THE NARWHAL. 131 



is probably only in defence of the females and their 

 young, unless, indeed, when attacked himself, that the 

 male narwhal thus rushes against ships or boats ; for we 

 utterly discredit the usual accounts of its causeless and 

 indiscriminate attacks upoti any object which approaches 

 within its range. Doubtless when wounded and harassed 

 it becomes desperate ; and its power, its velocity, and its 

 weapon, combine to render it formidable. 



The narwhal is gregarious, associating in troops of from 

 six or eight to twenty or more ; and numbers are often 

 seen clustered together, both in the open sea, and in bays 

 and inlets free from the ice, forming a compact phalanx, 

 moving gently and slowly along. Under such circum- 

 stances the independent movements of each individual are 

 necessarily embarrassed, so that a considerable slaughter 

 may be easily effected among them. When attacked at 

 such a time, the hind ranks, instead of turning against 

 their assailants, press upon those before, sliding their long 

 weapons over the glossy backs of their leaders, and all 

 becomes disorder and confusion. Opportunities of this 

 kind are welcome to the Greenlanders, to whom the nar- 

 whal is an important animal. Independently of the oil, 

 which the narwhal yields in considerable quantity, and of 

 excellent quality, the flesh is much esteemed by these peo- 

 ple as food, and eaten both fresh and in a dried and 

 smoked state, being prepared over the fire of their huts. 

 The tendons of the muscles are useful in the preparation 

 of thin but tough cordage ; and Duharnel states that seve- 

 ral membranous sacs obtained from the gullet, are made 

 use of as parts of their fishing apparatus. The ivory 

 spear, or tusk, the Greenlanders employ in various house- 

 hold and economical purposes, instead of wood, and in the 

 manufacture of weapons, as darts, arrows, &c. When 

 struck by a harpoon, the narwhal dives with great velocity, 

 and in the same manner as the whale, but not to the same 

 extent. In general it descends about two hundred fathoms ; 



