117. _The NARWAL, or SEA-UNICORN_ (Monodon monoceros) _is a marine animal
from twenty to thirty feet in length, with a long, tapering, twisted, and
pointed weapon of ivory in front of the head._
_It has a small fin on each side of the breast, in place of fore feet, an
horizontally flattened tail, and a spiracle or breathing hole on the
highest part of the head. The skin is white, variegated with numerous
black spots on the upper parts of the body; and the weapon is generally
from five to eight feet in length._
_These animals are found in the Greenland seas, and they occasionally
migrate southward off the British coasts. Their name of_ narh-wal
_signifies a whale that subsists on dead bodies._
The Greenlanders pursue the narwals as they do other whales, chiefly on
account of the _oil_ which they obtain from them. This is considered
superior, in many respects, to the oil of the great whale (118), and is
used by them both with food and to burn in their lamps. These people also
eat the _flesh_ of the narwal prepared by fire, dried in a half putrid
state, and sometimes even raw; and they are also partial to the
_intestines_ as food. The _tendons_ serve them as a strong kind of thread.
The projecting _weapon_, which is not a horn but a species of tusk, in its
substance not much unlike the tusk of an elephant, is sometimes cut into
the heads of arrows; and, in some parts of Greenland where wood is scarce,
these weapons are occasionally used in the structure of tents and sledges.
As ivory, they are not of much use, since, from their twisted form, they
cut to great disadvantage. The kings of Denmark have, in the castle of
Rosenberg, a throne formed of the tusks of the narwal.
It has of late years been ascertained that the Japanese have a very
extraordinary opinion of the medical virtues of these tusks. A Dutch
merchant, on his return to Europe, happened, among other curiosities, to
transmit one of them to a friend in Japan, who by the sale of it became
extremely rich. From that time the Dutch wrote, to their correspondents in
Europe, for as many as could be sent, and great profit was made of them;
and, although by the continued importation, the price has since been
considerably diminished, it still continues very high.
Narwals are quick, active, and inoffensive animals. They swim with
considerable velocity. When harpooned they dive in the same manner as the
whale, but not so deep. They generally descend about two hundred fathoms,
after which they return to the surface, where they are dispatched, in a few
minutes, with a lance.
118. _The GREAT or GREENLAND WHALE_ (Balæna mysticetus, Pl. 1, Fig. 17)
_is a marine animal of immense magnitude, measuring from fifty to eighty
feet in length, of which the head is nearly one third, and having several
horny blades in the upper jaw, and a spiracle or breathing hole on the
upper part of the head._
_The bulk of these animals is such that their greatest circumference is
nearly equal to their length; and their weight has been known to exceed
400,000 pounds. The mouth is of enormous size, extending as far back as
to the eyes; and the tongue is sometimes eighteen or twenty feet in
length, and nine or ten in width. Notwithstanding this, the_ gullet, _or
passage of the throat, is seldom more than four or five inches across.
The eyes are situated a little above the corners of the mouth, and are
scarcely larger than those of an ox; and the external opening of the
ears, which are merely auditory holes, is likewise very small. There is a
large fin on each side of the breast, and the horizontally flattened
tail-fin is equal to about one sixth part of the length of the animal. On
the back there is neither fin nor protuberance. The skin is very thick
and strong, entirely destitute of hair, and always covered with an oily
substance which issues through the pores, and which, when exposed to the
rays of the sun, makes the surface appear as resplendent as that of
polished metal. Whales vary much in colour; some being entirely black,
others reddish, or black above and white beneath, and others variously
mottled with black or brown and white._
_The great whales are inhabitants of the ocean, and found chiefly in the
Greenland and other seas, near the Arctic Pole; they, however, sometimes
migrate so far south as to be seen in the neighbourhood of the British
shores._
The animals of the whale tribe are of great use to mankind in a commercial
view. They are pursued by the inhabitants of nearly all the maritime
countries of Europe, and to us are not merely a source of profit, but, from
the whale fishery requiring many ships, are the means of training a great
number of seamen. To this fishery it is that we are indebted for those two
valuable articles--_whale_ or _train oil_, and _whalebone_.
