196 TEE CRUISE OF THE " CACHALOT.-" 



except that his motions were far less lively than those 

 of any bull would have been. 



The "killer," or Orca gladiator, is a true whale, but, 

 like the cachalot, has teeth. He differs from that great 

 cetacean, though, in a most important particular ; i.e. by 

 having a complete set in both upper and lower jaws, 

 like any other carnivore. For a carnivore indeed is he, 

 the very wolf of the ocean, and enjoying, by reason of 

 his extraordinary agility as well as comparative worth- 

 lessness commercially, complete immunity from attack 

 by man. By some authorities he is thought to be identical 

 with the grampus, but whalers all consider the animals 

 quite distinct. Not having had very long acquaintance 

 with them both, I cannot speak emphatically upon this 

 difference of opinion; so far as personal observation 

 goes, I agree with the whalers in believing that there is 

 much variation both of habits and shape between them. 



But to return to the fight. The first inkling I got of 

 what was really going on was the leaping of a killer high 

 into the air by the side of the whale, and descending 

 upon the victim's broad, smooth back with a resounding 

 crash. I saw that the killer was provided with a pair 

 of huge fins — one on his back, the other on his belly — 

 which at first sight looked as if they were also weapons 

 of offence. A little observation convinced me that they 

 were fins only. Again and again the aggressor leaped 

 into the air, falling each time on the whale's back, as if 

 to beat him into submission. 



The sea around foamed and boiled like a cauldron, 

 so that it was only occasional glimpses I was able to 

 catch of the two killers, until presently the worried whale 

 lifted his head clear out of the surrounding smother, 

 revealing the two furies hanging — one on either side— 



