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THE LIBRARY

OF

THE UNIVERSITY

OF CALIFORNIA

PRESENTED BY

PROF. CHARLES A. KOFOID AND

MRS. PRUDENCE W. KOFOID

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THE OCEAN

P. H. GOSSE, F.RS.

PUBLISHED UM)ER TIIK DIRECTION OF

TIIK COMMITTEE OF GENERAL I.ITKRATUHE AND EDUCATION!.

APPOINTED BV THE SOCIETV FOR PRO.MOIING

CHRISTIAN KNOWLEDGE.

LONDON:

SOCIETY FOR PROMOTING CHRISTIAN KNOWLEDGE,
NOllTllUMBKRLAND AVKNUE, CHARING CUOsS, W.C.j

43. yUEKN" VICTORIA STREET, E.C. ;
26, ST. GEOR(;e'S I'LACE, HYDE PARK CORNKR, S.W.

IJKKiHTON: 135, north street
New York: K. A: J. 15. YOUNG & CO.

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THE WHALE FISHERY.

PllEFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION.

In the following pages the Author has endeavoured
to describe, with some minuteness of detail, a few
of the many objects of interest more or less directly
connected with the Sea, and especially to lead
youthful readers to associate with the phenomena
of Nature, habitual thoughts of God. A subject
so vast as the Ocean might be viewed in a variety
of aspects, all of them more or less instructive : the
one which has been chosen is that in which it
presents itself to the mind of a naturalist, desirous

iV:S5S7a:0

IV PEEF^CE.

of viewing the Almighty Creator in His works.
The selections are made chiefly from marine botany,
zoology, meteorology, the fisheries, the vaiying
aspects of island and coast scenery, incidents of
navigation, &c., arranged (if such a word be not
inapplicable) in the order of geographical distribu-
tion ; as they might be supposed to present them-
selves to the notice of an observant voyager.

It may be thought that the Author has touched
too frequently, or dwelt with too great prolixity,
on objects minute in themselves, and by the
generality of persons considered insignificant and
unworthy of regard. If apology for this be necessary,
he presents it in the words of Samuel Purchas : —
"Mcostratus in ^lian, finding a curious piece of
wood, and being wondered at by one, and asked
what pleasure he could cake to stand, as he did,
still gazing on the picture, answered, ' Hadst thou
mine eyes, my friend, thou wouldst not wonder,
but rather be ravished, as I am, at the inimitable
art of this rare and admirable piece.' I am sure
no picture can express so much wonder and ex-
cellency as the smallest insect, but we want Nicos-
tratus his eyes to behold them.

" And the praise of God's wisdom and power lies
asleep and dead in every creature, until man actuate
and enliven it. I cannot, therefore, altogether con-

PKEFACE. V

ceive it unworthy of the greatest mortals to coiiteni-
pLate the miracles of Nature ; and that as they
are more visible in the smallest and most con-
temptihle creatures (for there most lively do the\'
express the infinite power and wisdom of the great
Creator), and erect and draw the minds of the
most intelligent to the first and prime Cause of all
things ; teaching them as the power, so the presence,
of the Deity in the smallest insects."

London, 1845.

PREFACE TO THE PRESENT EDITION.

The fifteen years that have elapsed since this work
was written have been prolific of discoveries in
Natural Science ; and, perhaps, in no dej)artment
has knowledge advanced so rapidly as in that of
Marine Natural History.

The invention of the Marine Aquarium has not
only made the history of the wondrous creatures
of the Sea popular ; it has rendered the study of
them practicable to thousands, who, but for its
aid, v/ould have been entirely precluded from
acquaintance with them.

The Autlior has subjected his work to a thorough
revision for the present edition ; cancelling some
papers which conveyed erroneous or defective im-
pressions, and re-writing and adding others, as the

existing state of science demanded.

Torquay,

Oct. 1860.

P. H. G

CONTENTS.

INTRODUCTION.

Beauty and Grandeur of the Sea — Commercial Importance —
Early Notices of Navigation — Proportion of Sea to Land — Changes
in its Outline — Depth of the Ocean — Saltness — Loss by Evaporation
— Supplied bj- Rivers — ^Motions of the Sea — Tides — Currents — The
Gulf-stream — Origin of the Phenomenon — Familiar Illustration —
Effect on the Climate of Europe — Local Currents — Winds — Trade-
Winds — Monsoons — Land and Sea Breezes — Waves — Power of God
— Man's Insensibility — Reflections 1

I. THE SHORES OF BRITAIN.

Instruction to be gained at Home as well as Abroad — Wisdom in
Minutire of Creation — Habitually Submerged Beetle — Marine
Water-fleas — Sea- weeds — Of various Interest — jNIanufacture of Kelji
— Sea and Black Wrack — Curious Reproductive Organs — Knotted
Wrack — Sea-lace — "S.nrious Provisions for securing Buoyancy — Sea
weeds used as Food — Mannite — Dulse — Tangle — Sea-furbelows—
Henware — English Dulse — Laver— Carrageen Moss — Sea-thong —
Peacock's-tail — Delesseria — Landscape of Sea-weods — Parasitical
Sea-weeds — Divine Care for these productions — Corallines — Uses —
Sponges — Evidences of their Animal Nature — Their Currents — Mode
of Growth — Uses to Crabs — Neptune's Cup — Sea Anemones — Their
Weapons — Mode of Warfare — Voracity — Beadlet— Dahlia Wartlet
-Marine Parterre — Cup Coral — Star Coral— Tree Coral — Cow's
Paps — Warty Coral— Sea-fan — Sea-pen 23

VUl CONTENTS.

II. THE SHORES OF BRITAIN, continued.

I'AOK

Fisheries — Structure of Fishes — Scales — Fins — Air-bladder —
Motion — Spines — Fruitfulness of Fishes — Migrations — The Herring
Fishery — Singular Stranding of a Shoal — Mackerel — Cod — Cod-
pools — Flat-fishes — Crab — Lobster — Shrimp — Prawn — The Crab
and the Baillie — Shelled Mollusca — Improperly called Fishes —
Interesting Variations of Structure — Cliffs of Orkney — Sea-bird
Catching — Perilous Enterprises — Gannets tio

III. THE ARCTIC SEAS.

The Spirit of Geographical Discovery peculiar to Modem Times —
Commercial Enterprise — Whale Fishing — Majesty of Polar Seas —
Coast of Spitzbergen — Fine Contrasts of Hue — Clearness of Atmo-
sphere— Deceptive Distance of Land — Architectural Regularity of
Rocks — The Three Crowns — Ice — Icebergs — Beauty — Vast Size —
Varying Forms — Overturning — Sudden Rupture — Process of Forma-
tion— Ice Islands — Disruption of One — Marine Ice — Formation —
Ice Fields — Irresistible when in Motion — Perpendicular Ice-needles
— Continual Daylight in Summer — Phenomena of Winter — Aurora
— Mock Suns — Fog Bow — Looming — Curious Results — Inversion —
Ice-blink — Eifectsof Intense Cold — Frost Crystals — Their exceeding
Beauty — Snow Stars — Antiseptic Power of Frost — Ship tenanted
by a Corpse — Vegetation — Whale — Interesting Peculiarities in its
Conformation — ^Whalebone — Arterial Reservoir of Blood — Blow-
hole— Windpipe — Eye — Blubber — Reflections on the Goodness of
God — ^Vhale Fishery — Accidents — Rorqual — Structure of its Mouth
— Enemies of the Whales — Arctic Shark — Thresher — Swordfish —
Narwhal — Use of its singular Horn — Torpidity of Mackerel — Sea
Blubber — Arctic Clio — "Green Water" — Microscopic Animalcules
— Dissecting Crab , 102

IV. THE ATLANTIC OCEAN.

Form of the Atlantic — Its Bays and Inland Seas — Extent of
Coast — Sight of Land — Azores — Picturesque Appearance — Peak of
Pico — The Atlantis of the Ancients— Islands swallowed up in
Modem Times — Submarine Volcano — Stormy Petrels — A Shoal
of Dolphins — Their Gambols — Capture of One — Gulf- weed— -Bar-

PACK

nacles— Ocean Crabs — Toad-fish— " Calm Latitudes "—Heat of
the Sun — Gorgeous Sunsets— Southern Constellations — The Cross
—Tropic Fishes — Coryphene — Pursuit of Flying-fish— Wliite Shark
— Bad Physiognomy — Ferocity — Teeth — Structure of its Egg —
Hammer-Shark — Saw-fish — Capture of One — Horned Ray — Contact
of Ships at Sea— A Breeze— The Pilot-tish—Rudder-fish— Sucking-
fish— Possible use of its Disk— West India Isles— Their varied .
Beauty — JIangrove Tree — Green hue of Shallow Water — Decep-
tive Effect— Bottom of the Sea— Green Turtle— Peculiar Structure
of the Heart — Brilliance of the Fishes— Yellow-fin— Yellow-tail—
Market-fish— Grunts— Hog-fishes— Cat-fish— Cow- Whale . . .155

V. THE PyVCIFIC OCEAN.

Discovery of the Pacific — Voyage of ]\Iagellan — Sea-weeds —
Elephant-seal — Fur-seal — Sea-lions — Sea-bear — Penguins — Sperm
Whale — Adventurous Character of the Fishery — Destruction of a
Ship by a Whale —Appearance and Habits — Regularity of its
Motions — Its Enemies— Breaching — Its food — Description of the
Fishery — Narrative of a Chase — Strange Sail — Speaking at Sea —
Amusing Mistake 210

VI. THE PACIFIC OCEAN, continued.

Islands of the South Sea— Coral Islands — Reef — Lagoon — Forma-
tion of Coral — Animals — Structure of a Coral Island — Various
Species of Corals — Rate of Activity — Lines from Montgomery —
Crystal Island — Caverns — Interesting Legend — Volcanic Island —
Natural and Moral Beauty — Advanced Civilization — Reef — Islands
at Openings — Beauty of Lagoon — iloonlight — Night at Sea — Na-
tives swimming in the Surf — Sharks — Canoes — Origin of the Popu-
lation— Various modes of Fishing— Pens — Rafts — Poison — Nets —
Spear — Fishing by Torchlight — Hooks — Angling — A bacore —
Sword-fish — Predaceous Habits of Fishes — Crabs — Anima Flowers
— Cuttle — Oceanic Birds — Tropic-bird — Albatross — Booby —
Frigate-bird — Immense Assembla^n of Birds .... ... 249

X CONTENTS.

VII. THE INDIAN OCEAN.

PAGR

Indian Archipolaj^o — Proas of the Laclrones — Malay Pirates —
Rajah Brooke — Ills E.xpedition against the Pirates — His Success —
Jlcrciful Policy — Christian Mission in Borneo — Number and Beauty
of small Islands — Houses over the Sea — Chinese Junks — Tj-phoou
— Waterspouts — A Chinese Wreck — Esculent Birds'-nests — Their
Nature — Modes of obtaining them — Value — Use — Sea-weeds —
Trepang — Change of the Monsoon — Coming in of the Bore —
Beauty and Singularity of Fishes — Curious Mode of Fishing —
Violet-snail — Portuguese Man-of-wai- — Sallee-man — Glass-shells —
Clamp — Pearls — Fishery — Floating- weeds — Pelicans — Luminosity
of the Sea — Noctiluca — Various kinds of Luminous Animals —
Conclosion 312

ILLUSTRATIONS.

PAf E

LongsTiips Lighthouse Frontispiece

fhe Whale Fishery iii

Marine Entomostraca {Cythere albo-maculata and Ci/clops chelifer) 26

The Sea-girdle (Laminaria digitata) ". 35

The Sea-furbelows {Laminaria bullosa) 37

The Peacock's TaU (Padina pavoroa) 44

Bryopsis plumosa 46

Coralline [Corallina officinalis) 49

Sea-fan (Flahellum Veneris), s»ud Sea-pen (PennaUda phosphorea) 63

Scales of Fishes 68

Yarmouth Jetty, in the Herring Fishery 77

IRickerel-Boat off Hastings 79

Turbot-Boat off Scarborough 82

Crab-pots 87

The Shrimper 89

Fowling in Orkney • . . 96

Gannet and Guillemot 98

The Bass Rock 99

Iceberg seen in Baffin's Bay 107

Swell among Ice 108

Ships beset in Ice 109

Aurora Borealis 118

Mock Suns 122

IJistortiona of Irregular Refraction 1 24

Catching the Whale 140

Spearing the Narwhal 143

Food of the Whale : 1, Limacina helicina; 2, 3, 4, Medusce; 5, Clio

borealit 151

Pico .158

t^

Xll ILLUSTUATIONS.

PAGB

Submarine Volcano 162

Tlifc Southern Cross 170

Corypheue (Coryphcena) 180

Pursuit of Flying- fish by Dolphins and Birds 183

Hammer-Shark (Zygmva malleus), and Saw-fish (Pristis anti-

qiwrum) 190

Elephant Seals, fighting 214

Penguins 221

Sperm Whale attacked by Sword-fish 231

Section of Coral Island 257

Crystal Islam! 264

Volcanic Islands 269

Bolahola 273

White Shark 283

Fishing by Torchlight 292

Polynesian Fishing-tackle 294

Angling in a Double Canoe 296

Proas of the Landrones 315

Chinese Junks 323

Ship under bare poles 325

Waterspouts 327

Sea-Cucumbers {Holcthurice) 337

Grass Shells {Jlyalca tridentata and Clcodora pyramidata) . 346

Nodiluca miliaris, magnified 359

THE OCEAN.

INTEODUCTIOK

Who ever gazed upon the broad sea without
emotion? Whether seen in stern majesty, hoary
with the tempest, rolling its giant waves upon the
rocks, and dashing with resistless fury some gallant
bark on an iron-bound coast ; or sleeping beneath
the silver moon, its broad bosom broken but by a
gentle ripple, just enough to reflect a long line of
light, a path of gold upon a pavement of sapphire ;
who has looked upon the sea without feeling that it
has power

" To stir the sovJ with thoughts profovmd ?"

Perhaps there is no earthly object, not even the
cloud-cleaving mountains of an alpine country, so
sublime as the sea in its severe and naked simplicity.
Standing on some promontory whence the eye roams
far out upon the unbounded ocean, the soul expands,
and we conceive a nobler idea of the majesty of that
God, who holdetli " the waters in the hollow of his
hand" But it is only when, on a long voyage,
climbing day after day to the giddy elevation of the

B

^

2 THE OCEAN.

mast-head, one still discerns nothing in the wide cir-
cumference but the same boundless waste of watei'S,
that the mind grasps anything approaching an ade-
quate idea of the grandeur of the Ocean. There is
a certain indefiniteness and mystery connected with
it in various aspects that gives it a character widely
different from that of the land. At times, in pecu-
liar states of the atmosphere, the boundary of the
horizon becomes undistinguishable, and the surface,
perfectly calm, reflects the pure light of heaven in
every part, and we seem alone in infinite space, with
nothing around that appears tangible and real save the
ship beneath our feet. At other times, particularly
in the clear waters of the tropical seas, we look down-
ward unmeasured fathoms beneath the vessel's keel,
but still find no boundary ; the sight is lost in one
uniform transparent blueness. Mailed and glitter-
ing creatures of strange forms suddenly appear, play
a moment in our sight, and with the velocity of
thought have vanished in the boundless depths. The
very birds that we see in the wide waste are mys-
terious ; we wonder whence they come, whither they
go, how they sleep, homeless and shelterless as they
seem to be. The breeze, so fickle in its vi sitings,
rises and dies away ; " but thou knowest not whence
it cometh and whither it goeth ;" the night- wind,
moaning by, soothes the watchful helmsman with
gentle sounds that remind him of the voices of be-
loved ones far away ; or the tempest shrieking and
groaning among the cordage turns him pale with the
idea of agony and death. But God is there ; lonely
though the mariner feel, and isolated in his separa-

INTEODUCTION. 3

tion from home and friends, God is with him, often
unrecognized and forgotten, but surrounding liim
with mercy, protecting him and guiding him, and
willing to cheer him by the visitations of his grace,
and the assurance of his love. " If I take the wungs
of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of
the sea ; even there shall thy hand lead me, and
thy right hand shall hold me."

The Ocean is the highway of commerce. God
seems wisely and graciously to have ordained, that
man should not be independent, but under perpetual
obligation to his fellow-man ; and that distant coun-
tries should ever maintain a mutually-beneficial de-
pendence on each other. He might with ease have
made every land to produce every necessary and com-
fort of life in ample supply for its own population ;
in which case, considering the fallen nature of man,
it is probable the only intercourse between foreign
nations would have been that of mutual aggression
and bloodshed. But he has ordered otherwise ; and
the result has been, generally, that happy inter-
change of benefits which constitutes commerce. It is
lamentably true, that the evil passions of men have
often perverted the facilities of communication for
purposes of destruction ; yet the sober verdict of
mankind has for the most part been, that the sub-
stantial blessings of friendly commerce are prefer-
able to the glare of martial glory. But the trans-
port of goods of considerable bulk and weight, or
of such as are of a very perishable nature, would be
so difficult by land, as very materially to increase
their cost ; wlule land communication between coun-

B 2

4! THE OCEAN.

tries many thousand miles apart would be attended
with difficulties so great as to be practically insur-
mountable. Add to this the natural barriers pre-
sented by lofty mountain ranges and impassable
rivers, as well as the dantrers arisiusj from ferocious
animals and from hostile nations, and we shall see
that, with the existing power and skill of man, com-
merce in such a condition would be almost unknown,
and man would be little removed from a state of bar-
barism. The Ocean, however, spreading itself over
three-fourths of the globe, and penetrating with in-
numerable sinuosities into the land, so as to brinq;,
with the aid of the great rivers, the facilities of navi-
gation comparatively near to every country, affords
a means of transport unrivalled for safety, speed, and
convenience. In very early ages men availed them-
selves of naval communication. We find repeated
mention made of ships by Moses ; * and in the
dying address of the patriarch Jacob to liis sons, he
speaks of "a haven for ships ;"t while Job, who
was probably contemporary with Abraham, alludes
to them as an emblem of swiftness, + which would
seem to imply that navigation had then attained
considerable perfection, nearly four thousand years
ago. In j)rofane history the earliest mention of
navigation is that of the voyage of the ship Argo
into the Euxine, which took place probably about
three thousand years ago. What a contrast be-
tween her timorous and creeping course, and the
arrowy speed and precision of a modern Atlantic

• Numb. xxiv. 24- and Deut. xxviii. G8. + Gea xlix. 13.

i Job ix. 26.

IKTKODUCTION. 5

steam-ship, ruslimg to her destination without asking
aid from wind or tide !

The proportion which the sea bears to the land
in extent of surface has been ascertained with to-
lerable accuracy, by carefully cutting out the one
from the other, as represented on the gores of a
large terrestrial globe, and weighing the two por-
tions of paper separately in a very delicate balance.
The ratio of the water to the land is found to be
about 2f to 1 : the surface of the former being
about one hundred and forty-four millions of square
miles, and that of the latter about fifty- two mil-
lions. Vast, however, as is the sea, and mighty in its
rage, it is restrained by the hand of Him that made
it. Water was once the instrument of vengeance
upon a guilty world, but He hath made a cove-
nant with man, that never again shall the waters
become a flood to destroy the earth. He " shut up
the sea with doors, when it brake forth as if it had
issued out of the womb ; when he made the cloud
the garment thereof, and thick darkness a swad-
dling-band for it ; and brake up for it his decreed
place, and set bars and doors, and said, Hitherto
shalt thou come, but no further, and here shall thy
proud waves be stayed!"* Slight changes are, it is
true, going on in the course of ages, in the relative
positions of the land and sea, but these are minute
in their extent and slow in their operation. By
the sand and mud, which are continually brought
down by the rivers and deposited in the sea, banks
and points of land are formed and perpetually in-

* Job xxxviiL 8 — 11.

b THE OCEAN.

creased, as is particularly the case at the mouths of
the Ganges and Mississippi ; while, from the same
cause the bottoms of inland seas being gradually
raised, the water rises in the same proportion and
encroaches on the land. The port of Eavenna, once
a rendezvous for the Eoman fleet, has been filled
up by the deposition of the Montone, a small river,
so that now it is four miles from the sea. On the
other hand the palace of the Emperor Tiberius at
Caprese, on the opposite shore of Italy, is now wholly
covered by the water : nor are our own coasts, and
especially those of Holland, deficient in examples of
once fertile fields, which are now rolled over by the
tide.

Much ignorance prevails respecting the depth of
the Ocean : in many places no length of sounding
line has yet been able to reach the bottom, and,
therefore, our conclusions must be formed from in-
ference or indirect evidence. Generally, where a
coast is flat and low, the water is shallow for a con-
siderable distance, slowly deepening ; on the other
hand, a high and mountainous coast is usually
washed by deep water, and a ship may lie almost
close to the rocks. From these circumstances, as
well as from the various depths actually observed by
sounding, it is probable that the average depth of
the sea is not greater than the height of the land,
in proportion to its extent. If we were to place a
thick coatincj of wax over the bottom of a dish,
taking care to make a very irregular surface, with
cavities and prominences of all forms and sizes, we
should probably have a fair idea of the solid surface

INTEODUCTION. 7

of the globe. Let us then pour water upon it until
the surface of the water should equal that part which
is exposed, and it is clear the average depth of the
one would be equal to the average height of the
other. But if we increase the quantity of water
until the proportion is as three to one, it is evident
the depth will have increased in the same ratio. We
may, therefore, with high probability conclude that,
as the greatest height of the land is about five miles,
the greatest depth of the water does not much
exceed twelve or thirteen ; while the average depth
may be about two or three.

Every one is aware of the saltness of the sea.
It has been assumed that its object is to prevent
stagnation and putrescence. But this reason does
not appear to be the correct one, for large masses
of fresh water, such as inland lakes, do not stag-
nate. Strictly speaking, however, water cannot
putrefy ; when a small body of it becomes offensive,
it is on account of the decomposition of vegetable
or animal matters contained in it. But organized
substances will decompose, and consequently become
offensive, in salt water as well as in fresh, as may
be easily proved by experiment. Perhaps the
reason for the Ocean's saltness may be the increase
of its weiglit without the increase of its bulk ; for
the decrease of specific gravity of so large a portion
of the globe would materially affect the motions
of the eaj'th, and perhaps derange the whole con-
stitution of things. The increase of its specific
gravity makes it more buoyant, and every one is
aware with how much less effort a bather swims in

8 THE OCEAN.

the sea than in a river. Now, superior buoyancy
seems an important advantage in a fluid which bears
on its bosom the commerce of the world. It is
highly probable, then, that our gracious God had
the convenience and benefit of man in view when
He ordained the sea to be salt. The Ocean contains
three parts in every hundred of saline matter, chiefly
muriate of soda, or the common salt of the table,
which is a chemical compound of muriatic acid and
soda. The proportion is rather larger in the vicinity
of the equator. If we considered only the immense
amount of evaporation which is daily going on from
the sea, we might suppose that, like a vessel of the
fluid exposed to the sun, it would diminish in
volume and increase in saltness, until at length
nothing would be left but a dry crust of salt upon
the bottom ; on the other hand, looking alone at
the many millions of tons of fresh water which
are every moment poured into its bosom from the
rivers of the earth, we might apprehend a speedy
overflow, and a second destruction by a flood. But
these two are exactly balanced ; the water taken up
by evaporation is with scrupulous exactness restored
again, either directly, in rain which falls into the sea,
or circuitously, in the rain and snow which, falling
on the land, feed the mountain streams and rivers,
and hurry back to their source. This interesting
circulation had been long ago observed by the wisest
of men : " All the rivers run into the sea ; yet the
sea is not full ; unto the place from whence the
rivers come, thither they return again."* And a

* Eccles. L 7.

INTEODUCTION. 9

very beautiful and instructive instance it is of that
unerring skill and wisdom witli which the wliole
constitution is ordered and kept in order, by Him,
who, with minute accuracy, "weigheth the moun-
tains in scales, and the hills in a balance."*

The Ocean is never perfectly at rest : even be-
tween the tropics, in what are called the calm
latitudes, where the impatient seaman for weeks
together looks wistfully, but vainly, for the welcome
breeze ; and where he realizes the scene so gra-
phically described in "The Eime of the Ancient
Mariner : " —

"Day after day, day after day,

We stuck, nor breath nor motion ;
As idle as a painted ship
Upon a painted ocean ;" —

even here the smooth and glittering surface is not
at rest : for long, gentle imdulations, which cause
the taper mast-head to describe lines and angles
upon the sky, are sufficiently perceptible to tan-
talize the mariner with the thought that the breeze
which mocks his desires, is blowing freshly and gal-
lantly elsewhere. The most remarkable of the mo-
tions observable in the sea are the tides, periodical
risings and fallings in the height of the surface,
which take place twice every twenty-four hours, or
nearly. It is now well ascertained that these mo-
tions are caused by the attraction of the sun and
moon, but more particularly the latter, upon the
particles of water, which, moving freely among them-
selves with little force of cohesion, readily yield to

♦ Isa. xl. 12.

b3

10 THE OCEAK.

the attracting influence, and move towards it. The
time of high water in the open sea is about two
hours after the moon passes the meridian, owing
to the impetus which the waters have been receiving
not ceasing immediately ; just as the hottest part of
the day is not noon, but about two hours after it ;
and the hottest month of the year is not June, but
July. On the coast, however, high water is delayed
to a greater or less extent by the obstructions of
straits, mouths of rivers, harbours, &c. It appears
strange that the sea should be elevated, not only on
the side next the moon, but also on the side which
is diametrically opposite ; so that it is high water at
the same moment on two opposite points of the
globe, each of which points follows, so to speak,
the moon in the daily revolution, and, consequently,
every part of the surface of the Ocean is raised twice
in each day. The singular phenomenon is thus
explained : the attraction of the moon elevates the
particles of water on the nearest side, by slightly
separating them from each other, v/hich their im-
perfect cohesion readily admits ; it also affects the
earth itself ; but this being a solid body, the cohe-
sion of its parts cannot be overcome, and the whole
mass is therefore moved towards the moon, while the
particles of water on the farther side remain, owing
to their freedom, nearly in the same position as be-
fore. The fact is, that the earth is drawn away from
the water on the remote side, and that the water is
drawn away from the earth on the near side. The
sun is far larger than the moon, but his attrac-
tion, owing to his great distance, does not affect the

INTRODUCTION. 11

tides to more than one-fourtli of the moon's extent.
When the power of these luminaries is exerted in
the same direction, the result is a higher elevation,
called the spring-tide : and, for the reason already-
explained, the same occurs when they are in oppo-
site quarters of the heavens. On the other hand,
when they are in quadrature, that is, when appa-
rently separated by just one-fourth of the heavens,
the influence of the sun neutralizes, in the ratio of
one-fourth, that of the moon ; and hence we have the
lowest tides, called neap-tides, soon after the first and
third quarters of the moon.

Local circumstances greatly affect not only the
time, but also the height of the tides. In some long
bays, which grow gradually narrower, in the form of
a funnel, the whole of the increased water which en-
tered the mouth of the bay, being confined within
A'ery narrow limits, rises rapidly to a great height.
Near Chepstow, in the Bristol Channel, for example,
the tide rises from 45 to 60 feet, and on one oc-
casion, after a strong westerly gale, it even reached
to 70 feet. Again, in the Bay of Eundy, in North
America, the spring-tides sometimes rise to the
astonishing elevation of 120 feet. At the mouths
of some large rivers, where the shore is very level to
a considerable distance inland, the tide rolls in under
the form of one vast wave, which is called the bore :
something of this kind occurs in Solway Firth on our
own coast ; and it is said that if, when the tide is
coming in, a man upon a swift horse were placed
at the water's edge, and bidden to ride for his life,
the utmost efforts of his steed wo\dd not preserve

12 THE OCEAlf.

liim from the overwhelming wave. Through the
Pentland Firth, between ScotLand and the Orkney-
Islands, the spring-tide rushes at the rate of nine
miles an hour. The tide in inland seas is so slight
as to be scarcely observable, probably owing to the
srnallness of the volume of water which they con-
tain ; and hence the astonishment which the soldiers
of Alexander, accustomed to the equable condition
of the Mediterranean, felt, when, at the mouth of
the Indus, they beheld the sea swell to the height of
thirty feet.

That some purpose, important in the constitution
of our world, is effected by these periodical ebbmgs
and flowings cf the mighty sea, is highly probable ;
but our acquaintance with the arcana of nature is
too slight to point it out. In navigation they are
useful; the tiooi-tide permitting ships to sail up
rivers, even wdien the wind is adverse, and often
admitting deep vessels to j)ass into harbours, over
banks or bars, impassable at the ordinary depth of tha
water.

Besides the tides, the sea has other motions of
great regularity, called currents. The principal of
these is the notable Gulf-stream, a strong and rapid
river, as we may say, in the sea, whose banks are
almost as well defined as if they were formed of
solid earth, instead of the same fickle fluid as the
torrent itself It first becomes appreciable on the
western coast of Florida, gently flowing southward
until it reaches the Tortugas, when it bends its
course easterly, and runs along the Florida Picef,
increasing in force, till it rushes witli amazing

INTRODUCTION. 13

rapidity through the confined limits of the Strait of
Florida, and pours a vast volume of tepid water into
the cold bosom of the Atlantic. Here, unrestrained,
it of course widens its bounds and slackens its speed,
though such is its impetus, that it may be distinctly
perceived even as far as the Great Bank of New-
foundland. Nor is its strength then spent ; for many
curious facts warrant us in concluding, that even to
the coasts of Scotland and Ireland, and down the
shores of "Western Em-ope, this mighty marine river
continues to roll its wonderful waters. The tempera-
ture of this cmTcnt is much higher than that of the
surrounding water, and this is so uniformly the case
that an entrance into it is immediately marked by a
sudden rise of the thermometer. Another unfailing
token of its presence is the Gulf-weed {Sargassum
vulgare), which floats in large fields, or more fre-
quently in long yellow strings in the direction of the
wind, upon its surface. The cause of this vast and
important current seems to be the daily rotation of
the earth. If we turn a glass of water quickly upon
its axis, we shall perceive that the glass itself revolves,
but that the particles of water remain nearly station-
ary, owing to the slightness of their cohesion to the
glass. To a very minute insect attached to the vessel,
it would seem that the water was rushing round in an
opposite direction while the glass remained stationary.
Now the earth is whirled round with great rapidity
from west to east, and the greatest amount of this
rapidity is of course at the equatorial regions, being
the part most remote from the axis : but the particles
of water, for the same reason as those in the glass, to

14 THE OCEAN.

a certain extent, resist the influence of this rotation,
and appear to assume a motion in the opposite direc-
tion, from east to west. With respect to all the
phenomena to be explained, this apparent motion is
exactly the same as if it were real, and we shall con-
sider it so. Now, examine a globe, or a map of the
Atlantic, and you will see that this westerly " set " of
the equatorial waters, meeting the coast of South
America, is slightly turned through the Caribbean Sea,
until it strikes the coast of Mexico, which, like an
impregnable rampart, opposes its progress. The stream,
impelled by the waves behind, must have an outlet,
and the form of the shore drives it round the northern
side of the Gulf of Mexico, until it is again bent by
the peninsula of Florida. But here the long island
of Cuba meets its southerly course, and, like the
hunted deer, headed at every turn, the whole of the
broad tide that entered the Gulf, now pent up within
the compass of a few leagues, rushes with vast impetus
through the only outlet that is open, between Florida
and the Bahamas. It is as if we propelled with swift-
ness against the air a wide funnel, the mouth being
outwards, the tube of which was long and tortuous,
and which terminated at length nearly at right angles
to the mouth : it is easy to imagine that a strong
current of air would issue from the tube, exactly as
the waters of the Gulf-stream do from their narrow
gorge. The waters of the Pacific have the same
westerly flow, but its force is broken, without being
turned, by the vast assemblage of islands which
constitute the eastern Archipelago ; it may, however,
be recognized in the Indian Ocean ; and, when bent

INTRODUCTION. 15

southward by the African coast, and confined by the
island of Madagascar, it forms a current of consi-
derable force, which rounds the Cape of Good Hope,
and mercres into the Atlantic. Besides these, there
are other more local currents, which are not so easily
explained, such as that which constantly flows out of
the Baltic, and that which flows into the Mediterra-
nean. In each of these cases, while the main current
occupies the middle of the channel, there is a subor-
dinate current on each side close to the shore, which
sets in the opposite direction. As in the case of the
tides, it is obvious how serviceable these motions of
the sea often are in aiding navigation, particularly as
they are most strong and regular in latitudes where
calms often prevail.

But we, who inhabit Western Europe, derive a much
more obvious advantage from this great marine river,
in our mild and equable climate. If we compare the
Atlantic coasts of North America and of Europe in
this respect, we shall better appreciate this advantage.
St. John's, in Newfoundland, is nearly on the same
parallel of latitude as Vannes, on the shore of the
Bay of Biscay; but its climate is that of Norway.
The coast of Labrador lies immediately opposite to
Ireland ; but its climate is about the same as that of
T.apland. On the other hand, the nearest resemblance
to an Ensflish climate on the American side of the
Atlantic, — at least so far as the mildness of the
winters is concerned, for the summers are far hotter, —
must be sought in Alabama and Florida, which cor-
respond in latitude to the north of Africa.

It has been ascertained that the American climate

16 THE OCEAN.

is the rule, tlie European the exception. Wliat, then,
is the exceptional agency, which hlesses us with a
climate whose geniality would equal ten or twelve
degrees of latitude ? It is none other than the Gulf-
stream. This is in fact a vast hot water apparatus,
heated in the tropics, and then poured along the
shores of Europe, bringing with it its superincumbent
stratum of warm air. Tliis air, too, is diffused on our
shores rather than on those of America, by the preva-
lence of south and south-west winds, which blowing
in gusty gales, characterize the North Atlantic. The
influence of these winds is perceptible even as far
eastward as the borders of Eussia ; but it is much
•more powerful in the maritime parts, where the warm
water is constantly maintaining the elevated tempera-
ture of the air.

Let us return, however, to consider the action of
the winds upon the sea, which, though affecting only
the surface, are the most powerful agents in producing
the irregular motions of this element. By them the
freighted bark, with her hardy crew, is wafted to the
wished-for haven ; and by them the crested billows
are roused up, which dash her upon the sharp-pointed
rocks, or swallow her up in fathomless depths, leaving
none to record her destiny. The origin of wind has
usually been attributed to the rarefaction of the air
by heat : a stratum of air near the earth being heated
by the sun's rays, or by radiation from the surface,
becomes hghter, and consequently rises to a higher
elevation. The empty space thus left is instantly
filled by the surrounding air rushing in, pressed by
the weight of the atmosphere above : this motion

IXTEODUCTION. 17

coTiiTnunicated to the air lias been supposed to con-
stitute a wind blowing in the direction of the spot
where the heat was generated. It must he confessed,
however, that the cause thus adduced does not seem
adequate to produce the effects attributed to it,*
though probably some of the currents of the air are
owing to variations of its temperature. And as these
variations are perpetually occurring, dependent on
causes which are difficult to detect, and as the aerial
currents resulting from them act and react on each
other, variously modifying their direction, force, and
duration, the ordinary winds are irregular and incon-
stant even to a proverb. Some observations, however,
recently made, have revealed some particulars of a
highly-interesting character, concerning the winds of
the temperate zones : one of which is, that they blow
in a circular direction ; that is, the course which a
storm has taken, if marked out on a map or globe,
would describe a circle, often of many degrees in
diameter. The direction of the gale in the circle is
not arbitrary, but seems to be invariably from north
to west, south, and east, in the northern hemisphere,
and in the opposite course in the southern. These
winds appear to be intimately connected M'ith mag-
netism : it is a curious fact, that, in the midst of the
southern Atlantic, where magnetic influence is at the
lowest degree of intensity, storms are unknown, while
the meridians of the magnetic poles, that of the Ame-
rican cutting the West Indies, and that of the Siberian
the China Sea, are peculiarly liable to tempests ; the
hunicanes of the former, and the typhoons of the
latter, being well known.* It is pretty certain, also,

* See Eeid on Storma.
C

18 THE OCEAN.

that the changes in the atmosphere produced by
electricity, which is but another development of the
same principle as magnetism, have considerable
influence in the production of the variable winds ot
temperate regions. Our knowledge of these sub-
jects, however, is yet in its infancy; and though iu
all ages until the present, navigation has been entirely
dependent on the aid of the winds, no laws for their
certain prognostication have yet been discovered, and
much obscurity, at least in detail, still hangs over
their production. But within the tropical regions
there are winds which possess great regularity, and
may be depended upon with nearly the same precision
as the great marine currents already noticed, which
indeed they very closely resemble, not only in their
direction and their utility, but also in their origin.
I refer particularly to the Trade-winds, so named
from the facility they afford to commerce, which blow
constantly, within the tropics, from the north-east on
the north side of the equator, and from the south-east
on the south side, the two currents merging near the
line into one, which takes an easterly direction. The
dividing line, however, is not exactly at the equator,
but a little to the north of it. The air in the equato-
rial regions becomes strongly heated by the rays of
the vertical sun, and rises ; while that from the polar
regions moves in to supply its place : thus a northern
and a southern current are produced towards the
equinoctial. But the earth is revolving from west to
east, and the equatorial parts are, as we have before
seen, those in which the velocity is greatest : the free
air cannot at once acquire this velocity, and is left

INTEODUCTION. 19

behind ; the effect being that an apparent motion in
the contrary direction is given to it, which, combining
with the one already possessed by the polar currents,
makes the direction of the northern one north-east,
and of tlie southern south-east. The point directly
beneath the sun, also, is continually travelling west-
ward, which increases the effect. The heat radiated
from the surface cf large masses of land being superior
to that from the sea, while the former is subject to
much variation from differences of elevation, and other
circumstances, the trade-winds are disturbed, and be-
come very irregular in the vicinity of land ; but in
open sea they blow with much precision.

A singular deviation from the uniformity of the
trade-winds occurs in the Indian Ocean, which it
seems difficult to explain. From 30= south latitude,
to within about 10° of the equator, the trade is pretty
constant from the south-east ; but to the north of
the latter parallel, the wind blows six months from
the north-east, namely, from October to April, while,
during the remainder of the year, from April to
October, it blows with equal pertinacity in a direction
diametrically opposite. These are called respectively
the north-east and south-west monsoons; but the
former is the regvrlar trade — the latter alone is the
anomaly, and needs explanation. The cause usually
assigned is, the rarefaction of the air on the continent
of Asia during the summer months, when the sun is
north of the equator ; the air from the Indian Ocean
flowing in to supply its place. Tliis would suffi-
ciently explain why the wind should be southerly, but
leaves its westerly inclination entirely unaccounted

c 2

20 THE OOEAN.

for ; and tliis seems the more inexplicable, because
one would suppose that the air over the burning
deserts of Arabia and North Africa would be much
more heated, and that the direction of the supplying
current would be south-east. Strange, however, as
the fact is, it is perfectly uniform in its occurrence,
and is obviously a very gracious ordination of God's
beneficent providence, in diminishing the uncertainties
of navigation.

There is yet another phenomenon connected with
the wind, in the climates of which we speak, that
requires notice ; it is the alternation of the land and
sea breezes. Every one who has resided near the
coast in tropical countries is aware of the eagerness
with which the setting in of the sea-breeze is looked
for. Usually about the hour of ten in the forenoon,
when the heat of the sun begins to be oppressive, a
breeze from the sea springs up, invigorating and
refreshing the body by its delightful coolness, and
continues to blow through the whole day, gradually
dying away as the sun sinks to the horizon. Then,
about eight in the evening, an air blows off the land
until near sunrise ; but this is somewhat variable
and irregular, always fainter than the sea-breeze, and
dependent on the proximity of mountains. The ap-
plication of what has been already said of the causes
of wind in general will readily be made to these
particular cases, the air on the surface of the water
being cooler during the day, and that on the moun-
tains during the night. Either is a grateful allevia-
don of the oppressive sultriness of the climate.

But for the winds, the surface of the sea would

INTRODUCTION. 2J

over present, notwithstanding its intestine motions,
an unbroken and glassy smoothness. Tlie playful
ripple which breaks the moon's ray into a thousand
sparkling diamonds, and the huge billows that rear
their curling and cresting summits to the sky, would
be ahke unknowm. If the direction of the breeze
were exactly horizontal, it is difficult to imagine how
the surface could be ruffled at all ; but doubtless the
wind exerts an irregular pressure obliquely upon the
water, a few particles of which are thus forced out of
their level above the surrounding ones : these afford
a surface, however slight, on which the air can act
directly, and the effect now goes on increasing every
moment, until, if the wind be of sufficient velocity,
the mightiest waves are produced * " For he com-
mandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth
up the waves thereof. They [the mariners] mount
up to the heaven, they go down again to the depths :

* The perpendicular elevation of even the highest waves is, how-
ever, much overrated. Viewed from the deck of a vessel, the im-
mense undulating surface causes them to appear much higher than
they are ; while the ever-changing inclination of the vessel itself
produces a deception of the senses, which increases the exaggera-
tion. Experienced practical men have, however, made some obser-
vations, which show us their height. Taking their station in the
shrouds, they have proceeded higher and higher, until the summit
of the loftiest billow no longer intercepted the view of the horizon.
After watching for a sufficient length of time to verify the deduc-
tions, they descended, and measured the height of the point of sight
from the ship's water-line ; deducting half of this distance for the
lepres.'sion of the hollow below the level of the surface, the remain-
der gives the elevation of the highest wave. It is thus found that
waves do not usually exceed six feet in height, except when cross-
waves overrun each other ; and probably in no case do the very
loftiest rise above ten feet above the general level.

22 THE OCEAN.

their soul is melted because of trouble. They reel to
aud fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at
their wits' end." The Holy Spirit thus alludes to the
terrific raging of the tempest as eminently calculated
to draw man's attention to the power and majesty of
God, while the wondrous deliverances He has so often
wrought from its fury, are so many claims on man's
grateful love and praise.

Let us, then, in contemplating a few of the in-
numerable objects of interest which the ocean pre-
sents to us, endeavour, in dependence on His own
gracious aid, to recognise His hand, to discern the
greatness of His power in creating and upholding all
things ; His unerring skill and wisdom in arranging
and carrying out His designs ; and the careful and
provident benevolence which He continually exer-
cises towards the sentient part of His creation. The
varied tribes of living beings that throng the deep,
from the wallowing whale to the luminous animalcule,
visible but as a sparkling point ; the multifarious
forms of marine vegetation, displaying exquisite
structure and elaborate contrivance ; the golden sands
of the smooth shore, the hoary cliffs hollowed into
caverns by the restless billows, and, not least, the
restless billows themselves, speak to us, in language
not to be mistaken, of the glorious attributes of the
INIighty God, " the Lord of Hosts, wliich is wonderful
in counsel, and excellent in workiug."

THE SHOEES OF BEITAIX.

Defoke we launch forth to investigate the wonders
of the vast Ocean, a little time will not be misspent
in observing a few of the curious productions which
it brings to our very doors. We shall greatly err, if
we suppose that only in distant parts of the world
the works of God can be so studied as to illustrate
His infinite power, and skill, and benevolence : we
may have to search distant regions to find the giants
of tlie deep, the huge whale, the Indian cuttle, or the
island madrepore ; but in the most minute crustacean
that hops above the retiring wave, or the most fragile
shell that lies upon the shingle, there is the indelible
impress of the mind and hand of God. Indeed, it
may be asserted, that of two created objects of dif-
ferent magnitude, but possessing similar organs,
equally adapted to their requirements, that one in
which these organs are of minute size is the more
calculated to excite our admiration. Our own shores
swarm with little creatures of many kinds, some so
small as to escape the eye of any one but a naturalist,
which yet are well worthy of being examined and
studied. Take one example. Walking along a sea-
beach, where the loose shingle rattles under the
retiring waves, we may find a minute beetle, known
to entomologists by the name of Aepus fulvcscens,

24 THE OCEAN.

whose habits may well excite our astonishment.
I'ormed, like all other beetles, to breathe air alone, it
deserts the haunts of its fellows, and betakes itself to
the sea, choosing to dwell among the pebbles so low
down on the beach that the water covers it constantly,
except for a day or two twice every month, when, at
the lowest ebb of the spring-tide, it is for a few
minutes exposed. Now, during the weeks of its sub-
mersion, how does this little creature breathe ? Oxy-
gen it must have, or it will assuredly die. Many of
the beetles that shoot hither and thither in our fresh-
water ponds are clothed with a coat of thick but
very line down, in which air is entangled and carried
beneath the surface. But our little Aepus is not
furnished wdth a coating of down. If we examine
it, however, with a magnifier, we shall discover that
its whole bod}^ and limbs are studded with long,
slender hairs, and when it plunges under water, each
of these hairs carries with it a little globule of air
from the atmosphere, and these, uniting, form a
bubble of air surrounding the body of the insect, and
serving it for respiration. But, subjected to the
rolling of the tide, it would be liable to be perpetually
washed away from its dwelling-place were there not
an especial provision graciously made for its stability.
For this end the feet are furnished with claws of
unusual size, to cling firmly to the projections of the
.stones, and in addition to these the last joint but one
of the feet has a long curved spine meeting the claws,
giving it an extraordinary power in grasping, as well
as aiding it in obtaining its prey. In other respects,
with regard to its eyes, its autennoe, its jaws, we

THE SHORES OF BKITAIN. 25

shall find, if we carefully examine it, that, rniniite as
it is, being scarcely an eighth of an inch long, its
wants have been accurately remembered and well
supplied. A few other British insects, likewise very
small, display similar instincts, some of them inhabit-
ing holes in the sand, very near low-water mark, and
therefore entirely submerged a great portion of their
time.

On our rocky shores may be found in abundance
creatures still more minute than these, whose man-
ners, lively and sportive, are highly interesting. I
allude to the marine Entomostraca, or insects with
shells, and particularly to those of the genus Cythere,
scarcely any of which exceed in diameter a large
pin's head, and most of which are not equal to that
of a small one. Imagine a pair of bivalve shells oi
this size, irregularly oval, or kidney-shaped, from
which, slightly separated, protrude four pairs of little
curved claws, or feet, most delicately fringed, and
kept in constant motion ; and from one end a pair of
jointed antennas. Mr. Baird, who has attentively
studied their manners, gives the following pleasing
account of them : — " These insects are only to be
found in sea-water, and may lie met with in all the
little pools amongst tlie rocks on the sea-shores.
They live amongst the Fuci and Confer ccb, &c., whicli
are to be found in such pools ; and the naturalist
may especially find them in abundance in those
beautiful clear little round w^ells which are so often
to be met with, hollowed out of the rocks on the
shores of our country, which are within reach of the
tide, and the w\ater of which is kept sweet and whole-

26 THE OCEAN.

some by being tlius changed twice during every
twenty-four hours. In such delightful little ponds,
clear as crystal when left undisturbed by the receding
tide, these interesting little creatures may be found
often in great numbers, sporting about amongst the
confervse and corallines which so elegantly and fanci-

Marine Entomostraca {Cylhert uibo-maculatu aud Cyclops chelifer).

fully fringe their edges and decorate their sides, and
which form such a glorious subaqueous forest for
myriads of living creatures to disport themselves in.
Sheltered amongst the 'umbrageous multitude' of
stems and branches, and nestling in security in theii
forest glades, they are safe from the fuiy of the ad-
vancing tide, though lashed up to thunder by the
opposing rocks which for a moment check its ad-
vance ; and weak and powerless though such pigmies
seem to be, they are yet found as numerous and
active in their little wells, after the shores have been
desolated by tlie miglity force of the tide which
has been driven in by the power of a fierce tempest,
as when the waves have rolled gently and calndy
to the shore iu their sweetest murmurs. These
insects have never been seen to swim, invariably

THE SHORES OF BPvITAIN. 2?

walking among the brandies or leaves of the confervce
or fuel, amongst which they delight to dwell ; and
when shook out from their hiding-places into a bottle
or tumbler of water, they may be seen to fall in
gyrations to the bottom, without ever attemj)ting to
dart through the watery element, as is the case with
the Cyprides. Upon reaching the bottom they open
their shells, and creep along the surface of the glass ;
but when touched or shaken, they immediately again
withdraw themselves within their sliell, and remain
motionless."* The Cyprides, here alluded to in com-
parison, are species very closely resembling these,
inhabiting abundantly every stagnant ditch and pool
of fresh water. They have their antennae and feet
beautifully feathered with long fringed bristles, by
aid of which they swim with much vivacity. In
exactly similar situations to those above described
are found other Entomostraca, marine species of
*,he genus Cyclops, almost equally minute, and equally
mteresting. Like their kindred of the same genus
found in fresh waters, and which are so numerous in
the water conveyed into London that we swallow
them daily, these swim with ease, progressing by
sudden bounds made with great vigour and effect.
Mr. Baird notices of one marine species (C depressus),
which he found in Berwick Bay, that its motion is
peculiar. "It generally swims on its back, and in-
stead of darting forward through the water, as the
other species of Cyclops do, it springs with a bound
from the bottom of the vessel, where it rests when
undisturbed, up to the surface of the water. For this

* Mag. Zool. and B'>t., ii. lil.

28 THE OCE.VN.

purpose it curls its body up into the form of a "ball,
and then, suddenly returning to the struight position,
springs with a sudden bound from the bottom to the
surface, falling gradually down again to the same
place from whicli it sprung." It is a remarkable
character of all tliese pretty little icater-fleas, that they
have but a single eye, which is generally of a bright
crimson hue, sparkling like a little ruby, and is set in
the front of the head. Any of my inland readers,
who may have no opportunity for sea-side researches,
may form a very good idea of the form and habits of
these agile "minims of existence" by pulling up a
handful of the common duck-weed from a stagnant
pool, and putting a pinch of it into a clear glass
phial, nearly filled with water : numbers of the fresh
water Entomostraca will be almost certain to swim
out ; and the sight will amply repay the trouble of
procuring them, especially if viewed with a micro-
scope, or even a common magnifying glass.

Probably the objects which would first arrest the
observation of one who for the first time visited a rocky
shore, would be, after the broad element itself, the
marine plants which in such abundance and variet}'
clothe the submerged rock. At a glance we perceive
that they are singular productions ; the vast size of
some, the strange and uncouth forms of others,
ftnd the extreme delicacy and vivid hues of many,
cannot fail to attract attention : and it needs not the
additional knowledge that many of them are pressed
into the service of man to assure us that they
are not less worthy of the consideration of rational
beings than others of the glorious works of God.

TUK SHOKES (»P BIIITAIN. IP

" Vi(3wing these tribes," observes Dr. Greville, '• iu iiie
most careless way, as a system of subaqueous vegeta-
tion, or even in a merely picturesque light, we see the
depths of ocean shadowed with submarine groves,
often of vast extent, intermixed with meadows, as it
were, of the most lovely hues : while the trunks of
the larger species, like the great trees of the tropics,
are loaded with innumerable minute kinds, as fine as
silk, or transparent as a membrane."* In stating
some particulars of the history of but a few of the
species found on our own shores, I hope to show tliat
the contempt which lias been, even to a proverb, cast
upon the "vile sea-weed," is very much misplaced. It
is only a contracted mind, governed by debasing
selfishness, which measures the esteem in which it
holds any object by the degree to which it ministers
to the comfort or profit of man : the instructed Chris-
tian will feel a higher gratification in the thought that
the perfections of God t-hine forth more luminously
the more His handiwork is examined. It was no
selfishness that prompted the Sons of God, when they
saw this beautiful and glorious world, fresh in its
unsullied prime, come from the hands of its Maker, —
to sing together, and all the Morning Stars to shout
for joy. Yet we may, with adoring gratitude, recog-
nise the love which remembers man, and provides
many natural objects for his appropriation ; endowing
them with qualities which his intelligence discovers
to be useful, and which alleviate the privation and
toil of his fallen condition.

A substance called kelp, an impure carbonate of

* iMgoc Brit-oimicae. Introd.

30 THE OCEAN.

soda, important in the manufacture of soap and of
glass, is the produce of these "worthless" weeds.
Some years ago, the coasts and islands of Scotland
yielded 20,000 tons of this valuable substance an-
nually, which was worth ten pounds sterling per ton ;
but through the increased consumption of barilla, an
allvali imported from Spain, it has somewhat dimin-
ished. The autumnal storms detach large quantities
of Algce (a general name applied to all the sea-weeds),
which are washed ashore. The inhabitants of the
coast, aware of their value, hurry down to secure the
riches thus freely presented, and either cast them
on their fields as a valuable manure, or burn them
into kelp. In Scotland, the kelp-kiln is nothing but
a round pit, dug in the sand or earth on the beach,
and surrounded by a few loose stones. In the morn-
ing a fire is kindled in this pit, generally with the aid
of turf or peat. The fire is gradually fed with sea-
weed, in such a state of dryness that it will merely
burn. In the course of the day, the furnace becomes
nearly full of melted matter, and iron rakes are then
drawn rapidly backward and forward through the mass
to compact it, or bring the whole into an equal state
of fusion. It is then allowed to cool, and having been
taken out and broken to pieces, it is carried to the
storehouse to be shipped for market. The general
yield of this alkali is one-fifth of the weight of the
ashes from weeds promiscuously collected ; but from
one species, the Sea-wrack, or Black-tang (Fucus vesi-
culosus), one of the most abundant on our coast, the
ashes yield half their weight of alkali. The Sea-
wrack is of a dark-olive hue, bearing long, flat, and

THE SHORES OF BRITAIN. 3l

narrow fronds, resembling leaves, divided iutc
branches, and having a midrib nmning through the
centre ; the leaf-like branches terminate in large
greenish or yellow oval receptacles, the former con-
taining many seeds, enveloped in a thick mucus, the
latter some curious organs known as antheridia, analo-
gous to the anthers of flowers.* But its chief pecu-
liarity is, that the substance of the frond swells at
irregvdar interv^als into oval air-cells, always arranged
in pairs, one on each side of the midrib. The Dutch
use this sort, and another called Black-wrack [F. eer-
ratus), to pack their lobsters ; the latter, however, is
preferred, on account of its containing less mucus, and
therefore being less liable to fermentation.

Scarcely inferior in its alkaline properties to the
Sea- wrack is the Knotted-wrack {F. nodosus). The
fronds look like slender stems, swelling at intervals

* Recent microscopical investigations of the Fucacece, or Wrack-
weeds, have brought to light some unexpected facts of very high
interest, particularly those which are connected with the reproduc-
tion of therfe plants. Like the higher tribes of vegetable life, they
lu-e found to develoi> male and female organs, the former of which,
called Zoospores, have the power of free, spontaneous, and, ap-
jiarently, voluntary motion, vibrating their long threads, and
swarming over the germ-cells, which they thus fertilise.

"To observe the Zoospores in motion," remarks Professor
If.ifvey, "fresh specimens (of Fucus serratus) collected iu winter or
early spring, having orange-coloured receptacles, should be removed
from the water and left to dry partially. As the surface dries
there will exude from the pores of the receptacles large drops of a
thicK orange-coloured liquid, which on being placed under a micro-
Bcope and moistened with salt water, will be found to be composed
of innumerable antheridia, from which will issue troops of Zoo-
Bpores, which, at the moment of their liberation, commence those
Btrange animal motions which have so much puzzled philosophera
to reconcile with vegetable life." — (Phytol. Brit.)

32 THE OCEAN.

into oval bulbs or air-vessels. Boys amuse them-
selves occasionally by cutting off these nodules in a
diagonal direction, to make them into whistles. They
are too tough to be burst by the pressure of the fingers,
like those of the Sea-wrack ; but if stamped on, or
put into the fire, they explode with a loud report.
The seed-vessels are large, oval, and yellow, resem-
bling those of the last, placed on footstalks.

One of the most common species of our coasts
is the long, string-lilvc Sea-lace, or, as the Orkney
people call it, Sea-catgut {Chorda filum). It usually
gi-ows in water some fathoms deep, attached to stones
at the bottom, yet reaching to the surface • indeed, it
sometimes attains the length of forty feet ; and this
is believed to be the growth of a single summer,
as it is an annual plant. Its structure is highly
curious ; at first sight it appears a simple cylindrical
tube of an olive colour, about as thick as whipcord,
but occasionally thicker : on examination, however,
this hollow stem is found to be composed of a flat
thin ribbon, about one-sixth of an inch in width,
spirally twisted into a tube, the edges exactly meet-
ins: each other, and adherincf with sufBcient firmness
to allow of the whole stem being skinned without
separating : in this state it is twisted and dried, when
it possesses a strength and toughness that adapt
it for fishing-lines. In Norway it is collected as
food for the cattle. The upper portion usually floats
on the surface, or rather immediately beneath it,
often in such abundance as to form large meadows,
as it were, which obstruct the progress of boats.
The fructification of this species long defied the

THE SHORES OF BRITAIN. 33

investigations of botanists ; but it is now ascertained
to consist of little pear-shaped capsnles, imbedded in
the surface, and much crowded, which the gradual
melting away of the skin allows to escape. One
of the most interesting circumstances connected with
the history of the sea-plant is, the beautiful and
varied apparatus with which many of them are pro-
vided for securing buoyancy. It seems to be essential
to their health that they should at least approach
the surface, but as their substance is specifically
heavier than water, many of them are greatly length-
ened, and furnished with hollow vessels inflated with
air, by which their weight is diminished. These
differ much in form and position in the various
tribes ; in the Sea--wTack {F. vesicidosus) , we saw
them tike the form of bladders, arranged in pairs
on each side of the midrib ; in the Ivnotted-wrack
{F. nod.osus) the stem swells at inters^als into hollow
bulb-like dilatations ; while in the long Sea-lace
before us, the same end is answered by dividing the
hollow tube into chambers, interrupted at short dis-
tances by portions of the solid substance of the frond ;
the cavities being filled in some unknown manner with
air, probably hydrogen generated by the plant itself
Many of the AJgce are rather extensively used as
food ; and though to one unused to such diet they
would in general seem to offer little temptation to
the appetite, the poorer natives, not only of our own
but of other shores, eat them with much relish. Let
us not despise their taste, though differing from our
own, but rather adore the beneficence of God, who

has supplied in much abundance an additional source

i>

34 THE OCEAN.

of nutriment, and has conferred on the recipients
of His bounty the taste requisite for its enjoyment.
From the quantity of saccharine matter which they
contain, many of these plants are highly nutritive,
and cattle often feed on them with greediness. One
of the species most extensively eaten is that known
in Scotland by the name of Dulse {Rhodomenia
palmata). It exhibits the appearance of a thin mem-
branaceous leaf, irregularly oblong, of a purplish or
dark red colour, or sometimes rosy-red : there is
no rib, but the substance is uniform ; it grows from
three inches to a foot in length. Before the introduc-
tion of tobacco, this leaf was rolled up and chewed
in the same manner as the Virginian leaf is at
present. It is an important plant to the inhabitants
of Iceland ; they wash it thoroughly in fresh water,
and dry it in the air, when it becomes covered mth a
white powdery substance, called mannite, which is
sweet and palatable ; it is then packed in close casks,
and preserved for eating. It is used in this state
with fish and butter, or else, by the higher classes,
boiled in milk, with the addition of rye-flour. In
Kamtschatka, a fermented liquor is produced from it.
It is extremely common on all our coasts, and being
frequently washed on shore, is sought with avidity
by the cattle : sheep sometimes go so far in the pur-
suit of it at low water as to be drowned by the
returning tide. This species, with another which I
am about to describe, was, until recently, so mucli
esteemed by our northern countrymen, that it v/as
publicly sold in the cities as an article of regular
consumption. The cry of "Buy dulse and tangle. •*

TUE SMOKES OF BRITAIN,

35

resounded at no very distant period even through
the streets of Edinburgh. The latter is the sea-weed
usually called in England the Sea-girdle, and in the
Orkneys Red-ware {Laminaria digitata). It is very

The Sea-Girdle {Laminaria digitata).

common, growing chiefly in deep water, where it
is protected from the heavy action of the waves. Its
appearance is singular : from a number of little root-
lets, which grasp with great tenacity the naked rock,
springs a straight olive-brown stem, sometimes as
thick as a man's wrist, and three or four feet lonfj:

D 2

36 THE OCEAN.

at the summit it dilates into a broad cartilaginous
leaf, oblong in form, and palmated, or divided into
numerous irregular strips ; it is endowed with the
power of renewing its frond if the latter be acci-
dentally destroyed. Mr. Johns observes,* that of all
the various kinds of sea-weeds thrown on shore
during a storm. Tangles are the most abundant : a
fact which he explains by the ravages of a species of
limpet {Patella Icevis) upon their stems and rootlets.
Wlien cooked, the young stalks are said to be not
unpleasant, and they are boiled and given to cattle.
But, as we are informed by Mr. Neill, "in Scotland
the stems are sometimes put to rather an unexpected
use, the making of knife-handles. A pretty thick
stem is selected, and cut into pieces about four
inches long. Into these, while fresh, are stuck blades
of knives, such as gardeners use for pruning and
grafting. As the stem dries, it contracts and hardens,
closely and firmly embracing the hilt of the blade.
In the course of some months the handles become
quite firm, and very hard and shrivelled, so that
when tipped with metal they are hardly to be dis-
tinguished from hartshorn."

