Cornell University Library
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'" T'^e"! isheries and fishery industries of
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UNITED STATES COMMISSION OF PISH AND FISHEEIES
THE FISHEEIES
FISHERY INDUSTRIES
UNITED STATES
PEEPABED THEOUGH THE CO-OPEEATION OP THE COMMISSIONER OP FISHERIES
AND THE SUPERINTENDENT OF THE TENTH CENSUS
GEORGE BROWN GOODE
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF THE U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM
AND A STAFF OF ASSOCIATES
SECTION I
NATURAL HISTORY OF USEFUL AQUATIC ANIMALS
WITH AN ATLAS OP TWO HUNDRED AND SEVENTY-SEVEN PUTES
TEXT
WASHINGTON
WOVBBNMENT FEINTING OPFIOB
1884
ASSOOIATE ATJTHOKS.
Joel A. Aulbn Museum of Comparative Zoology, Cambridge,
Taklbtobt H. Bean U. S. National Museum, Washington.
Ja:.ies Temple. Bkown TJ. S. National Museum, Washington.
A. Howard Clark U. S. National Museum, Washington.
Joseph W. Coluns Gloucester, Massachusetts.
E. Edward Earll .'; U. S.Fish Commission, Washington.
Kichard H. Edmonds •. Baltimore, Maryland.
Henry W. Elliott Cleveland, Ohio.
Ernest Ingeksoll New Haven, Connecticut.
David S. Jordan Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana.
Ltjdwig Kumlibn Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Marshall MacDonald U. S. Fish Commission, Washington.
FRBDEKrcK Mather ^ N. T. Fish Commission, Cold Spring, New York.
Baknet Phillips Brooklyn, New York.
EiCHARD Eathbun TJ. S. National Museum, Washington.
John A. Etdbr U. S. Fish Commission, Washington.
Charles W. Smiley U. S. Fish Commission, Washington.
Silas Stearns Pensacola, Florida.
Frederick W. True TJ. S. National Museum, Washington.
William A. Wilcox Boston, Massachusetts,
PREFATORY NOTE.
TJ. S. Commission op Fish and Fisheries,
Washington, May 30, 1884.
In July, 1879, an arrangement was made with General Francis A. Walker, Superintendent of
the Tenth Census, by which an investigation of the fisheries of the United States was undertaken
as the joint enterprise of the United States Fish Commission and of the Census Bureau. It was
decided that this investigation should be as exhaustive as possible, and that both the United
States Fish Commission and the Census should participate in its results. The preparation of a
statistical and historical monograph of the fisheries, to form one of the series to be presented by
the Superintendent of the Census in his report, was from the first the main object of the work,
but in connection with this work extensive investigations into the methods of the fisheries, into
the distribution of the fishing-grounds, and the natural history of useful marine animals were
inaugurated and carried on.
The direction of this investigation was placed in the hands of Mr. G. Brown Gpode, Assistant
Director of the National Museum, who had already been engaged for a number of years in a
systematic, historical, and statistical investigation of the American fisheries, and who as early as
1877 had drawn up a scheme for an exhaustive exploration of the coast, quite as elaborate as that
now adopted and not essentially different.
The first step taken was to secure the co-operation of as many as possible of those persons
who had in the past given attention to the subject of the fisheries, and this was so successfully
accomplished that it is safe to say that every one who has been of late years prominent in such
studies has taken part in the preparation of this report.
The plan of the proposed investigation was drawn up by Mr. Goode before beginning the work,
and was published in an octavo pamphlet of fifty-four pages, entitled " Plan of Inquiry into the
History and Present Condition of the Fisheries of the United States." Washington : Government
Printing Oiflce ; 1879.
The scheme of investigation divided the work into the following departments:
I. Natural history of marine products. — Under this head was to be carried on the study of the
useful aquatic animals and plants of the country, as well as of seals, whales, turtles, fishes,
lobsters, crabs, oysters, clams,, etc., sponges, and marine plants and inorganic products of the
sea with reference to (A) geographical distribution, (B) size, (C) abundance, (D) migrations and
movements, (B) food and rate of growth, (F) mode of reproduction, (G) economic value and uses.
II. The fishing grounds. — Under this head were to be studied the geographical distribution of
aU animals sought by fishermen, and the location of the fishing-grounds ; while, with referencee
VI PEEFATORY NOTE.
to the latter, are considered : (A) location, (B) topography, (0) depth of water, (D) character of
bottom, (B) temperature of water, (F) currents, (G) character of invertebrate life, etc.
III. The fishermen and fishing towns. — Here were to be considered the coast districts engaged
in the fisheries, with reference to their relation to the fisheries, historically and statistically, and
the social, vital, and other statistics relating to the fishermen.
IV. Apparatus and methods of capture. — Here were to be considered all the forms of apparatus
used by fishermen ; boats, nets, traps, harpoons, etc., and the methods employed in the various
branches of the fishery. Here each special kind of fishery, of which there are more than fifty
in the United States, is considered separately with regard to its methods, its hisl*ry, and its
statistics.
V. Products of fisheries.— Under this head were to be studied the statistics of the yield of
American fisheries, past and present.
VI. Preparation, care of, and manufacture of fishery products. — Here were to be considered
the methods and the vairious devices for utilizing fish after they are caught, with statistics of
capital and men employed, etc.: (A) preservation of live fish, (B) refrigeration, (C) sun-drying,
(D) smoke-drying, (E) pickling, (F) hermetically canning, (G) fur dressing, (H) whalebone prep-
aration, (I) isinglass manufacture, (K) ambergris manufacture, (L) fish guano manufacture, (M) oil
rendering, etc.
VII. Economy of the fisheries. — Here were to be studied: (A) financial organization and
methods, (B) insurance, (C) labor and capital, (D) markets and market prices, (E) lines of trafiQc,
(F) exports, imports, and duties.
The fishery industry is of such great importance, and is undergoing such constant changes
that a visit of a few days or weeks to any locality, even by the most competent experts, has
invariably proved unsatisfactory. We were able therefore to collect only the most important
facts, selected with special reference to the needs of the report in contemplation, leaving many
subjects of interest undiscussed.
The field-work, and the correspondence in connection with it, was carried on by the following-
named special agents, and approximately between the dates below mentioned :
I. — Coast of Maine, east of Portland. Mr. li. Edward Earll and Captain J. W. Collins,
August 1 to October 31, 1879; July 29 to October 20, 1880; January 1, 1881, to
January 1, 1883.
n. — Portland to Plymouth (except Cape Ann) and eastern side of Buzzard's Bay. W. A.
Wilcox, September 2, 1879, to March 1, 1881.
III. — Cape Ann. A. Howard Clark, September 1, 1879, to November 1, 1880; July, August,
and September, 1883.
IV.— Cape Cod. Frederick W. True, July 1 to October 1, 1879; September 1 to October 31,
1880; Vinal N. Edwards, October 1, 1880, to July 31, 1882.
V. — Provincetown. Captain N. B. Atwood, August 1, 1879, to August 1, 1880.
VI. — Ehode Island and Connecticut, west to the Connecticut Eiver. Ludwig Kumlien, August
16 to October 16, 1880.
VII. — Long Island and north shore of Long Island Sound, and west to Sandy Hook. Frederick
Mather, August 1, 1879, to July 1, 1881.
VIIL— New York City. Barnet Phillips, January I, 1880, to July 1, 1881.
IX Coast of New Jersey. R. Edward Earll, December, 1 880.
X.— Philadelphia. C. W. Smiley and W. V. Cox, November, 1880.
XL — Coast of Delaware. Captain J. W. Collins, December, 1880.
PREFATORY NOTE. Vll
XII.— Baltimore and the oyster industry of Maryland. E. H. Edmonds, October 1, 1879, to
October 1, 1880.
Xin. — Atlantic coast of Southern States. R. Edward Earll, January 1 to July 25, 1880.
XIV.— Gulf coast. Silas Stearns, August, 1879, to July, 1880.
XV.— Coast of California, Oregon, and Washington. Professor D. S. Jordan and C. H. Gil-
bert, January, 1880, to January, 1881.
XVI. — Puget Sound. James G. Swan, January, 1880, to January, 1881.
XVII.— Alaska fisheries. Dr. T. H. Bean, June to October, 1880.
XVIII.— tareat Lakes flsTiery. Ludwlg Kumlien, August, 1879, to August, 1880.
XIX.— River fisheries of Maine. C. G. Atkins, January 1, 1880, to July 3, 1882.
XX. — The shad and alewife fisheries. Colonel Marshall MacDonald, October, 1879, to January
1, 1883.
XXI.— Oyster fisheries. Ernest Ingersoll, October 1, 1879, to July 1, 1881.
XXII. — Lobster and crab fisheries. Richard Rathbun, January 1, 1880, to January 1, 1882.
XXIII.— Turtle and terrapin fisheries. Frederick W. True, October 1, 1880, to January 1, 1882.
XXIV. — The seal, sea-elephant, and whale fisheries. A. Howard Clark, November 1, 1880, to
February 1, 1881.
In addition to the field assistants already mentioned a staff of ofiQce assistants were employed
in carrying on correspondence, searching past records, and preparing the report for publication.
Mr. C. W. Smiley, Mr. James Temple. Brown, and Mr. George S. Hobbs were connected with the
work from its start, and subsequently Mr. J. E. Rockwell, Mr. C. W. Scudder, Mr E. I Geare, Mr.
G. P. Merrill, Mr. W. S. Teates, and others were thus employed. A number of clerks were
temporarily detailed for this work by the Superintendent of the Census ; at one time as many as
twenty.
A portion of the clerical force was placed under the immediate direction of Mr. C. W. Smiley,
who had in special charge the distribution of circulars and the compilation of their results, and the
compilation of summary tables from the records of the Treasury Department.
The expense of the field-work from July 1, 1879, to July 1, 1881, was for the most part borne
by the Census, together with a large amount of compilation office- work carried on by clerks
detailed from the Census Of&ce in Washington.
The expense of the preparation of the report, final tabulation of statistics of production, and
preparation of illustrations has been mainly at the cost of the Fish Commission. Since February,
1881, Mr. Goode's relation to the work has been that of a volunteer, and his services in the
preparation of the reports and in connection with their publication have been rendered without
compensation, in addition to his regular duties as Assistant Director of the National Museum.
In the same manner a large share of the most important work upon special parts of the report
has been done as volunteer labor by officers of the National Museum and Fish Commission, in
addition to their regular duties. A number of employees of the Fish Commission have been
detailed from time to time for special work upon this report, for periods varying from four mouths
to two years.
The participation of the Census Office and the Commissioner of Fish and Fisheries has involved
the expenditure of probably nearly equal amounts of money, and the division of the results, so
far as they are represented in reports ready for the printer, has been arranged to the satisfaction
of both. The extent of the material collected has, however, been much greater than was antici-
pated, and the portion assigned to the Fish Commission being too bulky for publication in the an-
nual reports, application was made to Congress for permission to print as a separate special report
an illustrated work in quarto upon the Pood Fishes and Fisheries of the United States.
Vlil PREFATORY NOTE.
This permission was granted in a joint resolution, worded as follows, which passed the Senate
July 16, 1882:
Resolved by the Senate (the Souse of Representatives concurring), That the Public Printer be, and
is hereby, instructed to print, in quarto form, a report by the U. S. Commissioner of Fish and Fish-
eries, upon the food fishes and fisheries of the United States, the engravings to be in relief, and to be
contracted for by the Public Printer, under the direction of the Joint Committee on Printing, and to
receive the approval of the Commissioner before being accepted ; the work to be stereotyped, and
10,000 extra copies printed, of which 2,500 shall be for the use of the Senate, 5,000 for the use of
the House, and 1,500 for the use of the Commissioner of Fish and Fisheries. There shall also be
printed 1,000 extra copies for sale by the Public Printer, under such regulations as the Joint
Committee on Printing may prescribe, at a price equal to the additional cost of publication and 10
per cent, thereon added.
The manuscript for the entire report is for the most part ready for the printer, and several
hundred drawings for the illustrations are finished. Part I was placed in the hands of the printer
in August 1882, and would have been published more than a year ago but for the absence of Mr.
Goode in England. The contents of these reports, it is proposed, shall be approximately as fol-
lows, though it is probable that other topics may be added to the discussion before the work is
completed :
The Pood Pishes and Fishery Industries of the United States.
Part I. — The Natural History of Useful Aquatic Animals.
Part II.— The Fishing-Grounds.
Part III. — The Fishing-Towns, containing a geographical review of the Coast, River, and Lake Fiaheriei.
Part IV. — The Fishermen.
Part V. — The Apparatus of the Fisheries and the Fishing- Vessels and Boats.
Part VI. — The Fishery Industries, a discussion of methods aud history.
Part VII. — The Preparation of Fishery Products.
Part VIII. — Fish Culture and Fishery Legislation.
Part IX. — Statistics of Production, Exportation, and Importation. Summary Tables.
Part X. — The Whale Fishery ; a special monograph.
Part XI. — A Catalogue of the Useful and Injurious Aquatic Animals and Plants of North America.
Part XII. — A list of Books and Papers relating to the Fisheries of the United States.
Part XIII. — A general Review of the Fisheries with a statistical summary.
The report prepared for the Superintendent of the Census, the manuscript of which is now
for the most part in his possession, is divided into the following sections :
A Eeport upon the Statistics of the Fisheries and Fish Trade op the United States.
Introduction (giving a comprehensive abstract of the matter contained in the quarto report referred to above).
Part I. — A Review of the Fisheries of the Atlantic Seaboard, with statistics of production and manufacture.
Part II. — A Review of the Fisheries of the Pacific Coast, with statistics of production and manufactures.
Part III. — A Review of the Fisheries of the Great Lakes, with stat.stics of production and manufactures.
Part IV. — A Review of the River Fisheries of the United States. (Prepared by C. W. Smiley.)
Part V.— A Review of the Consumption of Fish by Counties, with an estimate of the extent and value of
the inland fisheries. (Prepared by C. W. Smiley.)
Part VI. — ^A Review of the Fish Trade of cities of the United States having a population of more than 10,000
in 1880. (Prepared by C. W. Smiley.)
Part VII.— Statistics of Importation and Exportation of Fishery Products from 1730 to 1880.
Part VIII.— List of the Fishing- Vessels of the United States iii 1880, giving tonnage, value, number of crew,
name of owner, branches of fisheries engaged in, together with other important details.
Part IX.— Monograph of the Seal Islands of Alaska. By Henry W. Elliott. (Already in type; 171 pages. 4to.i
Part X.— Monograph of the Oyster Fisheries. By Ernest lugersoU. (Already in type ; 251 pages.)
The Census volume thus is arranged to include all compilations from circulars, and the results
Qf the work performed by clerks detailed from the Census Oflce, together with much derived from
PEBFATOEY NOTE. ix
the archives of the Fish Commission. The first three sections are mainly made up from the
material collection by the special agents in the field, and the form is as nearly as possible that in
which it was originally collected; much, however, has been added from the archives of the
Commission.
By the plan just detailed, the statistical matter gathered by the joint efforts of the two
organizations is assigned to the Census, together with a sufficient amount of descriptive and
explanatory text to make the statistics fully intelligible, while the descriptive, historical, and
natural history papers are taken by the Fish Commission, these being enriched by a sufficient
amount of statistical detail to render them as useful as possible for the class of readers and students
for whom they are intended.
The statistical results of the investigation have already been published in a preliminary way.
A series of special statistical tables appeared in the Bulletins of the Census Office, as follows :
(1.) CensoS Bulletin No. 176. — [Pteliminary Report upon the Pacific States and Territories] prepared by Me. Goode
from returns of Special Agents Jordan, Swan, and Bean. Dated May 24, 1884. 4to. Pp. 6 (-(-2).
(2.) Census Bulletin No. 261.— Statistics of the Fisheries of the Great Lakes. Prepared by Mr. Frederick W. Tme
&om notes of Special Agent Kumlien. Dated September 1, 1881. 4to. Pp. 8.
(3. ) Census Bulletin No. 278.— Statistics of the Fisheries of Maine. Prepared by Mr. E. E. Earll from his own notes
and those of Capt. J. W. Collins and Mr. C. G. Atkins. Dated November 22, 1881. 4to. Pp. 47 (+ 1).
(4.) Census Bulletin No. 281.— Statistics of the Fisheries of Virginia. Prepared by Colonel Marshall MacDonald.
Dated December 1, 1881. 4to. Pp. 8.
(5. ) Census Bulletin No. 295.— Statistics of the Fisheries of Massachusetts. Prepared by Mr. A. Howard Clark from
returns of Special Agents Wilcox, Clark, True, Collins, and Atwood. Dated March 1, 1882. 4to. Pp. 35 + 1-
(6.) Census Bulletin No. 291. — Statistics of the Fisheries of New Hampshire, Ehode Island, and Connecticut. Pre-
pared by Mr. A. Howard Clark. Dated April 5, 1882. 4to. Pp.7(+1.)
(7.) Census Bulletin No. 297.— Commercial Fisheries of the Middle States. Prepared by Mr. R. E. Earll and Colonel
M. MacDonald. Dated June 5, 1882. 4to. Pp. 14.
(8.) Census Buluitin No. 298.— Commercial Fisheries of the Southern Atlantic States. Prepared by Mr. R. E. Earll
and Colonel M. MacDonald. Dated June 5, 1882. 4to. Pp. 18. (This bulletin includes statistics of No. 4 (C.
B., No. 281).
In all 148 pages, quarto. In addition to these certain special tables have appeared.
(10.) Statistical Table.— 'Statistics of the Fisheries of the United States in 1880. [Prepared by Messrs. Goode and
Earll from the reports of special agents.] Printed in Compendium of the Tenth Census, p. 88. Pp. — .
Republished in Bulletin of the United States Fish Commission, Vol. Ill, 1883, pp. 270-71, and in Preliminary
Catalogue, International Fisheries Exhibition, January, p. 5.
(11.) Statistical Table. — Table showing by States the quantity of Spanish mackerel taken in 1880, and the total
catch for the United States. By R. Edward Earll. Report United States Fish Commission. Part VIII,
1880, p. 416.
(12.) Statistical Summary. — Statistics of the Davis Strait Halibut Fisheries. By Newton P. Scudder. Report
United States Fish Commission. Part VIII, pp. 190-192.
(13.) Statistical Summary.— Statistics of the Swordflsh Fishery. By G. Brown Goode. Report United States Fish
Commissioners. Part VUI, pp. 361-367.
(14.) Statistical Summaries.- Statistics of the Mackerel Fishery in 1880. By R. Edward Earll. Report United
States Fish Commission. Part IX, pp. [124]-[127.]
[Statistics of the Mackerel Canning Industry.] By R. Edward Earll. Ibid, p. [131.]
Statistics of the Inspection of Mackerel from 1804 to 1880. By A. Howard Clark.
Ibid, pp. [162]-[213.]
Vessels in the Mackerel Fishery in 1880. Ibid, p. 418.
Catch of Mackerel by Americans in Canadian wiiters. 1873-'81. Ibid, p. [430.]
(15.) Introduction to Section B., U. S- Catalogue International Fisheries Exhibition, London. (Collection of Eco-
nomic Crustaceans, Worms, Eohinoderms, and Sponges.) By Richard Rathbun. Pp. [3]-[20.] Crabs, p. [3]:
Lobsters, p. [6] : Crayfish, p. [10] : Shrimp and Prawns, p. [11]: Sponges, p. [18], etc.
X PREFATORY NOTE.
(16.) Introduction to Section D., U. S. Catalogue Int. Fisheries Exhibition. (Catalogue of the Eoonomio MoUnsoa
and the apparatus and appliances used in their capture and preparation for market, exhibited by the IT. S.
National Museum.) By Lieut. Francis Wiuslovv, U. S. N., pp. [3] to [58]. Aggregate table of production,
p. [3] : Special tables and statistical statements throughout.
(17. ) Introduction to Section E., U. S. Catalogue Int. Fisheries Exhibition. (The Whale Fishery and its Appliances. )
By James Temple Brown, pp. [3]-[25.]
(IS.) Statistics of the Whale Fishery. By A. Howard Clark, in the preceding, pp. [26]-[29.]
(19. ) A Eeview of the Fishery Industries of the United States, etc. By G. Brown Goode. An address at a conference
of the International Fisheries Exhibition, June 25, 1883. 8vo., pp. 84. Numerous statistical statements,
summaries, and tables.
(20.) Administrative report. — Method and results of an effort to collect statistics of the fish trade, and consump-
tion of fish throughout the United States. By Chas. W. Smiley. Bulletin U. S. Fish Commission, vol. ii,
1882, pp. 247-52.
Two special reports have also been published, as follows :
(21.) A Monograph of the Seal Islands of Alaska. By Henry W. Elliott. 4to., illustrated. Pp.172. An edition of this
report with substitutions on pp. 102-9 was also issued as a Special Bulletin of the Fish Commission, No. 176.
(22.) The Oyster Industry. By Ernest Ingersoll. 4to., illustrated. Pp. 252.
The general results of the investigation, from the statistician's stand-point, may be briefly
summarized as foUows : -
In 1880 the number of persons employed in the fishery industries of the United States was
131,426, of whom 101,684 were fishermen, and the remainder shoresmen. The fishing fleet con-
sisted of 6,605 vessels (with a tonnage of 208,297.83) and 44,804 boats, and the total amount of
capital invested was $37,955,349, distributed as follows: Vessels, $9,357,282; boats, $2,465,393;
minor apparatus and outfits, $8,145,261; other capital, including shore property, $17,987,413.
The value of the fisheries of the sea, the great rivers, and the Great Lakes, was placed at
$43,046,053, and that of those in minor inland waters at $ 1,500,()00— in all $44,546,053. These values
-were estimatedupon the basis of the prices of the products received by the producers, and if average
wholesale prices had been considered, the value would have been much greater. In 1882 the yield
of the fisheries was much greater than in 1880, and prices both "at first hand " and at wholesale
were higher,so that a fair estimate at wholesale market rates would place their value at the
present time rather above than below the sum of $100,000,000.
The fisheries of the New England States are the most important. They engage 37,043 men
2,066 vessels, 14,787 boats, and yield products to the value of $14,270,393. In this district the
principal fishing ports in order of importance are : Gloucester, New Bedford, the center of the
whale fishery, Eastport, Boston, Provincetowu, and Portland.
Next to New England in importance are the South Atlantic States, employing 52,418 men, 3,014
vessels (the majority of which are small, and engaged in the shore and bay fisheries), 13,331 boats
and returning products to the value of $9,602,737.
Next are the Middle States, employing in the coast fisheries 14,981 men, 1,210 vessels, 8,293
boats, with products to the amount of $8,676,579.
Next are the Pacific States and Territories with 16,803 men, 56 vessels, 5,547 boats, and products
to the amount of $7,484,750. The fisheries of the Great Lakes employ 5,050 men, 62 vessels, and
1,594 boats, with products to the amount of $1,784,050. The Gulf States employ 5,131 men, 197
vessels, and 1,252 boats, yielding products to the value o!' $545,584.
SPENCER F. BAIRD,
Commissioner of Fislieriea.
WASHINGTON, Mo/y 30, 1884.
LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL.
United States Nationai> MtrsEUM,
Washington, July 18, 1882.
Snt : I have the honor to transmit herewith, for approval and for publication, Section I of
a general work upon The Fishkeies and Fishery Industries of the United States,
consisting of an illustrated history of the useful aquatic animals of the United States. This
work is intended especially for the use of the reading public, and technical zoological discussions
and descriptions have therefore been intentionally avoided.
I desire, in this place, to express my high appreciation of the manner in which the gentlemen
associated with me in the preparation of this work have performed the tasks which they had
undertaken, their work having been in large degree voluntary and unremunerated.
I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
* G. BEOWN GOODK.
Professor Spencer P. Baird,
United States Commissioner of Fish and Fisheries.
TABLE OF CONTEISTTS
Part I.— MAMMALS.
Pasc-
A.— THE WHALES AND PORPOISES. By G. Beown Goodb.
1. The Sperm Whale 7
2. The Blackfishes or Pilot Whales 11
3. The Grampuses or Cowflshes.l 13
4. The Harbor Porpoises or Herring Hogs 14
5. The Dolphins 16
6. The Killer Whales or Oroas 17
7. The Sperm Whale Porpoise 18
• 8. The White Whale or Beluga 18
9. The Narwhal '. 19
10. The Greenland, Bowhead, or Polar Whale 20
11. The Eight Whales 24
12. The Humpback Whales , 26
13. The Sulphur Bottom Whales 27
14. The Finback Whales 28
15. The Scrag Whales 30
16. The California Gray Whales 31
B.— THE SEALS AND WALRUSES. By Joel A. Allen.
17. The Seal tribe in general 33
18. The Walruses 34
19. The Sea Lions ai: ". Fur Seals in general 37
20. The Sea Lion 38
21. The California Sea Lion 44
32. The Fur-Seal 49
23. The Harbor Seal 55
24. The Harp Seal 62
25. The Ringed Seal , 65
26. The Ribbon Seal 67
27. The West Indian Seal 67
28. The Hooded Seal 68
29. The California Sea Elephant 72
G.— THE HABITS OP THE FUE-SEAL. By Henby W. Elliott.
30. A life history of the Fur-Seal 75 '
D.— THE MANATEES AND THE AEOTIG SEA-COW. By Feedeeiok W. Teue.
31. The Manatees 114
32. The Arctic Sea-Cow 138
ziil
XIV TABLE OP CONTENTS.
Part II.— REPTILES AND BATRACHIANS.
By Pbedeeiok W. True.
Faga
B.— THE ALLIGATOR AND THE OEOCODILE:
33. The Alligator and the Crocodile 141
F.— TOETOISES, TURTLES, AND TERRAPINS:
34. The Marine Turtles in general 147
35. The Loggerhead Turtle 147
36. The Hawk's-biU Turtles 149
37. The Green Turtles 150
38. The Soft-shelled tortoises 152
39. The Snapping Turtles 153
40. The Musk Tortoises 154
41. The Fresh-water Terrapins 155
42. The Diamond-hack or Salt-water Terrapin 156
43. The Pond Tortoises , 157
44. The Box Tortoises 158
G.— THE AMPHIBIANS:
45. The Bull-frog 159
Part III.— FISHES.
By G. Beown Goode.
WITH DISCUSSIONS OF THE PACIFIC SPECIES BY DAVID 8. JORDAN AND TARLBTON H. BEAN, NOTES ON THE FISHES
OF THE GULF OF MEXICO BT SILAS STEARNS, AND CONTRIBUTIONS FROM JOSEPH W. COLLINS, N. B. ATWOOD,
MARSHALL MACDONALD, R. EDWARD EARLL, LUDWIG KUMLIBN, AND OTHER AUTHORITIES.
H.— THE FILE PISHES, PIPE PISHES, AND ANGLERS:
46. The Ocean Sun Fishes (OrthagorisoidOB) 169
47. The Porcupine Fishes (Diodontidai) 170
48. The Bellows-Fish Family {Tetrodontida) 170
49. The Trunk Fishes (OstradontidcB) 170
50. The File-Fish Family {Balistida) 171
51. The Sea-Horse Family {Hippocampida) 172
52. The Pipe- Fish Family {Syngnathida) 172
53. The Devil Fishes {Antennariidcs and Maltheidce) 173
54. The Goose Fish (Zophius piseatorius) 173
I.— THE FLAT FISHES AND FLOUNDERS:
55. The American Soles (Soleida) 175
56. The Plaice (Paraliolithys dentatus) ,. 17g
57. The Bastard Halibut (PoroZie/iJfti/s mamiloaus) Ig2
58. The Flat Fish or Winter Flounder ( Pseudopleuronectes americanm) 182
59. The Flat Fishes and Soles of the Pacific Coast 184
60. The Halibut (Hippogloasua vulgaris) ; Igo
61. The Sand Dab or EoughDab {Hippoglossoides plateasoidea) 197
62. The Greenland Turbot ( Platysomatichthys hippoglosaoides) 197
63. The Pole Flounder or Craig Flounder ( Glyptoeephalua cynogloeaua) 198
64. The Spotted Sand Flounder (Lophopsetta maeulata) I99
TABLE OF CONTENTS. XV
J.— THE COD FAMILY AND ITS KINDRED : ^*^^
65. The Cod (.Gadmmorrhua) 200
66. The Tom Cods {Microgadus tomeod and if. proximus) 223
67. The Haddock {Melanogrammus wglefinus) 223
68. The Pollock (Pollachius carionarius) 228
69. The CaekXBrosmiua broame) 233
70. The Hakes {Phyeis ehusa, etc.) 234
71. The Burbot (Lota mamloaa). By Taeleton H. Bean 235
72. The Silver Hake and the Merlnccio 240
73. Several Families related to the Gadidse 243
74. The Lant, or Sand Eel {Ammodytea Iwnceolatua) 244
K.— WOLF-FISHES, SCULPINS, AND WRASSES:
75. The Lyoodes Family (Lycodidce) 247
76. The Wolf-Fishes or Sea Catfishos {AnmrMchadidcB) 248
77. The Blenny Family {BlennUdw) 250
78. The Toad-Fish (Batrachua tau) 251
79. The Lump-Suckers : Lump-fish and Sea-Snails 253
80. The Gobies (GoWidte) .' 255
81. The Sea-Robin or Gurnard Family (Tnglidce) 255
82. The Sculpin Tribe (CoHmJos) 258
83. The Eose-Fish or Eed Perch {Sebaatea mannua) 260
84. The Eock Cods of the Paciflc. By David S. Jordan 262
85.'TheEockTrout8(CfemScE). By David S. Jordan 267
86. The Tautog or Black Fish {Tautoga onitia) 268
87. The Chogsefc or Cunner (Ctenolabrus adaperaua) 273
88. The Parrot Fishes and some of their Allies 274
89. The Demoiselle and the Cichlid Families 275
90. The Surf-Fish Family (SmMotocMiB). By David S. Jordan 276
91. The Moharra Family fGemiZffi) 279
92. The Thread-Fish Family (Polynemidoe) 279
93. The Surgeon-Fish Family ^AcanihwidcB) ■- 279
94. The Angel-Fish Family (Ch(etodontid(B) 280
L.— THE MACKEREL AND ITS ALLIES:
95. The Mackerel {Scomber aoombrua) 281
96. The Chub Mackerel {Scomber ooliaa) : 303
97. The Frigate Mackerel {Auxia thazard) 305
98. The Spanish Mackerel and its Allies ;W7
99. The Bonito {Sarda mediterranea) 316
100. The Horse Mackerel, Tunny, or Albicore {Oreynua thynnua) 320
101. The Little Tunny or Albicore {Oreynua alliteratua) 322
102. The Silver Moon-Fishes 322
103. The Cavally, the Scad, and the Jurels 323
104. The Pompanos (Trachynotiia carolinua, etc.) 326
105. The Pilot Fish (.?/a«cro«e8 d«ctor) 330
106. The Amber Fishes and the Leather Jackets 331
"* 107. The Dolphins (Corj/jjAcBmidcB) 332
108. The Eudder-Fish Family (Slromateidw) 332
109. The Dory, Hen-Fish, and Opah Families 335
110. The Cutlass Fish {Trichiurua lepturus) 335
111. The Sword Fish Family {XipMidw) 336
XVI TABLE OF CONTENTS.
Page.
M.— THE TILB-FISH FAMILY AND OTHEES:
lia. The Tile-Fish PamUy (Xa««id<8) 360
113. The Red MuUet Family (JfjtHMfB) 361
114. The Icosteus Family {Icoetddai) 361
115. The Beryx famil (Serj^eida) 361
N.— THE DEtTM FAMILY:
116. The Sc^ueteague {Cynoscioa regale)'. 36'2
117. The Spotted Sc^ueteague {Cynoscion maculatum) 365
118. The Silver Sqaeteague (CynosciOB noiAam) 367
119. The Drum {Pogonias chromis) 367
120. The Fresh Water Drum (Raploidonolus grunniem). By David S. Jordan 370
121. The Spot, or Lafayette. (Ldostomus xanllmru8) 370
122. The Eed Fish, or Bass of the South {Sdwna ocellata) 371
123. The Yellow Tail (Baij-dieHa chrysura) 375
124. The King Fish (_Mentioirru8 neiulosua) 375
125. The Whitings (Jfeniieirrtts alburnua and M.UUoralia) 376
126. The Croaker {Micropogon undulatns) ; 37B
127. The Corvinas and Roncadors of the Pacific coast. By David S. Jordan 378
O.— SHEEPSHEAD, BASS, BEEAM, PEEOH, ETC:
188. The Sheepshead {Diplodus proiatocephalus) 381
129. The Soup or Scuppaug (Stenotomus chrysops and S. aculeatus, = S. Gardeni of text) 386
130. The Sailors' Choice (£a(?o<Jo» rhomboides) 393
131. Certain Minor Sparoids 394
132. The Red and Gray Snappers 395
133. The Grunts or Pig Fishes 397
■ 134. The Big-Mouth Black Bass (Micropterus salmoidea), and the Small-Mouth Black Bass {M. Dolomici) 401
135. The Sun-Fishes aud their Allies. By David S. Jordan 404
136. The Sea Bass (;5icrra»M« atrarius) 407
137. The Groupers 410
138. The Serranoid Fishes of the Pacific coast. By David S. Jordan 413
139. The Yellow Perch {Perca americana) 414
140. The Log Perch (Percina eaprodes). By David S. Jordan 417
141. The Pike Perches .' 417
142. The Striped Bass (Uoecjts Uneatus) 425
143. The White Bass (Boccus ohrysops) , 483
144. The Yellow Bass {Boccus interruptus) 431
143. The White Perch (Boccms americanua) 431
146. The Bhieflsh Family {Pomatomidw) 433
147. The Cohia or Crab-Eater {Elacate Canada) 444
148. The Triple Tail or Black Perch (io6o«e« sitmameiisig) 444
149. The Moon Fish (Chcetodiptertis faler) 445
150. The Eemora Fa^mi\y (Meheneidice) , 446
P.— BAERACOUTA, MULLET, PIKE, AND MUMMICHOGS:
151. The Barracouta Family {SphyrcenidcB) 448
152. The Deal-Pish Family {Trachypterida) ^ 449
153. The Mullets {Miigil albula a,nA. M. 'braailieneig) 449
154. The Sand Smelts or Silver Sides {AtlimnHoe) ; 456
155. The Stickleback Family {Gaatirosteidce) ,457
156. The Silver Gar-fishes (Belonidm) 458
157. The Flying-fish Family {Scomberesooidw) 459
168. The Pike Family (Esocidw) 461
159. The Mummichog Family (Cyprimodontida) 466
TABLE OP CONTENTS. XVlI
Page.
Q.— THE SALMON TEIBE:
160. The Salmon {Salmo mlar) ^ 468
161. The Salmons of the Pacific. By David S. Jordan 474
162. The Qiiinnat or California Salmon (OKeor%»cA«8 oftottiefto). By Livingston Stone 479
163. The Namayoush or Lake TtovA {Salvelinus Tw/mayeush) 485
164. The Speckled Trout {Salvelinus fontinalis) 497
165. The SaibUng or Bavarian Char (Salvelinus alpintts) 500
166. The Dolly Varden Trout (Salvelmus malma). (By David S. Jordan 504
167. The Grayling (Thymallus tricolor) 505
168. The Lake White-fish ( Coregonus elupdformia). By E. I. Gearb 507
109. The Lesser White-fishes. By David S. Jordan 541
170. The Smelt Group , 543
171. Families related to the Salmonidss 547
R.— THE HEEEINGS AND THE MENHADENS :
172. The Herring {Clupea harengua) 549
173. The Herrings of the Pacific Coast. By David S. Jordan 568
174. The Menhaden (Brevoortia tyrannua) 569
175. The Gulf Menhaden (Brevoortia patronus) 575
S.— THE SHAD AND THE ALEWIVES. By Marshall MacDonald.
176. The Kiver Herrings or Alewives ( Clupea wstivalia C. and vemalis) 570
' 177. On the occurrence of the Branch' Alewife in certain Lakes of New York. By Tabi.bton H. Bean. . 588
178. The Inland Alewife or Skipjack (Clupea chryaoehlorU) 594
179. The Shad ( Clupea eapidisaima) 594
180.' The Hickpry Shad or Mattowacca (Clupea medioeria) 607
T.— FAMILIES BELATED TO THE CLUPEID^ :
181. The Mnd Shad (Doroaoma eepedianwm) 610
182. The Tarpum {Megalopa thriaaoidea) 610
183. The Big-eyed Herring ,..: 611
184. The Ajich.ayies{Engraulidos) 611
185. The Lady-fisK Family (^!6ttZid(B) 612
186. The Moon-eye Family (Hyodontidce) 612
'U.— OAEP, SUCKERS, CATFISH, AND EELS:
187. The Sucker Family (Cotostomidee). By David S. Jordan 614
188. The Carp Family (C^jjrinido!). By David S. Jordan 616
189. The Carp (Cyprinus ea/rpio). By Ktjdolph Hbsskl 618
189. The Catfish Family (SWari^tB). By David S. Jordan 627
190. The Morays {Murwnidce) 629
191. The Eel (Anguilla milgaria) 630
192. The Conger Eel (L^tocephalus conger). r. ^ 656
¥.— STURGEONS, SKATES, SHARKS, AND LAMPREYS:
193. The Bowfins (^mii<i(B) *. 659
194. The Paddle-fishes (Polyodonmce) 660
195. The Sturgeons (Aeipenseridw) i .' 660
196. The Chimsera Family {Chim<Brid(B) 663
197. The Gar Pikes (Lepidosteidce) 663
198. The Torpedoes and Skates (iJaiee) 665
199. The Saw-fish {Pristia pectinatua) 668
200. The Sharks (SgittiK) 668
20L Thp Sharks of the Pacific Coast. By David S. Jordan 675
202. The Lampreys (Petromyzontidce) 677
203. The Hag Fishes (Myxinidce) 681
■S04. The Lancelots iBrancMostomidw) 682
Xviii TABLE OP CONTENTS.
Part IV.— MOLLUSKS.
Page.
W.— MOLLUSKS IN GENEEAL. By Eenest Ingbesoll.
205. The Cuttles: Cephalopoda 687
206. The Sea-snails: Gasteropoda 693
207. The Wing-shells : Pteropoda 702
208. The Tusk-shells: Solenoconcha 703
209. The Bivalves: Lamellibranchiata 703
X.— THE LIFE HISTOEY OF THE OYSTEE. By John A. Eydee.
210. Outline Sketch of the Coarser Anatomy of the Oyster 711
211. Tha Minute Anatomy of the Oyster 715
212. Sex of the American and European Oysters 719
213. New Methods of Distinguishing the Sexes and of Taking the Eggs of the Oyster 722
214. Eate of Growth of Ostrea virginica :
215. The Food of the Oysters 729
216. The Cause of the Green Color of Oysters .' 735
217. Local Variations in the Form and Habits of the Oyster 742
218. The Oyster Crab' as a Mess-mate and Purveyor 744
219. Physical and Vital Agencies Destructive to Oysters 746
220. Natural and Artificial Oyster Banks 750
Part V.— CRUST A.CEANS, WORMS, RADIATES, AND SPONGES.
By Eiohabd Eathbun.
Y.— CEQSTAOEANS :
221. The Crabs 763
222. The Common Edible or Blue Crab 775
223. The Lobsters 780
224. The, American Lobster 781
225. The Cray Fishes, Astacns and Cambarus 812
226. The Shrimps and Prawns '. 816
227. The Mantis Shrimps : Squillidss 823
228. TheAmphipods '. 824
229. Thelsopods 826
230. The Entomostracans 1... 827
231. The Cirripedia 828
232. TheXiphosura 829
Z.— WOEMS:
233. The Annelids 831
234. The Leeches 833
ZA.— THE EADIATES:
235. The Echinoderma ■ 838
236. The Coelenterates 841
ZB.— THE POEIFEES:
237. The Sponges 843
238. The Genus Spongia, and the American Commercial Sponges 846
239. Injurious Sponges 850
LIST OF PLATES.
(Engraved by the Photo-Engraving Company of New York City.)
[The plates are honnd together In the accompanying volume. The flgnres at the right refer to the pages of the text npon which
the species illnstrated are described.]
Page.
1. The Sperm Whale, Physeter viacrocejjlwlus L 7
Outline from Scammon's Marine Mammals of the Northwest Coast, plate xiv.
2. The Pygmy Sperm Whale, Kogia Goodd True 11
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 13738, TJ. S. National Museum. Stranded at Spring Lake, New Jersey, April 27, 1883.
The Blackfish, Globiocephalus melas (Traill) '. 11
Prom Transactions of the Zoological Society of London, vol. 8, plate 30.
3. The capture of a school of Blackli.sh iu Cape Cod 12
Drawing by Henry W. Elliott, from a sketch by John S. Ryder.
4. The Cowfish or Grampus, Grampus griaeus (Less.) Gray 13
Outline by Henry W. Elliott, from cast No. 12839, V. S. National Museum.
The Harbor Porpoise, or ' ' Herriris Hog," Phoccena brachycion Cope ■ 14
Outline by Heniy W. Elliott, from photograph by IT. S. Fish Commission.
6. The Skunk Porx)oise or Bay Porpoise, Lagenorhynchus gubemator Cope (= L. perspicillatus Cope) 16
Outline from plate iv, Proceedings Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, 1876.
The High-finned Killer, Orca rectipinnis Cope 17
Outline from Scammon's Marine Mammals of the Northwest Coast.
The Sperm Whale Porpoise, ffyperaodon bidens Owen 18
Sketch by James Henry Blake, 1869, from specimen stranded at North Dennis.
6. The White Whale, or Beluga, DelpMnapterus calodon (L.) Gill 18
Outliue by Henry W. Elliott, from cast No. 12490, TJ. S. National Museum, obtained near Quebec, 1875. »
The Narwhal, Monodon movoceros L ■ 19
Sketch by Henry W. Elliott, adapted from Vogtand Specht's "Saugethiere," p. 236.
7. The Bowhead or Arctic Whale, Balwna mysticetiis L 20
Outline from Scammon's Marine Mammals, plate xL
The Eight Whale of the Pacific, BalCBnajaponicaGTay. (Eubalima cullamach) 24
Outline from Scammon's Marine Mammals, plate xii. ^
8. Diagrams illustrating the use of the whalebone plates in the mouth of the Bowhead Whale 22
From sketches by Captain David Grey in Land and Water, December 1, 1877.
(Upper.) The Bowhead with its mouth open.
(Lower.) The Bowhead with its mouth shut.
9. The Humpback of the Pacific, Megaptera versaUlis Cope 26
Outline from Scammon's Marine Mammals, plate vii. •
The Sulphur Bottom of the Pacific, Sibbaldius sul/ureus Cope '. 27
Outline from Scammon's Marine Mammals, plate xiii.
10. Cutting in a Humpbnck Whale at Provincetown, Massachusetts 28
From a sketch by John S. Eyder.
11. The Finback of the Pacific, Balcenoptera velifera Cope... 28
Outline from Scammon's Marine Mammals, plate ii. '
The California Gray Whale or Devil-fish, Bhaohianeetes glaucus Cope 31
Outline from Scammon's Marine Mammals, plate il ^
12. The Pacific Walrus, Odobmnus obesua (lUiger) Allen 34
Sketch by Henry W. Elliott, Walrus Island, Alaska, July 5, 1872.
,13. Steller's Sea Lion, Eumetopias Stelleri (Less.) Peters 38
Sketch from life by Henry W. Elliott.
14. The California Sea Lion, Zalophus eali/ornianus (Le8s.)Allen 44
Sketch from life by Henry W. Elliott.
16. The Harbor Seal, Phoca viiuHna L '. -. 56
Sketch from life by Henry W. Elliott, Alaska, 1872.
six
XX LIST OF PLATES.
Page.
16. The Harp Seal, Phoca grxnlandica Fabrioins 62
Sketch by Henry "W. Elliott, from specimeus in the U. S. National Musenm, Koa. 13741, 13748, 13938, and 13939 obtained
on the noi'th shore of the G-nlf of Saint Lawrence by Dr. 0. Hart Meiriam.
17. The Ringed Seal, Phoca fcelida Fabricius , 65
Sketch by Henry W. Elliott, adapted from igure in Allen's North American Pinnipeds, p. 601.
18. The Eibbon Seal (Male and Female) Histriophoca fasciata (Zirauiermann) Gill 67
Drawing by Henry W. Elliott, from specimens in U. S. National Musenm, No. 13284, obtained at Plover Bay. East
Siberia, August 12. 1880, by W. H. Dall, and No. 13285, obtained from Bering Sea. 1880, by Captain H. E. 'WiUiams.
19. The West Indian Seal, Monachus tropicalis Gray 68
Drawing by Henry W. Elliott, from specimen in TJ. S. National Museum. No. 13950, obtained by Professor Felippe Poey
at Matanzas, Cuba. ,
20 The Hooded Seal (adult and j'oung) Cystophpra crisiaSa (Erxl.) Nilss 68
Sketch by Henry W. Elliott, from specimens in U. S. National Museum, No8.13742 and 13753, collected by Dr. C. Hart
Merriam, off Labrador, 1883.
21. The Gray Seal, Haliehcerus grypus (Fabricius) Nilss 70
Sketch by Henry W. Elliott, from specimen in XT. S. National Musenm, No. 5851, collected at Sable Island, Nova Scotia,
1862.
22. The Square Flipper Seal, Engnathua harbaius (Fabricius) Gill 70
Sketch by Henry W. Elliott, from specimen in TI. S. National Musenm, No. 13755, collected by Dr. C. Hart Merriam, off
Battle Harbor, Gulf of Saint Lawrence, 1883.
23. The Sea Elephant, Maerorhinus angustirosti-ia Gill 72
Drawing by Henry W. Elliott, from specimen in U. S. National Museum, from Santa Barbara Island, California.
24. Map of the world on Mercator's Projection, showing the geographical distribution of the Species of the Hair
"> Seal Family. Prepared by J. A.Allen 33
25. Map of the world on Mercator's Projection, showing the geographical distribution of the Walruses, Fur
Seals, Sea Lions, and Sea Elephants, prepared for the illustration of the chapter by J. A. Allen. Prepared
by J. A. Allen 33
26. The countenance of Callorhinus 75
A life stud.y of an adult male fur-seal. (Full face of old male, profile and under Tiew of female heads.) Drawing by
Henry W. Elliott, North Bookery, Pribylov Group, July 5, 1873.
27. The Fur-Seal, Callorhinus ursinus , 88
A series of life studies by Henry W. Elliott, Pribylov Islands, 1873-1876.
A.— Old "Seecatch " or male, eight to twenty-four years.
B. — ^Toung " Seecatch," six to eight years.
C. — "HoUuschickie," or young males, two years.
D. — "Matkah" or mothernursing her "Pup,"I.
E'. — "Cow" fanning herself.
F. — ''Cow" sleeping.
G. — " Cow " napping and fanning herself.
H. — "Cow " crooning to the male.
J. — Characteristic position of old males.
28. Sundry Seal Sketches on the Pribylov Islands 96
From the portfolio of Henry W. Elliott, 1872-1876.
29. Hauling and Breeding Grounds of the Fur-Seal 99
Sketched from nature on the North Rookery, Saint George's Island, Pribylov Group, by Henry W. Elliott, July, 1874.
30. The north shore of Saint Paul's Island, Pribylov Group 99
Sketched from the summit of Hutchinson's Hill, by Henry W. Elliott, looking over a wing of the great Norastoshoah
Eookery, July, 1872.
31. Pelagic attitudes of the Fur-Seal 101
Sketched from life b.y Henry W. Elliott, Saint Paul's Island, 1872. Tillage of Saint Paul in distance. Black bluf& to the ■
Tight on middle ground.
1. Position while sleeping.
2. Position when rising to breathe, survey, etc.
3. Position when scratching.
4. "Dolphin jumps."
32. Fur-Seals Sporting around the " bidarrah" 102
Sketched from life by Henry W. Elliott in Zoltoi, Saint Paul's Island, 1872. A view of the Eeef Point and Gorbatcb
, Rookery on the horizon.
33. The Manatee, Tricheehus manatus L 114
Sketch by Henry W. Elliott, from plate in Transactions, Zoological Society of London.
.•34. Manatees swimming ' 114 ■
Sketch by Henry W. Elliott, from plate in Transactions, Zoological Society of London.
35. The Sunfish, Mola rotunda Ouvier 170
From wash-drawing by H. L. Todd, from a cast,
.36. The Swell-iish or Burr- fish, Cliilomycterus geometrious (Schneider) Kaup 170
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 14825, TJ. S. National Musenm, collected at Noank, Connecticut, 1874, by U. S. Fish
Commission.
LIST OP PLATES. XXi
Page—
The Rabbit-fish, Lagocephalus IcBvigatus (L.) Gill 170
Drawing by H. L. Todd 'from No. 207S7, XT. S. National Mnsenm, collected at Newport, Bbode Island, by Hon. Samnel
Powel.
37. The Trunk-fish or Cow-fish, Ostradon quadrioornia L 170
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 21548, U. S. National Museum, collected at Charleston, South Carolina, July, 1878, by
0. C. Leslie.
38. The Trigger-fish, Balisies eapriacus Gmelin 172
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 16233, U. S. National Museum, collected at New York by Mr. Sutherland.
39. The Sea Horse, Bippocarrqyus hepiagonva Eaf 172
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 3451, IT. S. National Museum, collected at Old Point Comfort, Virginia, by Commodore
Farragut, U. S. N.
40. The Goose-fish or Bellows-fish, Lophiua piscatorius L „ 174
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from specimen collected in Vineyard Sound, Massachusetts, by the TJ. S. Fish Commission.
41. The American Sole or " Hog Choker," Adhirua lineatua (L ) Cuv 176
Drawing hy H. L. Todd, from No. 12985, IT. S. National Museum, collected at "Wood's Holl, Massachusetts, July 14, 1871,
by Vinal N. Edwards.
(Tipper.) Showing upper side of fish.
(Lower.) Showing under side of fish.
42. The American Plaice or Turbot Flounder, Paralichthya dentatua (L. )J. &G 178
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 21279, IT. S. National Musenm, collected at Arlington, Saint John's Elver, Florida,
1878, by G. Brown Goode.
43. The Four-spotted ilounder, Paralichthya oblongua Q&itah..) J. &G 181
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 10730, U. S. National Museum, collected at "W"ood^s Holl, Massachusetts, by Professor
S. P. Baird.
44. The Flatflph oi Wintev FloundeT, Paeudopleuronectes ama-icanaa (Walb.) Gill 182
Drawing by H. L. Todd.
45. The Smooth Flounder, Pletironeatea glaber (Storer) Gill 183
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 5368, TJ. S. National Museum, collected at Salem, Massachusetts, by C. Putnam. ,
46. The Starry Flounder, P/etfroncc(es atellatua Pallas..- , 184
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 24164, TJ. S. National Museum, collected at San Francisco, California, January 1880, t
by Professor D. S.. Jordan.
47. The Arctic Flounder, Pleuronectea glacialia Pallas 184
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 27947, TJ. S. National Maseum, collected at Kotzebue Sound, September 2, 1880, by Dall
and Bean.
48. The Rough Limanda, Limanda aspera (Pallas) Beau * 184
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 27944, TJ. S. National Musenm, collected at Sitka, Alaska, 1880, by Dr. T. H. Bean.
49. The Rusty Dab, Limanda ferruginea (Storer) Goode & Bean 184
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 21020, TJ. S. National Museum, collected at Halifax, Nova Scotia, September 4, 1877,
by XT. S. Fish Commission.
50. The California "Sole," Lepidopaetta Mli'neata (Ayres) Gill 185
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 27602, TJ. S. National Museum, collected at Saint Paul's, Xodiak Island, Alaska^ 1880,
by Dr. T. H. Bean.
51. The San Francisco " Sole,'' Pse*{JcW%g melanoatictua Girard ; 186
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 24167, TJ. S. National Museum, collected at San Francisco, California, January, 1880,
by Professor D. S. Jordan.
52. The Alaska Sand Dab, Hippogloasoidea elaaaodon J. & G 188
Drawing hy H. L. Todd, from No. 27938, H. S. National Museum, collected at Humboldt Harbor, Shumagins, Alaska,
July 19, 1880, by Dr. T. H. Bean.
53. The Atherestes Flounder, Athereathea atomiaa J. & G 188
Drawing hy H. L. Todd, from No. 27186, TJ. S. National Musenm, collected at Point Eeyes, California, 1880, by Jordan
and Gilbert.
54. The Halibut, Sippogloaaua vulgaris Fleming 190
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 1 0439, TJ. S. National Museum, collected at Eastport, Maine, 1872, by TJ. S. Fish Commis-
sion.
55. The Sand Dab, Hippogloaaoides plateaaoidea (Fab.) Gill 197
Drawing by H. L. Todd, jfrom No. 21002, TJ. S. National Musenm, collected at Le Have Bank, August 21, 1877, by TJ. S.
Fish Commission.
56. The Greenland Turbot, Plalyaomatichthya hippoglosaoidea (Walb. ) Goode & Bean 198
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from a specimen obtained in Fnlton Market, New York.
57. The Pole Flounder, Glyptocephalus cynoglossua (L.) Gill 198
Drawing by H. L. Todd.
58. The Codfish, Gadua morrhua L 200
Drawing hy H. L. Todd, from No. 10444, TJ. S. National Musenm, collected at Eastport, Maine, 1872, by TJ. S. Fish Com-
mission.
The Atlantic Tom Cod, Microgadua tomeod (Walb.) Gill 223
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 17733, TJ. S. National Museum, collected at Wood's Holl, Massachusetts, December 23.
1875. by Vinal N. Edwards.
XXU LIST OF PLATES.
Page.
59. The Haddock, Melcmogrammui ceglefinua L. Gill <J23
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 10440, IT. S. National Musetim, collected at Eastport,' Maine, 1872, by TJ. S. Fish Com-
mission.
The Saida Cod, Boreogadus aaida (Lepechin) Bean
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 21746, IT. S. National Mnseum, collected at Annanactook Harbor, Cumberland Gulf,
October 19, 1877, by Ludwig Kumlien.
60. The Pollock, PoUaehius carbonarim (L.) Gill 228
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 10443, U. S. National Museum, collected at Eastport, Maine, 1872, by Professor S. P.
Baird.
The Alaska Pollock, PoUaehius chaloogrammus (PallaB) 232
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 27637, IT. S. National Museum, collected at Pirate CoTe, Sbnmagin Islands, Alaska,
1880, by William H. DalL
61. The CMsk., BroBmiua irosme (MUUer) White 233
Drawing by H. I/. Todd, from No. 2D967, IT. S. National Museum, collected at Boston Market, January 11, 1882, by W. A.
Wilcox.
The Bnrbot or " Freshwater Cusk,'' Lota maculosa (Le Sueur) C. and O 235
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 10553, IT. S. National Museum, collected at Ecorse, Micbigan, by J. W. Milner.
62. The Common Hake, PAj/cis chuss (Walb.) Gill 234
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 28707, IT. S. National Museum, cuUeoted at Martha's Vineyard, July 16, 1881, by U. S.
Pish Commission.
The Squirrel or White Hake, Phycis tenuis (Mitohill) De Kay 234
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 21029, U. S. National Museum, collected in Halifax Harbor, November 30, 1877, by IT. S.
Fish Commission.
63. The King Hake, Phycis regius (Walb.) Gill ,. j.. 234
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 20923, IT. S. National Museum, collected at New York Aquarium, 1878, by E. G. Black-
ford.
Earl's Hake, Phyds Earllii Bean , 234
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 25207, IT. S. National Museum, collected at Charleston, South Carolina, March 25, 1880,
by E. E. EarU.
64. Chester's Hake, Phycis Ghesteri Goode & Bean 234
Drawn by H. L. Todd from
The Blue Hake, Haloporphyrus viola Goode & Beau :
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 21837, IT. S. National Museum, collected on Le Have Bank, August 26, 1878, by Captain
J. W. Collins, schooner Marion.
65. The Merluccio, Merlucius produetus (Ayres) Gill -. 243
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 26638, U. S. National Mnseum, collected at Seattle, Washington Territory, 1880, by
Colonel F. W. Prosser.
The Silver Hake or New England Whiting, Merliwiusiilinearis (Mitch.) Gill- 240
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 21016, IT. S. National Museum, collected at Halifax, Nova Scotia, September 8, 1877,
by the IT. S. Fish Commission.
66. The Sand Cusk, Ophidium marginatum De Kay 243
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 10762, U. S. National Museum, collected at Tompkinsville, New York, by C. 1. Copley.
The Onion-fish or Grenadier, Macrurus rupestris (Muller) Bloch 244
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 15608, IT. S. National Museum, coUectedat Saint George's Bank, October 27, 1875. Pre-
sented by E. G. Blackford.
The Lant or Sand Eel, Ammodytes americanus De Kay 244
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 16500, U. S. National Museum, collected at Nantucket, Massachusetts, August 12, by
XT. S. Fish Commission.
67. The Mutton-fish, Zoarces anguillaris (Peck) Storer _.. 347
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 10438, V. S. National Museum, collected at Eastport, Maine, 1872, by IT. S. Fish Com-
mission.
Vahl's Lyoodes, Lyoodes FaftKi Eeinhardt 247
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 21991, IT. S. National Museum, collected on Le Have Bank, by Captain Z. Hawkins,
schooner Gwendolen.
68. The Common Cattish or Wolf-fish, Anarrhicas lupus L , 24g
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 21846, U. S. National Museum, collected on George's Bank, September 27, 1878, by Cap-
tain John Gourville.
The Spotted Catfish, Anarrhicas minor Olafsen 1 349
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 21618, TT. S. National Museum, collected at sea November, 1878, by Captain E. H. Hurl-
bert.
i69. The Gulf Toadfish, or " Sapo," Batraclms pdrdus Goode & Beau 251
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 22237, IT. S. National Museum, collected at Pensacola, Florida, 1878, by Silas Steams.
" The Naked Star-gazer," Astroaeopus anoplus (C. & V. ) Brevoort q
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 4622, 0. S. National Museum, collected at Norfolk, Virginia,
70. The Lump-fish, Cyclopterus lumpua L 254
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 14795, U. S. National Mnseum, collected at Eastport, Maine, 1872, by IT. S. Fish Com-
mission.
LIST OF PLATES. XXlll
Page.
71. Tho Sea Hobin or Wingfish, Prionotus palmipes (Mitch.) Storer 256
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 771, IT. S. National MnaeOm, collected at Eeesley's Point, New Jersey, 18S8, by Pro-
fessor S. F. Baird.
The Striped Sea Robin, Prionotm evolans (L.) Gill 256
Drawing by H. Ii. Todd, irom No. 5556, IT. S. National Mnseam, collected at Wood's Holl, Massacbnsetts, by Vinal N.
Edwards.
72. Th^ Northern or European Soulpin, Cottita scorpiua L 258
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 21989, XT. S. National Mnsenm, collected at Cumberland Gulf, September 25, 1877, by
Ludwig Knmlien.
The Common Sculpin, Coitus scorpiiis li., sabspeoiea gromlandicus (C. &V.)Bean 258
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 10441, IT. S. National Museum, collected at Eastport, Haine, 1872, by XT. S. Fisli Com-
mission.
73. The Alaska Sculpin, Coitus polyacanthocephalus Pallas 258
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 23499, JJ. S. National Museum, collected at Unalashka, 1879, by William H. Dall.
The Southern Sculpin, Coitus octodecimspinosus Mitch 258
Drawing by H. L. Todd, &om No. 4552, IT. S. National Museum, collected at Beesley's Point, New Jersey, 1868, by Pro-
fessor S. P. Baird.
74. The Sea Raven, Hemitripterus amerieanus (Gmelin) C . &Y J 258
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 23199, V. S. National Museum, collected at Halifax, Nova Scotia, September 13, 1877,'by
U. S. Fisb Commission.
Jordan's Cabezon, Remilepidotus Jbrdoni Bean 258
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 27598, IT. S. National Museum, collected at Iliulink, Unalashka Island, 1880, by Dr. T.
