It was the private property of three confederate white seamen of that ship, one of whom, it seems, communicated it to Tashtego with Romish injunctions of secresy, but the following night Tashtego rambled in his sleep, and revealed so much of it in that way, that when he was wakened he could not well withhold the rest.
Crepitus. A crackling or crunching sound heard when the ends of a fractured piece of bone rub against each other. Mentioned in: Gangrene, Nasal Trauma.
1 Crackling sound while breathing might be the only symptom in some persons having a less severe form of pneumonia called walking pneumonia.  Foreign Body in Bronchus: Partial blocking of a bronchus (air carrying passages from the trachea to the lungs) can result in chest rattle on exhale. Crackling sound while breathing might also be there if distal lungs start collapsing (atelectasis).