Book III — Inhabitants of the Water
§ I Cetacea, or Sea Mammalia
“Nature’s strange work, vast Whales of different form,
Toss up the troubled flood, and are themselves a storm;
Uncouth the sight, when they in dreadful play,
Discharge their nostrils, and refund a sea;
Or angry lash the foam with hideous sound,
And scatter all the watery dust around;
Fearless, the fierce destructive monsters roll,
Ingulf the fish, and drive the flying shoal;
In deepest seas these living isles appear,
And deepest seas can scarce their pressure bear;
Their bulk would more than fill the shelvy strait,
And fathom’d depths would yield beneath their weight.”
The Whale is not properly a fish; since, though it lives in the sea, and has fins and a tail instead of legs and feet, it resembles in most other respects a seal, and differs from fishes, properly so called, in many important points. Indeed, it is always included in the class Mammalia, by zoologists, as it brings forth its young alive, and nourishes them with its milk; and hence a conceited person, who said he knew every fish from the shrimp to the Whale, was justly laughed at, as neither the Whale nor the shrimp are included in the fishes by zoologists.
The general form of the Whale’s body is that of a fish; but the tail is placed horizontally instead of vertically, and the skeleton of the fins exactly resembles that of a hand affixed to a contracted arm, though it is covered with so thick a skin that no trace of the formation of the bones can be discovered externally. There are only two fins, which are very small, and close to the head. The Whale, however, differs from fishes most materially in its having warm blood; and in its lungs, which are exactly the same as those of quadrupeds. Hence, though the Whale can remain a long time under water without breathing, it is compelled to come to the surface whenever it does breathe, and for this purpose it is furnished with two large nostrils, or blow-holes as they are called. The blow-holes are most beautifully and curiously contrived to close when the animal sinks under water; so that not a drop of water can enter the lungs, however great the pressure may be. The Whale is also provided with a very thick skin, containing an immense quantity of liquid oil, called the blubber, which is so easily detached from the flesh, that when a Whale is killed, the blubber, which is sometimes two feet thick, is taken off by passing a common spade between it and the body. This thick oily skin is a non-conductor of heat, and is thus admirably adapted for preventing the warm blood of the Whale from being chilled by the cold of the water. The true fishes, which are unprovided with such a covering, have cold blood, and are therefore not susceptible of chills.
The common Whale has no teeth in either jaw, but its mouth is furnished with a kind of fringe of numerous long horny laminæ, which are what we call whalebone, and which form a kind of strainer, admitting only the small fish on which the Whale feeds. This Whalebone is one of the valuable products of the whale, though the oil is most important.
“As when enclosing harpooners assail,
In hyperborean seas, the slumbering Whale;
Soon as the javelins pierce the scaly side,
He groans, he darts impetuous down the tide;
And, rack’d all o’er with lacerating pain,
He flies remote beneath the flood in vain.”
Falconer.
Whales are taken in great numbers about Spitzbergen, Greenland, and other northern countries by the English, the Dutch, &c. Considerable fleets of ships are sent out every spring for this purpose. When they begin their fishery, each ship is fastened or moored with nose-hooks to the ice. Two boats, each manned with six men, are ordered by the commodore to look out for the coming of the fish for two hours, when they are relieved by two more, and so by turns; the two boats lie at some small distance from the ship, each separated from the other, fastened to the ice with their boat-hooks, ready to let go in an instant at the first sight of the Whale. Here the dexterity of the Whale hunters is to be admired; for as soon as the animal shows itself, every man is at his oar, and they all rush on the Whale with prodigious swiftness; at the same time taking care to come behind its head, that it may not see the boat, which sometimes so alarms it, that it plunges down again before they have time to strike it. But the greatest care is to be taken of the tail, with which it many times does very great damage, both to the boats and seamen. The harpooner, who is placed at the head or bow of the boat, seeing the back of the Whale, and making the onset, thrusts the harpoon with all his might into its body by the help of a staff fixed to the iron for this purpose, and leaves it in, a line being fastened to it of about two inches in circumference, and one hundred and thirty-six fathoms long. Every boat is furnished with seven of these lines, from the motion of which, when let run, they observe the course of the Whale.
