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.
It is the crackling sound heard with a stethoscope when placed over the lungs. It is hard to describe it. If you google it you may find how it sounds like but a close one would be the sound you hear when you rub your hair close to your ears. It is mostly abnormal. There are many lung and heart diseases which cause it. It is caused by fluid or inflammatory exudate in the alveoli or bronchioles. It could also be caused by fibrosis or scarring of lungs which has many causes. Broadly the causes are infections, fluid in the lungs, cancers, inflammations, etc.