THE PACIFIC OCEAN. 245 



his progress by gently moving his tail from side to 

 side obliquely. The bunch and hump may be seen 

 above the water, and by the disturbance which they 

 cause in cutting the fluid, some foam is produced, 

 by which an experienced whaler can judge, even at 

 some miles' distance, how fast the animal is going. 

 When disturbed, however, or from any cause in- 

 clined to increase his velocity, he uses a very dif- 

 ferent mode of progression. The broad tail now 

 strikes the water upward and downward alternately 

 with great force ; at every blow downward the fore 

 part sinks down several yards into the water, while 

 by the force of the upward blow the head is thrust 

 entirely out of the water. A vYhale can swim in 

 this manner, the head alternately appearing and 

 disappearing, which the seamen call "going head- 

 out," at the rate of twelve miles an hour. It may 

 appear surprising that so bulky a portion of the 

 animal as the enormous head, should be so easily 

 thrust into the air, the head being usually the 

 heaviest part of an animal : but here we trace the 

 beneficent hand of God in creation, the volume of the 

 head being occupied not with dense bone, but, as we 

 have seen, with an oil which is considerably lighter 

 than water, and which renders this part the most 

 buoyant of the whole body. And when we consider 

 that the breathing aperture, or blow-hole, must be 

 projected from the water for the reception of air, we 

 see the reason of this buoyancy.* 



* For most of the particulars of the history and pursuit of this 

 animal I am indebted to Mr. Beale's valuable work on the Sperm 

 Whale 



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