As soon as the Whale is struck, the third man in the boat holds up his oar, with something on the top, as a signal to the ship; at the sight of which the man who is appointed to watch gives the alarm to those that are asleep, who instantly let fall their other four boats, which hang on the tackles, two at each side, ready to let go at a minute’s warning, all furnished with six men each, harpoons, lances, lines, &c. Two or three of these boats row to the place where the Whale may be expected to come up again; the others to assist the boat that first struck it with line; as the Whale will sometimes run out three more boats’ lines, all fastened to each other, for when the lines of the first boat are almost run out, they throw the end to the second to be fastened to theirs, and the second boat does the same to the third, and so on. In this manner line is supplied to such an extent that a large Whale has been known to carry off three miles of it.
A Whale, when he is first struck, will run out above a hundred fathoms of line, before the harpooner is able to take a turn round the boat’s stern; and with such swiftness that a man stands ready to throw water on the line to quench it, in case it should take fire, which it frequently does. There was, many years ago, a boat to be seen in the South Sea Dock at Deptford, the head of which was sawed off by the swiftness of the line running out. The harpoon would be of but little avail in the destruction of this animal; but part of the rowers, either at the first onset, or when, in order to fetch his breath, he rises to the surface and discovers himself to view, throwing aside their oars, and taking up their very sharp lances, thrust them into his body, till they see him spurt the blood through the blow-holes, the sight of which is a sign of the creature’s being mortally wounded. The fishermen, upon the killing of a Whale, are each entitled to some small reward. After the Whale is killed, they cut all the lines that were fastened to it, and then cut off the tail; upon this it instantly turns on its back; and in this manner they tow it to the ship, where they fasten ropes to keep it from sinking; and, when it is cold, begin to cut off the blubber.
The blubber of a Whale is frequently found to be eighteen or twenty inches thick; which yields fifty or sixty puncheons of oil, each puncheon containing seventy-four gallons; and the upper jaw yields about six hundred pieces of whalebone, most of which are about twelve feet long, and six or eight inches broad; the whole produce of a Whale being worth one thousand pounds, more or less, according to the size of the animal. Whilst the men are at work on the back of the Whale they have spurs on their boots, with two prongs, which come down on each side of their feet, lest they should slip, the back of the Whale being very slippery.
When the Whale feeds, it swims with considerable velocity below the surface of the sea, with its jaws widely extended. A stream of water consequently enters its mouth, carrying along with it immense quantities of cuttle-fish, sea-blubber, shrimps, and other small marine animals. The water escapes at the sides; but the food is entangled, and, as it were, sifted by the fringe of whalebone within the mouth; this kind of strainer is rendered necessary by the very small gullet, which in a Whale of sixty feet long, does not exceed four inches in width. The sailors say that a penny-loaf would choke a Whale.
The Whale bellows fearfully when wounded or in distress. Its young is called a cub.
There is also an extensive Whale fishery in the Southern Ocean, carried on chiefly by the Americans. The Whale found in those seas is distinct from the Greenland Whale, and is described by naturalists under the name of Balæna Australis.
The Rorqual, or Fin-Backed Whale, (Balænoptera Boops,)
Is a very large Whale, specimens sometimes measuring as much as one hundred feet in length. It is distinguished by its smaller head, and by the existence of a sort of fin on the lower part of its back. The Rorqual is found in the northern seas, and specimens are sometimes seen off our coasts. It is not of much value, as it furnishes far less blubber than the common Whale, and the baleen or whalebone is so short as to be useless.
This animal has teeth in the lower jaw only; and no whalebone. The substance called spermaceti is extracted from its immense head, which is nearly half the size of the entire animal; and the throat is so large that it could swallow a shark.
The quantity of oil produced from the Spermaceti Whale is not so considerable as that obtained from the common or Greenland Whale, but in quality it is far preferable, as it yields a bright flame, without exhaling any nauseous smell. The substance known by the name of ambergris is also obtained from the body of this animal. It is generally found in the stomach, but sometimes in the intestines; and, in a commercial point of view, is a highly valuable production. The spermaceti is in a fluid state while the animal is living, and as soon as it is dead a hole is made in the head, and the liquid taken out with buckets. It becomes solid as it cools, and it is afterwards made into candles, &c.
