178 The Story of the New England Whalers 



long submergence had no injurious effect upon 

 them so far as any one could see, for they were as 

 lively as ever when revived by the return of spring. 

 If a woodchuck, having no reserve of aerated 

 blood, can endure submergence for such a length 

 of time, it is not unreasonable to suppose that 

 whales, with their enormous reserves of aerated 

 blood, might sleep under water for periods at 

 least as long as those during which they disappear 

 from their feeding grounds. 



Most remarkable, and perhaps unexplained, 

 is the ability of the whales of a school to com- 

 municate with each other. In The Whale Fish- 

 ery (p. 266) is the following: 



" It is worthy of remark that as soon as a whale 

 is harpooned the news is telegraphed through 

 some invisible agency to others of the same species, 

 though at a great distance; a general stampede 

 ensues, and with noses in the air they all rush 

 to windward." 



Bennett, the author of A Whaling Voyage 

 Around the Globe, says in regard to this habit: 



"It is a confirmed fact, and one often noticed 

 by southern whalers, that upon a cachelot being 



