ORDER VI. THE CETACEA. 



247 



to pieces — the wliale is laslicJ by cliains to the vessel's sulc, stripped of 

 his valuable tut, and then left to tiout, a wortliiess carcass, on tlie Jieavini;- 

 ocean. 



And now, man having taken his share, tiicre begins a magnificent feast 

 for birds and lislies. Crowds of fulmars, snowbirds or kittiwakes, flock to- 

 gether from all sides to enjoy tiie delicious repast ; but tlieir delight is but 

 too often disturbed by their terrible rival, the blue gull {Lrtruts (jlancioi) , 

 which, while it ri\als tliem in rapacity, surpasses them all in strength, and 

 forces them to disgorge tiic daintiest morsels. jNIeanwhilc sharks, saw-(isiies, 

 and wliatever else possesses sharp teeth, and boldness enough to mix among 

 such formidable company, are busy biting, hacking, scooping, and cutting 

 below the water-line, so that in a short time, notwithstanding its vast bulk, 

 the carrion disappears. 



The catching of the wliale does not always end so fortunately as has just 

 been described. Sometimes the line becomes entangled, and drags tlu; boat 

 into the abyss ; or the tail of the animal, sweeping rapidly through the air, 

 either descends upon the shallop, cutting it d(jwn to the water's edge, or en- 

 counters in its course some of the crew standing up (sucii as tiie headsman 

 or harpooner), who are carried away and destroyed. Thus ilr. Yoinig, 

 chief mate of the "Tuscan," was seen flying through the air at a considerable 

 height, and to the distance of nearly forty yards from the boat, ere he fell 

 into the water, where he remained floating motionless on the surface for a 

 few moments, and then sank and was seen no more. 



Sometimes, particularly among the sperm whales, desperate characters are 

 found, tiiat, without waiting for the attack, rush fm-iously against th.c boats 

 sent out against them, and seem to love fighting for its own sake. Bennett 

 describes an encounter of this kind which he witnessed in the South Sea. 

 "The first effort of the whale was to rush against the boat with his head. 

 Having been baffled by the crew steering clear, he next attempted to crush 

 it with his jaws; failing again, through the unaccommodating position of his 

 mouth, he remedied this defect with much sagacity ; for, approaching im- 

 petuously from a distance of forty yards, he turned upon his back, raising his 

 lower jaw to grasp the boat from above. A lance wound, however, applied 

 in time, caused him to close his mouth; but continuing to advance, he 

 struck the boat 'with such force that he nearly overturned it, and concluded 

 by again turning on his back and thrusting his lower jaw through the planks. 

 Fortunately the other boats came up to the rescue, and an addition of many 

 tons of sperm to the ship's cargo made up for the damaged boat." 



The cetaceans are separated into seventeen genera, which comprise about 

 thirty species. "When quite a youth we had many opportunities of observing 

 several of them in their native haunts, and often assisted in their capture. 



