130 
cend suddenly to the surface of the wa¬ 
ter to breathe, which it is frequently 
obliged to do. Whales are very harm¬ 
less and timid ; but when attacked, fre¬ 
quently strike the boats a dangerous 
blow with their tails, in which their 
greatest strength lies. About midsum¬ 
mer, when they begin to couple, they are 
very wild, and difficult to catch, unless 
harpooned during copulation, # or when 
found sleeping on the water. 
The ancients were not unacquainted 
with the Balccna Mysticetus , though they 
do not seem to have had any knowledge 
of its uses. Their acquaintance with the 
spermaceti whale, found in the Indian 
ocean, was somewhat more accurate. It 
is interesting to observe in the account 
of Nearchus’s Voyage, as given by Ar¬ 
rian,-)' the terror of the sailors when they 
* Congreditur corpore erecto , capite supra aquam 
prominente. Faun. Groenl. loc. cit. 
f Hist. Ind. § 29 and 30. 
