222 ZOOLOGY. 



or turned suddenly round, upon receiving the harpoons, 

 and, in his efforts to escape, struck the boat with his head, 

 broke it into two portions, and literally swam through 

 it. The crew escaped any serious injury, but the boat 

 was shattered beyond repair. In the same manner a 

 whale, rising suddenly to the surface of the water, may 

 encounter a boat with its head or hump, and do con- 

 siderable mischief without any vicious design. 



It is a somewhat curious fact, that notwithstanding 

 the myriads of sharks which assemble during the pur- 

 suit and cutting in of a Sperm Whale, it but seldom if 

 ever occurs that whalers receive any personal injury 

 from their attacks, although their disasters so frequently 

 plunge them into the sea, and at times when these dan- 

 gerous fish are not only numerous around them, but 

 also display a most active and ferocious disposition. It 

 would almost appear that " a fellow feeling makes them 

 wondrous kind," and that they possess a distinct per- 

 ception of the object the whaler has in view, and join 

 with him in seeking to make a common prey of the per- 

 secuted Cachalot. That the prospect of a more inviting 

 food will lead these fish to disregard man, is evinced 

 in the well known fact, that the negroes of the Bahama 

 Islands will, when employed in cutting up a stranded 

 whale, enter the water and work amidst a crowd of 

 sharks, which, eager to obtain a share of the whale, 

 will pay no attention to the men, who they would other- 

 wise attack and devour. 



