United States or South Sudan ? Vote for the TOP Country of the Week !
On the 14th of October, 1791, the 'Britannia', Captain Melville, one of these ships, arrived at Sydney. In her passage between Van Diemen's Land and Port Jackson, the master reported that he had seen a large shoal of spermaceti whales. His words were, 'I saw more whales at one time around my ship than in the whole of six years which I have fished on the coast of Brazil.
The cruises at first were toward Greenland after the so-called right whales, a variety of the cetaceans which has an added commercial value because of the baleen, or whalebone, which hangs in great strips from the roof of its mouth to its lower jaw, forming a sort of screen or sieve by which it sifts its food out of prodigious mouthfuls of sea water.
He said the whales were the least shy of any he had ever seen, "not having been cut up". The latter had gone to the northward, and had seen no whales but a few fin-backs. They all said that their intention was to give the coast one more trial, and if it miscarried to quit it and steer to the northward in search of less tempestuous seas.
The boat was rendered useless. Instances of disasters of this kind, occasioned by blows from the whale, could be adduced in great numbers, cases of boats being destroyed by a single stroke of the tail, are not unknown, instances of boats having been stove or upset, and their crews wholly or in part drowned, are not unfrequent, and several cases of whales having made a regular attack upon every boat which came near them, dashed some in pieces, and killed or drowned some of the people in them, have occurred within a few years even under my own observation.
He had not gone farther south than 37 degrees; and described the latitude of 35 degrees to be the place where the whales most abounded, just on the edge of soundings, which here extends about fifteen leagues from the shore; though perhaps, on other parts of the coast the bank will be found to run hardly so far off.
"And they saw that unto it rushed mighty rivers by thousands with proud gait, like amorous competitors, each eager for meeting it, forestalling the others. And they saw that it was always full, and always dancing in its waves. And they saw that it was deep and abounding with fierce whales and makaras. And it resounded constantly with the terrible sounds of aquatic creatures.
A supply of salt water could not be obtained, so they were put into fresh water artificially salted, and this did not agree with them. The basement of the Museum building was also poorly ventilated and the air was unwholesome. As the result of these circumstances the whales died within a week, although not until they had been seen by thousands of people. Barnum immediately resolved to try again.
The weather now became extremely cold; and as we sailed between north and east, which was our course, we saw many very high and curious mountains of ice; and also a great number of very large whales, which used to come close to our ship, and blow the water up to a very great height in the air.
Even if any restriction in the way of numbers, sex, age or season should be imposed on seal hunting, a small sanctuary cannot but be beneficial. While, if there is no other protection, a sanctuary is a sine qua non. It is possible that some protection might also be afforded to the whales that hug the shore.
Huge mobs of undisciplined men, as Eastern armies are, and these eminently were, are especially liable to such infectious alarms; and the larger the force, the faster does panic spread, the more unmanageable does the army become, and the more fatal are the results. Each man reflects, and so increases, his neighbour's fear. 'Great armies, once struck with amazement, are like wounded whales.
Word Of The Day