The Fountain — Moby-Dick

For thousands of years whales have been shooting spouts into the air while hunters watched. Yet Ishmael says that even on December 16, 1851, at one fifteen in the afternoon, nobody knows for sure if the spout is water or just vapor. He thinks that is a remarkable mystery.

Fish breathe through gills and can stay underwater forever. Whales have lungs like humans, so they must come to the surface for air. But a sperm whale cannot breathe through its mouth. Its mouth is buried deep under the water. The whale breathes only through a hole on top of its head called the spiracle.

Whales also store extra oxygen inside special blood vessels before they dive. They can stay underwater for an hour or more without breathing, like a camel storing water. Fishermen say a whale must finish having his spoutings out. If he rises for eleven minutes and blows seventy times, he will do the same count next time. If you scare him early, he comes back up to finish his breaths before diving deep again.

This habit is why hunters can catch whales. A whale a thousand fathoms down cannot be harpooned. Hunters win because the whale must return to the surface.

Humans breathe all the time. A sperm whale breathes only about one seventh of its life.

Nobody knows if the spout mixes water with breath. The whale has no real sense of smell anyway. His breathing tube also means he has no voice, unless you joke that he talks through his nose.

Getting close does not solve the puzzle. The spout is hidden in mist. Water splashes everywhere when the whale moves. Even on a calm day, a little pool can sit in the hole on his head.

Hunters should not stick their faces in the spout. The vapor burns skin. One man had skin peel off his cheek and arm. The spray may even blind you. Ishmael says the wisest move is to leave the deadly fountain alone.

He guesses the spout is really mist, like steam rising from deep thinkers. He imagines the whale's vapor crowned with a rainbow, as if heaven sealed his thoughts. In the end he thanks God for flashes of intuition that shine through doubt without making him only a believer or only a skeptic.