MAMMALIA—WHALE. 399 
aarpeons, four lances, ard a crew of six men, proceed. pursuit, and; if 
possible, each boat strikes or “fastens to,” a distinct animal and each crew 
kills their own. When engaged in distant pursuit, the harpooner generally 
steers the boat, and in such cases the proper boat steezer occasionally strikes, 
but the harpooner mostly kills it. If one cachalot of a herd is struck, it 
commonly takes the lead and is followed by the rest. The one which is 
struck, seldom descends far under water, but generally swims off with great 
rapidity, stopping after a short course, so tbat the boat can be drawn up to 
it by the line, or be rowed sufficiently near to lance it. In the agonies 
of death, the struggles of the animal are truly tremendous, and the surface 
of the ocean is lashed into foam by the motions of the fins and tail. Tall 
jets of bleod are discharged from the blow-holes, which show that the 
wounds have taken mortal effect, and seeing this, the boats are kept aloof, 
lest they should be dashed to pieces by the violent efforts of the victim. 
When a herd is attacked in this way, ten or twelve of the number are 
killed. Those which are only wounded are rarely captured. After the 
cachalot is killed, the boats tuw it to the side of the ship, and if the weather 
pe fine, and other objects of chase in view, they are again sent to the attack. 
About three tons of oil are commonly obtained from a large cachalot; 
from one to two tons are procured from a small one. A cargo, produced 
from one hundred cachalots, may be from one hundred and fifty to two hun- 
dred tons of oil, besides the spermaceti, &c. 
THE SMALL, EYED, OR BLACK HEADED 
SPERMACETI WHALE, 
Is one of the most formidable monsters of the deep. It has an enormous 
dark colored head, armed with twenty-one projecting teeth on each side 
of the jaw. In a full grown specimen, these teeth are nine inches in length. 
This whale is often more than fifty feet in length, and is uncommonly 
active. Sharks, dolphins, and porpoises fall an easy prey to it. 
THE COMMON WHALE? 
Is the largest of all animals, being sometimes one hundred feet in lengtn. 
It is commonly met with from sixty to seventy feet. The head. makesa 
1 Physeter microps, LAceEp. 
2 Balena mysticetus, Lix. The genus Balena has no teeth; upper jaw keel-formed, 
furnished on each side with whalebone, or transverse horny lamina, slender, serrated, 
and attenuated at the edges; orifices of the spiracles separated, and pipeed towards the 
Beda of the upper part of the head; a dorsal fin in some species; nodosities on the back 
in others, 