Much resembling this species, but immensely
larger, is the plant which has received the name
of Sea-furbelows {L. hulhosa). A single specimen,
fresh from the sea, is a heavy load for a man's
shoulder : and one which was measured by IVIrs.
Griffiths, when spread out, covered a circular space
of twelve feet in diameter. Tlie great weight of the
frond in this species requires extraordinary support

* Botanical Rimbles, p. 286.

THE SHOEES OF BEITAIN.

37

against tlie force of the waves, which else, having
so strong a purchase, would soon overturn it. To
guard against this, the ordinary mode of attachment
to the rock would be insufficient ; and, instead of the
primary root, the base of the stem is swollen out into
a large hollow bulb, the extended surface of which
putting forth powerful rootlets from every part enables
the plant to defy the violence of the winter stcim.

The Sea-furbelows {Laminaria buK^aa).

It is a fact worthy of our notice and admiration, that
nothing of the kind takes place while the plant is
young and small ; it is only when it acquires size
and weight, or, in other words, it is only when addi-
tional support becomes needful, that this extraordinary

38 THE OCEAN,

but most effective contrivance is resorted to. Tlie
English name of the species is derived trom the edge
of the stem, which is greatly dilated and curled into
tortuous waves or plaits.

A long, narrow, ribbon-like leaf, with a thick mid-
rib, grows on the coast of Scotland, where it is called
Hen-ware, as well as on the northern shores of Ire-
land, where it receives the appellation of Murlins.
It is the Alaria esculenta of botanists. It is of a
transparent yellow-green, and in the herbarium dries
without any change, and has a very beautiful ap-
pearance. The midrib is the part usually selected
for eating, but Mr. Johns gives us a somewhat imfa-
vourable notion of its quality. " While walking," he
observes, " round the coast near the Giants' Causeway,
I once observed a number of men and women busily
employed near the water's edge ; and on inquiring of
my guide, found that they were providing themselves
with food for their next meal. Being curious to dis-
cover what kind of fare the rocks afforded, I stopped
one of the men, who was going home with his bundle,
and asked him to give me a bit to taste, prepared in
the way in which it was generally eaten. He accord-
ingly stripped off all the expanded part of a long and
narrow leaf, and presented me with a stem, or midrib.
It was, I must confess, as good as I expected ; but at
best a very sorry substitute for a raw carrot, combin-
ing with the hardness of the latter the fishy and
coppery flavour of an oyster. I made a very slight
repast, as you may suppose ; and after having given
the man a few pence for his civility, continued my
walk. My guide, however, seemed to think, that if I

THE SHOK^S OF BKlTAlN. 39

did not choose to enjoy to tlie full the advantage which
I had purchased, there was no reason why he should
not. He accordingly stayed behind for a minute or
two, and when he rejoined me, was loaded with a
supply of the same plant, which he continued to
munch with much apparent relish as we pursued our
walk."* Mr. Drummond, however, it must not be
concealed, gives a somewhat different account, both
of the part wdiich is eaten and its flavour ; and as his
observations refer to the coast of Antrim, it is not
easy to account for the conflicting statements, except
by supposing some variation of taste in different
neighbourhoods or individuals. The latter gentleman
says, "It is often gathered for eating, but the part
used is the leaflets, and not the midrib, as is com-
monly stated. These have a very pleasant taste and
flavour, but soon cover the roof of the mouth with a
tenacious greenish crust, which causes a sensation
somewhat like that of the fut of a heart or kidney.
These leaflets are quite membranaceous when young,
but in full-grown plants are fleshy, and at their middle
a quarter of an inch or more in thickness " -j*

The Dulse of the Scottish coast, which was just
now described, must not be confounded with the
Dulse of the southern shores of England. This is a
very different plant {Iridece edulis), having little re-
semblance to it, except in being eatable. It consists
of a short stem expanding into an oval leaf, withoiit
rib or veins, sometimes a foot and a half long, and
eight or ten inches wide. It is thick and fleshy, of a
deep red hue, the surface smooth and glossy. It ia

• Bot. Ram., 279. t Mag. Zool. and Bot ii. 148.

40 THE OCEAN.

not frequently found, however, in a perfect state, the
specimens being generally torn and perforated in
every possible way. These defects have usually been
attributed to the munching of crabs, which are said
to be fond of it ; but Mr. Drummond is of opinion
that portions spontaneously separate from the frond
and drop out. Like many other Algce it diffuses,
when moist, a strong smell of violets. The fishermen
pinch the fleshy frond between heated irons, and eat
it ; its taste is said to resemble that of roasted oysters.
Its deep colour may yet be found useful in the arts :
Mr. Stackhouse observes,* " The most surprising
quality of this plant, and one that will probably
render it of service in dyeing, I discovered by acci-
dent. Having placed some of the leaves to macerate
in ssa-water, in order to procure seeds from it, I per-
ceived, on the second day, a faint ruby tint, very
different from the colour of the plant, which is a dull
red, inclining to chocolate colour. Being surprised at
this, I continued the maceration and the tint grew
more vivid, till at last it equalled the strongest infu-
sion of cochineal. This liquor was mucilaginous, and
had a remarkable property of being of a changeable
colour ; as it appeared a bright ruby when held to
the light, and a muddy saffron when viewed in a con-
trary direction : this probably arose from a mixture
of the frond in the liquor. I endeavoured to ascer-
tain its dyeing powers by the usual process without
success ; as the quantity of tinging matter was not
sufficient ; though if attempted at large, and properly

* Nereis Brit. p. 58, as quoted by Turner, Hist. Fucorum, ii. 113;
but I could not fiud the observation in Stackhouse.

THE SHOEES OF BRITAIN. 41

evaporated, it might be made sufficiently strong.
However, an ingenious chemical friend (the Eev. W.
Gregor) assures me he has procured a fine lake from
an infusion of it by means of alum."

One or two species of the genus Porphyra are
brought to our tables, stewed under the name of
Laver, and are thought a delicacy. ]\Ir. Drummond
informs us that P. laciniata, called Sloke in Ireland,
is gathered during the winter months only, the fronds
being too tough in the summer. After being properly
cleaned, it is stewed with a little butter, to prevent
its getting a burnt flavour, and is brought to Belfast,
where it is sold by measure usually at the rate of five-
pence per quart. Before being brought to table, it
is again heated with an additional quantity of butter
and io usually eaten with vinegar and pepper. P
vulgaris is worthy of notice on account of the extreme
difficulty with which it is presei-ved in a herbarium
in a complete state : " not that there is any difficulty
in spreading and going through the other steps of the
process, but because when it has nearly arrived at the
last stage of drying, a moment's exposure to the air
will cause it to contract so instantaneously, that the
edges of the paper are immediately drawn towards
each other; and if attempted to be restored without
(he whole being first damped, the specimen tears
through the middle, and becomes of little value. Tlie
edges of the plant adhere strongly to the paper when
dry, or nearly so ; but the centre does not adhere at
all, and being as fine as gold-beater's leaf, though
having considerable strength, it at once loses the little
moisture it possesses, on coming in contact with the

42 THE OCEAN.

air, and contracts with a force remaikable when we
consider its extreme thinness. If the paper be thin,
its four corners will in a moment be brous^ht almost
in contact with each other." The best method of ob-
viating this inconvenience is said to be, when we
suppose it is almost dry, to liave a flat book held
open, and the pressure being taken off, to remove the
specimen along with the drying-paper covering it,
as quickly as possible into the book, which must be
instantly shut, and not opened till the next day, or
till we know that it is thoroughly dry.*

There is a substance which has been lately intro-
duced as an article of commerce, intended as a substi-
tute for Iceland moss, and sold by the London
druggists by the name of Carrageen moss ; notwith-
standing its name, however, it is a true Alga, Chon-
drus crispus. It is an exceedingly variable species,
but its most usual form is that of a flat leaf, spreading
somewhat triangularly, or rather so as to give to its
outline the figure of one-fourth of a circle : the edge
is branched into numerous flat segments overlapping
one another. When viewed under water, in a grow-
ing state, it gives out beautiful prismatic hues, the
tips of all the segments appearing of the most bril-
liant azure hue. Containing a large quantity of
gelatine, it has been successfully applied, instead of
isinglass, in the making of blanc-mange and jellies.
A fucus, probably allied to tliis, found at the Cape of
Good Hope, is boiled into a jelly, and, being mixed
with sugar and the juice of lemons or oranges, makes
a very agreeable dish.

* Drummoud.

THE SHORES OF BRITAIN. 43

1 shall notice a few other Algce, remarkable either
for singularity or beauty, and then dismiss these
interesting tribes. The common Sea-thong {Himan-
thaVta lorea), so generally distributed, is worthy of
observation on account of its curious mode of growth.
From a shallow cup, affixed to the rock by a short
foot-stalk, spring two or three long, olive-coloured
straps, each of which becomes divided into two, and
each of tliese into two more, in succession : these
attain commonly the length of eight or ten feet, and
have been asserted to reach even twenty feet. The
thongs were formerly considered the fronds of this
species ; but it is now ascertained that the singular
cup is the true frond, and the thongs the receptacles
of the seed greatly lengthened. The surface of the
thone: is studded with tubercles, from which are
discharged the seeds, accompanied with much mucua,
through the pores. The cup of this species has been
occasionally observ^ed on exposed rocks, swollen into
a large hollow smooth black ball, exactly round,
perhaps caused by the heat of the sun rarefying and
expanding the contained air, or being perhaps the
indication of a diseased state of the plant.

A very remarkable form, and one of singular
beauty, is presented by the Peacock's tail {Padina
pavom'a), a species not uncommon, attached to rocks
at the bottom of still, and generally shallow, marine
pools with a muddy bottom. The fronds rise in form
of a rounded fan, of a yellowish-olive tint, elegantly
marked with concentric zones or bands, of a dark
brown. One side, and sometimes both, is generally
hoary, as if dusted with powder, and the outer edge

*4

THE OCEAN.

The Peacock's Tail {Padina pavonia).

is delicately fringed with exceedingly minute filaments,
which, in a living state, often reflect the prismatic
colours of the rainbow.

Perhaps the most lovely of all the Fuci is the
Delesseria savguinea, which is a common species. It
consists of several oblong-oval or pointed leaves, of
extreme delicacy, with the edges very much waved or
plaited, furnished with a midrib and side-veins, which
materially increase their leaf-like appearance ; tlie
colour is an exceedingly rich translucent rose-pink.
The midrib often throws out smaller leaves, which, if
the main frond be destroyed, soon attains its usual
size ; an interesting provision against the accidents
to which these apparently frail plants are necessarily
exposed. The fructification of this genus is curious,
as beins of a twofold character : both forms are found

THE SHOEES OF BKITAIN. 45

in the winter, affixed to the midrib, which alone
survives that season, the foliaceous part having all
decayed away. The onp mode is by means of nearly
globular capsules attached to the rib by short foot-
stalks, and inclosing many irregularly-shaped seeds ;
the other is by small membranaceous, leaf-like pro-
cesses, likewise containing seeds. These two kinds
of fructification occur on distinct individuals. This
charming fucus, of which no adequate idea can be
formed by a verbal description, retains much of its
beauty when dried, and is very easily preserved. It
is a pity that I am obliged to confess that its odour
is very unpleasant, being rank and pungent.

Some of those species, whose fronds are very deli-
cately and numerously ramified, have been used to
form mimic pictures. By skilful arrangement, very
pretty landscapes are thus made, the forms and foliage
of trees being beaiitifully imitated. The kinds most
commonly appropriated for this purpose are, Ploca-
mium coccineum and Gelidium cartilagineum, which
have a very beautiful effect if simply expanded on
smooth white paper, or on the pearly inner surface of
large shells. The whole sub-class Rhodos'permece, to
which these belong, is remarkable for brilliant hues,
and often elegant forms.

Lil<;e their kindred, the plants of the earth and air,
the sea-weeds have their parasites. As the Tillandsia
grows on the giants of the tropical forests, and as
the mistletoe grows upon the apple-tree of our own
orchards, so do some of these draw their nourishment,
or at least derive their support, from the fronds or
ctalks of others. Ptilota plumosa, for example, a

46

THE OCEAN.

delicately-feathered species, of a pink or purplish hue^
is found to be parasitical on the common tangle. It
is jnstly considered one of the ornaments of our
northern shores, hut is unknown in the south of
England, where it is represented by a kindred species,
F. sericea, which always grows on rocks. The former
must not be confounded with another elegant little
plant bearing the same specific name, but belonging

Bryofsis Plumosa.

to a different genus, Bryopsis plumosa. The tribe of
which the latter is a member is remarkable for its
delicacy : in the species now mentioned the main
stem is very slender, sometimes forming the midrib of
a single feather, and at others set with horizontally-
spreading branches, like a pine-tree, each of which is
most elegantly feathered. Its colour is a bright-grass

THE SHOllES OF BRITAIN. 47

green, and the whole surface shines as if it were
varnished. It is so delicate, that, in drying, the
colouring matter frequently contracts in the stem,
leaving interrupted spaces destitute of colour, and
perfectly transparent.

These are but a very few of the multitudinous sea-
weeds which would come under the notice of £.n
observant visitor to our own rocky shores ; yet how
manifold are the indications of infinite intelligence
and goodness even in these things proverbial for their
vileness ! And while we gratefully acknowledge the
Divine hand in such species as conduce to man's
sustenance or comfort, may we not, from the lavish
beauty and elegance of such as are of nc direct
benefit to us, legitimately draw the same consolatory
inference which the Saviour drew from the lovely
lilies at His feet ? If God so clothe these obscure
caverns and submerged rocks, will He not muJc more
care for those whom He has redeemed with the blood,
and conformed to the image of His Son ? Nor is the
relation which He sustains to these frail and perish-
ing weeds limited to an exertion of creative power.
All are marshaDed in order, each is provided inces-
santly with the requisite supplies for its welfare, and
each is assigned to that particular locality which suits
its habit of growth, and where alone it flourishes.
On this subject Mr, Neill observes, " On our open
shores a certain order is obsem^ed in the habitat of the
Fuci, each species occupying pretty regularly its own
zone or station. Chorda jilum, or Sea-laces, grows in
water some fathoms deep : in places where the tide
seldom entirely ebbs, but generally leaves from t^'o

48 THE OCEAN.

to three feet of water, grow Alaria esculenta and
Laminaria hulbosa, and the larger specimens of
L. digitata and saccharina, with some small kinds, as
Rliodomenia palmata, Halidrys siliquosa, and Deles-
seria sanguinea. In places uncovered only at the
lowest ebbs, smaller plants of L. digitata and saccha-
rina abound with Himanthalia lorea, or Sea-thongs.
On the beaches uncovered by every tide, F. serratus
occurs lowest down, along with CJwndrus crispus and
mammillosus ; next comes F. nodosus, and, higher up,
F. vesiculosus. Beyond this, F. canaliculatus still
grows, thriving very well if only wet at flood-tide,
and though liable to become dry and shrivelled during
a great part of the day. Lastly, Lichina pygmcea is
satisfied if it be within reach of the spray." *

In examining these Algte, and especially if we
collect them for preservation, we shall find very fre-
quently entangled among them, branches of a sub-
stance which adheres with so much tenacity as to
cause no little trouble in cleansing the specimens.
I refer to the common Coralline {Corallina offici-
nalis). No organic substances have more divided
naturalists in opinion as to their real nature than the
Corallines. Evidently placed on the very verge of
the animal or vegetable kingdom, it required a
minute acquaintance with their structure, derived
from the closest observation, and all the research
of modern science, to decide the long uncertain
question, and to fix them where they now by com-
mon consent hold their place, among the vegetable

* Edin. Eiicyc. Art. " Fuel." Host of the species here alluded to
I have described above.

THE SHORES OF BRITAIN.

49

tribes. The one of which I speak, and the most
common, being abundant on every rocky sliore, or-
dinarily presents, though subject to much variation,
tlie form of a spreading bushy tuft, from one to four
inches high, growing from a broad stony base, of a
shape more or less round. Each branch consists of
many short joints, a little broader at tlie upper than at
tlie lower end, which often send out other jointed
branches from each upper shoulder, as well as from
the centre. The joints are of a stony or rather shelly

Coralline {Corallina officinalis).

consistence, being chiefly a deposit of lime ; when
dead they are perfectly white, but in a living state
they assume a purplish tint. Linnaeus and many other
eminent men were deceived by this shelly appearance
into an opinion of their animal nature, maintaining
that animals alone ever produced lime. But on re-
moving the calcareous deposit, we perceive that it is
merely a crust enveloping an axis of an evidently

JB

50 THE 0CEA2f.

vegetable character. On placing the Coralline in
vinegar, or other weak acid, the lime is dissolved,
leaving the vegetable part coloured as before, which,
though continuous through its length, is constricted
at the parts which corresponded to the joints of the
crust, and looks very much like one of the jointed
Fuci. It is very common to see the broad base with-
out any jointed branches, for the former attains some
size before the latter shoot, and may be seen in this
state on almost every object between the range of
high and low tide. It first appears as a thin, round,
shelly patch of a purplish hue, on the shell of a
Mollusk, or the frond of a Fucus, or the smooth rock,
and gradually enlarges by additions at the edge, the
jDrogress of which is marked by concentric zones,
or rings of a paler tint, till it sometimes attains
several inches in diameter. It is tenacious of vi-
tality, and when the branches are all torn off by the
violence of the waves or other accidents, the base
still lives on, and becomes studded with roundish
knobs. This base, when growing on a soft calcareous
rock, will often increase much in thickness, without
showing any tendency to throw out its jointed
branches ; or in situations where it is long uncovered
by the tide, and exposed to the influence of the sun,
it becomes "a softish, white, leiwous crust." Its
ordinary form, however, is by far the most pleasing,
particularly when growing, as it delights tc do, on
the sides of the still, rocky pools already described,
its bushy tufts gracefully hanging over each other,
like weeping willows in miniature. Beyond its
"bea.uty I know not that this little creature has any

THE SHORES OF BRITAIN. 51

obvious claim to our consideration, except that, in
common with other sea-plants, it gives out oxygen,
and thus maintains the element in which it grows in
a state fit for the support of animal life. But this is
a service vastly important, and explains why the
" floor of the ocean " is covered, as it appears to
be, with such a profusion of vegetable life. And
here so wisely is the balance kept up between the
animals which absorb oxygen and the plants which
evolve it, that, perhaps, the world could not lose a
single species of either without derangement of the
existing order, which would be followed by manifest
inconvenience. Of course our Little Coralline cannot
do much to promote this object ; but that it does
exert some beneficial influence, we have evidence in
an experiment of Dr. Johnston's, whose researches on
these neglected tribes are so interesting. " Was there
a need," he observes, " of adding any additional proof
of the vegetability of the Corallines, an experiment
in progress before me would seem to supply it. It is
now eight weeks ago since I placed in a small glass
jar, containing about six ounces of pure sea-water, a
tuft of the living Corallina officinalis, to which were
attached two or three minute Confervce, and the very
}-oung frond of a green Ulva, while numerous Rissoce,
several little Mussels and Annelides, and a Star-fish,
were crawling amid the branches. The jar was
placed on a table, and was seldom disturbed, though
occasionally looked at ; and at the end of four weeks
the water was found to be still pure, the Mollusca
and other animals all alive and active, the Confervce
had grown perceptibly, and the Coralline itself had

E 2

52 THE OCEAN.

thrown out some new shoots, and several additional
articulations. Eight weeks have now elapsed since
the experiment was begun, — the water has remained
unchanged, — yet the Coralline is growing, and appa-
rently has lost none of its vitality ; but the animals
have sensibly decreased in number, though many of
them continue to be active, and show no dislike to
their situation. What can be more conclusive ? I
need not say that if any animal, or even a sponge,
had been so confined, the water would long before
this time have been deprived of its oxygen, would
have become corrupt and ammoniacal, and poisonous
to the life of every living thing." *

Who is not familiar with Sponge, — with its soft-
ness, its elasticity, its capacity of absorbing and re-
taining fluids, and other qualities which render it so
valuable in domestic economy ? And yet how few
are aware that it is the skeleton of an animal ! In
fact, Sponge is one of those dubious forms which God
has placed in the great system of Creation, on the
confines of the two great divisions of organic beings,
apparently having little in common with either.
Like the Corallines, the Sponges have afibrded occa-
sion for much controversy as to their proper position ;
but they are now pretty unanimously assigned to the
animal kingdom. The common Sponge of household
purposes [Spongia officinalis) is a native of the Medi-
terranean, but is much more familiar to us than our
native species, of which there are many. The ap-
pearance which it presents is that of an irregularly-
shaped mass, more or less rounded, composed of a

* British Sponges, p. 215.

THE SHOEES OF BRITAIN. 53

brown woolly substance, perforated by innumerable
pores in all directions, and having in addition, wide
canals communicatincr with each other, and terminat-
ing in round holes or mouths on the surface. But if
we take a small portion of the substance, and place
it under a common magnifying lens, we shall see that
it is composed of shining, horny, nearly-transparent
fibres, which, by uniting with each other at all angles
and distances, form a loose and very irregular net-
work. Now, when in a living state, every fibre was
enclosed in a coating of thin, clear jelly, which
formed the living animal, the horny fibres consti-
tuting, as I have intimated above, only the skeleton.
Imbedded in the substance of many species, some
British ones, for example, are found spicula, or
needle-like bodies resembling crystals, of pure flint,
varying much in shape in various kinds, while other
species have similar crystals of lime. Where these
occur in considerable numbers, the Sponge does not
possess elasticity : it may be crushed, but it will not
regain its original form. It is a singular fact, that
Sponges of these three different kinds are sometimes
found growing close to each other, and all alike
nourished by the same simple fluid, pure sea-water ;
yet they elaborate therefrom products so diiSerent as
horn, flint, and lime. The animal nature of Sponges
is not easily to be detected : it has been asserted,
indeed, that no indication of sensation has ever been
perceived in them when living, even though violence
in many modes has been offered to them ; though
beaten, pinched with hot irons, cut or torn, or sub-
jected to the action of the strongest acids. This,

54

THE OOEAN.

however, is now known to be incorrect : the existence
of ciliary action, controllable at varying intervals
has been proved by Dr. Dobie, and more abundantly
by Mr. Bowerbank ; while susceptibility to outward
assaults, and sudden contractility, have been proved by
myself to exist in some species. The substance may
be destroyed, but there is no contraction, nor the
slightest evidence of feeling ; to all appearance they
are as passive as the rock on which they grow. One
proof of their animality, however, is open to any
one : we are all familiar with a peculiar smell pro-
duced when horn, wool, feathers, &c. are burned ;
this smell arises from the presence of ammonia, and is
peculiar to animal matter : on burning a bit of
Sponge this animal odour is strongly perceptible.
On viewing a living Sponge, however, in water, witli
care and attention, it is found to exhibit a constant
and energetic action, which sufficiently shows its
vitality. Dr. Grant's account of his discovery of this
motion in a native species is so interesting, that,
though often quoted, I may be forgiven for repeating
it here. " I put a small branch of the Spongia
coalita, with some sea-water, into a watch-glass,
under the microscope : and on reflecting the light of a
candle through the fluid, I soon perceived that there
was some intestine motion in the opaque particles
floating through the water. On moving the watch-
glass, so as to bring one of the apertures on the side
of the Sponge fully into view, 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

THE SHORES OF BKITAIN. 55

succession, opaque masses, which it strewed every-
where around. The beauty and novelty of such a
scene in the animal kingdom long arrested my at-
tention ; hut after twenty-five minutes of constant
observation, I was obliged to withdraw my eye, from
fatigue, without having seen the torrent for one
instant change its direction, or diminish in the
slightest degree the rapidity of its course. I con-
tinued to watch the same orifice, at short intervals,
for five hours, sometimes observing it for a quarter of
an hour at a time ; but still the stream rolled on
with a constant and equal velocity."

Sponges, in general, appear to have little choice of
situation, but to grow wherever the young offset or
gemmule happens to drop, whether on the rock, on a
shell, or on a sea-weed. If two of the same species,
growing side by side, come into contact, their edges
unite, and the two form one mass, so perfectly one
that the most practised eye could detect no indication
of the Ime of union. On the contraiy, if the neigh-
bours be of different species, the edges adhere by
contact, but there is no union ; and both of the con-
tiguous edges will grow up far beyond their natural
level, like walls striving to overtop each other, until
the action of the waves prevents the continuance of
a mode of growth so unnatural. Dr. Johnston speaks
of two species of Sponge, which had become so inter-
mingled in growth, without being united, that, being
of different colours, they presented tlic appearance of
a coloured map. The same writer has ligured a much-
branched species {Haliclwndria oculata), growing on
tlie tack of a small crab ; the latter has a grotesque

56 TnE OCEAN.

appearance crawling under the perpetual shadow of its
own tree, the burden of whose weight, however, was
probably more than compensated by the protection it
afforded against enemies.

A singular little creature, called the Hermit Crab
[Pagurus), the hinder part of whose body is unpro-
tected, except by a soft skin, is endowed with an
instinct which prompts it to seek some univalve shell,
into which it thrusts its abdomen, henceforth using it
as a house. Now there is a species of Sponge found on
our coast [Halicliondria suherea), of a corky substance,
which grows on the surface of similar shells, over-
spreading and enveloping them ; and it so happens
that in the great majority of instances, if not in all,
the Sponge is found upon the individual shells in-
habited by the Hermit. Gradually and insensibly
the Sponge grows over the shell, and at length creeps
round the edge of the lip, and begins to line the
inside : the constant motion of the crab, who is very
active, retards the growth for a while, but eventually
the Sponge prevails, and the Hermit, finding l\is
premises becoming every day more and more -con-
tracted, is at length compelled to seek another lodging.
A proceeding very similar to this, but which the
Hermit crab finds rather to his advantage than dis-
comfort, takes place in the growth of a species of
incrusting Polype called Hydractima echinata. * This
Polype also very frequently grows on a shell selected
for a habitation by the little crab ; but as it grows it
does not line the shell, but becomes moulded, as

* For a description of this highly curidus little Zoophyte, see
'' Evenings at the Microscope," p. 402.

THE SHORES OF BRITAIN. 57

it were, to the form of the enclosed animal, thus in-
creasing the size and commodiousness of the dwell-
ing, and precluding the necessity of quitting the tene-
ment. ]\Ir. Gray remarks on this : — " One can under-
stand that the Crab may have the instinct to searcli
for shells on which the coral has begun to grow ; but
this will scarcely explain why we never find the coral
except on shells in which Hermit Crabs have taken
up their residence."

One of the most pleasing forms that are presented
by the Sponges, which are exceedingly various, is
that of a cup with a dilated foot ; it is about as large
as a tea-cup, but is more funnel-shaped, whence its
name {H. infundibulifonnis). A similar species from
the Indian seas, commonly called Neptune's Cup,
though much larger, is inferior to our little goblet in
neatness of appearance and sponginess of texture.

Our shores abound with examples of those astonish-
ing forms of animal life, the Polypes, both simple
and aggregated. The former, under the names of
Animal-flowers, and Sea-anemones, have attracted
general admiration from their intrinsic beauty, and
from their very close resemblance to composite
flowers. "When out of water, or reposing, they
usually take a semi-globular shape, adhering by a
broad base to the rocks, but some are somewhat
lengthened and cylindrical. The centre of the upper
surface is depressed, and there is evidently an aper-
ture which has been closed. "WHien seeking for prey
this orifice opens, by its edges turning inside out, as
it were, and dilates, until it is as wide as the base ;
while from within the outer rim protrude a multitude

58 THE OCEAN,

of flfishy organs, called tentacles, arranged in rows ex-
tending all round. In the centre of the expanding
disk is the real mouth, or opening into the stomach.
It is these tentacles, which, spreading around exactly
like the rays of an aster or marigold, give to the
Polype so striking a likeness to a flower. These
animals are exceedingly voracious ; though, when
closed, you would think them mere lumps of jelly-
like flesh, utterly helpless and incapable of any exer-
tion ; yet, when the tentacles are all expanded, no small
crab, or shrimp, or mussel, can even touch one of them
with impunity. These are so many hands put forth
to capture i)rey, and eminently are they furnished for
their work. Within the skin of these organs reside
countless multitudes of microscopically minute cells,
called cnidce. Each of these is an oblong bladder,
inclosing in its cavity a kind of wire of great length,
but closely coiled up. At the will of the animal, or
under certain sorts of stimulus, this coiled wire is
suddenly shot forth, and enters the flesh of the
animal to be seized. Thousands of these weapons
are projected at the same instant, and they are
curiously barbed, so that they cannot be withdrawn
when once they have penetrated. Besides this, the
wound is accompanied with the injection of some
fluid of most fatally poisonous power, so that the
creature assailed, though apparently of far more
vigorous strength than its sluggish opponent, almost
inevitably succumbs, and presently dies.

Meanwhile, other tentacles have come into contact
with the prey, and by their contraction it is dragged
across the disk to the mouth. The circular lip now

THE SHORES OF BRITAIN. 69

dilates greatly, and soon embraces the victim, which
is gradually but rapidly sucked down into the stomach,
and the lip closes over it. In the course of a period
varying from six hours to two or three days, the
morsel is returned by the same orifice, more or less
decomposed and digested.

]\Iost of the species are capable of very long fasts,
although voracious enough when food is to be ob-
tained. Dr. Johnston tells us of a specimen once
brought to him, " that might have been originally two
inches in diameter, and that had somehow contrived
to swallow a valve of the great Scallop {PecUn
maximiis), 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 tensely over, had become thin and flattened
like a pancake. All communication between the in-
ferior portion of the stomach and the mouth was of
course prervTnted ; yet, instead of emaciating and
dying of atrophy, the animal had availed itself of what
undoubtedly had been a very untoward accident, to
increase its enjoyments and its chances of double
fare. A new mouth, furnished with two rows of nu-
merous tentacles, was opened upon what had been the
base, and led to the under-stomach : the individual had
indeed become a sort of Siamese twin, but with
greater intimacy and extent in its unions ! " *

Some fifty or sixty species of Sea-anemones
exist on our shores, many of which are exquisitely
beautiful. Some are rare or local ; others are gene-
rally distributed and are very common. The south-
* Brit. Zooph. Ed. i., p. 224.

60 THE OCEAN.

western shores of England and Ireland are particu-
larly rich in these lovely creatures. The most
common of all is the Beadlet {Actinia mesembryan-
ihemuni), which is found sticking to rocks between
high and low tide, by scores or hundreds. It varies
much in colour, but the most common tints are dark-
red or liver-brown, and olive-green. Wlren out of
M'ater, and closed, they are delicately smooth, and
have the appearance of some plumji, pulpy fruit ; but
when covered by the sea their tentacles expand, and
then these organs are seen to be sun-ounded by a
series of blue or white beads, like a string of pearls,
whence the name of Beadlet.

Another species, almost equally abundant, but
much more likely to be overlooked, is the Dahlia
Wartlet {Tealia crassicorms). It is a good deal larger
than the former, and like it is very variable in colour.
The exterior is usually of a dull olive, or deep crim-
son, or apple green streaked with scarlet : the skin is
rough with warts, which have the power of attaching to
themselves bits of shell, gravel, &c., which they collect
in such quantities as to render them undistinguishable
from the beach ; and the concealment is the more
perfect from the fact that the animal generally chooses
for its residence the narrow angle between the foot of
some great mass of rock and the ground near low
water mark. Sometimes, however, this species is
seen congregated in groups of half-a-dozen or more
in a clear dark tide-pool ; and then the effect is most
gorgeous, for, as they are for the most part fully ex-
panded under such circumstances, their magnificent
great disks, generally of the richrtst scarlet, with thick

THE SHORES OF BEITAIN. 61

massive tentacles, often of the purest white, ringed
and banded with olive or purple, look like some
splendid flowers in a parterre, and tempt the hand
to pluck them.

Very closely allied to the Sea-anemones are the
Corals. We have two very beautiful species on the
coasts of north and south Devon — th(3 Cup Coral and
the Star Coral. These are, in fact, Anemones, with
this peculiarity : that the flesh has the power of de-
positing a skeleton of stone, which takes the form of
a circular wall or cup, with a number of upright
plates running from it towards the centre. In the
former of these species {Caryojyhyllia SmitJiii), the
upright plates converge regularly ; but in the other
[Balanojjhjllia regia), they run in threes, forming a
curious six-rayed star. The colours of both are ex-
quisitely beautiful.'"

Each of the animal-flowers yet mentioned, is a
distinct and independent animal ; but there are
many which, while they possess a general similarity
in structure to these, exist only in aggregated com-
munities, produced by the successive putting forth of
budding polypes from the original individual, which
remain permanently united, like the branches of a
tree, or the heads of an old mass of house-leek. Of
the plated Corals, we have one native species that is
compound, the Lopliohelia prolifera, a fine shrub-like
one from the Hebrides, but these are chiefly found in
the tropical seas. The teat-shaped bodies, familiarly

• For fuller particulars of the^e beautiful animals, the reader is
referred to my " History of the British Sea-Auemone.-," with
coloured figures of all the species.

62 THE OCEAN.

called by the fishermen Cows'-paps, when simple,
and Dead-man's toes, when branched, the Alcyonium
digitatum of zoologists, is a more common example,
but of another tribe. It consists of a cartilaginous
mass, capable of contraction, studded with orifices,
whence project little stars ^vith eight rays, which are
the expanded tentacles of the small Polypes that
may be familiarly said to inhabit the hollows. That
beautiful production, the Eed Coral, with other
kindred forms, is also a compound Polype. These
have generally a solid stem, partaking of the nature
of stone, and branch out in imitation of shrubs. The
stony or horny centre is, however, clothed with
gelatinous flesh, in which hollows occur at intervals,
occupied by minute star-shaped Polypes. The warty
White Coral {Gorgonia verrucosa), not uncommon on
some parts of our coast, is of this structure, having a
stony skeleton ; but in the beautiful Sea-fan (Fla-
hellum Veneris), the skeleton shows more the texture
of bone, or perhaps of horn : it is black, but is
clothed with flesh of a yellow colour, or sometimes
purple. From the ramifications being A^ery numerous,
and uniting with each other at short intervals, like
the meshes of a net, this species is a very beautiful
one. Its polypes, as in the other instances, have
ein-lit tentacles. This is said to have occurred on
the British shores, but it cannot be considered as a
native.

But more singular than either of these is the form
of a Polypidom, often brought up by fishermen,
attached to their baits, and by them called Cock's-
comb, or rather more appropriately, Sea-pen {Pen-

THE SHOEES OF BRITAIN.

G'.i

natula phosphor ea). It very closely resembles a broad
feather from two to three inches in length, and oi
a purplish colour. The lower part is cylindrical,
or nearly so, and represents the quill, and the tip
of this is tinged with orange. Above this the stem is
fringed on each side with very regular, flat, dentated
processes, diminishing gradually to the tip, represent-
ing the vane. Along the upper edge of each of these
pinnop. are placed the cells, inhabited by minuta

Sea-fan {Flabdlum Veneris), and Sea-pen {Pennatula phosphorea).

white, eight-rayed Polypes. The stem contains a
long, needle-shaped bone, very slender at each ex-
tremity, which is bent backwards so as to form a
hook. Some authors have affirmed that the Sea-pen
swims freely in the sea by the waving motion of its
pinnce ; but modern observ^ations tend to throw dis-
credit on this statement, which in itself seems im-

64 THE OCEAN.

probable : the fishermen atfirm that it abides with
its stem inserted in the mud at the bottom ; and
those which have been kept for observation have
remained at the bottom of the vessel, without anv
apparent power of even turning over on the other
side. This species, as its scientific name imports, is
one of the many animals that inhabit the sea, wliich
are endowed with the faculty of producing light :
in this instance, it appears from experiments that the
power is exerted as a means of defence, as only when
injured or irritated does the animal give out its light,
which is of a faint-bluish cast. Its sudden illumina-
tion at the bottom of the sea may have the effect of
terrifying some of its enemies, and of thus protecting
it from the dangers to which its otherwise helpless
frame would be exposed.

THE SHOEES OF BRITAiX.

CONTINUED.

Theee is one aspect in which, if we view the sea,
it speaks eloquently the beneficence of God to man ;
namely, as the source from whence he draws an inex-
haustible supply of wholesome and nourishing food.
And there is no nation more favoured in this respect
than Great Britain : the seas which surround us are
stocked with a vast variety of fishes, the great ma-
jority of which are eatable. Erom the form of our
coasts, there is always at some part access to the
sea, the wind which locks up the ports of one coast
leaving others free : the numerous bays, harbours,
and inlets offer a refuge to which to run in unfa-
vourable weather, as well as a market for the disposal
of the produce taken ; while the bold and hardy
character of our population qualifies them to take
advantage of a proffered source of profit, though not
unattended with risk. Accordingly, we find that the
fisheries afford to this country a revenue of great
value ; and an immense quantity of cheap animal
food is produced by them, the importance of whicli
can hardly be overrated. The prosperity of Holland
is notoriously founded upon the zeal, industr}--, and
success with which her sons have prosecuted the
herring-fishery ; a fact wliich is announced in the
well-known Dutch saying, "The city of Amsterdam

F

66 THE OCEAN.

is built upon herring-bones :" and though, from the
superiority of our internal resources, we are not
compelled to give so undivided an attention to the
scaly tenants of the deep as they have been, we may
still assert, that on a similar base stand many of our
important seaport towns. Let us then examine these
finny tribes, which come so strongly recommended to
our notice, and see if we cannot discover in their
formation and economy evidences of that all-per-
{^ading wisdom and goodness of which we have had
occasion before to speak.

An intelligent observer can scarcely fail to be
struck with the perfect adaptation of fishes for swift
motion through a dense fluid. The form most suited
for rapid progression is that of a spindle, swelling in
the middle and tapering to the extremities : and this
is the general form of fishes. The variations from this
normal shape are comparatively rare, and consist
chiefly in the lengthening of the body, as in the Eels,
or in the widening of its diameter perpendicularly, as
in the Dory, and the Flat-fishes, or horizontally, as in
the Skates. But in these cases, and similar ones, the
exceptions are made to suit variations in habit, for
the Skates and Flat-fishes are intended not for rapid
swimming, but for lying flat upon the bottom ; while
the worm-like form of the Eels enables them to insi-
nuate themselves with facility through the mud and
ooze, or even to leave the water and crawl upon the
shore. Still, however, in both, the usual form is to be
traced, the central part of the body being the widest
and the extremities being pointed. The facility of
motion possessed by fishes is partly dependent on

THE SHORES OF BRITAIN. 67

their simplicity of figure, the absence of those pro-
minent limbs which project from the bodies of most
other vertebrate animals ; the head, without any
visible neck, merging into the rounded body, which
terminates in the tail in an almost unbroken outline,
for the fi.ns are usually so slight and membranous in
their texture as scarcely to diminish this unity of
form. The smooth and glittering armour in which
these animals are for the most part invested, tends to
tlie same end. Feathers or fur would greatly impede
progress through water ; and as the tribes of fishes
are what is commonly called cold-blooded, or of
nearly the same temperature as the fluid that sur-
rounds them, those non-conductors of heat would be
of no service, the animal heat necessary for existence
not being liable to be abstracted. In place of those
clothing substances, the fish's body is encased in a
coat of mail formed of many pieces of similar shape,
of a transparent horny substance, which are imbedded
in the skin on the side next the head, and overlap
the succeeding ones at the posterior edge, like the
tiles of a house. It is obvious how beautifully and
effectually this formation precludes any impediment
in swimming, arising from the free edges of the scales.
These are so closely pressed on each other, that the
water cannot penetrate, and are covered, moreover,
in many fishes, with a glutinous slime, which water
does not dissolve. The scales of fishes afford objects
of very beautiful structure when viewed with a
microscope. They are various in their form ; those
from different parts of the body not being quite alilce
even in the same fish. They are not perfectly flat,

F 2

68

THE OCEAN.

but take the form of a very flattened cone, of wliich
the apex is usually a little behind the middle.
Between this point and the edge there is a great
number of concentric flutings, too fine, as well as too
near each other, to be readily counted ; and it is
presumed that each of these lines indicates a stage in
the growth of the scale ; that the scale is increased,
perhaps annually, or perhaps oftener, by a deposit
of horny matter on the surface next the skin, each
of wliich deposits exceeds in diameter that which

Scales of Fishes.

preceded it, by a very minute amount on every side.
The concentric lines are often traversed by other
lines, diverging with great regularity from the apex.
The edges are sometimes cut into points, scallops,
or waves, of exquisite symmetry ; the surface is often
variously sculptured ; and the whole presents a
specimen of the most elaborate workmanship, worthy
of the Divine hand that formed it. The scales of
some fishes are so minute as to be with difficulty

THE SHOEES OF BEITAIN, C9

distingiiisLable ; such as those of the Eel : to procure
these for microscopical examination, " take a piece of
the skin of the Eel that grows on the side, and while
it is moist spread it on a piece of glass, that it ma y
dry very smooth ; when thus dried, the surface will
appear all over dimpled or pitted by the scales, wliich
lie under a sort of cuticle, or thin skin : this skin
may be raised with the sharp point of a penknife,
together with the scales, which will then easily slip
out, and thus you may procure as many as you
please." *

The limbs of fishes differ greatly in appearance
from those of terrestrial animals ; consisting, as to
the portion external to the body, of slender spines,
sometimes cartilaginous and jointed, at others bony
and simple, united by means of a thin membrane
stretched from one to the other. Generally there
are two pairs on the under part of the body, which
are called the pectoral and the ventral fins, and
represent respectively the fore and hind legs of
quadrupeds, or the wings and feet of a bird. Besides
these, there are one or more perpendicular fins along
the back, called the dorsal, and one below the body,
near the tail, called the anal ; but the main instru-
ment of motion is the broad, perpendicular fin, which
terminates the body, often called the tail, but, more
con-ectly, the caudal or tail fin. To rightly under-
stand the motions of a fish, we must bear in mind
that it is immersed in a fluid which is of little less
specific gravity than its own body ; but in order to
regulate its own weight, it is in general provided with

* Martin's Microcrapljia Nova, p. 29.

70 THE OCEAN.

an internal bladder filled with air, and furnished
with muscles for its compression or expansion ; by
the former process rendering its body heavier, and by
the latter lighter than the water. It is true there are
many fishes which are destitute of the air-bladder ;
but these are, for the most part, ground fishes, which
reside habitually upon the bottom, rarely swimming
to any distance. The tail, as was observed, is the
grand organ of progression ; and most of the muscles
of the body are so inserted upon the joints of the
spine as to give the greatest possible energy to the
motions of this organ. Its expansion is vertical, and
its motion is only horizontal from right to left : so
that, striking the water on either side with great force,
the fish shoots rapidly forward in tlie direction of
the line of the body, but cannot, by its means, ascend
or descend. Tlie direction of a fish's motion is
governed by the pectoral and ventral fins, which aid,
likewise, in balancing the body, and obviate the
tendency to turn belly uppermost, a position which
a dead fish assumes, from the weight of the muscular
back being superior to that of the hollow and air-
filled belly. There is considerable diversity in the
depth of water which different species of fishes habit-
ually inhabit ; and this depends, in a great measure,
on the position of the ventral fins. Such as mainly
reside at or near the surface have them so placed
that the centre of the body shall fall nearly midway
between them and the pectorals. Those whose habits
lead them to range to great distances without any
^laterial change in their depth of water, have the
ventral fins placed far back on the belly, as the

THE SHORES OF BRITAIN. 71

Herring and the Salmon ; while those which feed at
the bottom in deep water, but yet have considerable
power of swimming, such as the Cod, require the
ventrals to be situated near the head, sometimes even
in advance of the pectorals, in order to act with
rapidity and effect upon the fore part of the body,
which is usually heavy in such fishes. The Flat-fishes
and Skates, in which the ventrals are little developed,
and the Eels, in which they are wanting, rarely quit
the ground, but grovel on the mud in shallow water.
Many fishes have certain spines of the fins developed
into stiff and formidable weapons, and others have
equally effective armour placed upon the gill-covers,
the sides of the body, or the tail. With these, which
are usually jointed, and which the fish has the power
of erecting stifily, and of directing with considerable
precision, it sometimes inflicts severe wounds on the
incautious fisherman, as well as on its opponent in
the battles with its own hind, which often occur.
The little Stickleback {G aster osteus), which abounds
all round the coast, as well as in our fresh waters, is
armed with sharp spines on the back and sides, which
it wields like a perfect tyrant. " When a few are
first turned into a tub of water, they swim about in
a shoal, apparently explorirjg their new habitation.
Suddenly one will take possession of a particular
corner of the tub, or, as it will sometimes happen, of
the bottom, and will instantly commence an attack
upon his companions ; and if any one of them ven-
tures to oppose his sway, a regular and most furious
battle ensues ; the two combatants swim round and
round each other with the greatest rapidity, biting;

72 THE OCEAN.

and endeavouring to pierce each other with then
spines, which on these occasions are projected. I
have witnessed a battle of this sort which lasted
several minutes before eitlier would give way ; and
when one does submit, imagination can hardly con-
ceive the vindictive fury of the conqueror ; who, in
the most persevering and unrelenting way, chases his
rival from one part of the tub to another, until fairly
exhausted with fatigue. They also use their spines
with such fatal effect, that, incredible as it may
appear, I have seen one during a battle absolutely
rip his opponent quite open, so that he sank to the
bottom, and died. I have occasionally known three
or four parts of the tub taken possession of by as
many other little tyrants, who guard their territories
with the strictest vigilance, and the slightest invasion
invariably brings on a battle." * The Sting-rays
{Trygo7i), which are furnished with a hard and sharp
spine with toothed edges, near the base of the tail, are
accustomed to twist their long and flexible tail around
their enemy, while they inflict severe wounds with
the barbed spine. The Common Skates (Baia), on
the other hand, which have the tail studded with rows
of curved horny thorns, when irritated, are said to
bend the body nearly into a circle, and to dash about
the armed tail with violence in all directions.

The goodness of God is manifest in the gregarious
habits of most of those fishes which constitute an
important article of human food, in the innumerable
individuals of which the shoals are composed, and
in the fecundity by which the populousness of these

* Mag. Nat. Hist. iii. 329.

THE SHOKES OF BRITAIN. 73

slioals are maintained. Nine millions of eggs have
been ascertained to exist in the roe of a single Cod,
and the hosts of this, and other species, which during
the fishing-season crowd our shores, are utterly beyond
human calculation. These swarms were formerly
believed to perform vast annual migrations in military
order from the Polar regions in spring, and back
again to their homes " beneath the ice " in the autumn.
The groundlessness, and even absurdity of this notion
has been shown, and it is now generally known, that
the fishes are at no part of the year more than a few
miles distant from the coast, but that on the approach
of warm weather an unerring instinct teaches them,
as by a common impulse, to seek the shallows near
the shore, in order to deposit their spawn within the
vivifying influence of the summer sun. This grand
business of life being accomplished, they again retire,
not to the Arctic ice, but to the deep water of the
ofling, where they may again vo\e in freedom and
conscious security. And this is an admirable ordi-
nation of Divine Providence, that these tribe are
thus periodically brought within the reach of man
precisely at the season when they are in the highest
condition, and therefore most wholesome, as well as
most agreeable. For they come from the deep water
fat, and in full health and vigour ; but after liaving
spawned they return sickly and poor, to recruit their
exhausted strength.

The herring family [Chipeadce), including the com-
mon Herring, the Pilchard, the Sprat, the Shad, &c.,
are the most important objects of our fisheries, and
particularly the first-named two species.

74 TiTK OCEAN.

The fishery for the Pilchard is carried on almost
exclusively iu the counties of Cornwall and Devon ;
the Herring is more generally diffused, but the
greatest numbers taken are on the shores of Scotland
and the adjacent islands. Some idea of the com-
mercial importance of these two animals may be
formed from the facts, that between three and four
hundred thousand barrels of Herrings are sometimes
cured in a single year in Great Britain alone, besides
all that are sold while fresh ; and that ten thousand
hogsheads of Pilchards have been taken on shore in
one port in a single day, " thus providing," says
Mr. Yarrell, " the enormous multitude of twenty-five
millions of living creatures drawn at once from the
ocean for human sustenance. The shoals of Herrings
are occasionally known to approach the shore with so
headlong an impetuosity as to be unable to regain
deep water, and are stranded upon the beach in im-
mense numbers. Mr. Mudie has described such an
incident. " The rocky promontory at the east end of
the county of Fife, off which there lies an extensive
reef or rock, sometimes has that effect, and there
have been seas [seasons ?j in which, when the difficul-
ties of the place were augmented by a strong wind at
south-east, that carried breakers upon the reef, and a
heavy surf along the shore, the beach for many miles
has been covered with a bank of Herrings several
feet in depth, which, if taken and salted when first
left by the tide, would have been worth many
thousands of pounds, but which, as there was not a
sufficient supply of salt in the neighbourhood, were
allowed to remain putrefying on the beach until the

THE SHORES OF BRITAIN. 75

farmers found leisure to cart them away as manure..
One of these strandings took place in and around the
harbour of the small town of Crail only a few yeara
ago. The water appeared at first so full of Herrings
that haK a dozen could be taken by one dip of a
basket. Numbers of people thronged to the water's
edge, and fished with great success ; and the public
crier was sent through the town to proclaim that
' caller herrin,' that is, Herrings fresh out of the sea,
might be had at the rate of forty a penny. As the
water rose the fish accumulated, till numbers were
stunned, and the rising tide was bordered with fish,
with which baskets could be filled in an instant. The
crier was, upon this, instructed to alter his note, and
the people were invited to repair to the shore, and
get Herrings at one shilling a cart-load. But every
successive wave of the flood added to the mass of
fish, and brought it nearer to the land, which caused
a fresh invitation to whoever might be inclined to
come and take what Herrings they chose, gratis. The
fish still continued to accumulate till the height of
the flood, and when the water began to ebb, they re-
mained on the beach. It Avas rather early in the
season, so that warm weather might be expected ;
and the eftluvia of many putrid fish might occasion
disease ; therefore the corporation offered a reward
of one shilling to eveiy one who would remove a full
cart-load of Herrings from that part of the shore
which was under their jurisdiction. The fish being
immediately from the deep water, were in the highest
condition, and barely dead. All the salt from the
town and neighbourhood was instantly put in rcqm-

76 t:ie ocean.

sition, Lut it did not suffice for the thousandth part of
the mass, a great proportion of which, notwithstanding
some not very successful attempts to carry off a few
sloop-loads in bulk, was lost." *

The Herring appears on our shores in the middle
of summer, but seems to approach the coast of Scot-
land earlier ; for in Sutherland the fishery commences
in June, and in Cromarty even so early as jNIay,
while the Yarmouth season rarely begins till Septem-
ber. They are taken chiefly by means of drift-nets,
and by far the majority are cared : in the first part of
the season, however, they are often so rich as to be
unfit for salting, and these are sold for consumption
while fresh. About the month of November the
shoals spawn, and are then unfit for eating, and the
fishery ceases. As is universally known, there are
two modes of curing this fish, producing what are
called white and red herrings. The former requiring
only to be placed in barrels with salt, the process can
be performed in the fishing-craft ; consequently the
vessels for this fishery are larger, being qualified to
keep the sea« Eed heixings, however, require a much
more elaborate process, which cannot be performed
on board, and the procuring of them is essentially a
shore fishery. The Yarmouth men confine themselves
to this branch. They sprinkle the fish with salt, and
lay them in a heap on a stone or brick floor, where
they remain about six days ; they are then washed,
and spitted one by one on long wooden rods, which
pass through the gills ; great care is required that
they may not touch each other as they hang ; the

■* Brit. Naturalist.

IHE SHOEES OF BEITAIN.

i t

TARMOUTH JETTY, IN THE HERRING FISHERY.

rods are then suspended on ledges, tier above tier,
from the top of the house to within eight feet of the
ground ; a fire is then kindled and fed with green
wood, chiefly oak or beech, and maintained with
occasional intermissions, for about three weeks, or, if
the fish are intended for exportation, a month ; the
fire is then extinguished, and the house allowed to
cool, and in a few days the herrings are barrelled.

Next in importance to the members of the above
valuable family, is the jNIackerel, the most elegantly
beautiful of the finny tribes that throng our shores.
It is in season earlier than the Herring, usually
appearing in spring, and the fishery is prosecuted in

78 THE OCEAN.

May and June, as in the latter month it spawns. It
occurs in most abundance in the southern part of the
kingdom, the coasts of Kent and Sussex being the
chief stations of the fishery. Tlie Mackerel is taken
principally by nets, which are so set as to arrest the
fish while roving about during the night ; many, how-
ever, are taken by means of the hook, the favourite
bait being a strip of flesh cut from the tail of a
fresh Mackerel, or, in default thereof, a bit of red
cloth ; the fish bite most readily when the boat is
sailing rapidly before the wind. The value of this
fish depends, in a more than common degree, on its
freshness ; and hence it is important that no time be
lost in conveying it to market. Fast-sailing boats
are therefore kept in readiness to convey the cargoes
to London as soon as caught, which usually find it
advantageous to secure the aid of steam in ascending
the river, as the loss of a single tide may diminish
the value of the cargo one half, or even render it
utterly unsaleable. During the season, not less than
one hundred thousand are thus brought to Billings-
gate per week.

The preceding species coming in swarming shoals
into the shallow waters are usually taken by nets :
but the Cod, another very valuable fish having dif-
ferent habits, is taken singly, by hook and line. It
does not appear that the Cod is gregarious from
choice ; or in any other sense than that of many
individuals independently actuated by a similar mo-
tive, flocking to any place where food is plentiful.
The Cod rarely comes into the shallows ; but haunts
the deep water, feeding at the rocky bottom, on

THE SH0EP:S of BRITAIN.

79

\^i'

JIACKEKEL-BOAT OFF HASTINGS.

marine worms, Crustacea, and shelled mollusca. It
is a voracious fish. Mr. Couch records having taken
thirty-five crabs, none of them less than a half-crown
piece, from the stomach of a single Cod : his greedi-
ness is often his own destruction and the fisherman's
advantage, for it induces him readily to seii^e the bait.
It is most abundant on the north and west coasts
of Scotland, but is taken in considerable plenty all
round the coasts of our island. In some of the
Hebrides there are large pools for the presentation of
sea-fishes, hollowed out of the solid rock, and com-
municating with the sea by narrow clefts at high tide.
Great numbers of Cod-fishes are kept in these vivaria,
and are fed with various garl.iage, or the bodies of
other fishes. Tlie stock is replenished by casting in

80 THE OCEAN.

such individuals as arp. but slightly injured by the
hook in fishing, while small ones, or such as are
lacerated, are thrown into the same receptacle, as food
for their more fortunate brethren. There are two
modes of capturing the Cod with the hook, the one is
with what are called in Cornwall bulters, which are
long lines, to which are attached, at regular distances,
other lines six feet in length, each bearing a hook ;
the intervals are twice the length of the small lines,
to prevent their intertwining ; these are shot across
the course of the tide. The other mode is by hand-
lines, of which each fisherman holds two, one in each
hand, and each line bears two hooks at its extremity,
which are kept apart by a stout wire going from one
to the other. A hea^^ leaden weight is attached
near the hooks, and thus the fisherman feels when his
bait is off the ground. He continually jerks them up
and down, and is thus aware of a fish the moment it
is secured. Although this seems a somewhat tedious
process of fishing compared with the immense
drauo-hts of the net, it is found in skilful hands to be
productive : eight men on the Doggerbank have
taken eighty score of Cod in a day. It is a heavy
fish : Pennant records one which weighed 78 lbs.,
but this was a giant ; it was sold at Scarborough for
one shilling ! The fish are brought to the mouth of
the Thames in stout cutters, furnished with wells, in
which they remain alive ; hence they are sent up in
portions to Billingsgate by the night-tide. The cutters
lie at Gravesend ; for if they were to advance any
higher up the river, the admixture of fresh water
would kill the fish in the wells. The liver of the Cod

THE SHORES OP BRITAIN. 81

is nol tfie least valuable part of its body, because it
melts almost entirely away into a clear oil, much used
in manufactures, and, of late years, in the medical
treatment of pulmonary diseases.

There is a family of fishes familiar to us, which are
worthy of a moment's notice, not only on account of
tlieir importance as objects of commercial speculation,
but for their singuUir and unparalleled deviation
from the ordinary structure. These are the Flat-
fishes (Pleuronectidce), comprising the Turbot, Plaice,
Sole, and some others. Their form is very deep, but
at the same time very thin, and they are not consti-
tuted to swim as other fishes do, with the back upper-
most, but lying on one side. They reside wholly
upon the bottom, shuffling along by waving their
flattened bodies, fringed with the dorsal and anal fins ;
and as they are somewhat sluggish in their move-
ments, they need concealment from enemies. This
is afforded to them by the side which is uppermost
being of a dusky brown hue, undistinguishable from
the mud on which they rest ; and so conscious are
they where their safety lies, that when alarmed, they
do not seek to escape by flight, like other fishes, but
sink down close to the bottom, and lie perfectly
motionless. Even the practised eye of the turbot-
fisher, with his powers sharpened by interest, fails to
detect a fish when thus concealed ; and he is obliged
to have recourse to another sense, tracing lines upon
the mud with an iron-pointed j)ole, that the touch
may discover the latent fish. In the structure of the
head, again, there is a peculiar and very remarkable
provision for the wants of the creature. If the eyes

G

82

THK OCEAN.

were place d, as in all other animals, one on each side
of the head, it is plain that the Flat-fishes, habitually
grovelling in the manner described, would be deprived
of the sight of one eye, which being always buried
in the mud, would be quite useless. To meet this
difficulty the spine is distorted, taking, near the head,
a sudden twist to one side ; and thus the two eyes

TUUBOT-BOAT OFF SCARBOROUGH.

are placed on the side which is kept uppermost, where
both are available. The inferior side of a Flat-fish
is always white. The Turbot is the most highly
esteemed of this family, and perhaps of all our fishes,
the flesh being of very delicate flavour, The Sole i..
also a valuable fish. Both of these species are taken
chiefly by trawl-nets, but the former is also caught
with the hook.

