232 The Under-Water World 



in this case being floods of sea water 

 filled with countless myriads of tiny 

 crustaceans and molluscs. Not all 

 whales are such harmless monsters as 

 the species supplying the whalebone. 

 The Cachalot, or Killer, is amongst the 

 most dangerous of sea beasts. In olden 

 times when whalers set off in a small 

 boat to chase the Cachalot the whale 

 often turned the tables on his tormentors. 

 When the rowing boat approached and 

 the harpooner, standing in the bows, 

 lodged his spear in the quarry, the boat 

 was not infrequently capsized by a blow 

 from the animal's tail. The whale, in its 

 death agonies, might even leap clear out 

 of the water and fall back upon the 

 boat. 



Certain authorities point out that if 

 there is any truth in the ancient narrative 

 of Jonah and the whale the large " fish " 

 in question must be the Sperm Whale 

 or Cachalot. 



