MARINE 3IAMMALS OF THE NORTH-WESTERN COAST. 



where the soundings were not over one hundred and fifty fathoms, and frequently 

 not over sixty or seventy : for example, off San Bartolome Bay, coast of Califor- 

 nia ; also about Point Abraojos on the same coast, and near Asuncion Island, which 

 is midway between the first named points. 



It has been previously remarked that the elongated under jaw of the Sperm 

 Whale, with its bristling teeth, is its chief arm of attack and defense, and the agile 

 manner in which the animal uses it when upon or near the surface is quite sur- 



from the rocks. It appeared much alarmed at 

 seeing me, and made everj' effort to escape, while 

 I was not mucli in the humor to endeavor to 

 capture so ugly a customer, whose apj^earance 

 excited a feeling of disgust, not unmixed with 

 fear. I, however, endeavored to prevent its ca- 

 reer, by pressing on one of its legs with my foot ; 

 but although I made use of considerable force 

 for that purpose, its strength was so great that 

 it several times quietly liberated its member, in 

 spite of all the efforts I could employ in this 

 way on wet slippeiT' rocks. I now laid hold of 

 one of the tentacles with my hand, and held it 

 firmly, so that the limb appeared as if it would 

 be torn asunder by our united strength. I soon 

 gave it a powerful jerk, wishing to disengage it 

 from the rocks to which it clung so forcibly by 

 its suckers, which it eifectually resisted ; but a 

 moment after, the apparently em-aged animal 

 lifted its head, with its large eyes projecting 

 from the middle of its body, and letting go its 

 hold of the rocks, suddenly sprung upon my 

 arm, which I had previously bared to my shoul- 

 der, for the purpose of thrusting it into holes 

 in the rocks to discover shells, and clung with 

 its suckers to it with great power, endeavoring 

 to get its beak, which I could now see between 

 the roots of its arms, in a position to bite. A 

 sensation of horror pervaded my whole frame 

 when I found this monstrous animal had affixed 

 itself so firmly upon my arm. Its cold slimy 

 grasp was extremely sickening, and I immedi- 

 ately called aloud to the captain, who was also 

 searching for shells at some distance, to come 

 and release me from my disgusting assailant. 

 He quickly arrived, and taking me down to the 

 boat, during which time I was employed in 

 keeping the beak away from my hand, c[uickly 

 released me by destroying my tormentor with 

 the boat-knife, when I disengaged it by por- 

 tions at a time. This animal must have meas- 



ured across its expanded arms about four feet, 

 while its body was not larger than a large 

 clenched hand. It was that species of SejAa 

 which is called by whalers 'rock squid.'" Thus 

 are these remarkable creatures, from the differ- 

 ent adaptation of their tentacles, and slight 

 modifications of their bodies, capable of sailing, 

 flying, swimming, and creeping on shore ; while 

 their senses, if we may judge from the elaborate 

 mechanism of their organs, miist possess corre- 

 sponding acuteness and perfection. But for the 

 description of the anatoniy of these animals, I 

 must refer the reader to Mr. Owen's masterly 

 pap)er on that subject, in Todd's Gyclopcedia of 

 Anatomy, above cjuoted. 



Having thus quoted from Doctor Beale on 

 the nature of the Sperm "Whale's food, we will 

 add another c^uotation, relative to ambergris: 



Though ambergris, even during the sixteenth 

 centuiy, apj^eared to be much valued as a mer- 

 cantile commodity by the English, it is curious 

 we knew nothing of its source, and very little 

 of the use which was made of it in other coun- 

 tries. In the year 1672, we find the Honorable 

 Eobert Boyle claiming the honor of having dis- 

 covered its source, from a manuscript which was 

 found on board a Dutch East-Indiamau, which 

 had fallen into our hands by the chance of war. 

 This precious document stated, that "amber- 

 greese is not the scum or excrement of the 

 whale, but issues out of the root of a tree, 

 which tree, howsoever it stands on the land, 

 alwaies shoots forth its roots towards the sea, 

 seeking the warmth of it, thereby to deliver the 

 fattest gum that comes out of it, which tree 

 otherwise by its copious fatness might be burnt 

 and destroyed : wherever that fat gum is shot into 

 the sea, it is so tough that it is not easily 

 broken from the root, unless its own weight and 