THE SHOllES OF BRITAIN. H^i

The Crustaceous and Testaceous classes afford em-
ployment to a considerable number of our population,
and demand our brief attention. Of the former, the
chief species selected for food in this country are, the
Crab, the Lobster, the Prawn, and the Shrimp. Both
our salt and fresh waters, however, contain multitudes
of other species, some of which are exceedingly curious
in structure and form. The Crustacea, like insects,
have no internal skeleton ; but instead of it, are
encased in a jointed framework, resembling the plate
armour of our forefathers, of a texture between shell
and bone. The muscles which move the body are
attached to the interior of this crust, as our muscles
are attached to the bones. The body consists mainly
of two parts ; the fore-division contains the head and
chest, covered with a large single plate, and the
hinder, the belly covered with several smaller plates,
joined by a tough skin, and lapping over each other.
As this shelly covering is possessed by the animal
from its very birth, it is natural to inquire how it can
possibly increase in size, seeing it is enclosed in an
unyielding prison. In the Tortoises, which are some-
what similarly encased, the difficulty is met by a
periodical addition to the anterior surface of every
plate a little wider in diameter than the one before,
thus enlarging the capacity of the aggregated plates,
together with the enlargement of each plate ; and
this, as I have already observed, is the mode by which
the scales of a fish grow. But from the shaj^e and
size of the plates on a Crab or a Lobster, and espe-
cially of the great one that envelops the chest, this

mode of growth would not answer the purposa

G 2

8-t THE OCEAN.

Another contrivance is resorted to, of a character
perfectly unique ; one of those contrivances that meet
us at every turn in the study of Nature, and that
make it so interesting and instructive, as manifesting
the infinite resources of the Mighty God. "VVlien the
Crustacean finds that from its increasing size it is
bound and pressed by its shelly covering, it retires
to some hole or cranny for protection, becomes sickly,
and refuses to eat. After pining awhile, the softer
parts separate from the inside of the crust, even the
muscles becoming detached from the skeleton, and
take up a much smaller bulk than before : a tliick
skin forms over this soft body, replacing the crust,
and then the great shield of the chest is thrown off
unbroken, and the other plates of the body follow.
This seems plain : but it is not so easy to understand
how the process is completed. Every one who has
looked at a Crab's claw, knows that in a healthy
animal it is filled with flesh, that the inside is capa-
cious, but that the joints are very small : now, how is
the animal to get its flesh freed from this capacious
boot ? One would readily say, by splitting it into
two portions ; but on examining the cast-off claws,
which are frequently met with, no split or separation
can be discovered. Only recently has the question
been satisfactorily solved ; but, from some observa-
tions of my own, I have reason to believe that
through the wasting away of the limbs from sickness
and fasting, they become so diminished in size as to
be drawn even through the narrow orifices of the
joints. Every part of the old shell being thus thrown
off, antennte, eyes, jaws, and all, the animal fills its

THE SHORES OF BRITAIN. 85

body with water, dilating all the parts to a size much
exceeding that of the old shel-1, which the new sldn,
yet soft and flexible, readily permits. It is necessary
that this inflation of the body should take place when
newly freed, because the skin immediately begins to
grow rigid, by lime being deposited in its substance
secreted within the body, and rapidly takes the
texture and consistence of the shell just rejected.
The appetite now returns, and abundance of food soon
restores the enlarged animal to its wonted vigour.

The Crabs, of which there are many species, have
the shield of the chest very large and flat, and usually
wider than long : the plates of the belly are small,
and folded under the body out of sight. The great
pincers or claws have considerable muscular power,
and are covered, especially at the extremities, with a
shell of almost stony hardness. The Crab wields
these formidable weapons with much dexterity, and
if he obtains a grasp, holds his opponent with perse-
vering tenacity, so that he is not to be despised in
single combat. Mr. jNIudie tells an amusing anec-
dote illustrative of this habit. " We remember,"
says he, " an instance in which, but for timely assist-
ance, the corporation of a royal borough would have
been dej)rived of its head, through the retentive
clutching of a Crab. The borough alluded to is
situated on a rocky part of the coast, where shell-fish
are so very abundant that they are hardly regarded
for any other purpose than as bait for the white
fishery. The official personage was a man of leisure ;
and one favourite way of filling up that leisure was
the capture of Crabs, which, after much care, he had

86 THE OCEAN.

learned to do by catching tliem in the holes of the
rocks, so adroitly, as to avoid their formidable pincers.
One day he had stretched himself on the top of a
rock, and thrusting his arm into a crevice below, got
hold of a very large Crab ; so large, indeed, that he
was unable to get it out in the position in which it
had been taken. Shifting his position in order to
accommodate the posture of his prey to the size of the
aperture, he slipped his hold of the Crab, which im-
mediately made reprisals by catching him by the
thumb, and squeezing with so much violence, that he
roared aloud. But though there be a vulgar opinion,
of course an unfounded one, that Lobsters are apt to
cast their claws, through fear, at the sound of thunder
or of great guns, the thundering and shouting of the
corporation man had no such effect upon the Crab.
He would gladly have left it to enjoy its hole ; but it
would not quit him, but held him as firmly as if he
had been in a vice ; and though he rattled it against
the rocks with all the power that he could exert,
which, pinched as he was by the thumb, was not
great, yet he was unable to got out of its clutches.
But, ' tide waits for no man,' even though his thumb
should be in a Crab's claw ; and so the flood returned,
until the greater part of the arm was in water, and
the ripple even beginning to mount to the top of the
rock, which, as the tides were high at that particulai
time, was speedily to be at least a fathom under
water . and destruction seemed inevitable. A towns-
man, who had been following the same fishery with
an iron hook at the end of a stick, fortunately came
in sight ; and by introducing that, and detaching tlie

THE SHOIJES OF BRITAIN.

S7

other pincer of the Crcab, which is one of the common
means of making it let go its hold, he restored the
ofiicial personage to land and life."*

The fisherman, however, prefers another mode of
taking Crabs, than by seeking them in their rocky-
retreats. He nses pots made of wicker-work, with
an opening in the top, made by the ends of the rods,
bent inwards, and converging towards a point ; their
elasticity allowing a Crab to enter readily enough,

CUAB-POTS.

but causing them to spring back to their first posi-
tion when he is in, presenting only their converged
points when he wishes to escape ; the entrance being
in the top of the pot, moreover, he cannot well get at
it when once inside. Some decaying animal matter
is ])ut in l)y wny of bait, which is an unfailing temp-

* Brit. Naturalist, i. 279.

88 THE OCEAN.

tation to the Crab's palate, and the pot is sunk in
deep water by means of a heavy stone. A line
attached to a float on the surface of the water, marks
the situation of each pot, and prevents mistakes as
to property.

The Lobster is cauirht in the same manner as tlie
Crab, and both are in great demand for the delicacy
of their flesh. A very large proportion of those
eaten in England are brought from Norway. At first
there does not seem much in common in the form of
these two animals, except that both are furnished
with pincers ; but on examination, we shall find that
both are constructed on the same model. The shield
of the chest which was broad and flat in the Crab, is
long and arched in the Lobster ; and the belly, which
was thin, small, and folded out of sight, under tlie
body, is in the latter much larger, and though bent,
may be extended, and is terminated by fringed horny
plates like a fin : the antennae, or horn-like processes
of the heail, are veiy long. Thus we perceive, and
there are many other examples which might be ad-
duced, that it has pleased God to vaiy the forms of
created beings, not by making each on a separate and
independent plan, but by creating certain forms,
which are viewed as types or models, and vaiying the
parts, common to many species, in detail. The one
mode would have been as easy as the other ; there
can be no gradations of facility in creation to Omni-
potence ; but doubtless He had wise ends in view in
thus proceeding, tliough we may fail, from ignorance,
in discerning them. Probably one reason may have
been the formation of one harmonious whole out of

THE SHORES OF J'.EITATN.

89

the multitude of living creatures, which could not
have been formed had every one been essentially
dilTerent from all others. But, as it is, we see that
deviations in structure and form are gradual, that
one species varies but little from a certain type,
another varies a little more, and so on ; thus connect

ing each with each in a most beautiful order, some-
thing like the manner in which the links of a chain
hang from each other, or perhaps still more, like an
immense number of circles, so arranged as to touch
other circles in many parts of their circumference.
Goldsmith flippantly asserts, that the Shrimp and
the Prawn "seem to be the first attempts wliich

90 THE OCEAN.

Nature made when she meditated the formation of
the Lobster." Such expressions as these, however,
are no less unphilosophical than they are derogatory
to God's honour ; these animals being in an equal
degree perfect in their kind, equally formed by con-
summate wisdom, incapable of improvement, each
filling its own peculiar place in its own circle, which
the others could not fill.

The Shrimp and Prawn, like the Lobster, have the
extremity of the body furnished with broad overlap-
ping plates, strongly fringed, which, expanding in
the shape of a fan, constitute a powerful fin. The
body, a little behind the middle, has a remarkable
bend downwards, though it may be brought nearly
straight. Their motion when swimming is very
swift, and in a backward direction, and is performed
by striking the water forcibly with tlie tail-fin, the
body being in a bent position. The Lobster is said
to project itself thus, by a single impulse, upwards
of thirty feet, and to dart through the water with
the fleetness of a bird upon the wing. The Shrimp
frequents the shallows, and congregates in numerous
shoals, which often leap from the surface. The
capture of them is usually left to the children of the
fishermen, who, wading in the shoal water, with a
net fixed at the end of a pole, take them with much

ease.

Under the appellation of Shell-/.^7i are familiarly
included animals having little connexion with each
other, and still less with fishes. The Fish, the Crab,
and the Oyster belong, in fact, to three of the grand
sections into which the animal kingdom is distri-

THE SIIOHES OF Bi;[TAIN. 91

butcd ; and tliough the last two agree in being in-
vested with what is, in common parlance, called " a
shell," yet the crust of the one bears no analogy in
form, structure, or composition, to the shell of the
other. Again : those animals which, like the Oyster,
are covered with true calcareous shells, differ greatly
from each other : some, as the Periwinkle and the
"Whelk, being animals of much higher grade in the
scale of development than others, as the Oyster or
Scallop. The former crawl with ease on a broad
fleshy disk, as we have all seen in the case of the
garden Snail, an animal closely allied to them ; they
have a distinct head, with tentacles, jaws, and often
with eyes ; but the latter have no power of crawling,
being, for the most part, confined to one spot, no
liead, and no jaws, but are shut up within their two
shells, which can be opened only to a small extent
during the life of the animal. Yet we must not for
a moment suppose that these creatures are unhappy,
or that the meanest occupant even of a bivalve shell
is not supplied with everything that could conduce to
its welfare. It is SEsr alone that is the source of
unhappiness. I will just point out one or two par-
ticulars in which the Divine care for these creatures
is manifest. All of them have the vital parts of the
body protected by a thick fleshy coat, somewhat pro-
jecting at the edges, called the mantle : the surface
of this organ has the power of forming the shell, by
depositing stony matter in a sort of glutinous cement,
which soon hardens into a thin layer of shell. If a
little piece were broken otF the edge of the shell oi
a "WTiielk, when alive, the animal would press the

92 THE OCEAN,

surface of the mantle against the fracture, and pass it
several times over the place ; a very thin transparent
film would then be seen to fill up the space, which in
the same way it would increase in thickness, until in
a few days we could scarcely distinguish the renewed
part from the other, or tell that the shell had been
broken, except, perhaps, by a slight variation in
colour. As the animal grows, it wants a larger shell ;
and the mantle affords the means of increasinfr its
size : the front edge of this organ is thicker than the
rest, and is called the collar ; and it is by thrusting
this round the edge of the shell, while stony matter is
poured out from its surface, that an addition is made
to it. In the Bivalves, or those whose shells open
and shut like the covers of a book, as the Oyster, the
mantle is twofold, covering the body on each side,
just within each shell. Instead of a collar, each leaf
of the mantle is here fringed with a series of glands
which secrete the exterior part of the shell, by being
thrust out round the edge ; while the whole surface
of the mantle deposits the beautiful, rainbow-tinted,
pearly substance with which the interior is coated.

Instead of the fleshy belly on which the Univalves
glide along, the Bivalves are furnished with a pecu-
liar organ, which in some species serves the purpose
of motion. The Oyster, however, and some other
species, have no power of changing their position ;
but are, as it were, cemented to the rock on which
the spawn first chanced to fall. The Mussel, again,
is fastened, but in a different manner, being moored
by a cable of silken threads, which it spins from its
own body. But the Cockle, which is eaten by the

THE SHOEFS OF BRITAIN. 93

poor on many of our shores, is enabled to move witli
considerable rapidity by means of the organ to which
I have just alluded. It is somewhat like a tongue,
and can assume a great variety of shapes. The
Cockle burrows in the mud ; having lengthened and
stiflened its tongue or foot, it pushes it as far as it
can reach into the mud ; then bentling the tip into a
hook, it forcibly contracts it, and thus brings its
body, shell and all, into the hole. The Eazor-shell.
a shell common on sandy beaches, of a long narrow
form, has this powder still more remarkably deve-
loped.

Many of the islands which stud the sea around the
north and west coasts of Scotland are remarkable for
the stern grandeur of their precipitous cliffs. One
might almost imagine that the surges of the mighty
Atlantic, dashing against them for ages with un-
broken fury, had undermined their solid foundations,
and worn for themselves numerous passages, leaving
only columnar rocks of vast height, detached from
one another, though of similar formation and con-
struction. Such a rock is the Holm of Noss, appa-
rently severed from the Isle of Noss, from which it
is about a hundred feet distant ; but the cliffs are
of stupendous height, and far below, in the narrow
gorge, the raging sea boils and foams, so that the
beholder can scarcely look downward without horror.
But stern necessity impels men to enterprises, from
which the boldest would otherwise shrink : to obtain
a scanty supply of coarse food for himself and family
the hardy inhabitant of the Orkneys dares even the
terrors of the HoLm of Noss. In a small boat, with

94 THE OCEAy.

a companion or two, he seeks the base of the cliiT ;
and leaving them below, he fearlessly climbs the pre-
cipice, and gains the summit. A thin stratum of
earth is found on the top, into which he drives some
strong stakes ; and having descended and performed
the same operation on the opposite cliff, he stretches
a rope from one to the other, and tightly fastens it.
On this rope a sort of basket, called a cradle, is
made to traverse, and the adventurous islander now
commits himself to the frail car, and suspended
between sea and sky, hauls himself backward and
forward by means of a line. And do you ask what
prize can tempt man to incur such fearful hazard,
lavish of his life ? It is the eggs and young of a sea-
bird, the fishy taste and oily smell of whose flesh
would present little gratification to any whose senses
were not made obtuse by necessity. The Gannets
and Guillemots dwell in countless myriads on these
naked rocks, laying their eggs and rearing their
progeny wherever the surface presents a ledge suffi-
ciently broad to hold them. Their immense numbers
render them an object of importance to the inhabitants
of these barren islands, who derive from them, either
in a fresh state or salted and dried, a considerable
portion of their sustenance.

In some other situations the fowlers have recourse
to a still more hazardous mode of procedure. The
cliffs are sometimes twelve hundred feet in height,
and fearfully overhanging. If it is determined to
proceed from above, the adventurer prepares a rope,
made either of straw or of hog's bristles, because
these materials are less liable to be cut through by

THE SHORES OF HRITAIN. 95

the sharp edge of the rock. Having fastened the
end of the rope round his body, lie is lowered down
by a few comrades at the top to the depth of five or
six hundred feet. He carries a large bag affixed to
his waist, and a pole in his hand, and wears on liis
head a thick cap, as a protection against the fragments
of rock which the friction of the rope perpetually
loosens ; large masses, however, occasionally fall and
dash him to pieces.

Having arrived at the region of birds, he proceeds
with the utmost coolness and address ; placing his
feet against a ledge, he will occasionally dart many
fathoms into the air, to obtain a better view of the
crannies in which the birds are nestling, take in all
the details at a glance, and again shoot into their
haunts. He takes only the eggs and young, the old
birds being too tough to be eaten. Caverns often
occur in the perpendicular face of the rock, which are
favourite resorts of the fowls ; but the only access to
such situations is by disengaging himself from the
rope, and either holding the end in his hand, while he
collects his booty, or fastening it round some project-
ing corner. I have heard of an individual, who either
from choice or necessity, was accustomed to go alone
on these expeditions ; supplying the want of con-
federates above by firmly planting a stout iron bar in
the earth, from which he lowered himself One day
having found such a cavern as I have mentioned, he
imprudently disengaged the rope from his body, and
entered the cave with the end of it in his hand. In
the eagerness of collecting, however, he slipped his
hold of the rope, which immediately swung out

96

THE OCEAN.

several yards beyond his reach. The poor man was
struck with horror ; no soul was within hearinij, nor
was it possible to make his voice heard in such a
position; the edge of the clilT so projected, that
he never could be seen from the top, even if any
one were to look for him ; death seemed inevitable.

FOWLING IN ORKNEY.

and he felt the hopelessness of his situation. He
remained many hours in a state bordering on stupe-
faction ; at length he resolved to make one effort,
which, if unsuccessful, must be fatal. Having com-
mended himself to God, he rushed to the marrrin

THE SHORES OF BRITAIN. 97-

of the cave, and, springing into the air, providentially
succeeded in grasping the pendulous rope, and wai
saved.

Sometimes it is thought preferable to make the
attempt from below : in this case, several approach
the base in a boat ; and the most dexterous, bearing
a line attached to his body, essays to climb, assisted
by his comrades, who push him from below with a
pole. "Wlien he has gained a place where he can
stand firmly, he draws up another with his rope, and
then another, until all are up, except one left to
manage the boat. They then proceed in exactly the
same manner to gain a higher stage, the first climbing
and then drawing up the others : and thus they
ascend till they arrive at the level of the birds, when
they collect and throw do^vn their booty to the boat.
Sometimes the party remains several days on the
expedition, sleeping in the crannies and caverns.
This mode is attended with peculiar hazard ; for, as a
man often hangs suspended merely from the hands of
a single comrade, it occasionally happens that the
latter cannot sustain his weight, and thus lets him
fall, or is himself drawn over the rock, and shares in
his companion's miserable death.

The object of these daring adventures, which bring
to mind the words of Shakspeare,

" H:ilf way down
Hangs one that gathers samphire- -dreadful trade ! "

is chiefly the Guillemot {Uria troile), a bird some-
what like the Penguin, but with a pointed beak.

The Gannet {Sula hassana) is of the Pelican tribe,

ji

98

THE OCEAN.

and is confined, at least in large congregations, to
one or two localities, of which the principal are the
Bass Eock on the east coast of Scotland, and St.
Xilda, the most western of the Hebrides. On these
rocky isles they assemble in such countless hosts
that they can only be compared to a swarm of bees,
or to a shower of snow, the air being filled with them.
The inhabitants of the latter isle are said to consume

,,l','i»f,j|Aj

; ~.,-<>»-^^-

QA.NNET AND ODILLHMOT.

twenty-two thousand of the young birds every year,
besides eggs. They are powerful birds upon the
wing, and pursue with much eagerness the shoals of
herrings and pilchards, on which they pounce mth
the perpendicular descent of a stone. Buchanan
conjectures that the Gannets destroy more than one

THE SHOEES OF BRITAIN.

99

hundred millions of herrings annllall3^ In fl}ang
over Penzance some years since, a Gannet's attention
was arrested by a fish lying on a board. According
to custom, down he swooped on the prey ; but his

#^

THE BASS ROCK.

imprudence cost him his life ; and it was found that
from the impetus of his descent, the bill had quite
transfixed the board, though an inch and a quarter in
thickness. The fishermen take advantage of this

II 2

100 THE OCEAN.

habit, to allure the bird to its destruction ; for they
fix a fresh herring to a board, and draw it after a
sailing boat with some rapidity through the waves ;
by which many are killed in the manner just
narrated. The apparatus by which this bird is
furnished for its aerial powers, as well as for aiding
its arrowy descent, is very beautiful and instructive.
Professor Owen, by inserting a tube into the wind-
pipe, was enabled to inflate the whole body with air,
and found that air-cells communicating with each
other pervaded every part, separating even the
muscles from each other, and isolating the very
vessels and nerves, and penetrating the bones of the
M'ing. A large air-cell was found to be placed in
front of the forked-bone, or clavicles, which was
furnished with muscles, whose action was instant-
aneously to expel the air, and thus in a moment to
deprive the bird of that buoyancy, so necessary for
its flight, but equally detrimental to its swoop.

In some interesting observations, by Colonel Mon-
tagu, on the habits of this bird in captivity, the same
fact is noticed. When the bird was placed on the
water of a pond, nothing could induce him to attempt
to dive, and from the manner of his putting the bill,
and sometimes the whole head under water, as if
searching for fish, it appears that the prey is fre-
quently so taken. It is probable more fish are caught
in their congregated migrations, when the shoals are
near the surface, than by the bird's descent upon
the wing ; for the herrings, pilchards, mackerel, and
other gregarious fishes, cannot at that time avoid their
enemy, who is floating in the midst of profusion. la

THE SHOEES OF BRITAIN. 101

the act of respiration there appears to be always
some air propelled between the skin and the body of
this bird, as a visible expansion and contraction is
observed about the breast ; and this singular confor-
mation makes the bird so buoyant that it floats high
on the water, and does not sink beneath the surface,
as observed in the cormorant and shag. The legs are
not placed so far behind as in such of the feathered
tribe as procure their subsistence by immersion ; the
Gannet, consequently, has the centre of gi'avity
placed more forward ; and, when standing, the body
is nearly horizontal, like a goose, and not erect like a
cormorant.

The Gannet collects a slight heap of withered grass
and dry sea-weeds, on wliich it lays and hatches its
eggs. They perform this duty by turns, one foraging
while the otlier sits. Tlic roamer, after a predatory
excursion, returns to his partner, with five or six
herrings in his gorge ; these she very complacently
pulls out one by one, with much address. IMarten
says that they frequently rob each other, and thai
one which had pillaged a nest, artfully fli;w out
towards the sea with the spoil, and retm-ned again,
as if it had gathered the stuff from a different quarter.
The owner, though at a distance from his nest, had
observed the robbery, and waited the return of the
thief, whom he attacked with the utmost fury.
" This bloody battle," adds the narrator, " was fought
above our heads, and proved fatal to the thief, who
fell dead so near our boat, that our men took him up,
and presently dressed and ate him."

102

THE AECTIC SEAS.

PtrjiAPS in few respects is the character of modern
times contrasted with that of antiquity in a higher
degree than in that enterprising spirit which prompts
men to penetrate distant regions, submitting to un-
heard-of privations, and braving new difficulties and
dangers, not only from the stimulus of expected
gain, but often from the mere love of knowledge,
a desire of gratifying that insatiable and laudable
curiosity, in which all science lias its origin. The
ancient nations, bold and intelligent as they were,
knew little of geographical research : precluded from
venturing to the north by the dread of frost, and
to the south by the scorcldng heat of the sun, both
of which their fears so magnified that they deemed
it physically impossible for man to exist in either
the one or the other, their expeditions in peace
and war seem to have been well-nigh bounded by
the temperate zone. Thus it happened, that up to
the fifteenth century, hardly a fourth of the habitable
globe was known to the polished nations of Europe.
But then a new era connnenced : the discovery of
one important law, that the magnetised needle points
always northward, gave a precision to navigation,
and inspired a degree of confidence in the mariner,
which soon led to highly interesting and unexpected
results. The torrid zone was traversed ; that ter-

THE ARCTIC SEAS. 103

rible " Cape of Storms," * the southern point of
Africa, was doubled ; a new world was discovered
in the western hemisphere, and commercial enter-
prise led the hardy sons of western Europe to dare
even the icy horrors of the Poles. Of these the
Biscayans seem to have been the first, for we find
them engaged in the northern whale fishery as early
as the year 1575. Before the end of the sixteenth
century, the English had engaged in the same enter-
prise, fishing first on the coast of North America,
and after a while in the vicinity of Spitzbergen. The
Dutch soon followed, and other nations were not slow
in prosecuting the same lucrative employment.

Nature in these regions wears an aspect of awful
majesty and grandeur, unrelieved by the softer and
gentler beauties which distinguish her in the south.
In the islands of these seas no meadows smile in
emerald verdure, no waving corn-fields gladden the
heart of man with their golden undulations ; no
songs of jocund birds usher in the morning, nor is
the eveninfr soothed with the indefinable murmur
of myriads of humming insects. All is dreary soli-
tude ; and the death-like silence that pervades the
scene, inspires a feeling of involuntary awe, as if the
hardy explorer had intruded into a region where he
ought not to be. The most northern land known
to exist is that of the islands of Spitzbergen, the
extreme point of which approaches to within ten

* This was the name given to the extreme point of Africa by ita
discoverer, Bartholomew Diaz : but, on his return to Portugal,
King John II. considered the discoveiy so auspicious, that he
changed the name to " The Cape of Good Hope," which it atill
retains.

10-i THE OCEAN.

degrees of the Pole. The coast is generally lofty
and precipitous, and is visible in clear weather ai a
great distance, presenting the peculiar features of
Arctic scenery in great perfection. The rocks rise
ill bold and naked grandeur, their summits shooting
into innumerable peaks and ridges, and needles, of
fantastic forms, reminding the beholder of the domes
and spires of a vast city. Most of these are of dark
colours, standing out in bold relief against the sky ;
but their appearance is rendered highly picturesque
by the vivid contrasts continually presented by the
broad patches of unsullied snow capping their sum-
mits, or resting on the ledges and terraces into which
their surface is broken, as well as by the glistening
accumulations of ice which lill the valleys nearly
to the level of the mountain tops. In approaching
the coast in summer, the view is often concealed by
the dense fogs so prevalent in that season : suddenly
the mist disperses, and these broad contrasts, shown
out in startling distinctness beneath a cloudless sun,
seem like the sudden creation of a magician's wand.
The well-defined outline and sharp edge of the hues
of the picturesque scenery, render it perfectly dis-
tinct at a distance at which, in a more southern
clime, land would present but a dim and shadowy
haze. The objects described may often be clearly
seen and well distinguished at the distance of forty
miles ; and if, after sailing towards the land for four.
or five hours before a smart breeze, the atmosphere
should become slightly charged with mist, the scene
inight be apparently even more distant than at first.
Thus a phenomenon, reported by one of the earlier

THE ARCTIC SEAS. l05

Danish navigators, which caused no little astonish-
ment, may be readily accounted for. He had made
the eastern coast of Greenland, and had been sailing
towards it for many hours with a fair wind, but
seeing that the land seemed to be no nearer, he
became alarmed, and immediately shifted his course
back to Denmark, attributing the failure of his
voyage to the influence of loadstone rocks, hidden
beneath the sea, which arrested the progress of his
vessel.

The peculiar stratification of the rocks in these
regions often causes them to assume a walled or cas-
tellated appearance, the angles being as sharp and
clean as if cut with the mason's tool. Some of their
forms resemble so strongly the works of art, that one
can scarcely believe them to be freaks of nature. A
magnificent instance of such regularity occurs on the
coast of Spitzbergen. Near the head of King's Bay,
there are seen, far inland, three piles of rock of
regular shape, well known to the whalers by the
appellation of the Three Crowns. " They rest on the
top of the ordinary mountains, each commencing
with a square table, or horizontal stratum of rock,
on the top of which is another, of similar form and
height, but of a smaller area ; this is continued by
a third, and a fourth, and so on, each succeeding
stratum being less than the next below it, until it
forms a pyramid of steps, almost as regoilar to appear-
ance as if worked by art."*

The most prominent object in these dreaiy seas is
ice. Even on the land, a large portion of the ground

• Scoreabv,

J 06 THE OCEAN.

is concealed by perpetually-accumulating ice, while
the same substance covers to a great extent the sur-
face of the ocean. There is scarcely a more beautiful
object than one of the towering icebergs that so
abound in these regions, and that annually come
down upon the southern current into the temperate
zone. I have seen numbers of these floating islands,
of dazzling whiteness, on the coast of Newfoundland,
whither they are brought every spring out of Baffin's
Bay. They do not long endure their transition, but
soon melt away in the warm waters of the Atlantic,
though they are sometimes seen on the coast of the
United States, as far down as Philadelphia. In
watching some small ice-islands, which, having drifted
into the ports of Newfoundland, had grounded in
shoal water, I have been surprised to observe how
very rapid is their dissolution, even in the month of
April. Some large ones, however, are frequently
seen in the bays of that country, even in Jiily. Tliey
are often of vast dimensions : one seen by Ptoss, in
Baffin's Bay, was estimated to be nearly two miles
and a half long, two miles wide, and fifty feet high.
Of course, this estimate respects only that part which
is visible above the surface of the water ; but this is
a very small portion of its actual bulk. The relative
proportion of the part which is exposed to that which
is submerged, varies according to the character of the
ice. In Newfoundland, the part under water is
usually considered to be ten times greater than that
exposed, but if the ice be porous, it is not more than
eight times greater ; while, on the other hand, Phipps
found tliat of dense ice, fourteen parts out of lifteep

THE AECTIC SEAS.

107

sunk. Tliese floating icebergs are various in form ;
sometimes rising into pointed spires, like steeples ;
sometimes taking the form of a conical hill ; some-
times that of an overhanging cliff, of most threatening
brow. I have seen some resemble the form of a

ICEBERG SEEN I.N BAFFIN S BAY.

couching lion ; but, perhaps, the most ordinary form
is that of an irregular mass, higher at one end than
at the other. In the Arctic seas they often present
sharp edges and spiry points ; but in their progress
southward, the gradual influence of climate smooths
their unevenness, and gives their surface a rounded
outline. The action of the waves on the portion
beneath the surface, undermining the sides, and wear-
ing away the projections, continually alters the posi-
tion of the centre of gravity ; and sometimes the
effect of this is to cause the whole gigantic mass to

108

THE OCEAJSr.

roll over witli a thundering crash, making the sea
to boil into foam, and causing a swell that is per-
ceptible for miles. When a boat or even a ship is
in immediate proximity to an iceberg in such circum-
stances, the danger is imminent ; but if viewed from

SWELL AMONG ICE..

a secure distance, the sight is a very interesting one.
The first iceberg I ever saw, and one of large size,
thus rolled about one-third over while I beheld it,
entirely altering its apparent form. Sometimes the
effect of the waves' action is to cause a large frag-
ment to fall off, or a crack will extend through the
whole mass with a deafening report, or the entire
iceberg will fall to pieces, and strew the ocean with
the fragments, like the remnants of a wreck. Late
in the summer they often become very brittle, and

THE ARCTIC SEAS.

109

then a slight violence is sufficient to rupture them.
Seamen avail themselves of the shelter afforded by
ice-islands to moor the ship to them in storms, carry-
ing an anchor upon the ice, and inserting the fluke
in a hole made for the purpose. In the state just
alluded to, such is the brittleness of the substance,
that one blow with an axe is sometimes sufficient to
cause the immense mass to rend asunder with fearful
noise, one part falling one way, and another in the
opposite, often swallowing up the ill-fated mariner,
and crushing the gallant bark.

6HIFS i>ESK7 IN ICE.

no THE OCEAN.

Contact wiih floating icebergs, when a ship is
under sail, is highly dangerous. From the coolness
of the air in their immediate neighbourhood, the
moisture of the atmosphere is condensed around
them ; and hence they are often enveloped in fogs,
so as to be invisible within the lengtli of a few
fathoms. A momentary relaxation of vigilance on
the part of the mariner, may bring the ship's bows
on the submerged part of an iceberg, whose sharp,
needle-like points, hard as rock, instantly pierce the
planking, and perhaps open a fatal leak. Many
lamentable shipwrecks have resulted from this cause.
In the long heavy swell, so common in the open sea,
the peril of floating ice is greatly increased, as the
huge angular masses are rolled and ground against
each other with a force that nothing can resist.

These ice-islands are quite distinct in their nature
from the field-ice, whicli so largely overspreads the
surface of the sea, and are believed to be entirely of
land formation, consisting of fresh water frozen.
The process of their formation is interestms?: the
glens and valleys in the islands of Spitzbergen are
filled up with solid ice, which has been accumulating
for uncounted ages ; these are the sources from
whence the floating icebergs are supplied. Perhaps
as long ago as the creation of man, or at least as the
deluge, these glaciers began in the snows of winter ;
the summer sun melted the surface of the snow, and
the water thus produced, sinking down into that
wliich remained, saturated it and increased its density.
The ensuing winter froze this into a mass of porous
ice, and superadded a fresh surface of snow. The

THE AECTIC SEAS. Ill

same process again going on in summer, of water
percolating through the porous ciystals, which in its
turn was refrozen, soon changed the lowest stratum
into a mass of dense and transparent ice. Centuries
of alternate winters and summers have thus produced
aggregations of enormous hulk. Scoresby mentions
one of eleven miles in length, and four hundred feet
in height at the seaward edge, whence it slopes up-
ward and backward till it attains the height of six-
teen hundred feet; an inclined plane of smooth
unsullied snow, the beauty and magnitude of which
render it a very conspicuous landmark on that inhos-
pitable shore. The upper surface of a land iceberg is
usually somewhat hollow, and during the summer the
concavities are filled with pools or lakes of the purest
water, which often wears channels for itself throuch
the substance, or is precipitated in the form of a
cataract over the edge. The water freezing in fissures
thus produced, and expanding with irresistible force,
tears off large fragments from the outer edge, wliich
are precipitated into the ocean ; and high spring
tides, lashed by storms, undermine portions of the
base, and produce the same effect. The masses thus
dislodged float away, and form ice-islands. When
newly broken, the fracture is said to present a glis-
tening surface of a clear greenish blue, approaching
an emerald green ; but of such as I have myself had
an opportunity of examining in Newfoundland, the
hollows were of the purest azure.

" On an excursion to one of the Seven Icebercrs,"
says Mr. Scoresby, "in July, 1818, I was particularly
fortunate in witnessing one of the grandest effects

112 THE OCEAN.

which these polar glaciers ever present. A strong
north-westerly swell having for some hours been
beating on the shore, had loosened a number of frag-
ments attached to the iceberg, and various heaps of
broken ice denoted recent shoots of the seaward edge.
As we rode towards it, with a view of proceeding
clo-se to its base, I observed a few little pieces fall
from the top ; and while my eye was fixed upon the
place, an immense column, probably fifty feet square,
and one hundred and fifty feet high, began to leave
the parent ice at the top, and leaning majestically
forward, with an accelerated velocity fell with an
awful crash into the sea. The water into which it
plunged was converted into an appearance of vapour
or smoke, like that from a furious cannonading. The
noise was equal to that of thunder, which it nearly
resembled. The column which fell was nearly square,
and in mamitude resembled a church. It broke into
thousands of pieces. This circumstance was a happy
caution, for we might inadvertently have gone to the
very base of the icy cliff, from whence masses of
ignitude were continually breaking.

considerable magnitude were continually breaking."*

" 'Tis sunset : to the firmament serene
The Atlantic wave refiects a gorgeous scene ;
Broad in the cloudless west, a belt of gold
Girds the blue hemisphere ; above unroll'd,
The keen clear air grows palpable to sight,
Embodied in a flush of crimson light,
Through which the evening star, with milder gleam.
Descends to meet her image in the stream.
Far in the east, what spectacle unknown
Allures the eye to gaze on it alone ?

• Arctic Regions, i. 104.

THE ARCTIC SEAS. 113

— Amidst black rocks that lift on either hand

Their countless peaks, and mark receding land ;

Amidst a tortuous labyrinth of seas

That shine around the arctic Cyclades;

Amidst a coast of dreariest continent,

In many a shapeless promontory rent;

— O'er locks, seas, islands, promontories spread.

The Ice-Blink rears its undulated head ;

On which the sun, beyond th' horizon shrined,

Hath left his richest garniture behind ;

Piled on a hundred arches, ridge by ridge.

O'er fixed and fluid strides the Alpine bridge,

Whose blocks of sapphire seem to mortal eye

ITewn from cerulean quarries of the sky;

With glacier battlements, that crowd the spheres,

The slow creation of six thousand years.

Amidst immensity in towers sublime,

Winter's eternal palace, built by Time.

All human structures by his touch are borne

Down to the dust ; mountains themselves are worn

With his light footstep ; here for ever grows.

Amid the region of unmelting snows,

A monument ; where every flake that falls

Gives adamantine firmness to the walls.

The sun beholds no mirror, in his race,

That shows a brighter imnge of his face ;

The stars, in their nocturnal vigils, rest

Like signal fires on its illumined crest ;

The gliding moon around the ramparts wheels.

And all its magic lights and shades reveals;

Beneath, the tide with idle fury raves

To undermine it through a thousand caves.

Went from its roof though thundering fragments oft

Plunge to the gulf, immoveable aloft.

From age to age, in air, r>'er sea, on land,

Its turrets heighten, and its piers expand." •

By far the greatest portion of the ice met with
in na\agating these seas is of marine formation.

* Montgomery's ' Greenland," p. 61.
I

114) THE OCEAN.

During the greater part of the year, in high lati-
tudes, the process of congelation is always going
on at the surface of the sea. If the wind is high,
the crystals cannot readily unite into a solid form,
but form a spongy mass, called sludge ; when this
has become somewhat thick, however, the wind can
no longer act upon the water, so as to raise little
ripples upon it, and the sludge now begins "to
catch ;" but the swell prevents one uniform surface
being yet formed, and the consequence is, that small
rounded plates of ice are produced, called "pan-
cakes," the edges of which are raised slightly, by
the constant pressure of one against another. The
cakes in the centre of the freezing mass now begin
to adhere to each other, and thus a solid surface
is produced, which gradually extends both its dia-
meter and its depth. The individual pieces of which
such ice is composed are distinctly to be traced, even
when perfectly consolidated, and present an appear-
ance resembling pavement. But in calm weather, a
thin pellicle of ice is simultaneously produced over
the whole surface of the sea, and the formation of the
ice-field is much more direct and obvious. Sins^le
fields have been seen many leagues in length, and
occupying an area of several hundred square miles ;
being at the same time from three to six feet high,
and from ten to twenty deep. The waves produced
by storms break up these fields into smaller pieces,
called floes, and driving one against another with
violence, the edge of one is often lifted upon the
other by the force of the pressure, and hummocks or
hills, of various shapes and sizes, are raised upon

THE ARCTIC SEAS. 115

them. Ice-fields often acquire a rotatory motion ;
and when we consider the immense weiglit of these
ponderous masses, we shall have an idea of the
irresistible impetus communicated by such a body in
motion. Scoresby calculates one mentioned by him
at ten thousand millions of tons : no wonder that,
coming in contact with a vessel, her iron knees and
oaken timbers should be crushed like a walnut, or
that she should be lifted clean out of the water by
the pressure, and jjlaced high and dry upon the ice !
From this cause arise manv of the accidents which
give to the na^dgation of the Arctic sea its peculiarly
hazardous character.

AMien the temperature of the atmosphere is about
two or three degrees above the freezing-point, a sur-
face of ice, if placed in a horizontal plane, will melt,
not by a general dissolution of its substance, but so
as to leave a multitude of perpendicular columns, or
needles. In the late attempt to reach the North
Pole by boats hauled over the ice. Captain Parry
found ice in this condition productive of no little
inconvenience. At the very commencement of the
journey we find it thus noticed : "June 26. — A great
deal of the ice over which we passed to-day presented
a very curious appearance and structure, being com-
posed, on its upper surface, of numberless irregular,
needle-like crystals, placed vertically, and nearly
close together ; their length varying, in differeni;
pieces of ice, from five to ten inches, and their
breadth in the middle about half an inch, but pointed
at both ends. The upper surface of ice having this
structure, sometimes looks like greenish velvet ; a

I 2

110 THE OCEAN.

vertical section of it, which frequently occurs at the
margin of floes, resembles, while it remains compact,
the most beautiful satin spar ; and asbestos, when
falling to pieces. At this early part of the season,
this kind of ice afforded pretty firm footing ; but as
the summer advanced the needles became more loose
and moveable, rendering it extremely fatiguing to
walk over them, besides cutting our boots and feet —
on which account the men called them penknives."*
The Captain attributes this peculiar structure to the
heavy drops of rain piercing their way downwards
throTigh the ice, and separating it into needles.

There is no phenomenon that more forcibly brings
before the mind of a stranger the novelty of his
position, than the absence, on entering within the
Arctic circle, of that constant alternation of day
and night, which we are accustomed to consider as
inseparable from the constitution of our world. We
have learned this fact in our elementary treatises on
Geography, but yet it is diflicult to realise to the
mind a pei'petual day, an unsetting sun. "When the
sun's disk is obscured by a fog, it is no uncommon
thing for sailors to ask each other if it be night or
day : and Phipps, on his return voyage, thought the
sicrht of a star an occurrence of sufficient moment to
be inserted in his journal. " August 24th. — We saw
Jupiter : the sight of a star was now become almost
as extraordinary a phenomenon as the sun at mid-
night, when we first got within the Arctic Circle."
Our voyagers usually seek the Ai'ctic Ocean in
spring, and leave it at the approach of autumn ; a

• Narrative of an Attempt, &c., p. 61.

THK AKCTIC SKAS. 117

winter residence there beincj dreaded as one of the
direst cahamities that can befal them ; and therefore,
until lately, our knowledge of winter phenomena was
very meagre, and mainly derived from the reports of
a few unhappy men, by accident compelled to remain
in a clime so inhospitable. By the experience of the
officers and crews engaged in the recent voyages of
discovery, we have become nearly as familiar with
the phenomena of the long winter's night as with
those of the short summer's day. In Spitzbergen the
day is rather more than four months long : the night
is of the same duration, and in the two months
which intervene between the sun's constant presence
and his constant absence, that luminary rises and sets
as with us. But the appearance of the sun in spring is
accelerated, and its disappearance in autumn retarded,
a few days by the influence of refraction : so that
it is actually seen somewhat longer than it is in-
visible. Thus Captain Parry, at jMelville Island,
saw the sun on the first of February, which was
about four days earlier than its actual elevation
above the horizon ; in like manner it remained
visible until the 11th of November, whereas it had
actually sunk beneath the horizon on the 7th. Then
the darkness of the Arctic winter is not total and
incessant ; even in the depth of the season, at Spitz-
bergen, there is a faint twilight for six hours each day,
and this is longer and brighter in proportion to the
distance from mid-winter on either hand. The moon
also shines in those clear skies with peculiar bril-
liance, and is often visible twelve or fourteen days
without setting. There is, moreover, a large proportion

118

THE (1CEAN.

of the time in wliicli the Aurora Borealis illumines
the heavens, and sometimes with an intensity little,
inferior to moonlic^ht. This interestin!:^ meteor is
occasionally seen in Enp'land, but very rarely witli

AURORA BOREALIS.

The sceue is in the vicinity of the Three Crowns on the Coast of
Spitzbergeu. See p. 105.

that brilliance with which it shines in the Frigid
Zone, and in the northern parts of America. In
Newfoundland and Canada I have seen many spe-
cimens of the Aurora, and some splendidly coloured
with blue, green and red hues ; sometimes the whole
sky has been flushed with intense crimson, which,
reflected from the snow beneath, had an awful,
though beautiful appearance. The following details

THE ARCTIC SEAS. 119

of one which I observed in Lower Canada, in
Februaiy, 1837, will give a notion of tiie appear-
ance of this meteor in its more usual state. " I first
obsei'ved it about half-past eight o'clock ; a long, low,
irregular arch of bright yellow light extended from
the north-east to the north-west, the lower edse
of which %vas well defined ; the sky beneath this
arch was clear, and appeared black, but it was only
by contrast with the light, for on examination I
could not find that it was really darker than the
other parts of the clear sky. The upper edge of the
arch was not defined, shooting cut rays of light
towards the zenith : one or two points in the arch
were very brilliant, which were varpng in their
position. Over head, and towards the south, east,
and west, flashings of light were darting from side
to side : sometimes the sky was dark, then instantly
lighted up with these fitful flashes, vanishing and
changing as rapidly; sometimes a kind of crown
would form around a point south of the zenith, con-
sisting of short converging pencils. At nine o'clock,
the upper and southern sky was filled with clouds or
undefined patches of light, nearly stationary ; the
eastern part, near the top, being bright crimson,
which speedily spread over the upper part of the
northern sky. A series of long converging pencils
was now arranged round a blank space about 15°
south of the zenith, the northern and eastern rays
blood-red, the southern pale yellow ; the redness
would flash about, as did the white light before, still
not breaking the general form of the corona. In a
few minutes all the red hue had vanished, leaving

J 20 THE OCEAN.

the upper sky nearly unoccupied. The arch also was
now totally gone, and in its place there were only
irregular patches of yellow light, of varying radiance.
At a quarter-past nine the upper sky was again filled
with pale flashes : in the north were perpendicular
pillars of light, comparatively stationary. At half-
past nine there was no material change, and at ten
all had assumed a very ordinary appearance, merely
large clouds of pale light being visible."* The cause
which produces these beautiful coruscations of light in
high latitudes has not yet been satisfactorily known :
it seems pretty certain that their origin is in general
far above our atmosphere.

Montgomery alludes to the Aurora in the following
beautiful lines : —

"Midnight hath told his hour : the moou, yet young,
Hangs in the ardent west, her bow unstrung :
Larger and fairer as her lustre fades.
Sparkle the stars amidst the deepening shades :
» Jewels more rich than night's regalia gem,

The distant Ice-blink's spangled diadem ;
Like a new nio7-n from orient darkness there
Phosphoric splendours kindle in mid-air,
As though from heaven's self-opening portals, came
Legions of spirits in an orb of flame, —
Flame that from every point an nrrow sends,
Far as the concave firmament extends :
Spun with the tissue of a million lines,
Glisteniug like gossamer the welkin shines:
The constellations in their pride look i),vle
Through the quick trembling brilliance of that veil;
Then suddenly converged, the meteors rush
O'er the wide south ; one deep vermilion blu^h

Canadian Naturalist, p. 47.

THE AECTIC SEAS. ,21

O'erspreads Orion glaring on the flood,
And rabid Siriiis foams through fire and blood ;
Again the circuit of the pule they range,
Motion and figure every moment change,
Through all the colours of the rainbow run,
Or blaze like wrecks of a dissolving sun ;
Wide ether burns with glory, conflict, flight,
And the glad ocean dances in the light."*

This interesting meteor, occurring with more or less
of splendour in rapid succession, added, moreover,
to the universal reflection of what light may proceed
from the heavens by the pure whiteness of the ice and
snow, tends greatly to lessen the darkness of the long
and dreary night, though these causes cannot diminish
the cold. The latter was so intense during the late
expeditions of discovery, that the temperature was 55*^
below zero, or eighty-seven degrees below the freezing-
point.

The remarkable appearances called mock suns, or
parhelia, are extremely frequent within the Arctic
Circle. Their usual appearance may be thus de-
scribed. AVhen the sun is not far from the horizon,
one or more luminous circles, or halos, surround it
at a considerable distance ; two beams of light go
across the innermost circle, passing through the
centre of the sun, the one horizontally, the other
perpendicularly, so as to form a cross : where these
beams touch the circle, the light is, as it were, con-
centrated in a bright spot, sometimes scarcely in-
ferior in brilliance to the sun itself; at the corre-
sponding points in the outermost circle, segments of
other circles, wholly external, come into contact with

* " Greenland," d 54.

]2-2

THE OCEAN.

it. It is not often that this meteor is seen in the
perfection described : occasionally the circles are too
faint to be visible ; and the mock suns alone are
seen in the usual places, and sometimes but one or
two of them. Another singular appearance, called
the fog-bow, of great beauty and interest, is thus
described by Mr. Scoresby : " Tlie intense fogs

MOCK SUNS.

Tbe scene is the coast of Barrow's Strait.

which prevail in the Polar Seas, at certain seasons,
occasionally rest upon the surface of tlie water, and
reach only to an inconsiderable height. At such
times, though objects situated on the water can
scarcely be discerned at tlie distance of a hundred

THE AKCTIC SKAS. 123

yards, yet the sun wiJl be visible and effulgent.
Under such circumstances, on the 19th July, 1813,
being at the topmast head, I observed a beautiful
circle of about 30° diameter, with bands of vivid
colours, depicted on the fog. The centre of the circle
was in a line drawn from the sun through the point
of vision, until it met the visible vapour in a situn^
tion exactly opposite the sun. The lower part of
the circle descended beneath my feet to the side of
the ship ; and although it could not be a hundred feet
from the eye, it was perfect, and the colours distinct.
The centre of the coloured circle was distinguished
by my own shadow, the head of which, enveloped
l)y a halo, was most conspicuously portrayed. The
halo or glory was evidently impressed on the fog, but
tlie figure appeared to be a shadow on the water, the
different parts of which became obscure in proportion
to their remoteness from the head, so that the lower
extremities were not perceptible. I remained a long
time contemplating the beautiful phenomenon before
me. Notwithstanding the sun was brilliant and
warm, the fog was uncommonly dense beneath. The
sea and ice, within sixty yards of the ship, could
scarcely be distinguished. The prospect thus cir-
cumscribed served to fix the attention more closely
on the only interesting object in sight, whose radi-
ance and harmony of colouring, added to the singu-
lar appearance of my own image, were productive of
sensations of admiration and delight."* I have
myself had the pleasure of witnessing this beautiful
phenomenon, precisely as described above, and in

♦ Arnt. Reg i. 394.

124

THE OCEAN.

the same circvimstances : it was in tlie month of
August, 1828, on the coast of Newfoundland, and
was viewed from the shrouds of a vessel projected on
the surface of a dense but shallow fog. Sometimes
there are several coloured circles surrounding each
other, with a common centre.

The cause of these appearances seems to be the
unequal refraction of the rays of light by passing

DISTORTIONS OF lllliEGULAU KEKKACTION.

through media of varying density. To a similar ori-
gin may be ascribed those distortions and repetitions
of objects near the horizon, called loomw(], which are
occasionally witnessed even in this country, but in
the northern seas are very frequent and amusingly
fantastic. The ice around the horizon, either almost
Hat or varied only by slight irregularities of surface,

THE ARCTIC SEAS. 125

will appear raised into a lofty wall, and the irregu-
larities elevated into numberless spires or towers or
pinnacles. Ships will have their hulls magnified into
castles ; or the hull will be diminished to a narrow
line, and the masts and sails drawn up to a ridiculous
length ; or some of the sails will be unduly elevated,
while others are as unnaturally flattened. But more
singular than this is the frequent repetition of the
object in the sky just above it. Thus above the
spired and turreted wall of ice will be seen on the sky
another wall exactly corresponding to it, but upside-
down ; spire meeting spire, and tower tower. Above
a ship will be an inverted figure of the same ship,
as palpable and apparently as real as the true one.
This I once saw, in two vessels in the Gulf of St.
Lawrence. Sometimes another image may be seen
above the inverted one, and sometimes, but very rarely,
even a fourth. In such cases, the third is always
in a right position, and the fourth inverted like
the second. An image of a vessel is sometimes seen
projected upon the sky, when nothing corresponding
to it is visible below, the real object being far below
the horizon. j\Ir. Scoresby thus saw his father's
ship, the Fame, drawn upon the sky, and by the aid
of a telescope could make her out so distinctly as to
pronounce with confidence upon her identity, when
by comparing notes afterwards it was found that she
was thirty miles distant at the time, and seventeen
miles from the extreme point of vision. Somewhat
allied to this is the bright gleam seen by night above
field-ice, called ice-hlink, which is ofien very service-
able in indicating the presence of ice below the hori-

J 26 TBK OCEAN^.

zon ; or by the dark spots and patches m it corre-
sponding to the openings of water, directing the
seamen, when beset, how to reach them, when other-
wise their existence would be unknown.

The officers engaged in the late expeditions of dis-
covery have remarked the impossibility of correctly
measuring distances by the eye when traversing a
plain of unbroken snow or ice. Sometimes in travel-
ling, they would discern what appeared to be a rock
or a hummock of ice of considerable magnitude, and
at a great distance ; and having set their course by it,
rejoicing that for some time the painful straining of
the sight in keeping the direction would be spared by
the advantage of so conspicuous a mark, in a minute
or two they would reach it, when it would turn out
to be some insignificant object, scarcely larger than a
hat.

Some of the effects of intense cold, as witnessed
in these northern climes, are mentioned by Mr.
Scoresby, and are interesting, because they never
occur in our own country. After mentioning a very
sudden depression of the temperature, he says : —
" This remarkable change was attended with singular
effects. The circulation of the blood was accelerated ;
a sense of parched dryness was excited in the nose ;
the mouth, or rather tlie lips, were contracted in all
their dimensions, as by a sphincter, and the articula-
tion of many words was rendered difficult and imper-
fect ; indeed, every part of the body was more or less
stimulated or disordered by the severity of the cold.
A piece of metal, Avhen applied to the tongue, in-
stantly adhered to it, and could not be removed

THE ARCTIC SEAS. 127

without its retaining a povfion of the skin ; iron
became brittle, and such as was at all of inferior
quality, might be fractured by a blow ; brandy of
English manufacture and wholesale strength was
frozen ; quicksilver, by a single process, might have
been consolidated ; the sea, in some places, was in
the act of freezing, and in others appeared to smoke,
and produced, in the formation of frost-rime^ an
obscurity greater than that of the thickest fog. The
subtle principle of magnetism seemed to be, in some
way or other, influenced by the frost ; for the deck-
compasses became sluggish, or even motionless, while
a cabin-compass traversed ^\^th celerity. The ship
became enveloped in ice ; the bows, sides, and lower
rigging were loaded ; and the rudder, if not repeat-
edly freed, would in a short time have been rendered
immoveable."* In winter, however, the temperature
being much lower, the effects of intense cold are
more manifest. Egede observes of Disco Island
in the month of January, "The ice and hoar-frost
reach through the chimney to the stove's mouth,
without being thawed by the fire in the day-time.
Over the chimney is an arch of frost, with little
holes, through which the smoke discharges itself.
The doors and walls are as if they were plastered .
over with frost, and, which is scarcely credible, beds
are often frozen to the bedsteads. The linen is frozen
in the drawers. The upper eider-down bed and the
pillows are quite stiff with frost an inch thick, from
the breath."t Many of these results I have myself
witnessed in Newfoundland and Lower Canada, some
• Arct. Reg. i. 330. + Crantz, Hist, of Greenland

J 28 THE OCEAN.

of wliicli I liave alluded to elsewhere ;* in the formei
country it is not uncommon for the vapour of a
sleeping-room, condensed on the windows and walls,
to take the form of thin narrow blades of ice stand-
ing out horizontally, very closely set together ; the
whole making a dense coating, of more than half an
inch in thickness, of spongy frost. In the first
winter spent at Melville Island by Captain Parry, an
accumulation of a similar substance was observed,
that was really astonishing. " The Hecla was fitted
with double windows in her stern, the interval
between the two sashes being about two feet ; and
within these some curtains of baize had been nailed
close in the early part of the winter. On endeavour-
ing now to remove the curtains, they were found
to be so strongly cemented to the windows by the
frozen vapour collected between them, that it was
necessary to cut them off, in order to open the
windows ; and from the space between the double
sashes we removed more than twelve large buckets
full of ice, or frozen vapour, which had accumulated
in the same manner."t

The shooting out of crystals of beautiful forms,
when vapour is deposited upon any very cold sub-
stance, is a very pleasing phenomenon. The feather-
like hoar-frost, so often seen in winter on stems and
blades of grass, is of this character. But it is in the
icy seas of the north that this beauty is seen in
perfection. For an interesting description, we have
again recourse to Mr. Scoresby. " In the course of
the night, the rigging of the ship was most splendidly

* Canadian Katuralist, 350. f Parry's First Voyage, 146.

THE ARCTIC SEAS. 129

decoivited with a fringe of delicate ciystals. Tlie
general form of these was that of a feather having
half of the vane removed. Near the surface of the
ropes was first a small direct line of very white
particles, constituting the stem or shaft of the
feather ; and from each of these fibres, in another
plane, proceeded a short delicate range of spiculae or
rays, discoverable only by the help of a microscope,
with which the elegant texture and systematic con-
struction of the feather were completed. Many of
these crj'stals, possessing a perfect arrangement of
the different parts corresponding with the shaft,
vane, and rachis of a feather, were upwards of an
inch in length, and three-fourths of an inch in
breadth. Some consisted of a single flake or feather;
but many of them gave rise to other feathers, which
sprang from the surface of the vane at the usual
angle. There seemed to be no limit to the magni-
tude of these feathers, so long as the producing cause
continued to operate, until their weight became so
great, or the action of the wind so forcible, that they
were broken off, and fell in flakes to the deck of
the ship."*

In our own winters we are familiar enough with
snow ; but, probably, few are aware of the exceeding
beauty, regularity, and delicacy which mark each in-
dividual cr}'stal of this production. In our climate,
indeed, the temperature during a fall of snow is
rarely low enough for the form of the ciystals to be
perceived ; as they become slightly melted in passing
through the air, and many crystals adhere together,

* Arct. Reg. i. 437.
K

130 THE OCEAN.

and form the irregular aggregations called jlakes of
snow. The ordinary form is that of a six-rayed star;
but the rays are often furnished with minute side
rays, lil^;e the beards of a feather, or are varied in
almost infinite diversity. The angle, however, which
is formed in crystallization, is invariably the same,
namely, one of 60°; and hence arises their symmetry.
Frost is a powerful antiseptic : as fermentation
will not take place in a low temperature, animal
substances may be kept without decay for an in-
definite period. It is customary for the whalers to
take out their meat unsalted, trusting to this well-
known quality of cold. Captain Parry's crew, fast
locked up in the ice of Melville Island, enjoyed a
Christmas dinner of roast beef, perfectly sweet,
which had been put on board nine months before.
The Mammoth which was dislodged by the falling
of a cliff at the mouth of the river Lena, had been
preserved from putrefaction for uncounted ages.
And more affecting instances of this quality have
been witnessed in the bodies of men, who, having
died in these icy regions, had lain for years unburied
without decay. In 177-i, the uncouth form of an
apparently-deserted ship was met with, strangely
encumbered with ice and snow ; on boarding her, a
solitary man was found in her cabin, his fingers
holding the pen, while before him lay the record
which that pen had traced, bearing date twelve years
before. No appearance of decay was manifest, save
that a little Qieenish mould had accumulated on his
forehead. A strange awe crept over the minds of
those who thus first broke in upon his loneliness :

THE AKCTTC SEAS. 131

for twelve years had that ill-fated bark navigated,
through sun and storm, the Polar Sea ; and, perhaps,
unconsciously solving the problem that had so long
baffled human skill and daring, had even crossed tlie
Pole itself.

But it is time that we turn from the consideration
of inanimate nature and atmospheric phenomena, to
inquire what are the living productions that cheer
the loneliness of the Arctic mariner. Of the vegeta-
tion of these regions we know little ; the dreary
level shores of many of the isles are marshy, and
densely clothed with various mosses, which, though
frozen in winter, revive in the transient summer. The
rocks, too, are covered with lichens of various colours ;
and a few dwarf flowering plants just rise above the
thin soil. Nothing like a tree varies the scene, but
large trunks of trees are brought, by the currents,
from distant regions, and washed upon the sea-beach.
Some of the Fuel which are common with us are
found also on these shores, and doubtless many other
species which are unknown to us.

