a THE THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESENTED BY PROF. CHARLES A. KOFOID AND MRS. PRUDENCE W. KOFOID ;EAN. THE BROAD, BROAD OCEAN AND SOME OF ITS INHABITANTS. BY WILLIAM JONE.S, F.S.A., AUTHOR OF THE "TREASURES OF THE EARTH," ETC. "Thy universal works are full of Thee, The least, the greatest each and all divine ! While Nature, eloquent of Deity, Holds everywhere her mild triumphant sign, Through which Thine everlasting glories shine ! The changing seasons and the march of time, The trees, the flowers, the fields, the rivers, Thine ! Heaven, earth, and sea, in one harmonious chime, Hymn forth the Holy God the Beautiful Sublime ! " MULLER. WITH ORIGINAL ILLUSTRATIONS. LONDON : FREDERICK WARNE \ND Co., BEDFORD STREET, COVENT GARDEN. NEW YORK : SCRIBNER, WELFORD, AND CO. 1871. TO MY YOUNGEST SON, CUTHBERT, THIS BOOK IS AFFECTIONATELY INSCRIBED. PREFACE. HAVE endeavoured, in the following pages, to impress upon the youthful mind some of the grand and wonder- ful objects of creative excellence in the "Broad, Broad Ocean." The subject is exhaustless. I have been able only to treat upon a few of its most salient and interesting features, such as the young always ardent and impressionable would be most likely to appreciate. A portion of this volume was written at a very sequestered coast of North Devon Croyde Bay, a few miles from Barnstaple, where I had ample opportunities of witnessing a glorious expanse of ocean in all its features : calm and serene as Wordsworth de- scribes it ' ' The gentleness of Heaven is on the sea. Listen ! The Mighty Being is awake, And doth with His eternal motion make A sound like thunder, everlastingly;" or in tempestuous gales, when we see "The ambitious ocean swell, and rage, and foam, To be exalted with the threatening clouds." My youngsters were lively amateur fishers, captors of prawns and PREFACE. shrimps, and occasional takers of small strange fish, the birth and parentage of which became a marine study to us in the evening. I find that occasional visits to the sea-side open the young in- quiring mind, and prepare it for the reception of more serious and thoughtful studies of the ocean "The paragon of elemental powers, Mystery of waters, never-slumbering sea ! Impassioned orator with lips sublime, Whose waves are arguments which prove a God." I trust that the present work will be received with the same favour as its " companion " volume, the " Treasures of the Earth," which, although but recently published, has had the honour of a second edition. BROADGATE, BARNSTAPLE. CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. THE 'WORLD OF WATERS. Vastness and sublimity of the creation The ocean a theme for poetry The ocean essential to the existence of man and vegetation Marine productions Wonder and mystery in regard to the ocean What is water ? Saltness of the ocean Currents The Gulf-Stream Its effects on climate Scylla and Charybdis Tides Wind- waves Crossing of waves Depth of the ocean Colour Milky Seas Divisions of the ocean Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, Arctic, and Ant- arctic Oceans The Atlantic Origin of the name Its extent Sub- marine cable Divisions of the Atlantic Mediterranean Sea the central ocean of the ancients Gulf of Mexico Caribbean Sea Pacific Ocean Its discovery by Balboa Magellan His discoveries Derivation of the name "Pacific" Boundaries of the Pacific Islands Voyages of Captain Cook Beauty of scenery in the South Sea Islands Indian Ocean Boundaries Earliest voyages on the ocean I 19 CHAPTER II. THE FROZEN OCEAN. Instances of extreme cold in the Arctic regions M'Clure and Parry Dr. Kane ---Esquimaux Ice dwellings Attempts to discover a shorter passage to India across the Northern seas Fate of Sir Hugh CONl'ENTS. Willoughby Arctic voyagers Sir John Franklin His sad end Relics of the expedition discovered Sir Robert M'Clure and the North- West Passage Release from his perilous position Meaning of the term "Arctic" Reason of the cold in the Polar regions Dangers from floating ice Fearful incident in the frozen seas Perils encoun- tered by Arctic voyagers . . . . .... 20 30 CHAPTER III. ICEBERGS. Icebergs among the wonders of the ocean world Grand and im- posing Mimicking every style of architecture Differ in colour Strange and sudden formations Many of great height Origin Greenland Glaciers Their immense length Birth-places of icebergs Moved by powerful currents Dangers from icebergs on their float- ing voyages Terror excited by them among the early navigators Awful sublimity of the floating ice mountains Hair-breadth escape of Captain Duncan Supposed loss of the " President," and other vessels, from collisions with icebergs Danger of mooring vessels to icebergs Incident to two sailors A " picnic " on an iceberg Rash conduct of some French officers Formation and destruction of ice, a bountiful provision of Nature Danger from ice-fields and floes Wonderful escape of Captain Scoresby Miles of drifting ice The "Resolute" exploring- ship Extraordinary escape of Captain Knight and his crew Packed ice / 3 1 43 CHAPTER IV. SEALS. Arctic summer Presents many interesting features Description of an Arctic sunrise Melting of the ice Excessive heat for a short time Effect of the dry air upon the skin Preparations for the seal fishery by the Esquimaux Industry of the natives Value of seals' flesh and skins Use of the blubber Expertness in capturing seals Skin- covered boats Dexterity in their management A herd of seals Curious tricks for entrapping them The chase of the seal sometimes dangerous Destruction of skin-covered boats by seals Different species of seals The sea-calf Encounters with bears Subject to violent fits of anger Irritation of the muscular parts after death CONTENTS. xi Bearded or great seals Their enormous size Seals' "weddings" Harp seal Derivation of the word " seal " General description of seals Wonderful adaptation to their wants Their fondness for music The famous " talking" seal Some species easily tamed Anecdotes of Cuvier Seals of the Southern seas distinct from the Northern Sea-elephant Its enormous size Anecdote of a tame young one Sea-leopard Monk seal Otaries, a species of seal Sea-lion Sea- bear 44 5 6 CHAPTER V. THE MONARCHS OF THE OCEAN. Peculiarities in whales Distinct from fishes and land animals, though partaking the characters of both Description of the whale Wonderful strength in the tail " Lob-tailing" Enormous size of the head Food of whales Smallness of the throat Whalebone Tongue of the whale The skin Blubber A provision against cold Quantity and value of the oil of a Greenland whale Ears, eyes, and fins of the whale Flesh eaten raw by the Esquimaux Esquimaux method of attacking the whale Various uses to which the whale is applied Southern or Cape whale Northern rorqual Its immense speed and activity Smaller rorqual Rorqual of the Southern seas Cachalot or Sperm whale Spermaceti and ambergris Description of the sperm whale Capacious throat Food Schools and schoolmasters surprising feats of the whale The white whale Its beautiful colour Captured by nets in Greenland The deductor whales The most sociable of their kind Herd in flocks capture of ninety-eight near the island of Lewis Wanton butchery of whales Other enemies than man to the whale The saw-fish Combat between a whale, saw-fishes, and fox- sharks The whale and the grampus Sword-fish tremendous power in its bony snout Attachment of whales to their young. 57 69 CHAPTER VI. THE WHALE FISHERIES. Falling off in the whale fisheries Peterhead and Hull the principal ports of the fishery Old customs and usages at Hull Early history of the whale fishery The Biscayans Hakluyt Description of ships CONTENTS. employed in the whale fishery Amusing ceremonies formerly observed among the whale fishers Hard work in the Polar seas Mode of fishing The harpoon Struggles of the whale Disappointment of a Dutch whaler Dead whales Cutting up the whales Settlements for the whale fishery Whale fishery in the Southern seas New Zealanders expert in capturing the whale Productions of the whale fishery at the International Exhibition of 1863 7078 CHAPTER VII. PERILS OF THE WHALE FISHERY. Dangers attending the whale fishery Incident to the "Essex" in the Pacific Ocean Ship destroyed by collision with a whale A whale's victory Story of a Dutch harpooner Anecdote of Scoresby De- struction of a whaling-boat New Zealand Tom Incident in the Pacific to the whaling-vessel " Independence "Paying out the rope Serious consequences of inattention Incident to the whaling-vessel " Aimwell "Dangers of whaling vessels in the Arctic seas from ice- Loss of the "Princess Charlotte" Wonderful instance of preservation of the whale-ship "Trafalgar" Calamities of a whaling squadron Escape of Captain Scoresby Operation of flensing . . 79 88 CHAPTER VIII. THE PIRATE OF THE OCEAN. Fossil sharks Enormous tooth Means of acquiring a knowledge of the size of an antediluvian shark The white shark Its extreme voracity Great tenacity of life Habit of bounding out of the sea Slaves given to sharks Punishing a shark Mode of taking sharks in the South Sea Islands Captain Basil Hall's account of the capture of a shark Flesh eaten by the natives of Guinea Worship of the shark by some African tribes Strange superstitions respecting the shark of the South Sea islanders Rapacity of the shark Hooks for taking sharks in the South Seas The large blue shark Fearful encounter with sharks by the South Sea islanders Fearful incident to the crew of the "Magpie" Hammer-headed shark Smooth shark Dog-fish Spinous shark Angel-fish Greenland shark Barking shark Taken for the sea-serpent Pilot-fish Companion to the shark Pet sharks Sharks the scavengers of the ocean . . . 89 105 CONTENTS. CHAPTER IX. JARWAHLS, AND The morse, walrus, or sea-horse Description Immense slaughter of them For what purposes Ferocity when attacked Affection of the mother for its young Battles between the walrus and the Polar bear Sword-fish attacks the walrus Sea-unicorn described Herd in flocks Playfulness Greenland bear Its mode of attacking prey Appearance described Fondness for its offspring Anecdote of Scoresby Sagacity of a mother bear Nelson's adventure with a Polar bear A bear in the tower -. . . . . . 106 118 CHAPTER X. MINUTE ANIMAL LIFE IN THE OCEAN. Vastness of organic life in the ocean Food to the larger marine animals Abundance in the Northern seas Sea-nettles Colour of the ocean influenced by them Application of the microscope Scoresby's calculation of the number of animalculae Animals in a drop of water Ideas thus afforded of the immensity of creation Sea-weeds, animated worlds Aquatic forests of the Southern Hemisphere Minute creation governed by the same laws as larger Jelly-fish Medusas Abound in the South Atlantic Curious shapes Stevens's description of the jelly- fish Annelides, or sea-worms Sea-mouse Its beautiful colours Curious arms of marine worms Nereids Their changing light White rag worm Its pearly lustre Sea-leech Leaping worms "Jumping Johnnies " Butterflies of the deep Existence of animal life at great depths Temperature determines the abundance Sea-soundings Throwing the lead American sounding apparatus of Lieutenant Brook Description of the apparatus 119 131 CHAPTER XI. THE ROCK-BUILDERS OF THE OCEAN. Remarkable beauty of coral Form and colour in the ocean For- merly supposed to be marine plants Discovered to be the work of minute animals Placed by Linnaeus at the head of the zoophytes Coral workers described The polyp an extraordinary creature Mode xiv CONTENTS. in which the coral habitations are made Coral examined under the microscope Islands and continents constructed by the polyps Im- mense extent of coral reefs Surface of the globe changed by the opera- tions of the coral workers 122137 CHAPTER XII. PERILS OF THE CORAL REEFS. Coral reefs dangerous to navigation Shipwreck of the "Cabalve" on a coral reef . . 138 142 CHAPTER XIII. INSTINCT OF THE ROCK-BUILDERSCORAL FISHERIES. Wonderful instinct of the coral workers in building Highest part of the coral walls on the windward side Resistance to powerful waves Remarkable arrangements of some species Common red coral Where obtained Coral fisheries in the Mediterranean Coral highly prized in India Black coral Its scarcity Fabrication of false coral Coral formerly supposed to possess singular properties Ovid's account of the origin of red coral Coral beads worn as charms . . 143146 CHAPTER XIV. PEARLS. Pearls rare and beautiful objects of creation Perilous employment of the pearl-divers Condemned criminals formerly employed Ceylon renowned for large pearls Characteristics of the pearl-divers Dread of sharks Shark- charmers Confidence of the divers in their powers Pearl fishing in the Gulf of Manaar Off the Bahrem Islands Method pursued by the Cingalese divers Treatment of the pearl-oysters Pearl fishery in ancient times Extent of the pearl fishery in Ceylon System pursued at the Pearl Islands Oriental pearls Their beautiful colours and richness Preparation of them for the market Operation of drilling a delicate one How pearls are formed in the oyster Amusing account given by Pliny Story of the king of the pearl-oysters Suppositions respecting pearls Curious methods of the Chinese to procure pearls The pearl-oyster not the only mollusc which produces pearls Transparent oyster-shells used in China and elsewhere as a substitute for glass Pearls found on the British coasts Motive of CONTENTS. xv Julius Caesar for invading Britain The ancients extravagantly fond of pearls Cleopatra swallowing a pearl dissolved Powdered pearls used as medicine Pearls esteemed according to size Names applied to each kind Largest pearl on record Runjeet Sing and his string of pearls . ' 147154 CHAPTER XV. THE VEGETATION OF THE OCEAN. A sea covered with weeds An object of terror during the voyages of Columbus The Gulf- weed A refuge for innumerable marine ani- mals Enormous expanse of the Atlantic Ocean covered with vegeta- tion Tropical grapes Difference in the character of sea-weeds and land-plants Sea-weeds brought from a great depth Submarine forests Meadows of lovely hues Contrast between gigantic and minute sea-weeds The nereocystus Tree sea-weed Sea-weeds in the Arctic seas' Floating by means of air-vessels Great length of some species Sea-weed cables Enormous thickness Sea-weeds of smaller growth Water-flannel Bladder-weed S ea-silk Whiplash N et-weed Feathery callithamnion Fern-leaf Fan-weed Peacock's-tail Its glorious tints Sea-thongs Varieties of form and substance in sea- weeds Marine plants vie with land-flowers Colours exceedingly beautiful Richness of ocean vegetation influence of sea-weeds on the currents Sea-weeds as food The Chinese great consumers Ceylon moss Carrageen moss Tangles Dulse Cattle fond of it Laver Importance of sea-weeds as manure The Channel Islands Numerous applications of sea-weeds Kelp Discovery of glass by accidentally burning sea-weeds Iodine from the ashes of sea- weeds Sea-weeds used for packing Ulva marina Gum obtained from sea- weeds by the Chinese . 155 163 CHAPTER XVI. SPONGES. Ancient use of the sponge, for helmets, &c. One of the most valu- able spoils taken from the ocean Long undecided whether sponges belong to the animal -or vegetable kingdom Ranked as "zoophytes," or animal-plants Aristotle's definition of the sponge Discoveries of Mr. Ellis Result of Dr. Grant's experiments on the sponge Manner xvi CONTENTS. in which, and where, sponges are obtained Finest qualities come from the Ottoman Archipelago Sponge fishery at the island of Calymnos Depth at which sponges are found Mode of proceeding by the sponge- diver The sponge in its natural state Different from what we are accustomed to see Microscopic examination of the exterior skin of the sponge Framework of the sponge Growth and increase of the sponge 164 168 CHAPTER XVII. SHELLS. Wonderful shaping out and moulding of shells Structure of shells adapted to the requirements of their inhabitants Apparatus of bivalves, or two-shelled animals The hinge power over the valves The ad- ductor muscle Conchology Derivation of the term Shells formerly regarded as toys Looked upon afterwards as treasures A science of the greatest importance Especially to geologists Shells of Southern Europe Tarento rich in shells Greater portion of the shell animals carnivorous Shells of tropical America Western coasts of Africa / Harp-shell The cockle The cowry A substitute for coin in the East Beautiful and rare shells found on the Australian coasts Deep- sea shells Eagerly sought after by collectors Grains of chalk micro- scopic shells Lowest parts of the earth consist of shell remains Sea- banks and coasts covered with broken shells Abundance of the shell Carinthium telescopium in Calcutta Employed in road-making Shells possess a more or less distinct organic structure Testacea Univalves Bivalves Multivalves Helix or snail genus Paletta or limpet Turbo Clam or bear's-paw Curious shells : the murex or purple shell Highly valued by the ancients for its dye Volute or mitre-shell Strombus Use and value of shells Formation of shells Sea-shells perform an important part in the economy of Nature Sea-shells and sea-insects conservators of the ocean Use of shells multifarious Mother-of-pearl shells used in the decoration of churches and houses Shell-trumpets or horns Trumpet-shell Employment of shells for sacred uses in Ceylon Shell-fish as an article of food Scallops Worn in former times by pilgrims Giant clams Porcelain- shells Poached-eggs and weaver's-shuttle shells Fusus or spindle- shells Roaring buckie Wordsworth's lines on the voices of shells Wentletrap-shells Trough-shells Haliotes used for adorning papier- CONTENTS. xvii macht ornaments Ear-shells Fountain-shells Razor-shells Top- shells Pheasant-shells Rock-limpets .... 169180 CHAPTER XVIII. ' SUBMARINE SCENERY. Glory of submarine scenery in the tropics Wonderful transparency of the water The Bahamas China seas Wonders of the submarine depths Deepest colours of fishes and marine vegetation in the tropical seas The Indian and Caribbean Seas remarkable Splendid colours of tropical fishes The Balistes or cross-bow fishes Description Imperial chcetodon Its singular splendour Beauty of fishes no cri- terion for excellence of food Marine gems Ruby-coloured etelis Indian Ocean rich in submarine scenery Schleiden's vivid description Beautiful fish Illuminated submarine gardens The moon-fish Loveliness in the transparent waters of the warm seas Abundance and. beauty of the marine fauna Wonders of coral scenery in the ocean depths of the tropics The asterias or star-fishes Caput medusae, or basket-fish Description of madrepores, millipores, and nullipores Anemones the loveliest ornaments of sea-gardens Their brilliant colours Representing the land-flowers of the same name Submarine rock-basins at Barbadoes Beauty of the anemones con- fined to their ocean habitats The mesembryanthemum a gem of the aquarium The crassicornis, actinia, or animal-flowers Sea-anemones a hungry class Power of reproducing lost limbs Singular trans- parency of the waters of the Red Sea Forests of pale pink and red coral distinctly seen in its depths Sea-slug and sea-cucumber Their splendid colours Gorgonias Serpula Ringed animals like worms Their splendid colours Sertularia Very beautiful Waters of the North Sea remarkable for transparency Beautiful submarine scenery of the Norway Seas . . 181 193 CHAPTER XIX. THE FLOATING NAVIGATORS OF THE OCEAN. The nautilus, the ocean Mab and fairy of the sea Very little known, until a recent period, about the nautilus The fish described by Pro- fessor Owen Real method of its propulsion The paper-nautilus its supposed sails The glaucus a real rower on the ocean The nautilus b xviii CONTENTS. a wonderful builder Intelligence displayed by the nautilus Pearly- nautilus The gem of the deep Shells manufactured into various shapes by the Chinese Snail-slime fishes Inhabitants of the Arctic seas Shells of the nautilus abound in the coral seas Argonaut Differs from the true nautilus Sea-bladder, or Portuguese man-of-war Description Wondrous beauty of its colours Have the appearance of prismatic shells Colours fade when the zoophytes are taken from the ocean Their stinging properties Incident to a sailor on in- cautiously handling one of them Origin of the term " sea-nettle" Fossil nautili Specimens in the British Museum Ammonites The primitive navigator of the ancient seas The most beautiful of all our fossils Derivation of the name Petrified snakes Strength and beauty of the ammonite Different in the construction of the shell to the nautilus The nautilus still rides on the ocean waves The ammonite extinct The floating pteropoda lanthina, or ocean snails The cephalopoda Cuttle-fish Description One of the pests of the fisher- man Their ink-bags Useful application of the cuttle-fish Power of reproducing limbs Prodigious size of some species Fearful apparatus of arms Highly prized as food by the ancients Still relished in some countries a queen of one of the Pacific Islands regaling on a cuttle- fish Mode of fishing with the cuttle-fish described by Columbus Contrivances of the South Sea islanders for taking the cuttle-fish The cuttle-fish belongs to a period before the Flood . 194 207 CHAPTER XX. PHENOMENA OF THE OCEAN ATMOSPHERIC INFLUENCES. The mirage an optical deception in the atmosphere Singular ap- pearance in the Polar seas Various fantastic forms assumed Aurora borealis Varied appearances Origin of the phenomenon Super- stitions of the Indians respecting the aurora Other meteors in the Northern Ocean arising from refraction Fall of icy particles Their remarkable beauty Parhelia, or mock suns Singular phenomenon observed in the Arctic seas Splendour of an Arctic sunset Ice-blink Tide-rip Luminosity of the ocean Whence originated Its singular beauty Phosphorescent particles Water-spouts Described Com- mon in the Mediterranean Their danger Water-spouts in the Pacific Their fearful grandeur Natives of the South Sea Islands terrified at their appearance Tornadoes Typhoons Trade-winds Alarm of CONTENTS. xix the crew of Columbus Advantage of the trade-winds Monsoons Exercise an important and beneficial office in nature Origin difficult to explain Vivid lightning accompanying monsoons Hurricanes or cyclones More destructive than earthquakes Hurricane at Barbadoes in 1780 Noise of the wind in hurricanes The "bore" Tremendous force and rapidity Volcanic action at the bottom of seas Remark- able submarine volcanic tract Earthquakes and volcanic eruptions at different periods Islands rising from the sea Santorin Earth- quakes Red fogs or shower-dust 208 230 CHAPTER XXI. SUPERSTITIONS CONNECTED WITH THE OCEAN. Seamen naturally superstitious Strange notions in ancient times Trifling incidents regarded as prodigies Omens and good luck Belief in saintly interpositions in the middle ages Superstitions of sailors in Sardinia Conspicuous sea-saints St. Nicholas Phantom ship Originated by the Dutch Terror excited by water-spouts Superstitious practices for averting them Lightning considered omi- nous St. Elmo Power of raising tempests at sea by witchcraft In- cident to James VI. of Scotland The Evil One supposed to influence the winds and waves Procuring favourable breezes by turning stones Wind-pillars Particular seasons held in superstitious regard by seamen Custom of the sailors at Folkestone Belief of the Finn seamen Double sight Blessing the waters of the Neva by the Russians Espousal of the sea formerly by the Doge of Venice The Greek patriarch at Constantinople throwing a cross into the sea Superstitious customs of the fishermen on the coasts of the Baltic Customs at Hartlepool Prejudices regarding certain days of the week Apparitions Amusing incident Superstitious influence of bells Calming the sea at Malta Bells of Bottreaux in Cornwall Rats leaving a ship Omens for good or evil Birds and marine animals "The Ancient Mariner" Barnacles Carrying dead bodies in ships Anecdote of Lord Nelson Turning the boats for good luck. 231 247 CHAPTER XXII. MONSTERS OF THE DEEP SEA-DRAGONS. Gigantic reptiles inhabiting the ocean before the Deluge Interesting b2 xx CONTENTS. fossil remains in the British Museum Derivation of "fossil" These reptiles fearful scourges in the ocean First discovery of the icthyo- saurus Limestone rocks at Lyme Regis Mary Anning Dragons in story-books Description of the icthyosaurus Head like a crocodile Numerous immense teeth Enormous eyes Body like that of a fish Buckland's remarks on the remains of food found in the fossil The plesiosaurus Somewhat allied to the icthyosaurus The fossil also dis- covered at Lyme Regis Peculiarities of this huge monster Head of a lizard Teeth of a crocodile Neck of enormous length Body rounded like that of a marine turtle Conybeare's description of its habits The teleosaurus The great pirate of the ocean Armed to the teeth Its enormous jaws Able to swallow animals as large as an ox The moesasaurus Discovered at Maestricht Thought to be a crocodile Character of the fossil skeleton exposed by Cuvier . . 248 252 CHAPTER XXIII. MARINE PRODIGIES. Sea-divinities of the ancients Prodigies described by Rondelet in the sixteenth century " Monk" and "bishop" fishes How manufac- tured To excite the superstitious veneration of the people Aldro- vandus His curious notions respecting fishes The kraken, awonderful sea-monster The back a mile and a half in circumference Able to pull men-of-war to the bottom of the ocean Floating islands Identity of the cuttle-fish with the kraken Great sea-monster seen by Captain Neill Appeared like a vessel lying on her beam-ends Snout fifty feet long Pliny's vast animal The great sea-serpent Described by Pon- toppidan as six hundred feet in length Appearing like hogsheads floating in aline Sea-serpents seen on the Norwegian coasts at various times Marvellous stories told by the Americans Sea-serpent seen by the crew of the " Daedalus " Drawings made of this monster Account forwarded to the Admiralty Doubts expressed by Professor Owen on the existence of a great sea-serpent Many marine prodigies may be yet unknown to us Sea-monster seen in 1857 by the crew of the " Castilian" Account given by Captain Harrington Upwards of two hundred feet long The supposed sea-serpents probably a large species of seals Fishes of the Ribbon family may give rise to what are called sea-serpents The " serpent in the sea " a very general superstition in ancient times The Scandinavian prose " Edda" " How Odin went to CONTENTS. xxi fish for the Midgard sea-serpent" Elastic imaginations of the old Northern writers Olaus Magnus His account of sea-prodigies Fish of horrible forms Eyes appear like burning lamps Whirlpool de- scribed as a stupendous fish Mermaids and mermen Belief prevalent through remotest ages Creature half man and half fish found repre- sented among the excavations at Khorsabad Figures on coins Peru- vians had senu-fish gods The Tritons and Sirens Stories told of mermaids and mermen Icelandic description of a mermaid Monster shows itself before heavy storms Merman found on the coast of Denmark Appearance like that of an old man Stuffed mermaids Barnum's famous exhibition Stories about mermaids and mermen probably originate in the appearance of seals, walruses, &c. The ma- natee The dugong The stellerus Strange creatures in the ocean near Ceylon Exhibition of prodigies in the reign of Elizabeth A mermaid shown in London in 1822 A hoax Lines on the subject 253267 CHAPTER XXIV. MODES OF FISHING IN VARIOUS COUNTRIES. Use of nets dates from the earliest times Frequent mention of them in the Holy Scriptures Represented in the bas-reliefs of Assyria, Greece, and Rome The Egyptians fond of fishing Greeks and Romans used nets Trawling at sea a favourite pursuit Papyrus nets Nets used by the Saxons St. Wilfred taught the use of nets Great improvements of late in the manufacture of nets Variety of nets used by fishermen The seine The trawl The drift Description of them Fishery " exhibitions " at Arcachon and Boulogne Fishing by the electric light Animals employed for getting fish Birds trained for the purpose by the Chinese Their wonderful sagacity Fishing with geese by the Earls of Menteith Various modes of the Chinese for getting fish Shooting fishes with bows and arrows South Sea islanders expert fishermen Singular mode of taking the needle-fish Spears frequently used Shell and bone hooks Taking large fish by means of a "mast" Description Many fish taken by torchlight Indian method of taking the candle-fish Its valuable products White porpoise fishing in the St. Lawrence Flesh of the porpoise much esteemed formerly in our own country Fishing for the sea-pike in the Ionian Islands The tunny fishery Mode of taking this fish in the xxii CONTENTS. Mediterranean Sturgeon fishery in Russia " Caviare " made from the roe of the sturgeon Conger-eel fishery in Cornwall Great sea-conger described Sand-eel fishery in the Channel Islands Mackerel fishery Nets employed for this purpose Mackerel described Yarmouth Herring fishery Derivation of the name Mode of fishing Descrip- tion of boats employed at Yarmouth Salting of the herrings Bloaters Pilchard fishery at St. Ive's Bay, Cornwall Nets employed for this purpose Sentinels placed on hills to announce the arrival of the shoals Pilchard " curing "Sprats and whitebait, how taken The sardine Abounds in the Mediterranean Cod fishery on the banks of New- foundland Value attached to every part of this fish Cod abundant on the coasts of Iceland Iceland fisheries described Modern cod smacks Method of fishing in England The dog-fish, a pest to fisher- men Haddocks taken by trawl-nets and lines Coal-fish, a relative of the cod Method of capturing it Other members of the cod family The ling The hake Stock-fish Turbots The Romans particularly fond of them Captured by beam-trawling Annual consumption of soles in London Turtles Mode of taking them Value of the shells Singular practice of taking turtles by " fisher-fishes " among the Chinese Crabs Mode of taking them Hermit crab King crab Pill-maker Prawns Shrimps Mussels Cultivation of them by the French Mussel farms near Rochelle Story of Captain Walton Mussels described Oyster-farming Extensively carried on in France and England Oysters described Scallops Clams Enemies of the oyster Lobsters Caught in traps, nets, and pots The lobster a standing romance of the sea Enormous supply of lobsters and crabs to the London markets Description of lobsters and crabs Catching fish by violent noises Bombardment of fishes with stones in Denmark A similar practice in Wales 268 309 CHAPTER XXV. ODDS AND ENDS ABOUT FISHES. Strange and varied characters of fishes Universality of fish diet The money of commerce in some countries Mythological honours rendered to fishes in ancient times Fish perpetuated on coins, &c. Form of fishes The most varied creatures in the world All adapted to the modes of obtaining food The tail the great organ of motion The fins serve to balance the body Differences of fins Paley on the CONTENTS. action of the fins Air or swimming-bladder Isinglass Bodies of fishes Circulation of blood peculiar Respiration Smell Baits made attractive by scents Mode of preparing bait in America Nostrils of fishes Taste Touch Scales Eyes Fishes require great power of vision in the deep Teeth Present more varieties in fishes than in other animals Hearing Singular stories of fishes attracted by musical sounds Brain Attachment of some fishes to their young Eggs Northern seas most prolific in fishes Uses of fish For agricultural purposes Ornaments made from fish-scales Mock pearls Various uses of the entrails of fishes by the natives of north-west America Oil of the dog-fish Skin used to refine liquors, &c. Curative properties of certain fish Strange belief of our ancestors Electrical fish The torpedo Violent shocks Felt by fishermen when drawing their nets Torpenididae divided into several genera Two species occasionally found on our coasts The marmorata The nobiliana These and other species plentiful in the Mediterranean Electric apparatus de- scribed by Cuvier Power of stinging in some fishes The sting-ray Inflicts severe wounds Formidable weapon of offence Enormous fins Bright eyes The great and little weever Troublesome to en- counter Description Stinging powers of the physalis The acanthuri Dangerous stings Remarkable for beauty of form and varied colours Fishes, with few exceptions, carnivorous The sea a vast slaughter- house Sucking-fishes The sea-owl snail Lumpsucker Its beautiful colours The far-famed remora Use of the sucker The remora a subject of imaginative terror to the ancients Power attributed to it of stopping a vessel Pliny's remarks Adhesive powers of the fish extra- ordinary Remora of the Mediterranean described The sea-larnprey Its powerful sucker Historical renown of the lamprey A fa- vourite dish of the Romans Lampreys fed on human flesh Death of Henry I. from a surfeit of lampreys Another use to which the sucker is applied Present of lamprey pies to sovereigns The gurnard group of fishes Peculiarities Derivation of the name Many of the species remarkable for beauty of colours Rose, red, and grey gurnards most common species on our coasts New Zealand gurnard remarkably beautiful The sea-scorpion Its formidable tail-sting Sticklebacks Name derived from their spiny backs Pugnacious propensities Beauty of their changing colours The sea-adder Its rapacity Anec- dote respecting the fighting habits of the sticklebacks Nest-builders Sea-gudgeons also nest-builders The flying gurnard Great size of CONTENTS. its pectoral fins Flying leaps out of the water Inhabits the warm seas Emits phosphoric light Flying fishes One species visits our coasts Musical fish Curious statements respecting them Give a peculiar sound called "drumming" The famous maigre of the Mediterranean Singular sounds heard by the crew of an American vessel in the China seas Incident related by Humboldt The pogonia, sometimes called the " drum-fish " Incident related by Sir Emerson Tennant at Ceylon Sounds from under water heard at other places Queer fish The devil-fish Lieutenant Lament's account of one taken at Jamaica Its enormous size and strength Devil-fish taken in Delaware Bay Monstrous skates Surprising stories related of them The fishing- frog, or angler A most repulsive animal Description Its boldness and voracity Said to pass some time on shore Curious story of Rondelet Derivation of the name "angler" Mode of attracting its prey Singular provision of Nature for attaining this object Some- thing more about sword and saw-fishes Incident related by Captain Wilson Capture of an immense saw-fish Its prodigious strength An East Indiaman attacked by a sword-fish Fragment of the vessel with the sword embedded in the wood, preserved in the British Museum The "Dreadnought" attacked by a sword-fish in 1868 Curious action at law in consequence of damages Evidence of Pro- fessor Owen . . ." 310336 CHAPTER XXVI. BEAUTIFUL FISHES. Dolphin Belongs to an extensive family The Atlantic species- Splendid colouring and varying tints Falconer's description Other fish change colour Cat-fish Sucking-fish Sea-peacock Blue-fish The true dolphin Described Regarded as a sacred fish by the ancients The Dauphin of France named from this fish Pursue the flying-fish Incident related by Captain Basil Hall The dolphin preyed upon in turn by the fox-shark and the grampus Some species of sea- breams remarkable for their beauty The Spanish The gilt-heads The mackerel family The common mackerel a beautiful fish The John Dory Derivation of the name Called St. Peter's fish Legend attached to it The boar-fish The opah or king-fish Splendour of its colours Marine members of the Perch family The red mullet Highly esteemed by the Romans Purchased at enormous prices CONTENTS. xxv Kept in aquariums The basse or sea-perch The armed emplessus The two-banded diploprion The Mediterranean apogon The lettered seranus Derivation of the name The spined seranus The beautiful plectropoma Its singular beauty The one-spotted mesoprion The golden-tailed mesoprion Scaly-finned family of fishes Numerous species Their remarkable richness of colouring The chcetodon The archer So named from its peculiar habit A favourite with the Chinese Wonderful dexterity of the fish in procuring its prey The Toxotus jaculata, another member of the archery family Riband-shaped fish family Includes the most singular and extraordinary fishes in creation Description The riband-fish Lath or deal-fish Wonderful beauty of these fishes The onion-fish Banner-fish Scabbard-fish The Goby family The gemmous dragonet So named from brilliance of its colours Described The ocellated blenny, or butterfly-fish Wrasses, or old wives of the sea Some very attractive species The rainbow Parrot-fish The scarus Its ruminating powers The gold- sinny The wrasse Rock-fish The ballan wrasse Pike-mouthed fishes Trumpet-fish, or sea-snipe The hippocampus, or sea-horse Origin of its name The chimaera, or rabbit-fish Called in Norway the gold and silver fish Also the sea-rat and king-fish Eyes bril- liantly lustrous Repulsive form Somewhat allied to sea-monsters Beauty of colours intended for the admiration of man . 337 350 CHAPTER XXVII. TREASURES RECOVERED FROM THE OCEAN. Immense amount of treasures buried in the ocean Shakspere's allusion to submarine spoils Sir Charles Lyell on ocean treasures Attempts made to recover submerged vessels William Phipps, the founder of the Normanby family His adventures Recovery of lost treasures The origin of the diving-bell traditionally ascribed to him His wonderful perseverance and courage Recovery of sunken wealth Appointed Sheriff of New England in America Governor of Mas- sachusetts His death Companies formed in England for the recovery of ocean treasures Use of diving-bell Operations on the submerged wreck of the " Royal George " Much ingenuity employed Incident to the " Royal George" Death of Admiral Kempenfeldt Nine hundred of the crew lost The " Royal George " the subject of many submarine operations Divers succeed in bringing up guns Condition of the CONTENTS. "Royal George" when examined Pasley's method of destroying the remains of the vessel in 1839 Recovery of many valuables Sufficient to pay the expenses of the operation Improvements made on the diving-bell by Halley, Spalding, Farey, Smeaton, and others De- scription of the diving-bell Singular case of John Day, who perished in 1774 from an almost incredulous stupidity Many operations now carried on for the recovery of lost ocean treasures The British ship "Lutine" Foundered off the Dutch coast Great loss of life One survivor only Reward offered for the recovery of the lost treasures American Submarine Company The search for sunken riches Re- covery of an immense sum of money Treasure-ships sunk in the Bay of Vigo during the war of the Spanish Succession Recovery of some of the treasures by means of the diving-bell . . . 351 362 CHAPTER XXVIII. SEA-BIRDS. Number and variety of marine birds Roosting-places Interesting spectacle at Saldanha Bay The Gull family General description Beauty and lightness of the wings Some gulls expert in breaking the shells of mollusca Tyranny of the burgomaster gull Tricks played by seamen on gulls The skuas Power of their bills Anecdote of a sailor and a skua Its pugnacity Encounter between the skua and the eagle The petrels Among the most interesting of marine birds The stormy petrel Terns, or sea-swallows The roseate tern Breeding-places on the Fame Islands The albatross A very powerful bird A great fish-eater Instances of their gluttony The divers Expert in fishing Description of them The guillemots Immense numbers at the breeding stations The great auk The puffin, or sea- parrot The penguins Darwin's description of the "jackass" pen- guin The cormorant One of the greatest destroyers of fish Trained to fish by some nations Ferocity of the cormorant when angry The pelican Peculiar pouch for storing fish Singular method in fishing The gannet Its fishing exploits Assemble at breeding-times in myriads on the Bass Rock The hooper, or wild swan Fishing- birds of the eagle kind The great sea-eagles War waged against them in the Hebrides The osprey Encounter with the white-headed eagle Fishing habits of the osprey Wonderful adaptations by Nature for this purpose The phaeton, or tropic birds The frigate-bird Its tyrannical treatment of the booby 363 388 CONTENTS. xxvii CHAPTER XXIX. THE SENTINELS OF THE SEAS. The lighthouse an object of the greatest interest Absence of sea- lights a calamity Earliest allusion to lighthouses Beacons Homer's description of the flash of a beacon-light Navigation made its first efforts in the Mediterranean Sea Voyages of the Egyptians and Phoe- nicians Lighthouses or sacred towers of antiquity Used as naval schools The buildings described The fire-tower of the early ages Watch-towers Mode of lighting them Sounding of conch-shells The Pharos, the oldest lighthouse on record Island of Pharos De- scription of the lighthouse The colossal statue of Apollo, at Rhodes, a lighthouse Erected three hundred years before Christ Description The Lamp of Diogenes Beacons or watch-fires in our own country Lighthouse erected by the Romans at Boulogne Roman lighthouse at Dover Description Mandate of Henry III. for the maintenance of coast-lights Permanent regulations for lighthouses in the reign of Elizabeth The Corduan lighthouse the noblest of its kind Light- houses in the time of Charles I. The North Foreland lighthouse Charter of the Trinity Board Control of the " sentinels of the seas" Smeaton and the Eddystone lighthouse Winstanley's efforts De- struction of his erection Rudyard's lighthouse Destroyed by fire Erection of the present lighthouse Description Sad incident to a lighthouse-keeper Bell- Rock tower in Scotland Difficulties of its erection Perils of Stephenson and the workmen Lighthouse struck by a tremendous sea in 1812 Lighthouse on the Skerry vore Rocks Other stone lighthouses Iron constructions Height of lighthouses- Bells as a warning to mariners Guns Horns Tamed sea-birds em- ployed as signals Gongs Steam trumpet Whistles Illumination of lighthouses Wood and coal Light of a coal fire kept up by bellows at the North Foreland in 1732 The last coal light extinguished in 1822 Tallow candles Oil Lamps with cotton wicks Argand lamps Fresnel's invention of the annular or built lens Gas Attended by- uncertainty Convenient as harbour lights The Drummond light The electric light Something about the animated " sentinels of the seas" Life in a lighthouse Previous occupations of lighthouse-keepers Reasons for seeking such an employment Several keepers have been CONTENTS. born in the service Long service The keepers, in general, comfort- ably lodged Employ their time in various pursuits A butler turning his cleaning talents to advantage as a lighthouse-keeper Severe hard- ships and perils sometimes Violence of the waves The Casket light- house much exposed to storms Privations and ailments of some keepers Black flags hoisted on the Longship lighthouse A distress signal Bishop's Rock lighthouse at Scilly Dangerous approach to it Struck by a water-spout in 1860 The Double Stanners lighthouse swept away in a storm Grace Darling Her heroism Floating lights Birds caught at lighthouses A young seal caught by a keeper Lan- tern of Calais lighthouse smashed by a swan Concluding lines. 389-412 THE BROAD, BROAD OCEAN, CHAPTER I. THE WORLD OF WATERS. " Thou glorious mirror, where th' Almighty's form Glasses itself in tempests, in all time, Calm or convuls'd, in breeze, or gale, or storm, Icing the pole, or in the torrid clime, Dark-heaving; boundless, endless, and sublime, Th' image of eternity, the throne Of th' Invisible; even from out thy slime The monsters of the deep are made; each zone Obeys thee: thou goest forth, dread, fathomless, and alone." BYRON. the beginning," the sacred historian informs us, " God created the heavens and the earth : and the earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep (or abyss), AND THE SPIRIT OF GOD MOVED UPON THE FACE OF THE WATERS." How wondrously solemn and grand, my dear young friends, are these inspired and holy words ! What human imagination can fully realize their sublimity ? In a few plain but soul-stirring sen- tences the great mystery of creative power is unfolded, and the l GRANDEUR OF THE OCEAN. mind gets bewildered in the contemplation of such vastness, beauty, and beneficence. We may exclaim with the royal psalmist, " Thou, even Thou, art Lord alone ; Thou hast made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host ; the earth, and all things that are therein; the seas, and all that are therein; and Thou preserves! them all." "On the second day, or generation, uprose progressively the fine fluids or waters (as they are poetically and beautifully denomi- nated) of the firmament, and filled the blue ethereal void with a vital atmosphere. The third day, or generation, the waters more properly so called, or the grosser or more compacter fluids of the general mass, were gathered together into the vast bed of the ocean, and dry land began to make its appearance." It is with this ocean, which constitutes nearly three-fourths of the entire surface of the whole globe, that I wish, my young friends, in the following pages, to make you better acquainted ; and not only to amuse, but to instruct you upon the many wonderful objects it contains. I can only do this in a very imperfect degree, but you may supply my deficiences later, when you read the open book of Nature with thoughtful minds eager for knowledge. No subject, surely, could be more delightful than the study of the " world of waters " and its strange inhabitants, and there is none upon which the mind of man has been more absorbed in inquiry and research. Besides the magnificent language of Scripture in reference to the ocean, poets of all times and countries have expatiated on the ever-varying phenomena it presents. The very beautiful lines of Campbell ought never to be forgotten : " Earth has not a plain So boundless or so beautiful as thine ; The eagle's vision cannot take it in; The lightning's glance, too weak to sweep its space, Sinks half-way o'er it, like a wearied bird; It is the mirror of the stars, where all Their hosts within the concave firmament, Gay marching to the music of the spheres, Can see themselves at once." ESSENTIAL TO EXISTENCE. There are other equally lofty and noble thoughts on the same subject embodied in verse by other writers. But, besides the sublimity and grandeur of the ocean, there are other matters of paramount interest to consider. The ocean is essential to the existence of man and of all vegetation ; " it is the great moderator and equalizer of terrestrial climates," purifying the atmosphere that we breathe, and sending off a perpetual supply of vapours, which condense into clouds, and are the sources of moisture and fertility to the soil. We must also think of the facilities afforded for an intercourse with distant nations. Humboldt remarks : " Contact with the ocean has unquestionably exercised a beneficial influence on the cultivation of the intellect and formation of the character of many nations, on the multiplication of those bonds which should unite the whole human race, on the first knowledge of the true form of the earth, and on the pursuit of astronomy, and of all the mathematical and physical sciences. This beneficial influence, enjoyed by the dwellers on the Mediterranean and on the shores of South-western Asia, was long limited to them ; but since the sixteenth century it has spread far and wide, extending to nations living even in the interior of continents. Since Columbus was ' sent to unbar the gates of ocean ' (as the unknown voice said to him in a dream, on his sick-bed near the river Belem), man has boldly adventured into intellectual as well as geographical regions before unknown to him." Besides these incalculable benefits, I must not omit to mention the innumerable marine productions which contribute, in so many ways, to the nourishment, comfort, and pleasure of the human race. How truly wonderful and mysterious are the operations of the Omni- potent Being in regard to the ocean ! " If the existing waters were increased only one-fourth of their present area, they would drown the earth, with the exception of some high mountains. If the volume of the ocean were augmented only by one-eighth, considerable por- tions of the present continents would be submerged, and the seasons would be changed all over the globe. Evaporation would be so much extended, that rains would fall continually, destroy the harvests, fruits, and flowers, and overturn the whole economy of nature." 12 WHAT IS WATER? There is, perhaps, nothing more beautiful in our whole system than the process by which the fields are irrigated from the skies, the rivers are fed from the mountains, and the ocean restrained within bounds which it never can exceed so long as that process continues on the present scale. The vapour raised from the sea by the sun floats wherever it is lighter than the atmosphere; condensed, it falls upon the earth in water. And what is water ? Chemists tell us that it is composed of equal quantities of two important gases oxygen and hydrogen these being, probably, the two most abundant and essential substances in nature, as regards ourselves and our earth. "For mark how oxygen with azote gas Plays round the globe in one aerial mass ; Or fused with hydrogen in ceaseless flow, Form the wide waves which foam and roll below." These, when combined, become converted into vapour, many gallons of them in this state forming one small drop of fluid water. "It is the simplest of combinations, and the compound most re- sembling a simple element ; the most universal solvent at all tem- peratures; the most widely distributed substance in nature; the most powerful agent ; the most perfect representation of perpetual motion, penetrating everything, passing everywhere, always present, in sight or out of sight, and everywhere producing a marked effect. When it is remembered that a very large proportion of the weight of every living being, animal or vegetable, consists of water, and that for life to continue at all, an incessant supply of fresh fluid is required, the necessity of water will be fully understood." The Saltness which distinguishes the waters of the ocean is ex- plained by the circumstance that chloride of sodium (common salt) and other dissolvable salts, which form essential ingredients of the earth, are being constantly washed out of the soil and rocks by rain and springs, and carried down by the rivers ; and as the evapo- ration which feeds the rivers carries none of the dissolved matter back to the land, the tendency is to accumulate in the sea. We know that beds of rock-salt, of enormous thickness, form part of SALTNESS AND CURRENTS OF THE OCEAN. 