His CAPTORS. 121 



Sword-fish and Thrasher united against the Whale. 



ed, that a good view could not be had of them 

 to make out more nearly the description. These 

 fish attack a whale in the same way that a dog 

 baits a bull, and worry him to death. They 

 are endowed with immense strength, armed 

 with strong, sharp teeth, and generally seize 

 the whale by the lower jaw. It is said the only 

 part they eat of them is the tongue. 



The sword-fish and thrasher have been also 

 seen to attack the whale together, the sword- 

 fish driving his tremendous weapon into the 

 belly of the whale from beneath upward, and 

 the thrasher fastened to his back, and giving 

 him terrific blows with his flail. The thrasher 

 not having any power to strike through the wa- 

 ter, it has been observed by all who have wit- 

 nessed these strange combats, that it seems to 

 be the instinctive war policy of the sword-fish 

 to make his attack from below, thus causing 

 the whale to rise above the surface, which, un- 

 der the prick of the cruel sword of his ene- 

 my, he has been known to do to a great height, 

 the unrelenting thrasher meanwhile holding on 

 like a leech, and dealing his blows unsparingly 

 through the air with all the force of his lengthy 

 frame, sometimes twenty feet. 



