I 



! 242 DIVISION I. VERTEBRAL ANIMALS. — CLASS I. MAMMALIA. 



■\vllli death, aiul uttering frightful cries.'' Tliese animals were undouhtedly 



I whales, of sonic large species, which had been driven Ijy the tempest upon the 



I : shoals, whence they could not extricate themselves, and consequently, accord- 



! ing to their habit, raised a mighty voice, which was at the same time a note 



I ' of terror and a call to their fellows for aid. It is \vell known that whales 



have some extraordinary means of almost instant communication with each 



' , other under water, to the extent even of six or seven miles ; and as water is 



I i a better conductor of sound than the air, it may l)e that this inter-connnuni- 



cation is eilcctcd by the voice. A most wondcri'ul provision of Nature, 



truly ! Imagine these iiugc creatures holding converse with each other 



beneath the wave, though miles apart, and Avhen attacked Ijy some formidable 



foe, sending the word of warning through the Ijriny medium to their far-off 



companions, and summoning them to hasten to their assistance ! 



In regard to the organs of sense in this order, and to what extent they 

 arc possessed, naturalists are not agreed. Eespecting the sense of smell, for 

 example, the early whalemen and tlie authors assert that the faculty exists in 

 all the species in great perfection. Anderson, who has given us an excellent 

 account of Greenland and Iceland, relates that when the inhabitants of the 

 Feme Isles jicrceived that their boats were pursued by the sperm whale, 

 \ they threw some castor overboard, which made him sink to the bottom like 



I ; a stone. Ginger was celebrated I'or similar virtues, and also sulphur, chalk, 

 ! ' and the lilood of animals ; and yet the anatomists affirm that in most of the 

 J species there is no appearance of the olfactory nerve, and even Cuvicr, iii 

 I J 1823, remarked that the cetaceans had no olfactory nerve, nor the usual 

 organ of smell. It is now, however, generally Conceded that tlie true whales 

 and the rorquals are endowed with tliis faculty, while in all the rest it is 

 wanting. We are not quite sure that this opinion should be accepted as abso- 

 lutely correct. 



The organs of vision appear to be better adapted to the inspection of sub- 

 marine objects than of those above the surface. .Speaking of the Greenland 

 whales, Scoresby says that above the water they do not see far, but wlien 

 beneath, the sense of seeing is very acute, since they can discover one another, 

 in clear water, at an amazing distance. They ajipear to Ijc well fiu-nishcd, also, 

 with the faculty of hcariiirj; but the senses of lasle and /ouch are said to be 

 very obtuse, if not wholly wanting. Their mental powers, dispositions, and 

 other interesting particulars regarding their peculiar habits and instincts, will 

 be described when we come to narrate the history of the several species. 

 "We will iiere, therefore, only observe that they are sociable and amiable, 

 mutually and freely rendering each other assistance when in danger, and 

 strongly attached to their offspring, which the mothers nurse and rear with 

 extraordinary care and tenderness. 