H. Bean.
75. The Rose-fish or Norway Haddock, Sebastes marinus (L.) Lutken i .. 260
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 10442, U. S. National Museum, collected at Eastport, Maine, 1872, by U. S. Fish Com-
mission. I
76. The Black-banded Rockfish, Sebaatichthys nigrodnctus ( Ayres) Gill 263
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 27285, U. S. National Museum, collected at Pnget Sound, 1880, by Jordan and Gilbert
77. The Tree-fish, Sehastichthys serricepa J. & G 263
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 27041, U. S. National Museum, collected at Monterey, California, 1880, by Jordan and
Gilbert.
78. The Yellow-backed Rockfish, Sebasfichthys maliger J. & G 264
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 27713, TJ. S. National Museum, collected at Sitka, Alaska, June, 2, 1880, by Dr. T. H.
Bean.
79. The Corsair, Sebaatichthys rosaeeus (Grd.) Lock 265
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 26961, U. S. National Museum, collected at Santa Barbara, California, 1880 (!), by Jor-
dan and Gilbert.
80. The Orange Rockfish, Sebastichthys pinniger (Gill. ) Lock ^ 265
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 27488, U. S. National Museum, collected at Neeab Bay, Wyoming Territory, December
1880, by James G. Swan.
81. The Black Rockfish, Sebaatichthys mystinus J. &G 266
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 27031, XJ. S. National Museum, collected at Monterey, California, 1880, by Jordan and
Gilbert.
82. The Spotted Black Rockfish, Sebasiiahthya melanops (Grd. ) J. & G 266
Drawing by H. L.Todd, from No. 27628, U. S. National Museum, collected at Sitka, Alaska, May 28, 1880, by Dr. T. H.
83. The " Black Cod," '' Black Candle-fish," or Beshow, Anoplopoma fimbria (Pallas) Gill ^ , . , 268
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 27745, U. S. National Museum, collected at Sitka, Alaska, December, 1880, by Com-
mander L. A. Beardslee, IT. S. N. »
The "Atka Mackerel " or Yellow-fish, Flewogrammua monopterygiua (Pallas) Gill 268
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 27954, IT. S. National Museum, collected at Ilialiuk, TTnalasbka, 1880, by Dr. T. H.
Bean.
84. Steller's Rock-trout, Bisaco^rammMg asper Steller 268
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 21530, U. S. National Museum, collected at Saint Michael's, Alaska, June, 1875, by
I/. M. Turner.
The Cultns Cod, Ophiodon elongatus Girard ' 367
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 65727, IT. S. National Museum, collected at Sitka, Alaska, June 7, 1880, by Dr. T. H.
Bean.
85. The Tautpg, Tautoga oniiia (L.) Gthr 268
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 17738, IT. S. National Museum, collected at Wood's Holl, Massachusetts, December 13,
1875, by Vinal N. Edwards.
86. The Chogset or Gunner, Ctenolabrua adsperaua (Walb.) Goode ^ 274
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 17741, U. S. National Museum, collected at Wood's Holl, Massachusetts, December H.
1875, by Vinal N. Edwards.
87. The Fat-head or Redflsh, Pimelometoponpulcher (Ayres) Gill. = Trochocopua pulcher 275
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No, 24890, TJ. S. National Museum, collected at San Diego, California, January, 1880, by
Jordan and Gilbert.
XXiv LIST OP PLATES.
88. The Hogfish or Capitaine, Lachnotcemus falcaius (L.) C. & V ^ 275
Drawing by H. L. Todd.
89. Tlie Alfione, Bhacoohilus toxotes Agassiz 277
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 27015, TJ. S. National Mnsenm, collected at Monterey, California, 1880, by Jordan and
Gilbert.
90. The Spanish Pompano, Gerres oKsOiostoma Goode & Bean 279
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 25118, •TT. S. National Museum, collected at Indian River, Florida, March 8, 1880, by
E. E. Earll.
91. The Mackerel, Scomber seomh-usLi 281
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 25256, TJ. S. National Mnsenm, collected at Provincetown, Massachusetts, September,
1879, by TJ. S. Fish Commission.
The Chub Mackerel or " Thimble Eye," Scomber colias De La Eoche 303
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 23480, TT, S. National Mnsenm, collected at Provincetown, Massachusetts, September,
1879, by TT. S. Fish Commission.
92. The Frigate Mackerel, Auxis thazard Lac^pfede 305
Drawing by !&. L. Todd, from No. 25757, TJ. S. National Museum, collected at Newport, Ehode Island August, 1880, by
TT. S. Fish Commission.
The Bonlto, Sarda mediterranea (Schn.) J. & G 316
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 10419, TT. S. National Musehim, collected at Wood's Holl, Massachusetts, 1871, by
TJ. S. Fish Commission.
93. The Spanish Mackerel, Scomberomorus maculatws (Mitch.) J. & G 307
Drawing by H. L. Todd-, from No. 15582, TT. S. National Museum, collected at Fulton Market, New Yort, by B. G. Black-
ford.
94. The Spotted Cero, Scomberomorus regalis (Blooh) J. & G. .* 316
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 12527, TT. S. National Museum, collected at Key West, Florida, by E. G. Blackford
The Cero or Kingfish, Scomberomorus caballa{C. & V.) J. & G 316
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 19418, TT. S. National Museum, collected at Wood's Holl, Massachusetts, 1875, by TT.
S. Fish Commission.
95. The Alalonga or Long-tinned Tunny, Orci/nus alalonga (Gmel.) Riaso 330
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 21884, TT. S. National Museum, collected at Banquereau, September 10, 1878, by Capt-
tain William Thompson, schooner Magic.
The Striped or Oceanic Bonito, Euthynnus pelamys (L.) Ltltlfen 319
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 20762, sent from Museum of Comparative Zoology, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
96. The Horse Mackerel or Tunny, Orcynus thynnus (L. ) Poey 320
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from specimen collected in Vineyard Sound by TJ. S. Fish Commission.
97. The Horsefish or Blunt-nosed Shiner, Selene setipinnis CMitch. ) Lutken 322
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 16252, F. S. National Museum, collected in Fulton Market, New Tort, by E. G.
Blackford.
98. The Silver JVIoonfish or "Look-down,'' Selene argentea Lac^pfede , 323
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 22279, TJ. S. National Mnsenm.
99. TheCavally or CrevaM, Caranx hippos (L.) Gthr 323
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 10431 TT. S. National Museum, collected at Wood's Holl, Massachusetts, 1871, by TT. S.
Fish Commission.
100. The Goggler or "Goggle Eye," Caranx orumenojjhlhalmus (Block) Lao 324
Drawing from H. L. Todd, from No. 20681, TT. S. National Museum, collected at Wood's Holl, Massachusetts, October 3,
1877, by Vinal N. Edwards.
101. The Jurel or Hard Tail, Caranx pisquetus C. & V. =C. chrysos Gthv 324
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 16512, TJ. S. National Museum, collected at Wood's Holl, Massachusetts, by TT. S.
Fisli Commission.
102. The Round Eobin ot Ciga,T-&ah, Decapterus punctatus (Ag.) Gill 325
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 20639, TT. S. National Museum, collected at Wood's Holl, Massachusetts, September 11,
1877, by Vinal N. Edwards.
103. The Scad or Dutch Marsebanker, Trachurus saurus Eaf. 326
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 23421, U- S. National Museum, collected at Newport, Hhode Island, by S. Powell.
104. The Common Pompano, Trachynotus caroUmis (L.) Gill 327
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 15178, TT. S. National Mnsenm, collected at Wood's Holl, Massachusetts, October 5, 1871,
by Professor S. F. Baird.
105. The Short Pofnpano, Trachynotus ovatus (L.) Gthr 339
Drawing from No. 26585, TT. S. National Museum, collected at Florida by Silas Steams.
106. The Banner Pompano, Trachynotus glaucus C. &V 329
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 30176, TT. S. National Mnsenm, collected at Fensacola, Florida^ January 7, 1882, by Silas
Stearns.
107. The Pilot-fish, iVoKcraJes ductor (L.) Eaf 330
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 23197, TJ. S. National Museum, collected at New Bedford, Massachusetts, September 27,
1878, by William A. Bansett.
LIST OP PLATES. XXV
Page.
108. The California Yellow-tail, or Amber-fish, /SerioZa doraalis C. &V 331
Drawing by H. L, Todd, from No. 26835, U. S. National Mnseum, collected at San Pedro, California, 1880 (!), by Jordan
and Gilbert.
109. The Dolphin, ConjplKgna hippurus L 332
(Hale.) Drawing by H. L. Todd, from specimen in Fulton Market, New Xork, collected by E. G-. Blackford, September
18, 1875.
(Female.) Drawing by H. L. Todd, from spocimen in Fulton Market, New York, collected by E. G. Blackford, Septem-
ber-lS, 1875. i
110. The Harvest-fish, Stromateus alepidotus (L. ) J. & G 333
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 15234, TJ. S. National Museum, collected at New York, by Mr. Sntherland,
111. The Butterfish or Dollar-fish, Stromateus trioiianthus Peck 333
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 787, TT. S. National Museum, collected at Beesley's Point, New Jersey, 1858, by Pro-
fessor S. F. Baird.
The Log-fish or Black Eudder-fish, Lirus perciformis (Mitch.) J. & G : 334
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 22650, U. S. National Museum, collected at Le Have Bank, by Captain James Hawkins.
112. The Pomfcet, Brama Bayi Schn 335
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 26234, XT. S. National Museum, collected at west end of Grand Bank, May, 1881, by
Captain Andrew McKinney.
113. The Boar Fish, Zenopsis ocellatus (Storer) Gill - 335
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from specimen taken at Provincetown, Massachusetts, in museum of Boston Society of Natural
History.
114. The Cutlass-fish, Trichiwus lepturuslj ^ 335
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 18028, TJ. S. National Mnseum, collected at Saint Augustine, Florida, 1877, by Dr.
Janeway, TJ. S. N.
115. The Swordfish, XipMas gladius L 338
(Adult.) Drawing by H. Jj. Todd, from No. 16126. TJ. S. National Mnseum, collected at New Bedford, Massachusetts,
July 17, 1875, by TJ. S. Fish Commission.
(Young.) Drawing by H. L. Todd, from plate 225, Cuvier & Valenciennes. Histoire Natnrelle des Poissons.
116. The Sail-fish, Histiophorus gladius (Brown)" Gthr 356
The Spear-fish, Tetrapiurus albidus Poey : 357
117. The Tilefish, Lopholaiilus chammUonticeps Goode & Bean 360
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 22899, TJ. S. National Museum, collected 80 miles south by east of jNo Man's Land,
May, 1879, by Captain Kirby.
118. The Gulf Blanquillo, Caulolaiilus micropa Goode & Bean 360
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 20971, TJ. S. National Museum, collected at Pensacola, Florida, March 18, 1878, by Silas
Steams.
The Kouchil, Bathymasier eignatus Cope 361
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 27646, TJ. S. National Museum, collected at Shnmagins, Alaska, 1880, by B. P. Herendeen.
119. The Squirrel-fish, Holocentrum pentacanthum (Block) Vaill. & Bocourt 361
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 26580, TJ. S. National Museum, collected at Key West, Florida, 1880, by Silas Steams.
1^0. The Spotted Squeteague, Cunoscion maculatum (Mitch.) Gill 365
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 15000, TJ. S. National Museum, collected at Norfolk, Virginia, 1872, by Mr. Sibley.
The Common Squeteague, Cynosoion regale (Schn.) Gill 362
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 10421, V. S. National Museum, collected at Wood's Holl, Massachusetts, 1871, by
TJ. S. Fish Commission.
121. The Drum, Pogonias cltromis (L. )C. ifeV 367
(Yonng.) Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 18036, TJ. S. National Museum, collected at Matanzas Biver Inlet, Florida,
February, 1877, by John C. Willets.
122. The Drum, Pogonias chromis (L.) C- «fe V : Sgy
(Adult.) Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 22936, TJ. S. National Museum.
123. The yresh-water Drum or Gaspergou, Baploidonotua grunniens Eaf 370
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 10542, TJ. S. National Museum, collected at Ecorse, Michigan, by J. W. Milner.
124. The Spot or Goody, Liostomus xanthurus Lao 37O
Drawing by H, L. Todd, from No. 20222, TJ. S. National Museum, collected at Newport, Rhode Island, November, 1876,
by Samuel Powel.
125. The Eed-fish or Bass of the South, SdcBna ocellata (L. ) Gthr 371
Prawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 622, TJ. S. National Museum, collected at Indianola, 1858, by Major Emory.
126. The Yellow Tail, Bairdiella ckrysura (Lac.) 375
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 771, U. S. National Mnseum, collected by Beesley's Point, New Jersey, 1858, by
Professor S. F. Baird.
127. The Kingflsh or Sea Mink, Menticirrus nehuloaus (Mitch. ) Gill ..; 375
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 25403, TJ. S. National Museum, collected at Charleston Harbor, South Carolina,
March 25, 1880, by E. E. Earll. 1
The CaroUua Whiting, Menticirrus alburnus (L.) Gill 3^6
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 22832, TJ. S. National Museum, collected at Pensacola, Florida, 1878, by Silas Steams.
XXvi LIST OF PLATES.
Page.
128. The Croaker, Mieropogon midulatua (L.)C. (StV , 378
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 20742, U. S. Nutional Musenni, collected at Newport, Rhode Island, 1877, by Samuel
PoweL
139. The Eoncador, Boncador Stearnsii (Steiiidaohner) J.&G 379
Dr.awiug by H. L. Todd, from No. 26864, TJ. S. National Museum, collected .it Santa Barbara, California, 1880, by Pro-
fessor D. S. Jordan.
.130. The Sheep's-head, Diplodus prohatocephalua (Walb.) J. & G 381 i
(Young). Drawing by K. L. Todd, from specimen in U. S. National Museujn.
131. The Sheep's-head, Diplodus probatocephalus (Walb.) J. &, 6 --. .-- 381
(Adnlt). Drawing by H. L. Todd, from specimen in U. S. National Museum.
133. The Charleston Bream or Fm-&ah, Diplodus BolhrooMi Bean 386
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 20979, U. S. Nation.al Museum, collected at Charleston, South Carolina, March 29, 1878,
by G. Brown Gpode.
133. The Souppaug, Soup, or Northern Porgy, Stenotomus chri/sops (Mitch.) Beau , 386
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 10425, TJ. S. Natiou.il Museum, collected at Wood's HoU, Massachusetts, 1871, by
Professor S. P. Baird.
1^4. The Southern Soup, Stenotomus Gardeni Beau S&7
135. The Gulf Soup, or Goat's Head Porgy, Stenotomus caprinus. Goode & Bean 393
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 32683, TJ. S. National Museum, collected at Pensncola, Florida, by Silas Steams.
136. Milner's Pagellus, Pagellus Milneri, Goode & Bean 393
Drawing by JI. L. Todd, from No. 6134, TJ. S. National Museum, collected at Charlotte Harbor, Florida, by C. B. Baker.
137. The Margate Fish, Bastard Snapper of Ch.arleston, or Porgy of Perisacola, Spams pagruslj 394
^ Dra-\ving by H. Ij. Todd, from specimen in TJ. S. National Museum, collected at Ch.irleston, South Carolina, by G. Brown
Goode.
138. The Sailor'ir Choice, Lagodon rhomboides (L.) Holbrook 393
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 21280, IT. S. National Mnseuiu, collected at Saint John's Tiiver, Florida, April, 1878,
by G. Brown Goode. ,
139. The Bermuda Chub, Cyphosus Boscii (Lao.) J. & G 394
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 20635, TJ. S. National Museum, collected at "Wood's HoU, Massachusetts, September 11,
1877, by Vinal N. Edwards.
140. The Medialuua, Scorpis califorv^iensis Steiudachner 395
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 26952, TJ. S. National Museum, collected at Santa Barbara, California, 1880 by Jordaji
and Gilbert.
141. The Florida Eed Snapper, Lutjanun Blackfordii Goode & Bean 395
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 21330, TJ. S. National Museum, collected at Pensacola, Florida, May, 1878, by SUas
Stearns.
142. The Pensactila Snapper, Lufjan us Stearnsii Goode & Bean 396
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No, 21337, TJ. S. N.atioual Museuin, collected at Pensacola, Florida, May, 1878, by Silas
Stearns.
143. The Mangrove Snapper, JSftomftojjKies aurornbens (C. & V.) Vaillant 396
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 21338, TJ. S; National Museum, collected at Pensacola, Florida, May, 1878, by Silas
Stearns.
144. The Black Grunt, Scemulon Flumieri (Lac. ) J. & G 39g
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 20980, TJ. S. National Musonm, collected at Charleston, South Carolina, May 29, 1878,
by G. Brown Goode.
145. The Striped Grunt, SCcenmlon elegans (C. &V.) 397
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 32603, V. S. National Museum, collected at Key West, Florida, by Dr. J. A. Henshall.
146. The Fig&ah., Pomodasys fulvomaculatns (Mitch.) J. & G 398
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 3113, TJ. S. National Museum, collected at Charlotte Harbor, Florida, by C. B. Baker.
147. The Big-mouth Black Bass or Oswego Bass, Mioropterus salmoides (Lao.) Henshall 401
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 14143, TJ. S. National Museum , collected at Little Falls, Potomac Biver, 1874, by Major
T. J. Hobbs.
148. The Small-mouth Black Bass, Micropterus Dolomiei Lao 401
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 10323, TJ. S. National Museum, collected at Sandusky, Ohio, by J. W. Milner.
149. The Eook-Bass or Eed Eye, Amblopliies rupestris (Ea^f.) Gill 404
Drawing by H. L. Todd, ftora No. 9401, TJ. S. National Museum, collected at Ecorse, Michigan, by George Clark.
150. The Mud-Baas, Acantharchus pomotis (B.iird) Gill 405
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 6475, TJ. S. National Museum, collected at Tarborough, North Carolina, by Mr.
Bridger.
151. The Sacramento Perch, Arohoplites interruptus (Gir.ird) Gill 405
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 27137, U. S. National Museum, collected at San Francisco, California, 1880, by Pro-
fessor D. S. Jordan
J52. The War-mouth Bass, Chcenobryiius gulosus (C. &V.) Jordan 405
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 17803, TJ. S. National Museum, collected at Jackson's Lake, Alabama, July 14, 1871).
by Sumlien and Bean.
LIST OF PLATES. XXvii
Page.
153. The Pnmpkln-Seed or Sunfish, Lepomis gib^sua (L.) McKay 406
Biawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 4163, IT. S. National Mnseum, colleoted at Boot Birer, Wisconsin, July 18S3, by Pro-
fessor S. F. Baird.
154. The Long-eared Sunflsh, Lepomis auritus (L. ) Eaf 406
Bracing by H. L. Todd, from No. 15351, IT, S. National Musenm, collected at Susqaebanna Kiver, Cainbridge, Pennsyl-
vania, May, 1875, by Ijr. T. H. Bean.
*155. The Blue Sunfish or Copper-nose, Lepomis pallidua (Mitch.) J. & G 406
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 8448, TJ. S. National Mnseum, collected in Tennessee.
156. The Chinquapin Perch, Lepomis punctatus (C. and V.) Jordan 406
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 4227-'46, TJ. S. Natioual Museum, collected in Florida.
157. The Broad-eared Sunfish, Lepomis ohscurus Ag 406
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 20031, U. S. National Mnseum, collected at Ciimberland Biver, Tennessee, by A.
"Wincbell.
158. The Eainbow Sunfish, Centrafchns macropto-MS (Lao.) Jordan 406
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 20395, U. S. National Musenm, collected at Kinston, North Carolina, 1875, by Welsber
and Hyatt.
159. The Calico Bass or Strawberry Bass, Pomoxys sparoides {liaiC.) Gid 406
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 10077, U. S. National Musenm, collected at Bochester by J. W. Milner.
X60. The Crappie or Sac-Mai t, Pomoxijs annularis Ra,f 407
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 10387, U. S. National Musenm, colleoted at Norfolk, Virginia, 1873, by Dr. H. C.
Yarrow.
161. The Black-banded Sunfish, Mesayonistius dxetodoh (Baird) Gill i
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 20354, U. S. National Museum, collected at Trenton, New Jersey, 1876, by Dr. C. C.
Abbott.
162. The Sea Bass, Serranus atrarius (L.) J. and G 407
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 14838, TJ. S. National Museum, colleoted at Nnank, Connecticut, 1874, by TJ. S. Fish
Commission.
\
163. The Squirrel-fish, Serranus fascicularis C. and V - ..-.. 410
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 21543, TJ. S. National Museum, colleoted at Charleston, South Carolina, July, 1878, by
C. C. Leslie.
164. The Red Grouper, Epinephelua morio (Cuv.) Gill 411
Drawing by J[- L. Todd, from No. 22129, TJ. S. National Musenm, obtained in the Washington Market, District of
Columbia, by Gr. Brown Goode.
165. The Jew-fish or "Warsa'w," Promicrops guasa Poey 413
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 22306, TJ. S. Natioual Musenm, collected at St. John's Biver, Florida.
166. The West Indian Cabrilla, Serranus clathratus {GiA.) Steind , 413
Drawing byH. L.Todd, from No. 26574, TJ. S. National Museum, colleoted at Key West, Florida, May, 1880, by Silas
Steams. * ' '
167. The Pensacola Black Grouper, Trisoiropis mierolepis Goode and Bean 413
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 5137, TT. S. National Museum, collected at West Florida by Kaiser and Martin.
168. The Yellow Perch, Perea americana Schrank 414
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 25199, TJ. S. National Mnseum, collected at Washington Market, District of
Columbia, April, 1880, by TJ. S. Fish Commission.
169. The Wall-eyed Pike or Doij, SUzostedium vitreum (Mitch.) Jordan and Copeland 421
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 22494, TJ. S. National Musenm, colleoted at Port Deposit, Maryland, April 7, 1879,
by E. E. McClenahan.
The Sanger or Land Pike, Stizostediwm canadense (Smith) Jordan i 424
Drawing by H.L. Todd, from No. 10072, TJ. S. National Museum, collected at Bochester, New York, by J. W. Milner.
170.- The Striped Bass or Rockfish, Roccus lineaim (Blooh. ) Gill (:= Rocous saxatilis auctorum) - - . . 425
Drawing by H. L. Todd, ftom No. 25219, 0. S. National Mnseum, collected at Washington Market, District of Columbia,
April 24, 1880, by TJ. S. Fish Commission.
171. The White Bass, Boceus chrysops (Raf.) Gill 428
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 10326, TJ, S. National Museum, collected at Sandusky, Ohio, by J. W. Milner.
172. The Yellow Bass, Boceus interruptus (Gill) J. and G 431
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from specimens.in Natioual Museum.
173. The White Perch, Boceus amerieanus (Gml.) J. and G ." 431
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 15681, TJ. S. National Mnseum, collected at New York, November 15, 1875, by E. Cr.
Blackford.
174. The Bluefish Pomaiomus saltatrix (L.) Gill .".. .- 433
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from specimens in TJ. S. National Museum.
The Cobia or Crab-eater, Elacate Canada (L. ) Gill 444
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 18563, TJ. S. National Museum.
175. The Triple-Tail or Black Grouper, io6o(e« sMrinameBsis (Bl.) Cuvier 444
176. The Moon-fish or Spade-fish, Chalodipterua faier (Brouss.) J. .and G 445
XXviii ' LIST OF PLATES.
Page.
177. The Spear-fisli Eemora, Bhombockirus osteochir (Cnv. ) Gill .' 446
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from Ifo. 19022, V. S. National Museum, collected at Wood's HoU, Massaclinsetts, 1876, by XT. S.
Fish Commission.
The Sword-fish Eemora, Bemoropsis hracliyptera Lowe 446-
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 233 74, U. S. National Mnsemn, collected at sea in 250 fathoms of water by Daniel
McEachran.
178. The West ludian Barracoiita or Sennet, Sphyrwna picuda Schn 448 '
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 14978, IT. S. National Museum, collected at Florida by E. G. Blaoiford.
The Northern Barracouta, Sphyrwna horealis De Kay 443
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 18862, U. S. National Museum, collected at Wood's Holl, Massachusetts, 1876, by Vlnal
N. Edwards.
179. The Striped Mullet, Mugil dlbula'L .' 449'
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 24456, TJ. S. National Museum, collected at Wood's Holl, Massachusetts, December 15,
1879, by Tinal N. Edwards.
The White Mullet, Mugil brasiliensis Agaas 449'
Drawn by Miss M. Smith, from No. 21498, TJ. S. National Museum, collected at Pensacola, Florida, 1878, by Silas Steams.
180. The Sand Smelt or Silversides, Menidia notata (Mitch.) J. and G 456-
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from specimen in TJ. S. National Museum, collected at Noaok, Connecticut, by TJ. S. Fish
Commission.
The California ' ' Smelt" or Pescadillo, Atherinopsis caUforniensis Girard 457
Drawing by H'. L. Todd, from No. 26764, TJ. S.- National Museum, collected at San Diego, California, 1880, by Professor D.
S. Jordan.
181. The Two-spined Stickle-back, Gaaterosteus aculeaius L 457
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 20875, TJ. S. National Museum, collected at Wood's Holl, Massachusetts, December 3,
1877, by Vinal N. Edwards.
The Silver Gar-fish, Tyloaurus longirostris (Mitch.) J. and G ? 458
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from specimens in National Museum.
The Skipper or Saury, Scomberesox aaiirus ( Walb. ) Fleming ., 460-
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 19853, TJ. S. National Museum, collected at Wood's Holl, Massachusetts, November 3,
1875, hy Vinal N. Edwards. '
182. The Half Beak, Semiramphus unifaaciatus Kanzani 461
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 16944, TJ. S. National Museum, collected in Chesapeake Bay, August, 1876, by Otto
Lugger.
The California Flying- fish, Mxocwtwa cali/ornienais Cooper 459^
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 26907, TJ. S. National Museum, collector at Santa Baibara, California, 1880, by Jordan
and Gilbert.
183. The Pike, .Esoa; litmua L 461
Drawing- by H. L. Todd, from No. 9289, TJ. S. National Museum, collected at Bcorse, Michigan, hy George Clark.
The Pickerel or Federation Pike, Esox retioutatus Le Sueur 464
Drawing hy H. X,. Todd, from No. 20381, TJ. S. National Museum.
184. The Western Brook Pickerel, Eaox umbroaua Kirtland 464
Dravdng by H. L. Todd, from No. 20708, TJ. S. National Museum, collected by B. G. Blackford.
The Muskellunge, Esox nobilior Thoinpson 464
Drawing hy H. L. Todd, from No. 10607, TJ. S. National Museum, collected at Ecorse, Michigan, hy George Clark.
185. The TAvnamichog, Fundulus ma/aZis (Walb.) Gthr. (Female) ^ 466
Drawing H. L. Todd, from No. 13788, TJ. S. National Museum, collected at Wood's Holl, Massachusetts, September 15,
1871, hy TJ. S. Fish Commission.
The Blackfish of Alaska, DalHa pectoralia Bean 466
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from 23498 A, TJ. S. National Museum, collected at Saint Michaels, Alaska, February, 1877, by
L. M. Turner.
186. The Atlantic Salmon, Salmo aalar L 469
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from specimen in the TJ. S. National Museum, taken in the Delaware River.
The Qaiunat or California Salmon, Oncorhtjnohua chouiclta (Walb.) J.andG 479
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 24671, TJ. S. Nalional Museum, collected at Neeah Bay, December, 1879, by James G.
Swan.
197. The Steel Head, Salmo Gairdneri Richardson 474
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 27218, TJ. S. National Museum, collected at Columbia Eiver, 1880, by Professor D. S.
Jordan.
The Rainbow Trout, Salmo irideua Gibbons 475.
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 29093, V. S. National Museum, collected at MoCloud Eiver, California, 1881, by Livings-
ton Stone. '
188. The Black-spotted Trout, Salmo purpuratua Pallas 475,
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 27905, TJ. S. National Museum, collected at Sitka, Alaska, 1870, by L. A. Beardsley.
LIST OF PLATES. XXIX
Page.
The Kayko or Dog Salmon, Oncorhynchus keta (Walb. ) Gill and Jordan •- 476
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from So. 27617, tT. S. Kalaonal Mnseum, collected at Fort Alexander, Cook's Inlet, Alaska, July
4, 1880, by J. Cohen.
189. The Gorbnscha or Hump-backed Salmon, Oncorhynchus gorhuscha (Walb. ) Gill and Jordan 476
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 27743, V. S. National Mnseum, collected at Cook's Inlet, Alaska, Jnly 6, 1880, by Dr. T.
H. Bean.
The KiButch or Silver Salmon, Oncorhynchus kisutch (Walb. ) J. and G 477
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 27712, U. S. National Museum, collected atlliuliuU, Unalashka, October 12, 1880, by Dr.
T. H. Bean.
190. The Krasnaya Eyba, Eed-fish of Idaho, or Blue Back Salmon, Oncor^McAas Mer/ca (Walb.) Gill and Jordan. 477
(Hook-jawed Male.)
(Female) Drawings 1>y H. L. Todd, from specimens in TT. S. National Museum, collected by Captain C. Bendire, U. S. Nr,
in tbe Wallowa Eiver, Idaho.
191. The Krasnaya Eyba or Blue Back Salmon, Oncorhynchus nerka (Wtdb.) J. and Gc 477
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from fresh run male, sent to U. S. National Museum from the Columbia Eiver, April, 1884, by A.
Booth, esq.
The Namaycuah or Lake Trout, Salvelinus namayeush (Walb. ) Goode 485
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 17012, U. S. National Museum, collected at Eaquette Lake, New York, February 23,
1877, by Vcrplauck Colvin.
193. The Speckled Trout, Salvelinus fontinalis (Mitch. ) Gill and Jordan , 497
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 28651, D. S. National Museum, obtained in New Tork Market, Jnly, 1881, by B. G.
Blackford.
193. The Oquassa Trout, Salvelinus oquassa (Grd.) Gill and Jordan 503
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 20688, TJ. S. National Museum, collected at Oqnassoc Lake, New York, November 9,
1877, by E. G. Blackford.
The Malma or Dolly Varden Tioat, Salvelinus malma (Walb.) J. and G 504
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 27740, U. S. National Museum, collected at FortChatham, Cook's Inlet, Alaska, 1880, by
Dr. T. H. Bean.
194. The Grayling, Thymallm tricolor Cope 505
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 11115, U. S. National Museum, obtained from An Sable River, Michigan, by J. "W.
MUner.
195. The Alaska Grayling, Thymallus signifer Richardson 505
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 3333, U. S. National Museum, collected at Port Simpson, June, 1860, by B. K. Boss.
196. The Whitefish, Corejrowus cZapei/brmis (Mitch.) Milner 507
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 10300, XT. S. National Museum, collected at Ecorse, Michigan, by George Clark.
197. The Cisco or Lake Herring, Coregonus Artedi Lesueur .- 541
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 33958, U.S. National Museum, collected at Neer Field Bay, Wiscosin , by J. W. Milner
The Moon-eye or Cisco, of Lake Michigan, Cpregonus JSoyi (Gill) Jordan 541
DrawingbyH. L. Todd, from No. 32162, TJ. S. National Mnseum, collected at Seneca Lake, New York, June, 1878, by Pro.
fessor H. L. Smith
198. The Alaska Whitefish, Coregonus Merki Gthr
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 27698, U. S. National Museum, collected at Alaska, 1880, by U. S. Steamer Corwin.
The Lauretta White-fish, Coregonus Lauretta Bean
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 27695, IT. S. National Museum, collected at Point Barrow, Alaska, July, 1880, by TJ. S.
Steamer Corwin. *
199. The Eastern Smelt, Osmerus mordna; (Mitch.) Gill. 543
DrawingbyH. L. Todd, from No. 21435, TT. S. National Museum, collected at Wood's HoU, Massachusetts, 1878, by'Vinal
N. Edwards.
The Alaska Smelt, Osmerus dentex Steindaohner 544
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 27914, TT. S. National Museum, collected at Port Clarence, Alaska, 1880, by Dr. T. H.
Bean.
200. f he Alaska Surf Smelt, Sypomesus olidus (Pallas) Gthr ; 544
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 23973, TJ. S. National Museum, collected at Saint Michaels, Alaska, May 20, 1877, by
M. L. Turner.
The California Surf Smelt, Hypomesus pretiosus (Grd.) Gill 544
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 27995, TJ. S. National Museum, collected at Yakutat Bay, Alaska, 1880, by Dr. T. H.
Bean.
201. The Capelin, Mallotus villosus (Muller) Cuv 544
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 3418. TJ. S. National Museum, collected at Grosswater Bay, by Dr. E. Cones.
I, The Eulachon, Thaleichthys pacificus (Rich.) Girard -•- 547
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 28001, V. S. National Museum, collected at Chilkat Eiver, Alaska, June, 1880, by Mar-
cus Baker.
202. The Hand Saw fish, Alepidosaurus ferox Lowe 547
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 18028, TJ. S. National Museum, collected atSaint Angnstine, Florida, 1877, by Dr. Jane-
way, TJ. S. N.
yxy LIST OF PLATES.
Page.
Baird's Alepocephalu8, Atepocephalus Bairdii Goode & Bean •'^°
Drawmg by H. L. Todd, from No. 22468, IT. S. National Mnsenm, collected on Grand Bank, ty Christian Johnson, Schi.
William Thompson.
203. MiQlor'sScopelus, -Scopefws vWii^Jeri (Gmel.) Collett 547
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 20943, IT. S. National Museum, collected by F. Mather.
The Snake iXs\i,Trachinocep}ialm myops (Porster) Gill 548
■ Drawing by L. H. Todd, from No.l6951, tJ. S. National Museum, collected at Wood's Holl, 1876, by VinalN. Edwards.
204. The Herring, Clupeaharengws L 549
Drawinfi by H. L. Todd, from No. 16667, TJ. S. National Museum, collected at Washington market, June, 1875, by J. H.
Kichards. *
The California Herring, Clupea miraMUs Girard ^ 568
Drawing by H. I.. Todd, from No. 24865, D. S. National Museum, collected at San Diego, California, January, 1880, by Jor-
' dan & Gilbert.
205. The Menhaden or Mossbunker, Brevoortia tyrannus (Latrobe) Goode 569
Drawlns by H. L. Todd, from No. 20666, TJ. S. National Museum, collected at Wood's Holl, October 18, 1877, by Vinal N.
Bdwaids.
206. The Gulf Menhaden, Breuoortta ^oiTOBMS Goode 575
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 892 A, D. S. National Museum,- collected at Brazos, Santiago, Texaa, by Captain Van
Vleet.
207. The Branch Herring (Female), Clupea vernali a lAitabXW. 579
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 27197, U. S. National Museum, obtained from Potomac Eiver, March 29, 1880, by 0. S.
Pish Commission.
208. The Branch Herring (Male), Clupea vernalis Mitchill 579
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 25196, TJ. S. National Museum, obtained from Potomac Eiver, March 27, 1880, by TJ. S.
Fish Commission.
209. The Glut or Summer Herring (Male), Clupea cestivalia Mitchill 580
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 32639, TJ. S. National Mnsenm, obtained from the Washington market, April, 1883, by
H. L. Todd.
210. The Glut Ht- rring (Female), Clupea aiativalis Mitchill 580
Drawing by H. L. Todd from No. 32640, V. S. National Museum, obtained at Washington Market, April 21, 1883, by H.
L. Tod.
211. The Inland Alewife or Skipjack, CZitpfac/iri/socftJom (Eaf.) J. &G 594
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 30159, D. S. National Museum, collected atPensacola, Florida, by Silas Steams.
312. The Shad, Clupea sapidisBima Wilson (Male) 594
Drawing bj H. L. Todd from No. 25096 TJ. S. National Mnsenm, collected at Norfolk, Virginia, March 12, 1880, by TJ. S.
Fish Commission.
213. The Shad, Clupta sapidisdma Wilson (Female) 594
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 25095, U.S. National Museum, collected at Norfolk, Virginia, March 10, 1880, by TJ. S.
Fish Commission.
214. Map of the Eiver Basins of the Atlantic Slope. By Col. M. MacDonald 1 598
215. Diagram illustrating the influence of Hydro-Tfiermals in determining the direction, and limiting the range
of the migrations of the Shad and Herring ( Alewives). By Col. M. MacDonald 600
216. The Hickory Shad or Mattowacca, Clupea mediooris Mitch.. 607
Male. Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 25148, TJ. S. National Museum, obtained from Potomac Eiver, March 19, 1880, by •
H. L. Todd.
(Female.) Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 25132, TJ. S. National Mnsenm, collected at Potomac Eiver, Maich, 1880, by
Dr. T. H. Bean.
217. The Mud Shad or Gizzard Shad, Dorosoma Cepedianum (Le S.) Gill 610
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 20034, TJ. S. National Moseum, collected at Cumberland Eiver, Tennessee, May, 1877,
by Mr. A. Winchell.
The Tarpum or Grand-Ecaille, Megalops thrissoides (Sohn. ) Gthr 610
, Drawing by H. I,. Todd, from No. 14924, D. S. National Museum, collected at New Jersey, 1874, by E. G. Blackford.
218. The Big^eyed Herring, Slops saurus L 611
Drawing by H. L. Todrf, from specimen in V. S. National Museum, from Massachusetts.
The Anchovy, Engraulis vittatus Mitchill gll
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 14087, TJ. S. National Museum, collected at Noank, Conneclicut, September 21, 1874,
by TJ. S. Fish Commission.
The Lady-fish or Bone-fish, Albula vulpes (L.) Goode 612
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 25962, TJ. S. National Museum, coUpcted three miles southeast of Eastern Point, New- i
port, Ehode Island, August 11, 1880,'by Captain Eocklifif, TJ. S. Pish Commission.
219. The Moon-eye, Hyodon tergisUs Le Sueur - 612
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 8710, TJ. S. National Museum, collected at Ecorse, Michigan, Febrnary, 1872, Ijy
George Clark-
220. The Chub Sucker, Erimyzon aucetta (Lac.) Jordan 614
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 27867, TJ. S. National Museum, collected at Nippersink Lake, Dlinois, by Professor S.
A. Forbes.
LIST OF PLATES. XXXI
Page.
221. Goode's Sucker, Erimyzon Goodei Jordan 614
Drawing by MissM. Smith, from No. 25539, IT. S. National Museum, collected at Ogechee Ponds, near Savannah, Georgia,
March 6, 1880, by Colonel M. McDonald.
222. TheEed Horse, Moxostoma macrolepidotuvi (Le S.) Jordan 614
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 9393, U. S. National Mnseura, collected at Ecorse, Michigan, February, 1872, by Gfeorge
Clark.
The Carp Mullet, Moxostoma carpio (Val. ) Jordan 614
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 10793, XJ. S. National Museum, collected at Cincinnati, Ohio, by J. W. Milner.
223. The Montana Sucker, Catostomus reiropinnis Jordan 615
The Brook.Suoker or Common Sucker, Catostomus Conmersoni (Lac. ) Jordan 615
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 10548, TJ. S. National Museum, collected at Ecorse, Michigan, by J. W. Milner.
224. The Black Horse, Cyeleptus elongatus (Le S.) Ag - 615
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 10790, TT. S. National Museum, collected at Cincinnati, Ohio, by J. W. Milner.
225. The Quill-back, Carpiodes cyprinvs (Le S.) Ag 615
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 33073, U. S. National Museum, collected at Havre de Grace, Maryland, June, 1882,
by Dr. T. H. Bean. /
226. TheEed Mouth Buffalo-fish, lotioius huialus {Tiaf.) Ag 615
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 20774, 1J. S. National Museum, collected at Normal, Illinois, 1877, by Professor S. A.
Forbes .
227. The Golden Shiner or Bream, Notemigonua chryscfleuous (Mitch.) Jordan 616
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 20243, TT. S. National Museum, collected at Hackensack Elver, 1875, by Professor
S. F. Baird.
The Sacramento "Pike," PtychocMlus oregonensis (Eich.) Grd - 616
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 27291, XT. S. National Museum, collected at Columbia Eiver, 1880, by Professor
D. S. Jordan.
228. The Fall-fish or Silver Chub, Semotilua iullaris (Eaf.) Jordan ^ 616
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 15359, TT. S. National Museum, collected at Bainbridge, Pennsylvania, May, 1875, by
Dr. T. H. Bean.
The Horn Dace, Semotilus corporalis (Mitch.) Putnam 617
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 19163, IT. S. National Museum, collected at Aux Plains Eiver by E. Kennicott.
229. The Horny Head or Eiver Chub, Ceraiichthys higuitatus (Kirtland ) Girard 617 ,
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 16969, TT. S. National Museum, collected at Bainbridge, Pennsylvania, 1875, by Dr.
T. H. Bean, " ,
The Orthodon Chub, Orihodon microlepidotus ( Ayres) Girard 617
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 27139, XT. S. National Museum, collected at Sacramento Eiver, California, "1880, by
Jordan and Gilbert.
230. The Leather Carp, Cyprinus carpio L. (var. coriaseus) 618
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 25217, TT. S. National Museum, collected at the Carp Ponds, Washington, D. C,
April 26, 1880, by TT. S. Fish Commission.
'231. The Gold Fish, Carassius auratus (L.) Bleeker
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 22107, TT. S. National Mnseum, collected at Carp Ponds, Washington, D. C, January 24,
lg78, by William Palmer.
232. The Channel Catfish of the Potomac, Ictalurus alUdas (LeS.) J. & G 628
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 20925, TT. S. National Museum, collected at Potomac Elver, 1877, by Professor D. S.
Jordan.
233. The Bull-Head, Amiurus melas{Ra{.) Jord. & Copeland 628
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 1497, IT, S. National Museum, collected at Aux Plains Eiver by E. KennicotL
The Bull-Head or Catfish, Amiurus catus (L.) Gill 628
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 33075, IT. S. National Museum, collected at Havre de Grace, Maryland, June, 1882, by
Dr. T. H. Bean.
234. The Bull-Head, Amiurus vulgaris (Thompson) Nelson 628
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 31946, TT. S. National Museum, collected at Winnepeg, Manitoba, 1883, by Historical
and Scientific Society.
235. The Gaff Topsail Catfish, MluricUhijs marirms (Mitph.) B. & G - 628
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 10422, TT. S. National Museum, collected at Wood's Holl, Massachusetts, 1871, by
Professor S. F. Baird.
236. The Salt Water Catfish, Arius felis (L.) j. & G .' 629
Drawing by H..L. Todd, from No. 21487, TJ. S. National Museum, collected at Pensacola, Florida, 1878, by Silas Steams.
237. The Spotted Moray, G-ymnoihorax moringa (Cuv.) Goode & Bean .'-.. 629
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 6994, IT. S. National Museum, collected at Garden Key, Florida.
238. The Spiny-back Eel, PtiliuMliys Goodei Beau. ,
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 26619, TT. S. National Museum, collected at lUuliuk, Alaska, July 28, 1880, by DaU
& Bean.
XXXU LIST OP PLATES.
Page.
239. The Common Eel, Anguilla vulgaris Turton 630
DrawiDg ty H. L. Todd, from No. 204J0, U. S. National Museum, collected at Holyoke, Haesachusetts, 1876, by U. S.
Fish Commission.
240. The Conger Sea Eel, Leptocephalus conger (L.) J. & G 656
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 16027, IT. S. National Museum, collected at Noank, Connecticut, October 10; 1874, by
J. H. Latham.
241. The Bowfin or Mudfish, Jmia oalvah : 659
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 6702, U. S. National Museum.
The Short-nosed Gar Pike. Lepidosteus platystomus Raf '. 664
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 3241, U. S. National Museum, collected at Cleveland, Ohio, by Professor S. F. Batrd.
242. The Paddle-fish, Polt/odon spatula (Walb.) J. & G 660
Under view. Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 12235, TJ. S. National Museum, collected at Cincinnati, Ohio, by J. "W.
Milner.
Side view. Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 12235, U. S. National Museum, collected at Cincinnati, Ohio, by J. W".
Milner.'
243. The Common Sturgeon, Aoipenser sturio L. (= A. dxyrhynchus) 660
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 22495, TJ. S. National Museum, collected in Potomac Eiver by "William "Woltz.
The Short-nosed Sturgeon, Acipenser hrevirostris Le Sueur 660
Drawn from a photograph of a specimen collected at Wood's HoU, Massachusetts, 1871.
S44. The Lake Sturgeon, Acipenser rubicundm Le Sueur < _ 661
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 10252, U. S. National Museum, collected at Ecorse, Michigan, by J. W. Milner.
The Shovel-nose Sturgeon, Scaphirkynchops platyrhynchus (Raf. ) Gill . . , '. . . 663
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 22159, TJ. S. National Museum, collected at Mount Carmel, Illinois, 1878, by Robert
Eidgway.
245. The Southern Sting Ray, Trygon sdbina Le Sueur 665
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 31043, TJ. S. National Museum, collected at G-alveston, Texas, by Professor D. S.
Jordan.
246. The Barn-door Skate, Bain Icevis Mitohill 667
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 21577, TJ. S. National Museum, collected at Grlouoester, Massachnsetts, October, 1878,
by TJ. .S. Fish Commission.
247. The Torpedo, Torpedo ooddentalis Storer 667
Drawing by HC. L. Todd, from cast of specimen in TJ. S. National Museum, collected at Wood's Holl, Massachnsetta,
1871, by TJ. S. Fish Commission.
248. The Sawfish, Pristis pectinatus Latham 668
(Side view.) Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No."30678, TJ. S. National Museum, collected at Pensacola, -Florida, by Silas
Stearns.
(Under view.) Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 30678, U. S. National Museum, collected at Pensacola, Florida, by
Silas Stearns.
249. The Basking Shark or Bone Shark, CetorWraits maximws (L.) Blainville 668
Copied by H. L. Todd, from Plate 6, Annates du Musee d'Histoire Naturelle, Vol. 18.
The Mackerel Shark, Lamna cornuMca (Gmel.) Fleming 670
, Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 27368, U. S. National Museum, collected at Santa Cruz, California, 1880, by Jordan
& Gilbert.
250. The Thrasher Shark. Alopias vulpes (Gmel.) Bonap 672
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 25962, U. S. National Museum, collected at Eastern Point, Newport, Kbode Island,
August 11, 1880, by Captain Eockliff.
The Horned Dogfish, Sqiialus acanthias L ^ 673
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 22316, U. S. National Museum, collected at Gloucester, Mtissaohusetts, 1878, by U. S.
Fish Commission.
The Tope, or Oil Shark, Galeorhinus galeus (Xj.) Blainville 676
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 26973, U. S. National Museum, collected at Mbnterey, California, 1880, by Jordan &,
Gilbert.
251. The Sea Lamprey, Petromyzon marinus L. . . gyy
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 10654, U. S. National Museum, collected at Wood's Holl, Massachnsetts, by Vinal N.
Edwards.
The Alaska Brook Lamprey , Ammoextes aureus Bean q
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 21524, U. S. National Museum, collected at Yukon Eiver, Alaska, by L. M. Tomer.
252. The Slime Eel or Hag, Myxine gluHnosa L 681
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 23466, U. S. National Museum, collected at sea, by Captain E. L. Moixison.
253. The Short-finned Squid, Ommastrephes illeeebrosus (Le S. ) Verrill 687
Drawing of young male from Provinoetown, Massachusetts.
The Giant Squid, Architeuthis princeps Verrill 687
Drawing by Professor A. E. Verrill, from specimen obtained at Fortune Bay, Newfoundland, December, 1874.
Common Squid, Loligo Pealei (Le S.) _____ ggy
Drawing of female from Vineyard Sound, Massachusetts.
LIST OP PLATES. XXXIU
Page.
254. Sea Snails, Periwinkles, Drills, and Borers 693
Fig. 1. Zunatia lieros. See Eeport U. S. Fish Commission. Part I, p. 700.
Fig. 2. Purpura lapillus. See Eeport U. S. Fish Commission. Parti, p. 698.
Fig. 3. Purpura la2>illus, banded variety.
Fig. 4. Keveriia duplicaia. See Eeport U. S. Fish Commission. Part I, p. 700.
Fig. 5. Ilyanassa obsoleta. See Eeport U. S. Fish Commission. Part I, p. 696.
Fig. 6. Triiia triviliata.
Fig. 7. The Whelk, Buocinum undatum. See Eeport U. S. Fish Commission. Part I, p. 699.
Fig. 8. The PeriTvinkle, Fulger carica. See Eeport tJ. S. Fish Commission. Part I, p. 694.
Fig. 9. Astyris zonalis.
Fig. 10. Astyris lunata.
Fig. 11. Bissoa aouleatus.
Fig. 12. The Drill or Borer, Urosalpinx dnerea, p. 697.
255. Various species of clams 703
Fig. 1. Angulus tener.
Animal reduced one-half. See Eeport TJ. S. Fish Commission. Part I, p. 677.
Fig. 2. The Long Clam, Soft Clam, or Mauninose, Mya arenaria.
"With animal in extension, reduced to one-half the natural size.
Fig. 3. Tagelus gibbus.
With animal, the siphon not fully extended. One-half natural size. See Eeport TJ. S. Fish Commission. Parti, p. 675.
Fig. 4. The Eazor Clam, Ensatella americana. See Eeport U. S. Fish Commission. Part I, p. 707.
With animal extended. One-half natural size.
Fig. 5. Shows some of the terminal papill£6 enlarged.
Fig. 6. The Eazor Clam, Ensatella americana.
Shell. Natural size.
Fig; 7. The Ship Worm, Teredo navalis.
Enlarged two diameters.
Fig. 8. The Scallop, Peeten irradians. See Eeport U. S. Fish Commission. Part I, p. 709.
Natural size.
Fig. 9. The Bloody Clam, Argina peacata.
Natural size.
256. Various species of clams 703
Fig. 1. The Quahaug or Little-neoked Clam, Venus mercenaria.
Natural size.
Fig. 2. The Quahaug of Puget Sound, Saxidomus NuttalU.
Natural size of large specimen. Drawn hy J. H. Emerton.
Fig. 3. The Gaper Clam of the West Coast, Sohizotheerus NuttalU (Conrad).
(I.) Specimen of ordinary size, reduced ahout one-fourth in length. The siphons are somewhat contractodi the foot (F)
expands ahout as usual.
(11.) Outline of the left valve of a larger specimen, reduced to the same extent. Drawn from nature by R. E. C. Stearns.
257. TheGeoduck, or Giant Clam of the Pacific, Glyoimeris generosa 708
Natural size ; specimens with siphons partly contracted; weight when alive, 6i pounds. Drawn by E, E. C. Steams.
258. Mussels and Sea Clams , 709
Fig. 1. The Beach Clam or Hen Clam, Spisula soUdissima. See Eeport U. S. Fish Commission. Part I, p. 708.
Natural size.
Fig. 2. The Sea Clam, Cyprina islandica.
Natural size.
Fig. 3. The Black Mussel, Mxjtilus edulis. See Eeport U. S. Fish Commission. Part I, p. 709.
Fig. 4. The Black Horse Mussel, Modiola nigra.
Fig. 5. The Eough Mussel, 71forfto?a ^(icatf/fa. See Eeport TJ. S. Fish Commission. Part I, p. 709.
Fig. 6. The Horse Mussel, Modiola modiolus. See Eeport U. S. Fish Commission. Part I, p. 709.
259. The anatomy of the oyster. (See opposite page for full explanation) 711
260. Fig. 1. The Eock Crab, Cancer irroratus Say ; male one-half natural size 766
Fig. 2. Zoea of the same, in the last stage before it changes to the megalops condition; lateral view,
enlarged seventeen diameters.
Fig. 3. Megalops stage of the same, just after the change from the zoea condition; dorsal view, enlarged
thirteen diameters.
Fig. 4. The Jonah Crab, Cancer horealis Stimpson ; male, two- thirds natural size 769
Figs. 5, 6. Terminal joints of the big claws of the same, viewed from the outer side, natural size.
Drawings by J. H. Emerton.
261. The Comroon Crab of the Pacific Coast, Cancer magister Dana; male, somewhat smaller than natural size. . 770
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 2533, IT. S. National Museum. California, William Stimpson.
XXXIV LIST OP PL.\TES.
26'2. The Eed Crab, Cancer productus Randall ; male, natural size ^'^
Drawing Ijy H. L. Todd, from No. 2529, U. S. National Mnsoum. San Francisco, California, H. Hemphill.
263. The California Eock Cr.ib, Cancer antennarius Stinipson; natural size '''71
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 2033, U. S. National Museum. CaUfoTuia, "SVilliam Stimpson.
264. The Stone Cr.ali, Mxruppe mercenarim Giblies; male, about fonr-fifths tlio natural size 772
Drawing Ijy H. L. Todd, IVom specimen obtained at Ciiarleiton, Soutli Carolina.
265. The Green Crab, Carc'm us mwnax Leach ; .slightly enlarged 774
Drawing liy J. II. Emorlon, from specimea obtained at AVood's Holl, Massachusetts, 1882.
266. The Lady Crab, Plalijonichiis orc!latiis hMrfiUe; al)ont one-third larger than ii.Ttnral size 774
Drawing by J. II. Eniertoii, from specimen obtained at AVood'.s Holl, Massai luisetts, 1882.
267. The Common Edible nr Blue Crab CullUiectex haslatus Ordway; male, somewhat smaller than natural size. 775
Drawing by J. H. Emeiton, from specimen obtained at Wood's Holl, Massachusetts, 1882.
268. The Kelp Crab, Jipialtiis prudiwtiis Randall ; female, natural size 778
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 2139, XJ. S. National Museum. Pacific coast of the Dnited States, Dr. Snckley.
269. Fig. 1. The Fiddler Crab, GelaKimus puf/HatorhntreiUe; male, slightly enlarged 763
Fig. 2, The Oyster Crab, Pinnotheres ostretim Say ; male, enlarged four diamett-rs 765
Fig. 3. The Mud Crab, Panopeus depressns Smith; male, natural size 772
Figs. 4, 5. The Spider Crabs. Fig. 4, Libiitia emaryinata Leach; male. Fig. 5, Libinia dubia Edwards;
male. Boih t.hree-fourtha natural size 778
Fig. 6. The Sand Bng or Bait Bug, Rippa talpoida &a,y \ enlarged about two diameters 779
Fig. 7. The Hermit Crab, ii'tt/)ai7«)-HS 6crft/iar(J«s Brandt; about natural size 780
Drawings by J. H. Emerton.
270. The Spiny Lobster or Rock Lobster, Paniilirus interruptus Randall; somewhat smaller than natural size 780
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from specimen obtained on the coast of California.
271. The American Lolister, Homarus americanus Edwards; male, much below natural size 781
Diawing by J. H. Emerton, from specimen obtained at Eastport, Maine, 1882.
272. The River Cray-fisli, Cambarus affin'is 'E^tiiihson; one and one-half times t he natural size 812
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from specimen obtained at Havre de Grace, Maryland.
273. The Southern Shrimp, Penwus seliferiis Edw ards; about one-fifth larger than natural size 821
Drawing by J". H. Emerton, from specimen obtained on the coast of Louisiana.
274. The Mantis Shrimp, Sqailla empusa Say ; natural size 823
Drawing by H. L. Todd, from No. 3752, U. S. National Museum. "Wood's Holl, Massachusetts, V. N. Edwards.
275. Fig. 1. The Common Shrimp, CrangoiivuUjarisVahT:.; male, natural size 816
Fig. 2. The Common Prawn, Palcemonetes vulgaris Stimpson ; mule, enlarged one and one-half diameters.
Fig. 3. 'I'he Deep water Prawn, Pandalm Monlagiii Leach; slightly smaller than natural size.
Fig. 4. The Beach-Flea, Orchestia ag'ilis Smith; male, enlarged live diameters.
Fig. 5. The Scud, GammaruslocitstaGon'A; male, enlarged two diameters.
Fig. 6. The Boring Amphipod, Chelnra terebrans TiaWiiA; enlarged about fourteen diameters.
Fig. 7. The Gribble, Limnoria lignoritni White; enlargedten diameters.
Fig. a. The Salve Bug, ^ga psora Kroyer; young specimen, en larged three diameters.
Fig. 9. The Horse-Shoe Crab, Limulus Polyphemus Latreille; much smaller than natural size.
Drawings by J. H. Emerton, S. I. Smith, and 0. Harger.
276. Marine Annelids, used as bait 832
Figs. 1,2, 3. Nereis jielagica Lin-a6. Fig. 1, largerfigure, female; smaller, male; natural size. Fig. 2, head.
Fig. 3, proboscis, enlarged.
Fig. 4. Nereis Umbata Ehlers; male, anterior part of body, head, and extended proboscis, enlarged.
Figs. 5, 6. Diopatra cuprea Clapar^de. Fig. 5, head and anterior part of body, showing part of the branchijB,
side view. Fig. 6, ventral view, showing the mouth open and jaws thrown back, enlarged.
Figs. 7,8, 9. Clymenella torquata VeiuU. Fig. 7, entire auimal, side view, natural size. Fig. 8, head and
extended proboscis, front view, enlarged. Fig. 9, posterior and caudal segments, dorsal view,
enlarged.
Drawings mostly by J. H. Emerton.
277. FiG.l. The Sea-Cucumber, Pentactafrondosa Jaagei; much smaller than natural size 840
Fig. 2. The Green Sea Urchin, Strongylocentrotus Drobacliiensis A. Ag. ; side view, much smaller than natural
size.
Fig. 3. The Sand Dolhir, Echinarachnins parwa Gray; upper surface, with the spines mostly removed,
natural size; a, ambulacra! zones; 6, inter-ambulacral zones.
Fig. 4. The Star-fish or "Five Finger," Asterias /^orftesti Verrill; much smaller than natural size.
Figs. 5, 6, 7. The Jelly Fishes. Fig. 5, Zygodactyla Grainlandica Agassiz ; profile view, one-half natural size.
Fig. 6, Aurelia flavidula Perou and Le Sueur; dorsal view, about one-fourth natural size. Fig. 7,
Dactylometra quinguecirra Agassiz ; lateral view, one-fourth natural size.
P^RT I,
MAMMALS.
A . —THE WHALES AND POEPOISES By G. Bkown Goode.
B. — THE SEALS AND WALRUSES By Joel A. Allen,
C— THE HABITS OF THE FUE-SEAL By Henry W. Elliott,
D —THE MANATEES AND THE ARGTJO SEA-COW... By Frederick W, True,
(3)
ANALYSIS.
Page.
A.— The Whales and Porpoises :
1. The Sperm Whale 7
2. The Blackfishes or Pilot Whales 11
3. The Grampuses or Cowfishes 13
4. The Harbor Porpoises or Herring Hogs , 14
5. The Dolphins 16
6. The Killer Whales or Oroas 17
7. The Sperm Whale Porpoise 18
8. The White Whale or Beluga 18
9. The Narwhal 19
10. The Greenland, Bowhead, or Polar Whale 20
11. The Hight Whales 24
12. The Huraphack Whales 26
13. The Sulphur Bottom Whales 27
14. The Finback Whales 28
15. The Scrag Whales SO
16. The California Gray Whales 31
B. — The Seals and Walruses :
17. The Seal tribe in general 3a
18. The Walruses 34
19. The Sea Lions and Pur Seals in general 37
20. The Sea Lion 38
21. The California Sea Lion 44
22. The Fur Seal... 1 49
23. The Harbor Seal 55
24. The Harp Seal 62
25. The Kinged Seal 65
26. The Ribbon Seal 67
27. The West Indian Seal 67
28. The Hooded Seal 68
29. The California Sea Elephant 72
C. — The Habits op the Fur-Seal:
30. A life history of the Fur-Seal 75
D.— The Manatees and the Sea-Cow:
31. The Manatees 114
32. The Arctic Sea-cow 128
5
THE FISHERIES AND FISHERY INDUSTRIES OF
THE UNITED STATES.
m: A. ]Sd: ]y: ^ L s .
A.— THE WHALES AND PORPOISES.
