Whales as the Whalers Knew Them 189 



weapon into the whale's body. If he is slow in 

 doing so, or if a passing wave drops the boat 

 unexpectedly in contact with the whale before 

 the harpoon is thrown, the whale usually sinks 

 as swiftly as if it were a mass of lead; the har- 

 pooner is never able to strike his weapon into 

 the whale after it has thus begun to sink. 



Captain Davis described a peculiarity of the 

 right whale as follows : 



"On the tip of the upper jaw there is a spot 

 of very limited extent seemingly as sensitive in 

 feeling as the antennae of an insect. However 

 swiftly the right whale may be advancing on 

 the boat, a slight prick on this point will arrest 

 his forward motion at once. I think it safe to 

 say he will not advance a single yard after the 

 prick is given. He will either pitch his head 

 and round down like a great wheel turning on 

 a fixed axis, or he will turn shortly to the right 

 or left according to the part of the nose which 

 is pricked. Sometimes he will throw his enormous 

 head straight into the air and settle backward 

 tail first, by this motion exposing his whole throat 

 to the thrust of the harpoon or lance; he may 