The fat of all the whales has the name of _blubber_, and is principally
found beneath the skin, to the depth of ten or twelve inches. Its use, to
the animals, appears to be for the double purpose of poising their bodies,
and keeping off the immediate contact of the water from the flesh, the
continued cold of which, in the frozen climates of the North, would tend to
chill the blood. The _whalebone_ supplies, in these animals, the place of
teeth, for catching and securing their food. It is attached to the upper
jaw, and is arranged in thin plates or blades, sometimes near seven hundred
in number, and parallel to each other on both sides of the mouth. The
largest blades measure from ten to fifteen feet in length, and twelve or
fifteen inches in width; and they all terminate in a kind of fringe of
considerable length, which has the appearance of the blades split into
innumerable small fibres. A large whale sometimes yields a ton and half of
whalebone.
The number of ships employed in the whale fishery is very great; but, in
consequence of the incessant pursuit of these animals for the last two
centuries, their numbers have been greatly diminished. One of the most
fortunate years that ever was known was 1697, when the following ships
entered the bay of Greenland:
15 from Bremen, which had taken 190
50 from Hamburgh 515
121 from Holland 1252
----
Total number of whales taken 1957
----
The year 1814 was a singularly prosperous one to the British whale fishery:
76 ships, fitted out from different ports of this country, obtained 1437
whales, besides seals, &c. The British ships, during four years, ending
with 1817, returned with 5030 whales, which produced 54,508 tons of oil,
and 2697 tons of whalebone.
The season for the whale-fishery commences in May, and continues through
the months of June and July; but the ships must come away before the end of
August, otherwise they might be blocked up and destroyed by the ice.
Every ship sent out from this country carries along with it six or seven
boats, each of which has one harpooner, one man at the rudder, one man to
manage the line, and four men as rowers. In each boat there are also two or
three harpoons, several spears, and about six lines, each 120 fathoms in
length, fastened together. As soon as the men in the boats discover a
whale, swimming near the surface of the water, they approach to the spot,
and strike a harpoon deeply into his body. To this instrument the line is
attached; and on the whale plunging into the water, this line is allowed to
run out, great care being taken not only to prevent it from catching, lest
the animal should overset the boat, but also (by continually wetting the
place against which it runs) to prevent its rapid motion from setting fire
to the wood. After a while the wounded animal is obliged to return to the
surface to breathe. His direction is followed, and his re-appearance
carefully marked. With great dexterity fresh wounds are inflicted, till, at
length, he appears exhausted, when a long spear is thrust into his
intestines, which soon destroys him. The whale is then dragged to the ship,
and securely fastened to the side by ropes attached to the fins and tail.
The blubber is cut out, in large square pieces, by men who get upon the
animal, having their shoes armed with a kind of iron spurs to prevent their
slipping. As soon as the blubber is taken on board the vessel, it is
divided into smaller pieces, and thrown into the hold to drain.
The next operation is to extract the whalebone. This is done entire, along
with the gums, which are hoisted on the deck, where the blades are cut and
separated, and left until the men have leisure to scrape and clear them.
The _tongue_ consists of a soft and spongy fat substance, which, when
boiled down, yields five or six barrels of oil; the oil that is drained
from the two upper jaw-bones is the peculiar perquisite of the captain. As
an encouragement to the whale fishery, a bounty of twenty shillings is
allowed by Government for every ton of blubber which is imported into this
country.
From Milford, in Pembrokeshire, and some other British sea-ports, vessels
are also fitted out for the South Seas, in pursuit of whales which frequent
the ocean in those torrid climates, particularly near the coast of South
America.
The inhabitants of Greenland, and of other northern countries of the world,
eat almost every part of the whale. The _skin_, the _tail_, and the _fins_,
are sometimes eaten even raw. The _flesh_ is eaten both fresh and dried.