1. THE SPERM WHALE.
Distribution. — The Sperm Whale, Physeter macrocephalus Linn., was first described by
Clusius in 1605 from specimens cast up on the coast of Holland in 1598 and 1601. It is the Cachalot
of the French, the Pottflsch of the Germans, Potvisch or Kazilot of Holland, Kaskelot or Potfisk
of Scandinavia, and one of the most valuable of cetaceans. Sperm Whales occur in every ocean, and
though preferring warmer waters, are to be found at times close to the limits of the arctic regions.
In the Pacific they have been taken off Cape Ommany, Alaska, latitude 56° 12', and in the Atlantic
as far north as Scotland and Orkney, and perhaps even Greenland. In both Pacific and Atlantic
they range below the southern tips of the continents and are believed to pass freely from ocean to
ocean, around Cape Horn, though they are said never to round the Cape of Good Hope. Murray
states that they have been seen and captured in almost every part of the ocean between latitude
60° south and 60° north. He mentions that they have been recorded as found off" the north of
Scotland but no further, though he gives some credence to ancient authors who mentioned their
having been seen off Greenland.
Beale, writing in 1836,' gave a list of their favorite resorts. It is interesting to compare the
range of the species as then understood with their present range as indicated by the locations, and
this comparison has been carefully made by Mr. A. Howard Clark, in the chapter on The Whale
Fishery, in a subsequent section of this report. In discussing the facts before him, Murray"
expresses the opinion that almost everyplace which has been mentioned as a favorite resort of the
Sperm Whales, although out of soundings, has claims to be considered the site of submerged lands.
The islands of Polynesiai, which are their special feeding ground, are the beacons left by the sub-
merged Pacific continent. " They are also to be seen," he continues, " about the equinoctial line in
the Atlantic Ocean, but they would seem to be either straggling 'schools' which have rounded
Cape Horn, or unprospering colonies. It is from these that the specimens which have been occa-
sionally met with in the North Atlantic or in the English seas have wandered. They have been
now and then cast ashore, and then they are usually in an emaciated condition. They seem to be
unprepared for, or not to be adapted for, shallow seas. Accustomed (perhaps not individually, but
' 1836. Beale, Thomas : Natural History of the Sperm Whale. London, 1836, p. 180.
' 1866. Murray, Andrew : The Geographical Distribution of Mammals. London, 1866, p. 212.
(7)
8 NATUEAL HISTOET OF AQUATIC ANIMALS.
by hereditary practice or instinct) to swim along the coral islands of the Pacific, within a stone's
throw of the shore, they cannot understand, their instinct is not prepared to meet, shallow coasts
and projecting headlands."
Murray's views, though suggestive, are, perhaps, not entirely well lounded. It is certain,
however, that the favorite haunts of the species have always been in the warmer seas, within or
upon the verge of the tropics.
Abundance in former days on the coast of the United States. — There is no reason
to doubt that Sperm Whales were at one time, nearly two centuries back, as abundant in the
North Atlantic as in more recent years in the North Pacific. The vigorous prosecution of the
whale fishery since the early part of the eighteenth century by American vessels has had much to
do with their present s(!arcity. The traditions of the American whale fishery all point to their con-
siderable abundance near the eastern coast of the United States.
Macy, the historian of Nantucket, narrates that the first Sperm Whale known to that settle-
ment was found dead and ashore on the southwest part of the island, and that the first taken by
Nantucket whalemen was captured about the year 1712 by Christopher Hussey, who, " cruising
near the shore for Eight Whales, was blown off some distance from the land by a strong northerly
wind, where he fell in with a school of that species of whale, and killed one and brought it home."^
That Sperm Whales cannot at that time have been rare near the shore, may be inferred from the
fact that the Nantucket Sperm Whale fleet which was then fitted out, and which three years later
consisted of six sloops, producing oil to the value of $5,600 annually, were usually absent only
six weeks, during which time they procured the blubber of one or two whales.^ The Boston
"News Letter" of October 2, 1766, stated: "Since our last a Number of Vessels have arrived from
Whaling. They have not been successful generally. One of them viz: Capt. Clark on Thursday
morning last discovered a Spermaceti Whale near George's Banks, mann'd his Boat, and gave Chase
to her & she coming up with her Jaws against the Bow of the Boat struck it with such Violence
that it threw a son of the Captain (who was forward, ready with his Lance) a considerable Height
from the Boat, and when he fell the Whale turned with her devouring Jaws opened, and caught
him. He was heard to scream, when she closed her Jaws, and part of his Body was seen out of
her Mouth when she turned and went off."^
The log of the whaling sloop "Betsey," of Dartmouth, records that on August 2, 1761, her
crew saw two Sperm Whales and killed one in latitude 45° 54', longitude 53° 57' : this woula be in
the gully between the Grand Bank and Green Bank, about fifty miles west of Whale Deep, in the
Grand Bank, and sixty miles south of the entrance to St. Mary Bay, Newfoundland . August 9, this
vessel and her consort killed two to the south and west of the Grand Bank in latitude 43° 57'. In
1822 Captain Atwood was on the "Laurel," of Provincetown, which took a Sperm Whale on the
sixth day out, on the course to the Azores, just east of the Gulf Stream, and less than 500 miles
from Cape Cod. The nearest grounds upon which Sperm Whales now regularly occur are those to
the north and east of Cape Hatteras, the "Hatteras Ground," and a ground farther south known as
the "Charleston Ground." The last one observed on the New England coast was very young, only
sixteen feet long, and was taken near New Bedford, Mass., March 29, 1843.*
In Douglass' "North America," published in 1755, it is stated that Spermaceti Whales "are to
be found almost everywhere, but are most plenty upon the coast of Virginia and Carolina."
'Macy, Zaccheus: History of Nautucket, p. 36.
2STARBUCK, Alexander: in Eeport U. S. Fisli Commission, part iv, 1878, p. SO.
3 Starbuck, op. cii., p. 46-47.
n845. Jackson, J. B. S. : Boston Journ. Nat. Hist., 1845, p. 138, pi. 16, fig. 1 (the stomach).
SPERM WHALES— ABUNDANCE AND HABITS. 9
A Sperm Whale came ashore in 1668 in Casco Bay, and the circumstance seems not to have
been regarded as unusual in those days.^
A person writing in 1741 discourses as follows: "Some Years since, there stranded on the
Coast of New England a dead Whale, of the Sort which, in the Fishers Language, is called Trumpo,
having Teeth like those ot a Mill ; it's Mouth at a good Distance from and under the Nose, and
several Partitions in the Nose, out of which ran a thin oily Substance that candy'd, the Eemaiuder
being a thick fat Substance, being scraped out, was said to be the Sperma Ceti; it was said so, and
I believe that was all. Whales were often caught formerly between New-England and New-York,
and if the Sperma Ceti had really been in the Nose of that, it must have been more common, and
more cheap, than Experience tells us, it has been even since this Discovery, and at this present
time. As to the Whale Fishery, 'tis now almost as much a Earity in New as Old England; the
Fishery of Cod is at this time very great here, tho' still far short of that of Newfoundland." ^
OccuERENCE ON THE COAST OF EuEOPE. — In the Eastern Atlantic, also, the occurrence of
this species has been by no means unusual. Fleming, in "British Animals," 1828, states that "the
Spermaceti Whale often comes ashore in Orkney." ^ In 1788, twelve males ran ashore in the Eng-
lish Channel.* Other iustauces of their stranding on the English coast occurred in February, 1689,'
1795,8 1766,' February 16, 1829,8 j^ 1825,^ and 1863,'° while others were obtained on the coast of
Brittany in 1784," and in the Mediterranean, at St. Nazaire, in 1856, '^ and on other occasions for
which dates are not given.
OcouRKENCB ON THE CALIFORNIA COAST. — Although Sperm Whales have occasionally been
taken off the California coast for the past thirty years, it would appear that few have been seen in
those waters since 1874. Captain Scammon has cited in his book no instances of individuals per-
sonally observed by him.
Size and color. — The sexes diff'er greatly in size and form, the female being slenderer and
from one-fifth (Beale) to one-third or one-fourth (Scammon) as large as the male. The largest
males measure from eighty to eighty-four feet in length, the head making up about one-third of the
whole. In the head is the cavity known as the "case," from which is obtained the spermaceti and
a quantity of oil. The youngest Sperm Whale on record is the one measuring sixteen feet, already
mentioned as having been taken near New Bedford in 1842; its weight was 3,053 pounds.
The Sperm Whale is black or brownish-black, lighter on the sides, gray on the breast. When
old it is gray about the nose and top of the head.
Habits of association, motion, blowing-, etc. — Sperm Whales are gregarious and are
often seen in large schools, which are, according to Beale, of two kinds, (1) of females accompanied
by the young and one or two adult males, (2) of the young and half-grown males; the adult males
always go singly. Their manner of motion is well described by Scammon as follows :
' In 1663 a Spermaceti Whale of 55 foot long was cast up in Winter Harbor, near Casco Bay. The like hath hap-
pened in other places of the country at several times, when, for want of skill to improve it, much gain hath slipped
out of the hands of the finders. — Hubbard's History of New England, From the Discovery to 1680. Boston, 1848, p. 642.
^British Empire in America. London, 1741, vol. i, pp. 188-189.
'Fleming: British Animals, 1828, p. 29.
•iGbay: Catalogue of Seals and Whales, 1866, p. 203.
"Sibbald: Phalainologia, 1773, p. 33, pi. 1.
liMoLYNEUX: Phil. Trans., xix, 1795, p. 508.
'Etjtty: f.de Gray, op. cit.
SHUNTER and Woods: Mag. Nat. Hist., ii, 1829, p. 197.
9 Thompson: Mag. Nat. Hist., ii, 1827, p. 477.
'"Gray: oj^. cit, p. 204.
" Blainville : Ann. fr. et fetr. d'Anatomie et de Physiologie, ii, p. 235.
I2GERVAIS: Comptes-Rendus, 1864, p. 876.
10 NATUEAL HISTORY OF AQUATIC ANIMALS.
"Among the whole order of cetaceans there is none which respires with the same regularity as
the Cachalot. When emerging to the surface, the first portion of the animal seen is the region of
the hump; then it raises its head, and respires slowly for the space of about three seconds, sending
forth diagonally a volume of whitish vapor like an escape of steam; this is called the ' spout,' which,
in ordinary weather, may be seen from the mast-head at a distance of three to five miles. In respir-
ing at its leisure, the animal sometimes makes no headway through the water; at other times it moves
quietly along at the rate of about two or three miles an hour; or if ' making a passage' from one feed-
ing ground to another, it may accelerate its velocity. When in progressive motion, after ' blowing,'
hardly an instant is required, for inspiration, when the animal dips its head a little, and moment-
arily disappears; then it rises again to blow as before, each respiration being made with great
regularity. * » * * With the largest bulls, the time occupied iu performing one inspiration is
from ten to twelve seconds, and the animal will generally blow from sixty to seventy-five times at
a rising, remaining upon the surface of the sea about twelve minutes. As soon as 'his spoutings
are out' he pitches headforemost downwards; then 'rounding out,' turns his flukes high in the air,
anil, when gaining nearly a perpendicular attitude, descends to a great depth, and there remains
from fifteen minutes to an hour and a quarter.
"When the Cachalot becomes alarmed or is sporting in the ocean, its actions are widely
different. If frightened, it has the faculty of instantly sinking, although nearly iu a horizontal
attitude. When merely startled, it will frequently assume a perpendicular position, with the
greater portion of its head above water, to look and listen ; or, when lying on the surface, it will
sweep around from side to side with its flukes to ascertain whether there is any object within
reach. At other times, when at play, it will elevate its flukes high in the air, then strike them
down with great force, which raises the water into spray and foam about it; this is termed 'lob-
tailing.' Oftentimes it desceuds a few fathoms beneath the waves ; then, giving a powerful shoot
nearly out of the water, at au angle of 45° or less, falls on its side, coming down with a heavy
splash, producing a jiyramid of foam which may be seen from the masthead on a clear day, at
least ten miles, and is of great advantage to the whaler when searching for his prey. * if » *
When individually attacked it makes a desperate struggle for life, and often escapes after a hard
contest. Nevertheless, it is not an unusual occurrence for the oldest males to be taken with but
little eflbrt on the part of the whaler. After being struck, the animal will oftentimes lie for a few
moments on the water as if paralyzed, which affords the active man of the lance opportunity to
dart his weapon effectually and complete the capture." '
Owing to the peculiar shape and position of the mouth, the Sperm Whale has to turn upon its
side to seize large objects between its jaws, and when one of them attacks a boat, it is in a reversed
position, holding its lower jaw above the object it is trying to bite, as is shown in many pictures of
whaling adventure.
Food. — The food of this species consists of squids and of various kinds of fish. Couch tells
of a young one, twenty feet long, taken on the coast of Cornwall, which had three hundred mack-
erel in its stomach. Captain Atwood states that when struck by the harpoon they eject from the
stomach quantities of large squids.
Eepeodtjction.— They are said to breed at all seasons of the year. Scammon states that the
time of gestation is supposed to be ten months, that the number of cubs is rarely two, never more
and that they are about one-fourth the length of their mother. In suckling the female reclines
upon her side in the watei".
' Scammon, Charles M. : Tlie Marino Mammals of the Northwestern Coast of North America described and
4itid illustrated, together with an account of the American Whale Fishery. San Francisco, 1874 pp. 74-84.
BLACKFISHES OE PILOT WHALES. 11
Useful products. — The peculiar products of the head of this cetacean, the sperm oil aud
the spermaceti, render its capture particularly profitable. According to Captain Atwood about
one-fifth of the yield of oil may be generally set down as the amount of spermaceti afforded by a
Sperm Whale. The teeth are used by ivory cutters, and the ambergris is a substance valuable to
druggists and perfumers. The parts of the body are to be described iu the chapter on oil making,
where the manner of cutting away the blubber will be discussed. The great lower jaws with their
rows of bristling teeth are often brought home as trophies by whalers, and in Provincetown, New
Bedford, or Nantucket may be seen gateways spanned by arches made of these bones.^
The following statement of yield of oil from whales taken by. New Bedford whalers was
furnished by Oapt. Benjamin Eussell in 1875 :
Capt. C. Allen captured one Sperm Whale, which tried out 150 barrels.
Captain Tiltou captured one Sperm Whale, which tried out 154 barrels.
Captain Spooner captured one Sperm Whale, which tried out 130 barrels.
Captain Knowles captured one Sperm Whale, which tried out 127 barrels.
A number of captains report Sperm Whales yielding from 80 to 120 barrels each.
The Porpoise Sperm Whalio. — A small cetacean rather closely allied to the Sperm Whale,
and called by certain authors the Porpoise Sperm Whale, occurs in the wa mer parts of the Pacific.
A specimen nine feet long was taken at Mazatlan, and was described by Professor Gill under the
name Kogia Floweri? It is of no economic importance. Nothing is known of its habits. A
sketch of the animal and its jaw are preserved in the National Museum.
2. THE BLACKFISHES OR PILOT WHALES,
Distribution. — The Blackfish, Olohicephalus intermedius (Harlanl Gray, is one of the most
important and most abundant of the small whales of the east coast. It occurs in great numbers
to the northeast of the Grand Bank, and off the New England and Middle States. How far south
it ranges is not certainly known. A closely related species is the PL'ot Whale or C^ing Whale of
Europe, G. siineval (Lac.) Gray, also called Black Whale, Social Whale, Blowing Whale, and
Bottlehead, the Svine-hval of Scandinavia; abundant in the North Sea and the northeastern
'In Douglass's North America (Boston and Loudon, 1755, vol. i, p. 57), tlie products of the Sperm Whale are thus
discoursed upon :
"Sperm a ceti Whales are to be found almost everywhere, they have no bone, so called; some may yield 60 to
70 barrels oil called viscous oil, the fittest for lamps or a burning light. It is from this whale that we have the par-
macitty or spermaceti (very improperly so called). The ancients were at a loss whether it was an animal or mineral
substance; Schroder, a celebrated Pharmacopoeia writer about the middle of last century, calls it Aliud genus bitu-
minis quod sperma ceti officinae vocant, he describes it Pinguedo furfurosa producta exhalatioue terrae sulphureae.
We now find that any part of its oil, but more abundantly the head-matter, as the whalers term it, if it stand .at rest
and in the sun will shoot into adipous fleaks resembling in some manner the chrystalisation of salts : instead of sperma
ceti, it ought to be called adeps ceti, in the materia medica. This same whale gives the ambergrease, a kind of per-
fume, as is musk: anciently it was by the natural historians described as a kind of bitumen, hence the name Amhra
grisea. Dale, a noted author, in his pharmacologia not long since publishes it as such. It is now fully discovered to
be some production from this species of whale, for some time it was imagined some peculiar coucreted juice lodged
in a peculiar cystis, in the same manner as is the castoreum of the beaver or Fibei- Canadensis, and the zibethum of the
civit-cat 01 hyena, in cystis's both sides of the Ani rima ; thus, not long since, some of our Nantucket whalers imag-
ined that in some (very few and rare) of these male or bull whales, they had found the gland or cystis in the loins near
the spermatick organs: late and more accurate observations seem to declare it to be some part of the ordure, dung,
or alvine excrement of the whale; squid-fish, one of the Newfoundland baits for cod, are sometimes in Newfoundland
cast ashore in quantities, aud as they corrupt and fry in the sun they become a jelly or substance of an ambergrease
smell; therefore as squid bills are sometimes found iu the lumps of ambergrease, it may be inferred, that ambergrease
is some of the excrement from squid-food, with some singular circumstances or dispositions that procure this quality,
seldom concurring; thus the Nantucket whalers for some years last, have found no ambergrease in their whales.
The Sperma ceti Whale has no bone or baleine in his mouth, but fine white teeth ; they are most plenty upon the coast
of Virginia and Carolina,"
^GlLL: Sperm-Whales, Giant and Pigmy, < American Naturalist, iv, p. 738, fig, 167.
1 2 l^ATUEAL HISTOEY OP AQUATIC ANIMALS.
Atlantic. Another species is the Blackflsh of the Eastern Pacific, G. Sc^immonii Coie, oi;ce
abundant, according to Scammon, on the coast of Lower Califoruia, bat now usually found off
Guatemala, Ecuador, and Peru, though occasionally ranging to high northern and southern
latitudes.
Size. — The ordinary length of the New England Blackflsh is fifteen to eighteen feet, though
they sometimes grow larger. The largest ever seen by Oapt. Caleb Cook, a veteran oil maker of
Cape Cod, measured twenty-flve feet and yielded five barrels of oil. The weight of a fifteen-foot
Blackfish is estimated at 800 to 1,000 pounds.
Movements. — They swim in large schools, sometimes several hundi-ed together. They make
little commotion at the surface of the water as they swim, not rolling like their little kindred, the
Porpoises, but come up often to spoilt, the jet of spray rising three or four feet, and emitted with a
low, deej), snorting sound. When at the surface they often remain iu sight several minutes. Usu-
ally their movements aae sluggish, though at times energetic enough, as can testify any one who has
seen a school of them driven up on the beach. They feed upon schooling fish, menhaden, mackerel,
herring, and squids. Blackflsh are in great terror of the Killer Whales, which drive them about
mercilessly. In September, 1878, 1 saw a school of them which had for some days been hovering
around the entrance to Provincetown Harbor fleeing tumultuously before two large whales with
high back-fins.
Eepboduction. — They breed in summer about Cape Cod. Out of one hundred and nineteen
driven ashore at Dennis in August, 1875, fully eighty were females with young, or recently born
calves of seven or eight feet. A foetus cut from a gravid Blackflsh of eighteen feet was nearly
seven feet long. All the females were yielding milk, and as the fishermen cut into their sides the
warm fluid i^oured out in copious streams.
Watson records, in the case of a female on the British coast suckling its young, that the calf
was four feet six inches long in December and seven feet in January. Scammon thinks that in the
Pacific they breed at all seasons. He found mothers with young calves off the Gulf of Dulce,
Guatemala, in February, 1853.
Stranding of the Blackpish schools.— As will be told more in detail in another chapter,
hundreds, and often thousands, of them are stranded yearly on the shores of Cape Cod. They
occasionally run ashore at Nantucket, and instances have occurred of their being driven in at Cape
Breton. Although there have been similar instances in Europe, especially at the Orkneys, I can-
not learn that such occurrences are sufliciently common anywhere else to be counted on by the
people as a regular source of income. A Cape Cod fisherman occasionally wakes up in the morning
to find two or three of these animals stranded in his back yard. "A pretty windfall," remarked
one of them to me. Cape Cod, projecting far out to i>ea, with its sloping, unbroken sandy shores,
seems like-a trap or weir naturally adapted for their capture, and the Indians took advantage of
this circumstance long before the European settlement. The Pilgrims, in 1620, found Indians on
the shore at Wellfleet cutting up a Grampus, and in the shell-heaps of the surrounding region are
yet to be found many evidences of their use of the smaller cetaceans for food. It is doubtful whether
the Blackfish, stupid as they seem, would ever run ashore if not frightened by such enemies as the
Killer. In fact a large share of those which become stranded are purposely driven up out of shoal
water, into which they have strayed, by men iu boats.
Little can be said about the time when they are most abundant. It seems to depend on the
supply of suitable food. Captain Cook believes that they feed mostly or entirely upon squids,
and if this be the case their appearance must be regulated by the abundance of these animals.
They are never seen earlier than June or later than December. Thirty years ago they were most
BLACKFI3HES AND GRAMPUSES. 13
plentiful in August. Before. 1874 they had never beeii seen before July. In July, 1875, a school
of 120 came ashore at Forth Dennis. Those taken in the iall are usually the fattest.
Captueb of Blackfish. — Many years ago several Cai)e Cod whalers made a business of
pursuing tho Blackfish on the whaling grounds east of the Grand Bank. This enterprise, described
in the chapter on the whale iishery, has been abandoned, but it is not uncommon for ordinary
whalemen to kill them from their boats to obtain supplies of fresh meat, and of oil to burn on
shipboard. That the flesh is not unpalatable the writer maintains, and can summon as witnesses
a number of persons who tasted one at the Smithsonian Institution in 1874. There is a fishery
for them at the Faroe Islands, and in the Pacific, says Scammon, small vessels are occasionally
fitted out for their capture. "Sperm whalers," he writes, "do not lower their boats for Blackfish
when on Sperm Whale ground, unless tho day is far spent and there is little prospect of 'seeing
whales.' The northern polar or whale-ships pay but little attention to them, except, perhaps, when
passing the time 'between seasons,' cruising within or about the tropics."
Useful-products. — The yield of oil from a Blackfish varies, according to the size and fatness
of the animal, from ten gallons to ten barrels. This is dark in color, and is classed with the
ordinary "body oil" or " whale oil." The blubber varies from one to four inches in thickness, and
is nearly white. The jaws yield a fine quality of machine oil, known as " porpoise jaw-oil", of which
however, a limited quantity suffices to supply the market. The value of a stranded Blackfish in
Oajje Cod varies from $5 to $40.
As is related elsewhere, Blackfish are often taken by whaling vessels when on a cruise, to
obtain oil for burning and a supply of fresh meat. The brains are made by the ship's cook into
"dainty cakes," as the whalemen call them, and the livers are said to be delicate and ai)petizing.^
Blackfish are harpooned by the Grand Bank cod-fishermen to be cut up and used for bait.
3. THE GEAMPTJSES OR COWFISHES.
Distribution. — Associated with the Blackfish on our east coast, though not so common, and
rarely stranded, is the Cowfish, Grampus griseus (Lesson) Gray, also found in Europe, south to
the British channel or farther, and there known as the " Grampus."
Color and size. — Its slate-colored sides are curiously variegated with white markings, very
irregular in size, shape and direction, evidently the results of accidental scratches in the epidermis.
' 1635, July 25 (on the Newfoundland Banks). — On Friday, in tUe evening, we had an hour or two of marvel-
lous delightful recreation, which also was a feast unto us for many days after, while we fed upon the flesh of three
huge porpoises, like to as many fat hogs, striked by our seamen, and hauled with ropes into the ship. The flesh of
them was good meat, with salt, pepper and vinegar ; the fat, like fat bacon, the lean like hull-beef; and on Saturday
evening they took another also. — Richard Mather's Journal. Young's Chronicles of the First Planters of Mass. Bay
Colony. Boston, 1846, p. 466.
I cannot refrain from quoting the following passage from the journal of the Rev. Richard Mather, one of the
earliest of the Massachusetts colonists:
" 1635, June 27, 28. — The first Sabbath from Milford Haven, and the sixth on shipboard; a fair, cool day ; wind
northerly, good for our purpose. I was exercised in the forenoon, and Mr. Maud in the afternoon. This oveniug we
saw Porpoises about the ship, and some would fain have been striking, but others dissuaded because of tho Sabbath ;
and so it was let alone.
" Monday morning, wind still northerly ; a fair, cool day. This morning, about seven of the clock, our seamen
struck a great Porpoise, and hauled it with ropes into the ship ; for bigness, not much less than a hog of 20 or 25 shil-
lings apiece, and not mucli unlike for shape, with flesh fat and lean, like in color to the fat and lean of a hog ; and
being opened upon the deck, had within his entrails, as liver, lights, heart, guts, &c., for all tho world like a swiue.
The seeing of him hauled into the ship, like a swine from the sty to the trestle, and opened upon the deck in view of
all our company, was wonderful to us all, and marvellous merry sport, and delightful to our women and children. So
good was our God unto us, in affording us the day before spiritual refreshing to our souls and this day morning also
delightful recreation to our bodies, at the taking and opening of this huge and strange fish."— Young's Chronicles of
the First Planters of Mass. Bay Colony. Boston, 1846, p. 460.
14 NATURAL HISTOET OF AQUATIC ANIMALS.
Captain Cook thinks that these are the marks of the teeth made by the animals in i)laying: with
each other. It attains the length of fifteen or twenty feet, but is slenderer than the Blackfish. Its
jaws are esteemed by the makers of fine oil.
Habits. — Eegarding this species, Captain Cook writes: "About the same time that the Black-
fish made their appearance in our waters, there was another of the whale kind made their appear-
ance also, called by the fishermen Cowflsh. These whales are very much in shape of the Blackfish,
only smaller, not so fat, and not so dark colored. These fish have only made their appearance in
our waters three or four times for the last forty years, or about once in ten years. Probably not
more than fifty have been taken in this period. The method of taking them is the same as that used
for Blackfish."
Several specimens, old and young, were obtained by the Fish Commission in 1875, November
29, November 30, and December 2. and their casts are in the National Museum. That this animal
was known to the early colonists of New England appears probable from allusions in the early
records.'
Products. — The oil of the Cowflsh, particularly that of its jaws, is highly prized, though prob-
ably no better than that of the Blackfish. The "Barnstable Patriot" of November 7, 1828, has this
item: "A quantity of oil from the G-rampus lately caught at Harpswell has been sold at Bath at
$18 per barrel." It is very possible, however, that the Barnstable people of 1828 designate the
Blackfish and the Grampus by the same name. Douglass' "North America," published in 1756,
remarks : " Blackfish, i. e. Grampus, of six to ten barrels oil, Bottlenose of three or four barrels, may
(like sheep) be drove ashore by boats."
The California Grampus. — On the California coast occurs the Whiteheaded or Mottled
G-rampus, G. Stearnsii Dall, described by Scammon as growing to the average length of ten feet.
"They are gregarious," he writes, "and congregate frequently in large schools; at times two or
three, or even a solitary individual will be met with, wandering about the coast or up the bays in
quest of food, which consists of fish and several varieties of crustaceans. It is rarely taken, as it is
extremely shy." He refers also to four other forms, unknown to zoologists, but familiar to whale-
men: chief among these is the "Bottlenose," which grows to be twenty-five feet long, and has
occasionally been taken, though with much difficulty owing to its great strength and speed. Its
oil is reputed to be equal in quality to that of the Sperm Whale.
4. THE HARBOR PORPOISES OR HERRING HOGS.
Distribution. — On the Atlantic coast occurs most abundantly the little Harbor Porpoise,
Phoccena irachycion Cope, known to the fishermen as "Puffer," "Snuffer," "Snuffing Pig," or
" Herring Hog." The Bay Porpoise of California, P. vomerina Gill, and the Common Porpoise or
Marsuin of Europe, are very similar in size, shape, and habits : with the latter in fact it is probably
specifically identical. The Atlantic species occurs off Nova Scotia and probably farther north-
ward, and ranges south at least to Florida. The California species, according to Scammon, has
been found at Banderas Bay and about the mouth of the Piginto Eiver, Mexico (latitude 20° 3(i'),
and north to the Columbia Eiver (latitude 46° 16'). In the winter these Porpoises are seen off
Astoria and in Cathlamet Bay twenty miles above, but in spring and summer, when the river is
fresh to its mouth, they leave the Columbia. The Atlantic Porpoise also ascends rivers. They go
'Belknap's Amerioan Biography has the folio-wing account of one of the journeys of the first settlers of Jlapsa-
chusetts in 1620 :
"The next morning, Thursday, December 7, they divided themselves into two parties, eight in the shallop, and
the rest on shore, to make farther discovery of this place, which they found to be 'a bay, -without either river or creek
coming into it.' They gave it the name of Grampus Bay, because they saw many fish of tbat species." — Belknap's
American Biography, New York, 1846, vol. ii, p. 318.
HARBOR PORPOISES: MOVEMENTS AND HABITS. 15
up the Saint John's in Florida to Jacksonville, and about 1850 one was taken in the Connecticut
at Middletown, twenty miles from brackisli water. In Europe they ascend the Thames, the Weser,
and other streams.
Size and movements. — They rarely exceed four or four and a half feet in length. Every one
has seen them rolling and puf&ng outside of the breakers or in the harbors and river mouths. The
western Atlantic species swim in droves of from ten to one hundred, but Scammon says that those
of California are never found associated in large numbers, though six or eight are often seen together.
In England, according to Couch, seldom more than two are seen at once. They never spring from
the water like Dolphins, but their motion is a rolling one and brings the back-fin often into sight,
this always appearing shortly after the head has been exposed and the little puff of spray seen and
the accompanying grunt heard. The rolling motion is caused by the fact that to breathe through
the nostrils, situate on the top of the snout, they must assume a somewhat erect posture, descending
from which the body passes through a considerable portion of a circle.
Repeodtjction. — The breeding season is in summer, in August and September, in Passama-
quoddy Bay, perhaps also at other times. The new-born young of an English Porpoise fifty-six
inches long, measured twenty-six inches, and was sixteen inches in circumference.
Food. — They feed on fish, particularly on schooling species like the herring and menhaden,
and are responsible for an enormous destruction of useful food material.
Uses. — Though frequently taken in the pounds and seines along both coasts and off Massa-
chusetts in the gill-nets set for mackerel, they are of little importance except to the Indians of
Maine and our Northwestern Territories, who carry on an organized pursuit of them, shooting them
from their canoes. This industry will be described in the chapter upon Aboriginal fishebibs.
Destkxtctiveness. — The Porpoise is pugnacious as well as playful. A fisherman in Florida
told me that he once tried to pen a school of them in a little creek by anchoring his boat across its
entrance. When they came down the creek they sprang over the boat against the sail, through
which they tore their way and regained the river. A correspondent, whose name has been mislaid,
writes : "A very unusual event occurred at Far Rockaway on Tuesday morning, about four o'clock,
in front of the Nelson House. A school of Drumfish were chased into shallow water by a school
of Porpoises. The Drumfish tried their best to get away, but the Porpoises pursued them so hotly
that a number of the former were driven ashore. The people of the hotel were awakened by a
great splashing and a noise somewhat similar to but less distinct than the grunt of a frightened
hog. Looking out of the windows they saw the Porjjoises striking the Drumfish with their tails.
Soon after the Porpoises turned and left. The porters at the hotel and some of the fishermen
secured with boat-hooks about twenty-five dead Drumfish, and a large number are still floating
around Jamaica Bay. The Drumfish secured weighed from thirty to seventy pounds each. Some
were sent to Canarsie for exhibition and others to Fulton Market for sale."
The Drum being an enemy of the Oyster, it is possible that the Porpoise by destroying them is
a benefactor. It would be no more curious than the experience of the Canadian Government in
decreasing their Salmon fishery in the St. Lawrence by destroying the White Whales which preyed
upon the seals, the enemies of the Salmon. The story about the Porpoises killing drum seems
incredible, but is supported by Sir Charles Ly ell's account of a battle between the Porpoises and the
Alligators in Florida : " Mr. Couper told me that in the summer of 1845 he saw a shoal of Por-
poises coming up to that part of the Altamaha where the fresh and salt water meet, a space about
a mile in length, the favorite fishing ground of the Alligators, where there is brackish water,
which shifts its place according to the varying strength of the river and the tide. Here were seen
about fifty AUigators, each with head and neck raised above water, looking down the stream at
16 NATURAL HISTORY OF AQUATIC ANIMALS.
their enemies, before whom the.y had fled terror-stricken and expecting an attack. The Porpoises,
not more than a dozen in nnmber, moved on in two ranks, and were evidently complete masters of
the field. So powerful indeed are they that they have been known to chase a large Alligator to the
bank, and, putting their snouts under his belly, toss him ashore."^
The authority referred to, Mr. Hamilton Oouper, of Hopeton, Ga., was a gentleman of some
prominence as a geological observer.
5. THE DOLPHINS.
Habits. — The Dolphins constitute a large group of cetaceans, represented by many species, and
abundant everywhere in temperate and tropical seas. They are often seen in mid-ocean sporting
in large schools, pursuing the pelagic fishes, but are still more common near the coast. They are
from five to fifteen feet long, gracefully formed, and very swift. Nowhere are they the objects of
organized pursuit, though frequently caught in nets or harpooned from the bows of vessels at sea.
Many cod schooners fishing on the Grand Banks, especially those from Cape Cod, depend chiefly for
bait upon the Porpoises they can kill and the birds they can catch. The best known species on the
Atlantic coast are tbe " Skunk Porpoise" or " Bay Porpoise," Lagenorhynchus perspicillatus Cope,
and related forms. Large schools are often seen in the sounds and along (he shore. They are
easily distinguished from the little Harbor Porpoise, just spoken of, by the broad stripes of white
and yellow upon their sides. When schools of a hundred or more can be suri'ounded and driven
ashore by the fishermen, as is often done on Cape Cod, a large profit is made from the sale of their
bodies to the oil-makers, though they are not so much prized as the Blackfish, so much larger and
fatter. A closely related species is the Common Porpoise of California, Lagenorhynchus obliquidens
Gill. " They are seen," writes Captain Scammon, "in numbers varying from a dozen up to many
hundreds tumbling over the surface of the sea, or making arching leaps, plunging again on the
same curve, or darting high and falling diagonally sidewise upon the water with a spiteful splash,
accompanied by a report which may be heard to some distance. In calm weather they are seen in
numerous shoals, leaping, plunging, lobtailing and finning, while the assemblage moves swiftly in
various directions. They abound more along the coasts where small fish are found. Occasionally
a large number of them will get into a school of fish, frightening them so much that they lose
nearly all control of their movements, while the Porpoises fill themselves to repletion."
The Right Whale Porpoise, Levcorhamphus borealis (Peale) Gill, is found in the Pacific from
Bering Sea to Lower California, though not so abundantly as the last. The Right Whale Poi'poise
of the Atlantic, often spoken of by our whalers, is a related species, perhaps L. Peronii (Lac.)
Lilljebo: g, abundant in the South Atlantic and Pacific, but not yet recorded by naturalists for our
waters. Several species of the true Dolphins occur in the North Atlantic, but only one, Belphinus
clymenis, has been found with us. Cope having secured it in New Jersey. Baird's Dolphin D.
Bairdii Dall, a species six or seven feet long and weighing 100 to 175 pounds, is frequent in Cali-
fornia. The Cowfish of California, Tursiops Qillii Dall, is a sluggish species known to the whale-
men of the lagoons,^ and an allied species, T. erebennus (Cope) Gill, is known on the Atlantic coast.
New forms of this group are constantly being discovered. All are of commercial value when taken.
'Lybll: Second Visit to the United States, vol. i, 1849, p. 25'i.
^The liabits of the Cowfish, as observed on the coasts of California and Mexico, are strikingly different from those
of the true Porpoises. Itis often remarked by vchalemen that they are a "mongrel breed" of doubtful character, being
frequently seen in company with Blackfish, sometimes with Porpoises, and occasionally with Humpbacks, when the
latter are found in large numbers on an abundant feeding ground. They are met with likewise in the lagoons along
the coast, singly or in pairs, or in fives and sixes — rarely a larger number together — straggling about in a vagrant man-
ner through the winding estuaries, subsisting on the fish that abound in these circumscribed waters. At times they
are seen moving lazily along under the shade of the mangroves that in many places fringe the shores, at other times
lying about in listless attitudes among the plentifnl supplies of food surrounding them. — Scammon: pp. cit., p. 101.
TSE killer- WHALES: HABITS AND USES. 17
6. THE KILLER WHALES OR ORCAS.
Habits and distribution. — The Killer Whales are known the world over by their destruc-
tive and savage habits. Although their strength and speed render :t almost impossible to capture
them, they are of importance to the fisherman as enemies of all large sea animals, often putting
them to flight at inconvenient times. The Atlantic species, Orca gladiator (Bonnaterre) Gill, was
first brought to notice in 1671 in Martens' "Voyage to Spitzbergen." It is often seen on the New
England coast in summer, driving before it schools of the blackfisli or othersm all whales : it is a
special enemy of the tunny or horse mackerel: Captain Atwood tells of the consternation shown
by these enormous fishes when a number of them have gathered in Provincetown Harbor and the
Killers come in. They are a great annoyance to the Cape Cod people when they are trying to drive
a school of blackflsh ashore, and on the other hand often drive these ashore when they would not
be accessible to the fishermen. They prey largely, too, upon the white whale in northern seas.
In the Pacific there are two species at least, the Low-finned Killer, Orca atra Cope, and the High-
finned Killer, Orca rectipinna. The latter, though rarely more than twentj' feet long, has an
enormous dagger-shaped fin, six feet high, upon its back, which towers above the surface when
the animal swims high. In fact the Killer Whales all have these high back-fins, by which they
may be recognized at any distance.
Destructivbness. — Captain Scammon, in his "Marine Mammals of the Northwestern Coast,"
gives a long account of their habits, and of their fierce attacks upon the largest whales. The stories
of the combats of the swordflsh and the thresher shark upon whales have probably originated in
such combats as these, witnessed at a distance and imperfectly understood. Captain Scammon
writes : " The attacks of these wolves of the ocean upon their gigantic prey may be likened in some
respects to a pack of hounds holding the stricken deer at bay. They cluster about the animal's
head, some of their number breaching over it while others seize it by the lips and haul the bleeding
monster under water; and when captured, should the mouth be open, they eat out its tongue.
We saw an attack made by three Killers upon a cow whale and her calf in a lagoon on the coast
of Lower California, in the spring of 1858. The whale was of the California gray species, and her
young was grown to three times the bulk of the largest Killers engaged in the contest, which lasted
for an hour or more. They made alternate assaults upon the old whale and her ofl'spring, finally
killing the latter, which sunk to the bottom, where the water was five fathoms deep. During the
struggle, the mother became nearly exhausted, having received several deciJ wounds about the throat
and lips. As soon as their prize had settled to the bottom, the three Orcas descended, bringing up
large pieces of flesh in their mouths, which they devoured after coming to the surface. While
gorging themselves in this wise the old whale made her escape, leaving a track of p'ory water
behind."!
Annoyance to whalemen. — Instances are given where whales which had been killed by whale-
men and were being towed to the ship have been forcibly carried away by bands of Killers. They
are also obnoxious as destroyers of the young fur seal, and often remain for a long time in the
vicinity of the seal islands. Eschricht says that thirteen porpoises and fourteen seals were found
in the stomach of an Atlantic Killer, sixteen feet in length. They are particularly abundant in
the bays and sounds of British Columbia and Alaska, in search of seals and porpoises feeding there
upon small fish. They even attack the full-grown walrus and rob it of its young.
Uses. — Their range is cosmopolitan. They are never attacked by whale ships, and their only
pursuers in America are the Makah Indians of Washington Territory, who, according to Scammon,
'Scammon: op. cit, pp. 89-90.
2f
18 THE WHALES AND PORPOISES.
occasionally take them about Cape Flattery, considering their fat and flesh luxurious food. Their
jaws, studded with strong conical teeth, are often sold in our curiosity shons.
7, THE SPERM WHALE PORPOISE.
Capture of two individuals in New England. — A specimen twenty-five feet long of this
animal, Hy^emodon Mdens Owen, was found on the beach at North Dennis, Mass., January 29,
1869; another was obtained in 1860 or 1867 at Tiverton Stone Bridge, R. I. I am indebted to Mr.
J. n. Blake for an outline of this cetacean, and the following notes, taken by him at the time, he
having visited Dennis and obtained the skeleton for the Museum of Comparative Zoology : "When
found," he writes, "the blood was still warm. It was twenty-five feet long, six feet high, and the
tail was six feet across. The flippers were twenty-nine inches long, the snout twenty inches. The
hump on the back was three or four inches high, thick at the base and narrowing toward the
tip. The blubber was two and a half to four inches thick, and sold for $175. Squid-beaks enough
to fill two waiter-buckets were taken from the stomach."
8. THE WHITE WHALE.
Distribution. — The White Whale, Delphinapterus catodon (Linn.) Gill, first described in 1671
in Martens' " Voyage to Spitzbergen," resembles in form the other members of the Dolphin family,
slender and graceful, with a small head and powerful tail. The adult, which attains a length of
fifteen or sixteen feet, is creamy white in color ; the young, five or six feet long when newly born,
is lead-colored, passing through a period of mottled coloration before assuming the mature appear-
ance. The species is abundant in the North Atlantic, North Pacific, and Arctic Oceans. Stragglers
have been seen in the Frith of Forth, latitude 56°, while on the American coast several have been
taken within the past decade on the north shore of Cape Cod. They are slightly abundant in New
England waters, but in the Saint Lawrence Eiver and on the coast of Labrador are plentiful, and
the object of a profitable fishery. They abound in the Bering and Okhotsk Seas, and ascend the
Yukon Eiver, Alaska, to a distance of 700 miles. The names in use are Beluga and Whiteflsh
among whalers, Porpoise, Dauphin Blanc, Marsuin or Marsoon in Canada, and Keela Luak with the
Greenland Eskimos.
Habits. — The species is familiar to many from having been recently exhibited in several aqua-
riums, and also by traveling showmen. When in captivity they feed on living eels, of which a grown
individual consumes two or three bushels daily. They are also known to subsist on bottom fish,
like flounders and halibut, on cod, haddock, and salmon, squids and prawns. They are, in their
turn, the food of larger whales, such as the killer or orca. They swim in small schools, entering
shallow sounds and rapid rivers in swift pursuit of their food. They spout inconspicuously, and
are not easily distinguished wheu swimming.
The few which have been taken recently along our Atlantic coast have been sold to aquariums
or to natural history museums, yielding good prices to their captors. The fishery in the river
Saint Lawrence is of considerable importance.
Historical note.— The first allusion to the occurrence of this cetacean in our waters was
printed by Josslyn in 1675, in his "Account of Two Voyages to New England": "The Sea-hare is
as big as Grampus or Herrin-hog, and as white as a sheet; There hath been of them in Black-point
Harbour, & some way up the river, but we could never take any of them, several have shot sluggs
at them, but lost their labour."
Captures in Massachusetts.— "About the year 1857," writes Captain Atwood, " a species of
cetacean twelve or fourteen feet long was killed in Provincetown Harbor, oft" Long Point, which no
WHITE WHALE AND NARWHAL. i^)
one knew. I examined it and found it to differ from all the others then known here. Not long
after it was announced that there was a White Whale on exhibition at the Aquarial Gardens in
Boston ; that Mr. Cutting had brought alive from the Eiver Saint Lawrence a species that had never
been seen south of that river. Soon after I visited Boston and called to see it. I pronounced it to
be identical with the unknown species taken at Provincetown. In 1875 or 1876 another was seen in
the harbor, but the boats could not get it."
October 11, 1875, two individuals, a cow about ten feet long and weighing 700 pounds approx-
imately, and a calf nearly as large as its mother, weighing about 500 pounds, were taken in the
Yarmouth Eiver by Capt Benjamin Lovell. They were sold to the Boston Society of Natural
History.^
Uses. — Certain oil manufacturers from Cape Cod have agencies in Canada, from which they
obtain the materials for the manufacture of an excellent machine oil, sold under the name of
"Porpoise-jaw oil." A large White Whale yields from eighty to one hundred gallons of ordinary
oil, besides the more precious head oil. Porpoise leather is made from the skins, a leather of almost
indestructible texture, and peculiarly impervious to water. From this the Canadian mail-bags are
made, and, to some extent, tourists' walking shoes. On our Alaska coast they are not unfrequently
taken, chiefly by the natives, but the fishery has not yet become of commercial importance. In
Eastern Siberia, according to Scammon, there are extensive fisheries carried on by the natives
from June to September, with nets and harpoons. They eat the flesh and sell the oil, a considerable
portion of which is no doubt secured by American whale ships.^
9. THE NARWHAL.
Distribution. — The Narwhal, Monodon monoceros Linn., whose long spiral tusk has always
been an object of curiosity, and gave rise to the stories of the imaginary creature known as the
Unicorn, is now found in only one part of the United States — along the northern shores of Alaska.
It is still abundant in the Arctic Ocean, and many tusks are brought down yearly by American
and European whalers, obtained from the natives of Greenland and Siberia. It has long since
ceased to appear on the coasts of Great Britain, the last having been seen off Lincolnshire in 1800.
There is a record of one having been seen in the Elbe at Hamburg in 1736.
Size, uses, etc. — The Narwhal is ten to fourteen feet long, somewhat resembling the white
whale in form, is black, and in old age mottled or nearly white. The tusk, a modified tooth,
grows out of the left side of the upper jaw, to the length of eight or ten feet. All its teeth, except
its tusks, are early lost, and it is said to feed on fish and soft sea-animals. The Eskimos utilize it
in many ways. Its ivory, however, is the only product of value to civilized man, this being made
1 Yesterday morniDg Capt. Benjamin Lovell captured two fine specimens of the White Whale in the weir at
Yarmouth, which is probably the first time this kind of fish has been taken in the waters of the United States on the
Atlantic seaboard. The specimens captured are a cow and calf, the former about ten feet long, perfectly white, and
weighing about 700 pounds, and the latter some two feet less in length, of a dark gray color, and about 500 pounds
weight, both being quite fat. — Evening Standard, New Bedford, October 12, 1875.
2 At a meeting, in 1860, of the Polytechnic Association of the American Institute, in New York, a paper was read,
prepared by D. H. Tetu, of Kamouragka, Canada, on the White Whale of the Saint Lawrence. The Canadians call
it a Porpoise ; it is found for a distance of 200 miles between Saint Koch and Father Point, also in the rivers emptying
into Hudson's Bay. Since the discovery of Canada, an article of commerce, but the oil not very good and little use
found for the skin; lately M. Tetu has succeeded in purifying the oil and tanning the skin. The oil is equal to the
best sperm oil. The average price of the animal ten years ago was $40, now it is $150, The average weight is 2,500
pounds ; the largest weigh 5,000 pounds, and are worth $200. The average length is twenty-two feet, and circumfer-
ence fifteen feet. M. Tetu caught the whale in nets near the river Saguenay.
The skin does not make good sole-leather, being too pliable. Ordinary tanning processes are employed, except that
the lining is omitted, and the "training" takes more time on account of the closeness of the fiber of the skin. The
leather is very durable, and the skin of a whale is equal to the skins of twelve to twenty-four calves. The leather is
chiefly used in the British army.
20 THE WHALES AND PORPOISES.
into canes and other articles of ornament. The supply in this country is chiefly imported from
Denmark. In New York City in 1880 a good tusk sold for ;
10. THE GREENLAND, BOWHEAD, OR POLAR WHALE.
Confusion between the Bowhead and the Eight Whale. — Much uncertainty has
resulted from the manner in which the Bowhead of the arctic regions has been confused with the
right whales of tlie adjoining temperate seas. Murray, writing in 1866," made no attempt to clear
up the subject; previous writers were confused as well as vague, and it is only in Scammon's
writings that a clear account of the distribution and habits of the species is to be found. The
materials for the following biographical sketch are derived in the main from the statements of this
author, and quotation marks are omitted only because the facts are arranged in a new sequence.^
Distribution. — The range of the true Balcena mysticetus extends west from Nova Zembla to
the coast of Eastern Siberia. Its northern limits yet remain undefined: it is seldom seen in Bering
Sea south of the fifty-fifth parallel, which is about the southern extent of the winter ice, though in
the Sea of Okhotsk it ranges south to the parallel of 54°. It was formerly found to the north of
Spitzbergen, but it has been shown by Eschricht and Eeinhardt that its habitat is, and always has
been, confined to the polar seas, and that it has no claim to a place in the fauna of Europe.'
Everything tends to prove that the Bowhead is truly an " ice-whale," for its home is among
the scattered floes or about the borders of the ice-fields or barriers. It is true that these animals
are pursued in the open water during the summer months, but in no instance has their capture
been recorded south of where winter ice-flelds are occasionally met with. In the Okhotsk Sea they
are found throughout the season after the ice disappears, nevertheless they remain around the floes
till these are dispelled by the summer sun, and they are found in tbe same localities after the
surface of the water has again become congealed in winter.
' Murray : Geographical Distribntion of Mammals, pp. 207-208.
^In "A Digression concerning Whaling," written in 1748, published in Douglass' North America, Boston and
London, 1755, vol. i, p. 56, is the earliest discrimination I have met with of the Bowhead and the Right Whale of the
extra-polar regions. Some interesting facts are given :
"The New-England whalers distinguish 10 or 12 different species of the whale-kind ; the most beneficialis the
black whale, whale-bone whale, or true whale, as they call it ; in Davis's-straits in N. lat. 70 D. and upwards they are
very large, some may yield 150 puncheons being 400 to 500 barrels oil, and bone of 1-i feet and upwards ; thej are a
heavy loggy fish, and do not fight, as the New-England whalers express it, they are easily struck and fastened, but
not above one third of them are recovered ; by sinking and bewildering themselves under the ice, two thirds of them
are lost irrecoverably; the whalebone whales killed upon the coast of New-England, Terra de Labradore, and entrance
of Davis's-straits, are smaller, do yield not exceeding 120 to 130 barrels oil, and 9 feet bone 140 lb. wt. ; they axe wilder
more agile and do fight.
"The New England whalers reckon so many ct. wt. bone, as bone is feet long ; for instance, 7 foot bone gives 700
wt. bone : New England bone scarce ever exceeds 9 feet ; and 100 barrels oil is supposed to yield 1000 wt. of bone ;
whales killed in deep water, if they sink, never rise again."
A few paragraphs below, however, he proceeds to mix the subject up again, speaking of the Finback, when it is
quite evident that the Whale he has in mind is not the right- whale but the " Eight Whale."
"The fin-back, beside two small side-fins, has a large fin upon his back, may yield 50 to 60 barrels oil, his bone
is brittle, of little or no use, he swims swifter, and is very wild when struck. The Berraudians some years catch 20 of
these whales, not in sloops, but in whale-boats from Ihe shore as formerly at Cape-Cod. The governor of Bermudas
has a perquisite of 10£. out of each old whale.
"Whales are gregarious," he continues, " and great travellers or passengers; in the autumn they go south, in
the spring they return northward. They copulate like neat cattle, but the female in a supine posture. The true or
whalebone whale's swallow is not much bigger than that of an ox, feeds upon small flsh and sea insects that keep in
sholes, has only one small fin each side of his head of no great use to him in swimming, but with a large horizontal
tail he sculs himself in the water. The North Cape (in N. Lat. 72 D. in Europe) whales, are of the same small kind
as are the New-Engl.ind, and entrance of Davis's-straits : here we may again observe, that the high European latitudes
are not so cold as the same American latitudes, because 72 D. is tbe proper N. Lat. in Davis's-straits for the large
whales, and the Dutch fish for them longside of fields or large islands of ice, they use long warps, not drudges as in
New-England."
'EscHRiCHT & Eeinhardt: Om Nordhvaleu, 1861.
THE BOWHBAD: SIZE, USES.
21
Reprodxjction. — The time and place of breeding are not certainly known, but it is suj^posed
that the young are born in the inaccessible parts of the Arctic Ocean. In Tchantar Bay are found
small whales called " Poggys," which resemble the Bowhead, and are by many believed to be their
young.
The Bowheads of the Arctic are classed by Scammon as follows : (1) the largest whales of a
brown color, average yield of oil 200 barrels; (2) smaller, color black, yield 100 barrels; (3) small-
est, color black, yield 75 barrels, and to these should perhaps be added (4) the " poggy," yield 20 to
25 barrels. Those of the third class are generally found early in the season among the broken
floes, and have been known to break through ice three inches thick that had been formed over
water between the floes. This they do by coming up under and striking it with the arched portion
of their heads. Hence they have been called " ice-breakers."
Economic mpOETAiiCB. — The Bowhead is the most valuable of the whalebone whales, not so
much by reason of its size, for it rarely exceeds fifty feet in length, never sixty-five, but because
it yields so large an amount of oil and whalebone. It is short, bulky, and bloated in appearance.
Like the sperm whale, it has a head the length of which is nearly one-third of the total, and which
is its most striking feature. The caudal fin is immense, being sixteen to twenty feet in extent from
tip to tip, and correspondingly thick and broad.
Size. — Scammon gives measurements of two individuals. One, from the Arctic Ocean, August,
1867, was forty-seven feet long, and yielded eighty barrels of oil. The other, from the same ocean,
in 1870, was forty-five feet long, yielded sixty barrels of oil and 1,050 pounds of bone. Capt. David
Gray, of Peterhead, also gives measurements of an individual taken in Greenland. Some of the
most important dimensions of these three whales are presented here, in order to impart to the
reader an idea of their proportions:
Length
Lengtli of head — nose to eye . .
Breadth of body between fins .
Girth in largest place
Length of pectorals
Breadth of tail
Length of longest bone
Tbicliness of blubber
Breadth of lip
Gape of mouth
Scammon,
'Captain Poole's
whale."
Feet. in.
47
8
19
10 6
11
Scammon,
'Captain Smith's
whale."
Feet. in.
45
28
7 3
16
'Captain Gray'e
whale."
Feet. in.
47
17 8
H
20
10 1
5
10 8
Movements. — When not disturbed the animal remains up, generally to respire, from one and
a half to two minutes, during which time it spouts from six to nine times, and then disappears for
the space of ten to twenty minutes. The volume of vapor is similar to that ejected by the right
whale. Sometimes, when engaged in feeding, it remains down for twenty-five minutes or more.
When struck by the whalemen they have been known to remain on the muddy bottom, at a depth
of fifty fathoms or more, for the space of an hour and twenty minutes. Their movements and the
periods of time they remain above or below the surface are, however, irregular. When going
gently along or lying quietly, they show two portions of the body — the spout-holes, and a part of
the back.
Baleen. — The baleen, or "whalebone," of the Greenland and the Eight Whales, being of so much
importance commercially, it cannot be amiss to explain, by means of diagrams and a description,
22 THE WHALES AND POKPOISES.
how it is attached to the mouth of the animal, and for what purposes it is used, even at the risk of
being a trifle too elementary for many of the readers of this chapter.
It is wrongly called " whalebone," since it is not bone, but a substance, resembling equally hair
and horn, which grows in the mouth of the animal as a substitute for teeth,i being, as anatomists
generally admit, a peculiar development of hair growing upon the palate.'' This substance is
developed into a sieve-like apparatus, consisting of extensive rows of compact, flexible, closely set
plates or blades, growing from the thick gum at the circumference and palatal surface of the upper
jaw, hanging down upon both sides of the tongue.
Capt. David Gray, of the whaling ship "Eclipse," of Peterhead, Scotland, has recently made
a number of important observations upon these whales, one of the most important of which was the
ascertainment of the manner in which the Baleen Whales operate the powerful sieve-like organs
within their jaws. He has also published some very interesting diagrams of the interior of
the mouth of the Greenland Whale.^
"Along the middle of the crown-bone," writes Captain Gray, "the blades of whalebone are
separated from each other by three-quarters of an inch of gum, but the interval decreases both
towards the nose and the throat to a quarter of an inch. The gum is always white; in substance
it resembles the hoof of a horse, but softer. It is easily cut with a knife, or broken by the hand,
and is tasteless. The whalebone representing the palate is lined inside the mouth with hair, for
the purpose of covering the space between the slips, and prevents the food on which the Whale
subsists from escaping. This hair is short at the roof of the mouth, but is from twelve to twenty
inches long at the points of the whalebone. This it requires to be, because when the mouth is
opened the bone springs forward, and the spaces are greatest at the points. I counted the number
of blades of whalebone in a whale's head last voyage, and found 286 on the left, and 289 on the
right side of the head.
" Hitherto it has been believed that the whale bone had room to hang perpendicularly from
the roof of the mouth to the lower jaw, when the mouth was shut, but such is not the case. The
bone is, however, arranged so as to reach from the upper to the lower jaw when the mouth is open;
were it otherwise the whale would not be able to catch its food; it would all escape underneath
the points of the whalebone. The whale has no muscular power over its whalebone, any more
than other animals have over their teeth. When the animal opens its mouth to feed, the whale-
bone springs forward and downward, so as to fill the mouth entirely ; when in the act of shutting
it again, the whalebone being pointed sUghtly towards the throat, the lower jaw catches it and
carries it up into a hollow in front of the throat."*
' The uul)oru Greenland Whale has undeveloped teeth ( " sixty to seventy dental pulps on each side of each jaw "),
hut they never cut the gum, hut are reabsorbed into the system.
^BacMand remarks: "Aristotle first remarked this fact: 'Mysticetus eliam pilas in ore habet vice dentium suis
seiis similes' — the whale has hairs in his mouth, instead of teeth, like the hairs of a pig." Professor Owen has also
remarked that "to a person looking into the mouth of a stranded whale, the concavity of the palate would appear to
be beset with coarse hair."
»Land and Water, December 1, 1877, p. 468.
■"Capt. David Gray's observations upon the position of the whalebone in the mouth of the Greenland Whale are
quite novel, and of great interest. They arose, as the captain tells me in a letter just received, in consequence of a
conversation which we had together a few years ago, while looking at the skeleton of the large Whale mounted iu the
Museum of the College of Surgeons. I asked if he could explain, what had always been to me, as to others who have
never had Captain Gray's opportunities of observation, a great puzzle, viz, how the whalebone could be so much
longer than the space which it occupied in the animal's mouth, supposing the blades to be placed, as usually repre-
sented, at right angles with the long axis of the jaws. This difficulty occurred in looking at all the authentic figures,
such as Scoresby's, in which the height of the head is far too small for the length assigned to the whalebone on the
supposition stated above, and equally in looking at the actual bony frame- work of the head. Captain Gray's explana-
tion that the slender ends of the whalebone blades fold backwards when the mouth is shut, the longer ones from the
THE BOWHEAD: FOOD AND FEEDING. ' 28
Food. — The food of the Bowhead consists of floating animals, classed by the whalemen njidei
the names "right whale feed" and "brit." Many kinds of invertebrates are, of course, included
under these general terms, one of the most abundant of which is, perhaps, a kind of winged or
pteropod mollusk, the Olio borealis, which, occurs in northern seas, floating in great masses. When
the Bowhead is feeding it moves with considerable velocity near the surface, its jaws being open
to allow the passage of currents of water into the cavity of the mouth and through the layers of
baleen at the sides. All eatable substances are strained out by the fringes of the baleen and are
swallowed.
