342 



LETTER LIY. 



full of marrow. Two enormous bones sustain the un- 

 der lip, placed against each other in the ibrm of a 

 crescent. These bones are very commonly not less 

 than twenty feet long, They are often seen standing 

 as ornaments in gardens, and are generally mistaken 

 for the whale's ribs. 



After nine or ten months of gestation, this huge 

 fish brings forth its young, which it suckles during a 

 whole y^ar, in the same manner as quadrupeds! The 

 food of the whale consists chiefly ofa small black in- 

 sect, 'about the si/:e of a bean, which is seen floating 

 us ciu.iterson the surface of the waters. 



Tltis enovmous fish, however, notwithstanding its 

 ;ious bulk ami strength, meets with a number of 

 enemies which if, cannot resist. There is a small 

 shell-fish called the water louse, which sticks to iltf 

 body, insinuates itself under the skin, and feeds upon 

 its fat. The s<,vor.a-fish is also its inveterate, and '? 

 of its most .tcrrihlt! euomits. "At, the night at* UiU 

 littie animal/' says Anderson, " the whale appears 

 agitated in an extraordinary manner, Wherever it 

 appears, the whale perceives it at^u distance, and ilie.s 

 from it in an opposite direction. "I have been my- 

 self," continues he, "a spectator of their terrible en- 

 counters. The whale has no instrument of defence 

 except its tail; with that it endeavours to strike the 

 enemy, which a single blow taking place, would effec- 

 tually destroy; but the sword fish, which is as active 

 as the other is strong, avoids the stroke. Then 

 bounding into the air, it falls upon its enemy, and en- 

 deavours not to pierce him with its pointed beak, but 

 to cut him with its toothed edges. The sea all around, 

 is immediately dyed with the blood proceeding from 

 the wounds of the whale, while the enormous animal 

 endeavours in vain to reach its assailant, and strikes 

 with its tail against the surface of the vyater, making 

 a report at each blow louder than that of a cannon.'' jjj 



There is also another, and a still more formidabl 

 enemy, called by the New England fishermen, the 

 killer. It is said that a number of these fishes sur- 

 round the whale like as many dogs baiting a bull* 