5 the crust of the globe j and we may infer that immense banks of salt exist in the bed of the deep. The uniformity of this saltness is preserved by the constant movement of the waters, caused by the regular and perpetual action of the winds. Maury illustrates this in a very impressive manner. " If," he remarks, " all the salts of the sea were precipitated, and spread equally over the northern half of this continent (America), it would cover the ground one mile deep ! What force could move such a mass of matter on dry land ? Yet, the machinery of the ocean, of which it forms a part, is so wisely, marvellously, and wonderfully compensated, that the most gentle breeze that plays on its bosom the tiniest insect that secretes solid matter for its sea-shell is capable of putting it in- stantly in motion. Still, \rhen solid and placed in a heap, all the mechanical contrivances of mankind, aided by the tremendous forces of all the steam and water power of the world, could not move so much as an inch in centuries of time this matter, which the sunbeam, the zephyr, and the infusorial insect keep in perpetual motion and activity." Currents, which exercise so great an influence on the circulation of the waters, and in producing remarkable changes in the form of coasts, are described as constant, periodical, and variable ; the two latter classes being determined chiefly by the winds and tides. The first motion of the ocean waves is derived either from the attraction of the sun or moon, or from the winds which blow over the surface of the waters ; the second arises from the sun, which directly through its heat, and indirectly by scorching dry winds, produces evaporation, to a great extent, of the parts most exposed to its influence ; and by its similar action on the atmosphere, causes a transference of this vapour to remote latitudes, where it descends as rain, and by destroying the equilibrium of the ocean, gives rise to currents. The principal currents of the ocean are four, two warm, and two cold ; these originate, the former among the islands of the Archipelago and in the Gulf of Mexico, &c., the latter in the Arctic and Southern Oceans. The most important and best known of ocean currents, the Gulf-Stream " the river in the ocean," one of the most marvellous THE GULF-STREAM. things in this world of waters derives its name from the Gulf of Mexico. The general direction of this stream is in the arc of a great circle, towards our own shores, by which it is divided ; one branch, passing to the west and north, reaches the coast of Norway, and can be perceived on the southern borders of Iceland and Spitzbergen. The waters are of a deep indigo blue, " and are so distinctly marked, that their line of junction with the common sea- water may be traced by the eye. Often one-half of a vessel may be perceived floating in Gulf-Stream water, while the other half is in the common water of the sea. So sharp is the line, and such is the want of affinity between those waters, and such, too, the re- luctance, so to speak, on the part of those of the Gulf-Stream to mingle with the common water of the sea." The existence of the Gulf-Stream can also be readily ascertained by means of a thermo- meter, the temperature being so elevated. It is this warmth which tempers and softens the climate of our own country and of all Western Europe. " It is," says Professor Johnston, " the influence of the Gulf-Stream upon climate that makes Ireland the Emerald Island of the sea, and clothes the shores of England with ever- green robes ; while in the same latitude, on the other side of the Atlantic, the shores of Labrador are fast bound in fetters of ice. How wonderful is this beneficent operation of Providence, when we think that this warm stream felt on our own shores, which are thus bathed with water heated under a tropical sun, comes from a distance of four thousand miles ! Nor is its influence thus circum- scribed. In mid-winter, off the inclement coasts of America, be- tween Cape Hatteras and Newfoundland, ships when beaten back from their harbours by fierce north-westers, loaded down with ice, and in danger of founding, turn their prows to the east, and seek relief and comfort in the Gulf-Stream. In high northern latitudes, "after having run three thousand miles towards the north, it still preserves even in winter the heat of summer. With this tempera- ture, it spreads itself out for thousands of square leagues over the cold waters around, and covers the ocean with a mantle of warmth that serves so much to mitigate in Europe the rigours of winter." With a breadth of about fifty miles in its narrowest portions, CURRENTS MATERIALLY AFFECT NAVIGATION. ^ the Gulf-Stream has a velocity, at times, of five miles an hour, pouring on like an immense torrent. The great cause of ocean currents and of the Gulf-Stream is supposed to be the winds per- petually blowing from east to west over the tropical seas, and evaporation. The currents of the Red Sea and the Mediterranean may be accounted for by the latter. More water passes into vapour than is supplied by all the great rivers of Europe and Africa empty- ing into the latter sea. The effect of currents was perceived long before anything was known of their direction and velocity, and Columbus was strength- ened in his belief that land might be reached across the Atlantic westward, by substances which had drifted from that quarter. After the commencement of his great undertaking, when, day after day, nothing had been seen but a shoreless horizon, and hope had nearly expired in his own breast, while his crew were on the verge of open rebellion, the effect of the oceanic currents restored his confidence and allayed their clamours. A branch of thorn, with berries on it, appeared ; a reed was picked up, and a staff artifi- cially carved intimations that an inhabited land lay before the adventurers, which was at length revealed to their gaze, and ter- minated for ever the mystery which had rested upon the western flood. The currents of the ocean materially affect its navigation. While an intimate knowledge of them is necessary, in order to avoid the danger of mistaking the true position of a vessel, its progress to port may be facilitated by falling in with a local stream, or steer- ing clear of it, according as its direction is favourable or adverse. Currents pursuing an inverse course sometimes meet and conflict ; and when this occurs in narrow channels, it renders their passage troublesome and dangerous. When two currents thus meeting together are of equal force, they often cause eddies or whirlpools, such as the famous Maelstrom off the coast of Norway. Its in- fluence is felt for more than nine miles, and its power is such that vessels drawn into it have been destroyed. Charybdis, in the Straits of Messina, with its companion, Scylla, have been described by ancient writers as monsters. Virgil says : TIDES. " Here Scylla bellows from her dire abodes, Tremendous pest ! abhorred by man and gods ! Hideous her voice, and with less terror roar The whelps of lions in the midnight hour." Homer writes of Charybdis : ' ' Beneath, Charybdis holds her boisterous reign, 'Midst roaring whirlpools, and absorbs the main. Thrice in her gulfs the boiling seas subside, Thrice in dire thunder she refunds the tide." A Tide is a wave of the whole ocean, which is elevated to a cer- tain height, and then sinks after the manner of a common wave. The interval between the two positions forms the tide. The prin- cipal cause is the attraction of the sun and moon, the latter being the more potent agent. The sea rises or flows, as it is called, by degrees, about six hours ; it remains stationary about a quarter of an hour ; and then retires or " ebbs " during another six hours, to flow again after a brief repose. Thus every day, or the period elapsing between successive returns of the moon to the meridian of a place which is twenty-four hours fifty minutes and a half the sea ebbs and flows twice, much less, indeed, towards the poles than within the tropics, where the waters lie under the direct in- fluence of the lunar attraction. It is in the southern hemisphere that the tidal wave originates, and from thence moves northward, influenced in its direction by the motion of the earth. Almost excluded from the Northern Pacific by the barrier islands and coral reefs which stretch across from Australia nearly to South America, the effect of the tides, excepting on the west coast of that continent, is little felt in that ocean. In the Indian Ocean, compressed be- tween Africa on the north and Australia and Sumatra on the east, it bursts in full strength on the shores of Hindostan. In the narrow channel of the Atlantic the tidal wave progresses northward with great rapidity, and on the shores both of Europe and America, producing, as in Southern India, the "Bore," which I have de- scribed in the chapter on the " Phenomena of the Ocean." The highest floods and the lowest ebbs occur at the period of WIND-WAVES. new and full moon near the equinoxes, in March and September when the moon is nearest the earth. Winds have also a powerful influence over the tidal currents, especially in narrow seas, keeping them back when blowing from an opposite quarter, and quickening their flow when pursuing the same direction; but the motion of the water in the tide-wave is totally unlike that in an ordinary surface-wave, such as the wind produces ; and it differs, also, in affecting the whole depth of the ocean equally from the bottom to the surface, while the wind-waves, even in the most violent storms, agitate it to a very trifling depth. In the deep water of the ocean the tidal wave does not exceed twelve feet in height The ancients knew that the time of high water, and also the height of the tide, were in some way connected with the age of the .moon. It was the illustrious Sir Isaac Newton who made the first attempt to explain the phenomena of the tides, on the prin- ciple of the influence of gravitation, the grand agent in the move- ment of the universe. What are called wind-waves are small at their first origin, com- mencing with a mere ripple, or, as the sailors term it, a " cat's-paw." But each wave, as it advances, acquires increased height by the continued pressure of the wind. Thus it is that the larger waves are not developed in narrow seas, or where the wind blows off the land ; they require breadth of water and continued pressure for their formation. The greatest waves known are those of the Cape of Good Hope, under the influence of a north-west gale (the storm-wind of that region), which drifts the swell round the Cape, after traversing obliquely the vast area of the South Atlantic. In such gales, the waves attain a height of above forty feet, so that two ships in the trough of the sea, with such a wave between them, lose sight of one another from their decks. Off Cape Horn, also, the waves reach upwards of thirty feet in height. In our own seas they rarely exceed eight or nine feet. The crossing of waves, instead of dividing the water into parallel ridges, causes the pitching and rolling so distressing to passengers and trying to vessels. When more than two series of io DEPTH OF THE OCEAN. waves cross one another, they give rise to the term " chopping " seas. The tremendous power of waves, when breaking against rocks or any other obstacle, is fearful. They are known to dash up one hundred and fifty feet from the sea level against the Eddystone Lighthouse, and descend like a cataract on its summit. With regard to the depth of the ocean, it is only very recently that "deep-sea soundings," on the principle of Brooke's apparatus, which I have explained in the chapter on " Minute Animal Life in the Ocean," have been made with any accurate results generally, but even at the present time our knowledge is confined chiefly to the North Atlantic, the greatest depth of which, as far as it has (according to Maury's opinion) been satisfactorily ascertained, is twenty-five thousand feet ; though there are, in all probability, considerably greater depths in the region between the United States, the Bermudas, and Newfoundland. Soundings by Lieu- tenant Brooke gave a depth of more than three miles in the Pacific. It is generally believed that the Arctic is the shallowest of the oceans. Judging from what has been lately discovered concerning the North Atlantic, it would seem as if the land surface under water were the counterpart, as regards eminences and hollows, chasms, valleys, &c., of the land surface above. " From the top of Chim- borazo, to the bottom of the Atlantic, in the deepest part yet reached," says Maury, " the distance in a vertical line is nine miles. Could the waters of the Atlantic be drawn off so as to expose to view the great sea-gash (the basin of the Atlantic) which separates continents, and extends from the Arctic to the Antarctic, it would present a scene the most rugged, grand, and imposing. The very ribs of the solid earth, with the foundations of the sea, would be brought to light, and we should have presented to us, in one view, in the empty ' cradle of the ocean/ a thousand fearful wrecks, with that dreadful array of dead men's skulls, great anchors, heaps of pearls and inestimable stones, which, in the dreamer's eye, lie scattered at the bottom of the sea, making it hideous with sights of ugly Death." VARIETY OF COLOUR. n Whatever relates to the colour of the ocean is a matter on which many and various opinions have been expressed. Very curious is the statement of Martyn, one of our early voyagers, in his "Spitz- bergen and Greenland" (1671), attributing these changes in the sea to the colour of the skies : " If, " he says, " the sky be clear, the sea looks as blewe as saphire ; if it is covered somewhat with clouds, the sea is as greene as an emeralde ; if there be a foggy sunshine, it looketh yellow; if it be quite darke, like unto the colour of indigo ; in stormy and cloudy weather, like blacke sope, or exactly like unto the colour of blacke leade." In the chapter on " Minute Animal Life in the Ocean," I have mentioned Scoresby's remarks on the Greenland Sea, which varies in colour from ultramarine blue to olive green ; differences which he found, on examining the water, were due to the presence of innumerable minute animals. The red, brown, and white patches of the Pacific and Indian Oceans are attributed to the presence of swarms of animalculse, and the colours of the Red and Yellow Seas to matters of vegetable origin. " On both sides of the island of Ceylon," remarks Sir Emerson Tennant, " during the south-west monsoon, a broad expanse of the sea assumes a red tinge, con- siderably brighter than brick-dust, and this is confined to a space so distinct, that a line seems to separate it from the green water which flows on either side. On examining some of this water with a microscope, it proved to be filled with animalculae, probably similar to those which have been noticed near the shores of South America, and whose abundance has imparted a name to the Ver- milion Sea off the coast of California." Captain Kingman passed through a tract of water twenty-three miles in breadth, and of unknown length, so full of minute (and some not very minute) phosphorescent animal organisms, as to present the aspect at night of a boundless plain covered with snow. Some of the animals were " serpents " six inches in length, of a transparent jelly-like nature. This appearance is noticed by Dr. Collingwood as a " milky sea," the whole surface composed of a white fluid like milk. The contrast of the ocean, thus coloured, with the dark sky is very striking. 12 THE ATLANTIC. Having briefly glanced at some of the most important features of the world of waters, I will now direct your attention to its prin- cipal divisions ; and these are five : the Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, Arctic, and Antarctic Oceans. Although no portion of the great ocean is completely detached from the rest, the intervening conti- nents and islands mark it off into divisions in this manner. What may be called the Northern Basin contains the Arctic Ocean "sur- rounding the North Pole, and is bounded by the northern extre- mities of Asia, Europe, and America, and the Arctic circle. The Western Basin extends from the Arctic circle on the north to a line drawn from the extremity of Africa, to that of America on the south, and forms the bed of the Atlantic Ocean. The South- eastern Basin includes the Pacific Ocean between America and Asia, extending in breadth nearly half round the globe, or about eleven thousand miles, and in length about eight thousand miles, from Behring's Straits on the north, to where it meets the Southern Ocean. Its limit on the south is the Antarctic continent. This vast bed of waters comprises also the Indian Ocean. Each of these vast ocean tracts is divided into lesser compart- ments or seas. The ATLANTIC (supposed to be thus termed from a fabulous island called "Atlantis," which was said by the ancients to be situated in the Atlantic Ocean) includes the Mediterranean, Black Sea, Baltic, Baffin's Bay, Gulf of St. Lawrence, Gulf of Mexico, and the Caribbean Sea. Its extreme breadth is about five thou- sand miles, and its narrowest part about sixteen hundred miles. Owing to the numerous seas and inlets connected with this vast ocean, the extent of its shores is immense above fifty thousand miles, several thousands more than that of the shores of the Pacific and Indian Oceans together. Small in breadth and com- paratively narrow as it is, the Atlantic, from its position in relation to civilized countries, and as the most frequented highway of com- munication for commerce, is regarded as the most important ocean, and is consequently much better known than the Pacific. The submarine cable that now links the Old and the New Worlds together one of the most wonderful events in the annals THE PACIFIC. 13 of mechanical engineering is another bond of peace and good- will between two great nations. As was observed in a New York journal when the cable was first floated out into the Atlantic by the British line-of-battle ship "Agamemnon" and the American frigate " Niagara," " What a satire this work will be upon any warlike armaments ! How it will put great guns, and cutlasses, and boarding-pikes to shame ! Gallant Jack Tars of the old time will soon see that their vocation will henceforth be gone. What would Nelson and Collingwood have said of meeting a foreign first-rate in mid-ocean to lay a cable at the bottom of the ocean ? " The Atlantic is naturally divided into three North, South, and Intertropical. It stands in open connection with the North and South Polar Seas ; in the former the ice reaches the land on each side during the whole of every winter, and, indeed, for the greater part of every year. In the chapter on the " Frozen Regions " you will find some particulars on this subject. The Mediterranean Sea (so named from its being almost entirely enclosed by the continents of Europe, Asia, and Africa) is con- nected with the Atlantic Ocean by the Straits of Gibraltar. It is one of the greatest inland seas in the world, and its shores were the successive seats of the government of the earth for thousands of years, " its waves washing the coasts of Palestine and Egypt, of Greece and Italy. It was the ' central ocean ' of the ancients, on which all the early discoveries and hardships of navigation were experienced." The Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea form altogether a basin double the size of the Mediterranean. The sister ocean of the Atlantic now claims our notice. It was on the 2 Qth of September, 1 513 three hundred and fifty-seven years ago that the discovery of the PACIFIC, the largest of the oceans, as I have remarked, was effected by Vasco Nunez de Balboa, a brave and enterprizing Spaniard, Governor of the Spanish Colony of Santa Maria, in the Isthmus of Darien. If you have read the adventures of the great Columbus, you will remember that the principal object of his research was a more direct communication to the East Indies the reputed country of fabulous wealth and H BALBOA DISCOVERS THE PACIFIC. this led him to the borders of the New World. In that immense and unexplored region his followers pursued their discoveries, and the result was the finding of the great " South Sea " (so called be- cause vessels sailing from Europe can only enter it after a long southerly course) by the persevering Balboa. In his march across the isthmus (which, if you consult your map, you will find separates the Atlantic from the Pacific) he had the first intimation that such an ocean existed. In one of his incursions against the native inha- bitants in his neighbourhood, he procured a large quantity of gold. While he was dividing the treasures among his followers, much disputing took place in the presence of a young chief, who, dis- daining broils for what seemed so mean an object, struck the scales with his hand, and scattered the gold on the ground, exclaiming, " Why should you quarrel for such a trifle ? If this gold is indeed so precious in your eyes that you forsake your homes for it, invade the peaceful lands of strangers, and expose yourselves to such sufferings and perils, I will tell you of a province where you may gratify your wishes to the utmost. Behold those lofty mountains !" he said, pointing to the south; "beyond these lies a mighty sea, which may be seen from their summit. It is navigated by people who have vessels not much less than yours, and furnished like them with sails and oars. All the streams which flow down the southern side of these mountains into that sea abound in gold ; and the kings who reign upon its borders eat and drink out of golden vessels. Gold is as plentiful and common among these people of the south, as iron is among you Spaniards." From the moment in which he heard this intelligence, the mind of Balboa became occupied with this one object, and he steadfastly devoted all his thoughts and actions to the discovery of the southern sea indicated by this chief. It was not until the ist of September, 1513, that he set forth, however, accompanied by no more than one hundred and ninety soldiers. After incredible toil in marching through hostile tribes, he at length approached the base of the last ridge he had to climb, and rested there for the night. On the 26th, with the first glimmering of light, he commenced the ascent, and by ten o'clock had reached the brow of the mountain, from MAGELLAN'S EXPEDITION. the summit of which he was assured he would see the promised ocean. Here he caused his followers to halt, and mounted alone to the bare hill-top, when a bewildering and entrancing sight met his eyes. Below him extended forests, green fields, and winding rivers, and, beyond, he beheld the SOUTH SEA, illuminated by the morning sun. At this glorious sight Balboa fell on his knees, and extending his arms towards the ocean, weeping for joy, returned thanks to Heaven for being the first European who had been per- mitted to behold these long-sought waters. He then made signs to his companions to ascend, and when they had obtained a view of the magnificent scene, a priest who was among them began to chant the Te Deum, all the rest kneeling and joining in the solemn strain. After this Balboa caused a tall tree to be felled and formed into a cross, which was erected on the spot whence he first beheld the Southern Ocean. He then descended to the shore, and on the 2Qth of the same month reached a large bay, named by him San Miguel. Unfurling a banner on which was painted a figure of the Virgin with the arms of Castille at her feet, he marched, with his drawn sword in his hand and his shield on his shoulder, knee-deep into the rushing tide, and in a loud voice took possession of the sea and of all the shores it washed. He concluded the ceremony by cutting with his dagger a cross on a tree that grew in the water and his followers, dispersing themselves in the forest, expressed their devotion by carving similar marks with their weapons. Tidings of this great discovery were immediately sent to Spain, and received with delight and triumph. But, instead of being rewarded, Balboa was superseded in his command, and publicly executed by his successor in 1517. It was seven years after the discovery of the Pacific Ocean, that Fernando de Magellan (or Magalhaens), a famous Portuguese voyager, was dispatched by the Court of Spain (by whom the offer of his services had been accepted), to examine the exact position of the Molucca Islands. He sailed the 2oth of September, 1519, with five ships and two hundred and thirty six men, from San Lucar, and proceeding to the mouth of La Plata and along the shores of Patagonia (the most southerly country of South America), dis- 1 6 BOUNDARIES OF THE PACIFIC. covered the Straits about three hundred miles in length that bear his name, and passing through them, first launched the ships of Europe into the Southern Sea. The Pacific derived its name from the smooth surface its waters presented to its earliest discoverers ; though this is scarcely appli- cable, for it is subject to very fearful storms at times. Boldly pursuing his way across the untraversed surface of this immense ocean, Magellan discovered the Ladrone Islands and the Philip- pines, in 1521, more than twelve hundred in number, and the greater part of which still belong to the Spanish Government. The distinguished honour belongs to the adventurous Magellan, of his ship the "Victory" having made the first voyage ever accomplished round the world ; but the brave commander of the expedition lost his life, without reaching his original destination, having been killed in a quarrel with one of the chiefs of the Philip- pine Islands. If you will turn to a map of the world, you will see that the Pacific Ocean lies between America on the east, and Asia and Australia on the west. It does not, like the Atlantic and Indian Oceans, send off branches which penetrate deeply into the adjacent continents; but extensive peninsulas project from the continents which border on it, and these, together with some adjacent rows of islands, stretching far into the sea, separate considerable portions of it from the main body of the ocean. This is less the case on the American than on the Asiatic side. Only two peninsulas pro- ject from the former, that of California (which divides the Gulf of California), and the peninsula of Alashka, with the Aleutian Islands, which divide the Kamtchatka Sea from the Pacific. The peninsula of Kamtchatka, which projects from the continent of Asia, divides the Kamtchatka Sea from the Sea of Okhotsk, which latter is separated from the open expanse of the Pacific by the Kurile Islands. The Yellow Sea, which is farther south, is less distinctly separated from the Pacific than the seas farther north ; still the boundary-line between both seas is marked by a series of islands, which extend from the most southern extremity of the island of Kinsui to the northern extremity of Formosa. This EARLY VOYAGES OF DISCOVERY. 17 remarkable formation continues still farther south, and the Chinese Sea, which extends from this island (Formosa), on the northern tropic to the equator, although it properly belongs to the Indian Ocean, must be considered as the last link in this chain of sea- basins. On the north the Chinese Sea is separated from the Pacific by a single row of islands, and farther south, by a double and triple row. Thus we find that, although the continent of Asia forms the western boundary of the Pacific north of the equator, no part of it is immediately washed by that ocean, and its shores can only be reached by passing through one of these subordinate sea-basins. The islands near the Asian coast of the Pacific form one great division, called the Indian Archipelago. Another division, under the name of Australia (or Southern Lands), consists of New Hol- land (which, although ranked as an island, is considered by some geographers as entitled to be regarded as a continent, on account of its extent), New Zealand, the New Hebrides, and adjacent islands. The remaining islands east of the Philippines and New Zealand are classed together, forming the Polynesian Islands of the English and the Oceanica of the French. Most of the early voyages of discovery in the Pacific Ocean attracted unusual attention; those made in the sixteenth and seven- teenth centuries, from the facilities they were expected to afford in the ultimate discovery of the long-sought southern continent, or the rich booty they afforded the daring adventurers, who often captured the Spanish vessels loaded with money and precious stones. At the close of the eighteenth century the voyages of the illus- trious Captain Cook excited universal interest. They were instru- mental in a great degree in diverting public attention from the splendid and stupendous discoveries in the New World, and directing, it to the clustering islands spread over the Pacific Ocean, exhibiting them in all the loveliness of their natural scenery, the interesting simplicity and novel manners of their inhabitants. Down to the time of Cook it was generally believed that a great continent existed around the Southern Pole, and which is repre- sented in ancient maps as " unknown southern lands." ISLANDS OF THE PACIFIC. The second voyage of Cook was expressly designed to solve this problem, and after penetrating into high southern latitudes -without finding anything but a few islands, the supposed continent was given up, and land was imagined to exist only slightly depressed beneath the surface of the ocean. The result of the third voyage of Cook, commenced in 1776, with the view of discovering the North-west Passage, resulted in the death of this brave sailor, one of England's greatest navigators, I4th of February, 1779, by the hand of savages on the island of Hawaii. After Cook came our famous Anson; the French navigators, theBougainvilles, LaPerouse, and D'Entrecasteaux ; the Englishmen, Carteret, Vancouver, &c. The islands of the Pacific are historically interesting, especially as regards the period of our early intercourse with them. They have advanced our commerce and afforded means for the progress of science. The islands are both low and elevated. The former are of very small extent, and are founded on coral reefs, which encircle a small space of sea. It was supposed that they derived their origin entirely from marine animals ; but it has been since ascertained that these animals cannot exist in a depth of more than about ten fathoms, and as the islands rise with great steepness from a sea usually more than three hundred fathoms deep, the question of the origin of the islands has engaged still more the attention of naturalists. The volcanic islands those raised by the action of fire are of moderate extent, and generally rise to a great elevation in their centre. Some of them are encircled by coral reefs. Every writer on the South Sea Islands has been lavish in praise of their scenery, and if you read the descriptions of them in " Cook's Voyages," you will be able to judge of their correctness. With a few remarks on the Indian Ocean I will close this present chapter, which, although some of you, my young readers, may regard as a lesson in geography, is a necessary preliminary in matters highly interesting and of the deepest importance, and to which the follow- ing chapters more or less relate. With a map of the world placed before you, it will be an easy and pleasant task to trace the different localities and boundaries to which I have referred. You will per- INDIAN OCEAN. 19 ceive that the Indian Ocean is bounded on the south by a line drawn from the Cape of Good Hope to the most southern extremity of Tasmania or Van Diem en's Land. Its other limits, reckoning from the last-mentioned point, are, Van Diemen's Land, Australia, the Indian Archipelago, Farther India, Hindostan, Persia, Arabia, and Africa. Gradually narrowing from south to north, the Indian Ocean forks at Cape Cormorin into the Bay of Bengal on the east, and the Arabian Sea on the west, the latter again branching off into two arms, the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea ; which reach respectively the mouth of the Euphrates, and the neighbourhood of the Mediterranean. These details exclude the waters of the Archipelago, as belonging rather to the Pacific Ocean. The Indian Ocean possesses a remarkable interest, inasmuch as the earliest voyage on record, beyond the land-locked Mediter- ranean, was taken on its waters, for the navy of Solomon went farther than the Straits of Bab-el-Mandeb, by which the Red Sea is connected with the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean. In this respect it virtually maintained its superiority during two thou- sand years, navigation being facilitated by the periodical monsootis (explained in the chapter on the " Phenomena of the Ocean ") of the northern part of the Indian Ocean, blowing, as they do, alter- nately from the south-west and the north-east. 22 <^AQ ^S?Q^ CHAPTER II. THE FROZEN OCEAN. " Miserable they Who, fast entangled in the gathering ice, Take their last leave of the descending sun ; While, full of death and fierce with tenfold frost, The long, long night, encumbent o'er their heads, Falls horrible." THOMSON. JHOSE of us, my young friends, who pass our days in a sun-favoured and temperate portion of the earth, with every comfort we could desire around us, the green face of nature only covered at brief wintry intervals with a mantle of snow, and a wide-spread fertility attesting the bounty of an indul- gent Providence, cannot realize the dark and repelling picture of the frozen North described in the lines I have quoted, and applied by the poet to the disastrous fate of the earliest adventurers who endeavoured to pierce the gloom of the Arctic seas. We can only fancy, with a shudder, a winter of nine months reigning over the boundless regions of ice ; and we might wonder how human nature is able to support such an intensity of cold with its attendant privations, did we not know that the inhabitants of this bleak climate, accustomed to hardships which we could not endure, pursue an existence which we might consider miserable, but which they, active, self-reliant, and with but few wants to satisfy, 20 * HUMAN ENDURANCE OF COLD. 21 except the cravings of hunger, are contented with, and would not, probably, exchange for what we might consider a happier lot. You may remember the lines of Goldsmith : " But where to find the happiest spot below Who can direct when all pretend to know? The shuddering tenant of the frigid zone Boldly proclaims that happiest spot his own, Extols the treasures of his stormy seas, And his long nights of revelry and ease." It is astonishing what amount of cold can be endured by the human frame. Dr. Kane, one of the latest of Arctic navigators, records, ;th of February, 1851, a frost three degrees below the freezing-point of mercury ! Only a few degrees above this, the cre,w of the ship engaged in the expedition performed a farce called "The Mysteries and Miseries of New York." One of the sailors had to enact the part of a damsel with bare arms, and when a cold flat-iron, which was employed in the play, touched his skin, the sensation was like that of burning with a hot iron. On the 22nd of the same month (Washington's birthday) there was another theatrical performance. " The ship's thermometer outside was at 46; inside, the audience and actors, by aid of lungs, lamps, and hangings, got as high as 30, only sixty-two degrees below the freezing-point, perhaps the lowest atmospheric record of a theatrical representation. It was a strange thing altogether. The condensa- tion was so excessive, that we could barely see the performers: they walked in a cloud of vapour. Any extra vehemence of deli- very was accompanied by volumes of smoke. Their hands steamed. When an excited Thespian took off his coat, it smoked like a dish of potatoes." As another instance of extreme cold in these fearful regions, I may mention to you how, under a temperature of 15 below zero, Captain M'Clure, one of the most adventurous of our Arctic ex- plorers, spent the night of the J3th of October, 185 i,on the ice, amid prowling bears, and that without food or ammunition, his only guide being a pocket compass, which, however, the darkness, aided by 22 EFFECTS OF THE COLD. mist and drift, rendered useless. He, nevertheless, wiled away the time by sleeping three hours on " a famous bed of soft dry snow " (just imagine our own feelings in changing a warm blanket for a coverlet of ice !), and by wandering ten miles by the crow's flight over a surface so rugged with ice and snow as to endanger his limbs. It was at the close of a walking expedition of nine days, on a very short allowance of food and water, he accomplished his desire of reaching the winter quarters of the expedition, so as to ensure a warm meal ready for his men when they arrived at their destination. Sir Edward Parry mentions his experience of Arctic rigours thus : " Our bodies appeared to adapt themselves so readily to the climate, that the scale of our feelings, if I may so express it, was soon reduced to a lower standard than ordinary, so that after being some days in a temperature of 15 or 20, it felt quite mild and comfortable when the thermometer rose to zero that is, when it was 32 below the freezing-point ! " One of Dr. Kane's crew put an icicle at 28 into his mouth to crack it; one fragment stuck to his tongue, and two to his lips, each taking off a bit of skin, burning it off, if this term might be used in an inverse sense. The same writer observes, "that at 2 5 the beard, eyebrows, eyelashes, &c., acquire a delicate, white, and perfectly enveloping cover of venerable hoar-frost. The moustache and under-lip form pen- dulous beads of dangling ice. Put out your tongue, and it in- stantly freezes to this icy crusting, and a rapid effort and some hand-aid will be required to liberate it. Your chin has a trick of freezing to your upper jaw by the biting aid of your beard. My eyes have often been so glued as to show that even a wink may be unsafe." One day Dr. Kane walked himself into " a comfortable perspi- ration " with the thermometer sevetity degrees below freezing-point ! A breeze sprang up, and instantly the sensation of cold was intense. His beard, coated before with icicles, seemed to bristle with in- creased stiffness, and an unfortunate hole in the back of his mitten "stung like a burning coal." On the next day, while walking, his beard and moustache became one solid mass of ice. " I inad- EARLY ARCTIC VOYAGERS. 23 vertently put out my tongue, and it instantly froze fast to my lip. This being nothing new, costing only a smart pull, and a bleeding afterwards, I put up my mittened hands to ' blow hot,' and thaw the unruly member from its imprisonment. Instead of succeeding, tny mitten was itself a mass of ice in a moment : it fastened on the upper side of my tongue, and flattened it out like a batter- cake between the two disks of a hot griddle. It required all my care with the bare hands to release it, and then not without lace- ration." Such is a relation of the rigours experienced by Arctic navigators in the frozen regions ; and although, as I before remarked, the in- habitants of this dreary country are accustomed to the climate, they are frequently exposed to the most severe privations. The Esqui- maux, on the approach of winter, cut the hard ice into tall square blocks, with which they construct their dwellings. They pass their nights covered with bear and seal-skins, near a stove or lamp, every portion of the hut being closed against the piercing cold. Their provisions are often frozen so hard as to require to be cut with a hatchet. The whole of the inside of the hut sometimes becomes lined with a thick crust of ice ; and, if a window is opened for a moment, the moisture of the confined air is immediately precipi- tated in the form of a shower of snow. Without interest and adventure to stimulate the energies and excite the curiosity of mankind, these gloomy regions might not, probably, have been penetrated by the brave seamen who have imperilled their lives amidst those icy waters or on the inhospit- able coasts, and " whose explorations have developed and tasked more heroism and skill than, perhaps, the exploration and discovery of all the rest of the world since the age of Columbus." But for these Arctic voyagers, let me repeat, we should have been ignorant of the strange and wonderful countries of the North, and their inhabitants. These voyages originated in an attempt to discover a shorter passage to India across the Northern seas. In 1553 an expedition of three vessels for this purpose left England. The results to two of these ships were most disastrous, the crews, seventy in number, and the commander of the expedition, Sir 24 MODERN EXPEDITIONS. Hugh Willoughby, being frozen to death. Since this period, up- wards of a hundred expeditions have been made in search of the North-west Passage, that is, a navigable channel from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean, round the northern margin of America. Among the heroic leaders of these expeditions are the conspicuous names, of which you cannot be ignorant, of Parry, John and James Ross, Back, Franklin, Beecher, Austin, Kellett, Osborne, Collin- son, M'Clure, Rae, Simpson, M'Clintock, and other famous men. So great was the anxiety of our Government to trace the North- west Passage, that in 1745 Parliament offered a reward of ^20,000 to whoever should discover it, but in 1828 this offer was withdrawn, as the problem was still unsolved. The fate of the unfortunate Sir John Franklin, one of the bravest and boldest of the Arctic explorers, must be well known to you : how, in 1845, when nearly sixty years of age, he started on his last and fatal voyage to the frozen regions, with the ships " Erebus " and "Terror." The vessels were seen three months afterwards, but for eleven years their fate remained a mystery, although twenty expeditions were sent, at the cost of a million sterling, to discover traces of the missing crews. In 1857 the "Fox," commanded by the gallant M'Clintock, was fitted out, at the expense of Lady Franklin, on the same mission; and in 1859 the sad end of Franklin and his associates was ascertained. The " Erebus " and *' Terror" had been beset by ice and abandoned in 1848; the commander himself died the year previously (nth of June), and was thus spared the agony of witnessing and sharing the sufferings of his crews, all of whom had, it is presumed, perished on those fearful shores. Many sad and interesting relics of the Franklin expedition were recovered and brought home. The discoverers obtained their information in a remarkable manner : lying amongst some stones, which had evidently fallen off from the top of a pillar, was a small tin case, deposited on this spot by the crews of the abandoned vessels, and containing the record of the long-lost expedition. The sorrowful end of these brave men has been commemorated in some sweet verses by a Devonshire poet, Mr. W. R. Neale : SAD FATE OF SIR JOHN FRANKLIN. 25 " What though for them no marble shrine, Carved by the sculptor's hand, be found, Or, chisell'd by his art divine, A tomb on consecrated ground ! Nor wrapt in winding-sheet nor shroud, Unblest, their whitening bones decay, While rude winds sing their requiem loud, By headland bleak and ice-bound bay ! Theirs the imperishable name That as a meteor gleams afar, An immortality of fame Beyond the beam of Polar star ! And Duty, when on danger's track She bids the brave her call pursue, Dauntless and firm, not turning back Though Death be there, resolv'd and true, One glorious end, one aim in view, Shall point to FRANKLIN and his crew ! " It was in one of the attempts in search of Franklin and his companions that the discovery of the North-west Passage was effected in 1850, by the successful though perilous exertions of Captain (now Sir Robert) M'Clure, who had shared in the Arctic expedition of Captain Back in 1836, and in the voyage of Sir James Ross in 1848. Captains M'Clure and Collinson were sent out in the "Investigator" and the "Enterprise." The course of the latter vessel was chiefly in open waters, close to the American shores; but M'Clure steered in a more northern route, and en- countered fearful perils from the ice in those storm-bound regions. During four years he underwent trials and exposures which would have daunted many a navigator, however accustomed to these dangers. His vessel, several times beset by ice, was at length so firmly " locked in," that M'Clure, seeing no hope of release, de- cided upon sending thirty of his crew to make their way home- wards ; some by way of North America, up the Mackenzie River, and the others by Cape Spencer, Beechey Island : while he him- self, with the remainder of the officers and crew, would stay by 26 DISCOVERY OF THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. the ship, spend a fourth winter in those dreary regions, and then, if not relieved, endeavour to retreat upon Lancaster Sound. Such was the arrangement, when an incident occurred that thrilled their hearts with joy. The captain and his first lieutenant were walking near the ship conversing, when they perceived a figure rapidly approaching them from the rough ice at the entrance of the bay. When about a hundred yards from them, he shouted and gesticu- lated, but without enabling them to guess who he might be. At length he approached, and to their astonishment thus announced himself : " I am Lieutenant Pym, late of the * Herald,' and now in the ' Resolute.' Captain Kellett is in her at Denby Island." Lieutenant Pym had come from Melville Island, in consequence of one of Captain Kellett's parties having discovered an inscrip- tion left by M'Clure on Parry's famous sandstone rock in Winter Harbour. The ship was abandoned, and the commander and his crew, released from a very perilous position, returned to England. This was in 1854. Although he was obliged to leave his ship blocked in mountains of ice, and had to walk and sledge over hundreds of miles of ice to reach other ships which had entered the frozen regions in the opposite direction, still, he had water under him all the way, and was thus the first commander of a vessel who really solved the problem of the famous North-west Passage. For this discovery he was rewarded by the Government with ^10,000 and the honour of knighthood. You may know that the term " Arctic " means properly, " lying near the constellation of the Bear" (in Greek arctos), and hence, "northern." If you examine a map of the world, you will see that the Arctic and Antarctic Circles are the boundaries which separate the frigid and temperate zones, as they are called. The seas which surround the North and South Poles are named the Arctic Ocean and the Antarctic Ocean or South Polar Sea. At the poles them- selves there is only one day of six months, during which the sun never sets, and one night of six months, when the sun never rises. At the Arctic Circle the greatest length of continuous light is twenty-four hours, at the summer solstice or Midsummer's Day ; FEARFUL INCIDENT IN THE FROZEN SEAS. 27 whilst, at the same time, at the Antarctic Circle, the sun is twenty- four hours below the horizon, and the reverse at the opposite seasons of the year. The coldness of the Polar regions arises from the sun's rays striking the earth obliquely, as, at the equator, the heat is produced by the sun's rays falling upon the earth vertically. In the Arctic Ocean that part of the universal sea which surrounds the North Pole lie the most fearful dangers which can beset the seaman on his perilous course, arising from floating ice, the ship being frozen in, the fogs, the blinding snow, the darkness, the storms, and the tides and currents, comparatively unknown, which he has to en- counter. I will relate to you a thrilling incident that occurred in the frozen seas many years ago, and is described in the " Westminster Review." It is -one of the most fearful histories that have been recorded. "One serene evening in the middle of August, 1775, Captain Warrens, the master of a Greenland whale-ship, found himself be- calmed among an immense number of icebergs, in about 77 of north latitude. On one side and within a mile of his vessel these were of an immense height and closely wedged together, and a succession of snow-covered peaks appeared behind each other as far as the eye could reach, showing that the ocean was completely blocked up in that quarter, and that it had probably been so for a long period of time. Captain Warrens did not feel altogether satis- fied with his situation ; but, there being no wind, he could not move one way or the other, and he therefore kept a strict watch, knowing that he would be safe as long as the icebergs continued in their respective places. About midnight the wind rose to a gale, accom- panied by thick showers of snow, while a succession of thundering, grinding, and crashing noises gave fearful evidence that the ice was in motion. The vessel received violent shocks every moment, for the haziness of the atmosphere prevented those on board from discovering in what direction the open water lay, or if there was actually any at all on either side of them. The night was spent in tacking as often as any case of danger happened to present itself, and in the morning the storm abated, and Captain Warrens found, 28 FROZEN TO DEATH. to his great joy, that his ship had not sustained any serious injury. He remarked with surprise that the accumulated icebergs, which had the preceding evening formed an impenetrable barrier, had been separated and disengaged by the wind, and that in one place a canal of open sea wound its course among them as far as the eye could discern. " It was two miles beyond the entrance of this canal that a ship made its appearance about noon. The sun shone brightly at the time, and a gentle breeze blew from the north. At first some intervening icebergs prevented Captain Warrens from distinctly seeing anything but her masts, but he was struck by the strange manner in $iyj|| her sails were disposed, and with the dismantled aspect of hu. \ s sjds and rigging. She continued to go before the wind for a few furlongs, and then grounding upon the low icebergs, remained motionless. Captain Warrens' curiosity was so much excited that he immediately leaped into his boat, with several seamen, and rowed towards her. " On approaching, he observed that her hull was considerably weather-beaten, and not a soul appeared on the deck, which was covered with snow to a considerable depth. He hailed her crew several times, but no answer was returned. Previous to stepping on board, an open port-hole near the main-chains caught his eye, and on looking in he perceived a man reclining back in a chair, with writing materials before him, but the feebleness of the light made everything indistinct. The party went upon deck, and having uncovered the hatchway, which they found closed, they descended below. "They first came to the cabin which Captain Warrens had viewed through the port-hole. A tremor seized him as he entered it. Its inmate retained his former position, and seemed to be in- sensible to the presence of the strangers. He was found to be a corpse, and a green damp mould had covered his cheeks and fore- head, and veiled his eye-balls. He had a pen in his hand, and a log-book lay before him, the last sentence in whose unfinished page ran thus : ' November nth, 1762. We have now been en- ENTRIES IN THE LOG-BOOK. 29 closed in the ice seventeen days. The fire went out yesterday, and our master has been trying ever since to kindle it again, but without success. His wife died this morning. There is no relief.' " Captain Warrens and his men hurried from the spot without uttering a word. On entering the principal cabin, the first object that attracted their attention was the dead body of a female, re- clining on a bed in an attitude of deep interest and attention. Her countenance retained the freshness of life, and a contraction of the limbs alone showed that her form was inanimate. Seated on the floor was the corpse of an apparently young man, holding a steel in one hand and a flint in the other, as if in the act of striking fire upon some tinder which lay beside him. In the fore- part of the vessel several sailors were found lying dead in their berths, and the body of a boy was crouched at the bottom of the gangway stairs. " Neither provisions nor fuel could be discovered anywhere ; but Captain Warrens was prevented, by the superstitious prejudices of his seamen, from examining the vessel as minutely as he wished to have done. He therefore carried away the log-book already men- tioned, and, returning to his own ship, immediately steered to the southward, deeply impressed with the awful example which he had just witnessed of the danger of navigating the Polar seas in high northern latitudes. On returning to England he made various in- quiries respecting vessels that had disappeared in an unknown way; and by comparing these results with the information which was afforded by the written documents in his possession, he ascertained the name and history of the imprisoned ship and of her unfortu- nate master, and found that she had been frozen in thirteen years previous to the time of his discovering her imprisoned in the ice." I could relate other instances, and I am sorry to add, many such, of fearful calamities that have occurred in the ice regions ; but I have no inclination to dwell upon such sad topics further than is necessary to show you the perils encountered by our brave naviga- tors in those dreary quarters. 30 HORRORS OF AN ARCTIC WINTER. The poet Thomson, in his " Seasons," has drawn a graphic picture of the accumulated horrors of an Arctic winter : " 111 fares the bark, with trembling wretches charged, That, toss'd amid the floating fragments, moors Beneath the shelter of an icy isle, While night o'erwhelms the sea, and horror looks More horrible. Can human force endure The assembled mischiefs that besiege them round ? Heart-gnawing hunger, fainting weariness, The roar of wind and waves, the crush of ice, Now ceasing, now renew'd with louder rage, And in dire echoes bellowing round the main." CHAPTER III. ICEBERGS. "These are The palaces of Nature, whose vast walls Have pinnacled in clouds their snowy scalps, And throned eternity in icy halls Of cold sublimity." BYRON. [MONO the most imposing and grand of the many wonders of the ocean world, are the fixed and floating icebergs, the " palaces of nature," which assume extraordinary and fantastic shapes, and more than realize the most sublime cpncep- tions of the imagination. " Well, indeed," observes Snow in his " Journal of the Arctic Seas/' " may the mind become awe-struck and the heart almost cease to beat as the lips exclaim, ' Wonderful Thou art in all Thy works ! Heaven and earth are full of the majesty of Thy glory !' on beholding these mighty and surpassing works of the great Creator. East and west, and north and south, the Arctic regions present a picture of grandeur and magnificence nowhere to be equalled great beyond conception impossible to be truly pourtrayed." These icebergs are described by Arctic navigators as mimicking every style of architecture on earth ; cathedrals with pillars, arches, portals and towering pinnacles, overhanging cliffs, the ruins of a marble city, palaces, pyramids, and obelisks ; castles with towers, 31 32 CHANGING TINTS OF ICEBERGS. walls, bastions, fortifications, and bridges ; a fleet of colossal men- of-war under full sail ; trees, animals, and human beings : one is described as an enormous balloon lying on its side in a collapsed state. A number of icebergs seen at the distance of a few miles presented the appearance of a mountainous country, deceiving the eyes of experienced mariners. These icebergs differ somewhat in colour according to age, solidity, or the atmosphere. A very general appearance is that of cliffs of chalk, or of white-grey marble. A few have a bluish or emerald-green tint. The sun's rays, reflected from them, give a glistening appearance to their surface, like that of silver. In the night they are readily distinguished in the distance by their natural effulgence, and, in foggy weather, by a peculiar blackness of the atmosphere. The Rev. Mr. Noble thus describes the strange and sudden transformations and the changing tints of icebergs. " One re- sembled, at first, a cluster of Chinese buildings, then a Gothic cathedral of the early style. It was curious to see how all that mimicry of a grand religious pile was soon to change to another like the Coliseum, its vast interior now a delicate blue, and then a greenish white. It was only necessary to run on half a mile to find this icy theatre split asunder. An age of ruin seemed to have passed over it, leaving only to the view inner cliffs, one a glistening white, and the other blue, soft and airy as the July heavens." Another berg shone like polished silver, dripping with dews, the water streaming down in all directions in little rills and falls, glistening in the light like molten glass. Veins of gem-like transparency, blue as sapphire, crossed the mass. " Solomon in all his glory," observes Dr. Hayes, in his " Open Polar Sea," "was not clothed like the flowers of the field. Would you behold an iceberg apparelled with a glory that eclipses all floral beauty, and makes you think not only of the clouds of heaven at sunrise and sunset, but of heaven itself, you must come to it at sunrise and sunset. Lofty ridges of the shape of flames have the tint of flames ; out of the purity of the lily bloom the pink and the rose. I will not say cloth of gold drapes, but water ORIGIN OF ICEBERGS. 