WHALES AND MERMAIDS 323 



be harpooned before the one previously struck is killed, 

 the hunters will often capture a whole herd, frequently 

 taking ten, and sometimes fifteen, before the hold on them 

 is lost. They come from every point of the compass 

 toward the struck one in the most mysterious manner. 

 They have great endurance, and are very difficult to kill, 

 seldom taking less than from three hundred to four 

 hundred fathoms of line, and stray, full-grown males 

 will run out seven hundred fathoms, remaining under 

 water for the long period of two hours, coming to the 

 surface again as fresh as if they had never been away ; 

 and if they are relieved of the weight by the lines being 

 hauled in off them before they receive a second harpoon 

 and a well-placed lance or two, it often takes hours 

 to kill them. They never die without a hard struggle, 

 lashing the sea white about them, leaping out of the 

 water, striking the boats with their tails, running against 

 them with their heads, and sometimes staving the planks 

 in, and freequently towing two heavy whale-boats about 

 after them with great rapidity. The young are black, the 

 old light brown, and the very old almost yellow. The 

 jaws, front of the head, and a band round the neck, white. 

 The belly greyish white. Their tails are not notched in 

 the centre as are those of most other whales. They can 

 leap many feet out of the water, even having time while in 

 the air to turn round their heads and look about them, 

 taking the water head first, and not falling helplessly 

 into it sideways, like the larger whales. A full-grown 

 specimen will yield two tons of oil, besides two hundred- 

 weight of spermaceti. They live on cuttle-fishes. Certain 

 allied species from a small group characterised by having 

 a considerable sized tooth on either side of the lower 

 jaw. One of these, named after Mr. Layard, has a pair 

 which, as age advances, become very long, narrow, flat, 



