r in the Indian
Ocean, the two most interesting of which are the gigantic sperm
whales (_Physeter macrocephalus_), and the curious narwhal or sea
unicorn (_Monodon monoceros_). The latter is an inhabitant of the
northern seas only, but the sperm abounds in warmer waters, being
frequently found in the sub-tropical oceans. I have occasionally
seen them in the South Atlantic, though they are said to have
diminished there of late years. It is a wonder that the species does
not get scarce in many localities, so great is the chase after them.
During the last forty years the Americans alone have taken at the
rate of 10,000 barrels of sperm oil per annum, or upwards of four
million barrels since 1835. The sperm whale, though of such enormous
bulk and courage, yet has enemies besides man. The thrasher and the
killer whale both attack it, and sailors assert that the sword-fish
and thrasher combine against it, the latter stabbing from below,
whilst the former leaps on it with stunning blows. I think by
sword-fish (_Xiphias_), which is also a large but not so very
sanguinary a fish, they mean the saw-fish (_Pristis_), which is
allied to the sharks, and which attacks the largest whales. The
sword-fish has however the character of being pugnacious. The old
sperms, especially males, will show fight at times, but the younger
ones are easily alarmed, and on being molested rush off in various
directions, each looking out for himself. The sperm whale is known
from the others by the way in which it spouts, the jet being thrown
up obliquely forwards, and it blows at regular intervals. Although
the old "bulls" show a certain amount of ferocity at times, their
savageness is considerably exaggerated by the whalers, who love to
spin yarns about them. Having watched the habits of these and the
baleen whales with curiosity, I tried to get as much information
about them as I could, from the whalers, but, with the exception of
the officers of whaling ships, there was much that was unreliable
in Jack's notions about the sperm. On one occasion I was just too
late to see one killed. The boats, under full sail, were towing the
carcase towards the ship. I would have given a good deal to have seen
the encounter. The food of the sperm consists greatly of the huge
rock squid or cuttle-fish, which they swallow in large lumps. I have
heard whalers assert that a wounded sperm in the death agony will
vomit immense pieces of squid. In this respect it differs mu