OF THE CETACEA. 55 



whale that " whales have no voice ;" and this is 

 generally applied to all the other species. There is, 

 however, a difficulty in adopting this conclusion, 

 from the amount of testimony which affirms that 

 they bellow loudly, under certain circumstances. 

 In proof of this we do not go hack to such state- 

 ments as Anderson's concerning the rorqual, or to 

 the Abbe Lecoz's regarding the sperm whale, or to 

 the older voyagers, who often state that they heard 

 them utter terrible cries, but we shall come to more 

 recent occurrences. In January 1812, some fishers 

 of Paimpol observing a number of small whales of 

 the porpoise genus at some distance from shore, 

 supplied themselves with arms and gave chase, en- 

 deavouring to drive them towards the shore. They 

 succeeded in frightening them, and hunted one of 

 the smallest of them from the deep. When stranded 

 in shallow water it began to utter cries, which 

 speedily brought others, among the first of which 

 its mother was supposed to be one. She, however, 

 was accompanied with many ; the cries were aug- 

 mented according as the number of those in peril 

 was increased, and finally they all, to the number of 

 seventy, violently precipitated themselves among the 

 shallows and were taken. Cuvier, who received the 

 details of this occurrence and published them (Ann. 

 du Museum, torn. xix. 1.), subjoins the following 

 remark : " As to their power of uttering cries and 

 bellowings, more or less acute, we cannot, after the 

 assertions which have been made by those who 

 heard them, any longer entertain a doubt/' Is it 