Feeding habits. — The manner of feeding is well described by Captain Gray : " When the food
is near the surface they usually choose a space between two pieces of ice, from three to four
hundred yards apart, which we term their beat, and swim backwards and forwards, until they are
satisfied that the supply of their food is exhausted. They often go with the point of their nose so
near the surface that we can see the water running over it just as it does over a stone in a shallow
stream ; they turn round before coming to the surface to blow, and lie for a short time to lick the
food off their bone before going away for another mouthful. They often continue feeding in this
way for hours, on and off, afterwards disappearing under the nearest floe, sleeping, I believe, under
the ice, and coming out again when ready for another meal. In no other way can this sudden
reai)pearance at the same spot be accounted for.
" Very often the food lies from ten to fifteen fathoms below the surface of the water. In this
case the whales' movements are quite different. After feeding they come to the surface to breathe
and lie still for a minute. One can easily see the effort they make when swallowing. They then
raise their heads partially out of the water, diving down again, and throwing their tails up in the
air every time they disappear. Their course below the water can often be traced from their- eddy.
This is caused by the movement of the tail, which has the effect of smoothing the water in circles
immediately behind them.
" More whales have been caught when feeding in this way than in any other; they lie longer on
the surface, often heading the same way every time they appear, which is very important to whale
fishers, because whales must be approached tail-on to give anj' certainty of getting near enough
to have a chance of harpooning them, and the harpooner has a better idea Avhere to place his boat
to be in readiness to pall on to them whenever they come to the surface.
" Like all the other inhabitants of the sea, whales, are affected by the tides, being most numerous
at the full and change of the moon, beginning to appear three days before, and disappearing entirely
three days after, the change. Often this will go on for months with the utmost regularity, unless
some great change in the ice takes place, such as the floes breaking up on tlie ice being driven off
the ground ; in either case they will at once disappear.
" No doubt whales are seen, and often taken at any time of the tides ; but if a herd is hunted
middle of the jaw falling into the hollow formed by the shortness of the hlades behind them, as seen in the side view, is
perfectly clear and satisfactory. It shows, moreover, how, whether the mouth is shut or open, or in any intermediate
position, the lateral spaces between the upper and lower jaw are always kept filled up by the marvelously constructed
hair sieve, or strainer, which adapts itself by its flexibility and elasticity to the varying condition of the parts between
which it is, as it were, stretched across. If the whalebone had been rigid and depending perpendicularly from the
upper jaw when the mouth was opened, a space would be left between the tips of the whalebone forming the lowei
edge of the strainer, which, as Captain Gray justly remarks, would completely interfere with its use, although the stiff,
wall-like lower lip, closing in the sides of the mouth below, may have the effect of remedying such a contingency
to a certain extent; at least, it would do so if the whalebone were short and firm as in the flnners. The function oi
this great lip in sujjporting the slender and flexible lower ends of the blades of the Greenland Whale and preventing
them being driven outwards by the flow of water from within when the animal is closing its mouth, is evident from
Captain Gray's drawings and explanation. The whole apparatus is a most perfect piece of animal mechanism. —
Flower, W. H. : Laud and Water, December 1, 1877, p. 470.
24 THE WHALES AND POEPOISES.
systematically, and they are attached to a particular feeding bank, this is their usual habit.
IsTeither can this peculiarity in their habits be easily accounted for; their food is as abundant
during the neap as it is in the spring tides.
"The principal food of the Greenland Whale consists of a small crustacean, not larger than the
common house-fly, which is found in greatest abundance when the temperature of the sea is from
34° to 35°, the ordinary temperature amongst ice being 29°, the color of the water varying from
dark brown to olive green and clear blue, the blue water being the coldest.
" The Crustacea live upon the animalculse which color the water. They are transparent, and
the contents of their stomachs can be easily see:) to be dark brown or green as the case may be." '
11. THE RIGHT WHALES.
Distribution and affinities. — There is no group of existing mammals so important as the
Eight Whales, concerning which so little that is satisfactory is known. Zoologists have not yet
determined how many species there are, nor what are the limits of their distribution. All that
can be certainly said is, that Eight Whales — that is, the right kind to kill for the whalebone —
occur in the North Atlantic and the North Pacific, and also in the cooler waters of the southern
hemisphere. In the northern hemisphere they never cross the Tropic of Cancer, though in the
south, both in the Pacific and the Atlantic, they have occasionally been known to cross that of
Capricorn.
The Eight Whales of the north have, until very recently, been confounded by whalemen and
zoologists with the bowhead, or polar whale, to which they are closely related. There is one
group of baleen-bearing whales, the rorquals, finners, or finbacks, which have a fin upon the
back: the true Eight Whales, however, have none. The rorquals, the largest of whales, are
very swift and slender, and are believed to occur in tropical as well as temperate seas, all the
world over.
The Eight Whale of the Western Atlantic has been described by E. D. Cope, under the
name Eubalmna cisarctica. This species, not remotely related to the Eubalcena Uscayensis, of the
Eastern Atlantic, was formerly abundant on the coast of New England, and, as will be shown in
the chapter on the shore whale fishery of New England, its presence in such numbers aboiit
Cape Cod was one of the chief reasons for planting the early English settlements in this district.
Captain Atwood informs me that they are most abundant off Provincetown, in April and May,
though occasionally seen at other seasons. One was killed in Cape Cod Bay, near Provincetown,
in 1867 ; it was forty-eight feet long, and yielded eighty -four barrels of oil, as well as 1,000 pounds
of baleen, valued at $1,000. Two or three others have since then been killed in the vicinity, but
years now often pass by without any being seen.^
A Eight Whale of forty to fifty feet was killed in the harbor of Charleston, S. C, January 7,
1880, after it had been swimming about within the bar several days.'
In evidence of the former abundance of this species, may be mentioned the fact, that when,
about the middle of the last century, whales began to be scarce along the coast, a large fleet was
dispatched to Davis Straits, where none but whalebone whales occur. U. cisarctica occurs at
least as far south as the Bermudas. A species of Eight Whale is found also about the Azores.
In the North Pacific occurs the Pacific Eight Whale, or " Northwest Whale" of the whalers,
'Land and Water, December 1, 1877, p. 470.
^ Whaling at Provincetown.— A Right Whale was captured in Provincetown Harbor last Thursday, by a party in
three boats. Estimated to yield sixty barrels of oil.— Gloucester Telegraph, November 6, 1850.
3 See Charleston News, January 8, 1880.
THE RIGHT WHALES: MOVEMENTS AND EEPRODUCTION. 25
Eubakena cullamach (Chamisso) Cope. Its distribution is not well understood. Dall gives it as
occurring in the Arctic, Bering, and Okhotsk Seas, off Lower California, and, perhaps, in Japan.'
Scammou writes that in former years they were found on the coast of Oregon, and occasion-
ally in large numbers; but their chief resort was upon what is termed the "Kodiak Ground,"
which extends northwestward from Vancouver's Island to the Aleutian Islands, and westward to
the one hundredth and fiftieth meridian. They also abounded in the Okhotsk and Bering Seas,
and along the Kamschatka coBiSt. He supposes that those which have been observed on the coast
of California were stragglers from the north. "Some, indeed," he writes, "have been taken (from
February to April) as far south as the Bay of San Sebastian Viscarrio, and about Cedros, or Cevros,
Island, both places being near the parallel of 29° north latitude; while on the northwestern coast
they are captured by the whalers from April to September inclusive."^
None appear to have been killed on the California coast, within thirty or forty years, if we may
judge from Captain Scammon's failing to mention such instances.
In the Antarctic Seas and the adjoining waters are other Eight Whales. Euhalcena australis,
the Cape Whale or Black Whale, abounds about the Cape of Good Hope, and is regarded by
Murray as an inhabitant of the South Atlantic, South Pacific, and Indian Oceans.' JE. antipodarum
was described by Gray from New Zealand, and in Murray's map is designated as a more antarctic
form than the Cape Whale, though in the text of his book he denies that this is known to be a
fact.* Owing to the fact that the bowhead and the Eight Whales have until recently been con-
sidered identical, there is a dearth of reliable observations uiion habits known to refer definitely
to these animals.
Movements. — Their manner of feeding and general mode of life are, as might be expected,
very similar to those of the bowhead. I quote from Scammon :
"They are often met with singly in their wanderings, at other times in pairs or triplets, and
scattered over the surface of the water as far as the eye can discern from the masthead. Toward
the last of the season they are seen in large numbers crowded together. The herds are called
' gams,' and they are regarded by experienced whalemen as an indication that the whales will soon
leave the grounds.
"Their manner of respiration is to blow seven to nine times at a 'rising,' then, 'turning flukes'
(elevating them six or eight feet out of the water), they go down and remain twelve or fifteen
minutes. It is remarked, however, since these whales have been so generally pursued, that their
action in this respect has somewhat changed. When frightened by the approach of a boat they
have a trick of hollowing the back, which causes the blubber to become slack, thus preventing the
harpoon from penetrating. Many whales have been missed, owing to the boat-steerer darting at
this portion of the body. Having been chased every successive season for years, these animals have
become very wild and dif&cult to get near to, especially in calm weather."
Eepeodxjction. — The time of gestation is fixed by Scammon at about one year. Twins are
occasionally though rarely born. The time and place of calving is not known, but are supposed to
be variable, as in the case of the sperm whale. These whales are said to resort to the Californian
"bays" to bring forth their young, and formerly were sought for in the inland waters of these
high southern latitudes, where many a ship has in past years quickly completed her cargo by "bay
whaling."^
'Dall: Catalogue of the Cetaoeaus of the North Pacific Ocean. -c^Scammon; Marine Mammalia, p. 305.
^Scammon: ojj. cii., p. 67.
"Murkay: Geographical Distrihution of Mammals, p. 208, map.
* Murray: op. cit.
''Scammon: op. cit., p. 67.
26 THE WHALES AND POEPOISES.
Sizes and yield of oil.— The following statement of sizes of whales taken by New Bedford
vessels, as indicated by their yield of oil, is very instractive. It was furnished by Oapt. Benjamin
Russell, in 1875. There is no means of distinguishing the bowheads from the Eight Whales:
Captain Devot took one Eight Whale off Kodiac; made 290 barrels.
Captain Devot took four Eight Whales off Kodiac; made 920 barrels.
Captain Clark took one Eight Whale off Kamtchatka; made 180 barrels.
Captain Wood took one Eight Whale off Kamtchatka; made 230 barrels.
Captain Eice, of New Loudon, took ten Eight Whales off Kamtchatka; made 700 barrels.
Captain Winston took one Eight Whale off Kamtchatka; made 270 barrels.
Captain Winston took two Eight Whales off Kamtchatka; made 480 barrels.
Captain Spooner took one Eight Whale off Kamtchatka; made 260 barrels.
Captain Cox took one Eight Whale off Kodiac; made 225 barrels.
Captain West took two Eight Whales; made 508 barrels.
Captain West took thirteen Eight Whales; made 1,780 barrels.
Captain Wood took one Eight Whale; made 280 barrels.
A number of captains report one each, from 80 to 200 barrels.
12. THE HUMPBACK WHALES.
Distribution.— The Humpback Whales, also often called Buuch Whales by Europeans, occur
in both Atlantic and Pacific. Captain Eoss saw them as far south as latitude 71° 50'. In the
Pacific they range to the Arctic Circle, and there is reason to believe that they occur also about
Greenland. Our Atlantic species is Mcgaptcra osphyia Cope, that of the Cahforiiia region M. vvr-
sabilis. As usual, the iuquirer must go to Scammon for accurate observations, little being known
about the species of the Atlantic.
Mi&EATiONS. — They appear to resort periodically, and with some degree of regularity, to cer-
tain localities where the females bring forth their young. Scammon found them breeding in July
and August, 1852 and 1853, in the Gulf of Guayaquil, Peru; in December in the Bay of Valle de
Bauderas, Mexico, latitude 20° 30' ; and in May, 1855, at Magdalena Bay, Lower California, lati-
tude 24° 30'. Captain Beckermau observed them at Tongataboo, Friendly Group, latitude 21° south,
longitude 174° west, in August and September. Large numbers of both sexes migrate north iu
summer and south in winter. ,
Size. — They attain the length of twenty-five to seventy-five feet, and yield from eight to
seventy-five barrels of oil. The largest taken in 1871 by Captain Beckerman was seventy-five
feet long, and produced seventy-three barrels, but the average yield was forty barrels, including
the entrail fat, which amounted to about six barrels. One taken off the bay of Monterey, in 1858,
yielded 145 barrels.
The blubber, according to Bennett, is yellowish-white, five to fifteen inches thick, and the oil is
said to be better than that of the right whale.
The baleen possesses a moderate commercial value. In a specimen fifty-two feet long, Scam-
mon records 540 laminae, the longest two feet eight inches long and nine inches broad, and elsewhere
he estimates its yield at 400 pounds to 100 barrels of oil.^
Food. — Their food consists of fish and crustaceans scooped up at the surface. When feed-
ing they are most easily captured. The time and place of breeding have already been spoken
of. "In the mating season," writes Scammon, "they are noted for their amorous antics. At such
times their caresses are of the most amusing and novel character, and these performances have
doubtless given rise to the fabulous tales of the swordfish and thrashers attacking whales. When
'Scammon: ojj. dt., i)p. 40, 41.
THE HUMPBACK AND THE SULPHUK- BOTTOM. 27
lying by the side of each other, the M egapteras frequently administer alternate blows with their
long fins, which love-taps may on a still day be heard at a distance of miles. They also rub each
other with these same huge and flexible arms, rolling occasionally from side to side, and indulging
in other gambols."
Humpback Whales in New Eng-land. — The Humpback Whale was formerly a frequent
visitor to the waters of New England, but of late years has not often been seen. Captain Atwood
tells me that a great many have been killed near Provincetown within his recollection: that is to
say, or since 1817. One harpooned in the harbor in' 1840 yielded fifty-four barrels of oil. Two
were killed in the spring of 1879, with bomb-lances.
This species is the most valuable of the ordinary whales of the region, though, of course, far
inferior to the right whale. In addition to the oil, the baleen or whalebone is of some worth. In
past years it has sold for as much as six and one-quarter cents a pound. It rarely exceeds two
feet in length and is not very elastic. The shore fishery of Cape Cod, which was quite vigorously
prosecuted in the early part of the last century, was probably largely concerned with this species_
In 1879 the Humpbacks were abundant on the coast of Maine. One of the most successful
whalers out of Provincetown this season is the "Brilliant," a very old pink-stern schooner of
seventeen tons, which had been hunting this species off Deer Isle, Maine. Up to September 1, she
had taken four whales, yielding one hundred and forty-five barrels. The "Brilliant" carries but
one whale-boat and tries out the oil upon shore, towing in the whales as they are killed. On
the 14th of May, 1881, twenty Humpbacks were shot with bomb-lances in Provincetown harbor.
"The Humpback," says Douglass, of the New England whales, in 1748, "has a bunch in the
same part of his back, instead of a fin. The bone is not good ; makes fifty to sixty barrels oil."
The oil of the Humpbacks is said by Bennett to be superior to that from the right whale, and
but little less valuable than sperm oil.
13. THE SULPHUR-BOTTOM WHALES.
Distribution and movements. — The Sulphur-bottom Whale of the Pacific coast, Sibbaldius
sulfureus Cope, is said to be the largest known cetacean.^ Its name and that of its related Atlan-
tic species, 8. borealis (Fischer) G-eofifroy, is derived from a yellowish tint upon the white belly.
The Atlantic Sulphur-bottom, which is also called by English whalers the " Flat Back," does not
grow to the immense size characteristic of the Pacific form. In the Atlantic, the Sulphur-bottom
is not uncommon, though rarer than the humpback and finback. On the coast of the Califor-
nias, writes Scammon, it occurs at all seasons, and from May to September is often found in large
numbers close in with the shore, at times playing about ships at anchor in the open roadsteads, near
islands or capes, but, as a general rule, not approaching vessels with the same boldness as the
finbacks. It glides over the surface of the ocean, occasionally displaying its entire length. When
it respires its vaporous breath ascends to such a height that its immense size is evident to the
observer. It is occasionally captured with a bomb-lance, but never except by aid of the bomb-
lance. Being considered the swiftest of all whales, it is seldom pursued, and still more rarely
taken.
The Sulphur-bottom of the Atlantic resembles the finbacks in shape and habits, and is probably
often confounded with them by those who see it swimming. Captain Atwood informs me that
none have been seen near Provincetown of late years. Professor Baird obtained a fine skeleton
at Nantucket in 1875 (No. 16039, U. S. N. M.). Captain Atwood writes: "Like the finback, it
' Captain Roys, quoted by Scammon, gives tko foUowiug memorauda of an individual measurement by him:
Length, ninety-five feet ; girth, thirty-nine feet ; length of jaw-bone, twenty-one feet ; length of longest baleen, four
feet; yield of baleen, 800 pounds; yield of oil, 110 barrels; weight of whole animal by calculation, 294,000 pounds.
28 THE WHALES AND PORPOISES.
Las on its back a very small dorsal fin. Being very much elongated, it is a swift runner and hurries
through the water with a velocity so great that the whaleman cannot kill them in the same way
that they take the other species. I have never seen it dead and know but little about it."'
14. THE FINBACK WHALES.
DiSTEiBUTiON.— The Finback Whales of the Atlantic, Sibbaldius teotirostris Cope, and S.
tuberosus Cope, are closely related to the sulphur-bottoms. The former is the most common of
the larger cetaceans in Massachusetts Bay, and half a dozen or more may be seen in an afternoon's
cruise any sunny afternoon of summer. They become abundant in the G-iilf of Maine soon after
the beginning of April. They swim near the surface, often exposing the back for half its length,
and I have several times seen them rise within fifty feet of the yacht on which I stood. Septem-
ber 12, 1879, four were swimming and spouting in Provincetown Harbor.
The skeleton obtained by the Pish Commission in 1875 (No. 16045, U. S. N. M.) belongs to
the species whose name heads this paragraph. The Museum of Comparative Zoology also has a
specimen, taken at Provincetown, forty-seven feet long, which yielded eighty barrels and fourteen
gallons of oil.
Movements. — Captain Atwood tells us that Finbacks are rapid swimmers and are not often
attacked by the whalers. They "run" so hard that the boats "cannot tow to them," and it is
impossible to get up to them to lance them. Tbey sometimes strand on the shore, and of late, years
a few are occasionally killed with a bomb-lance in the spring. One was lanced one autumn, about
the year 1868, by boats pursuing blackflsh. It was sixty feet long, and made about twenty barrels
of oil. The "bone" is shorter than that of the humpback, and is of little value.^ When lanced,
not being oily enough to float at once, they sink and remain at the bottom for a few days, during
which time much of the blubber is eaten off by sharks. They yield very little oil.
Adtjndance in New England. — Two ran ashore some years ago in Provincetown Harbor,
one of which yielded fourteen, the other twenty barrels of oil. One killed at Provincetown, though
fifty-four feet long and a good fat whale of its kind, yielded only twenty barrels of oil.^
The Dubertus. — An interesting question regarding the name by which this whale was
known in the early days of the American colonies has recently been discussed.
The charter of Ehode Island and Providence Plantations, granted in 1663 by Charles II,
provides, among more important rights and privileges:
'^And ffurther, for the encouragement of the inhabitants of our sayd coUony of Providence
Plantations to sett upon the businesse of takeing whales, itt shall bee lawefuU ffor them, or any
of them, having struck whale, dubertus or other greate fSsh, itt or them to pursue unto any parte
of that coaste, and into any bay, river, cove, creeke or shoare belonging thereto, and itt or them
upon the sayd coaste, or in the sayd bay, cove, creeke or shoare belonging thereto, to kill and order
to the best advantage, without molestation, they makeing noe wilfuU waste or spoyle, anything
in these presents conteyned, or any other matter or thing, to the contrary notwithstanding."
'Balletiu Museum Comparative Zoology, vol. viii, p. 204.
^ A large Fiuback Whale, forty feet in leugtli, got aground on the flats near the light-house at Wellfleet, ou
Wednesday, by the fall of the tide, and he was killed by cutting a hole in him and then using an oar as a spade.
When the tide is out people can walk around the whale. — Semi- Weekly Advertiser, Boston, February. 27, 1872.
On the 2d of May, 1828, a whale was cast ashore at Whale Eeach, Swampscott, measuring sixty feet in length, and
twenty-five barrels of oil were extracted from it. — Lewis & Newhall : History of Lynn, p. 391.
1755. A whale, seventy-five feet in length, was landed on King's Eeach, on the 9th of December. Dr. Henry
Burchsted rode into its mouth, in a chaise drawn by a horse ; and afterwards had two of his bones set up for gate-
posts at his house in Essex street, where they stood for more than fifty years. [Opposite the doctor's house, the cot
of Moll Pitcher, the celebrated fortune-teller, stood. And many were the sly inquiries from strangers for the place
where the big whale-bones were to be seen.] — Ihid,, p. 330.
3 Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology, vol. viii, p. 204, and in letters.
TRUMBULL CONCERNING DUBEETUS. 29
In answer to a letter of inquiry from Professor Baird, Professor Trumlbull wrote as follows:
Haetfoed, February 1, 1880.
Deae Peofessoe Baied : Tour query of January 29 just now comes to hand. Isn't that
troublesome Diihertus rhodinsulensis satisfactorily disposed of yet ? More than twenty-one years
ago (in November, 1858) the Rev. S. C. Newman, of Pawtucket, questioned Professor Agassiz on
the subject. His reply was, that having looked in the only work in which he supposed the desired
information was likely to be found — Nemnich's Polly glotten Lexicon — he could only say that it did
not even contain the name " Dubertus." The correspondence, so far unsatisfactory, was printed in
the " Providence Journal," December 9. The next day the Hon. Albert G-. Greene wrote to the
''Journal" that "before and at the time of the granting of the charter of Rhode Island, ' Dubertus'
was the word used to distinguish the sperm whale from the common or right whale," and referred
for his authority to the description given by Sir Thomas Browne " of the spermaceti whale,"
which "mariners (who are not the best nomenclators) called a Juhartas, or rather Giblartas." Mr.
Greene came very near being right, and undoubtedly was right in identifying the "Dubertus" of
the charter with the " Jubartas" or "Gibbartas" of the old whale fishermen; but he was wrong on
the main point that either "Jubartas" or "Dubertus" was a distinctive name of the sperm whale,
except by a "vulgar error" of the Norfolk mariners, who, as Sir Thomas Browne understood, "are
not the best nomenclators." The "Jubartas," "Gibbartas," or "Gubartas" — as the name which, by
an error of the engrossing clerk, appears as "Dubertus" in the Rhode Island charter, was
variously written by naturalists in the seventeenth century — was aFinhacIc, the ^' Balcena Wovce
Anglice-," as Klein calls it, the '■'■ Jupitervisoh" of the Dutch whalers, Balwnoptera Juhartes of
Lac^pfede. (The last name I heard for it was, I think, Sibbaldius tuberosus ; but this was a year
or two ago, and it may have been rechristened a dozen times since then.) The name, however, has
been applied to more than one species of Finback, for naturalists, when dealing with cetacea, were
not, in the last century, much better "nomenclators" than the English mariners; but it has always
been restricted to the BalcenoptericlcB, and has never designated any species of either sperm or
right whales.
The history of the name is curious. Rondelet (" De Piscibus" lib. xvi, p. 482) gives a figure of
a "Balaena Vera" (drawn from life, he says) which "the whale fishers of Saintonge call Gibbar, a
Gibbero Dorso, that is, raised in a hump, on which is the fin." From this provincial name came
Gibbartas, Gubartas, Jubart, Jubartes, Jupiter, and half a dozen other corruptions, introduced first
among mariners, and afterwards adopted or recognized as synonyms by naturalists, and distributed
among three or four different species.
Lac6p6de, under Balcenoptera Jubartes, includes Balcena boops (Gmelin), and "probably the
sulphur-bottom of the west coast of North America," the Jubartes of Klein, and the Jupiter Fisch,
described by Anderson, as well as Baleine Jubarte of Bonnaterre (Encyc. M6th.).
Klein ("Misc. Pise," 11, 13) says that the whale catchers have corrupted the name of the Jupiter,
or Piscis Jovis, to Jubartes, which is reversing the actual process of corruption. He calls this the
"Whale of New England."
Anderson, cited by Lac^pfede, in "Nachrichten von Island, Gronland, etc.," p. 220, describes " the
Jupiter or Jupiterfisch " as a kind of fin-fish, saying that its name, without doubt, comes from that
of Gubartes or Gibbartas, which has been given it by others, and which is itself a corruption of
the Biscayan Gibbar,
But Lac^p&de makes "Balcena nodosa," "Humpback Whale of the English," and Balcena
gibbosa," the Whales of New England, and refers to Bonnaterre, who separates le Gibbar, Engl.
Finflsh, from la Jubarte B. boops. Between Gibbar and Gibbosa, Jupiter and Gubartus, the things
get rather mixed.
30 THE WPTALBS and PORPOISES.
Cranz, in his bistory of Greeiilaud (Engl, trausl., vol. 1, p. 110) describes "the Jupiter Whale,
which the Spanish whale fishers call more properly Guhartas^ or Oibbar, from a protuberance,
gibbero, which grows towards the tail, besides the fin."
Eeturning to the "Dubertus" of the charter, Senator Anthony will see how easy it was for an
engrossing clerk to mistalse the initial "G," in seventeenth century chancery -hand, for a "D," in an
unfamiliar name. A more troublesome mistake was made by the engraver of the seal of the
Massachusetts Bay Company, which obliged Governor Winthrop always to describe himself, in
official papers, as governor of the Company of Mattachusetts Bay, etc.
J. HAMMOND TRUMBULL.
The Pacific Finback. — The Finback of the Pacific, Balcenoptera velifera Cope, also called
the Oregon Pinner, is common in Oregon and California, and is the rival of the sulphur-bottom in
swiftness. Like the Atlantic Finbacks, it can be taken only with the bomb gun. . Scammon gives
the measurements of an individual sixty feet long which came ashore near the Golden Gate. He
states that enormous quantities of codfish have been found in their stomachs. "The habitual
movements of the Finback in several points are peculiar. When it respires, the vaporous breath
passes quickly through its spiracles, and when a fresh supply of air is drawn into the breathing
system, a sharp and somewhat musical sound may be heard at a considerable distance, which is
quite distinguishable from that of other whales of the same genus. ( We have observed the intervals
between the respirations of a large Finback to be about seven seconds.) It frequently gambols
about vessels at sea, in mid-ocean, as well as close in with the coast, darting under them, or shoot-
ing swiftly through the water on either side; at one moment u^jon the surface, belching forth its
quick, ringing spout, and the next instant submerging itself beneath the waves as if enjoying a
spirited race with the ship darting along under press of sail. Occasionally they congregate in
schools of fifteen to twenty or less." '
"An instance occurred in Monterey Bay in 1865, of five being captured; a 'pod' of whales
was seen in the offing, from their shore station, by the whalemen, who immediately gave chase.
One was harpooned, and, although it received a mortal wound, they all 'run together' as before.
One of the gunners managed to shoot the whole five, and they were all secured.
"A Finback sixty-five feet long yielded seventy-five barrels of oil. The blubber was clear
white, seven to nine inches thick. The largest baleen measured twenty-eight inches in length,
thirteen in width, and was provided with a long fringe." ^
Another related form, the Sharp-headed Finner, B. Davidsonii Scammon, has habits similar to
the Finback, but frequents more northern waters, where it is sometimes taken by the Indians of
Cape Flattery.
15. THE SCEAG WHALE.
History of thk Scrag- Whale.— The Hon. Paul Dudley, writing in 1809 of the whales of
New England, remarked upon a certain kind in these words: "A Scrag Whale: Is near akin to the
Fin Bach, but instead of a fin upon its back, the ridge of the after part of its back is scragged with
half a dozen knobs or knuckles. He is nearest the right whale in figure and quantity of oil. His
bone is white but won't split." ^
Atwood also writes: "A species of whale known by this name, nearly allied to if not identical
with the right whale, is sometimes taken here. It is the opinion of many of our whalemen that
they are not a distinct species, but the young right whale that lost its mother while very young,
1 Scammon: op. dt., p. 35.
^Scammon: op. eit., p. 154.
» Dudley, Paul: Philosophical Transactions, xxxiii, 1809, p. 259.
fHE SCEAG AND THl3 DEVIL-FISfl. 31
and grew up without parental care, which has caused a slight modification. The most prominent
feature is that in its dorsal ridge, near the tail, there are a number of small projections or bunches,
having some resemblance to the teeth of a saw. It has no dorsal fin or hump on its back.''^
Douglass, writing in 1748, also mentioned the Scrag and the humps upon its body.
Cope has formed for this whale the genus Agaphelus, and it stands in the lists under the name
Agaphelus gibhosus [Erxl.] Cope.
The Scrag is of special interest on account of its influence in first developing the whaling
industries of Kantucket. Macy, the historian of the island, states that in the very early days of that
colony, prior to 1672, "A whale of the kind called the Scragg came into the harbor and continued
there three days. This excited the curiosity of the people and led them to devise measures to prevent
his return out of the harbor. They accordingly invented and caused to be wrought for them a
harpoon with which they attacked and killed the wliale. This first success encouraged them to
undertake whaling as a permanent business; whales being at that time numerous in the vicinity
of the shores." '
Scammon remarks: " Our observations make it certain that there is a ' Scrag' Eight Whale m
the North Pacific which corresponds very nearly to that of the Southern Ocean, - - and
which yields a paltry amount of oil."' No identification of this form has yet been made. Dieffen-
bach states that in the southern seas "Scrags" is the whalers' name for the young of the right
whale.^
16. THE CALIFORNIA GRAY WHALE,
Distribution. — The California Gray Whale, RhacManectes glaucus Cope, called by whalemen
"Devil-fish," " Hard Head," " Gray Back," "Rip Sack," and " Mussel Digger," though long known
to fishermen, was first described in 1869, from specimens brought to the United States National
Museum by Capt. W. H. Dall, of the United States Coast Survey. The only account of its habits
is in Scammon's book, already often quoted. Its range is from the Arctic Seas to Lower Cali-
fornia. From November to May it is found on the California coast, while in summer it resorts to
the Arctic Ocean and the Okhotsk Sea. In October and November it is seen oft' Oregon and
Upper California, returning to warm water for the winter.
Habits. — They follow close along the shore, often passing through the kelp, and congregate
in the lagoons of the southern coast, where they are the objects of the extensive lagoon or bay
whale fishery.
Abundanck. — Their abundance in former years and at present was thus discussed by Captain
Scammon in 1874: "It has been estimated, approximately, by observing men among the shore
whaling pai'ties that a thousand whales passed southward daily from the 15th of December to the
1st of February, for several successive seasons after shore whaling was established, which occurred
in 1851. Captain Packard, who has been engaged in the business for over twenty years, thinks
this a low estimate. Accepting this number without allowing for those which xiassed off shore out
of sight from the land, or for those which passed before the 15th of December, and after the 1st
of February, the aggregate would be increased to 47,000. Captain Packard also states that at the
present time the average number seen from the stations passing daily would not exceed forty.
From our own observation upon the coast, we are inclined to believe tliat the numbers resorting
annually to the coast of California from 1853 to 1856 did not exceed 40,000 — probably not over
30,000; and at the present time there are many which pass off shore at so great a distance as to
'Allen : Mammalia of Massachusetts. <^Bul]etin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology, 8, p. 203.
=Macy: History of Nantucket, p. 28.
"Scammon: loo. cit., p. 67.
■•DiEPFENBACu, E. : Travels in New Zealand, i, 1843, p. 45.
32 THE WHALES AlfD tOEPOlSES.
be invisible from tlie lookout stations ; there are probably between 100 and 200 whales going south-
ward daily from the beginning to the end of the ' down season' (from December 15 to February 1).
The estimate of the annual herd visiting the coast is probably not large, as there is no allowance
made for those that migrate earlier and later in the season. From what data we have been able
to obtain, the whole number of California Gray Whales which have been captured or destroyed
since the bay whaling commenced in 1846 would not exceed 10,800, and the number which now
periodically visits the coast does not exceed 8,000 or 10,000."^
On another page he writes : "ISTone of our whales are so constantly and variously pursued as
this; and the large bays and lagoons where these mammals once cougregated, brought forth and
nurtured their young, are already nearly deserted. The mammoth bones of the California Gray lie
bleaching on the shores of these silvery waters, and are scattered along the broken coasts from
Siberia to the Gulf of California ; and ere long, it may be questioned whether this mammal will
not be numbered among the extinct species of the Pacific." ^
Size. — The male attains the average length of thirty-iive feet, while the female grows to forty
or more. A female forty -four feet long and twenty-two feet in circumference is considered large,
though some still greater have been caught, yielding sixty or seventy barrels of oil. The average
yield of the male is twenty to twenty-five barrels. The baleen is light brown or nearly white,
coarse-grained, with a heavy, uneven fringe, the longest strips measuring from fourteen to sixteen
inches. The blubber is solid and tough, reddish in color, and from six to ten inches thick.
Food and eepeodtjction. — The nature of the food of the California Gray Whale is not
satisfactorily known, though it is reasonable to supi)ose that it consists of surface animals, strained
out by the baleen.
They breed in the winter, the females entering the California lagoons, while the males remain
outside. To their disturbance on their breeding grounds may be attributed the great diminution
in numbers. The period of gestation is about a year. After the young are born, male and female
and calf are seen working northward together, and Scammon thinks that they bear young only
once in two years.
Captxjee. — The habit of frequenting shoal bays is peculiar to this one species. They are
often seen among the breakers, where they are tossed about by the groundswell, and where the
water is hardly deep enough to float them. The pursuit of this whale is very dangerous, owing
to their savage disposition and the shoalness of the water into which they are followed. The
Eskimos and Indians of the Northwest kill many, using their flesh for food and their skins for
clothing.
1 Scammon : op. cit, p. 23.
^ Scammon : op. cit., p. 33.
THE SEAL TEIBB IN GENERAL. 33
B.— THE SEALS AND WALRUSES.
Note. — The following biographies of the Seals and Walruses are, by the permission of the author,
J. A. Allen, extracted from the " Monograph of the Pinnipeds of I>rorth America." It is considered
important to present in this Report, in a form convenient for reference, biographies of all the im-
portant aquatic animals of the United States ; and since it is manifestly impossible to secure from
any other source so complete and reliable a discussion of the Seals as that given by Allen, it has
been thought allowable to reprint the biographical portion of his monograph. The material is here
published in such a different form, being divested of the great mass of technical matter, interesting
chiefly to zoologists, with which it was originallj^ surrounded, that it is to all intents a fresh pre-
sentation of the subject.
The Biography of the Walruses has been condensed and rewritten by Mr. Goode, during the
ill-health and absence of Mr. Allen, the discussions in the monograph being too extended for the
needs of this Report. For an exceedingly interesting biography of these most interesting. animals
tbe reader is referred to Mr. Allen's more detailed work '
17. THE SEAL TRIBE IN GENERAL.
The Pinnipeds, or Pinnipedia, embracing the Seals and Walruses, are commonly recognized by
recent systematic writers as constituting a suborder of the order Ferm, or Carnivorous Mammals.
They are, in short, true Garnivora, modified for an aquatic existence, and have consequently been
sometimes termed ^^ Amphibious Garnivora." Their whole form is modified for life in tbe water,
which element is their true home. Here they display extreme activity, but on land their move-
ments are confined and labored.
The existing Pinnipeds constitute three very distinct minor groups or families, differing quite
widely from each other in important characters : these are the Walruses, or Odobcenidw, the Eared
Seals, or Otariidce, and the Earless Seals, or Phocidce. The first two are far more nearly allied than
are either of these with the third, so that the Odobwnidw and Otariidw may be together contrasted
with the Phocidce. The last named is the lowest or most generalized group, while the others appear
to stand on nearly the same plane, and about equally remote from the Phocidw. The Walruses
are really little more than thick, clumsy, obese forms of the otarian type, with the canines enor-
mously developed, and the whole skull correlatively modified. The limb-structure, tbe mode of
life, and the whole economy are essentially the same in the two groups, and aside from the cranial
modifications presented by the Odobcenidce, which are obviously related to the development of the
canines as huge tusks, the Walruses are merely elephantine Otariids, the absence or presence of
an external ear being in reality a feature of minor importance.
The Pinnipeds present a high degree of cerebral development, and are easily domesticated
under favorable conditions. They manifest strong social and parental affection, and defend their
young with great persistency and courage. They are carnivorous (almost without exception),
subsisting upon fishes, mollusks, and crustaceans, of which they consume enormous quantities.
The Walruses and Eared Seals are polygamous, and the males greatly exceed the females in size.
The ordinary or Earless Seals are commonly su[)posed to be monogamous, and there is generally
little difference in the size of the sexes. The Walruses and Eared Seals usually resort in large
numbers to certain favorite breeding grounds, and during the season of reproduction leave the
water, and pass a considerable period upon land. The Earless Seals, on the other hand, with the
exception of the Sea Elephants, do not so uniformly resort to particular breeding grounds on land,
' IKSO. Allbn, Joel Asaph : History of North American Piiiniptds; a raoucgrapb of the Walruses, Sea Lions, St-a
Bears, and Seals of North America. Washington, Goverumeut Printing Office, 1880, 800 pp., xvi, 785. Miscellaneous
publications. No. 12, U. S. Geol. & Geog. Surv., F. V. Hayden, Geologist in charge.
3 F
34 THE SEALS AND WALRUSES.
aud leave the water only for very short intervals. They usually bring forth their young on the ice,
most of the species being confined to the colder latitudes. Only one of the various species of the
Finnipedia appears to be strictly tropical, and very few of them range into tropical waters. As a
group, the Pinnipeds are distinctively characteristic of the arctic, antarctic, and temperate portions-
of the globe, several of the genera being strictly arctic or subarctic in their distribution. The
Walruses are at present confined mainly within the Arctic Circle, and have no representatives south
of the colder portions of the Northern Hemisphere. The Otariidce and Phocidce, on the other hand,
are abundantly represented on both sides of the Equator, as will be noticed more in detail later.
18. THE WALRUSES.
Discussion of the Atlantic and Pacific species. — There are two species of Walrus,
that of the Atlantic, Odobcenus rosmarus Malmgren, and that of the Pacific, 0. obesus (Illiger) Allen.
These animals are found only in the extreme north, and it was for many years commonly supposed
that there was but a single circumpolar species. Mr. Allen has confirmed the views of Pennant,
exi)ressed in 1792 and emphasized since 1870 by Elliott and Gill. Their differences are thus
described :
The Pacific Walrus is similar in size, and probably in general contour, to that of the Atlantic
(though possibly rather larger, and commonly described or depicted as more robust or thicker at the
shoulders), but quite different in its facial outlines. The tusks are longer and thinner, generally more
convergent, with much greater inward curvatures, the bristles upon the muzzle shorter and smaller.
The chief external difference appears to consist iu the shape of the muzzle and the size and form
of the bristly nose-pad, which has a vertical breadth at least one-fourth greater than in the
Atlantic species. Very important differences between the two species are exhibited in the skulls,
which are tully described in Mr. Allen's book.
Disteibution of the Atlantic Walrus. — The Atlantic Walrus is not now to be found
within the limits of the United States, nor has it been within historic time, or during the last three
hundred and fifty years, though, like the musk ox, the caribou, aud the moose, it ranged during
the great Ice Period much beyond the southern limit of its boundary at the time the eastern coast
of North America was first visited by Europeans. During the last half of the sixteenth century
they are known to have frequented the southern coast of Nova Scotia as well as the shores and
islands to the northward, but this appears at that time to have been their southern limit of
distribution, and to these islands New England vessels seem occasionally to have resorted to kill
them for their teeth and oil.^ In 1775 they were abundant in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, at the
Magdalen Islands, Saint John's, and Anticosti, where they congregated yearly to the number of
seven or eight thousand, aud where they were soon exterminated by the "Americans."^
In 1866 and 1869 Packard and Gilpin recorded the killing of individuals near the Straits of
Belle Isle, and in 1868 one was driven ashore in Saint George Bay, Newfoundland. The last seen
in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence was, according to Professor Packard, in 1841, when one was killed
at Saint Aiigustiue, Labrador. Dr. Bernard Gilpin speaks of the occurrence of their bones at
Miscou, on the Bay of Ohaleur, in such numbers as to form artificial sea-beaches. These were,
doubtless, victims of "the Royal Company of Miscou," founded during the earlier part of the seven-
' A vessel that returned at that time (1C41) from the Isles of Sables made a better voyajie, bringing four hundred
pair of Sea-horse teeth with divers Inn of oil, besides much other goods of lite sort which they left behind, worth
£1500.— Hubbard's History of New England from the discovery to l(]4ri, p. :V7d.
The Sea-Cow or Morse is plenty upon the coasts of Nova-Scotia aud the Gulph of St. Laurence, particularly at the
island of St. John's; it is of the bigness of a middling cow (it is not the same with the Manatee of the Gulph of
Mexico), a very thick skin with hair like that of a seal. — Douglass' North America, 1755.
= Meaning, of course, people from the southern colonies.
THE WALRUS: HABITS AND DISTRIBUTION. 35
teenth century by the King of France, and whose ephemeral city of New Rochelle has passed
away, leaving no sign. The murdered Sea-horses have left a more enduring monument than their
murderers. At the present time its distribution in the Western Atlantic seems to be limited on
tlje south by the parallel of latitude 65°, and on the west along the arctic coast by the ninety-
seventh meridian of longitude. It inhabits the shore of Hudson's Bay, Davis's Strait, and Green-
land, ranging north to Repulse Bay and Prince Regent Inlet. In the Old World it is found only
about the islands and in the icy seas of Eastern Europe and the neighboring waters of Western
Asia. It has rarely been met with to the eastward of the Jenisei (longitude 82° E.), and has not
been seen eastward of the one hundred and thirtieth meridian. As lately as 1857 a straggler was
seen at Orkney and another in Nor' Isles. The distribution of this species has been thus carefully
noted because its destruction has been participated iu, and the time of its extermination doubtless
to some extent hastened, by the efforts of American whalemen.
The Walrus is the Morse or Sea-horse of ancient writers, many quaint extracts from whom, with
reproductions of their figures, are given by Mr. Allen.
Distribution op the Pacific Walkiis. — While the Atlantic Walrus has been familiar to
our race since A. D. 871, when the Norman explorer Othere brought tusks of the "Horsewhale"
from the Arctic Sea to King Alfred of England, that of the Pacific was not discovered until 1648,
when the Cossack adventurer Staduchin found its tusks on the arctic coast of Eastern Asia; nor
was it fairly known until the time of Steller, Cook, Kotzebue, and Pallas, in the latter half of the
eighteenth century. Its range is comparatively narrow, being confined on the one hand to a com-
paratively small stretch of the northern and eastern coasts of Asia, and to a still smaller portion of
tlie opposite American coast. To the westward the Walrus appears not to have been traced beyond
Cape Schelatskoi (157° 30' east longitude), and to have occurred in large herds only as far west as
Koljutschin Island (150° east longitude). On the eastern coast of Asia, as early as 1742, none had
been seen south of latitude 60°, and of course their southern range in that direction is now still
more limited. In the Arctic Sea, north of Bering Strait, they have been met with as far north
as ships have penetrated, their westward range being limited only by the unbroken ice sheet. On
the American coast they have been traced eastward only as far as Point Barrow. They were
formerly abundant about the islands in Bering Sea, but there is no evidence that they ever ranged
as far south as the outermost islands in the Aleutian chain. On the mainland they were found by
Cook, at Bristol Bay, latitude 58° 42', where now, according to Elliott, they are more numerous
than at any point south of the Arctic Circle. Their immense destruction, chiefly by American
whalers, renders it probable that before long they will be entirely exterminated in the territory of
the United States.
Size. — The length of a full-grown male Atlantic Walrus is given by Dr. Gilpin at twelve feet
three inches, its weight being estimated at 2,250 pounds, while Elliott gives the length of a
similar Alaska specimen at twelve to thirteen feet, its girth ten to fourteen feet, and its weight
2,000 pounds, the skin alone "weighing from 250 to 400, the head from 60 to 80 pounds.
Habits. — The Walruses are at all times more or less gregarious, occurring generally in large
or small companies, according to their abundance. Like the Seals, they are restricted in their
wanderings to the neighborhood of shores or large masses of floating ice, being rarely seen far out
in the open sea. Although moving from one portion of their feeding ground to another, they are
said to be in no sense a migrating animal. They delight in huddling together on the ice floes, or on
shore, to which places they resort to bask in the sun, pressing one against another like so many
swine. They are also said to repair in large herds to favorable shores or islands, usually in May
and June, to give birth to their young, at which times they sometimes remain constantly on land
36 TQE SEALS AND WALRUSES.
for two weeks together, without ever taking food. They are believed to be monogamous, and to
bring forth usually but a single young at a time, and never more than two. The period of gesta-
tion is commonly believed to be about nine months. The young are born from April to June, the
time probably varying with the latitude. The Walrus, like the common Seal, is said to have its
breathing hole in the ice. The tusks appear to be used for two purposes, to aid in landing upon
icy and rocky shores, and in aid of their clumsy locomotion, and also in digging up the shell-fish
and roots of marine plants upon which they feed. Their voice is a loud roaring or '• bucking," and
the voices of a herd may be distinguished at the distance of several miles. Although savage in
appearance, they are inoffensive and harmless, except when attacked, but when enraged are fierce
and vindictive, especially in defense of their young, for which they exhibit much affection. They
are wary and shy, however, and difficult to approach except under cover of darkness.
The hide, the oil, and the tusks of the Walrus are of commercial value, and the walrus fishery
of the Pacific is of considerable importance.
"In looking at this uncouth animal," writes a contributor to 'Scribner's Monthly Magazine,'
" the most natural question at once arises. What earthly service can such an ungainly, stupid beast
render'? What, indeed, is the use of its existence? But the answer is swift and satisfactory: were
it not for the subsistence furnished so largely by the flesh and oil of the Morse, it is exceedingly
doubtful whether the Esquimaux of North America, from Bering Strait clear around to Labrador,
could manage to live. It is not to be inferred that walrus meat is the sole diet of these simple
people, for that is very wide of the truth ; but there are several months of every year when the
exigencies of the climate render It absolutely impossible for the hardiest native to go out and procure
food, and then the value of the cache of walrus meat is appreciated, when for weeks and weeks it
forms the beginning and end of every meal. The Walrus responds to as many demands of the
Innuit as the camel of the Arab, or the cocoa-palm of the South Sea Islander. Its flesh feeds him ;
its oil illuminates and warms his dark hut; its sinews make his bird-nets; its tough skin, skillfnlly
stretched over the light wooden frame, constitutes his famous kayak, and the serviceable oomiak,
or bidarrah; its intestines are converted into water-proof clothing, while the soles to its flippers are
transferred to his feet; and, finally, its ivory is a source of endless utility to him in domestic use
and in trade and barter. Walrus famines among the Esquimaux have been recorded in pathetic
legends by almost all of the savage settlements in the arctic. Even now, as I write (November,
1880), comes the authentic corroboration of the harsh rumor of the starvation of the inhabitants of
Saint Lawrence Island — those people who live just midway between the Old World and the New,
in Alaskan waters. The winter of 1879-'80 was one of exceptional rigor in the arctic, though in
this country it was unusually mild and open. The ice closed in solid around Saint Lawrence
Island, so firm and unshaken by the mighty powers of wind and tide that the Walrus were driven
far to the southward and eastward, out of reach of the unhappy inhabitants of that island, who,
thus unexpectedly deprived of their mainstay and support, seem to have miserably starved to death,
with the exception of one small village on the north shore. The residents of the Poonook, Poogo-
vellyak, and Kagallegak settlements perished, to a soul, from hunger — nearly 300 men, women,
and children, I was among these people in 1874, during the month of August, and remarked their
manifold superiority over the savages of the northwest coast and the great plains. They seemed
then to live, during nine months of the year, almost wholly upon the flesh and oil of the Walrus,
<31ean-limbed, bright-eyed, and jovial, they profoundly impressed one with their happy subsistence
and reliance upon the walrus herds of Bering Sea; and it was remarked then that these people had
never been subjected to the temptation, and subsequent sorrow, of putting their trust in princes;
hence their independence and good heart. But now it appears that it will not suffice, either, to put
your trust in Walrus."
THE EAEED SEALS: HABITS AND DISTEIBUTIOK 37
19. THE SEA LIONS AND FUR SEALS IN GENERAL.
General characters. — The largest species of the Otaries (genera Otaria and Uumetopias)
are Hair Seals, while the smallest (genera Callorhimis and Arctocephalus) are Fur Seals; but the
species of Zalopkus, although Hair Seals, are intermediate in size between the other Hair Seals and
the Fur Seals. All the Hair Seals have coarse, hard, stilf hair, varying in length with age and
season, and are wholly without soft underfur. All the Fur Seals have an abundant soft, silky
underfur, giving to the skins of the females and younger males great value as articles of commerce.
The longer, coarser overhair varies in length and abundance with season and age. All the Hair
Seals are yellowish or reddish brown (in Zalophus sometimes brownish-black), generally darkest
when young, and becoming lighter with age, and also in the same individuals toward the molting
season. There is also considerable range of individual variation in representatives of the same
species, so that co, oration alone fails to afford satisfactory diagnostic characters. All the Fur Seals
are black when young, but they become lighter with age, through an abundant admixture of grayish
hairs which vary from yellowish-gray to wbitish-graj\ The southern Fur Seals are generally, when
adult, much grayer than the northern. There is hence a wide range of color variation with age in
the same species, as there is also among conspecific individuals of the same sex and age. While
some have the breast and sides pale yellowish -gray, others have these parts strongly rufous, the
general tint also showing to some extent these differences.
There is also a wonderful disparity in size between the sexes, the weight of the adult males
being generally three to Ave times that of the adult females of the same species. There are also
very great differences in the form of the skull, especially in respect to the development of crests
and protuberances for muscular attachment, these being only slightly developed in females and
enormously so in the males. With such remarkable variations in color and cranial characters,
dependent upon age and sex, it is not a matter of surprise that many nominal species have arisen
through a misappreciation of the real significance of these differences.
Habits. — The Eared Seals show also a remarkable resemblance in their gregarious and polyg-
amous habits. All the species, wherever occurring, like the Walruses and Sea Elephants, resort
in great numbers to particular breeding stations, which, in sealers' parlance, have acquired the
strangely inappropriate name of "rookeries." The older males arrive first at the breeding grounds,
where they immediately select their stations and await the arrival of the females. They keep up a
perpetual warfare for their favorite sites, and afterward in defense of their harems. The number
of females acquired by the successful males varies from a dozen to fifteen or more, which they guard
with the utmost jealousy — might being with them the law of right. The strongest males are nat-
urally the most successful in gathering about them large harems. The males, during the breeding
season, remain wholly on land, and they will suffer death rather than leave their chosen spot. They
thus sustain, for a period of several weeks, an uninterrupted iast. They arrive at the breeding
stations fat and vigorous, and leave them weak and emaciated, having been nourished through
their long period of fasting wholly by the fat of their own bodies. The females remain uninter-
ruptedly on land for a much shorter period, but for a considerable time after their arrival do not
leave the harems. The detailed account given a century ago by Steller, and recently confirmed by
Br\ant and Elliott, ot the habits of the northern Fur and Hair Seals during the breeding season,
is well known to apply, in greater or less detail, to nearly all the species of the family, and
presumably to all. As the observations by Messrs. Elliott and Bryant are presented later in this
work at length, it is unnecessary to give further details in the present connection.
Geographical distribution. — The most striking fact in respect to the distribution of the
Otariidce is their entire absence from the waters of the North Atlantic.
38 THE SEALS AND WALRUSES.
As already noticed, tbe Eared Seals are obviously divisible, by the character of the pelage, into
two groups, which are coco mercially distinguished as the "Hair Seals" and the "Fur Seals," which
are likewise respectively known as the "Sea Lions" and the "Sea Bears." The two groups have
nearly the same geographical distribution, and are commonly found frequenting the same shores,
but generally living apart. Usually only one species of each is met with at the same localities,
and it is worthy of note that, with tlie exception of the coast of California, no naturalist has ever
reported the occurrence together of two species of Hair Seals or two species of Fur Seals, alth'ough
doubtless two species of Hair Seals exist on the islands and shores of Tasmania and Australia, as
well as on the Oalifornian coast.
The Hair and Fur Seals are about equally and similarly represented on both sides of the
Equator, but they are confined almost wholly to the temperate and colder latitudes. Of the nine
species provisionally above recognized, two of the five Hair Seals are northern and three southern ;
of the four Fur Seals, three are southern and one only is northern; but the three southern are closely
related (perhaps doubtfully distinct, at least two of them), and are evidently recent and but slightly
differentiated forms of a common ancestral stock. Of the two Eared Seals of largest size {Eumetopias
Etelleri and Otaria jubata), one is northern and the other southern, and, though differing generically
in the structure of the skull, are very similar in external characters, and geographically are strictly
representative. Zalophus is the only genus occurring on both sides of the Equator, but the species
a,re diifereut in the two hemispheres. The Fur Seals of the north are the strict geographical repre-
sentatives of those of the south. Phocarctos Hoolceri is Australasian, and has no corresponding form
in the ISTorthern Hemisphere. JSTo species of Eared Seal is known from the Xorth Atlantic. Several
■of the southern species range northward into the equatorial regions, reaching the Galapagos Islands
and the northern shores of Australia.
The distkibution of the Fur Seals in the Southeen Seas. — They occur not only
on both the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of the South American continent, about its southeru
extremity, and on all the outlying islands, including not only the Falklands, the South Shetland
and South Georgian, but at other small islands more to the eastward, at Prince Edward's, the
Orozets, Kerguelen, Saint Paul, and Amsterdam, the southern and western shores of Australia,
Tasmania, Kew Zealand, and at the numerous smaller islands south of the two last named. They
have been found, in fact, at all the islands making up the chain of pelagic islets stretching some-
what interruptedly from Cape Horn and the Falkland Islands eastward to Australia and New
Zealand, including among others those south of the Cape of Good Hope, so famous in the annals of
the seal-fishery. It has been stated by Gray and others that the Cape of Good Hope Fur Seals
{really those of the Crozets and neighboring islands) are far inferior in commercial value to those
of other regions; but in tracing the history of the sealing business I have failed to notice any
reference to the inferior quality of those from the last-named locality, or that there has been any
difference in the commercial value of the fur seal skins obtained at different localities in the
Southern Seas. The quality differs at the same locality, wherever the Fur Seals are found, mth
the season of the year and age of the animals, so that skins may come not only from the Cape of
Good Hope, but from any other of the sealing places, that one "might feel convinced could not be
dressed as furs," being "without very thick underfur."
20. THE SEA LION.
Geographical distribution.— The known range of this species, Eumetopias Stelleri (Lesson)
Peters, extends along the west coast of North America from the Farallone Islands, in latitude 37°
40' north, to the Pribylov Islands. Its northern limit of distribution is not definitely known, but
THE SEA LION: GENERAL HISTORY. 39
it does not appear to have been met with north of about the latitude of Saint Matthew's Island
(about latitude 61°). Neither Mr. W. H. Dall nor Mr. H. W. Elliott has met with it above this
point, and they have both informed me that they have no reason to suppose it extends any further
northward or beyond the southern limit of floating ice. According to Steller, it existed in his time
along the whole eastern coast of Kamtchatka and southward to the Kurile Islands. He found it
abundant on Bering's and Copper Islands, where it is still well known to exist. If Dr. Gray's
Humetopias elongatus, as originally described in 1873 (the same specimen was referred by him in
1872 to U. Stelleri), be referable, as I believe, to the female of E. Stelleri, the range of this species
appears to extend southward on the Asiatic coast as far as Japan.
Although the Sea Lions of the California coast that have of late years attracted so much
attention appear to be the smaller species, Zalophiis Calif or niamis, the occurrence of the present
species there is also fully established, where it is resident the whole year, and where it brings forth
its young, as proven by specimens transmitted some years since by Dr. Ayres to the Smithsonian
Institution.
General history. — The Northern Sea Lion was first described in 1751 by Steller, who, under
the name of Leo marinus, gave a somewhat detailed account of its habits and its geographical range,
so far as known to him.
Captain Scammon, in 1874, published a very interesting account of the Sea Lions of the Aleu-
tian Islands, particularly as respects the methods employed in their capture, portions of which will
be quoted later. His account is devoted largely, however, to the Sea Lions of the California coast,
and certainly includes the history of the smaller species, if in fact this part does not relate mainly
to the latter. About the same time appeared Mr. H. W. Elliott's more detailed history of the
northern species, which is so full and explicit that I transcribe it almost entire.
The Sea Lion, he says, "has a really leonine appearance and bearing, greatly enhanced by the
rich golden-rufous of its coat, ferocity of expression, and bull-dog muzzle and cast of eye, not
round and full, but showing the white, or sclerotic coat, with a light, bright-brown iris.
"Although provided with flippers to all external view as the Fur Seal, he cannot, however, make
use of them in the same free manner. While the Pur Seal can be driven five or six miles in twenty-
four hours, the Sea Lion can barely go two, the conditions of weather and roadway being the same.
The Sea Lions balance and swing their long, heavy necks to and fro, with every hitch up behind
of their posteriors, which tbey seldom raise from the ground, drawing them up after the fore feet
with a slide over the grass or sand, rocks, &c., as the case may be, and pausing frequently to take
a sullen and ferocious survey of the field and the drivers.
"The Sea Lion is polygamous, but does not maintain any such regular system and method in
preparing for and attention to its harem like that so finely illustrated on the breeding-grounds of
the Fur Seal. It is not numerous, comparatively speaking, and does not 'haul' more than a few
rods back from the sea. It cannot be visited and inspected by man, being so shy and wary that "
on the slightest approach a stampede into the water is the certain result. The males come out and
locate on the narrow belts of rookery ground, preferred and selected by them ; the cows make their
appearance three or four weeks after them (1st to 6th June), and are not subjected to that intense
jealous supervision so characteristic of the Fur Seal harem. The bulls fight savagely among them-
selves, and turn off from the breeding ground all the younger and weak males.
"The cow Sea Lion is not quite half the size of the male, and will measure from eight to nine
feet in length, with a weight of four and five hundred pounds. She has the same general cast of
countenance and build of the bull, but as she does not sustain any fasting period of over a week
or ten days, she never comes out so grossly fat as the male or 'see-catch.'
40 THE SEALS AND WALRUSES.
"The Sea Lion rookery will be fouad to consist of about ten to fifteen cows to the bull. The
cow seems at all times to have the utmost freedom in moving from place to place, and to start with
its young, picked up sometimes by the nape, into the water, and play together for spells in the
surf- wash, a movement on the part of the mother never made by the Fur Seal, and showiug, in this
respect, much more attention to its offspring.
"They are divided up into classes, which sustain, in a general manner, but very imperfectly,
nearly the same relation one to the other as do those of the Fur Seal, of which I have already spoken
at length and in detail; but they cannot be approached, inspected, and managed like the other,
by reason of their wild and timid nature. They visit the islands in numbers comparatively small
(I can only estimate), not over twenty or twenty-live thousand on Saint Paul and contiguous
islets, and not more than seven or eight thousand at Saint George. On Saint Paul Island they
occupy a small portion of the breeding ground at Northeast Point, in common with the Gallorhinus,
always close to the water, and taking to it at the slightest disturbance or alarm.-
"The Sea Lion rookery on Saint George Island is the best place upon the Seal Islands for
close observation of these animals, and the following note was made upon the occasion of one of
my visits (June 15, 1873) :
" 'At the base of cliffs, over four hundred feet in height, on the east shore of the island, on a
beach fifty or sixty feet in width at low water, and not over thirty or forty at flood tide, lies the
only Sea Lion rookery on Saint George Island — some three or four thousand cows and bulls. The
entire circuit of this rookery belt was passed over by us, the big, timorous bulls rushing off' into
the water as quickly as the cows, all leaving their young. Many of the females, perhaps half of
them, had only just given birth to their young. These pups will weigh at least twenty to tweuty-
five pounds on an average when born, are of a dark chocolate-brown, with the eye as large as the
adult, only being a suffused, watery, gray -blue where the sclerotic coat is well and sharply defined
in its maturity. They are about two feet in length, some longer and some smaller. As all the pups
seen to-day were very young, some at this instant only born, they were dull and apathetic, not
seeming to notice us much. There are, I should say, about one-sixth of the Sea Lions in number
on this island, when compared with Saint Paul. As these animals lie here under the cliffs, they
cannot be approached and driven; but should they haul a few hundred rods up to the south, then
they can be easily captured. They have hauled in this manner always until disturbed in 1868, and
will undoubtedly do so again if not molested.
