82 
MARINE MAMMALS OF THE NORTH-WESTERN COAST. 
where the soundings were not over one hundred and fifty fathoms, and frequently 
not over sixty or seventy : for example, off San Bartolome Bay, coast of Califor- 
nia ; also about Point Abraojos on the same coast, and near Asuncion Island, which 
is midway between the first named points. 
It has been previously remarked that the elongated under jaw of the Sperm 
Whale, with its bristling teeth, is its chief arm of attack and defense, and the agile 
manner in which the animal uses it when upon or near the surface is quite sur- 
from the rocks. It appeared much alarmed at 
seeing me, and made every effort to escape, while 
I was not much in the humor to endeavor to 
capture so ugly a customer, whose appearance 
excited a feeling of disgust, not unmixed with 
fear. I, however, endeavored to prevent its ca- 
reer, by pressing on one of its legs with my foot ; 
but although I made use of considerable force 
for that purpose, its strength was so great that 
it several times quickly liberated its member, in 
spite of all the efforts I could employ in this 
way on wet slipjiery rocks. I now laid hold of 
one of the tentacles with my hand, and held it 
firmly, so that the limb appeared as if it would 
be torn asunder by our united strength. I soon 
gave it a powerful jerk, wishing to disengage it 
from the rocks to which it clung so forcibly by 
its suckers, which it effectually resisted; but a 
moment after, the apparently enraged animal 
lifted its head, with its large eyes projecting 
from the middle of its body, and letting go its 
hold of the rocks, suddenly sprung upon my 
arm, which I had previously bared to my shoul- 
der, for the purpose of thrusting it into holes 
in the rocks to discover shells, and clung with 
its suckers to it with great power, endeavoring 
to get its beak, which I could now see between 
the roots of its arms, in a position to bite. A 
sensation of horror pervaded my whole frame 
when I found this monstrous animal had affixed 
itself so firmly upon my arm. Its cold slimy 
grasp was extremely sickening, and I immedi- 
ately called aloud to the captain, who was also 
searching for shells at some distance, to come 
and release me from my disgusting assailant. 
He quickly arrived, and taking me down to the 
boat, during which time I was employed in 
keeping the beak away from my hand, quickly 
released me by destroying my tormentor with 
the boat -knife, when I disengaged it by por- 
tions at a time. This animal must have meas- 
ured across its expanded arms about four feet, 
while its body was not larger than a large 
clenched hand. It was that species of Sepia 
which is called by whalers 'rock squid.'" Thus 
are these remarkable creatures, from the differ- 
ent adaptation of their tentacles, and slight 
modifications of their bodies, capable of sailing, 
flying, swimming, and creeping on shore ; while 
their senses, if we may judge from the elaborate 
mechanism of their organs, must possess corre- 
sponding acuteness and perfection. But for the 
description of the anatomy of these animals, I 
must refer the reader to Mr. Owen's masterly 
paper on that subject, in Todd's Cyclopcedia of 
Anatomy, above quoted. 
Having thus quoted from Doctor Beale on 
the nature of the Sperm "Whale's food, we will 
add another quotation, relative to ambergris: 
Though ambergris, even during tbe sixteenth 
century, appeared to be much valued as a mer- 
cantile commodity by the English, it is curious 
we knew nothing of its source, and very little 
of the use which was made of it in other coun- 
tries. In the year 1672, we find the Honorable 
Bobert Boyle claiming the honor of having dis- 
covered its source, from a manuscript which was 
found on board a Dutch East-Indiaman, which 
had fallen into our hands by the chance of war. 
This precious document stated, that "amber- 
greese is not the scum or excrement of the 
whale, but issues out of the root of a tree, 
which tree, howsoever it stands on the land, 
alwaies shoots forth its roots towards the sea, 
seeking the warmth of it, thereby to deliver the 
fattest gum that comes out of it, which tree 
otherwise by its copious fatness might be burnt 
and destroyed: wherever that fat gum is shot into 
the sea, it is so tough that it is not easily 
broken from the root, unless its own weight and 
