618 



A HISTORY OF 



half-moon : some of these are twenty feet 

 long ; they are seen In several gardens set up 

 against each other, and are usually mistaken 

 for the ribs of this animal. 



Such is the general conformation and figure 

 of this great inhabitant of the deep, the pre- 

 cise anatomy of which has not been yet ascer- 

 tained. In those places where they are caught 

 in greatest abundance, the sailors are not 

 yery curious as to the structure of the viscera ; 

 and few anatomists care to undertake a task, 

 where the operator, instead of separating with 

 a lancet, must cut his way with an axe. It is 

 as yet doubted, therefore, whether the whale, 

 that in most points internally resembles a 

 quadruped, may not have one great bowel 

 fitted entirely for the reception of air, to sup- 

 ply it, when constrained to keep longer than 

 usual at the bottom. The sailors universally 

 affirm that it has ; and philosophers have 

 nothing but the analogy of its parts to oppose 

 to their general assertions. 



As these animals resemble quadrupeds in 

 conformation, so they bear a strong resem- 

 blance in some of their appetite* and manners. 

 The female joins with the male, as is asserted, 

 more humano, and once in two years feels the 

 accesses of desire. 



Their fidelity to each other exceeds what- 

 ever we are told of even the constancy of 

 birds. Some fishers, as Anderson informs us, 

 having struck one of two whales, a male and 

 a female, that were in company together, the 

 wounded fish made a long and a terrible resis- 

 tance : it struck down a boat with three men 

 in it, with a single blow of the tail, by which 

 all went to the bottom. The other still attend- 

 ed its companion, and lent it every assistance; 

 till, at last, the fish that was struck sunk 

 under the number of its wounds ; while its 

 faithful associate, disdaining to survive the 

 loss, with great bellowing, stretched itself upon 

 the dead fish, and shared its fate. 



The whale goes with young nine or ten 

 months, and is then fatter than usual, particu- 

 larly when near the time of bringing forth. 

 It is said that the embryo, when first percep- 

 tible, is about seventeen inches long, and 

 white ; but the cub, when excluded, is black, 

 and about ten feet long. She generally pro- 

 duces one young one, and never above two. 

 When she suckles her yon rig, she throws her- 

 self on one side on the surface of the sea, and 



the young one attaches itself to the teat. The 

 breasts are two, generally hid within the belly; 

 but she can produce them at pleasure, so as 

 to stand forward a foot and a half, or two 

 feet ; and the teats are like those of a cow. 

 In some, the breasts are white; in others, 

 speckled; in all, filled with a large quantity 

 of milk, resembling that of land animals. 



Nothing can exceed the tenderness of the 

 female for her^ offspring ; she carries it with 

 her wherever' she goes, and when hardest 

 pursued, keeps it supported between her fins. 

 Even when wounded, she still clasps her 

 young one ; and when she plunges to avoid 

 danger, takes it to the bottom; but rises sooner 

 than usual, to give it breath again. 



The young ones continue at the breast for 

 a year; during which time they are called by 

 the sailors, short- heads. They are then ex- 

 tremely fat, and yield above fifty barrels of 

 blubber. The mother, at the same time, is 

 equally lean and emaciated. At the age of 

 two years they are called stunts, as they do 

 not thrive much immediately after quitting the 

 breast ; they then scarcely yield above twenty, 

 or twenty-four, barrels of blubber : from that 

 forward, they are called skull-fish, and their 

 age is wholly unknown. 



Every species of whale propagates only 

 with those of its own kind, and does not at 

 all mingle with the rest; however, they are 

 generally seen in shoals, of different kinds 

 together, and make their migrations in large 

 companies, from one ocean to another. They 

 are a gregarious animal, \\hich implies thrir 

 want of mutual defence against the invasions of 

 smaller, but more powerful fishes. It seems 

 astonishing, therefore, how a shoal of these 

 enormous animals find subsistence together, 

 when it would seem that the supplying even 

 one with food would require greater plenty 

 than the ocean could furnish. To increase 

 our wonder, we not only see them hording to- 

 gether, but usually find them fatter than any 

 other animals of whatsoever element. We 

 likewise know that they cannot swallow large 

 fishes, as their throat is so narrow, that an 

 animal larger than a herring could not enter. 

 How then do they subsist and grow so fat ? 

 A small insect, which is seen floating in those 

 seas, and which Linnaeus terms the Medusa, 

 is sufficient for this supply. These insects are 

 black, and of the size of a small bean, and 