The most notorious of the inhabitants of these
dreary seas are the mighty and gigantic Whales.
"There is that le\'iathan, whom thou hast made to
play therein." It is in pursuit of these immense
creatures, and especially the Greenland species, the
"right Whale" of the seamen {Balcena mysticetus),
that many ships well-manned and fitted out at great
expense, proceed every year from England, Holland,
France, and other nations, into the Arctic zone. This
valuable animal has produced to Britain 700,000/. in
a single year, and one cargo has been known to yield

K 2

132 THF, OCEAN.

11,000Z. It is, therefore, well worth our considera-
tion, and the more particularly, because in its struc-
ture and habits there are more than ordinary evidences
of that gracious forethought and contrivance, the
tracing of which makes the study of nature so in-
structive. The Greenland Whale has no aftinity with
fishes ; it is as much a mammal as the ox or the
elephant, having warm blood, breathing air, bringing
forth living young, and suckling them with true
milk. It inhabits the Polar Seas, beyond which
there is no satisfactory proof that it has ever been
seen. Its length is from fifty to sixty feet, when
full grown ; perhaps, in extremely rare cases, seventy
feet ; all statements giving it a greater length than
this, either refer to other species, such as the great
Eorqual, or are gross exaggerations. The form is
rather clumsy, the head being very large, and the
mouth reaching to scarcely less than a fourth of the
total length of the animal. The gullet is so small as
not to admit the passage of a fish so large as a
herring ; hence its support is derived from creatures
of very small bulk, and apparently insignificant, such
as shrimps, sea slugs, sea blubbers, and animalcules
stiU smaller, which I will presently notice. But
how does it secure its minute and almost invisible
prey ? for without some express provision, these
atoms would be quite lost in the cavity of its
capacious mouth, unless swallowed promiscuously
with the water, which would fill the stomach before
a hundredth part of the meal was obtained. There
is a very peculiar contrivance to meet this exigency ;
the mouth has no teeth, but from each upper jaw

THE ARCTIC SEAS. ] 33

proceed more than three hundred horny pLites, set
parallel to each other, and very close ; they run
perpendicularly downwards, are fringed on the inner
edge with hair, and diminish in size from the
central plate to the first and last, the central one
being about twelve feet long. The plates are com-
monly called whalehone, and their substance is well
known to everybody ; they form an important object
of the fishery. The lower jaw is very deep, like a
vast spoon, and receives these depending plates, the
use of which is this : when the Whale feeds, he
swims rapidly just under or at the surface, with his
mouth wide open ; the water with all its contents
rushes into the immense cavity, and filters out at the
sides between the plates of the whalebone, which are
so close, and so finely fringed, that every particle of
solid matter is retained.

Though the AVhale, like all other Mammalia, is
formed for breathing air alone, and is therefore ne-
cessitated to come to the surface of the sea at certain
intervals, yet those intervals are occasionally of great
length. We well know that we could not intermit
the process of breathing for a single minute without
great inconvenience, and the lapse of only a few
minutes would be followed by insensibility and perhaps
death. The Whale, however, can remain an hour
under water, or, in an emergency, even nearly two
hours, though it ordinarily comes up to breathe at
intervals of eight or ten minutes, except when feeding,
when it is sometimes a quarter of an hour, or twenty
minutes submeiged. Xow the object of breathing
is to renew the vital qualities of the blood by pre-

134 THE OCEAN.

senting it to the air, the oxygen in which uniting
with tlie blood renders it again fit for sustaining
life. But if more blood could be oxygenized at once
than is wanted for immediate use, and the overplus
deposited in a reservoir until wanted, respiration
could be dispensed with for a while. This is actually
what the wisdom of God has contrived in the Whale.
The exhausted blood, which is returned by the veins,
having been renewed by its communication with the
air in the lungs, is carried to the heart, whence only
a part is carried away into the system, the remainder
being received into a great irregular reservoir, consist-
ing of a complicated series of arteries, which first
lines a large portion of the interior of the chest, then
insinuating itself between the ribs, forms a large
cushion outside of them near the spine, a,nd also
within the spinal tube, and even within the skull.
The blood thus reserved is pom^ed into the system as
it is needed, and thus prevents the necessity of frequent
access to the surface.

It is an object of importance that the act of breath-
ing should be performed with as little effort as possible,
and therefore the windpipe is made to terminate
not in the mouth, nor in nostrils placed at the
extremity of the nmzzle. If this were the case it
would require a large portion of the head and body to
be projected from the water, or else that the animal
should throw itself into a perpendicular position :
either of which alternatives would be inconvenient
wnen swimming rapidly, as, tor example, endeavouring
to escape when harpooned. The windpipe, therefore,
communicates with the au' at the very top of the

THE ARCTin SEAS. 135

head, which, by a peculiar rising or hurai) at that
part, is the very higliest part of the animal when
liorizontal, so that it can breathe when none of its
body is exposed except the very orifice itself The
Whale often begins to breathe when a little below the
surface, and then the force with which the air is
expired blows up the water lying above in a jet or
stream, which with the condensed moisture of the
breath itself constitutes what are called " the spout-
ings," and which are attended with a rushing noise
that may be heard upwards of a mile. Some naturalists
liave maintained that a stream of water is ejected from
the blow-hole in the form of an united column, mount-
ing high before it falls again in a shower. But from
my own observation on many individuals (seen in the
Atlantic), I incline to the former conclusion ; as I
have invariably seen the ejected matter, instead of
Ibrming a column, and falling in a shower, sail away
upon the breeze like a little white cloud. These
were, I suppose, Rorquals : but what is true of one
species, is probably true of all. There are one or
two other beautiful contrivances connected with the
structure of this air-passage, that are well worth
noticing. In the agony and terror caused by the
blow of tlie harpoon, the Whale usually plunges
directly downward into the depths of the sea, and
that with such force that the mouth has been found
on returning to the surface, covered with the mud of
the bottom ; while in some instances the jaws, and in
others the skull, have been fractured by the violence
wit)! which they have struck the ground. A Whale
has been known to descend perpendicularly to tlie

136 THK OCEAN.

depth i>f a mile, as moasured by the length of line
" run out ;" where the pressure of the immense body
of water above would be equal to a ton upon every
square inch. And Mr. Scoresby mentions a case in
which a boat that was accidentally entangled was
carried down by the Whale, which was presently
captured, and the boat recovered by being drawn up
with the line ; but from the intense pressure, the
water had been forced into the pores of the solid
oak, so that it was completely saturated, and sank
like lead ; the paint came off in large sheets, and the
wood thrown aside to be used as fuel, was found to
be useless, for it would not burn. A piece of the
lightest fir-wood, which was in the boat, came up in
exactly the same soaked condition, having totally
lost the power of floating. To resist such a pressure
as this, the blow-holes of the Whale tribe are closed
with a valve-like stopper of great density and elasti-
city, somewhat resembling India-rubber, which, ac-
curately fitting the orifice, excludes all water from the
windpipe, becoming more tightly inserted in propor-
tion to the pressure.

But this precaution would be vain, if the structure
of the interior of the mouth were the same as in
other Mammalia. Usually the windpipe and gullet
open into a hollow at the back of the mouth, and
the passage to the nostrils proceeds from it likewisa
The windpipe passes up in front of the gullet, and
the food which passes over the former is prevented
from entering it by a lid or valve, which shuts down
during the act of swallowing, but at other times is
erect. But if such were the construction in the

THE ARCTIC SEAS. 137

Whale, the force with which the water ruslics into
tlie mouth would inevitably carry a large portion of
the fluid down upon the lungs, and the animal woidd
be suffocated. The windpipe is therefore carried
upward in a conical form, with the aperture upon
the top, and this projecting cone is received into the
lower end of the blowing-tube, which tightly grasps
it ; and thus the communication between the lungs
and the air is effected by a continuous tube which
crosses the orifice of the gullet, leaving a space on
each side for the passage of the food.

It is doubtless to give increased power of resist-
ance to the eye of the "VVliale in the pressure of
enormous depths, that there is a peculiar thickness
in the sclerotic coat. This is the part which in man
is usually called the white of the eye. " When we
make a section of the whole eye, cutting through the
cornea, the sclerotic coat, which is as dense as tanned
1 leather, increases in thickness towards the back part,
and is full five times the thickness behind tliat it is
at the anterior part. The fore part of the eye sus-
tains the pressure from without, and requires no ad-
ditional support ; but were the back part to yield, the
globe would then be distended in that direction, and
the whole interior of the eye consequently suffer de-
rangement. We see, then, the necessity of the coats
being thus remarkably thickened behind." *

Another no less interesting deviation from ordinary
structure is found in the skin ; the object still being
defence against external pressure. Everyone is pro-
bably aware that the body of the Whale is encas-^d in

• Paley's ^'at. Theol., Bell and Brougham's edit. p. 40.

138 THE OCEAN.

a thick coat of fat, denominated blubber, varying in
diameter from eight inches to nearly two feet in
different parts of the animal. It has, however, been
only recently known that this fat lies not under the
skin, but actually in its substance. I shall describe
this in the words of Professor Jacob, who first made
known this interesting peculiarity : — " That structure
in which the oil is deposited, denominated blubber,
is the true skin of the animal, modified certainly for
the purpose of holding this fluid oil, but still being
the true skin. Upon close examination it is found
to consist of an interlacement of fibres, crossing each
other in every direction, as in common skin, but more
open in texture, to leave room for the oil. Taking
the hog as an example of an animal covered with an
external layer of fat, we find that we can raise the
true skin without any difficulty, leaving a thick layer
of cellular membrane, loaded with fat, of the same
nature as that in the other parts of the body ; on the
contrary, in the Whale it is altogether impossible to
raise any layer of skin distinct from the rest of the
blubber, however thick it may be ; and, in flensing a
Whale, the operator removes this blubber or skin
from the muscular parts beneath, merely dividing
with his spade the connecting cellular membrane." *
Such a structure as this, being firm and elastic in the
highest degree, operates like so much India-rubber,
possessing a density and power of resistance wdiich
increases with the pressure. But this thick coating
of fat subserves other important uses. An inhabitant
of seas where the cold is most intense, yet warm-

• Dublin Philos. Journ. i. 356.

THE ARCTIC SEAS. 131)

blooded, and dependent for existence on keeping up
the animal heat, the Whale is furnished in this thick
wrapper with a substance which resists the abstraction
of heat from the body as fast as it is generated, and
thus is kept comfortably warm in the fiercest polar
winters. Again, the oil contained in the cells of the
skin being specifically lighter than water, adds to
the buoyancy of the animal, and thus saves much
muscular exertion in swimming horizontally and in
rising to the surface ; the bones, being of a porous or
spong}'' texture, have a similar influence.

These few particulars • in the physiology of these
vast creatures may serve to carry our minds up in
adoring wonder to the mercy as well as wisdom of
the Lord God Almighty, and may give us a glimpse
of the meaning of that glorious truth, " And God
saw everything that He had made, and behold it
was VEKY GOOD." JNIany other instances of beautiful
contrivance and design might easily be added, in
the construction of the mouth, the eyes, the fins, the
tail ; but all would lead us to the same result : and
these which I have adduced may be taken as a sample
of the rich feast which the study of nature affords to
the Christian student.

The capture of these immense animals, from their
vast strength, the fickle element on which it is pur-
sued, and the horrors peculiar to the Arctic regions,
is an adventure of extraordinary hazard. The ships,
built fur the purpose, and strengthened with much
oak and iron, leave the northern parts of this country
early in April, and by the end of the month usually
reach the scene of their enterprise. Arrived within

140

THE OCEAN.

the limits of constant day, an unceasing watch is
kept for Whales, by an officer stationed in a snug
sort of pulpit, called the cfoios-nest, made of hoops
and canvas, and well secured at the main-topmast

CATCHING THE WHALE.

head. The boats, which combine strength and liiiht-
ness, are always kept hanging over the sides and
quarters of the ship, ready furnished for pursuit, so

TRE ARCTIC SEAS. 141

tliat on the appearance of a Whale being announced
from aloft, one or more boats can be despatched in
less than a minute. Each boat carries a liarpooner,
whose station is in the bow, a steersman, and several
rowers. In an open space in the bow of the boat
is placed a line sometimes more than 4000 feet in
length, coiled up with beautiful regularity and scru-
pulous care. The end of this is fastened to the
harpoon, a most important weapon, made of the
toughest iron, somewhat in the form of an anchor,
but brought to an edge and point. Instead of steel
being employed, as is commonly supposed, the very
softest iron is chosen for this important implement,
so that it may be scraped to an edge with a knife. A
long staff is afl&xed to the harpoon, by which it is
wielded. The boat is swiftly, but silently, rowed up
to the imconscious A^^lale, and when within a few
yards, the liarpooner darts his weapon into its body.
Smarting and surprised, the animal darts away into
the depth of the ocean, but carries the harpoon
sticking fast by the barbs, while the coiled line
runs out with amazing velocity. A sheeve or pulley
is provided, over which it passes ; but if by accident
it slips out of its place, the friction is so great that
the bow of the boat is speedily enveloped in smoke,
and instances are not unfrequent of the gunwale
bursting into a flame, or even of the head of the
boat being actually sawn off by the line. To prevent
this, a bucket of water is always kept at hand, to
allay the friction. Accidents even still more tragic
sometimes occur from entanglements of tlie line.
"A sailor belonging to the John of Greenock, in

142 TRJE OCEAN.

1818, happening to slip into a coil of running rope,
had his foot entirely cut off. and was obliged to have
the lower part of the leg amputated. A harpooner
belonging to the Hamilton, when engaged in lancing
a Whale, incautiously cast a little line under his foot,
The pain of the lance induced the Whale to dart sud-
denly downwards ; his line began to run out from
under his feet, and in an instant caught him by a
turn round the body. He had just time to call out,
* Clear away the line. — Oh dear ! ' when he was
almost cut asunder, dragged overboard, and never
seen afterwards." Many such-like anecdotes are on
record.

When a boat is " fast " to the Whale, a little flag is
instantly hoisted in the stern as a signal to the ship,
and other boats are at once desj)atched to its assist-
ance. Sometimes before their help can arrive, the
united lines of the boats first sent are all run out, in
which case the men are obliged to cut the line, and
lose it with the Whale, or the boat would be dragged
under water. But generally some of the free boats
can approach sufficiently near the animal on his
return to the surface, to dart another harpoon into
his body ; perhaps he again dives, but returns much
exhausted. The men now thrust into his body long
and slender steel lances ; and, aiming at the vitals,
these wounds soon prove fatal : blood mixed with
water is discharged from the blow-holes, and pre-
sently streams of blood alone are ejected, which
frequently drench the boats and men, and colour
the sea far around. Sometimes the last agony of the
victim is marked by convulsive motions with the tail,

THE ARCTIC SEAS. ] i'3

attended with imminent danger ; but at other times,
it yields its life quietly, turning gently over on its
side. The flags are now struck, three hearty cheers
resound, and the unwieldy prey is towed in triumph
to the ship.

So huge a mass, of course, is slowly moved
through the water, but there are few operations that
are more joyously performed ; it is like the harvest-
home of the farmer. When arrived, it is secured
alongside the ship, and somewhat stretched by tackles
at the head and tail, and the process of flensing com-
mences. The men having shoes armed with long iron
spikes to maintain their footing, get down on the
huge and slippery carcass, and with very long knives
and sharp spades make parallel cuts through the
blubber, from the head to the tail A band of fat,
however, is left round the neck, called the hent, to
which hooks and ropes are attached for the purpose
of shifting round the carcass. The long parallel
strips are divided across into portions weighing about
half a ton each, and being separated from the flesh
beneath, are hoisted on board, chopped into pieces,
and put into casks. When the whalebone is exposed,
it is detached by spades, &c., made for the purpose,
and hoisted on deck in a mass ; it is then split into
junks, containing eight or ten blades each. Some-
times the jaws are taken out, and being fixed in a
perpendicular position on deck, with the extremities
in vessels, a considerable quantity of oil gradually
drains from them. The carcass is then cut away as
valueless to man, though a valuable prize to bears,
birds, and sharks. Sometimes the carcass sinks ira-

144- THE OCEAN.

mediately. Mr. Scoresby mentions a case in which
it had been cut adrift prematurely, one of the men
being still upon it : it began to sink, but unfortu-
nately a hook in his boot had a firm hold of the
flesh ; he convulsively grasped the side of the boat
in which his comrades were, and the whole immense
weight was suspended by his foot. The torture was
extreme ; it was expected every instant that his foot
would be rent off, or that his body would be torn
asunder ; but presently, by the merciful interposition
of God, one of his companions contrived to hook a
grapnel into the carcass, and it was drawn sufficiently
near the surface for him to be extricated.

The AVhale to which the preceding notices refer is
by no means the largest of the tribe, as the Great
Rorqual {Balcenopera hoops) sometimes attains
nearly double the length of the former. Two spe-
cimens have been measured of the length of one
hundred and five feet, and Sir A. de Capell Brooke
asserts, that it is occasionally seen of the enormous
dimensions of a hundred and twenty feet. The
Rorqual inhabits the same seas as the "right"
Whale, but is not usually seen in company with it ;
they seem rather to avoid each other. The thinness
of its blubber, and the shortness of its whalebone,
render it of far less value than the other species ;
besides which, its swiftness, strength, and determi-
nation, render it a hazardous enemy to encounter.
Hence it is usually avoided by the whalers, though
the adventurous inhabitants of the Arctic shores of
Europe do not hesitate to attack it. It is worthy ot
our notice, however, on account of its affording an

THE ARCTIC SEAS. 145

instance of what has been called, in an examination
.of the care of Almiglity God over His inferior
creatures, the princiijle of compensation. When any
organ, or set of organs that answer purposes very
important in the economy of an animal are removed
in a kindred species with similar habits, or are so
modified as no longer to serve the same purpose, some
new structure is bestowed upon it, to supply the lack
of that which is removed. We have seen how the
Whale feeds, by receiving into its mouth a large
quantity of water, Mdiich is filtered through the whale-
bone. In order to this, the mouth is made very
capacious by the bowing over of the upper jaws in
the form of a high arch, the blades of whalebone
filling up the bow. But in the Eorqual the two jaws
are nearly straight, and the blades vary little in
length, so th£ t thus far tlie cavity of the mouth is
inconsiderable. Here comes in the compensation :
the lower part of the mouth (or, externally, the chin
and throat), instead of being stretched tightly across
the branches of the lower jaw, are w^rinklsd up into
many longitudinal folds, which, when the water
rushes into the mouth, expand and make a capacious
pouch or bag. On shutting the mouth and contract-
ing the muscles of the throat, the llesh is pursed up
again into folds, and the water is driven, as in the
former case, through the whalebone, which secures
the food.

The Whales, gigantic as they are, yet having little
power of offence, find to their cost, in common with
nobler creatures, that harmlessness is often no resource
against violence. Several species of the voracious

L

14G THE OCEAN.

Sharks make the Whale the object of their peculiar
attacks ; the Arctic Shark {Scymnus horealis) is said,
with its serrated teeth, to scoop out hemispherical
pieces of flesh from the Whale's body as big as a
man's head, and to proceed without mercy until its
ap])etite is satiated. Another Shark, often called the
Thresher [Carcharias vulpes), which is sometimes
upwards of twelve feet long, is said to use its mus-
cular tail, that is nearly half of its whole length, to
inflict terrible slaps on the Whale ; though one would
he apt to imagine that if this whipping were all, the
huge creature would be more frightened than hurt.
The Sword-fish {Xiphias gJadius), however, in the
long and bony spear that projects from its snout,
seems to be furnished with a weapon which may
reasonably alarm even the leviathan of the deep,
especially as the will to use his sword, if we may
believe eye-witnesses, is in nowise deficient. The
late Captain Crow relates an incident of this kind
with much circumstantiality : " One mornin"-," he
observes, "during a calm, when near the Hebrides,
all hands were called up at 3 a.m. to witness a battle
between several of the fish called Threshers, or Fox
Sharks, and some Sword-fish, on one side, and an
enormous Whale on the other. It was in the middle
of summer, and the weather being clear, and the fish
close to the vessel, we had a fine opportunity of
witnessing the combat. As soon as the Whale's back
appeared above the M-ater, the Threshers, springing
several yards into the air, descended with great
violence upon the object of their rancour, and inflicted
upon him the most severe slaps with their long tails.

THE ARCTIC SEAS. 14?

the sound of which resembled the reports of muskets
fired at a distance. The Sword-fish, in their turn,
attacked the distressed Whale, stabbing from below ;
and thus beset on all sides and wounded, when the
poor creature appeared, the water around him was
dyed with blood. In this manner they continued
tormenting and wounding him for many hours, until
we lost sight of him ; and I have no doubt they, in
the end, completed his destruction.'" * Some discredit
has been thrown on this and similar accounts, on the
ground that the fishes could have no object in per-
secuting the AVhale ; but the circumstance is not
more extraordinary than the well-known custom which
little birds have of surrounding and teasing, or
"mobbing," as it is called, any large bird to which
they are unaccustomed. It has been objected, that
the Captain describes the proceedings of the Sword-
fish from below, when, from the reflection of the
surface, he could not possibly see them. But, on the
contrary, the incident is said to have occurred " close
to the vessel ;" and any one who has been at sea
knows that in a calm, by going aloft, you can see to
a great depth in the water. The habit here attributed
to the Sword-fish is confirmed by the frequency with
which ships are struck with great violence, most
museums possessing fragments of the planking of
ships in which the "sword" of this finny tyrant is
imbedded. It is with reason supposed that the dark
and bulky hull is by the fish mistaken for the body
of a Whale. The only resource which this gigantic
animal has for getting rid ot his troublesome foes, is

• ilemoira of Capt. H. Crow, p. 11.
L 2

148

THE OCEAN.

said to be by diving to unfathomable depths, where
their structure could not for an instant sustain the
enormous pressure.

Another animal has been accused of joining in
these assaults, I suppose from having been con-
founded with the Sword-fish. It is the Nanvhal, or

StKAliLNU TUK NARWHAL.

Sea Unicorn {Monodon monoceros), a very different
creature ; in fact, being a first-cousin of the \^^lale
himself. This interesting animal, the beauty of the
northern seas, must be acquitted of this charge,
bemg as inoffensive as his great relative. It is
a very singular creature, formed in many respects

THE AKCTIC SEAS. 149

like the AVliale, but much more graceful. The colour
is grey above, and pure white beneath, the whole
spotted or mottled with a blackish hue. From the
head projects a long straight horn of solid ivory,
in the same line as the body ; sometimes, but rarely,
there are two. The structure and origin of this
horn (which has given much celebrity to this hand-
some creature) are very peculiar. It is, in fact, the
tooth, and the only one it possesses in general ; the
fellow-tooth, however, exists within the bone of
the jaw, but undeveloped, lying shut up like the
kernel of a nut. It is usually the left tooth that
projects. Considerable uncertainty exists about the
use of this long and spiral tusk. Some have sup-
posed that it is used to search for food, by raking
in the mud at the bottom, or to pierce thin ice at
the surface, to obtain access to the air; but Mr.
Scoresby appears to have thrown considerable light
upon it, by having met with an individual in whose
stomach, among the remains of other fishes, was
found a skate, almost entire, which was two feet
three inches long, and one foot eioht inches wide.
" Now it appears remarkable," observes this gentle-
man, " that the Narwhal, an animal without teeth,
a small mouth, and with stiff lips, should be able
to catch and swallow so large a fish as a skate, the
breadth of which is nearly three times as great as tha
width of its own mouth. It seems probable that the
skates had been pierced v)ith the horn, and killed
before they were devoured ; otherwise it is difficult
to ima<?ine how the Narwhal could have swallowed
them, or how a fish of any activity would have per-

150 THE OCEAN.

mitted itself to be taken, and sucked down the throat
of a smooth-mouthed animal, without teeth to detain
and compress it."

We know but little of the true fishes that inhabit
the Arctic Seas. It appears, however, that many of
the more important of those which are common with
us are common also there ; not the subjects of an
annual migration, but widely distributed at all times.
On the authority of a French naval officer, it would
even seem that some species at least may undergo
a sort of torpidity. " Admiral Pleville Lepley, who
had had his home on the ocean for half a century,
assured M. Lacepede tliat in Greenland, in the
smaller bays surrounded with rocks, so common on
this coast, where the water is always calm, and the
bottom generally soft mud and juice, he had seen in
the beginning of spring myriads of Mackerel, with
their heads sunk some inches in the mud, their tails
elevated vertically above its level ; and that the
mass of fish was such, that at a distance it might
be taken for a reef of rocks. The Admiral supposed
that the Mackerel had passed the winter torpid,
under the ice and snow, and added that, for fifteen or
twenty days after their arrival, these fishes were
affected with a kind of blindness, and that then many
were taken with the net ; but as they recovered their
sight the nets would not answer, and hooks and lines
were used."* In illustration of the great depth to
which the eye can penetrate in these seas, from
the transparency of the water. Captain Wood, who

* Edin. Journa) of Science.

THE ARCTIC SEAS.

ir.l

visited Spitzbergen in 167G. observed that, at the
depth of four hundred and eighty feet, the shells
on the bottom were distinctly visible.

The minute animals which constitute the food
of the Whales, form a very interesting subject of
contemplation. If any of my young readers have
ever been upon the sea, though only in a boat, o
few miles from the shore, they cannot fail to have
observed Heating in the water some round masses oi
transparent substance, like clear jelly, which alter-
nately contract and dilate tlieii' bodies, or sometimes

FOOD OF THE WHALE.

1, Limacina helicina ; 2, 3, 4, Medusce ; 5, Clio horealis.

turn themselves, as it were, partly inside out. They
are of various sizes, from that of a large plate to a
microscopical minuteness ; they are, for the most
part, crossed by radiating lines, and are curiously
fringed at the edge. These Medusce, or Sea-blubbers,
as they are familiarly called, form a considerable
portion of the Whale's food, many species of them
DeiuG^ abundant in its haunts. Another little animal
occurs there in immense hosts, the Clio horealis,

J 52 THE OCEA]^.

which bears some slight resemblance to a butterfly
just emerged from the chrysalis, before the wings
are expanded. Near the head there is on each side
a large fin or wing, by the motions of which it
changes its place. These motions are amusing ; and
as the little creatures are so abundant, they mahe
the dreary sea quite alive with their gambols as
they dance merrily along. In swimming, the Clio
brings the tips of its fins almost into contact, first
on one side, then on the other : in calm weather they
rise to the surface in myriads, for the purpose of
breathing, but scarcely have they reached it before
they again descend into the deep. Mr. Scoresby kept
several of them alive in a glass of sea-water for
about a month, when they gradually wasted away
and died. The head of one of these little creatures
exhibits a most astonishing display of the wisdom ot
God in creation. Around the mouth are placed six
tentacles, each of which is covered with about three
thousand red specks, which are seen by the micro-
scope to be transparent cylinders, each containing
about twenty little suckers, capable of being thrust
out, and adapted for seizing and holding their minute
prey. " Thus, therefore, there will be three hundred
and sixty thousand of these microscopic suckers
upon the head of one Clio ; an apparatus for pre-
hension perhaps unequalled in the creation."

Numerous as are the hosts of these frolicsome
little beings, there are, however, others which vastly
exceed them in number ; which pass, indeed, beyond
the possibility of human computation. Navigators
had often noticed, in certain parts of the Arctic Sea,

THE ARCTIC SEAS. 153

Ihdt the water instead of retaining its usual trans-
parency, was densely opaque, and that its hue was
grass-green, or sometimes olive-green. It is com-
monly known as the "green-water," and though
liable to slight shiftings from the force of currents, is
pretty constant in its position, occupying about one-
fourth of the whole Greenland sea. Mr Scoresby
was the first who ascertained the cause of this pecu-
liar hue : on examination he found that the water
was densely filled with very minute Medusce, for the
most part undistinguishable without a microscope.
He computes that within the compass of two square
miles, supposing these animalcules to extend to the
depth of two liuudred and fifty fathoms, there would
be congregated a number which eighty thousand
persons, counting incessantly from the Creation until
now, would not have enumerated, though they worked
at the rate of a million per week ! And when we
consider that the area occupied by this green water
in the Greenland seas is not less than twenty thou-
sand square miles, what a vast idea does it give
us of the profusion of animal life, and of the bene-
ficence of Him who "openeth His hand, and satisfieth
the desire of every living thing !"

Several species of minute Crabs and Shrimps
occur also in great numbers, and constitute no small
portion of the food of the Whale. One little crea-
ture, in particular, was found to swarm even beneath
the ice, in the temporary sojourn of the discovery
expeditions in winter quarters. The men had often
noticed the shrinking of their salt meat which had
been put to soak ; and a goose that liad been frozen.

154

THE OCEAN.

on being immersed to thaw, was, in the lapse of
forty-eight hours, reduced to a perfect skeleton. The
officers afterwards availed themselves of the ser-
vices of these industrious little anatomists, to obtain
cleaned skeletons of such small animals as they
procured, merely taking the precaution of tying the
specimen in a loose bag of gauze or netting, for
the preservation of any of the smaller bones that
might be separated by the consumption of the hga-
ments.

THE ATLANTIC OCEAN.

The Atlantic is much better knoAvn to us than
any other of the great divisions of the Ocean, be-
cause, washing the shores of the principal commercial
nations, it has been more traversed and explored.
Its edges, on each side, are, in a greater degree than
those of any other, hollowed into bays and harbours,
and it is connected with the chief inland seas, such
as the Baltic, ]\Iediterranean and Black Seas on the
one hand, and the Gulf of Mexico and the Bays,
or rather Seas, of Hudson and Baffin on the other.
If, then, the importance of an Ocean is estimated by
the length of the line of coast which borders it, the
Atlantic takes precedency of all, exceeding even the
Pacific in this respect, in the proportion of about
four to three. It is remarkable that it is the north-
ern half which has so winding a coast, and to which,
also, are confined the inland seas : and it is this part
that is bordered with nations celebrated for naviga-
tion and commerce, the maritime nations of Europe
and the United States. Unlike the Pacific, whose
vast solitudes are rarely broken by the presence of a
ship,* the Atlantic is continually ploughed by the
keels, and spangled with the banners of powerful
empires, conveying from shore to shore those diver-
sified commodities, the interchange of which so greatly

* Since this was written the discovery of the gold-fields of
California, Australia, and British Columbia has immensely increased
the nautical traverse of the Pacific. (Ed. 1860.)

156 THE OCEAN.

promotes peace and good-will, and is, therefore,
fraught with blessings to mankind.

Leaving behind us the inhospitable waters of the
north, let us take an imaginary voyage through this
important and interesting portion of the great deep,
still having an open eye to mark the footsteps of
Him whose " way is in the sea, and His path in the
great waters." The north breeze blows cheerily,
though coldly, and the sun, daily attaining a more
elevated position at noon, while the pole-star nightly
approaches the horizon, tells vis of our rapid progress
southward. By and by, the shout of " Land ho ! "
directs our attention to the horizon, where, with
straining eyes, we dimly discern what appears to be
a faint mass of cloud, of so evanescent a hue, that
a landsman looks long in the direction of the sea-
man's finger, and yet continues dubious whether
anything is really visible or not. Now he says con-
fidently, "Ha! I caught a glance of it then:" but
presently it tvn-ns out that his eye has been directec'
to a point quite wide of the indicated locality ; and
again he slowly but vainly sweeps the horizon with
his eye, in search of what the practised vision of the
mariner detects and recognises at a glance. Mean-
while, the ship rushes on before the cheerful breeze ,
we go down to breakfast ; and on again coming on
deck, there no longer remains any doubt ; there lies
the land on the lee bow, high and blue, and pal-
pable. It is one of the Azores ; and as we draw
nearer, we discern and admire the picturesque beau-
ties by which they are distinguished. The lofty
cliffs of varying hues rear their bold heads perpen-

THE ATLANTIC OCEAJ^. ].57

dicnlarly from the foaming -waves, cut and seanuul
into dark chasms and ravines, through which rocky
torrents find a noisy course, while liere and there
a little stream is poured over the very summit of the
precipice, the cascade descending in a white narrow
line, conspicuous against the dark rock behind, until
the wind carries it away in feathery spray long be-
fore it reaches the bottom. The sunlight throws the
prominences and cavities of the clifFs into broad
masses of light and shadow, which, ever changing
as the ship rapidly alters her position, give a magic
character to the scene. Here and there, on the sides
of the hills farther inland, the lawns and fields of
lively green, speckled with white villas and hamlets,
and relieved by the rich verdure of the orange-
groves, present a softer, but not less pleasing prospect.
Other islands of this interesting group gradually rise
from the horizon, all of similar character, but diverse
in appearance from their various distance ; some
showing out in palpable distinctness, and others seen
only in shadowy outline. But there is one whicli,
from the singularity of its shape, arrests the attention,
A mountain, of a very regularly conical form, seems
to rise abruptly from the sea, with remarkable steep-
ness, verdant almost to the summit ; it is almost
like a sugar-loaf, with a rounded top, crowned by a
nipple-like prominence, which is often veiled by
clouds. It is the Peak of Pico, seven thousand
feet in height, second :n celebrity, as in elevation,
only to the Peak of Teneriffe. A visitor has thus
described the picturesque beauty of this oceanic
mountain: — ''The Loary head of Pico presents a

158

THE OCEAN.

Pico.

great variety of beauty. One afternoon it was liglitly
powdered with snow, so as to give it a tint of sober
olive; with a larger quantity of frost or snow, and
stronger and more direct sunshine, it has looked like
dead silver ; at another time it was tipped with
fire ; at another it was pavilioned in flame-coloured
clouds ; — a few light mists would shut it entirely
out, or, where transparent, give to it a wan and
visionary hue ; and in the evening, when the clouds
put on a gayer livery, becoming rose-coloured, or
purple, or bronzed, the changes and flushes would
almost remind you of the variable colours on a
pigeon's neck ; or, as a poet has said,

' Of hues that blush and glow
Like angels' wings.' " *

* Buliar's Azores, i. 368.

THE ATLAIJTIC OCEAN. 159

Some curious traditions are found in the writincrs
of the ancients respecting an island of very large
size, believed to have once existed in the Atlantic.
Plato, in the Timreus, gives the fullest account of
this island, vhich was called Atlantis. It is stated
to have been nearly two hundred miles in length,
situated opposite the Straits of Gibraltar. It was
fertile and populous, and some of the warlike chiefs
among whom it was divided are said to have made
irruptions upon the continent, and to have conquered
a considerable part of Europe and ISTorthern Africa.
Several other islands are described as situated in the
vicinity of Atlantis, beyond which lay a continent
superior in size to all Europe and Africa. At length,
the whole island is reported to have been swallowed
up by the sea ; after which, for a long period, that
part of the ocean was of difficult and dangerous
navigation, on account of the numerous rocks and
shelves which lay beneath the surface. There are
many circumstances which render it improbable that
tliis stoiy, marvellous as it is, is entirely a fiction.
It has been supposed that the great island was Cuba,
the surrounding ones the other West Indies, and the
great continent America ; and that the cessation of
intercourse with these regions, through the decay of
naval enterprise, gave rise to the tradition that the
island itself had disappeared. But this would not
explain the matter-of-fact statement of the rocky
shallows after the catastrophe ; nor would the dis-
tance of Cuba from Europe permit martial invasions
of this continent to be readily made from it. Others
have concluded — and this does not seem to my own

160 ■'■ ' THE OCEAN.

mind inconsistent with probability — that the state-
ments of the ancients may be literally true ; that
by the action of an earthquake, of which we have
had instances in modern times, the island may have
been submerged, and that the Azores are the sum-
mits of the hifrhest mountains. It seems somewhat
to confirm this opinion, that these islands are evi-
dently volcanic in their origin, and are very subject
to earthquakes, — nay, the very phenomenon of islands
swallowed up by the sea has repeatedly occurred here
within historical record. It is true, that in these
instances the island itself was small, and had been
but recently raised by volcanic action ; but it does
not seem necessary that in similar cases there should
be an exact parallelism, either in size or duration.
The last of these occurrences was so remarkable
on other accounts as to be well worthy of a detailed
description, which is given by an eye-witness, Captain
Tillard, an officer of the British na^y : " Approaching
the island of St. Michael's on the 12th June, 1811,
we occasionally observed, rising in the horizon, two
or three columns of smoke, such as would have been
occasioned by an action between two ships, to which
cause we universally attributed its origin. This
opinion was, however, in a very short time changed
from the smoke increasing, and ascending in much
larger bodies than could possibly have been produced
by such an event ; and having heard an account,
prior to our sailing from Lisbon, that in the preceding
January or February a volcano had burst out within
the sea near St. Michael's, we immediately concluded
that the smoke we saw proceeded from that cause,

THE ATLANTIC! OCEAN. 161

and on our anchoring the next morning in the road
of Ponta del Gada, we found this conjecture correct
as to the cause, but not as to tlie time ; the eruption
of January having totally subsided, and the present
one having only bui'st forth two days prior to our
approacli, and about three miles distant from the
one before alluded to."

The Captain having proceeded to a cliff on the
island of St. jMicliael's, about three or four hundred
feet high, from which the eruption was scarcely a
mile distant, proceeds to describe its appearance :
" Imagine an immense body of smoke rising from
the sea, the surface of which was marked by the
silvery ripplings of the waves. In a quiescent state,
it had the appearance of a circular cloud revolving
on the water, like a horizontal wheel, in various and
irregular involutions, expanding itself gradually on
the lee side ; when, suddenly, a column of the
blackest cinders, ashes, and stones, would shoot up
in the form of a spire, at an angle of from ten to
twenty degrees from a perpendicular line, the angle
of inclination being universally to windward ; this
was rapidly succeeded by a second, third, and fourth
sliower, each acquiring greater velocity, and over-
topping the other, till they had attained an altitude
as much above the level of our eye as the sea was
below it.

" As the impetus with wliich the several columns
were severally propelled diminished, and their as-
cending motion had nearly ceased, they broke into
various branches resembling a group of pines : these
again forming themselves into festoons of w hite fea-

M

162

•rHE OCEAIJ.

SUBMARINE VOLCANO.

thery smoke, in the most fanciful manner imaginable)
intermixed with the finest particles of falling ashes,
which at one time assumed the appearance of innu-
merable plumes of black and white ostrich feathers
surmounting each other ; at another, that of the light
wavy branches of a weeping willow.

" During these bursts, the most vivid flashes of
lightning continually issued from the densest part of
the volcano ; and the cloud of smoke now ascending
to an altitude much above the highest point to which
the ashes were projected, rolled off in large masses of
fleecy clouds, gradually expanding themselves before
the wind in a direction nearly horizontal, and draw-

THE ATLANTIC OCEAN. 1G3

ing up to them a quantity of water-spouts, wliich
formed a most beautiful and striking addition to the
general appearance of the scene."

In the course of a few hours, a crater had been
thrown up by tliese eruptions, to the heiglit of twenty
feet above the sea, and apparently three or four
hundred feet in diameter. Kepeated shocks of an
earthquake accompanied the explosion. The narrator
was obliged to leave the neighbourhood on the suc-
ceeding day, at which time the volcanic eruption
was seen from a distance to be still raging with
undiminished fury. About three weeks afterwards
he returned to the spot, and found all quiet, but
the newly-formed island had increased to a mile
in circumference, and the highest part appeared to
have an elevation of about two hundred and forty
feet. On landing, he found the place still smoking,
and the larger crater nearly full of water in a boiling
state, which was being discharged into the Ocean by
a stream about six yards across : this stream, close to
the edge of the sea, was so hot, as barely to admit
the momentary immersion of the finger.* On the
11th of October, in the same year, this island sank
beneath the Ocean from which it hnd emerged,
leaving a dangerous shoal in the neighbourhood,
thus realizing the traditionary fate of the island of
Atlantis.

But lot us pursue our voyage. As we follow the
setting sun to his bod among the Indian islands of
the west, the tedium of our way across tlie trackless
waste is enlivened l)y thosi? cheerful little biids,

* Trans. Koy. Soc, 1812.
ji 2

164 THE OCEAN.

the Petrels {Procellaria pelagica), the constant com-
panions of the sailor, by whom they are familiarly
named Mother Carey's chickens. They are peculiarly
Ocean-birds : rarely approaching the shore, except
when they seek gloomy and inaccessible rocks for
the purpose of breeding, they are never seen but
in association with the boundless waste of waters.
Scarcely larger than the swallow that darts through
our streets, one wonders that so frail a little bird
should brave the fury of the tempest ; but when the
masts are cracking, and the cordage shrieking fit-
fully in the fierce blast, and when the sea is leaping
up into mountainous waves, whose foaming crests
are torn off in invisible mist before the violence of
the gale, the little Petrel flits hither and thither,
now treading the brow of the watery hill, now
sweeping through the valley, piping its singular note
with as nmch glee as if it were the very spirit of the
storm, which the superstitious mariner, indeed, attri-
butes to its evil agency. Plocks of these little birds,
more or less numerous, accompany ships, often for
many days successively, not, as has been asserted,
to seek a refuge from the storm in their shelter,
but to feed on the greasy particles which the cook
now and then throws overboard, or the floating sub-
stances which the vessel's motion brings to the sur-
face. It is a pleasing sight to see them crowd up
close under the stern with confiding fearlessness,
their sooty wings horizontally extended, and their
tiny web-feet put down to feel the water, while they
pick up with their beaks the minute atoms of food
of which they are in search. I have been surprised

THE ATLANTIC OCEAN. 165

to notice how very quickly a flock will collect,
though a few moments before scarcely one could
he seen in any direction ; and again they disperse
as speedily. They seem to have the power of dis-
pensing with sleep, at least for very long intervals.
Wilson, one of the most accurate of observers, has
recorded a fact illustrative of this : " In firing at
these birds, a quill-feather was broken in each wing ,
of an individual, and hung fluttering in the wind,
which rendered it so conspicuous among the rest, as
to be known to all on board. This bird, notwith-
standing its inconvenience, continued with us for
nearly a weeic, during which we sailed a distance
of more than four hundred miles to the north." Of
course, if this individual had gone to sleep, the
vessel would have sailed away, and we can hardly
imagine that it would have again found her in her
pathless course. I do not believe they have ever
been known to alight on the rigging or deck of a
ship.

It is a pity that so interesting a little creature as
this should become the object of a degrading and
meaningless superstition. The persuasion that they
are in some mysterious manner connected with the
creation of storms, is so prevalent among seamen, as
to render them, innocent and confiding as they are,
objects of general dislike, and often even of hatred.
I once made a voyage with a captain, who, though a
man of much intelligence, was not proof against this
absurd superstition, venting hearty execrations against
these " devil's imps," as he called them, in every
gale, as if they had been the malicious authors of

166 THE OCEAN.

it. If this unoffendinfij little bird does afford any
indication of a coming storm, discovered by its more
acute perceptions, which, nevertheless, I very much
doubt, why should not those who navigate the Ocean
receive its warning with gratitude, and make pre-
parations for security, instead of following it witli
profane and impotent curses ? " As well might they
curse the midniglit lighthouse that, star-like, guides
them on tlieir watery way, or the buoy that warns
them of the sunken rocks below, as this harmless
wanderer, whose manner informs them of the approach
of the storm, and thereby enables -them to prepare
for it."

A frequent relief to the tedium of a long voyage
is found in the shoals of playful Dolphins {Del-
phinus dlpJiis, &c.), which so often perform their
amusing gambols around us. They may be discerned
at a great distance ; as they are continually leaping
from the surface of the sea, an action which, as it
seems to have no obvious object, is probably the
mere exuberance of animal mirth. When a shoal is
seen thus frolicking at the distance of a mile or two.
in a few moments, having caught sight of the ship,
down they come trooping with the velocity of the
wind, impelled by curiosity to discover what being
of monstrous bulk thus invades their domain. When
arrived, they display their agility in a thousand
graceful motions, now leaping with curved bodies
many feet into the air, then darting through a wave
with incredible velocity, leaving a slender wake of
whitening foam under the water ; now the thin back-
fin only is exposed, cutting the surface like a knife ;

THE ATLANTIC OCEAN. 1G7

then the broad and muscular tail is elevated as the
animal plunges perpendicularly down into the depth,
or dives beneath the keel to explore the opposite
side. So smooth are their bodies, that their gambols
iire performed with surprisingly little disturbance of
the water, and even when descending from their
agile somersets they make scarcely any splash. The
colour of the upper parts of their bodies is of a
deep black, but by a deception of the sight, caused,
probably, by the swiftness of their motions, and by
the gleaming of the light from their wet and "litterinfj
skin, they appear in the air and under water of a
light-greenish grey. After having taken a few rapid
turns under and around the vessel, the whole shoal,
consisting of a dozen or two, usually congregate
immediately beneath the bowsprit, where they re-
main sometimes for hours romping and rolling about
as if the ship were perfectly stationary, instead of
spanking along at the rate of seven or eight knots
an hour, apparently making no effort to go ahead,
and yet keeping their relative position with admir-
able dexterity and precision. But they are allowed
to remain so long undisturbed only when the duties
of the ship demand the attention of the hands : for
if there be a few moments of leisure, the presence
of a shoal of Dolphins is too tempting to pass un-
heeded. Some one of the crew reputed to be skil-
ful in wielding the harpoon, in small vessels often
the captain himself, goes forward, and having taken
his station upon the bowsprit-heel, or upon one of
the cat-heads, poi.ses his implement of war, and waits
a favourable moment of attack Now the bows are

168 THE OCEAN.

thronged v/ith anxious faces ; the usnal discipline
of the ship is relaxed on such occasions ; even the
sooty cook leaves his caboose, and with the dirty
cabin-boy endeavours to witness the interesting por-
formau3e. All are there but the man at the wheel,
and even he stands on tip-toe to catch a glimpse
of what is going on, and neglecting his helm, " yaws "
the ship about sadly. The unsuspecting visitors
continue their romps : presently one comes within
aim, pretty near the surface ; the dart is thrown, and
if the trembling anxiety of the hai-pooner have not
marred his skill, strikes its object : I have known it,
however, take effect obliquely on the side, cutting
deeply into the flesh, but retaining no hold, in which
case the poor wounded creature, with its bowels
exposed and protruding, instantly shoots away, accom-
panied by all its fellows, not, however, to sympathize
with it, or afford it any assistance, but, if the sailors
may be believed, to fall upon and devour it. But
we will suppose that the barbed weapon has trans-
fixed the animal in the back, and, piercing through
the superficial coat of fat, lias lodged deep in the
solid flesh. The Dolphin plunges convulsively : the
whole herd are gone like a thought, leaving their
unhappy comrade to his fate : the stout line stretches
with the force, but brings him up with a jerk ; the
barbs are beneath the tough muscles, and resist all
his endeavours for freedom : a dozen eager hands
are thrust forth to grasp the line and haul him to
the surface. The struggles of the desperate creature
are now tremendous: the water all around is lashed
into boiling foam, reddened with the life-blood that

THE ATLANTIC OCEAN. 169

is fast ebbing from bis wound. Two or three of tlie
most agile now jiimp into the fore-chains, with tlie
end of a rope formed into a runniiig noose ; they
hang this down into tlie water, and endeavour to
iret the bifTht over his tail ; many trials are unsuccess-
fully made to do this, for the frantic motions of
the animal render it a very difficult operation ; at
length, however, it is drawn over, tightened, and the
prey is considered secure. It is now comparatively
easy, with the aid of a boat-hook, to pass another
rope under the body, just behind the breast-fins, and
then he is soon hoisted on deck. I have been as-
tonished to observe how very inadequate is the notion
one forms of the dimensions of these animals by
seeing them only in the water ; an individual that
measures eight feet iu length, appearing in water not
more than four or five. The muscular power is very
great, but is chiefly concentrated in the tail, and,
therefore, when the animal is removed from its native
element, it is almost helpless, its exertions being
confined to the violent blows which it inflicts upon
the deck with this broad and powerful organ. In
all essential particulars, the Dolphin agrees with the
Whale, already described, being of the same order ; but
it differs in having an upright fin on the back, and
both the upper and lower jaws armed with numerous
small, close, and pointed teeth. In one specimen
which I saw captured, I counted one hundred and
fifty-two in all ; they are beautifully regular, and
those of one jaw fit into the interstices of the other.
The Dolphin differs from the Porpesse {Phoccuna) by
having the jaws lengthened out into a long and

170 THE OCEAN.

slender iDeak, almost like that of some bird : in other
respects there is little difference between the Porpesse
and the Dolphin. Both are very voracious, pursuing
any prey they can master: in the stomach of one
taken in the Atlantic, I found a number of the beaks
of Cuttles {Sejnadoi). A century or two ago, the
flesh of this animal was esteemed a dainty worthy
the attention of epicures in this country ; but now it
is relished only by those whom the salt provisions of
a long voyage have rendered less choice than they
would be under other circumstances. From the
abundance of blood, the meat is very dark in appear-
ance ; but to my own taste, on one or two occasions,
with my appetite sharpened by the privation just
mentioned, steaks cut from it and fried have seemed
very savoury and agreeable.

Now the long yellow strings of floating weed
(Sargassum vulgare), which lie in parallel lines
pointing to the wind, or the broader masses that
resemble meadows parched by protracted drought,
inform us that we are in that mighty current of
tepid water, the Gulf-stream. We hasten to the
gangway, and having drawn a few buckets of clear
transparent water, which we deposit in a tub, collect
with a boat-hook a quantity of the floating weed,
and immerse it in the tub of water to be examined.
Many of the stems and berry-like air-vessels are
coated with a thin and delicate tissue of shelly
substance {Flustra), of a greyish hue, like very
minute network, so delicate as not at all to disfigure
or conceal the form of the substance on which it
is spread. This network is formed of a multitude

THE ATLANTIC OOE^VN. 171

of shallow cells exquisitely regular in their size,
shape, and arrangement, which are tenanted each
by a minute animalcule. Attached to the weed are
groups of little Barnacles {Lepas), from the size of
a pin's head to half an inch in length. While under
water these are incessantly projecting and retracting
the elegant curled apparatus of cirri with which
they are furnished, resembling a plume of feathers ;
from which resemblance it probably was that the
inhabitants of a species found on the Scottish coast
were asserted to be " of that nature to be finally by
nature of seas resolved into geese."* The purpose
of this continual motion of the fringed arms appears
to be twofold ; first, to make a constant eddy in the
surrounding water, and thus bring minute animals
within reach, and then to enclose such as are brought
in as by the cast of a net, and convey them to the
mouth. Crawlinir on the surface of the weed we
may now and then find a nimble little Crab (Lupa),
with the shell on each side projecting horizontally
into a sharp spine. We arc surprised at first to find
a Crab on the surface of the Ocean, as the species
with which we are familiar have not the power of
swimming. On endeavouring to procure one for
examination, however, we no sooner touch the frag-
ment of weed with the boat-hook, than the watchful
little Crab hurries off into the water, and swims
rapidly away out of reach. If we be fortunate
enough to secure one by skilful manoeuvring with
the bucket or a dip-net, we shall discover a peculiar
structure, by means of which these Ocean-crabs are

• Boece, Cosmography of Albioun. Edin. about 1541.

172 THE OCEAN.

endowed with the faculty of swimmino;. In the
common Crab all the feet, except the claws, ter-
minate in a sharp point, but in the present genus
the hindmost pair have the last joint flattened out
into a thin Ijut broad oval plate, the edge of which
is thickly fringed with fine hairs. This structure is
exactly parallel to that by which the foot of a perch-
ing bird is modified into the foot of a swimming
bird, the surface being dilated into a broad web ; or
to the wide fringe by which the hind feet of a water-
beetle are made such powerful oars ; the flattened
joint in the present case becoming a paddle, by the
stroke of which a rapid motion is obtained through
the water. These Swimming Crabs are very vora-
cious, preying upon the little shrimps that are nume-
rous about the weed, which they pursue and seize
with their pincers. Sometimes the Crab remains at
rest, but vigilant, until a shrimjD swims within reach,
when he grasps it with great quickness, and proceeds
to devour it by degrees. In doing this, he holds it
fast by one claw, while with the other he picks off
very daintily the legs and other members of his
prey, putting them bit by bit into his mouth, until
nothing remains but the tail, which he rejects.

The weed is usually the resort of several small
species of fish, which doubtless congregate about
it for the sake of the minute Crustacea that are so
abundant. Among them I have found a very in-
teresting little species of Toad-fish {Antennarius),
whose pectoral and ventral fins project so far from
the surface of the body as to expose the joint, and
thus take th*^ form of the feet of the quadruped. It

THE ATLANTIC OCEAN. 173

uses these members actually as feet, crawling and
pushing its way among the tangled weeds by means
of them. It has even been known to come on shore,
and remain several days without any communica-
tion with the water. On the head of this fish there
are one or two slender horns, furnished at the tip
with several processes resembling little worms. Tlie
use of these organs is very remarkable. The fish is
not one of swift motion, and therefore cannot take
its prey by pursuit : instead of this, it usually con-
ceals itself among the mud at the bottom, or perhaps
among the stalks of floating weed, while it agitates
its curious fleshy horns ; their resemblance to worms
and their motion attract other fishes, which, coming
within reach, are seized by the capacious mouth
of the latent Toad-fish. The lower jaw extending
beyond the upper, causes the mouth to open perpen-
dicularly, and the eyes are so situated as to look
in the same direction, both of which arrangements
facilitate the capture of prey by this singular mode.
It is not improbable that the worm-like tentacles
attached to the mouth and chin of other fishes, as
the Cod and Barbel, for example, answer an end
somewhat similar to this.

In keeping small marine animals for examination,
we often lose the specimens through the water
becoming speedily unfit for supporting animal life ;
a minute Shrimp or two, or a fish of an inch in
length, if confined in a large basin of water, will
usually exhaust the oxygen dunng the night, and
be dead by the morning. A little living seaweed,
however, placed with them, will prevent, or, at least,

174; THE OCEAN.

delay this, as plants in a living state give out
oxygen.*

Every night the pole-star is perceptible nearer the
horizon, and every day the meridian sun reaches to
a higher and yet a higher point, until it appears
almost vertical. The wind gradually becomes lighter,
until we arrive at the "calm latitudes," where we
lie weeks without making any progress. The captain
and crew whistle for wind with as much perseverance
as if they had never been disappointed, and every
one watches anxiously for the least breathings of
a breeze. Nothing can exceed the tantalizing tedium
of this condition ; the wearied eye gazes intently
upon the glistening sea, and eagerly catches the
slightest ruffling of the mirror-like smoothness, in
hopes that it may be an indication of wind ; but on
glancing at the feather-vane upon the ship's quarter,
the hope fades on perceiving it hang motionless
from its staff. A still more delicate test is then
resorted to, that of throwing a live coal overboard,
and marking if the little cloud of white steam has
any lateral motion ; but no ! it ascends perpendi-
cularly till dispersed in the air. Now and then the
polished surface of the sea is suddenly changed to
a blue ripple ; expectation becomes strong, for there
is no doubt of the reality of the motion ; but before
the sails can feel the breeze, it has died away again,
the air is as still, and the sea as glassy, as before.
Coleridge has well described such a state in his
" Ancient Mariner : " —

* I may be permitted to call attention to the fact that this
passage stands verbatim as it did in the first edition, which was
published in 1844. It is the principle of the Marine Aquarium,

THE ATLANTIC OCEAN. 175

*• The 8im came up upon the left,
Out of the sea came he ;
And he shone bright and on the right
Went down into the sea.

"Down dropp'd tlie breeze, the sails dropp'd down ;
'Twas sad as sad could be :
And we did speak only to break
The silence of the sea.

" Day after day, day after day,

We stuck, nor breath nor motion ;
As idle as a painted ship
Upon a painted oceau."

Not a cloud tempers the fierce burning rays of
the sun, which shoot directly on our heads ; the
deck becomes scalding hot to the feet, the melting
pitch boils up from the seams, the tar continually
drops from the rigging, the masts and booms display
gaping cracks, and the flukes of the anchors are too
hot to be touched with impunity. In vain, if we
happen to be sailing in a small vessel, which has
no awning on board to spread over the quarter-
deck, we seek for refuge beneath the sails which
hang lazily from the yards and gaffs, inviting the
desired gales ; for so perpendicular are the fiery
beams in the heat of the day, that very little shadow
is afforded by the sails, and even that little is con-
stantly shifting from the vessel's change of position
in the swell. In such circumstances I have in some
measure felt the force of those similitudes in the
Sacred Prophets, in which the blessings of the
coming reign of the Lord Jesus Christ, after the
long apostacy, are lilvened to " the shadow of a great

176 TUE OCEAN.

rock in a wcaiy lund." " Tliou liast been a shadow
from the heat, when the blast of the terrible ones
is as a storm n<:[ainst the wall. Thou shalt brinf?
down the noise of stram^jers, as the heat in a drv
place ; even the heat with the shadow of a cloud."*

Yet, though day after day rolls on and leaves us
still in the same position, there are not wanting
many things to beguile the weariness of the time.
The gorgeous beauty of the sun's setting almost
makes amends for his unmitigated heat by day. As
his orb approaches the western horizon, the clouds,
which have been absent during the day, begin to
form in that quarter of the heavens ; and, as he sinks,
assume hues of the richest purjale edged with gold,
now hiding his disc, now allowing him to flash out
his softened effulgence through crimson openings,
till he falls beneath the massy mountain-like bed of
cloud that seems to lie heavily upon the surface of
the sea. Then the whole array begins to take the
appearance of a lovely landscape ; the clouds forming
the land, while the open sky represents calm water.
Sometimes we seem to see the long capes and bold
promontories of a broken and picturesque coast,
deeply indented with bays and creeks, and fringed
with groups of islands ; at others, silvery lakes,
studded with little wooded islets, appear embosomed
in mountains, or surrounded by gentle slopes, here
and there clothed with umbrageous woods. Such
an appearance of reality is given to these fleeting
scenes, that it is difficult, after gazing at them for
a few minutes, to believe they are mere shadows.

* Isa. xxxii. 2 ; xxv. 4, 5 ; iv. 5.

THE ATLANTIC OCEAN. 177

The mind forgets the world of waters around, and,
in the enthusiasm of the hour, goes out in busy
imagination to that beautiful land, and roves among
its valleys and hills in dreamy enjoyment. We are
not, then, surprised that the imaginative Greeks
should have suncj of their Fortunate Islands, the
habitations of the blessed, placed far away in the
ocean of the west, and invested with more than
earthly loveliness ; nor that the existence of isles
of similar character, in the same mysterious because
unknown regions, should have found a place in
the mythology of even so remote a nation as the
Hindoos.

