GREAT WHALE. Ill 



kinds. The young ones are fed with milk, supplied from 

 teats, which are situated near the tail of the parent. They 

 are found, almost exclusively, in the northern parts of the 

 Atlantic Ocean ; and are objects of eager pursuit to the 

 Greenlanders, who feed upon their flesh, and use the oil 

 for domestic purposes. The weapon of the Narwal is a 

 valuable kind of ivory, being hard, close-grained, and 

 capable of receiving a very high polish. 



The greater part of the animals have only one weapon. 

 The head and the fins are small. The eyes are peculiarly 

 minute. The skin is generally of a white colour, marked 

 with black spots, particularly on the upper parts of the 

 body. 



45. WHALE TRIBE. 



The utility of the oil and whalebone produced from 

 these animals, has rendered them an object of eager pur- 

 suit to mankind. They are chiefly found in the Northern 

 Ocean. 



Great Whale. When we reflect upon the enormous 

 length and bulk of this animal, we are overwhelmed with 

 astonishment. Of the length of from sixty to a hundred 

 feet and upwards, and of proportionate girth, it positively 

 exceeds the dimensions of the towers of many of our 

 churches. Its head is immense, constituting nearly one- 

 third of the whole body ; and the mouth forms a prodi- 

 gious cavity. The tongue, which adheres by its under 

 surface to the lower jaw, is as large as a feather-bed. 

 Notwithstanding all these circumstances, the eyes are as 

 small as those of the ox, and the gullet not more than four 

 or five inches in width. These animals swim with won- 

 derful rapidity ; and, having no other weapon than their 



