BALJENA. 



vast height, and with a great noise, espe- 

 cially when disturbed or wounded ; the 

 eyes are placed towards the back of the 

 head, being the most convenient situation 

 for enabling them to see both before and 

 behind ; as also to see over them, where 

 their food is principally found. They are 

 guarded by eye-lids and eye-lashes, as in 

 quadrupeds ; and the animals seem to be 

 very sharp-sighted. Nor is their sense of 

 hearing irt less perfection ; for they are 

 warned at a great distance of any danger 

 preparing against them. It is true, in- 

 deed, that the external organ of hearing 

 is not perceptible, for this might only em- 

 barrass them in their natural element ; 

 "but as soon as the thin scarff skin is re- 

 moved, a black spot is discovered behind 

 the eye, and under that is the auditory ca- 

 nal that leads to a regular apparatus for 

 hearing. In short, the animal hears the 

 smallest sounds at very great distances, 

 and at all times, except when it is spout- 

 ing water, which is the time that the fish- 

 ers approach to strike it. What is called 

 whalebone adheres to the upper jaw, and 

 is formed of thin parallel laminae, some 

 of the longest four yards in length ; of 

 these there are commonly 350 on each 

 aide, but in very old fish more. They 

 breed only once in two years. Their 

 fidelity to each other exceeds whatever 

 we are told even of the constancy of 

 fcirds. Some fishers, as Anderson, in- 

 forms us having struck one of two whales, 

 a male and a female, that were in compa- 

 ny together, the wounded fish made a 

 Jong and terrible resistance ; it struck 

 down a boat with three men in it, with 

 a single blow of its tail, by which all went 

 to the bottom. The other still attended 

 its companion, and lent it every assist- 

 ance ; till at last, the fish that was struck 

 sunk under the number of its wounds ; 

 while its faithful associate, disdaining to 

 survive the loss, with great bellowing, 

 stretched itself upon the dead fish, and 

 shared its fate. The whale goes with 

 young nine or ten months, and is then 

 fatter than usual, particularly when near 

 the time of bringing forth. It is said that 

 the embryo, when first perceptible, is 

 about seventeen inches long, and white ; 

 but the cub, when excluded, is black, and 

 about ten feet long. She generally pro- 

 duces one young one, and never above 

 two When she suckles her young, she 

 throws herself on one side on the surface 

 of the sea, and the young one attaches 

 itself to the teat. Nothing can exceed 

 the tenderness of the female for her off- 

 spring. Even when wounded, she still 



clasps her young one ; and when she 

 plunges to avoid danger, takes it to the 

 bottom; but rises sooner than usual, to 

 give it breath again. The young ones 

 continue at the breast for a year, during 

 which time they are called, by the sailors, 

 short-heads. They are then extremely 

 fat, and yield above fifty barrels of blub- 

 ber. The mother at the same time is 

 equally lean and emaciated. In the year 

 1814, one of this species was killed, that 

 had made its way up the Delaware river, 

 and grounded in shoal water near the: 

 falls ; it proved to be a young one, and 

 was exhibited in Philadelphia. Balaena 

 physalus, or fin fish, is distinguished from 

 the common whale by a fin on the back, 

 placed very low and near the tail. The 

 length is equal to that of the common 

 kind, but much more slender. It is fur- 

 nished with whalebone in the upper jaw, 

 mixed with hairs, but short and knotty, 

 and of little value The blubber also in 

 the body of this kind is very inconsidera- 

 ble. These circumstances, added to its 

 extreme fierceness and agility, which ren- 

 der the capture very dangerous, cause 

 the fishers to neglect it. The natives of 

 Greenland, however, hold it in great 

 esteem, as it affords a quantity of flesh, 

 which, to their palate, is very agreeable. 

 The lips are brown, and like a twisted 

 rope ; the spout hole is seemingly split in 

 the top of its head, through which it 

 blows water with much more violence, 

 and to a greater height, than the common 

 whale. The fishers are not very fond of 

 seeing it, for on its appearance the others 

 retire out of those seas. It feeds on her- 

 ring and small fish. Inoffensive as the 

 whale is, it is not without enemies. There 

 is a small animal of the shell-fish kind, 

 called the whale-louse, rhat sticks to its 

 body, as we see shell sticking to the foul 

 bottom of a ship. This insinuates itself 

 chiefly under the fins ; and whatever ef- 

 forts the great animal makes, it still keeps 

 its hold, and lives upon the fat, which it 

 is provided with instruments to arrive 

 at. The sword-fish, however, is the 

 whale's most terrible enemy. At the 

 sight of this little animal, the whale 

 seems agitated in an extraordinary man- 

 ner, leaping from the water as if with 

 affright : whenever it up ;ears, the -vhale 

 perceives it at a distance, and flies trom 

 it in the opposite direction. The whale 

 has no instrument of defence, except the 

 tail ; with that it endeavours to strike the 

 enemy; and a single blow taking place 

 would effectually destroy its adversary ; 

 but the sword-fish is as active as the other 