33 of gold washes water of green, orange, scarlet, crimson and purple wash the crags and steeps ; strange metallic tints gleam in the shaggy caverns, copper, bronze and gold : endless grace of form and outline." These icebergs so beautiful in summer, so grand and awful under a wintry aspect project above the surface of the sea like high hills composed of rugged and steep rock. Navigators have frequently stated that they have seen them rising from four to five hundred feet above the water, and extending more than a mile in length. During the first voyage of Captain John Ross, Lieutenant Parry measured an iceberg, which was aground in Baffin's Bay, in sixty-one fathoms of water. It was 4,169 yards long, 3,689 broad, and fifty-one feet elevated above the sea. Its weight was calculated to be equal to 1,292,397,673 tons ! Captain Graah, a Danish navigator, examined an iceberg on the eastern coast of Greenland, and ' estimated its circuit, at its base, at four thousand feet. In height it was one hundred and twenty feet above the sea-level. He calculated that its contents amounted to upwards of nine millions of cubic feet. Dr. Hayes estimated the cubical contents of one at about twenty-seven millions of feet. You doubtless wish to know the origin of these stupendous floating bergs, whence they come, how they are formed, and their ultimate destination. It has been ascertained, beyond all doubt, that they originate in the land, being nothing more than fragments of glaciers a name given to immense masses of ice, or appendages to snow mountains. By far the larger number, of these are formed on the coasts of Greenland. The mountains are always covered with snow ; the valleys between them are filled with ice, derived from the higher portions of the mountains, and are thus converted into enormous glaciers. If the extent of all the shores of Green- land, in which the glaciers advance to the very sea, were put to- gether, it is probable they would constitute a coast-line exceeding six hundred miles in length. These are the birth-places of the ice- bergs. The average height or depth of the ice at its free edge, or seaward in these valleys, is about twelve or fifteen hundred feet. As the glaciers advance farther into the sea, the rise and fall of the 3 34 TERRORS OF NAVIGATORS AMONG ICEBERGS. tide undermine the base, and enormous masses become detached and fall into the sea with a crash like thunder. The icebergs thus formed vast moving mountains or islands are drifted along, some finding their way to the Northern Atlantic a distance of more than two thousand two hundred miles from the place of their de- parture brought down by a powerful current which appears to originate under the immense masses of ice which surround the Arctic Pole. " Winter's flotilla by their captain led (Who boasts with them to make his prowess known, And plant his foot beyond the Arctic zone) : Islands of ice so wedged and grappled lie, One moving continent appals the eye, And to the ear renews those notes of doom That brought portentous warnings through the gloom ; For loud and louder, with explosive shocks, Sudden convulsions split the frost-bound rocks, And launch huge mountains on the frothing ooze, As pirate barks on summer seas to cruise." Fearfully appalling are the dangers arising from these icebergs on their floating voyages, and we cannot wonder at the terror ex- cited by their appearance among the early navigators among these ice-bound sea.s. In the expedition of Captain James Hall, under Danish auspices, for exploring Greenland, in 1605, we learn that the sailors were in sight of the south point of that country, and, to avoid the ice which encompassed the shore, they stood to the westward, and fell in with " mighty islands of ice, being very high, like huge mountains of ice, making a hideous and wonderful noise," and on one of them was observed " a huge rockstone of the weight of three hundred pounds or thereabouts." Finding nothing but ice and fog from the ist to the loth of June, the " Lion's " people hailed the admiral, " calling very fearfully, and desiring the pilot to alter his course, and return homeward." The alarm spread to the admiral's ship, and they had determined to put about had not Cunningham (the captain) protested he would stand by the admiral "as long as his bloode was warme, for the good of the Kinge's majestic." This pacified the seamen for a ESCAPES FROM ICEBERGS. 35 moment, but the next floating island of ice renewed the terrors of those on board the " Lion," who, having fired a piece of ordnance, stood away to the southward. All later voyagers in the Arctic Seas describe the sublimity of these moving mountains and islands of ice, and the fearful perils encountered among them. A thrilling instance of hairbreadth escape is related by Captain Duncan in his "Voyage to Davis Straits in 1826 :" "It was awful to behold the immense icebergs, working their way to the north-east from us, and not one drop of water to be seen ; they were working themselves right through the middle of the ice. The dreadful apprehensions that assailed us yesterday, by the near approach of the iceberg, were this day awfully realized. About three p.m. the iceberg came in contact with our floe, and in less than one minute it broke the ice we were frozen in quite close to the shore ; the floe (similar to field-ice, but smaller, as its extent can be seen), was shivered to pieces for several miles, causing an explosion like an earthquake, or one hundred pieces of cannon fired at the same moment. The iceberg, with awful but majestic grandeur (in height and dimensions resembling a vast mountain), came almost up to our stern, and every one ex- pected it would have run over the ship. The intermediate space between the berg and the vessel was filled with heavy masses of ice, which, though they had been previously broken by the immense weight of the iceberg, were again formed into a solid body by its pressure. The iceberg was drifting at the rate of about four knots, and, by its force on the mass of ice, was pushing the ship before it, and, as it seemed, to inevitable destruction. A gracious Providence ruled this otherwise : the iceberg, that so lately threatened destruc- tion, was driven completely out of sight to the north-east." It has been supposed that the unfortunate steamship the " Pre- sident," which left England for New York in 1841, was crushed to pieces between icebergs. In the year that this magnificent vessel was lost, the Atlantic Ocean was more thickly beset with icebergs, and at an earlier season, than commonly occurs. This is ascer- tained from a report of the " Great Western " steamer, which was published at New York. This vessel left England about the. 32 36 VESSELS LOST BY CONTACT WITH ICEBERGS. middle of April in the same year, and encountered an ice-field, which extended far more than a hundred miles, and along the southern edge of which she proceeded. This edge was lined by a broad border of loose ice, consisting of numerous floes and ice- bergs, and a considerable quantity of floating ice. To make way between these masses, the steamer was compelled frequently to change her course, for fear of coming in contact with them. The number of icebergs which were in sight of the vessel amounted to three hundred, and the largest was three-fourths of a mile long, and about a hundred feet high. A similar calamity to that which is supposed to have befallen the " President " is said to have well- nigh occurred to the brig " Anne " of Poole, which, in a voyage from Newfoundland to England, was so completely beset by ice that no means of escape were visible. The ice in its whole extent rose above fourteen feet above the surface of the water. It drifted towards the south-east, and bore the ship along with it for twenty- nine successive days. An opening most providentially occurred, by which the vessel became disengaged. The "President," in 1841, the "City of Glasgow," in 1854, the "Pacific," in 1856, and recently in the present year, the "City of Boston," have disappeared, from, it is supposed, their contact with icebergs. Captain Ross draws a vivid picture of what a vessel is exposed to in sailing amidst these moving hills. He reminds his readers that ice is like stone, as solid as if it were granite, and he bids them " imagine these mountains hurled through a narrow strait at a rapid rate, meeting with the noise of thunder, breaking from each other's precipices huge fragments, or rending each other asunder, until, losing their former equilibrium, they fall over head- long, lifting the sea around in breakers, and whirling it in eddies. There is not a moment in which it can be conjectured what will happen in the next ; there is not one which may not be the last." It is generally found that a strong current runs along the sides of an iceberg, and a vessel approaching too near is violently forced against the mass, and dashed to pieces. Another source of danger arises from mooring vessels to icebergs, PICNIC ON AN ICEBERG. 37 which is frequently done for shelter in strong adverse winds, or when the vessel is rendered unmanageable by the accumulation of drift-ice around ; but there is this danger : the icebergs are very nicely poised ; if a large piece of ice breaks off from one side, the whole mass is suddenly and rapidly turned over, by which vessels have often been wrecked or destroyed, while boats have been upset, even at a considerable distance, by the vast waves pro- duced by the sudden change of position of an iceberg. Scoresby relates the incident of two sailors who were attempting to fix an anchor to an iceberg. They began to hew a hole in the ice, but scarcely had the first blow been struck, when suddenly the immense mass split from top to bottom, and fell asunder, the two halves falling in contrary directions, with a prodigious crash. Fortunately the men escaped. Sometimes vessels moor to icebergs when in want of water, and obtain it from the deep pools which, in the summer season, are found on the depressed surface of some bergs, or from the streams running down their sides; but if, meanwhile, the iceberg should fall to pieces, which is likely at any moment during the summer season to be the case, the vessel is liable to be buried under its icy mooring. The precarious character of these huge mountains of ice will be understood from an anecdote related by Dr. Hayes, the Arctic navigator : " A few years ago, while a French man-of-war was lying at anchor in Temple Bay, Labrador, the younger officers resolved on amusing themselves upon an iceberg a mile or more distant in the straits. They made sumptuous preparations for a picnic upon the very top of it, the mysteries of which they were curious to see. All warnings of the fishermen in the ears of the smartly-dressed gentlemen who ' had seen the world,' were use- less. It was a bright summer morning, and the jolly-boat with a showy flag went off to the iceberg. By twelve o'clock the colours were flying from the icy turrets, and the wild young midshipmen were shouting from its walls. For two hours or so they hacked and clambered the crystal palace, frolicked and feasted, drank toasts to the King and the ladies, and laughed at the thought of peril where all seemed so fixed and solid. As if in amazement 38 ICE-FIELDS AND FLOES. of such rashness, the grim Alp of the sea made neither sound nor motion. A profound stillness reigned on its shining pinnacles and in the blue shadows of its caves. When the youngsters, like thoughtless children, had played themselves weary, they went down to their boat. As if the time and distance were measured, they were scarcely out of harm's way when the mighty iceberg collapsed and broke up into myriad fragments, which filled the surrounding waters. This was, no doubt, the first and last day of amusement on an iceberg by the daring young seamen." Icebergs are not affected by the swell of the sea, which breaks up the largest fields of ice in the space of a few hours; they rise and fall with a tremendous noise, though their size and form re- main the same. But, when acted upon by the sun or a temperate atmosphere, they become hollow and fragile. Few icebergs are destroyed in the Northern seas ; a large number get as far as the great bank of Newfoundland, which is occasionally crowded with them. The formation and destruction of ice within the Arctic Circle is a beautiful provision of Nature for adjusting the inequality of temperature. Had only dry land been thus exposed to the sun, it would, in summer, have been actually scorched by its beams, yet severely pinched during the darkness of the winter by the most intense and penetrating cold. None of the animal or vege- table tribes could have supported such extremes. But in the actual arrangement the surplus heat of summer is spent in melting away the ice. As long as ice remains to thaw or water to freeze, the temperature of the atmosphere can never vary beyond certain limits. The navigation among ice-fields and floes is beset with even greater danger than with icebergs. The fields frequently have a whirling movement, produced by the different force with which the current acts on the various sides of such a large body of ice. By this movement their outer borders acquire a velocity of several miles an hour. A field thus in motion, coming in contact with one at rest, or which is moving in a contrary direction, produces a terrific shock. The weaker field is crushed with an awful noise ; WONDERFUL FORCE OF THE ICE-FIELDS. 39 pieces of huge size and immense weight are frequently piled on the top to a height of thirty feet or upwards. " Except earthquakes and volcanoes," observes Dr. Hayes, " there is not in nature an exhibition of force comparable with that of the ice-fields. They close together with the pressure of millions of moving tons, and the crash, and noise, and confusion are truly terrific. Of course no ship could escape destruction thus caught. Numbers of whalers have been lost in this way, and others have been overrun by the ice and buried in the ocean." Captain Scoresby relates a wonderful escape of his vessel amidst an ice-field, under these fearful circumstances : " Passing," he says, " between two fields of ice newly formed, about a foot in thickness, they were observed to approach each other rapidly, and before our ship could pass the strait they met with a velocity of three or four miles an hour. The one overlaid the other, and presently covered many' acres of surface. The ship proving an obstacle to the course of the ice, it squeezed up on both sides, shaking her in a dreadful manner, and producing a loud, grinding or lengthened, acute, tre- mulous noise, according as the degree of pressure was diminished or increased, until it had risen as high as the deck. After about two hours the motion ceased, and soon afterwards the two sheets of ice receded from each other nearly as rapidly as they had before advanced. The ship in this case did not receive any injury, but had the ice been only half a foot thicker, she might have been wrecked." Another remarkable instance of preservation is given by the same writer. During a gale attended by a heavy fall of snow, he had moored his ship to a floe. " About six p.m. the snow became so thick that we could scarcely see a hundred yards distinctly, and the wind was, if possible, more furious. The small icebergs now appeared setting towards the ship ; but as they were not of a magnitude sufficient to endanger us without auxiliary pressure, we quietly awaited their approach. The first, which was about thirty- six feet above the level of the sea, struck the ship on the starboard quarter and turned her broadside to the wind; it then slipped clear without occasioning us any damage whatever. The second iceberg approached us with more alarming rapidity, but as we had 40 PRESERVATION FROM ICE-FLOES. not the power of getting clear of it, we were obliged to receive the shock upon whatever part of the ship it might chance to fall. It came in contact with the rudder, and slightly bruised one of its timbers ; then grazing the ship's quarter and broadside, it passed forward to the bows, and being fortunately kept from close contact aloft by a tongue projecting from its base, it cleared all our boats. At this juncture, when the ship was so much involved with icebergs as to render casting off impossible, had the state of the weather per- mitted it, two floes came in sight from different quarters. One of them appeared to be rapidly closing upon us from the west, and the other from the south, which, with the floe that we were moored to occupying the eastern quarter, almost completely locked us in. To secure ourselves as far as possible against the crush which now appeared certain, we fastened by a hawser a large heavy piece of ice ahead of the ship, where the floes threatened the first contact, with the view of subjecting the interposed mass to the pressure, and with the hope of being then defended from partaking of it. The first shock of the floes was sustained by this mass with full effect, and for some time afterwards all things seemed quiet and safe. Suddenly, however, the pressure was renewed, in consequence, it was supposed, of some new stoppage to the drift of the floes, with tenfold violence. Our barrier was squeezed deeply into the floe, and prodigious blocks of ice were broken off and raised up by the pressure. While we contemplated their mighty effect with great anxiety, the berg which shortly before had passed the ship began a revolving and retrograde motion so quick as to overtake us be- fore we could get the ropes off to slack astern, and suddenly nipped the ship on the larboard beam and bow against the floe by which we rode. The force was irresistible ; it thrust the ship completely upon a broad tongue (or shelf under water) of the floe, until sh^ was fairly grounded, and continued to squeeze her rapidly upXne inclined plane formed by the tongue until the ice came in amtact beneath the keel. This was the work of a few moments, and in ten minutes all was again at rest. When the pressure ceased we found that the ship had risen six or eight feet forward, and about two feet abaft. The floe on the starboard side was about a mile PRESERVATION FROM ICE-FLOES. 41 in diameter, and forty feet in thickness, having a regular wall-side of solid ice five feet in height above the sea ; on the tongue of this the ship was grounded. The iceberg on the larboard side was about twenty feet high, and was in contact with the railing of the bows. It was connected with a body of floes to the westward, several leagues in breadth. The only clear space was directly astern, where a small interstice and vein of water was produced by the intervention of the bergs. Any human exertion for our extri- cation from such a situation was now in vain, the ship being firmly cradled upon the tongue of ice which sustained her weight. Every instant we were apprehensive of total destruction, but the extra- ordinary position of the ice beneath her was the means of her pre- servation. The force exerted upon the ship to place her in such a situation must evidently have been very violent. Two or three sharp cracks were heard at the time the ship was lifted, and a piece of plank, which proved to be part of the false keel, was torn off and floated up, but no other serious injury was yet discovered. Our situation, however, was at this time as dangerous and painful as possible. Every moment threatened us with shipwreck, while the raging of the storm, the heavy, bewildering fall of sleet and snow, and the circumstance of every man on board being wet to the skin, rendered the prospect of our having to take refuge on the ice most distressing. We remained in this state of anxiety and apprehension about two hours. On the one hand we feared the calamity of shipwreck, on the other, in case of her preservation, we looked forward to immense difficulties before the ship, so firmly grounded, could be got afloat. While I walked the deck under a variety of conflicting feelings, I was suddenly aroused by another squeeze of the ice, indicated by the cracking of the ship and the motion of the berg, which seemed to mark the moment of destruc- tion. But this renewed pressure, by a singular and striking Pro- vidence, was the means of our preservation. The nip took the ship about the bows, where it was received on a part rendered pro- digiously strong by its arched form and the thickness of the interior fortifications. It acted like the propulsion of a round body squeezed between the fingers, driving the ship astern, and project- 42 ICE DRIFTING FROM THE POLAR REGIONS. ing her clear of all the ice fairly afloat with a velocity equal to that of her first launching." This is one of the most extraordinary instances on record of preservation from almost certain destruction. I have given the narrative entire, in order that you may understand the many dangers that beset the hardy navigator among these moving ice-mountains and ice-fields of the storm-bound North. The fields of ice that float in the Polar Seas are often twenty or thirty miles in diameter, and some hundreds of feet in thickness. It is calculated that upwards of twenty thousand square miles of drifting ice come down every year along the coast of Greenland into the Atlantic, moving on during the winter at the rate of about five or six miles a day. The " Resolute " exploring-ship, which was abandoned in Melville's Straits, on account of its being enclosed firmly in a vast field of ice, was afterwards found in Baffin's Bay, having been carried a thousand miles from its former position by the drift of an ice-field, three hundred thousand square miles in extent and seven feet thick. This will give an idea of the quantity of ice which is carried out of the Polar regions, independent of the icebergs, and drifted into warmer climates. One of the most ap- palling instances of encounters with the ice is related by the Rev. Mr. Noble : " Captain Knight, the commander of a fine brig, with a costly outfit for a sealing voyage, lost his vessel near Cape Bona- vista in 1862. Immersed in the densest fog, and driven by the gale, he was running down a narrow lane or opening in the ice, when the shout of ' Breakers ahead ! ' and the crash of the bows upon a reef came in the same moment. Instantly overboard they sprang, forty men of them, and saw their beautiful vessel almost immediately buried in the ocean. There they stood on the heaving field of ice, gazing in mournful silence upon the great black billows as they rolled on, one after another, bursting in thunder on the sunken cliffs, a tremendous display of surf where the brig had dis- appeared. To the west were the precipitous shores of Cape Bona- vista, lashed by the surge, and the dizzy roost of wild sea-birds. For this, the nearest land, in single file, with Captain Knight at their head, they commenced, at sunset, their dreadful and almost ESCAPE OF CAPTAIN KNIGHT AND HIS CREW. 43 hopeless march. All night, without refreshment or rest, they went stumbling and plunging on their perilous way, now and then sink- ing into the slush between the ice-cakes, and having to be drawn out by their companions. But for their leader and a few bold spirits, the party would have sunk down and perished. At day- break they were still on the rolling ice-fields, beclouded with fog, and with nothing in prospect but the terrible cape, and its solitary chance of escape. Thirsty, famished, and worn down, they toiled on all the morning and the afternoon, more and more slowly, be- wildered and lost in the dreadful cloud, travelling along parallel with the coast, and passing the cape without knowing it at the time. But for some remarkable interposition of Divine Providence, the approaching sunset would have been their last ; only the most determined would have continued the march into the next night ; the worn-out and helpless ones would drop down singly, or gather into little groups on the cold ice and die. They had shouted until they were hoarse, and looked into the endless grey cloud until they lost'heart, when, wonderful to relate ! just before sunset they came to a vessel. A few steps to the right or the left, and they would have missed it, and inevitably perished." The " packed ice," which results from the fracture and piling up of the field-ice, accumulates in immense quantities. Sir J. C. Ross, in the daring voyage of the " Erebus " and " Terror," had to force his way through a thousand miles of such obstructions, reminding us of the lines in the " Ancient Mariner : " " And now there came both mist and snow, And it grew wondrous cold ; And ice, mast-high, came floating by, As green as emerald. " And through the drifts the snowy cliffs Did send a dismal sheen : Nor shapes of men nor beasts we ken The ice was all between. "The ice was here, the ice was there, The ice was all around ; It cracked and growled, and roared and howled, Like noises in a s wound !" CHAPTER IV. SEALS. "Man bends the ocean monsters to his sway; No terrors daunt him on his arduous way ; Through frozen waters, or in sunlit waves, He seeks the SEAL, unnumber'd hardships braves To gain a prize so rich in useful store." |N the second chapter I described the severities of the Arctic winter: fearfully grand, even under such a re- pelling aspect, are the ice-bound regions; impressing the mind with awe of that Omnipotent Being " whose foot-stool is the earth," and " who measureth out the waters in the hollow of His hand." I will now draw your attention to the Arctic summer, which, although of very brief duration, presents many interesting fea- tures. "O'er the pure expanse The sun like lightning throws its earliest glance. Yet must imagination half supply The doubtful streak dividing sea and sky, Not clearly known, 'till in sublimer day From icy cliffs refracted splendours play ; And clouds of sea-fowl high in ether sweep, Or fall like stars in sunshine on the deep." The transformation of a gloomy scene, upon which the sleep of death seems to have rested for the greater portion of the year, into bright, warm, though short-lived sunshine, is a change that 44 BEAUTY OF THE ARCTIC SUMMER. 45 can only be fully realized by those who have experienced its cheering effects. Commander Inglefield, in his " Summer Search for Sir John Franklin" in 1852, thus describes an Arctic sunrise : " I kept the morning watch, and was well repaid by the sight of as glorious a sunrise as ever gladdened the face of nature : the yellow tints of the golden orb shedding their refulgence on the rude and grotesque masses of ice scattered here and there; and the land, just tipped on its snow-capped heights by his beams, seemed to hail the warmth which would soon send the melting torrents down its steep glaciers, or hurl its frozen masses on the deep, there to be slowly carried to the wild Atlantic. To no one whose mind is not wholly engrossed by the world and its busy matters, can a sunrise fail to lead his thoughts heavenward." By degrees, as the sun reappears above the horizon, the further progress of the frost is stayed. In May, as the luminary acquires elevation, the melting process begins, and vast fragments of ice, detached from the cliffs, fall on the shore with a crash like thunder. The ocean is unbound, and before the end of June the shoals of ice are commonly scattered and dispersed, and a dense mist or fog covers the surface of the sea. In the course of July the superficial water is brought to an equilibrium of temperature with the air, and the sun now shines forth with a bright and dazzling radiance. For a short time before the close of summer, such excessive heat prevails in the bays and sheltered spots, that pitch and tar are sometimes melted, and run down the ships' side. The air on land often becomes oppressively sultry. The excessive heat, being conjoined with moisture, en- genders clouds of mosquitoes, often obliging the natives to take refuge in their huts, where they smoke them out. The extreme dryness of the air in winter, contrariwise, is re- markable, communicating an electric effect on the skin. One cold night Sir John Richardson, the Arctic voyager, rose from his bed, and having lighted a lantern, was going out to observe the ther- mometer with no other clothing than his flannel night-dress, when, on approaching his hand to the iron latch of the door, an electric spark was elicited. 46 PREPARATIONS FOR SEAL-HUNTING. At the approach of the Arctic summer, all is bustle and activity among the natives. The materials for the summer huts are got ready, and the whole household, consisting of five or six families, move downwards to the fishing-place, which is generally an island with a low beach, in a southern aspect, for the convenience of launching their boats or drawing the seals which have been taken ashore. They are not confined to any particular spot in the summer, unless abundance of seals are seen ; but they generally shift to some other station, which, in the course of former seasons, they may have observed as more suitable. The Esquimaux have their regular divisions of work. The men are the carpenters; the women are the tailors, shoemakers, and cooks, helping their husbands or fathers occasionally in their fish- ing. It is heavy work for these poor females, but Providence has endowed them with a strength of constitution and powers of en- durance far greater than women in more genial climates possess. They have to haul the seals that have been taken by the men, ashore, and convey them to the huts. They also flay and cut up the spoil. Seals' flesh forms their chief food, and they employ various methods for preserving it for future use. The most common plan is to cut it into thin strips, and dry them over a line in the interior of the huts. The seal-skins, which the Esqui- maux have a mode of rendering waterproof, form the chief articles of dress ; when tanned, they make excellent shoes. I may mention here that the Romans believed a seal's skin was a preservative against lightning, and they made tents of it to shelter themselves during thunder-storms. The Emperor Augustus is said by Suetonius never to have travelled without one of these skins, having a great dread of lightning. The blubber of the seal is most carefully preserved by the Es- quimaux, being useful in many ways to their domestic comfort, and more precious to them by far than wine is to others. The oil is the luxury of their meals, and is of a superior quality to that of the common whale ; their bread is nothing more than the dried muscular parts of seals or birds. Whatever we may think of the Esquimaux' partiality for seal-flesh, it is well to remember that our MODES OF CAPTURING THE SEAL. 47 ancestors considered it a delicacy. The seal and the porpoise are mentioned in the bill of fare of a feast given at the enthronization of George Neville, Archbishop of York, in 1465. Sir J. C. Ross describes the meat as tender, but it certainly has a look and smell which would not be agreeable to any but very hungry persons. The Esquimaux are exceedingly expert in their mode of cap- turing the seal. This- is done either individually or in company, or in winter on the ice. Their kayaks, or skin boats, are very curious : they are about six yards in length, pointed at the head, and shaped like a weaver's shuttle ; they are, at the same time, scarcely a foot and a half wide over the middle, and not more than a foot deep. They are built of a slender skeleton of wood, con- sisting of a keel and long side-laths, with cross-ribs like hoops, but not quite round. The whole is covered with seal-skin. In the middle of this covering is a round aperture, supported with a strong rim of wood or bone ; the Esquimaux slip into this cavity, their feet- resting on a board covered with skin. The lance, harpoon, and tackle are arranged before the boatman. He uses his oar or paddle with wonderful dexterity, striking the water on either side alternately, by which means he can proceed at the rate of twenty leagues or more in a day. In this frail bark, which only those accustomed to such can manage, the Greenlander fears no storm or the roughest breakers, so long as he retains his oar, which enables him to sit upright ; and if overturned, while the head is downward in the water with one stroke he can recover himself. " Train'd with inimitable skill to float, Each balanced in his bubble of a boat, With dexterous paddle steering through the spray, With pois'd harpoon to strike his plunging prey, As though the skiff, the seaman, oar, and dart Were one compacted body, and one heart, With instinct, motion, pulse, empowered to ride A human nautilus upon the tide." As the natives are ever on the watch, as soon as they discover a herd of seals driven usually by stormy weather into some creek or inlet they endeavour to cut off their retreat, and frighten them 48 EXPERTNESS OF THE ESQUIMAUX. under water by shouting, clapping, and throwing stones. As, how- ever, the seals must speedily come to the surface of the water to breathe, they are surrounded and killed with long or short lances. There are various modes of capturing seals on the ice. As the animals make holes in it for breathing, the Esquimaux seat them- selves on stools, watching their appearance at the apertures, and rarely fail to harpoon them, enlarging the holes to withdraw and kill them. Sometimes, on seeing a seal lying on the ice near a hole, the Greenlander slides along on his stomach towards it, wag- ging his head, and making a sound like a seal, thus deceiving the poor animal into a belief that it is one of its companions. But the seal is usually wary that is, the older ones and takes every opportunity of escaping from its pursuers. When one is seen at sea, a signal is passed to the different boats engaged in the chase, and the animal is surrounded ; a careful watch is kept for the moment of its reappearing, and on this taking place, one of the boats having advanced near enough, a dart is hurled with unerring aim. The seal, terrified and wounded, dives in the greatest hurry; but a float being attached to the dart, it is soon forced up again and dispatched. The wounds of the seal are then carefully staunched, to save as much of the blood as possible, and the body is distended by blowing into the cellular part, in order to render the animal buoyant, or, otherwise, it would sink to the bottom as soon as dead. The chase of the seal, however, is not free from danger, even to the expert fishermen of the Arctic shores. Should the animal be not too exhausted when pursued, it sometimes turns on its adver- sary, seizes his frail skin boat, and with its sharp teeth pierces a hole, when the kayak sinks with its unfortunate owner. Many risks also occur from the lines to which the floats are attached getting foul of the paddle or the arms or neck of the fisherman, when the seal dives suddenly on being wounded. The males are very pug- nacious, and have terrible fights among themselves. Seal-hunting, or fishing, as it is often called, is the great occupa- tion of the Greenlanders, and is also extensively pursued by various nations in other northern parts of the world. .HABITS OF THE SEAL. 49 You will, no doubt, wish to know something more about an animal so useful and valuable in many respects, and particularly to the hardy dwellers in the ice regions. A great many species of seals are met with on the western coast of Greenland ; but the most highly-prized by the natives is what sailors call the Sea-Calf so named from a supposed resemblance of the voice to that of a calf or Phoca vitulina. These animals live in families, the old male being attended by his progeny for several generations. They are chiefly seen in flocks, amounting sometimes to hundreds. The teeth are very sharp, and the bite is severe. The habits of the seal are filthy, and singularly mischievous. A perpetual tyrant over weaker animals, it is also an object of constant pursuit with others. The white bear with whom the seal is as great a dainty as the turtle is to an alderman is constantly on the watch to surprise it when sleeping on the ice ; but the cautious animal usually selects a single piece of ice for its nap, from which it may gain a full view of all around, and the proximity of the water may afford a ready means of escape. They are also said to have a great dread of the toothed whales. If a grampus perceives a seal of any species bask- ing on floating ice, it does its best to upset the ice, or beat the seal off with its fins, when the animal becomes an easy prey. Seals are easily stunned by a blow on the forehead, but from this state they often recover, and are desperate in their revenge. The sea-calf, in particular, is subject to violent fits of anger. After it has been hoisted on board a ship from the boat in which it had been carried, apparently dead from the blows it had received, it has been known to recover unexpectedly, and seizing with its teeth the nearest object within reach, tear away such a portion as it could grasp. Even after death this irritation manifests itself, as the muscular parts of the animal though stripped of its outer integu- ments or coverings still retain the principle of vitality, starting and quivering long after the dismemberment of the body has taken place. When seals are observed making their escape into the water before a boat reaches the ice, the sailors give a loud, prolonged shout, which, causing them to stop in amazement at a sound so 4 50 THE FUR SEAL. uncommon, sometimes delays their retreat until arrested by the fatal blows of their pursuers. In the higher latitudes, the Bearded or Great Seals are mostly found. These are usually of an enormous size, sometimes ten or twelve feet in length, and of proportionate magnitude of body. This seal migrates in families, the elder ones leading the van, while the young follow confusedly behind, playing, tumbling, and frisking along in the highest enjoyment, and frequently in the extravagance of their fun flinging themselves quite out of the water. The sailors call these antics "seals' weddings." Though the bearded seal does not yield much oil, yet its fat is esteemed delicious by the northerners. The Harp Seal, so named from a large black crescent-shaped mark on each side of the back, belongs also to the ice regions, though sometimes seen on the British coast. It attains the length of eight, and even nine feet. The seal, a name derived from the Anglo-Saxon seol, belongs to the Mammalia, or animals that suckle their young, and constitute the family Phocida. All the animals of this class are mainly aquatic, but also frequently resort to land, or ice-islands, where they remain for days, and even months, suckling .their young, or basking in the sun during the brief summer. The Fur Seal seems to possess remarkable powers of agility on land, often escaping when pursued by men running fast. They cannot walk, but shuffle along, espe- cially over the ice, very quickly. On land the hind feet are never employed, nor the fore feet unnecessarily, but in moving forward it bends the hinder part of the spine underneath it, thus making a kind of arch, and then fixing the latter end, it suddenly straightens out the whole body in front, and in a repetition of this movement consists the peculiar kind of "jerking " leap for which these animals are remarkable. When the seal ascends an ice-island or rock, the ease with which it accomplishes its purpose is wonderful. It then makes especial use of its fore paws, and those which have claws are implanted into them like so many grappling-irons, and having thus secured a fixed point, they raise their monstrous bodies with the greatest rapidity. The general shape of a seal resembles in its trunk that of a fish and a common quadruped ; the head is like THE COMMON SEAL. 51 that of a dog ; the arms, which are destitute of collar-bones, are so hid beneath the skin of the body that only the wrists and hands appear, and they are then so short that they can scarcely be ad- vanced forwards at all. But what they lose in extent they gain in power. They are admirably adapted for swimming, and serve also for seizing or holding. The fingers have an intervening membrane, but they can be separated so as to diminish or increase the surface of the paws. In all the species the fingers can be distinguished through the paw, and in most the nails appear at the termination ; but in one group of seals there is this difference, that the membrane or web extends beyond the nails, not joined, but hanging down in the water like broad leathern strips, which the sailors call "flippers." The face is provided with strong whiskers placed on each side of the mouth and at the corner of the eye, communicating with nerves of considerable size, and the slightest impression produces sensation. The ground colour of the hair or skin of the common seal, when the animal is alive and dry, is a pale whitish-grey, with a very slight tinge of yellow. When just out of the water and wet, the colour is ash ; after death, and as seen in museums, the ground colour is pale yellowish-grey, the oil having penetrated the skin and rendered the hair of a more yellow hue. The fur of seals is very smooth, and abundantly lubricated with an oily secretion. There is gene- rally an inner coating of rich fur, through which grow long hairs, forming an outer covering. Another adaptation to aquatic life and a cold climate is the layer of fat under the skin, from which the oil is obtained, and serving, as in the case of the whale, not only for support when food is scarce, but protection from the cold, besides rendering the whole body lighter. The respiration of the seal differs considerably from what has been observed in most animals : the nostrils are habitually closed, instead of being uni- formly opened. Buffon examined a tame seal, and remarked that the period between its several inspirations was very long : the creature opened its nostrils to make a strong expiration, which was immediately followed by an inspiration; after which it closed them, often allowing two minutes to intervene without taking another breath. This power of suspension for a considerable time is of 4 2 52 SEALS FOND OF MUSIC. great use, enabling the seals to pursue their prey under water. Seals are often subjected to enormous pressure under water, which must be resisted, at the respective apertures of the body, by an appropriate mechanism. A similar provision is made for the eyes, as well as the nostrils, in more ways, perhaps, than one. At the inner angle of the eye (which is very large and round) there is a third eyelid, which can be drawn over the whole eye. The ears as well as the eyes can be closed at will, so as to resist pressure. How very wonderful is the provision thus afforded to the seal, as, in fact, to all created objects, and how the contemplation of such subjects should raise our hearts to the Omnipotent God ! " To know and feel His care for all that lives." Captain Scoresby, who had numerous opportunities of observing the habits of the seal, states that the animal hears well under water, and that music, and particularly a person whistling, draws it to the surface, and induces it to stretch out the neck to its utmost extent, so as to prove a snare, by bringing them within reach of the shooter. Many similar observations of this curious faculty in seals have been related by different writers. One remarks : " In walking along the shore, a few notes of my flute would bring half a score of seals with- in thirty or forty yards of me ; and there they would swim about, with their heads above water, like so many black dogs, evidently delighted with the sounds. For half an hour, or indeed for any length of time I chose, I could fix them to the spot ; and when I moved along the water edge, they would follow me with eager- ness." The food of the seal appears to be chiefly fish, although it does not reject other animal food, and it is said to derive part of its nourishment from marine vegetables. It has been found that seals have a remarkable habit of swallowing large stones, for which no probable reason has been yet assigned. The keeper of the celebrated "talking seal" in the Zoological Gardens is reported to have given his pet fifty pounds' weight of fish in a day, but this is by no means a limit of appetite, for double the quantity would no doubt have found a ready reception. This will give you an TAME SEALS. 53 idea of the vast consumption of fish in its native element. A good-sized Spitzbergen seal in good condition is about ten feet in length and six feet in circumference, weighing about six hundred pounds or upwards. The skin and fat amount to about one-half the total weight. The blubber yields about one-half of its own weight in oil. It has been supposed that seals can be easily tamed, but such cases are exceptional. Some of the common species, however, have shown great attachment to their owners, and exhibited con- siderable powers of intelligence. Cuvier relates an anecdote of a seal that performed very cleverly what it was ordered to do, and would raise itself on its hind legs, take a staff in its paws, and act the sentinel. At the word of command it would lie down on its right side or left, and tumble head over heels. It would give either of its paws when desired, and was equally ready at a kiss. Another was kept by Cuvier for a considerable time and became very tame. When teased it resisted, and when much irritated barked very feebly. It was particularly attached to the old woman who had charge of it, and recognized her at a considerable distance, keeping its eyes upon her as long as she was in sight, and running to her as soon as she approached its enclosure. If free when food was brought, it ran and urgently solicited it by the motion of its head, and still more by the expression of its countenance. Of another species of seal called the " Marbled" and found on the coast of France, which was kept for several weeks in the Jardin des Plantes at Paris, M. F. Cuvier says : " I have never known any wild animal which was more easily tamed, or attached itself more strongly. When it first came it endeavoured to escape when I wished to touch it, but in a very few days all its apprehensions vanished ; it had discovered my intentions, and rather desired my caresses than feared them. It was in the same enclosure with two small dogs, which amused themselves by frequently mounting on its back, with barking, and even biting it ; and although these sports and the vivacity of the attending movements were little in harmony with its own actions and habits, yet it appreciated their motive, and seemed pleased with them. It never offered any other retail- 54 SEALS OF THE SOUTHERN SEAS. ation than slight blows with its paws, the object of which was to encourage rather than repress the liberties taken. If the puppies escaped from the enclosure, the seal endeavoured to follow them, notwithstanding the difficulty it experienced in creeping along the ground covered with stones and rubbish. When the weather was cold, the three animals huddled closely and kindly together, that they might contribute to their mutual warmth." The creature did not exhibit any alarm at the presence of man or animals, and did not get out of the way unless when threatened to be trod upon. Though very voracious, it did not show any opposition or anger when robbed of it* food. " Often," adds M. Cuvier, " have I tried him when pressed with hunger, and he never opposed my will ; and I have seen the dogs, to whom he was much attached, amuse them- selves when he was feeding, by snatching the fish from his mouth, without his exhibiting any rage. On the other hand, when their mess was supplied to the seals (for he had a companion), as they were lying in the same trough, a battle was the usual result, and blows with their paws followed, and as usually happens, the more feeble and timid gave way to the stronger." "The great Creator condescends to write, In beams of inextinguishable light, His names of Wisdom, Goodness, Power, and Love, On all that blooms below or shines above ; To catch the wandering notice of mankind, And teach the world, if not perversely blind, His gracious attributes." The seals of the Southern seas are quite distinct from those of the Northern. The most remarkable of these animals is the Sea- Elephant, or Proboscis Seal, named thus partly on account of the very peculiar appearance of its short trunk, and also from its being much the largest of its kind, doubling the dimensions of its terres- trial namesake, reaching the enormous length of twenty-five and thirty feet, and being also of a proportionate thickness. Its colour is sometimes greyish, or bluish-grey, and more rarely blackish- brown. There is an absence of everything like external ears ; it has great whiskers of strong coarse hairs, very long, and twisted FONDNESS FOR THEIR YOUNG. 55 somewhat like a screw, with other similar hairs over each eye, supplying the place of eyebrows ; the eyes are very large and pro- minent ; strong and powerful swimming-paws, having at their margins five small black nails ; a very short tail, which is almost hid between two flat horizontal fins : these form the distinguishing peculiarities of this strange animal. When the sea-elephant is in a state of repose, its nostrils, shrunk and hanging down, serve only to make the face appear larger ; but whenever he rouses himself, when he respires violently, or when about to attack or defend him- self, the proboscis becomes lengthened in the form of a tube to the length of about a foot, and then not only is the countenance changed, but the character of the voice is modified in a not less striking manner. Though furnished with large and powerful tusks, the sea-elephant is mild and inoffensive in his habits ; but when assailed is a formidable adversary. In Anson's " Voyages " it is re- lated that one of the sailors having killed a young one, and skinned it in the presence of its mother, she came behind him, and seizing his head in her mouth, so injured his skull, that he died in a day or two afterwards. This is not, however, their usual habit, as I have remarked. A young one, petted by an English seaman, became so attached to his master from kind treatment for a few months, that it would come at his call, allow him to mount upon its back and put his hands into its mouth. The cry of the female and the young is said to be like the lowing of an ox ; but the hoarse, gurgling, singular voice of the male strengthened by the probos'cis is heard from a great distance, and is wild and frightful. They are found in the Atlantic and Southern Oceans. The great object for which this animal is hunted is for the oil, which is remarkably pure in quality ; the skin is used ex- tensively for carriage and horse harness, on account of its thickness and strength. The Sea-Leopard is a rare species of seal, in length about nine feet ten inches, which has been found in South Shetland. The Monk Seal frequents the southern shores of Europe. The Otaries are a species of seal thus named because their heads are furnished with external ears, of which the others are deprived, 56 THE SEA-LION. and from whom they also differ in other particulars. These include the Sea-Lion of the Northern seas, about fifteen feet in length, and found chiefly on rocky coasts and islet rocks, on the ledges of which it climbs, and its roaring is sometimes useful as warning sailors of danger. The old males have a fierce aspect, but it is only when driven to extremities that they fight furiously. The Sea-Bear^ or Ursine Sea/, is an inhabitant of the Northern Pacific, and attains a length of about eight feet. The hinder limbs of this animal being better developed, it can stand and walk almost like a land quadruped. It swims with great swiftness, and is fierce and cou- rageous. The skin is much prized for clothing in the regions where it abounds. CHAPTER V. THE MONARCH OF THE OCEAN. ' ' Come, coil in the warp, see the hatchets be sharp, And make ready the irons and lance ; Each man ship his oar, and leave nothing on shore That is needful the voyage to advance. See the buoy be made tight, And the drag fitted right, See that nothing be wanting anon. Never doubt, but look out Round about there 's a spout ! Come away, boys ! let 's launch if we can !" Old Ballad on the Greenland Fishery. F all the industrial pursuits which engage the venturous seaman on the wide ocean, those connected with the capture of the WHALE, " the mightiest that swims the ocean stream," and, I may add, in point of dimensions the monarch also of creation, are the most excitirfg and perilous ; requiring the greatest endurance, hardihood, and courage, and at the same time yielding, under favourable circumstances, a substantial return for the dangers encountered. Large navies are annually sent on these expeditions by various nations, and thousands of sailors get accus- tomed to the fearful severity of the Polar regions, where the prin- cipal whale fishery is carried on, though many lives are lost and ships are destroyed in these enterprises. 