NARWALS. 
were presently struck, and within an hour and a 
half after the first attack, it yielded its life to our 
lances. It proved a good prize ; the whalebone 
measured 10 feet 3 inches, and the animal was 
calculated to yield 14 or 15 tuns of oil. 
The day following (June 4th), two floes ad¬ 
joining us having separated, permitted us to re¬ 
tire farther towards the west, into a more commo¬ 
dious opening, where we were confined by a boun¬ 
dary of impenetrable ice until the 7th. * 
During our detention here we saw a few 
whales; but, towards the conclusion, not one had 
appeared for eight-and-forty hours. A great 
many narwals were often sporting about us, some¬ 
times in herds or shoals of 15 or 20 together. Se¬ 
veral of the shoals consisted entirely of male ani¬ 
mals, each having a long horn (or tooth) projecting 
from the forehead. They were extremely playful, 
frequently elevating their horns, and crossing them 
with each other, as in fencing. In the sporting of 
these animals, they frequently emitted a very un¬ 
usual sound, resembling the guggling of water in 
the throat, which it probably was, as it only oc¬ 
curred when they reared their horns, with the 
front part of the head and mouth, out of the water. 
Several of them followed the ship, and seemed to 
be attracted by a principle of curiosity, at the sight 
of so unusual a body. The water being perfectly 
