The Great Heidelburgh Barrel

Now comes the Baling of the Case. But to comprehend it aright, you must know something of the curious internal structure of the thing operated upon.

Now comes the Baling of the Case. But to understand it properly, you must know something about the curious internal structure of the thing being worked on.

Regarding the Sperm Whale’s head as a solid oblong, you may, on an inclined plane, sideways divide it into two quoins,* whereof the lower is the bony structure, forming the cranium and jaws, and the upper an unctuous mass wholly free from bones; its broad forward end forming the expanded vertical apparent forehead of the whale. At the middle of the forehead horizontally subdivide this upper quoin, and then you have two almost equal parts, which before were naturally divided by an internal wall of a thick tendinous substance.

Think of the Sperm Whale’s head as a solid, oblong shape. You may divide it sideways along a sloping plane into two wedges.* The lower wedge is the bony structure that forms the skull and jaws. The upper wedge is an oily mass with no bones at all. Its broad front end forms what looks like the whale’s large, upright forehead. Divide this upper wedge horizontally at the middle of the forehead, and you have two almost equal parts. These parts were already naturally separated by an internal wall of thick, tendon-like tissue.

*Quoin is not a Euclidean term. It belongs to the pure nautical mathematics. I know not that it has been defined before. A quoin is a solid which differs from a wedge in having its sharp end formed by the steep inclination of one side, instead of the mutual tapering of both sides.

*Quoin is not a Euclidean term. It belongs to pure nautical mathematics. As far as I know, no one has defined it before. A quoin is a solid shape that differs from a wedge. Its sharp end is formed by the steep slope of one side, rather than by both sides tapering together.

The lower subdivided part, called the junk, is one immense honeycomb of oil, formed by the crossing and recrossing, into ten thousand infiltrated cells, of tough elastic white fibres throughout its whole extent. The upper part, known as the Case, may be regarded as the great Heidelburgh Tun of the Sperm Whale. And as that famous great tierce is mystically carved in front, so the whale’s vast plaited forehead forms innumerable strange devices for the emblematical adornment of his wondrous tun. Moreover, as that of Heidelburgh was always replenished with the most excellent of the wines of the Rhenish valleys, so the tun of the whale contains by far the most precious of all his oily vintages; namely, the highly-prized spermaceti, in its absolutely pure, limpid, and odoriferous state. Nor is this precious substance found unalloyed in any other part of the creature. Though in life it remains perfectly fluid, yet, upon exposure to the air, after death, it soon begins to concrete; sending forth beautiful crystalline shoots, as when the first thin delicate ice is just forming in water. A large whale’s case generally yields about five hundred gallons of sperm, though from unavoidable circumstances, considerable of it is spilled, leaks, and dribbles away, or is otherwise irrevocably lost in the ticklish business of securing what you can.

The lower part, called the junk, is divided into an immense honeycomb filled with oil. Tough, elastic white fibers cross and recross throughout it, forming ten thousand oil-filled cells. The upper part, known as the Case, may be regarded as the Sperm Whale’s great Heidelburgh Tun. That famous great cask is mysteriously carved on the front. Likewise, the whale’s vast, pleated forehead forms countless strange designs that decorate his wondrous tun like emblems. The Heidelburgh Tun was always filled with the finest wines from the Rhenish valleys. So too, the whale’s tun contains by far the most precious of all his oily vintages. This is the highly prized spermaceti, absolutely pure, clear, and fragrant. This precious substance is not found pure anywhere else in the creature. Though spermaceti remains perfectly fluid during the whale’s life, it soon begins to solidify when exposed to air after death. It sends out beautiful crystalline shoots, like the first thin, delicate ice forming in water. A large whale’s Case generally yields about five hundred gallons of sperm. Even so, considerable amounts are inevitably spilled, leaked, dribbled away, or otherwise lost forever in the delicate business of saving what you can.

I know not with what fine and costly material the Heidelburgh Tun was coated within, but in superlative richness that coating could not possibly have compared with the silken pearl-coloured membrane, like the lining of a fine pelisse, forming the inner surface of the Sperm Whale’s case.

I don’t know what fine, costly material lined the Heidelburgh Tun. But no lining could possibly match the supreme richness of the Sperm Whale’s case. Its inner surface was a silky, pearl-colored membrane, like the lining of a fine coat.

It will have been seen that the Heidelburgh Tun of the Sperm Whale embraces the entire length of the entire top of the head; and since—as has been elsewhere set forth—the head embraces one third of the whole length of the creature, then setting that length down at eighty feet for a good sized whale, you have more than twenty-six feet for the depth of the tun, when it is lengthwise hoisted up and down against a ship’s side.

As we have seen, the Heidelburgh Tun of the Sperm Whale runs the entire length of the top of its head. As explained elsewhere, the head makes up one third of the whale’s entire length. A good-sized whale is eighty feet long. So the tun is more than twenty-six feet deep when hoisted upright against a ship’s side.

As in decapitating the whale, the operator’s instrument is brought close to the spot where an entrance is subsequently forced into the spermaceti magazine; he has, therefore, to be uncommonly heedful, lest a careless, untimely stroke should invade the sanctuary and wastingly let out its invaluable contents. It is this decapitated end of the head, also, which is at last elevated out of the water, and retained in that position by the enormous cutting tackles, whose hempen combinations, on one side, make quite a wilderness of ropes in that quarter.

When cutting off the whale’s head, the operator brings his tool close to a particular spot. Later, an opening will be forced there into the spermaceti magazine. He must therefore be unusually careful, lest a careless, premature stroke pierce the sanctuary and waste its priceless contents. The cut end of the head is also the end finally raised out of the water. The enormous cutting tackles hold it there, their hemp ropes forming a wilderness on one side.

Thus much being said, attend now, I pray you, to that marvellous and—in this particular instance—almost fatal operation whereby the Sperm Whale’s great Heidelburgh Tun is tapped.

With that said, please turn your attention to the marvelous operation used to tap the Sperm Whale’s great Heidelburgh Tun. In this particular case, the operation was almost fatal.