NATURAL HISTORY of NORW A T. n$ 



treated of, plagues the Whale with his fharp teeth, and tears 

 great pieces of flefh out of him. "The Whale not only makes 

 a mofl melancholy and frightful noife when thus bitten, in order 

 to free himfelf from thefe troublefome companions, but will leap 

 a confiderable height. In thefe leaps he fometimes raifes him- 

 felf quite perpendicular above the furface of the water, and then 

 plunges himfelf down with fuch violence into the deep, that 

 if his head flrikes againft any of thofe hidden rocks that are 

 in the {hallows, he fraftures his skull, and comes initantly floating 

 up again dead. By this we fee that there is no creature in this 

 world fo great as to be exempt from calamities and misfortunes ; 

 and no enemy fo inconfiderable, that it fhould be entirely 

 defpifed. 



Befides this Whale of enormous fize I have been defcribing, Letter forts. 

 we find on this coaft various fmaller forts, all of the fame tribe ; 

 as the Tuequaal, or Bunch-back'd Whale, which is diftinguifhed 

 by a high bunch which it has upon its back, fomething like a 

 load of hay. The Rorqual, which has lately been feen at Sund- 

 maer, and is all over of a fnowy white colour. It is remarkable 

 of the Troldqual, that they love to play with the fifhing-boats, 

 and get under them. The Spring- hval, or Springeren, is alfo 

 feen here ; it is about twelve feet long, and is the fmallefl of all 

 the kind : it is coal black on the back, and white under the 

 belly; this produces two young ones at a birth, which follow 

 the dam, hanging to the teats under the breaft*. Mr. Wilhelm. 

 Friman, minifter of the parifh of Manger, to whom I am greatly 

 obliged, as well as the public, for many obfervations on the 

 fubje&s of Birds and Fifhes, relates, that he once faw a fmall 

 Whale of about 22 or 23 feet long, which had a prominent 

 oval fnout, formed fomething like the beak of a Goofe ; the like 

 was never feen before by him, or any of the people that were 

 fpe&ators with him. Whilft I am writing on this fubjeft, I have 

 another account alfo fent me of the fame fort of Fifh ; I fhall 

 call it Balgna roftrata, or Nebbe-hval, the Beaked W T hale. 

 One of this uncommon fort, I am told, was taken at Eskevigen, 

 near Fridrichfhald, in the year 1750, by fome of Col. Kolbiorn- 

 fen's men: it was 26 feet in length, and a young one of fix feet 

 long was taken out of its body. The beak makes this Whale 

 differ moll: from others, tho' the whole fhape is fomewhaC 



* At Sundmoer the Spring Whales are caught in great quantities by the fifhermen, 

 who row behind them, and by ftriking with their oars, and making a noife, drive the 

 creature to the fhore, and there he fails an eafy prey to them. They yield a good 

 deal of train oil, and the flefh is not ill tailed. 



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different, 