That of the young animals is of red colour; and, when cleared of fat,
broiled and seasoned with pepper and salt, is said to eat not unlike coarse
beef. That of an old whale appears black, and is exceedingly coarse and
unpalatable. The Esquimaux, however, eat both the flesh and fat of the
whale, and drink the oil with greediness. Indeed some of the tribes carry,
in their canoes, bladders filled with whale oil, which they use in the same
way, and with a similar relish, that a British sailor does a dram. They
also eat the _skin_ of the whale raw. It is not unusual for female
Esquimaux, when they visit whale ships, to select for eating, pieces of
skin to which a portion of blubber is attached. They also give it for food
to the infants suspended at their backs, who suck it with great apparent
delight. The _heart_ of a young whale which was caught in the year 1793,
and measured fifteen feet in length, is said by Captain Colnett to have
afforded a delicious repast to his ship's crew. Of the _intestines_ of the
whale the Greenlanders prepare a substance which serves instead of glass
for their windows. They make fishing-lines of the _filaments_ which
terminate the blades of whalebone; and in many countries, the ribs and
other large _bones_ supply the place of timber, in the construction of
houses, and as fences to surround gardens and fields. The smaller bones are
converted into harpoons and spears. The _tendons_ are split into filaments,
and used as cordage, and for nets of various kinds. With the Esquimaux some
of the membranes of the abdomen are used for an upper article of clothing;
and the thinnest and most transparent of them are adopted, instead of
glass, in the windows of their huts. The _blubber_ of the whale, when
pickled and boiled, is said to be very palatable; and the _tail_, when
parboiled and fried, is often adopted in the Greenland ships as food. The
blubber, when in a fresh state, is destitute of any unpleasant smell:
indeed it is not until the termination of the voyage, when the cargo is
unstowed, that a Greenland ship becomes disagreeable. The use of the
_whalebone_ in our own country is well known; but, since ladies have left
off wearing stays, it is at present comparatively in little demand. By a
late invention it is manufactured into hats, bonnets, and brushes.
Whales are sometimes seen in troops sporting about near the surface of the
ocean. They spout water through the spiracles on the top of their heads,
with the rushing noise of a cataract, and to the height even of thirty or
forty feet. Such are their powers in the water that, in some instances,
their motion through that element has been calculated at thirty feet in a
second, or upwards of twenty miles in an hour. Great caution is required in
attacking them, as, with a single blow of their tail, they are able to
upset a tolerably large boat. They feed only on the smaller kinds of fish
and other marine animals, as their throat is not sufficiently wide to admit
of their swallowing any substance of large size, and they are not furnished
with teeth to cut or grind their food into small pieces. The females
produce only one young one each: this they suckle for many months, and are
peculiarly affectionate and attentive towards it.
These animals are occasionally stranded on the British shores, in which
case, by the ancient laws of the land, they are deemed royal fish; the king
being entitled to the anterior, and the queen to the posterior half.
119. _The FIN-BACKED WHALE, or FIN-FISH_ (Balæna physalus), _is a marine
animal from sixty to ninety feet in length, with a thick fin on the
hinder part of the back, the muzzle tapering, and the jaws somewhat
pointed._
_This species is of more slender form than the last, its greatest
circumference not in general exceeding fifteen or twenty feet. The
spiracle or breathing hole is double, and situated on the middle of the
fore part of the head; and the colour of the body is generally dark or
blackish olive above, and white below. The whole surface appears polished
and shining._
_These whales are chiefly found in the northern frozen ocean, and
particularly about the coast of Greenland and Spitzbergen. But they
sometimes enter the Mediterranean, and are not uncommon in the South
American and Indian seas._
Although a smaller proportion of _oil_ is obtained from these than from the
great whales, it is of much better quality than that. The inhabitants of
Greenland consume it with their food, preferably to burning it in lamps, if
oil of less value can be obtained for that purpose. The _whalebone_ is too
short and narrow to be of much value. From the small quantity of oil, and
little value of the whalebone, added to the difficulty and danger which are
attendant on the pursuit of these active and powerful animals, they are not
very eagerly sought after by the whale-fishers.
We are assured that the _flesh_ of the fin-backed whale is as well tasted,
and, in every respect, as excellent, as that of the sturgeon. In most of
the northern countries, both of Europe and America, the _fins_, the _skin_,
and the _tendons_, all serve for many useful purposes.
There are other species of whales which are useful, in a certain degree, to
mankind, for the oil that is yielded by their bodies; but few of them are
objects of pursuit, on account of the difficulty there is in killing them,
or of the very inferior quantity of oil which they afford. The blades of
their whalebone are also too small to be of any use as an object of
commerce.
