THE SULPHURBOTTOM WHALE. 73 



dines and prawns mth which the waters were enlivened ; and the whales, when in 

 a state of lassitude from excessive feeding, would frequently remain nearly motion- 

 less ten to twenty miiiutes at a time, thus giving the whaleman an excellent oppor- 

 tunity to shoot his bomb -lance into a vital part, causing almost instant death. 



The enormous size of the Sibhaldius sulfureus is not easily to be comprehended 

 by the reader, when compared even with the lesser rorquals, or the mysticetus, or 

 the Cachalot. In 18G2, the whalemen at Monterey, California, killed one of these 

 immense animals which measured ninety- two feet in length. Before they could tow 

 it to the station, it became "blasted;"''' but on arrival, no effort was spared to 

 strip the colossal prize of its fatty covering. Accordingly, their "purchases" were 

 applied to roll the swollen creature over upon the beach ; but in so doing, the 

 capstan, which was firmly placed on the bank, and had lifted many a large whale, 

 was torn up and the "falls" were parted. Finally the whalemen gave up the under- 

 taking, and only cut off the fat that could be reached above water. In contempla- 

 ting this, the greatest whale of the ocean, one can but admire its prominent char- 

 acteristics, which are its enormous yet symmetrical proportions, and the muscular 

 development which enables it to excel in velocity all its congeners, while its whole 

 bearing indicates its superiority to all the other Cetaceans. It glides over the sur- 

 face of the ocean, occasionally displaying its entire length. When it respires, the 

 volume of its vaporous breath ascends to a heiglit which reveals at once, to the 

 observer, the presence of that leviathan of the deep, whose capture baffles the 

 practical skill of the most experienced whalers. When "rounding" to descend to 

 the depths below, it throws its ponderous flukes high above the waves, v/ith a 

 swoop that is well in keeping with its matchless strength and vigor. 



* "Blasted" is a wlialer's term for being mucli swollen. 



Maetne Mammais.— 10. 



