamen. The manner of catching the dolphin and skip-jack is to bait the hook with a piece of white rag, and allow it to sway with the vessel’s motion. ”

“ He struggles violently for a time, and beats and lashes the water in all directions, until, weakened by loss of blood, and fatigued by his exertions, he ceases to struggle, and the natives despatch him with their short spears. The whale is then taken in tow by the whole fleet of canoes, the crews yelling and singing, and keeping time with their paddles. ”

“ Whales have long banks of muscle along either side of the backbone which attach to the tail flukes by means of tendons. This makes it unnecessary to disturb the streamlined form by bending the hind part of the trunk as is necessary when fish drive with their tails. It also makes it possible to devote a great deal more muscle to the task. The power developed by these muscles is prodigious, capable of driving a 100-ton body through the water at speeds up to 20 knots. Wounded whales can smash a 20-foot whaleboat to bits with a single slap of the tail. ”

“ A whale is a warm-blooded, air-breathing, milk-giving animal. Its fins are hands with finger-bones, having a large number of joints; its tail is a piece of cartilage, and not a fish's fin with bones and rays; it has teeth in its gums, even if it never cuts them; and it gives suck to its little one just as much as a cow does to her calf. Nay, the whalebone whales have even the traces of hind legs entirely buried under the skin, and in the Greenland whale the hip-joint and knee-joint can be distinguished with some of their muscles, though the bones are quite hidden and useless. ”

“ A few hours’ work and the insertion of a few bits of wood in the light clinker-built sides will restore a whaleboat which, to an inexperienced eye, looks fit only for kindling-wood. A whale is much more of an animal than people generally imagine. There’s a great deal of affection somewhere in that big carcass. I have seen them close aboard from the schooner’s deck play with their young and roll and thrash about in mammoth gambols. ”

“ The whalers are often very successful in and outside Plover Bay in securing their prey. Each boat is known by its own private mark—a cross, red stripes, or what not—on its sail, so that at a distance they can be distinguished from their respective vessels. When the whale is harpooned, often a long and dangerous job, and is floating dead in the water, a small flag is planted in it. After the monster is towed alongside the vessel, it is cut up into large rectangular chunks, and it is a curious and not altogether pleasant sight to witness the deck of a whaling ship covered with blubber. ”