TUSK OF THE NARWHAL. 539 



becoming mothers, and forced the innate energies to expend themselves in the develop- 

 ment of tusks instead of the formation of offspring. The tusks of male swine and 

 other animals, the horns of male deer, the mane of male lions, and other similar 

 structures, appear to be safety valves to the vital energies, which in the one sex are 

 occupied in the continual formation of successive offspring, and in the other find an 

 outlet in the development of tooth, horn, and hair, according to the character of the 

 animal. In all probability, the health of the animal would greatly suffer if the cal- 

 careous and other particles which are deposited in the tusk were forced to remain in 

 the system instead of being harmlessly removed from it and placed upon its exterior. 



The ivory of the Narwhal's tusk is remarkably good in quality, being hard and solid, 

 capable of receiving a high polish, and possessing the property of retaining its beauti- 

 ful whiteness for a very long period, so that a large Narwhal horn is of no inconsider- 

 able commercial value. 



But in former days, an entire tusk of a Narwhal was considered to possess an ines- 

 timable value, for it was looked upon as the weapon of the veritable unicorn, reft from 

 his forehead in despite of his supernatural strength and superhuman intellect. Setting 

 aside the rarity of the thing, it derived a practical value from its presumed capability 

 of disarming all poisons of their terrors, and of changing the deadliest draught into a 

 wholesome beverage. 



This antidotal potency was thought to be of vital service to the unicorn, whose resi- 

 dence was in the desert, among all kinds of loathsome beasts and poisonous reptiles, 

 whose touch was death and whose look was contamination. The springs and pools at 

 which such monsters quenched their thirst were saturated with poison by their contact, 

 and would pour a fiery death through the veins of any animal that partook of the same 

 water. But the unicorn, by dipping the tip of his horn into the pool, neutralized the 

 venom, and rendered the deadly waters harmless. This admirable quality of the uni- 

 corn-horn was a great recommendation in days when the poisoned chalice crept too 

 frequently upon the festive board ; and a king could receive no worthier present than 

 a goblet formed from such valuable material. 



Even a few shavings of unicorn-horn were purchased at high prices, and the ready 

 sale for such antidotes led to considerable adulteration a fact which is piteously re- 

 corded by an old writer, who tells us that " some wicked persons do make a mingle- 

 mangle thereof, as I saw among the Venetians, being as I here say compounded with 

 lime and sope, or peradventure with earth or some stone (which things are apt to make 

 bubbles arise), and afterwards sell it for the unicorn's horn." The same writer, how- 

 ever, supplies an easy test, whereby the genuine substance may be distinguished from 

 the imposition. " For experience of the unicorn's horn to know whether it be right or 

 not ; put silk upon a burning coal, and upon the silk the aforesaid horn, and if so be 

 that it be true, the silk will not be a whit consumed." 



The native Greenlanders hold the Narwhal in high estimation ; for, independently 

 of its value, it is welcomed on each succeeding year as the harbinger of the Greenland 

 whale. 



The Narwhal is, however, of the greatest service to the Greenlanders, for its long 

 ivory tusk is admirably adapted for the manufacture of various household implements 

 and of spear-heads, so that it is the sad fate of many a Narwhal to perish by means of 

 the tooth that has been extracted from its near kinsman. It is easily killed, as it pos- 

 sesses no very great power of diving, and is soon tired out by means of the inflated 

 buoys which are attached to the harpoon, and offer so great a resistance to the water. 

 It seldom descends above two hundred fathoms below the surface, and when it again 

 rises is so fatigued that it is readily killed by a sharp spear. 



The oil which is extracted from the blubber is very delicate, but is not present in 

 very great amount, as the coating of fatty substance is seldom more than three inches 

 in depth. About half a ton of oil is obtained from a large specimen. The flesh is 

 much prized by the natives, and is not only eaten in its fresh state, but is carefully 

 dried and prepared over the fire. 



The color of this animal is almost entirely black upon the upper surface of the body, 

 but is slightly varied by streaks and patches of a deeper tint. The sides fade into 



