pi THE NARWfiAt* 



Inariner ; arid in all the varieties of the horn, whefhe? 

 wreathed or ftnooth, bended or flraight, it is uniformly 

 ilrong, fliarp, and deeplj fixed. There can be no doubt^ 

 but that an inllrument of this nature is intended for the 

 defence of the animal on which it is bellowed. It is 

 thus that the narwtial ufes it; whenever it is urged to 

 employ this terrible inllrument, it drives dire*3:ly forward 

 sgainil its enemy, and pierces him through. 



But notwithftanding this implement of war, and its 

 amuzing velocity and Itrength, the narwhal is one of the 

 moll harnikfs and peaceable inhabitants of the ocean. It 

 wants teeih for chevi^ing, and a throat for fwallowing any 

 bulky prey: Of conlequence it commits hoftility againil 

 no animal ; but is canftandy feen fporting inoffenlively 

 among the great monlters of the deep, never attempting 

 to injure any of them. It is called by the Greenlanders 

 the forerunner of the whale ; for wherever it is feen, 

 that filh feldom fails foon to appear. The manners of 

 thcfe two fpecies nearly refemble each other ; the food 

 of both isthofe infects which we have already defcribed j 

 and both are peaceable and innocent, though qualified by 

 their itrength or their arms to fpread general deitruc* 

 tion *. 



So little does this fifli avail itfelf of thofe implements 

 with which nature has provided it, that they appear ra- 

 ther an impediment, than a means of defence. It is at 

 no pains to keep them in I'epair for adtion ; but on the 

 contrary, the tooth is conftantly feen covered with weeds, 

 fl^me, and all the filth of the fea. In one inllance they 

 evidently operate to the dellrudion of the owners; for 

 the narwhals being gregarious animals, they are no 



fooner 



« GoldfralUi'a Nat, Hift, 