"•These Sea Lions, when they took to the water, swam out to a distance of fifty yards or so,
and huddled all up together in two or three packs or squads of about five hundred each, holding
their heads and necks up high out of water, all roaring in concert and incessantly, making such a
deafening noise that we could scarcely hear ourselves in conversation at a distance from them of
over a hundred yards. This roaring of Sea Lions, thus disturbed, can only be compared to the
hoarse sound of a tempest as it howls through the rigging of a ship, or the playing of a living
gale upon the bare branches, limbs, and trunks of a forest grove.' They commenced to return as
soon as we left the ground.
" The voice of the Sea Lion is a deep, grand roar, and does not have the flexibility of the Gal-
lorhinus, being confined to a low, muttering growl or this bass roar. The pups are very playlul,
but are almost always silent. When they do utter sound, it is a sharp, short, querulous growling.
" The natives have a very high appreciation of the Sea Lion, or see-vitchie, as they call it, and
base this regard upon the superior quality of the flesh, fat, and hide (for making covers lor their
skin boats, bidarJcies and bidarrahs), sinews, intestines, &c.
"As I have before said, the Sea Lion seldom hauls back far from the water, generally very
THE SEA LI01^^: ITS CAPTUEE. 41
close to the sarf-margiu, aud in this position it becomes quite a difficult task for the natives to
approach and get in between it and the sea unobserved, for, unless this silent approach is made,
the beast will at once take the alarm and bolt into the water.
"By reference to my map of Saint Paul's, a small point, near the head of the northeast neck
of the island, will be seen, upon which quite a large number of Sea Lions are always to be
found, as it is never disturbed except on the occasion of this annual driving. The natives step
down on to the beach, in the little bight just above it, aud begin to crawl on all fours flat on
the sand down to the end of the neck and in between the dozing sea-lion herd and the water,
always selecting a semi-bright moonlight night. If the wind is favorable, and none of the men
meet with an accident, the natives will almost always succeed in reaching the point unobserved,
when, at a given signal, they all jump on their feet at once, yell, brandish their arms, and give a
■ sudden start, or alarm, to the herd above them, for, just as the Sea Lions move, upon the first
impulse of surprise, so they keep on. For instance, if the animals on starting up are sleeping with
their heads pointed in the direction of the water, they keep straight on toward it; but if they
jump up looking over the land, they follow that course just as desperately, and nothing turns
them, at first, either one way or the other. Those that go for the water are, of course, loit, but
the natives follow the land-leaders and keep urging them on, and soon have them in their control,
driving them back into a small pen, which, they extemporize by means of little stakes, with iiags,
set around a circuit of a few hundred square feet, and where they keep them until three or four
hundred, at least, are captured, before they commence their drive of ten miles overland down
south to the village.
" The natives, latterly, getting in this annual herd of Sea Lions, have postponed it until late
in the fall, and when the animals are scant in number and the old bulls poor. This they were
obliged to do, on account of the pressure of their sealing business in the spring, and the warmth
of the season in August and September, which makes the driving very tedious. In this way 1
have not been permitted to behold the best-conditioned drives, i. e., those in which a majority of
the herd is made up of fine, enormously fat, and heavy bulls, some four or five hundred in number.
"The natives are compelled to go to the northeast point of the island for the animals, inas-
much as it is the only place with natural advantages where they can be approached for the purpose
of capturing alive. Here they congregate in greatest number, although they can be found, two or
three thousand of them, on the southwest point, and as many more on ' Seevitchie Oammin ' and
Otter Island.
"Capturing the Sea Lion drive is really the only serious business these people on the islands
have, and when they set out for the task the picked men only leave tbe village. At Northeast
Point they have a barrabkie, in which they sleep and eat while gathering the drove, the time of
getting which depends upon the weather, wind, &c. As the squads are captured, night after
night, they are driven up close by the barrabkie, where the natives mount constant guard over
them until several hundred animals shall have been secured and all is ready for the drive down
overland to the village.
"The drove is started and conducted in the same general manner as that which I have detailed
in speaking of the Pur Seal, only the Sea Lion soon becomes very sullen and unwilling to move,
requiring spells of frequent rest. It cannot pick itself up from the ground and sL amble oft" on a
loping gallop for a few hundred yards, like the Gallorhinus, and is not near so free and agile in its
movements on land, or in the water for that matter, for I have never seen the Eumetopias leap from
the water like a dolphin, or indulge in the thousand and one submarine acrobatic displays made
constantly by the Pur Seal.
42 THE SEALS AND WALRUSES.
"This ground, over which the Sea Lious are driven, is mostly a rolling level, thickly grassed
and mossed over, with here and there a fresh-water pond into which the animals plunge with great
apparent satisfaction, seeming to cool themselves, and out of which the natives have no trouble in
driving them. The distance between the sea-lion pen at Northeast Point and the village is about
ten miles, as the Sea Lious are driven, and occupies over live or six days under the most favorable
circumstances, such as wet, cold weather; and when a little warmer, or as in July or August, a
few seasons ago, they were some three weeks coming down with a drove, and even then left a
hundred or so along on the road.
" After the drove has been brought into the village ou the killing-grounds, the natives shoot
down the bulls and then surround and huddle up the cows, spearing them just behind the fore
flippers. The killing of the Sea Lions is quite an exciting spectacle, a strange and unparalleled
exhibition of its kind. . . . The bodies are at once stripped of their hides and much of
the tlesh, sinews, intestines (with which the native water-proof coats, &c., are made), in conjunction
with the throat-linings (oesophagus), and the skin of the flippers, which is exceedingly tough and
elastic, and used for soles to their boots or Harbosars.'
"As the Sea Lion is without fur, the skin has little or no commercial value; the hair is short,
and longest over the nape of the neck, straight, and somewhat coarse, varying in color greatly as
the seasons come and go. For instance, when the JEumetopias makes his first appearance in the
spring, and dries out upon the land, he has a light-brownish, rufous tint, darker shades back and
under the fore flippers and on the abdomen ; by the expiration of a month or six weeks, 15th June,
he will be a bright golden-rufous or ocher, and this is just before shedding, which sets in by the
middle of August, or a little earlier. After the new coat has fairly grown, and just before he leaves
the island for the season, ia November, it will be a light sepia, or vandyke-brown, with deeper
shades, almost dark upon the belly. The cows, after shedding, do not color up so dark as the
bulls, but when they come back to the land next year they are identically the same in color, so
that the eye, in glancing over a sea-lion rookery in June and July, cannot discern any noted
dissimilarity of coloring between the bulls and the cows; and also the young males and yearlings
appear in the same golden-brown and ocher, with here and there an animal spotted somewhat like
a leojjard, the yellow, rufous ground predominating, with patches of dark-brown irregularly inter-
spersed. I have never seen any of the old bulls or cows thus mottled, and think very likely it is
due to some irregularity in the younger animals during the season of shedding, for I have not
noticed it early in the season, and failed to observe it at the close. Many of the old bulls have a
grizzled or slightly brindled look during the shedding period, or, that is, from the 10th August
np to the 10th or 20th of November. The pups, when born, are of a rich, dark chestnut-brown;
this coat they shed in October, and take one much lighter, but still darker than their parents', but
not a great deal.
"Although, as I have already indicated, the Sea Lion, in its habit and disposition, approxi-
mates the Fur Seal, yet in no respect does it maintain and enforce the system and regularity found
ou the breeding-grounds of the Gallorhinus. The time of arrival at, stay on, and departure from
the island is about the same; but if the winter is an open, mild one, the Sea Liou will be seen
frequently all through it, and the natives occasionally shoot them around the island long after the
Fur Seals have entirely disappeared for the year. It also does not confine its landing to these
Pribylov Islands alone, as the Fur Seal unquestionably does, with reference to our continent, for it
has been and is often shot upon the Aleutian Islands and many rocky islets of the northwest coast.
"The Sea Lion in no respect whatever manifests the intelligence and sagacity exhibited by
the Fur Seal, and must be rated far below, although next, in natural order. I have no hesitation
THE SEA LION: ABUNDANCE, FOOD, &c. 43
iu putting this JEumetopias of the Pribylov Islands, apart from the Sea Lion common at Sau Fran-
cisco and Santa Barbara, as a distinct animal ; and I call attention to the excellent description of
the California Sea Lion, made public in the April number for 1872 of the Overland Monthly, by
Capt. C. M. Scammon, in which the distinguishing characters, externally, of this animal are well
defined, and by which the difference between the Eumetopias of Bering Sea and that of the coast
of California can at once be seen; and also I notice one more ijoint in which the dissimilarity is
marked: the northern Sea Lion never barks or howls like the animal at the Farralones [sic] or
Santa Barbara. Young and old, both sexes, from one year and upward, have only a deep lass
growl, and prolonged, steady roar ; while at San Pi-ancisco Sea Lions break out incessantly with a
'honking' bark or howl, and never roar.
'' I am not to be understood as saying that all the Sea Lions met with on the Californian coast
are different from E. StelJeri of Bering Sea. I am well satisfied that stragglers from the north are
down on the Farrallones, but they are not migrating back and forth every season ; and I am further-
more certain that not a single animal of the species most common at San Francisco was present
among those breeding on the Pribylov Islands in 1872-'73.
"According to the natives of Saint George, some fifty or sixty years ago the Eumetopias held
almost exclusive possession of the island, being there in great numbers, some two or three hundred
thousand ; and that, as the Fur Seals were barely permitted to land by these animals, and in no
great number, the Russians directed them (the natives) to hunt and worry the Sea Lions off from
the island, and the result was that as the Sea Lions left, the Fur Seals came, so that to-day they occupy
nearly the same ground covered by the Eumetopias alone sixty years ago. This statement is, or
seenjs to be, corroborated by Ohoris, in his description of the lies S. -George's et S.-Paul's [sic],
visited by him fifty years ago;' but the account given by Bishop Yeniaminov, . . . differs
entirely from the above, for by it almost as many Fur Seals were taken on Saint George, during the
first years of occupation, as on Saint Paul, and never have been less than one-sixth of the number
on the larger island. . . . I am strongly inclined to believe that the island of Saint George
never was resorted to in any great numbers by the Fur Seal, and that the Sea Lion was the dominant
animal there until disturbed and driven from its breeding-grounds by the people, who sought to
encourage the coming of its more valuable relative by so doing, and making room in this way for it.
" The Sea Lion has but little value save to the natives, and is more prized on account of its
flesh and skin, by the people living upon the islands and similar positions, than it would be else-
where. The matter of its preservation and perpetuation should be left entirely to them, and it will
be well looked after. It is singular that the fat of the Sea Lion should be so different in characters
of taste and smell from that of the Fur Seal, being free from any taint of disagreeable flavor or
odor, while the blubber of the latter, although so closely related, is most repugnant. The flesh of
the Sea Lion cub is tender, juicy, light-colored, and slightly like A'eal; in my opinion, quite good.
As the animal grows older, the meat is dry, tough, and without flavor."
The food of the Sea Lion is well known to consist, like that of the other species of Eared
Seals, of fish, mollusks, and crustaceans, and occasionally birds. As shown by animals kept in
confinement, they require an enormous quantity. Captain Scammon states that the daily allow-
ance of a pair kept in Woodward's Gardens, San Francisco, amounted to forty or fifty pounds of
fresh fish.
"From fifteen to twenty thousand Sea Lions," says Captain Bryant, "breed annually on the
Pribylov or i'ur Seal Islands. They do not leave the islands in winter, as do the Fur Seals, to
return in spring, but remain during the whole year. They bring forth their young a month earlier
' Voyage Pittoresquo autour dii Monde.
44 ■ THE SEALS AND WALRUSES.
than the Fur Seals, landing during the months of May and June. They advance but little above
high tide-mark, and those of all ages land together. The strongest males drive out the weaker and
monopolize the females and continue with them till September. They go with them into the water
whenever they are disturbed, and also watch over the young. When in the water they swim about
the young and keep them together until they have an ppportunity to land again. The females also
keep near, rushing hither and thither, appearing first on one side and then on the other of the
groups of young, constantly uttering a deep, hoarse growl at the intruder whenever they come to
the surface. When left undisturbed they all soon land again, preferring to spend the greater
portion of their time at this season on the shore. During the breeding season they visit the same
parts of the shore as the Fur Seals, but the Sea Lions, by their superior size and strength, crowd
out the Seals, the latter passively yielding their places without presuming to offer battle to their
formidable visitors. After having been disturbed the Sea Lions continue lor some time in a state
of unrest, occasionally uttering a low moaning sound, as though greatly distressed. Even after
the breeding season they keep close to the shore near the breeding station until the severe weather
of January. After this time they are seen only in small groups till the shores are free from snow
and ice in the spring."
21. THE CALIFORNIA SEA LION.
Geographical distribution. — The exact boundaries of the habitat of Zaloplms califomianus
cannot at present be given. The only specimens I have seen are from the coast of California and
its islands, from San Diego and San Nicholas Island northward to the Bay of San Francisco.
Captain Scammon (see infra, pp. 301, 302) twice alludes incidentally to its ijresence "along the
Mexican and Californian coasts," and Dr. Veatch states that "Sea Lions" (which he calls " Otaria
juhata,^^ but which are, almost beyond doubt, the present species) had populous breeding stations
twenty years ago, and doubtless have still, en Cerros or Cedros Island, iu about the latitude of
28|°, off the Lower California coast. Whether they occur southward of this point at the present
time I am unable to state, but should infer that such was the case from Scammon's allusion to
their capture along the "Mexican" coast. In any case, it appears probable that in Dampier's time
they ranged as far south as the Chametly and Tres Marias Islands, respectively iu latitudes about
23° and 21°, at which points he saw " Seals" in the year 1686. In describing the Chametly Islauds
(the most northerly of the two groups mentioned by him under this name), situated oft' the west
coast of Mexico in latitude 23° 11', he says, "The Bays about the Islands are sometimes visited
with Seals; and this was the first place where I had seen any of these Animals, on the North side
of the Equator, in these Seas. For the Fish on this sandy Coast lye most iu the Laguues or Salt-
Lakes, and Mouths of Rivers; For this being no rocky Coast, where Fish resort most, there seems
to be but little Food for the Seals, unless they will venture upon Cat- Fish."'
He also met with Seals at the Tres Marias Islauds (in latitude "21° 5'"), and consequently
two degrees south of the Chametly Islauds, in describing one of which islands, named by him St.
George's Island, he says: "The Sea is also pretty well stored with Fish, and Turtle or Tortoise,
and Seal. This is the second place on this Coast where I did see any Seal: and this place hel])S
to confirm what I have observed, that they are seldom seen but where there is plenty of Fish."-
It is of course not certain that the Seals here alluded to are Zalophus californiunus, since the
Sea Elephant of the California coast also occurs at Cedros Island, and probably still lurther south,
the two species having apparently about the same range. If they had been the latter, Dampier
would probably have made some allusion to their large size.
'A New Voyage rouad the World, Sth ed., vol. i. 170!, pp. \.'81, 264.
•ilbid., p. 276.
THE CALIFOENIA SEA LION: HABITS. 45
The species of Zalophus occurring in Japan has been by some writers considered to be the
same as the Californian one; but, though doubtless closely allied, its affinities, as will be noticed
later (see infra, p. 293), ajjpear to be not as yet satisfactorily determined. As Zalophus califor-
nianus has not yet been detected on the American coast north of California, its occurrence on
the Asiatic coast seems hardly to be expected.
This species has hitherto been believed to be free from any serious complications of synonymy,
and to have been first brought to the notice of the scientific world by McBain in 1858. Allen has,
however, shown that it was noticed in 1822 by Choris and described by Lesson under the name of
Otaria cali/orniana.
Habits. — Several more or less full accounts of the habits of the Californian Sea Lions have
been given by difi:erent writers, who have, however, failed to distinguish the two species occurring
along the Californian coast, and consequently their descriptions are not wholly satisfactory. The
large northern species certainly occurs, and rears its young, as far south as the Farallones, but
probably exists there only in small numbers, while I have seen no evidence of its presence at Santa
Barbara Island. Even Captain Scammon, in his account of the Sea Lions of California, has not
distinctly recognized the two species occurring there, and his description doubtless refers in part
to both species, but unquestionably relates mainly to the present one.' His " Sketch of a sealing
season upon Santa Barbara Island," in 1852, presumably relates exclusively to Zalophus califor-
nianus, but in addition to this I quote a few paragraphs from his general account of " the Sea Lion,"
since it is the testimony of a trustworthy eye-witness.
"On approaching an island, or point, occupied by a numerous herd," he observes, "one first
hears their long, plaintive howlings, as if in distress ; but when near them, the sounds become more
varied and deafening. The old males roar so loudly as to drown the noise of the heaviest sur-
among the rocks and caverns, and the younger of both sexes, together with the ' clapmatches,'
croak hoarsely, or send forth sounds like the bleating of sheep or the barking of dogs; in fact,
their tumultuous utterances are beyond description. A rookery of matured animals presents a
ferocious and defiant appearance; but usually at the approach of man they become alarmed, and,
if not opposed in their escape, roll, tumble, and sometimes make fearful leaps from high precipitous
rocks to hasten their flight. Like all the others of the Seal tribe, they are gregarious, and gather
in the largest numbers during the 'pupping season,' which varies in different latitudes. On the
California coast it is from May to August, inclusive, and upon the shores of Alaska it is said to be
from June to October, during which period the females bring forth their young, nurse them, asso-
ciate with the valiant males, and both unite in the care of the little ones, keeping a wary guard,
and teaching them, by their own parental actions, how to move over the broken, .«limy, rock-
bound shore, or upon the sandy, pebbly beaches, and to dive and gambol amid the surf and rolling
groundswells. At first the pups manifest great aversion to the water, but soon, instinctively,
become active and playful in the element; so by the time the season is over, the juvenile creatures
disappear with the greater portion of the old ones, only a few of the vast herd remaining at the
favorite resorts throughout the year. During the pupping season, both males and females, so far
at we could ascertain, take but little if any food, particularly the males, though the females have
been observed to leave their charges and go off", apparently in search of subsistence, but they do
not venture far from theii' young ones. That the Sea Lion cao go without food for a long time is
unquestionable. One of the superintendents of Woodward's Gardens informed me that in
' That Captain ScammoD coafounded the two species of northern Sea Lious is evident not only from his published
writings, but from his having transmitted to the National Museum specimens ot Zalophus from Santa Barbara Island,
labeled by him " Mumetopias Slelleri."
46 THE SEALS AND WALEUSES.
uumerons instances they have received Sea Lions into the aquarium which did not eat a morsel of
nourishment during a whole month, and appeared to suffer but little inconvenience from their long
fast.
" As the time approaches for their annual assemblage, those returning or coming from abroad
are seen near the shores, appearing wild and shy. Soon after, however, the females gather upon
the beaches, cliffs, or rocks, when the battles among the old males begin for the supreme control
of the harems; these struggles often lasting for days, the fight being kept up until one or both
become exhausted, but is renewed again when sufficiently recuperated for another attack ; and, really,
the attitudes assumed and the passes made at each other, equal the amplification of a professional
fencer. The combat lasts until both become disabled or one is driven from the ground, or perhaps
both become so reduced that a third party, fresh from his winter migration, drives them from the
coveted charge. The vanquished animals then slink off' to some retired spot as if disgraced.
]Srevertheless, at times, two or more will have charge of the same rookery; but in such instances
frequent defiant growlings and petty battles occur. So far as we have observed upon the Sea
Lions of the California coast, there is but little attachment manifested between the sexes; indeed,
much of the Turkish nature is apparent, but the females show some aff'ection for their offspring,
yet if alarmed when upon the land, they will instantly desert them and take to the water. The
young cubs, on the other hand, are the most fractious and savage little creatures imaginable,
especially if awakened from their nearly continuous sleeping; and frequently, when a mother
reclines to nurse her single whelp, a swarm of others will perhaps contend for the same favor.
" To give a more detailed and extended account of the Sea Lions we will relate a brief sketch
of a sealing season on Santa Barbara Island. It was near the end of May, 1852, when we arrived,
and soon after the rookeries of ' clapmatches,' which were scattered around the island, began to
augment, and large numbers of huge males made their appearance, belching forth sharp, ugly
howls, and leaping out of or darting through the water with surprising velocity, frequently diving
outside the rollers, the next moment emerging from the crest of the foaming breakers, and wad-
dling up the beach with head erect, or, with seeming effort, climbing some kelp-fringed rock, to
doze in the scorching sunbeams, while others would lie sleeping or playing among the beds of sea-
weed, with their heads and outstretched limbs above the surface. But a few days elapsed before
a general contention with the adult males began for the mastery of the different rookeries, and the
victims of the bloody encounter were to be seen on all sides of the island, with torn lips or muti-
lated limbs and gashed sides, while now and then an unfortunate creature wouhl be met with minus
an eye or with the orb forced from its socket, and, together with other wounds, presenting a ghastly
appearance. As the time for 'hauling-up' drew near, the island became one mass of animation;
every beach, rock, and cliff, where a Seal could find foothold, became its resting-i)lace, while a
countless herd of old males capped the summit, and the united clamorings of the vast assemblage
could be heard, on a calm day, for miles at sea. The south side of the island is high and precipi-
tous, with a projecting ledge hardly perceptible from the beach below, upon which one immense
Sea Lion managed to climb, and there remained tor several weeks — until the season was over.
How he ascended, or in what manner he retired to the water, was a mystery to our numerous ship's
crew, as he came and went in the night; for 'Old Gray,' as named by the sailors, was closely
watched in his elevated position during the time the men were engaged at their work.^
' "Eelativc to tLe Sea Lions leaping from gltldy lieigbts, au incident occurred at Santa Barbara Island, the last
of the season of 1852, which we will here mention. A rookery of about twenty individuals was collected on the brink
of a precipitons cliff, at a height at least of sixty feet above the rocks which shelved from the beach below ; and our
party were sure in their own minds, that, by surprising the animals, we could drive them over the cliff. This was
easily accomplished ; but to o>ir chagrin, when we arrived at the point below, where we expected to find the huge
beasts helplessly mutilated, or killed outright, the last animal of the whole rookery was seen plunging into the sea."
THE CALIFORNIA SEA LION. 47
"None, but the adult males were captured, which was usually done by shooting them in the
ear or near it; for a ball in any other part of the body had no more effect than it would in a Grizzly
Bear. Occasionally, however, they are taken with the club and lance, only shooting a few of the
masters of the herd. This is easily accomplished with an experienced crew, if there is sufBcient
ground back from the beach for the animals to retreat. During our stay, an instance occurred,
which not only displayed the sagacity of the animals, but also their yielding disposition, when
hard pressed in certain situations, as if naturally designed to be slain in numbers equal to the
demands of their human pursuers. On the south of Santa Barbara Island was a plateau, elevated
less than a hundred feet above the sea, stretching to the brink of a cliff that overhung the shore,
and a narrow gorge leading up from the beach, through which the animals crowded to their favor-
ite resting-place. As the sun dipped behind the hills, iifty to a hundred males would congregate
upoai the spot and there remain until the boats were lowered in the morning, when immediately the
whole herd would quietly slip off into the sea and gambol about during the day, returning as they
saw the boats again leave the island for the ship. Several unsuccessful attempts had been made
to take them; but at last a fresh breeze commenced blowing directly from the shore, and prevent* d
their scenting the hunters, who landed some distance from the rookery, then cautiously advanced,
and suddenly yelling, and flourishing muskets, clubs, and lances, rushed up within a few yards of
them, while the pleading creatures, with lolling tongues and glaring ej es, were quite overcome
with dismay, and remained nearly motionless. At last, two overgrown males broke through the
line formed by the men, but they paid the penalty with their lives before reaching the water. A
few moments passed, when all hands moved slowly toward the rookery, which as slowly retreated.
This maneuver is termed 'turning them,' and, when once accomplished, the disheartened creatures
appear to abandon all hope of escape, and resign themselves to their fate. The herd at this time
numbered seventy-flve, which were soon dispatched, by shooting the largest ones, and clubbing
and lancing the others, save one young Sea Lion, which was spared to see whe.;her he would make
any resistance by being driven over the hills beyond. The poor creature only moved along
through the prickly pears that covered the ground when compelled by his cruel pursuers; and. at
last, with an imploring look and writhing in pain, it held out its fln-like arms, which were pierced
with thorns, in such a manner as to touch the sympathy of the barbarous sealers, who instantly
put the sufferer out of its misery by a stroke of a heavy club. As soon as the animal is killed, the
longest spires of its whiskers are pulled out, then it is skinned, and its coating of fat cut in sections
from its body and transported to the vessel, where, after being 'minced,' the oil is extracted by
boiling. The testes are taken out, and, with the selected spires of whiskers, find a market in
China — the former being used medicinally, and the latter lor personal ornaments.
"At the close of the season — which lasts about three months, on the California coast — a large
majority of the great herds, both males and females, return to the sea, and roam in all directions in
quest of food, as but few of them could find sustenance about the waters contiguous to the islands,
or points on the mainland, which are their annual resorting places. They live upon fish,' mollusks,
' The Sea Lions destructive of fish. — The Parallone Egg Company, several years ago, attempted to kill the
Sea Lions which frequented those barren islands for their oil and skins. They built try works and went to considerable ^
expense, but it was found that the oil obtained from a carcass did not pay for trying it, and the only disposition that
could be made of the skins was to sell them to glue factories. The best return they got from the carcass was from
bristles or whiskers and the livers. Both of these were sold to Chinamen. The former they make use of to clean their
opium pipes, while the latter is chopped up, put into a mixture of alcohol and another fluid, and administered as
a radical cure for many acute diseases. The company accordingly gave up the plan of sea-lion hunting, but the
effect of their brief warfare upon these animals was to drive vast droves of them over to the rocks about the Cliff House
and the neighborhood of the Heads. In consequence of their being protected by law in these localities, they have
doabled and trebled in number within the past three years. The Sea Lions are a very expensive luxury. It is probable
48 THE SEALS A^D WALRUSES.
crustaceans, a)ld sea-fowls; always with the addition of a few pebbles or smooth stones, some of
which are a pound in weight.' Their principal feathery food, however, is the penguin in the South-
ern Hemisphere, and the gulls in the Northern ; while the manner in which they decoy and catch
the GaHota of the Mexican and Cahfornia coasts displays no little degree of cunning. When in
pursuit the animal dives deeply under water and swims some distance from where it disappeared;
then, rising cautiously, it exposes the tip of its nose above the surface, at the same time giving it
a rotary motion, like that of a water bug at play. The unwary bird on the wing, seeing the object
near by, alights to catch it, while the Sea Lion'at the same moment settles beneath the waves, and
at one bound, with extended jaws, seizes its screaming prey, and instantly devours it.^
"A few years ago great numbers of Sea Lions were taken along the coast of Upper and Lower
California, and thousands of barrels of oil obtained. The number of Seals slain exclusively for
their oil would appear fabulous, when we realize the fact that it requires on an average, throughout
the season, the blubber of three or four Sea Lions to produce a barrel of oil. Their thick, coarse-
grained skins were not considered worth preparing for market, in a country -where manual labor
was so highly valued. At the present time, however, they are valued for glue-stock, and the
seal hunters now realize more comparative profit from the hides than from the oil. But while
the civilized sealers, plying their vocation along the seaboard of California and Mexico, destroy
the Lobo marino, for the product of its oil, skin, testes, and whiskers, the simple Aleutians of
the Alaska region derive from these animals many of their indispensable articles of domestic
use '"
The whiskers are carefully saved and sent to China, where they are used for cleaning opium
pipes; the livers are also used in the Chinese pharmacopoeia.
Mr. Elliott, in referring to the differences between the Californian and Alaskan Sea Lions, calls
attention to the dissimilarity of their voices. The Northern Sea Lion, he says, "never barks or
that they cousiirae more fish than are caught in the bay for food, and if they continue to increase in the future as
in the past, it will be but a few years before the waters of the bay will be destitute of fish. Formerly these animals
seldom cam i within the Golden Gate, but now it is a very common thing for passengers on the Oakland boats to see
their mischievous-looking heads rise from the water with a large fish in the mouth — they give it a shake, bite out a
piece, drop it, and then, diving again, catch it, and rising to the surface, take another nibble until it is consumed. It
is certain that something should be done to diminish their numbers. If the legislature was to offer a royalty of from
75 cents to $1 per skin, it is thought by many interested in our fish supply that it would be an economical act. As it
is now, the Sea Lions are protected by law — no one being allowed to molest or kill one within a mile of the Cliff House.
An eftort has been made on several occasions to repeal this law, but at the first intimation of anything in that direction,
the lobby in Sacramento has been re-enforced by delegations from a certain stratum of society which history tells us
has had more or less influence with legislation since the days of Marc Antony. The consequence is, the law is still
upon the statute-books, and the Sea Lions continue to increase, while the fish supply proportionately decreases. — San
J'^rancisco Ciill, November 13.
' "The enormous quantity of food which would be required to maintain the herd of many thousands, which, in
ioimer years, annually assembled at the small island of Santa Barbara, would seem incredible, if they daily obtained
the allowance given to a male and female Sea Lion on exhibition at Woodward's Gardens, San Francisco, California,
where the keeper informed me that he fed them regularly, every day, forty pounds of fresh fish "
[That the destruction of fish by the Sea Lions on the coast of California is very great is indicated by the following
item, which recently went the rounds of the newspapers: "In a recent meeting at San Francisco of the Senate
Committee on Fisheries, the State Fish Commissioners, and a committee representing the fishermen of the coast, the
qnestiou as to I ho destructive performances of the Sea Lions in the harbor was actively discussed. One of the fishermen's
representatives said that it was estimated that there were 25,000 Sea Lions within a radius of a few miles, consuming
from ten to forty pounds each of fish per day; the Sea Lions were protected while the fishermen were harassed by the
game laws. Another witness declared that salmon captured in the Sacramento River often bore the marks of injury
from Sea Lions, having barely escaped with life; but it was supposed that the salmon less frequently fell victims to
The amphibian than did other fishes that cannot swim as fast." — Country, January 26, 1878.]
'-[This account appeared originally in Captain Soammon's account of the "Islands oft' the West Coast of Lower
California," in J. Ross Browne's "Resources of the Pacific Slope," second part, p. 130 (1869), and has been quoted by
Mr. Gurney in the "Zoologist" for 1871, p. 2762.]
^Scammon: Marine Mammalia, pp. 130-135.
THE NOETHEIiN FUE SEAL OE SEA BEAE. 49
howls like the animal at the Parallones or Santa Barbara. Young and old, both sexes, from one
year and upward, have only a deep bass growl, and prolonged, steady roar; while at San Francisco
Sea Lions break out incessantly with a 'honking' bark or howl, and never roar."
The California Sea Lion is now a somewhat well-known animal with the public, various individ-
uals having been at different times on exhibition at the Central Park Menagerie in New York City,
and at the Zoological Gardens at Philadelphia and Cincinnati, as well as Woodward's Gardens
in Sao Francisco. They have also formed part of the exhibition of different traveling shows,
especially that of P. T. Barnum. They have also been carried to Europe, where examples have
lived for several years at the Zoological Gardens of London, Paris, and elsewhere. Their peculiar
"honking" bark, referred to by Mr. Elliott, is hence not unfamiliar to many who have nevcf met
with the animal in a state of nature. Their various attitudes and mode of life on the Farallones
have also been made familiar to many by the extensive sale of stereoscopic views of the animals
and their surroundings. The Sea«Lions that have been exhibited in this country all, or nearly all,
belong to the present species, although often wrongly labeled '■' Ewnetopias Stelleri." The true U.
Stelleri has, however, at least in one instance, been exhibited in Eastern cities.
22. THE NOETHEBN FUR SEAL OR SEA BEAR.
Geogeaphical distribution and migkation. — The Fur Seal, Gallorhinus ursinus (Linn^)
Gray, is well known to have been formerly abundant on the western coast of North America,
as far south as California, but the exact southern limit of its range I have been unable to
determine. Captain Scammon speaks of having seen them " on one of the San Benito Islands, on
the coast of Lower California," and again says, " On the coast of California many beaches were
found fronting gullies, where [Fur] Seals in large numbers formerly gathered ; and, as they *here
had plenty of ground to retreat upon, the sealers sometimes drove them far enough back to make
sure of the whole herd, or that portion of them the skins of which were desirable."' He also states
that the " Fur Seal and Sea Elephant once made the shores [of Guadalupe Island] a favorite re-
sorting place," and refers to their former occurrence on Cedros Island, in latitude 28°.^ Although
at one time abundant on the California coast, they are by no means numerous there now, having
been nearly exterminated by unrestricted destruction by the st alers. The wiitcr above cited refers
also to their capture by the Indians at the mouth of the Strait of Juan de Fuca. The Seals appear
here and on the neighboring coast, he adds, " some years as early as the first of March, and more
or less remain till July or August; but they are most plentiful in April and May. During these
two months the Indians devote nearly all their time to sealing when th« weather will permit." He
reports their increase there in later years, and that while only a few dozens were annually taken
there from 1843 to 1864, fully fliv e thousand were taken in 1869.^' Captain Bryant has given a
similar report, referring especially to their abundance along the coasts of Oregon, Washington Ter-
ritory, and British Columbia in 18C9, as compared with former years. He says those taken "were
mostly very young Seals, none appearing to be over a year old. Formerly in March and April the
natives of Paget Sound took large numbers of pregnant females,^ but no places where they have
resorted to breed seem to be known off this coast." He thinks it probable, however, that they
may occupy rocky ledges off shore which are rarely visited by boats.^ In his MS. report just
' Scammon, C. M. : The Marine Mammals of the Northwestern Coast, Sea., pp. 1,52, 154.
^BiioWNE, J. Ross: Resources of the Pacific Slope, second part, p. 138.
'ScAMMOsr, C. M. : The Marine Mammals of the Northwestern Coast, &o., p. 154.
■* There are six skulls in the National Museum from Puget Sound and the neighboring coast (collected at several
different points by Messrs. Scammon and Swau), aU of whicli arc females.
'BuUetiu Museum Comparative Xocilogy, ii, p. 88.
4 P
50 NATURAL HISTORY OF AQUATIC ANIMALS.
received he states that a half-breed hunter tokl him that he found in summer, " on Queen Cliarlotte's
Island, groups of these animals consisting of two or more beach-masters with a dozen or more
females and pups, but uo half -grown males."
As is well known, the Pribylov or so-called " Fur Seal Islands," off the coast of Alaska, form
the grea,t breeding-ground of the Fur Seals, to which hundreds of thousands annually resort to
bring forth their young. The Pribylov Group consists of four small islands, known respectively
as Saint Paul's, Saint George's, Otter, and Walrus Islands. The two last named are of small size,
and are not used as breeding-grounds by the Seals, although Otter Island is visited by a large
number of "non-breeding Seals." Saint Paul's Island is the largest, containing an area of about
thirty-three square miles, and having a coast line of about forty-two miles, nearly one half of which
is sand beach. Of this, sixteen and a half miles, according to Mr. Elliott, are occupied in the
breeding season by the Pur Seals. Saint George's Island is somewhat smaller, with only twenty-
uiii • miles of shore line. It presents a bold coast, a grand wall^sf basalt extending continuously
for ten miles, with no passagewaj from the sea. , It has, in all, less than a mile of sand beach, and
only two and a quarter miles of eligible landing grounds for the Seals.
A few old male Fur Seals are said to make their appearance at the rookeries on these islands
between the 1st and 15th of May, they acting, as it were, the part of pioneers, since their number is
not much increased before the first of June. At about this date, and with the setting in of the
humid, foggy weather of summer, the male Seals begin to land by " hundreds and thousands," to
await the arrival of the females, which do not appear before about July first. The young are born
soon after, and toward the last of this month the rookeries begin to lose their compactness and
definite boundaries, but they are not fully broken up till about the middle of September. The
Seals begin to leave the islands about the end of October, the greater proportion departing in
November, while some remain till the end of the following month, and even later.
The number of Fur Seals present on Saint Paul's Island in July, 1872, was estimated by Mr.
Elliott to exceed three million, and on Saint George's Island in July, 1873, at about one hundred
and sixty-three thousand. Although these islands form bj"^ far their most ijopulous resorts, they
are said to occur in considerable numbers on some of the islands to the northward, but I am unable
to find deflu_ite statements as to their numbers or favorite stations. Mr. Elliott, after examining
Saint Matthew's and Saint Lawrence Islands, became convinced that they were not only not resorted
to as breeding stations by the Fur Seals, but that these islands, by their constitution and climatic
conditions, were unsuitable for this purpose, and adds, " it may be safely said that no land of ours
in the north is adapted to the wants of that animal, except that of Saint Paul and Saint George."
Mr. W. H. Dall states that "they have never been found in Bering Strait, or within three hundred
miles of it." In early times these animals are well known to have been abundant on Behring's and
Copper Islands. According to Krascheninikow, they were so numerous upon Behring's Island
about the middle of the last century as to cover the whole southern ^lore of the island. Their
range on the Asiatic coast is given by Steller and others as extending southward along the Kamt-
chatkan coast to the Kurile Islands. Krascheninikow states that they appeared there, however,
only in spring and in September, none being seen there from the beginning of June till the end of
August, at which time he says they return from the south with their young. Von Schrenck speaks
of their occurrence in the Ochotsk Sea and the Tartarian Gulf as far south as the forty-sixth degree
of latitude, or to the southern point of Saghalien Island. The natives reported to him the occurrence
of great numbers of the animals on the eastern coast of that island. Captain Scammon also refers
to their abundance twenty years since on the eastern side of Saghalien.
Except during the season of reproduction, these animals appear to lead a wandering life, but
the extent and direction of their migrations are not yet well known. Steller spoke of their migra-
THE FDE SEAL: SIZE, AND GENERAL HISTOEY. 51
tioDS as beiug as regular as those of the ^'arious kinds of sea-fowl, aud they are recorded as arriving
with great regularity at the Pribylov Islands, but where, they pass the season of winter is still a
matter of conjecture.
Size. — Mr. Elliott has given a table showing the weight, size, and rate of growth of the Fur
Seal, from the age of one week to six years, based on actual weight aud measurement, with an
estimate of the size and weight of specimens from eight to twenty years of age. From this table
it appears that the pups when a week old have a length of from twelve to fourteen inches, and a
weight of six to seveu and a half pounds. At six months old the length is two feet and the weight
about thirty pounds. At one year the average length of six examples was found to be thirty-eight
inches, and the weight thirty-nine pounds, the males and females at this time being alike in size
The average weight of thirty males at the age of two years is given as fifty-eight pounds, and the
length as forty-five inches. Thirty-two males at the age of three yeai's were found to give an
average weight of eighty-seven pounds, and an average length of fifty-two inches. Ten males at
the age of four averaged one hundred and thirty-five pounds in weight, and fifty-eight inches in
length. A mean of five examples five years old is : weight, two hundred pounds; length, sixty-five
inches. Three males at six years gave a weight of two hundied and eighty pounds, and a length
of six feet. The estimated average weight of males from eight years and upward, when fat, is
given as four hundred to five hundred pounds, and the average length as six feet three inches
to six feet eight inches. Mr. Elliott further adds that the average weight of the female is from
eighty to eighty-five pounds, but that they range in weight from seventy-five to one hundred and
twenty pounds, and that the five and six year old males, on their first appearance in May and
June, when fat and fresh, may weigh a third more than in July, or at the time those mentioiied in
the table were weighed, which would thus indicate an average maximum weight of about three
hundred and seventy-five pounds for the six-year-old males. According, however, to my own
measurements of old males, from mounted and unmounted specimens, the length is between seven
and eight feet, and of a full-grown female about four feet. Captain Bryant states that the males
attain mature size at about the sixth year, when their total length is from seven to eight feet, their
girth six to seven feet, and their weight, when in full flesh, from five to seven hundred pounds.
The females, he says, are full grown at four years old, when they measure four feet in length, two
and a half in girth, and weigh eighty to one hundred pounds. The yearlings, lie says, weigh from
thirty to forty pounds. The relative size of the adults of both sexes and the young is well shown
in the accompanying illustration drawn by Mr. Elliott.
General history. — The northern Fur Seal was first made known to science by Steller, in
1751, under the name of Ursus marinus. During his visit to Kamtchatka and its neighboring
islands, in 1742, he met with these animals in great numbers at Bering's Island, where he spent
some time among them, and carefully studied their habits and anatomy, a detailed account of
which appeared in his celebrated memoir entitled "De Bestiis Marinis," in the Transactions of the
Saint Petersburg Academy for the year 1749.' This important essay was the source of nearly all of
the accounts of this animal that appeared prior to the beginning of the present decade. The
twenty-eight quarto pages of Steller's memoir devoted to this species gave not only a detailed
account of its anatomy, with an extensive table of measurements, but also of its remarkable habits,
and figures of the animals themselves. A little later Krascheninikow, in his History of Kamt-
chatka,^ under the name of " Sea Cat," gave also a long account of its habits, apparently based
'Nov. Coram. Acad. Petrop., ii, pp. 331-359, pi. xv, 1751. This, as is well known, is a postliumous paper, pub-
lished six years after Steller's death, Steller dying of fever Nd vcmber 12, Vio, while on his way from Siberia to Saint
Petersbu.g. Tbc description of the Sea Bear was written at Bering's Island iu May, 1742.
"Hist. Kamtchatka (English edition), translated from the Russian by James Grieve, pp. 123-130, 1764.
52 NATURAL HISTORY OF AQUATIO ANIMALS.
mainly on Steller's notes,i but it embraces a few particulars not given in " De Bestiis Marinis."
Steller's description of the habits of this animal has been largely quoted by Buffou, Tennant,
Schreber, Hamilton, and other general writers.
Buffon, Pennant, Schreber, Gmelin, and nearly all writers on the Pinnipeds, down to about
1820, confounded the northern Fur Seal with the Fur Seals of the Southern Hemisphere, blending
their history as that of a single species. P6rou, in 1816, first recognized it as distinct from its
southern allies, as it was so treated somewhat later by Demarest, Lesson, Fischer, Gray, and other
systematic writers,^ but its distinctive characters were not clearly set forth till 1859, when Dr. J.
B. Gray described and figured its skull, and showed that the northern species was not even con-
geneiic with the Sea Bears of the south. Very few specimens of either the northern or southern
Sea Bears appear to have reached European museums prior to about that date, so that naturalists
had not previously been able to make a direct comparison of this species with any of its southern
afianes. Dr. Gray, in referring to this point in 1859, wrote as follows: "I had not been able to see
a specimen of this species in any of the museums which I examined on the Continent or in England,
or to find a skull of the genus [ArctocepMlus] from the Korth Pacific Ocean, yet I felt so assured,
from Steller's description and the geographical position, that it must be distinct from the Eared
Fur Seals from the Antarctic Ocean and Australia, with which it had usually been confounded,
that in my 'Catalogue of Seals in the Collection of the British Museum' [1850] I regarded it as a
distinct species, under the name of ArctocepJialus ursinus, giving an abridgment of Steller's descrip
tion as its specific character." "The British Museum," he adds, "has just received, under the name
Otaria leonina, from Amsterdam, a specimen [skull and skin] of the Sea Bear from Bering's Straits,
which was obtained from Saint Petersburg";' which is the specimen already spoken of as figured
by Dr. Gray. From the great differences existing between this skull and those of the Southern Sea
Bears, Dr. Gray, a few weeks later, separated the northern species from the genus Arctocephalus,
under the name GallorMmis.*
It seems, however, that there were two skulls of Steller's Sea Bear in the Berlin Museum as
early as 1841,° and three skeletons of the same species in the Museum of Munich in 1849,^ yet
Dr. Gray appears to have been the first to compare this animal with its southern relatives, and to
positively decide its affinities.
Misled, however, by erroneous information respecting specimens of Eared Seals received at the
British Museum from California, a skin of the Gallorhinus ursinus was doubtfully described by this
author, in the paper in which the name Gallorhinus was proposed, as that of his Arctocephalus
monteriensis, which is a Hair Seal. This skin was accompanied by a young skull, purporting, by the
label it bore, to belong to it, but Dr. Gray observes that otherwise he should have thought it too
small to have belonged to the same animal. Seven years later,'' he described the skull as that of
a new species {Arctocephalus calif or nianus), still associating with it, however, the skin of the
'Krascheninikow, it is stated, "received all of Mr. Steller's papers" to aid him ia the preparation of his "History
of Kamtchatka."
^Nilsson and Miiller in 1841, and "Wagner in 1846 and 1849, on the other hand, still considered all the Sea Bears
as belonging to a single species. Wagner, in 1849 (Arch, fiir Naturg., 1849, pp. 37-49) described the osteological char-
acters of the northern species from three skeletons in the Munich Museum received from Bering's Sea. One of these
■was apparently that of a full-grown female; a second was believed to be that of a half-grown male, while the third
belonged to a very young animal, in which the permanent teeth were still not wholly developed. Wagner compares
the species with Steller's Sea Lion, and with the figures of the skulls of the southern Sea Bears given by F. Cnvier,
Blainville, and Quoy and Gaimard, and notes various differences in the form of the teeth and skull, but believes that
those differences must bo regarded as merely variations dependent upon age.
'Gkay, J. E., in the Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London, 1859, p. 102.
*Gkay, J. E., in the Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London, 18.59, p. 359.
"See Arcliiv fiir Naturgesch., 1841, p. 334.
*Gray, J. E., in the Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London, 849, p. 39.
'Gray, J. E., Catalogue of the Seals and Whales in the British Museum, 1866, p. 51.
TUB FUR SEAL: FIGURES. 53
Gallorhiiius ursimis. The skull he subsequently considered as that of a young A. monieriensit
{=]Sumetopias Sfelleri); and referring bis A. californianus to that species, he was consequently led
into the double error of regarding the Uumetopias Stelleri us a Fur Seal (as already explained under
that species and elsewhere in the present paper), and of excluding the Gallorhiniis ursinus from the
list of Fur Seals. To this I called attention in 1870, and in 1871 Dr. G-ray correctly referred his A.
monteriensis and A. californianus in part (the "skin only") to Gallorhinus ursinus.^
What may be termed the second or modern epoch in the general history of this species began
in 18'69, when Captain 0. M. Scammon published a highly important contribution to its biology,^ he
describing at considerable length, from personal observation, its habits, distribution, and products,
as well as the various methods employed for its capture. The following year Mr. W. H. Dall
devoted a few i)age8' to its history, in which he made many important suggestions relative to
the sealing business. During the same year I was able to add not only something to its technical
history,* but also to make public an important communication on its habits Idndjy placed at my
disposal by Captain Charles Bryant,* government agent in charge of the Fur Seal Islands of
Alaska. In 1874, Captain Scammon republished his above mentioned paper," adding thereto a
transcript of Captain Bryant's observations already noted.. Almost simultaneously with this
appeared Mr. H. W. Elliott's exhaustive Report on the Seal Islands of Alaska,' in which the present
species properly comes in for a large share of the author's attention. The work is richly
illustrated with photographic plates, taken from Mr. Elliott's sketches, about twenty-five of which
are devoted to the Fur Seal. The text of this rare and privately distributed work has been since
reprinted," with some changes and additions, and has been widely circulated. It contains very
little relating to the Fur Seal that is strictly technical, but the general history of its life at the
Pribylov Islands is very fully told, while the commercial or economic phase of the subject is treated
at length. A few minor notices of this species have since appeared (mostly popular articles in
illustrated magazines, chiefly from the pen of Mr. Elliott), but nothing relating to its general history
requiring special notice in the present connection, until the publication, in 1881, by the Census
Bureau and the Fish Commission, of the two editions of Mr. Elliott's elaborate monograph of
the Seal Islands of Alaska.^
Figures. — The first figures of the Northern Sea Bear were given by Steller, in his pr,per already
cited. They represent an adult male, in a quite natural attitude, and a female reclining on her back.
In respect to details, these early figures were naturally more or less rude and inaccurate. They
' Gray; J. E. ; Supplementary Catalogue of the Seals and Whales, p. 15 ; Hand-List of Seals, p. 32.
'Scammon, C. M., in the Overland Monthly, vol. iii, Nov., 18fi9, pp. 393-399.
'Dall, "William H. : Alaska and its Eesources, 1870, pp. 492-498.
■•Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Cambridge, ii, pp. 73-89.
"Bulletin of the Museum of Comp.arative Zoology, Cambridge, pp. 89-108.
^Scammon, C. M. : The Marine Mammals of the Northwestern Coast, &c., 1874, pp. 141-163.
'Elliott, Henry W. : Eeport on the Prybilov Group, or Seal Islands of Alaska, 4to, unpaged, 1873 [1874].
^Elliott, Hbnry W.: Condition of Affairs in Alaska, 1875, pp. 107-151.
9 1881. Elliott, Henry W. : Department of the Interior. | — | Tenth Census of the United States. | Francis A.
Walker, | Superintendent. | — | The history and present condition | of the fishery industries. | Prepared under Iho
direction of Professor S. F. Balrd, U. S. Commissioner of Fish and Fisheries, by G. Brown Goode, Assistant Director,
U. S. National Museum. | — | The Seal-Islands of Alaska, | by | Henry W. Elliott. | (Seal of Department of the Inte-
rior.) | Washington: I Government Printing Office: | 1881. Quarto, pp. 176. Two maps; twenty-nine plates.
1881. Elliott, Henry W. : U. S. Commission of Fish and Fisheries. | Spencer F. Baird, Commissioner. | — | 170.
I Special Bulletin. | — | A Monograph | of the | Seal Islands of Alaska | by | Henry W. Elliott | — | Reprinted, with
additions, from the Report on the Fishery Industries | of the Tenth Census. | Washington: | Government Printing
Office. I 1882. Quarto, pp. 176. Two maps; twenty-nine plates.
These two editions differ in the fact that in the census edition, pp. 102 to 109, relating to "The Reproduction of
the Fur Seal, Sea Lion, and Walrus," are replaced by "A Brief Review of the Official Reports upon the Conduct of
Affairs on the Seal Islands."
54 NATTJEAL HISTORY OF AQUATIC AKIMALS.
were copied, however, by Buffon, Schreber, Pennant, and other early writers, and are the only
representations of this species known to me that were made prior to about the j^ear 1839, except
Choris's plate of a group of these animals entitled " Ours marins dans I'ile de St. Paul,"' published
in 1822. This represents three old males, surrounded by their barems, and indicates very faithfully
the mode of grouping and the variety of attitudes assumed by these animals when assembled
on the rookeries. Hamilton, in 1839, gave a figure of the "Sea Bear of Steller (Otaria ursina)"
which he tells us is "from the engraving of the distinguished Naturalist of the Eurick,"^ the original
of which I have not seen. This represents a male and female, the latter reclining on its side, with
a 2>up resting on its right flipper.
The first figure of the skull is that published by Gray in 1859,' — a view in profile of the skull
of an adult male. A wood-cut of the same was given in 1866,^ and a fine lithographic plate in
1874,^ representing the skull in profile, from above and from below."
In 1870 I gave figures of two adult male skulls (two views of each), of an adult female skull
(three views), of a very young skull (three views), and of the scapula, dentition, etc. These, so far
as known to me, are the only figures of the skull or other details of structure thus far published.
In 1874 Captain Scammon gave figures of the animal,' a zincograph of an old male," from a
sketch bj' Mr. Elliott, a wood-cut of the head of a female seen from below (drawn by Elliott),^
two outline figures representing the female as seen from below and in profile, and two others in
outline illustrating "attitudes of the Fur Seals." Mr. Elliott, in his first Eeport on the Seal
Islands, in a series of over two dozen large photographic plates (from India ink sketches from
nature), has given an exhaustive presentation of the phases of fur seal life so faithfully studied
by him at Saint Paul's Island. Among these may be mentioned especially those entitled "The East
Landing and Black Buttes — The beach covered with young Fur Seals"; "The North Shore of Saint
Paul's Island" (giving an extensive view of the rookeries) ; "Lukannon Beach" (Fur Seals playing
in the surf, and rookeries in the distance); "Old male Fur Seal, or 'Seecatch'" (as he appears at
the end of the season after three months of fasting); "Fur-seal Harem" (showing the relative size
of males, females, and young, various attitudes, positions, etc.); "Pur-seal Males, waiting for their
'Harems'" (the females beginning to arrive); "Fur-seal 'Eookery'" (breeding-grounds at Polavina
Point) ; " Fur-seal Harem" (Eeef Eookery, foreground showing relative size of males and females) ;
"P'ur-seal Pups at Sleep and Play"; "Hauling Grounds" (several views at different points);
"Capturing Fur Seals"; "Driving Fur Seals"; "Killing Fur Seals — Sealing gang at work," etc.
The only other pictorial conta?ibutions to the history of the Fur Seal of noteworthy importance
prior to the publication by the Census of Mr. Elliott's latest work, is Mr. Clark's colored plate, on
which are represented a nearly full-grown male, a female, and a pup, prepared from skins sent to
the British Museum by the Alaska Commercial Company. In these the attitudes are excellent and
the coloring fair.
For detailed discussions of this species, its capture and its commercial uses, the reader is
referred to Elliott's "Monograph" and to the chapters on The Habits of the Fur Seal, and
The Fur Seal Fishery, in subsequent pages of this work.
'Choris, L. : Voyage pittoresque autour du Monde, Paris, 1822. lies AliSoutiennes, pi. xv.
2 Hamilton, E. : Marine Amphiblse, p. 266, pi. xxi.
'Gray, J. E., in Proceedings of the Zoological Society of Loudon, 1859, pi. Ixviii.
•" Gray, J. E. : Catalogue of the Seals and Whales in the British Museum, p. 45, fig. IG.
^Gray, J. E. : Hand-List of Seals, pi. xix.
"I infer this to ho the same specimen in each case, not only from the resemhlanco the figures be.ar to each other,
hnt from Dr. Gray, so far as I can discover, referring to only the single skull from Bering's Strait, received in 1859.
'Scammon, C. U. : The Marine Mammals of the Northwest Coast, &c., pi. xxi, two figures.
sEluott, Henry W. -. Eeport on the Pribylov Group, or Fur Seal Islands, of Alaska, unpaged, and plates noi
numbered.
9 Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London, 1878, 271, pi. xx.
THE HAEBOE SEAL. 55
23. THE HARBOR SEAL.
General history and synonymy. — The common Seal, Phoca {Phoca) viiulina Lmn6, is
mentioned in the earliest works on natural history, having been described and rudely figured by
various writers as early as the middle of the sixteenth century as well as during the seventeenth
century. Even down to the time of Linnd it was the only species recognized; or, more correctly,
all the species known were usually confounded as one species, supposed to be the same as the
common Seal of the European coasts. Consequently almost down to the beginning of the present
century the '-common Seal" was generally supposed to inhabit nearly all the seas of the globe,
Buffon, Pennant, Schreber, and others referring to it as an inhabitant of the Southern Hemisphere.
Linn6 distinguished only a single species, even in the later editions of his " Systema Naturae." As
'is well known, the smaller species of Seal are with difficulty distinguishable by external characters,
particularly during their younger stages. Pew, however, are so variable in color as the present,
and none has so wide a geographical range.
Geographical distribution. — The Harbor Seal appears to have formerly been much more
numerous on portions of our eastern coast than it is at present.' Dr. DeKay, writing in 1842,
states that the "common Seal, or Sea Dog," is "now comparatively rare in our [Sew York]
waters," though "formerly very abundant." He adds, "A certain reef of rocks in the harbor of
New York is called BobMs Beef, from the numeroias seals which were accustomed to resort there ;
robin or robyn being the name in Dutch for Seal. At some seasons, even at the present day, they
are very numerous, particularly about the Execution Eocks in the Sound; but their visits appear
to be very capricious." He further alludes to their capture nearly every year in the Passaic Eiver,
in New Jersey, and states that a Seal was taken in a seine in the Ohesai)eake Bay, near Elko,
Maryland, in August, 1824, supposed by Dr. Mitchill, who saw it, to be of this species.^ Although
still occasionally appearingon the coast of the Atlantic States as far southward as North Carolina,'
it is of probably only accidental occurrence south of New Jersey, and rare south of Massachusetts.
In respect to its occurrence on the New Jersey coast, Dr. C. C. Abbott, the well known
naturalist of Trenton, N. J., kindly writes me, in answer to my inquiries on this point, as follows:
"In going over my note-books, I find I have there recorded the occurrence of Seals (Phoca
»»teZiMa) at Trenton, N. J., as follows: December, 1861 ; January, 1864 ; December, 1866; February,
1870; and December, 1877. In these five instances a single specimen was killed on the ledge of
rocks crossing the river here and forming the rapids. In December, 1861, three were seen, and
two in February, 1870. A week later one was captured down the river near Bristol, Bucks County,
Pennsylvania. My impression is that in severe winters they are really much more abundant in
the Delaware Eiver than is supposed. Considering how small a chance there is of their being seen
when the river is choked with ice, I am disposed to believe that an occasional pair or more come
up the river, even as high as Trenton, the head of tide-water, and one hundred and thirty-eight
miles from the ocean.
• The "Semi- Weekly Advertiser," Boston, January 10, 1872, had the following :
"The keeper of the Bird Island light-house at Marion reijorts that one day last week he saw over 300 Seals on the
ice at one time. He shot one and ohtained from it two gallons of oil. In eight years that he has kept the light he
never saw more than three at a time until now."
''DeKay, Jambs E. : New York Zoology, or the Fauna of New York, part i, 1842, pp. 54, 55.
'A recent record of its capture in North Carolina is the following, the reference, I think, unquestionably relating
to the present species :
"Southern kangb of the Seal. — The Wilmington, N. C, 'Star' of February 28, mentions the capture, inNew
River, Ouslow County, of a large female Spotted Seal, measuring about seven feet in length, and weighing 250
pounds. This is an interesting note. The species must probably have been the common Harbor Seal ( Phoca vihiUna).
The same newspaper says one was reported near Beaufort some time ago." — [W. E. D. Scott,] " Country," vol. i, No
21, p. 292, March IG, ICTS.
66 NATURAL HISTORY OP AQTJATIC ANIMALS.
" On examination of old local histories, I find reference to the Seals as not uncommon along
our coast, and as quite frequently -wandering 'up our rivers in winter. I can find no newspaper
references to the occurrence of Seals later than February or earlier than December, but as histor-
ical references to climate, as well as the memory of aged men still living, show conclusively that
our winters are now much milder than they were even fifty years ago, it is probable that Seals did
come up the river earlier in past years.
" In conversation with an old fisherman, now seventy-six years old, who has always lived at
Trenton, and has been a good observer, I learn that every winter, years ago, it was expected that
one or more Seals would be killed ; and that about 1840 two were killed in March, which it was
supposed had accompanied a school of herring up the river.
" In my investigations in local archseology I have found, in some of the fresh-water shell heaps,
or rather camp-fire and fishing- village sites along the river, fragments of bones which were at the"
time identified as those of Seals. I did not preserve them, as I had no knowledge of their being of
interest. They were associated with bones of deer, bear, elk, and large wading birds, and then
gave me the impression, which subsequent inquiry has strengthened, that the Seal, like many of
our large mammals, had disappeared gradually, as the country became more densely settled, and
that iu pre-European times it was common, at certain seasons, both on the coast and inland."'
In later communications (dated January 25 and March 20, 1879) he inclosed to me newspaper
slips and notes respecting the capture of eight specimens in New Jersey, mostly near Trenton,
during the winter of 1878-'79.
