Our work was seriously interrupted by these feathered marauders, who, after all, were no greater robbers than we ourselves. We kept them off as well as we could by blows from our tools, and several were killed, my wife taking possession of them immediately for the sake of the feathers. It was nearly time to leave the island, but first I stripped off a long piece of the skin, to be used for traces, harness, and other leather-work. It was about three-quarters of an inch thick and very soft, and oily--but I knew it would shrink and be tough and durable. I also took a part of the gums in which the roots of the baleen or whalebone was still embedded, having read that this is considered quite a delicacy, as well as the skin, which, when properly dressed and cut in little cubes, like black dice, has been compared, by enthusiastic and probably very hungry travelers, to cocoanut and cream-cheese. The boys thought the tongue might prove equally palatable, but I valued it only on account of the large quantity of oil it contained. With a heavy freight we put to sea, and made what haste we could to reach home, and cleanse our persons from the unpleasant traces of the disgusting work in which we had spent the day. Next morning we started at dawn. My wife and Franz were left behind, for our proposed work was even more horrible than that of the preceding day; they could not assist, and had no inclination to witness it. It was my intention to open the carcass completely, and, penetrating the interior, to obtain various portions of the intestines, thinking that it would be possible to convert the larger ones into vessels fit for holding the oil. This time we laid aside our clothes and wore only strong canvas trousers when we commenced operations, which were vigorously carried on during the whole of the day; then, satisfied that we could do so with a clear conscience, we abandoned the remains to the birds of prey, and, with a full cargo, set sail for home. On the way, it appeared to strike the boys (who had made not the slightest objection to the singularly unpleasant task I had set them), as very strange that I should wish to possess what they had been working so hard to procure for me. "What can have made you wish to bring away that brute's entrails, father? Are they of any use?" "There are countries," I replied, "where no wood grows of which to make barrels, and no hemp for thread, string, and cordage. Necessity, the mother of all the more valuable inventions, has taught the inhabitants of those countries, Greenlanders, Esquimaux, and others, to think of substitutes, and they use the intestines of the whale for one purpose, the sinews and nerves for the other." We were right glad to land, and get rid, for the present, of our unpleasant materials, the further preparation of which was work in store for the following day. A refreshing bath, clean clothes, and supper, cheered us all up, and we slept in peace. CHAPTER XI