67 58 PECULIARITIES CONNECTED WITH THE WHALE. Before relating to you some of the exciting adventures which occur in the pursuit and capture of the unfortunate whales, I will give you a few particulars about the animals themselves. There are many peculiarities to be observed in these huge monarchs of the ocean. They comprise a class of animated creatures distinct from both fishes and land animals, though par- taking of the characters of both. They are classed in the order of warm-blooded Mammalia, or creatures that suckle their young ; that is to say, they breathe as the land Mammalia, and yet are as completely aquatic as true fish, which are cold-blooded. Fish never breathe, and if removed from the water into the air, they immediately die; but whales, if deprived of air, and confined under the water, would be literally drowned. They usually come to the surface to breathe at intervals of eight or ten minutes, but they are capable of remaining under water nearly an hour. The whale has no gills, but a heart with two ventricles or cells, and very elastic lungs in a great bony chest, into which the air is freely admitted, not through the mouth ; for, although the animal is of such prodigious dimensions (some species attaining upwards of one hundred feet in length, and a weight of nearly as many tons), yet the throat is so small that it could not dispose of a morsel which is swallowed by an ox. Through what are popularly called " blowers " or spiracles, huge nostrils which open on the summit of the head, from eight to twelve inches long, but of small breadth, the whale can send a column of moist vapour forty to fifty feet high; and when this breathing, or blowing, is performed under the surface of the ocean, a vast quantity of water is also thrown into the air, and the noise made in this operation can, it is said, be heard at the distance of between two and three miles. Another peculiarity about these wonderful creatures which, I should tell you, belong to the class Cetacea (from the Greek word ketos, a whale), and which comprises not only all the varieties of the whale tribe, but likewise the grampus, the porpoise, the dolphin, the dugong, and some others of comparatively very small size is the tail, which is not vertical as in most fishes, but level, by which they are able to reach the surface of the water with greater WONDERFUL POWER IN THE TAIL. 59 facility for the purposes of respiration ; and such is the strength of this tail that even the largest whales are able, with its assistance, to force themselves entirely out of the water j and you may easily understand this tremendous force when I tell you that in the large whales the surface of the tail comprises from eighty to one hundred square feet. In length it is only from five to six feet, but in width it measures from eighteen to twenty-six feet. Providence has given this immense power to serve as a defence as well as a means of propulsion to the huge animal, for the tail is nearly the sole instrument of its protection. With one stroke of it the whale will send a large boat with its crew into the air, and shatter the wood into a thousand pieces. The tail enables the animal to rise in the water by striking a few slight blows with it downwards, when the head is naturally carried in an opposite direction, and when the whale wishes to sink, a few similar strokes with the tail upwards at once serve to bury the head beneath the surface^ Sometimes the animal takes a perpendicular position in the water, with the head downwards, and rearing the tail on high, beats the waves with fearful violence. On these occasions the sea foams for a wide space around, and the lashing is heard at a great distance, like the roar of a tempest. This performance is called by the sailors "lob-tailing." The head is of enormous size, being about one-third of the entire bulk of the whale, and the lips, nearly twenty feet long in some species, show ^ cavity large enough to hold a ship's jolly- boat and crew ; but, as I observed before, the throat is very narrow. It is stated to be no more than an inch and a half in diameter even in a large whale, so that only very small animals can pass through it. The basis of the head consists of the crown-bone, from each side of which descend the immense jaw-bones, from sixteen to twenty feet in length, extending along the mouth in a curved line until they meet and form a kind of crescent. In the Arctic seas whales find an abundance of food in the shape of animalculae, several species of marine worms, jelly-fish, crabs, and especially shrimps, which abound in those regions. Sir 60 DESCRIPTION OF THE WHALE. John Parry relates that joints of meat hung by his crew over the sides of the ship were in a few days picked to the bone by shrimps. Some species of whales are entirely destitute of teeth, but Nature has provided them with an apparatus of whalebone, for the purpose of straining out of the water the small animals which form their nourishment. There are several hundreds of these plates on each side of the mouth, the whole quantity in that of a large whale sometimes weighing nearly two tons. The tongue of the whale is a soft thick mass, not extending beyond the back of the mouth. It was formerly considered a great delicacy of the table, and a right of royalty. The sword-fish, an implacable enemy of the whale, has a similar relish for the tongue, and, it is said, leaves the rest of the carcase untouched. The skin of the whale is naked and smooth, with the exception of a few bristles about the jaws, and is covered with an oily fluid, which renders it very slippery; beneath this is a thick layer, from eight to twenty inches, of a fatty substance, called blubber, the most valuable part of the animal, and which yields on boiling nearly its own bulk of thick coarse glutinous oil. It is by this wrapper that Providence enables the whale, a warm-blooded animal, as I told you, to defy the utmost extremity of cold, and to retain a sufficient proportion of heat even under the icy Polar seas. It also serves to make the specific gravity of the body much lighter than it otherwise would be, so as to resist the pressure of the water at the great depths to which the whale descends. Yet it is this warm covering, so essential to the animal itself, that has excited the cupidity and deadly pursuit of man, causing him to brave the most appalling dangers, trusting to the resources of art in the instruments of destruction where brute force alone could never prevail. To give an idea of the quantity and value of the oil obtained from a Greenland whale of sixty feet in length, it has been stated that the weight of the animal, being seventy tons, would be nearly that of three hundred fat oxen. Of this vast mass the oil of a rich whale comprises about thirty tons, which renders it a valuable capture. ESQUIMAUX . METHOD OF ATTACKING WHALES. 61 The whale has no external ear, but, when the skin is removed, a small opening is perceived for the admission of sound. This sense may seem imperfect, yet the animal, by a quick perception of all movements made on the water, discovers danger at a great dis- tance. The eyes appear small for such a huge animal, being about the size of those of an ox; but the sense of seeing is very acute. Behind them are the fins ; these are about nine feet long and four or five feet broad, and are enclosed by very elastic membranes, also provided with bones, similar in form and number to those of the human hand. The whale does not attain his full growth under twenty-five years, and is said to reach a very great age. The flesh is red, firm, and coarse, and is eaten raw by the Esquimaux, who also drink the oil with much enjoyment. Captain Hall, however, who lived some years among this people, declares the meat " to be tougher than any bull beef in Christendom." I think we should scarcely like to try our appetites upon such food, but in the bleak Polar regions, where the means for satisfying hunger are very scanty, the capture of a whale by the natives is an occasion for great rejoicing. Captain M'Clure mentions the Esquimaux method of attacking the whale : "An omaiak, or woman's boat, is manned by ladies, having as harpooner a chosen man of the tribe, and a shoal of small fry in the form of kayaks, or single men canoes, are in attendance. The harpooner singles out a whale and drives his weapon into its flesh. To the harpoon an inflated seal-skin is attached by means of a walrus-hide thong. The wounded fish is then incessantly harassed by the men in the kayaks with harpoons, a number of which, when attached to a whale, baffle its efforts to escape and wear out its strength, until, in the course of a day, the whale dies from sheer exhaustion and loss of blood. " The harpooner, after a successful day's sport, is a very great personage, and is invariably decorated with the Esquimaux order of the blue ribbon, that is, he has a blue line drawn down his face over the bridge of his nose." 62 THE SPERM WHALE. The whale not only serves for food to the hardy Greenlanders, but is also valuable in many other ways : some membranes of the stomach are used for the upper articles of clothing ; the bones are converted into harpoons and spears for striking the seals or dart- ing at sea-birds, and are also employed in the erection of their tents, and some tribes use them in the formation of their boats. My preceding remarks have applied to the whale tribe generally, but with a more direct allusion to the " Greenland " or " right " whale, as it is called, from its producing the greatest amount of oil. This animal inhabits the seas of the Northern parts of the world, and abounds chiefly in the Arctic regions. The " Southern," or " Cape " whale is a distinct species, the head being smaller in pro- portion than its Northern relative, and its colour an uniform black. It attains the length of from fifty to sixty feet. The Northern Rorqual, which exists in great numbers^in the Northern seas, is the largest of the whale tribe, the mightiest giant among giants, attaining the vast length of from one hundred to one hundred and ten feet, with a bodily circumference of from thirty to forty feet. The amazing speed and activity of this im- mense animal renders it a dangerous object to attack; besides, the small quantity of oil it affords does not repay the fisherman for his risk. This whale has no teeth. When struck by a harpoon, it has been known to run off four hundred and eighty fathoms (two thousand eight hundred and eighty feet) of rope in a minute. Martyns, an old Arctic navigator, mentions an instance of a " razor-back," as the great rorqual is called by seamen, dragging a large boat with its crew amongst loose ice, where they all perished. The Smaller Rorqual, measuring from fifteen to twenty-five feet, frequents the rocky bays of Greenland, and is considered a tender morsel by the natives. There is also a " Rorqual " of the Southern seas, an animal of great power and a fast swimmer, very difficult to capture. The most valuable whale in the Southern seas is one of which you have no doubt often read, the " Cachalot" (so named from cachose, a tooth, in the Basque language having teeth in the lower jaw only) or " Sperm " whale, which supplies the spermaceti and ambergris of commerce. This immense animal, CURIOUS PECULIARITIES OF SPERM WHALES. 63 which grows to the . length of from seventy to eighty feet, is found in almost every part of the warm latitudes. It has some curious peculiarities : the head has in front a very thick blunt extremity called the snout or nose, and constitutes one-third of the whole length of the animal : at its junction with the body the animal has what the whalers call a " bunch of the neck," a large protuberance on the back, immediately behind which is the thickest part of the body, which from this part gradually tapers off to the tail; and where this commences there is another large prominence called the " hump," after which the body contracts so much as to become finally not thicker than the body of a man. An immense cavity in the head contains cells filled with oil, which is fluid when the animal is alive, and after its death takes a concrete form known as spermaceti. The size of this cavity may be judged from what is said, that in a large whale it sometimes contains a ton, or more than ten barrels of spermaceti. As a contrast to the contracted gullet of the Greenland whale, the throat of the sperm whale is capacious enough to give passage to the body of a man. The food of this huge monster consists principally of a species of polypus called "squid" by the sailors, and it is supposed that they are attracted by the shining white of the inner part of the whale's mouth. The sperm whale is generally seen in herds, or " schools " as they are called, consisting of several hundreds. With each herd of females, large males or " schoolmasters " are always associated, who are extremely jealous of intruders, and fight fiercely to main- tain their rights. The large whale is generally incautious, and if alone is attacked without much difficulty, and is easily killed, as he frequently after receiving the first plunge of the harpoon appears hardly to feel it, but continues lying like a log of wood before he attempts to escape. Large whales, however, are sometimes very cunning and courageous, and commit fearful havoc with their tails and jaws. When alarmed they are said to perform many unusual actions : one of these consists in moving the tail slowly from side to side on the surface of the water, as if feeling for any object that may be near. It also rolls over and over on the surface, especially when harpooned, and in this way will coil an amazing length of 64 THE WHITE WHALE. line around it. One of its most surprising feats is leaping out of the water. Darwin in his " Journal of Researches/' remarks that off Tierra del Fuego he saw several spermaceti whales performing this stupendous leap, and as they fell into the water sideways the sound reverberated like distant thunder. The White Whale is described as a very beautiful animal, fre- quenting chiefly the Arctic seas, varying in length from ten to twenty feet. It is usually of a cream colour, though Scoresby re- marks having seen some of a yellowish colour, approaching to orange. In the dreary monotony of the icy regions, a lively herd of these animals, by their gambols and the exhibition of their smooth, slippery white bodies, affords a pleasing relief. The shape of this whale is highly symmetrical, resembling a double cone, one end of which is considerably shorter than the other : the tail is very powerful, and being bent under the body in swimming, is worked with such force as to impel the animal forward with the velocity of an arrow. The food of this whale is said to be cod, haddock, flounders, and smaller fish of this description. They are not at all shy, but often follow ships and tumble about amidst the boats in herds of thirty and forty. Fortunately for them, this fear- lessness of danger does not often expose them to the deadly har- poon, their comparative little value being their preservative from the whale-fishers. They do not, however, experience the same immunity from the natives of the Greenland coast, where they arrive in great numbers at the close of the year in stormy weather. They are then chiefly captured by nets, which are extended across the narrow sounds between the islands, and when thus entangled they are killed with lances. Another whale, called the Deductor, resembles somewhat the white whale, and appears to be the most sociable of all the Cetacean tribe, herding together in innumerable flocks. This leads, how- ever, to a prodigious slaughter of these poor animals when (although frequenting chiefly the Northern Ocean) they wander away from their usual haunts, and get driven on shore by the fishermen, the main body of the drove following the leading whales as a flock of sheep. GREAT CAPTURE OF WHALES. 65 In the " Caledonian Mercury " there is an account of the capture of ninety-eight of these whales, in 1832, in the island of Lewis: " An immense shoal of whales was, early in the morning, chased to the mouth of the harbour of Stornoway by two fishing-boats, which had met them in the offing. This circumstance was imme- diately seen from the shore, and a host of boats, about thirty or forty in number, set off to join the others in pursuit, and engage in combat with these giants of the deep. The chase soon became one of bustle and anxiety on the part both of man and whale. The boats were arranged by their crews in the form of a crescent, in the fold of which the whales were collected, and where they had to encounter tremendous showers of stones, splashings of oars, fre- quent gashings with harpoons and spears, whilst the din created by the shoutings of the boats' crews and the multitude on shore was in itself sufficient to stupefy and stun the bottle-nosed foe into a surrender. On more than one occasion, however, the floating phalanx was broken, and it required the greatest activity and tact before the breach could be repaired and the fugitives regained. The shore was neared by degrees, the boats advancing and retreat- ing by turns, till at length they succeeded in driving the captive monsters on the beach opposite the town and within a few yards of it. The movements of the whales were now violent, but, except when one became unmanageable and enraged when harpooned, or his tail fixed in a noose, they were not dangerous to approach. One young sailor, however, received a stroke from the tail of one of the largest of them, which promised to be fatal. In a few hours the whales were captured, the shore was strewed with the dead car- cases, whilst the sea presented a troubled and bloody appearance, giving evident proof that it was with no small effort that they were subdued and made the property of man." This exciting scene reminds us of the lines by Waller, in his poem "The Battle of the Summer Isles:" " They man the boats, and all the young men arm With whatsoever may the monsters harm : Spikes, halberts, spits, and darts that wound so far The tools of peace the implements of war ! 66 FIGHT BETWEEN A WHALE AND A GRAMPUS. Now was the time for vigorous lads to show What love or honour could invite them to ; A goodly theatre ! where rocks around With rev'rend age and lovely lasses crowned." The deductor whale has a very prominent head, short and round, with something like a pad over its mouth, which gives it a peculiar appearance. In length it is from sixteen to twenty-four feet, and in circumference ten or eleven feet. Almost the whole body is black, smooth, and shining like oiled silk. When the mouth is shut, the teeth lock into each other like those of a rat-trap. They are generally very fat, and yield a large quantity of good pale oil. It is impossible not to feel an emotion of pity for the whale timid and inoffensive, with all its immense power for mischief, apparently unconscious of it until roused by danger subjected to such cruel treatment by the cupidity of man : the deadly harpoons inflict tremendous wounds, and the blood, rushing in torrents from its sides, crimsons the sea for a wide space around. In the two following chapters I shall allude more particularly to this subject. The whale has, however, other enemies to contend with besides man. Commodore Wilkes, in " The United States Exploring Ex- pedition," gives an animated account of a sea-fight between a whale and a grampus, or " killer," as this fish is called by the Americans. "At a distance from the ship a whale was seen floundering in a most extraordinary manner, lashing the smooth sea into a perfect foam, and endeavouring apparently to extricate himself from some annoyance. As he approached the ship, the struggle continuing and becoming more violent, it was perceived that a fish, apparently about twenty feet long, held him by the jaw, his contortions, spouting, and throes all betokening the agony of the huge monster. The whale now threw himself at full length from the water, with open mouth, his pursuer still hanging to the jaw, the blood issuing from the wound and dyeing the sea to a distance around ; but all his flounderings were of no avail, his pertinacious enemy still maintaining his hold and evidently getting the advantage of him. Much alarm seemed to be felt by the other whales around. These ' killers/ as they are called, are of a brownish colour on the back, OTHER ENEMIES OF THE WHALE. 67 and white on the belly, with a white dorsal fin. They attack a whale in the same manner as dogs bait a bull, and worry him to death. They are armed with strong sharp teeth, and generally seize the whale by the lower jaw. It is said that the only part of the huge monster that they eat is the tongue. The whalers give marvellous accounts of the immense strength of these ' killers.' They have been known to drag a whale from several boats which were towing it to the ship." The saw-fish is also a most formidable assailant of the whale. The upper jaw of this fish is prolonged into a projecting flattened snout, the greatest length of which is about six feet, forming a saw, armed at each edge with about twenty large bony spines or teeth. Mr. Yarrel mentions a combat that occurred on the west coast of Scotland, between a whale and some saw-fishes, aided by an auxi- liary force of "thrashers" (fox sharks). The sea was dyed in blood from the stabs inflicted by the saw-fishes under the water, while the thrashers, watching their opportunity, struck at the un- wieldy monster as often as it rose to breathe. The sword-fish is also said to attack the whale, furnished, also, with a powerful weapon for defensive or aggressive war, in the shape of a bony snout about four or five feet long, not serrated like the saw-fish, but of a much stronger consistency in fact, the hardest material known. Beset by powerful enemies, the whale must have a troublous existence ; and if one thing can enlist our sympathies for these animals more than another, it is the well-known attachment they have to each other, and particularly for their young. It is said that when a female whale is wounded, her companions will remain around her until the last moment, or when they are themselves wounded. The whalers strike the young cubs, or " suckers," as they are called, not for their value, for these would hardly produce a barrel of oil, but the men know that the mother will start forth in their defence. She joins her cub at the surface whenever it has occasion to rise for respiration, encourages it to swim off, and seldom deserts it while life remains. She is then dangerous to approach, but affords frequent opportunities of attack. She loses all regard for her own I 2 68 ATTACHMENT OF WHALES TO THEIR YOUNG. safety in anxiety for the preservation of her young, dashes through the midst of her enemies, and even voluntarily remains with her offspring after various attacks on herself. "In 1811," says Scoresby, "one of my harpooners struck a sucker with the hope of leading to the capture of the mother. Presently she arose close to the ' fast boat,' and seizing the young one, dragged about six hundred feet of line out of the boat with remarkable force and velocity. Again she rose to the surface darted furiously to and fro, frequently stopped short, or suddenly changed her direction, and gave every possible intimation of extreme agony. For a length of time she continued thus to act, though pursued closely by the boats, and, inspired with courage and resolution by her concern for her young, seemed regardless of the dangers around her. At length one of the boats approached so near that a harpoon was hove at her : it hit, but did not attach itself. A second harpoon was struck, but this also failed to pene- trate \ so that, in a few minutes, three more harpoons were fastened, and in the course of an hour afterwards she was killed." Alas, for the poor whale ! how sad it is to think of its torture and destruction while showing a degree of affectionate regard for its offspring which would do honour to human beings ! The poet Waller, in his " Battle of the Summer Isles," draws an affectingjpicture of these traits in the whale. Two of these animals, an old and young one, are embayed in the shallows : "The bigger whale like some high carrack lay, Which wanted sea-room with her foes to play ; This sees the cub, and does himself oppose, Betwixt his cumber'd mother and her foes ; With desperate courage he receives her wounds, And men and boats his active tail confounds ; Their forces join'd, the seas with billows fill, And make a tempest though the winds be still. Now would the men with half their hoped-for prey Be well content, and -wish this cub away : Their wish they have ; he (to direct his dam Unto the gap through which they thither came) Before her swims, and quits the hostile lake, A prisoner there, but for his mother's sake : ATTACHMENT OF WHALES TO THEIR YOUNG. 69 She, by the rocks compell'd to stay behind, Is by the vastness of her bulk confined. They shout for joy ! and now on her alone Their fury falls, and all their darts are thrown ; Their fixed javelins in her sides she wears, And on her back a grove of pikes appears ; Roaring, she tears the air with such a noise As well resembled the conspiring voice Of routed armies when the field is won, To reach the ears of her escaping son. He, though a league removed from the foe, Hastes to her aid. The men amazed, blushed to observe the seed Of monsters human piety exceed ! Their courage droops, and hopeless now they wish For composition with th' unconquer'd fish ; Not daring to approach their wounded foe, Whom her courageous son protected so. The rising tide ere long their efforts aid, And to the deep a passage for them made ; And thus they parted with exchange of harms, Much blood the monsters lost, and they their arms." CHAPTER VI. THE WHALE FISHERIES. "Why stay we at home, now the season is come? Jolly lads, let us liquor our throats : Our interests we wrong if we tarry too long ; Then, all hands ! let us fit out our boats. Let each man prepare Of the tackling his share, By neglect a good voyage may be lost. Come, I say, let's away, Make no stay or delay, For the winter brings whales on the coast ! " Old Ballad on the Greenland Fishery. |HE preparation for " a cruise among the whales " is very exciting; not so much as it used to be, because the supply of oil from other sources, the general use of gas, and other circumstances, have diminished the necessity which for- merly prevailed for a means of illumination. Still there is a con- siderable demand for the valuable products of the whale the oil, the whalebone, the spermaceti, and the ambergris, which constitute essential articles of commerce. The Arctic regions have for several centuries been the chief haunts of the whale fishery. There has been, however, of late years a great decrease in the number of whales, and the fishery as a speculation has become more precarious, for you can readily understand how, owing to the dangers which beset the Polar seas in these pursuits, and to which I shall call your attention in the next chapter, many vessels are destroyed and valuable lives lost. 70 CURIOUS CUSTOMS AT HULL. Within a period of twenty years, no less than twenty whale-ships were wrecked or crushed by the ice, and the sufferings of the crews were fearful. Peterhead, in Aberdeenshire, and Hull are now the principal British ports for the whalers, but only a few vessels, comparatively- speaking, are engaged in the fishery. Hull has been for genera- tions one of the head-quarters of the Greenland whalers, and it is there that many old customs and usages existed in connection with the fishery. The author of the " Home Tour in the Manufacturing Districts," while noticing the arrival of one of these vessels at Hull, says: " The interest evinced by all descriptions of persons is very re- markable, for it may be said that the moral and physical affections of half the inhabitants are more or less excited some in the hope or reality of profit, direct or indirect, and others by a host of do- mestic joys and anxieties. A custom prevails among the seamen of these vessels, when traversing the Polar seas, to fix, on the first day of May, a garland aloft, suspended midway on a rope leading from the maintop gallant-mast-head to the foretop mast-head; a garland, not indeed bedecked with flowers, but ornamented with knots of ribbon, love-tokens of the lads for their lasses ; each con- taining, as it were, a little tender history, sanctified in the heart's treasury, and with the details of which they were alone acquainted. This garland remains suspended, ' blow high, blow low,' in spite of sleet and hail, till the ship reaches once more her port. No sooner does she arrive at the docks than, according to long-estab- lished custom, it becomes an object of supreme emulation among the boys of the town, seamen's sons, to compete for the aforesaid symbol, to which end, animated by the gaze of their friends on shore and a spirit of rivalry among themselves, they vie with each other in a perilous race up the rigging. The contest was at this moment about to take place, the garland being suspended aloft, in the position described, and containing within its centre the model of a ship, cut from the heart of an English oak, the type of honest affection." The whale fishery was carried on successfully during the twelfth, 72 EQUIPMENT OF WHALING VESSELS. thirteenth, and fourteenth centuries by the Biscayans. The whales taken by them in the Bay of Biscay appear to have been of a smaller species than those since found in more northern latitudes. This fishery has long ceased, owing, probably, to the great destruction of these animals. It is to the voyagers who, near the end of the sixteenth century, attempted to find a passage through the Northern Ocean to India, that we owe the discovery which led to the estab- lishment of the whale fishery in the seas of Greenland and Spitz- bergen. The English and the Dutch were the first to embark in this adventure ; but the French, the Danes, the Hamburgers, and others, were not slow to follow the example. At first the whales were so numerous that the fishing was comparatively easy ; in the progress of time, however, the whales became fewer, and when found, more difficult to take. It therefore became necessary to pursue them farther into the open sea. The English began seriously to engage in the whale fishery during the reign of Elizabeth. Hakluyt, under the year 1575, reports " the request of a rich merchant, to a friend of his, to be advised and directed in the course of killing a whale," with the answer " that there ought to be a ship of two hundred burthens, with proper utensils and instruments, and that all the necessary hands were to be obtained from Biscay," the people of which, as I have told you, were the earliest whale fishers in Europe. The ships employed in the Northern fishery are constructed expressly for that object, and strengthened so as to encounter exposure in the ice regions. They are generally of from three to four hundred tons, each having a crew of about fifty men expe- rienced, hardy sailors accustomed to the dangers of these par- ticular expeditions. Six or seven light swift boats are requisite for each vessel ; and another requirement is what is called a " crow's- nest," a kind of watch-tower, placed on the main-topmast to shelter the man on duty, whose office it is to keep a steady look-out with a telescope, for the spout of a whale in the distance, or the ap- proach of drifting ice. In the cold and dreary regions into which the whale-ship pene- trates, it is not, or rather was not (for old customs, as I remarked, DROLL CEREMONIES AT SEA. 73 are passing away) so cheerless as one would suppose. An amusing ceremony, similar to that of " shaving " all nautical tyros on cross- ing the "line," prevailed amongst the seamen engaged in the whale fishery at Greenland on the First of May. It is thus described in "Hone's Table Book:" The unfortunates, upon whom the initiation of the mysteries of the Arctic circle were to be performed, were kept from between- decks, and all intruders were excluded, whilst the principal per- formers got ready the necessary apparatus and dresses. The "barber" was the boatswain, the "barber's mate" was the cooper; and on a piece of tarpauling fastened to the entrance of the fore- hatchway was the following inscription : " Neptune's Easy Shaving Shop, kept by John Johnson" The performers then appeared as follows : ^First, the fiddler, playing as well as he could on an old fiddle, " See the Conquer- ing- Hero comes ! " Next four men, two abreast, disguised with matting and rags, so as completely to prevent them from being recognized, each armed with a boat-hook. Then came Neptune himself, also disguised, mounted upon the carriage of the largest gun in the ship, and followed by the barber, barber's mate, swab* bearer, shaving-box carrier, and as many of the ship's company as chose to join them, dressed in such a grotesque manner as to baffle all description. Arrived on the quarter-deck, they were met by the captain, when his briny majesty immediately dismounted, and the following dialogue ensued : " Are you the captain of the ship ? " " I am." " What is the name of your ship ? " "The ' Neptune,' of London." " Where is she bound to ? " " Greenland." " What is your name ? " " Matthew Ainsley." " You are engaged in the whale fishery ? " "lam." 74 COMMENCEMENT OF HARD WORK. " Well, I hope I shall drink your honour's health, and I wish you a prosperous fishery." Here the captain presented the first libation of three quarts of rum. Neptune, filling a glass with evident satisfaction, unmixed with sea-water, exclaimed, " Here 's health to you, captain, and success to our cause ! Have you got any fresh-water sailors on board ? for, if you have, I must christen them so as to make them useful to our King and country." " We have eight of them on board, at your service," replied the captain ; " I therefore wish you good morning 1 " The procession then returned in the same manner as it came, the candidates for nautical distinction following in the rear. After descending the fore-hatchway, they collected between-decks, when all the offerings to Neptune were given to the deputy (the cook), consisting of whisky, tobacco, &c. The barber then stood ready with his box of lather, and the landsmen were brought before Neptune, when the following dialogue took place with each, only with the alteration of the man's name : " What is your name ? " "Gilbert Nicholson." " Where do you come from ? " "Shetland." " Have you ever been to sea before ? " "No." " Where are you going to ? " "Greenland." At each of these answers, the brush (dipped in the lather, con- sisting of soap-suds, oil, tar, paint, &c.) was thrust into the respon- dent's mouth and over his face ; then the barber's man scraped his face with a razor made of a piece of iron hoop well notched. He was then wiped with a damask towel (a boat-rug dipped in filthy water), and this ended the ceremony. On reaching the Polar seas, the real hard work commences, the men being on watch night and day, and the boats kept ready for instant use whenever a whale is seen. On receiving an indication ATTACK ON THE WHALE. 75 to that effect from the man in the " crow's-nest," a boat is launched, having a harpooner, a man to steer, one to look after the ropes, together with three or four rowers, and provided with an immense quantity of rope ready for use. The boat is steered rapidly and silently towards the whale, and on arriving within a few yards of it, the harpooner hurls his weapon so that it may enter under one of the monster's fins a vulnerable part. The harpoon, in its most simple form, is a spear of about five feet in length, with a much- flattened point, having sharp-cutting edges, and two large flattened barbs. These are attached to a long line at the opposite end of the barbed joint. The gun-harpoon is a short bar of iron with the barbed spear at the end, and a ring with a chain for the attachment of the line. This is fired from a small swivel cannon attached to the whaler's boat ; but the difficulty in whale fishing is to secure the capture of the animal, who sinks to a great depth on being struck, alternately rising to breathe, and sinking, so that the only chance of success is to tire it out. This is a critical moment for the crew in the boat, who are exposed to the most violent blows of the whale's head or fins, and still more of its tail, the tremendous power of which I have mentioned to you. The moment that the wounded whale disappears, a flag is displayed in the boat, at sight of which those who are on watch in the ship give the alarm by stamping on the deck, and those of the crew who are sleeping below, hastily throwing on a few clothes, launch the boats, and proceed to the assistance of their companions. The greatest care is necessary by the boatman who has charge of the rope, in letting out and guiding the line to which the har- poon is attached. Should it be entangled for a moment, the whale would draw the boat beneath the waves. The time a wounded whale remains under the water is generally half an hour, but some stay much longer. The boats take up a position near which it is likely to rise, when each harpooner strikes his weapon into the animal, and long and sharp lances are thrust into its side, until, exhausted with the loss of blood, the whale gives signs of ap- proaching death by discharging blood from the blow-holes or nostrils, sometimes drenching the ice, boats, and men with it. 76 ANECDOTE OF A DUTCH WHALING CREW. As the huge animal plunges along in agony, its course is marked by a broad line of oil on the sea, issuing from its wounds. The final capture is generally preceded by an awful and con- vulsive struggle ; the tail lashes the water with fury, and the circles formed on the surface of the violently agitated waves extend to a great distance. When dying, the whale turns over on its side or back, a circumstance announced from the boats by loud cries and striking the flags. No time is lost: the tail is pierced and fastened with ropes to the boats, which drag the carcase to the ships with boisterous cheers. A curious instance is related of a Dutch whaling crew, who had as they thought secured their capture to the ship's side, after towing it in triumph from the scene of conflict, missing their prize. The crew were giving vent to their delight, and the security seemed complete, for they were sailing a long distance from the ice-banks. They were having a good dinner to strengthen themselves before proceeding to the nauseous task of cutting up the animal. The feast was prolonged, but at length the men selected for the opera- tion went on deck, with an air of importance and full confidence. What was their astonishment to find that the whale was no longer alongside ! It seems that the ship, driven before the wind, had dragged at the animal, the cord had broken, and the rich prize, which had cost so much peril and fatigue, had sunk to the bottom of the sea ! A dead whale, if left in the water, soon putrefies : it swells to an enormous size, until at least a third of the carcase appears above the surface of the water, and sometimes the body bursts by the force of the air generated within. After the whale has been secured to the ship's side, the next operation is what is called " flensing," or securing the blubber and whalebone, which occupies about four hours, and is, as you may well imagine, anything but an agreeable occupation. The har- pooners, having spikes on their feet to prevent their falling from the slippery surface, begin with a kind of spade and huge knives to make long parallel cuts from end to end, which are divided by cross-cuts into pieces of about half a ton. These are hoisted on WHALE FISHERY IN THE SOUTHERN SEAS. 77 deck, and after being reduced into smaller pieces, are put into casks and stowed away in the hold. When the flensing is pro- ceeding and reaches the lips, which contain much oil, the whale- bone is exposed and detached by means of bone handspikes and bone knives, and is hoisted upon deck in one mass, where it is split and stowed away. The two jaw-bones, from the quantity of oil they contain, are taken on deck, after which the huge carcase is abandoned to the birds and sharks, which are always waiting for their share, and speedily devour it. In Ambrose Parey's works, representing the manner of cutting up a whale, a woodcut dis- plays a drummer and fifer standing upon it and playing ; drum- beating and bell-ringing being the signals given to the inhabitants of Aquitaine of the capture of a whale. In the early period of the Northern whale fishery, the animals being numerous and easier of capture, settlements were formed on the ice-coasts for boiling the blubber and extracting the oil, which was sent home in casks ; but when the whales diminished, and the fishermen were obliged to seek them in the open sea, the capture became more difficult and dangerous, the settlements were aban- doned, and the blubber was, for economy's sake, sent home to be boiled. In the different parts to which whale-ships are bound, there are establishments for extracting the oil ; those at Hull are on the outskirts of the town. The blubber when conveyed to the boiling-house is emptied from the casks into large vats, where it undergoes certain processes for extracting the oil. The whale fishery in the Southern seas does not present the same amount of dangers which beset the whalers of the ice regions, and differs in some particulars, being specially for the capture of the sperm whale, which I described to you in the last chapter. The principal occupiers of this fishery are the Americans ; still, there is a scarcity of whales even here. Melville, the author of " Omoo," mentions the remarkable expertness of the natives of New Zealand as harpooners in the Southern whale fishery. One morning, he relates, a whale was seen in the Pacific, the boat was pulled up to it, and a New Zealander, balancing himself on the gunwale, darted his harpoon at the animal and missed. After 78 DEXTERITY OF THE NEW ZEALANDERS. several hours' chase under a tropical sun the whale was approached a second time, and the harpooner aimed twice, but missed again. Then the bitterest disappointment arose among the tired boat's crew, and their taunts maddened the New Zealander, who, on the boat being pulled up again near the whale, bounded on the animal's back, and for one dizzy second was seen there ; the next all was foam and fury, and both were out of sight. The men in the boat pushed off, flinging line over as fast as they could, while ahead nothing was seen but a red whirlpool of blood and brine. Pre- sently a dark object swam out, the line began to strengthen, and the boat sped like an arrow through the water. But where was the New Zealander ? His brown hand was on the boat's gunwale, and he was hauled aboard in the very midst of the mad bubble that burst under the boat. He had struck the whale in a vital part, and more than regained his former reputation for skill. How wonderful are human power and energy in grappling with the monarchs of the ocean ! "Leviathan Hugest of living creatures, on the deep Stretch'd like a promontory, sleeps or swims, And seems a moving land, and at his gills Draws in, and at his trunk spouts out the sea." In the Tasmanian Courts at the International Exhibition of 1863 were many interesting productions of the whale fishery, which has become so important a portion of the industry of that colony. There are more than twenty whaling vessels attached to the port of Hobart Town, and these employ a fleet of nearly one hundred and fifty boats. CHAPTER VII. PERILS OF THE WHALE FISHERY. " Laugh at fear! Plunge in deep the barbed spear; Strike the lance in swift career; Give him line ! give him line ! Down he goes in the foaming brine !" |T was well remarked by an old whaling captain that " if the Almighty had gifted the whale with a knowledge of his strength, few indeed would be caught." It is truly so, and there are occasions when the whale, inoffensive in its general habits, displays an amount of power and hostility which forms one of the grandest and most exciting spectacles that could be witnessed. In fact, the dangers which the whalers incur in their hazardous occupation are frequently most imminent. As an instance of the spirit of mischief which sometimes animates the ocean monarch, I will relate what happened to an American whale-ship, the "Essex," Captain Pollard, in the Pacific Ocean. A number of sperm whales being signalled by the look-out, three boats were manned and sent in pursuit. The mate's boat was struck by one of them, and he was obliged to return to the ship to repair the damage. While he was thus engaged, a sperm whale, thought to be about eighty-five feet long, broke water about twenty yards from the ship on the weather-bow. He was going at the rate of about three knots an hour, and the ship at nearly the same rate, 8o THE "ESSEX" ATTACKED BY A WHALE. when he struck the bows of the vessel just forward of her chains. At the shock produced by the collision of two such mighty masses of matter in motion, the ship shook like a leaf. The whale passed under the ship, grazing her keel, and then appeared at about the distance of a ship's length, lashing the sea with fins and tail, as if suffering intense agony. He was evidently hurt by the collision, and greatly enraged. In a few minutes he seemed to recover him- self, and started with great speed directly across the vessel's course to windward. Meanwhile the hands on board discovered the ship to be gradually settling down at the bows, and the pumps were instantly rigged. While working at them, one of the men cried out, " God have mercy ! he comes again ! " The whale had turned about one hundred yards from the ship, and was making for her with double his former speed, his pathway white with foam. Rushing head on, he struck her again at the bow, and the tremendous blow stove her in. The whale dived under again and disappeared, and the ship went down in ten minutes from the first collision. The crew took to their boats as the vessel was sinking, and after fearful hardships and sufferings, the survivors of this catastrophe reached the low island called Ducies. It was a mere sandbank, nearly barren, and they could only obtain water and some wild-fowl. On this uninhabited island, dreary as it was, three of the men chose to remain, rather than experience again the uncertainties of the sea. The poor fellows were never afterwards heard of. The three boats, with the remainder of the crew, put off for the island of Juan Fer- nandez, two thousand miles distant. The mate's boat was taken up by the " Indian," of London, ninety-three days from the time of the catastrophe, with only three survivors. The captain's boat was fallen in with by the "Dauphin," but with only two men living. Thus, out of a crew of twenty, only five remained to tell the story of the whale's victory. If the huge monster, in the exercise of his enormous strength, can shatter a large sailing vessel in such a way as to cause its destruc- tion, you may readily imagine what fearful perils are encountered by the hardy crews of the whaling-boats. A singular story is related SINGULAR ANECDOTE OF A DUTCH SEAMAN. 81 of a Dutch harpooner, James Vienkes. A wounded whale had disappeared by diving, and the seaman was preparing to deal it a second stab, when the animal, on returning to the surface, struck its head against the boat and dashed it to atoms. Vienkes was hurled into the air, and fell on the monster's back, but contrived to bury his harpoon, which he had not let go, into it, and by means of this and the line he still held in his hand, he secured himself from slip- ping off. He called the other fishermen to his assistance, but their efforts to approach the whale were in vain. The captain of the ship, seeing no other way of saving Vienkes' life, called out to him to cut the rope \ but the harpooner was unable to do this, as his knife was in his trouser's pocket, and he could not let go his hold for an instant. The whale was meanwhile advancing along the surface of the water at a swift rate, and it was fortunate for its rider that it did not dive. The sailors were beginning to despair of their comrade's life, when the harpoon by which he was supporting him- self ,came out of the animal's body. Vienkes profited by the cir- cumstance to. cast himslf into the sea, and struggling against the waves, regained the boats which had been unable to succour him. He was picked up at the moment his strength was exhausted, and his companions, furious at the disaster, pursued the whale, and at length killed it. Scoresby relates : " Being myself in the first boat which approached a whale, I struck my harpoon at arm's length, by which we fortu- nately evaded a blow which appeared to be aimed at the boat. Another boat then advanced, and another harpoon was struck, but not with the same result, for the stroke was immediately returned by a tremendous blow from the fish's tail. The boat was sunk by the shock, and at the same time whirled round with such velocity that the boat-steerer was precipitated into the water on the side next to the fish, and carried down to a considerable depth by its tail. After a minute or so he arose to the surface, and was taken up along with his companions into another boat." " In one of my earliest voyages," observes the same writer, " I remarked a circumstance which excited my highest astonishment. One of the harpooners struck a whale : it dived, and all the assist- 6 82 NARROW ESCAPE OF A WHALING CREW. ing boats had collected round the fast boat before it rose to the surface. The first boat that approached it advanced incautiously. It rose with unexpected violence beneath the boat, and projected it and all the crew to the height of some yards into the air. It fell on its side, and cast all the men into the water ; one was some- what injured, but the rest escaped." In the year 1804, the ship "Adonis," being in company with several others, struck a large whale, off the coast of New Zealand, which became furious, and destroyed nine boats belonging to the different vessels, and then escaped. It was captured afterwards, however. Many harpoons of various vessels were found in its body. This whale was extensively known to the fishermen under the name of " New Zealand Tom." Sometimes, as I before mentioned, the rope to which the har- poon is attached gets carried off, at a prodigious rate, by a whale in its efforts to escape, and the boat is carried far out to sea, and exposed to fearful perils. The annals of the whale fishery have many thrilling stories of wonderful escapes in such instances. A very remarkable instance occurred in connection with the American ship "Independence," Captain Belair. While cruising in the Pacific Ocean, a whale was seen, and two boats were sent to capture it. The harpoon was fixed, and the boats were soon out of sight of the ship. An hour or two passed away, when suddenly another whale rose in the water, only a few yards from the vessel. The tempta- tion to effect its capture was too strong for the captain, who ordered the remaining boat to be lowered, and leaving but one man and two boys to take care of the ship, sprang into the boat with the rest of the crew. The harpoon was plunged into this whale also, and they were carried with the speed of the wind about fifteen miles from the ship. Then the whale plunged perpendicularly into the depths of the ocean. It was not long before they saw him, fathoms deep in the crystal waters, rushing up with open jaws to destroy the boat. By skilfully evading the attack, they escaped twice; but the third time, as the monster rose, he struck the boat in the centre of the keel, threw it some fifteen feet in the air, scattering the fragments and the crew over the waves, and then plunging into FATAL ACCIDENT TO A HARPOONER. 83 the deep, disappeared. The captain and the men were now in the water, clinging to the pieces of the demolished boat. They were many miles from the ship, and could not be seen from the deck. The other boats were gone they knew not where. The hours passed slowly away, as they were drifting along at the mercy of the waves, until six o'clock in the evening. The sun had now disappeared behind the distant waves, and a dreary night was settling down over the ocean. Just then they saw in the distance one of the absent boats returning to the ship. It was, however, far off, apparently beyond the reach of their loudest cries, and their hopes again fell. The boat at length drew nearer, and they redoubled their shouts ; and at length they were heard, taken from the water, and carried almost lifeless to the ship. The utmost care is requisite in "paying out" the rope when the whale is harpooned, so that no impediment occurs. The safety of the boat's crew depends upon the watchfulness of the man -entrusted with this important duty. Scoresby, one of the most distinguished whalers that have ever been known on these perilous enterprises, records an instance which had a fatal conse- quence : " As soon as the boats came within hail (sent in pursuit of the whales), my anxiety induced me to call out and inquire what had happened. 