On the coast of Massachusetts they occur in considerable numbers about the mouth of the
Ipswich Eiver, where I have sometimes observed half a score in sight at once. They are also to
be met with about the islands in Boston Harbor, and along the eastern shore of Cape God. , Captain
N. E. Atwood states that they are now and then seen at Provincetown, and that in a shallow bay
west of Eainsford Island " many hundreds" may be seen at any time in summer on a ledge of
rocks that becomes exposed at low water.^
Farther northward they become more numerous, particularly on the coast of Maine and the
shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, Newfoundland, and Labrador, and are also common on the
shores of Davis's Strait and in Greenland, where, says Dr. Eink, " it occurs here and there
throughout the coast," and is likewise to be met with at all seasons of the year, Mr. Kumlien
says it is one of the " rarer species " in the Cumberland waters, but its exact northern limit I have
not seen stated.
On the European coasts it is said to occur occasionally in the Mediterranean, and to be not
rare on the coast of Spain. It is more frequent on the coasts of France and the British Islands,
and thence northward along the Scandinavian peninsula is the commonest species of the family.
It also extends northward and eastward along the arctic coast of Europe, but late explorers of
the Spitzbergen and Jan Mayen Islands do not enumerate it among the species there met with.
Malragren states distinctly that it is not found there,^ and it is not mentioned by Von Heuglin
nor by the other German naturalists who have recently visited these islands. From its littoral
habits its absence there might be naturally expected. It is also said by some writers to occur in
the Black and Caspian Seas, and in Lake Baikal, but the statement is seriously open to doubt, as
will be shown later in connection with the history of the Einged Seal.
On the Pacific coast of North America it occurs from Southern CaUfornia northward to
'Letter dated Treutou, N. J., Dec. 26, 1878.
"See Bull. Mus. Comp. Zoiil., vol. i, p. 193.
» Weigm. Arch, fur Natnrg. 1864, p. 84.
THE HARBOR SEAL: EAJiJ^GE AKD HABITS. 57
Bering's Strait, where it seems to be an abundant species. I have examined specimens from the
Santa Barbara Islands, and various intermediate points to Alaska, and from Plover Bay, on the
eastern coast of Siberia. The extent of its range on the Asiatic coast has not been ascertained.
If it is the species referred to by Pallas under the name Phoca canina, and by Temminck, Von
Schrenck, and other German writers, under the name Phoca nummularis, as seems probable, it
occurs in Japan and along the Amoor coast of the Ochotsk Sea. Von Schrenck speaks of it, on
the authority of the natives, as entering the Amoor Eiver.i The late Dr. Gray referred a speci-
men from Japan to his ^^Halicyon Bichardsi,'" which, as already shown, is merely a synonym of
Phoca vitulina. It thus doubtless ranges southward along the Asiatic coast to points nearly cor-
responding in latitude with its southern limit of distribution on the American side of the Pacific.
The Harbor Seal not only frequents the coast of the North Atlantic and the ISTorth Pacific,
and some of the larger interior seas, but ascends all the larger rivers, often to a considerable dis-
tance above tide-water. It even passes up the Saint Lawrence to the Great Lakes, and has been
taken in Lake Champlain. DeKay states, on the authority of a Canadian newspaper, that a Seal
(in all probability of this species) was taken in Lake Ontario near Cape Vincent (Jefferson County,
New York) about 1824, and adds that the same paper says that Indian traders report the previous
occurrence of Seals in the same lake, though such instances are rare.^ Thompson gives two
instances of its capture in Lake Champlain; one of the specimens he himself examined, and has
published a careful description of it, taken from the animal before it was skinned.^
They are also known to ascend the Columbia River as far as the Dalles (above the Cascades,
and about two hundred miles from the sea), as well as the smaller rivers of the Pacific coast, nearly
to their sources. Mr. Brown states that " Dog River, a tributary of the Columbia, takes its name
from a dog-like animal, probably a Seal, being seen in the lake whence the stream rises." ^
Habits. — The Harbor Seal is the only species of the family known to be at all common on
any part of the eastern coast of the United States. Although it has been taken as far south
as North Carolina, it is found to be of very rare or accidental occurrence south of New Jersey.
Respecting its history here, little has been recorded beyond the fact of its presence. Captain
Scammon has given a quite satisi'actory account of its habits and distribution as observed by him
on the Pacific coast of the United States, but under the supposition that it was a species distinct from
the well-known Phoca vitulina of the North Atlantic. Owing to its rather southerly distribution,
as compared with its more exclusively boreal affines, its biography has been many times written
in greater or less detail. Fabricius, as early as 1791, devoted not less than twenty pages to its
history, based in part on his acquaintance with it in Greenland, and partly on the writings of pre-
ceding authors ; ^ and much more recently extended accounts of it have been given by Nilsson and
' Von Schkbnk : Eeisen im Amoor-Lande, Bd. i, p. 180.
" DbKay : New York Zoology, or the Fauna of New York, pt. i, 1842, p. 55.
_ 3 His record of tlie capture of these examples is as follows:
"While several persons were skating upon the ice on Lake Champlain, a little south of Burlington, iu February,
1810, they discovered a living Seal in a wild state which had found its way through a crack and was crawling upon
the ice. They took off their skates, with which they attacked and killed it, and then drew it to the shore. It is said to
have been four and a half feet long. It must have reached our lake by way of the Saint Lawrence and Eichelieu." —
Thompsons' Nat. and Civil Hist, of Vermont, 1842, p. 38.
"Another Seal was killed upon the ice between Burlington and Port Kent on the 23d of February, 1846. Mr.
Tabor, of Keeseville, and Messrs. Morse and Field, of Peru, were crossing over iu sleighs when they discovered it
crawling npon the ice, and, attacking it with the butt end of their whips, they succeeded in killing it and brought it on
shore at Burlington, where it was purchased by Morton Cole, esq., and presented to the University of Vermont, where
its skin and skeleton are now preserved. * * * * At the time the above-mentioned Ssal was taken, the lake, with
the exception of a few cracks, was entirely covered with ice." — IMd., Append., 1853, p. 13.
*Proc.Zool. Soc. Loud., 18G8, p. 412, foot-note.
* Fabricius appears to have exhaustively presented its literary history, his references to previous authors, in his
table of synonymy, occupying nearly four pages.
58 NATTJEAL SlSTOEY OF AQCTATiO ANIMALS.
Lilljeborg, but unfortunately for English rciiders the first of these histories is written in Danisli
and the other in Swedish. It has, however, been noticed quite fully by Bell, Macgillivray, and
other British authors, while lesser and more fragmentary accounts of it are abundant. On the New
England coast, as elsewhere, it is chiefly observed about rocky islands and shores, at the mouths
of rivers and in sheltered bays, where it is always an object of interest. Although ranging far
into the arctic regions, it is everywhere said to be a sedentary or non-migratory species, being
resident throughout the year at all points of its extended habitat. Unlike most of the other
species, it is strictly confined to the shores, never resorting to the ice-floes, and is consequently
never met with far out at sea, nor does it habitually associate with other species. On the coast of
Newfoundland, where it is more abundant and better known than at more southerly points, it is
said to bring forth its young during the last two weeks of May and the early part of June, resorting
for this purpose to the rocky points and outlying ledges along the shore. It is said to be very
common along the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence and of Newfoundland in summer, or during
the period when the shores are free from ice, but in winter leaves the ice-bound coast for the re-
moter islands in the open sea. It is at all times watchful, and takes great care to keep out of reach
of guns. Still, many are surprised while basking on the rocks, and fall victims to the seal-hunters,
while considerable numbers of the young are captured in the seal-nets. They are described as very
sagacious, and as possessing great parental affection. Mr. Carroll states that when an old one is
found on the rocks with its young it will seize the latter and convey it in its mouth so quickly to
the water that there is not time to shoot it; or, if the young one be too large to be thus removed, it
will entice it upon its back and plunge with it into the sea. The same writer informs us that this
species is a great annoyance to the salmon-fishers, boldly taking the salmon from one end of the
net while the fisherman is working at the other end. It is also troublesome in other ways, since,
whenever the old ones get entangled in the strong seal-nets, they are able to cut themselves free, a
feat it is said no other Seal known in Newfoundland will do.
This species is known to the inhabitants of Newfoundland as the "Native Seal," in conse-
quence of its being the only species found there the whole year. The young are there also called
"Eangers," and when two or three years old — at which age they are believed to bring forth their
first young — receive the name of "Dotards." Here, as well as in Greenland, the skins of this
species are more valued than those of any other species, owing to their beautifully variegated
markings, and are especially valued for covering trunks and the manufacture of coats, caps, and
gloves.^ Mr. Brown informs us that the natives of the eastern coast of Greenland prize them highly
"as material for the women's breeches," and adds "that no more acceptable present can be given
to a Greenland damsel than a skin of the ' Kassigiak,' as this species is there called." The Green-
landers also consider its flesh as "the most palatable of all 'seal-beef'".^
According to Mr. Eeeks, the period of gestation is about nine months, the union of the sexes
occurring, according to the testimony of the Newfoundlanders, in September.^ Only rarely does
the female give birth to more than a single young. This agrees with what is stated by Bell and
other English authors respecting its season of procreation.
Eespecting its general history, I find the following from the pen of Mr. John Cordeaux, who,
in writing of this species, as observed by him in British waters, says: "The Seal {Phoca vifulina)
is not uncommon on that part of the Lincolnshire coast adjoining the Wash. This immense
estuary, lying between Lincolnshire and NorfoUi:, is in great part occupied witli large and dangerous
'Cakroll, Mioiiabl: Seal and Herring Fisheries of Newfoundland, 1873, pp. 10, 11.
°Brown, Egbert, in Proceedings of tlie Zoological Society of London, 1868, p. 413
'Eeeks, Hkney: Zoologist, 2d ser., vol. Vi, 1871, p. 2541.
TflE HARBOR SEAL: HABITS. 59
sand-banks, intersected by deep but narrow channels. At ebb the sands are uncovered; and at
these times, on hot days, numbers of Seals may be found basking and sunning themselves on the
hot sands, or rolling and wallowing in the shallow water along the bank. Sometimes a herd of
fifteen or twenty of these interesting creatures will collect on some favorite sand-spit; their chief
haunts are the Long-sand, near the centre of the Wash ; the Knock, along the Lincoln coast ; and the
Dog'shead sand, near the entrance to Boston Deeps. In the first week of July, when sailing down
the Deeps along the edge of the Knock, we saw several Seals; some on the bank; others with their
bodies bent like a bow, the head and hind feet only out of the water. They varied greatly in size,
also in color, hardly any two being marked alike; one had the head and face dark colored, wearing
the color like a mask; in others the upper parts were light gray; others looked dark above and
light below, and some dark altogether. . . . The female has one young one in the year;
and as these banks are covered at flood, the cub, when born, must make an early acquaintance with
the water. In most of the PhocidcB the young one is at first covered with a sort of wool, the second
or hairy dress being gradually acquired; and until this is the case it does not go into the water.
This, however, does not appear to be the case with the common Seal, for Mr. L. Lloyd says (I be-
lieve in his 'Game Birds and Wild Fowl of Norway and Sweden,' but I have not the book to refer
to) that the cub of the common species, whilst still in its mother's womb, casts this wooly covering;
and when ushered into the world has acquired its second or proper dress.^ If this is the case, it
fully accounts for the cub being able to bear immersion from the hour of its birth. The Seal, if
lying undisturbed and at rest, can remain for hours without coming to the surface."''
I am informed by competent observers that on the coast of Maine they assemble in a similar
manner on sand bars, but take to the water before they can be closely approached.
Mr. Kumlien (in his MS. notes) observes: "The so-called 'Fresh-water Seal' of the whalemen
is one of the rarer species in the waters of Cumberland Sound. They are mostly met with far up
in the fjords, and in the fresh -water streams and ponds, where they go after salmon. They are
rather difficult to capture, as at the season when they are commonly met with they have so little
bluUber that they sink when shot. . . . The adult males often engage in severe combats
with each other. I have seen skins so sciratched that they were nearly worthless. In fact, the
Eskimo consider a 'Kassiarsoak' (a very large 'Kassigiak') as having an almost worthless skin,
and seldom use it except for their skin tents. The skins of the young, on the contrary, are a great
acquisition." He further states that they do not make an excavation beneath the snow for the
reception of the young, like Phoca fcetida, "but bring forth later in the season on the bare ice, fully
exposed."
Under the name "Leopard Seal," Captain Scammon has given a very good account of the habits
of this species as observed by him on the Pacific coast of North America. He speaks of it as dis-
playing no little sagacity, and considerable boldness, although exceedingly wary. He says it is
"found abont outlying rocks, islands, and points, on sand-reefs made bare at low tide, and is
frequently met with in harbors among shipping, and up rivers more than a hundred miles from the
sea. We have often observed them," he continues, "close to the vessel when under way, ajKl
likewise when at anchor, appearing to emerge deliberately from the depths below, sometimes only
showing tlieir heads, at other times exposing half of their bodies, but the instant any move was
made on board, they would vanish like an apparition under water, and frequently that would be
'A statoment to this effect is also made by Mr. Carroll, but Mr. Eobert Brown affirms, on the authority of Captain
McDonald, that in the Western Isles of Scotland the young are "born pure white, with curly hair, like the youug of
Pagonu/s fcetidus, but within three days of its birth begins to take dark colors on the snout and tips of the flippers." —
Proc. Zool. Soc. Loud., 1868, p. 413.
'CORDBAUX, John, in Zoologist, 2d ser., vol. vii, 1872, pp. 3203, 3204.
60 NATITRAL HISTORY OP AQUATIC ANIMALS.
the last seen of them, or, if seen again, they would be far out of gunshot." They come ashore, he
observes, "more during windy weather than in calm, and in the night more than in the day; and
they have been observed to collect in the largest herds upon the beaches and rocks, near the full
and change of the moon. They delight in basking in the warm sunlight, and when no isolated rock
or shore is at hand, they will crawl upon any fragment of drift- wood that will float them. Although
gregarious, they do not herd in such large numbers as do nearly all others of the Seal tribe; further-
more, they may be regarded almost as mutes, in comparison with the noisy Sea Lions. It is very
rarely, however, any sound is uttered by them, but occasionally a quick bark or guttural whining,
and sometimes a peculiar bleating is heard when they are assembled together about the period of
bringing forth their young. At times, when a number meet in the neighborhood of rocks or reefs
distant from the mainland, they become quite playful, and exhibit much life in their gambols,
leaping out of the water or circling around upon the surface. ... Its rapacity in pursuing
and devouring the smaller members of the piscatory tribes is quite equal, in proportion to its size,
to that of the orca. When grappling with a fish too large to be swallowed whole, it will hold and
handle it between its fore flippers, and, with the united work of its mouth . . . the wriggling
prize is demolished and devoured as quickly, and in much the same manner, as a squirrel would
eat a bur-covered nut. . . .
"Leopard Seals are very easily captured when on shore, as a single blow with a club upon the
head will dispatch them. The Indians about Puget Sound take them in nets made of large hemp
line, using them in the same manner as seines, drawing them around beaches when the rookery is
on shore. They are taken by the whites for their oil and skins, but the Indians and Esquimaux
make great account of them for food." He adds that the natives of Puget Sound singe them before
a lire until the hair is consumed and the skin becomes crisp, when they are cut up and cooked as
best suits their taste.'
The apparent fondness of this animal, in common with other species of the family, for music,
has been often noted.
The food of this species consists largely of fish, but, like other species, it doubtless varies
its fare with squids and shrimps. That it aspires to more epicurean tastes is evidenced by its
occasional capture of sea-birds. This they ingeniously accomplish by swimming beneath them as
they rest upon the water and seizing them. An eye-witness of this pastime relates an instance as
observed by him on the Scottish coast. "While seated on the bents," he writes, "watching a flock
of [herring] gulls that were fishing in the sea near Donmouth, I was startled by their jerking high
in the air, and screaming in an unusual and excited manner. On no previous occasion have I
observed such a sensation in a gull-hood, not even when a black-head was being pursued, till he
disgorged his newly-swallowed fish, by that blackleg, the skua. The excitement was explained
by a Seal [presumably Phoca vituUna, this being the only species common at the locality in ques-
tion] showing above the water with a herring gull in his mouth. On his appearing the gulls
became ferocious, and struck furiously at the Seal, who disappeared with the gull in the water.
The Seal speedily reappeared, but on this occasion relinquished his victim on the gulls renewing
their attack. The liberated gull was so disabled as to be unable to fly, but it had strength enough
to hold up its head as it drifted with the tide." ^
They are evidently discriminating in their tastes, and not loath to avail themselves of a fine
salmon now and then not of their own catching. Their habit of plundering the nets of the fisher-
men on the coast of Newfoundland has been already alluded to, but this peculiarity is evidently
' SCAMMON, C. M. : Marine Mammals, etc., pp. 166, 167.
'Angus, W. Craibk, in Zoologist, 2d ser., vol. vi, 1871, p. 2762.
THE HAEBOE SEAL: EOOjSIOMIC IMPOETANGE. 61
not confiued to the Newfoundland representative of the species, as shown by the following incident
related by the writer last quoted. "On a sunny noon in the autumn of 1868/' says this observer,
"1 observed a Seal, not far from the same place, with a salmon in his moulh, which he forced
through the meshes of a stake net. The struggling salmon, whose head was in the jaws of the
Seal, struck the water violently with his tail, which gleamed like a lustre in the lessening ray.
The Seal rose and sank alternately, keeping seaward to escape Eley's cartridges from the shore.
When above the water he shortened the silver bar, which continued to lash his sides long after its
thickest part had disappeared, by rising to his perpendicular, as if to allow the precious metal by
its own weight to slip into his crucible. The Seal evidently swallowed above, and masticated
below, water — the process lasting about twelve minutes, during which the Seal had travelled a full
half mile."
In their raids upon the nets of the fishermen thej^ become sometimes themselves the victims,
being in this way frequently taken along our own coast as well as elsewhere. They are, hovTcver, at
all times unwelcome visitors. DeKay states that formerly they were taken almost every year in
the "fyke-nets" in the Passaic Eiver, greatly to the disgust of the fishermen, the Seals when
captured making an obstinate resistance and doing much injury to the nets. Their accidental
capture in this way often affords a record of their presence at localities they are not commonly
supposed to frequent, as in the Chesapeake Bay, and at even more southerly localities on the
eastern coast of the United States.
Owing to the difficulty of capturing this species, and its comparativelj' small numbers, it is of
little commercial importance, although the oil it yields is of excellent quality, and its skins are of
special value for articles of dress, and other purposes, in consequence of their beautifully variegated
tints. Though not a few are taken in strong seal-nets, they are usually captured by means of the
rifle or heavy sealing gun. On rare occasions they are surprised on shore at so great a distance
from water that they are overtaken and killed by a blow on the head with a club. Like other
species of the seal family, the Harbor seal is very tenacious of life, and must be struck in a vital
part by either ball or heavy shot, in order to kill it on the spot. Says Mr. Eeeks, "I have been
often amused at published accounts of Seals shot in the Thames or elsewhere, but which 'sank
immediately.' What Seal or other amphibious animal would not do so if 'tickled' with the greater
part of, perhaps, an ounce of No. 5 shot?" He adds that it is only in the spring of the year that
this seal will "float" when killed in the water, but says that he has never seen a Seal ''so poor,
which, if killed dead on the spot, would not have floated from five to ten seconds," or long enough
to give "ample time for rowing alongside," supposing the animal to have been killed by shot, and
the boat to contain "two hands." The oil of this species, according to the same writer, sells
in Newfoundland for fifty to seventy-five cents a gallon, while the skins are worth one dollar each.
Mr. Carroll gives the weight of the skin and blubber of a full-grown individual as ranging from
eighty to one hundred pounds, while that of a young one averages, at ten weeks old, thirty to
thirty -five pounds. The flesh of the young, the same writer quaintly says, is "as pleasant to the
taste as that of any description of salt-water bird." Its flesh, as already stated, is esteemed by the
Greenlanders above that of any other species. Pew statistics relating to the capture of this species
are available, but the number taken is small in comparison with the "catch" of other species;
particularly of the Harp or Greenland Seal. Dr. Eink states that only from one thousand to two
thousand are annually taken in Greenland, which is about one to two per cent, of the total catch.
They are hunted to a considerable extent, however, wherever they occur in numbers.
The Harbor Seal received this name from its predilection for bays, inlets, estuaries, and fjords.
62 NATUEAL HISTORY 0¥ AQUATIC AmMALS.
from which habit it is also often termed Bay Seal, and, on the Scandinavian coast. Fjord Sea,
(Fjordskal), and also Eock Seal (Steen-Kobbe).>
24. THE HARP SEAL.
General history and nomenclature. — The Harp Seal, Phoca {PagopMlus) grwnlandica
Fabricius, like the Crested Seal, presents characters, at least in the male sex, that readily attract
the attention of even the casual observer— the one by its "saddle" or "harp-mark" of black on a
light ground, the other by its inflatable hood. Accordingly both were mentioned by various early
writers, but notably by Egede, Ellis, and Cranz, and the indications they gave of their existence
enter into the technical history of the species, forming as they do the basis of the first systematic
names. Erxleben described the species in 1777, under the name Phoca groenlandica, his descrip-
tion being founded mainly on information previously made public by Cranz.
Few Seals vary so much in color with age as the Harp Seal. This was long since mentioned
by Cranz, who says : " All Seals vary annually their color till they are full grown, but no sort so
much as this [the Attersoah], and the Greenlanders vary its name according to its age. They call
the toitasihlau; in this state these are white and wooly, whereas the other sorts are smooth and
coloured. In the 1st year 't is called Attaralc, and 't is a cream-colour. In the 2d year Atteitsiah
then 'tis gray. In the 3d AglehtoJc, painted. In the 4th MilaMoh, and in the 5th year Attarsoak.
Then it wears its half-moon, the signal of maturity."
Dr. Eink states that at the present day the Greenlanders, as well as the Euroj)eans, divide the
"Saddle-backs" into four or five different classes according to their age, but that in familiar
language they only distinguish by different names the full-grown animals from the half-grown
ones, the latter being called " Bluesides."
The young, when first born, are called by the Newfoundland sealers ."White-coats"; later,
during the first molt, "Eagged-jackets"; when they have attained the black crescentic marks
they are termed "Harps," or " Saddlers," and also "Breeding Harps"; the yearlings and two-year-
olds arc called "Young Harps" or "Turning- Harps," and also "Bedlimers" (or "Bellamers," also
spelled "BedJamers"). The older and some recent writers state that the mature pattern of
coloration is not attained till the fifth year, while Jukes, Brown, Carroll, and others state that it is
acquired in the third or fourth year. There is also a diversity of statement respecting the sexual
differences of color in the adults, some writers af&rming that the sexes are alike, while others state
that the female is without the harp-mark, or has the dark markings of the male only faintly indi-
cated. Mr. Carroll says : " The reason why they are called Harp Seals, or ' Saddlers,' is, the male
Seal, as well as the female, has a dark stripe on each side from the shoulders to the tail, leaving a
muddy white stripe down the back. The male Harp Seal is very black about the head as well as
under the throat. . . . The female Harp is of a rusty gray about the head and white under
the throat." Both Jukes and Eeeks, however, refer to the absence of the harp-mark in the female.
Geogkaphical distribution. — Although the Harp Seal has a circumpolar distribution, it
' Seals appear to be iucreasing in numbers in Massachusetts Bay. We observed them frequently near Race Point,
Provincetown, in 1879, where they sometimes get into the gill-nets set foi mackerel. At Barnstable they have become
very numerous and troublesoii e of late. They are often shot or taken in the weirs at Barnstable and Yarmouth, and
are accused of seriously depleting the fisheries in this locality, as well as at Plymouth, where they have been preserved
for a number of years. Crossing the entrance to Barnstable Harbor at sunset November 10, 1 counted eight or ten
heads above the surface. The number here is estimated at sixty-five or seventy, and there are probably not less than
three hundred in the bay. They are resident, disappearing for a time in the spring and returning accompanied by
their young, about one-quarter as large as their parents, in April or May. Capt. Gideon Bowley, of Provincetown,
tells me that they feed on "sun squalls," or medusae, and that he has seen them "boil 'em up," or vomit them, when
caught.— G. Brown Goode.
THE HARP SEAL: DISTEIBUTIOJS, AMD USES. 63
appears not to advance so far northward as the Ringed Seal or the Bearded Seal; yet the icy seas
of the north are pre-eminently its home. It is not found on the Atlantic coast of North America
in any numbers south of Newfoundland. A few are taken at the Magdalen Islands, and while on
their way to the Grand Banks some must pass very near the Nova Scotia coast. Dr. Gilpin,
however, includes it only provisionally among the Seals that visit the shores of that Province. It
doubtless occasionally wanders, like the Crested Seal, to points far south of its usual range, as I
find a skeleton of this species in the collection of the Museum of Comparative Zoology, bearing
the legend " Nahant, Mass., L. Agassiz." I have at times felt doubtful about the correctness of
the assigned locality, as this seems to be the only proof of the occurrence of this species on the
Massachusetts coast. I have, however, recently been informed by Dr. C. C. Abbott, of New Jersey,
that a Seal, described to him as being about six feet long, white, with a broad black band along
each side of the back, was taken near Trenton, in that State, during the winter of 1878-'79. This
description can of course refer to no other species than Phoca groenlandica, and as it comes from
a wholly trustworthy source it seems to substantiate the occasional occurrence of this species as
far south as New Jersey. Von Heuglin gives it as ranging "in den amerikanischen Meeren
Slid warts bis New York," ^ but I know not on what authority.
The Harp Seals are well known to be periodically exceedingly abundant along the shores of
Newfoundland, where, during spring, hundreds of thousands are annually killed. In their migra-
tions they pass along the coast of Labrador, and appear with regularity twice a year off the coast
of Southern Greenland. Capt. J. C. Eoss states that in Baffin's Bay they keep mostly "to the
loose floating floes which constitute what is termed by the whale-fishers ' the middle ice' of Baffin's
Bay and Davis' Straits." He says he never met with them in any part of Prince Eegent's Inlet,
but states that they are reported by the natives to be very numerous on the west side of the
Isthmus of Boothia, but that they are not seen on the east side.^ They are well-known visitors to
the shores of Iceland, and swarm in the icy seas about Jan Mayen and Spitzbergen. They also
occur about Nova Zembla, and Payer refers to their abundance at Franz Josef Land. They occur
in the Kara Sea, and along the arctic coast of Europe. Malmgren, Lilljeborg, and Collett state
that it is of regular occurrence on the coast of Finmark, where it occurs in small numbers from
October and November till February. Although reported by Bell and others as having been taken
in the Severn, and by Saxby as observed at Baltasound, Shetland, the capture of a specimen in
Morecombe Bay, England, reported by Turner in 1874, Mr. E. E. Alston says is "the first British
specimen that has been properly identified."
The distribution of this species in the North Pacific is not well known. Pallas (under the
name Phoca dorsata) records it from Kamtchatka, where its occurrence is also afi&rmed by Steller.
Temminck mentions having examined three skins obtained at Sitka, but adds that it was not
observed by "les voyageurs n^erlandais" in Japan. In the collections in the National Museum
from the North Pacific this species is unrepresented, the species thus far received from there being
the following four, namely : Phoca vitulina, Phoca fcetida, Urignathios barbatus, and Histriophoca
fasciata.
Hunting and products. — As so large a part of what has been already said in the general
account of the seal fishery of the North Atlantic and Arctic waters necessarily relates to the
present species, it is scarcely requi^site in the present connection to more than reca]]< the leading
points of the subject, with the addition of a few details not previously given. As already stated,
the sealing grounds par excellence are the ice-floes off' the eastern coast of Newfoundland and around
'Von Heuglin: Eeisen nach deni Nordpolarmeer, p. 56.
* Carroll: Seal and Herring Fisheries of Newfoundland, p. 26.
64 NATURAL HISTOEY OP AQUATIC ANIMALS.
Jan Mayen Island, where the present species forms almost the sole object of pursuit. The sealing
season lasts for only a few weeks during spring; the enterprise' gives employment during this
time to hundreds of vessels and thousands of men, the average annual catch falling little short of
a million Seals, valued at about three million dollars. While the pursuit is mainly carried on in
vessels, sailing chiefly from English, German, and Norwegian ports, or from those of Newfoundland
and the other British Provinces, many are caught along the shores of the countries periodically
visited by these animals, as those of South Greenland, Southern Labrador, Newfoundland, and
the Gulf of Saint Lawrence. The pursuit with vessels, and the various incidents connected
therewith, have already been detailed, and sufficient allusions have perhaps also already been made
to the Greenland method of seal-hunting.
In consequence of the gregarious habits of the species, and the fact that one-half to two-thirds
of those taken are young ones that are not old enough to make any effectual attempt to escape,
the success of a sealing voyage depends almost wholly upon the mere matter of luck in discovering
the herds. While the old Seals are mostly shot, the young are killed with clubs. In respect to
the ease and facility with which they are captured it may be noted that it is not at all unusual, in
the height of the season, for the crew of a single small vessel to kill and take on board from five
hundred to a thousand in a day. Mr. Brown states : " In 1866 the steamer Oamperdown obtained
the enormous number of 22,000 Seals in nine days," or an average of 2,500 per day. " It is nothing
uncommon," he adds, " for a ship's crew to club or shoot, in one day, as many as from 500 to 800 old
Seals, with 2,000 young ones."^ Such slaughter is necessarily attended with more or less barbarity,
but this seems to be soipetimes carried to a needless extreme. The Seals are very tenacious of
life, and, in the haste of killing, many are lefb for a long time half dead, or sire even flayed alive.
Jukes states that even the young are " sometimes barbarously skinned alive, the body writhing in
blood after being stripped of its skin," and they have even been seen to swim away in that state,
as when the first blow fails to kill the Seals their hard-hearted murderers " cannot stop to give
them a second." "How is it," he adds, "one can steel one's mind to look on that which to
read of, or even think of afterwards, makes one shudder ? In the bustle, hurry, and excitement,
these things pass as a matter of course, and as if necessary ; but they are most horrible, and
will not admit of an attempt at palliation." Scoresby and other writers refer to similar heartless
proceedings— as though the necessary suffering attending such a sacrifice of unresisting creatures
were not in itself bad enough without the infliction of such needless cruelty. The young Seals
not only do not attempt any resistance, but are said to make no effort to move when approached,
quietly suffering themselves to be knocked on the head with a club. The old Seals are more
wary, and are generally liilled with fu?e-arms. Scoresby relates that "When the Seals axe
observed to be making their escape into the water before the boats reach the ice, the sailors give
a long-continued shout, on which their victims are deluded by the amazement a sound so unusual
produces and frequently delay their retreat until arrested by the blows of their enemies."
The annual catch of Hurp Seals in Greenland is stated by Rink to be 17,500 full-grown " Sad-
dle-backs " and 15,500 " Bluesides," or 33,000 in all. The catch from the Newfoundland ports alone
often reaches 500,000, and in the Jan Mayen seas often exceeds 300,000, so tha^f the total annual
catch of this species alone doubtless ranges from 800,000 to 900,000.
The commercial products are the oil— used in the lubrication of machinery, in tanning leather,
and in miners' lamps— and the skins, which are employed for the manufacture of various kinds of
'For statistics of the seal fishery, see Allen's "North American Pinnipeds," pp. 497-502.
»Man. Nat. Hist., Geol., &c., Greenland, Mammals, p. 67, foot-note.
THE RINGED SEAL: HISTORY AND DISTRIBUTION 65
leather and articles of clothing. The skins are said to be mostlj' sold to English manufacturers,
who employ them in the preparation of a superior article of "patent" or lacquered leather. The
flesh is esteemed by the Greenlanders as superior to that of their favorite N'eitsiJc (Phoca fcetido).
25. THE RINGED SEAL.
General history and nomenclature. — The earliest notices of Phoca. fcetida, Fabricius,
in systematic works are based on the brief account given by Cranz in 1765, but there appear to be
still earlier references to it by Scandinavian writers.
Geographical distribution. — Although the Ringed Seal is a well-known inhabitant of the
Arctic Seas, of both hemispheres, the southern limit of its distribution cannot be given with certainty.
Wagner ' records specimens from Labrador, which is the most southern point on the eastern coast of
North America from which it seems to have been reported. It is not enumerated by Jukes or Carroll
as among the species hunted by the Newfoundland sealers,^ nor is it mentioned by Gilpin' as occurring
in Nova Scotia. Its occasional presence here and in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence is doubtless to be
expected. Further northward, and especially along the shores of Davis's Straits and Greenland,
its abundance is well attested. It has also been found as far north as explorers have penetrated,
having been met with by Parry as high as latitude 82° 40'. J. 0. Ross states that it is common
on both sides of the Isthmus of Boothia, where it forms the chief means of subsistence to the
inhabitants during eight or nine months of the year.^ It is common in Iceland, and Malmgren and
Von Heuglin state it to be numerous at Spitzbergen. The last-named author gives it as abundant
in summer in the Stor-Fjord and its branches, in Henlopen Strait, and in the bays of the northwest
coast of Spitzbergen, occurring in great herds as well as singly, in the open water along the shores
and in the openings in the ice-floes. He states that it is also numerous about NovaZembla, where
great numbers are killed for their skins and fat.' It is a common species on the coast of Finland,
and farther eastward along the arctic coast of Europe and doubtless also of Western Asia.' It is
also a common inhabitant of the Gulf of Bothnia and neighboring waters, and also of the Ladoga
and other interior seas of Finland. It is said by Blasius to extend southward along the coast of
Middle Europe to North Germany, Ireland, and the British Channel. Professor Flower has recorded
its capture on the coast of Norwich, England; it undoubtedly occurs at the Orkneys and the
Hebrides, where it is supposed to be represented by the species known there as "Bodach" or "Old
Man." A specimen was also taken many years since on the coast of France, but here, as on the
' Schkeber's Saugethiere, vii, 1846, p. 31.
^Professor Jukes says four species are known on the coast of Newfoundland, namely, the "Bay Seal" (Phoca
vUuliva), the Harp Sea,i {Phoca grcenlandica), theHooAedSeal (Cystophora cristata), and the "Square Flipper" (probably
Halivhoerua grypus). The first he did not see on the ice among the Seals pursued by the sealers. The second is the
one that forms the principal object of the chase. The third seems not to be numerous, but occurs occasionally out on
the ice-floes with the Harp Seals. The fourth is referred to as very rare, and as being larger than the Hooded Seal.
Not one was heard of or seen that season. He supposes it may be the Phoca iarbata. — Excursions in Newfoundland,
vol. i, pp. 308-312.
Carroll states that the species of Seal that are taken on the coast of Newfoundland are the " Square Flipper Seal"
(probably Halichmrus grypus), the "Hood Seal" (Cystophora orislaia), the "Harp Seal" {Phoca grcenlandica), and the
"Dotard" or "Native Seal" {Phoca vUuUna). — Seal and Herring Fisheries of Newfoundland, 1873, p. 10.
"The sgepies given by Gilpin as found on the coast of Nova Scotia are the Harbor Seal {Phoca mtulina'), the Harp
Seal {Phoca grcenlandica), the Gray Seal {Halichcerua grypus), and the Hooded Seal {Cystophora eristata).
■* Ross's Second Voyage, App., 1835, p. xix.
^Eeise nach dem Nordpolarmeer, Th. iii, p. 50.
* In an account of Professor Nordenskj old's late arctic voyage, published in " Nature " (vol. xxi, p. 40, November
13,1870), it is stated that Phoca foetida "was caught in great numbers, and along with fish and various vegetables
forms the main food of the natives'' at Cape Serdze (about 120 miles from Bering's Straits), the point where the
"Vega" wintered, this and the polar bear being the only mammals seen.
5 F
6G NATURAL HISTORY OF AQUATIC ANIMALS.
shores of the larger British Islands, it can occur as merely a rare straggler.* Its fossil remains
have been reported by Professor Turner as having been found in the brick clays of Scotland. It
ai)pears also to be a coramon species in the North Pacific, there being specimens in the National
Museum, unquestionably of this species, from the coast of Alaska, and from Plover Bay, on the Sibe-
rian side of Bering's Strait. Its southern limit of distribution along the shores of the North Pacific,
ou either the American or the Asiatic side, cannot at present be given. Judging from its known
distribution in other portions of the arctic waters, there is no reason to infer its absence from the
northern shores of Eastern Asia and Western North America.
Habits, prodxtots, and hunting. — The Ringed Seal is pre-eminently boreal, its home being
almost exclusively the icy seas of the arctic regions. Its favorite resorts are said to be retired
bays and fjords, in which it remains so long as they are filled with firm ice; when this breaks up
the.\ betake themselves to the floes, where they bi'ing forth their young. It is essentially a littoral,
or rather glacial species, being seldom met with in the open sea. From its abundance in its chosen
haunts it is a species well known to arctic voyagers, and frequent reference is made to it in most
of the nairatives of arctic explorations.^
The habits of the Ringed Seal, as observed in European waters, seem to agree with what has
already been related respecting their life-history in Davis's Strait and Cumberland Sound. Malm-
gren, for example, states that the females bring forth their young on the western coast of Finland,
on the ice, near the edge of great ojienings, between the 24th of February and the 25th of March, or
at the time given by Fabricius and later writers for the same event on the coast of Greenland, and
in no respect does their mode of life appear to differ in the icy seas about Spitzbergen from what
has already been related.
The Ringed Seal is of far less commercial value than the Harp Seal, but in this respect may
be considered as holding the second rank among the northern Phocids. Brown states that "it is
chiefly looked upon and taken as a curiosity by the whalers, who consider it of very little commer-
cial importance and call it ' Floe-rat.'" Von Heuglin, however, states that many thousands are
annually taken by the sealers for their skins and fat, in the vicinity of Nova Zembla and Spitz-
bergen. It is of the greatest importance, however, to the Esquimaux and other northern tribes,
by whom it is captured for food and clothing. Mr. Brown .informs us that it forms, during the
latter part of summer and autumn, "the i)rincipal article of food in the Danish settlements, and
on it the writer of these notes and his companions dined many a time; we even learned to like it
and to become quite epicurean connoisseurs in all the qualities, titbits, and dishes of the well-
beloved Neitsik! The skin," he continues, ''forms the chief material ol clothing in North Green-
land. All of the III -oXX<n dress- in Neitsik breeches and jumpers; and we sojourners from a far
country soon encased ourselves in the somewhat hisj/id but most comlbrtable nether garments. It
is only high dignitaries like 'Herr Inspektor' that can aftbrd such extravagance as a Kassigiak
{Gallocephaltis vituUnus) wardrobe! The arctic fteites monopolize them all." Rink states that tiie
number annually captured in South Greenland has been calculated at 51,000. Capt. J. C. Ross
'Respecting the southeru limit of the habitat of this species in Europe, Professor Flowir has the foDowing: :
"Nilssou speaks of it as being found ou all the Scandinavian coasts, and as haviuft been nn-t with as far south as the
Channel, on the strength of specimens in the Paris Museum from that locality; but ho was unable to find any proofs
of its having been mot with on the coast of England. Nor have I been able to discover any posilive evldince that it
can, at the present day, be reckoned a British species, although there is little doubt ihat it nmst occasionally visit cur
shores, where its occurrence would be easily overlooked." — Proc. Zool. Soc. Loud., 1871, p. 150.
CoUett, contrary to the testimony of Nilsson, excludes it from the mammalian fauna of Norway, aud states that
he does not know of an authentic instance of its capture on the Norwegian coast. — Bemserkninger til Norges PattedjT-
fauna, 1876, p. 57, foot-note 2.
' In AUen's Pinnipeds, Z. c, is a long and interesting account of their habits, from the pen of Ludwig Kumlien.
THE EIBBON SEAL AND WEST INDIAN SEAL. 67
states that the Esquimaux wholly depend upon it for their winter food, and von Schrenck alludes
to the great importance of this animal to the natives of Amoor Land.
26. THE RIBBON SEAL.
G-ENERAL HISTORY.— The first account of the present species was published by Pennant,
under the name " Eubbou Seal," in the first quarto edition of Lis " History of Quadrupeds," in 1 781
(vol. ii, p. 52.3).
Geographical distribution. — According to Pallas, the present species, Histrioplwca fas-
data (Zimm.) Gill, occurs around the Kurile Islands and in the Ochotsk Sea. Von Schrenck states
that Hr. Wosncssenski obtained specimens that were killed on the eastern coast of Kamtchatka,
and that he himself saw skins of examples killed on the southern coast of the Ochotsk Sea, where,
however, the species seems to be of rare occurrence. He further states that it occurs also in the
Gulf of Tartary, between the island of Saghalien and the mainland, but apparently not to the
southward of that island, the southern point of which (in latitude 40° N.) he believes to be the
southern limit of its distribution. Mr. Dall secured specimens taken at Cape Itomanzoff.' Captain
Scammon states, "It is found upon the coast of Alaska, bordering on Bering Sea, and the natives
of Ouualaska recognize it as an occasional visitor to the Aleutian Islands. . . . The Eussian
traders who formerly visited Cape EomanzofF, from Saint Michael's, Norton Sound, frequently
brought back the skins of the male Histriophoca, which were used for covering trunks and for other
ornamental purposes." This writer also states that he "observed a herd of Seals upon the beaches
at Point Eeyes, California," in April, 1852, which, " without close examination, answered to the
descdption given by Gill" of the present species. Probably, however, a "close examination"
would have shown them to be different, as no examples are yet known from the Californian coast,
and the locality is far beyond the probable limits of the habitat. Its known range may, therefore,
be given as Bering's Sea southward — on the American coast to the Aleutian Islands, and on the
Asiatic coast to the island of Saghalien.
Habits. — Almost nothing apjiears to have been as yet recorded respecting the habits of the
Eibbon Seal. Von Schrenck gives us no information of importance, and we search equally in vain
for information elsewhere. All of the four specimens obtained by Wosnessenski were taken on
the eastern coast of Kamtchatka, at the mouth of the Kamtchatka Eiver, about the end of March.
According to the report of hunters, it very rarely appears at this locality so early in the season,
being not often met with there before the early part of May. The natives use its skins, in common
with those of other species, for covering their snow-shoes.
27. THE WEST INDIAN SEAL.
Geographical distribution. — Eespecting the present geographical distribution of the
West Indian Seal, Monachus tropicalis Gray, I am indebted for valuable information to Mr. E. W.
Kemp, who, under date of "Key West, Fla., April 29, 1878," wrote me as follows: "Some two or
three years ago there were two seen near Cape Florida. It was supposed that they had strayed
from some of the Bahama Islands, as there are some few to be found in that vicinitj^ lam
informed by reliable parties that Seals are to be found in great numbers at the Anina Islands,
situated between the Isle of Pines and Yucatan. One of my informants says that as he was sailing
about the islands fishing and wrecking, he and his party discovered a number of Seals on one of
them, and went on shore to kill some, merely 'for fun.' On nearing the shore the Seals got into
' The National Miiseuin possesses four fiue specimens, two obtained by Sir. Dall, in lfc'80, and two by Mr. E. W"
Nelson, as well as several large poaches, each made of an entire skin of this species by the Esliimos.
68 NATURAL HISTORY OK AQUATIC! ANIMALS.
the water. They tlieu hid themselves in the shrubbery aloug the beach, and in about ten or fifteen
minutes the Seals came on the beach again. The men, armed with axes, sprang upon them, the
Seals trying to get into the water again. Two of them were killed, and another one, as one of the
men came up to him, turned around and barked furiously at him, which frightened the poor man
so badly (he having never seen one before, and knowing nothing of their habits) that ho almost
iainted. The Seals are said to be very easily killed or captured alive. They yield a great deal of
oil. The skins are very large, but not easy to cure, on account of their fatty substance." In a
later letter he refers to their great rarity on the Florida coast, where he says they occur "only
once or twice in a life-time," but alludes, to their comparative abundance on the coast of Yucatan,
and their occasional occurrence at the Bahama Islands.
Mr. L. F. de Pourtalfes also informs me that there is a rock on Salt Key Bank, near the Bahamas,
called "Dog Rock," presumably from its having been formerly frequented by the Seals. Also, that
his pilot, in 1868-'69, told him he had himself killed Seals among the rocky islets of Salt Key
Bank.
I learn from Dr. S. W. Garman, who accompanied Mr. Agassiz during his dredging expedition
in the Caribbean Sea, in the United States Coast Survey steamer "Blake," during the winter of
1877-'78, that the Seal of those waters is well known to the wreckers and turtle-hunters of that
region, and that they often kill it for its oil. He also informs me that these animals had also been
frequently seen and killed by one of the officers of the "Blake," especially about the Isle of Pines,
south of Cuba, and at the Alacranes, where, as already noted, they occurred in such abundance at the
time of Dampier's visit in 1676 as to be extensively hunted for their oil. They are also known to
the whalers who visit these waters.
The specimens described by Messrs. Hill and (xosse were taken at the Pedro Kays, off the
southern coast of Jamaica, where thirty years ago they appear to have occurred in considerable
numbers.
On a "Chart of the Environs of Jamaica," published in 1774," as well as on tater maps of this
region, are indicated some islets off the Mosquito coast, in about latitude 12° 40', which bear the
name " Seal Kays," doubtless in reference to the presence there of these animals.
It therefore appears that the habitat of the West Indian Seal extends from the northern coast
of Yucatan northward to the southern point of Florida, eastward to the Bahamas and Jamaica,
and southward along the Central American coast to about latitude 12°. Although known to have
been once abundant at some of these localities, it appears to have now well nigh reached extinction,
and is doubtless to be found at only a few of the least frequented islets in various portions of the
area above indicated. Being still well known to many of the wreckers and turtle-hunters, it seems
strange that it should have so long remained almost unknown to naturalists. The only specimen
extant in any museum seems to be the imperfect skin transmitted by Mr. Gosse to the British
Museum thirty years ago. Consequently, respecting none of the Pinnipeds, at least of the northern
hemisphere, is information still so desirable.
28. THE HOODED SEAL.
Gbogeaphical distribution and migrations.— The Hooded or Crested Seal, Cystophora
cristata (Erxl.) Nilss., is restricted to the colder parts of the North Atlantic and to portions of the
Arctic Sea. It ranges from Greenland eastward to Spitzbergen and along the arctic coast of
Europe, but is rarely found south of Southern li^Torway and Newfoundland. As is the case with
'History of Jamaica, vol. i, facing title-page. The work is anonymous, but the authorship is attributed to
Edward Long.
THE HOODED SEAL: DISTEIBUTION. 69
other pelagic species, stragglers are sometimes met with far to the southward of the usual range
of the species. Ou the North American coast it appears to be of uncoraraoa occurrence south of the
point already mentioned, as it is said by Gilpin* to be " a rare visitor to the shores of ISTova Scotia."
Like the Harp Seal, it appears also to be regularly migratory, but owing to its much smaller numbers
and less commercial importance, its movments are not so well known. Carroll states that it visits
the coast of Newfoundland at the same time as the Harp Seal, or about the 25th of February, the
time, however, varying with the state of the weather. He further states that Hooded Seals always
keep to the eastward of the Harp Seals, amongst the heavy ice; also that they are quite numerous
in spring in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, where "many of them are killed by persons who reside
on Saint Paul's Island."^ Dr. Packard states that it " is not uncommonly, during the spring, kdled
in considerable numbers by the sealers" along the coast of Labrador.' Rink says, " It is only occa-
sionally found along the greater part of the coast [of Greenland], but visits the very limited tract
between 00° and 61° N. lat., in great numbers, most probably in coming from and returning to the
east side of Greenland. The Urst time it visits us is from about May 20 till the end of June, dur-
ing which it yields a very lucrative catch."'' Robert Brown observes, " With regard to the favorite
localities of this species ot Seal, Cranz and the much more accurate Pabricius disagree — the former
affirming that they are found mostly on great ice islands where they sleep in an unguarded manner,
while the latter states that they delight in the high seas, visiting the land in April, May, and June.
This appears contradictory and confusing; but in reality both authors are right, though not in an
exclusive sense." Again he says : '■ This Seal is not common anywhere. On the shores of Green-
land it is chiefly found beside large fields of ice, and comes to the coast, as was remarked by Fabri-
cius long ago, at certain times of the year. They are chiefly found in South Greenland, though it is
erroneous to say that they are exclusively confined to that section. I have seen them not uncom-
monly about Disco Bay, and have killed them in Melville Bay, in the most northerly portion of
Baffin's Bay. They are principally killed in the district of Julianshaab, and then almost solely in
the most southern part, on the outermost islands, irom about the 20th of May to the last of June ;
but in this short time they supply a great portion ot the food of the natives and form a tliird of
the colony's yearly production. In the beginning of July the Klapmyds leaves, but returns in
August, when it is much emaciated. Then begins what the Danes in Greenland call the maU/re
Klapmydse fangst, or the ' lean-Klapmyds-catching,' which lasts from three to four weeks. Very
seldom is a Klapmyds to be- got at other places, and especially at other times. The natives call a
Klapmyds found single up a fjord by the name of Nerimartont, the meaning of which is ' gone
after food.' They regularly frequent some small islands not far from Julianshaab, where a i>ood
number are caught. After this they go farther north, but are lost sight of, and it is not known
where they go to (Rink, I. c). Those seen in North Greenland are mere strag;.>lers, wandering from
the herd, and are not a continuation of the migrating flocks. Johannes (a very knowing man of
Jakobshavn) informed me that generally about the 12th of July a few are killed in Jakobshavn
Bay (lat. 69° 13' N.). It is more pelagic in its habits than the other Seals, with the exception of
the Saddleback." 5
I conclude the account of the geographical distribution of the Hooded Seal in Baffin's Bay
with the following from Mr. Kumlien's account :
' Proceedings and Transations Nova Scotian Institute of Natural SGienccs, vol. iii, pt. 4, p. 884.
''Seal and Herring Fisheries of Newfoundland, pp. 13, 14.
"Proc. Boat Soc. Nat. Hist., vol. x, p. 271.
^Danish Greenland, etc., 1877, p. 126.
'Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond., 1868, pp. 436, 437; Man. Nat. Hist., etc., Greenland, Mam., pp. 65, 66.
70 NATUEAL HISTOEY OF AQUATIC ANIMALS.
" The Bladder-nose appears to be very rare in the upper Cumberland waters. One specimen
was procured at Annanactook in autumn, the only one I saw. The Eskimo had no name for it, and
said they had not seen it before. I afterward learned that they are occasionally taken about the
Kikkerton Islands in spring and autumn. I found their remains in the old kitchenmiddens at
Kingwah. A good many individuals were noticed among the pack-ice in Davis's Straits in July."'
On the European coast this species is said to be of not very common occurrence on the northern
coast of Norway, but more to the southward only stragglers appear to have been met with.^ In
March and April, according to Malmgren, they are seen about Jan Mayen, and they are said to
occur on the coast of Finmark, and at the mouth of the White Sea. Von Baer^ and Schultz also
state that it is rarely found not only in the White Sea, but along the Timanschen and Mourman
<5oasts. Von Heuglin says it appears to be found in the Spitzbergen waters only on the western
«oast of these islands,* and states that it is not known to occur at Nova Zembla. He gives
its principal rauge as lying more to the westward, around Iceland and Greenland.
It thus appears that the range of the Crested Seal is restricted mainly to the arctic waters of
the North Atlantic, from Spitzbergen westward to Greenland and Baffin's Bay, and thence south-
ward to Newfoundland. Stragglers have been captured, however, far to the southward of these
limits, ou both sides of the Atlantic. Thus Gray observes :
" A young specimen has been taken in the river Orwell; at the mouth of the Thames ; and at
the Island of Oleron, west coast of France, but I greatly doubt if it had not escaped from some ship
coming from North America; there is no doubt of the determination of the species. The one caught
on the River Orwell, 29th June, 1847, is in the Museum of Ipswich, and was described by Mr. W.
B. Clarke, on the 14th August, 1847, in 4to, with a figure of the Seal and skull. The one takta on
the Isle d'Oleron is in the Paris Museum, and is figured, with the skull, in Gervais, Zool. et Taleont.
Frany., t. 42, and is called Phoca Isidorei, by Lesson, in the Eev. Zool., 1843, 256, The young is
very like that of PagopMlus groBnlandicus, but is immediately known from it by being hairy between
the nostrils, and by the grinders being only plated and not lobed on the surface."^
Its capture has occurred a few times on the coast of the United States, as far from its usual
range even as on the European coast. A large Seal is occasionally seen on the coast of Massa-
chusetts, which has been supposed to be the Crested Seal, but just what this large Seal is remains
still to be determined. '^ DeKay, in 1824, recorded' the cai)ture of a male example of this species
'Bulletin of the United States Nalioual Mnsenm, No. 15, 187i), p. 64.
^Says Blasins, writing in 1857, "An den siidliclien Kiistenlandem der Nordaee hat man sie bis jetzt nooh nicht
gesehen." — Naturgeecli. der Siiugeth. Deutschlauds, p. 260.
sBuU. Acad. Imp. des Soi. de St. PcStersb., iii, 1838, p. 350.
'Malmgren, writing some years earlier, says that in recent times it has not been observed with certainty at Spitz-
bergen, though reported as occurring there by Martens and Scoresby. Possibly, he says, during its summer wanderings
it may extend to the latitude of Spitzbergen. During Torell's first journey to Spitzbergen a young individual was
killed in the vicinity of Bear Island. He says it is only exceptionally taken by the seal-hunters about Jan Mayen,
only a comparatively small number being captured. — Arch, fiir Naturgesch., 1864, p. 72.
^Gkay, J. E., in Zoologist, 2d ser., vol. vii, 1872, p. 3338.
«In my " Catalogue of the Mammals of Massachusetis," I refer to this large Seal as follows, supposing it to be the
Hooded Seal: "From accounts I have received from residents along the coast of a Seal of very large size observed by
them, and occasionally captured, I am led to think this species is not of uufrequent occurrence on the Massachusetts
coast. Mr. C. W. Bennett informs me of one taken sume yeai's since in the Providence River, a few miles below Provi-
dence, which he saw shortly after. Trom his very particular account of it I cannot doubt that it was of this species.
Mr. C. J. Maynard also informs mo that a number of specimens havr been taken at Ipswich within the past few years,
that have weighed from seven hundred to nine hundred pounds. It seems to be most frequent in winter, when it appar-
ently mig7-atcs fvuni Vm- north." — Bull. Mns. Comp. Zoiil., vol. i, Xo. 8, 1869, pp. 193, 194. This identification was
made almost solely on the ground of size, taken iu connection with the fact that the species bad been taken in Long
Island Sonnd near New York City. The question, however, may fairly be raised whether the large Seals more or less
frequently seen on the coast of New England are not really the Gray Seal {Haliclueriis grypus).
'Ann. New York Lyceum Nat. Sci., vol. i, 1824, p. 94.
THE HOODED SEAL: HABITS. 71
in a small creek that empties into Long Island Sound at East Chester, about fifteen miles from
New York City. Twenty years ' later he refers to this as the first and only known instance of its
occurrence within the limits of the State of New York, where, he says, " it can only be regarded
as a rare and accidental visitor." Professor Cope, however, has recorded its capture in the Chesa-
peake Bay, where he says it has twice occurred.^ Tbe first specimen was recorded in 1805^ as
" some species of Cystophora, taken near Cambridge, Maryland, on an arm of the Chesapeake Bay,
eighteen miles from salt water, by Mr. Daniel M. Henry." The specimen, it is said, " measured
C| feet, and weighed, when living, about 330 lbs." Although Professor Cope adds, "Whether this
species is the G. cristata or antillarum, cannot be determined, owing to the imperfection of extant
descriptions," there is no reason for doubting that it was really the Crested Seal, a conclusion to
which Professor Cope seems to have later arrived. Although Gray's suggestion auent the English
specimen naturally arises, namely, transportation from the north in some ship, it seems more
probable that they were really wanderers from the usual home of the species.
Habits. — As already noted in the account of the geographical distribution of this species, it is,
like the Harp Seal, pelagic and migratory, preferring the drift ice of the "high seas" to the vicinity
of land, and seems rarely if ever to resort to rocky islands or shores. It brings forth its young on
the ice, remote from the land, in March, a week or ten days later than the Harp Seal, with which
it appears only rarely to associate, although the two species are often found on neighboring ice-
floes. It is commonly described as the most courageous and combative of the Phocids, often
turniug fiercely upon its pursuers.
The Hooded Seal is described as very active when in the water. It swims very low, with only
the top of the head above the surface. During the rutting season the males wage fierce battles for
the possession of the females, the noise of. which may be heard miles away. At times the sexes
are said to live apart, but associate in families during the breeding season. Their affection for
each other, and especially for their young, is represented as very strong, both parents remaining
by them wi h such persistency that the whole family are easily killed.
Food. — The food of this species doubtless consists chiefly of fishes of different species. Malm-
gren supposed it to subsist mainly on those of large size. That it also feeds upon squids, and
probably on other mollusks, is evinced by their remains having been found in their stomachs, as
well as "the beaks of large cuttle-fish."*
Hunting and products. — This species, owing to its scarcity, is of relatively small commer-
cial importance, yet manj"^ are taken every year by the Newfoundland and Jan Mayen sealers;
generally no separate estimates, however, are given of the number taken. Dr. Eink states that
the average annual catch in Greenland is 3,000. The flesh is greatly esteemed by the Greenlanders.
The Hooded Seal is usually taken on the ice, but Mr. Reeks states that many are also shot in
the spring of the year by the settlers along the coast of Newfoundland. As already stated, the
hood of the male affords such a protection to its owner as to render the animal so provided very
hard to kill with the ordinary seal-club, or even with a heavy load of shot; and they are, further-
more, " at times very savage, and it requires great dexterity on the part of the seal-hunters to keep
from being bitten,"
1
'New York Zoolagy, or tlie Fauua of New York, 1842, pt. i, p. 56.
^New Topographical Atlas of Maryland, 1873, p. 16.
'Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, 1865, p. 273.
■•Jukes: Excursions iu Newfoundland, vol. i, p. 312.
72 NATURAL HISTORY OF AQUATIC ANIMALS.
29. THE CALIFORNIAN SEA ELEPHANT.
GENEEAi HISTORY.— The California Sea Elephant, MacrorMniis arifjustirostrix Gill, was first
described by Dr. Gill, in 1866, from a skull of a female in the Museum of the Smithsonian Institu-
tion, received from Saint Bartholomew's Bay, Lower California. Its external characters were first
made known by Oapt. C. M. Scammon in 1869, and the species was redescribed by him in 1874,
with detailed measurements of two adult females and a newly-born pup. This is all that has thus
far appeared relating to its technical history. Captain Scammon, as early as 1854, gave some
account of the habits of this species, under the name Sea Elephant, and earlier incidental references
to it doubtless occur in the narratives of travelers. Dr. Gill observes, in his paper already cited,
"For a long time, the fact that a species of the genus Macrorhinus or Elephant Seal inhabits the
coast of Western North America has been well known. But, on account of the want of opportunity
for comparison of specimens, the relations of the species have not been understood." I fail to find,
however, in any technical account of the Sea Elephant, any previous notice of their occurrence on
the coast of North America.
GBOGRAPHiCAi DISTRIBUTION.— The Sea Elephant seems to have been formerly very abun-
dant on the coast of California and Western Mexico, whence it became long since nearly extirpated.
Captain Scammon, in writing (about 1852) of Cedros Island, oft" the coast of Lower California, says :
" Seals and Sea Elephants once basked upon the shores of this isolated sjjot in vast numbers, and
in years past its surrounding shores teemed with sealers, sea-elephant and sea-otter hunters; the
remains of their rude stone houses are still to be seen in many convenient places, which were once
the habitations of these hardy men." > A few Sea Elephants are still found at Santa Barbara Island,
where they are reported, however, to be nearly extinct. Whether or not they still occur elsewhere
along the Californian coast I am without means of determining, although it is probable that a small
remnant still exists at other points, where scarcely more than a quarter of a century ago vessels
were freighted with their oil. Neither is it possible to determine with certainty the limits of their
former range. Captain Scammon, who doubtless obtained his information from trustworthy sources,
states that it extended from Cape Lazaro, latitude 24° 46' north, to Point Reyes, in latitude 38°, or
for a distance of about two hundred miles. As has heretofore been stated, Dampier, in 1686, met
with Seals on the islands off the western coast of Mexico, as far south as latitude 21° to 23°, but of
what species his record unfortunately fails to show. They were doubtless either Sea Elephants oi
Sea Lious {Zalophus calif ornianus), and may have included both. This rather implies its former
extension, two hundred years ago, considerably to the southward of the limit assigned by Ca])tain
Scammon, on j)robably traditional reports current among the residents of this part of the coast at
the time of his visit there in 1852.
