THE "SPOUTING" OF WHALES. 251 



themselves with diligent compilation, and thus copied and 

 transmitted the errors of their predecessors, with the 

 addition of some slight embellishments of their own. Ac- 

 cordingly, we find Olaus Magnus * describing, as follows, 

 the Physeter, or, as his translator, Streater, calls it, the 

 Whirlpool " The Physeter or Pristis" he says, " is a kind 

 of whale, two hundred cubits long, and is very cruel. For, 

 to the danger of seamen, he will sometimes raise himself 

 above the sail-yards, and casts such floods of waters above 

 his head, which he had sucked in, that with a cloud of 

 them he will often sink the strongest ships, or expose the 

 manners to extreme danger. This beast hath also a large 

 round mouth, like a lamprey, whereby he sucks in his meat 

 or water, and by his weight cast upon the fore or hinder 

 deck, he sinks and drowns a ship." 



Figures 25 and 26 (p. 252) are facsimiles of the illustra- 

 tions which accompany the above description. It will be 

 seen that, in the first, the Physeter is depicted as uprearing 

 a maned neck and head, like that of a fabled dragon ; 

 whilst in Fig. 26 it is shown as a whale flinging itself on 

 board a ship, which is sinking under its ponderous weight. 

 In both, torrents of water are issuing from its head, and 

 it is evident that they are merely exaggerated misrepre- 

 sentations of the " spouting " of whales. 



Gesner copies many of 'Olaus Magnus's illustrations, and 

 improves upon Fig. 26 by putting a numerous crew on 

 board the ship. The unfortunate sailors are depicted in 

 every attitude of terror and despair, and seem to be in- 

 capacitated from any attempt to save themselves by the 

 flood of water which the whale is deliberately pouring upon 

 them from its blow-holes. 



* ' Historia dc Gentibus SeptentrionalibusJ lib. xxi. cap. vi. A.D. 