'We have lost Carr!' This awful intelligence, for which we were altogether unprepared, shocked me exceedingly, and it was some time before I was able to inquire into the par- ticulars of the accident which had deprived us of one of our ship- mates. As far as could be collected from the confused accounts of the crew of the boat of which he went out in charge, the cir- cumstances were as follow : The two boats that had long been absent on the outset, separated from their companions, and, allured by the chase of a whale and the fineness of the weather, they pro- ceeded until they were far out of sight of the ship. The whale they pursued led them into a vast shoal of the species. They were, indeed, so numerous that their 'blowing' was incessant, and there could not have been less than one hundred. Fearful of alarming them without striking any, the crews in the boats re- 6 2 84 DANGERS TO WHALERS FROM THE ICE. mained for some time motionless, watching a favourable oppor- tunity for commencing the attack. A whale at length arose so near the boat of which William Carr was harpooner, that he ven- tured to pull towards it, though it was meeting him, and afforded but an indifferent chance of success. He, however, fatally for himself, succeeded in harpooning it : the boat and fish, passing each other with great rapidity after the stroke, the line was jerked out of its place, and instead of 'running over' the stern, was thrown over the gunwale. Its pressure in this unfavourable position so careened the boat, that the side sank below the water, and it began to fill. In this emergency the harpooner, who was a fine active fellow, seized the bight of the line, and attempted to relieve the boat by restoring it to its place ; but, by some singular cir- cumstance which could not be accounted for, a turn of the line flew over his arm, in an instant dragged him overboard, and plunged him under water to rise no more ! So sudden was the accident, that only one man, who had his eye upon him at the time, was aware of what had happened ; so that when the boat righted which it immediately did though half full of water, they all at once, on looking round at an exclamation from the man who had seen him launched overboard, inquired, 'What had got Carr?' It is scarcely possible to imagine a death more awfully sudden and unexpected." Some boats of the whale-ship " Aimwell " being in pursuit of these monarchs of the ocean, harpooned one. When struck, the animal only dived for a moment, and then rose again beneath the boat, struck it in the most vicious manner with its tail and fins, broke and upset it, and then disappeared. The crew, seven in number, got on the bottom of the boat ; but the unequal action of the lines, which remained entangled with the boat, rolled it over occasionally, and thus plunged the men repeatedly beneath the water. Four of them recovered themselves, and clung to the boat; but the other three were drowned before assistance could arrive. In the Arctic seas the whalers are exposed to many dangers from the ice. About the year 1856, Captain Deuchars, a most experienced navigator, in command of a fine strong vessel, the WONDERFUL ESCAPE OF THE "TRAFALGAR." 85 " Princess Charlotte," lost it in Melville Bay. It was a fine morning, and all on board were anticipating a very successful voyage ; the steward had just reported breakfast ready, when the captain, seeing the floes of ice closing together ahead of the ship, remained on deck to see her pass safely between them ; but they closed too quickly the vessel was almost through when the points of ice caught her sides abreast of the mizzen-mast, and passing through, held the wreck up for a few minutes, barely allowing time enough for the crew to escape and save their boats. Poor Captain Deu- chars thus lost his breakfast and his ship within ten minutes. A wonderful case of deliverance from apparently certain destruc- tion among the ice is recorded of the " Trafalgar," an Arctic whale- ship. The account is given by Mr. Gibson, surgeon of the ship : " Blowing a fresh gale, with rain, the floe to which the vessel was made fast set down under the lee ice, so as to render our situation perilous. Towards midnight we became unexpectedly entangled amdng heavy pieces of ice and floes, when the ship received some severe blows on her beams. Finding it impossible to get out, we lay to, and in half an hour the ship was close beset. Though I retired to bed when the ship was enclosed, I expected every minute to be called to quit it. Soon after, a large piece of ice pressing on the vessel opposite my bed-cabin, broke two or three of the timbers with a dismal noise. Thinking all was over, I sprang out of bed, and found to my great consternation that the ship was under an enormous pressure from numerous large masses of ice surrounding her on all sides, without an opening of water sufficient for a boat within two miles ; and no other ship was in sight, although the weather was clear. Most of the crew were providing for shipwreck, and many of the people were supplicating Divine mercy for deliver- ance. Four days' allowance were cooked with all speed, other provisions were taken on deck, and everything of importance placed in readiness to be thrown on the ice. At noon, the man on the mast-head saw a ship, on which we instantly made signals of dis- tress. At this time a dead silence prevailed throughout the ship, the crew looking on one another in awful suspense. At one time the pressure was so strong that the panels of the captain's state- 86 APPALLING CALAMITIES TO WHALING VESSELS. room were forced out of their framing. About half an hour after this the ship was suddenly thrown upon her larboard side, on which all hands sprang upon deck. I shall never forget the confusion of the poor men, nor their wild looks when they gained the deck for half of them were below at the time of the shock, and from the smallness of the hatch only one could get up at a time. Some leaped upon the ship's side and were going upon the ice, when the captain cried out to them to behave like men, and to stick to the ship so long as she remained above water. We all stood on that part of the vessel nearest the ice, with our bags of clothing on our shoulders. For fifteen minutes we had patiently waited our doom, when, by the interposition of Divine Providence, the wind changed, the ice began to set oft' from the ship, and in fifteen minutes more she recovered her upright position. The water now rapidly spread among the surrounding ice, and finally the vessel was warped out and floated safely on the waves." A fearful series of calamities befell a small squadron of six very fine whaling vessels in 1830, during a storm in Baffin's Bay. Masses of ice were driven upon them, by which they were com- pletely beset. The ships were ranged under the shelter of a large floe, having water barely sufficient to float them. Here they formed a line, one behind the other, standing close, stern to stern, and being at the same time so pressed against the ice, that in some places a boat-hook could with difficulty be inserted in the space. The sky darkened, the gale increased, the floes began to overlap each other, and closed upon the ships in an alarming manner. The sailors then attempted to saw out a sort of dock, where they hoped to be relieved from this severe pressure ; but soon a huge floe was driven upon them with irresistible violence. The " Eliza Swan," of Montrose, received the first shock, and was saved only by the ice raising her up. It next struck the " St. Andrew," of Aberdeen, amidship, breaking about twenty of her timbers, and staving a number of casks ; but it then, fortunately, moved along her side, and went off by the stern. It now reached successively the "Baffin," of Leith; the "Achilles," of Dundee; the "Villede Dieppe," a French ship ; and the " Rattler," of Leith, and dashed INCIDENT RELATED BY SCO RES BY. 87 against them with such tremendous fury, that these four noble vessels, which had braved for years the tempests of the Polar seas, were in a quarter of an hour shattered into fragments. The scene was awful : the grinding noise of the ice tearing open their sides, and the masts breaking off and falling in every direction, were added to the cries of two hundred sailors, leaping upon the frozen surface with only such portions of their clothes as they could snatch in a single instant The " Rattler " is said to have become the most complete wreck ever known. She was literally turned inside out, and her stem and stern carried to the distance of a gun-shot from each other ; and the " Achilles " had her sides pressed together, her stern thrust out, and her decks and beams broken into in- numerable fragments. Scoresby, in his journal, mentions a narrow escape which he had while pursuing a wounded whale through the ice, equipped with a pair of ice-shoes (consisting simply of pieces of deal, six feet long, attached by the middle to the foot), his own invention for walking over loose ice. " I followed the whale on its second appearance, carrying with me a harpoon, and dragging a large quantity of line after me, until I fastened the harpoon by sticking it through the ice. Then re- turning for a lance, I again attacked the whale, following it as it retreated, and in a short time killed it. On one occasion, when I was waiting for its return to the surface, it happened to rise directly under my feet, so as to break the ice all around me, and lifted me up on its crown. As I must have inevitably followed it in its descent, had I retained my position, I slipped my feet out of the ice-shoes, and, at all risks, ran off to one side. Fortunately, the ice at that spot consisted of two or three folds, and supported my weight until I recovered my shoes." A Dutch harpooner happened to get too near a monstrous whale, which struck him such a violent blow with its tail that the poor fellow was some time before he could regain his breath. The men of another boat harassed the animal in their turn, and at length the boat was upset. All saved themselves with difficulty by swimming, and hiding their heads under the water as long as 88 RISKS ATTENDING "CUTTING UP" WHALES. they could. The cold was intense, and they were picked up all trembling ; their hair was frozen, and they had a cap of ice on their heads. The greatest danger in such a case is sleep, which is the twin brother of death. They were obliged to be watched, and kept awake in spite of themselves. After some time they were allowed to sleep for an hour, and were then aroused with considerable difficulty. Without these precautions, men who have been long exposed to cold would not wake again. The perils incurred in the pursuit of the whale do not always end with its capture. The operation of " flensing " or cutting up the animal, to which I alluded in the last chapter, is sometimes attended with danger. In a heavy sea, the men occupied in this disagreeable duty are liable to be washed over, or to be thrown into the monster's mouth at the risk of being suffocated. Occa- sionally they have their ropes broken, and are wounded by each other's knives. Scoresby mentions an instance of a man who, after the flensing was completed, happened to have his foot at- tached by a hook to the carcase, when it was inadvertently let go. He caught hold of the gunwale of the boat ; but the whole im- mense mass was now suspended by his body, occasioning the most excruciating torture, and even exposing him to the risk of being torn asunder, when his companions contrived to hook afresh the carcase with a grapnel, and brought it back to the surface. Such are some of the perils which have been related by the hardy travellers of the ocean whose years have been spent in con- tinued struggles, not only with the element, " Boundless, endless, and sublime, The image of eternity, " but with the huge monarch of the waters, whose reign has been disputed by a greater power in creation, who " sees all things for his use." " Thou little knowest What he can brave, who, born and nurst In Danger's paths, has dared her worst ! " CHAPTER VIII. THE PIRATE OF THE OCEAN. " Blood and rapine, death and slaughter Crown thee, tyrant of the water ; Scourge of all that dwells in ocean; Thrilling men Math deep emotion, Even the boldest, those whom battle Blanches not with murderous rattle j But whom, superstition-nursed, Regard thee as a fiend accursed, An omen of impending peril, Of shadows dark with doubt and evil." IMAGINE, my young readers, a SHARK seventy feet long, with a tooth four inches and a half in the enamel, or the part visible above the socket, jaws with the bow above thirteen feet, and a mouth capable of gaping more than twenty-six feet around ! This was one of the species of fossil sharks, an ante- diluvian animal, which has been discovered in the limestone rocks, the teeth and the vertebrae (small bones or joints composing the spine or back-bone) enabling the geologist to determine the species to which the animal belongs. A tooth, the size of that I have mentioned, was shown to the distinguished French naturalist, Lacepede, and, in order to discover the proportions of the animal to which it belonged, he measured first the teeth, and next the stuffed specimens of all the sharks preserved in the Museum of Natural History in Paris, and he found 89 INDISCRIMINATE APPETITE OF THE SHARK. in every instance that the relative proportions they bore to each other was as one to two hundred, and he was thus enabled to ascertain the prodigious size and capacity of this formidable ante- diluvian animal. Although the sharks o.f our own time are not of the same monstrous proportions, they are, from their immense strength and voracity, the objects of dread to those who behold them in their native element. " The type of horror and remorseless hate, Ofvillany the worst." The White Shark in particular, one of the largest of the tribe, and frequently weighing as much as a thousand pounds, some- times measuring from twenty-five to thirty feet in length, abounding in warm latitudes, and attacking everything in his reach, deserves the title given to him of " the pirate of the ocean." When I tell you that a lady's work-box has been found in the stomach of one of these sharks, and the papers of a ship that had been thrown overboard ; that the baskets, shavings, cordage, ducks, hens, and buffalo-hides, &c., which had been thrown into the sea one morning from Captain Hall's ship, the " Alceste," were found in the body of a captured monster shortly afterwards ; that in another was discovered a tin canister, which, on being opened, was found to be nearly filled with old coins, you will have some idea of his indis- criminate appetite. He will devour even those of his own species. An anecdote is related of a Laplander capturing a shark, and fastening it to his canoe : he soon missed it, however, without an idea of how it had happened. A short time afterwards he took another shark of much larger size, in which, when opened, he found the shark he had lost. An officer states (we read in the "United Service Journal ") that when some midshipmen had caught a shark, they pulled him up in their boat, cut open his stomach, and then sent him back into the water. His body was instantly attacked by the sharks nearest to him, and was torn in pieces. The experiment was repeated with the same result. The tenacity of life in the shark family is something extraordi- PREFERENCE FOR HUMAN FOOD. 91 nary. The fish has been known to be active for many hours in the sea after its head has been taken off. Instances have been known of a shark having taken a bait in the depth of the sea, after its liver had been cut out for the purpose of extracting oil, and also when the whole of the entrails had been removed. But a far worse character attaches itself to the shark, which is, his preference for human flesh : of all other food, it is this which he most prizes, and numbers of persons fall victims to his voracity in the seas he frequents. It is terrible to think of such a fate, for the huge monster is not only capable of snapping off a limb in a moment, or biting a person in two, but has been known to swallow a man alive. It is also stated on good authority that a shark was taken off the island of St. Margaret, which weighed fifteen hundred pounds, and the stomach was found to contain the whole body of a horse, which had probably been thrown overboard from some ship. In the "Illustrated London News" (i4th of April, 1860), the following horrible tragedy is related : " As the ship l Karnak ' was leaving the port of Nassau, a pilot fell overboard from her boat, in which he was being towed. The ship was stopped, and the boat instantly left for his rescue, while two life-buoys were thrown from the ship. The boat got close enough to give him the end of an oar, which he took, and cried, ' For God's sake save me ! ' The men were about to haul him into the boat, when he was carried down by a large shark which came up at the moment, taking the oar with him. A few days after the fatal accident, a shark was captured in Nassau harbour, and on being opened, the pilot's right hand and wrist, with a portion of his shirt (by which the hand was identified), a goat's head, with horns nine inches long, and a turtle's head were found in his stomach." The French name this fearful animal the Rcquin, or Requiem (the rest or stillness of death), in allusion to the deadly character of his habits : to add to the horror of his appearance, a phosphoric light is emitted from his huge body when near the surface of the water. To get at human flesh, the shark has been known to 92 THE VULNERABLE PART OF THE SHARK. bound several feet out of the sea, and seize the unwary sailor occupied in the rigging of the vessel when in full sail, and to leap into fishing-boats, and grapple with the men at their oars. You have, no doubt, read of the cruelties inflicted during the Slave Trade on the unhappy negroes who were forced from their country on board ship, and subjected to the most shameful treatment. It was frequently the practice of the captains and crews of these vessels to suspend a dead negro from the bowsprit, in order to watch the efforts of the shark to reach him, and this was accomplished at a height of several feet above the level of the sea. "Increasing still the terrors of the storms, His jaws horrific, armed with threefold fate, Here dwells the direful shark. Lured by the scent Of steaming crowds, of rank disease, and death, Behold ! he, rushing, cuts the briny flood, Swift as a gale can bear the ship along ; And from the partners of that cruel trade Which spoils unhappy Guinea of her sons, Demands his share of prey demands themselves. The stormy fates descend ; one death involves Tyrants and slaves, when straight their mangled limbs Crushing at once, he dyes the purple seas With gore, and riots in the vengeful meal." No wonder that every man's hand should be raised against this ferocious monster; and although of such fearful strength and audacity, he is sometimes overcome. The natives on the African coast show great courage and dexterity in attacking him. The mouth of the shark being placed in the lower part of the head, he is obliged, in order to seize his prey, to turn round in the water, and the negroes, taking advantage of this, thrust a knife into his stomach, the part where he is most vulnerable, for the skin on the upper portion of the body is so hard and rough that it forms a kind of armour, defending him from the bites of any animals he may encounter in the deep. This skin is even made use of by joiners for polishing hard-grained wood, and it is also employed for other purposes where hardness and strength are required. An amusing instance of punishing a shark for his greediness was "PUNISHING" ONE OF THE OCEAN PIRATES. 93 related in the " Edinburgh Observer," some years ago. The author of the article says : " Looking over the bulwarks of the schooner, I saw one of these watchful monsters winding lazily backwards and forwards like a long meteor ; sometimes rising until his nose disturbed the surface, and a gushing sound like a deep breath rose through the breakers; at others resting motionless on the water, as if listening to our voices and thirsting for our blood. As we were watching the motions of this monster, Bruce, a lively little negro and my cook, suggested the possibility of destroying it. This was, briefly, to heat a fire- brick in the stove, wrap it up hastily in some old greasy cloth as a sort of disguise, and then to heave it overboard. This was the work of a few minutes, and the effect was triumphant. The monster followed after the hissing prey ; we saw it dart at the brick like a flash of lightning, and gorge it instanter. The shark rose to the surface almost immediately, and his uneasy motions soon betrayed the .success of the manoeuvre. His agonies became terrible : the waters appeared as if disturbed by a violent squall, and the spray was driven over the taffrail where we stood, while the gleaming body of the fish repeatedly burst through the dark waves, as if writhing with fierce and terrible convulsions. Sometimes, also, we thought we heard a shrill, bellowing cry, as if indicative of anguish and rage, rising through the gurgling waters. His fury was, however, soon exhausted ; in a short time the sounds broke away into distance, and the agitation of the sea subsided. The shark had given himself up to the tides, as unable to struggle against the approach of death, and they were carrying his body unresistingly to the beach." In the South Sea Islands sharks are caught by means of a log of wood, set afloat with a strong rope attached to it, having a noose at the head. The fish, with his natural impetuosity, gets his head entangled, and floundering about in attempts to escape, becomes tired out, and is then easily dispatched. Captain Basil Hall gives, in his " Voyages and Travels/' an interesting account of the capture of one of these huge monsters. He says : 94 "BAITING* THE SHARK. "The sharp, curved dorsal (the back) fin of an enormous shark was seen rising about six inches above the water, and cutting the glazed surface of the sea by as fine a line as if a sickle had been drawn along it. ' Messenger, run to the cook for a piece of pork,' cried the captain, taking the command with as much glee as if an enemy's cruiser had been in sight. * Where 's your hook, quarter- master ? ' ' Here, sir, here ! ' cried the fellow, feeling the point, and declaring it was as sharp as any lady's needle ; and at the next instant piercing with it a huge junk of pork, weighing four or five pounds. The hook, which is as large as a little finger, has a curvature about as large as a man's hand when half closed, and is six or eight inches in length, while a formidable line, furnished with three or four feet of chain attached to the end of the mizzen-top- sail-halyard, is now cast into" the ship's wake. " Sometimes the very instant the bait is cast over the stern, the shark flies at it with such eagerness that he actually springs par- tially out of the water. This, however, is rare. On these occasions he gorges the bait, the hook, and a foot or two of the chain, with- out any mastication, and darts off with the treacherous prize with such prodigious velocity that it makes the rope crack again as soon as the coil is drawn out. Much dexterity is required in the hand which holds the line at this moment. A bungler is apt to be too precipitate, and jerk away the hook before it has got far enough into the shark's maw. The secret of the sport is to let the mon- ster gulp down the whole bait, and then to give the line a violent pull, by which the barbed point buries itself in the coat of the stomach. When the hook is first fixed, it spins out like the log- line of a ship going twelve knots. "The suddenness of the jerk with which the poor devil is brought up often turns him quite over. No sailor, however, thinks of hauling a shark on board merely by the rope fastened to the hook. To prevent the line breaking, the hook snapping, or the jaw being torn away, a running bowline is adopted. This noose is slipped down the rope, and passed over the monster's head, and is made to join at the point of junction of the tail with the body; and now the first part of the fun is held to be completed. The EXTRAORDINARY STRENGTH OF THE TEETH. 95 vanquished enemy is easily drawn up over the taffrail, and flung on deck, to the delight of the crew." A sight of this voracious monster in his own element is never to be forgotten. It has been observed that the word "villain" has never been written in more unmistakable characters on any living creature than the shark. His appearance exhibits every character of ferocity. The head is large; the mouth wide and grasping ; but the teeth, the most appalling features of the animal, are remarkable for their power of mischief : there are six rows in the upper jaw, and four in the lower; the teeth are triangular, sometimes two inches in breadth, sharp-edged, and notched like a saw, and as they are so planted in the jaw that each tooth is ca- pable of independent action, being furnished with its own muscles, and as the strength of the jaws is enormous, they form a most terrific and formidable apparatus of destruction. Although no part of the shark is wholesome for food, the flesh being coarse and leathery, yet it is eaten by the natives of Guinea, after being kept a sufficient time to render it tender. The fins being gelatinous, are used by the Chinese for making a rich soup. The liver yields an abundance of oil which is much esteemed. I have already mentioned the uses to which the skin is applied. You will be shocked to hear that on some parts of the African coasts there are human beings so depraved and superstitious as to worship this fearful monster, and who believe that a person swallowed by him is sure to go to heaven. Their mode of adora- tion is thus : The negroes proceed in their boats to offer sacrifices of goats, poultry, and other things. But far more horrible still is the offering of an infant, reared for the purpose until it attains the age of ten. The poor child is bound to a post on a sandy point at low water ; as the tide rises the sharks arrive, and the infant is devoured, the parents fully believing that it will thus enter Para- dise. We may well ask ourselves if it is possible to find a more atrocious and dismal proof of human depravity ! "Oh, sad estate Of human wretchedness ! So weak is man So ignorant and blind !" 9 6 WORSHIP OP SHARKS IN POLYNESIA. The South Sea Islanders had some strange superstitious ideas relative to some of the shark species. Although they would not only kill, but eat certain sharks, the large blue kind (Squalus glaucus) were deified by them ; and rather than attempt to destroy them, they would endeavour to propitiate their favour by prayers and offerings. Temples, we are informed by Mr. Ellis, in his " Poly- nesian Researches," were erected, in which priests officiated, and offerings were presented to the deified monsters ; while fishermen and others, who were much at sea, sought their favour. Many funny legends were formerly in circulation among the people re- lative to the regard paid by the sharks at sea to priests of their temples, whom they were always said to recognize, and never to injure. But for the sharks, the South Sea Islanders would be in comparatively little danger from casualties in their voyages among the islands ; and although, when armed, they have been known to attack a shark in the water, yet, when destitute of a knife or other weapon, they become an easy prey, and are consequently much terrified at such merciless antagonists. Mr. Ellis relates a fearful instance of the rapacity of the shark, when a number of chiefs and people altogether thirty-two were passing from one island to another in a large double canoe. They were overtaken by a tempest, the violence of which tore their canoes from the horizontal spars by which they were united. It was in vain for them to endeavour to place them upright, or empty out the water, for they could not prevent their incessant overturning. As their only resource, they collected the scattered spars and boards, and constructed a raft on which they hoped to drift to land. The weight of the whole number who were now collected on the raft was so great as to sink it so far below the surface that they some- times stood above their knees in water. They made very little progress, and soon became exhausted by fatigue and hunger. In this condition they were attacked by a number of sharks. Destitute of a knife or any other weapon of defence, they fell an easy prey to these monsters. One after another was seized and devoured or carried away by them, and the survivors, who with dreadful anguish beheld their companions thus destroyed, saw the number of assail- HOOKS FOR SHARK FISHING. 97 ants apparently increasing as each body was carried away, until only two or three remained. The raft, thus lightened of its load, rose to the surface of the water, and placed them beyond the reach of the voracious jaws of their relentless destroyers. The voyage on which they had set out was only from one of the Society Islands to another, consequently they were not very far from land. The tide and the current now carried them to the shore, where they landed, to tell the melancholy fate of their fellow-voyagers. The natives of Tahiti use hooks made of wood, and of the most formidable character, for shark fishing. These are a foot in length and an inch in diameter. They are such frightful implements that no fish less voracious than a shark would venture to approach them. In some, the marks of the sharks' teeth are numerous and deep, and show the effect with which they have been used. One of the most sad and thrilling episodes of shark encounters that I have read was published some years since in a work called "Ward's Miscellany." A small schooner called the "Magpie" was cruising between the island of Cuba and the Havannah, in search of pirates. One evening the sea and the air were so calm that the vessel lay on the bosom of the water like a huge animal asleep, with her head towards the shore. The crew were engaged in telling those marvellous stories which seamen believe, and never fail to narrate to each other in their hours of idleness, for such occasionally visit even the mariner afloat. Lieutenant Smith, the commander, who had been on the look-out for the pirate ship as long as twilight enabled him to do so, laid aside his glass and descended into the cabin. All above, below, and around was now lulled as in slumber, for the laugh and the voice of the story- teller had become silent. Presently the mate of the watch observed a small black cloud resting over the land. The cloud was gradu- ally increasing, and although the mate saw no ground to apprehend danger, he thought it right to communicate the fact to his superior officer, believing that the land breeze was about to set in with unusual strength. Mr. Smith commanded him to keep a sharp look out, and he would join him on deck immediately. A moment after, a squall, as strong as it was sudden, burst from the cloud, 7 98 ATTACK OF SHARKS ON A BOAT. and just as Mr. Smith had ascended to the deck, the schooner was upset, and immediately sank. Two of the crew were below, and they went down with her ; the others, twenty-two in number, were left struggling with the quiet deep, for the squall had passed, and the sky and sea were again tranquil. It was now discovered that the boat had drifted from the vessel, and floated. A rush was made towards her, and several of the men attempted to get into her on the same side. The con- sequence was, that she became half full of water, upset, rolled over and over, and at length lay with her keel upwards. Some got across her keel, others supported themselves by holding on to her with their hands, and thus all were for a time safe. Mr. Smith now reminded the crew that it was impossible for them to remain long in this predicament, and exhorted them to right the boat and bale the water from her. He was immediately attended to ; the men on the keel relinquished their seats, the boat was turned over, and two men were ordered into her to bale out the water. This they commenced doing with their hats, and it seemed probable that by perseverance their task would be accom- plished. At this moment a man called out that he saw the fin of a shark. Immediately all was confusion ; every one endeavoured to save himself, and in so doing rushed into needless danger. Smith begged them to persevere in attempting to clear the boat of water, and directed those not engaged in baling the water to keep splashing with their legs to frighten away the sharks. Again he was attended to ; four men were in the boat baling, and the water was rapidly decreasing, when a noise was heard, and more than a dozen sharks darted in amongst them. In the panic which ensued the boat was again upset, and the men were at the mercy of the marine monsters. At first the sharks played about amongst the men, occasionally rubbing against them ; but presently a loud shriek arose from one of them his leg was bitten from his body ! The attack was now general ; shrieks arose from one and another. Some were torn from the boat, and several sank into the abyss, either through being bitten or from fear. In this critical moment Lieutenant Smith was not dismayed. HORRIBLE FATE OF SOME SEAMEN. 99 He still gave orders to the crew firmly and coolly, and was still obeyed by them. The boat was again righted, and the baling again commenced, Smith clinging to the stern while he directed and encouraged his crew. For a moment he ceased to splash, while he looked into the boat to see what progress his men were making. At this instant a shark bit off both his legs above the knees. With fortitude scarcely to be believed, he endeavoured to conceal the fact from his remaining crew, but, in spite of all his efforts to suppress it, a deep groan escaped him ; he loosed his hold of the boat and was about to sink, when two of his men caught hold of him and placed him in the stern-sheets. Although bleeding and in agony, he still exerted himself for his crew. He expressed his sorrow for their situation, gave them advice affection- ately, yet coolly, and ended with these words : " If any of you survive this fatal night, and return to Jamaica, tell the admiral (Sir Laurence Halsted) that I was in search of the pirate when this lamentable occurrence took place \ tell him that I hope I have always done my duty, and that I &t this instant some of the men endeavoured to get into the boat, which was thus drawn on one side, and Lieutenant Smith rolled overboard, and sank to rise no more. The boat was now again upset. Some of the bleeding seamen placed themselves on the keel, but one by one dropped into the ocean. It was at eight o'clock when the " Mag- pie " sank, and before nine all on board of her were eaten by the sharks or drowned, with the exception of two, who succeeded in righting the boat and getting into her. They immediately began baling, and worked until they were nearly exhausted. The sharks swam round the boat, and endeavoured to upset her, but failing, and perhaps gorged already, at length departed. The men worked at intervals, until the boat was nearly free from water, and then lay down and slept until after daylight. The morning was fine but sultry. The men were hungry, thirsty, and fatigued : they looked around them ; an unbroken ocean, a cloudless sky, and a burning sun were all that were within their view. They began to think of the only resource remaining for either to kill his com- rade and devour his flesh. /They were men of equal strength, and 7 2 ioo PERILOUS CONDITION OF THE SURVIVORS. both had knives. Each, however, seemed unwilling to resort to this horrible expedient except in the last extremity. The man at the stern (for they had separated from each other, in mutual apprehen- sion, by nearly the whole length of the keel) knelt down and prayed, and his comrade followed his example. As the morning went on they suffered intensely from thirst, and aggravated their sufferings by attempting to allay it with salt water. The madness of despair was beginning to develop itself in one of them when a sail appeared in sight, which afterwards proved to be a brig steering towards them. One flung his jacket in the air, while the other hailed again and again, and sometimes both hailed together, although the brig was at such a distance that it was not possible their cries would be heard. She approached nearer and nearer, and so rivetted were their minds on the brig that hunger and thirst were forgotten in the excitement of hope. The people on board the ship appeared to notice them, but just as they had reason to think that such was the case, she changed her course and hoisted additional sail. Still they attempted to gain their attention, and attempted to propel the boat with their hands ; but all was in vain ; the ship was becoming every moment more distant, and their chance of release from such a horrible condition, of course, fainter. At this moment one of the sailors conceived the bold project of swimming to the brig, which was by this time two miles and a half from them. His comrade remonstrated with him, so wild and hopeless did the undertaking appear to him, especially as the fins of sharks were seen again here and there above the water. After a little hesitation, caused by the appeal of his shipmate, and a short prayer, he jumped over. The splash occasioned by his doing so caused the sharks to disappear, and the man in the boat well knew that they were in search of his comrade. Immediately afterwards, three of them passed the boat towards him. With the greatest anxiety the sailor in the boat watched his messmate : he swam well, kicking and splashing as he went, to frighten the sharks. Once he beheld one of them close to him ; but he only swam the faster, and kicked more vigorously. The THE SHARK FAMILY. 101 wind had freshened, the brig was sailing more fleetly, his cries were unheard by the crew, and he began to think he must yield himself a prey to the sharks. At last he saw a man look over the side of the vessel; he held up both his hands, jumped up in the water, and was at length seen. A boat was got out, the brave swimmer was picked up, and was soon joined by his comrade on board the brig. The sharks were defrauded of their prey. The two survivors of the " Magpie " were tried by a court-martial, and as a reward for their perseverance, industry, and obedience to their commander in circumstances of such peculiar peril, promoted to be warrant officers. To this family of the Squalidce, or Sharks, belongs the Blue species, to which I have alluded, and which visits our own coasts during the pilchard and herring fishery, but whose chief residence is the Mediterranean. It is about seven feet long. The whole of the upper parts is of a slate-blue colour, and the under side nearly pure white. The Hammer-headed species are distinguished, as the name implies, from each side of the head being extended hammer- shaped into a kind of branch, which has the eyes at the outer extremity. Its habits are of the family character, and it never hesitates to attack man when an opportunity offers. The Smooth Shark is so named from the smoothness and softer nature of its skin than its other relations ; it is about four feet in length, and is a frequent visitor to the British seas. The Dog-Fish, the most common of the minor members of the shark family, will be found noticed in a subsequent chapter on " Fishing." The Spinous Shark, so named from its "prickles," which resemble those on the stems of a rose-bush, is not, happily, a frequent visitant to British waters, though of inferior size to most of the family, being from four to eight feet. The Angel-Fish, or Monk-Fish, or Shark-Ray, closes our list of the " ocean pirates." The depressed form, rounded head, with the eyes on the upper surface, and the singularly expansive pectoral fins (which may, under the imaginative form of wings, have originated the designation of "angel") distinguish this strange, 102 THE GREENLAND SHARK. and, on the whole, uncouth fish, which partakes something of the character of the ray and the shark. It is not unfrequent on our coasts, and attains a considerable size, some weighing a hundred- weight. It is a fierce and dangerous fish to contend with, and fishermen tell strange stories of its strength and fury. The Greenland Shark, which abounds in the Northern seas, although smaller than his powerful relative, being usually about fourteen feet long and six to eight feet in girth, partakes of his ferocity, and is a fearful enemy to the whale, whom he frequently worries to death, and feasts upon afterwards, scooping out pieces from his body as large as a man's head. The blubber appears to be a peculiarly " dainty dish " to this Arctic monster, and while the crew of a ship are employed in cutting up a whale, he will come in for his share, and is so greedy for his favourite food that the men consider themselves safe from his gripe. Insensible to pain and tenacious of life as are all the larger sharks, the Arctic member of this ferocious tribe has been proved to be so in a remarkable degree. A few ugly wounds do not spoil his appetite, and even when pierced through the body with a sailor's knife, he does not desert the whale's carcase until his appetite is fully satisfied. Even when the body is cut into parts, the separate portions continue to show signs of life for some time, and it is unsafe to put the hand into his mouth a good while after the head has been separated from the trunk. The Greenlanders eat the flesh of this fish both fresh and dried, and twist his rough skin into a kind of rope. This shark is known to have seized a native canoe covered with seal-skin (which was probably the attraction) in his mouth from beneath, and by closing his jaws, destroyed both the canoe and its inmate. The largest of this terrible tribe, the Basking Shark, visits our seas occasionally, though most abundant in the tropics. He has been seen off the coast of Scotland, and taken, from his enormous length, for the " sea-serpent," attaining upwards of fifty feet. One of this size was captured some years ago at Kuraci, at the mouth of the Indus. Happily, however, his voracity is not proportioned to his size, being satisfied chiefly with sea-slugs, small fishes, jelly- THE PILOT-FISH. 103 fish, &c. Pennant mentions a basking shark twenty-six feet in length, taken off Anglesea, from which one hundred and fifty-six gallons of oil were obtained. You have, no doubt, often heard of the pilot-fish as a guide and companion to the shark in his pursuit of prey. Whether this pretty fish, which is only about a foot in length, really does befriend and assist the ocean monster is not quite certain, but some accounts give an air of probability to the belief. Stevens, one of the first voyagers to the East Indies (1579 1583), alludes to this circumstance in a fanciful manner. Describing the sharks, he says : " These have waiting on them six or seven small fishes, which never depart, with guards (bands), blue and green, round their bodies, like comely serving-men, and they go two or three before them, and some on every side." Dr. Mayen remarks : "We ourselves have seen three instances in which the shark was led by the pilot, \yhen the former neared the ship, the latter swam close to his snout or near one of his breast-fins; sometimes it darted rapidly forwards or side- ways, as if looking for something, and constantly went back again to the shark. When we threw overboard a piece of bacon fastened on a great hook, the shark was about twenty paces from the ship. With the quickness of lightning the pilot came up, smelt at the dainty morsel, and instantly swam back again to the shark, swim- ming many times around his snout and splashing, as if to give him exact information as to the bacon. The shark now began to put himself in motion, the pilot showing him the way, and in a moment he was fast to the hook." Dr. Bennett, in his " Gatherings of a Naturalist/' says : " I have observed that if several sharks swim together, the pilot-fishes are generally absent; whereas, on a solitary shark being seen, it is equally rare to find it unaccompanied by one or more of these reputed guides. The only method by which I could procure this fish was, that when capturing a shark, I was aware these faithful little fishes would not forsake him until he was taken aboard; there- fore, by keeping the shark, when hooked, in the water until he was exhausted, or, as the sailors term it, " drowned," the pilot-fish kept close to the surface of the water over the shark, and, by the aid of 104 SHARKS, THE SCAVENGERS OF THE OCEAN. a dipping-net fixed to the end of a long stick, I was enabled to secure it with great facility." The pilot-fish, like the mackerel in shape, has five conspicuous tranverse bands round the body, and the general colour is a silvery greyish-blue. It is common in the Mediterranean and abounds in the warmer parts of the ocean. The ancients gave to the whales the benefit of its services. Oppian says : " Bold in the front the little pilot glides, Averts each danger, every motion guides ; With grateful joy the willing whales attend, Observe the leader, and revere the friend ; True to the little chief, obsequious roll, And soothe in friendship's charms their savage soul." Making a pet of a shark seems a monstrous idea, but such was really the case some years ago with one of these animals which frequented Port Royal harbour, in Jamaica. It was called " Old Tom of Port Royal," and was fed whenever it approached the ships, but was at length killed by the father of a child which it had devoured. Whilst the shark frequented the port no other fish of his tribe dared to intrude on his domain, where he reigned lord paramount in his watery empire, and had not been known to com- mit any depredation, except the one for which he suffered. I think we may consider this as a rather questionable proof as to what lengths the shark may be trusted for domestication ; but we must also look upon this animal with a deprecatory indulgence, for even in its voracity it is fulfilling a wise law of Nature; in fact, it is the " scavenger of the ocean," as well as the " pirate." Nothing seems to be rejected by these creatures: offal of the most offensive kind, living as well as dead matter, is greedily swallowed by them. In this manner they are purifiers of the ocean, and, as the Rev. William Kirby observes, they exercise the same functions that the hyaenas and vultures and other animals do on earth. "Another lesson," says the same reverend instructor, "may be learned from the existence of these terrible monsters; for if God fitted them to devour, He fitted them to instruct. The existence SHARKS, THE SCAVENGERS OF THE OCEAN. 105 of creatures so evil, and such relentless destroyers of His works in the material world, teach us that there are probably analogous beings in the spiritual world ; and what occasion we have for watch- fulness to escape their destructive fury ! " CHAPTER IX. SEA-HORSES, NARWAHLS, AND POLAR BEARS. "There we hunted the walrus, the narwahl, and the seal, Aha ! 't was a noble game ! And like the lightning's flame Flew our harpoons of steel 1 " LONGFELLOW. ILL the shores and borders of the Arctic zone are crowded with amphibious animals, which appear to form an inter- mediate link between whales and quadrupeds. Among these I will now notice the Morse (derived from the Russian morss) or Walrus (from the Norwegian hval-ros, whale-horse), also called by sailors the Sea-Horse. It is a large, shapeless, unwieldy crea- ture, from twelve to fifteen feet in length and eight to ten feet in circumference; the head small, the limbs short, and of an inter- mediate character between fins and legs. The eyes are small and brilliant; the nostrils are large, somewhat round, and placed on the upper part of the snout or muzzle. The lips are remarkably thick and covered with bristles. The neck is short. The insides of the paws are protected by a rough horny kind of coating, of a quarter of an inch thick; the fore-paws, or webbed hands, are from two to three feet in length, and, being expansive, can be stretched to a considerable width. The colour varies with age ; the young are black, they then become brown, and gradually pale, until in old age the walrus is white. The hairs, thick as a crow- quill, together with the long white tusks and fierce-looking eyes, 106 THE WALRUS. 107 give the animal a most diabolic look as it raises its head above the waves. Previous to the development of the tusks in the young walrus, the front face, when seen at a little distance, bears a striking resemblance to the human countenance ; and this appearance seems to have given rise to the fanciful reports of mermen, or mermaids, in the Northern seas. Captain Scoresby mentions that he has seen a sea-horse in such a position and under such circumstances that it was easy to mistake it for a human being. The surgeon of his ship actually reported to him that he had seen a man's head just appearing above water ! The most remarkable feature of the walrus consists in the two teeth or tusks, which are directed downwards from the upper jaw, and are sometimes nearly two feet in length, diverging at their points, and weighing from five to ten pounds. They are of beauti- ful white bone, almost equal to ivory, and are much employed in the fabrication of teeth, chessmen, umbrella-handles, whistles, and other small articles. The Greenlanders and other people of the North make hunting weapons from them, and domestic tools. These tusks not only serve the animal in procuring its food - which is said to be shell-fish and marine vegetables but are for- midable weapons against its foes. They also enable the walrus to raise its unwieldy bulk upon the ice, when its access to shore is prevented. The speed of this animal in the water is very great, and a con- trast to its sluggish appearance on the ice. Large numbers of them crowd together on shore, and present a curious spectacle. The moment the first lands, so as to be dry, it will not stir until another comes, and urges it forward by beating it with its great tusks ; this one is served in the same manner by the next, and so on in succession, until the whole are landed, tumbling over one another in the operation. In the voyages of the early navigators in the Arctic seas, they found the walrus, hitherto a partially unmolested animal, easy of capture. In 1 606, Stephen Bennet, the captain of the " God-speed," a vessel of sixty tons, writes : " We saw a huge morse putting his head above water, making such a horrible noise and roaring, that io8 COOK'S ADVENTURES WITH THE WALRUS. they in the boat thought he would have sunk it." In another place they found " a multitude of these monsters of the sea lying like hogs upon an heap." They shot at them in vain until their muskets were spoilt and their powder was spent, when " we would blow their eyes out with a little pease-shot, and then come on the blind side of them, and with our carpenter's axe cleave their heads ; but for all that we could do, of about a thousand were killed but fifteen." They filled a hogshead with the loose teeth found on the island. The navigators became more expert in their cruel onslaught upon the poor animals, for in a subsequent voyage the same captain relates that in six hours they slew from seven hundred to eight hundred, not only for the sake of the teeth, but boiling the blubber into oil. They also contrived to get on board two young walruses, male and female ; the latter died on the passage, but the other reached England, and was taken to Court, " where the King and many honourable personages beheld it with admira- tion." It soon, however, fell sick and died. Captain Cook, who was among the first to give anything like a distinct account of this curious animal, relates in one of his voyages : " We got entangled with the edge of the ice, on which lay an innumerable multitude of sea-horses. They were lying in herds, huddled one over the other like swine, and were roaring and braying very loud, so that in the night, or in foggy weather, they gave us notice of the vicinity of the ice before we could see it. They were seldom in a hurry to get away until after they had been fired at, when they would tumble over each other into the sea in the utmost confusion. Vast numbers of them would follow us, and come close up to the boats, but the flash of a musket in the pan, or even the bare pointing of one, would send them down in an instant." In another part, Cook mentions the wariness of the animals : " We never found the whole herd asleep, one being always on the watch. This, on the approach of a boat, would rouse the next, and the alarm being gradually communicated, the whole herd would speedily awake." The walrus is hunted chiefly for its oil and tusks ; the natives of the northern shores esteem its flesh highly, and it is greedily eaten AFFECTION OF THE WALRUS FOR ITS YOUNG. 