534 THE BLACK-FISH. 
The natural timidity of the Cachalot is very remarkable, considering the gigantic size of 
the animal and the formidable array of teeth with which it is armed. Any strange object 
perceived by this creature throws it into a state of excited trepidation, during which time 
it performs several curious antics, and is said by the sailors to be “ oallied. ” “When 
uneasy, it has a strange habit of slowly sweeping its tail from side to side upon the 
surface of the water, as if feeling for the object that excited its terror. 
When thoroughly frightened, and especially when roused to energetic action by the 
painful sting of the harpoon, the Cachalot darts along the surface of the water at 
an astonishing rate, its speed being often from ten to twelve miles per hour. <As it 
proceeds in its rapid course, the alternate upward and downward strokes of the tail cause 
its head to sink and emerge alternately, producing that mode of swimming which is 
technically termed “head-out.” As the lower part of the head is compressed into a kind 
of cut-water shape, there is less resistance offered to the water than if the creature swam 
entirely below the surface, as is its wont when undisturbed. It is conjectured that 
the enormous amount of oil and spermaceti which exists in the head of the Cachalot may 
be intended for the purpose of lightening the head, and enabling it to he more easily 
upon the surface. 
The “spoutings ” of the Spermaceti Whale are very peculiar, and can be recognised 
at a distance of several miles. It generally lies still while spouting, but sometimes 
proceeds gently along the surface. Firstly the “hump” becomes perceptible as_ the 
animal rises, and at some forty or fifty feet distance the snout begins to emerge. From 
the extremity of the snout is ejected a continuous stream of w ater and vapour, which 
lasts for about three seconds, and is thrown forward at an angle of forty-five degrees. 
The intervals of time between the “spoutings”” are as regular as clockwork, and their 
number is always the same in the same individual. The snout sinks under water as 
each spouting is finished, and emerges for the next respiration. Sometimes a Cachalot is 
alarmed before “the spoutings are out,” and dives below the surface. In such a ease, the 
animal soon re-appears in another spot, and completes the number of the respirations. 
The interval of time between the spoutings is ten seconds in the “ old bulls,” and as the 
animal makes between sixty and seventy of these curious respirations, the time which 
is consumed in oxygenising the blood is ten or eleven minutes. 
Having completed this business, the creature then lowers its head into the water, 
flings its tail in the air, and disappears into the far depths of the ocean, where it remains 
about an hour and ten minutes. The number and force of these “ spoutings,” together 
with the time which is consumed by respiration, and the period of the stay beneath 
the surface of the water, are extremely varied, according to the age, sex, and size of the 
individual. 
The Spermaceti Whale does not seem to choose any particular portion of the year 
for the production of its young, but is found at all seasons in charge of its offspring. 
Moreover, young Whales, or “cubs,” are found of all sizes and ages, simultaneously 
roaming the seas, either in company with their parents or turned loose upon the world 
to shift for themselves. There is but a single cub ata birth. The milk of the animal 
is exceedinely rich and thick, as indeed is the case with the milk of all Whales. 
This animal is very widely spread over the world, as it is found in almost every 
portion of the aqueous portions of the globe with the exception of the Polar Seas. 
Several of these creatures have been discovered off our own coasts, and a few have been 
stranded on the beach. A Cachalot measuring fifty-four feet in length was driven ashore 
in the Frith of Forth in 1769, and its appearance off the Orkneys is said to be no very 
uncommon occurrence, 
The BLACK-FISH has been separated from the genus Catodon, and placed in the genus 
Physeter, together with one or two other Whales, “bec ause, although they possess the huge 
truncated head and heavily armed lower jaw of the Cachalots, the “spout “holes are removed 
from the extremity of the snout and placed upon the middle of the top of the head. 
These spout-holes are separate, but are covered with a common flap. The pectoral fin is 
moderate in size, being about four feet long, and rather triangular in its form, and the 
