Whales as the Whalers Knew Them 183 



ear to the line and heard the whale that he had 

 struck give a deep, heavy, agonizing groan, like 

 that of a person in pain. It had been known 

 for a long time that humpback whales, black 

 fish, devil fish and other species of whales sing, 

 and that walruses and seals bark under water, 

 and it is believed that all animals having lungs 

 and living in the water, as these do, have their 

 own peculiar cry, or as whalemen express it, 

 'sing/ Whenever a whale is struck by a harpoon 

 it is noticed from the masthead that every whale 

 in sight is 'gallied,' that is, frightened. Usually 

 they disappear, but occasionally they simply 

 jump, then settle back quietly to feeding or 

 whatever they may be doing. It is particularly 

 true that sperm whales take fright when one of 

 their number is struck. No reason has ever been 

 assigned for this sudden signal of danger except 

 this 'singing' theory. It is believed that when 

 a whale is struck its cry of pain is heard by 

 every other whale in sight from aloft. 



"In January, 1887, one of the Elizas boats 

 struck a sperm whale and instantly the whole 

 school, which was three miles or more off, started 