109 along with the lard and even the skin. Mr. Lament calculates that about a thousand walruses are captured yearly in the seas about Spitzbergen, exclusive of the number which sink or die of their wounds. Though generally of a peaceful and harmless nature, yet when attacked by foes, and especially by man, these huge animals will defend and support each other with remarkable courage and fidelity, fearlessly proceeding to the rescue of an unfortunate asso- ciate, and striving even to death for its deliverance. As early as 1671, Martens, in his " Voyage to Greenland," relates having killed some sea-horses on the ice; "the rest came all about our boat, and beat holes through the sides of it so that we took in abundance of water, and were forced at length to row away because of their great numbers, for they gathered themselves more and more together, and pursued us, as long as we could perceive them, very furiously." Parry records a similar incident in his Arctic voyage in the "Fury" and " Hecla." A boat's crew proceeded to attack two hundred of these animals, but they made a most desperate resistance; some of them with their cubs on their backs ; and one of them tore open the planks of the boat in two or three places. Captain Phipps (afterwards Lord Mulgrave) in his expedition to the North Pole in 1773, relates that two officers engaged in an en- counter with a walrus, who, on being wounded, plunged into the water, and obtained a reinforcement of its fellows, who made a desperate attack on the boat, wresting an oar from one of the men, and had nearly upset her, when another boat came to her assistance. The affection of the mother for its young is remarkable. Captain Cook, in his third voyage, says : " We hoisted out the boats, and sent them in pursuit of the sea- horses that surrounded us. Our people were more successful than they had been before, returning with three large ones and a young one. On the approach of our boats towards the ice, they all took their cubs under their fins, and endeavoured to escape with them into the sea. Several, whose young were killed or wounded, and were left floating on the surface, rose again, and carried them down, sometimes, just as our people were going to take them into the no BATTLES OF THE WALRUS AND POLAR BEAR. boat, and they might be traced bearing them a great distance through the water, which was coloured with their blood. We afterwards observed them bringing them up at times above the surface, as if for air, and again diving under it with a dreadful bellowing. The female in particular whose young had been destroyed and taken into the boat, became so enraged that she attacked the cutter, and struck her tusks through the bottom of it." Admiral Beechey also gives his testimony to the same effect : " In the vast sheet of ice which surrounded the ships there were occasionally many pools, and when the weather was clear and warm, animals of various kinds would frequently rise and sport about in them, or crawl from thence upon the ice to bask in the warmth of the sun. A walrus rose in one of these pools close to the ship, and finding everything quiet, dived down again and brought up its young, which it held to its breast by pressing it with its flipper. In this manner it moved about the pool, keeping in an erect posture, and always directing the face of its young towards the vessel. On the slightest movement on board the mother released her flipper, and pushed the young one under water ; but when everything was quiet, again brought it up as before, and for a length of time continued to play about the pool, to the great amusement of the sailors." Man is not the only assailant of the sea-horse. On land its especial foe is the great Polar bear, and between these animals there are often terrible battles. On these occasions the tusks of the walrus stand in good service, for they manage, usually, to beat off the grizly enemy, though at the cost of many severe wounds. Beechey gives an amusing instance of the cunning displayed by Bruin in his "inquiries " after the walrus : " One sunshiny day, one of these animals, about ten feet in length, rose in a pool of water not very far from us, and after look- ing round, drew his greasy carcase upon the ice, where he rolled about for a time, and at length laid himself down to sleep. A bear which had probably been observing his movements, crawled care- fully upon the ice on the opposite side of the pool, and began to roll about also, but apparently more from design than amusement, as he progressively lessened the distance that intervened between DOMESTICATION OF THE WALRUS. in him and his prey. The walrus, suspicious of his advances, drew himself up preparatory to a precipitous retreat into the water, in case of a nearer acquaintance with his playful but treacherous visitor. On this the bear became instantly motionless, as if in the act of sleep, but after a time began to lick his paws and clean him- self, encroaching occasionally a little more upon his intended prey. But even this artifice did not succeed : the wary walrus was far too cunning to allow himself to be entrapped, and suddenly plunged into the pool, which the bear no sooner observed than he threw off all disguise, rushed towards the spot, and followed him in an instant into the water where I fear he was as much disappointed in his meal as we were of the pleasure of witnessing a very interest- ing encounter." At sea, the sword-fish is the most nimble and fiercest enemy of the walrus. We should scarcely imagine from the uncouth and heavy appearance of this animal that it would exhibit any striking trafts of intelligence ; but it seems that when young it is not difficult to domesticate. Lamont mentions having seen one about the size of a sheep on board a Norwegian vessel, and the most comical fac- simile imaginable of an old walrus. It had been taken alive after the harpooning of its mother, and was as playful as a kitten. It was a great favourite with all on board, and the only thing that annoyed it was pulling its whiskers. Another tusky inhabitant of the Arctic seas is the Narwahl, or Monodon, or what is popularly called the Sea- Unicorn, also an animal of the Mammalian order, about sixteen feet long and eight feet in circumference. In appearance the narwahl resembles a small whale, but with the addition of two long, straight, and pointed tusks, like spears, spirally twisted, directed forwards, and differing in length, the left one being about seven feet and a few inches, and the right seven feet. It frequently happens, however, that only one of these tusks grows, and the other, somehow strangled, remains shut up in the bone like a nut. This will account for the appellation given to the narwahl of the " sea-unicorn." These tusks are of a whiter and harder substance than ivory. The Kings of Denmark possess a magnificent throne in the Castle of Rosenberg made of this material. ii2 THE SEA-UNICORN. In former times, when the origin of the horns of this animal was not well known, they were supposed to possess miraculous powers of healing diseases. The monks, in particular, fostered this delu- sion, and pretended that every ill under the sun could be removed by their power. The narwahl has no true teeth in either jaw; the mouth is small and the lips are stiff, but it is able to catch and swallow so large a fish as the skate, the breadth of which is nearly three times as much as the width of its own mouth. It seems probable, however, that the horn serves them in this need, the fish being pierced with it, and killed before devoured. It is used, also, in digging sea-plants from the rocks at great depths, in order to drive from their retreats the shrimps and other animals on which the narwahl feeds. The tail is about twenty inches long and four feet broad. It has no dorsal or back fin, but in place of it there is an irregular, sharp, fatty ridge, two inches in height, extending between two and three feet along the back, nearly midway between the snout and the tail. The prevailing colour of the animal is bluish-grey on the back, variegated with numerous dark spots, with paler and more grey marks on a white ground at the sides. In old sea-horses the colour is wholly white, or yellowish-white, with dark grey spots. They are quiet and inoffensive in their habits, and swim with great rapidity. When respiring on the surface of the water, after blowing repeatedly, they frequently lie motionless for several minutes with the back and head just appearing above water. When harpooned, they dive to a considerable depth, and on returning to the surface for respiration, are readily killed in a few minutes with the lance. Near the coast they are always seen in flocks in the severest winters. The Greenlanders drive them with their sledges to fissures in the ice, where they are dispatched. The blubber, enwrapping the whole body, is from two to four inches in thickness. When a number of sea-horses are together, they divert them- selves in gambols, when, their horns appearing above the water, as if brandished about like weapons, have a singular effect, and the clattering noise they produce, with a kind of gurgling sound of the animals themselves, would lead one to suppose that some THE GREENLAND BEAR. 113 hostile proceedings were going on; but it is merely a playful move- ment of instruments which, if aggressively employed, would be dangerous. The force with which the narwahl urges its speed may be conceived by the circumstance that its tusk has been sometimes found driven through the planks of vessels. I cannot leave this part of my subject without a few observations on the most formidable of Arctic animals, the Greenland Bear. Although not amphibious, and therefore not strictly within the scope of my arrangement, yet the White Bear, " the tyrant of the cliffs and snows, uniting the strength of the lion with the untame- able fierceness of the hyaena," from its capacity of swimming with great facility and power, may be said to exercise some control over the wide domain of the Northern regions, both in ocean and on land. It exercises these capacities especially in the pursuit of its favourite food, the seals. When these latter animals are floating about on loose drift-ice, the bear tries every art of cunning to get at them. It slips into water about half a mile to leeward of its prey, and swims slowly and silently towards them, keeping very little of its head above water. On approaching the ice on which the seals are lying, the bear slips along unseen under the edge of it until close to the hapless victims, when a jump and a few blows of its tremendous paws generally settles the business. Every Arctic voyager is aware of the fact that the Polar bears are seen on the ice at a great distance at sea, and quite out of sight of land. Captain Sabine states that he saw one about mid- way between the north and south shores of Barrow's Straits, which are forty miles apart, though there was no ice to be seen on which it could rest itself. The appearance of the white bear is clumsy and awkward. It is impatient of heat, and seems to have no other residence but the ice, and as it derives nearly all its sustenance from the sea, that would seem to be its proper situation. It is the only known species which is strictly marine in its habits, and differs from others of its kind by having a flat head and a comparatively long neck. It is entirely carnivorous, and animals of the land and sea, the dead and the living, are alike devoured. The floating carcases of 8 H4 HABITS OF THE POLAR BEAR. whales and other marine animals form a considerable part of its food. Cartwright relates an instance of its agility in the water. He saw a Polar bear dive into the water after a salmon and kill it in an instant. On land it moves faster than would be supposed from its appearance ; when at full gallop its pace is described as a kind of shuffle as quick as the sharp trot of a horse. The fur is silvery white tinged with yellow, close, short, and even on the neck and head and upper part of the back. The sole of the foot, which is very large, exhibits a striking instance of adaptation of means to an end, for it is almost entirely covered with long hair, securing the animal a firm footing on the ice. The claws are black and much curved, thick and short. The length the white bear attains is from seven to eight feet. It has a most fearful aspect from its eyes being covered with a membrane or web, similar to that with which the eyes of birds are provided. The use of this is to protect the sight from the strong glare of the snow. The sense of smell is very acute, and sailors take advantage of this to entrap the animal within reach by burning a herring. When attacked, it rears itself on the hinder feet, and thus exposes itself to the deadly effects of the spear. The affection between the parent and young of the Polar bear is so great that they will sooner die than desert each other in distress. While the " Carcass " frigate, which went out some years ago to make discoveries in the Northern seas, was locked in the ice, the man at the mast-head one morning signalled that three bears were directing their course to the vessel. They had no doubt been invited by the scent of some blubber of a sea- horse that the crew had killed a few days before, which had been set on fire, and was burning on the ice at the time of their approach. They proved to be a she-bear and her two cubs, but the cubs were nearly as large as the dam. They ran eagerly to the fire, and drew out of the flames part of the flesh of the sea-horse that remained unconsumed, and ate it voraciously. The crew from the ship threw great lumps of the flesh of the sea-horse which they had still re- maining upon the ice. These the old bear brought away singly, iaid every lump before her cubs as she brought it, and dividing it, AFFECTION TO ITS YOUNG. gave to each a share, reserving but a small portion to herself. As she was bringing away the last piece, the sailors levelled their muskets at the cubs, and shot them both dead ; and in her retreat they wounded the dam, but not mortally. The affectionate con- cern expressed by the poor beast in the last moments of her ex- piring young was most touching. Though she was herself dread- fully wounded, and could but just crawl to the place where they lay, she carried the lump of flesh she had brought away, as she had done others before, tore it in pieces, and laid it before them ; but when she saw that they refused to eat, she laid her paws first upon one, then upon the other, and endeavoured to raise them up : during this her moans were pitiful. When she found that she could not stir them she went off, and when she had got to some distance looked back and moaned ; and that not availing to entice them away, she returned, and smelling around them, began to lick their wounds. She went off a second time as before, and having crawled a few paces, looked again behind her, and for some time stood moaning. Finding at length that they were cold and lifeless, she raised her head towards the ship and uttered a growl of despair, which was answered by a volley of musket-balls, and she fell be- tween her cubs, licking their wounds as she died. Scoresby, in his " Account of the Arctic Regions," mentions a singular instance of sagacity in a mother-bear, who, with two cubs, was pursued across a field of ice by a party of armed sailors. At first she seemed to urge the young ones to increased speed, by running before them, turning round, and manifesting by a peculiar action and voice her anxiety for their progress; but finding her pursuers gaining upon them, she carried, or pushed, or pitched them alternately forward until she effected their escape. In throw- ing them before her, the little creatures are said to have placed themselves across her path, to receive the impulse j and when pro- jected some yards in advance, they ran onwards until she overtook them, when they alternately adjusted themselves for a second throw. It is to this maternal attachment of the bear that the poet James Montgomery alludes, speaking of the Greenlanders going 82 n6 A POLAR SEAR IN A BOAT. ' ' In bands, through snows, the mother-bear to trace, Slay with their darts the cubs in her embrace ; And while she lick'd their bleeding wounds, to brave Her deadliest vengeance in her inmost cave." The white bear can make very little resistance when attacked in the water, unless it can lay hold of the boat's gunwale with its paws, to prevent which the sailors endeavour to chop them off. Commander Inglefield says : " While working our way amongst the ice, a bear was observed swimming among the loose pieces. A boat was lowered, and I pro- ceeded in pursuit, but Bruin swam hard for his life, and we did not succeed in coming up with him till we were some distance from the ship. A shot I put into him with the Minie rifle rendered him desperate, and he turned upon me, swimming and plunging over the brash ice to get at the boat ; but the rifle had been discharged and was not prepared for a second shot, and we had not provided ourselves with an axe, a very necessary weapon, to prevent these brutes from getting into the boat, which they always attempt to do when badly hurt. He came within a single yard, when a Colt's revolver was pulled from my breast coat-pocket, and waiting till his nose nearly touched the muzzle, Bruin lay dead, his head falling between his fore legs, and we quietly towed him alongside." Scoresby relates an amusing instance of a bear climbing into a boat, and sitting down coolly inside it, while the crew whom it had ejected hung on outside until another boat's crew came up and killed it. The accounts given by the early navigators in the Northern seas of the size, strength, and ferocity of the Polar bear are appalling, but modern experience has considerably modified such impressions. That the animal when pressed hard will attack a man there is no doubt, and it must be very formidable; but it usually makes off when pursued, or when it cannot attain its object by cunning. In the second voyage to Greenland, in 1595, of William Barentz, one of the hardiest of the Arctic navigators, there is a curious re- lation of an encounter with a bear. Some of his crew had landed, and as two of his men were lying together " a greate leane white NELSON'S ENCOUNTER WITH A BEAR. 117 beare came suddenly stealing out, and caught one of them faste by the necke, who, not knowing what it was that tooke him by the necke, cryed out and sayd, ' Who is it that pulls me so by the necke ? ' Wherewith the other, that laye not farre from him, lifted up his head to see who it was, and perceiving it to be a monstrous beare, cryed out and sayd, ' Oh, mate, it is a beare!' and therewith rose up and ranne away." The animal is said to have instantly bit his head in two, and sucked out his blood, and upon being attacked by a boat's crew of twenty persons, some with pikes and others with muskets, turned furiously upon the assailants, seized one of the men and tore him in pieces, and the rest ran away. The people on board, perceiving what had happened, went on shore to the number of thirty, and attacked the furious animal. The purser shot it in the head between the eyes, but it still retained a hold of the dead man. At length, on seeing it stagger, the purser and a Scotchman drew out their cutlasses, and struck the bear with such force that the weapons were broken, when one William Geysen felled it to the ground, when they contrived to kill it. It was in pursuit of a bear in the Northern seas that Nelson, who became "the hero of a hundred fights," displayed when a youth the cool courage for which he was afterwards so much dis- tinguished. He was coxswain to his uncle, Captain Lutwidge, in Lord Mulgrave's expedition to the Arctic regions in 1772. In these high Northern latitudes the nights are sometimes clear, and during one of them, notwithstanding the intense cold, young Nelson was missing. Search was made for him in vain, and it was feared he was lost, when at sunrise he was discovered at a considerable distance on the ice, armed with a musket, in anxious pursuit of an enormous bear. The lock of the gun being injured, the piece would not go off, and he had followed the animal in hopes of tiring it, and being able to attack it with the butt-end. On his return, being reprimanded for leaving the ship without leave, and asked what could possibly have induced him to undertake so rash an action, the young sailor replied, with great simplicity, " I wished to get the skin for my father." I will conclude my observations on the bear by relating to n8 A BEAR IN THE TOWER. you that in the reign of Henry III. a large one was brought to London, and lodged, as a prisoner, but in comfortable quarters, in the Tower, where it was visited as an immense curiosity, you may be sure. Two writs of the monarch I have mentioned are still extant, one of which orders the Sheriff of London to pay fourpence a day " for our white bear in the Tower of London and his keeper ; "" also " to provide a muzzle and iron chain to hold him when out of the water, and a long and strong rope to hold him when he is fish- ing in the Thames*" CHAPTER X. MINUTE ANIMAL LIFE IN THE OCEAN. "Oh, what an endless work hath he in hand Who 'd count the sea's abundant progeny ; Whose fruitful seed far passeth that on land, And also them that roam the azure sky, So fertile be the floods in generation, So vast their numbers, and so numberless their nation." SPENSER. I RUE and just are the words of our great national poet ; for, as Humboldt informs us, though the surface of the ocean is less rich in animal and vegetable forms than that of continents, still, when its depths are searched, perhaps no other portion of our planet presents such fulness of organic life. Darwin says that our land forests do not harbour so many animals as the low-wooded regions of the ocean, where the seaweeds, rooted to the shoals, or long branches detached by the force of waves and currents, and swimming free, upborne by air-cells, unfold their delicate foliage. The microscope still further increases our im- pression of the profusion of organic life which pervades the recesses of the ocean, since throughout its mass we find animal existence, and at depths exceeding the height of our loftiest mountain chains. Here swarm countless hosts of minute animals, which, when at- tracted to the surface by particular conditions of weather, convert every wave into a crest of light. The abundance of these minute creatures, and of the animal matter supplied by their rapid decom- 119 120 PROFUSION OF ANIMAL' LIFE. position is such, that the sea-water itself becomes a nutritious fluid to many of the large inhabitants of the ocean. Even in the bleak and dreary regions of the Northern world the wintry seas are filled with a profusion of animal life. The smaller species, of which the herring may be taken for an example, are found amidst the depths of the Arctic zone in immense shoals; countless millions of creatures of Berb'e, a genus of Acakpha (from the Greek, signifying " nettles," so named from the stinging power which many of them possess), of higher organization than the Medusa, or jelly-fish, exist here, with globular or oval bodies of a delicate or jelly-like substance, strengthened by bands which are covered with rows of large cilia (a peculiar sort of moving organs resembling microscopic hairs), the motion of which is extremely rapid, and is evidently controlled by the will of the little animal. Jelly-Fish , Zoophytes, &c., swarm also to such an extent as to con- vert the surface water in some places almost into a kind of soup, which furnishes food not only to small fish, but to whales and animals of the largest growth. Even the colour of the ocean is influenced by the enormous quantity of the organic life it sustains. The application of the microscope for by far the most numerous of the animalcule can only thus be traced shows them to be the cause of a peculiar tinge observed over a great extent of the Greenland Sea. This colour is olive-green, and the water is dark and dense com- pared to that which bears the common cerulean hue. The portion of the ocean so distinguished amounts to not less than twenty thou- sand square miles, and hence the number of animalcule which that space contains is far beyond human calculation. Scoresby estimated that two square miles only would include 28,888,000,000,000,000 ; and as such an amount is out of conception, he illustrates it by observing that eighty thousand persons would have been employed since the creation in counting it I This green sea may be con- sidered as the Polar pasture-ground, where whales are always seen in the greatest number. The remarks of the eminent navigator and naturalist I have mentioned, on this subject, are so interesting that I will quote them. " Nothing," he says, "particularly being observed in this kind ot THE MEDUSA, OR JELLY-FISH. 121 water (the Greenland Sea) to give it the remarkable colour it as- sumes, I at first imagined that this appearance was derived from tin- 1 1:1 lure of the bottom of the sea; but on observing that the water was imperfectly transparent, insomuch that tongues (points of ice projecting nearly horizontally from a part that is under water) of ice, two or three fathoms under water, could scarcely be discerned, and were sometimes invisible, and that the ice floating in the olive- green sea was often marked about the edges with an orange-yellow stain, I was convinced that it must be occasioned by some yellow substance held in suspension by the water, capable of discolouring the ice, and if so, combining with the natural blue of the ocean so as to produce the peculiar tinge observed. For the purpose of ascertaining the nature of the colouring substance, and submitting it to a future examination, I procured a quantity of snow from a piece of ice that had been washed by the sea, and was greatly dis- coloured by the deposition of some peculiar substance upon it. A I i i 1 1 ( of this srtow dissolved in a wine-glass appeared perfectly cloudy, the water being found to contain a great number of semi-transparent spherical substances, with others resembling small portions of fine hair. On examining the substance with a compound microscope, I was enabled to make the following observations : "The semi-transparent globules appeared to consist of an animal of the Medusa (jelly-fish) kind. It was from one-twentieth to one- thirtieth of an inch in diameter. Its surface was marked with twelve distinct patches of dots of a brownish colour : these dots wen disposed in pairs, four pairs, or sixteen pairs, alternately composing one of the patches. The body of the animal was trans- parent. When the water in which it lay was heated, it emitted a very strong odour, resembling, in some respects, the smell of oysters win -n thrown on hot coals, but much more offensive. The fibrous or hair-like substances were more easily examined, being of a darker colour. They varied in length from a point to one-tenth of an inch, and when highly magnified, were found to be beauti- fully shaped." Some of the calculations of the ingenious and clever Scoresby are very curious and instructive. In a drop of water there were 122 ANIMALCULE IN A DROP OF WATER. fifty of these animalculae, on an average, in each square of the micrometer-glass of an eight hundred and fortieth of an inch ; and as the drop occupied a circle on a plate of glass containing five hundred and twenty-nine of these squares, there must have been in this single drop of water taken out of the yellowish-green sea, in a place by no means the most discoloured about twenty-six thousand four hundred and fifty of these animalculae ! Hence, reckoning sixty drops to a dram, there 'would be a number in a gallon of water exceeding, by one-half, the population of the whole globe ! It gives a wonderful conception of the minuteness and vastness of creation, when we think of more than twenty-six thousand animals living, obtaining subsistence, and moving per- fectly at their ease, without annoyance to one another in a single drop of water! The diameter of the largest of these animalculae was only the two-thousandth part of an inch, and many only the four-thousandth. The army which Buonaparte led into Russia in 1812, estimated at five hundred thousand men, would have extended in a double row, or two men abreast, with two feet three inches space for each couple of men a distance of one hundred and six and a half English miles ; the same number of these animalculae, arrayed in a similar way in two rows, but touching one another, would only reach five feet two and a half inches! A whale requires an ocean to sport in, but about one hundred and fifty millions of these animalculae would have abundant room in a tumbler of water i What a stupendous idea is thus afforded of the immensity of creation, and of the bounty of Divine Providence, in furnishing such a profusion of life in regions so remote from the habitations of men ! Even if we consider the number of animals in a space of two miles square as great, what must be the amount requisite for the discoloration of the sea through an extent of, perhaps, twenty or thirty thousand square miles ! If we turn from the Arctic seas to the warmer regions of the ocean, we find the same wonderful profusion of animal life existing in minute forms of infinite variety : small Mollusca (soft animals inhabiting shells) ; Crustacea (with articulated limbs and hard INHABITANTS OF THE SEAWEED. 123, coverings), and luminous creatures, as Salpaz, of which vast gelatin- ous shoals are met with at sea, associated in a round mass like a chain, transparent, and of beautiful colours, of which, we are told, that during a journey of nearly eight hundred miles, they were thickly abundant throughout the track of the ship in the ocean. Each portion of the vast masses of floating seaweed consists when carefully examined of a little densely populated world, being crowded with living beings, all active and full of bustling animation strange-shaped little fishes, bright sea-slugs, tiny shells of the nautilus tribe, grotesque sea-spiders, and whole gangs of odd crabs, jelly-fish, and transparent shrimps. 11 The number of living creatures of all orders/' observes Darwin, " whose existence intimately depends on the kelp (marine plants) is wonderful. A great volume might be written describing the inhabitants of one of these beds of seaweed. Almost all the leaves, excepting those on the surface, are so thickly encrusted with coral- lines as to be of a white colour. We find exquisitely delicate struc- tures, some inhabited by simple hydra-like Polypi, others by more organized kinds and beautiful compound Ascidice (from the Greek askos, a bottle or pouch, these little molluscs resembling sacs every- where closed, except at two orifices). Innumerable Crustacea fre- quent every part of the plant. On shaking the great entangled roots, a pile of small fish, shells, cuttle-fish, crabs of all orders, sea-eggs, star-fish, and animals of a multitude of forms all fall out together. Often as I recurred to a branch of the kelp, I never failed to discover animals of new and curious structures. I can- only compare these great aquatic forests of the Southern Hemi- sphere with the terrestrial ones in the intertropical regions. Yet if in any country a forest were destroyed, I do not believe nearly so- many species of animals would perish as would here from the destruction of the kelp. Amidst the leaves of this plant numerous species of fish live which nowhere else could find food or shelter ; with their destruction, the many cormorants and other fishing birds,, the otters, seals, and porpoises, would soon perish also." How elevating is the thought that amidst all this prodigious variety and profusion, the boundless extent of which no human, 124 SEA-NETTLES. mind can conceive, yet the minutest animated particle that is revealed by the microscope is governed by the same laws that regulate the highest objects in creation ! "Each moss, Each shell, each crawling insect, holds a rank Important in the scale of Him who framed This scale of beings ; holds a rank which, lost, Would break the chain, and leave a gap behind, Which Nature's self would rue." Very interesting is the study of those curious inhabitants of the ocean, constituting what are termed by naturalists Acalepha, as I have previously mentioned, but which are more commonly known by such names as jelly-fish, sea-blubber, &c., and are sometimes called sea-nettles, the singular characteristics of which I ought to explain to you a little more fully. Most of them were included in the Linnaean genus Medusa, and the name Medusa is still frequently applied to them. They abound in all parts of the ocean, although some are tropical and others belong to cold lati- tudes. Some are of a large size, reaching to two feet in diameter, and others are very small. They are of an extremely soft jelly tissue, which in most of them, and in all the true Medusae, is unsup- ported by any harder substance. The latter comprise various species that shine with great splendour in the water. The South Atlantic abounds with them, and much amusement may be de- rived in a long sea voyage by observing these beautiful organisms, for endless are the moulds in which prolific Nature has cast them. Some are shaped like a mushroom, others are like ribbons, or globular, flat, or bell-shaped ; others, again, resemble a bunch of berries. Their motions are generally slow, their sensations dull, and directed entirely to the procuring of food. They often float without any apparent animation, trusting in the winds and waves to waft them about, and to carry them their food ; some keep a little beneath the surface, and propel themselves by contracting their pellucid disks. They have been termed the " living jellies of the deep," and some are endowed with an acrid secretion, which irritates the skin, and has thus caused them to be termed sea- nettles. The poet Crabbe thus characterizes them : SEA-WORMS. 125 "Those living jellies which the flesh inflame, Fierce as a nettle, and from that the name ; Some in huge masses, some that you may bring In the small compass of a lady's ring. Figured by hand Divine there 's not a gem Wrought by man's art to be compared to them ; Soft, brilliant, tender, through the wave they glow, And make the moonbeam brighter where they flow." There is one large species common in the Straits of Singapore, dreaded by the Malays on account of the violence of this power. Mr. Adams, surgeon to H.M.S. " Samarang," mentions, in " Bel- cher's Narrative/' the case of a Malay fisherman who was obliged to have his thumb amputated in consequence of the violent inflam- mation caused by contact with one of these Medusas. Sometimes these animals are colourless, and as transparent as crystal ; others are embellished with the most brilliant hues, and seem as if adorned with the richest enamel. Stevens, one of the first voyagers to the East Indies (1579 1583), describes the jelly- fish he saw in the Gulf of Guinea as " a thing swimming on the water, like a cock's comb, but the colour much fairer, which comb standeth upon a thing almost like the swimmer of a fish in colour and bigness." Another curious and widely-distributed class of marine animals are the Annelides, or Sea- Worms (from the Latin annulus, a ring), the bodies being composed of rings and joints. Some species are only met with in the high seas, swimming freely, while most of the others are to be found on the sea-shore, burrowing in the sand or mud, or living under stones, or amidst seaweed. A few construct a sheath or case for themselves, in which they ordinarily live, but which are not essential to the existence of the tenant, as they can leave it without inconvenience, and wander at liberty for their food elsewhere. Their bodies are formed of more or less numerous rings, each of which is furnished with feet, which are the chief organs of motion, and are truly wonderful. They are generally in the form of small tubercles, and for the most part are composed of two branches. Their summit or tip is frequently armed with 126 THEIR WONDERFUL BEAUTY. one or more bundles of bristles, which play an important part in the history of the animals. They form an ornamental appendage to the worm, and at the same time are used as organs of defence and offence. Notwithstanding they live in situations in which they are seldom seen by the human eye, yet in some species these organs have a remarkable degree of brilliancy, shining with a me- tallic lustre and splendour of the richest kind. The common Sea- Mouse, for instance, has a very large bundle of them attached to each foot, which are very fine and of considerable length. Gold, azure, purple, and green play on their surface in a thousand reflections, and these rainbow colours are in perfect harmony with the changing reflections and rings of the body. The wing of the butterfly has not received a more brilliant dress than these worms, concealed at the bottom of the waters, and sometimes buried in black and foetid mud. As Cuvier says, they are brilliant as gold, and changeable to every hue of the rainbow. The colours they present are not surpassed in beauty by the scale-like feathers of the humming- bird, nor by the most brilliant gems. These bristles, however, are as useful as they are ornamental. Surrounded on every side by enemies, usually dwelling in the waters where the worms live, they require powerful weapons of offence for resistance or for securing their prey. Some species of these worms are armed with a weapon like a harpoon, a lancet, or a knife. Some have an appendage, falchion- shaped, and others a bayonet fixed upon a musket, while others represent the appearance of a barbed arrow. These weapons are used to pierce the bodies of their enemies, and they frequently leave them in the wounds they have made. The celebrated French naturalist, Milne Edwardes, thus describes the harpoon- shaped bristles : " The tubercles of the feet," he says, " from which the barbed arrow-shaped bristles spring, are, in reality, quivers full of arrows, stored there for the use of the animals to protect them from violence," or as Gosse fancifully observes, " You may imagine you behold the armoury of some belligerent sea-fairy, with stores of arms enough to accoutre a numerous host. If you look closely at the weapons themselves, they rather resemble those we are THE NEREIDS. 127 accustomed to wonder at in missionary museums the arms of some ingenious but barbarous people from the South Sea Islands, than such as are used in civilized warfare. The number of such-like weapons in these worms is immense. "Let me ask the naturalist," says Dr. Johnston, "to count the number which may be required to furnish the garniture of a single individual. There are worms which have five hundred feet on each side ; each foot has two branches, and each branch has at least one spine and one brush of bristles, some of them simple, some of them compound. This individual has, therefore, two thou- sand spines at least, and if we reckon ten bristles to each brush, it has also twenty thousand of them ! Let us look a little further, not merely to the exquisite finish of each bristle, but to the means by which the host is put in motion. There is a set of muscles to push them forth from their port-holes ; there is another to replace each and all of them within their proper cases ; and the uncounted crowds of these muscles neither twist nor knot together, but play in their courses, regulated by a will that controls them more effec- tually than any brace ; now spurring them to convulsive energy, now stilling them to rest, and then putting them into action with an ease and grace that charm us into admiration, and fix the belief that even these creeping things participate largely in the happiness diffused throughout creation ! " The Nereids, which belong to the same class of sea-worms, have a long body, narrowed towards the inferior extremity, and divided into numerous segments, with well-developed appendages, a head, eyes, horns or feelers, and, in general, a large proboscis, armed with a pair of jaws, curved, hooked, and strong, with teeth on the inner margin. Gosse thus describes the Pearly Nereis, which is one of the finest and commonest of the kind : " The upper surface is of a warm fawn brown, but the beautiful flashes of rainbow blue that play on it in the changing light, and the exquisite pearly opal- escence of the delicate pink beneath, are so conspicuous as to have secured for it the title of ' pearly ' par excellence" Another species of the group of the Nereids, the " White-Rag Worm" a common inhabitant of the shores of our own country, 128 "JUMPING JOHNNIES." varying from six to ten inches in length, is of a beautiful pearly- lustre, exactly similar to that of mother-of-pearl. The foot, when magnified, resembles a horse's hoof, and is a very marvellous piece of Nature's mechanism. This animal swims rapidly in the sea. Another species is of a rich greenish colour, varied with bluish shades, reflecting a metallic lustre, and varying like the hues of the rainbow. With the tribe of sea-worms I may also mention the Sea-Leech or Skate-sucker, so named because the worm lives on fish, and attaches itself chiefly to the skate, from which it is scarcely ever found free. The mouth of this animal is not provided with jaws, so it sucks up the juices of the body of its host by a kind of pumping process. The Leaping- Worms, found on the coasts of Borneo, are curious creatures. Each step in advance to take them causes them to jump in a rapid manner, and in a series of leaps they reach the margin of the water, when it is impossible to capture them. When lying at rest they are scarcely distinguishable from the mud in which they lie. They are wedge-shape in form, about three or four inches long, with flat pointed tails, and broad heads and prominent eyes. The sailors have nicknamed them '''Jumping Johnnies." Other curious marine objects are the Pteropods (from Greek words signifying " wing " and " foot "), active,] little, energetic molluscs, common almost in every sea. They are the very butter- flies of the deep, and from their extreme vivacity would appear to be possessed of acute sensibilities. Insatiate and greedy, they are ever on the move, spinning, whirling, and diving in every direc- tion. Such is a brief outline, my young friends, and, I am afraid, very imperfect, of some of the minute animal organisms which are found in countless myriads in the ocean. In other chapters you will find notices of the larger inhabitants of the deep ; but how slight is our knowledge, even with the acquirements of modern discovery, to give even a slight insight into the mysteries of creation in the vast abyss of waters ! ANIMAL LIFE IN DEEP WATERS. 129 " Fish in the sea the circling eddies hide, And through the trackless deep unseen they sporting glide ; And, ah ! how great the task ! for who can know What creatures swarm in secret depths below ? Unnumbered shoals glide through the cold abyss Unseen, and wanton in unenvied bliss. For who, with all his skill, can certain teach How deep the sea how far the waters reach ? " The existence of animal life at great depths of the ocean is a subject on which some of the most eminent scientific men of our time have been divided; the general opinion having been that living bodies could not possibly sustain the enormous pressure of the waters. Recent discoveries, however, have shown that such opinions are incorrect, and Dr. Carpenter has been able, by his experiments in deep waters, to prove Dr. Wallich's statement that temperature and not depth determines the existence and abundance of deep-sea life. Sir John Ross published in 1819 an account of sea-worms and other animals which had been brought up from great depths, where no life had been supposed to exist, in the Arctic seas ; and about thirty years afterwards his nephew, Sir James C. Ross, made similar discoveries in the Antarctic seas. In 1862 Dr. Wallich published his researches in the Atlantic sea-bed, and the results of his sound- ings, to a depth of seven thousand five hundred and sixty feet, from which he drew up star-fishes, are very curious. " What," he remarks, " mechanical ingenuity failed to achieve, hunger or curi- osity achieved; and thus while the sounding apparatus only suc- ceeded in bringing from this depth a number of minute shell- covered creatures, so simply organized as to render them incapable of perceiving or escaping a danger, thirteen star-fishes, ranging in diameter from two to three inches, came up, convulsively embracing a portion of the sounding-line which had been paid out in excess of the already ascertained depth, and rested for a sufficient time at the bottom to permit their attaching themselves to it. These star- fishes arrived at the surface in a living condition, and, what is more extraordinary, continued to move their long spine-covered rays for more than a quarter of an hour afterwards." 130 DEEP-SEA SOUNDINGS. Although this description of animal life does not correctly apply to the "minute" objects which form the subject of my present chapter, I have introduced it to show how this discovery has led the way to the very interesting and valuable researches of Dr. Carpenter and other distinguished scientific explorers. I wish that space permitted me to enter more largely into this most inte- resting subject. Dr. Carpenter effected his dredgings and sound- ings between the north of Scotland and the Faroe Islands, and many particulars of his valuable discoveries may be found in his lecture at the Royal Microscopical Society. By sending down into the deep, registering thermometers, he was able to show the existence of a warm and a cold area, the former abounding and the other deficient in living forms. It was remarkable that many of the Fomrminfera (from the Latin foramen, "hole," fero, "I bear," the designation of a tribe of minute shells) procured from the deep-sea beds, were not dwarfed as was formerly supposed must be the case from the pressure and other peculiar conditions; on the contrary, many specimens from the warm space were of unusual dimensions. At upwards of three thousand feet, riot only was life abundant, but various, including molluscs, Crustacea, &c. In one sounding the sand was composed entirely of animals, which could not exist in multitudes without a considerable supply of food : it is supposed that the deep sea must contain myriads of infusoria (microscopic animals) suitable for their support. SEA-SOUNDINGS, as you may know, comprehend the means employed to ascertain the depth of water beneath a ship or boat. This is essential to discover shoals, or sunken rocks, or when approaching a shore. It was formerly the practice to use for this purpose silken threads twisted together, or the lead and line. What is nautically termed " throwing the lead," is performed by a man standing in the ship's chains. The lead has a cup-like hollow on the lower surface, to which a lump of tallow is attached ; and in tolerably shallow water, the seaman sounds with a line of from sixty to one hundred and eighty feet in length, which is marked, at distances of twelve or eighteen feet, by pieces of cloth of different colours. The particles of mud, sand, and shell (if there are any BROOKE'S APPARATUS. 131 at the bottom) adhere to the tallow, and are brought up with it ; by which, not only the depth of water is ascertained by the length of line run out, but the nature of the bottom of the ocean is made out, whether rocky or otherwise. But (as Professor Ansted informs us) this method is only adapted for small depths (within six hundred feet), and improved methods have been adopted of late, by which depths of from two to three thousand feet could be, with tolerable accuracy, determined. The American sounding apparatus of Lieu- tenant Brooke is now generally employed with great success to obtain proof not only of the depths of the ocean, but the nature of its bottom, even where the distance to be traversed is greater (observes Professor Ansted) than the loftiest peak of the Hima- layans, or the Andes, above the sea-level. The apparatus is a light thin framework, containing a cup and valve for catching and holding the mud or sand of the bottom ; and to this is attached a heavy sinker, in such a way, that while perfectly safe to carry down the line, it becomes detached and is got rid of the instant the bottom is reached. There is, therefore, nothing to bring up but the line itself, and the few pounds' weight of framework, with the matters from the bottom of the ocean ; and nothing is lost but the sinker an iron ball of sufficient weight for the purpose. A modification of this apparatus has been made for the use of the British navy, which ensures greater success, and by this means a large number of deep soundings have been made in various parts of the Atlantic, and also in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is to be hoped that with these means of testing accurately the depths of the ocean, new light will be thrown upon its hidden re- cesses and its animated recluses ; and that science will be enabled to pierce " The dark, unknown, mysterious caves And secret haunts Beneath all visible retired." 92 CHAPTER XI. THE ROCK-BUILDERS OF THE OCEAN. " Toil on! toil on! ye ephemeral train, Who build in the tossing and treacherous main ; Toil on ! for the wisdom of man ye mock With your sand -based structures and domes of rock. Your columns the fathomless fountains lave, And your arches spring to the crested wave ; Ye 're a puny race thus boldly to rear A fabric so vast in a realm so drear ! Ye bind the deep with your secret zone ; The ocean is sealed, and the surge a stone ; Fresh wreaths from the coral pavements spring, Like the terraced pride of Assyria's king. The turf looks green where the breakers roll'd ; O'er the whirlpool ripens the rind of gold; The sea-snatched isle is the home of men, And mountains exult where the wave hath been." Mrs. SIGOURNEY. |NE of the most conspicuous wonders of the vast ocean is CORAL, that most beautiful and precious of its produc- tions, which you have no doubt often remarked, without thinking of the cause of its formation and the extraordinary results to which it gives rise. No art can imitate the delicate tracery, the rich colour, and the 132 THE BEAUTY OF CORAL. 133 singular forms that coral assumes. It has been called by some writers " The Queen of the Ocean," and no term could be more appropriate. Ehrenberg, the celebrated naturalist, on viewing the coral-beds of the Red Sea, exclaimed, "Where is the Paradise of flowers that can rival such variety and beauty ? " Mr. J. Beete Jukes records his own vivid impressions on seeing some coral-beds in the Pacific : " I had," he says, " hitherto been rather disappointed by the aspect of the coral reefs, so far as beauty was concerned; and, though very wonderful, I had not seen in them much to admire. One day, however, on the lee side of one of the outer reefs, I had reason to change my opinion. In a small bight (a little bay be- tween two points of land) of the inner edge of the reef was a sheltered nook, where the extreme slope was well exposed, and where every coral was in full life and luxuriance." -Mr. Jukes describes them as of every shape : some delicate and leaf-like; others with large branching steins; and others, again, exhibiting an assemblage of interlacing twigs of the most delicate and exquisite workmanship. Their colours were unrivalled, vivid greens contrasting with more sober browns and yellows, mingled with rich shades of purple, from pale pink to deep blue. Among the branches, covered with their beautiful drapery of ocean vegetation, floated fish of various colours, radiant with metallic green or crim- son, or fantastically banded with yellow and black stripes. Patches of clear white sand were seen here and there, for the floor, with dark hollows and recesses. All these, seen through the clear crystal water, the ripple of which gave motion and quick play of light and shadow to the whole, formed a scene of rarest beauty, and left nothing to be desired by the eye, either in elegance of form or brilliancy and harmony of colouring. I must tell you, however, that it is only in the ocean the glorious homes of the rock-builders are to be seen in perfection, for, im- mediately after drawing the coral from the water, so rapidly does atmospheric exposure affect them, that it would be difficult to recognize the lovely objects which a moment before were glowing in the still waters. I 3 4 BELIEVED TO BE FLOWERS. " Under spar-enchased bowers Bending on their twisted stems, Glow the myriad ocean-flowers, Fadeless rich as Orient gems ; Hung with seaweed's tasselled fringes, Dyed with all the rainbow's tinges, Rise the Triton's palace walls. Pallid silver's wand'ring veins Streams like frost-work o'er the stains ; Pavements thick with golden grains Twinkle through their crystal halls." Such are the grand and mysterious operations of Providence in the depths of the ocean ! I will now describe to you the singular animals to whom the accomplishment of these marvels is due ; but I must first mention that coral was formerly supposed to be a marine plant. This ancient notion rested not merely on its shrub- like form, but from the circumstance that its branches are covered with a soft coating while in the water, but which dries up imme- diately on its extraction. Marsilli, an Italian naturalist, perceived in 1707 small objects in the coral-cells, which he thought were flowers j but at length Peyssonnel, a French physician at Marseilles, discovered in 1727 that there was life in the coral, and that these assumed flowers were in reality minute animals. Thus, by the aid of the microscope, an object which might be said to belong to mineralogy, and by its trunk and branches to botany, was now admitted to a rank in the animal world. This discovery of Peys- sonnel, the result of thirty years' studious research into the nature of coral, was laughed at by many persons at the time and treated as absurd, but Linnseus, the great Swedish naturalist, saw the truth at once, and did not hesitate to place coral at the head of the zoophytes, or animal plants, an appropriate designation, because it indicates at the same time the double nature of the substances. A common characteristic of these animals is that their mouths are surrounded by radiating tentacles or feelers, appendages by which they attach themselves to surrounding objects, arranged somewhat like the rays of a flower. By this you will understand the term polypi, by which these animals are also known, from the REPRODUCTIVE POWER OF THE POLYP. 