MAMMALIA— WHALE. 401 



pany together, the ■wounded fish made a long and terrible resistance; it 

 struck down a boat with three men in it, with a single blow of the tail, by 

 which all went to the bottom. The other still attended its companion, and 

 lent it every assistance ; till, at last, the fish that was struck sunk under the 

 number of its wounds : while its faithful associate, disdaining to survive 

 the loss, with great bellowing, stretched itself upon the dead fish, and shared 

 his fate. 



The whale goes with young nine or ten months, and is then fatter than 

 usual, particularly when near the time of bringing forth. The young ones 

 continue at the breast for a year ; during which time they are called by the 

 sailors, short heads. They are then extremely fat, and yield above fifty 

 barrels of blubber. The mother, at the same time, is equally lean and 

 emaciated. At the age of two years, they are called stunts, as they do not 

 thrive much immediately after quitting the breast; they then yield scarce 

 above twenty or twenty-four barrels of blubber. From that time forward 

 they are called shull fish, and their age is wholly unknoAvn. The food 

 of the whale, is a small insect, which is seen floating in those seas, and 

 which LinnaBus terms the medusa. These insects are black, and of the size 

 of a small bean, and are sometimes seen floating in clusters on the surface 

 of the water. They are of a round form, like snails in a box, but they have 

 wings, which are so tender that it is scarce possible to touch them without 

 breaking. These, however, serve rather for swimming than flying. They 

 have the taste of raw muscles, and have the smell of burnt sugar. Inoffen- 

 sive as the whale is, it is not without enemies. There is a small animal, 

 of the shell-fish kind, called the whale louse, that sticks to its body, as we 

 see shells sticking to the foul bottom of a ship. This insinuates itself 

 chiefly under the fins ; and whatever efibrts the great animal makes, it still 

 keeps its hold, and lives upon the fat, which it is provided with instru- 

 ments to arrive at. 



The sword-fish, however, is the whale's most terrible enemy. "At the 

 sight of this little animal," says Anderson, " the whale seems agitated in 

 an extraordinary manner, leaping from the water as if with affright ; wher- 

 ever it appears, the whale perceives it at a distance, and flies from it in the 

 opposite direction. I have been myself, a spectator of their terrible encoun- 

 ter. The v/hale has no instrument of defence except the tail ; with that 

 it endeavors to strike the enemy ; and a single blow taking place, would 

 effectually destroy its adversary. But the sword-fish is as active as the 

 other is strong, and easily avoids the stroke ; then bounding into the air, it 

 falls upon its enemy, and endeavors not to pierce with its pointed beak, 

 but to cut with its toothed edges. The sea all about is soon dyed with 

 blood, proceeding from the wounds of the whale ; while the enormous 

 animal vainly endeavors to reach its invader, and strikes with its tail 

 against the surface of the water, making a report at each blow louder thaa 

 the noise of a cannon." 



51 



