The Walrus
Of the Walrus, Rosmarus, or Morse, Gesner draws, and Olaus Magnus
writes, thus:--"The Norway Coast, toward the more Northern parts,
hath a great Fish, as big as Elephants, which are called Morsi, or
Rosmari, may be they are (called) so from their sharp biting; for, if
they see any man on the Sea-shore, and can catch him, they come suddenly
upon him, and rend him with their Teeth, that they will kill him in a
trice. The
fashioned like to an Oxes, and a hairy Skin, and hair growing as thick
as straw or corn-reeds, that lye loose very largely. They will raise
themselves with their Teeth, as by Ladders to the very tops of Rocks,
that they may feed on the Dewie Grasse, or Fresh Water, and role
themselves in it, unless in the mean time they fall very fast asleep,
and rest upon the Rocks; for then Fishermen make all the haste they can,
and begin at the Tail, and part the Skin from the Fat; and unto this
that is parted, they put most strong Cords, and fasten them on the
rugged rocks or Trees, that are near; then they throw stones at his
head, out of a Sling, to raise him, and they compel him to descend,
spoiled of the greatest part of his Skin, which is fastned to the Ropes:
he being thereby debilitated, fearful, and half dead, he is made a rich
prey, especially for his Teeth, that are very pretious amongst the
Scythians, the Muscovites, Russians, and Tartars, (as Ivory
amongst the Indians,) by reason of its hardness, whiteness, and
ponderousnesse. For which Cause, by excellent industry of Artificers
they are made fit for handles for Javelins: And this is also testified
by Mechovita, an historian of Poland, in his double Sarmatia, and
Paulus Jovius after him, relates it by the Relation of one
Demetrius, that was sent from the great Duke of Muscovy to Pope
Clement the 7th."
Although Olaus Magnus is very circumstantial in his detail as to the
intense somnolence, and brutal flaying alive of the "thereby
debilitated" Walrus, I can find no confirmation of either, in any other
account--on the contrary, in "A Briefe Note of the Morse and the use
thereof," published in Hakluyt, it is described as very wakeful and
vigilant, and certainly not an animal likely to have salt put on its
tail after Magnus's manner:--
"In the voyage of Jacques Carthier, wherein he discovered the Gulfe of
S. Laurance, and the said Isle of Ramea in the yeere 1534, he met with
these beastes, as he witnesseth in these words: About the said island
are very great beasts as great as oxen, which have two great teeth in
their mouthes like unto elephant's teeth, and live in the Sea. Wee sawe
one of them sleeping upon the banks of the water, and, thinking to take
it, we went to it with our boates, but so soon as he heard us, he cast
himselfe into the sea. Touching these beasts which Jacques Carthier
saith to be as big as oxen, and to have teeth in their mouthes like
elephants teeth; true it is that they are called in Latine Boves
marini or Vaccae marinae, and in the Russian tongue morsses, the hides
whereof I have seene as big as any ox hide, and being dressed, I have
yet a piece of one thicker than any two oxe, or bul's hides in England.
"The leather dressers take them to be excellent good to make light
targets against the arrowes of the savages; and I hold them farre better
than the light leather targets which the Moores use in Barbarie against
arrowes and lances, whereof I have seene divers in her Majesties stately
armourie in the Toure of London. The teeth of the sayd fishes, whereof I
have seene a dry flat full at once, are a foote and sometimes more in
length; and have been sold in England to the combe and knife makers at 8
groats and 3 shillings the pound weight, whereas the best ivory is solde
for halfe the money; the graine of the bone is somewhat more yellow than
the ivorie. One Mr. Alexander Woodson of Bristoll, my old friend, an
excellent mathematician and skilful phisitian, shewed me one of these
beasts teeth which were brought from the Isle of Ramea in the first
prize, which was half a yard long, or very little lesse: and assured mee
that he had made tryall of it in ministering medicine to his patients,
and had found it as sovereigne against poyson as any unicorne's horne."
