“You have never fished in these seas, Ned?”
“Never, sir; in the northern only, and as much in Behring as in Davis Straits.”
“Then the southern whale is still unknown to you. It is the Greenland whale you have hunted up to this time, and that would not risk passing through the warm waters of the equator. Whales are localized according to their kinds, in certain seas which they never leave. And if one of these creatures went from Behring to Davis Straits, it must be simply because there is a passage from one sea to the other, either on the American or the Asiatic side.”
“In that case, as I have never fished in these seas, I do not know the kind of whale frequenting them.”
“I have told you, Ned.”
“A greater reason for making their acquaintance,” said Conseil.
“Look! Look!” exclaimed the Canadian. “They approach; they aggravate me; they know that I cannot get at them!”
Ned stamped his feet. His hand trembled as he grasped an imaginary harpoon.
“Are these cetacea as large as those of the northern seas?” asked he.
“Very nearly, Ned.”
“Because I have seen large whales, sir, whales measuring a hundred feet. I have been even told that those of Hullamoch and Umgallick, of the Aleutian Islands, are sometimes a hundred and fifty feet long.”
“That seems to me exaggeration. These creatures are only balænopterons, provided with dorsal fins; and, like the cachalots, are generally much smaller than the Greenland whale.”
“Ah!” exclaimed the Canadian, whose eyes had never left the ocean. “They are coming nearer; they are in the same water as the Nautilus!”
Then returning to the conversation, he said:
“You spoke of the cachalot as a small creature. I have heard of gigantic ones. They are intelligent cetacea. It is said of some that they cover themselves with seaweed and fucus, and then are taken for islands. People encamp upon them, and settle there; light a fire—”
“And build houses,” said Conseil.
“Yes, joker,” said Ned Land. “And one fine day the creature plunges, carrying with it all the inhabitants to the bottom of the sea.”
“Something like the travels of Sindbad the Sailor,” I replied, laughing.
“Ah!” suddenly exclaimed Ned Land. “It is not one whale; there are ten—there are twenty—it is a whole troop! And I not able to do anything! Hands and feet tied!”
“But, friend Ned,” said Conseil, “why do you not ask Captain Nemo’s permission to chase them?”
Conseil had not finished his sentence when Ned Land had lowered himself through the panel to seek the captain. A few minutes afterward the two appeared together on the platform.
Captain Nemo watched the troop of cetacea playing on the waters about a mile from the Nautilus.
“They are southern whales,” said he; “there goes the fortune of a whole fleet of whalers.”
“Well, sir,” asked the Canadian, “can I not chase them, if only to remind me of my old trade of harpooner?”
“And to what purpose?” replied Captain Nemo. “Only to destroy! We have nothing to do with whale-oil on board.”
“But, sir,” continued the Canadian, “in the Red Sea you allowed us to follow the dugong.”
“Then it was to procure fresh meat for my crew. Here it would be killing for killing’s sake. I know that is a privilege reserved for man, but I do not approve of such murderous pastime. In destroying the southern whale (like the Greenland whale, an inoffensive creature), your traders do a culpable action, Master Land. They have already depopulated the whole of Baffin’s Bay, and are annihilating a class of useful animals. Leave the unfortunate cetacea alone. They have plenty of natural enemies—cachalots, swordfish, and sawfish—without your troubling them.”
The captain was right. The barbarous and inconsiderate greed of these fishermen will one day cause the disappearance of the last whale in the ocean. Ned Land whistled “Yankee Doodle” between his teeth, thrust his hands into his pockets, and turned his back upon us. But Captain Nemo watched the troop of cetacea, and addressing me said:
“I was right in saying that whales had natural enemies enough, without counting man. These will have plenty to do before long. Do you see, M. Aronnax, about eight miles to leeward, those blackish moving points?”