214 DESCRIPTION OF BELUGA, 



eight feet beneatli the surface, and we in- 

 stantly followed this up with another, for fear 

 it should draw; a vigorous application of the 

 lance, accompanied by a jyeculisiv ptimjj-handling 

 motion of the weapon, soon settled the business, 

 and getting a running noose round his tail, we 

 towed him along to the sloop. Many others 

 now appeared close round the boat, the old 

 ones white and shiny, like immense shapes of 

 blane-mange, and the young ones of a dusky 

 grey in colour ; I could easily have shot more, 

 but being incommoded by the dead one towing 

 astern, we should not have been able to secure 

 them, as this whale sinks when dead. 



We hove our victim on deck, with some 

 difficulty, by means of two strong tackles at- 

 tached to the rigging and one of the boat's 

 davits, and proceeded to examine him. He 

 was fourteen feet long, by about ten feet in 

 circumference, and of a snow-white colour all 

 over. His skin was perfectly smooth and 

 rather shiny. The head was very small and 

 round. He had a row of small teeth in both 

 jaws. No dorsal fin. The eyes and ears were 

 both extremely small. The skin was of a 

 curious, gristly, gelatinous consistency, and cut 

 very readily with a knife ; it was about half an 



