How in the
name of wonder so huge and unwieldy a creature as the cachalot
could manage to catch those nimble members of the finny tribe, I
could not for the life of me divine! Unless--and after much
cogitation it was the only feasible explanation that I could see
--as the cachalot swims about with his lower jaw hanging down in
its normal position, and his huge gullet gaping like some
submarine cavern, the fish unwittingly glide down it, to find
egress impossible. This may or may not be the case; but I, at
any rate, can find no more reasonable theory, for it is
manifestly absurd to suppose the whale capable of CATCHING fish
in the ordinary sense, indicating pursuit.
Every part of the animal yielded oil. Even the bones, broken up
into pieces capable of entering the pot, were boiled; and by the
time we had finished our trying-out, the result of the Maories'
labour was ready for us. Less than a week had sufficed to yield
them a net sum of six guineas each, even at the very low rate for
which they sold us the oil. Except that it was a little darker
in colour, a defect that would disappear when mixed with our
store, there was no difference between the products that could be
readily detected.
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