120. _The BLUNT-HEADED CACHALOT, or SPERMACETI WHALE_ (Physeter
macrocephalus) _is a marine animal from sixty to seventy feet in length,
with large teeth in the under jaw, which fit into corresponding sockets
of the upper jaw; the orifice of the spiracle single, and at the upper
part of the extremity of the muzzle; and without any fin upon the back._
_The head occupies about one-third of the length of the whole body. The
colour of this whale is generally black, but, in the old animals, the
under parts become whitish. The skin is smooth, oily, and almost as soft
to the touch as silk._
_It is most frequently seen in the northern ocean, in the latitudes of
Greenland, Spitzbergen, and Iceland; yet it is occasionally observed off
the British coasts, and sometimes even in the Mediterranean._
Lucrative as the several parts of these animals are, the whale-fishers have
a great dread of them, in consequence of their astonishing activity in the
water. Much care is requisite, in striking the harpoon, to keep the boats
out of danger of being overturned, and great dexterity in following their
track. From the relation given by the Danish voyagers Olafsen and Povelsen,
it would appear that the spermaceti whales become occasionally so ferocious
as even to seize the fishing boats with their teeth, and, in an instant, to
destroy the whole crew. Notwithstanding all these dangers, so highly valued
are they that they are searched for with much assiduity: and happy are the
owners of those vessels which can obtain the greatest number of them.
The _oil_ that is obtained from them is not in great quantity, but is of
excellent quality. In burning it yields a bright flame, without exhaling
any noxious smell.
The white and fatty substance known in our shops by the name of
_spermaceti_ is found in an immense cavity of the skull, distinct from that
which contains the brain. This sometimes occupies nearly the whole front
and upper part of the head, and, in some instances, is known to measure
sixteen or eighteen feet in length. It is divided horizontally into two
parts by a strong membrane, and each of these parts is again subdivided, by
vertical membranes, into numerous cells, which communicate with each other,
and contain the spermaceti. This, which is frequently mistaken for the
brain, is sometimes found in such quantity as to fill eighteen or twenty
butts. Whilst the animals are alive, the spermaceti is in a fluid state;
but, when dead, it is found in somewhat solid lumps, and is of whitish
colour. Spermaceti is of considerable use, medicinally, in pains and
erosions of the intestines, in coughs, and other complaints. It is also
applied externally in ointments, and for other purposes. It is converted
into a very beautiful kind of candles, which appear to be a medium between
those made of wax and tallow. Good spermaceti is in fine white flakes,
glossy, and semi-transparent, soft, and unctuous to the touch, yet dry and
easily friable, in taste somewhat like butter, and of faint smell, not much
unlike that of tallow. If exposed to the air, it soon becomes rancid and
yellow. Its quality and colour may however be recovered by steeping it in
alkaline liquors, or in a sufficient quantity of spirit of wine.
The _flesh_ of this kind of whale is of pale red colour, appears not much
unlike coarse pork, and is not unpalatable as food. The _skin_,
_intestines_, and _tendons_, are all useful to the inhabitants of the
northern countries of Europe. The _tongue_ is considered excellent eating.
The _teeth_ are formed into the heads of spears and arrows, and may even be
used as ivory; the _bones_ are sometimes applied as timber for tents and
cottages; and a very tenacious glue or size is manufactured from the
_fibres of the flesh_.
It is to these, and some other animals nearly allied to them, that we are
indebted for the drug or perfume called _ambergris_. This is generally
found in the stomach, but sometimes in the intestines, and in lumps from
three to twelve inches in thickness, mixed with many substances very
different from itself, such as macerated vegetables, the remains of marine
shell-animals, the bones and other hard parts of fish; and the ambergris
itself frequently contains the beaks or jaws of different species of sepiæ,
or cuttle-fish. The latter are the cause of those yellowish, whitish, or
dusky spots that are often observable in this drug. As we see it in the
shops, ambergris is an opake substance, which varies in solidity, according
to its exposure to a warm or cold atmosphere. It is however, in general,
sufficiently hard to be broken. Its smell is extremely powerful and
agreeable to some persons, but unpleasant and even nauseous to others. When
first taken from the stomach or intestines of the animals which produce it,
ambergris is quite soft to the touch; and, as may well be conjectured from
the situation in which it is found, has a fetid and most disgusting smell;
but after it has, for some time, been exposed to the influence of the
atmosphere, it becomes harder, and yields the powerful and peculiar odour
by which it is characterized.