When we reflect that the same Power whose will has formed the immense bulk of this marine monster has also given animation, senses, and passions to the smallest of the microscopic animalcules, how lowered must be the pride of man, who, standing in the middle, and nearly at equal distance from both, is yet unable to comprehend the mechanism which puts them in motion, and much less that intelligence and power which has given them life, and has assigned to them their respective stations in the universe! Let us then exclaim, with astonishment and gratitude, with the Psalmist: “O Lord, how inscrutable are thy ways, how magnificent thy works!”
This animal, like the whale, is not considered a fish, though it lives in the water, as it has warm blood and suckles its young, which are born alive. It has also lungs instead of gills, and is therefore obliged to raise its head above the surface of the water to breathe.
The Dolphin is from six to ten feet in length. The body is roundish, gradually diminishing towards the tail; the nose is long and pointed, the skin smooth, the back black or dusky blue, becoming white below. It has numerous small teeth in each jaw; a dorsal and two pectoral fins, and a tail in the shape of a crescent. The beak-like snout has probably made the French call the Dolphin the sea-goose.
Several curious stories have been related of this animal, most of which are fabulous. The anecdote of Arion, the musician, who, being thrown overboard by pirates, was indebted for his life to one of these animals, is well known, and acquired great credit among ancient poets, as it was said to be by his music that Arion charmed the Dolphin. There are several other fables mentioned by ancient authors to prove the philanthropy of the Dolphin. Since the province of Dauphiné in France has been united to the crown, the heir-apparent has been called “Dauphin,” and quarters a Dolphin on his shield. Falconer, in his beautiful poem, “The Shipwreck,” describes the death of the Dolphin in the following elegant manner:
“—— Beneath the lofty vessel’s stern
A shoal of sporting dolphins they discern,
Beaming from burnished scales refulgent rays,
Till all the glowing ocean seems to blaze.
In curling wreaths they wanton on the tide;
Now bound aloft, now downward swiftly glide.
Awhile beneath the waves their tracks remain,
And burn in silver streams along the liquid plain;
Soon to the sport of death the crew repair,
Dart the long lance, or spread the bated snare.
One in redoubling mazes wheels along,
And glides, unhappy, near the triple prong.
Rodmond, unerring, o’er his head suspends
The barbed steel, and every turn attends:
Unerring aim’d, the missile weapon flew,
And plunging, struck the fated victim through.
The upturning points his pond’rous bulk sustain;
On deck he struggles with convulsive pain;
But while his heart the fatal javelin thrills,
And fleeting life escapes in sanguine rills,
What radiant changes strike the astonish’d sight,
What glowing hues of mingled shade and light!
No equal beauties gild the lucid west
With parting beams all o’er profusely dressed;
No lovelier colours paint the vernal dawn,
When orient dews impearl the enamell’d lawn;
Than from his sides in bright suffusion flow,
That now with gold empyreal seem to glow;
Now in pellucid sapphires meet the view,
And emulate the soft celestial hue;
Now beam a flaming crimson to the eye,
And now assume the purple’s deeper dye:
But here description clouds each shining ray;
What terms of art can Nature’s power display?”
Unfortunately for poetry, the beautiful colours of the dying Dolphin exist entirely in the fancy of the poet; as the Dolphin in a dying state displays no tints but black and white, and it is believed that the notion so prevalent among the ancients of the change of colour in this animal was derived from a true fish, the Dorado, which does exhibit this phenomenon.
The White Whale, or Beluga, is included among the dolphins. The body is white, tinged with yellow, or rose-colour, and its proportions are more agreeable than those of most of the cetacea. It measures from twelve to eighteen feet in length. White Whales are gregarious, assembling in flocks or herds, and playing about with rapid and graceful movements. The female has two young ones at a time, over which she watches with the greatest apparent affection. They follow all her movements, and do not quit her till they are nearly full grown. This Whale is generally confined to the northern latitudes, though one was taken in the Firth of Forth in 1815. The oil is of excellent quality, and the flesh eats like beef. According to some writers the flesh, when pickled with vinegar and salt, is as well tasted as pork; and thus the body, which is generally thrown away when the sailors have cut off the blubber, might be used by them as food. The internal membranes are used by the Greenlanders for windows, and the sinews for thread, and the fins and tail, when properly prepared, are said by some of the old writers to be good eating.
