262 



HISTORY OF FISHES. 



The manners and appetites both of the nar- 

 whal and the great whale are entirely similar ; 

 they both alike want teeth for chewing, and 

 are obliged to live upon insects; they both are 

 peaceable and harmless, and always rather fly 

 than seek the combat. The narwhal, how- 

 ever, has a much narrower gape than the 

 great whale, and, therefore, does not want the 

 use of barbs to keep in its food when once 

 sucked into the mouth. It is also much 

 swifter, and would never be taken by the fisher- 

 men but for those very tusks which at first 

 appear to be its principal defence. These 

 animals, as was said, being fond of living to- 

 gether, are always seen in herds of several hun- 

 dreds at a time; and whenever they are attacked 

 they crowd together in such a manner, that 

 they are mutually embarrassed by their tusks. 

 By these they are often locked together, and 

 are prevented from sinking to the bottom. It 

 seldom happens, therefore, but the fishermen 

 make sure of one or two of the hindmost, 

 which very well reward their trouble. 1 



It is from the extraordinary circumstance 

 of the teeth, therefore, that this fish demands 

 a distinct history ; arid such has been the j 

 curiosity of mankind, and their desire to pro- 1 

 cure them, that a century ago they were con- 

 sidered as the greatest rarity in the world. 

 At that time the art of catching whales was 

 not known ; and mankind saw few, except 

 such as were stranded on the coasts by acci- 

 dent. The tooth of the narwhal, therefore, 

 was ascribed to a very different animal from 

 that which really bore it. Among other fos- 

 sil substances, they were sometimes dug up ; 

 and the narwhal being utterly unknown, na- 

 turalists soon found a terrestrial owner. They 

 were thought to be the horns of unicorns, an 

 animal described by Pliny as resembling a 

 horse, and with one straight horn darting for- 

 ward from the middle of its forehead. These 

 teeth were, therefore, considered as a strong 

 testimony in favour of that historian's veracity, 

 and were shown among the most precious 

 remains of antiquity. Even for some time 

 after the narwhal was known, the deceit was 

 continued, as those who were possessed of a 

 tooth sold it to great advantage. But at pre- 

 sent they are too well known to deceive any, 

 and are only shown for what they really are ; 

 their curiosity increasing in proportion to their 

 weight and size. 



CHAP. V. 



OF THE CACHALOT, AND ITS VARIETIES." 2 



(For Great Headed Cachalot, see Plate X IT. fig. 24.) 



THE Cachalot which has generally gone 

 under the name of the spermaceti-whale, till 



2 The Spermaceti Cachalot is found in greatest abun- 

 dance in the Pacific ocean, where large numbers of them 



1 The blubber of the narwhal produces very fine oil; 

 but it is chiefly hunted for its tusk, which forms ivory 

 of a quality superior to that of the elephant. 



are annually killed by the American and other whalers 

 for the sake of their oil and spermaceti. The spermaceti 

 cachalot is gregarious, and herds are frequently seen 

 containing two hundred or more individuals. Such herds, 

 with the exception of two or three old males, are com- 

 posed of females, who appear to be under the direction 

 of the males. The males are distinguished by the whalers 

 as bulls ; the females they call cows. The bulls attack 

 with great violence, and inflict dreadful injuries upon 

 other males of the species which attempt to join their 

 herd. These animals live separately, while young, ac- 

 cording to their age and sex. The young and half grown 

 males are found by themselves ; the old cows protect the 

 young females. When the young bulls attain sufficient 

 strength, they venture into a herd under the protection 

 of some old bulls, an intrusion that is said to produce a 

 severe contest, by which they succeed in gaining admit- 

 tance to, or are driven from the herd. 



The mode of attacking these animals is as follows: 

 Whenever anumber of them are seen, four boats, each pro- 

 vided with two or three lines, two harpoons, four lances, 

 and a crew of six men, proceed in pursuit, and, if pos- 

 sible, each boat strikes or "fastens to" a distinct animal, 

 and each crew kill their own. When engaged in dis- 

 tant pursuit, the harpooner generally steers the boat, and 

 in such cases the proper boat steerer occasionally strikes, 

 but the harpooner mostly kills it. If one cachalot of a 

 herd is struck, it commonly takes the lead and is followed 

 by the rest. The one which is struck seldom descends 

 far under water, but generally swims off with great ra- 

 pidity, stopping after a short course, so that the boat can 

 be drawn up to it by the line, or be rowed sufficiently 

 near to lance it. In the agonies of death, the struggles 

 of the animal are truly tremendous, and the surface of 

 the ocean is lashed into foam by the motions of the fins 

 and tail. Tall jets of blood are discharged from the 

 blowholes, which show that the wounds have taken 

 mortal effect, and seeing this, the boats are kept aloof, 

 lest they should be dashed to pieces by the violent efforts 

 of the victim. 



When a herd is attacked in this way, ten or twelve 

 of the number are killed ; those which are only woundt'd 

 are rarely captured. After the cachalot is killed, the 