Tlie beauteous scenes before us, however, are as
transitory as they are lovely : night comes on with
a rapidity startling to us accustomed to the long
twilight of the north ; the rich hues with which the
western sky is suffused, the crimson and ruddy gold,
speedily change to a warm and swarthy brown, and
one by one the stars come out, and light up the sky
with a stranj^e and unwonted effulgence. Humboldt
aescribes in the following terms his own emotions on
first seeing the brilliant stars of these regions : —

"From the time we entered the torrid zone, we
were never wearied with admiring, every night, the
beauty of the southern sky, which, as we advanced
towards the south, opened new constellations to our
view. AVe feel an indescribable sensation, when, on
approaching the equator, and particularly on passing
from one hemisphere to the other, we see those stars
which we have contemplated from our infancy,
progressively sink, and finally disappear. Nothing

178 THE OCEAN.

awakens in the traveller a livelier lememLrance oi
the immense distance by which he is separated from
his country, than the aspect of an unknown firma-
ment. The grouping of the stars of the first magni-
tude, some scattered nebulw rivalling in splendour
the milky way, and tracts of space remarkable for
their extreme blackness, give a particular physio-
gnomy to the southern sky. This sight fills with
admiration even those who, uninstructed in the
branches of accurate science, feel the same emotions
of delight in the contemplation of the heavenly vault,
as in the view of a beautiful landscape, or a majestic
river. A traveller has no need of being a botanist
to recognize the torrid zone on the mere aspect of its
vegetation ; and, without having acquired any notions
of astronomy, he feels he is not in Europe, when he
sees the immense constellation of the Ship, or the
phosphorescent clouds of Magellan, arise on the
horizon. The heaven and the earth, everything in
the equinoctial regions, assume an exotic character."*
But of all the constellations that stud the sky of
the southern hemisphere, there is none that more
strikes a stranger than the Southern Cross. Its
beauty, as well as the singularity of its form, cannot
fail to inspire interest ; even though we be, through
the grace of God, furnished with ideas of true and
spiritual worship, that prevent our viewing it with
the superstitious reverence with which it is regarded
by the inhabitants of South America. It is not seen
above the horizon until we are within the tropics,
and scarcely appears to advantage until we approach

* Personal Narrative, 1841. Vol. ii. p, 18.

THE ATLANTIC OCEAN.

179

tlie equator. As tlie two brilliant stars whicli form
the top and bottom of the Cross have nearly the
same right ascension, they assume a perpendicular
position when upon the meridian ; and hence afford
an accurate mode of measuring time ; as the hour of
southmg at the different seasons, varying four minutes

THii SOUTHKUM CKOba.

every night, is well known to the inhabitants of the
southern hemisphere. It is very common to hear
the peasants observe one to another, " It is after
midnight " (or some other hour) ; " the Cross begins
to fall!"*

* Since the above was written I have seen the Southern Crow;.
It is a much less splendid constelLition than I had expected, and
less symmetrical. Still it is beautiful, and its associations must
ever render it a striking object, especially to the strarger who gazes
apun it for the first time.

N 2

180

THE OCEAN.

Alone, iu the midst of the ocean, called to nightly
watchings upon the deck, the mariner naturally
becomes familiar with the glowing orbs which are
revealed by the surrounding darkness ; and if he
be a Christian, his thoughts are led out, as he lifts
up liis eyes on high, and beholds the stars marshalled
in order, or the moon " walking in brightness," to Him
that " created these things, that bringeih out their host
by number, and calleth them all by names." For
" the heavens declare the glory of God ; and the firma-
ment sheweth His handy wot k. Day unto day uttereth
speech ; and night unto night sheweth knowledge.

CORYPHENE (Cori/phceno).

There is no speech nor language, where their voice is
not heard."

Between, or in the neighbourhood of the tropics,
the ship is rarely unaccompanied by fishes of many

THE ATLANTIC OCEAN. 181

species, which, iu the clear waters of these soutliern
seas, are visible many fathoms beneath her keel.
One of the most common, and perhaps one of the
most beautiful, is the Coryphene [Coryphcena), mis-
called, by seamen, the Dolphin. One is never weary
of admiring their beauty. Their form is deej), but
thin and somewhat flattened ; and their sides are of
brilliant pearly white, like polished silver. In small
companies of five or six, they usually appear and
play around and beneath the ship, sometimes close
to the surface, and sometimes at such a depth that
the eye can but dimly discern their shadowy out-
line. "When playing at an inconsiderable depth, in
their turnings hither and thither, the ravs of the
sun, reflected from their polished sides, as one or
the other is exposed to the light, flash out in sudden
gleams, or are interrupted, in a very strilving man-
ner. Night and day these interesting creatures are
sporting about, apparently unsusceptible of weariness.
Their motion is very rapid, when their powers are
put forth, as in pursuit of the timid little Flying-fish.
It is to these fishes that most of the accounts of
Dolphins, v/hich we read in voyages, must be referred,
as owing to some mistake of identity, not easily
accounted for, the name of Dolphin has been univers-
ally misapplied by our seamen to the Coiyphene,
while they confound the true Dolj)hin with the
Porpesse. From not adverting to this habitual mis-
nomer some confusion has arisen : thus the following
interesting notice has been quoted in a late valuable
work on the Cetacea,* as illustrative of the true

* Jardiue's Naturalist's Library.

182 THE OCEAN.

Dolphins, although the fair narrator herself takes care
to inform us that she means the Corifphaina hij^puris:
"The other morning a large Dolphin, which had been
following the ship for some distance, and was spark-
ling most gloriously in the sun, suddenly detected a
shoal of Flying- fish rising from the sea at some
distance. With the rapidity of lightning he wheeled
round, made one tremendous leap, and so timed his
fall as to arrive fairly at the place where our little
friends, the Flying-fish, were forced to drop into the
sea to refresh their weary wings. A flight of sea-gulls
now joined in the pursuit ; we gave up our proteges
for lost, when, to our great joy. we beheld them rising
again, for they had merely skimmed the wave, and,
thus recruited, continued their flight. Their restless
foe pursued them with giant strides, now cutting the
wave, which flashed and sparkled with the reflection
of his brilliant coat, and then giving one huge leap,
which brought him up with his prey : they seemed
conscious that escape was impossible ; their flight
became shorter and more flurried, whilst the Dol-
phin, animated by the certain prospect of success,
grew more vigorous in his bounds ; exhausted, they
dropped their wings, and fell one by one into the
jaws of the Dolj^hin, or were snapped up by the
vigilant Gulls."*

Captain Basil Hall has described a very similar
scene in nearly parallel terms ; but, to prevent mis-
understanding, he also informs his readers that "the
Dolphin" of his narrative is the Coryphcena Jiippuris
of naturalists, and a true fish.

• Miss Lloyd's Sketches of Berraudii.

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THE ATLANTIC OCEAN. \ii{i

" Shortly after observing a cluster of Flying-fish
rise out of the water, we discovered two or three
Dolphins [Coryphenes] ranging past the ship, in all
their beauty ; and watched with some anxiety to
see one of those aquatic chases, of which our friends
the Indiamen had been telling us such wonderful
stories. "We had not long to wait ; for the ship,
in her progress through the water, soon put U}»
another shoal of these little things, which, as the
others had done, took their flight directly to wind-
ward. A large Dolphin, which had been keeping
company with us abreast of the weather gangway,
at the depth of two or three fathoms, and, as usual,
gliriening most beautifully in the sun, no sooner
detected our poor dear little friends take wing, than
he turned his head towards them, and darting to the
surface, leaped from the water with a velocity little
short, as it seemed, of a cannon-ball. But, althoucrh
the impetus with which he shot himself into the air
gave him an initial velocity greatly exceeding that of
the Flying-fish, the start which his fated prey had got
enabled them to keep ahead of him for a considerable
time.

"The length of the Dolphins first spring could
not be less than ten yards ; and, after he fell, we
could see him gliding like lightning through the
water for a moment, when he again rose and shot
forwards with considerably greater velocity than a\
first, and, of course, to a still greater distance. In
this manner the merciless pursuer seemed to stride
along the sea with fearful rapidity, while his bril-
liant coat sparkled and flashed in the sun quite

184 THE OCEAN.

splendidly. As he fell headlong on the water at
the end of each hnge leap, a series of circles were
sent far over the still surface, which lay as smooth as
a mirror.

" The group of wi'etched Flying-fish, thus hotly
pursued, at length dropped into the sea ; but we
were rejoiced to observe that they merely touched
the top of the swell, and scarcely sunk in it ; at
least, they instantly set off again in a fresh and
even more vigorous flight. It was particularly
interesting to observe that the direction they now
took was quite different from the one in which
they had set out, implying but too obviously that
they had detected their fierce enemy, who was follow-
ing them with giant steps along the waves, and
now gaining rapidly upon them. His terrific pace,
indeed, was two or three times as swift as theirs,
poor little things !

•'The greedy Dolphin, however, was fully as
quick-sighted as the Flying-fish which were trying
to elude him ; for, whenever they varied their flight
in the smallest degree, he lost not the tentli part of
a second in shaping a new course, so as to cut off
the chase ; while they, in a nuinner really not un-
like that of the hare, doubled more than once upon
their pursuer. But it was too plainly to be seen
that the strength and confidence of the Flying-fish
were fast ebbing. Their flights became shorter and
shorter, and their course more fluttering and uncertain,
while the enormous leaps of the Dolphin appeared
to grow only more vigorous at each bound. Even-
tually, indeed, we could see, or fancied that we could

THE ATLANTIC OCEAN. 185

Aee, that this skilful sea-sportsman arranged all his
springs with such an assurance of success, that he
contrived to fall, at the end of each, just under the
very spot on which the exhausted Flying-fish were
about to drop ! Sometimes this catastroplie took
place at too great a distance for us to see from the
deck exactly what happened ; but on our mounting
high into the rigging, we may be said to have been in
at the death ; for then we could discover that the
unfortunate little creatures, one after another, either
popped right into the Dolphin's jaws, as they lighted
on the water, or were snapped up instantly afterwards.

" It was impossible not to take an active part with
our pretty little friends of the weaker side, and
accordingly we very speedily had our revenge. The
middies and the sailors, delighted with the chance,
rigged out a dozen or twenty lines from the jib-boom
end and spritsail-yard-arms with hooks, baited merely
with bits of tin, the glitter of which resembles so
nmch that of the body and wings of the Flying-tish,
that many a proud Dolphin, making sure of a delicious
morsel, leaped in rapture at the deceitful prize."*

Thoucrh these and other recorded anecdotes indu-

O

bitably refer to the bright pearly fishes just described,
there cannot be a doubt that the same habits are
found to mark the true Cetaceous Dolphins ; while
at the same time I confess that I do not recollect auy
instance in which such pursuit has been witnessed, in
my own experience, or recorded in books of voyages.
Indeed I do not conceive that the chase of the Flying-
tish by the Coryphene has been often witnessed, nor

' Frag. Voy. and Trav. Secoud Series. Veil. i. p. 224.

18G THE OCEAN.

that it can be considered as any other than a rare
occurrence. As the aerial boundings of the Flying-
fish, however, are of constant observation within the
tropics, it seems but natural to conclude that they
are but the frolicsome putting forth of superabundant
animal energy ; that they are, in fact, performed in
sportive play, as the lamb skips and leaps upon the
grass, or the dog pursues its own evasive tail. These
flights, generally performed in shoals, varying in
number from a dozen to a hundred or more, are
extremely pleasing, and sustain our interest even long
after they have become familiar to us. One is apt,
at first sight of a flock, especially if it be unexpected,
to mistake them for white birds flying by, till they
are seen to alight in the water. The length of the
bound is enormous, if it be indeed effected by a single
impulse : but careful observations leave no doubt
of the fact that these fishes do, like birds, increase
and renew their impetus by repeated strokes of their
wings on the air. I have myself repeatedly witnessed
this : I have observed them deviate from the uniform
curve which they usually describe, rising and sinking
alternately so as to keep at the same distance from
the undulations of the surface :* and Humboldt, one
of the most accurate of observers, speaks unhesita-
tingly of their flapping the air with their long fins.
Indeed, it would else seem almost impossible to
imagine that so small a fish, not so large as a herring,
should be able to propel itself to the height of twenty
feet, and to the distance of more than six hundred,
through the air. Generally, one takes his leap first,

• See, for details, my "Naturalist's Sojouiu iu Jamaica," p. 9,etseq.

THE ATLANTIC OCEAN. IS/

when the whole flock follo\v at once, shootin.tj in
nearly a straight line, and skimming along a little
above the surface ; so little that they often strike the
side of a rising wave, and go under water.

Another visitant, who very freely gives us much of
his company, is the Wliite Shark (Carcarias vul-
garis), probably the most terrific monster that cleaves
the waves ; certainly the most hated, and at the same
time feared, by the sailor. The catching of fish is at
all times a pleasing amusement to the mariner ; but to
catch the " Shirk," as he is called, there is a peculiar
avidity, in which the gratification of a deep-seated
hatred of the species, and vengeance for his murder-
ous propensities, form the leading features. When
taken, whether entrapped by the concealed hook, or
otruck by the open violence of the harpoon, and
brought on deck, he is subjected to every indignity
wliich an insane fury can heap upon an object — beat,
stabbed, and kicked, and even reviled as if capable
of understanding language. In truth, I have never
seen any animal, terrestrial or aquatic, which, so to
speak, has " villain " written on its countenance in as
legible characters as the Shark. The shape of the
head, and the form of the mouth, opening so far be-
neath, are anything but prepossessing ; but there is a
peculiar malignity in the expression of the eye, that
seems almost Satanic, and which one can never look
upon without shuddering. The mouth is armed with
teeth of very peculiar construction ; they are trian-
gular in form, thin and flat, the central part, however,
being thicker than the edges, which are as keen as a
lancet, and cut into fine serratures, like a saw. In

188 THE OCEAN.

very large Shaiks, the teeth have been found nearly
two inches in breadth ; they are placed in rows,
sometimes to the number of six, one within another,
lying nearly flat when not in use, but erected in a
moment to seize prey : and as they are so planted in
the jaw that each tooth is capable of independent
motion, being furnished with its own muscles, and as
the power of the jaw is enormous, they form one of
the most terrific and formidable apparatus existing
for the supply of carnivorous appetite. The fatal
voracity of this animal is well known : instances are
numerous of swimmers in tropical seas having been
severed in twain at one snap, or deprived of limbs,
while, on more than one occasion, the whole body of a
man has been taken from this living sepulchre. Yet
this sanguinary voracity is but the result of an unerr-
ing instinct implanted in the animal by God, without
the exercise of which its life could not be sustained :
and therefore it seems not only foolish, but even
sinful, to entertain feelings of personal revenge against
it, as if it were endowed with human reason, " know-
incr fjood and evil." I do not know that it is wrong
to kill an animal so destructive and dangerous ; I
reprobate only the imputation to it of human motives,
and the staining an useful act with unnecessary cruelty.
The mode by which the race of these formidalile
creatures is continued, differing as it does so greatly
from that of m.ost other fishes, is exceedingly curious.
The Shark, instead of depositing some millions of
eggs in a season, like the Cod or the Herring, pro-
duces two eggs, of a square or oblong form, the coat
of which is composed of a tough horny substance;

THE ATLANTIC OCEAN. 189

each corner is prolonged into a tendril, of which the
two which are next the tail of the enclosed fish are
stronger and more prehensile than the other pair.
The nse of these tendrils appears to be their en-
tanglement among the stalks of sea-weeds, and the
consequent mooring of the egg in a situation of
protection and comparative security. Near the head
there is a slit in the egg-skin through which the
water enters for respiration, and another at the oppo-
site extremity by which it is discharged. That part
of the skin which is near the head is \veaker and
more easily ruptured than any other part; a provi-
sion for the easy exclusion of the animal, which takes
place before the entire absorption of the vitelhis or
yolk of the egg, the remainder being attached to the
body of tlie young fish, enclosed in a capsule, which
for a while it carries about. The position of the
animal, while within the egg, is with the head doubled
back towards the tail, one very unfavourable for the
process of breathing by internal gills, and hence there
is an interesting provision made to meet the emer-
gency. On each side a filament of the substance
of the gills projects from the gill-opening, containing
vessels in which the blood is exposed to the action of
the water. These processes are gradually absorbed
after the fish is excluded, until which the internal gills
are scarcely capable of respiration. How curious an
analog}' we here discover with the Frogs and Newts
among the Eeptiles ; and how impressively do we
learn the Divine benevolence, when we find that
the object of so much contrivance and care is the
dreaded and hated Shark 1

100

THE OCEAN.

In these latitudes the Hammer-headed Shark
{Zygcena malleus), a fish of singular construction,
attains a large size. In most particulars it closely
resembles the species just noticed, but the head is
widened out on each side into an oblong projection,
at each extremity of which is placed the eye. The
whole of this part has the form of a double-headed
hammer or maul. Undoubtedly one result of this
remarkable structure is a vast increase of the sphere
of vision ; but why a fish so formidably armed, and
endowed with such powers of motion, should be thus
favoured, we are not sufficiently accquainted with its
habits to determine.

HAMMER-SHARK {Zijgcena malleus), and saw-fish {Pnstu antiquorum).

THE ATLANTIC OCEAN. 191

Aiiotlier singular deviation from the general struc-
ture is found in the Saw-fish [Pristis antiquorum),
which is a shark with the head prolonged into a flat
bony sword, each edge of which is armed with sharp
bony spines, resembling teeth, pointing backwards :
there are about twenty of these in each row. The
body also is covered on the upper surface with hard
sharp tubercles, the points of which turn backwards.
In this respect it resembles some of the Ray or Skate
tribe, as it does also in the flattened form of its body,
and in other respects. Its colour is a dark grey on
the upper parts, gradually softening into white
beneath. This species was known to the ancients,
being found in the Mediterranean Sea, as well as in
the Ocean, but it is in the tropical seas that it acquires
its most gigantic dimensions. It seems to be an animal
of scarcely less ferocity, though far less frequently
met with, than the Common Shark : to. the Whales it
is a formidable antagonist, and though the form of its
saw-like sword does not seem most adapted for pene-
trating a resisting body, such is the vigour of its attack,
that it will bury its weapon to the root in the flesh of
the Whale ; and instances are not infrequent in which
it has been found firmly imbedded in the hull of a
ship. The following interesting narrative, by Captain
Wilson of the Halifax packet, gives us an idea of the
powers of this monster : —

" Being in the Gulf of Paria, in the ship's cutter,
on the 15th of April, 1839, I fell in with a Spanish
canoe, manned by two men, then in great distress,
who requested me to save their lives and canoe, with
which request I immediately complied ; and going

0

I'j2 THE OCEAN.

alongside for that purpose, I discovered that they
had got a large Saw-fish entangled in their turtle-
net, which was towing them out to sea, and hut for
my assistance they must have lost either their canoe
or their net, or perhaps both, which were their only
means of subsistence. Having only two boys with me
in the boat at the time, I desired them to cut the fish
away, which they refused to do ; I then took the
bight of the net from them, and with the joint en-
deavours of themselves and my boat's crew, we suc-
ceeded in hauling up the net, and to our astonish-
ment, after great exertions, we raised the saw of the
fish about eight feet above the surface of the sea. It
was a fortunate circumstance that the fish came up
with the belly towards the boat, or it would have cut
the boat in two.

" I had abandoned all idea of taking the fish, until,
by great good luck, it made towards the land, when
I made another attempt, and having about fifty
fathom of rope in the boat, we succeeded in making
a running bowline-knot round the saw of the fish, and
this we fortunately made fast on shore. "When the
fish found itseK secured, it plunged so violently, that
I could not prevail on any one to go near it : the ap-
pearance it presented was truly awful. I immediately
went alongside the Lima packet, Capt. Singleton,
and got the assistance of all his ship's crew. By the
time they arrived the fish was rather less violent ;
we hauled upon the net again, in which it was still
entangled, and got another fifty fathoms of line made
fast to the saw, and attempted to haul it towards the
shore ; but although mustering thirty hands, we could

THE ATr.WTlC OCEAN, 193

not move it an incli. By this time the negroes be-
longing to Mr. Danglad's estate came flocking to our
assistance, making together with the Spaniards about
one hundred in number: we then hauled on both
ropes for nearly the whole of the day, before the
fish became exhausted. On endeavouring to raise
the fish it became most desperate, sweeping with its
saw from side to side, so that we were compelled to
get strong guy-ropes to prevent it from cutting us to
pieces. After that, one of the Spaniards got on its
back, and at great risk cut through the joint of the
tail, when animation w\ts completely suspended : it
was then measured, and found to be 22 feet long
and 8 feet broad, and weighed nearly 5 tons."*

Other monstrous creatures, of unpleasing forms
and formidable powers, rove at will through these
waters. I shall mention only the Horned Ray
{Ceplialoptera). Imagine a Thornback or Skate, of
the length of twenty-five feet, with the side-fins
greatly lengthened out, so as to make the total width
upwards of thirty feet : these side-fins, instead of
meeting in a point in front of the head, projecting on
each side into a curved point, like a horn. Such is
the Cephaloptera ; and it is powerful and voracious
in proportion to its size. Col. Hamilton Smith, in the
neighbourhood of Trinidad, had the pain of witness-
ing a fellow-creature involved in the horrible embrace
of one of these monsters. It was at early dawn that
a soldier was endeavouring to desert from the ship by
swimming on shore. A sailor from aloft, seeing the
approach of one of these terrific f.shes, alarmed the

* Mag. Nat. Hist. 1839, p. 519.

o2

194 THE OCEAK

swimmer, who endeavoured to return ; but in sight
of his comrades was presently overtaken, the crea-
ture throwing over him one of its huge fins, and thus
carrying him down. In the following record, which
was inserted in a late Barbadoes paper, though the
description is not drawn up exactly as a Naturalist
would have done it, one has no difficulty in recognis-
ing an enormous Cei^lKdoptera : — " On the 22nd of
August [IS-iS], the Brig Eowena was lying in La
Guayra Eoads, the weather perfectly calm : I dis-
covered the vessel moving about among the shipping
I could not conceive what could be the matter. 1
gave orders to heave in, and see if the anchor was
gone, but it was not : but to my surprise, I found a
tremendous monster entangled fast in the buoy-rope,
and moving the anchor slowly along the bottom. I
then had the fish towed on shore. It was of a flat-
tish shape, something like a devil-fish, but very
curious shape, being wider than it was long, and
having two tusks, one on each side of the mouth,
and a very small tail in proportion to the fish, and
exactly like a bat's tail. The tail can be seen on
board the Brig Eowena. Dimensions of the fish
were as follows : — length from end of tail to end of
tusks, 18 feet ; from wing to wing, 20 feet ; the
tnouth, 4 feet wide ; and its weight, 3,502 lbs."

Every one may imagine how much the tedium of
a long voyage is relieved by the company of other
vessels, or even by the speaking of a passing ship ;
but few who have only seen vessels lying in tiers,
side by side, at quays, or wharfs, are at all aware of,
or can readily understand, the anxious care with

THE ATLANTIC OCEAN. 195

which commanders guard against two ships on the
hiffh sea comin" within even a considerable distance
of each other. I have often been amused by hearing
the wishes expressed by passengers on their first
voyage, when a vessel is speaking at what they think
a most uncivil distance, that she would but come
nearer, particularly if the wind is light, as " there
can be no danger then." Little do they think that
in a perfect calm the danger of contact is even
greatest, as, if there be wind enough to give the vessel
steerage way, she is under control, and the evil may
be avoided. On this subject, and on the motions of
ships in calms, an unexceptionable authority, Captain
Basil Hall, thus speaks : —

" How it happens I do not know, but on occasions
of perfect calm, or such as appear to be perfect calm,
the ships of a fleet generally drift away from one
another, so that, at the en-d of a few hours, the whole
circle bounded by the horizon is speckled over with
the.se unmanageable hulks, as they may for the time
be considered. It will occasionally happen, indeed,
that two ships draw so near in a calm as to incur
some risk of falling on board one another. I need
scarcely mention that even in the smoothest water
ever found in the open sea, two large ships coming
into actual contact must prove a formidable en-
counter. As long as they are apart their gentle and
rather gi-aceful movements are fit subjects of admi-
ration ; and I have often seen people gaze for an hour
at a time at the ships of a becalmed fleet, slowly
twisting round, changing their position, and rolling
frum side to side as silently as if they had been

196 THE OCEAN.

in liarbour, or accompanied only by the faint rippling
sound tripping along the water-line, as the copper
below the hends alternately sunk into the sea, or rose
out of it, dripping wet, and shining as bright and
clean as a new coin, from the constant friction of
the Ocean during the previous rapid passage across
the Trade-winds.

"But all this picturesque admiration changes to
alarm when ships come so close as to risk a contact :
for these motions, which appear so slow and gentle
to the eye, are irresistible in their force ; and as the
cliances are against the two vessels moving exactly in
the same direction at the same moment, they must
speedily grind or tear one another to pieces. Sup-
posing them to come in contact side by side, the lirst
roll would probably tear away the fore and main
channels of both ships ; the next roll, by interlacing
the lower yards, and entangling the spars of one ship
with the shrouds and backstays of the other, would,
in all likelihood, bring down all three masts of both
ships, not piecemeal, as the poet hath it, but in one
furious crash. Beneath the ruins of the spars, the
coils of rigging, and the enormous folds of canvas,
might lie crushed many of the best hands, who, from
being always the foremost to spring forward in such
seasons of danger, are surest to be sacrificed. After
this first catastrophe, the ships would probably drift
away from one another for a little while, only to
tumble together again and again, till they had ground
one another to the water's edge, and one, or both of
them, would fill, and go down. In such encounters
it is impossible to stop the mischief; and oak and

THE ATI-AXTIC OCEAN. 197

iron break and crumble in pieces like sealing-wax
and pie-crust. Many instances of such accidents are
on record, but I never witnessed one.

" To prevent these frightful rencontres, care is
always taken to hoist out the boats in good time,
if need be, to tow the ships apart, or, what is gene-
rally sufficient, to tow the ships' heads in opposite
directions. I scarcely know why this should have
the effect ; but certainly it appears that, be the calm
ever so complete, or dead, as the term is, a vessel
generally yor^es ahead, or steals along imperceptibly
in the direction she is looking to ; possibly from the
conformation of the hull." *

But there are indications of our patience being
at length rewarded by a breeze from the eastward ;
and now it comes, rippling the surface as it ap-
proaches, turning that into a deep uniform blue
which has so long borne a glassy brightness reflected
from the sky. The seamen are joyous and alert,
for they know that this is no " cat's-paw," but the
" regular trade." Now it strikes the ship ; the sails,
gracefully swelling, receive the unwonted impulse ;
and the lengthened wake, where the water coils
and frets in the newly-cut furrow, tells that the
vessel makes way once more. The breeze freshens ;
the little waves become larger, and, arching over
each other, break with patches of whitening foam ;
every sail is speedily set that will draw ; and we
run gaily along towards the west, under an eight-
knot breeze. We can scarcely stop to notice the
amity that subsists between the Shark and the

* Frag. Voy. and Trav., 2ud Series, i. p. 226.

198 THE OCEAN.

Pilot-fish {Naucrates ductor), a beautiful little crea-
ture, about the size of a herring, the back striped
transversely with broad alternate bands of brown
and bright azure ; nor the three or four pretty little
Eudder-fishes {Perca saJtatrix, Linn.), whicli have
been following and accompanying us for several days
past. Tliese are amusing little creatures. They
are about six inches long, yellowish brown, with
pale spots : they keep close to the stern, in the angle
formed by the rudder and the counter of the ship,
the " dead water," as it is called by seamen. Hence
they occasionally dart out after any little atom of
floating or sinking substance which promises to be
eatable, and then, having either seized or rejected it,
scuttle back again to their corner, remaining there
day and night without rest. Nor can we do more
than glance at the Sucking-fishes {Echeneis) that
are swimming around, or have attached themselves
to the side of the rudder by means of the singular
oval disk on the head. As this organ is of singular
construction, so its use in the economy of the animal
is involved in entire obscurity. The theory of the
fish being a very slow swimmer, and needing to be
carried along by others, must have been formed by
persons who never had an opportunity of seeing the
Eernora alive. I have seen many, and could detect
no inferiority in their powers of swimming to those
of a young Shark of the same size, which they much
resemble in general appearance and motion when in
the water. There seems to be a perfect vacuum
formed by the adhesion of the disk, and the external
pressure, wdien under water, is of course great As

THE ATLANTIC OCEAX. 199

the month opens upon the upper smface of the
muzzle, owing to the projection of the lower jaw, it
is possible that this habit may be connected with
taking food: there are many little creatures, such
as Crustacea, Barnacles, &c., that are parasitical on
the bodies of marine animals, or attach themselves
to any submerged substance. If the Echeneis feeds
on these, tlicre is an obvious reason why the head
should be affixed to the surface during the dis-
lodgement of the adhering prey, in order to acquire
greater steadiness, as well as a leverage by which
to act more effectively. At all events, we know
that it is not a useless habit ; we trace enough of
manifest design and contrivance in %vhat we do
know of the animal creation, to warrant our con-
tident conclusion, when we find any instinct, the
intention of which is not obvious, that it also is
the production of infinite wisdom and goodness, and
that it could not have been spared without injury
to the animal.

Borne on the wings of the welcome breeze we
rapidly approach that archipelago of lovely islands
that gladdened the heart and rewarded the zeal of
the chivalric Woeld-findee, the first fruits of the
vast continent which the genius and daring of one
master-mind opened to astonished Europe. The
joyful sound of "Land in sight!" resounds through
the ship, and yonder, upon the bow, is discovo'ed,
rising out of the blue sea, the beautiful island of
Antigua. As we draw near we are struck with it.s
loveliness ; the coast is low, but the land rises behind
into rounded hills of moderate elevation, whose

200 THE OCEAN.

swelling eminences and gentle slopes assume some-
what of the appearance of the chalk hills and downs
of our own sweet England. But there are features
which effectually distinguish this island from our
own, and fail not to remind us that we are beholding
the gorgeousness of the tropics. The summits of
the hills are clothed with magnificent forest-trees of
strange forms and foliage ; the graceful palms wave
their feathery crowns against the deep-blue sky :
leafless cacti, thick and cylindrical, project from the
rocks, or take the shape of enormous candelabra : the
great American aloe, with its thick and spiny leaves,
shoots wp its glorious head of yellow blossoms to the
height of twenty feet : the clusters of golden fruit
depend from the plantain and banana, whose gigantic
fronds are cut by the winds into ragged segments ;
while the whole array is bound and matted together
by strong rope-like climbing plants, which, crossing
each other in every direction, and twisting around the
forest-trees and around each other, like huge cables,
present an immense net of vegetation, impenetrable
except by the axe of the woodman. Tree-ferns,
possessing all the grace and elegance of those with
v/hich we are familiar, but growing to a giant size,
shoot up from the clefts of the rocks, or from the
branches of the loftier trees, their rich brown stalks
contrasting with the vivid green of their fan-shaped
fronds. The sides of the hills are clothed with lux-
uriant plantations of Indian corn, or the still more
rich and beautiful sugar-cane ; and here and there
a walk of cocoa-trees is rendered conspicuous by the
glowing scarlet blossoms of the coral trees, by whose

THE ATLANTIC OCEAN. -03

shadow they arc sheltered from the vertical sun.
The coast is broken iuto numerous little bays and
coves, some penetrating far into the island, like
canals among the plantations. A multitude of little
islets are scattered around on the surface of the sea,
on many of which the cattle are grazing on the rich
and succulent pasture. Some of them, however,
are little more than accumulations of sand, formed
of powdered cortil and sea-shells, and affording sup-
port only to some coarse sedges, and to mangrove-
trees. The latter, indeed, delights in such situations,
flourishing at the very edge of the sea, and even
where the ground is continually liable to inundation.
The contorted roots of this tree grow to a consider-
able extent above the soil, so that the base of the
trunk is elevated on a cone of matted roots, through
which the water washes, while from the branches
young twigs are perpetually shooting downward, till,
reaching the soil, they take root, and send forth
other shoots : thus, in a few years, a single plant will
spread into a grove, and cover a large space of land.
As we sail with tortuous course through these delight-
ful groups of ever-verdant isles, fresh scenes of beauty
are continually rising before us. Now a conical hill,
of regular form, arrests the attention, clothed with
thick foliage from the water's edge to the sunnuit,
where the white clouds appear to rest : then we
admire the irregular surface of another isle, whose
dark ravines seem to acquire additional gloom from
the glowing sunlight that plays upon the surrounding
eminences : here a little islet of bright green looks in
the blue sea like an emerald set in sapphire ; there

202 THE OCEAN.

tlie bold cliffs and black precipices of a larger island
announce a very different formation. Now and then
we open a small but deep and beautiful bay. " A
pretty little village or plantation appears at the
bottom of the cove : the sandy beach stretches like
a line of silver round the blue water, and the cane-
fields form a broad belt of vivid green in the back-
ground. Behind this, the mountains rise in the most
fantastic shapes, here cloven into deep chasms, there
darting into arrowy points, and everywhere shrouded
and swathed, as it were, in wood, which the hand of
man will probably never lay low. The clouds, which
within the tropics are infallibly attracted by any
woody eminences, contribute greatly to the wildness
of the scene ; sometimes they are so dense as to bury
the mountains in darkness, at other times they float
transparently like a silken veil ; frequently the flaws
from the guUeys perforate the vapours, and make
windows in the smoky mass ; and then, again, the
wind and the sun will cause the whole to be drawn
upwards majestically, like the curtain of a gorgeous
theatre."

Around these islands the water is frequently shal-
low, a fact made sufficiently obvious by its colour :
instead of the deep-blue tint which marks the un-
fathomed Ocean, the water on these shoals becomes
of a bright pea-green, caused by the nearness of the
yellow sands at the bottom ; and, the shallower the
water, the paler is the tint. The light thrown up-
wards by reflection u]jou the under part of the
swollen sails, transfers the same hue to them, giving
them a singular aspect ; but once I observed a still

THE ATLANTIC OCEAN, 203

more curious appearance, arising from the same
cause. Beino; "becalmed off one of the little Keys of
the Florida Ueef, the crew had been amusing them-
selves with fishing, in which they had been very suc-
cessful. An Osprey {Halaetus ossifragus), attracted,
doubtless, by the fish that lay in profusion about the
decks, was slowly sailing around, occasionally alight-
ino- on the ropes and spars. As he hovered overhead,
turning his head from side to side, every feather was
distinctly seen ; but from the reflection of the water
beneath, all his under parts, which are pure white,
appeared of a fine pea-green, and it M^as only on
catching a side-glance at him, that I discovered his
true colour, and identified the species. It is very
pleasing to peer down into the varying depths,
especially in the clear waters of these seas, and look
at the many-coloured bottom ; sometimes a bright
pearly sand, spotted w^ith shells and corals ; then a
large patch of brown rock, whose gaping clefts and
fissures are but half hidden by the waving tangles of
purple weed ; where multitudes of strange creatures
revel and riot undisturbed.

" Come down, come down from the tall ship's side ;
What a marvellous sight is here !
Look ! purple rocks and crimson trees,
Down in the deep so clear !

" See ! where those shoals of dolphins go,
A glad and glorious band ;
Sporting amitlst the daj'-bright woods
Of a coral fairy land.

" See ! on the violet sands beneath,
How the gorgeous shells do glide I

204 THE OCEAN.

0 sea ! old sea ! who yet knows half
Of thy wouders and thy pridf> ?

" Look linw the sea-plants trembling flo^t
All like a mermaid's locks,
Waving in thread of ruby red.
Over those nether rocks.

" Heaving and sinking, soft and fair,
Here hyacinth —there j^reen, —
With many a stem of golden grovrth,
And starry flowers between.

" But away ! away ! to upper dav \
For monstrous shapes are liere ;
Monsters of dark and wallowing bulk,
And horny eyeballs drear :

" The tu-ked mouth and the spiny fin,
Speckled and warted back,
The glittering swift and flabby slow,
Ramp through this deep sea track.

" Away ! away ! to upper day !
To glance o'er the breezy brine,
And see the nautilus gladly sail.
The flying-fish leap and shine !"

While pursuing our pleasant course amidst these
sandy keys, we may often observe the Green Turtle
{CJielonia mydas) swimming or floating at the sur-
face. In general it is difficult to approach them
within less than a few yards, as they are very wary,
and dive with great rapidity. The shoals and reefs
surrounding the islands, where the sun penetrates
and warms the water, are favourite resorts of these
marine Eeptilia ; and here, too, grow in abundance

THE ATLANTIC OCEAN. 205

the sea-plants (Zostera, &c.) on which they feed.
At night, the females land on the low sandy beaches,
and after examining the place with great caution
and circumspection, lay their eggs in holes, which
they scoop out with their fin-like feet. The work
being accomplished, the sand is again scraped back
over the eggs, and the surface made smooth as before.
The sun soon hatches the eggs, and the little Turtles
crawling forth from the sand betake themselves to
the sea. The usefulness of this animal as an article
of luxurious food is well known ; but its real value
can only be appreciated, when we view it as afford-
ing an immediate relief from the horrors of scurvy,
which, arising from the constant use of salted pro-
visions, has often proved so terrible a scourge in
long voyages. There is a peculiarity in the structure
of the heart of tliis and kindred animals, which is
worthy of notice. In man and other warm-blooded
animals, the blood is brouglit by the veins to tlie
heart, and poured into a chamber called the rt'fjht
auricle ; a communication exists between this and
a second chamber, called the rigJit ventricle ; from
tlie latter the blood is forced through a large artery
to the lungs, to be renewed by exposure to the air ;
from the lungs it is sent through veins to a third
chamber of the heart called tlie left auricle, and
thence into a fourth, called the left ventricle, from
which the great arteiy, called the aorta, carries it
again into the whole body. Thus, no particle of
the blood can be conveyed again into the system
without having passed through the lungs ; but in the
Turtle the case is different. All the four cham-

206 THE OCEAN.

bers of the heart are present, but there is a commu-
nication open between the left and right ventricles ;
and the aorta and pulmonary artery both originate
fi'om the rigid ventricle. In consequence, a part
only of the blood is sent thence to the lungs, which,
returning through the left auricle and ventricle, is
thrown into the right ventricle, and mixed with that
which is just brought from the body ; the mixed
blood being partly returned to the body through the
aorta, and partly sent to the lungs. But this is the
course only when the animal is breathing ; and as a
large part of its life is passed under water, this con-
trivance enables the circulation to go on under cir-
cumstances when breathing necessarily ceases. For
if no air enters the lungs, the blood cannot pass
through them ; therefore, when under water, the
blood passing through the right auricle and ventricle
is immediately sent by the aorta into the body with-
out any exposure to the air. Of course, as the blood
thus unrenewed would become more and more im-
pure, this could not proceed very long without loss of
life, and hence there is a limit to the period during
which the breathing may be suspended, when the
animal must come to the surface or die.

Many of the fishes of these seas partake of the
brilliancy of colour with which the birds and insects
of the same sunny region are so lavishly adorned.
I have seen some of great beauty readily captured
with a hook from the deck of a vessel in shallow
water; the Yellow-fin has its body marked with
longitudinal bands of delicate pink and yellow alter-
nately ; the fins are bright yellow, and the tail fine

THE ATLANTIC OCEAN. 207

pale crimson. Tlie Yellow-tail is pale azure on the
back, and pearly-white below, with a broad band
along each side of richest yellow ; the dorsal and
caudal fins are clear yellow. A larger species, which
the seamen denominated the Market-fish, is all over
of a silvery tint with a ruddy glow, the fins and tail
bright crimson ; this species has very large scales.
Others come under the appellation of Grunts ; these
are marked with oblique parallel lines of gold on a
silver or metallic azure ground, with delicately tinted
fins, and in some cases spots of peculiarly intense
h;stre ; the whole inside of the moutli in these
Grunts, of which there are several distinct species, is
generally of the richest vermilion. Then there are
the Hog-fishes. Tliese are of singular beauty, shaped
somewhat like a peich, with flesh highly valued for
its excellent flavour. One sort has the scales yellow
with red edges. The head is purple above, the jaws
a clear blue, on orange with red wavy lines. The fins
are yellow, spotted with scarlet, and the tail fin is
half black, with a yellow band. Altogether this is a
most gorgeous fish. Another kind has silvery grey
scales ; the head marked all over with streaks of
brilliant violet blue, fantastically arranged, somewhat
like the stripes upon the head of the Zebra. These
last, as also the jNIarket-fish, belong to the family
Lahridm or Wrasses : the Grunts are species of the
genus Hcnmulon: the others belong to Mesoprion, in the
gi'eat Perch family. Still, however, even here there
is some deformity ; at least, ever}'thing does not
accord with our habitual ideas of comeliness ; these
beauties are set off, as by a Ibil, by the visage of the

p

208 THE OCEAN.

Cat-fish, a broad-faced creature of remarkably liideoiis
aspect, but which is esteemed as food.

In some of the quiet nooks and sheltered bays of
these lovely islands, where the vegetation is green
and luxuriant to the water's edge, we may catch a
sight of a herd of Manatees, or Sea-cows. These
animals are usually classed with the Whales, but
they seem, indeed, to be much more intimately con-
nected with the Pachydermata, an order that contains
the Elephant and Hippopotamus. The form is long
and tapering, but plump, and has been compared to
that of a filled wine-skin or leather bottle. The
hinder feet are altogether wanting, but the fore limbs
assume the appearance of broad flat fins, or flippers,
the fingers of which are not separated externally, but
can be distinctly felt through the skin ; and the nails
or claws by which the paw is terminated, sufficiently
indicate their presence. These creatures are perfectly
inoffensive in their manners, timid, and retiring ; they
delight in secluded places, shallow creeks, and par-
ticularly the mouths of the great South American
rivers, often proceeding many miles up the country.
For such situations they are peculiarly adapted ; the
broad valleys of these regions, parched up to barren-
ness in the dry season, and then inundated, so as to
resemble seas during the periodical rains, would not
be suited to the capacities of a terrestrial ruminant ;
but the aquatic habits of the Manatee enable it to
avail itself of the rich and abundant vegetation of
the watery expanse as well as to range the coast
when it is parched up by the returning drought.
Being exclusively herbivorous, the flesh is highly

THE ATLANTIC OCEAN. 209

esteemed ; its flavour is thought to resemble that of
excellent pork, though by some it has been rather
compared to beef. Hunting this animal is a favourite
amusement in the countries of its resort ; a party
proceed in a small boat to its haunt, furnished with a
harpoon, to which is attached a stout line ; when the
weapon is infixed, the creature dives ; in the mean-
while the boat is rowed ashore, and the Manatee,
€x»hausted by its efforts to escape, is drawn on land
by the cord, and despatched. Many of its habits are
exceedingly interesting ; it is fond of sporting in the
water, and leaping from the surface in the manner of
the true Cetacea. Such is the attachment evinced by
these animals for each other, that it is said, when one
is harpooned, the rest of the herd will assemble, and
endeavour to drag out the harpoon with their teeth.
When basking on the shore, the young are collected
into the centre of the group for protection, and if a
calf has been killed, the mother will suffer herself to
be secured without effort ; while, on the other hand,
if the dam be taken, the young will follow the boat
to the shore.

p 2

210 THE OCEAN.

THE PACIFIC OCEAN.

When the astonishing sagacity and enterprise of the
Genoese had discovered the confines of a new world
across the trackless Atlantic, it was without hesitation
concluded, not only by himself, but by all Europe,
that the new land formed the extreme eastern shore
of Asia ; and hence the name of Indies, by this
mistake, was given to these islands, which has been
perpetuated even to the present time. Aware of the
round form of the earth, the geographers of that age
could well conceive the possibility of reaching India
by a westerly course ; but, ignorant of the magnitude
of the globe, they had formed a very inadequate idea
of its existence, being totally unaware of the vast
continent, and still vaster ocean, which separated
Asia from the Atlantic. But as, impelled by an
insatiable thirst for gold, the unprincipled Spaniards
pushed their career of robbery and murder farther
and farther into the continent, they began to hear
tidings of a boundless sea, which stretched away to the
south and west, beyond the horizon of the setting sun.
Balboa, one of the reckless spirits who sought fortune
and fame at all hazards in the newly-found regions,
boldly determined to seek the sea of which the
Indians spake. At the head of a little band of

THE PACIFIC OCEAN. 211

men, guided by a Mexican, lie succeeded, after severe
privations and imminent dangers, in crossing the
isthmus that connects the nortliern and southern
portions of the continent. They had arrived at the
foot of a hill, from the top of which the Indian
assured him he would obtain a sight of the wished-
for sea ; Avhen, in the enthusiasm of the moment,
leaving his companions behind, the Spanish chief ran
to the summit, and beheld a limitless Ocean sleeping
in its immensity at his feet. With the spurious piety
common to the times — a piety that could consist witlj
the grossest injustice, the blackest perjury, and the
most barbarous cruelty — he knelt down and gave
thanks aloud to God for such a termination of his
toils ; then, having descended the clifis to the shore
of the Ocean, he bathed in its mighty waters, taking
possession of it by the name of the Great South Sea,
on behalf of the Iving of Spain. This was in the
year 1513 ; but it was not till seven years afterwards
that its surface was ruffled by an European keel
Then ]\Iagalhaens or Magellan, a Portuguese navi-
gator of great ability, in the service of Spain, having
run down the coast of South America, discovered the
straits which have since borne his name, through
which he sailed, and emerging from them on the
28th November, 1520, first launched out upon the
broad bosom of the South Sea. For three months
and twenty days he sailed across it, during which
long period its surface was never ruffled by a storm ;
and from this circumstance he gave to the Ocean the
appellation of the Pacific, which it still retains. The
immediate vicinity of the Straits, howevei', has been

212 THE OCEAN.

considered peculiarly subject to tempests ; while the
almost continual prevalence of westerly winds, joined
to the severity of the climate, has always given a
character of difficulty and hazard to the passage from
the one Ocean to the other.

In approaching the extreme point of South America,
navigators have been struck with the extraordinary
size of a floating seaweed, the Macrocystes pyrifera of
botanists. It consists of a smooth round stem, com-
monly from 500 to 1,000 feet in length : Foster
mentions one which was 800 feet, and some speci-
mens are reported even to attain the enormous
dimensions of 1,500 feet. From the stem grow a
great number of pear-shaped air-vessels, which end
in long, flat, wrinkled fronds of a semi-transparent
brown hue. I liave already spoken of the Gulf-weed
{Sargassum vulgare), as being met with in particular
parts of tlie Atlantic : similar collections of it occur
also in these and other seas, and much mystery seems
to lie about its origin and mode of growth. From
specimens having been found with roots, it appears
certain that in a living state it is attached to the
bottom, whence it is not impossible that it may be
detached spontaneously at a certain period of its
growth, that the seed-vessels may be perfected by
exposure to light and air. Near the shores sea- weeds
are found so uniformly growing to rocks as to form a
very valuable indication of the presence of hidden
dangers. These appear to be chiefly of the former
kind.

To these remote and inhospitable seas many vessels
are annually despatched from this country, as well as^

THE PACIFIC OCEAN. 21

n

from tlie United States, in pursuit of various species
of Seals, and of the Sperm Whale. To obtain the
former, they resort to any of the small islands which
are scattered over the southern part of the Atlantic
and Pacific, but particularly those which lie around
Cape Hora These animals yield two valuable pro-
ducts, oil and fur ; but not indiscriminately, the oil
being afforded by the Elephant Seal {Macrorhinus
proboscideus), a singular animal, of large size ; being
often seen thirty feet long, and eighteen round at the
thickest part. A very remarkable formation of the
snout has given the distinctive name to this species.
At a certain season of the year, in the adult males,
the skin of the tip of the nose, which covers a
number of cells ordinarily empty, becomes enlarged
and lengthened by the blood that the animal has the
power of forcing into the cells. This projection is
now a foot in length ; but it appears to be nothing
more than a mere appendage, somewhat resembling,
in more respects than one, the fleshy wattle on the
head of the turkey, which can be similarly inflated.
In the spring, tliat is, in these latitudes, the months
of August and September, the Elephant Seals betake
themselves to the rocky shores in large herds ; at this
time they are exceedingly fat, and a single male will
sometimes yield a butt of oil. They remain on shore
until the middle of summer, when the young, which
have been born in the meantime, are fit to take the
water and provide for themselves. As the old ones
have taken no food during the whole of this period,
they are become very lean and weak, but soon re-
cruit their powers. Thoutrh furnished with large and

214

THE OCEAN.

powerful tusks, and endowed with sufficient strength
to use them, the Sea Elephant is a most mild and
inoffensive creature, suffering the seamen not onlv to
walk among them uninjured, but even to bathe in
the midst of the herd when swimming, with perfect
impunity. In self-defence, however, or in defence
of their young, their resistance becomes formidable.
One of Anson's men having killed a young one, had

s>J>^

ELEPHANT SEALS, FIGHTING.

the cruelty and rashness to skin it in the presence of
its mother : but she, coming beliind him, got the
sailor's head into her mouth, and so scored and
notched his skull with her sharp teeth, that lie
died in a day or two afterwards.

Among themselves, however, the males are accus-
tomed to fight at certain periods with great fcrr»-

THE PACIFIC OCEAJSr. 215

city. "Tlioir mode of battle is very singular. The
two rival giant knights waddle heavily along ; they
meet and join snout to snout ; then they raise the
fore part of the body as far as the fore paws, and
open their immense mouths ; their eyes are inflamed
witli rage, and they dash against each other with the
greatest violence in their power : now they tumble
one over the other, teeth crash with teeth, and jaws
with jaws ; they wound each other deeply, some-
times knocking out each other's eyes, and more fre-
quently their tusks ; the blood flows abundantly ;
but these raging foes, without ever seeming to ob-
serve it, prosecute the combat till their strength is
completely exhausted. It is seldom that either is
left dead on the field, and the wounds they inflict,
however deep, heal with inconceivable rapidity. The
object of these encounters is to obtain the lordship
of a herd of females, by which a male is always
accompanied, and over which he rules with undi-
vided empire."

While on land, the motions of these animals are
slow and unwieldy, and a]:)parently productive of
much fatigue. Their gait is described as singular :
as they crawl along, the vast body trembles like a
great bag of jelly, owing to the mass of blubber by
which the whole annual is invested, and wdiicli is as
thick as it is in a whale. After having proceeded
thus for fifteen or twenty yards, they halt to rest ;
and if forced to go forward by repeated blows, their
appearance presently manifests the distress to which
they are subjected by the increased exertion. It is
remarkable that, in tiiese circumstances, the pupil of

216 THE OCEAN.

the eye, which ordinarily is bluish-green, becomes
blood-red. They do not, therefore, commonly wander
far from the sea, but generally choose low sandy
shores, or the mouths of rivers, for their haunts ;
though they have been known to ascend hills of
twenty feet elevation, in search of some pools of
water. They appear to be incommoded by the
direct beams of the sun ; and, to shelter themselves
from its influence, they have the habit of scooping
up the wet sand with their forepaws, and throwing
it over their bodies, until they are entirely enveloped
by it.

It is for the oil which is produced by this species
of Seal that many vessels are sent to the islands of
the Pacific, and to the icy regions of the Antarctic
Ocean. Its skin, though serviceable as leather for
harness, &c., yields no fur, being clothed only v/ith
coarse hair. The oil, however, is of very superior
quality ; it is clear and limpid, without any smell,
and never becomes rancid ; it burns slowly, and
without smoke or disagreeable odour. The hunters
destroy the animals with long lances : watching the
instant when the Seal raises the left forepaw to ad-
vance, they plunge the lance into its heart, when it
immediately dies. The fat is then peeled from the
carcase, and cut up and packed in casks in a similar
manner to that of the Whale.

The soft yellow fur, with a changeable gloss, wliich
a few years ago was so much made into caps, is
another product of a South Sea voyage. It is the
covering of more than one species of Seal, belonging
to a tribe called Otaries, because their heads are

THE PACIFIC OCEAN. 217

furnished with external ears, of which the others are
deprived. That which is by eminence called the
Fur-Seal {Otaria Falklandica) is clothed externally
with long hair of a grey hue ; but when tliis hair is
pulled out, there is seen a thick fur of great softness,
curly or wavy, and of a fine yellowish brown. The
habits of this animal are in general similar to those
of the Sea-Elephant just described : it is, however,
much more active on land, often escaping from a
man running. Its history affords us an instance of
change of instincts produced by experience. When
the Seals of South Shetland were first visited, they
had no apprehension of danger from man : but would
unsuspectingly remain while their fellows were slain
and skinned ; but latterly they have learned to guard
against tlie new dangers, by placing themselves on
insulated rocks, from which they can in a moment
throw themselves into the water. AVe may form a
notion of the zeal with which this commercial enter-
prise was prosecuted, as well as of its valuable
character if it had been pursued with prudent re-
strictions, from the fact that in the years 1821 and
1822, there were taken from the South Shetland Isles,
320,000 skins of Fur Seals, and 940 tuns of Sea-
elephant oil. The former valuable animal might,
by proper precautions, have been made to produce
100,000 skins annually lor a long time to come.
"This would have followed from not killing the
mothers till the young were able to take the water;
and even then, only those which appeared to be old,
together with a proportion of the males, thereby
diminishing tlieir total number, but in slow progres-

218 THE OCEAN.

sion. The system of extermination was practised,
liowever, at South Shetkmd ; for whenever a Seal
reached the beach, of whatever denomination, he was
immediately killed, and his skin taken ; and by this
means, at the end of the second year, the animals
became nearly extinct ; the young, liaving lost tlieii:
mothers wdien only three or four days old, of course
all died, which, at the lowest calculation, exceeded
100,000."*

Other species of Otaries, which frequent these
seas, have large heads, clothed with long shaggy hair,
which, falling down on the neck, assumes the ap-
pearance of a mane, and hence they are frequently
called Sea-lions. Of some of these animals which
Captain Cook met with, he says, " It is not at all
dangerous to go among them, for they either fled or
lay still. The only danger was in going between
them and the sea ; for if they took fright at any-
thing, they would come down in such numbers, that
if you could not get out of their way, you would be
run over. When we came suddenly upon them, or
waked them out of their sleep (for they are sluggish,
sleepy animals), they would raise up their heads,
snort or snarl, and look fierce, as if they meant to
devour us ; but as we advanced upon them, they
always ran away, so that they are downright bullies."
Like the Sea-elephant, however, they are quarrelsome
among themselves. They often seize each other with
a degree of rage which is not to be described; and
many of them are seen with deep gashes on their
backs, which they had received in these wars. Others

• \\'edcleira Voyage, p. 141.

THE PACIFIC OCEAN. 219

of the eared Seals are fierce and fearless towards man
himself. Woodes Rocrcrs describes one which he met
with at the Galapagos, which he calls a Sea-bear,
probably of a species {Otaria ursind) common in the
seas of which I am speaking. He says, "A very
large one made at me three several times ; and if 1
had not happened to have a pikestaff headed with
iron he miirht have killed me. I was on the level
sand when he came open-mouthed at me from the
water, as fierce and quick as an angry dog let loose.
All the three times he made at me, I struck the pike
into his breast, which at last forced him to retire into
the water, snarling with an ugly noise, and showing
Iiis long teeth." *

Dividing the dominion of these inhospitable islands
with the Seals, may be seen myriads of Penguins ;
curious birds, which seem to be the link which
connects the feathered w4th the finny race. Their
little wings, destitute of quills, but covered with
stiff scaly feathers, hang down by their sides, per-
fectly incompetent to lift them from the ground,
resembling in shape the fins of a fish, or still more
the flippers of a turtle. But see the Penguin in
the w^ater ; the deficiency of flight is abundantly
compensated by the power and agility it possesses
in this element : it dashes along over the surface in
gallant style ; or diving, shoots through the water
with the rapidity of a fish, urging its course by
the united action of its finny wings and its broad
webbed feet ; then, coming again to the top, leaps
over any obstacle in its course, many feet at a bound,
• Kerr's Voyages, x. 374.

220 THE OCEAN.

and pursues its way. On the sandy shores or flat
rocks in the Southern Ocean, the Penguins, of several
species, assemble in innumerable multitudes, for the
purpose of hatching their eggs and rearing their
young. The feet are placed very far back on the
body, so that the bird assumes an erect position
when resting or walking on land ; and from their
posture, their colours, their numbers, and their orderly
arrangement, they have been compared, when seen at
a distance, to an army of disciplined soldiers. One
voyager likens them to a troop of little children
standing up in white aprons, from their white bellies
contrasting with their blue backs. The presence of
these birds is described as greatly increasing the
dreary character of these desolate regions ; their per-
fect indifference to man conveying an almost awful
impression of their loneliness. The intrusion of
seamen even into the very midst of them causes no
alarm, no resistance is offered, no escape is attempted ;
the birds immediately gaze around with a sidelong
glance at the visitors, but they move not from their
eggs, standing quietly while their companions are
one by one knocked on the head, and waiting with-
out dread till their own turn comes. We can scarcely
form an adequate idea of one of these camps or
towns, as they have been appropriately called. A
space of ground, covering three or four acres, is laid
out and levelled, and then divided into squares for
the nests, as accurately as if done by a surveyor:
between these compartments they march and coun-
termarch with an order and regularity that remind
one of soldiers on parade. But what shall we say to a

THE PACIFIC OCEAN.

22]

colony of these birds, the Kiug Penguin {Aptenodytes
pafachom'ca), wliich was seen by Mr. G. Bennett, on
jMacquai-ie Island? It covered thirty or forty acres ;
and though no conjecture could possibly be formed
of the number of birds composing the town, yet
some notion of its amazing amount may be given

v>Si\m.^

hi

Pengv'ins.

from the fact, that during the whole day and night
30,000 or 40,000 were continually landing, and as
many going to sea. There are three principal species,
wliicli inhabit the southern portion of the globe,
which bear great resemblance to each other in
manners, and generally are found in company. Tliese

222 THE OCEAN.

ore the one just mentioned, the Crested Penguin (A.
chrijsocome), and the Jackass Penguin {A. demersa).
The latter lias obtained its title from its nightly
habit of emitting discordant sounds, which have
been likened to the effusions of our humble sonorous
friend of the common. Tliis species seems to deviate
from the general manner of breeding, as it buiTOWs
on the sandy hills, and is more sensible of injury
than its fellows. For Foster describes the ground as
everywhere so much bored, that a person in walking
often sinks up to the knees; and if the Penguin
chance to be in her hole, she revenges herself on the
passenger by fastening on his legs, which she bites
very hard.

The following notices of these singular birds, by
those who have seen them in their haunts, are
interesting, as illustrative of their economy : — " One
day," says Mr. Darwin, " having placed myself
between a Penguin and the water, I was much
amused by watching its habits. It was a brave
bird ; and, till reaching the sea, it regularly fought
and drove me backwards. Nothing less than heavy
blows would have stopped him; every inch gained
he firmly kept, standing close before me, erect and
determined. When thus opposed, he continually
rolled his head from side to side in a very odd
manner, as if the power of vision lay only in the
anterior and basal part of each eye. This bird is
commonly called the Jackass Penguin, from its habit,
while on shore, of throwing its head backwards, and
making a loud strange noise, very like the braying
of that animal; but while at sea and undisturbed

THE PACIFIC OCEAN. 223

its note is very deep and solemn, and is often heard
in the night-time. In diving, its little plumelcss
wings are used as fins ; but on the land as front legs.
When crawling (it may be said on four legs) through
the tussocks, or on the side of a grassy cliff, it moved
so very quickly that it might readily have been
mistaken for a quadruped. When at sea and fishing,
it comes to the surface for the purpose of breathing,
with such a spring, and dives again so instantane-
ously, that I defy any one at first sight to be sure
that it is not a fish leaping for sport."* Of the same
species, apparently, Captain Fitzroy thus speaks : —
" jNIultitudes of Penguins were swarming together in
some parts of the island [Noir Island], among the
bushes and tussocks near the shore, having gone
there for the purposes of moulting and rearing their
}'oung. They were very valiant in self-defence, and
ran, open-mouthed, by dozens, at any one who in-
vaded their territory, little knowing how soon a stick
could scatter them on the ground. The young were
good eating, but the others proved to be black and
tough when cooked. The maimer in which they
feed their young is curious, and rather amusing : the
old bird gets on a little eminence, and makes a great
noise, between quacking and braying, holding its
head up in the air, as if it were haranguing the
penguinnery, while the young one stands close to it,
but a little lower. The old bird having continued
its clatter for about a minute, puts its head down,
and opens its mouth widely, into which the young
one tln-usts its head, and then appears to suck from

• Voyages of Adventure and Beagle, iiL 256.

