The Swiss family Robinson · Johann David Wyss
CHAPTER XXXIX
Chapter 39 of 61 · 3 min read
The Whale, its dissection—Uses of the different parts of the Whale
After dinner, which we partook of an hour earlier than usual, I made a search for some barrels in which to put the blubber of the whale, I did not want to take the empty barrels we had at Falcon’s Nest and Felsenheim, as I knew that it would be impossible to remove the disagreeable smell of oil. My wife reminded me that we yet had four tubs in our boat, which would answer my purpose very well. I fastened them to the stern of the canoe; and, after having armed my sons with knives, and hatchets, and saws, and all the cutting-instruments I could find, we weighed anchor, and directed our course toward the island where the whale lay.
Our whale looked like those of Greenland: the back was greenish black, the stomach yellowish, the fins and tail black. I immediately measured it, and I found that it was between sixty and seventy feet long, and about forty in diameter, which is about the ordinary size of these monsters of the deep. My children were astonished at the proportions of the head, which formed a third of the whole creature; its mouth was immense; and its jaws, which were full twelve feet in length were furnished with flexible appendages called “dewlaps,” and which in Europe form an article of commerce. One thing which struck Fritz was the smallness of the monster’s eye, which was not larger than that of an ox; and the opening by which his immense mouth communicated with his throat, was scarcely the diameter of my arm.
Fritz and Jack entered the head of the whale, and working with the hatchet and the saw, cut out the “dewlaps,” which Francis and his mother carried to the boat; we cut out more than two hundred pieces of different sizes. While this was going on, Ernest and I cut several feet deep into the fat which covered the sides of the animal; we literally swam in grease, for walls of solid fat rose on each side of us. But we were not long the only claimants for the whale. A multitude of winged robbers surrounded us, eager to associate in our work. They flew round and round our heads; then, gradually approaching, they were so bold as to snatch pieces of fat from our hands. The birds were very troublesome; but my wife having made the remark that their down would be of use to her, I knocked down some with a club, and threw them into the boat. I cut from the back of the whale a long and large band of skin, out of which I wanted to make a harness for the ass and the two buffaloes. It was a difficult task, the skin was so thick, and so hard to cut. The tubs were placed in the canoe, and we set out for the coast with the new cargo we had acquired. It was for us a precious treasure, but far from agreeably obtained.
The next morning we again embarked in the canoe; but this time Francis and his mother were left behind, as they could have been of no use in the work I intended, which was to penetrate into the interior of the whale, and, if possible, to procure some parts of its immense intestines. A fresh wind was blowing, and we soon arrived at the island, which we found covered with gulls and other marine birds, who, in spite of the canvas with which the pieces that had been cut from the whale were covered, had made a plentiful meal. It was necessary to have recourse to fire-arms to drive away this horde of pillagers.
We took care, before commencing our work, to strip off every article of clothing, excepting our pantaloons; then, like true butchers, we opened the animal, selected from the mass of entrails those which would best suit our purpose; I cut them in pieces of from six to twelve feet long, and, after having turned them inside out, washed them, and well rubbed them with sand; they were then placed in the boat.
We abandoned the rest of our prey to the voracious birds; and, after having loaded our boat with a new cargo of whale blubber, we set sail for Felsenheim.
The reason that I had taken so much trouble to obtain the whale’s intestines was, that I wished to use them as vessels to contain the oil.
When we arrived at home, we found my wife anxiously expecting us; but the sight of our greasy habiliments almost frightened her, and she anticipated the labour of washing them with no very pleasurable sensations; but I consoled her by promising miracles from the rich treasures of whale oil, and the entrails we had brought home. We washed ourselves completely, and, after an entire change of clothing, set out for Felsenheim.
FOOTNOTE:
Whalebone.