More
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Of this fish Pliny writes:--"There is a very small fish that is in the habit of living among the rocks, and is known as the Echeneis, [Greek: Apo tou echein neas]. (From holding back ships.) It is believed that when this has attached itself to the... The Rhinoceros
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"The Saw fish is also a beast of the Sea; the body is huge great, the head hath a crest, and is hard and dented like to a Saw. It will swim under ships and cut them, that the Water may come in, and he may feed on the men when the ship is drowned."... The Scorpion
Of the Scorpion, Pliny says:--"This animal is a dangerous scourge, and has a venom like that of the serpent; with the exception that its effects are far more painful, as the person who is stung will linger for three days before death ensues. The s... The Sea Dragon
Of the Ray tribe of fishes, the Sea Dragon is the most frightful-looking, but we know next to nothing about it. Pliny only cursorily mentions it thus:--"The Sea Dragon again, if caught, and thrown on the sand, works out a hole for itself with i... The Sea-hare
"The Sea-Hare is found to be of divers kinds in the Ocean, but so soon as he is caught, onely because he is suspected to be Venemous, how like so ever he is to a Hare, he is let loose again. He hath four Fins behind his Head, two whose motion is a... The Sea-mouse
"The Sea-Mouse makes a hole in the Earth, and lays her Eggs there, and then covers them with Earth: on the 30th day she digs it open again, and brings her young to the Sea, first blind, and, afterwards, he comes to see. ... The Sea-pig
Again we are indebted to Gesner for the drawing of this Sea Monster. Olaus Magnus, speaking of "The Monstrous Hog of the German Ocean," says:--"I spake before of a Monstrous Fish found on the Shores of England, with a clear description of his... The Sea-serpent
Of the antiquity of the belief in the Sea-Serpent there can be no doubt, for it is represented on the walls of the Assyrian palace at Khorsabad, more than once, in the sculpture representing the voyage of Sargon to Cyprus, thus giving it an authen... The Sphynx
"The SPHYNGA or Sphinx, is of the kind of Apes, but his breast up to his necke, pilde and smooth without hayre: the face is very round, yet sharp and piked, having the breasts of women, and their favor, or visage, much like them: In that part of t... The Sting Ray
Pliny mentions the Sting Ray, and ascribes to it marvellous powers, which it does not possess:--"There is nothing more to be dreaded than the sting which protrudes from the tail of the Trygon, by our people known as the Pastinaca, a weapon five in... The Su
Topsell mentions a fearful beast called the Su. "There is a region in the new-found world, called Gigantes, and the inhabitants thereof, are called Patagones; now, because their country is cold, being far in the South, they cloath themselves with ... The Swallow
"And is the swallow gone? Who beheld it? Which way sailed it? Farewell bade it none?" (W. Smith, Country book.) Olaus Magnus answered this question, according to his lights, and when, discoursing on the Migration ... The Swamfisck
The accompanying illustration, though heading the chapter in Olaus Magnus regarding the Swamfisck and other fish, does not at all seem to elucidate the text:--"The Variety of these Fish, or rather Monsters, is here set down, because of their ad... The Swan
The ancient fable so dear, even to modern poets, that Swans sing before they die--was not altogether believed even in classical times, as saith Pliny:--"It is stated that at the moment of the swan's death, it gives utterance to a mournful song; bu... The Toad
Toads were always considered venomous and spiteful, and they had but one redeeming quality, which seems to be lost to its modern descendants:-- "Sweet are the uses of adversity; Which, like the toad, ugly and venomous, Wears yet a p... The Trochilus
This bird, as described by Aristotle, and others, is of a peculiar turn of mind:--"When the Crocodile gapes, the trochilus flies into its mouth to cleanse its teeth; in this process the trochilus procures food, and the other perceives it, and does... The Unicorn
What a curious belief was that of the Unicorn! Yet what mythical animal is more familiar to Englishmen? In its present form it was not known to the ancients, not even to Pliny, whose idea of the Monoceros or Unicorn is peculiar. He describes this ... The Walrus
Of the Walrus, Rosmarus, or Morse, Gesner draws, and Olaus Magnus writes, thus:--"The Norway Coast, toward the more Northern parts, hath a great Fish, as big as Elephants, which are called Morsi, or Rosmari, may be they are (called) so from the... The Wolf
The Wolf, as a beast of prey, is invested with a terror peculiarly its own; when solitary, it is not much dreaded by, and generally shrinks from, man, but, united by hunger into packs, they are truly to be dreaded, for they spare not man nor beast... The Ziphius
This Voracious Animal, whose size may be imagined by comparison with the Seal it is devouring, is thus described by Magnus:--"Because this Beast is conversant in the Northern Waters, it is deservedly to be joined with other monstrous Creatures. Th... Two-headed Wild Geese
Near the land of the Cynocephali or dog-headed men, there were many islands, and, "Also in this yle, and in many yles thereabout are many wyld geese with two heads." But these were not the only extraordinary breed of wild geese, extant. "As... Were-wolves
But of all extraordinary stories connected with the Wolf, is the belief which existed for many centuries, (and in some parts of France still does exist, under the form of the "Loup-garou,") and which is mentioned by many classical authors--Marcell... Wild Men
Sometimes a specimen of humanity has got astray in infancy, and has been dragged up somehow in the woods, like Caspar Hauser, and Peter the Wild Boy, and fiction supplies other instances, such as Romulus and Remus, Orson, &c. Some of them were cre... Woolly Hens
Sir John Maundeville saw in "the kingdome named Mancy, which is the best kingdome of the worlde--(Manzi, that part of China south of the river Hoang-ho) whyte hennes, and they beare no feathers, but woll as shepe doe in our lande." ... Zoophytes
Writing on the lower phases of Marine Animal life, he says:--"Indeed, for my own part, I am strongly of opinion that there is sense existing in those bodies which have the nature of neither animals nor vegetables, but a third, which partakes of th...