30 Autobiography of a Sperm Whale 



I restrained myself, and following the example of my 

 chief, went on feeding, instinctively realising that 

 much food was needed to keep out the effects of the 

 cold. 



So for several days and nights we remained in this 

 prison, eating throughout every waking hour. I kept 

 returning to the icy barrier, much as I hated and feared 

 it, and even forced myself to try and wriggle beneath 

 it. And at last, as I was burrowing like a sand-groper, 

 I felt a sudden trembling of the whole vast mass above 

 me, and with a crash as if of an earthquake I was hurled 

 forward full twenty times my own length and lay 

 stunned, bleeding, and helpless. I slowly rose to the 

 surface without any volition of my own, and feebly 

 spouting, felt my senses coming back to me. I was 

 presently joined by my companions, whose admiration 

 of me now was greatly increased, for they attributed 

 their deliverance to me. But I had been so sadly 

 ill-used by that tremendous blow that, had it not been 

 for the stored-up energy of all the food I had been so 

 plentifully devouring lately, and an exceptionally 

 powerful physique, I should certainly have been un- 

 able to keep up with the school, and should probably 

 have died quietly or been slain by order of the chief. 

 Our mighty race tolerates no weaklings or cripples. 

 Putting forth all my powers, I accompanied the 

 school to the Crozets, where another rich feeding- 

 ground awaited us, and by the time we quitted there 

 I was not only fully restored to my usual vigour, 

 but was rapidly approaching the dimensions of our 

 leader. 



Now in a community like ours there are just three 

 ruling motives, each causing us to exercise all our 

 powers. First, the desire for food. Instinct assisted 

 by training teaches us whales to find it, and to that 