135 Greek words polns, "many," and/0//.f, "foot." Of these the indi- viduals of a few families are separate and perfect in themselves, but the greater number of zoophytes are compound beings, or, as I may better explain myself, each zoophyte consists of an indefinite number of individuals, or polyps, connected together. Now, this polyp is an extraordinary creature, and has a tenacity of life truly remarkable. If you cut off the branch of a tree, or sever the limb of an animal, these parts will wither and decompose by passing into other parts of matter. If you cut a tree carelessly, its natural symmetry is disfigured ; if you slit it down its centre, it is destroyed. Animals thus treated die, with the exception of the polyp, for it will put forth new limbs, form a new head or tail, and, if divided, become two separate existences. " If," remarks M. Trembley, who was a close observer of these animals, " a polyp be cut in two, the fore part, which contains the head and mouth and arms, lengthens itself, creeps, and eats on the same day. The tail part forms a new head and mouth ; at the wounded end shoot forth arms ; if turned inside out, the parts at once accommodate themselves to these new conditions. If the body were cut into ten pieces, every portion would become a new perfect living animal. A polyp has been cut lengthways at seven in the morning, and in eight hours afterwards each part has devoured a worm as long as itself! How astonishing it is to see a creature so apparently frail in structure, possessing the actions, sensations, and powers of higher organized beings ! The stomach is without mem- brane or cell ; the outside surface-cells form a kind of double skin, and the inside consist of a wall of cells running crosswise, with a velvet-like surface, being red or brown grains held together by a sort of gluey substance." And now let us see how these minute builders of the ocean rocks make their habitations, and form the wonderful coral groves and islands sometimes hundreds of miles in extent that we read of. The various species of these animals appear to be furnished with glands (a set of bodies employed to form or to alter the different liquids in the animal body) containing gluten (the basis of glue), converting the carbonate of lime which is in the ocean, and other I 3 6 NATURE OF CORAL. earthy matters, into a fixed and hard substance, twisted as you observe in coral in every variety of shape. If you examine a piece of coral with the microscope, you will see that it is covered with a multitude of small pits, which are cells of the most beautiful construction, made with the greatest regu- larity, and in such a manner that the most experienced builder would pronounce faultless. How this is effected and what peculiar instincts the little toilers of the ocean possess that enable them to construct their dwellings with such mathematical nicety are among those mysteries of Nature we cannot comprehend; but it is certain that large masses of solid rock are framed by these animals, ever working to the music of the waves. " Verily," observes Baker, " for my own part, the more I look into Nature's works, the sooner I am inclined to believe of her even those things that seem incredible." But here we have the certainty of Nature's operations : we know that islands and continents are constructed for the habitation of man by these minute animals ; that mountains like the Apen- nines, and regions to which our own country is but trifling in com- parison, are the resuits of their toil. Dr. Mantell remarks, that south-west of Malabar there is a chain of reefs and islets of coral extending four hundred and eighty geographical miles; on the east side of New Holland are unbroken reefs of three hundred and fifty miles long; and between that and New Guinea a coral forma- tion of seven hundred miles in length. The process by which these great changes are effected is still going on extensively in the Pacific and Indian Seas, where multi- tudes of coral islands emerge from the waves, and shoals and reefs, where the rock-builders are ever busy, appear at small depths be- neath the water. How truly wonderful it is to know that the Polynesian Archi- pelago, now one of the great divisions of the globe, has its founda- tions formed of coral reefs, the spontaneous growth of once living animals ! As one generation of the coral-builders dies and leaves its chalky remains, another succeeds, until the mass of coral appears above the ocean, when the formation ceases, for it is only in that element the labourers can live. MARVELS OF THE CORAL FORMATION. 137 " Ye build 1 ye build ! but ye enter not in, Like the tribes whom the desert devoured in their sin ; From the land of promise ye fade and die, Ere its verdure gleams on your wearied eye." One marvel ceases here, and another commences. " The vegeta- tion of the sea, cast on its surface, undergoes a chemical change ; the rains assist in filling up the little cells of the dead animals the fowls of the air and the ocean find a resting-place, and assist in clothing the rocks j mosses carpet the surface ; seed brought by birds, plants carried by the oceanic current, animalculae floating in the air live, propagate, and die, and are succeeded through the assistance their remains bestow by more advanced animal and vegetable life ; and thus generation after generation exist and perish, until at length the coral island becomes a Paradise, filled with the choicest exotics, the most beautiful birds, and delicious fruits." Here is a glowing theme for the imagination to dwell upon ! How wonderful to think that the surface of the globe is being changed by these diminutive living agents ; that in tropical climates they are encircling islands with belts of coral, enlarging their coasts, forming stupendous reefs, and working out the plans and the will of the great Architect of the Universe ! " We feel surprised," observes Mr. Darwin, in his " Journal of Researches," "when travellers tell us of the vast dimensions of the Pyramids and other great ruins j but how utterly insignificant are the greatest of these when compared to the mountains of stone accumulated by the agency of various minute and tender animals !" " Millions of millions thus from age to age, With simplest skill and toil unweariable, No moment and no movement unimprov'd, Laid line on line, on terrace terrace spread, To swell the heightening, brightening, gradual mound, By marvellous structure climbing towards the day." CHAPTER XII. PERILS OF THE CORAL REEFS. " Five hundred souls, in one instant of dread, Are hurried o'er the deck ; And fast the miserable ship Becomes a hapless wreck. Her keel hath struck on a hidden rock, Her planks are torn asunder, And down comes her mast with a reeling shock, And a hideous crash like thunder. Her sails are draggled in the brine That gladden'd late the skies, And her flag that kiss'd the fair moonshine, Down many a fathom lies. " , WILSON. | HE vast coral reefs, which have been described in the preceding chapter, are often the source of great dangers to navigators; and numberless instances have occurred of entire or partial destruction of ships and heavy losses of life in consequence. One case, that happened some years ago in the Indian Seas, nearly proved fatal to the whole crew of a fine large ship called the " Cabalve." The story of this shipwreck, as re- lated in a letter to a friend by one of the surviving officers, is deeply interesting. The vessel was bound for Bombay, and was proceed- ing on its way at a quick rate, with every feeling of security in those on board, when one morning, between four and five o'clock (the weather being dark and cloudy), an alarm was given of " breakers ahead ! " Every effort was instantly made to free the vessel from 138 SHIPWRECK ON THE CORAL REEF. 139 her dangerous position, but in vain, for she struck on the coral reef, and the shock was so violent that every person was instantly on deck, with horror and amazement depicted upon every coun- tenance at what appeared to be certain destruction. The vessel soon became fixed on the coral reef, and the sea broke over her with tremendous violence, staving in the exposed side, washing through the hatchways, and tearing up the decks. " We were now," observes the officer alluded to, " uncertain of our distance from a place of safety : the surf broke over the vessel in a fearful cascade ; the crew despairing and clinging to her sides to avoid its violence, while the ship was breaking up with a rapidity and crashing noise, which, added to the roar of the breakers, drowned the voices of the officers. The masts were cut away to ease the ship, and the cutter cleared and launched in readiness. When the long-wished-for dawn at length broke upon us, instead of alleviating, it rather added to our distress. We found that the ship had run on the south-east extremity of a coral reef, surround- ing on the eastern side those sand-banks or islands in the Indian Ocean, called by the natives Carajos : the nearest of these was about three miles distant, but not the least appearance of verdure could be discovered, or the slightest trace of anything on which we might hope to subsist. In two or three places some rocks in the shape of pyramids appeared above the rest like distant sails, and were repeatedly cheered as such by the crew, until it was perceived that they had no motion, and the delusion vanished. The masts had fallen towards the reef, the ship having fortunately canted in that direction, and the boat was therefore protected in some measure from the surf. Our commander, whom a strong sense of misfortune had entirely deprived of presence of mind, was earnestly requested to get into the boat, but he would not, thinking it unsafe. He maintained his station on the mizzen-topmast that lay among the wreck, the surf which was rushing round the bow and stern con- tinually overwhelming him. I was myself close to him on the same spar, and in this situation we saw many of our shipmates meet an untimely end, being either dashed against the rocks or swept away by the breakers. 140 BREAKING-UP OF THE VESSEL. " The large cutter full of officers and men now cleared a passage through the mass of wreck, and being furnished with oars, watched the proper moment and pushed off for the coral reef, which she fortunately gained in safety, but they were all washed out of her in an instant by a tremendous surf; yet out of more than sixty persons whom she contained, only one man was drowned. Our captain, seeing this, wished he had taken advice which was now of no use. Finding I could not longer maintain myself on the same spar, and seeing the captain in a very exhausted state, I entreated him to return to the wreck; but he replied that since we must all inevitably perish, I should not think of him, but seek my own preservation. An enormous breaker now burst on us with tremendous violence, so that I scarcely noticed what had occurred to him afterwards, being washed down by successive seas. "At length, aftermost desperate efforts, I was thrown on the reef, half drowned and severely cut by the sharp coral, when I silently offered up thanks for my preservation, and crawling up the reef, waved my hand to encourage those who remained behind to make an effort. The captain, however, was not to be seen, and most of the others had returned to the wreck, and were employed in getting the small cutter into the water, which they accomplished, and safely reached the shore. About noon, when we had all left the ship, she was entirely broken up. The whole of the upper works from the after-part of the forecastle to the break of the poop-deck had separated, and was driving in towards the reef. Most of the lighter cargo had floated out of her : bales of cloth, cases of wine, pun- cheons of spirits, barrels of gunpowder, hogsheads of beer, and other articles, lay strewed on the shore, together with a chest of tools. Finding the men beginning to commit the usual excesses, we stove in the heads of the spirit-casks to prevent mischief, and endeavoured to direct their attention to the general benefit. The tide was flow- ing fast, and we saw that the reef must soon be covered ; we there- fore conveyed the boats to a place of safety, and filling them with all the provisions that could be collected, proceeded to the highest sand-bank, as the only place which held out the remotest chance of safety. ESCAPE TO A DESERT ISLAND. 141 " Our progress was attended with the most excruciating pain I ever endured, my feet being cut to the bones with the rocks, and my back blistered by the sun, exhausted by fatigue, up to the waist sometimes to the neck in water, and being obliged frequently to swim. Seeing, however, that several had reached the highest sand- bank, lighted a fire, and were employed in erecting a tent from the cloth and small spars which had floated up, I felt my spirits re- vived, and had strength sufficient to reach the desired spot, when I was invited to partake of a shark which had just been caught by the people. Having set a watch to announce the approach of the sea, lest it should cover us unawares, I sank exhausted on the sand, and fell into a sound sleep. I awoke in the morning, stiff with the exertions of the previous day, yet feeling grateful to Providence that I was still alive. " The people now collected together to ascertain who of the crew had perished, when sixteen were missing : the captain, surgeon's assistant, and fourteen seamen. We divided our men into parties, each headed by an officer : some were sent to the wreck and along the beach in search of provisions, others to roll up the hogsheads of beer and butts of water that had floated on shore ; but the greater number were employed in hauling the two cutters up, which the carpenters were directed to repair. " By the time it was dark we had collected about eighty pieces of salt pork, ten hogsheads of beer, three butts of water, several bottles of wine, and many articles of use and value, particularly three sextants and a quadrant. Four live pigs and five live sheep had managed to swim ashore through the surf. We first began upon the dead stock, serving out two ounces to each, and half a pint of beer for the day. Nothing but brackish water could be obtained by digging in the sand. We collected all the provisions together near the tent, and formed a store-house, setting an officer to guard them from plunder, to which, indeed, some of the evil characters were disposed, but as they were threatened with instant death if detected, they were soon deterred. The second night was passed like the first, all being huddled together under one large tent; the more robust, however, soon began to make separate 142 IMMINENT DANGER ON A CORAL REEF. tents for themselves, and divided into messes as on board. A staff was next erected, and a red flag hoisted upon it as a signal to any vessel that might be passing. Of fish there was a great variety, but we had few facilities for catching them ; so that, upon the whole, we were nearly half starved. The bank on which we lived was about two miles in circumference at low water ; the high tides would sometimes leave us scarcely half a mile of sand, and often approached close to the tents ; and if the wind had blown from the westward, or shifted only a few points, we must have been inevitably swept away. Providence was, however, pleased to preserve us, one hundred and twenty in number, to return to our native country. In seven days after our stay upon the barren coral reef, the largest boat was repaired, and the officers thought it advisable to dispatch her for relief to the Isle of France, distant about four hundred miles. The superior officers, finding it impos- sible to leave the crew, gave the charge of her to the purser. We furnished him with two sextants, a navigation book, sails, oars, and log-line. Six officers and eight men, who perfectly understood the management of the boat, joined him. In four days from leaving the coral reef the cutter reached Mauritius, and three days after the purser returned by the Government vessels the ' Magician ' and * Challenger.' We were taken on board, after having passed sixteen days on the reef, exposed to the greatest distress of body and mind." Such is a graphic account of a fearful shipwreck on a barren coral reef, from one of the survivors among the crew. You can thus form an idea of the dangers to which seamen are exposed by these colossal works of tiny polyps : "For often the dauntless mariner knows That he must sink beneath, Where the diamond on trees of coral grows In the emerald halls of death." CHAPTER XIII. INSTINCT OF THE ROCK-BUILDERSCORAL FISHERIES. " Who taught the natives of the field and wood To shun their poison or to choose their food ? Prescient, the tides and tempests to withstand, Build on the wave, or arch beneath the sand?" POPE. MUST not omit to tell you that these living atoms, the rock-builders of the ocean, exhibit a wonderful instinct in the construction of their dwellings. To protect these from the violent storms by which the waters of the deep are fre- quently agitated, they erect a breastwork, which effectually shields them from wind and wave. In the early stages of their operations they work perpendicularly, so that the highest part of the coral wall on reaching the surface is on the windward side, and affords a protection to the busy labourers in their operations. You will be surprised when I inform you that these breastworks, or break- waters, will resist more powerful seas than if formed of granite, rising as they do frequently from a depth of a thousand or fifteen hundred feet, and adapted in a way that no human skill or foresight could equal to the utmost powers of the heavy billows that con- tinually lash against them. How wonderful is this instinct and design of self-preservation in insects so exceedingly minute as the coral-workers ! Another observation I may make on this subject is, that in one 143 144 VARIOUS DESCRIPTIONS OF CORAL. species a remarkable arrangement is found : the upper openings of the cells in which they live have a vase-like form, shutting with a lid : when the animal wishes to expand itself, it opens the lid like a trap-door, and protrudes itself; and when it re-contracts itself and retreats, the lid falls, and closes the aperture so exactly that the animal is perfectly protected. The common Red Coral which is used for many ornamental purposes, and is so much admired for its fine colour, is chiefly obtained from the Mediterranean, in some parts of which extensive "fisheries" are carried on. It is brought up from the depths of the sea by means of a kind of grappling apparatus dragged after a boat, the pieces being broken from the bottom by beams of wood which are sunk by weights, and then entangled among hemp. Great care is necessary to preserve the pieces from being lacerated. Red coral has a shrub-like branching form, and grows to the height of about a foot, with the thickness of a little finger. Much of the coral obtained from the Mediterranean is sent to India, where it is much prized by the natives. Many of the arms and horse-caparisons of the Oriental chiefs are studded with this beau- tiful ornament. Red coral is also found in the Red Sea, the Persian Gulf, Messina, the Dardanelles, and a few other places. The French and the Sicilians are the only people who make coral-fishing a regular source of interest. As this precious substance requires eight or ten years to come to any perfection by the labours of its industrious architects, the spots where it is fished are divided each into ten portions, and only one of 'these is fished in the year, so that each may remain to "grow" during the time necessary to bring it to maturity. Black Coral is most esteemed, but it is scarce : the red, white, 4 and yellow are chiefly used for ornamental purposes, and for a particular plaything, which probably may have amused you when an infant and cutting your teeth. The Pink Coral is esteemed for its scarcity. The ingenuity of man continually exerted to imitate nature, and frequently with great success, is practised in the fabrication of SUPERNATURAL VIRTUES OF CORAL. 145 false coral, made with powdered marble and fish-glue, and coloured with vermilion and red lead. You will not be surprised to hear, considering its beauty and rarity, that coral was formerly supposed to possess some singular qualities. It was applied to stop bleeding, and Ovid tells us the reason for this belief, and, indeed, how red coral originated. The story will make you smile and wonder how such nonsense could be believed. Perseus, one of the heroes in the mythology of Greece, having cut off the head of Medusa, the only one of the Gorgons who was subject to mortality, laid it on a tuft of growing plants on the sea-side, which, imbibing the blood, became red and petrified. The sea-nymphs marvelled much (as well they might) at the transformation, and amused themselves by breaking off frag- ments and casting them into the sea. Each piece so thrown be- came, it is said, the seed of fresh coral. The ancients considered this ocean treasure as a charm against the sting of a scorpion. Thus Orpheus says : "The coral, too, in Perseus' story named, Against the scorpion is of might proclaimed." Coral beads were anciently worn in India as sacred amulets or charms. The Romans tied little branches round childrens' necks to keep off the influence of the " evil eye," a superstition which had also many believers in the middle ages among our own countrymen, and which still exists in some foreign countries. Coral was said to preserve houses from the effects of thunder- storms, and to be of much finer colour when worn by men than by women. Even at the present time there are people so credulous as to believe that coral necklaces become pale when the wearer is about to be ill. There is no doubt that coral loses its colour by -4ime and exposure, and this may have given rise to this superstition. The small pointed branches, mounted with a ring at one end for suspension, are extensively manufactured at Naples as " charms;" and Ferdinand I., King of that country, a most bigoted monarch, was a devout believer in their efficacy, and used to point the coral towards any one whom he suspected of having a malicious influence. 10 146 CORAL A WONDER OF THE OCEAN. Such, my young friends, is a brief, yet, I trust, not uninteresting account of what is essentially one of the " wonders of the ocean," and yet but an atom in a multitude of marvels that no tongue can number and no imagination can conceive : an imprint of Almighty Power " One Spirit, His Who wore the plaited thorns with bleeding brows, Rules universal nature." CHAPTER XIV. PEARLS. "Ocean's gems, the purest Of Nature's works ! What days of weary journeyings, What sleepless nights, what toils on land and sea, Are borne by men to gain thee ! " the rare and beautiful objects of creation may be mentioned PEARLS, which rank with the most valuable of precious gems, and are highly prized as ornamental appendages by the rich and the noble in all countries. While admiring these jewels, you may not know, perhaps, at what perils and cost of life they are obtained, for it is necessary to seek for them in the depths of the ocean, and although the divers employed for this purpose are very strong and expert, still in the Indian Sea and the Eastern Archipelago, where the true pearl-oysters are found, sharks are numerous, and it is necessary to take every precaution against those voracious monsters. This occupation was formerly considered so dangerous that only con- demned criminals were thus employed, but many thousand persons now obtain a livelihood by these means in the Persian Gulf and at Ceylon. At one time, when the Dutch had possession of this beautiful island, the number of large pearls obtained there was considerable. These pearl-divers are a hardy race of men, singularly adapted to their hazardous occupation, and very superstitious ; for before 147 10 2 148 'PEARL-DIVERS AND SHARK-CHARMERS. commencing operations, they consult the '' shark-charmer," a wise- acre who pretends to have the power of preserving his dupes from the angry jaws of the great sea-scourge, and makes a good living by it, the office being handed down from father to son as here- ditary. The divers have such confidence in their powers, or spells, that they will not descend to the bottom of the deep without knowing that one of the enchanters is present in the expedition. Two of the "charmers" are constantly employed, one going out regularly in the head pilot's boat, while the other performs certain ceremonies on shore, such as consulting the auguries, which, if auspicious, ensure the divers in their perilous submarine occupa- tions by closing the mouths of the sharks at the word of command. The " charmer " is shut up in a room where nobody can see him, from the period of the sailing of the boats until their return. He has before him a brass basin filled with water, containing one male and one female fish made of silver. If any accident should happen from a shark at sea, it is believed that one of these fishes is seen to bite the other. The divers also say that if the conjuror is dis- satisfied, he has the power of making the sharks attack them, on which account he is sure of receiving liberal presents daily. The Gulf of Manaar, where the pearls are found (and which separates Ceylon from the continent of India on the north-west), abounds in sharks; and, however the divers may consider their lives " charmed," the risks are lessened by the sea-monsters being alarmed at the unusual number of boats, the noise of the crews, and the constant descending of the baskets for the shells. It is not improbable that the dark skins of the divers are also some protection. It seems that the pearl-divers in the Persian Gulf in former times were so conscious of this advantage of colour, that they were accustomed to blacken their limbs in order to baffle their powerful enemy. This is related by Massoudi, one of the earliest of Arabian geographers, who adds, " that the divers filled their ears with cotton steeped in oil, and compressed their nostrils with a piece of tortoise-shell." The pearl fishery of the Bahrem Islands (in the Persian Gulf) pro- duces a most abundant supply of these ocean gems, the produce METHOD PURSUED BY THE CINGALESE DIVERS. 149 of a two months' season sometimes realizing nearly one hundred thousand pounds of our money. Persians are chiefly engaged in this pursuit, and the divers belong to that nation. The method pursued by the Cingalese divers is very simple. They proceed in boats to the place of operation at the season, which lasts about two months, commencing in February and end- ing in April. Each boat contains about twenty men, half of whom are divers, while the others row the boats, and assist their com- panions in reaching the surface of the water after diving. Five of the divers descend at the time, and when they come up, the other five take their turn ; for I should tell you that the fatigue and ex- haustion of the body is very great in continuing under water ; and a minute in some cases a minute and a half or nearly two minutes is about the utmost time these men can sustain their breath. Many divers suffer severely from over-taxing their powers of endur- ance, and bloodshot eyes and spitting of blood are common to them. It is to be hoped that the modern improvements in diving- bells and suitable apparatus for divers will be much more gene- rally adopted than they have been in a few places, that life may be rendered more secure, and other distressing consequences be obviated. To facilitate the descent of the diver into the water, a stone weighing about twenty pounds is suspended over the side of the boat, with a loop attached to it, in which he inserts his foot; a bag of network is attached to his toes ; his right hand grasps the rope, and after inhaling a full breath, he presses his nostrils with his left hand. He now raises his body as high as possible above the water to give force to his descent, and liberating the stone from its fastenings, he sinks rapidly below the surface. As soon as he reaches the bottom, the stone is drawn up, and the diver, throwing himself on his face, collects into his bag as many oysters as he can. This, on a signal, is hauled to the surface, the diver springing to the rope as it is drawn up. The sea, at the oyster- beds, is generally from twenty-four to sixty feet deep. The num- ber of oysters thus collected varies: sometimes several thousand are obtained in one day, and at other times a few hundred only. ISO THE PEARL ISLANDS. The oysters are landed from the boats, and are placed underground to putrefy, and it is amidst such a mass of corruption that the pearl, " Purest of Nature's works," is obtained. The pearl-fishers in ancient times used to place the shells in vessels filled with salt, and leave them until all the fish were dis- solved, the gems remaining at the bottom. The ordinary operation now is, that as soon as putrefaction is sufficiently advanced, the oysters are placed in a trough, and sea-water is thrown over them. They are then shaken and washed. Inspectors stand at each end of the trough, to see that the labourers secrete none of the pearls, and others are in the rear to examine the shells thrown out. The workmen are not allowed to raise their hands to their mouths while washing the pearls, lest they might attempt to swallow some. Sometimes the pearls, instead of adhering to the shells as is usually the case, are in the bodies of the oysters, which are boiled before being thrown aside as useless. The number of pearls in a shell differs : one may contain a considerable number, while hundreds are without any. To give you an idea of the extent to which the pearl fishery in Ceylon has been carried for several ages, the shore in some parts of the island has been raised to the height of many feet by enor- mous mounds of shells, millions having been flung into heaps that extend to the distance of many miles. At the Pearl Islands, near the Isthmus of Panama, the divers use a very simple method of obtaining the oysters. They traverse the bay in canoes that hold eight men, all of whom dive in the water to a depth of from fifty to sixty feet, where they remain sometimes nearly two minutes, during which they collect all the oysters they can in their hands, and rise to deposit them in the canoes, repeating the operation for several hours. In Sweden the oysters are taken with a pair of long tongs. The fishermen are in small boats, painted white on the bottom, which reflects to a great depth, and enables them to see the oysters and seize them. The most beautiful and costly pearls are obtained from the East, HOW PEARLS ARE FORMED. 151 and are called "Oriental;" the colour of those found in Ceylon is generally a bluish silvery white, but they are met with of several other hues. Those from the Persian Gulf are of great purity and richness. The preparation of the pearls for market occupies a considerable number of the inhabitants of Ceylon. After being thoroughly cleaned, they are rounded and polished with a powder made of the pearls themselves, and arranged into classes accord- ing to their various sizes and quality. They are then drilled and strung together, the largest being generally sent to India, where they are highly prized, while the smaller ones are forwarded to Europe. The operation of drilling is a very delicate one, and the black people are very expert in it. It is done with a wooden machine in the form of an inverted cone, in the upper flat surface of which are pits to receive the pearls. The holes are made by spindles of various sizes, which revolve in a wooden head by the action of a bow-handle, to which they are attached. During the operation (which is done by one hand, while the other presses on the machine), the pearls are moistened occasionally, and the whole is done with astonishing rapidity. My young readers are no doubt Anxious to learn how the pearl is formed within the oyster-shell. This is a subject that has been much debated in ancient and modern times. You will be amused by the explanation given by the illustrious Pliny (who died in the year of our Saviour 79), one of the most enlightened of the old philosophers. He says that " the pearl was produced by the dews of heaven falling into the open shells at the breeding-time. The quality of the pearl varied according to the amount of the dew imbibed, being lustrous if that were pure, dull if it were foul ; cloudy weather spoilt the colour, lightning stopped the growth, and thunder made the shell-fish unproductive, and to eject hollow husks called bubbles." The same naturalist also relates a story how the shoals of pearl- oysters had " a king, distinguished by his age and size, exactly as bees have a queen, wonderfully expert in keeping his subjects out of harm's way, but if the divers once succeeded in catching him, the rest straying about blindly, fell an easy prey. Although defended 152 CHINESE METHOD OF PROCURING PEARLS. by a body-guard of sharks, and dwelling among the rocks of the abyss, they cannot be preserved from ladies' ears." These are very pretty and fanciful ideas, as were many fictions of the pagans, and our own poet Moore has alluded to them in one of his sweet melodies : "And precious the tear as that rain from the sky Which turns into pearls as it falls in the sea." Some naturalists have suggested that pearls are the unfructified eggs of the oyster, others that the jewel is a morbid concretion produced by the endeavour of the animal in the shell to fill up holes j the general opinion, however, seems to prevail thus : most shelly animals which are aquatic are provided with a fluid secretion with which they line their dwellings to render them smooth and polished for their tenderly-formed bodies. This fine even lining you must have frequently remarked in shells of every description. The fluid is laid in extremely thin semi-transparent threads, which gives the interior of the shell the beautiful play of colours you must often have observed. Now, to account for the pearl in the shell, I must tell you that small rounded portions are formed in the lining, which are supposed to be the result of accident, such as grains of sand or other substances getting into the shell, and, irritating the animal inside, causes it, by an instinct of nature, to cover the cause of offence, not having the power to remove it. As the fluid goes on regularly to supply the growth and wear of the shell, the prominences continue to increase, and being more brilliant than the rest of the shell, they become a pearl, a composi- tion of carbonate of lime and a little animal matter. If a pearl is cut tranversely and observed through a microscope, it will be found to consist of minute layers, resembling the rings which denote the ages of certain trees when cut in a similar manner. Those clever people the Chinese, who are never at a loss for expedients, are in the habit of laying a string with five or six small pearls, separated by knots, inside the shells, when the fish are exposing themselves to the sun. These, after some years, are taken PEARLS IN ANCIENT TIMES. 153 out, and are found to be very large fine pearls. The same ingeni- ous people also introduce into the shell of a mussel different substances, such as mother-of-pearl, the beautiful white enamel which forms the greater part of the substance of most oyster-shells, fixed to wires, which thus become coated with a more brilliant material. Another practice among the Chinese, equally clever, is to serve the purpose of a deception upon the credulous. They place small metal images of their god Buddha in the shells, which are soon covered with a pearly secretion, and become united to the shells. These are sold as miraculous proofs of the truth of their worship. The Chinese are also said to employ a means of procuring pearls artificially by the introduction of shot between the mouth of the animal and its shell. I must not omit to tell you that the pearl-oyster which has been the subject of my remarks is not the only mollusc which produces pearls : an oyster with a thin transparent shell, which is used in China and elsewhere as a substitute for glass windows, produces small pearls, as also the fresh-water mussel of our own country, pinna, a genus of the same family with the pearl-mussel, and even in limpets. In reading the history of our own country you will find that pearls were found on its coast in early times. Indeed, the Roman, historian Suetonius (who was born about seventy years before the birth of our Saviour) has recorded in his " Lives of the Twelve Caesars" that the principal motive for inducing Julius Caesar to invade Britain was the fame of its pearls, and he is said to have taken to Rome, as a trophy of his conquest, a corslet richly adorned with British pearls, which he placed in a temple dedicated to Venus. The ancients were extravagantly fond of these beautiful jewels : necklaces, bracelets, and earringo were worn in profusion ; a string of pearls was estimated by a Roman writer at about eight thousand pounds of our money ; the single pearl which Cleopatra dissolved and swallowed was valued at nearly eighty-one thousand pounds ; and a similar act of folly is reported in later times, in the reign of our^Queen Elizabeth, when Sir Thomas Gresham, one of London's 154 LARGE PEARLS. merchant princes, reduced a pearl to powder worth fifteen thousand pounds, and drank it in a glass of wine to the health of his sove- reign, in consequence of a wager with the Spanish ambassador that he would give a more costly dinner than the other. Quite as absurd was the notion in former times that powdered pearls were unfailing remedies in all stomach complaints. Pearls, are esteemed according to their size, colour, form, and lustre : the largest, usually about the dimensions of a small walnut, are called " paragons " and are very rare ; those the size of a small cherry are next in rarity, and are called " diadem " or head pearls. They receive names also according to their form, whether quite round, semicircular and drum-form, or that of an ear-drop, pear, onion, or as . they are otherwise irregularly shaped. The small pearls are termed " ounce pearls," on account of their being sold by weight, and the very smallest " seed pearls." The largest pearl on record is one, pear-shaped, brought from India in 1620, by Gongibus de Calais, and sold to Philip IV. of Spain. It weighed four hundred and eighty grains. The mer- chant, when asked by the monarch how he could venture to risk all his fortune in one little article, replied with great tact, " because he knew there was a King of Spain to buy it of him." This pearl is said to be now in the possession of the princely family of YousopporT, in Russia. Runjeet Sing, the former possessor of the famous Koh-i-Noor diamond, had a string of pearls which was considered nearly equal in value to the " Mountain of Light." They were about three hundred in number, and the size of small marbles, all choice pearls, round and perfect both in shape and colour. Two hours before he died he sent for all his jewels, and gave the magnificent string of pearls to a Hindoo temple. CHAPTER XV. THE VEGETATION OF THE OCEAN. " Call us not weeds, but flowers of the sea, For lovely, and gay, and bright-tinted are we, Our blush is as deep as the rose of thy bowers, Then call us not weeds, we are ocean's gay flowers." |OU are, no doubt, well acquainted with the voyages of Christopher Columbus, who added a new hemisphere to our globe. He was born in Genoa about the year 1435. This very eminent man was the son of a wool-comber, but having at the age of fourteen taken to a seafaring life, he became the celebrated discoverer of whom you read in every geography and history of the world. However, what concerns the present chapter is to remind you how, in his search for a new world, he encountered one of the greatest marvels of ocean vegetation a garden of enormous extent in the waste of waters, which perplexed and terrified his timid seamen. "When" as Robertson, in his " History of America," relates, " about four hundred leagues to the west of the Canaries, he found the sea so covered with weeds, that it resembled a meadow of vast extent, and in some places they were so thick as to retard the motions of the vessel. This strange appearance occasioned new alarm and disquiet to the sailors." They imagined that they had now arrived at the utmost boundary of the navigable ocean; that these floating weeds would obstruct their farther progress, and concealed dangerous rocks, or some 155 156 THE GRASSY SEA. large tract of land that had sunk, they knew not how, in that place. Columbus endeavoured to persuade them that what alarmed ought rather to encourage them, as it was a sign of their approaching land. At the same time a brisk gale arose, and carried them for- ward : several land-birds were seen hovering about the ship, and directed their flight towards the west; a whale, also, was seen heaving up his huge form in the distance, which Columbus affirmed was a favourable indication of the neighbourhood of land. The desponding crew resumed some degree of spirit, and began to entertain fresh hopes. The marine vegetation that threatened to impede the course of the adventurous Columbus was the Gulf-weed, so termed from its great abundance in the Gulf of Mexico. The Portuguese call the waters thus covered the "Grassy Sea," for the surface, during several days' sailing, is literally carpeted with the weed. Here the beautiful fishes of the warmer latitudes, "with fry innumerable, swarm," and find a refuge from their relentless pursuers in the ocean ; and the whole mass, extending many miles in space, affords food and shelter to an infinity of small marine animals. In the Atlantic Ocean these sea-weeds cover an expanse of two hundred and sixty thousand square miles, a vast mass of vegetable matter that no other similarly furnished tract of open water is known to produce. These sea-weeds are occasionally thrown up by currents on our own shores, and you may know them by the cluster of air-vessels that the Sargassum or Gulf-weed bears, and which, from their appearance, have given them the name of " tropical grapes." How marvellous, my young friends, is this vast provision of Nature in the ocean depths for the wants and nourishment of animal life, all created for wise purposes by the Great Being " Who sleeps not, is not weary; in whose designs No flaw deforms, no difficulty thwarts, And whose beneficence no change exhausts ! " Innumerable animalculse (small or minute objects, visible or in- VAST SUBMARINE FORESTS. 157 visible to the naked eye), the chief food of the whale and also of many species of fish eaten by man, derive their sustenance from sea-weeds. Myriads upon myriads of eggs of fishes find security in this tangled mass of sea-plants, and the young fish are sheltered there until they acquire strength to commit themselves to the water. It has been remarked that "the vegetable kingdom in the sea is no barren spot in the garden of Nature, but in usefulness and abundance it is not inferior to the most favoured spots on land." But the character of sea-weeds is very different to land- plants : the former, supported in a liquid of greater specific gravity than themselves, do not require the woody fibres which are neces- sary for land-plants, except such as support themselves by climb- ing ; and, as they derive their nourishment from the water which covers them, they do not need the continuous vessels which are so necessary to land-plants for their growth and life. This is ex- plained by the simple experiment of placing one portion of sea- weed in water, and exposing the other part to the air, when the latter will speedily dry and wither, while the former retains its freshness. Again, the trees, and flowers, and shrubs which adorn our gar- dens require, as you know, the bright beams of the sun to warm them into life and beauty ; but the plants that thrive in the depths of the ocean are not dependent for their existence on light, for only a feeble ray can reach many of them in their rocky homes far beneath the surface. Humboldt mentions the fact of a sea-weed of a fine grass-green colour being brought up from a depth of one hundred and ninety- two feet, where it had vegetated, though the light that had reached it could not have been more than that afforded by half the light of an ordinary candle. Who can conceive the mighty operations of the Ail-Powerful Creator in the depths of the ocean ? What transcendent wonders lie hidden in the waste of waters ! Let us imagine to ourselves vast submarine forests, which we know to exist an almost bound- less extent of vegetation, which lives, thrives, and decays, unseen by mortal eyes and how insignificant is human comprehension ! 158 ENORMOUS GROWTH OF SEA-WEEDS. " Viewing these tribes of sea-weed," says Dr. Greville, in his "Algae Britannica," "in the most careless way, as a system of subaqueous vegetation, we see the depths of ocean shadowed with submarine groves, often of vast extent, intermixed with meadows, as it were, of the most lively hues, while the trunks of the larger species, like the great trees of the tropics, are loaded with innu- merable minute kinds, as fine as silk, or transparent as a mem- brane." How singular the contrast, also, between the gigantic " weeds " that line the ocean depths and spread forth their knotted shoots upon the surface of the water, and the small, beautifully coloured, delicate plants that cling to the rocks, and rival in loveliness the choicest flowers of our gardens ! "Art's finest pencil could but rudely mock The rich, gay sea-weeds 'broider'd on a rock ; And those bright watery rocks, he would explore, Small excavations on a rocky shore, That seem like fairy baths, or mimic wells, Richly embossed with choicest weeds and shells, As if her trinkets Nature chose." On the shores of the North Pacific you would see the Nereo- cystus, with a slender stem, upwards of three hundred feet long, bearing at its extremity a large air-vessel six or seven feet in length, shaped as a barrel, and crowned with a tuft of upwards of fifty forked leaves, each thirty to forty feet long, forming the fishing- grounds of the sea-otter, who can seek his prey with greater cer- tainty amidst the shade of the enormous leaves. In the Antarctic regions the growth of sea-weeds is remarkable. The " Tree" sea-weed, according to Dr. Hooker, rises from the ocean with a huge stem or trunk eight or ten feet in height, and the thickness of a human thigh. The ends of the branches give out leaves two or three inches broad, which, when in the water, hang down like the boughs of a willow. Thousands of these aquatic trees, uprooted by the currents, are often mistaken for driftwood, and are collected for fuel. Darwin mentions some sea- weeds that grow on the rocks in the Arctic seas, which, though of BEAUTY OF THE SMALLER VARIETIES. 159 prodigious length, instead of being spread along the bottom of the ocean, are in part floated on the surface by means of the numerous air-vessels they contain. These gigantic sea-plants are sometimes fifteen hundred feet in length. So full of air-vessels are they, that they look like a honeycomb. Dr. Hooker mentions that one species of sea-weed in the Ant- arctic regions, in its horizontal growth at the surface of the ocean, ranges between two hundred and seven hundred feet in length ; and that at the Falkland Islands the beach is lined for miles with entangled cables of this weed, much thicker than the human body. Opposed to these gigantic marine plants we have multitudes of smaller growth, combining the most delicate, beautiful, and curious characteristics of form and colour. Not to tire your memory with hard names, I will mention a sea-weed you may have probably seen the Water Flannel, which waves backwards and forwards like the pendulum of a clock ; and I have no doubt you have often, when at the sea-side, enjoyed the fun of cracking the air-vessels of the Bladder-weed, and pulled to pieces the thready weeds that children call "sea-silk." The sea-coasts present an exhaustless variety of pleasure derived from sea-weeds. There you may find the Whip-lash, which grows from thirty to forty feet in length, and is used for fish-lines in Scotland. You may have found the Net-weed, which spreads its delicate interlaced threads like a web in the water ; and you would meet with the feathery Callithamnion (a name derived from Greek words signifying "beautiful" and "a little shrub "), one of the most lovely of sea-weeds, of a bright, fine, rosy-red colour; the branches divided like the teeth of a comb. Then there is the Fern-leaf sea-weed, another attractive plant, and the splendid Fan-weed, representing a collection of hundreds of beautiful little fans, every one of which, if minutely examined, is of exquisite workmanship. On the southern coast of our country you would find a common shore -plant of the tropical seas, the Peacock's Tail, another lovely sea-weed. When growing, the fronds are rolled up into cups, while the delicate fibres with which they are bordered reflect the most glorious tints. Then there are the curious Sea-thongs or Girdles, which you may have often seen on 160 COLOURS OF SEA-PLANTS. the coast, and which, when taken out of the water and held by the stem, resemble a flag-staff and streamers. The varieties of form and substance in sea-plants are also highly interesting subjects for contemplation : some are like masses of jelly, others are elastic like India-rubber ; many are tough as leather, others firm as wood ; some have delicate transparent leaves, others have thick, finely-veined, or nerveless leaves. The plants of the ocean gardens can vie also in glowing tints with many of our most "attractive land-flowers : " The Hand which adorned the sweet perfumed parterre Did our fringe-like and fanciful dresses prepare, As pendent we hang round the coralline caves, Or float our light branches beneath the green waves, Or twine 'midst the gems of the watery deep, Or climb up the rocks, or in modesty creep. Could you view all the beauties of which we might boast, How varied our forms and our tints on each coast, You would surely declare that the boon should be ours Henceforth to assume the high title of yfraw-r. " The natural colours of many sea-plants are exceedingly beautiful when viewed in their native element ; but exposure to the sun and air unless they are preserved with the greatest care and delicacy causes them to fade. Those of the red species, which abound chiefly in the temperate zone, acquire their richest tints in the deepest water. The plants of an olive colour are mostly found in the neighbourhood of the tropics, while the green species princi- pally inhabit the Polar seas. But, besides the colours I have men- tioned, there are countless varieties of other shades. Having alluded to the beauty and richness of ocean vegetation, I will now mention its usefulness, in addition to the shelter and nourishment it affords to the inhabitants of the deep " Invisible, Amid the floating verdure millions stray. " They soften the currents of rolling waters, and lessen the violence with which the waves would, otherwise, break upon the shores of the land. USE OF SEA-WEEDS FOR FOOD. 161 The distinguished naturalist, Charles Darwin, alludes to the value of sea-weeds to those who traverse the ocean : " I believe, during the voyage of the ' Beagle' and ' Adventure/ not one rock near the surface was discovered which was not buoyed by this floating weed. The good services it thus affords to vessels navi- gating near this stormy land (Terra del Fuego) is evident, and has certainly saved many from being wrecked." And now let us consider the use of sea-weeds for food. The value of these in many parts of the world is very great ; the Chinese especially are the largest consumers of any nation, and have various ingenious methods of preparing them for the table. Ceylon Mass, formerly much esteemed, is the produce of an esculent sea-weed gathered on the western coast of Ceylon, and possesses many nu- tritious qualities. Carrageen Moss is a sea-weed much used for food in Ireland ; it is also frequently employed instead of isinglass for making soups and jellies. In Bavaria it serves for clarifying beer. The young stalks of the Tangle-weeds, when well boiled and served up with pepper and vinegar, are very wholesome. One species grows to the length of twenty feet. You may have remarked on the sea-shore a pretty weed resem- bling in shape the palm of a hand, with leaves like fingers growing around it. This is popularly called Dulse, and is eaten both raw and roasted, the taste resembling that of cooked oysters. This is also a favourite food of lobsters, crabs, and other shell-fish. The Icelanders have a particular relish for this sea-weed, and prepare it by drying, when it gives out a white powdery substance, which is sweet and palatable. Cattle are also very fond of dulse, especially sheep, for which reason it is often called " sheep's dulse." These animals seek it eagerly on the sea-shore, and are sometimes carried away by the tide in their eagerness to obtain it. In Kamtchatka it is used for making a fermented beverage. The marine vegetable called Laver, so much esteemed in various parts of England as a relish for the table, is a species of sea-weed, stewed and served as a sauce. Having alluded to the value of sea-weeds for food, I will now mention their importance to the agriculturist for manure. As every 11 1 62 VALUE OF KELP. species is applicable for this purpose, you can imagine how almost universal is their use on the coasts of our own country and else- where. The harvest of the deep is as anxiously looked for as the crops which gladden the heart of the husbandman on land. In the Channel Islands sea-weeds are used for manure and for fuel, and so highly are they valued, that the farmers there have a proverb "No sea-weed, no corn-yard;" indeed, so precious is the " Vraic," as it is called, that special laws are enforced for its regular col- lection. The weeds are burnt on the hearth for fuel, and the charred ash serves to fertilize the ground. The uses to which sea-weeds are applied are, indeed, numerous and important. I will merely mention a few. The ashes of marine plants afford a large quantity of soda salts, and especially the car- bonate, such as "Kelp," which is prepared by merely burning certain species of weeds suitable for the purpose, and this was for- merly in great request for the manufacture of glass, but now there is a better and cheaper means of getting soda from salt. According to Pliny, the value of soda in making glass was dis- covered by a mere accident. A vessel loaded with soda was once driven ashore on the coast of Palestine, The crew landed, and made a fire upon the sands to boil their kettle. They took some lumps of the soda for the kettle to rest upon, without the least idea of what would result. The soda was melted, and, uniting with the sand, formed a rough kind of glass. But kelp, although superseded in this respect, is valuable from the circumstance that iodine (discovered in 1811, by Courtois, in the waste liquors produced in the manufacture of carbonate of soda from the ashes of sea-weeds), which is so necessary in medi- cine, in photography, and various processes connected with the arts, is chiefly derived from it. Iodine exists in the waters of the ocean and mineral springs, marine shelly animals, and sea vegeta- tion generally, but not to the same extent as in kelp. When heated, iodine rises in a vapour of a violet colour (hence its name, from a Greek word for " violet "), and this is condensed and solidified by a chemical process. Iodine is found in large quantities in the sea-weeds which cover THE ULVA MARINA. 