The White Whale. 



the blow-hole appeared just above the water, the breath was exhaled in a 

 gentle puff, a fresh supply of air being at the same moment taken in, and 

 then the whale descended in a graceful curve, to repeat these movements 

 again and again as the necessary concomitants of its respiration. Many 

 persons present expected to see it " spout." The fact is that no whales spout, 

 and the idea that they do so is a popular error. Not a drop of water enters 

 their lungs or is ejected from the blow-hole. Tbey are obliged to come to 

 the surface at intervals to breathe the atmospheric air. In this act tho 

 spiracle is normally brought above the water, the breath escapes, and the 

 immediate inhalation is effected almost in silence. But sometimes the blow- 

 hole is opened just below the surface, and then the outrush of air causes a 

 splash upwards. 



The blowing of the Beluga is said to be not unmusical at sea. When ib 

 takes place under water it often makes a peculiar sound, which might be 

 mistaken for the whistling of a bird ; hence one of the names given to it 

 by sailors — the " sea canary." 



To return to our whale. It was a female, nine feet in length, of a very 

 interesting species. Beluga catodon, the Northern Beluga, or White "Whale. 

 The skin was creamy white, and the form very symmetrical. The broad and 

 powerful tail and the whole build of the animal seemed in every way adapted 

 to the rapid movement in water of which this species is known to be capable. 



This whale was taken on the coast of Labrador, in a seine-net in 

 shallow water, in the previous May, by Mr. Zach Coup, an American fisher- 

 man, who assisted in capturing the two specimens of the same kind which 

 were swimming in the great tank in Mr. Barnum's Museum, Nev? York, 

 when that was burned in 1865. It was put on board a sloop for Montreal, 

 thence travelled by railway to New York — a journey which occupied fourteen 

 days — and until it was shipped for England, was kept in the aquarium reser- 

 voir at Coney Island, near New York. A large sum of money was paid for it, 

 and I was shown a. policy of insurance effected on it with the Paris Marine 

 Insurance Company for £500, at eighteen guineas per cent. I suppose 

 this was the first time the life of a whale had been assured. The result 

 proved that the underwriters were justified in taking the risk. They made 

 £90 profit on the transaction. 



Some disappointment was expressed because the whale was not lai-ger. The 

 public must indeed be veiy exacting if it was not more than satisfied with 

 that which it had an opportunity of seeing. Few people are aware of the 

 great difficulty of bringing snch an animal so far, and the unwearying, inces- 

 sant attention it requires. This specimen was carried to this country under 

 the care of Mr. Zach Coup, not in a lankful of water, but lying, as I have said, 

 on a bed of wet fucus in a wooden box. Buckets of water were poured over 

 this at frequent intervals, night and day, and the blow-hole and eyes were kept 

 constantly moist ; for if the latter had become dry it would probably have 

 involved loss of vision. I was glad to see that the whale's sight was unim- 

 paired. As it will only eat that which it finds and captures in water, this 

 poor beast had nothing to eat during its voyage. The whole of the cetacea 

 can, however, endure long abstinence from food without inconvenience. 

 Immediately on its arrival a plentiful supply of live eels was placed in its tank, 

 and as it soon found its appetite for its natural food, and chased and captured 

 the eels with considerable activity, hopes were entertained that it would 

 thrive in its now home. 