Oil, spermaceti, and ambergris, are supposed to be yielded in greater or
less quantity from every species of cachalot.
121. _The COMMON or TRUE DOLPHIN_ (Delphinus delphis) _is a cetaceous
animal nine or ten feet in length, with a row of large teeth in each jaw,
and a single orifice near the top of the head; an oblong and roundish
body, a fin on the back, and the snout narrow and pointed, having a broad
transverse band or projection of the skin on its upper part. The body is
black, with a bluish tinge above, and white below._
_Dolphins are found in nearly every part of the ocean._
Few animals have had greater celebrity than these. Their activity in
playing about near the surface of the ocean, their undulating motion, and
the evolutions and gambols of whole shoals of them together, occasionally
afford to mariners and others a very entertaining spectacle. By the ancient
Greeks and Romans dolphins were supposed to entertain a kind of friendship
towards mankind, and were consecrated to the gods. In cases of shipwreck
they were believed to be in waiting to rescue and carry on shore the
unfortunate mariners. Pliny, the Roman naturalist, was credulous enough to
believe that dolphins had been rendered so tame as to allow of persons
mounting on their backs, and being carried in safety over a considerable
space of sea. As these animals, in their progress through the water, often
assume a crooked form, in order to spring forward with the greater force,
both ancient and modern artists have depicted the dolphin with its back
curved.
The _flesh_ of the dolphin is hard and insipid, yet it was formerly in
repute as food even in this country. We are informed by Dr. Caius, that a
dolphin which was caught, in his time, at Shoreham, in Sussex, was sent to
the Duke of Norfolk, who had part of it roasted and served up at table with
a sauce made of the crumbs of white bread mixed with vinegar and sugar. The
_tongue_ of the dolphin is said to be very agreeable to the taste, and to
be in every respect delicate eating. The _fat_, which, as in other
cetaceous animals, lies, for the most part, immediately beneath the skin,
is not in great abundance.
It is to be remarked that seamen give the name of dolphin to another kind
of animal, the DORADO (_Coryphæna hippuris_). The latter, however, is a
genuine species of fish, and not, like the present, a warm-blooded and
mammiferous animal.
122. _The PORPESSE_ (Delphinus phocæna) _is a cetaceous animal, six or
seven feet in length, with a somewhat conical body, a row of pointed
teeth in each jaw, a single spiracle near the top of the head, a broad
fin about the middle of the back, and a short and bluntish muzzle._
_Its colour is bluish black above, and white beneath, and the skin is
bright, smooth, and soft to the touch._
_These animals are found in the Baltic sea, near the coasts of Greenland
and Labrador, in all parts of the Atlantic, and even in the Pacific
Ocean._
In most of their habits the porpesses have a near resemblance to the
dolphin, but they are not so active. They generally associate in troops of
from six or seven to thirty and upwards in number, and feed on fish of all
kinds, but particularly on such as swim in large shoals, as mackerel,
herrings, and the different species of the cod.
In proportion to the size of their body, porpesses yield a great quantity
of excellent _oil_; but from the difficulty there is in catching them, in
sufficient number to repay the labour, they are seldom thought worth
pursuing. The _flesh_, as well as that of the dolphin, was formerly in
great estimation in England. Among the provisions for the celebrated
inthronization feast of George Neville, Archbishop of York, in the reign of
Edward the Fourth, are enumerated no fewer than twelve porpesses and seals.
These animals, however, are now entirely neglected with us as food; yet the
inhabitants of Greenland and Lapland consider the flesh of the porpesse as
highly excellent. The former even eat the _fat_, the _entrails_, and the
_skin_; but they seldom cook the flesh till its hardness is destroyed by
long keeping. The Americans use the _skins_ (dressed in a peculiar manner)
for making waistcoats and breeches; they also form them into an excellent
covering for carriages.
----