224 THE O'^EAN.

the throat of its mother for a minute oi two, after
which the clatter is repeated, and the young one
is again fed : this continues for about ten minutes.
I observed some that were moulting make the same
noise, and then apparently swallow what they thus
supplied themselves with ; so, in this way, I suppose,
they are furnished with subsistence during the time
they cannot seek it in the water."* Mr. Weddell
observes of the King Penguins : — " In pride these
birds are perhaps not surpassed even by the peacock,
to which, in beauty of plumage, they are indeed
very little inferior. During the time of moulting,
they seem to repel each other with disgust, on
account of the ragged state of their coats ; but as
they arrive at the maximum of splendour, they -re-
assemble, and no one who has not completed his
plumage is allowed to enter the community. Their
frequently looking down their front and sides in
order to contemplate the perfection of their exterior
brilliancy, and to remove any speck which might
sully it, is truly amusing to an observer.

" About the beginning of January they pair and
lay their eggs. During the time of hatching, the
male is remarkably assiduous, so that when the hen
has occasion to go off to feed and wash, the egg is
transported to him ; which is done by placing their
toes together, and rolling it from the one to the
other, using their beaks to place it properly. As
they have no nest, it is to be remarked that the egg
is carried between the tail and legs, where the female,
in particular, has a cavity for the purpose.

• Voyages of Adventure and Beagle, i. 387.

THE PACIFIC OCEAN. 21! n

" Tlie hen keeps charge of her young nearly a
twelvemonth, during which time tliey change and
complete their plumage ; and in teaching them to
swim, the mother has frequently to use some artifice ;
for when the young one refuses to take the w^ater,
slie entices it to the side of a rock and cunningly
pushes it in ; and this is repeated until it takes the
sea of its own accord."* All the species are arrant
thieves, each losing no opportunity of stealing mate-
rials during nest-building time, and even the eggs
from each other, if they are left unguarded. They
are usually thought, when seen at sea, to indicate
that land is at no great distance ; but this indication
is not always correct, for they are occasionally seen
v6ry far from any shore, and, indeed, with their
swimming powers, one can readily imagine that the
space of a few leagues would be no object of concern.
The Crested Penguin, in particular, lives in open
sea ; it has been seen some hundreds of miles from
land, voyaging in pairs, male and female.

Tlie chief object of commercial speculation in the
Pacific is the pursuit of the Sperm ^Vliale, than
which the whole wide range of human enterprise
affords no occupation of more daring adventure, or
more romantic interest. A crew of thirty or foi-tv
hardy fellows leave their native land, and boldly
steer away to the most distant parts of the globe.
The tempestuous sea of Cape Horn soon finds them
hotly engaged in striking their giant game; or, if
Ihey find it not here, they do not hesitate to stretch
away to the shores of New Zealand, or even to seek

* Voyage towards the South Pole, p. 55.

226 THE OCEAN.

the leviathan of the deep five thousand miles farther,
in the distant seas of Cliina and Japan. Now they
are braving the horrors of the Antarctic sea, thread-
ing an intricate and perilous course through fields
and bergs of floating ice, " under the frozen serpent
of the south ; " anon they are upon the equator,
toiling with undaunted spirit beneath the rays of a
vertical sun. The bleak and barren rocks of the
Horn, tenanted by Penguins, are forsaken for the
sunny isles of Polynesia, and these, again, for the in-
hospitable shores of Kamschatka. Peculiar dangers
attend them in their protracted voyage ; if they
escape unscathed from the storms of the south, it is
to enter an ocean strewn with innumerable reefs of
stony coral, whose positions are but imperfectly indi-
cated in charts, to touch one of which would be
inevitable destruction ; if these are safely passed, it
is to penetrate into a sea vexed with the most terrible
of tempests, the typhoon. The duration of the voyage
is protracted to a length which would justify our
calling it an exile ; this is no summer's trip ; three
and even four years are the ordinary periods allotted
to this enterprise. The object of the pursuit, gigantic
in size and power, seems to demand no ordinary
courage in its assailant ; and more especially in his
own element, when he is "making the sea to boil
like a pot of ointment," to venture to the battle in
a frail boat, needs a hardihood of more than common
calibre. The moment of victory is frequently the
moment of danger ; the dying struggles of the lanced
WTiale are of fearful impetuosity ; the huge and
muscular tail lashes the Ocean into foam, and the

THE PACIFIC OCEAN. 227

long and powerful lower jaw, serried with teeth,
snaps convulsively in every direction. Timid as this
niighty animal usually is, instances are not infre-
quent, in which a consciousness of strength has been
accompanied by the will to use it. The destruction
of the ship Essex, an American whaler, affords a
remarkable instance of the ferocity and determina-
tion, as well as of the power, of the Sperm Whale.
This vessel was whaling in the vicinity of the Society
Islands, when one of these animals, having grazed
its back in passing beneath the vessel's keel, became
enraged, and after swimming to some distance, sud-
deidy turned, and rushed with amazing force against
the ship. The helmsman vainly endeavoured to
avoid the blow, and the animal repeating the attack,
stove in the ship's bows, when she speedily filled
and went down, barely allowing the hands on board
time to take to the boat. Those who were out in
pursuit, seeing, to their astonishment, their vessel
sink without any apparent cause, hastened to the
spot, and the wliole crew found themselves in open
boats, tliree thousand miles from the coast of Chili,
to whicli they determined to j^i'oceed, but where
three or four only arrived after painful aud pro-
tracted sufferings.

The Sperm Whale {Physeter macrocephalus) attains
a greater length tlian the Greenland W^liale, from
which it is at once distinguished by the remarkable
form of the head. As in the latter, the head occupies
about one-third of the entire length, but it is of the
same iliickness throughout, appearing as if it had
been suddenly cut otf at the muzzle ; so that the

228 THE OCEAN.

head bears no small resemblance to a huge box.
There is no whalebone ; but the lower jaw, which is
narrow, and fits into the upper, is armed with a
series of sharp teeth, which are received into hollows
in the upper gums. The blow-hole is placed at the
front angle of the head ; the eye is just above the
inner corner of the mouth, and over this, where the
head joins the body, there is a hunch called the
bunch of the neck ; from hence the body is nearly
straight to within one-third of its length from the
tail, where there is a larger prominence called the
hump ; it now rapidly tapers away to the tail : the
whalers distinguish this tapering part by the name of
"the small," and the broad horizontal tail, as "the
flukes." The whole of the upper portion of the
square and bluff head is occupied by a cavity, tech-
nically termed "the case," which is not covered by
bone, but by a thick, tendinous, elastic skin, and
lined with a beautiful glistening membrane. This
cavity is filled with a clear oil, which, after death,
cools into the substance well known as spermaceti.
Some idea may be formed of the capacity of the case,
from the fact that, in a large Whale, it will frequently
be found to contain ten large barrels of this valuable
product. Immediately beneath the case is placed
" the junk," a thick triangular mass of tough elastic
substance, which also yields a considerable quantity
of spermaceti. The fins are comparatively small, and
are situated a little behind the mouth ; they do not
appear to be used in giving motion, which is effected
by the tail, but in balancing the body, and supporting
the young.

THE PACIFIC OCEAN, 22!)

The general colour of the animal is very dark grey,
nearly black on the upper parts, hut more silvery
beneath. Old males usually have a large spot of pale
gi-ey on the front of the head, when they are said to
be grey-headed. The motions of these enormous
creatures are exceedingly curious : when moving per-
fectly at leisure, the Whale swims slowly along, just
below the surface of the water, effecting his progress
by gently moving Ms tail from side to side obliquely.
The bunch and hump may be seen above the water,
and by the disturbance which they cause in cutting
the fluid, some foam is produced, by which an expe-
rienced whaler can judge, even at some miles' distance,
how fast the animal is going. When disturbed, how-
ever, or from any cause inclined to increase his
velocity, he uses a very different mode of progression.
The broad tail now strikes the water upward and
downward alternately with great force ; at every
blow downward the fore part sinks down several
yards into the water, while by the force of the up-
ward blow the head is thrust entirely out of the
water. A Whale can swim in this manner, the head
alternately appearing and disappearing, which the
seamen call "going head-out," at the rate of twelve
miles an hour. It may appear surprising that so
bulky a portion of the animal as the enormous head,
should be so easily thrust into the air, the head being
usually the heaviest part of an animal : but here we
trace the beneficent hand of God in creation, the
volume of the head being occupied not with dense
bone, but, as we have seen, witli an oil which is
considerably lighter than water, and which renders

280 THE OCEAN.

this part the most buoyant of the whole body.
And when we consider that the breathing aperture
or blow-hole must be projected from the water
for the reception of air, we see the reason of tliis
buoyancy.*

Everything connected with the breathing of the
Sperm Whale is performed with a regularity that
is very remarkable. The length of time he remains
at the surface, the number of " spoutings " made at
each time, the length of interval between the spouts,
the time he remains below the surface before again
rising to breathe, are all, when he is undisturbed, as
regular in succession and duration as it is possible
to imagine. This is a circumstance of the greatest
value to the whaler ; for though there is considerable
variation in these particulars in different animals, yet
such is the precision with which each maintains his
own rates of movement, that when the periods of any
particular Whale have been observed, the whaler can
calculate, even to a minute, when he will reappear,
and how long he will continue at the surface. A large
male, called " a bull whale," usually remains at the
surface about ten minutes, during which he spouts
sixty or seventy times ; then, to use the nautical
phrase, "his spoutings are out," the head gradually
sinks, the "small" is projected from the water, and
presently the " flukes " of the tail are raised high in
the air, and the animal descends perpendicularly to
an unknown depth, remaining below from an hour to

* For most of the particulars of the history and pursuit of this
animal I am indebted to Mr. BeiJe's valuable work on the Sperm
Whale,

^HIM ^ti'u%

O

a

THE PACIFIC OCEAN. 231

an hour and twenty minutes, when he comes up to
respire again.

The resjular recurrence of these motions can be
depended on only when the Whale is perfectly at
ease ; for, if alarmed, he dives immediately, rising,
however, soon again to complete his spoutings.
When "going head-out," also, he spouts at every
projection of the head, and much more hurriedly
than usual One would be apt to suppose that a
creature so huge and powerful would be little the
subject of fear or alarm ; but, in truth, it is a re-
markably timid animal ; the approach even of a
boat causing him to descend with precipitation. It
is graciously ordained, that the creatures which are
formed to contribute to man's comfort or sustenance,
though many of them are more powerful than he,
should be impressed with such a fear of him, as
in general to be incapable of using their superior
strength to his disadvantage. " And the fear of you,
and the dread of you, shall be upon every beast of
the earth, and upon every fowl of the air ; upon all
that moveth upon the earth, and upon all the fishes
of the sea; into your hand are they delivered."*
But this huge animal has other enemies than man :
equally wdth the G-reenland Wliale, it is subject to
the assaults of some of the larger predaceous fishes ;
the Swordfish and the Sawfish plunge into his body
their formidable snouts, and the " Thresher " leaps
upon him from above. Mr. Beale records the follow-
ing incident, as reported to him by an eye-witness,
a gentleman on whose veracity he could rely. *' He

• Gen. ix. 2.

232 THE OCEAN.

stated that he had been observing a Sperm \Vhale
during the time it had remained at the surface to
breathe, which afterwards went through the evolution
of peaking its flukes in the usual manner, and dis-
appeared. As it was a Large Whale, and as he knew
it was likely to remain under water for a considerable
time, he scarcely expected to see it again. However,
in this he was mistaken ; for after it had disappeared
only for a few minutes, it again rose, apparently
in great trepidation, and as it reared -with, great
velocity, half of its huge body projected out of the
water. Gaining, however, in a few seconds the hori-
zontal position, it went on at its utmost speed, going
head-out ; the moment after which he saw a fish,
somewhat resembling a Conger-eel in figure, but
rathof more bulky, and to all appearance about six
or eight feet in length, flying itself liigh out of the
water after the Whale, and fall clumsily on its back,
which caused still more alarm to the immense but
timid animal, so that it beat the water with its tail,
and reared its enormous head so violently, that
sounds from the former could be heard at a great
distance : it still, however, continued its rapid career,
receiving every few minutes the unwelcome visits
of its galling adversary. My informant had good
reason to believe that some other animal was at the
same time attacking it from below ; for on more
than one occasion, he saw some animal dart at times
to the surface with amazing quickness, aS if engaged
with great fury in the contest ; and which, lie
supposes, prevented the Whale from descending, in
which he had the power, no doubt, if he had not

THE PACIFIC OCEAN. 235

teen thus prevented, of leaving liis antagonists Jar
behind. The attack was continued for a considerable
time, during Avhich the Whale had got a great dis-
tance from the ship, when it twice threw itself
completely out of its native element, no doubt
endeavouring to escape from its tormenting adver-
saries by this act of ' breaching,' and which I have
myself seen him do, after having been unsuccessfully
chased by the boats."*

A Whale will occasionally place himself perpen-
dicularly in the water, his whole head being visible,
presenting a most extraordinary appearance, like a
black rock in the Ocean : the object of this posture
is to take a rapid and comprehensive glance around
him, when he is apprehensive of danger. Some-
times, when attacked by boats, he will carefully
sweep his tail from side to side upon the surface,
as if to discover by feeling, the object of his dread.
At other times, he amuses himself by lashing the
water with the same organ, in the most violent
manner; covering the sea with foam, while the
strokes resound on every side. Breaching, or leaping
bodily into the air, is alluded to in the above
extract.

The food of the Sperm Wliale consists of different
species of cuttle or squid, occasionally varied with
small fish : to obtain these, Mr. Beale supposes, with
much probability, that lie descends to a considerable
depth, and remaining as quiet as possible, allows
his narrow lower jaw to hang down perpendicularly
at right angles with his body. The whole inside

• Beale'3 Sperm Whale, p. 49,

23-t THE OCEAN.

of his mouth, and particularly the teeth, being of a
glistening white hue, the squid are attracted to visit
it, and when a sufficient number are mthin, the
mouth is supposed to be closed. That the prey is
obtained in some other way than by pursuit is
proved by the fact, that Whales are often found
blind, and others with the lower jaw distorted, which
yet are in as good condition as others. These dis-
tortions arise from battles between old "bull whales:"
they rush upon each other with great fury, th^ir
mouths wide open, each endeavouring to seize liis
adversary by the lower jaw. In this manner they
often become locked together by the jaws, and then
struggling with all their gigantic power, the contest
frequently terminates in the dislocation or fracture of
the jaw. The teeth are not used for chewing, tlio
prey being swallowed entire.

In the chase and capture of this immense creature,
as might be expected from the peculiarities of its
habits, there are several circumstances that distin-
guish it fj'om the Greenland whale-fishery, while,
at the same time, there is a general resemblance.
Ships of three or four hundred tons are selected
for the voyage, strongly built, manned with a crew
of about thirty hands, and provisioned for four years.
A watch is stationed aloft immediately on leaving
the Channel, although the Sperm Whale is rarely
seen in the Atlantic north of the equator. The look-
out on the mast-head is never interrupted during the
voyage, or until the cargo is completed, the men on
this duty being relieved in succession. On a Sperm
Whale being perceived, the intelligence is communi-

THE PACIFIC OCEANS', 2o5

cated by the watch calling out aloud in a peculiar
tone, " There she spouts !" a cry which fails not to
produce a general rush on deck of all hands. The
captain eagerly asks, "Whereaway?" The position
of the prey is pointed out, while at every fresh
spouting the watch, accompanied by every individual
on board who has caught sight of the object, vocife-
rates, "There again!" When the spoutings are out,
and the Whale descends, the elevation of the tail
into the air is announced in the same manner by
" There goes flukes !" The reason of these announce-
ments appears to be, that the times of the animal's
motions may be accurately marked by the proper
officers, though they may not see them themselves,
as affording an unfailing criterion by which to judge
of his future movements. On the first signal beins
given, the boats, which are always kept in complete
readiness at the ship's side, are lowered, and the men
take their places with joyous alacrity. If not too
far off, they strain every nerve to arrive at the
animal before his spoutings are out, which in a large
bull Whale may be about ten minutes. Should they
be unable, however, to effect this, they endeavour to
mark his direction of diving, and station themselves
near the spot where they expect he will break water.
On his reappearance, the boats are rowed up as
silently as possible, and the foremost harpooner darts
his weapon with all his force into its side. The
instant this is done he cries, "Stern all!" and the
boat is withdrawn with precipitation. The Wliale,
writhing with the agony, dives perpendicularly,
drawing the line of the harpoon swiftly through its

236 THE OCEAN.

groove : the other boats are ready to beud on their
lines, each of which is two hundred fathoms long;
for sometimes a Whale will drag after him four lines,
descending to the depth of 4,800 feet. Presently he
is seen approaching the surface : " The gurgling and
bubbling water, which rises before, also proclaims
that he is near ; his nose starts from the sea ; the
rushing spout is projected high and suddenly, from
his agitation."

On his reaching the surface, the other boats infix
their harpoons, while at the same instant the former
liarpooner thrusts deeply his steel lance into the
body, and " Stern all ! " again resounds.

Now comes the most da.ngerous part of the busi-
ness ; the Whale is in his " flurry," or last agony ;
he dashes hither and thither, snaps convulsively with
his huge jaws, rolls over and over, coiling the line
around his body, or leaps completely out of the
water. The boats are often upset, sometimes broken
into fragments, and the men wounded or drowned.
Now the crimson blood is spouted from the blow-
hole, and falls in showers around ; the poor animal
whirls rapidly round in unconsciousness, in a por-
tion of a circle, rolls over on its side, and is still in
death.

The huge body is now towed to the ship ; a hole
is cut into the blubber near the head, into which
a strong hook is inserted : a difiicult and dangerous
operation. A strong tension is then applied to this
hook, and by it the blubber is hoisted up, as it is
gradually cut by the spades in a spiral strip, going
round and round the body. As this strip or band of

THE PACIFIC OCEAN. 237

l)hil)ljer is pulled off, the body of course revolves,
until the stripping reaches " the small," when it will
turn no more. The head, which at the commence-
ment of the process was cut off and secured astern,
is now hoisted into a perpendicular position, the
front of the muzzle opened, and the spermaceti
dipped out of the " case " by a bucket at the end of
a pole. The "junk" is then cut into oblong pieces,
and the remainder of the head, with the carcass, cut
adrift. The oil is afterwards extracted from the
blubber and junk by exposing them to the action of
fire in large pots, the skinny portions which remain
serving for fuel : and the spermaceti is purified in
the same manner. The products are then stowed
away in barrels in the vessel's hold.

The following narrative, from the interesting work
of jMr. Beale, gives us a vivid picture of this exciting
pursuit: "At daybreak, one fine morning in August,
as our first mate was going aloft to look out for
Whales, he discovered no less than three ships
within a mile of us ; but they were situated in
vui-ious directions. We soon discovered them to be
whalers, who, like ourselves, were cruising after the
Spermaceti Whale, and, therefore, their appearance
only had the effect of redoubling our \ngilance in
the look-out, so that we might, if possible, be the
first to obtain the best chance, if one of those crea-
tures hove in sight. And it was not long before a
rery large Whale made his appearance right in
among the ships. The water was smooth at the
time, for we had but a light air of wind stirring,
60 that our boats were instantly lowered without

238 THE OCEAN.

the loss of time of bringing the ship to. But
although we managed matters as quietly and secretly
as possible, we found the moment our boats quitted
the ship's side, that all the others had been as vigi-
lant as ourselves, and had also lowered their boats
after the AVliale. The whole of them immediately
began the chase, nine boats in all, being three from
each ship. They all exerted themselves to the
utmost, and, as we expected, in vain ; for before any
of the boats had got even near him, the enormous
animal lifted his widely-expanded flukes, and de-
scended perpendicularly into the depths of the Ocean
to feed. Those in the boats, however, having noticed
his course, proceeded omvards, thinking the Whale
would continue to pursue the same direction under
water ; but, as he was going slowly at the time he
was up, they did not proceed more than a mile from
the place at which he descended, before they sepa-
rated about a hundred yards from each other, and
then, peaking their oars, all the men in each boat
stood up, looking in different directions, so as to
catch the first appearance of the spout, when the
Whale again rose to breathe. When an hour after
his descent had expired, the excitement among us
who were on board the ship, became wound up to its
highest pitch. The captain, who had remained on
board, ascended to the fore-top-gallant-yard to watch
the manoeuvres of the boats, and for the purpose of
the better ordering the signals to them, or working
of the ship. All those who were down after the
Whale appeared as feverish with anxiety as ourselves,
for every now and then they were to be seen shifting

THE PACIFIC OCEAN. 239

tliyir position a little, tliinking to do so with advan-
tage ; then they would cease rowing, and stand up
on the seats of the boats, and look all round over
the smooth surface of the Ocean with ardent gaze.
But one hour and ten minutes expired before the
monster of the deep thought proper to break cover ;
and when he did, then a rattling chase commenced
with the whole of the boats, and they really flew
along in fine style, some of them appearing to be
actually lifted quite on the surface of the water, from
the great power of the rowers ; and we had the
satisfaction of observing, that our boats were quite
equal to the others in the speed with which they
were propelled. But it was again a useless task, as
the AVhale had outwitted those in the boats, by
having gone, while under water, much further than
any of his pursuers had anticipated, and they again
had the mortification of witnessing the turning of
his flukes, as he once more descended into the depths
of his vast domaiiL AVe now knew to a minute the
time that he would remain below, while the people
in the boats continued to row slowly onwards the
whole time. A fine breeze now sprang up, so that
w^e were enabled to keep company with the boats,
keeping a little to windward of them, as the Whale
was going ' on a wind,' as a seaman would say, mean-
ing that it was blowing across liim.

" "When the hour and ten minutes had again nearly
passed, the nine boats were nearly abreast of each
other, and not much separated, so that the success
of first striking the Whale depended very much
upon the swiftest boat, especially if the "Wliale came

K 2

240 THE OCEAN.

up ahead. We liad now all the boats on our lee-
"beam, while the ships were all astern of us, the most
distant not being more than half a mile, so that we
enjoyed an excellent view of this most exciting and
animated scene. True to his time, the leviathan at
length arose right ahead of the boats, and at not
more than a quarter of a mile distant from them.
The excitement among the crews of the various
boats, when they saw his first spout, was tremen-
dous ; they did not shout, but we could hear an
agitated murmur from their united voices reverbe-
rating along the surface of the deep. They flew over
the limpid waves at a rapid rate : the mates of the
various boats cheered their respective crews by
various urgent exclamations. ' Swing on your oars,
my boys, for the honour of the Henrietta !' cried
one ; ' Spring away, hearties ! ' shouted another ; and
yet scarcely able to breathe from anxiety and exer-
tion ; ' It's our fish !' vociferated a third, as he passed
the rest of his opponents by a trifling distance. ' Lay
on, my boys ! ' cried young Clark, our first mate, as
he steered the boat with one hand and pressed down
the after oar with the other ; ' she'll be ours yet ;
let's have a strong pull, a long pull, and a pull all
together !' he exclaimed, as he paused from his exer-
tions at the after oar, which soon brought up his boat
quite abreast of the foremost.

" But the giant of the ocean, who was only a short
distance before them, now appeared rather ' gallied,'
or frightened, having probably seen or heard the
boats, and as he puffed up his spout to a great height,
and reared his enormous head, he increased his speed,

THE PACIFIC OCEAlf. 241

and went along quite as fast as the boats, but foi
only two or three minutes, when he appeared to get
perfectly quiet again, while the boats gained rapidly
upon him, and were soon close in his wake. ' Stand
up 1' cried young Clark to the harpooner, who is
also the bow-oarsman ; while the same order was
instantly given by his opponent, whose boat was
abreast of our mate's, with the rest close to their
sterns. The orders were instantly obeyed, for in a
second of time both boat-steerers stood in the bows
of their respective boats, with their harpoons held
above their heads ready for the dart ; but they both
panted to be a few yards nearer to the Wliale, to do
so with success. The monster plunged through the
main quickly, but the boats gained upon him every
moment, when the agitation of all parties became
intense, and a general cry of ' Dart ! dart ! ' broke
from the hindermost boats, who each urged theii
friends, fearful of delay. The uproar became exces-
sive, and while the tumult of voices and the working
and splashing of the oars rolled along the surface
of the deep, both the harpooners darted their weapons
together, which, if they had both struck the Whale,
would have originated a contention between them
regarding their claims. But, as it happened, neithei
of them had that good fortune ; for, at the momeni
of their darting the Whale descended like a shot, and
avoided their infliction, leaving nothing but a white
and green- looking vortex in the disturbed blue Ocean,
to mark the spot where his monstrous form so lately
floated. A general huzza burst from the sternmost
boats, when they saw the issue of tliis chase, thinking,

242 THE OCEAN.

now, that another chance awaited them on the next
rising of the Whale, and they soon began to separate
themselves a little, and to row onwards again in the
course which they thought he had taken. Our cap-
tain, feeling irritated at the ill-success of the mate,
now ordered his own boat to be lowered, intending to
make one in the chase himself ; but, just as he had
parted from the ship, going do^vn a little to leeward,
a tremendous shout arose from the people in our own
boats, joined with a loud murmuring from the rest
of the boats' crews ; for the Whale, not having had
all its spoutings out, had now risen again to iinish
them, and was coming to windward at a quick rate,
right towards our ship. The captain saw his favour-
able situation in a moment, and passing quickly to
the bows of the boat, he stood to waylay him as he
came careering along, throwing his enormous head
completely out of the water, for he was now quite
' gallied.' He soon came, and caught a sight of the
boat just as he got within dart ; the vast animal
rolled himself over in an agony of fear, to alter his
course ; but it was too late ; the harpoon was hurled
with excellent aim, and was plunged deeply into his
side, near the fin.

" As the immense creature almost flew out of the
water from the blow, throwing tons of spray high
into the air, showing that he was ' fast,' a triumphant
cheering arose from those in our own boats, as well
as from those in the ship, accompanied by exclama-
tions loud and deep, and not of the most favouiable
kind to us, from all the rest. But onwards they all
came, and soon cheerfully rendered assistance to

THE PACIFIC OCEAN. 2t3

comjjlete its destruction ; but which was not done,
however, without considerable difficulty, the AMiale
continuing to descend the moment either of the boats
got nearly within dart of him. But after an hour's
exertion in this w^ay, six out of the ten boats which
were now engaged got fast to him by their harpoons,
but not one of them could get near enough to give
him a fatal lance. He towed them all in various
directions for some time, taking care to descend
below the surface the moment a boat drew up over
his flukes, or otherwise drew near, which rendered it
almost impossible to strike him in the body, even
when the lance was darted, although the after part of
his ' small ' was perforated in a hundred places ; from
these wounds the blood gushed in considerable quan-
tities, and as the poor animal moved along, towing
the boats, he left a long ensanguined stain in the
Ocean. At last, becoming weak from his numerous
and deep wounds, he became less capable of avoiding
his foes, which gave an opportunity for one of them
to pierce him to the life ! Dreadful was, that moment,
the acute pain which the leviathan experienced, and
which roused the dormant energies of his ffigantic
frame. As the life-blood gurgled thick through the
nostril, the immense creature went into his ' flurry '
with excessive fury ; the boats were speedily sterned
off, while he beat the water in his dying convulsions
with a force that appeared to shake the firm founda-
tion of the Ocean."*

Few occurrences in a long voyage are more gene-
rally interesting and exciting tlinii tlu; sight, ami

• Hist, of Sperm Wh.ile, p. 17G

244 THE OCEAN

particularly the speaking, of another ship. Even in
crossing the Atlantic this is the case ; but how much
more in a voyage to the Pacific, where many months
may elapse without the appearance of a vessel ! The
call of "Sail ho!" has an electric effect: all the
telescopes on board are soon pointed towards her ;
her rig, her canvas, her direction, the force of wind
she has, the tack she is on, if " by the wind," are
all carefully scrutinized and commented on. If the
courses of the two vessels, and their positions, • are
such that they will approach very near to each other,
they will " speak," as a matter of course ; but there
are few commanders so churlish as not to submit
to a slight deviation of their course in order to com-
municate with another. Perhaps the stranger is seen
directly astern, following right in the wake, a circum-
stance which, as far as my own observation extends,
commonly excites a slight feeling of uneasiness,
and a more than usual attention to her appearance,
powers of sailing, &c. Though the reason assures
one that the occurrence of a ship in that particular
direction, is as likely as in any other quarter, yet
the mind will recur to the idea of pursuit, and
thoughts of walking the plank, or hanging at the
yard-arm, will crowd up to the imagination, especially
if the locality happen to be the West Indies, or the
Spanish Main, or any other sea habitually infested
with pirates. But as she gains a greater nearness,
her hull and rig indicate her to be a peaceful trader,
and presently the bunting is run up to the peak, and
the folds of England's fair ensign flow out upon the
breeze. The approach of a vessel is always a pleasing

THE PACIFIC OCEAN. 245

sight ; her graceful movements, as she bovmds over
the waves, the white foam rolling up under her bows,
her taper masts and spars, the elegant curves which
the breeze gives to her running rigging, the white,
plump sails, bellying from the wind, are all beautiful ;
if she is to windward, her clean white decks are
visible as she lies over, the crew collected in the
waist or about the bows, the ofdcers and passengers
assembled on the quarter-deck, gazing with equal
curiosity to our own, upon our appearance ; the
captain standing with his speaking-trumpet in his
hand ready to seize the moment of nearest approach.
He raises his trumpet to his mouth — " Ship ahoy ! "
"Hilloa!" "What ship is that, pray? Where are
you from? Where are you bound? How long are
you out? What's your longitude?" These and
similar questions are mutually asked and answered,
each reply being acknowledged by a slight motion of
the trumpet in the air. If there be opportunity, the
prevailing character of the winds with each, the
prospects of the voyage, the state of the respective
crews, and other nautical subjects, are interchanged ;
but usually the time afforded for speaking by the
vessels remaining within hail, is very brief, and they
again diverge, and soon are lost to each other below
the horizon. Very often, from the sighing of the
wind among tlie cordage, the working of the ship,
the ripple and splash at her side, as well as from
distance, while the questions from being so much in
course are perfectly intelligible, the answers are
almost inaudible, and can sometimes only be guessed
at, the consonants being entirely lost, and the vowel-

246 THE OCEAN.

sounds alone heard. This will explain a laughable
incident which took place a few years ago, on the
Homeward passage of the John Bull transport, from
Pvio Janeiro.

One fine starlight evening, about half-past eight
o'clock, the officer on deck came into the cabin, and
announced that a ship was hailing. All hands im-
mediately came on deck, and the captain asked the
position of the stranger. At that moment, " Ship
ahoy !" was heard, the voice apparently being to
windward. A lantern was put over the gangway,
the mainsail was hauled up, and the mainyard
backed, to stop the vessel's way. No ship was to be
seen. "Silence, fore and aft!" ordered the captain,
for the decks were now crowded, soldiers, sailors,
women, children, all were up. " Ship ahoy !" again
came over the waves, and "Hilloa!" answers the
captain at the top of his voice. Every one now
listened with breathless attention for the next ques-
tion, expecting the name of the ship would be
demanded, as usual: " Ship ahoy'" again resounded,
and several together answered " Hilloa !" louder than
before: but no notice was taken of the reply, and
no sail was in sight. "It is very strange!" ex-
claimed the captain; "where can she be?" One
thought she might have passed them; others sug-
gested that it might be a pirate-boat about to board.
The captain took the hint, put the troops under arms,
cleared away the guns ready for action, and double-
shotted them. Silence being again obtained, " Ship
ahoy !" was heard again, and the voice still seemed to
come from the windward The chief mate then

THE PACIFIC OCEAN. 247

suggested the possibility of some person being on a
raft, and vohmteered to go in a boat to ascertain.
The boat was lowered, and the two mates, with the
boat's crew, each armed with sword and pistol, rowed
at some distance round the ship.

On the officers' return, they reported that they
could neither hear nor see anything. Silence pre-
vailed while they reported this to the captain, every
one being desirous to know the issue of the search.
Instantly, the same " Ship ahoy !" was heard, though
much less audibly, and, apparently, at a greater
distance than before. The next moment it was heard
much louder and closer. A feeling of intense ex-
citement now prevailed in each of the crowd of
persons on board the transport. More than an hour
had passed since the ship was hove to ; every one
had repeatedly heard the stranger's hail, coming
through the darkness, but nothing had been seen
of him, and no further question or answer could be
elicited. The screams of the women and children,
and the muttering of the men, showed that super-
stitious dread of something supernatural and un-
eartlily was creeping over every one. The captain
issued orders to shoulder arms and to make ready
the guns.

Just at this crisis, one of the cabin-boys, who had
been standing near the mainmast, stepped aft to the
chief mate, and said " It's a fowl in the hencoop,
sir, that's a-making that 'ere noise." That officer
indignantly bestowed on him a sound box on the
ear for his information, but immediately recollecting
that he wa3 an intelligent lad, accompanied him to

2-18

THE OCEAN.

the hencoop with a Lantern ; where he saw a fowl
lying on its side. He took it out and placed it on
the capstan ; and there, in the sight of the wliole
company, was beheld a poor hen dying of the crouj),
occasionally emitting a sound " ee-a-aw," which re-
sembled the words "Ship ahoy!" coining frum a
distance, as closely as any hail that was ever heard.*

* Naut. Mag, 1842, p. 409.

*» \-(

■t: '^^^'^

THE FACIFIC OCFAN.

CONTINUED.

A REM AEK ABLE feature in the Pacific Ocean, and one
that distinguishes it from every other sea, is the
immense assemblage of small islands with which it
is crowded, particularly in the portion situated
between the tropics. For about three thousand miles
from the coast of South America, the sea is almost
entirely free from islands ; but thence to the great
isles of India, an immense belt of Ocean, nearly five
thousand miles in length, and fifteen hundred in
breadth, is so studded with them as almost to be one
continuous archipelago. The term Polynesia, by
which this division of the globe is now distinguished,
is compounded of two Greek words, signifying many
islands. Very few of these gems of the Ocean are
more than a few miles in extent, though Tahiti, and
some in the more western groups, are of rather larger
dimensions ; while Hawaii, the largest island in
Polynesia, is about the size of Yorkshire.

The isles, which in such vast numbers thus stud
the bosom of the Pacific, are of three di.stinct forms,
the Coral, the Crystal, and the Volcanic. Of these,
the first formation greatly predominates ; but the
largest islands are of the last description ; of the
crystal formation but few specimens are known.

250 THE OCEAJSr.

Imagine a belt of land in the wide Ocean, not
more than half a mile in breadth, but extending, in
an irregular curve, to the length of ten or twenty
miles or more : the height above the water not more
than a yard or two at most, but clothed with a mass
of the richest and most verdant vegetation. Here
and there, above the general bed of luxuriant foliage,
rises a grove of cocoa-nut trees, waving their feathery
plumes high in the air, and gracefully bending their
tall and slender stems to the breathing of the plea-
sant trade-wind. The grove is bordered by a narrow
beach on each side, of the most glittering whiteness,
contrasting with the beautiful azure waters by which
it is en\droned. From end to end of the curved isles
stretches, in a straight line, forming, as it were, the
cord of the bow, a narrow beach, of the same snowy
whiteness, almost level with the sea at the lowest
tide, enclosing a semicircular space of water between
it and the island, called the lagoon. Over this line
of beach, which occupies the leeward side, the curve
being to windward, the sea is breaking with sublime
majesty; the long unbroken swell of the Ocean,
hitherto unbridled through a course of thousands of
miles, is met by this rampart, when the huge billows,
rearing themselves upwards many yards above its
level, and bending their foaming crests, "form a
graceful liquid arch, glittering in the rays of a tro-
pical sun as if studded with brilliants. But, before
the eyes of the spectator can follow the splendid
aqueous gallery which they appear to have reared,
with loud and hollow roar they fall, in magnificent
desolation, and spread the gigantic fabric in froth

THE PACIFIC OCEAN. 251

and spray upon the horizontal and gently broken
surface." Contrasting strongly with the tumult and
confusion of the hoary billows ^vithout, the water
within the lagoon exhibits the serene placidity of a
mill-pond. Extending downwards to a depth varying
from a few feet to fifty fathoms, the waters possess
the lively green hue common to soundings on a white
or yellow ground ; while the surface, unruffled by a
wave, reflects with accurate distinctness the mast of
the canoe that sleeps upon its bosom, and the tufts of
the cocoa-nut plumes that rise from the beach above
it. Such is a Coral Island, and if its appearance is
one of singular loveliness, as all who have seen it
testify, its structure, on examination, is found to be
no less interesting and wonderful. The beach of
white sand, wliich opposes the whole force of the
Ocean, is found to be the summit of a rock which
rises abruptly from an unknown depth, like a per-
pendicular wall. The whole of this rampart, as far
as our senses can take cognizance of it, is composed
of living coral, and the same substance forms the
foundation of the curved and more elevated side
which is smiling in the luxuriance and beauty of
tropical vegetation. Tlie elevation of the coral to
the surface is not always abruptly perpendicular ;
sometimes reefs of varying depths extend to a con-
siderable distance in the form of successive platforms
or terraces. In these regions may be seen islands in
every stage of their formation : " some presenting
little more than a poirit or summit of a branching
coralline pyramid, at a depth scarcely discernible
through the transparent waters ; others spreading,

'J.OZ THE OCEAN.

liko submarine gardens or shrubberies, beneath the
surface ; or presenting here and there a little bank of
broken coral and sand, over which the rolling wave
occasionally breaks ;" while others exist in the more
advanced state that I have just described, the main
bank sufficiently elevated to be permanently pro-
tected from the waves, and already clothed with
verdure, and the lagoon enclosed by the narrow
bulwark of the coral reef. Though the rampart thus
reared is sufficient to preserve the inner waters in a
peaceful and mirror-like calmness, it must not be
supposed that all access to them from the sea is
excluded. It almost invariably happens that in the
line of reef, one or more openings occur, which,
though sometimes narrow and intricate, so as scarcely
to allow the passage of a native canoe, are not un-
frequently of sufficient width and depth to permit
the free ingress of large ships. This is a very re-
markable instance of the Divine care over the little
creatures which rear these solid structures ; they
appear to be endowed with an instinctive knowledge,
that if the reef were carried uninterruptedly along
from one point to another, so as completely to shut
in the lagoon, the water within would soon become
unfit to support their existence, and would ultimately
be dried up. The advantage to man of these
openings is very great ; without them the islands
might smile invitingly, but in vain ; no access could
be obtained to them by shipping, through the tremen-
dous surf by which their shores are lashed ; but
by these entrances the lovely lagoons are converted
into the most q^uiet, safe and commodious havens

THE PACIFIC OCEAN. 253

imaginable, where ships may lie, and wood and
water, and refresh their crews, in security, though
the tempest howl without. It is a scarcely less bene-
ficent provision that the position of the openings
is in most cases indicated so as to be visible at a
great distance. Had there been merely an opening
in the coral rock, it could not have been detected
from the sea, except by the diminution of the foaming
surf just at that spot ; a circumstance that could
scarcely be visible, unless the observer were opposite
the aperture. But, in general, there is on each side
of the passage a little islet, raised on the points of the
reef, which, being commonly tufted with cocoa-nut
trees, is perceptible as far off as the island itself, and
forms a most convenient landmark.

Notwithstanding that the highest point of these
narrow islets is rarely more than a yard above the
tide, it is a remarkable fact that fresh water is fre-
quently found in them. It is probable that the coral
rock acts as a filter, allowing the sea-water to perco-
late through its porous substance, but excluding all
its saline particles held in solution.

Though I have described the two parts of a Coral
Island, or Atoll, as it is called, as distinct, yet the
difference is only in appearance ; the foundation on
every side is the same, a coral reef rising to the sur-
face ; but the side most exposed to the action of the
waves driven in by the trade-winds is invariably the
first to be projected, and attaius a higher elevation
than the leeward side. Neither must it be supposed
that the belt to windward is always continuous,
though the interruptions are comparatively few.

s

254 THE 0CEA2i.

A close inspection will likewise show that the outline
of the whole reef possesses much less regularity of
form than its aspect from a distance indicated. The
form, however, is invariably a more or less close
approach to a circle. Sometimes the land is con-
tinuous through the whole circumference, with the
exception of a channel or two into the lagoon, which
presents the appearance of a circular pond with a
verdant border surrounding it ; again, another atoll
will be found which has brought its ring of reef
scarcely to the surface, exposing, perhaps, a single
bare spot on the windward edge at the lowest ebb of
spring tide.

Captain Basil Hall, in his Voyage to Loo-Choo, has
recorded some pleasing observations on this singular
formation. He says —

" The examination of a coral reef during the dif-
ferent stages of one tide, is particularly interesting.
When the sea has left it for some time it becomes
dry, and appears to be a compact rock, exceedingly
hard and rugged ; but no sooner does the tide rise
again, and the waves begin to wash over it, than
millions of coral worms protrude themselves from
holes on the surface, which were before quite in-
visible. These animals are of a great variety of
shapes and sizes, and in such prodigious numbers
that in a short time the whole surface of the rock
appears to be alive and in motion. The most com-
mon of the worms at Loo-Choo was in the form of a
star, with arms from four to six inches long, which
it moved about with a rapid motion in all directions,
probably in search of food. Others were so sluggish

THE TACIFIC OCEAK 255

that tliey M^cre often mistaken for pieces of the rock ;
these were generally of a dark colour, and from foiir
to five inches long, and two or three round. AVhen
the rock was broken from a spot near the level of
high-water, it was found to he a hard, solid stone ;
but if any part of it were detached at a level to
which the tide reached every day, it was discovered
to be full of worms all of different lengths and
colours, some being as fine as a thread, and several
feet long, generally of a very bright yellow, and
sometimes of a blue colour ; while others resembled
snails, and some were not unlike lobsters or prawns
in shape, but soft, and not above two inches long."*
The animals thus described by the Captain, were
doubtless intruders that had sought shelter or food
in the interstices of the coral. I have myself observed
the number and variety of creatures, — Star-fishes,
Sea-cucumbers, Annelides, Crustacea, and minute
Fishes, that crowd about the broken coral of a tro-
pical reef The true architects of these wonderful
structures are polypes of minute size, which, though
of many varying species, and even genera, agree in
the simplicity of their form and structure. They
consist of a little oblong bag of jelly, closed at one
end, but having the other extremity open, and sur-
rounded by tentacles, usually six or eight in number,
set like the rays of a star. Multitudes of these tiny
creatures are associated in the secretion of a common
stony skeleton, the coral or madrepore ; in the minute
orifices of which they reside, protruding their mouths
and tentacles when under water, but withdrawing

• Voyage to Loo-Choo, p. 75. 'Constable's edit.)
s2

256 THE OCEAN.

themselves by sudden contraction into their holes
the moment they are molested.

It was for a long time supposed that all the islands
of Coral formation were reared from their bases,
fathomless depths in the Ocean, by the unaided
efforts of these minute creatures ; and from ex-
aggerated notions of the rapidity with wliich the
process was going on, anticipations were frequently
uttered that a large portion of the Pacific might at no
very distant period be occupied by the spreading struc-
tures united into a vast coral continent. More accu-
rate observations have, however, satisfactorily proved
that the living animals cannot exist at a greater depth
than twenty or thirty fathoms, so that the whole of
these animal secretions must have been deposited
within that distance from the surface. At the same
time it is no less true that the water in the immediate
vicinity of the islands is fathomless, and that the
descent of their outer edge is remarkably abrupt
and precipitous. The only satisfactory explanation of
the phenomenon appears to be the one proposed and
ably supported by Mr. Darwin, in his elaborate
treatise on Coral reefs. Many islands of the com-
mon rock formation are found in the Pacific, on the
shelving sides of which, a few fathoms below water,
the coral animals have fixed their stony habitations,
forming what is called a fringing reef, distinguished
from others by being immediately attached to the
land, without the intei-vention of any lagoon or
channel of water. Mr. Darwin supposes that every
island in the Pacific originally presented this struc-
ture, but that wherever a variation at present exists,

T]TE PACIFIC OCEAN.

2o/

thfi solid rock has been gradually, and perhaps very
slowly, subsiding to a lower level. Now, let us
assume this state of things for a moment, and look at
the results. We must, however, mention two well-
ascertained instincts of the Polype : the one is, that
it works up towards the light ; the other, that its
proceedings are most vigorous at the outer edge,
where it is washed by the beating waves. Let A in
the following diagram represent the section of a
rocky island ; B, B, the level of low-water ; and D.
the reef of coral fringing the coast. After the lapse
of time, during which it has been subsiding, the
water-level stands at b, h ; the coral at D has died
from the too great depth, but the animals have been
working upwards upon the dead matter, so that
living coral is still near the surface ; the superior
vigour of the species inhabiting the seaward edge,
however, has caused that edge to be more elevated

SECTION OF CORAL ISLAND.

thiLU the interior, as at d, d ; so that the appearance
is now that of a rocky isle, diminished in extent,
surrounded by a reef at some distance, separated by
the intervention of a shallow channel, e, e .• this is
exactly the appearance of Tahiti and the larger
islands generally, as I shall mention more fully when

^58 THE OCEAN.

I come to tlie volcanic formation. The subsidence
still goes on ; and, after a while, the water, 13, /3, is
level with the summit of the island, which, of course,
is now an island no longer ; the growth of the coral
has kept pace with the depression, and it is still at
the surface, as at S, S ; the more slowly growing
species of the interior are still overflowed, and, as the
island is submerged in the centre, the water, 6, e, is
no longer an annular channel, but a round lagoon ;
and thus we have an atoll, as at first described. The
subsequent process of elevating and clothing the new
islets is a rapid one. Chamisso observes, "As soon
as it has reached such a height that it remaiiis
almost dry at low-water at the time of ebb, the
corals leave off building higher ; sea-shells, frag-
ments of coral, sea-hedgehog shells, and their broken-
off pricldes, are united by the burning sun, through
the medium of the cementing calcareous sand, which
has a'risen from the pulverization of the above-men-
tioned shells, into one whole or solid stone, which,
strengthened by the continual throwing up of new
Tiiaterials, gradually increases in thickness, till it at
last becomes so high that it is covered only during
some seasons of the year by the spring-tides. The
heat of the sun so penetrates the mass of stone when
it is dry, that it splits in many places, and breaks off
in flakes. These flakes, so separated, are raised one
upon another by the waves, at the time of high-
water. The always-active surf throws blocks of coral
(frequently of a fathom in length, and three or four
feet thick), and shells of marine animals, between
and upon the foundation stones. After this the cal-

THE TACIFIC OCEAN. 259

careous sand lies undisturbed, and offers to tlie seeds
of trees and plants cast upon it by the waves, a soil
upon which they rapidly grow, to overshadow its
dazzling white surface. Entire trunks of trees,
which are carried by the rivers from other countries
and islands, find here, at length, a resting-place, after
their long wanderings ; with these come some small
animals, such as lizards and insects, as the first inha-
bitants. Even before the trees form a w^ood, the real
sea-birds nestle there ; strayed laud-birds take refuge
in the bushes ; and at a much later period, when
the work has been long since completed, man also
appears, builds his hut on the fruitful soil formed
by the corruption of the leaves of the trees, and
calls himself lord and proprietor of this new crea-
tion." *

The species of Polypes which contribute to the
formation of coral structures are very numerous,
and differ greatly from each other in the forms of
their respective habitations. Some form large rounded
masses, with numerous winding depressions, as the
Brainstones {Meandrina) ; some are studded with holes,
filled with thin shelly plates placed perpendicularly,
and converging to a point in the centre, as
AstrcBa ; some assume the appearance of a mush-
room, as Agaricia ; but the most general form is
that of an irregular, branching shrub. The various
kinds are not found scattered indiscriminately over
the whole edifice, but each occupying its own zone
and position, each performing its own part, assigned
by God, in carrying up the wondrous architecture.

* Kotze'iue's Voyage.

260 THE OCEAN.

Tlie principal and most important place is filled by
the genus Porites, wliich occupies the outside of tlie
reef, at the exposed edge, constructing large rounded
masses. The next in importance is the Millepora
comjplanata, which forms thick vertical plates, unit-
ing at different angles by their edges, so as to pre-
sent the appearance of a honeycomb : the marginal
plates only being alive. These two kinds alone
are able to endure the intermitting exposure to
which the upper edge is subject, in being conti-
nually washed over by the surf; other species are
found a few fathoms down. Inside the lagoon,
there are quite distinct sorts, generally brittle, and
thinly branched ; while great round Brainstones
[Meandrina), and ilower-like Caryophyllice occupy
the bottom. In the shallow hollows of the reef,
Pocilhpora verrucosa, a species having short waved
plates or branches, is found : when alive it is a beau-
tiful object, being of a delicate pale crimson hue.

Conflicting statements have been made respect-
ing the activity of the building processes going on
in the present age ; some affirming that the reefs
have acquired no perceptible addition, either to their
height or extent, since they have been known ; others
anticipating a speedy filling up of the Pacific from
their rapid growth. The truth seems to be, that
while in some localities no change in extent can be
traced through many years, in others very rapid
enlargements are made. As showing the rate at
which coral grows under favourable circumstances,
Mr. Darwin mentions two or three interesting cases.
In the lagoon of Keeling AtoU, a channel was dug

THE PACIFIC OCEAN. 261

for the passage of a schooner built upon the island,
through the reef into the sea ; in ten years after-
wards, when it was examined, it was found almost
choked up with living coral. Dr. Allan at Mada-
gascar placed several masses of coral, of different
species, each weighing ten pounds, in the sea three
feet beneath the surface, where tliey were secured
from removal by stakes. This was in December ;
and in the month of July following, they were found
nearly extending to the surface, immovably fixed to
the rock, and cjrown to several feet in lenfrth. A
ship in the Persian Gulf, in the course of twenty
months, had her copper encased with living coral to
the thickness of two feet.

It may excite surprise, that the openings in the
reefs are not gradually filled up in those cases where
no stream of fresh water flows into the sea. But it
appears, that the presence of any sediment is so
annoying to the animals, as to prevent their acting
with energy. This may be produced in various
modes. There are many animals which feed on the
living coral. Mr. Darwin observed two Parrot-fishes
(Scarus), one outside and the other inside the reef,
both engaged in devouring it : many small ^Mollusca
penetrate into it, and the Sea-cucumbers (Holotlmria),
which are very numerous and large, are continually
nibbling at it. Tlie rolling of dead masses by the
surf must also chafe away particles continually, and
the presence of the deposited sand thus formed is
doubtless one reason why the coral grows languidly
within the lagoon ; whereas the abraded atoms on the
outside are at once waslied off by the waves, and

2C2 THE OCEAN.

sink to the bottom of tne Ocean. Now, the water
which is continually thrown into the lagoon by the
surf breaking over the reef, can find an outlet only
through the openings of which I am speaking ; and
thus a constant current is maintained through them,
and particularly at the sides, where the opposing
waves offer less resistance, carrying out some of the
sediment, and depositing it in its course on the coral
margins of the aperture. The coral sand made by
these abraded fragments is quickly cemented by the
influence of the sun into a solid mass, where exposed
to the air ; and it is, perhaps, owing to this property,
that the numberless little islets are formed along the
reef, even where there is no aperture. The surf in
violent gales can roll up upon the reef masses of
torn-off coral, weighing many hundredweights ; such
a mass, once lodged, would be the nucleus of an islet ;
the sand would speedily accumulate around it, which
the sun would soon cement into a mass, and then
the islet would be ready for vegetation.

The following lines are beautifully descriptive
of the formation of an atoll, though the author
seems to hold the erroneous notion of the wholo
structure being elevated from the bottom by the
coral polypes : — ■

" Millions of millions thus, from nge to age,
With simplest skill, and toil unweariable,
No moment and no movement unimproved,
Laid line on line, on terrace terrace sprtad,
To swell the heightening, brightening, gradual mound,
By marvellous structure climbing tow'rds the day.
Each wrought alone, yet all together wrought ;
Unconscious, not unworthy, instruments.

THE PACIFIC OCKAN. 2G3

By which a Hand invisible was rearing

A new creation in the secret deej).

Omnipotence wrought in tbeiu, with them, by them;

Henco what Omnipotence alone could do

Worms did. * * * * * •

"Atom by atom thus the burthen grew,
Even like an infant in the womb, till Time
Deliver'd Ocean of that monstrous birth,
A Coral Island, stretching east and west.
In God's own language to its parent saying,
' Thus far, no farther, shalt thou go ; and here
Shall thy proud waves be stayed : ' — A point at fir.si
It peer'd above those waves ; a point so small,
I just perceived it, fix'd where all was floating;
And when a bubble cross'd it, the blue film
Expanded like a sky above the speck ;
That speck became a hand-breailth ; day and uiglit
It spread, accumulate.!, and ere long
Presented to my view a dazzling plain,
White as the moon amid the sapphire sea;
Bare at low water, and as still r.s death ;
Bui when the tide came gurgling o'er the surface,
'Twas like a resurrection of the dead ;
^^m graves innumerable, punctures fine
In the close coral, capillary swarms
Of reptiles, horrent as Meilusa's snakes.
Cover'd the bald-pate reef; then all was life,
And indefatigable industrj' ;
The artizans were twisting to and fro,
In idle-seeming convolutions; yet
They ever vanish'd with the ebbing surge,
Till pellicle on pellicle, and layer
On layer, was added to the growing mass.
Ju-e long the reef o'ertopp'd the spring-flood's height.
And mock'd the billows when they leap'd upon it,
Unable to maintain tlieir slippery hold.
And falling down in foam-wreaths round its verge.
Steep were the flanks, with precipices siiar[),
Descending to their base in ocean-gloom ;
Chasms few, and narrow, ana irii'gular.

26 t THE OCEAN.

Form'd harbours, safe at once aud perilous —
Safe for defence, but perilous to enter.
A sea-lake shone amidst the fossil i.sle.
Reflecting in a ring its cliSs and caverns,
With heaven itself seen like a lake below." *

The islands of the second class seem to have been
originally of the same structure as those already
noticed, but have been elevated to the height of
one hundred to five hundred feet, by some unknown
agency. The character of their vegetation resem-
bles that of the volcanic isles, of which I shall pre-
sently speak, but they do not possess their sub-

cbyhtal island.

lime grandeur, nor the peculiar loveliness of the
atolls. The rocks are crystallized carbonate of lime,
supposed to have been originally coral, "but, by

* Montgomery's Pelican Island.

THE PACIFIC OCEAN. 205

ex])osure to the action of the atmospheric air, to-
gether with that of the water percolating through
them, the loose particles of calcareous matter have
been washed away, and the whole mass has become
harder and brighter." In the islands named Atiu
and jVIauke, the latter of which was discovered by
Mr. Williams in 1823, that gentleman found seve-
ral extensive caverns, having a stratum of crystal-
lized coral, fifteen feet in thickness, as a roof In
one of these exquisitely beautiful caverns he walked
about for two hours, and found no termination to its
windings. This circumstance, together with the
absence of scoria, lava, and other volcanic products,
in these islands, has led him to the conclusion that
they have been elevated by some expansive power,
or volcanic agency, without eruption.*

In one of the Tonga Isles there is a very curious
submarine cavern, connected with an interesting
legend. Mr. ]\Iariner, who describes it, informs us
that being in the vicinity one day, a chief proposed
to visit this cave. One after another of the young
men dived into the water without rising again, and
at length the narrator followed one of them, and
guided by the light reflected from his heels, entered
a large opening in the rock, and presently emerged
in a caverm The entrance is at least a fathom
beneath the surface of the sea at low water, in the
side of a rock upwards of sixty feet in height ; and
leads into a grotto about forty feet wide, and of about
the same height, branching off into two chambers.
As it is apparently closed on every side, there is no

• Williams' Missionary Enterprises, p. 23.

2G6 THF OCEAN.

light but the feeble ray transinitted through the sea ;
yet this was found sufficient, after the eye had been
a few minutes accustomed to the obscurity, to show
objects with some little distinctness. Mr. Mariner,
however, desirous of better light, dived out again,
procured his pistol, and after carefully wrapping it
up, as well as a torch, re-entered the cavern as
speedily as j)ossible. Both the pistol and torch, on
being unwrapped, were found perfectly dry, and by
flashing the powder of the priming, the latter was
Ughted, and the beautiful grotto illuminated. The
roof was hung with stalactites in fantastic forms,
bearing some resemblance to the Gothic arches and
carved ornaments of some old church. After bavins
examined the curiosities of the place, the parties sat
down to drink cava, wliile an old chief communicated
some interesting particulars in the history of the
grotto.

In former times there lived a governor of one of
the neighbouring islands, who exercised his authority
with the most grinding tyranny and injustice. A
conspiracy against his life was formed by a sub-
ordinate chief, which was discovered, and he himself
condemned to death with his family. One of his
daughters, however, a beautiful girl, was reserved for
a more hateful destiny, that of becoming the wife of
the cruel tyrant. It happened that another young
chief, who had long loved this maiden, had a little
while before accidentally discovered the submarine
cavern, when diving in pursuit of turtle. He had
kept his discovery a profound secret, reserving it as
a safe retreat for himself, in case he should be un-

THE PACIFTC OCEAN. 207

successful in a plan of revolt, which he also had in
view. No sooner, however, were the tyrant's deci-
sions known, than he hastened to the damsel, and
acquainting her with her danger, besought her to
escape Avith him. The emergency was great ; little
solicitation sufficed to obtain her consent ; the woods
concealed her until evening, when her lover brought
liis canoe to a lonely part of the beach, in which she
embarked with him. As he paddled her across the
rippling waves, he made known to her his discovery
of the grotto, in which he proposed to conceal her
until they could find an opportunity for escape to a
distant island. Anived at the cliff, he conducted her
through the waters to her new abode, where they
rested awhile from their fears and fatigue, partaking
of some refreshment, which he had previously stored
there for himself Early in the morning he returned
liome to avoid suspicion ; but failed not, in the course
of the day, to repair again to the place which held
all that was dear to him : he brought her mats to lie
on, the finest gnatoo for a change of dress, the best of
food for her support, sandal-wood oil, cocoa-nuts, and
ever}^thing he could think of to render her life as
comfortable as possible. He gave her as much of
his company as prudence would allow, and at the
most appropriate times, lest the prying eye of
curiosity should find out his retreat.

But, though happy in each other's affections,
during tlieir sojourn in this secluded cave, the lengtli
of time he found it necessary to be absent from his
bride, to prevent .suspicion and detection, was a. great
source of discomfort ; and he longed for an opportunity

208 THE OCEAN.

to arrive, when he misiht without hazard acknowledcje
her as his chosen wife, and restore her to liberty and
security. At length he proposed to his vassals an
emigration to the Feejee Islands, and requested them
to accompany him. They complied, but asked him
respectfully, if he would not take a Tonga wife with
him. He laughingly replied, no ; but that he might
possibly find one by the way. Having put to sea, he
steered by the cliffs of Hoonga, the isle of the grotto ;
and suddenly bidding his crew wait while he fetched
his wife, dived, to their astonishment, beneath the
wave. They waited awhile in the greatest suspense
and wonder ; and at length, when they had despaired
of seeing him more, how was their astonishment
increased to see him suddenly appear, accompanied
by a lovely female ! Soon, hoAvever, they recognised
her features as those of onf> whom they had believed
to have been slain, in the general massacre of her
family ; but having been briefly informed by the
chief of the events that had transpired, they joyfully
congratulated him on his happiness. At length they
arrived at Feejee, where they resided under the pro-
tection of a chief two years ; when, hearing of the
death of the tyrant from whose persecutions they had
fled, the young chief returned with his wife to their
native island, and lived long in peace and happiness.
The only point of difficulty in this pleasing story
is the time which the young bride is said to have
spent in the cavern ; viz., two or three months ; as
it is not easy to understand how the air could have
remained so long fit for the supj)ort of life, if un-
renewed by communication with the atmosphere.