The Porpoise is one of the cetacea, and nearly allied to the dolphin, but it has not the beaked snout of that animal. The length of the Porpoise, from the tip of the snout to the end of the tail, is from four to eight feet, and its girth about two feet and a half. The figure of the whole body is conical; the colour of the back is deep blue, inclining to shining black; the sides are grey, becoming white below. The tail is crescent-shaped. There are only three fins, one on the back, and one on each shoulder. The eyes are very small. When the flesh is cut up, it looks very much like pork; but although it was once considered a sumptuous article of food, and is said to have been occasionally introduced at the tables of the old English nobility, it certainly has a disagreeable flavour. Porpoises live on small fish, and appear generally in large shoals, particularly in the mackerel and herring seasons, at which time they do very great damage to fishermen, by breaking and destroying the nets to get at their prey. Their motion in the water is a kind of circular leap; they dive deep, but soon again rise up in order to breathe. They are so eager in the pursuit of their prey, that they sometimes ascend large rivers, and have even been seen above Westminster Bridge. They have no gills, and blow out the water with a loud noise, which in calm weather may be heard at a great distance. They are seen nearly in all seas, and are very common upon the British coasts, where they sport with great activity, chiefly at the approach of a squall.
The Grampus (Phocæna Orca) is a species of Porpoise, and a decided and inveterate enemy to whales; which they attack in great flocks, fastening round them like so many bull-dogs, making them roar with pain, and frequently killing and devouring them. They are usually from twenty to twenty-five feet in length, and in general form and colour resemble the common Porpoise; but the lower jaw is considerably wider than the upper, and the body is somewhat broader and more deep in proportion. The back-fin sometimes measures six feet in length. In one of the poems of Waller, a story (founded on fact) is recorded of the parental affection of these animals. A Grampus and her cub had got into an arm of the sea, where, by the desertion of the tide, they were enclosed on every side. The men on shore saw their situation, and ran down upon them with such weapons as they could at the moment collect. The poor animals were soon wounded in several places, so that all the immediately surrounding water was stained with their blood. They made many efforts to escape; and the old one, by superior strength, forced itself over the shallow into the ocean. But though in safety herself she would not leave her young one in the hands of assassins. She therefore again rushed in; and seemed resolved, since she could not prevent, at least to share the fate of her offspring. The story concludes with poetical justice; for the tide coming in, conveyed them both off in safety; and it is probable, from the great thickness of their skins, that their wounds had not been very deep.
A marine animal, differing from all the cetacea, to which it belongs, in not having any teeth, properly so called, and in being armed with a horn of seven or eight feet in length, which projects from the head. This horn is white, spirally twisted throughout its whole length, and tapering to a point: it is harder, whiter, and more valuable than the ivory of the elephant, and was formerly in high repute for its supposed medical properties: small ones may be sometimes seen set with an elegant head as a walking-stick, and large specimens have been employed as bed-posts. The animal itself is from twenty to forty feet in length, and is occasionally found with two horns; indeed, there is always the germ of a second horn both in the male and female, though it is rarely developed in the former, and never in the latter, from which we may conjecture that the females trust entirely to the males for their defence, as we know is the case with several of the mammalia. When there is only one horn, it is always on the left side of the head; and when there are two, the horn on the left side is always larger than the other. This animal chiefly inhabits the arctic seas, and its food is said to consist of the smaller kinds of flat fish and other marine animals; its horn is useful in breaking away the ice when it wants to come up to breathe. The blubber supplies a small quantity of very fine oil, and the Greenlanders are very partial to the flesh.
Also called the Sea Cow, is a great deal smaller than the other cetacea just described, and differs from them in its diet, which consists entirely of marine plants. It haunts the coasts and estuaries of South America, and measures nine or ten feet in length; its head is comparatively small, its jaws are furnished only with grinding-teeth, of which it has thirty-two, its skin is provided with a good many scattered bristles, and its flippers, or fins, with four small nails. This animal not unfrequently raises its head and shoulders out of the water, when it is said to have some resemblance to a human being, and it is probable that the distant view of a nearly related species, the Lamantin, which inhabits the shores of Africa, may have given the ancients their first notion of the Mermaid. The Manatee is captured with harpoons, and its flesh is said to be very good eating. When salted and dried it will keep for a year. It also furnishes an excellent oil, and its skin is used for making harness and whips. The Dugong (Halicore Dugong) is a very similar animal, inhabiting the eastern seas. It grows to a length of eighteen or twenty feet.