" The sexes vary much in size, the male being frequently triple the bulk of the female; the oldest
of the former will average fourteen to sixteen feet; the largest we have ever seen measured twenty-
two feet from tip to tip." "The adult females average ten feet in length between extremities." —
Scammon. "Round the under side of the neck, in the oldest males, the animal appears to undergo
a change with age; the hair falls off, the skin thickens and becomes wriukled — the furrows cross-
ing each other, producing a checkered surface — and sometimes the throat is more or less marketl
with white spots. Its proboscis extends from opposite the angle ol the mouth forward (in the larger
males) about fifteen inches, when the creature is in a state of quietude, and the upper surface
appears ridgy; but when the animal makes an excited respiration, the trunk becomes elongated,
and the ridges nearly disappear." The females "are destitute of the proboscis, the nose being like
that of the common Seal, but projecting more over the mouth." — Scammon.
'Scammon, C. M. : "Ou a new species of the genus llua-orhi-nus." Proc. Chicago Acad., i, 1866, pp. 33, 34.
THE SEA ELEPHANT: HABITS. 73
Captain Scammon gives the length of a "new- born pup" as four feet.
Habits. — We are indebted to Captain Scammon, who has fortunately had favorable oppor-
tunities for observation, for everything of importance that has thus far been recorded respecting
the habits of the Sea Elephant of California. "The habits of these huge beasts," he tells us,'
" when on shore, or loitering about the foaming breakers, are in many respects like those of the
Leopard Seals [Plioca vltulina]. Our observations on the Sea Elephants of California go to show
that they have been found in much larger numbers from February to June than during other
months of the year; but more or less were at all times found on shore ■ pon their favorite beaches,
which were about the islands of Santa Barbara, Cerros, Guadalupe, San Bonitos, Natividad, San
Eoque, and Asuncion, and some of the most inaccessible points on the mainland between Asuncion
and Cerros. When coming up out of the water, they were generally first seen near the line of surf;
theu crawling up by degrees, frequently reclining as if to sleep ; again moving up or along the
shore, appearing not content with their last resting place. In this manner they would ascend the
ravines, or 'low-downs,' half a mile or more, congregating by hundreds. They are not so active on
land as the Seals; but, when excited to inordinate exertion, their motions are quick — the whole
body quivering with their crawling, semi-vaulting gait, and the animal at such times manifesting
great fatigue. Notwithstanding their unwieldiness, we have sometimes found them on broken and
elevated ground, fifty or sixty feet above the sea.
"The principal seasons of their coming on shore are, when they are about to shed their coats,
when the females bring forth their young (which is one at a time, rarely two), and the mating
season. These seasons for 'hauling up' are more marked in southern latitudes. The difi'erent
Ijeriods are known among the hunters as the 'pupping cow,' 'brown cow,' 'bull and cow,' and
'March bull' seasons;^ but on the California coast, either from the influence of climate or some
other cause, we have noticed young pups with their mothers at quite the opposite mouths. The
continual hunting of the animals may possibly have driven them to irregularities. The time of
gestation is supposed to be about three-fourths of the year. The most marked season we could
discover was that of the adult males, which shed their coats later than the younger ones and the
females. Still, among a herd of the largest of those fully matured (at Santa Barbara Island, in
June, 1852), we found several cows and their young, the latter apparently but a few days old.
" When the Sea Elephants come on shore for the purpose of 'shedding,' if not disturbed they
remain out of water until the old hair falls off. By the time this change comes about, the animal
is supposed to lose half its fat; indeed, it sometimes becomes very thin, and is theu called a
' slimskin.'
"In the stomach of the Sea Elephant a few pebbles are found, which has given rise to the
saying that 'they take in ballast before going down' (returning to the sea). On warm and sunny
days we have watched them come up singly on smooth beaches, and burrow in the dry sand,
throwing over their backs the loose particles that collect about their fore limbs, and nearly covering
themselves from view; but when not disturbed, the animals follow their gregarious propensity, and
collect in large herds." "The largest number I ever found in one herd," he states in another
connection, "was one hundred and sixty -five, which lay promiscuously along the beach or up the
ravine near by."
'Marine Mammals, 1874, pp. 117-119. See also Proc. Aead. Nat. Sci. Phila., lH6y, pp. 6;J-(i5, where the accouut
here qnoted was first published. See further J. Eoss Browne's "Resources of the Pacitio Coast" [Append. ], p. 129, where
the samt- anihor has also given a short account of ils hahits as oliserved at Cedros (or Cerros) Island in 1852. Also iin
article entitled "Sea-elephant Hunting," in the "Overland Moulhly," iii, pp. 112-117. Nov., 1870.
^EefeiTing to the habits of the Southern Sea Elephant (Mavrorliinus leonimus), as he had "learned from ship-
masters who have takeu Seals about Kerguelen's Land, the Crozets, and Kurd's Island." See Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci.
Phila., I'JSg, p 64.
74 NATUEAL BISTOEY OF AQUATIC ANIMALS.
Nothing further resjjccting the breeding habits or sexual relations of the species appears to
have been as yet recorded, but they may be i)resunied to be similar to those of the Sea Eleiiliant
of the Antarctic Seas'
CoMPAEisuN WITH THE SouTHBEN Sea Elbphant. — So far as caii be determined by descrip-
tions, Ihe Northern and the Southern Sea Elephants^ differ very little in size, color, or other
external features. Captain Scammon gives the average length of the fnll-grown male of the
northern species as twelve to fourteen feet, and says that the largest he ever measured had a length
of twenty-two feet "from tip to tip." P^ron gives the length of the southern species as twenty to
twenty-five, and even thirty feet, with a circumference of fifteen to eighteen feet. Anson gives
the length as twelve to twenty feet, and the circumference as eight to fifteen feet. Pernety records
the total length as twenty-five feet. Scammon gives the length of the young of the northern
species, at birth, as four feet; and P4ron gives four or five feet as the length of the young at birth
for the southern species. The skeletons of the two old males of the southern species, already
mentioned, allowing for the intervertebral cartilages that have disappeared in maceration, measure
respectively not over fifteen and sixteen feet, adding to which the length of the hind flipper and
the proboscis gives a total length, from " tip to tip," of about twenty-one to twenty-two feet. Eroui
the foregoing we may infer that the usual difference in size between the two species is not great,
the southern species on the whole appearing to be somewhat the larger of the two. It would seem
that tlie Northern and Southern Sea Elephants, though presumably distinct, are closely allied, as
well in structural characters as in habits. In respect to geographical distribution, I am not aware
that th6 southern species has been found north of about the 35th degree of south latitude (the
Island of Juan Fernandez), or the northern species south of about the 24th degree of north latitude.
It may consequently be safely assumed that the two forms have been long isolated, and that the
southern is an offshoot from northern stock, since the only other known species of the Cystophorinw
is also northern in its distribution.
I It is here assniijed that tie Sen. Elephants of the Southern Hemisphere are all referable to a single species, the
Phoca leoninu of Linud, 1758, based on the Sea Lion of Lord Anson, which was renamed PJioca elephanlina by Molina,
1782, and a^ain renamed P/ioca^rotosctdea by P^ron, in I8I6, and of which Phoca Byroni of Desmarest, and also Pkoea
Ansom of the same author (the latter species in part only), and the Mirounga patagovica of Gray are synonyms. I am
,-1 ware, however, that Peters has recently proposed the recognition of four species, namely, Ci/stopliora teoniria (= Anson's
Sea Lion), C /ateZandka (=PerDety's Sea Lion), C. prohoscidea (ex P^ron), and C. Icergui Icnsin (the Sea Elephant of
Kergueleii Island). He seems nut, however, to have arrived at this course by an examination of an extensive snitc of
specimens from various localities, as lie refers in this connection to only a single old male example from Kerguelen
Island. He seems to have been influenced merely by the varying statements in respect to size and some other feaiures
given by Peruety, Anson, and P<5ron. His entire preseutatioa of the case is as follows: "Pernety gibt von seiuem
Seeloweu eiue lanj^e Mahno, cine Totalliinge von 25 Fuss und eiuem Durchmesser der Basis der Eckzahno von 3 Zoll an.
Parous See-Elephanteu sollen bis 30 Fuss lang und von hlaugrauer Farbe sein. Vielleiclit sind alle diese Arteu
verschieden und es wUrde danu der Name C. leonina L. bloss dem Ansou'schen Seelowen zu belassen sein, wiihreud die C.
J'alklandica, wie man die von P. ruety benennen konnte, die C. proboscidia P^ron, die ('. anyusiiroslris Gill der nordlichen
Hcmisphiire und die von Kerguelenland besonderen Arten angehoreu wurden. Fur den letzteren Fall schlage ich vor,
dii-se Art kerguelensis zu benemuien.'' (Monatsb. d. K. P. Akad. Wissensch. zu Berlin 1875, p. 394, loot-note).
'The Sea Elephants appear to be exceptional among the Phocidce iu the great disparity of size between the sexes,
in which, as well as iu their breeding habits, they closely resemble the Otaries. Although, unlike the latter, they
have not the power of using the hind limbs in locomotion on land, and are hence unable to walk, they manage to
crawl to a considerable distance from the sea — according to Scammon, a "half a mile or more." The habits of the
Southern Sea Elephant (Macrorhinus leoninus) were long since described by Ausou and Pernety, and later by P6ron,
but their accounts seem in some respects to be tinged with romance. According to these writers the males fight
desperately for the possession of the females.
THE HABITS OF THE FUE SEAL. 75
C— THE HABITS OF THE FUR 8EAL.
By Henky W. Elliott.
30. LIFE-HISTORY OF THE FUR SEAL,
Description of an adult male. — The Fur Seal, wbich repairs every year to the Pribylov
Islands to breed and to shed its hair and fur, in numbers that seem almost fabulous, is the highest
organized of all the Pinniped ia, and, indeed, for that matter, when land and water are weighed in
the account together, there is no other animal Itnown to man which can be truly, as it is, classed
superior, from a purely physical point of view. Certainly there are few, if any, creatures in
the animal kingdom that can be said to exhibit a higher order of instinct, approaching even our
intelligence.
I wish to draw attention to a specimen of the finest of this race — a male in the flush and i)rime
of his first maturity, six or seven years old, and full grown. When it comes up from the sea early
ill the spring, out to its station for the breeding season, we have an animal before us that will
measure six and a half to seven and a quarter feet in length from tip of nose to the end of its
abbreviated, abortive tail. It will weigh at least 400 pounds, and I have seen older specimens
much more corpulent, which, in my best judgment, could not be less than 600 i)ounds in weight.
The head of this animal now before us, appears to be disproportionately small in compurison with
the immense thick neck and shoulders; but as we come to examine it we will find it is mostly all
occupied by the brain. The light frame-work of the skull supports an expressive pair of large
bluish bazel eyes; alternately burning with revengeful, passionate light, then suddenly changing
to the tones of tenderness and good nature. It has a muzzle and jaws of about the same size and
form observed in any full blooded Newfoundland dog, with this difference, that the lips are not
flabby and overhanging; they are as firmly lined and pressed against one another as our own. The
upper lips support a yellowish white and gray moustache, composed of long, stiff bristles, and when
it is not torn out and broken off in combat, it sweeps down and over the shoulders as a luxuriant
plume. Look at it as it comes leisurely swimming on toward the land; see how high above the
water it carries its head, an'l how deliberately it surveys the beach, after having stejiped upon it
(for it may be truly said to step with its fore-flippers, as they regularly alternate when it moves
up), carrying the liead well above them, erect and graceful, at least three feet from the ground.
The fore-feet, or flippers, are a pair of dark bluish-black hands, about eight or ten inches broad at
their junction with tbe body, and the metacarpal joint, running out to an ovate point at their
extremity, some fifteen to eighteen inches from this union ; all the rest of the forearm, the ulna,
radius, and humerus being concealed under the skin and thick blubber-folds of the main body and
neck, hidden entirely at this season, when it is so fat. But six weeks to three months after this
time of landing, when that superfluous fat and flesh has been consumed by self-absorption, tbose
bones show plainly under the shrunken skin. On the upper side of these flii)pers the hair of the
body straggles down finer and fainter as it comes below to a point close by, and slightly beyond
that spot of junction where the phalanges and the metacarpal bones unite, similar to that point on
our own hand where our knuckles are placed; and here the hair ends, leaving the rest of the skin
to tbe end of the flipper bare and wrinkled in places at the margin of the inner side; showing, also,
fine small pits, containing abortive nails, wbich are situated immediately over the union of the
phalanges with their cartilaginous continuations to the end of tbe flipper.
76 NATUEAL HISTORY 0¥ AQUATIC ANIMALS.
On the other side of the flipper the skiu is entirely bare, from its outer extremity up to the
body connection; it is sensibly tougher and thicker than elsewhere on the body; it is deeply and
regularly wrinkled with seams and furrows, which cross one another so as to leave a kind of sharp
diamond-cut pattern. When they are placed by the animal upon the smoothest rocks, shining- and
shppery from algoid growths and the sea-polish of restless waters, they seldom fail to adhere.
When we observe this Seal moving out on the land, we notice that, though it handles its foie-
feet m a most creditable manner, it brings up its rear in quite a different style ; lor, after every second
step ahead with the anterior limbs, it will arch its spine, and in arching, it drags and lifts up, and
together forward, the hind-feet, to a fit position under its body, giving it in this manner fresh
leverage for another movement forward by the fore-feet, in which the spine is again straightened
out, and then a fresh hitch is taken upon the posteriors once more, and so on as the Seal progresses.
This is the leisurely and natural movement on land, when not disturbed, the body fill the time
being carried clear of and never touching the ground. But if the creature is frightened, this method
of progression is radically changed. It launches into a lope, and actually gallops so fast that the
best powers of a man in running are taxed to head it off. Still, it must be remembered that it cannot
run far before it sinks trembling, gasping, breathless, to the earth; thirty or forty yards of such
speed marks the utmost limit of its endurance.
The radical difference in the form and action of the hind-feet cannot fail to strike the eye
at once ; they are one-seventh longer than the fore-hands, and very much lighter and more slender ;
they resemble, in broad terms, a pair of black kid gloves, flattened out and shriveled, as they lie
in their box.
There is no suggestion of fingers on the fore-hands; but the hind-feet seem to be toes run into
ribbons, for they literally flap about involuntarily from that point where the cartilaginous processes
unite with the phalangeal bones. The hind-feet are also merged in the body at their junction wath
it, like those anterior ; nothing can be seen of the leg above the tarsal joint.
The shape of the liind-flipper is strikingly like that of a human foot, provided the latter were
drawn out to a length of twenty or twenty-two inches, the instep flattened down, and the toes run
out into thin, membraneous, oval-tipped points, only skin-thick, leaving three strong, cylindrical,
grayish, horn-colored nails, half an inch long each, back six inches from these skinny toe-ends,
without any sign of nails to mention on the outer big and little toes.
On the upper side of this hind-foot the body-hair comes down to that point where the meta-
tarsus and phalangeal bones join and fade out. From this junction the phalanges, about six inches
down to the nails above mentioned, are entirely bare, and stand ribbed up in bold relief on the
membrane which unites them as the web to a duck's foot; the nails just referred to mark the ends
of the phalangeal bones, and their union in turn with the cartilaginous processes, which run
rapidly tapering and flattening out to the ends of the thin toe-points. Now, as we are looking at
this Fur Seal's motion and progression, that which seems most odd, is the gingerly manner (if I may
be allowed to use the expression) in which it carries these hind-flippers ; they are held out at right
angles from the body directly opposite the pelvis, the toe-ends or flaps slightly waving, curled, and
drooping over, supported daintily, as it were, above the earth, the animal only suffering its weight
behind to fall upon its heels, which are themselves opposed to each other, scarcely five inches apart.
We shall, as we see this Seal again later in the season, have to notice a different mode of pro-
gression and bearing both when it is lording over its harem, or when it grows shy and restless at
the end of the breeding season, then faint, emaciated, dejected ; but we will now proceed to observe
him in the order of his arrival and that of his family. His behavior during the long period of
fasting and unceasing activity and vigilance, and other cares which devolve upon him as the most
THE FUE SEAL: AERIVAL OF THE BULLS. 77
eminent of all polygamists in the brute world, I shall carefully relate ; and to ftilly comprehend
the method of this exceedingly interesting animal, it will be frequently necessary for the reader
to refer to my sketch-maps of its breeding-grounds or rookeries, and the Islands.
Arrival at the seal grounds: Coming in op the bulls. — The adult males are the first
examples of the Callorhinus to arrive in the spring on the seal ground, which has been deserted by
all of them since the close of the preceding year.
Between the Ist and 5th of May, usually, a few males will be found scattered over the rook-
eries, pretty close to the water. They are at this time quite shy and sensitive, seeming not yet
satisfied with the land ; and a great many spend day after day idly swimming out among the
breakers, a little distance from the shore, before tbey come to it, perhaps somewhat reluctant at
first to enter upon the assiduous duties and the grave responsibilities before them in fighting for
and maintaining their positions in the rookeries.
The first arrivals are not always the oldest bulls, but may be said to be the finest and most
ambitious of their class. They are full grown and able to hold their places on the rookeries of the
breeding-flats, which they immediately take up after coming ashore. Their method of landing is
to come collectively to those breeding-grounds where they passed the prior season; but I am not
able to say authoritatively, nor do I believe it, strongly as it has been urged by many careful men
who were with me on the islands, that these animals come back to and take up the same position
on their breeding-grounds that they individually occupied when there last year. From my knowl-
edge of their action and habit, and from what I have learned of the natives, I should say that
very few, if any, of them make such a selection and keep these places year after year. Even did
the Seal itself intend to come directly from the sea to that spot on the rookery wfiich it left last
summer, what could it do if it came to that rookery margin a little late and found that another
"See-catch" had occupied its ground? The bull could do nothing. It would either have to die in
its tracks, if it persisted' in attaining this supposed objective point, or do what undoubtedly it
does do — seek the next best locality which it can attain adjacent.
One old "See-catch" was pointed out to me at the "Gorbatch" section of the Eeef Eookery
as an animal that was long known to the natives as a regular visitor close by or on the same rock
every season during the past three years. They called him " Old John," and they said they knew
him because he had one of his posterior digits missing, bitten off, perhaps, in a combat. I saw
him in 1872, and made careful drawings of him in order that I might recognize his individuality
should he appear again in the following year, and when that time rolled by I found him not ; he
failed to reappear, and the natives acquiesced in his absence. Of course it was impossible to say
that he was dead when there were ten thousand rousing, fighting bulls to the right, left, and below
us, under our eyes, for we could not approach for inspection. Still, if these animals came each to a
certain place in any general fashion, or as a rule, 1 think there would be no difflculty in recog-
nizing the fact; the natives certainly would do so; as it is, they do not. 1 think it very likely,
however, that the older bulls come back to the same common rookery-ground where they spent
the previous season ; but they are obliged to take up their position on it just as the circumstances
attending their arrival will permit, such as finding other Seals which have arrived before them, or
of being whipped out by stronger rivals from their old stands.
It is entertaining to note, in this connection, that the Eussians themselves, with the object of
testing this mooted query, during the later years of their possession of the islands, drove up a
number of young males from Lukannon, cut ofi" their ears, and turned them out to sea again. The
following season, when the droves came in from the "hauling-grounds" to the slaughtering- fields,
quite a number of those cropped Seals were in the drives, but instead of being found all at one
78 NATURAL HISTORY OF AQUATIC ANIMALS.
pla(;e — the place from whence they were driven the year before — they were scattered examples of
croi)piPS from every point on the island. The same experiment was again made by our ])eople in
1870 (the natives having- told them of this prior undertaking), and they went also to Lukannon, drove
up 100 young males, cut off their left ears, and set them free in turn. Of this number, during tlie
summer of 1872, when I was there, the natives found in their driving of 75,000 Seals from the dif-
ferent htluling-grouudsof SaintPaulup tothevillage killing-grounds, two on Novostashnah Rookery,
ten miles north of Lukannon, and two or three from English Bay and Tolstoi Rookeries, six miles
west by water; one or two were taken on Saint George Island, thirty-six miles to the southeast,
and not one from Lukannon was found among those that weio driven from there; probably, had
all the young males on the two islands this season been examined, the rest of the croppies that had
returned from the perils of the deep, whence they sojourned during the winter, would have been
distributed quite equally about the Pribylov hauling-grounds. Although the natives say that they
think (he catting off of the animal's ear gives the water such access to its head as ( o cause its death,
yet I noticed that those examples which we had recognized by this auricular mutilation were
normally fat and well developed. Their theory does not appeal to my belief, and it certainly
requires confirmation.
These experiments would tend to prove very cogently and conclusively, that when the Seals
approach the islands in the spring, they have nothing in their minds but a general instinctive
appreciation of the fitness of the land, as a whole ; and no special fondness or determination to elect
any on« particular spot, not even the place of their birth. A study of my map of the distribution
of the seal-life on Saint Paul, clearly indicates that the landing of the Seals on the respective
rookeries is influenced greatly by the direction of the wind at the time of their approach to the
islands in the spring and early summer. The prevailing airs, blowing, as they do at that season,
from the north and northwest, carry far out to sea the odor of the old rookery flats, together with
the fresh scent of the pioneer bulls which have located themselves on these breeding-grounds, three
or four weeks in advance of their kind. The Seals come up from the great North Pacific, and lience
it will be seen that the rookeries of the south and southeastern shores of Saint Paul Island receive
nearly all the seal-life, although there are miles of perfectly eligible ground at Nahsayvernia, or
north shore. To settle this matter beyond all argument, however, I know is an exceedingly difficult
task, for the identification of individuals, from one season to another, among the hundreds of
thousands, and even miUions, that come under the eye on one of these great rookeries, is well nigh
impossible.
Age op females when fiest pregnant. — As to the time when the virgin cow is first
covered by the bull, I found a strange medley of ideas among the people on the island. The com-
mon opinion of the others and the natives was, that they were not covered until they wore three
years of age, bringing forth their first young in the former case, in the generally accepted version,
when they reached their fourth year. But this, on examination, was not a difficult problem at all
to solve. The evidence every year decides when the yearlings are driven up to the village in the
fall, that although to external appearance thei'e is no difference between the sexes, an examinatiim
conclusively established the fact, that the yearling females herded with the yearling males on the
hauling-grounds, each about equal in number, and that when the balance of the " Holluschickie.''
two-year-olds and upward, were driven in they never found a female ' in the droves. Where were
these two-year-old females then'? They were not upon the hauling-grounds with the yearling females
and bachelors. Where were they ? The answer is, they have come up on the breeding-grounds,
clothed with desire and supplied with physical life to meet prospective maternity.
H. e., virile female.
THE FUE SEAL: BATTLES OP THE MALES. 79
Eelative duration of LIFE: Eepeodtjction is tekeestrial. — Tbis tact also shows
that, as the female Fur Seal is so conspicuously inferior to the male, physically viewed, as to size
and weight, so also is her life lessened. In other words, when she is matured, as she must be by
her third year, in bearing then her first pup, she can reasonably be expected to live no longer than
nine or ten years, according to the general natural law governing this question ; while the male,
not coming to his maturity and physical prime until he is five or six years of age, lives, in obedience
to the same law, fifteen or twenty years.
Old and young males fighting. — The males under six years of age, although hovering
about the sea margins of the breeding-grounds, do not engage in much fighting there ; it is the six
and seven year old males, ambitious and flushed with their reproductive consciousness, that swarm
out and do battle with the older males of these places. The young male of this latter class is,
however, no match for an old fifteen or twenty year old bull, provided that the aged " Seecatchie"
retains his teeth; for, with these weapons, his relatively harder thews and sinews give him the
advantage in almost every instance, among the hundreds of combats that I have witnessed. Thet^e
trials of strength between the old and the young are incessant until the rookeries are mapped out;
and by common consent the males of all classes recognize the coming of the females. After their
arrival and settlement over the whole extent of the breeding-grounds, about the 15th July at the
latest, very little fighting takes place.^
Only one pup born at time op parturition. — Touching the number of young born at a
birth, the most diligent inquiry and scrutiny of observation on the rookeries have satisfied me that
it is confined to a single pup. If they have twins, 1 have failed to discover a single instance of
that character. I also failed to notice a malformed pup or a monster anywhere throughout the
multitudes under my observation, from July until the middle of November every season. I think
this somewhat noteworthy, as it presents, perhaps, better than any other exhibition in the animal
' It has been suggested to me that the exquisite power of scent possessed by these animals enables them to reach
the breeding-grounds at about the place where they left them the season previously ; surely the nose of (ho Fur Seal
is endowed to a superlative degree with those organs of smell, and its range of appreciation in this respect must be
very great.
" In carnivorous quadrupeds the structure of the bones of the nasal cavities is more intricate than in the her-
bivorous, and is calculated to afford a far more extensive sr.rface for the distribution of the nerve. In the Seal this
conformation is most fully developed and the bony plates are here not turbinated, but ramitied, as shown in the woodcut.
Eight or more principal branches rise from the main trunk, and each of these is divided and subdivided to an extreme
degree of minuteness, so as to form in all many hundred plates. The olfactory membrane, with all its nerves, is closely
applied to every plate in this vast assemblage, as well as to the main trunk and to the internal surface of the surrounding
cavity, so that its extent cannot be less than 120 square inches in each nostril. An organ of such exquisite sensibility
requires an extraordinary provision for securing it against injury, and nature has supplied a mechanism for the
purpose, enabling the animal to close at pleasure the orifice of the nostril." — Harwood: Comp. Anat. and Physiol.,
Bridgewater Treatise, vol. ii, p. 403.
I noticed in all sleeping and waking Seals that the nasal apertures were never widely expanded ; and that they
were at intervals rapidly opened and closed with inhalation and exhalation of each breath; the nostrils of the Fur
Seal are, as a rule, well oiiened when the animal is out of water, and remain so while it is on land.
The distances at sea, away from the Pribylov Islands, in which Fur Seals are found during the breeding season,
are very considerable; scattered records have been made of seeing large bands of them during August as far down the
northwest coast as they probably range at any season of the year, viz, well out at sea in the latitude of Cape Flattery,
47° to 49° south latitude. In the winter and spring, up to middle of June, all classes are found here spread out over
wide areas of the ocean ; then, by the 1.5th June they will have all departed, the first and the latest, en route for the
Pribylov Islands. Then, when seen again iu this extreme southern range, I presume the unusually early examples of
return, toward the end of August, are squads of the yearlings of both sexes, for this division is always the last to land
on, and the first to leave, the Seal Mands, annuallj'. Also, tho twoyear-old females which have been covered on the
breeding-grounds during Juno and July undoubtedly stray back to sea, and down again from the Pribylov grouj), very
early in August, some of them as far as the coast-heads of Fuca Straits; at least, many of them at one time are never
seen massed on the rookeries, and as they do not consort with the Holluschickie and yearlings on land, quite a number
of their large aggregate doubtless make frequent and extended fishing excursions during the height of the breeding
80 NATURAL HISTORY OF AQUATIC ANIMALS.
kingdom, the survival of the fittest in the struggle for existence ; for these bulls, by their own
evolution, permit only the strongest and most perfect of their kind to stamp their impress on the
coming generations. '
From the time of the first arrival in May up to the beginning of June, or as late as the middle
of that month, if the weather be clear, is an interval in which everything seems quiet. Very few
Seals are added to the pioneers that have landed, as we have described. By the 1st of June, how-
ever, sometimes a little before, and never much later, the seal-weather— the foggy, humid, oozy
damp of summer— sets in ; and with it, as the gray banks roll up and shroud the islands, the bull
Seals swarm from the depths by hundreds and thousands, and locate themselves in advantageous
positions for the reception of the females, which are generally three weeks or a month later than
this date in arrival.
Pre-emption of the rookeries: Battles of the Seals. — The labor of locating and
maintaining a position on the rookery is really a terribly serious business for those bulls which
come in last; and it is so all the time to those males that occupy the water-line of the breeding-
grounds. A constantly sustained fight between the newcomers and the occupants goes on
morning, noon, and night, without cessation, frequently resulting in death to one or even both of
the combatants.
It appears, from my survey of these breeding-grounds, that a well-understood principle exists
among the able-bodied bulls, to wit: that each one shall remain undisturbed on his ground, which
is usually about six to eight feet square, provided that at the start, and from that time until the
arrival of the females, he is strong enough to hold this ground against all comers; inasmuch as the
crowding in of the fresh arrivals often causes the removal of those which, though equally able-
bodied at first, have exhausted themselves by fighting earlier and constantly, they are finally
driven by these fresher animals back farther and higher up on the rookery, and sometimes off
altogether.
Many of these bulls exhibit wonderful strength and desperate courage. 1 marked one veteran
at Gorbatch, who was the first to take up his position early in May, and that position, as usual,
directly at the water-line. This male Seal had fought at least forty or fifty desperate battles, and
fought off his assailants every time — perhaps nearly as many different Seals which coveted his
position — and when the fighting season was over (after the cows are mostly all hauled up), I saw
him still there, covered with scars and frightfully gashed; raw, festering, and bloody, one eye
gouged out, but lording it bravely over his harem of fifteen or twenty females, who were all
huddled together on the same spot of his first location and around him.
This fighting between the old and adult males (for none others fight) is mostly, or rather entirely,
done with the mouth. The opponents seize one another with their teeth, and then clenching their
jaws, nothing but the sheer strength of the one and the other tugging to escape can shake them
loose, and that effort invariably leaves an ugly wound, the sharp canines tearing out deep gutters
in the skin and furrows in the blubber, or shredding the flippers into ribbon-strips.
They usually approach each other with comically averted heads, just as though they were
ashamed of the rumpus which they were determined to precipitate. When they get near enough
to reach one another they enter upon the repetition of many feints or passes, before either one or
the other takes the initiative by gripping. The heads are darted out and back as quick as a flash;
'A trained observer, Kumlien, who passed the winter of 1877-'78 in Cumherland Sound, and, spealiiug of this
feature in the Ringed Seal ( Phoea foetida), says, " There is usually but one young at a birth ; still twins are not of rare
occurrence, and one instance came under my observation where there were triplets ; but they were small, and two of
them probably would not have lived had they been born."
THE FUE SEAL: ATTITUDES AND COLORATION. 81
their hoarse roaring and shrill, piping whistle never ceases, while their fat bodies writhe and swell
with exertion and rage ; furions lights gleam in their eyes ; their hair flies in the air, and their blood
streams down ; all combined, makes a picture so fierce and so strange that, from its nnexijected
position and its novelty, is perhaps one of the most extraordinary brutal conte ts man can
witness.
In these battles of the Seals, the parties are always distinct ; the one is offensive, the other
defensive. If the latter proves the weater he withdraws from the position occupied, and is never
followed by his conqueror, who complacently throws up one of his hind flippers, fans himself, as it
were, to cool his fevered wrath and blood from the heat of the conflict, sinks into comparative quiet,
only uttering a peculiar chuckle of satisfaction or contempt, with a sharp eye open for the next
covetous bull or "See-catch.'"
Attitudes and coloration of the Pur Seal. — The period occupied by the males in
taking and holding their positions on the rookery, offers a very favorable opportunity to study
them in the thousand and one different attitudes and postures assumed, between the two extremes
of desperate conflict and deep sleep — sleep so profound that one can, if he keeps to the leeward,
approach close enough, stepping softly, to pull the whiskers of any old male taking a nap on a
clear i>lace; but after the first touch to these moustaches, the trifler must jump with electrical
celerity back, if he has any regard for the sharp teeth and tremendous shaking which will surely
overtake him if he does not. The younger Seals sleep far more soundly than the old ones, and it is
a favorite pastime for the natives to surprise them in this manner — favorite, because it is attended
with no personal risk ; the little beasts, those amphibious sleepers, rise suddenly, and fairly shrink
to the earth, spitting and coughing their terror and confusion.
The neck, chest, and shoulders of a fur-seal bull comprise more than two-thirds of his whole
weight; and in this long, thick neck, and the powerful muscles of the fore-limbs and shoulders, is
embodied the larger portion of his strength. When on land, with the fore hands he does all climb-
ing over the rocks and grassy hummocks back of the rookery, or shuffles his way over the smooth
parades ; the hind-feet being gathered up as useless trappings after every second step forward,
which we have described at the outset of this chapter. These anterior flippers are also the propel-
ling power when in water, the exclusive machinery with which they drive their rapid passage ; the
hinder ones floating behind like the steering sweep to a whale-boat, used evidently as rudders, or
as the tail of a bird is while its wings sustain and force its rapid flight.
The covering to the body is composed of two coats, one being a short, crisp, glistening over-
hair, and the other a close, soft, elastic pelage, or fur, which gives the distinctive value to the pelt.
I can call it readily to the mind of my readers, when I say to them that the down and feathers on
the breast of a duck lie relatively as the fur and hair do upon the skin of the Seal.
At this season of first "hauling up,"^ in the spring, the prevailing color of the bulls, after they
dry off and have been exposed to the weather, is a dark, dull brown, with a sprinkling in it of
lighter brown-black, and a number of hoary or grizzled gray coats peculiar to the very old males.
On the shoulders of all of them, that is, the adults, the over-hair is either a gray or rufous ocher,
or a very emphatic "pepper and salt"; this is called the "wig." The body-colors are most intense
and pronounced upon the back of the head, neck, and spine, fading down on the flanks lighter, to
much lighter ground on the abdomen ; still never white, or even a clean gray, so beautiful and
peculiar to them when young, and to the females. The skin of the muzzle and flippers is a dark
' "See-catch," native name for the bulls on the rookeries, especially those which are able to maintain their position.
2 "Hauling up," a technical term, applied to the action of the Seals when they land from the surf and haul up or
drag themselves over the beach. It is expressive and appropriate, as are most of the sealing phrases.
6 F
82 NATURAL HISTOEY OF AQUATIC ANIMALS.
bluish-black, fading iu the older examples to a reddish and purplish tint. The color of the ears
and tail is similar to that of the body, being somewhat, if anything, a trifle lighter; the ears on a
bull Fur Seal are from one inch to an inch and a half in length; the pavilions or auricles are tightly
rolled up on themselves, so that they are similar in shape to, and exactly the size of, the little finger
on the human hand, cut off at the second phalangeal joint, a trifle more cone-shaped, however, as
they are greater at the base than they are at the tip. They are haired and furred as the body is.
I think it probable that this animal has and does exert the power of compressing or dilating
this scroll-like pavilion to its ear, just according as it dives deeper or rises in the water; and also,
I am quite sure that the Hair Seal has this control over the meatus externvs, from what I have seen
of it. I have not been able to verify it iu either case by actual observation ; yet such opportunity
as 1 have liad gives me undoubted proof of the fact, that the hearing of the Fur Seal is wonderfully
keen and surpassingly acute. If you make any noise, no matter how slight, the alarm will be given
instantly by these insignificant-looking auditors, and the animal, rising up from deep sleep with a
single motion erect, gives you a stare of stupid astonishment, and at this season of defiance,
mingling it with incessant, surly roaring, growling, and "spitting."
Voice of the Fur Seal. — This spitting, as I call it, is by no means a fair or full expression
of the most characteristic sound or action peculiar, so far as I have observed, to the Fur Seals alone,
the bulls in particular. It is the usual prelude to all their combats, and it is their signal of aston-
ishment. It follows somewhat in this way: when the two disputants are nearly within reaching
or striking distance, they make a number of feints or false passes, as fencing-masters do, at one
another, with the mouth wide open, lifting the lips or snarling so as to exhibit the glistening teeth,
and with each pass of the head and neck they expel the air so violently through the larynx, as
to make a rapid clioo-choochoo sound, like steam-ijuffs as they escape from the smoke-stack of a
locomotive when it starts a heavy train, especially when the driving-wheels slip on the rail.
All of the bulls have the power and frequent inclination to utter four distinct calls or notes.
This is not the case with the Sea Lion,^ whose voice is confined to a single bass roar, or that of the
walrus, which is limited to a dull grunt, or that of the Hair Seal,^ which is inaudible. This
volubility of the Fur Seal is decidedly characteristic and prominent; he utters a hoarse, resonant
roar, loud and long; he gives vent to a low, entirely different, gurgling growl ; he emits a chuckling,
sibilant, piping whistle, of which it is impossible to convey an adequate idea, for it must be heard
to be understood; and this spitting or choo sound just mentioned. The cows^ have but one note —
a hollow, prolonged, bla a-ting call, addressed only to their pups; on all other occasions they are
usually silent. It is something strangely like the cry of a calf or an old sheep. They also make a
spitting sound or snort when suddenly disturbed— a kind of a cough, as it were. The pups "blaat"
also, with little or no variation, their souud being somewhat weaker and hoarser than their mother's,
after birth; they, too, comically spit or cough when aroused suddenly from a nap or driven into a
corner, opening their little mouths like young birds iu a nest, when at bay, backed up iu some
crevice, or against some tussock.
^ Eumetojjias Stelleri.
^Fhnca vitidina.
^Without expliiuatiou, I may be considered as making use of iiaradoxical language by using these terms of
description; for the inconsistency of talking of "pups" with "cows," and "bulls,' and "rookeries," on (he breeding-
grounds of the same, cannot fail to be noticed; but (his nomenclature has been given and used by the Aii;ericau and
English whaling and sealing parties for many years, and the characteristic features of the Seals themselves so suit Ihn
naming, that I have felt satisfied to retain the style throughout as rendering my deecripliou more intelligible, especially
so to thosfe who ar'e engaged in the business, or may be hereafter. The Russians are more consistent, but not so " iiat";
they call the bull " See-catch," a term implying strength, vigor, etc.; the cow, "Matkah," or miother; the pupu,
"Kotickie,'' or little seals; the non-breeding males under six and seven years, "Holluschickie," or bachelors. The
name applied collectively to the Fur Seal by them is " — Morskie-kot," or Sea Cat.
THE FCTE SEAL: EFFECTS OF HEAT. 83
Indeed, so similar is the sound, that I noticed a number of sheep which the Alaska Commercial
Company had brought up from San Francisco to Saint George Island, during the summer of 1873,
were constantly attracted to the rookeries, and were running in among the "HolluschicMe"; so
much so that they neglected the good pasturage on the uplands beyond, and a small boy had to be
regularly employed to herd them where they could feed to advantage. These transported Ovidce,
thougii they could not possibly And anything in their eyes suggestive of companionship among the
Seals, had their ears so charmed by the sheep-like accents of the female pinnipeds, as to pers^^ade
them against their senses of vision and smell.
The sound which arises from these great breeding-grounds of the Fur Seal, where thousands
upon tens of thousands of angry, vigilant bulls are roaring, chuckling, and ]dping, and multitudes
of seal-mothers are calling in hollow, blaating tones to their young, that in turn respond inces-
santly, is simply defiance to verbal description. It is, at a slight distance, softened into a deep
booming, as of a cataract; and I have heard it, with a light, fair wind to the leeward, as far as six
miles out from land on the sea; and even In the thunder of the surf and the roar of heavy gales,
it will rise up and over to your ear for quite a considerable distance away. It is the monitor which
the sea-captains anxiously strain their ears for, when they run their dead reckoning up, and are
laying to for the fog to rise, in order that they may get their bearings of the land; once heard,
they hold on to the sound and feel their way in to anchor. The seal-roar at "S"ovostashnah,"
during the summer of 1872, saved the life of the surgeon,' and six natives belonging to the island,
who had pushed out on an egging-trip from Northeast Point to Walrus Island. I have sometimes
thought, as I have listened through the night to this volume of extraordinary sound, which never
ceases with the rising or the setting of the sun throughout the entire season of breeding, that it
was fully equal to the churning boom of the waves of Niagara. Night and day, throughout the
season, this din upon the rookeries is steady and constant.
Effects of heat on the Seals. — The Seals seem to suffer great inconvenience and positive
misery from a comparatively low degree of heat. I have been often surprised to observe that,
when the temperature was 46° and 48° Fahr. on land during the summer, thej' would show every-
where signs of distress, whenever they made any exertion in moving or fighting, evidenced by
panting and the elevation of their hind-flippers, which they used incessantly as so many fans.
With the thermometer again higher, as it is at rare intervals, standing at 55° and 60°, they then
seem to suffer even when at rest; and at such times the eye is struck by the kaleidoscopic appear-
ance of a rookery — in any of these rookeries where the Seals are spread out in every imaginable
position their lithesome bodies can assume, all industriously fan themselves; they use sometimes
the fore-flippers as ventilators, as it were, by holding them aloft motionless, at the same time
fanning briskly with the hinder ones, according as they sit or lie. This wavy motion of fanning'
or flapping gives a hazy indistinctness to the whole scene, which is dif&cult to express in language;,
but one of the most prominent characteristics of the Fur Seal, and perhaps the most unique feature,.
is this very fanning manner in which they use their flippers, when seen on the breeding-grounds-
at this season. They also, when idle as it were, off-shore at sea, lie on their sides in the water
with only a partial exposure of the body, the head submerged, and then hoist up a fore- or hind-
flipper clear out of the water, at the same time scratching themselves or enjoying a momei.tary
nap; but in this position there is no fanning. I say "scratching," because the Seal, in common
'Dr. Otto Cramer. The suddenness witli whicli fog and wind shutdown and sweep over the sea here, even when
the day opens most auspiciously for a short boat-voyage, has so alarmed the natives in times past, that a visit is now
never made by them from island to island, unless on one of the company's vessels. Several bidarrahs have never been
heard from, which, in earlier times, attempted to sail, with picked crews of the natives, from one island to the other.
y4 NATURAL HISTOllY OF AQUATIC ANIMALS,
with all animals, is preyed upon by vermin, and it has a peculiar species oflouse, or parasitic tick,
that belongs to it.
Sleeping afloat —Speaking of the Seal as it rests in the water, leads me to remark that
they seem to sleep as sound and as comfortably, bedded on the waves or rolled by the swell, as they
do on the land ; they lie on their backs, fold the fore-fiippers across the chest, and turn the hind
ones up and over, so that the tips rest on their necks and chins, thus exposing simi)ly the nose
and the heels of the hind-flippers above water, nothing else being seen. In this position, unless it
is very rough, the Seal sleeps as serenely as did the prototype of that memorable song, who was
"rocked in the cradle of the deep."
Fasting op th:; Seals at the eookeeies: Intestinal worms.— All the bulls, from the
very first, that have been able to hold their positions, have not left them from the moment of their
landing for a single instant, night or day; nor will they do so until the end of the rutting season,
which subsides entirely between the 1st and 10th of August, beginning shortly alter the coming
of the cows in June. Of necessity, therefore, this causes them to fast, to abstain entirely from food
of any kind, or water, for three months at least; and a few of them actually stay out four months, iu
total abstinence, before going back into the water for the first time after "hauling up" in May;
they then return as so many bony shadows of what they were only a few months anteriorly;
covered with -sTOunds, abject and spiritless, they laboriously crawl back to the sea to renew a fresh
lease of life.
Such physical endurance is remarkable enough alone; but it is simply wonderful, when we
come to associate this fasting with the unceasing activity, restlessness, and duty devolved upon the
bulls as the heads of large families. They do not stagnate like hibernating bears iu caves; there
is not one torpid breath drawn by them in the whole period of their fast; it is evidently sustained
and accomplished by the self-absorption of their own fat, with which they are so liberally supplied
when they first come out from the sea and take up their positions on the breeding-grounds, and
which gradually disappears, until nothing but the staring hide, protruding tendcms and bones,
marks the limit of their abstinence. There must be some remarkable provision made by nature for
the entire torpidity of the Seals' stomachs and bowels, in consequence of their being empty and
unsupplied durmg this long period, coupled with the intense activity and physical energy of the
animals during the same time, which, however, in spite of the ^4olation of a supposed physiological
law, does not seem to affect them, for they come back just as sleek, fat, and ambitious as ever, in
the following season.
I have examined the stomachs of hundreds which were driven up and killed immediately after
their arrival in the spring, near the village; I have the word of the natives here, who have seen
hundreds of thousands of them opened during the slaughtering seasons past, but in no single case
has anything ever been found, other than the bile and ordinary secretions of healthy organs of
this class, with the marked exception of finding in every one a snarl or cluster of worms,' from the
size of a walnut to a bunch as large as a man's fist. Fasting apparently has no effect upon the
worms, for on the rare occasion, and perhajis the last one that will ever occur, of killing three or
four hundred old bulls late in the fall to supply the natives with canoe skins, I was present, and
again examined their paunches, finding the same worms within. The worms were lively in these
empty stomachs, and their presence, I think, gives some reason for the habit which the old bulls
have (the others do not) of swallowing small water- worn bowlders, the stones in some of the
stomachs weighing half a pound apiece, in others much smaller. In one paunch 1 found over five
^Nematoda.
THE FUE SEAL: PAEASITIC WOEMS. 85
pounds, in the aggregate, of large pebbles, which, in grinding against one another, I believe, must
comfort the Seal by aiding to destroy, in a great measure, these intestinal pests.
The Sea Lion is also troubled in the same way by a similar species of worm, and I preserved
the stomach of one of these animals in which there was more than ten pounds of stones, some of
them alone very great in size. Of this latter animal, I suppose it could swallow bowldors that
weigh two and three pounds each. I can ascribe no other cause for this habit among these animals
than that given, as they are the highest type of the carnivora, eating fish as a regular means of
subsistence, varying the monotony of this diet with occasional juicy fronds of sea-weed or kelp,
and perhaps a crab or such once in a while, provided it is small and tender or soft-shelled. I know
that the sailors say that the CallorMnus swallows these stones to " ballast" himself; in other words,
to enable him to dive deeply and quickly ; but I noticed that the females and the " Holluschickie"
dive quicker and swim better than the old fellows above specified, and they do so without any
ballast. They also have less muscular power, only a tithe of that which the '' Sea catch" possesses.
No, the ballast theory is not tenable.
Akeival of the cow Seals at the eookbribs. — Between the 12th and 14th of June, the
first of the cow Sf'als, as a rule, come up from the sea ; then the long agony of the waiting bulls is
over, and Ihey signalize it by a period of universal, spasmodic, desperate flghiing among them-
selves. Though they have qoaxreled all the time from the moment they first landed, and continue
to do so until the end of the season, in August, yet that fighting which takes place at this date is
the bloodiest and most vindictive known to the Seal. I presume that the heaviest percentage of
mutilation and death among the old males from these brawls occurs in this week of the earliest
ai>pearance of the females.
A strong contrast now between the males and females looms up, both in size and shape,
which is heightened by the air of exceeding peace and dove-1 ke amiability which the latter class
exhibit, in contradistinction to the ferocity and saturnine behavior of the males.
Desckiption op the cow Seal. — The cows are from four to four and a half feet in hmgth
from head to tail, and much more shapely in their proportions than the bulls ; there is no wrapping
around their necks and shoulders of unsightly masses of blubber; their lithe, elastic forms, from
the first to the last of the season, are never altered ; this they are, however, enabled to keep,
because in the provision of seal economy, they sustain no protracted fasting period ; for, soon after
the birth of their young, they leave it on the ground and go to the sea for food, returning perhajjs
to-morrow, perhaps later, even not for several days in fact, to ag^in suckle and nourish it ; having
in the mean time sped far otf to distant fishing banks, and satiated a hunger which so active and
highly organized an animal must experience, when deprived of sustenance for any length of time.
As the females come up wet and dripping from the water, they are at first a dull, dirty-gray
color, dark on the back and upper parts, but in a few hours the transformation in their appearance
made by drying is wonderful. You would hardly believe that they could be the same animals, lor
they now faiily glisten with a rich steel and maltese gray luster on the back of the head, the neclc,
and along down the spine, which blends into an almost snow-white over the chest and on the
abdomen. But this beautiful coloring in turn is again altered by exposure to the same weather;
for after a few days it will gradually change, so that by the lapse of two or three weeks it is a
dull, rufous-ocher below, and a cinereous brown and gr.iy mixed above. This color they retain
throughout the breeding season, up to the time of shedding their coat in August.
The head and eye of the female aie exceedingly beautifijl ; the expression is really attractive,
gentle, and intelligent; the large, lustrous, blue-back eyes are humid and soft with the tenderest
expression, while the small, well formed head is poised as gracefully on her neck as can be well
86 NATUEAL HISTOEY OF AQUATIC ANIMALS.
imagined; she is the very picture of benignity and satisfaction, when slie is percLed np on some
convenient rock, and has an opportonity to quietly fan herself, the eyes half-closed and the head
thrown back on her gently-swelling shoulders.
The females land on these islands not from the slightest desire to see their uncouth lords and
masters, but from an accurate and instinctive appreciation of the time in whicli their period of
gestation ends. They are in fact driven up to the rookeries by this cause alone ; the young cannot
be brought forth in the water, and in all cases marked by myself, the pups were born soon after
landing, some in a few hours, but most usually a day or so elapses before delivery.
Oeganization op the eookeeies. — They are noticed and received by the males on the
water-line stations with attention; they are alternatelj' coaxed and urged up on to the rocks, as
far as these beach-masters can do so, by chuckling, whistling, and roaring, and then they ai'e
immediately under the most jealous supervision ; but, owing to the covetous and ambitious nature
of the bulls which occupy these stations to the rear of the water-line and way back, the little cows
have a rough-and-tumble time of it when they begin to arrive in small numbers at first, for no
sooner is the pretty animal fairly established on the station of male number one, who has welcomed
her there, than he, perhaps, sees another one of her style in the water from whence she has come,
and, in obedience to his polygamoiis feeling, he devotes himself anew to coaxing the later arrival,
by that same winning manner so successful in her case; then when bull number two, just back,
observes bull number one off guard, he reaches out with his long strong neck and picks up the
unhappy but passive cow by the scruff of her's, just as a cat does a kitteu, and deposits her upon
his seraglio ground ; then bulls number three and four, and so on, in the vicinity, seeing this
high-handed operation, all assail one another, especially number two, and for a moment have a
tremendous tight, perhaps lastiug half a minute or so, and during this commotiou the little cow is
generally moved, or moves, farther back from the water, two or three stations more, where, when
all gets quiet again, she usually remains in peace. Her last lord and master, not having the
•exposure to such diverting temptation as her first, gives her such care that she not only is unable
to leave, did she wish, but no other bull can seize upon her. This is only a faint (and I fully
appreciate it), wholly inadequate description of the hurly-burly and the method by which the
rookeries are tilled up, from first to last, when the females arrive. This is only one instance of
the many trials and tribulations which both parties on the rookery subject themselves to, before
the harems are filled.
Far back, fifteen or twenty " See-catchie" stations deep from the water-line, and sometimes
more, but generally not over an average of ten or fifteen, the cows crowd in at the close of the
season for arriving, which is by the 10th or 14th of July ; then they are able to go about pretty
much as rhey please^ for the bulls ha'S'e become so greatly enfeebled by this constant fasting,
fighting, aud excitement during ihe past two months, that they are quite content now even with
only one or two partners, if they should have no more.
The cows seem to haul up in compact bodies from the water, filling in the whole grouud to
the rear of the rookeries, never scattering about over the surface of this area ; they have mapped
out from the first their chosen resting places, and they will not lie quietly in any position outside
of the great mass of their kind. This is due to their intensely gregarious nature, and admirably
adapted for their protection. And here I should call attention to tiie fact that they select this
rookery-ground with all the skill ol civil engineers. It is preferred with special reference to the
drainage, for it must lie so that the produce of the constantly dissolving fogs and raiu-clouds
shall not lie upon them, having a great aversion to and a firm determination to rest nowhere on
water-puddled ground. This is admirably exhibited, and will be understood by a study of my
THE FUE SEAL: ORGANIZATION OF THE EOOKEEIES. 87
sketch-maps which follow, illustrative of these rookeries aud the area and position of the Seals
upon them. Every one of these breeding-grounds slopes up geutly from the sea, and on no one
of them is there anything like a muddy iiat.
1 found it an exceedingly difficult matter to satisfy myself as to a fair general average number
of cows to each bull on the rookery ; but, after protracted study, I think it will be nearly correct
when I assign to each male a general ratio of from fifteen to twenty females at the stations nearest
the water; and for those back in order from that line to the rear, from five to twelve ; but there
are so many exceptional cases, so many instances where forty-five and fifty females are all under
the charge of one male; and then, again, where there are two or three females only, that this
question was and is not entirely satisfactory in its settlement to my mind.
Near Ketavie Point, and just above it to the north, is an odd washout of the basalt by the
surf, "which has chiseled, as it were, from the foundation of the island, a lava table, with a single
roadway or land passage to it. Upon the summit of this footstool I counted forty-five cows, all
under the charge of one old veteran. He had' them ])enned up on this table-rock by taking his
stand at the gate, as it were, through which they passed up and passed down — a Turkish brute
typified.
Unattached males. — At the rear of all these rookeries there is invariably a large number
of able-bodied males who have come late, but who wait patiently, yet in vain, for families ; most
of them having had to fight as desperately for the privilege of being there as any of their more
fortunately located neighbors, who are nearer the water, and in succession from there to where
they are themselves ; but the cows do not like to be in any outside position. They cannot be
coaxed out where they are not in close company with their female mates and masses. They lie
most quietly and contentedly in the largest harems, and co\'er the surface of the ground so thickly
that there is hardly moving or turning room until the females cease to come from the sea. The
inaction on the part of the males in the rear during the breeding-season only serves to qualify
them to move into the places which are necessarily vacated by those males that are, in the mean
time, obliged to leave from virile exhaustion, or incipient wounds. All the surplus able bodied
males, that have not been successful in effecting a landing on the rookeries, cannot at any one
time during the season be seen here on this rear line. Only a portion of their number are in
sight; the others are either loafing at sea, adjacent, or are hauled out in morose squads between
the rookeries on the beaches.
CoTJEAGrE OF THE FuE SEALS. — The courage with which the Fur Seal holds his position as
the head and guardian of a family, is of the highest order. I have repeatedly tried to drive them
from their harem posts, when thej'^ were fairly established on their stations, and have always
failed, with few exceptions. I might use every stone at my command, making all the noise I could.
Finally, to put their courage to the fullest test, I have walked up to within twenty feet of an old
veteran, toward the extreme end of Tolstoi, who had only four cows in charge, and commenced with my
double-barreled fowling-piece to pepper him all over with tine mustard-seed shot, being kind enough,
in spite of my zeal, not to put out his eyes. His bearing, in spite of the noise, smell of powder, and
painful irritation which the fine shot must have produced, did not change in the least from the
usual attitude of determined plucky defense, which nearly all of the bulls assumed when attacked
with showers of stones and noise ; he would dart out right and left with his long neck and catch
the timid cows, that furtively attempted to run after each report of my gun, fling and drag them
back to their places under his head ; and then, stretching up to his full height look me directly
and defiantly in the face, roaring and chuckling most vehemently. The cows, however, NOon got
away ft'oni him ; they could not stand my racket in spite of their dread of him ; but he still stood
88 NATURAL HISTORY OF AQUATIC ANIMALS.
his ground, making little charges on me of ten or fifteen feet in a succession of gallops or lunges, '
spitting furiously, and then comically retreating to the old position, with an indescribable leer and
swagger, back of which he would not go, fully resolved to hold his own or die in the atteii!])t.
This courage is all the more noteworthy from the fact that, in regard to man, it is invariably
of a defensive character. The Seal is always on the defensive ; he never retreats, and he will not
attack. If he makes you return when you attack him, he never follows you much farther than
the boundary of his station, and then no aggravatiou will compel him to take the offensive, so Jar
as I have been able to observe. I was very much impressed by this trait.
Behavior of the female Seals on the eookeeies. — The cows, during the whole season,
do great credit to their amiable expression by their manner and behavior on the rookery; they
never fight or quarrel one with another, and never or seldom utter a cry of pain or rage when they
are roughly handled by the bulls, which frequently get a cow between them and actually tear the
skin from her back with their teeth, cutting deep gashes in it as they snatch her from mout^i to
month. If sand does not get into these wounds it is surprising how rapidly tbey heal; and, from
the fact that I never could see scars on them anywhere except the fresh ones of this year, they
must heal effectually and exhibit no trace the next season.
The cows, like the bulls, vary much in weight, but the extraordinary disparity in tbe size of
the sexes, adult, is exceedingly striking. Two females taken from the rookery nearest to Saint
Paul Village, right under the bluffs, and almost beneath the eaves of the natives' houses, called
"Nail Speel," after they had brought forth their young, were weighed by myself, and their
respective returus on the scales were fifty-six and one hundred pounds each, the former being
about three or four years old, and the latter over six — perhaps ten; both were fat, or rather in
good condition — as good as they ever are. Thus the female is just about one-sixth the size of
the male.' Among the Sea Lions the i)roportion is just one-half the bulk of the male,^ while the
Hair Seals, as I have before stated, are not distinguishable in this respect, as far as I could observe,
but my notice was limited to a few specimens only.
Attitudes of Fur Seals on land. — It s quite beyond my power, indeed entirely out of
the question, to give a fair idea of the thousand and one positions in which the Seals compose
themselves and rest when on land. They may be said to assume every possible attitude which a
flexible body can be put into, no matter how characteristic or seemingly forced or constrained.
Their joints seem to be double-hinged ; in fact, all ball and socket union of the bones. One favorite
position, especially with the females, is to perch upon a point or edge-top of some rock, and throw
their heads back upon their shoulders, with the nose held directly up and aloft; and then closing
their ejes, to take short naps without changing their attitude, now and then softly lifting one or
the other of their long, slender hind-flippers, which they slowly wave with their peculiar fanning
motion to which I have alluded heretofore. Another attitude, and one of the most common, is to
curl themselves up just as a dog does on a hearth rug, bringing the tail and nose close together.
They also stretch out, laying the head close to the body, and sleep an hour or two without rising,
holding one of the hind flippers up all the time, now and then gently moving it, the eyes being
tightly closed.
I ought, perhaps, to define here the anomalous tail of the Fur Seal. It is just about as
important as the caudal appendage to a bear, even less significant: it is the very emphasis of
abbreviation. In the old males it is positively only ibur or five inches in length, while among the
females only two and a half to three inches, wholly inconspicuous, and not even recognized by the
casual observer.
'Adult male and female — Callorliinus ursinua.
'Adult male and female — Kumetopiaa Stelleri.
THE FUE SEAL: SLEEPING HABITS. 89
Sleeping- Seals. — I come now to speak of another feature whiob interested me nearly, if not
quite, as much as any other characteristic of this creature; and that is their fashion of slumber.
The sleep of the Fur Seal, seen on land, from the old male down to the youngest, is always accom-
panied by an involuntary, nervous, muscular twitching and slight shifting of the flippers, together
with ever and anon quivering and uneasy rollings of the body, accompanied by a, quick folding
anew of the fore-flippers; all of which may be signs, as it were, in fact, of their simply having
nightmares, or of sporting, in a visionary way, far off in some dream-land sea; but perhaps very
much as an old nurse said, in reference to the smiles on a sleeping child's face, they ai'e disturbed
by their intestinal parasites. I have studied hundreds of such somnolent examples. Stealing
softly up, so closely that I could lay my hand upon them from the point where I was sitting, did
I wish to, and watching the sleeping Seals, I have always found their sleep to be of this nervous
description. The respiration is short and rapid, but with no breathing (unless the ear is brought
very close) or snoring sound; the quivering, heaving of the flanks only indicates the action of the
lungs. I have frequently thought that 1 had succeeded in finding a snoring Seal, especially among
the pups; but a close examination always gave some abnormal reason for it; generally a slight
distemper, never anything severer, however, than some trifle by which the nostrils were stopped
up to a greater or less degree.
