iGO HISTORY OF 



on every side. The ])eople from shore soon saw tlieir situation, 

 and drove down npon them in boats, with such weapons as the 

 urgent occasion offered. The two animals were soon wounded 

 in several places, and the whole sea round was tinctured with 

 their blood. The whales made several attempts to escape ; and 

 at last the old one, by its superior strength, forced over the shal- 

 low into the depths of the ocean. But though in safety herself, 

 she could not bear the danger that awaited her young one ; she 

 therefore rushed in once more where the smaller animal was im- 

 prisoned, and resolved, when she could not protect, at least to 

 share its danger. — Tlie story ends with poetical justice ; for the 

 tide coming in, brought off both in safety from their enemies, 

 though not without sustaining an infinite number of wounds in 

 every part. 



As to the rest, the distinctive marks of this tribe are, that the 

 number of their fins never exceed three ; namely, two pectoral 

 fins, and one back fin ; but in some sorts the last is wanting. 

 These fins differ very much from those of other fishes, which 

 are formed of straight spines : the fins of the cetaceous tribe are 

 made up of bones and muscles ; and the skeleton of one of their 

 fins, very much resembles the skeleton of a man's hand. Their 

 tails also are different from those of all other fish ; they are 

 placed so as to lie flat on the surface of the water ; while the 

 other kinds have them, as we every day see, upright or edge- 

 ways. This flat position of the tail in cetaceous animals, enables 

 them to force themselves suddenly to the surface of the water to 

 breathe, which they are continually constrained to do. 



Of these enormous animals some are without teeth, and pro- 

 perly called whales : others have the teeth only in the lower 

 jaw, and are called, by the French, cachalots : the narwhal has 

 teeth only in the upper jaw : the dolphin's teeth as well as those 

 of the porpoise and grampus, are both above and below. These 

 are the marks that serve to distinguish the kinds of this enor- 

 nious tribe from each other; and these shall serve to guide us 

 HI giving their history. 