THE PACIFIC OCEAN.

269

However, it is quite probable, that there might have
been clefts in the ceiling, which might admit air
without admitting light; although Mr. Mariner could
discover none, even by swimming up each of the
chambers with the torch in his hand. He, however,
bears testimony, expressly, to the purity of the air
durintj his "sdsit to the retreat, so that we will not
reject the narrative on that account.

VOLCANIC ISLANDS.

The islands of the third class differ greatly in
appearance and structure from those of either of
the preceding. Abundant traces of their volcanic
origin show that they have been elevated from the
bed of the Ocean by the resistless energy of fire,
which has given a bold and irregular form to their
rocky mountains that greatly increases the romantic

T

270 THK OCEAIf.

beauty of their scenery. Every visitor to the South
Seas has spoken in eulogy of these lovely islands.
The highly-wrought descriptions given in Cook's
voyages are declared by recent writers to be no
whit beyond the reality. Instead of the long low
coral island, with its grove of cocoa-nut trees almost
springing from the water's edge, these islands rise
up from the sea in tall cliffs, or gentle slopes, while
the towering mountains of the interior, wooded to
their summits, pierce the clouds. "The mountains
frequently diverge in short ranges from the interior
towards the shore, though some rise like pyramids
with pointed summits, and others present a conical
or sugar-loaf form, while the outline of several is
regular, and almost circular." In some places the
mountain ranges terminate in abrupt precipices frown-
ing over the Pacific, that frets and foams below; in
others, there is a broad belt of level land, of the most
fertile character, and rich in the various productions
of a tropical region. To these are now added charms
of another character. When visited by Cook, there
was the loveliness and magnificence of Nature, but
that was all ; man was evil ; plunged in the grossest
idolatry, cruelty, and licentiousness, he strangely con-
trasted with the scenes around him : but, now that
the glad tidings of salvation through the Lord Jesus
Christ have been, by the grace of God, made known
to them, how incomparably is the scene enhanced J
The wretched hut is exchanged for the neat and
picturesque cottage ; cultivated fields and pleasant
gardens chequer the mountain sides ; the sound of
the axe and hammer has replaced the savage war-

THE TACIFIC OCE.\_N. 271

cry, and the peaceful people flock to the worship of
the true God, instead of a licentious dance before a
hideous idoL 0, how far does the moral beauty of
such a change as this exceed the beauty of mere
natural scenery, though it be lovely as is that of
Tahiti ! Captain Gambler has thus described his
emotions on visiting these scenes : — " After passing
the reef of coral which forms the harbour, astonish-
ment and delight kept us silent for some moments,
and were succeeded by a burst of unqualified appro-
bation at the scene before us. We were in an excellent
harbour, upon whose shores industry and comfort were
plainly perceptible; for in every direction, white cot-
tages, precisely English.were seen peeping from amongst
the rich foliage which everywhere clothes the lowland
in these islands. Upon various little elevations beyond
these, were others, which gave extent and animation
to the whole. The point on the left, in going in,* is
low, and covered with wood, with several cottages
along the shore. On the right, the high land of the
interior slopes down with gentle, gradual descent, and
terminates in an elevated point, which juts out into
the harbour, forming two little bays. The principal
and largest is to the left, viewing them from seaward ;
in this, and extending up the valley, the village is
situated. The other, wliich is small, has only a few
houses ; but so quiet, so retired, that it seems the
abode of peace and perfect content. Industry flourishes
here. The chiefs take a pride in building their own
houses, which are now all after the European manner ;

* The captain ia speaking of the harbour of Fa-re iu the island
of Huaheine.

T 2

272 THE OCE^VN.

and think meanly of themselves, if they do not excel
the lower classes in the arts necessary for their con-
struction. Their wives, also, surpass their inferiors
in making cloth. The queen and her daughter-in-
law, dressed in the English fashion, received us in
their neat little cottage.

"The sound of industry was music to my ears.
Hammers, saws, and adzes, were heard in every
direction. Houses in frame met the eye in all parts,
in different stages of forwardness. Many boats, after
our manner, were building, and lime burning for
cement and whitewashing.

" I walked out to the point forming the division
between the two bays. When I had reached it I sat
down to enjoy the sensations created by the lovely
scene before me. I cannot describe it ; but it pos-
sessed charms independent of beautiful scenery and
rich vegetation. The blessings of Christianity were
diffused among the fine people who inhabited it ; a
taste for industrious employment had taken deep
root ; a praiseworthy emulation to excel in the arts
which contribute to their welfare and comfort had
seized upon all, and in consequence civilization was
advancing with rapid strides."

The volcanic islands, like the first-described class,
are protected from the fury of the tempestuous Ocean
by the natural rampart of a coral reef The reef is
often a mile and a half or two miles from the beach,
though sometimes it approaches so close as to be con-
nected with it, interrupting in that part the continuity
of the lagoon. The usual width of the coral rock is
from five to twenty or thirty yards ; yet over this the

THE PACIFIC OCEAN.

273

waves usually break, and when rolling in upon an
unbroken line of reef, perhaps two miles in length,
the spectacle is one of surpassing grandeur and
beauty. The island of Bolabola, however, is sur-
rounded by a ring of land almost unbroken, on

BOLAOOLA.

\Thich are growing groves of cocoa-nuts ; the reef
being wholly elevated above the sea.

The openings in the reefs in the larger islands are
almost invariably placed opposite the mouth of a
river. One can readily understand, that a current

274f THE OCEAN.

of fresn water would be detrimental to the health
of a polype formed for living in the sea, and there-
fore the openings here might have been expected.
But this effect is increased by the sediment deposited
as has already been observed in speaking of the
coral islands. The little green wooded islets, which
serve as gateways here as in the former case, are
susceptible of ready explanation. Where a river
empties itself, a great quantity of vegetable matter,
rubbish, and earth, is perpetually carried down, and
this would naturally be deposited at the shallows on
either side, where the stream met the boiling waves
of the Ocean. The heap would very soon be raised,
by accumulations, above the surface of the tide,
decomposition would take place, seeds washed down
would spring up, and, under a tropical climate, the
young soil would speedily be clothed with trees and
shrubs. In the small islets where there is no efflux
of fresh water, the process would be more protracted,
but not essentially different : the current driven in
through the aperture would bring sea-weeds, and the
floating matters washed off the land, and when the
soil was once raised above the surface, though com-
posed of but sand and pulverised coral, the cocoa-
nut would gi-ow and thrive. It is remarkable to see
this graceful palm rising from the very sea-sand,
where its roots are daily wet with salt water, yet
towering to the height of seventy feet, throwing out
its elegant plumose fronds, and producing its clusters
of flowers and fruit, as luxuriantly as if it were
growing in the rich alluvial valleys of the interior.
These little fairy islets, so useful as well aa

THE PACIFIC OCEAN. 275

ornamental, give a very peculiar character to the
prospects from the land. " Detached from the large
islands, and viewed in connexion with tlie Ocean
rolling through the channel on the one side, or the
foaming billows dashing, and roaring, and breaking
over the reef on the other, they appear like emerald
gems of the Ocean, conti'asting their solitude and
verdant beauty with the agitated element sporting in
grandeur around."

Upon the mind of a European, the sailing in a
small vessel through one of these sheltered lagoons
has a most novel and interesting effect. The shore,
on the one hand, presenting its shifting aspects
of beauty, as the boat skims past ; the convolvulus
and other brilliant creeping plants entwined about
the dark rocks, or trailing in unrestrained wildness
over the sands ; the solemn groves, now revealing
their sombre and shady retreats, now projecting
their massy foliage in full sun-light ; the valuable
bread-fruit {Artocarpus), the light and elegant aito
(Casuartna), the magnificent tamanu {Callojjhyllum),
with its glossy evergreen leaves, the hutu {Barrwg-
tonia) of giant height, adorned with large flowers
of white and pink, are relieved by the coral-tree
{Erythrina), with its light-green waving leaves and
bunches of scarlet blossoms, and the hoary foliage of
the candle-nut (Alurites). The cocoa-nut, always
beautiful, whether growing alone or in groves, but
particularly pleasing when seen planted around a
neat white-washed cottage, in company with the
broad leaved plantain or banana ; the light tree-ferns
displaying their elegant tracery against the sky, the

276 THE OCEAIi

native chestnut {Tuscarpus), rearing its stately head
above its fellows, and marking the position of a
running stream ; — these and many other trees of
beauty and usefulness strike the eye of a stranger.
Seaward, there is the long line of the reef ; a low but
impregnable barrier, with the surging wave foaming
over it ; and, beyond, the boundless Pacific, unbroken
by any object, save the white-sailed canoe in the
distance, scarcely distinguishable from the crest of
a wave, but perhaps freighted with the humble native
missionary, bearing to some neighbouring island that
gospel of Christ which he has found to be "the power
of God unto [his] salvation." Beneath and around
is the placid and lake-like lagoon, the progress of
the boat alone dimpling its smooth face. So trans-
parent is the water, that the varied bottom is dis-
tinctly visible many fathoms down, showing the
growth of living coral branching in fantastic imitation
of the shrubs and trees on the shore, and repre-
senting to the charmed imagination an extensive
submarine shrubbery of many hues. Even the
irregular movements of the spined urchins {Echini)
are clearly seen as they crawl upon the sands, and
the multitudes of playful little rock-fishes {Labri),
of every rich and growing tint, gliding with easy
and graceful motion among the branches, rivet the
spectator's attention.

■ Mr. Ellis thus describes his feelings in a similar
situation, walking on the lonely sea-beach by moon-
light -. " The evening was fair, the moon shone
brightly, and her mild beams, silvering the foliage
of the shrubs that grew near the shore, and playing

THE PACIFIC OCEAN. 277

on the rippled and undulating wave of the Ocean,
added a charm to the singularity of the prospect,
and enlivened the loneliness of our situation. The
scene was unusually impressive. On one side, the
mountains of the interior, having their outline edged,
as it were, with silver from the rays of the moon,
rose in lofty magnificence, while the indistinct form,
rich and diversified verdure, of the shrubs and trees,
increased the effect of the scene. On the other hand
was the illimitable sea, rolling in solemn majesty
its sweUing waves over the rocks which defended
the spot on which we stood. The most profound
silence prevailed, and we might have fancied that
we were the only beings in existence ; for no sound
was heard, excepting the gentle rustling of the leaves
of the cocoa-nut tree, as the light breeze from the
mountain swept through them ; or the hollow roar
of the surf, and the rolling of the foamiug wave, as
it broke over the distant reef, and the splashing of
the paddle of our canoe, as it approached the shore.
It was impossible, at such a season, to behold this
scene, exhibiting impressively the grandeur of creation
and the insignificance of man, without experiencing
emotions of adoring wonder and elevated devotion, and
exclaiming with the Psalmist, ' When I consider thy
heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the
stars which thou hast ordained ; what is man, that
thou art mindful of him, or the son of man, that
thou visitest him V" *

The same pleasing ^vl•iter has given us a vivid
picture of the emotions awakened by passing a night

• Polynesian Researches, 2d ed. vol. ii. p 245.

278 THE OCEAN.

upon the open sea in a small boat. He was pro-
ceeding from the island of Eimeo to Huaheine :
" Nothing can exceed the solemn stillness of a night
at sea within the tropics, when the wind is light,
and the water comparatively smooth. Few periods
and situations, amid the diversified circumstances
of human life, are equally adapted to excite contem-
plation, or to impart more elevated conceptions of
the Divine Being, and more just impressions of the
insignificancy and dependence of man. In order to
avoid the vertical rays of a tropical sun, and the
painful effects of the reflection of the water, many
of my voyages among the Georgian and Society
Islands have been made during the night. At these
periods I have often been involuntarily brought
under the influence of a train of thought and feeling
peculiar to the season and the situation, but never
more powerfully so than on the present occasion.

" The night was moonless, but not dark. The
stars increased in number and variety as the evening
advanced, until the whole firmament was overspread
with luminaries of every magnitude and brilliancy.
The agitation of the sea had subsided, and the
waters around us appeared to unite with the in-
distinct, though visible, horizon. In the heaven and
the ocean, all powers of vision were lost ; while the
brilliant lights in the one being reflected from the
surface of the other, gave a correspondence to the
appearance of both, and almost forced the illusion
on the mind, that our little bark was suspended in
the centre of two united hemispheres.

"The perfect quietude that surrounded us was

THE PACIFIC OCEAN. 279

equally impressive. No objects were visible but the
lamps of heaven and tlie luminous appearances of tlie
deep. The silence was only broken by the murmurs
of the breeze passing through our matting sails, or
the dashing of the spray from the bows of our boat,
excepting at times, wlien we heard, or fancied we
heard, the blowing of a shoal of porpoises, or the
more alarming sounds of a spouting whale.

" At a season such as this, when I have reflected
on our actual situation, so far removed, in tlie
event of any casualty, from human observation and
assistance, and preserved from certain death only by
a few feet of thin board, which my own unskilful
hands had nailed together, a sense of the wakeful
care of the Almighty has alone afforded composure.

" The contemplation of the heavenly bodies,
although they exhibit the wisdom and majesty of
God, who ' bringeth out their hosts by number, and
calleth them all by names, by the greatness of His
might,' impressed at the same time the conviction
that I was far from home, and those scenes whicli
in niemoiy were associated with a starlight evening
in the land I had left. Many of the stars which
I had beheld in England were visible here : the
constellations of the zodiac, the splendours of Orion,
and the mild twinkling of the Pleiades, were seen ;
but the northern pole-star, the steady beacon of
juvenile astronomical observation, the Great Bear,
and much that was peculiar to a northern sky, were
wanting. The effect of mental associations, con-
nected with the appearance of the heavens is singular
and impressive. During a voyage which I subse-

280 THE OCEAI^.

quently made to the Sandwich Islands, many a
pleasant hour was spent in watching the rising of
those luminaries of heaven, which we had been
accustomed to behold in our native land, but which
for many years had been invisible. When the polar
star rose above the horizon, and Ursa Major, with
other famihar constellations appeared, we hailed them
as long absent friends ; and could not but feel that
we were nearer England than when we left Tahiti,
simply from beholding the stars that had enlivened
our evening excursions at home." *

A stranger is forcibly struck with the remarkable
fearlessness which the natives of these islands have
of the sea. They appear almost as amphibious as
seals, sporting about in the deep sea for many hours,
sometimes for nearly a whole day together. No
sooner does a ship approach a large island, than the
inhabitants swim off to welcome her ; and long before
she begins to take in sail, she is surrounded by human
beings of both sexes, apparently as much at home in
the Ocean as the fishes themselves. The children are
taken to the water when but a day or two old, and
many are able to swim as soon as they are able to
walk. In coasting along the shore, it is a rare thing
to pass a group of cottages, at any hour of the day,
without seeing one or more bands of children joyously
playing in the sea. They have several distinct games
whicb are played in the water, and which are followed
with exceeding avidity, not only by children, but by
the adult population. One of these is the fastening
of a long board or pole on a sort of stage, where the

* Poly. Res. iiL 164.

THE PACIFIC OCEAN. 281

Tv^cks are abrupt, in such a manner that it sliall
project far over the water : then they chase one
another along the board, each in turn leaping from
the end into the sea. They are also fond of diving
from the yard-arms or bowsprit of a ship. But the
most favourite pastime of all, and one in which all
classes and ages, and both sexes, engage with peculiar
delight, is swimming in the surf. Mr. Ellis has seen
some of the highest chiefs, between fifty and sixty
years of age, large and corpulent men, engage in this
game with as much interest as children. A board
about six feet long, and a foot wide, slightly thinner
at the edges than at the middle, is prepared for this
amusement, stained and polished, and preserved
with great care by being constantly oiled, and hung
up in their dwellings. With this in his hand, which
he calls the wave-sliding board, each native repairs
to the reef, particularly when the sea is running high,
and the surf is dashing in with more than ordinary
violence, as on such occasions the pleasure is the
greater. They choose a place where the rocks are
twenty or thirty feet under water, and shelve for a
quarter of a mile or more out to sea. The waves
break at this distance, and the whole space between
it and the shore is one mass of boiling foam. Each
person now swims, pusliing his board before him, out
to sea, diving under the waves as they curl and break,
until he is arrived outside the rocks. He now lays
himself flat on his breast along his board, and waits
the approach of a huge billow ; when it comes, he
adroitly balances himself on its summit, and, paddling
with his hands, is borne on the crest of the advancing

282 THE OCEAN.

wave, amidst the foam and spray, iiutil within a yard
or two of the shore or rocks. Then, when a stranger
expects to see him the next moment dashed to death,
he slides off his board, and, catching it by the middle,
dives seaward under the wave, and comes up behind,
laughing and whooping, again to swim out as before.
The utmost skill is required, in coming in, to keep
the position on the top of the wave ; for, if the board
get too forward, the swimmer will be overturned and
thrown upon the beach ; and, if it fall behind, he
will be buried beneath the succeeding wave : yet
some of the natives are so expert as to sit, and even
to stand upright upon their board, while it is thus
riding in the foam.

Their sport is, however, not unfrequently disturbed
by the appearance of a shark. This terrific animal is
particularly abundant among the South Sea Islands,
and remarkably bold and ferocious. The cry of
" A Shark !" among the surf swimmers will instantly
set them in the utmost terror, and generally they fly
with precipitation to the shore ; though sometimes
they unite and endeavour to frighten him away with
their shouting and splashing. Often, however, the
animal is too determined lightly to give up his prey,
as was the case in the following instance recorded by
Mr. Richards of the Sandwich Islands : —

"At nine o'clock in the morning of June 14th,
3 826, while sitting at my writing-desk, I heard
a simultaneous scream from multitudes of people,
' Pau i ka mano ! ' (Destroyed by the shark !) The
beach was instantly lined by hundreds of persrns,
and a few of the most resolute threw a large canoe

THE PACIFIC OCEAN.

283

into the water, and, alike regardless of the Shark and
the high rolling surf, sprang to the relief of their
companion. It was too late ; the Shark had already
seized his prey. The affecting sight was only a few
yards from my door, and, while I stood watching, a
hirire wave almost filled the canoe, and at the same

WHITE SHARK.
THE ATTITUDE OF THE FISH IN TAKING ITS PIIET.

instant a part of the mangled body was seen at the
bow of the canoe, and the Shark swimming towards
it at her stern. When the swell had rolled by, the
water was too shallow for the Shark to swim. The
remains, therefore, were talcen into the canoe, and

284 THE OCEAJS.

brought ashore. The water was so much stained by
the blood, that we discovered a red tinge in all the
foaming billows, as they approached the beach.

" The unhappy sufferer was an active lad about
fourteen years old, who left my door only about half
an hour previous to the fatal accident. I saw his
mother, in the extremity of her anguish, plunge into
the water, and swim towards the bloody spot, entirely
forgetful of the power of her former god.*

" A number of people, perhaps a hundred, were at
this time playing in the surf, which was higher than
usual. Those who were nearest to the victim, heard
him shriek, perceived him to strike with his right
hand, and at the same instant saw a Shark seize his
arm. Then followed the cry which I heard, which
echoed from one end of Latraina to the other. All
who were playing in the water made the utmost
speed to the shore, and those who were standing on
the beach saw the surf-board of the unhappy sufferer
floating on the water, without any one to guide it.
When the canoe reached the spot they saw nothing
but the blood with which the water was stained for
a considerable distance, and by which they traced
the remains whither they had been carried by the
Shark or driven by the swell. The body was cut in
two by the Shark, just above the hips ; and the lower
part, together with the right arm, was gone."-f-

A dreadful instance of the voracity of these for-
midable animals occurred a few years ago among the
Society Islands. Upwards of thirty natives were

* The Shark was formerly worshipped in the Sandwich Islands.
+ American Missionary Herald.

THE PACIFIC OCEAN. 285

passing from one island to another, in a large double
canoe, which consists of two canoes fastened together,
side by side, by strong horizontal beams, lashed to
the gunwales by cordage. Being overtaken by a
storm, the canoes were torn apart, and were in-
capable, singly, of floating upright. In vain the
crew attempted to balance them, they were every
moment overturned. Their only resource was to
form a hasty raft of such loose boards and spars as
were in the craft, on which they hoped to drift
ashore. But it happened, from the small size of
their raft, and their aggregated weight, that they
were so deep in the water, that the waves washed
above their knees. Tossed about thus, they soon
became exhausted with hunger and fatigue ; when
the Sharks began to collect around them, and soon
had the boldness to seize one and another from the
raft, who, being destitute of any weapon of defence,
became an easy prey. The number and audacity
of these monsters every moment increased, and the
forlorn wretches were one by one torn off, until, but
two or three remaining, the raft at length, lightened
of its load, rose to the surface, and placed the sur-
vivors beyond the reach of their terrible assailants.
The tide at length bore them to one of the islands,
a melancholy remnant, to tell the sad fate of their
companions.

With such simple vessels as were used by these
people, it is surprising that such accidents did not
more frequently occur. AVhen we consider that,
before their intercourse with Europeans, they pos-
sessed no metal tools, that their work was performed

286 THE OCEAN.

wholly by the eye, without line, rule, or square,
and that the seams were closed merely by, as it
were, tying the planks to each other with cinet,
it does seem surprising that their canoes could even
live in a sea. Yet they were strong and secure,
and many of them remarkably dry and comfortable,
leaking very little, for they were accustomed to
insert between the seams the cocoa-nut husk, which
always swells when wetted ; and the expansion of
this substance closed the crevices neatly. Their
craft, though varying much in size and minor
points, according to the purposes for which they
were intended, were built nearly on the same model ;
the stem and stern generally being curved upwards,
so as to project out of water. As they were much
higher than wide, they needed some contrivance
to obtain uprightness ; and this they secured, either
by lashing two togetlier by cross-beams, making
the double canoe just now alluded to, or by means
of an outrigger, which is a stout plank or spar,
parallel to the side of the canoe, and fixed at some
distance from the larboard side, by two horizontal
poles, which connect it with the vessel. The out-
rigger floats on the water, and while it remains fast,
there is no possibility of capsizing. They were
furnished with masts, sails made of the leaves of
the pandanus, woven into a sort of matting, and
rigging made of cocoa-nut fibre, which makes good
rope.

The mode in which these scattered isles were
peopled is a subject of interesting discussion, as
the physical charactcsr of the inhabitants, their Ian-

THE PACIFIC OCEAN. 287

guage, and many peculiarities in their customs, seem
to indicate iheir Asiatic origin ; while, on the other
hand, it was deemed highly improbable that the
progress should have been made in a direction
opposed to that of the trade-wind, and in such
feeble craft as they possessed. But the trade-wind
is occasionally exchanged for violent and continued
gales in other directions ; and instances have come
to our knowledge, in which voyages of several
hiindred miles have been performed by native
canoes, directly to windward. Thus, Captain Beechy
found at Byam Martin Island a native of Tahiti,
named Tuwarri, who, with a few companions, had
sailed from Chain Island on a voyage to Tahiti ;
but after being out some time, he was met by a
violent storm, which drove him far out of his course
and knowledge. At length, after very severe pri-
vations and sufferings, he arrived at Byam Martin,
four hundred and twenty miles distant in a wind-
ward direction from the point of embarkation.*
Such involuntary emigrations as this, when we con-
sider how intimately the various groups are con-
nected with each other, and with the Indian Archi-
pelago, seem sufficient to warrant the conclusion,
that the tide of population has flowed in a direction
from west to east.

In the transparent waters of the lagoons and
sheltered bays, fishes of great variety and beauty
are seen ; and as many of them are of large size,
and of exquisite flavour, the obtaining of them forms
no small part of the occupation of the Polynesians.

• Voyagfi to the Pacific, &c.

L- 2

288 THE OCEAN.

Some of their modes of fishing are highly curious
and ingenious. One, which is very successful,
reminds us of a wire mouse-trap. A circular space
in the lagoon, of about three or four yards in
diameter, is enclosed by building up a wall from
the bottom to the surface, in a part where it is
not very deep. In one part of the top an opening
is left a foot or two wide, and five or six inches
deep. From each side of this aperture another
stone wall, likewise reaching to the surface, is
built to the length of fifty or a hundred yards
in a diverging direction, so as to iaclude a large
space of water, which is open at one end, but, be-
coming narrower and narrower, leads into the cir-
cular pen. Fishes are usually found in these traps
every morning, which are either taken out with a
hand-net, or allowed to remain till wanted, as in a
preserve.

Many fishes, which have the habit of springing
out of water when alarmed, are taken by means
of rafts. These are from fifteen to twenty feet
long, and six or eight feet wide, built of light wood
such as the native hibiscus. Along one side a fence
or screen is raised to the height of four or five
feet, by fixing a row of upright stakes in the raft,
to which slender poles are attached horizontally, one
above another. A large party of men proceed with
twenty or thirty of these rafts to a shallow part of
the lagoon, and then arrange themselves in a circle,
enclosing a considerable space of water. They then
gradually narrow the circle by approaching each
other, keeping the fenced edge of the raft on the

i

THE PACIFIC OCEAN. 289

outside. At this juncture a few persons go into the
circle with a canoe, and beat tlie surface of the water
violently with long white sticks, making as much
commotion as possible. The fish, alarmed, dart away
toward the rafts, and leaping out of water endea-
vour to clear them ; but, striking against tlie per-
pendicular fence, they fall on the raft, and are
gathered into baskets, or into canoes prepared on
the outside of the circle.

From the seeds of some of the native plants, a
liquor is prepared, which has the property of in-
toxicating fishes, and rendering them insensible.
The mixture is frequently poured into the water
in narrow places near the shore, or upon the reef;
soon after which, the fish come out of their retreats,
and float in considerable numbers on the surface
as if dead, when they are caught without resist-
ance.

Sometimes tlie long leaves of the cocoa-nut are
tied up in bunches, and affixed along a line, which
being carried out and dropped into the water, the
two ends are towed in two canoes towards the shore.
This rude apology for a net drives many fishes
into tlie shallows, whence they are taken out with
hand-nets, or speared. Nets, however, made on
the same principle as our own, are manufactured
by them, and are exceedingly well made. They
are of various kinds : a casting-net is used with
much dexterity, being thrown from the hand over
a shoal of small fishes, as the fisherman walks alon"
the shore. Salmon-nets are made forty fathoms long,
and are very effective ; stones tied in bags of matting

290 THE OCEAN.

being used instead of leads, and floats of light wood
for corks.

Fishing with the barbed spear is a favourite amuse-
ment in these islands. Before the introduction of
iron, the implement was made of hard wood ; ten or
twelve pointed pieces being fastened to the end of
a pole eight feet long ; but now iron heads are
usually employed, barbed on one side. With these
spears the natives proceed to the reef, and wade
into the sea as high as their waists, their feet being
defended from the sharp points of the coral and
the spines of the sea-urchins by sandals made of
tough bark, twisted into cords. Stationing them-
selves near an opening in the rocks, they watch the
motions of the fishes as they shoot to and fro, and
dart the spear, sometimes with one hand, but more
commonly with both, frequently striking their prey
with great dexterity.

The fishermen often pursue their avocation by
night ; sometimes in the dark, sometimes by moon-
light, but more usually by torchlight. Their torches
are either large bunches of dried reeds firmly tied
together, or else are made of the candle-nut (Aleu-
rites triloba), which the natives use to light their
houses. These nuts are heart-shaped, about as
large as a walnut, and enclosed in a very hard
shell. After being slightly baked in an oven, the
shell is removed, a hole bored through the kernel,
and a rush passed through the hole, when they are
hung up in strings for use. Torches are made by
enclosing four or five strings of the nuts in the leaves
of the screw-pine {Pandanus), which not only keep

THE PACIFIC OCEAN. 291

them together, but increase the brilliancy of tlie
light.

These nocturnal fishing expeditions are described
as producing a most picturesque ell'ect. Large parties
of men proceed to the reef, when the sea is compara-
tively smooth, and hunt the totara, or hedgehog-fish,
probably a species of Diodon : and it is a beautiful
and interesting spectacle to behold a long line of
reef illuminated by the flaming torches, the light
from which glares redly upon the foaming surf
without, and the calm lagoon within. Each fisher
man holds his torch in his left hand high above
his head, while he poises his spear in his right,
and stands with statue-like stillness, watching the
approach of the fish.

A similar mode of fishing is practised in the rivers,
and though the circumstances are different, the effect
is not inferior. " Few scenes," says Mr. Ellis, " pre-
sent a more striking and singular effect, than a band
of natives walking along the shallow parts of the
rocky sides of a river, elevating a torch with one
hand, and a spear in the other ; while the glare of
their torches is thrown upon the overhanging boughs,
and reflected from the agitated surface of the stream.
Their own bronze-coloured and lightly-clothed forms,
partially illuminated, standing like figures in relief;
while the whole scene appears in bright contrast with
the dark and almost midnight gloom that envelopes
every other object."*

Another mode of fishing by torchlight is described
by the late ]\Ir. Williams, who accompanied some

♦ Polv. Res. i. 150.

292

THE OCEAN.

natives of Atiu on an excursion. The object of the
pursuit was the Flying-fish, which is only taken by
night. Double canoes were used, which, having
been dragged from the rocks, thirty feet above the
level of the water, down a broad sloping ladder, were
launched over the surf A torch was lighted, and
the principal fisherman took his station on the fore
part of the canoe, bearing a ring-net attached to a

KIsniNG BY TORCHLIGHT.

light pole twelve or fifteen feet long. The rowers
now commence paddling with all their might, while
the headsman produced a great noise by stamping on
the hollow box of the canoe. The Flying-fish, which
were securely feeding at the outer edge of the reef,
terrified by the noise and splashing of the oars,

THE PACIFIC OCEAN. 293

darted out to sea. The torch answered a double
purpose ; enabling the headsman to discern his prey,
and dazzle the eyes of the fishes ; and as they dashed
past the canoe, on the surface of the water, he thrust
forward his net, and turned it over upon them.
Many of the natives have acquired great skill in
this exercise, and the quickness of their sight and
the celerity of their movements are astonishing ; so
that sometimes vast quantities of fish are taken in
this manner.*

A large number of fishes are taken with the hook,
as by more cultivated nations ; and with all the
superiority in art, and all the advantage of metals
possessed by Europeans, the native-made hooks are
preferred, as far more effective than ours. Many
of them are really beautiful productions, and, when
we consider their total want of metallic tools, excite
our astonishment at the skill and ingenuity of the
manufacturers. Our hooks are all made on one
pattern, however varying in size ; but the forms
of theirs are exceedingly various, and made of dif-
ferent substances, viz., wood, shell, and bone. " The
hooks made with wood are curious ; some are ex-
ceedingly small, not more than two or three inches
in length, but remarkably strong ; others are large.
The wooden hooks are never barbed, but simply
pointed, usually curved inwards at the point, but
sometimes standing out veiy wide, and occasionally
armed at the point with a piece of bone. The best
are hooks ingeniously made with the small roots of
the aito-tree, or iron-wood (Casuarina). In selecting
* Missionary Enterprises, p. 270.

294

THE OCEAN.

a root for this purpose, they choose one partially
exposed, and growing by the side of a bank, prefer-
ring such as are free from knots and other excres-
cences. The root is twisted into the shape they
wish the future hook to assume, and allowed to grow
till it has reached a size lar^e enoucjh to allow of the

o o

autside or soft parts being removed, and a sufficiency

POLYNESIAN FiSHIXG-TACKLE.

remaining to form the hook. Some hooks thus pre-
pared are not much thicker than a quill, and perhaps
three or four inches in length. Those used in taking
sharks are formidable-looking weapons ; some are a
foot or fifteen inches long, exclusive of the curvatures,
and not less than an inch in diameter. Tliey are
such frightful things, that no fish less voracious than

THE PACIFIC OCEAN. 295

a shark would approach them. In some the marks
of the sharks' teeth are numerous and deep, and
indicate the effect with which they have been
used.*

The most curious, as well as most serviceable
hooks, are made of the inner part of the shell of the
pearl-oyster, or other large bivalves, the interior of
which is pearly, called mother-of-pearl. These have
great care and pains bestowed upon them : the smaller
ones are cut almost circular, and made to resemble a
worm, thus answering the purpose of bait as well as
hook. A much larger kind is that used for the capture
of the albacore, bonito, and coryphene. The shank
is about six inches in length, and nearly an inch in
width, cut out of pearl-shell, in the shape of a small
fish, and finely polished. The barb is formed sepa-
rately ; it is an inch and a half in length, and js
firmly bound in its place by a bandage of fine flax.
The line is fastened to this, and braided all along
the curve of the hook, and again fastened at the
head. Sometimes a number of long bristles are
attached to the shell to mimic the appearance of the
Flying-fish.

The line is affixed to the end of a long bamboo
rod ; and the anglers, sitting in the stern of a light
single canoe, are rowed briskly over the waves. The
rod is held so that the hook shall just skim the
tops of the billows ; the albacore or bonito, deceived
by the resemblance, leaps after the fancied Flying-
fish, and finds itself a pvey. Twenty or thirty large

Kllis.

2!)')

THE OCKAJI.

fishes are occasionally taken by two men in tliis
manner, in the course of a morning.

A still more ingenious mode of deception is prac-
tised upon these large fishes, by employing a swift
double canoe, from the bows of which projects into
the air a long curved pole resembling a crane. At
some distance from the end this divides into two

anc.lixo in a double 0Ai<OE.

branches, which diverge from each other. The foot
is secured in a sort of socket between the two canoes,
and is so managed that the ends of the pole are
capable of being lowered or elevated by a rope which
proceeds from the fork. A man sits in the high
stern, holding this rope in his hand, and watching
the capture of the fishes. From the end of the pro-

TF£E PACIFIC OCEAN. 297

jecting arms depends the line, with the pearl-hook
fashioned to resemble the Flying-fish. To increase
the deception, bunches of feathers are fastened to
the tips of the arms, to represent those aquatic
birds which habitually follow the Flying-fish in its
course, to seize it in the air. The presence of these
birds is so sure an indication of the position of the
fish, that the fishermen hasten to the spot where they
are seen hovering in the air. The canoe skims rapidly
along, rising and falling on the waves, by which a
similar motion is communicated to the hook, which
skips along, sometimes out and sometimes in the
water, w^hile the plumes of feathers flutter imme-
diately above. The artifice rarely fails to succeed ;
if the Bonito perceives the hook, he instantly engages
in pursuit, and if he misses his grasp, perseveres
until he has seized it. The moment the man in the
stern perceives the capture he hoists the crane, and
the fish is dragged in, and thrown into a sort of long
basket, suspended between the two canoes. The
crane is then lowered again, and all is ready for
another candidate.

Yet another mode of fishing, not wanting in in-
genuity, is adopted by the inhabitants of the Samoa
group. A number of hollow floats, about eight
inches in height, and the same in diameter, are
fastened to a stout cord, a short distance apart. To
each of them a line is attached, about a foot in
length, to the end of which a piece of fish-bone is
suspended by the middle. This bone is ground
exceedingly sharp at each end, so that when it is
seized by the fish, the points enter the mouth in

298 THE OCEAN.

contrary directions, and secure it. The floats answer
other purposes besides the obvious one of regulating
the depth of the snare ; they attract the fish by the
whiteness of their surface, and also show by their
motion when the prey is taken.

Not only in the smooth waters of the lagoon
channels is the hook and line used, but in the open
Ocean ; as notwithstanding the frail character of their
vessels, the barbarous natives of these oceanic isles
are skilful and fearless in navigation. Even the
terrific shark is attacked in his own element ; some-
times involved in a net, when frequently he makes
havoc among the fishermen before he can be trans-
fixed by their spears ; and sometimes caught as inti-
mated above, with the insidious hook. The most
daring young men, usually the chiefs, are the first
to assault the monster; while the elders watch the
proceedings in their canoes from a distance, partakers
of the excitement, though no longer sharers of the
heroism. The eagerness with which these expeditions
are set on foot, and the ardour with which they are
prosecuted, are only equalled by the excited feelings
of those who, in other countries, pursue the more
noble objects of the chase.

The fishes of these seas are, many of them, interest-
ing ; some of them have been already named. The
Albacore and the Bonito are common in the tropical
parts of the Pacific, and are both members of the
Mackerel family. They are of considerable size, but
the Albacore {Scoher Germo) is the larger, sometimes
being found six feet in length. Like its relative, our
own Mackerel, it is a fish of much elegance, and its

THE PACIFIC OCEAN. 299

colours are beautiful. The back is bright azure, with
a golden tint ; the belly and sides silvery, with rain-
bow reflections, like mother-of-pearl, and the same
notched fins near the tail are bright yellow. In
slight winds, when the motion of a ship is slow,
these fishes are usually to be seen around her; if
she be becalmed, and consequently motionless, they
remain at some little distance, when the most tempt-
ing bait is ineffectual ; but if she be sailing rapidly
before a brisk breeze they pertinaciously keep her
company, keeping close alongside, and seizing the
hook with avidity. The Albacore, as already hinted,
is one of the hunters of the little Flying-fish. It is
said to be highly interesting to watch one of these
fishes keenly engaged in pursuit of its volatile prey :
to mark the precision with which it keeps exactly
beneath during the aerial leaps of the victim, keeping
it steadily in sight, prepared to snap it up, on the
instant of its submersion. The Flying-fish, however,
by its exceeding agility, darting again into the air in
a moment, sometimes contrives to escape the fearful
jaws of its adversary.

The Albacore, in its turn, has occasion to exercise
cunning and contrivance, to evade the attacks of a
still mightier foe. Mr. F. D. Bennett mentions that,
on one occasion, "The Albacore around the ship
afforded us an extraordinary spectacle ; they were
collected close to the keel of the vessel, in one dense
mass, of extraordinary^ depth and breadth, and swam
with an appearance of trepidation and watchfulness.
The cause of this unusual commotion was visible in
a sword-fish lurking astern, awaiting a favourable

JiOO THE OCEAN.

opportunity to rusli upou bis prey when they should
be unconscious of danger, or away from the protec-
tion of the ship. The assembled Albacore continued,
in the meantime, to pass under the keel of the vessel,
from one side to the other, often turning simulta-
neously on their side to look for the enemy : their
abdomens glittering in the sun as a wide expanse
of dazzling silver. It was evident that the Sword-
fish desired but a clear field for his exertions ;
and in the course of the day we observed him
make several dashes amongst the shoal, with a
velocity which produced a loud rushing sound in the
sea ; his body, which, when tranquil, was of a
dull brown colour, assuming at these times an azure
hue." *

Mr. Bennett conjectures with much probability,
that it is as a protection against the attacks of the
Sword-fish, that Albacore and other fishes so often
attach themselves to a ship, or the body of a whale ;
the vicinity of so large a body being sufficient to
deter the former from making his impetuous thrusts
among the shoal, lest his bony weapon being driven
into the solid substance by the violence of his assault,
he might not be able to retract it. Instances are not
rare, however, in which the Sword-fish, perhaps for-
getting his usual caution, (for he is reputed a very
cautious fish,) has left his sword in the hull of a ship.
The Foxhound, a South-Sea whaler, was cruising in
the Pacific in 1817, when one day, when most of the
crew were below at dinner, a loud splashing was

* Whaling Voyage, vol. i. p. 270.

THE PACIFIC OCEAN. 301

suddeul}' heard in the sea by a New Zealander on
deck, who, on looking over the side, saw a large dark
body sinking, and immediately gave the alarm of a
man overboard. The crew, however, were found to
be complete, and the occurrence passed over. Soon
after, one of the men observ^ed a rugged object pro-
jecting from the vessel's side, which, on examination,
proved to be the snout of a Sword-fish, with part of
the hc^ad attached, broken off by the fracture of the
skull. On the vessel's arriving at Sydney, the pro-
jecting part was sawn off, after vain endeavours to
extract the weapon ; and at the conclusion of the
voyage, the pierced wood was taken out and placed
in the British Museum.

It is worthy of observation that, with very few
exceptions, the immense population of the Ocean
is carnivorous. The principal circumstance that
regulates the choice of diet among fishes seems to
be the power of mastery. Of terrestrial creatures,
a very large number are peaceful, never, under
ordinary circumstances, willingly taking the life of
even the most helpless around them ; but the sea-
ls a vast slaughter-house, where nearly every inha-
bitant dies a violent death, and finds a grave in the
maw of his felJow. AVe have just seen the Sword-
fish preying upon the Albacore, and the Albacore
upon the Flying-fish ; while the Flying-fish itself,
though so general a favourite, is the greedy devourer
of other fishes smaller than itself. Yet, let us not
arraign the providence of God, as if it were cruel
and unkind : a sudden termination of existence is
the most merciful mode, as far as we can conceive,

302 THE OCEAN.

V>y which tlie overliow of animal life could h«
checked.

" Harsh seema the ordinance, that life by life
Should be sustained ; and yet when all must die.
And be like water spilt upon the ground,
Which none can gather up, — the speediest fate.
Though violent and terrible, is best.
0, with what horrors would creation grcan.
What agonies would ever be before us, —
Famine and pestilence, disease, despair,
Anguish and pain in every hideous shape,
Had all to wait the slow decay of Nature !
Life were a martyrdom of sympathy;
Death, lingering, raging, wiithing, shrieking torture;
The grave would be abolished ; this gay world
A valley of dry bones, a Golgotha,
In which the living stumbled o'er the dead,
Till they could fall no more, and blind perdition
Swept frail mortality away for ever.
'Twas wisdom, mercy, goodness that ordain'd
Life in such infinite profusion, — Death
So sure, so prompt, so multiform to those
Th;it never sinn'd, that know not guilt, that fear
No wrath to come, and have no heaven to lose."

Before we leave these charming regions, we will for
a moment notice a few other of the various tribes of
living beings that make the sea their home. A curious
example of instinctive stratagem occurs in a little
crab [Hyas ?) which is common upon the shore-
reefs. It is about six inches in circumference, of a
dull-brown hue, the body and legs entirely covered
with stiff, curved bristles. It covers itself with
decaying vegetable rubbish, mud, sand, &c., and

• Pelican Island.

THE PACIFIC OCEAN. 803

thus lies in ambush for its passing prey. Thus
masked, it maintains its assumed cliaracter by the
most sluggish movements, as if the little heap were
slightly moved by the tide ; but, when taken into
the hand, or otherwise alarmed, it can be sufficiently
active. The spines upon its body to retain the
rubbish, the short but strong claws easily concealed,
the eyes placed at the end of long footstalks, curving
upwards and thus raised above the mass, show
beautiful adaptations of its structure to its economy.

Another crab of the reef {Calai^pa tuherculata)
makes use of another artifice for concealment. It is
heart-shaped, with the margin of its shell projecting
broadly. When alarmed, it draws its feet under the
margin, and folds them close to its side, claps its
broad flat claws upon its head, and lies motionless,
in which state it may be handled without manifesting
any sign of life. A sailor seeing one of these little
crabs on the shore, picked it up, and after admiring
it awhile, put it into his pocket as a "curious stone;"
he was presently astonished by the efforts of his prize
to escape from durance vile.

On the barrier reefs are found elegant animal-
flowers (Diazona) expanding their numerous tenta-
cles of pink and white, which form a wide circular
disk, at the summit of a round fleshy stem. If
touched, or otherwise alarmed, they rapidly fold in-
wards their beautiful tentacles, and sink to the rock,
contracting to a very diminutive size, so as easily
to elude observation. The same reefs are enlivened
also by numbers of another species of Sea-anemone
{Zoantkus), which cover large surfaces of tne rock,

X 2

304 THE OCEAN.

like beautiful carpets or mats of wide expanse.
When opened beneath the water, under the beams
of the sun, they display a series of squares with
elevated margins, the interior being of a bright
green, the exterior of a fawn colour. These, also,
contract instantly on the slightest touch ; and thus
entire fields of them, being connected together by
a common fleshy disk upon the rock, are changed
in a moment, as if by magic, from brilliant green
to dull brown, which again, as they recover from
their alarm, is soon replaced by the verdant hue.

Numerous species of Squid and Cuttle are ob-
serv'ed in the Pacific, several of which have the
power of making long leaps out of the water, even
to the same height and distance as the Flying-fish,
wlience these kinds are denominated by seamen,
Flying Squid. One of these, which appears to have
been an OnyclioteutMs, is described by Mr. F. D,
Bennett, as having fallen, in one of its leaps, upon
the deck of the ship in which he was sailing. The
whole class to which these animals belong is re-
markable for the powerful apparatus with which the
animals are endowed for seizing prey, in the numer-
ous long and flexible arms, furnished with cuplike
suckers, which forcibly adhere to any object at the
will of the creature. But the genus just mentioned
is favoured above its fellows ; for, in addition to the
usual structure, there is placed in each sucker-cup of
the long feet a sharp projecting hook. On the
smooth and glossy scales of fishes lubricated with
slime, it might not be always easy at once to create
a vacuum ; but these hooks are plunged by the

THE PACIFIC OCEAN. oOo

action of tlie sucker into the flesh of the struggling
victim, whereby a firm hold is obtained, and the prey
is dragged to the powerful beak.

Some of these animals frequent the crevices and
holes of the rocks, whence they protrude their long
arms for the capture of prey. They form an ac-
ceptable article of food to the South-Sea islanders,
who have exercised their ingenuity in devising a
mode of entrapping them. The instrument employed
for this purpose is described as a straight piece of
hard wood, a foot long, round, and polished, and not
half an inch in diameter. Near one end of this, a
number of the most beautiful pieces of the cowry, or
tiger-shell, are fastened one over another like the
scales of a fish or the plates of a piece of armour, until
it is about the size of a turkey's egg, and resembles
the cowry. It is suspended in a horizontal position,
by a strong line, and lowered by the fisherman from
a small canoe, until it nearly reaches the bottom.
The fisherman then gently jerks the line, causing the
shell to move as if inhabited by an animal. The
Cuttle, deceived by the appearance of the supposed
cowry (for no bait is used), darts out one of its arms,
which it winds around the shell, adhering fast bv its
suckers. The fisherman continues jerking the line,
and the Cuttle strengthens its hold by aflBxing more
of its arms, until its adhesion is very strong, when,
rather than quit its prey, it permits itself to be
dragged from its retreat to the surface of the water,
and captured. ■"■

There are certain species of oceanic birds which

306 THE OCEAN.

it is difficult to identify with any particular region,
as tliey are true cosmopolites. The Tropic-birds,
Albatrosses, Terns, Petrels, and Boobies, are of this
extended character, followinir and attending the
voyager for many thousands of miles, and even from
one ocean into another. Yet there are certain,
though somewhat indefinite, limits to their range ;
limits governed, however, by climate, rather than by
physical boundaries. Thus the Dusky Albatross
{Diomedea fuliginosd) was observed by Captain
Ijeechy to be numerous in the Atlantic from the
Vdo de la Plata to the latitude of 51° south ; when
it suddenly disappeared ; but after rounding Cape
Horn, the species again occurred at the very same
latitude of 51°, and continued numerous all up the
coast of Chili.

The Tropic-birds [Phaeton) in like manner, as
their name imports, chiefly frequent the Ocean
within the tropics ; and according to the statements
of all voyagers, are very rarely seen beyond the parallel
of 85°. Elevated in the air, far above the mast-
head, the long projecting tail-feathers looking like
a single slender shaft, while it turns its head to
and fro, as on suspended wing it examines the vessel
below, it is not liable to be confounded with any
other ocean-bird. The seamen have given it the
name of "boatswain;" perhaps on account of its
shrill whistling note, like the official call of that
authoritative personage ; or because it carries a
marlin-spike. The species which is seen in the
Atlantic is P. outlier eus ; wliich has the feathers of

THE PACIFIC OCEAN. 307

the tail white, but the Pacific species (P. phccnicurus)
is much more handsome, tlie tail being scarlet. They
are thorouglily ocean-birds, rarely approaching the
land except to lay and hatch their eggs. The red-
tailed Phaeton excavates a hollow in the sand for
this purpose, beneath the shade of bushes, where
she lays one egg : the islanders frequently take the
old birds from the nest, for the tail-feathers, which
are highly esteemed.

The Albatrosses are large birds, being but little
inferior to a swan in size. The floating carcase of a
whale affords a rich feast to many sea-birds, among
which these are pre-eminent, now swooping in the
air, now alighting on the body, now swimming and
feeding on the fragments of oily fat that escape ;
now screaming harshly as they quarrel for the offal.
They are powerfully endued for flight, and make
vast excursions from land, ranging through the whole
Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

I have already alluded to the singular manner in
which the body of a sea-bird is penetrated by air.
]\Ir. Ik'nnett records a very curious circumstance
resulting from this structure, in the case of a bird
allied to the Albatross, taken in the Pacific Ocean.
It "was shot in the wing, and brought on board
alive, fighting savagely with its beak and feet.
With a view to preserve its plumage uninjured, I
endeavoured to destroy the bird by compressing its
windpipe ; but found that as the breathing became
laborious, a loud whistling soxmd was emitted from
some part of ihe body ; and upon close investigation

808 THE OCEAN.

traced it to the bone of the wing, which was frac-
tured across, and projected through the skin, and
admitted within its tube a forcible current of air,
whenever the lungs made an effort at respiration :
the bird was, in fact, breathing through its broken
wing ; and so sufficient was the supply of air the
lungs received through this novel channel, that I was
wearied by my attempts to suffocate my prize, and
was compelled to destroy it in another manner."*

Every one who has read the romantic narratives of
the old voyagers, is familiar with the name of the
Booby {Sula fusca), so named by seamen from its
apparent stupidity and familiarity, suffering itself to
be knocked down with a stick or taken with the
hand when it alights, as it often does, on the spars
or shrouds of a vessel. This habit seems quite
unaccountable : many other birds have manifested a
similar fearlessness of man when first discovered, but
have soon learned the necessity of precaution ; but
the Booby will manifest the same unnatural tameness
after being long accustomed to the cruelty of man.
It does not arise from helplessness, as it is a bird of
powerful wing, like its relative the common Gannet ;
neither is it a sufficient explanation to affirm, as is
sometimes done, that it arises from a peculiar difficulty
in rising to flight after alighting, because it is not
unfrequently caught in the air by the hand ; so
incautiously does it approach man. Notwithstanding
this apparent stupidity, the Booby is a dexterous

* Wh-ilins Voyage, i. 260.

THE PACIFIC OCEAN. 309.

fisher : hovering over a shoal of fishes, he eagerly
watches their motions, turning his head from side to
side in a very hidicrous manner ; he presently sees
one of the unwary group approach the surface, down
he pounces like a stone, plunging into the wave,
which boils into foam with the shock. Nor fails he
to seize the scaly victim, with which he emerges into
the air, and soon it is lodged whole in his capacious
stomach. But the Frigate-bird [Tachypetes aquilus)
has watched the proceeding, and instantly betakes
himself to the pursuit ; flight is vain from the
swiftest ranger of the Ocean, whose extended wings
measure a width of seven feet. The Frigate-bird
swooping down upon the unfortunate Booby, compels
him to disgorge the fish which he has just swallowed,
and which, long ere it can reach the water, is seized,
and again devoured by the oppressor.

The Frigate-bird neither swims nor dives ; the
seamen fully believe that it even sleeps upon the
wing : whether this be so or not, there is good
evidence that the same individuals will remain in
the air for several successive days : they are never
known to alight on a vessel. In Jamaica, however,
I have repeatedly shot it from its resting place on an
overhanging tree of the sea-cliff. Though the chase
of the Booby is so usual as to be considered one of
its constant means of dependence, yet it also fishes
for itself: precluded, however, from plunging into
the sea, it can take only such as, like the Flying-fish,
leap into another element. With such success, how-
ever, does it attack these, that it has been seen to suajj

310 THE OCEAI^.

up three in succession in the course of a few minutes.
If, after having captured a fish, it is awkwardly
placed in the beak, it hesitates not to drop it, secuie
of seizing it again in the descent.

To the immense congregations of aquatic birds, for
the purpose of hatching and rearing their young in
places congenial to their habits, allusion has already
been made ; and the following picture, vividly drawn
by the pen of an accomplished naturalist, is probably
not overcharged.

Le Vaillant, on visiting the tomb of a Danish
captain at Saldanha Bay, near the Cape of Good
Hope, beheld, after wading through the surf, and
clambering up the rocks, such a spectacle as lie
supposed had never appeared to the eye of mortal.
" All of a sudden, there arose from the whole surface
of the island an impenetrable cloud, which formed,
at the distance of forty feet above our heads, an im-
mense canopy, or rather a sky, composed of birds
of every species, and of all colours ; — cormorants,
sea-gulls, sea-swallows, pelicans, and, I believe, the
whole winged tribe of that part of Africa was here
assembled. All their voices mingled together, and
modified according to their different kinds, formed
such a horrid music, that I was every moment obliged
to cover my head to give a little relief to my ears.
The alarm which we spread was so much the more
general among these innumerable legions of birds, as
we principally disturbed the females which were then
sitting. They had nests, eggs, and young to defend.
The}' were like furious harpies let loose against us.

THE PACIFIC OCEAN.

yii

fiTid tlieir criv^s rendered us almost deaf. They often
Hew so near us, that they flapped tlieir wings in oiir
laces, and though we fired our pieces repeatedly, we
were not ahle to frighten them : it seemed pl'nost
impossible to di':perse this clo";.d."

vs*;

^'Nt'iS^'f'^risir:^^.— .U.-^'^~i;Vn<>~----5^?-55^^ "''^~" '^

THE INDIAN OCEAN.

The remaining cfreat division of the waters of our
globe is considerably less extensive than either of
the others, but is scarcely less important, inasmuch
as it is the pathway of the richest commerce of the
world, the high road on which are borne the gems.
and gold, and spices of the gorgeous East. It is
separated from the Pacific by that grand assemblage
of islands known as the Oriental Archipelago, which,
for their immense size, the teeming luxuriance of
their vegetation, and the valuable character of many
of their productions, have no rivals. The isles of
New Guinea, Borneo, and Sumatra, are the largest
in the world : their soil possesses a fertility that
seems inexhaustible ; their produce consists of the
nutmeg, the clove, and other costly spices ; frankin-
cense, camphor, and other odoriferous gums ; dia-
monds, rubies, and other precious stones ; gold, silver,
silks, tortoise-shell, pearls, sandal- wood, and drugs,
the most valuable of earthly things.

It is a singular fact, that at the very same point
of time when the genius and daring of Columbus
was leading Spain into the possession of a new world
in the west, Portuguese enterprise was laying open
the still more splendid and gorgeous regions of Asia
in the east. It was in 1497 that Vasco de Gama

THE INDIAN OCEAN. 813

rounded the Cape of Good Hope, and penetrated to
climes which liad hitherto Ijeen invested with all the
romance of mystery and fable ; then commencing a
commerce which has poured incalculable wealth into
the lap of Europe.

This immense archipelago, which occupies a tract
of the Ocean four thousand miles in length, and
fourteen hundred in breadth, is an assemblage of
islands perfectly unique. The multitudinous islets
of the Pacific, if all united, would not tooether form
a third-rate island of this group. The land, though
broken with countless thousands of isles, so equally
divides the space with the sea, that one is at a loss
to say which predominates. A large majority of the
smaller isles and reefs are of the same structure as
the coral atolls of Polynesia, and present a similar
character in their zoology and botany ; but the larger
tracts of land, almost a continent in their dimensions,
are of the old formations. The widely-scattered
groups of small islands on the northern boundary,
indeed, — the Ladrones, the Carolines, the Pelews, &c.,
we are at a loss to distinguish : they are usually
arranged in the Indian Archipelago, while they are
decidedly Polynesian in their characters.

The boats which are used by the natives of these
islands, from their very peculiar construction, as well
as from their unrivalled powers of sailing, demand
a moment's notice. Lord Anson, who first met with
them at the Ladrone Islands, and who calls them
flying proas, considers them " so singular and extra-
ordinary an invention, that it would do honour to
any nation, however dexterous and acute. Since,

SI 4 THE OCEAN.

if we consider the aptitude of this proa to the navi-
gation of these islands, which, lying all of them
nearly under the same meridian, and within the
limits of the trade- wind, requires the vessels made
use of in passing from one to the other to be
peculiarly fitted for sailing with the wind upon the
beam ; or, if we examine the uncommon simplicity
and ingenuity of its fabric and contriv^ance, or the
extraordinary velocity with which it moves, we shall
in eacli of these particulars find it worthy of our
admiration, and deserving a place amongst the
mechanical productions of the most civilized nations,
where arts and sciences have most eminently flou-
rished." *

In direct contradiction to the practice of civilized
nations, the proa is built with the two ends alike,
but the two sides different. It is intended never
to turn, but always to present the same side to the
wind ; the bow becoming the stern, and the stern
the bow, at pleasure. The ends of the boat are
high, and project much above the water ; the wind-
ward side is rounded, as in other vessels ; but the
lee side is flat, and almost perpendicular. As the
depth greatly exceeds the breadth, it would, of
course, instantlv fall over on the leeward side, but
for an ingenious contrivance already alluded to as
used in the Polynesian islands. A light but strong
frame is run out horizontally to windward, to the
end of which is fastened a hollow log, fashioned into
the shape of a small boat, which floats upon the

• Anson's Voyage, p. 339.

THE INDIAN OCEAN.

315

water, preventing the capsizing of the proa in that
direction ; while the weight of the apparatus, called
ail outrigger, prevents the same accident on the
other. A mast rises perpendicularly from the wind-
ward edge of the proa, fastened to the heel of the
outrigger ; a bamboo vard is slung near the mast-

rilUAS UF THE LAUr.U.NKS.

head, so that its foot shall come into the boat in
a diagonal direction near the head, there being a
socket at each end to receive the foot of the yard,
according as the proa is on either tack. The sail
attached is made of matting, and is triangular, the
lower side being fastened to a boom running hori-
zontally from the foot of the yard over the stern.
When it is intended to alter tlie course by going
upon another tack, the foot of the yard is lifted
trom the one socket, carried round to leeward, and

316 THE OCEAN.

placed in the other, while the fast sheet being let
fly, and the loose sheet hauled in, the boat is imme-
diately trimmed again, without loss by lee-way.
From their extraordinary power of lying near the
wind, that is, of sailing nearly towards the point
from which the wind is blowing, as well as from
their extreme narrowness cutting the water with
little resistance, these boats are the fleetest vessels
known. Anson affirms that they will run nearly
twenty miles an hour, which, though greatly short
of what the Spaniards report of them, is yet a pro-
digious degree of swiftness. In more modern voyages,
we find the native boats called by the names of prows
and prahus ; as they seem, however, to refer to vessels
of the same construction as those described by
Anson, they are probably to be considered as some-
what closer approximations to the true pronunciation
of the native name.

