THE WHALE. 133 



thresher. With regard to the narwal, I am per- 

 suaded that this opinion is incorrect, for so far from 

 its being an enemy, it is found to associate with the 

 whale in the greatest apparent harmony, and its 

 appearance, indeed, in the Greenland sea is hailed 

 by the fishers, the narwal being considered as the 

 harbinger of the whale. But the sword-fish and 

 thresher, (if such an animal there be) may possibly 

 be among the enemies of the whale, notwithstand- 

 ing I have never witnessed their combats; and the 

 shark is known certainly to be an enemy, though 

 perhaps not a very formidable one. Whales indeed 

 flee the seas where it abounds, and evince by marks 

 occasionally found on their tails, a strong evidence 

 of their having been bit by the shark. A living whale 

 may be annoyed, though it can scarcely be supposed 

 to be ever overcome by the shark; but a dead whale 

 is an easy prey, and affords a fine banquet to this 

 insatiable creature. 



The whale, from its vast bulk, and variety of 

 products, is of great importance in commerce, as 

 well as in the domestic economy of savage nations; 

 and its oil and whalebone are of extensive applica- 

 tion in the arts and manufactures. A description of 

 its most valuable products, and of the uses to which 

 they are applied, being included in the account of 

 the whale fishery, which follows, it will only be 

 necessary, in this place, to mention the purposes to 

 which parts and products, not now objects of com- 

 merce, are or might be applied. 