163 the rocks for miles round the west coast of Ireland. The average yield of British kelp is said to be ten thousand tons yearly, of the value of forty thousand pounds. In some of the countries bordering on the Baltic, sea-weeds are used for packing materials and for stuffing articles. The Ulva Marina is extensively employed in our own country for the latter purpose. Attempts have been made to manufacture paper from sea-weeds; marine sugar is obtained from several species. The Chinese derive from them a gum for making their lanterns and transparencies, also a varnish, and a size for the manufacture of silk and paper. You may see in the British Museum fishing-lines made of sea- weed, and used on the north-west coast of America. 112 CHAPTER XVI. SPONGES. " First from his lodge dislodged, he thrust apart His bellows, and his tools collecting all, Bestow'd them careful in a silver chest ; Then all around with a wet sponge he wiped His visage, and his arms, and brawny neck." |HUS Homer describes Vulcan making a similar use of the SPONGE (derived from a Greek word " to squeeze ") as that in which we now employ it, and showing through how many ages of time that common but valuable material has been known and appreciated, for the great master of epic poetry is supposed to have lived eight hundred years before the birth of our Saviour. Among ancient nations the sponge was also used as a soft and elastic lining for the brazen helmets of their soldiers, and many other purposes. It is one of the many valuable spoils we take from the ocean, their birthplace .and their nourishment ; and this leads us to inquire into the nature of these singular productions. It has long been a matter of debate among naturalists whether sponges should be classed among the vegetable or animal king- doms ; they are now generally placed under the order Zoophyte, or plant-animals (from two Greek words signifying "animal" and .' plant"). 164 DR. GRANTS EXPERIMENTS ON SPONGES. 165 Aristotle, the greatest of ancient philosophers, who was born three hundred and eighty-four years before Christ, described the sponge as a stationary or rooted animal ; but from other statements he made it is certain that he considered its place as between the animal and vegetable. Some modern naturalists have placed sponges among marine vegetables, and their appearance, if you casually look at them, would seem to justify such an opinion; but the researches of Mr. Ellis, a merchant of London, who made similar branches of natural history a particular pursuit, gave ad- ditional interest to this case. In the course of his miscroscopic investigations, he was astonished at discovering that sponges pos- sessed a system of pores (passages of perspiration) and vessels, in which sea-water passed with all the appearance of the regular circulation of fluids in animal bodies, and a seeming purpose of conveying animalculae (small minute animals) to itself for food. More recently Dr. Grant gave the result of his experiments on the same subject. The account is so interesting that I will give it in the Professor's own words. " Having," he says, " placed a portion of sponge in a watch-glass with some sea-water, I beheld for the first time the splendid spectacle of this living fountain vomiting forth from a circular cavity an impetuous torrent of liquid matter, and hurling along in rapid succession opaque (cloudy) masses which it strewed everywhere around. The beauty and novelty of such a scene in the animal kingdom long arrested my attention, but after twenty-five minutes of constant observation I was obliged to withdraw my eye from fatigue, without having seen the torrent for an instant change its direction or diminish the rapidity of its course. In observing another species, I placed two entire portions of this together in a glass of sea-water, with their orifices opposite to each other at the distance of two inches. They appeared to the naked eye like two living batteries, and soon covered each other with the materials ejected. I placed one of them in a shallow vessel, and just covered its surface and highest orifice with water. On strewing some powdered chalk on the surface of the water, the currents were visible to a great distance, and on placing some pieces of cork or of dry paper over the i66 HOW SPONGES ARE OBTAINED. orifices, I could perceive them moving by the force of the currents at the distance of ten feet from the table on which the specimens rested." So interesting are the sponges, which, although ranked as crea- tures of very low intelligence, yet are by no means the least curious of those manifestations of the Divine Power " That built the palace of the sky, Formed the light wings that decorate the fly ; The Power that wheels the circling planets round, Rears every infant floweret on the ground ; That bounty which the mightiest beings share, Feeds the least gnat that gilds the evening air." Every one of my young readers must be conscious of the useful qualities of the sponge, but many are unacquainted with the manner in which and where they are obtained. The finest qualities of sponge come from the Ottoman Archipelago, and form one of the principal articles of commerce with Turkey. The island of Calymnos is the principal station for the sponge fishery, and more than three hundred boats are employed, averaging each about six tons, and carrying six to eight men, of whom two are rowers. The finest qualities are sent in large quantities to our own country, and the common and coarser kinds are forwarded to France, Austria, and Constantinople. The average depth' at which the best sponges are found is about one hundred and eighty feet ; those of an inferior quality are brought from a lesser depth. The method of diving is much the same as I have described in the coral-fishing. The diver, who goes head-foremost into the water, takes with him a triangular- shaped stone, to which a strong line is attached to assist him in his descent, and direct him like a rudder to any particular spot. On reaching the bottom, the diver tears off a number of sponges, which adhere in masses to rocks and stones, sometimes to large shells, and are either round, flat, or hollow like a funnel; and then, pulling a line, he is drawn up, with the sponges in his arms, by the rowers. An experienced diver will make from eight to ten dives during the day. The proceeds of the fishery are divided into COMPOSITION OF THE SPONGE. 167 shares, the divers receiving a whole share, and the rowers two- thirds of a share. Formerly the divers used to sell their sponges by weight, to increase which they put sand into them, a practice still continued, though now sold by quantity. The sponge in its natural state would not be recognized as that we are accustomed to use daily. In its primitive condition it is covered with a thin dark skin, inside of which there is a liquid like milk, and of the same consistency. If you examined a drop of this liquid by the microscope, it would appear entirely composed of very small transparent grains, nearly of the same size, with some moisture. This jelly matter connects the different parts of the framework of the sponge and lines the various canals or passages. The pores, or apertures for perspiration, are minute openings on the surface, protected by the framework, and into which the water enters in currents, and after traversing the interior passages, is ejected by means of openings which are larger than the pores, and in many species are elevated above the surface. To examine closely the framework or skeleton of the sponge, to which I have alluded, it is necessary to macerate it in hot water, which removes the gelatinous matter, and leaves it in a condition to be examined by the microscope. This framework consists principally of two materials, one animal, the other mineral ; the first of a thready, horny, elastic nature, the second (the species most commonly used for domestic purposes) of a flinty or chalk material. The thready portion consists of a light pale-coloured network, with some few exceptions always solid, and varying considerably in size. The mineral portion has little spines, which, if examined with the micro- scope, show traces of a central cavity or canal, the extremities of which are closed. How the growth and increase of the sponge is effected affords matter of the deepest interest, and this, like everything else in nature, shows the unerring wisdom of an all-sustaining Providence : " See through this air, this ocean, and this earth, All matter quick, and bursting into birth. Above, how high progressive life may go ! Around, how wide ! how deep extend below ! i68 DEVELOPMENT OF THE SPONGE. Vast chain of being ! which from God began. Nature 's ethereal, human, angel, man, Beast, bird, fish, insect, what no eye can see, No glass can reach from infinite to Thee, From Thee to nothing." From the framework or skeleton of the sponge emerge, at certain seasons of the year, a yellow kind of grain, which projects as it increases in size into the cavities of the sponge, and forms the germ or seed of another race ; these are egg-like in appearance ; and a large portion of its surface becomes covered with little hairs, called cilia (eyelashes), from their resemblance to such. These hairs act as oars to the little germ, to convey it away as soon as it falls on the water to some other spot to which it may attach itself. The hairs, after accomplishing their purpose, fall off, leaving the germ to gradually develope into the sponge. CHAPTER XVII. SHELLS. 4t See what a lovely shell, Small and pure as pearl, Lying close to my foot. Frail, but a work divine, Made so fairly well, With delicate spire and whorl, How exquisitely minute, A miracle of design ! " What is it? A learned man Could give it a clumsy name. Let him name it who can, The beauty would be the same. * ' The tiny coil is forlorn, Void of the little living will That made it stir on the shore. Did he stand at the diamond door Of his house in a rainbow frill ? Did he push, when he was uncurled, A golden foot and a fairy horn Through his dim water- world ?" |N these very striking words of Tennyson lie a host of bright and thoughtful fancies of one among the many wonderful productions of Nature. " How beautifully," observes Professor Moseley, " is the wisdom of God developed in shaping out and moulding shells, and espe- 169 i;o WONDERFUL STRUCTURE OF SHELLS. cially in the particular angle which the spiral of each species of shell affects, a valve connected by a necessary relation with the material of each, and with its stability, and the conditions of its buoyancy." This is shown in many ways, for in the structure of SHELLS there is a general adaptation of the wants of the animal to which they belong. Thus, there are light shells for the floaters and swimmers, strength for the limpets and periwinkles, and other adjustments as needed for others, What can be more wonderful than the apparatus essential to what are commonly called bivalves, or molluscous animals protected by two shells? The hinge which connects them shows a singular contrivance for the necessities of the animal. It is formed entirely of the inner layer of shell, and consists of either a simple cardinal (from the Latin cardo, " a hinge ;) ) process, or of serrated projections, or teeth as they are called, with corre- sponding cavities or sockets into which they are inserted. To this hinge is superadded a ligament, the external substance by which the shells are united, which binds the two parts together, and keeps those composing the hinge in their places. This ligament (from the Latin ligare, " to tie ") is highly elastic, being composed of a number of fibres, parallel to each other and perpendicular to the valves which they connect. When the animal is undisturbed, the elastic ligament keeps the valves open, and the functions are carried on without any effort. When danger is apprehended, or circumstances require it, the adductor (from the Latin adduco, " I draw towards ") muscle or muscles contract, overcome the resistance of the hinge, and shut the valves close until they may be opened with safety. Conchology (from the Greek kogchulion, "a shell," and logos, "a discourse") is, as I need scarcely mention, the science which teaches the arrangement of shells into classes, species, &c. Formerly, these beautiful productions of Nature were looked upon as merely pleasing toys and objects of curiosity, but gradually this innocent trifling came to be viewed in its true light, by some collectors worthy of better employment, who put off childish things and went deeper into the subject. In anticipation of this, shell-collectors began to look upon their treasures as an assemblage GREAT VALUE OF SOME SHELLS. 171 of gems, and, indeed, the enormous prices given for fine and scarce shells, joined with the surpassing beauty of the objects themselves, almost justified the view which the possessor took of his cabinet of treasures. But after all, these were mere trinkets, and the study of shells and their inhabitants at length became a science of the utmost importance, not only to naturalists generally, but to the geologist, to whom it is of the greatest value in indicating the difference of strata and their comparative ages. In Southern Europe some very beautiful shells are found, especially in the Italian seas. Tarento is singularly rich in shells. The Indian seas, more than any other part of the world, abound with the greatest variety of shell-fish, which exhibit a remarkable contrast, comparatively speaking, to the few species found under the parallel latitudes of Africa and America. " It is also a singular fact," observes Mr. Swainson, " that nearly three-fourths of these shells belong to the animals entirely carnivorous, who, to support life, must be continually carrying on a destructive warfare against the weaker animals of their own class." Many beautiful shells are brought from the coasts of Chili and Panama in tropical America. From the western coasts of Africa are obtained many attractive shells, such as the blood-spotted Harp, the sharp-ribbed Cockle, &c. The small Cowry, well known as a substitute for coin among the barbarous nations of Western Africa, is the same species as that so abundant in the Indian seas. Passing to Australia, there are found on the coasts many of the most beautiful and rare rolled shells known: the Snow-spotted kind being most valued. They have two dark bands on a flesh- coloured ground, the surface being entirely covered with white dots. Many deep-sea shells are so firm in their structures that they are brought to the beaches, especially of the tropical seas, in an entire state, and are eagerly sought after by collectors. Inde- pendent of their shape, colour, and lustre, many of them are valu- able, inasmuch as they inhabit the seas at such depths as not to be known in the living state. 172 IMMENSE QUANTITIES -OF SHELLS. The number of shells is far, very far beyond human calculation. An examination of the rocks on our own sea-shore during the summer will prove this in a slight degree. These are so covered with shells that scarcely a pin's point could be introduced between them. Many apparent grains of chalk are in reality microscopic shells and fragments of marine coral, of which upwards of a thou- sand have been obtained from one pound of chalk. " The most level and lowest parts of the earth," says Cuvier, "when penetrated to a very great depth, exhibit nothing but hori- zontal strata, composed of various substances, and containing, almost all of them, innumerable marine productions. Similar strata, with the same kind of productions, compose the hills even to a great height. Sometimes the shells are so numerous as to compose the entire body of the stratum. They are almost in such a perfect state of preservation, that even the smallest of them retain their most delicate parts, their sharpest ridges, and their finest and most tender processes. They are found in elevations far above the level of every part of the ocean, and in places to which the sea could not be conveyed by any existing cause. The summits of the Pyrenees and the Andes, at the height of thirteen or fourteen thousand feet above the level of the sea, present them to our notice." The sea-banks and coasts are covered with broken shells, of which lime is the ingredient. This generally exists in the state of carbonate, the same as in chalk, common limestone, and marble. Many of the more tender shells and shelly matters are broken by the agitation of the waters, and form a variety of sand which is truly a product of the sea, and forms a valuable manure on land. Great deposits of this article are found on the coasts of Devonshire and Cornwall, and in many other parts of the British coast. A species of shell, the Cerithium telescopium, is so abundant near Calcutta as to be used for burning into lime. Great heaps of it are first exposed to the sun, to kill the animals, and then burnt. In some places they are so plentiful as to be used in road-making. Mobile in America is built on a shell-bank. ORGANIC STRUCTURE OF SHELLS. ^173 It was formerly believed that shells were not only devoid of vessels, but completely without organs, being composed of the transpiration of particles, chiefly carbonate of lime, cemented to- gether by a kind of animal glue. It is now known that shells always possess a more or less distinct organic structure, which in some cases resembles that of the external skin of the higher animals, whilst in others it approaches to that of the true skin. In the limited space to which my remarks on the subject of this chapter is necessarily confined, I cannot give more than a brief outline of this exceedingly interesting department of science. I must refer my young readers, who desire more extensive informa- tion, to the various valuable works which have been published of late by naturalists who have made conchology their especial study. I may briefly observe that what are called the Testacea (from the Latin testa, "a shell,") comprise animals surrounded with a shelly covering, and may be generally described as of three kinds : those that possess a single shell, of whatever form or character, and hence called univalves ; those which have two shells, the bivalves, or Conches ; and others having more than two shells, or multivalves. Of these, the univalves are the most numerous and exhibit the greatest variety of forms, being for the most part regularly or irre- gularly spiral. Among the most common may be mentioned the Helix, or snail genus ; the Paletta, or limpet ; and the Turbo, or wreath genus, of which the periwinkle is a species. The shell of the Clam, or Bear's Paw, is described as, perhaps, the most ornamental of bivalves, in regard to form, texture, and colour. It comes from the South Seas, and is much used for decorative purposes. Among the most curious shells is the Murex, or Purple-shdl, so highly valued by the ancients for the exquisite dye it is capable of producing ; the Volute, or Mitre-shell, including the fine polished spiral shells, without lips or perforation, which are often exhibited on chimney-pieces as ornaments, sometimes embellished with dots and with coloured bands. The Strombus comprise larger shells, spiral like the volute, but with a large expanding lip spreading into a groove on the left side, and often still farther projecting into 174 VARIETIES OF SHELLS. lobes or claws, the back frequently covered with large excrescences, in some species called Cormorants Foot. And now for a few observations on the use and value of shells. Even as mere objects of attraction they tend to raise the thoughts to that great and glorious Being, "Our God, omnific, sole original, Wise wonder-working wielder of the whole : Infinite, inconceivable, immense," who has shaped and adapted them to the wants of numberless creatures, of which science at the most can have but a feeble comprehension. "Beautiful," observes Mr. Jesse, "since more exquisite samples of elegance of form and brilliancy of colour cannot be found through the wide range of natural objects, whether organized or inorganized; surprising, when we consider that all these durable relics were constructed by soft and fragile animals, among the most perishable of living creatures. Still more sur- prising is an assemblage of shells, when we reflect upon the endless variation of pattern and sculpture which it displays ; for there are known to naturalists more than fifteen thousand perfectly distinct kinds of shells. Every one of these kinds has a rule of its own, a law which every individual of each kind, through all its genera- tions, implicitly obeys. "The formation of the shell itself is but an example of a process at work equally in the animal and vegetable kingdoms. A shell, whether simple or complicated in the contour or colour, is the aggregate result of the function operation of numberless minute membranous cells, the largest of which does not exceed one- hundredth of an inch in diameter, and in the majority of instances is less than one-thousandth of an inch. In the cavities of these microscopic chambers is deposited a crystalline carbonate of lime, which gives compactness to the beautiful dwelling-house, or rather coat-of-mail, that protects the tender mollusc. How aston- ishing is the reflection, that myriads of exactly similar and exceed- ingly minute organs should so work in combination that the result of their labours should present an edifice rivalling, nay, IMPORTANCE OF SHELLS. 175 exceeding in complexity, yet order of detail and perfection of elaborate finish, the finest palaces ever constructed by man !" Sea-shells perform also an important part in the economy of the universe. Maury remarks on this subject, that shell-fish and various other tribes that dwell far down in the depths of the ocean, although regarded as being so low in the scale of creation, spread over certain parts of the waters " those benign mantles of warmth which temper the winds, and modify more or less all the marine climates of the earth.. The sea-breezes and the sea-shells perform their appointed offices, acting so as to give rise to a reciprocating motion in the waters, and thus imparting to the ocean forces also for its circulation. Sea-shells and sea-insects are the conservators of the ocean. As the salts are emptied into the sea, these crea- tures secrete them again, and pile them up in solid masses, to serve as the bases of islands and continents, to be in the course of ages upheaved into dry land, and then again dissolved by the dews and rains, and washed by the rivers into the seas." The use of shells is multifarious: in China, some descriptions are prepared as medicines ; as articles of ornament they were employed in the earliest times. Several perforated shells found in Aquitaine, in France, show that they must have been worn as decorations or charms by primitive races. The custom of using shells as neck- laces is common not only among savages, but amongst civilized people at the present day. Nacreous or pearl-like shells are em- ployed for making buttons and other articles ; coloured and pearl ones form the ornaments of papier-mache work, card-cases, &c. Various small shells are made into flowers and decorations for head-dresses ; very beautiful cameos are carved upon some descrip- tions of shells for brooches, bracelets, ear-rings, and other attractive objects. The Fountain-shell of the West Indies is one of the largest known univalve shells, weighing sometimes four or five pounds. Immense quantities are imported from the Bahamas for the manu- facture of cameos. The secret of cameo-cutting, Mr. Woodward informs us, consists simply in knowing that the inner stratum of porcellanous shells is differently coloured from the exterior. Some shells are manufactured into spoons, handles for knives, cups, i;6 THE TRUMPET-SHELL. lamps, &c. The purest kind of lime is made from calcined shells r and their use as a manure I have already mentioned. Mother-of-pearl is the beautiful white enamel, or pearly lining, which forms the greater part of most oyster-shells, but especially the larger ones found in the seas of the Pacific and Indian Oceans. In the cathedral and some of the churches in Panama the upper portions are studded with pearl shells, which give them a strange and not unpleasing appearance. Mr. M'Micking, in his " Recollections of Manilla and the Philip- pines," states that in many of the houses in the capital the outer side of the verandah or corridor is composed of coarse and dark- coloured mother-of-pearl shells, of little value, set in a wooden framework of small squares, forming windows, which move on slides. Although the light admitted through this sort of window is much inferior to what glass would give, it has the advantage of being strong. The use of spiral shells as trumpets or horns is traced back to the Romans, and they are thus employed by the Africans, the natives of the Eastern Archipelago and New Zealand, and also in Japan. The fine Trumpet-shell is found in most warm climates, in the African, the American, and Asiatic seas, also on the coasts of the islands of the South Pacific. Mr. Ellis, in his " Polynesian Researches," speaking of the Tahitians, observes, " The sound of the trumpet or shell used in war to stimulate in action by the priests of the temple, and also by the herald, and others on board their fleets, was more horrific than that of the drum. The largest shells were usually selected for this purpose, and were sometimes above a foot in length, and seven or eight inches in diameter at the mouth. In order to facilitate the blowing of this trumpet they made a perforation, about an inch in diameter, near the apex of the shell. Into this they inserted a bamboo cane about three feet in length, which was secured by binding it to the shell with fine braid; the aperture was rendered air-tight by cementing the outside of it with a resinous gum from the bread-fruit tree. These shells were blown when a " PIL GRIM "-SHELLS. 1 77 procession walked to the temple, or their warriors marched to battle, at the inauguration of the king, during the worship at the temple, or when a tabu or restriction was imposed in the name of the gods. The sound is extremely loud, but the most monotonous and dismal that it is possible to imagine." This is the shell generally represented by painters in the hands of the "Tritons" or sea-monsters. In Ceylon shells of a certain kind are used to contain the sacred oil for anointing the priests. On the western coasts of South America there is a species of limpet which attains the diameter of a foot, and the shell of which is employed by the natives as a basin. Another general application of shells is as weights to nets and barbs for harpoons and hooks. To shell-fish, as articles of food, I have already alluded with regard to the lobster, crab, oyster, mussel, &c. Mr. Woodward mentions that the " scallops," so called in the London market, or the "queens" at Brighton, or "frills" on the coasts of Dorset- shire and Devonshire are now almost as much eaten as oysters, but require cooking first. An allied species has received the name of the " St. James's shell." It was worn by pilgrims to the Holy Land. The fossils of this kind, found in the sub-Apennine forma- tion of Italy, were supposed, by early writers, to have been dropped by these devout persons on the road. Parnel says of the " Hermit : " "He quits his cell, the pilgrim-staff he bore, And fixed the scallop in his hat before." Clams another species of bivalve molluscs are eaten in North America ; while the giant clam of the Indian Ocean, the shell of which often weighs upwards of five hundred pounds, con- tains an animal sometimes weighing twenty pounds, which Captain Cook found to be very good eating. The rock-limpet is much used by fishermen for bait. In the north of Ireland they are eaten. The whelk is also employed for bait, and many tons' weight of these, cockles, and winkles, are consumed by shell-fish amateurs. 12 i;8 PORCELAIN AND COWRY-SHELLS. The mention of cockles reminds me of a statement in Drake's " Voyage round the World," the quaint style of which is amusing : " Our stay being longer than we purposed (in Patagonia), our diet began to wax short, and small mussels were good meat, yea, the sea-weeds were dainty dishes. By reason whereof we were driven to seek corners very narrowly for some refreshing, but the best we could find was shells instead of meat. We found the nests, but the birds were gone that is, the shells of the cockles on the sea-shore, where the giants had banqueted, but could never chance with the cockles themselves in the sea. The shells were so extra- ordinary that it would be incredible to the most part, for a pair of shells did weigh four pounds, and what the meat of two such shells might be may be easily conjectured." The shells called Porcelain-shells by the French and Germans are almost entirely composed of lime, are richly enamelled, and are often very beautiful. They are most abundant and attain their largest size in the seas of warm climates. Only a few small species are found on the British coasts. The Cowry-shell, to which I have alluded as a substitute for money, is not of great beauty, being yellow or white, often with a yellow ring about an inch long, and nearly as broad as long. In Bengal three thousand two hundred cowries are reckoned equal to a rupee, so that a cowry is equal in value to one-thirty-sixth of a farthing. Yet cowries to the value of two hundred thousand rupees are said to have been imported annually into Bengal. Many tons of cowries are an- nually imported into England to be used in trade with Western Africa. Of the cowries a very remarkable fact has been stated, that when the animals find their shells too small for the increased dimensions of their body, they quit them, and proceed to the formation of new ones of larger size, and, consequently, more adapted to their wants. As soon as the cowry has abandoned its covering, the hinder part of its body begins to furnish anew the shelly matter which is afterwards condensed on its surface. This secretion is continued until at length the shell appears of the consistence of paper; and the mouth or opening of the shell, which at this period is very wide, soon afterwards contracts to its THE "VOICE" OF A SHELL. 179 proper form and dimensions. The edges are thickened, and form into those beautiful folds or teeth which are so remarkable on each side of the opening of these shells. The porcelain and cowry- shells belong to a family which includes also the shells called Poached Eggs, and the Weaver's Shuttle, remarkable for its pro- longation at both ends. A well-known shell, distributed over the whole world, is the Fusus (from the Latin, " a spindle "), so named from its shape. In Scotland it is called the " roaring buckie," from the continuous sound, as of waves breaking on the shore, heard when the empty shell is applied to the ear. Wordsworth alludes to this " voice " of a shell in some sweet lines : " I have seen A curious child, who dwelt upon a tract Of inland ground, applying to his ear The convolutions of a smooth-tipp'd shell, To which, in silence hush'd, his very soul Listen'd intensely, and his countenance soon Brighten'd with joy ; for murmurings from within Were heard sonorous cadence, whereby, To his belief, the monitor express'd Mysterious union with his native sea." In the cottages of Zetland, this shell, generally about six inches long, is used for a lamp, being suspended horizontally by a cord, its cavity containing the oil, and the wick passing through the canal. The shell of the Haliotis (from the Greek als, " the sea," and ous y "the ear") is very ornamental, and valued, on account of its pearly lining, for adorning papier mache articles. These shells, which are very numerous, and some of splendid appearance, come from the tropical seas, and are commonly called, from their shape, "ear- shells," or "sea-ears." One species, however, is found on the southern European coasts, and on those of the Channel Islands. From the warm regions we also obtain the beautiful Harp-shells, the delicate and brilliant colours of which render them highly prized ; also the Fountain-shells to which I have already alluded as used for cameos, and are much esteemed as garden ornaments for 122 i8o VALUE OF RARE SHELLS. their solid and delicately-tinted substance. One of these shells sometimes weighs four or five pounds. A shell called the Razor, a common species of which you may have often picked up on our sea-coasts some straight, about an inch long and eight inches broad; and another, curved like a sword attain a large size in the tropical seas, and are of great beauty. They are found in the sands of all seas, except in the cold regions, the solen, the name of the inhabitant of this shell, burrowing in the sands, and ascending from its holes by means of the foot, which can be lengthened or contracted at will. What are called Top-shells, from their spiral and very generally top-shape, are frequently found on our coasts, and many of them are very ornamental, but not equal in this respect to the tropical specimens. From Australia we obtain a large number of the richly decorated Pheasant-shells, formerly of great rarity, and expensive, but now comparatively cheap. The Wentletrap-shells ; the common kinds of which are found on our own coasts and those of continental Europe, are very pretty : they are spiral, with many whorls or wreaths, deeply divided, and crossed by remarkably elevated ribs. The true shells of this species come from the warm seas, and are generally very beautiful. One kind, called the Precious Wentletrap, is of such rarity and richness, that it is said to have been sold to shell-collectors at the price of two hundred guineas, but it may now be had for a few shillings. It is nearly two inches in length, snow-white or pale flesh-coloured, with eight separated wreaths. Trough-shells, several small species of which are very abundant on our sea-shores, are triangular, broader than long, and the valves equal. Some of them have a very attractive appearance. CHAPTER XVIII. SUBMARINE SCENERY. " The water is calm and still below, For the winds and waves are absent there, And the sands are bright as the stars that glow In the motionless fields of upper air. There, with its waving blades of green, The sea- flag streams through the silent water, And the crimson leaf of the dulse is seen To blush like a banner batli'd in slaughter ! " PERCIVAL. |T is in the warm sea regions that the glory of submarine scenery is developed, the great transparency of the water in various places affording an ample view of the magnifi- cent objects which gem the ocean depths. The poet Moore, writing of the Bahamas (the earliest discovery of Columbus), a chain of islands in the Atlantic, remarks on the singular clearness of the water, so that the rocks are seen to a very great depth. " As we entered the harbour," he observes, " they appeared so near to us that it seemed impossible to avoid striking on them." Addressing the Marchioness of Donegal, he says : " Believe me, lady, when the zephyrs bland Floated our bark to this enchanted land These leafy isles, upon the ocean thrown Like studs of emerald o'er a silver zone Never did weary bark more sweetly glide, Or rest its anchor in a lovelier tide." 181 1 82 BEAUTY OF TROPICAL SUBMARINE SCENERY. Dr. Collingwood, in his " Rambles of a Naturalist," describes a scene of marvellous submarine beauty in the China seas. He speaks of Fiery Cross Reef on a day when the sea was so calm that the ship's anchor could be distinctly seen sixty or seventy feet from the surface. Rowing over a two-fathom patch, he allowed the boat to drift slowly, and gazed on the sea treasures beneath him. "Glorious masses of living coral strewed the bottom; immense globular madrepores (zoophytes) ; vast overhanging mushroom- shaped expansions; complicated ramifications of interweaving branches, mingled with smaller and more delicate species, round, finger-shaped, horn-like, and umbrella forms, lay in a wondrous confusion ; and these were painted in every shade of delicate and brilliant colouring grass-green, deep blue, bright yellow, pure white, rich buff, and more sober brown; altogether forming a kaleidoscope effect of form and colour unequalled by anything I ever beheld. Here and there was a large clam-shell, wedged in between masses. of coral, the gaping zigzag mouth covered with a projecting mantle of the deepest Prussian blue ; beds of dark purpled, long spined echini (sea-urchins), and the thick black bodies of sea-cucumbers varied the aspect of the sea bottom. In and out of these coral groves, like gorgeous birds in forest trees, swam the most beauti- fully coloured and grotesque fishes some of an intense blue, others bright red, yellow, black, salmon coloured, and every hue of the rainbow, curiously barred, and bound, and bearded." All the deepest colours we are acquainted with are those of hot climates, and all the lightest those of cold ones. The brilliant colour of fishes, shells, and sea-weeds of the tropics, and especially of the Indian and Caribbean Seas, are spoken of with admiration by every navigator. "To give some idea," remarks Mr. Adams ("Voyage of H.M.S. Samarang"), " of the splendid colour of tropical fishes, I copy from my journal the colour of a species of Balistes (cross-bow-fish) taken by us at Sooloo : upper part of the body pale brown, with two broad stripes of deeper brown extending backwards towards the dorsal (back) fin, four well-defined and narrow streaks descend- SPLENDID FISHES. 183 ing to the end fin, a bright spot of ultramarine round the end; iris golden, a dark greenish-brown margined with deep blue, reaching from beneath the eyes to the pectoral fin ; over the eye and summit of the head, a deep blue colour, with a lighter streak running down before the eye to the base of the pectoral fin ; a bright blue stripe above the upper lip, reaching to the angle of the mouth ; from this point to a little below the pectoral fin, a deep orange-yellow stripe ; all below this, and on the stomach, pure dead white ; a pale oval mark on the tail; all the fins light semi-transparent." Wondrously beautiful is the fish thus carefully described, but it is eclipsed, if possible, by the imperial Ch&todon (from Greek words "I contain," "a tooth"), the generic name of a family of spiny-finned fishes inhabiting the southern seas of China. The singular splen- dour of this animal will give you an idea of the marvels that exist in the bosom of the deep. Its body is deep blue, marked all over by about thirty-two narrow bands of orange-yellow. The pectoral fins are black, and the entire tail a bright yellow. It is rather a large fish of its kind, sometimes attaining the length of fifteen inches. The tribe to which this fish belongs seems to have been particularly favoured, for Nature seems to have bestowed heir brightest ornaments on them with a most lavish hand. And here, my young friends, let me remark to you however, diverging somewhat from my present subject that the glorious beauty of these and other inhabitants of the warm seas, while it pleases the eye and excites admiration, has one drawback, and a very important one too. For the nourishment of man they are not to be compared to the far less showy but more wholesome fishes of the colder waters, which produce the species best suited for food, and very far superior in flavour. Professor Maury states from his own knowledge, that seamen, even after long voyages, prefer their salt beef and pork to a mess of fish, resplendent with all the hues of the rainbow, caught in the warm seas; reminding us of what the poet so aptly says : " It is the flavour forms the test of merit, Which, when with wholesome qualities combined, Forms the intrinsic value of all food. 1 84 THE RUBY-COLOURED ETELIS. If mere exterior is to claim the palm, Then must the woodcock to the parrot yield, The spotted leopard supersede the deer, And dories to the blue-striped wrasse give place." To the eye of the experienced naturalist, how many, varied, and beautiful are the forms which meet his gaze in the transparent depths of the ocean ! Dr. Collingwood describes a magnificent spectacle which he witnessed and declares to be truly a wonder of the deep. This consisted of five or six large salpa-like (gela- tinous) bodies, forming an oblique line, each one of a bright and delicate green colour, and with a large rich ruby spot, which shone in the water like carbuncles. Another consisted of a long and delicate chain, which might be compared to a necklace of diamonds set with brilliant rubies, the whole waving gracefully in the currents of the water. Among these marine gems of the "purest water" which add such splendour to the submarine scenery of the tropics, I may mention, also, the ruby-coloured Etelis, a fish allied to the perch tribe though differing, from possessing strong and long teeth so named from its colour, which Cuvier compared to the tints of the ruby. The eye of this splendid fish is a conspicuous object, and of a golden orange. The colour of the etelis is bright ruby- red, relieved by stripes of bright golden yellow, which run along the ridges of the scales. But there are numbers of such glorious fishes shoals ' ' Of fish that with their fins and shining scales Glide under the green wave, in sculls that oft Bank the mid-sea ; Or, sporting with quick glance, Show to the sun their waved coats dropp'd with gold, Or in the pearly shells at ease attend Moist nutriment, or under rocks their food In painted armour watch." The Indian Ocean, one of the five grand divisions of the universal ocean, is especially rich in its submarine scenery. " We dive," says Schleiden, " into the liquid crystal of its waters, and it opens to us the most wondrous enchantments of the fairy SUBMARINE GLORIES OF THE INDIAN OCEAN. 185 tales of our childhood's dreams. The strangely branching thickets bear living flowers. Dense masses of Meandrinus (a genus of polyps), and Astreas (from the Greek, "a star;" animalculae which form coral), contrast with the leafy cup-shaped expansions of the Explanarius, the variously ramified Madrepores, which are now spread out like fingers, now rise in trunk-like branches, and now display the most elegant array of interlacing branches. The colouring surpasses everything : vivid green alternates with brown or yellow ; rich tints of purple, from pale red-brown to the deepest blue. Brilliant rosy, yellow, or peach-coloured Nullipores over- grow the decaying masses, and are themselves interwoven with the pearl-coloured plates of the Retipores, resembling the most delicate ivory carvings. Close by wave the yellow and lilac fans, perforated like trellis-work, of the Gorgonius. The clear sand of the bottom is covered with the thousand strange forms and tints of the sea-urchins and star-fishes. The leaf-like Flustras and Escharas adhere like mosses and lichens to the branches of the corals; the yellow, green, and purple-striped limpets cling like monstrous cochineal insects upon their trunks. Like gigantic cactus-blossoms, sparkling in the most ardent colours, the Sea- Anemones expand their crowns of tentacles upon the broken rocks, or more modestly embellish the flat bottom, looking like beds of variegated ranunculuses. Around the blossoms of the coral shrubs play the humming-birds of the ocean little fish sparkling with red or blue metallic lustre, or gleaming in golden green, or in the brightest silvery tints. " Softly, like spirits of the deep, the delicate milk-white or bluish bells of the jelly-fishes float through this charmed world. Here the gleaming violet and gold-green Isabelle, and the naming yellow, black, and vermilion-striped coquette chase their prey; there the band-fish shoots snake-like through the thicket, like a long silver ribbon, glittering with rosy and azure hues. Then comes the fabulous cuttle-fish, decked in all colours of the rain- bow, but marked by no definite outline ; appearing and disappear- ing, inter-crossing, joining company and parting again, in most fantastic ways ; and all this in the most rapid change, and amidst 1 86 SUBMARINE "GARDENS" AT NIGHT. the most wonderful play of light and shade, altered by every breath of wind and every slight curling of the surface of the ocean. When day declines, and the shades of night lay hold upon the deep, the fantastic garden is lighted up with new splendour. Millions of glowing sparks, little microscopic medusas and crustaceans, dance like glowworms through the gloom. The sea-feather, which by daylight is vermilion-coloured, waves in a greenish phosphorescent light. Every corner of it is lustrous. Parts which by day were dull and brown, and retreated from the sight amidst the universal brilliancy of colour, are now radiant in the most wonderful play of green, yellow, and red light ; and to complete the wonders of the enchanted night, the silver disc, six feet across, of the moon- fish, moves, slightly luminous, among the crowd of little sparkling stars." How like a dream of romance and fairy beauty is this vivid description of submarine scenery in the tropics ! What exquisite loveliness exists in those still, transparent waters ! far exceeding in richness and colouring the most attractive objects that meet the eye on land. And while only a very small portion of these ocean wonders are unfolded to human gaze, what vast and countless glories are hidden in the great ocean depths to all save Him " Who guides below, and rules above : The great Disposer and the mighty King ! Than He none greater, next Him none That can be, is, or was ; Supreme, He singly fills the throne." But let us continue these fascinating descriptions from the lec- tures of Schleiden : " The most luxuriant vegetation of a tropical landscape cannot unfold as great wealth of form, while in the variety and splendour of colour it would stand far behind this garden landscape, which is strangely composed exclusively of animals, and not of plants; for, characteristic as the luxuriant development of vegetation of the temperate zones is of the sea bottom, the fulness and multiplicity of the marine Fauna is just as prominent in the regions of the tropics. Whatever is beautiful, wondrous, or uncommon in the great classes of fish and Echinoderus THE ASTERIAS OR STAR-FISHES. 187 (animals which include the sea-urchin and star-fish), jelly-fishes and polyps, and the molluscs of all kinds, is crowded into the warm and crystal waters of the tropical ocean rests in the white sands, clothes the rough cliffs, clings, where the room is already occupied, like a parasite, upon the first comers, or swims through the shallows and depths of the elements ; while the mass of the vegetation is of a far inferior magnitude." I have, in the chapter on "The Rock-builders of the Ocean," mentioned the wonderful beauty of the coral regions ; I will merely add, on this subject, the description given by Mr. Adams ("Voyage of H.M.S. Samarang") of what he witnessed in the clear ocean depths of the tropics. " I am aware," he cautiously observes, " that persons have been accused of allowing their imaginations to trifle too freely with the reins in describing submarine scenery, but I shall simply state the matter as I found it. Dentritic (from the Greek dentritis, " like the growth of a tree ") zoophytes, with their richly slender branches, loaded with innumerable variously coloured polypi, like trees co- vered with delicate blossoms, uprose from the clear clean bottom of the bay ; distinct and characteristic in their specific forms, and contrasting strangely and powerfully with those most apathetic and stone-like combinations of the plant, the animal, and the rock, the Madrepores, the Millipores, and the Nullipores. Flat and im- movably extended on the sand, in the bare spots between the corallines, were impassive large blue five-fingered star-fishes, and crawling with an awkward shuffling movement like an Octopus (from Greek words, " eight-footed ;" a mollusc, whose mouth is sur- rounded with fleshy appendages which serve as feet), with their snaky arms groping their way among the weeds, and striving to insinuate their writhing forms beneath the coral masses. Fixed flower-like Actinia (polypi with numerous tentacles) were expanding their flashing petals on the rocks : all contributed to prove that Nature is ever weaving the subtle woof of existence beneath the surface of the waves." The Asterias, or star-fishes, so frequently alluded to in the de- scriptions of submarine scenery by naturalists, belong to a genus 1 88 THE FLOWERS OF THE OCEAN. of molluscous worms, and some species you must often have ob- served on the sea-shore. The most curious of the sea-stars, per- haps, is that called Caput Medusae, or basket-fish, which inhabits most seas, and consists of five central rays, each of which divides into two smaller ones, and these are again divided into two others ; the same kind of division and subdivision being continued to a vast extent, and every ray regularly decreasing in size, until at length the ramifications amount to many thousands, forming a beautiful network spread over the water. The colour of the worm varies, being sometimes pale, sometimes reddish, white, and brown. The arms of the star-fishes are furnished on their lower surfaces with suckers, which enable them to crawl along the smoothest rocks. The madrepores, millipores, and nullipores are polypi, classed by Cuvier in the third family of the Coralliferi, including all the numerous species which were for a long time regarded as marine plants, and in which numerous individuals are so united as to form compound animals, for the most part fixed, like plants, by a branched stem, or by simple expansions of a solid substance at the base or in the middle of the group. No more lovely ornaments of " submarine gardens " could be imagined than the Anemones, a name thus applied about a century ago by the indefatigable naturalist, Ellis, who made them the sub- ject of some remarkable investigations, and who remarks that "their tentacles being disposed of in regular circles, and tinged with a variety of bright lively colours, very nearly represent the beautiful petals of some of our most elegantly fringed and radiated flowers, such as the carnation, marigold, and anemone," reminding us of what Du Bartas says, in his quaint poem on the birth of the world, that seas have "Pinks, gilliflowers, mushrooms, and many millions Of other plants." You must have frequently seen some of the smaller species of anemones on the rocks of our sea-coast and in aquariums, but to observe these animals in their full bloom of loveliness, we must gaze into the transparent waters of the tropical seas, where they VIVID COLOURS OF THE ANEMONES. 189 attain their greatest size and beauty, spreading out their delicate tentacles or "feelers," and displaying all the vivid colours which render them so remarkable. The similarity of some of these animal "flowers" to the Flora of the earth is very singular. Hughes, in his " Natural History of Barbadoes," describes some of them as found in a submarine rock-basin : " In the middle of it there is a fixed stone or rock which is always under water. Round its sides, at different depths, seldom exceeding eighteen inches, are seen at all times of the year, issuing out of little holes, certain substances that have the appearance of fine radiated flowers, of a pale yellow or a bright straw-colour, slightly tinged with green, having a circular border of thickset petals, about the size of, and much resembling, those of a single garden marigold, except that the whole of this seeming flower is narrower at the setting on of the leaves than any flower of that kind." " Each following billow lifted the last foam That trembled on the sand with rainbow hues ; The living flower that, rooted to the rock, Late from the thinner element, Shrank down within its purple stem to sleep, Now feels the water, and again Awakening, blossoms out All its green anther necks." This reads like a gardener's description of some new and rare plants. But the elegance and beauty of the anemones belong only to their native element; when left dry by the receding tide, they contract into a jelly-like mass, and the glorious hues that shone through the clear waters of the ocean fade away. " I once cut off," adds Mr. Hughes, "with a knife which I had held for a long time out of sight near the mouth of a hole out of which one of these animals appeared, two of the seeming leaves. These, when out of the water, retained their shape and colour; but being composed of a membrane-like substance, surprisingly thin, it soon shrivelled up and decayed." Each species generally selects a peculiar haunt, but they are igo POWER OF REPRODUCING ORGANS. found in every sea. Some appear suspended from the vaults of submarine reefs ; others cover the more exposed sides of rocks with a sort of flower-like tapestry. One species commonly found on our own coasts, and a gem of the aquarium, is named Mesembryanthemum (from mesembris, " mid- day," and anthemon, "a flower"), after the fig-marigold, an annual of our English flower-gardens. If you look attentively at one of these animals, you will be struck with its remarkable beauty. Around the margin of the mouth there is a circle of little azure knobs or knots, like turquoise beads. Another British sea-anemone, called the Crassicornis, exhibits the most attractive colours red, varied with white, orange, green, and yellow. The term applied by naturalists to these very interesting "animal- flowers " is Actinia (from the Greek aktin, " a ray "), subdivided into a number of genera, and is now the type of a family called Actiniada. The sea-anemones are a hungry class, preying especially on small crabs, which they clasp in a fond embrace, and eventually devour. Another peculiarity in these strange and beautiful marine animals is their power of reproducing organs of their own bodies that may have been broken off. Mr. Bennett relates : " I had once brought to me a specimen of the crassicornis, that might have been originally two inches in diameter, and that had, somehow, contrived to swallow a valve of Pecten maximus (a genus of two-shelled molluscs) of the size of an ordinary saucer. The shell, fixed within the stomach, was so placed as to divide it completely into two halves, so that the body, stretched tightly over, ha