The navigation of these seas is rendered peculiarly
unsafe by the swarms of Malay pirates by which
they are infested. Voyagers continually allude to
the alarm which every collection of native boats
inspires, as being so exceedingly swift, and the
men merciless and daring. Wliole colonies of these
desperate adventureis proceed from Magindanao to
the coast of Borneo, where they seek some con-
venient, but retired, harbour, in which they make
their home ; not living, however, upon the land but
on board their praJms (or proas), which are fre-
quently of sixty tons' burthen. During the south-
east monsoon they cruise about near the entrance
of the Straits of Malacca, ready to pounce upon

THE INDIAN OCEAN. 317

the native traders resorting to Singapore ; when
about to return home, they surprise some defence-
k^ss native village, and carry off the whole of the
inhabitants to be sold into slavery. During the
absence of the pirates, their wives and children
remain in the harbour, to take charge of the booty
that may be brought in ; and as these are scarcely
less warlike than the men, no other guard is neces-
sary against the inoffensive natives of Borneo.
AAlien the band has acquired a considerable amount
of plunder, they return to their own island, and
others supply their place. Even in the neighbour-
hood of Singapore, although a British dependency,
the Malay pirates absolutely swarm. Tho numberless
little islands in the Straits, divided by channels
known only to themselves, are like so many impregna-
ble fastnesses, into which they drag their unfortunate
victims, and plunder them at their leisure, defying
pursuit. The occupation has acquired all the form
and regularity of a system. A chief of some petty
Malay state, whose fortunes have been rendered
desperate by gambling, collects around him a few
adventurous and restless spirits, and pails to some
retired island. A village is formed, as a depot for
the booty, and the armed prahus Lie in wait or prowl
about. If the adventure prove successful, the chief
soon gains accessions ; the village grows into a town ;
and the fleet separates into squadrons, which scour
the seas of different localities. They usually sail
in company, the fleets consisting of three to twenty
prahus, each of whicli carries large and small guns,
and from fifteen to forty men. The captured vessels

y

.T18 THE OCEAN.

are burnt at the depot, and tlie goods put on
board pralius disguised like traders, and sold at
Singapore. The captives are sold into slavery at
Sumatra, to work on the pepper plantations of the
Malavs.

Though their assaults are generally upon the
native trading-boats, yet occasionally they venture to
attack square-rigged craft.

"An English merchant, who had resided several
years in Java, embarked at Batavia on board one
of his own vessels, a large bri?, taking with him
a considerable sum of money for the purchase of
the produce of the eastern districts. These facts
having reached the ears of a famous piratical chief,
he determined to waylay the vessel, and accordingly,
mustering a sufficient number of prahus, cruised
about, and meeting with the brig as he had expected,
commenced an attack upon her. The crew of the
latter vessel consisted of two Englishmen, the captain
and the chief officer, and about thirty Javanese
seamen, who, together with the owner, defended
the vessel for some time. Towards the evening
however the unfortunate merchant was killed by a
spear fired from a musket, and the pirates, taking
advantage of the confusion produced by this event,
immediately boarded. The two remaining English-
men, being well aware that certain death awaited
them should they remain, threw themselves into the
sea, and succeeded in reaching a bamboo fishing-
buoy. The pirates, too busily employed in plunder-
ing their prize to think of anything else, did not
perceive their place of refuge, and the vessels soon

THE INDIAN OCEAN. 319

drifted away out of sight. The condition of the
persons who had thus escaped had altered very little
for the better ; they were immersed to the neck in
water, dreading every moment the attack of sharks :
nor had either during the whole of the night the
comfort of knowing that his companion was still in
existence. Soon after daylight some fisliermen ap-
peared, by whom they were perceived ; but instead of
rescuing them immediately from their perilous situa-
tion, the Javanese consulted together for a few
minutes, and then approached the sufferers, and
demanded who they were. On being told they were
Englishmen, whose vessel had been attacked and
captured by pirates, they were taken on board,
treated kindly, and conveyed to the Dutch Settlement
at Indramayo. Had they belonged to one of tlie
Dutch cruisers, their fate would probably have been
different ; for the fishermen are on bad terms with
the ofi&cers of the government prahus, whom they
accuse of robbing them of their fish.*

The pirates who thus infest thp Indian Archipe-
lago are invariably jNIahometans ; none of tlie Pagan
natives ever being known to engage in these mur-
derous expeditions. They show no mercy : the Euro-
peans that fall into their hands are murdered, and the
native seamen sold into slavery.

We have reason to hope, however, that the days of
this wicked system of piracy are numbered ; and tliat
a brighter day has dawned for the inhabitants of these
gorgeous islands. In 1 8 12 the government of Sara-
wak, a considerable province on the western side of

• Earl's Eastern Seas, p. 38.
V 2

320 THK OCEAN.

Borneo, was made over to Mr. (now Sir) James Brooke,
and his heirs for ever. The English Paijah immedi-
ately entered upon his government, treating the
natives with justice and kindness, and gradually-
winning their confidence, and at the same time
making strenuous efforts to root out and destroy the
nests of pirates with which almost every cove and
creek was swarming.

In July, 1 849, a grand expedition of British ships
of war, with a number of boats manned by friendly
natives, under the control of Eajah Brooke, was des-
patched against the pirates. They fell in with a
grand war-fleet of a hundred and fifty prahus return-
ing from a foray with plunder, and captives, and
human heads. Five hundred of the pirates were
killed sword in hand ; the remainder, about two
thousand five hundred, escaped to the forests ; their
boats were destroyed or captured. It would have been
easy to surround the region to which the pirates had
fled, so that not a man could have left it alive. But
the Eajah refused to push the matter to such an ex-
tremity ; believing that the lesson they had learned
would be sufficiently severe to fulfil his purpose. Nor
has the result shown that his policy was less wise
than generous.

A Christian mission has been established under
the Eajah's auspices in Borneo, which will prove, we
may fairly hope, a blessed centre of light to many
who have hitherto sat in darkness and the shadow o*"
death.

The larger islands of the archipelago do not pre-
sent a very interesting appearance from the sea.

THE INDIAN OCEAN. 321

Though clothed from the tops of tlie mountains
down to tlie very water's edge with the most hix-
uriant vegetation, it is too uniform to be agreeable.
The eye seeks in vain for some variation, some break
in the vast forest ; all is rich massy foliage, like
enormous heaps of green velvet. The solemn silence
that prevails, joined with this gorgeous uniformity,
creates an oppressive feeling of awe and loneliness.
And when the dews of evening descend, and the
ijentle breeze blows off the land, it comes loaded
with what have been described as spicy odours, but
which are, in sober reality, but the sickly sweats
prodiiced by immense masses of vegetation in decom-
position. The breeze bears, in fact, the pestilence
upon its wings.

But while this is the general character of the great
islands, there are exceptions. Java, settled by the
Dutch, contrasts with Sumatra and Borneo ; the
gloom of the forest is enlivened here and there by
verdant fields and lawns, while the white villas of
the Europeans chequer the hills, and give a peaceful
and inviting air to the landscape. The smaller isles
are said to be exquisitely lovely.

"The sea near Batavia is covered with innumerable
little islets, all of which are clothed with luxuriant
vegetation. Native prahus, with their yellow mat-
sails, are occasionally seen to shoot from behind one
of them, to be shielded from view immediately after-
wards by the green foliage of another ; and oxev the
tops of the trees may often be descried the vi^hite
sails of some stately ship, threading the mazes of this
little archipelago. One group, appropriately named

322 THE OCEAJS".

the Thousand Isles, has never yet been explored, and
its intricacies afford concealment to petty pirates who
prey upon the small prahus and fishing-boats. * * *
A number of large fishing-boats were coming in from
sea, and standing with us into the roads ; and
although we were running at the rate of seven
knots an hour, they passed us with great rapidity.
They had a most graceful appearance ; many of them
were fourteen or fifteen tons' burthen, and each boat
carried one immense square-sail. As the breeze was
strong, a thick plank was thrust out to windward for
an outrijTger, on which several of the numerous crew
sat, or stood, to prevent the press of sail they were
canying from capsizing the boat. They were occa-
sionally hidden from our view by their passing be-
hind some of the small islets ; but in a few seconds
they would appear on the other side, having shot
past so rapidly, that we could scarcely fancy we had
lost sight of them at all." *

In sailing amongst the numberless islands of the
Indian Archipelago, the voyager is struck with the
frequent appearance of towns or villages built
actually over the sea. The houses are constructed on
stout piles, which are firmly driven into the ground.
A fiat place is selected, where the tide ebbs and
fiows, that all dirt and filth from their habitations
may be regularly carried away without trouble, and
that they may be free from the presence of unplea-
sant and venomous reptiles. The houses are chiefly
of split bamboo, thatched with leaves : the windows
are made of the transparent iimer shell of the pearl

* Enrl's Easitei-u Seas, p. 11.

■'1' \y: "'-'iriif i^fi

THE INDIAN OCEAN. 1^23

oyster : they are nrran.^ed in rows or streets, witli
walks three or four feet wide reaching to the land,
but all heavy goods are transported by canoes, which
pass under the houses. The mode of driving the
piles, which are inserted into the bottom to the
depth of six feet, is curious and ingenious. A canoe
loaded with stones to the weight of two or three
tons is lashed on each side of a pile at high water,
which, as the tide falls, are suspended from it ; a
heavy piece of timber is then made successively to
fall upon the head, which, conjointly with the great
weight of the canoes, sinks it to the bottom rapidly.
Towns covering a square mile may be seen formed in
this manner.

The harbours and straits are crowded during the
season with Cliinese junks ; which fail not to strike
an eye accustomed to the elegant proportions and
graceful tracery of an European ship, as ludicrously
monstrous. ]\Ir. Crawfurd says " The appearance
of a Chinese junk is remarkably grotesque and sin-
gular. The deck presents the figure of a crescent.
The extremities of the vessel are disproportionately
high and unwieldy, conveying an idea that any
sudden gust of wind would not fail to upset her. At
each side of the bow there is a large white spot or
circle to imitate eyes. These vessels, except before
the wind, are bad sailers, and very unmanageable.
They require a numerous crew to navigate them :
^f one of the largest size, it often takes fifty men
to manage the helm alone." The high stern and
bow are alike flat, the latter having nothing answer-
ing to a cut-water. There are from two to foui

i."24« THE OCEAN

masts, the main-mast being disproportionately larger
than the others ; each of which carries a single huge
square-sail made of mats of split bamboo, extended
by horizontal rods of bamboo, on which the sail
is rolled up when reefing is necessary. The largest,
though sometimes of twelve hundred tons, have but
one deck, but the immense hold is divided into com-
partments, allotted to the several adventurers and
their goods. Mr. Earl describes one which he met
with in Banca Straits, in somewhat unfavourable
style. "While wind-bound," he observes, "a Chinese
junk passed close by us. A considerable number
of the crew were standing on the high thatched
habitation erected on their quarter-deck, and per-
ceiving a Chinese passenger whom we had on board,
they all hailed together to demand the state of the
markets ; but they asked so many questions at once,
that our friend became quite bewildered, and the
junk passed astern before he could decide to which
he should first reply. Even if he had spoken, the
junk -people could not have profited by his efforts,
for they continued bawling until quite out of hearing.
This junk, which was about two hundred tons' bur-
then, carried two immense mat-sails, with a number
of small yards extending along them, giving them
the appearance of bats' wings. She passed us quicldy,
on account of the current being in her favour ; but
although the breeze was strong, she went slowly
through the water, and might be deemed little better
than an unwieldy hulk."* — The inflated ideas which
the Chinese maintain of their own perfection are

* Lastern Seas, p. 129.

THE INDIAN OCEAN.

325

adverse to any improvement in these singular struc-
tures ; indeed, an attempt at innovation, some years
ago, in their form, bringing them nearer to the model
of an European ship, was so severely reprehended in
high quarters, that it was found prudent to desist
from the indiscreet improvement. At the same time
it must be confessed, that, compared with the vessels
of their immediate neighbours, the junk, as a com-
mercial vessel, has a vast superiority : and in the
seas which they navigate, so regular are the monsoons,
that they get on tolerably well.

Occasionally, however, they must encounter those
terrific tempests called typhoons, which are peculiar
to these seas, and which, with the hurricanes of the

SnrP UNDER BAUK hOI,) 3.

opposite hemisphere, are the most furious slornis
that blow. They rise witli fearful rapidity, often

320 THE OCEAN.

coming on suddenly from a calm ; and before the
canvas can be secured, the gale is howling shrilly
through the spars and rigging, and the crests of the
waves are torn off, and driven in sheets of spray
across the decks. The lightning is terrible : at very
short intervals the whole space between heaven and
earth is filled with vivid liame, showing every rope
and spar in the darkest night as distinctly as in the
broadest sunshine, and then leaving the sight ob-
scured in pitchy darkness for several seconds after
each flash ; — darkness the most intense and absolute ;
not that of the night, but tlie effect of the blinding
glare upon the eye. The thunder, too, peals now
in loud sharp startling explosions, now in long mut-
tered growls all around the horizon. In the height of
the gale, curious electrical lights, called St. Ulmo's
fires, are seen on the projecting points of the masts
and upper spars, appearing from the deck like dim
stars. Soon after their appearance the gale abates,
and presently clears away with a rapidity equal to
that which marks its approach.

The storms are found, by carefully comparing
the directions of the wind at the same time in dif-
ferent places, or successively at the same place, to
blow in a vast circle around a centre : a fact of the
utmost importance, as an acquaintance with this
law will frequently enable the mariner so to deter-
mine the course of his ship, as to steer out of the
circle, and consequently out of the danger ; when,
in ignorance, he might have sustained the whole
fury of the tempest. The course of the circle is the
opposite of that taken by the hands of a watch, and

THE INDIAN OCEAN.

327

is the same with that of the still more strikiui,' phe-
nomena, waterspouts. These are, perhaps, the most
majestic of all those " works of the Lord, and His
wonders in the deep," whi",h they behold, who " go
down to the sea in ships." They frequently appear
as perpendicular columns, apparently of many hun-
dred feet in height, and three feet or more in dia-
meter, reaching from the surface of the sea to the
clouds. The edge of the pillar is perfectly clean
and well-defined, and the effect has been compared

WATRUSfOL'TS.

to a column ot frost ad glass. A series of spiral lines
run around it, and the whole has a rapid spiral
motion, which is very apparent, though it is not
always easy to determine wtiether it is an ascending

328 THE OCEAN.

or descending line. Generally, the body of clonds
above descend below the common level, joining the
pillar in the form of a funnel, but sometimes the
summit is invisible, from its becoming gradually
more rare. Much more constant is the presence of
a visible foot ; the sea being raised in a great heap,
with a V hirling and bubbling motion, the upper part
of which is lost in the mass of spray and foam which
is driven rapidly round. The column, or columns,
for there are frequently more than one, move slowly
forward with a stately and majestic step, sometimes
inclining from the perpendicular, now becoming
curved, and now taking a twisted form. Sometimes
the mass becomes more and more transparent, and
gradually vanishes ; at others, it separates, the base
subsiding, and the upper portion shortening with a
whirling motion, till lost in the clouds. The pillar
is not always cylindrical : a very frequent form is
that of a slender funnel depending from the sky,
which sometimes retains that appearance without
alteration, or, at others, lengthens its tube towards
the sea, which at the same time begins to boil and
rise in a hill to meet it, and soon the two unite and
form a slender column, as first described.

When these sublime appearances are viewed from
a short distance, they are attended with a rushing
noise, somewhat like the roar of a cataract. The
phenomenon is doubtless the effect of a whirlwind,
or current of air revolving with great rapidity and
violence ; and the lines which are seen are probably
drops of water ascending in the cloudy column.
They are esteemed highly dangerous : instances ha\e

THE INDIAN OCEAN. 329

been known, in which vessels that have been crossed
by them have been instantly dismasted, and left a
total ^vTeck. It is supposed that any sudden shock
will cause a rupture in the mass, and destroy it ; and
hence it is customary for ships to fire a cannon at
such as, from their proximity, of course, there is any
reason to dread. They are seen in all parts of the
world, but are most frequent in the Pacific and Indian
Oceans.

That a Chinese junk, so clumsily rigged and so
unwieldy, must be ill adapted to sustain the fury of a
typhoon, or to evade the rush of a waterspout, we may
well imagine ; and, doubtless, many are wrecked from
these causes. The following affecting narrative of a
crew under such painful circumstances will be read
with interest : —

" The dark sullen waters of the China Sea never
looked less friendly nor more portentous than on
the morning of the 1 2th of January, 1 837 ; tempes-
tuous weather, and a sea rising in mountains around
and over the ship's side, hurled her rapidly on her
passage homewards, when suddenly a wreck was dis-
covered to the westward. The order to shorten sail
was as promptly obeyed as given, and the vessel was
hauled towards what was discovered to be a China
junk without masts or rudder, having maiiy persons
on deck vehemently imploring assistance. The exhi-
bition of their joy, as they beheld our approach,
was of the most wild and extravagant nature ; but
it was doomed to be transient, the violence of the
elements driving the ship swiftly past the wreck. It
became necessary to put her on the other tack, a

330 THE OCEAN.

inameuvre which they construed into abandonment,
and the air rang with the most agonizing shrieks of
misery. Hope appeared to have been rekindled at tlie
eleventh hour, but to render despair more desperate,
and death more frightful.

" The excitement on board was intense. A boat
was immediately lowered, in which the hawser was
placed, with a small line attached to it, as a mes-
senger, and was thrown to the wreck for the pur-
pose of towing her to the ship ; but this intention
was frustrated by the breaking of the windlass to
which it was fastened. The anxiety of these unfor-
tunate people to quit their perilous position was
so great, that it became dangerous to approach
them : one man, in a paroxysm of despair, jumped
overboard after the hawser, as the windlass broke, in
the vain hope of reaching the boat ; he was an
expert swimmer, but no human power could prevail
against that sea ; the furious ocean mocked his
eftbrts ; he rose and sunk upon the swelling billows
until nature was exhausted : he was lost in sight of
his companions in misfortune, and of the persons
sent to their aid, without any being able to afford
him relief

" Fears were entertained for the boat and her
crew, as seen from the ship contending with the
violence of the element in which she floated, and
a moment of doubt passed the mind as to the expe-
diency of permitting another attempt. It was only
for a moment : the piercing cries borne upon the
hollow blast, fell upon the sense with such terrific
horror, that indecision seemed a crime : directions

THE INDIAN OCEAN, 331

were then issued to keep the boat away, and a
rope with a bowline-knot at one end, was thrown
to the junk, into which signs were made for each
man to phice himself, and then plunge into the
water, whence he was dragged into the boat, and
eventually, in like maimer, to the ship. Thi\s were
eighteen persons rescued from the very grasp of
death at a moment when every ray of hope appeared
to be utterly extinguished. Their gratitude was
boundless : they almost worshipped the officers, the
crew, and the vessel ; prostrated themselves, kissed
the feet of the former, and the very planks of the
latter. * * * *

"After being on board five days, we made Pulo
Aor, where we took in water, and so desirous were
those simple-hearted people of testifying their gra-
titude, that they would not permit the men to carry
it, but filled the casks themselves ; and at parting,
knelt down and kissed each man's feet with the fer-
vour of devotion. Here we separated from seven-
teen men who had been nine days at sea upon a
miserable wreck, water-logged, without water to
drink, and scarcely food to eat. One of them, an old
man, died on the preceding evening, from the effects
of fatigue and exhaustion ; the others, I doubt not,
have long ere this time reached their homes, and
taught their friends and children to bless the English-
men and the English ship, which, under Providence,
snatched them from a watery grave, and returned
them to the objects of their allections."*

The principal object of commercial enterprise with

♦ Unit. Serv. Journ. 1837, iii. 512.
Z

332 THE OCEAN.

the Chinese, in their annual visits to the Oriental
Isles, and, by consequence, that which forms the chief
lading of the returning j'uiks, is the edible birds'-nest ;
the production of several species of Swallow belonging
to the genus Collocalia ; of which, as it seems to be
an oceanic production, I shall give a short account.
For many ages the nests have been in use in China,
and it is a remarkable instance of the fictitious value
often attached by fashion to things of little moment
in themselves, but procured from a distance with
much expense, difficulty, and danger. From the
accounts of travellers, which differ much in detail,
we gather, that certain large caverns in the interior
of the island, as well as on the coast, are frequented
by immense numbers of these birds, of which there
seem to be at least two species, one being, accord-
ing to many observers, smaller than a wren ; the
other, according to Sir E. Home, who dissected some
brought home by Sir Stamford Iiaffles, " double the
size of our common swallow." M. Poivre, who, in
1741, visited the Straits of Sunda, o'oserved these
birds in a little island called the little Tocque. A
party having landed to shoot green pigeons, this
gentleman, accompanied by a sailor, walked along the
beach in search of shells and jointed corals, which
were very abundant. After having walked some
distance, he was called by his companion, who had
discovered a deep cavern. M. Poivre, hastening to
the spot, found the entrance darkened by an immense
cloud of small birds, pouring out in swarms. He
entered, and with ease knocked down many of the
little birds, with which he was at that time un

THE IMDIAN OCEAN. 333

acquainted. As he proceeded, he found the roof of
the cave entirely covered with small nests, shaped
" like holy-water pots." Each of the nests contained
two or three eggs or young, which lay softly on
feathers, such as clothed the breast of the parents
They were found to be glued firmly to the rock, but
having detached several, and brought them on board,
they were recognised to be the same with those
which form so valuable an article of merchandize in
China. The sailor, profiting by this information,
preserved his portion, which he afterwards sold well
at Canton. The intelligent traveller, on the other
hand, took coloured drawings of his captures, and
speculated concerning the nature of the nest. He
conjectures that it is composed of a gluey substance
often seen floating in these seas, which he considers
to be fish-spawn.

More recent accounts agree generally with this.
In a little island on the coast of Java, called the Cap,
Sir George Staunton found some caverns running
horizontally into the side of the rock, in which were
numbers of these birds'-nests. " They seemed to be
composed of fine filaments, cemented together by a
transparent viscous matter, not unlike what is left
by the foam of the sea upon stones alternately
covered by the tide, or those gelatinous animal sub-
stances found floating on every coast. The nests
adhere to each other, and to the sides of the cavern,
mostly in rows without any break or interruption.
The birds that build these nests are small grey swal-
lows, with bellies of a dirty white. They were flying
about in considerable numbers ; but they were so

z 2

334 THE OCEAN.

small, and their flight so quick, thai they escaped the
shots fired at them. The same nests are said also to
be found in deep caverns at the foot of the highest
mountains in the middle of Java, and at a distance
from the sea. * * * The nests are placed in horizon-
tal rows at different depths, from fifty to five hundred
feet. Tlieir value is chiefly determined by the
uniform fineness and delicacy of their texture ; those
that are white and transparent being most esteemed,
and fetching often in China their weight in silver.
These nests are a considerable object of traffic among
the Javanese ; and many are employed in it from
their infancy. The birds, having spent near two
months in preparing their nests, lay each two eggs,
which are hatched in about fifteen days. Wlien the
young birds become fledged, it is thought time to
seize upon their nests, which is done regularly thrice
a year, and is effected by means of ladders of bamboo
and reeds, by which the people descend into the
cavern : but when it is very deep, rope ladders are
preferred. This operation is attended with much
danger, and several break their necks in the
attempt." *

Some of the caves on the coast of Java are only
to be reached by a perpendicular descent of many
hundred feet, on these frail ladders of cane, while
the sea rages with fury far beneath the feet. When
attained, the cavern must be explored by torchlight,
the adventurous fowler securing a precarious footing
over the damp and slippery surface of the irregular
recesses, where a false step would plunge him down

• Embassy to Cliiiia i. 287.

THE INDIAN OCEAN. 335

into the boiling surf, or im^mle hira upon the shai-p
processes of the rocks. The best nests are obtained
from such gloomy caves as these ; for there are
several qualities, the best being white, or nearly
transparent, as if composed of threads of isinglass;
others, which are inferior, are coarser in texture,
darker in colour, streaked with blood, or mixed with
feathers, or defiled with the food and ordure of the
young. When procured, they are simply dried in
the shade, and packed in boxes, each containing a
picul, equal to about one hundred and thirty-three
pounds. In the Chinese markets they fetch prices
varying, according to the quality, from 250Z. up to
above 900?. sterling -per picul ; the latter price being
at the rate of nearly seven pounds sterling per pound,
and consequently almost equal to double the weight
of the article in silver ! The amount shipped from
the archipelago is estimated by Mr. Crawfurd at
1818 piculs, 242,400 lbs., worth to the sellers at
the islands, 284,290?. In defenceless and remote
situations, exposed to lawless plunder, the caverns
are of little value : but in other more favourable
localities, the clear profit is very great ; for it is
computed that the whole expense of collecting, dry-
ing, and packing, does not much exceed one-tenth
part of the whole amount.

Tlie nests are used in China, by the luxurious,
in thickening rich soups ; but though considered by
them a great delicacy, have been but little esteemed
by Europeans, who have tasted the preparations at
Chinese tables. The substance of which they are
composed is noAv generally agreed to be a sea-weed

33G THE OCEAN.

which floats on the Indian waters, a species of
Gelidium, which can he reduced, by boiling or soak-
ing in water, almost entirely into a clear jelly. It
is probable, however, that the substance undergoes
some preparation in the stomach of the bird before
it is applied, or else that the filaments are cemented
by a glutinous saliva.

No inconsiderable part of the cargoes of the
return junks is made up of a sea-weed called agar-
agar, collected upon the coasts of Malacca. Boats
go out to procure it from the reefs on which it
grows, when it is well washed in the rivers, dried,
and packed in baskets. It grows in small bunches,
with long and narrow fronds resembling shreds, of
a light-yellow hue. The finest portions are used
in China to make a clear, tasteless jelly ; while the
coarser parts are boiled down into a strong and sub-
stantial glue, used in the manufacture of furniture
and lacquered ware. A size is also produced from
it, for stiffening paper and silk. In Canton, this
substance produces from twenty to thirty-five shil-
lings per hundredweight. It is, however, light in
proportion to its bulk. It is probable that this is
the species described by botanists by the name of
Gracillaria tenax, of which 27,000 pounds are said
to be annually imported into China, and of which
windows are made.

Another important article of traffic with the Chi-
nese, is the animal called by them trepattg, the bech3
de mer {Holothuria). There are many species ot
these animals, which are curious creatures, and
several are found on our own shores. Generally^ they

THE INDIAN OCEAN.

337

have some resemblance in form to a cucumber,
whence they are sometimes termed Sea-cucumbers ; in
the water, however, the body is often greatly length-

SEA-CT7CUMBEP8 (Holothurice).

ened, and, on being touched, is suddenly contracted
so as completely to alter the form. The mouth is at
one end of the animal, furnished with shelly teeth
converging to a centre, as in the Sea-urchins, and
surrounded by numerous tentacles. Mr. Crawfurd
describes it as " an unseemly-looking substance, of a
dirty-brown colour, hard, rigid, scarcely possessing
any power of locomotion, nor appearance of anima-
tion." The usual length is eight or nine inches, the
diameter about an inch, but some are two feet in
length, and seven or eight inches in girth. They fre-
quent the shallow waters, on reefs and in lagoons :
often exposed on the rock, but sometimes nearly
buried in the coral-sand, their feathered tentacles
alone appearing and floating loosely in the water.

Ji38 THK OCEAN.

The large kinds are often obtained by spearing them
upon the rocks in shallow water ; but the ordinary-
mode of obtaining them is by diving in from three to
five fathoms, and collecting them by hand. A man
will bring up thus eight or ten at a time. They are
prepared for the market by being split down one
side, boiled, and pressed flat with stones : then, being
stretched on bamboo slips, they are dried in the sun,
and afterwards in smoke, and packed away in bags.
In this state the trepang is put on board the junks,
and is in great demand in China for the composition
of nutritious soups, in which that singular people so
much delight. The quantity of this article of food
annually sent to China from Macassar, amounts to
8,333 hundredweight ; the price of which varies,
according to the quality, (for there are upwards of
thirty varieties distinguished in the market,) from
thirty shillings sterling to upwards of twenty guineas
per hundredweight. The extent of the traffic may be
inferred from the number of vessels employed in it :
Captain Flinders was informed, when near the north
coast of New Holland, that a fleet of sixty proas,
carrying a thousand men, had left Macassar for that
coast two months before, in search of this sea-slug ;
and Captain King was informed that two hundred
proas annually leave Macassar for this fishery. They
sail in January, coasting from island to island, till
they reach Timor, and thence steer for New Holland,
when they scatter themselves in small fleets, and
having fished along the coast, return about the end of
May, when the westerly monsoon breaks up.

The periodical change of the direction of the

THE INDIAN OCEAN. 839

wind in the uortliern part of the Indian Ocean, by
which the north-east trade wind is exchanged for
one directly opposite, commonly called the setting in
of the south-west monsoon, is attended with very
remarkable effects on the weather. It is the com-
mencement of the rainy season, which is ushered in
by storms of thunder, lightning, and rain, of such
violence, as those acquainted only wdth a temperate
climate have no conception of. Mr. Elphinstone thus
describes the scene on the coast of India : " The ap-
proach of the monsoon is announced by vast masses
of clouds that rise from the Indian Ocean, and
advance towards the north-east, gathering and thick-
ening as they approach the land. After some threat-
ening days, the sky assumes a troubled appearance
in the evenings, and the monsoon in general sets in
during the night. It is attended by such a thunder-
storm as can hardly be imagined by those who have
only seen that phenomenon in a temperate climate.
It generally begins with violent blasts of wind, which
are succeeded by floods of rain. For some hours
lightning is seen abnost without intermission ; some-
times it only illumines the sky, and shows the clouds
near the horizon ; at other times it discovers the dis-
tant hills, and again leaves all in darkness : when
in an instant it reappears in vivid and successive
flashes, and exhibits the nearest objects in the bright-
ness of day. During all this time the distant thun-
der never ceases to roll, and is only silenced by some
nearer peal which bursts on the ear with such a
sudden and tremendous crash as can scarcely fail to
strike the most insensible heart with awe. At length

340 THE OCEAN.

the thunder ceases, and nothing is heard but the
continued pouring of tlie rain, and the rushing of
rising streams. The next day presents a gloomy
spectacle : the rain still descends in torrents, and
scarcely allows a view of the blackened fields ; the
rivers are swollen and discoloured, and sweep down
along with them the hedges, the huts, and the
remains of the cultivation which was carried on
durin<;j the drv season in their beds."*

The effect upon the sea is graphically depicted by
Mr. Forbes: "At Anjengo," observes this author,
"the monsoon commences with great severity, and
presents an awful spectacle : the inclement weather
continues, with more or less violence, from May
to October. During that period the tempestuous
ocean rolls from a black horizon, literally of ' dark-
ness visible,' a series of floating mountains heaving
under hoaiy summits, until they approach the shore ;
when their stupendous accumulations flow in suc-
cessive surges, and break upon the beach ; every
ninth wave is observed to be generally more tre-
mendous than the rest, and threatens to overwhelm
the settlement. The noise of these billow^s equals
that of the loudest cannon, and, with the thunder
and lightning so frequent in the rainy season, is tioily
awful. During the tedious monsoon I passed at
Anjengo, T often stood upon the trembling sand-bank
to contemplate the solenm scene, and derive a comfoi-t
from that sublime and omnipotent decree, ' Hitherto
shalt thou come, but no further ; and, here shall thy
proud waves be stayed !' "-f-

* Account of Caubul, p. 126. + Oriental Memoirs.

THE INDIAN OCEAN. 3-tl

An effect, scarcely less sublimely magnificent, is
produced by the coming in of the periodical spring-
tide at the mouth of some of the large rivers of
India, which is called the Bore. The rising flood
confined by the narrowing coasts of a deep estuary,
takes the form of an innnense wave, which comes
majestically rolling along, like an advancing cataract,
bearing everything before it. So rapid is its march,
that its progress from Hooghly Point to Hooghly
Town, a distance of seventy miles, occupies but four
hours. At Calcutta the wave is five feet high ; but
in the channels formed by the numerous islands in
the Burhampooter, its height is twelve feet ; and so
terrific is it, that no boat dares to navigate the river
at the time of spring-tide. As the middle of the
river, however, is comparatively free from the in-
tiuence, and only one side, usually, is subject to its
greatest violence, the boats and larger craft hasten, on
its approach, into the open water of the current ; but
if unhappily overtaken, they are inevitably overturned
or swamped, while even large ships, that present
their broadsides to its advance, are rolled so violently,
that tlieir yard-arms are dipped in the wave.

The multitudes of fishes, of brilliant hues and fan-
tastic shapes, that play in the tepid waters of these
regions of the sun, are incalculable. Numerous
bands of Parrot-fishes (Scartis) and Piock-wrasscs
{Labrus) sport about the reefs, whose bodies are
ornamented with crimson, yellow, and silvery tints,
often arranged in the form of bands or stripes ; Gur-
nards {Tri(/Ia), whose large fins resemble in their
foim and delicate peucillings the wings of a butter Hy,

342 THE OCEAIT.

take momentary flights above the surface ; and the
pretty tribe of Ghcetodons, several of which are noted
for the singular habit of shooting flies with a drop of
water projected from their beak-like mouths, fear-
lessly approach the hand immersed in the water.
But none of these are more curious than the Toad-
fiahes, or Anglers {Antemiarius), whose pectoral and
ventral flns have much of the form and also the
functions of the feet of a quadruped, enabling them
to crawl out of the water, and travel over the land.
The head is armed with horn-like projections, termi-
nating in shining filaments, which play freely in the
water, and attract small fishes within the reach of its
enormous mouth ; a very remarkable instance of the
superintending care exercised by the beneficent
Creator over the well-being of His creatures. The
form of the fish is clumsy, and its motions slow and
heavy, and without this provision for the attraction
of its prey, it would probably fare but poorly.

It is doubtless a species of Antennarius that is
thus described by Mr. Earl, as observed on the coast
of Borneo : " Large ti'acts of mud had been left
uncovered by the receding tide, and flocks of gulls
and other birds were feeding on the worms and small
fish. Vast numbers of little amphibious creatures
were running about in the mud, and they appeared
to be sought after by some of the larger birds.
They were from two to eight inches long, resem-
bling a fish in shape, of a light-brown colour, and
could run and jump by means of two strong pectoral
fins. On the approach of an enemy, they buried
themselves in the mud with inconceivable rapidity

TETE INDIAN OCEAN. S43

SO that their sudden disappearance seemed to be the
work of magic. One of the jMalays was employed
in catching them, as they are considered to be a
great delicacy. He used for the purpose a thin
plank, four feet long, and one foot broad ; on one
end of which were fixed several sharp-pointed nails,
the points projecting beyond the end of tlie plank.
He placed the plank flat upon the mud, and with
the right knee resting on it, and kicking the mud
with the left foot, he shot along the surface with
great rapidity, the sharp-pointed nails transfixing
the little creatures before they could succeed in
burying themselves sufficiently deep to avoid them.
This is a dangerous sport, and requires great skill
in the fisherman to prevent accidents ; for should he
lose his plank, death would be almost ine\dtable,
the mud not having sufficient consistence to support
him without the aid of this simple contrivance." *

Numberless creatures of the inferior classes, some
of which are of exquisite delicacy and beauty, float
on the surface of the Indian Ocean ; often in such
immense hosts as to cover the sea for miles around.
The Violet-snail {Jantlnna fragilis) is one of these,
whose shell much resembles that of our garden-snail
in form and size, but is of a pearly white above,
and benaith violet. "\Mien alive it is covered with
a slippery membrane. A singular floating apparatus
projects horizontally from the aperture of the shell,
resembling a collection of air-bubbles, but composed
of a delicate white membrane, inflated and puckered
on the surface into the bubble-lilve divisions alluded

• Eastern Seas, p. 213.

344 THE OCRA.N.

to ; it is oblong, about an inch in length. The buoy-
ancy of this float supports the animal at the surface,
where it lies with the convexity of the shell down-
ward. Three or four drops of a blue liquid are
contained in the body, which has been supposed to
answer the purpose of concealment in time of danger,
by imparting an obscurity to the water ; but it is
hardly sufficient for this purpose, as the whole
quantity secreted by one animal will not discolour
half a pint of water. Beneath the float, at certain
seasons, the eggs are suspended by pearly threads ;
and as the floats are frequently found in great
numbers with eggs thus attached, but separate from
the original animals, it is thought that they have the
power of throwing off this appendage and forming a
new one ; in which case it serves the purpose of
sustaining the eggs, and probably the young, within
the reach of the light and heat of the sun.

The Portuguese Man-of-war (Physalis pelagica),
numerous in the warm parts of the Atlantic, is still
more abundant in the seas of which I am writing.
It is a beautiful little creature, though of very simple
structure, consisting merely of a semi-transparent
membranous bag, round at one end, and pointed at
the other, along one side of which runs a wide mem-
brane, puckered into perpendicular folds, and capable
of being contracted and dilated ; while from the
opposite side depends a thick fringe of blue tentacles,
among which are some of a great length, and of a
crimson and purple hue. The tentacles have the
faculty of severely stinging the hand that touches
them, though ever so slightly ; and it is probable

THE INDIAN OCEAN. 345

that this power is in some way connected with the
sustenance of the animal, as minute fislies are
frequently found in a benumbed state attached to
these processes. The little creature, as it floats upon
the broad billows, bears a very striking resemblance
to a small ship, of which the bladder is the hull, and
the puckered membrane the sail ; and as the edge of
the sail is a beautiful pink hue, and the lower part
of the hull deep blue, a fleet of them, floating and
rolling in a calm upon the long glassy swell of the
sea, presents a scene of striking novelty and elegance.

Another creature much resembling this in appear-
ance is found in the same regions in equal numbers.
It is called by sailors the Sallee-man (Veldla mutica) ;
and consists of an internal cartilage, of a semi-pel-
lucid white hue, enclosed in soft parts, of a purplish
green. A broad oval base floats on the water, across
which runs obliquely an arched crest or sail : beneath
are placed the brown viscera, covered with a thick
mat of colourless tubular papillce : the edge of the
oval base is fringed with slender blue tentacles. No
part of this animal seems to have the power of
stinging, so formidable in the preceding.

It will be remembered, that in the description of
the Arctic Seas, a little animal (Clio horealis) was
mentioned as forming a large portion of the food
of the whale. Its place is supplied in the Pacific
and Indian Oceans by two or three species nearly
allied to it in structure, but furnished with a glassy
shell. One of these is named TL/alea tridentata;
its shell is small and somewhat globular, resembling
a bivalve without a hinge ; the hinder part being

346

The (jcean.

consolidated and armed with three spines : the sides
have a narrow fissure through which a semi-trans-
parent membrane protrudes. The animal is furnished

GLASS SHELLS. (Ilt/alca tridentata, UTid Cleodora pyramidata.)

with a wing or fin on each side, which it uses as oars.
A kindred species ( Cleodora cusjndata) is of extreme
delicacy and beauty. The shell is glassy and colour-
less, very fragile, nearly in the form of a triangular
pyramid, with an aperture at its base, from which
proceeds a long and slender glassy spine ; and a
similar spine projects from each side of the middle
of the shell. The animal is like the preceding ; but
the hinder part is globular and pellucid, and in the
dark vividly luminous, presenting a singularly striking
appearance, as it shines through its perfectly trans-
parent lantern. Both of these are found floating in
great numbers on the surface of the sea.

Among the sea-shells which attain a large size in
these seas, the Giant Clamp [Tridacene g^gas) stands
pre-eminent. It is found in abundance on the coasts
of Sumatra, as well as of other islands, attached to
the rocks by a strong cable. This, which is called
byssus, is formed of many tough threads, but slightly
filastic, spun by the animal, or rather, cast in a

THE INDIAN OCEAN. 347

mould thread by thread ; a glutinous fluid being
secreted in a long groove or canal formed by the
foot, which in the air rapidly acquires solidity.
\Vlien complete, the united threads form, as observed
above, a cable, projecting through an opening in
the back of the shell, and adhering by the other
extremity to the rock so firmly as to resist the
agitation of the sea, and so tough as to be severed
only by an axe. Marsden mentions one which was
more than three feet three inches long, and two
feet one inch wide : and specimens have been seen
which had attained the enormous length of four feet.
They are sometimes taken, when not adhering, by
thrusting a long bamboo between the open valves,
which immediately close firmly, and they are dragged
out. Tlie substance of the shell is perfectly white,
several inches thick ; it is worked by the natives
into arm-rings, and by European artists is made to
receive a polish equal to the finest statuary marble.

l*earls, whose exquisite beauty has made them
celebrated from the earliest ages, are well known to
be marine productions ; and as the shores of the
Indian Ocean yield the finest specimens, I may here
say a word of the fishery for them. IMany bivalve
shells produce pearls of greater or less perfection ;
but what is known as the Pearl Oyster is the Avi'cuJa
margaritifera of conchologists. The interior surface
of the shell is covered with very thin plates, or
lamella, which are furrowed with microscopically
minute and close parallel grooves, and in this struc-
ture lies the property of reflecting opaline tints ;
a property which has been communicated to other

2a

348 THE OCEAN.

substances by mechanically impressing the surface
with similar grooves. In some diseased states of
the animal, or when the shell has received a trifling
injury, or some foreign body — a grain of sand, for
example — has found its way within the mantle, the
pearly secretion is poured out in great abundance
around the part, and, layer being imposed upon
layer, produces a pearl, either attached to the inner
surface of the shell, or loose and held merely in the
folds of the mantle.

The most productive fishery is in the Persian
Gulf, and the finest pearls are found there: above
90,000?. sterling are sometimes realized from this
source in the course of two months. Those with
which we are most acquainted are carried on on
the coasts of Coromandel and of Ceylon ; the former
being in the hands of the East India Company, the
latter in those of the British Government. The
Ceylon fishery has been well described by Captain
Percival, the Count de Noe, and lately by Mr.
Bennett. As the banks would soon be exhausted if
fished every year, portions only are selected in turn,
while the rest remains untouched, to be recruited.
In the month of November, the Government ap-
points an inspection of the state of the banks, and
those selected as fit for fishing are advertised ac-
cordingly, the fishery for the ensuing season being
offered for sale. In January, the boats begin to
assemble, and the adventurers from all parts of
India congregate on a narrow spot of barren sand
which is deserted for the greatest portion of the
year, but now presents the life and gaiety of a fair.

THE INDIAN OCEAN. 349

" TheiC is, perhaps, no spectacle," says Captain
Percival, "which the Island of Ceylon affords more
striking to an European than the bay of Condatchy
during tlie season of the pearl-hshery. This desert
and barren spot is at that time converted into a
scene which exceeds in novelty and variety almost
anything I ever witnessed ; several thousands of
people of different colours, countries, castes, and
occupations, continually passing and repassing in a
busy crowd ; the vast nunbers of small tents and
huts erected on the shore, with the bazaar or market-
place before each ; the multitude of boats returning
in the afternoon from the pearl banks, some of them
laden with riches ; the anxious expecting counte-
nances of the boat-owners, while the boats are
approaching the shore, and the eagerness and avidity
with which they run to them when arrived, in hopes
of a rich cargo ; the vast numbers of jewellers,
brokers, merchants, of all colours and all descriptions,
both natives and foreigners, who are occupied in some
way or other with the pearls, some separating and
assorting them, others weighing and ascertaining
their number and value, while others are hawking
them about, or drilling and boring them for future
use ; — all these circumstances tend to impress the
mind with the value and importance of that object
which can of itself create this scene."*

The actual fishery begins in February and con-
tinues during sLx weeks, or at most two months.
The boats being prepared, cacli carrying twelve or
fourteen hands and ten divers, leave the shore at

* Percival's Ceylon, p. 59.

2 A 2

350 THE OCEAN.

the signal gun of the Government officer, and arrive
at the bank before daylight. At sunrise diving com-
mences, and the divers, divided into two parties,
descend alternately, the one set breathing while the
other is below. To expedite his descent, each man
has a conical piece of granite, through a hole in
which a rope is passed ; he grasps the rope with
the toes of his right foot, which he uses with nearly
the same pliancy as the fingers of his hands, and
taking in his left a net like an angler's landing-net,
seizes another rope in his right hand, and closes his
nostrils with his left thumb and finger. The weight
of the stone causes him to descend rapidly, and he
loses no time, but hastily fills his net with the oysters
he finds around. When he can retain his breath
no longer, he jerks the second rope, and is instantly
hauled to the surface by his fellows, leaving the stone
to be pulled up afterwards. Generally, from a
minute and a haK to two minutes is as long as a
diver can remain under water ; but Captain Percival
records a case in which a man " absolutely remained
under water full six minutes." The effects of so
long a submersion as even ordinarily takes place, are
severe, and manifest themselves by gushings of
water from the ears, mouth, and nose, and some-
times by discharges of blood. Yet they are ready
to take their turn again, frequently making forty
or fifty plunges a day, and bringing up at each turn
about a hundred oysters.

The greatest danger to these adventurous men
arises from the sharks, to whose rapacity allusion
has before been made. But against them the poor

THE INDIAN OCEAN. S51

people believe that they possess an inviolable defence
in the charms sold to them by pretended conjurors,
whose impudence and address secure their hold on
their deluded votaries, even in spite of the frequent
evidence of their fallibility. It is probable, the
constant bustle and noise, and the frequent splash-
ings of the divers, deter the sharks in a great
measure from approaching the scene.

"As soon as the oysters are landed, they are
placed in pits on the shore, and left to undergo
decomposition ; in which state they diffuse an into-
lerable odour, but to which habit speedily recon-
ciles the people. When the flesh is decayed under
that burning sun, the shells are opened with ease
and minutely examined for pearls : some, however,
elude the utmost vigilance, to obtain which numbers
of people continue to search the sands for months
after the merchants have departed, and they are now
and then rewarded by a pearl of value. In 1797
a common fellow, of the lowest class, thus got by
accident the most valuable pearl seen that season,
and sold it for a larcre sum."

In the Straits of Sunda and the adjacent seas,
there are found several floating sea-weeds, which
have a general resemblance to the Gulf-weed of the
Atlantic, but possess a much more striking similarity
to ten-estrial plants. Two species in particular,
named from this resemblance Sargassum aqurfolium
and S. ilici'folhim, so closely imitate our common
holly in their branches, berries, and twisted spinous
leaves, as to induce a belief, at the first glance, that
they are no other than sprigs of that familiar plant.

352 THE OCEAN.

Another species, found in the same locality, is called
S. taxifoUum, from its likeness to the yew. The
former are highly interesting on another account :
they afford a remarkable illustration of the fact,
that the seed-receptacles of some sea-plants are
metamorphosed after the discharge of their seeds
into leaves and air-vessels. Few would suspect that
the round air-cells, that look like green berries, and
the curled and thorny leaves, were alike the slender
processes containing the seed, only in another stage of
development ; yet specimens are often found in which
the process is actually going on, both the one and the
other being but partially transformed. The pores with
which the surface of the leaves are studded, are but
the orifices through which the seeds escaped.

As we approach the Cape of Good Hope, the sea-
birds peculiar to high latitudes again appear, and
the sea and air are enlivened by myriads of gulls,
terns, petrels, frigate-birds, and albatrosses. But we
have yet to notice one pre-eminent among them, a
master-fisher, which, for its extraordinary powers of
consuming the finny prey, is, perhaps, unrivalled.
It is the Pelican {Pelecanus onocrotalus), which
abounds all around the shores of the Indian Ocean,
ranging to the distance of several hundred miles
from the coasts. This bird has great powers of
flight, the extended wings covering a space of twelve
feet. The throat is dilated into a capacious bag,
which can be wrinkled up when not in use, but
when the animal is fishing forms a convenient pouch,
in which the prey is stored as it is caught, until it
is filled, when the booty is borne to shore, to feed

THE INDIAN OCEAN. 353

the callow young, or to be eaten at leisure. The
poucli of a full-grown Pelican, when distended, will
contain ten quarts of water. They fly to a long
distance, and at a lofty elevation, and remain un-
tired on the wing for a protracted period. A flock
of Pelicans beating for prey is a splendid spectacle.
Sometimes the whole troop soars upwards to an im-
mense height, and then suddenly swoops down with
arrowy velocity, splashing the sea in every direc-
tion ; presently they emerge, and again soar on high
till again they simultanetvasly dash down upon the
shoals ; and thus the flock perform their evolutions
in concert, ranging over a wide bay, or a given space
of water, with perfect order and regularity, and with
astonishing rapidity. At other times they fly al-
most at the very surface, beating the water with
their wings, till the whole sea is one undistinguish-
able mass of foam.

In the beautiful poem of Montgomery, " The Pelican
Island," which I have before quoted, the manners of
these interesting birds are ably described : —

" Eager for .^Viocl, their .searching eyes they fix'd
On ocean's unroird ■volume, from a height
That brought immensity within their scope;
Yet with such power of vision look'd they down,
As though they watch'd the shell-fish slowly gliding
O'er sunken rocks, or climbing trees of coral.
On indefatigable wiug upheld.

Breath, pulse, existence, eeem'd suspended in them :
They were aa pictures painted on the sky;
Till, suddenly, aslant, away tliey shot,
Like meteors changed from stars to gleams of lightning,
And struck upon the deep ; where, in wild play.
Their quarry flounder'd, unsuspecting harm;

354 THE OCEAN.

With terrible voracity, they plunged

Their heads among th' affrighted shoals, and beat

A tempest on the surges with their wings.

Till flashing clouds of foam and spray conceal'd them.

Nimbly they seized and secreted their prey,

Alive and wriggling in the elastic net,

Which Nature hung beneath their grasping beaks ;

Till swoll'n with captures, the unwieldy burthen

Clogg'd their slow flight, as heavily to land

These mighty hunters of the deep return'd.

There on the cragged cliffs they perch'd at ease,

Gorging their hapless victims one by one ;

Then, full and weary, side by side they slept,

Till evening roused them to the chase again."

1 have reserved till the last of these gleamings from
the Ocean, one of the most curious of its phenomena,
and one that, while it vividly strikes the fancy of the
voyager when he beholds it for the first time, fails
not to maintain its power to interest after years of
observation have made it familiar. I have reserved it
until the last, because it is peculiar to no sea, but
common to all, being observable in the frozen ocean
of either pole, and under the burning line ; in the
Atlantic and in the Pacific. Still there seem to be
greater intensity and brilliance in the display of the
phenomenon in the tropical seas than in colder
climates. 'No sooner has night descended over the
ocean, than the whole surface is seen to be, as it were,
composed of light, assuming, however, various forms
and aspects. The most usual appearances, as far as
they have fallen under my own observation in the
Atlantic, are as follow : On looking over the stern,
when the ship has steerage-way, her track is visible
by a line or belt of light, not a bright glare, but a

THE INDIAN OCEAN. oOO

soft subdued yellowish light, which immediately
under the eye resembles milk, or looks as though the
keel stirred up a sediment of chalk which diffuses
itself in opaque clouds through tlie neighbouring
water, only that it is light and not whiteness.
Scattered about this cloudiness, and particularly
where the water whirls and eddies with the motion
of the rudder, are seen innumerable sparks of light
distinctly traced above the mass by their brilliancy,
some of which vanish and others appear, while others
seem to remain visible for some time. Generally
speaking, both these phenomena are excited by the
action of the vessel through the waves, though a few
sparks may be observed on the surface of the waves
around. ]>ut now and then, when a short sea is run-
ning without breaking waves, there are seen broad
flashes of light from tlie surface of a wave, coming
and going like sudden fitful flashes of lightning
These may be traced as far as the sight can reach,
and in their intermittent gleams are very beautiful :
they have no connexion with the motion of the ship.
In a voyage to the Gulf of jMexico I saw the water
in those seas more splendidly luminous than I had
ever observed before. It was indeed a magnificent
sight to stand in the fore-part of the vessel and
watch her breasting the waves. The mass of water
rolled from her bows as white as milk, studded witli
those innumerable sparkles of blue light. The
nebulosity instantly separated into small mas.scs,
curdled like the clouds of marble, leaving the water
between of its own clear blackness ; the clouds soon
subsided, but the sparks remained. Sometimes, one

356 THE OCEAN.

of these points, of greater size and brilliancy than
the rest, would suddenly burst into a small cloud of
superior whiteness to the mass, and be then lost
in it. The curdling of the milky appearance into
clouds and masses, and its quick subsidence, were
what I had never observed elsewhere.

Many very interesting observations have been made
on these luminous appearances, and there seems no
doubt that to a very large extent they are produced
by living animals ; but as many species, varying
greatly from each other, and belonging even to differ-
ent classes of the animal kingdom, have been recog-
nised as contributing to the luminousness, we need
the less wonder that there should be variations in its
aspects. Dr. Baird, in some quotations from a jour-
nal kept during a voyage to India, furnishes some
interesting notes of the origin of the light. The
writer speaks of " the broad bright flash, vivid enough
to illuminate the sea for some distance round, while
the most splendid globes of fire were seen wheeling
und careering in the midst of it, and by their bril-
liancy outshining the general light." On drawing a
bucket-full of water the narrator " allowed it to re-
main quiet for some time, when, upon looking into it
in a dark place, the animals could be distinctly seen
emitting a bright speck of light. Sometimes this
was like a sudden flash, at others appearing like an
oblong or round luminous point, which continued
bright for a short time, like a lamp lit beneath the
water, and moving through it, still possessing its defi-
nite shape, and then suddenly disappearing. When
the bucket was sharply struck on the outside, there

THE INDIAN OCEAN. 35/

would appear at once a great number of these lumi-
nous bodies, which retained their brilliant appearance
for a few seconds, and then all was dark again.
They evidently appeared to have it under their own
will, giving out their light frequently at various
depths in the water, without any agitation being
"iven to the bucket. At times might be seen mi-
nute but pretty bright specks of light, darting across
a piece of water, and then vanishing ; the motion of
the light being exactly that of the Cyclops through
the water. Upon removing a tumbler-full from the
bucket, and taking it to the light, a number of Cy-
clopes were accordingly found swimming and darting
about in it."* Dr. l>aird concludes from these facts
that the bright globes were large Sea-blubbers
{Medusa), and that the sparks were minute Entomo-
straca, somewhat similar in form to those figured in
the former part of this volume.

In some highly interesting observations made
during a series of years by M. Ehrenberg, chiefly in
the Red Sea, we find many minute animals mentioned
as luminous ; but it is remarkable that after many
trials he could not detect the slightest light from any
species of the Entoviostraca. The water was found
to be very full of small slimy particles without any
definite form, which gave out light when the water
was stiri'cd. These were probably Medusce, torn but
yet living, as in some cases fragments of the.se ani-
mals are very tenacious of life. Several minute Me-
dusae of various species gave out light, which seemed
to be more vivid ou any extraordinary excitement of

• Zoologist, 1843, p. 55.

358 THE OCEAN.

tlie animals. A drop of sulphuric acid being put
into a glass of water, several bright flashes of light
were seen. One of the little animals was taken up in
a drop of water on the point of a pen ; on a drop of
acid being added, it gave out a momentary spark and
instantly died. Several new species of luminous
animals were discovered by thus mingling acid with
quantities of sea-water. The light of different spe-
cies is found to vary in character ; some of the sparks
being yellow and dull, others clearer and whiter, and
more lasting. The creature wliich produces the
brightest light of all is a kind of sea-worm {Nereis
cirrigera) ; it lives in groups or large masses, among
the branches of sea-weed ; and when portions of this
are thrown on shore by the waves, the animals sur-
vive and continue to shine very brilliantly for several
days. In our own seas, a great deal of the light is
owing to the presence of a minute animal (Nocfihtcd
miliaris), which does not exceed -oV of an inch in
diameter. It consists of a transparent globose body,
with a cleft down one side, as we often see in a
peach, or as if two globes had been fused into one.
Where the stalk would be, supposing it were a fruit,
a slender tentacle projects, which is endowed with
the power of slow and feeble motion. Just below
this tentacle there is a minute orifice which servos
as a mouth, leading to an oval granular stomach,
whence branched fibres proceed in irregular pencil?
to all parts of the circumference, resembling threads
of a very glutinous fluid.

This little animalcule, to which, in these seas, so
much of our marine luminosity is owing, may be

THE INDIAN OCEAM. 359

very easily obtained for microscopic exaniinatioii
It occurs by millions on the surface of the summer
sea — more abundantly in some seasons than in
others — and may be easily scooped up with a basin.

NOCTTT.UCA MTLiARis, magnified.

The animals will be found, when the vessel is at
rest, accumulated at the surface, especially around
the edge, where they frequently form a layer of five
or six deep. "With care they may be preserved for
above a week without changing their sea-water.

Several species of fislies are undoubtedly lumi-
nous: the Sun-fish (Cephalus mola), when seen at a
considerable distance below the surface in a dark
night, is said to glow like a cannon-ball heated to
whiteness. Ehrenberg found that the whole skeleton
of an Eg}^ptian fish (Heterotis Xilotica) emitted such
a vivid light as he never saw equalled by any other

360 THE OCEAN.

fish, alive or dead. And Mr. F. D. Bennett discoveied
a new species of Shark, wliicli he named Squalus
fulgens, from the whole surface of whose body pro-
ceeded a greenish light, which rendered the animal
the most ghastly object imaginable. But therf; can
bo no doubt that the main source of oceanic elful-
gcnce is to be found in the countless millions of
minute animals which throng the sea, but which are
invisible without the aid of high microscopic powers.
And, truly, when from a lofty station on board a ship
we survey a space of many square miles, and see
every portion of its surface gleaming and flashing in
living light ; or mark the pathway of the vessel
ploughing up from fathoms deep her radiant furrow,
so filled with luminous points, that, like the milky
way in the heavens, all individuality is lost in the
general blaze, and reflect that wherever on the broad
sea that furrow happened to be traced, the result
would be the same ; one can scarcely conceive a more
magnificent idea of the grandeur, the unimaginable
immensity of the Creation of God.

" 0 Lord, how manifold are thy works ! in wisdom
hast thou made them all. The earth is full of thy
riches: so is this great and wide sea, wherein are
things creeping innumerable, both small and great
beasts. There go the ships : there is that leviathan,
whom thou hast made to play therein. These wait
all upon thee ; that thou mayst give them their meat
in due season. That thou givest them, they gather ;
thou openest thine hand, they are filled with good."

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Sweet William. By Mrs. Thomas Erskine. With

Three full-page Illustrations on toned paper. Crown 8vo.

Cloth boards i

Through the Rough Wind: a Story of the Col-
lieries. By Crona Temple, author of " Etta's Fairies," etc.
With Three full-page Illustrations on toned paper. Crown 8vo.

Cloth boards i

Under the Trees. By H, L. Childe-Pemberton,

author of " Round my Table," etc. With Three full-page Illus-
trations on toned paper. Crown 8vo Cloth boards i

Unto his Life's End. A book for choir-boys. By

Ursula, author of " Little Things," etc. With Three full-page
Illustrations on toned paper. Crown Svo Cloth boards i

Vanda. By EsME Stuart, author of "The Little

Brown Girl," etc. With Three full-page Illustrations on toned
paper. Crown Svo Cloth boards 2

White Gipsy (The). By Annette Lyster. With Four

full-page Illustrations on toned paper. Crown Svo. Cloth boards 3

LONDON :

^0Ct0tij for pr0m0ttus crijrtiStian UnotDlclrsj.

NORTHUMBERLAND AVENUE, CHARING CROSS, W.C. ;

43, QUEEN VICTORIA STREET, E.G. ;

26, ST. GEORGES PLACE, HYDE PARK CORNER, S.W.

BRIGHTON ; 135, NORTH STREET.