Degeneration Since Adam
The question arises whether, while whales have advanced in size across geological time, they may have degenerated since Adam. A whaleman’s perspective rejects this notion outright, arguing that the whale of today matches his ancestors from Pliny’s era. The narrator points to Egyptian mummies and ancient tablet sculptures of cattle as evidence that other creatures show no degeneration—only the whale cannot be conceded to have degenerated.
Ancient Naturalists’ Accounts
Pliny and ancient naturalists report whales of extraordinary size—whales embracing acres of living bulk. Aldrovandus describes whales measuring eight hundred feet. A Danish academic recorded Iceland whales (reydan-siskur, or Wrinkled Bellies) at three hundred and sixty feet. Lacépède’s 1825 natural history sets the Right Whale at three hundred and twenty-eight feet. However, whalemen dismiss these accounts as fantasy, and the narrator resolves to inform Pliny directly that whales have not degenerated.
Will Leviathan Perish?
This central inquiry considers whether omniscient lookouts and relentless harpoons penetrating even through Behring’s Straits will eventually exterminate the whale from the waters. The poignant image emerges of the last whale, like the last man, smoking his final pipe before evaporating in a concluding puff. However, the chapter argues against this conclusion through multiple considerations.
Buffalo Hunting Comparison
The extermination of buffaloes—once numbering tens of thousands on Illinois and Missouri prairies—seems to offer an analogy suggesting imminent whale extinction. Yet the nature of whale hunting differs fundamentally: forty men pursuing sperm whales for forty-eight months might capture forty fish, whereas the same number of mounted hunters could slay forty thousand buffaloes in identical timeframe. This disparity in hunting efficiency argues against comparing the two species’ fates.
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