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Show 542 MR. R. BROWN ON THE CETACEANS [Nov. 12, along with the breath. When the whaleman sees his prey "spouting red," he concludes that its end is not far distant; it is then mortally wounded. The Whale carries its young nine or ten months, and produces in March or April. In the latter month a Hull ship obtained a sucker with the umbilical cord still attached. It rarely produces more than one at a birth, though it is said that in a few instances two have been seen following the female. It couples during the months of June, July, or August, and, as in most, if not all, of the Cetacea, this operation is performed in an upright and not in a recumbent position, as stated in some works, the authors of which might be supposed to speak from personal observation*. Equally erroneous, as far as I can learn, is the idea that it only produces once in two years • but on this subject, as on many others concerning the Cetacea, it would be difficult to pronounce an opinion founded on any decided knowledge. In the month of August I have seen them in the position described, with the pectoral fins adpressed against each other's body, and the male lashing the water with his tail. The young suckles to a considerable age (probably one year), and in order to allow of its getting convenient access to the mammae the mother lies on its side for a time. Their love of their offspring is so strong, that though the cubs are of very little value, yet the whalers often make a point of killing them in order to render the mother more accessible. During the period of procreation the mother is much fiercer and more dangerous to approach than at other seasons, when it is a timid, harmless animal. I once saw a Whale, when the boats were approaching it, take the young under one pectoral and swim off by aid of the other. When the mother was killed, the cub could not be made to leave the dead body of its mother, though lances were continually run into it by the seamen who were flensing the animal. When the carcass was let go, the young one instantly dived down after it, nor did we see it again. The sight, hearing, and smell of the Whale are all very acute in the water, but are very dull out of it. The power of the Cetacea for remaining beneath the surface of the sea seems to bear a direct ratio to their size. Under ordinary circumstances, the Right Whale will generally remain no longer than half an hour without rising again to breathe; the cubs are, however, more stubborn, and will often remain more than three-quarters of an hour. Whalers and Eskimo have many stories of Whales lying torpid at the bottom of shallow inlets and bays for several days at a time ; though I have heard these tales repeated by most credible men, yet I am inclined to hesitate at receiving as facts anything so contrary to physiological laws, and so incapable of receiving any explanation of a reasonable nature f. I have frequently known Whales dive and not come up for hours; but, unfortunately for the acceptance of these wonderful tales of subaquatic being, these universally came up dead ! In nearly every case it appears that, diving with tremendous impetus under the tortures of the harpoon, they had struck their heads on the bottom * Dewhurst, ' Natural History of the Cetacea,' p. 20. t Vide also Dewhurst, I. c. p. 36. |