CHAPTER XII 

 WHAT HAS BECOME OF THE WHALE'S LEGS 



IF a whale is struck near the tail by the harpoon 

 it is almost powerless to pull because the strain 

 on the rope straightens out its body and the ani- 

 mal can swim only with difficulty. Practically all of 

 the forward motion is developed by means of the 

 flukes and the side fins are only used as balancing 

 organs and in turning and rising to the surface. The 

 flukes are not twisted in a rotary movement like the 

 propeller of a ship, as is commonly believed, but wave 

 straight up and down. 



While hunting in Alaska I had an excellent oppor- 

 tunity to see the manner in which a whale swims. I 

 had climbed to the barrel at the masthead while we 

 were following an enormous humpback and as the 

 water was like glass save for the long swell, I could 

 see 15 or 20 feet beneath the surface. 



Suddenly the dim outlines of the whale took shape 

 in the green depths far below me but when near the 

 surface the animal checked its upward rush, turned 

 downward, and dove directly under the ship, rising 

 a hundred fathoms away on the port beam. I could 

 see every movement of the great body as clearly as 

 though the whale had been suspended in mid-air. 

 When the animal turned, the side fins were thrown 



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