FISHES. 40V 



This is the simple food of the great Greenland whale ; it pur- 

 sues no other animal, leads an inoffensive life in its element, and 

 is harmless in proportion to its strength to do mischief. There 

 seems to be an analogy between its manners and those of the 

 elephant. They are both the strongest and the largest animals 

 in their respective elements ; neither offer injury, but are terrible 

 when provoked to resentment. The fin-lish indeed, in some 

 measure, differs from the great whale in this particular, as it 

 subsists chiefly upon herrings, great shoals of which it is often 

 seen driving before it. Yet even the swallow of this fish is not 

 very large, if compared to the cachalot tribe ; and its ravages 

 are but sports in comparison. The stomach and intestines of 

 all these animals, when opened, seldom have any thing in them, 

 except a soft unctuous substance of a brownish colour; and their 

 excrements are of a shining red. 



As the whale is an inoffensive animal, it is not to be wondered 

 that it has many enemies willing to take advantage of its dis- 

 position, and inaptitude for combat. There is a small animal, 

 of the shell-fish kind, called the Whale-louse, that sticks to its 

 body, as we see shells sticking to the foul bottom of a ship.* 

 This insinuates itself chiefly under the fins ; and whatever efforts 

 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," says Anderson, " the whale 

 seems agitated in an extraordinary manner; leaping from the 

 water as if with affright : wherever it appears, the whale per- 

 ceives it at a distance, and flies from it in the opposite direction. 

 I have been myself," continues he, " a spectator of their terrible 

 encounter. 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 is strong, and easily avoids 

 the stroke ; then bounding into the air, it falls upon its great 

 subjacent enemy, and endeavours not to pierce with its pointed 

 beak, but to cut it with its toothed edges. The sea all about is 

 Been dyed with blood, proceeding from the wounds of the whale; 

 while the enormous animal vainly endeavours to reacli its in- 

 vader, and strikes with its tail against the surface of tiie 



* Tills ia the Lcpus Diaduina, or crown- shaped acorn :ihcll of Linnaeus. 