The cows on the rookeries sleep a great deal, but the males have the veriest cat-naps that can
be imagined. I never could time the slumber of any old male on the breeding-giounds, which
lasted without interruption longer than five minutes, day or night; while away from these places,
however, I have known them to lie sleeping in the manner I have described, broken by these fitful,
nervous, dreamy starts, yet without opening the eyes, for an hour or so at a time.
With the exception of the pups, the Fur Seal seems to have very little rest awake or sleei^ing;
perpetual motion is well nigh incarnate with its being.
Fur-seal pups. — As I have said before, the females, soon after landing, are delivered of their
young. Immediately after the birth of the pup (twins are rare, if ever) the little creature finds its
voice, a weak, husky blaat, and begins to paddle about with its eyes wide open from the start, in a
confused sort of way for a few minutes, until the mother turns around fo notice her offspring and
give it attention, and still later to suckle it; and for this purpose she is supplied with four small,
brown nipples, almost wholly concealed in the fur, and which are placed about eight inches apart,
lengthwise with the body, on the abdomen, between the fore- and hind-flippers, with about four
inches of space between them transversely. These nipples are seldom visible, and then faintly
seen through the hair and fur. The milk is abundant, rich, and creamy. The pups nurse very
heartily, almost gorging themselves, so much so that they often have to yield up the excess of what
they have taken down, mewling and puking in the most orthodox manner.
The pup from birth, and for the next three months, is of a jet-black color, hair and flippers,
save a tiny white patch just back of each forearm. It weighs flrst from three to four pounds, and
is twelve to fourteen inches long. It does not seem to nurse more than once every two or three
days, but in this I am very likely mistaken, for they may have received attention from the mother
in the night, or other times in the day when i was unable to keep up my watch over the individuals
which I had marked for this supervision.
The apathy with which the young are treated by the old on the breeding-grounds, especially
by the mothers, was very strange to me, and I was considerably surprised at it. 1 have never seen
a seal-mother caress or fondle her offspring; and should it stray to a short distance from the liare ,
I could step to and pick it up, and even kill it before the mother's eye, without causing her the
slightest concern, as far as all outward signs and manifestation would indicate. The same indiffer-
90 NATURAL HISTORY OF AQUATIC ANIMALS.
ence is also exhibited by the male to all that may take place of this character outside of the
boundary of his seraglio; but the moment the ])ups are inside the limits of his harem-ground, he is
a jealous and a fearless protector, vigilant and determined; but if the little animals are careless
enough to pass beyond this boundary, then I can go up to them and carry them off before the eye
of the old Turk without receiving from him the slightest attention in their behalf — a curious
guardian, forsooth!
It is surprising to me how few of these young pups get crushed to death while the ponderous
males are floundering over them, engaged in fighting and quarreling among themselves. I have
seen two bulls dash at each other with all the energy of furious rage, meeting riglit in the midst of
a small "pod" of forty or fifty pups, tramp over them with all their crushing weight, and bowling
them out right and left in every direction by the impetus of their movements, without injuring a
single one, as far as I could see. Still, when we come to consider the fact that, despite the great
weight of the old males, their broad, flat flippers and yielding bodies may press down heavily on
these little fellows without actually breaking bones or mashing them out of shape, it seems
questionable whether more than one per cent, of all the pups born each season on these great
rookeries of the Pribylov Islands are destroyed in this manner on the breeding-grounds.'
The vitality of the Fur Seal is simply astonishing. His physical organization passes beyond
the fabled nine lives of the cat. As a slight illustration of his tenure of life, I will mention the
fact, that one morning the chief came to me with a pup in his arms, which had just been born, and
was still womb-moist, saying that the mother had been killed at Tolstoi by accident, and he sup-
pose d that I would like to have a "choochil.'" I took it up into my laboratory, and finding that
it could walk about and make a great noise, I attempted to feed it, with the idea of having a
comfortable subject to my pencil, for life-study of the young in the varied attitudes of sleep and
motion. It refused everything that I could summon to its attention as food; and, alternately
sleeping and walking, in its clumsy fashion, about the floor, it actually lived nine days — spending
the half of every day in floundering over the floor, accompanying all movement with a persistent,
hoarse, blaating cry — and I do not believe it ever had a single drop of its mother's milk.
In the pup, the head is the only disproportionate feature at birth, when it is compared with
the adult form; the neck being also relatively shorter and thicker. The eye is large, round, and
full, but almost a "navy blue" at times, it soon changes into the blue-black of adolescence.
The females appear to go to and come from the water tc feed and bathe, quite frequently, after
bearing their young, and the immediate subsequent coitus with the male; and usually return to
the spot or its immediate neighborhood, where they leave their pups, crying out for them, and
recognizing the individual replies, though ten thousand around, all together, should blaat at once.
They quickly single out their own and nurse them. It would certainly be a very unfortunate matter
if the mothers could not identify their young by sound, since their pups get together like a great
swarm of bees, and spread out upon the ground in what the sealers call " pods,'' or clustered groups,
while they are young and not very large; but from the middle or end of September, until they
leave the islands for the dangers of the great Pacific, in the winter, along into the heat of November,
they gather in this manner, sleeping and frolicking by tens of thousands, bunched together at
various places all over the islands contiguous to the breeding-grounds, and right on them. A
mother comes up from the sea, whither she has been to wash, and i)erhaps to feed, for the last day
or two, feeling her way along to about where she thinks her pup should be— at least where she left
I 'Tho only damage which these little fellows have up here, is being canght by an October galo c^o^vn at the aurf-
mavgin, when they have not fairly learned to swim ; largo nuinbers have been destroyed by sudden "nips" of this
character.
'•'A specimen to stuff.
THE FTJE SEAL: HABITS OE THE PUPS. 91
it last — but perhaps slie misses it, and finds instead a swarm of pups in which it has been incor-
porated, owing to its great fondness for society. The mother, without first entering into the crowd
of thousands, calls out just as a sheep does for a lamb; and, out of all the din she — if not at first,
at the end of a few trials — recognizes the voice of her offspring, and then advances, istriking out
right and left, toward the position from which it replies. But if the pup happens at this time to
be asleep, it gives, of course, no response, even though it were close by; in the event of this silence
the cow, after calling for a time without being answered, curls hei'self up and takes a nap, or lazily
basks, to be usually more successful, or wholly so, when she calls again.
The pups themselves do not know their own mothers — a fact which 1 ascertained by careful
observation; but they are so constituted that they incessantly cry out at short intervals during
the whole time they are awake, and in this way the mother can pick out from the monotonous
blaating of thousands of pups, her own, and she will not permit anj^ other to suckle it; bat the
"Kotiekie" themselves attempt to nose around every seal-mother that comes in contact with them.
I have repeatedly watched young pups as they 'made advances to nurse from another pup's
mother; the result invariably being, that while the mother would permit her own offspring to
suckle freely, yet, when these little strangers touched her nipples, she would either move abruptly
away, or else turn quickly down upon her stomach, so that the maternal fountains were inaccessible
to the alien and hungry " Kotiekie." I have witnessed so many examples of the females turning
pups away, to suckle only some particular other one, that I feel sure I am entirely right in saying
that the seal-mothers know their own young; and that they will not permit any others to nurse
save their own. I believe that this recognition of them is due chiefly to the mother's scent and
hearing.
Disorganization of the kookebies. — Between the end of July and the 5th or 8th of
August of every year, the rookeries are completely changed in ajjpearance ; the systematic and
regular disposition of the families or harems over the whole extent of the breeding-ground has
disappeared; all that clock-work order which has heretofore existed seems to be broken up. The
breeding season over, those bulls which have held their positions since the first of May leave, most
of them thin in flesh and weak, and of their number a very large proportion do not come out again
on land during the season; but such as are seen at the end of October and November, are in good
flesh. They have a new coat of rich, dark, gray-brown hair and fur, with gray or grayish-ocher
" wigs" of longer hair over the shoulders, forming a fresh, strong contrast to the dull, rusty brown
and umber dress in which they appear to us during the summer, and which they had begun to
shi d about the first of August, in common with the females and the " Holluschickie." After these
males leave, at the close of their season's work and of the rutting for the year, those of them that
happen to return to the land in any event do not come back until the end of September, and do
not haul upon the rookery-grounds again. As a rule they prefer to herd together, like the younger
males, upon the sand-beaches and rocky points close to the water.
The cows and pups, together with those bulls which we have noticed in waiting in tlie rear of the
rookeries, and which have been in retirement throughout the whole of the breeding-season, now
take possession, in a very disorderly manner, of the rookeries. There come, also, a large number
of young, three, four, and five j-earold males, which have been prevented by the menacing threats
of the older, stronger bulls, from landing among the females during the rutting-season.
Before the middle of August three-fourths, at least, of the cows at this date are off in the
water, only coming ashore at irregular interva,ls to nurse and look after their ])ups a short time.
They presented to my eye, from the summits of the bluffs round about, a picture more suggestive
than anything I have ever seen presented by animal life, of entire comfort and enjoyment. Here,
92 NATUEAL HISTORY OF AQUATIC ANIMALS.
just out and beyond the breaking of the rollers, they idly lie on the rocks or sand-beaches, ever
and anon turning over and over, scratching their backs and sides with their fore- and hind-flippers.
The Seals on the breeding ground appear to get very lousy.
The ¥nv Seal spends a great deal of time, both at sea and on land, in scratching its hide; for it
is annoyed by a species of louse, a Pediculus, to just about the same degree and in the same manner
that our dogs are by fleas. To scratch, it sits upon its haunches, and scrapes away with the
toe-nails of first one and then the other of its hind- flippers; by which action it reaches readily all
portions of its head, neck, chest, and shoulders ; and, with either one or the other of its fore-
flippers, it rubs down its spinal region back of the shoulders to the tail. By that division of labor
with its feet, it can promptly reduce, with every sign of comfort, any lousy irritation wheresoever
on its body. This Pediculus, peculiar to the Fur Seal, attaches itself almost exclusively to the
pectoral regions; a few, also, are generally found at the bases of the auricular pavilions.
When the Fur Seal is engaged in this exercise, it cocks its head and wears exactly the same
expression that our common house-dog does while subjugating and eradicating fleas; the eyes are
partly or wholly closed; the tongue lolls out; and the whole demeanor is one of quiet but intense
satisfaction.
The Fur Seal appears also to scratch itself in the water with the same facility and unction so
marked on land; only it varies the action by using its fore-hands principally, in its fluviatile
exercise, while its hind-feet do most of the terrestrial scraping.
While 1 have written with much emphasis upon the total absence of any record as to the prev-
alence of an epidemic in these large rookeries, I should, perhaps, mark the fact that no symptoms
of internal diseases have ever been noticed here, such as tuberculosis of the lungs, etc., which
invariably attack and destroy the Fur Seal when it is taken into confinement, as well as the Sea
Lions also ; the latter, however, have a much greater power of endurance under such artificial
circumstances of life. The thousands upon thousands of disemboweled Pribylov fur-seal carcasses
have never presented abnormal or diseased viscera of any kind.
Mangy cows and pups. — The frequent winds and showers drive and spatter sand into their
fur and eyes, often making the latter quite sore. This occurs when they are obliged to leave the
rocky rookeries and follow their pups out over the sandridges and flats, to which they always
have a natural aversion. On the hauling grounds they pack the soil under foot so hard and tightly
in many places, that it holds water in the surface depre.'^sions, just like so many rock-basins. Out
of and into these puddles the pups and the females flounder and patter incessantly, until evapora-
tion slowly abates the nuisance. This is for the time only, inasmuch as the next day, perhaps,
brings more rain, and the dirty pools are replenished.
The pups sometimes get so thoroughly plastered in these muddy, slimy puddles, that the hair
falls oft' in patches, giving them, at first sight, the appearance of being troubled with scrofula or
some other plague: from my investigations, directed to this point, I became satisfied that they
were not permanently injured, though evidently very much annoyed. With reference to this
suggestion as to sickness or distemper among the Seals, I gave the subject direct and continued
attention, and in no one of the rookeries could I discover a single Seal, no matter how old or young,
which appeared to he suffering in the least from any physical disorder, other than that which they
themselves had inflicted, one upon the other, by fighting. The third season, passing directly under
my observation, failed to reward my search with any manifestation of dsease among the Seals
which congregate in such miglity numbers on the rookeries of Saint Paul and Saint George. The
remarkable freedom from all such complaints enjoyed by these animals is noteworthy, and the
THE FUE SEAL: MAIfGINESS. 93
most trenchant and penetrating cross-questioning of the natives, also, failed to give me any history
or evidence of an epidemic in the past.
Hospitals. — The observer will, however, notice every summer, gathered in melancholy squads
of a dozen to one hundred or so, scattered along the coast where the healthy Seals never go, those
sick and disabled bulls which have, in the earlier part of the season, been either internally injured
or dreadfully scarred by the teeth of their opponents in lighting. Sand is blown by the winds into
the fresh wounds and causes an inflammation and a sloughing, which very often finishes the life of
the victim. The sailors term these invalid gatherings "hospitnls," a phrase which, like most of
their homely expressions, is quite appropriate.
YotJNG Seals LEAHNiNa to swim. — Early in August, usually by the 8th or 10th, 1 noticed
one of the remarkable movements of the season. I refer to the pup's first essay in swimming. Is
it not odd — ^paradoxical — that the young Seal, from the moment of his birth until he is a month or
six weeks old, is utterly unable to swimf If he is seized by the nape of the neck and pitched out
a rod into the water from shore, his bullet-like head will drop instantly below the surface, and his
attenuated posterior extremities flap impotently on it; suffocation is the question of only a few
minutes, the stupid little creature not knowing how to raise his immersed head and gain the air
again. After they have attained the age I indicate, their instinct drives them down to the margin
of the surf, where the alternate ebbing and flowing of its wash covers and uncovers the rocky or
sandy beaches. They first smell and tlien touch the moist pools, and flounder in the upper wash
of the surf, which leaves them as suddenly high and dry as it immersed them at first. After this
beginning they make slow and clumsy progress in learning the knack of swimming. For a week
or two, when overhead in depth, they continue to flounder about in the most awkward manner,
thrashing the water as little dogs do, with their fore feet, making no attempt whatever to use the
hinder ones. Look at that pup now, launched out for the first time beyond his depth; see how he
struggles — his mouth wide open, and his eyes fairly popping. He turns instantly to the beach,
ere he has fairly struck out from the point whence he launched in, and, as the receding swell which
at first carried him off his feet and out, now returning leaves him high and dry, for a few minutes
he seems so weary that he weakly crawls up, out beyond its swift returning wash, and coils
himself up immediately to take'a recuperative nap. He sleeps a few minutes, perhaps half an hour,
then awakes as bright as a dollar, apparently rested, and at his swimming lesson he goes again.
By repeated and persistent attempts, the young Seal gradually becomes familiar with the water
and acquainted with his own power over that element, which is to be his real home and his whole
support. Once boldly swimming, the pup fairly revels in his new happiness. He and his brethren
have now begun to haul and swarm along the whole length of Saint Paul coast, from Northeast
Point down and around to Zapadnie, lining the alternating sand-beaches and rocky shingle with
their plump, black forms. How they do delight in it! They play with a zest, and chatter like
our own children in the kindergartens — swimming in endless evolutions, twisting, turning, or
diving — and when exhausted, drawing their plump, round bodies up again on the beach. Shaking
themselves dry as young dogs would do, they now either go to sleep on the spot, or have a lazy
terrestrial frolic among themselves.
How an erroneous impression ever got into the mind of any man in this matter of the pup's
learning to swim, I confess that I am wholly unable to imagine. I have not seen any "driving "
of the young pups into the water by the old ones, in order to teach them this process, as certain
authors have pointedly affirmed. i There is not the slightest supervision by the old mother or father
of the pup, from the first moment of his birth, in this respect, until he leaves for the North Pacific,
' Allen : History of North American Piunipeds, p. 387.
94 NATURAL HISTOEY OF AQUATIC ANIMALS.
(till -Hedged with amphibious power. At the close of the breeding-season, every year, the pups are
restlessly and constantly shifting back and forth over the rookery ground of their birth, in large
squads, sometimes numbering thousands upon thousands. In the course of this change of position
they all sooner or later come in contact with the sea ; they then blunder into the water for the first
time, in a most awkward, ungainly manner, and get out as quick as they can ; but so far from
showing any fear or dislike of this, their most natural element, as soon as they rest from their
exertion they are immediately ready for a new trial, and keep at it, provided the sea is not too
stormy or rough. During all this period of self-tuition they seem thoroughly to enjoy the exercise,
in spite of their repeated and inevitable discomfitures at the beginning.
Podding of the pups. — The " podding" of these young pups in the rear of the great rookeries
of Saint Paul, is one of the most striking and interesting phases of this remarkable exhibition of
highly organized life. When they first bunch together they are all black, for they have not begun
to shed the natal coat: they shine with an unctuous, greasy reflection, and grouped in small
armies or great regiments on the sand-dune tracts at Northeast Point, they present a most extraor-
dinary and fascinating sight. Although the appearance of the "Holluschickie" at English Bay
fairly overwhelms the observer with the impression of its countless multitudes, yet I am free to
declare, that at no one point in this evolution of the seal-life, during the reproductive season, have
I been so deeply stricken by the sense of overwhelming enumeration, as I have, when, standing on
the summit of Gross Hill, I looked down to the southward and westward over a reach of six miles
of alternate grass and sand-dune stretches, mirrored upon which were hundreds of thousands of
these little black puj)s, spread in sleep and sport within this restricted field of vision. They
appeared as countless as the grains of the sand upon which they rested.
Second change of coat.— ^By the 15th of September, all the pups born during the year
have become familiar with the water; they have all learned to swim, and are now nearly all down
by the water's edge, skirting in large masses the rocks and beaches previously this year unoccupied
by Seals of any class. Now they are about five or six times their original weight, or, in other
words, they are thirty to forty pounds avoirdupois, as plump and fat as butter-balls, and they
begin to take on their second coat, shedding their black pup-hair completely. This second coat
does not vary in color, at this age, between the sexes. They effect this transformation in dress
very slowly, and cannot, as a rule, be said to have ceased their molting until the middle or 20th of
October.
This second coat or sea going jacket, of the pup, is a uniform, dense, light-gray over-hair, with
an under fur which is slightly grayish in some, but in most cases is a soft, light-brown hue. The
over-hair is fine, close, and elastic, from two-thirds of an inch to an inch in length, while the fur is
not quite half an inch long. Thus the coarser hair shingles over and conceals the soft under wool
completely, giving the color by which, after the second year, the sex of the animal is recognized.
The pronounced difl'erence between the sexes is not effected, however, by color alone until the
third year of the animal. This over-hair of the young pup's new jacket on the back, neck, and
head, is a dark chinchilla-gray, blending into a stone-white, just tinged with a grayish tint on the
abdomen and chest. The upper lip, upon which the whiskers or moustaches take root, is covered
with hair of a lighter gray than that of the body. This moustache consists of fliteen or twenty
longer or shorter bristles, from half an inch to three inches in length, some brownish, horn-colored,
and others whitish-gray and translucent, on each side and back and below the nostrils, leaving the
muzzle quite prominent and hairless. The nasal openings and their surroundings are, as I have
before said when speaking of this feature, similar to those of a dog.
Byes op the pup-seals.— The most attractive feature about the fur-seal pup, and that
THE FUR SEAL: EYES OF YOUNG. 95
which holds this place as it, grows on and older, is the eye. This organ is exceedingly clear, dark,
and liquid, with which, for beauty and amiability, together with real intelligence of expression,
those of no other animal that I have ever seen, or have ever read of, can be compared; indeed,
there are few eyes in the orbits of men and women which suggest more pleasantly tlie ancient
thought of their being "windows to the soul." The lids to the eye are fringed with long, perfect
lashes, and the slightest annoyance, in the way of dust or sand, or other foreign substances, seems
to cause them exquisite annoyance, accompanied by immoderate weeping. This involuntary tear-
fulness so moved Steller that he ascribed it to the processes of the Seal's mind, and declared that
the seal-mothers actually shed tears.
Range of vision. — I do not think that their range of vision on land, or out of the water, is
very great. I have experimented frequently with adult Fur Seals, by allowing them to catch
sight of my person, so as to dis'tinguish it as of foreign character, three and four hundred paces
olf, taking the precaution of standing to the leeward of them when the wind was blowing strong,
and then walking unconcernedly up to them. I have invariably noticed, that they would allow me
to approach quite close before recognizing my strangeness; this occurring to them, they at once
made a lively noise, a medley of coughing, spitting, snorting, and blaating, and plunged in spasmodic
lopes and shambled to get away from my immediate neighborhood; as to the pups, they all stupidly
stare at the form of a human being until it is fairly on them, when they also repeat in miniature
these vocal gymnastics and physical efforts of the older ones, to retreat or withdraw a few rods,
sometimes only a few feet, from the spot upon which you have cornered them, after which they
instantly resume their previous occupation of either sleeping or playing, as though nothing had
happened.
Behavioe of Fue Seals at night. — I naturally enough, when beginning my investigation
of these seal-rookeries, expected to find the animals subdued at night, or early morning, on the
breeding-grounds; but a few consecutive nocturnal watches satisfied me that the family organiza-
tion and noise was as active at one time as at another throughout the whole twenty-four hours. If,
howevt'.r, the day preceding had chanced to be abnormally warm, I never failed then to find the
rookeries much more n; isy and active during the night than they were by daylight. The Seals, as
a rule, come and go to and from the sea, fight, roar, and vocalize as much during midnight moments
as they flo at noonday times. An aged native endeavored to satisfy me that the " Seec ;tchie" could
see much better by twilight and night than by daylight. I am not prepared to prove to the
contrary , but I think that the fact of his not being able to see so well himself at that hour of
darkness was the true cause of most of his belief in the im|)roved_nocturnal vision of the Seals.
Ai: i write, this old Aleut, Phillip Vollkov, has passed to his final rest — "un konchielsah" —
winter of 1878-79. He was one of the real characters of Saint Paul; he was esteemed by the
whiteis on account of his relative intelligence, and beloved by the natives, who called him their
"wise man," and who exulted in his piety. Phillip, like the other people there of his kind, was
not much comfort to me when I asked questions as to the Seals. He usually answered important
inquiries by crossing himself, and replying, "God knows." There was no appeal from this.
SoLLENNBSS OF OLD MALE SEALS. — The old males, when grouped together by themseh'os,
at thii close of the breeding-season, indulge in no humor or frolicsome festivities whatsoever. On
the contrarj', they treat each other with surly indifference. The mature females, howevei', do
not appear to k-se their good nature to anything like so marked a degree as do their lords and
masters, for they will at all seasons of their presence on the islands be observed, now and then,
to suddenly unbend from severe matronly gravity by coyly and amiably tickling and gently teasing
onft another, as they rest in the harems, or later, when strolling in September. There is no sign
96 JSTATUEAL HISTORY OF AQUATIC ANIMALS.
given, however, by these seal-mothers of desire or action in fondling or caressing their pups ; nor
do the young appear to sport with any others than the pups themselves, when together. Some-
times a yearling and a five or six months old pup will have a long-continued game between them-
selves. They are decidedly clannish in this respect — creatures of caste, like Hindoos.
Power of scent: Odor op the Seals. — The greatest activity disi)layed by any one of
the five senses of the Seal, is evidenced in its power of scent. This faculty is all that can be
desired in the line of alertness. I never failed to awaken an adult Seal from the soundest sleep,
when from a half to a quarter of a mile distant, no matter how softly I proceeded, if I got to the
windward, though they sometimes took alarm when I was a mile off.
They leave evidences of their being on these great reproductive fields, chiefly at the rookeries,
in the hundreds of dead carcasses which mark the last of those animals that have been rendered
infirm, sick, or were killed by fighting among themselves in the early part of the season, or of those
which have crawled far away from the scene of battle to die from death-\^ound8 received in the
bitter struggle for a harem. On the rookeries, wherever these lifeless bodies rest, the living, old
and young, clamber and patter backward and forward over and on the putrid remains, and by this
constant stirring up of decayed matter, give rise to an exceedingly disagreeable and far-reaching
"funk." This has been, by all writers who have dwelt on the subject, referred to as the smell
which these animals emit for another reason — erroneously called the "rutting odor." If these
creatures have any odor peculiar to them when in this condition, I will frankly confess that I am
unable to distinguish it from the fumes which are constantlj^ being stirred up and rising out of
these decaying carcasses of the older Seals, as well as from the bodies of the few pups which have
been killed accidentally by the heavy bulls fighting over them, charging back and forth against
one another, so much of the time.
They have, however, a very characteristic and peculiar smell, when they are driven and get
heated; their breath exhalations possess a disagreeable, faint, sickly odor, and when I have
walked within its influence at the rear of a seal-drive, I could almost fancy, as it entered my
nostrils, that I stood beneath an ailanthus tree in bloom; but this odor can by no means be
confounded with what is universally ascribed to another cause. It is also noteworthy, that if
your finger is touched ever so lightly to a little fur-seal blubber, it will smell very much like
that which I have appreciated and described as peculiar to their breath, which arises from them
when they are driven, only it is a little stronger. Both the young and old Fur Seals have this
same breath taint at all seasons of the year.
Eeview of statements concerning life in the rookeries. — To recapitulate and sum
up the system and regular method of life and reproduction on these rookeries of Saint Paul and
Saint George, as the Seals seem to have arranged it, I shall say that —
First. The earliest bulls land in a negligent, indolent way, at the opening of the season, soon
after the rocks at the water's edge are free from ice, frozen snow, etc. This is, as a rule, about
the 1st to the 5th of every May. They land from the beginning to the end of the season in perfect
confidence and without fear; they are very fat, and will weigh at an average 500 pounds each;
some stay at the water's edge, some go to the tier back of them again, and so on until the whole
rookery is mapped out by them, weeks in advance of the arrival of the first female.
Second. That by the 10th or 12th of June, all the male stations on the rookeries have been
mapped out and fought for, and held in waiting by the "Seecatchie." These males are, as a rule,
bulls rarely ever under six years of age; most of them are over that age, being sometimes three,
and occasionally doubtless four, times as old.
Third. That the cows make their first appearance, as a class, on or after the 12th or 15th of
LIFE IN THE PUR SEAL EOOKEEIES. 97
June, in very small numbers; but rapidly after the 23d and 25tli of this month, every year, they
begin to flock up in such numbers as to fill the harems very perceptibly; and by the 8th or 10th
of July, they have all come, as a rule — a few stragglers excepted. The average weight of the.
females now will not be much more than eighty to ninety pounds each.
Fourth. That the breeding-season is at its height from the 10th to the 15th of July every year,
and that it subsides entirely at the end of this month and early in August; also, that its method
and system are confined entirely to the land, never effected in the sea.
Fifth. That the females bear their first young when they are three years old, and that the
period of gestation is nearly twelve months, lacking a few days only of that lapse of time.
Sixth. That the females bear a single pup each, and that this is born soon after landing; no
exception to this rule has ever been witnessed or recorded.
Seventh. That the "Seecatchie" which have held the harems from the beginning to the end
of the season, leave for the water in a desultory and straggling manner at its close, greatly
emaciated, and do not return, if they do at all, until six or seven weeks have elapsed, when the
regular systematic distribution of the families over the rookeries is at an end for the season. A
general medley of young males now are free, which come out of the water, and wander over all
these rookeries, together with many old males, which have not been on seraglio duty, and great
numbers of the females. An immense majority over all others present are pups, since only about
25 per cent, of the mother-seals are out of the water now at any one time.
Eighth. That the rookeries lose their compactness and definite boundaries of true breeding
limit and expansion by the 25th to the 28th of July every year; then, after this date, the pups
begin to haul back, and to the right and left, in small squads at first, but as the season goes on,
by the 18th of August, they depart without reference to their mothers; and when thus scattered,
the males, females, and young swarm over more than three and four times the area occupied by
them when breeding and born on the rookeries. The system of family arrangement and uniform
compactness of the breeding classes breaks up at this date.
Ninth. That by the 8th or 10th of August the pups born nearest the water first begin to learn
to swim ; and that by the 15th or 20th of September they are all familiar, more or less, with the
exercise.
Tenth. That by the middle of September the rookeries are entirely broken up; confused,
straggling bands of females are seen among bachelors, pups, and small squads of old males,
crossing and recrossing the ground in an aimless, listless manner. The season now is over.
Eleventh. That many of the Seals do not leave these grounds of Saint Paul and Saint George
before the end of December, and some remain even as late as the 12th of January; but that by the
end of October and the beginning of November CA'ery year, all the Fur Seals of mature age — five
and six years, and upward — have left the islands. The younger males go with the others: many
of the pups still range about the islands, but are not hauled to any great extent on the beaches or
the flats. They seem to prefer the rocky shore-margin, and to lie as high up as they can get
on such bluffy rookeries as Tolstoi and the Eeef. By the end of this month, November, they are,
as a rule, all gone.
Such is the sum and the substance of my observations which relate to the breeding-grounds
alone on Saint Paul and Saint George. It is the result of summering and wintering on them,
and these definite statements I make with that confidence which one always feels, when he speaks
of that which has entered into his mind by repeated observation, and has been firmly grounded
by careful deductions therefrom.
The "Holltjsohiokie" ok "Bachelor" Seals: A description. — I now call the attention
7 F
98 NATURAL HISTOKY OF AQUATIC ANIMALS.
of the reader to another verj' remarkable feature in the economy of the seal-life on these islands.
The great herds of " HoUuschickie," ^ numbering from one-third to one-half, perhaps, of the whole
aggregate of near 5,000,000 Seals known to the Pribylov group, are never allowed by the "See-
catchie," under the pain of frightful mutilation or death , to put their flippers on or near the rookeries.
By reference to my map, it will be observed that I have located a large extent of ground-
markedly so on Saint Paul— as that occupied by the Seals' "hauling-grounds"; this area, in fact,
represents those portions of the island upon which the "Holluschickie" roam in their heavy
squadrons, wearing off" and polishing the surface of the soil, stripping every foot, which is indicated
on the chart as such, of its vegetation and mosses, leaving the margin as sharply defined on the
i)luffy uplands and sandy flats as it is on the map itself.
The reason that so much more land is covered by the "Holluschickie" thau by the breeding
Seals— ten times as much at least— is due to the fact, that though not as numerous, perhaps, as the
breeding Seals, they are tied down to nothing, so to speak— are wholly irresponsible, and roam
hither and thither as caprice and the weather may dictate. Thus they wear off and rub down a
much larger area than the rookery Seals occupy ; wandering aimlessly, and going back, in some
instances, notably at English Bay, from one-half to a whole mile inland, not traveling in desultory
flies along winding, straggling paths, but sweeping in solid platoons, they obliterate every spear of
grass and rub down nearly every hummock in their way.
Definition of "Holluschickie."— All the male Seals, from six years of age, are compelled
to herd apart by themselves and away from the breeding-grounds, in many cases far away ; the
large hauling-grounds at Southwest Point being about two miles from the nearest rookery. This
class of Seals is termed "Holluschickie" or the "Bachelor" Seals by the natives, a most fitting and
expressive appellation.
The Seals of this great subdivision are those with which the natives on' the Pribylov group are
the most familiar : naturally and especially so, since they are the only ones, with the exception of
a few thousand pups, and occasionally an old bull or two, taken late in the fall for food and skins,
which are driven up to the killing grounds at the village for slaughter. The reasons for this exclu-
sive attention to the " Bachelors" are most cogent, and will be given hereafter when the " business"
is discussed.
Locating the hauling-geounds: Paths theoxjg-h the rookeries. — Since the "Hollu-
schickie" are not permitted by their own kind to land on the rookeries and stop there, they have
the choice of two methods of locating, one of which allows them to rest in the rear of the rookeries,
and the other on the free beaches. The most notable illustration of the former can be witnessed
on Eeef Point, where a pathway ics left for their ingress and egress through a rookery — a path left
by common consent, as it were, between the harems. On these trails of passage they come and go
in steady files all day and all night during the season, unmolested by the jealous bulls which guard
the seraglios on either side as they travel ; all peace and comfort to the young Seal if he minds
his business and keeps straight on up or down, without stopping to nose about right or left; all
woe and desolation to him, however, if he does not, for in that event he will be literally torn in
bloody griping, from limb to limb, by the vigilant old " Seecatchie."
Since the two and three year old "Holluschickie" come up in small squads with the first bulls
in the spring, or a few d.iys later, such common highM'ays as those between the rookery -ground
and the sea are traveled over before the arrival of the cows, and get well defined. A passage for
the "Bachelors," which I took much pleasure in observing day after day at Polavina, another at
Tolstoi, and two on the Eeef, in 1872, were entirely closed up by the "Seecatchie" and obliterated,
' The Russian term "Holluschickie" or "Bachelors" is very appropriate, and is usually employed.
FUE SEAL HAULING-GEOUNDS. 99
when I again searched for them in 1874. Similar passages existed, however, on several of the
large rookeries of Saint Paul ; one of those at Tolstoi exhibits this feature very finely, for here the
hauling-ground extends around from English Bay, and lies up back of the Tolstoi Eookery, over a
flat and rolling summit, from 100 to 120 feet above the sea-level. The young males and yearlings
of both sexes come through and between the harems, at the height of the breeding-season, on two
of these narrow pathways, and before reaching the ground above, are obliged to climb up an almost
abrupt bluff, which they do by following and struggling in the water-runs and washes which are
worn into its face. As this is a large hauling-ground, on which, every favorable day during the
season, fifteen or twenty thousand commonly rest, the sight of skillful seal-climbing can be
witnessed here at any time during that period; and the sight of such climbing as this of Tolstoi
is exceedingly novel and interesting. Why, verily, they ascend over and upon places where an
ordinary man might, at first sight, with great positiveness say that it was utterly impossible for
him to climb.
Hatjling-geounds on the beaches. — The other method of coming ashore, however, is the
one most followed and favored. In this case they avoid the rookeries altogether, and repair to the
unoccupied beaches between them, and then extend themselves out all the way back from the sea,
as far from the water, in some cases, as a quarter and even half of a mile. I stood on the Tolstoi
sand-dunes one afternoon, toward the middle of July, and had under my eyes, in a straightforward
sweep from my feet to Zapadnie, a million and a half of Seals spread out on these hauling-grounds.
Of these, I estimated that fully one-half, at that time, were pups, yearlings, and " Holluschickie."
The rookeries across the bay, though plainly in sight, were so crowded, that they looked exactly as
I have seen surfaces appear upon which bees had swarmed in obedience to that din and racket
made by the watchful apiarian, when he desires to hive the restless honej'-makers.
The great majority of yearlings and "Holluschickie" are annually hauled out and packed
thickly over the sand-beach and upland hauling-grounds, which lie between the rookeries on Saint
Paul Island. At Saint George there is nothing of this extensive display to be seen, for here is
only a tithe of the seal-life occupying Saint Paul, and no opportunity whatever is afforded for an
amphibious parade.
Gentleness of the Seals. — Descend with me from this sand-dune elevation of Tolstoi, and
walk into that drove of " Holluschickie " below us; we can do it ; you do not notice much confusion
or dismay as we go in among them ; they simply open out before us and close in behind our tracks,
stirring, crowding to the right and left as we go, twelve or twenty feet away from us on each side.
Look at this small flock of yearlings, some one, others two, and even three years old, which are
coughing and spitting around us now, staring up in our faces in amazement as we walk ahead;
they struggle a few rods out of our reach, and then come together again behind us, showing no
further sign of notice of ourselves. You could not walk into a drove of hogs at Chicago, without
exciting as much confusion and arousing an infinitely more disagreeable tumult ; and as for sheep
on the plains, they would stampede far quicker. Wild animals indeed ! You can now readily
understand how easy it is for two or three men, early in the morning, to come where we are, turn
aside from this vast herd in front of and around us two or three thousand of the best examples,
and drive them back, up and over to the village. That is the way they get the Seals; there is not
any ''hunting" or "chasing" or "capturing" of Fur Seals on these islands.
"Holluschickie" do not fast. — While the young male Seals undoubtedly have the power
of going for lengthy intervals without food, they, like the female Seals on the breeding-grounds,
certainly do not maintain any long fasting periods on land; their coming and going from the shore
is frequent and irregular, largely influenced by the exact condition of the weather from day to day;
100 NATURAL HISTORY OF AQUATIC ANIMALS.
for instance, three or four thick, foggy days seem to call them oat from the water by hundreds of
thousands upon the diflerent hauling- grounds (which the reader observes recorded on my map).
In some cases, I have seen them lie there so close together that scarcely a foot of ground, over
whole acres, is bare enough to be seen; then a clear and warmer day follows, and this seal-covered
ground, before so thickly packed with animal life, will soon be almost deserted: comparatively so
at least, to be filled up immediately as before, when favorable weather shall again recur. They
must frequently eat when here, because the first yearlings and " Holluschickie" that appear in the
spring are no fatter, sleeker, or livelier than they are at the close of the season; in other words,
their condition, physically, seems to be the same from the beginning to the end of their appearance
here during the summer and fall. It is quite different, however, with the "Seecatch"; wo know
how and where it spends two to three months, because we find it on the grounds at all times, day
or night, during that period.
Spoets and pastimbs of the young " Bachblobs." — A small flock of the young Seals, one
to three years old, generally, will often stray from these hauling- ground margins, up and beyond,
over the fresh mosses and grasses, and there sport and play one with another, just as little puppy-
dogs do; and when weary of this gamboling a general disposition to sleep is suddenly manifested,
and they stretch themselves out and curl up in all the positions and all the postures that their
flexible spines and ball-and-socket joints will permit. They seem to revel in the unwonted vege-
tation, and to be delighted with their own eft'orts in rolling down and crushing the tall stalks of
the grasses and umbelliferous plants; one will lie upon its back, hold up its hind-flippers, and lazily
wave them about, while it scratches, or rather rubs, its ribs with the fore-hands alternately, the
eyes being tightly closed during the whole performance; the sensation is evidently so luxurious
that it does not wish to have any side-issue draw off its blissful self-attention. Another, curled up
like a cat on a rug, draws its bseath, as indicated by the heaving of its flanks, quickly but regu-
larly, as though in heavy sleep; another will lie flat upon its stomach, its hind-flippers covered and
concealed, while it tightly folds its fore-feet back against its sides, just as a fish carries its pectoral
fins — and so on to no end of variety, according to the ground and the fancy of the animals.
These "Bachelor" Seals are, I am sure, without exception, the most restless animals in the
whole brute creation, which can boast of a high organization. They frolic and lope about over the
grounds for hours, without a moment's cessation, and their sleep, after this, is exceedingly short,
and it is ever accompanied with nervous twitchings and uneasy muscular movements; they seem
to be fairly brimful and overrunning with spontaneity — to be surcharged with fervid, electric life.
Another marked feature which I have observed among the multitudes of "Holluschickie,"
which have come under my personal observation and auditory, and one very characteristic of this
class, is, that nothing like ill-humor appears in all of their playing together; they never growl or
bite, or show even the slightest angry feeling, but are invariably as happy, one with another, as
ca.n be imagined. This is a very singular trait; they lose it, however, with astonishing rapidity,
when their ambition and strength develop and carry them, in due course of time, to the rookery.
The pups and yearlings have an especial fondness for sporting on the rocks which are just at
the water's level and awash, so as to be covered and uncovered as the surf rolls in. On the bare
summit of these wave- worn spots, they will struggle and clamber in groups of a dozen or two at a
time throughout the whole day, in endeavoring to push off that one of their number which has just
been fortunate enough to secure a landing; the successor has, however, but a brief moment of
exultation in victory, for the next roller that comes booming in, together with the pressure by its
friends, turns the table, and the game is repeated, with another Seal on top. Sometimes, as well
as I could see, the same squad of "Holluschickie" played for a whole day and night, without a
THE FUE SEAL: SPOETIVE HABITS. 101
moment's cessation, around such a rock as this, off Nah Speel Rookery; but in this observation
I may be mistaken, because the Seals cannot be told apart.
Seals among the bbbakbes. — The graceful unconcern with which the FuiisiSeal sports
safely in, among, and under booming breakers, during the prevalence of the numerous heavy gales
at the islands, has afforded me many consecutive hours of spell-bound attention to them, absorbed
in watching their adroit evolutions within the foaming surf, that seemingly, every moment, would,
in its fierce convulsions, dash these hardy swimmers, stunned and lifeless, against the iron-bound
foundations of the shore, which alone checked the furious rush of the waves. Not at all. Through
the wildest and most ungovernable mood of the roaring tempest and storm-tossed waters attending
its transit, I never failed, on creeping out, and peering over the bluffs, in such weather, to see
squads of these perfect watermen — the most expert of all amphibians — gamboling in the seething,
creamy wake of mighty rollers, which constantly broke in thunder tones over their alert, dodging
heads. The swift succeeding seas seemed, every instant, to poise the Seals at the very verge of
death. Yet the Callorhinus, exulting in his skill and strength, bade defiance to their wrath, and
continued his diversions.
Swimming peats op the "Bacheloes." — The " Holluschickie" are the champion swimmers
of all the seal tribe; at least, when in the water around the islands, they do nearly every fancy
tumble and turn that can be executed. The grave old males and their matronly companions sel-
dom indulge in any extravagant display, as do these youngsters, jumping out of the water like so
many dolphins, describing beautiful elliptic curves sheer above its surface, rising three and even
four feet from the sea, with the back slightly arched, the fore-flippers folded tightly against the
sides, and the hinder ones extended and pressed together straight out behind, plumping in head
first, to reappear in the same manner, after an interval of a few seconds of submarine swimming,
like the flight of a bird, on their course. Sea Lions and Hair Seals never jump in this manner.
All classes will invariably make these dolphin-jumps, when they are surprised or are driven
into the water, curiously turning their heads while sailing in the air, between the "rises" and
"plumps," to take a look at the cause of their disturbance. They all swim rapidly, with the
exception of the pups, and may be said to dart under the water with the velocity of a bird on the
wing; as they swim they are invariably submerged, running along horizontally about two or three
feet below the surface, guiding their course by the bin d-flippers as by a rudder, and propelling
themselves solely by the fore-feet, rising to breathe at intervals which are either very frequent or
else so wide apart that it is impossible to see the speeding animal when he rises a second time.
How long they can remain under water without taking a fresh breath, is a problem which I
had not the heart to solve, by instituting a serie.s of experiments at the island; but I am inclined
to think that, if the truth were known in regard to their ability of going without rising to breathe,
it would be considered astounding. On this point, however, I have no data worth discussing, but
will say that, in all their swimming which I have had a chance to study, as they passed under the
water, mirrored to my eyes from the bluff above by the whitish-colored rocks below the rookery
waters at Great Eastern Eookery, I have not been able to satisfy myself how they used their long,
flexible hind-feet, other than as steering media. If these posterior members have any perceptible
motion, it is so rapid that my eye is not quick enough to catch it; but the fore-flippers, however,
can be most distinctly seen, as they work in feathering forward and sweeping flatly back, opposed
to the water, with great rapidity and energy. They are evidently the sole propulsive power of the
Fur Seal in the water, as they are its main fulcrum and lever combined, for progression on land.
I regret that the shy nature of the Hair Seal never allowed me to study its swimming motions, but
it seems to be a general point of agreement among authorities on the Phocidw, that all motion in
102 NATURAL HISTORY OF AQUATIC ANIMALS.
water by them arises from that power which they exert and apply with the hind-feet. So far as
my observations on the Hair Seal go, I am inclined to agree with this opinion.
All their movements in water, whether they are traveling to some objective point or are in
sport, are quick and joyous; and nothing is more suggestive of intense satisfaction and pure physi-
cal comfort, than is that spectacle which we can see every August, a short distance out at sea from
any rookery where thousands of old males and females are idly rolling over in the billows side by
side, rubbing and scratching with their fore- and hind-flippers, which are here and there stuck up
out of the water by their owners, like the lateen-sails of the Mediterranean feluccas, or, when the
hind-flippers are presented, like a " cat-o'-nine tails." They sleep in the water a great deal, too,
more than is generally supposed, showing that they do not come on land to rest— very clearly not.
Leaping out op watek: " Dolphin- jumps." — As I never detected the Sea Lions or the Hair
Seals leaping from the water around these islands, in those peculiar dolphin-like jumps which I have
hitherto described, I made a note of it early during my first season of observation, for corrobora-
tion in the next. It is so : neither the Sea Lion nor the Hair Seal here ever leaped from the ocean
in this agile and singular fashion heretofore described. Allen, so conservative usually, seems, how-
ever, to have fallen into an error by reading the notes of Mr. J. H. Blake, descriptive of the Sea
Lions of the Gallapagos Islands. As Allen quotes them entire in a foot-note,^ I am warranted in
calling attention to the fact, that no authentic record has as yet been made of such peculiar
swimming by Phocidce, or the sea-lion branch of the Otariidce. My notice has been called to this
mistake by Professor Allen's own note, page 367, upon a quotation from my work, citing Mr.
Blake's notes above referred to, which are themselves very interesting, but do not even hint at a
dolphin-jump.
How fast the Pur Seal can swim, when doing its best, I am naturally unable to state. I do know
that a squad of young " Holluschickie" followed the "Reliance," in which I was sailing, down from
the latitude of the Seal Islands to Akootan Pass with perfect ease, laying around the vessel, while
she was logging straight ahead, 14 knots to the hour.
The Fur Seal, the Sea Lion, the Walrus, and the Hair Seal all swim around these islands, and
in these waters, submerged, extended horizontally and squarely upon their stomachs. I make this
note here because I am surprised to read^ that the Harp (Hair) Seal's "favorite position when
swimming, as affirmed by numerous observers, is on the back or side, in which position they also
sleep in the water." Although this is a far-distant, geographically speaking, relative of the Hair
Seal of Saint Paul Island, yet the remarkable difference in fashion of swimming seems hardly
warranted, when the two animals are built exactly alike. Still, I have no disposition to question,
earnestly, the truth of the statement, inasmuch as I have learned of so many very striking radical
differences in habits of anima's as closely related, as to pause, ere seriously doubting this assertion
that a Harp Seal's favorite way in swimming is to lie upon its back when so doing. It is simplj-
an odd contradiction to the method employed by the Hair Seals of the North Pacific and of Bering
Sea.
While I am unable to prove that the Fur Seal possesses the power to swim to a very great depth,
by actual tests instituted, yet I am free to say that it certainly can dive to the uttermost depths,
where its food -fish are known to live in the ocean; it surely gives full and ample evidence of
possessing the muscular power for that enterprise. In this connection, it is interesting to cite
the testimony of Mr. F. Borthen, the proprietor of the Fro Islands, a group of small islets off
Trondhjems Fiord, in Norway; this gentleman has had an opportunity of watching the Gray Seal
' History of Nortli American Pinnipeds, p. 211.
" Allbn : op. dt, p. 651.
THE FUR SEAL: LEAPING HABITS. 103
{Salichcerus grypus) as it bred and rested ou these rocks during an extended period of time. Among
many interesting notes as to the biology of this large Hair Seal, he says : "Asa proof that they [the
Seals] fetch their food from a considerable depth, it is related that a few years ago a young one was
found caught by one of the hooks of a fishing line that was placed at a depth of between seventy
and eighty fathoms, on the outer side of the islands. Gray Seals have several times been seen to
come up to the surface with lings [Molva vulgaris) and other deep-water fishes in their mouths,
such fishes seldom or never found at a less depth than between sixty and seventy fathoms.'"
Classing the "Holluschiokie" by age. — When the "Holluschickie" are up on land they
can be readily separated into their several classes as to age by the color of their coats and size,
when noted, namely, the yearlings, the two, three, four, and five years old males. When the
yearlings, or the first class, haul out, they are dressed just as they were after they shed their pup-
coats and took on the second covering during the previous year in September and October; and
now, as they come out in the spring and summer, one year old, the males and females cannot be
distinguished apart, either by color or size, shape or action ; the yearlings of both sexes have the
same steel-gray backs and white stomachs, and are alike in behavior and weight.
Next year these yeaiiing females, which are now trooping out with the youthful males on the
hauling-grounds, will repair to the rookeries, while their male companions will be obliged to come
again to this same spot.
Shedding the hair: Stagey Seals. — About the 15th and 20th of every August, they
have become perceptibly "stagey," or, in other words, their hair is well under way in shedding.
All classes, with the exception of the pups, go through this process at this time every year. The
process requires about six weeks between the first dropping or falling out of the old over -hair, and
its full substitution by the new. This takes place, as a rule, between August 1 and September 28.
The fur is shed, but it is so shed that the ability of the Seal to take to the water and stay
there, and not be physically chilled or disturbed during the process of molting, is never impaired.
The whole surface of these extensive breeding-grounds, traversed over by us after the Seals had
gone, was literally matted with the shed hair and fur, This under-fur or pelage is, however, so
fine and delicate, and so much concealed and shaded by the coarser over-hair, that a careless eye
or a superficial observer might be pardoned in failing to notice the fact of its dropping and renewal.
The yearling cows retain the colors of the old coat in the new, when they shed it for the first
time, and from that time on, year after year, as they live and grow old. The young three-year-
olds and the older cows look exactly alike, as far as color goes, when they haul up at first and dry-
out on the rookeries, every June and July.
The yearling males, however, make a radical change when they shed for the first time, for
they come out from their "staginess" in a nearly uniform dark gray, and gray and black mixed,
and lighter, with dark ocher to whitish on the upper and under parts, respectively. This coat,
next year, when they appear as two-year-olds, shedding for the three-year-old coat, is a very much
darker gray, and so on to the third, fourth, and fifth season; then after this, with age, they begin,
to grow more gray and brown, with rufous-ocher and whitish-tipped over-hair on the shoulders.
Some of the very old bulls change in their declining years to a uniform shade all over of dull-
grayish ocher. The full glory and beauty of the Seal's moustache is denied to him until he has
attained his seventh or eighth year.
Comparative size of females and males. — The female does not get her full growth and
weight until the end of her fourth year, so far as I have observed, but she does most of her
' EoBBKT Coi-LKTT : Oil tbe Gray Seal. Proceedings Zoological Society London, part li, 1881, p. 387.
104
NATURAL HISTOEY OF AQUATIC ANIMALS.
growing longitudinally in the first two; after she has passed her fourth and fifth years, she weighs
from thirty to fifty pounds more than she did in the days of her youthful maternity.
The male does not get his full growth and weight until the close of his seventh year, but
realizes most of it, osteologically speaking, by the end of the fifth ; and from this it may be
perhaps truly inferred, that the male Seals live to an average ago of eighteen or twenty years,
if undisturbed in a normal condition, and that the females attain ten or twelve seasons under the
same favorable circumstances. Their respective weights, when fully mature and fat in the spring,
will, in regard to the male, strike an average of from four to five hundred pounds, while the
females will show a mean of from seventy to eighty pounds.
I did not permit myself to fall into error in estimating this matter of weight, because I early
found that the apparent huge bulk of a sea-lion bull or fur-seal male, when placed upon the
scales, shrank far below my notions : I took a great deal of pains, on several occasions, during the
killing season, to have a platform scale carted out into the field, and as the Seals were knocked
down, and before they were bled, I had them carefully weighed, constructing the following table
from my observations :
Table showing the weight, size, and growth of the Fur Seal [Callorhinus ursinus), from the pup to the
adult, male and female.
Age.
Length.
Girth.
Gross
weight of
body.
Weight
of sMn.
Inches.
Inches.
Pounds.
Pownds.
12 to 14
lOtolOi
6to7J
li
24
25
39
3
38
25
39
4i
45
30
58
51
52
36
87
7
58
42
135
12
65
52
200
10
72
64
280
25
75 to 80
70 to 78
400 to 600
45 to 50
Kemarks.
One week
Six months
■ One year
Two years
Threo years
Four years
Five years
Six years
Eight to twenty
years.
A male and female, being the only ones of the class handled, June 20, 1873.
A mean of ten examples, males and females, alike in size, November 28, 1872.
A mean of six examples, males and females, alike in size, July 14, 1873.
A mean of thirty examples, all males, July 24, 1873.
A mean of thirty-two examples, all males, July 24, 1873.
A mean of ten examples, all males, July 24, 1873.
A mean of five examples, all males, July 24, 1873.
A mean of three examples, all males, July 24, 3873.
An estimate only, calculating on their weight when fat, and early in the season.
Weight of female Seals.— The adult females will correspond with the three-year-old
males in the above table, the younger cows weighing frequently only seventy- five pounds, and
many of the older ones going as high as one hundred and twenty, but an average of eighty to
eighty-five pounds is the rule. Those specimens of the females which I have weighed were
examples taken by me for transmission to the Smithsonian Institution, otherwise I should not
have been permitted to make this record of their weight, inasmuch as weighing them means to
kill them; and the law and the habit, or rather the prejudice of the entire comniunity up there, is
unanimously in opposition to any such proceeding, for they never touch females here, and never
set their foot on or near the breeding-grounds on such an errand. It will be noticed, also, that I
have no statement of the weights of those exceedingly fat and heavy males which first appear on
the breeding-grounds in the spring; those which I have referred to, in the table above given, were
very much heavier at the time of their first appearance in May and June, than at the moment
when they were in my hands, in July; but the cows, in the other class, do not sustain protracted
fasting, and therefore their weights may be considered substantially the same throughout the year.
Change in weight.— Thus, from the fact that all the young Seals and females do not change
much in weight from the time of their first coming out in the spring, till that of their leaving in
the fall and early winter, I feel safe in saying that they feed at irregular but not long intervals,
THE FUR SEAL: CHANGES IN WEIGHT, 105
during the time that they are here under our observation, since they are constantly changing from
land to water and from water to land, day in and day out. I do not think that the young males
fast longer than a week or ten days at a time, as a rule.
DisPEKSAL OF THE " HoLLUSCHiCKiE." — By the end of October and the 10th of November,
the great mass of the " HoUuschickie," the trooping myriads of English Bay, Southwest Point,
Eeef Parade, Lukaunon Sands, the table-lands of Polavina, and the mighty hosts of Novostashnah,
at Saint Paul, together with the quota of Saint George, had taken their departure from its shores,
and had gone out to sea, spreading with the receding schools of fish that were now returning to
the deep waters of the North Pacific, where, in that vast expanse, over which rolls an unbroken
billow, five thousand miles from Japan to Oregon, they spend the winter and the early spring,
until they reappear and break up, with their exuberant life, the dreary winter isolation of the land
which gave them birth.
Taste of the Seals in the matter of weathek. — A few stragglers remain, however,
as late as the snow and ice will permit them to, in and after December; they are all down by the
water's edge then, and haul up entirely on the rocky beaches, deserting the sand altogether; but
the first snow that falls makes them very uneasy, and I have seen a large hauling-ground so
disturbed by a rainy day and night, that its hundreds of thousands of occupants fairly deserted
it. The Fur Seal cannot bear, and will not endure, the spattering of sand into its eyes, which
always accompanies the driving of a rain-storm; they take to the water, to reappear when the
nuisance shall be abated.
The weather in which the Fur Seal delights is cool, moist, foggy, and thick enough to keep the
sun always obscured, so as to cast no shadows. Such weather, which is the normal weather of
Saint Paul and Saint George, continued for a few weeks in June and July, brings up from the sea
millions of Fur Seals. But, as I have before said, a little sunshine, which raises the temperature
as high as 50° to 55° Fahr., will send them back from the hauling- grounds almost as quickly as
they came. Fortunately these warm, sunny days on the Pribylov Islands are so rare that the
Seals certainly can have no ground of complaint, even if we may presume they have any at all.
Some curious facts in regard to their selection of certain localities on these islands, and their
abandonment of others, I will discuss in a succeeding chapter, descriptive of the rookeries ; this
chapter is illustrated by topographical surveys made by myself.
Albinos. — I looked everywhere and constantly, when treading my way over acres of ground
which were fairly covered with seal-pups, and older ones, for specimens that presented some
abnormity, that is, monstrosities, albinos, etc., such as I have seen in our great herds of stock; but
I was, with one or two exceptions, unable to note anything of the kind. I have never seen any
malformations or " monsters " among the pups and other classes of the Fur Seals, nor have the
natives recorded anything of the kind, so far as I could ascertain from them. I saw only three
albino pups among the multitudes on Saint Paul, and none on Saint George. They did not differ,
in any respect, from the normal pups in size and shape. Their hair, for the first coat, was a dull
ocher all over ; the fur whitish, changing to a rich brown, the normal hue; the flippers and muzzle
were a pinkish flesh tone in color, and the iris of the eye sky-blue. When they shed the following
year, they are said to have a dirty, yellowish-white color, which makes them exceedingly conspic-
uous when mixed in among a vast majority of black pups, gray yearlings, and " HoUuschickie" of
their kind.
MoNSTKOBiTiES AMONG- THE SEALS. — Touching this question of monstrosities, I was led to
examine a number of alleged examples presented to my attention by the natives, who took some
interest, in their sluggish way, as to what I was doing here. They brought me an albino fur-seal
106 NATURAL HISTORY OF AQUATIC ANIMALS.
pup, nothing else, and gravely assured me that they knew it owed its existence to the fecundation
of a sea-lion cow by a fur-seal bull; if not so, how could it get that color? I was also confronted
with a specimen— a full and finely grown four-year-old Gallorhinus which had, at some earlier day,
lost its testicles either by fighting or accident while at sea; perhaps shaven off by the fangs of a
saw-toothed shark, and also gravely asked to subscribe to the presence of a hermaphrodite !
Undoubtedly some abnormal birth shapes must make their appearance occasionally; but at
no time while I was there, searching keenly for any such manifestation of malformation on the
rookeries, did I see a single example. The morphological symmetry of the Fur Seal is one of the
most salient of its characteristics, viewed as it rallies here in such vast numbers, but the osteological
differentiation and asymmetry of this animal are equally surprising.
Wheee do the Seals die ?— It is perfectly evident that a large percentage of this immense
number of Seals must die every year from natural limitation of life. They do not die on these
islands ; that much I am certain of. Not one dying a natural death could I find or hear of on the
grounds; they evidently lose their lives at sea, preferring to sink with the n^or mortis into the
cold, blue depths of the great Pacific, or beneath the green waves of Bering Sea, rather than to
encumber and disfigure their summer haunts on the Pribylov Islands.
The ebproduction of the Fur Seal.^ — By treating this subject at length, my object is to
fix attention upon several points connected with the reproduction of the Fur Seal which have vital
importance to its relation with, and residence upon, the breeding-grounds of these islands under
discussion. In the first place, naturalists generally have taken notice of the generative appara-
tus exhibited by the Phocidce; and, while they have spoken at length in anatomical detail and
discussion of the male organs of the Otariidw, yet they exhibit a strange neglect or oversight
with respect to those of the female. The singular cloacal arrangement of the female organs of
generation in the Phocidce has excited comment and description from the earliest times.
The modification of the generative apparatus peculiar to the male Otariidce, in contradistinc-
tion to those organs possessed by the male Phocidm, has been noticed to some extent by several
authorities^ prior to the date of this publication; but, while calling attention to this marked change
in the morphology of the male organs of the Otariidw, they are silent in regard to the fact that,
though the Phocidce are very distinct, by the armature of the males, from the Otariidce, yet the
cloacal arrangement of the females in both genera is identical. This is in itself, as I view it, quite
as remarkable with regard to the females as it is noteworthy in respect to the males. Surely the
wonderful modification of the physical structure of the male Fur Seal from that of his kindred,
the Hair Seal, is very great ; and we are not surprised to find that his generative organs are pro-
nounced, in common with all the others, distinct. So the females differ, physically, in every respect,
to as great a degree, with the solitary exception of the intra-uterine life, and the cloacal form of
the external generative organs.
Necessity op xjndekstanding the subject. — This subject of the method of reproduction,
'When they the approaching time perceive,
They flee the deep, and watery pastures leave :
On the dry ground, far from the s-svelling tide,
Bring forth their yonng, and on the shores abide
Till twice six times they see the Eastern gleams
Brighten the hills, and tremble on the streams,
The thirteenth mom, soon as the early dawn
Hangs out its crimson folds or spreads its lawn,
No more the fields and lofty coverts please.
Each hugs her own, and hastes to rolling seas.
— Old Roman poem : Hair Seals of the Mediterranean.
'Al/LBN: North American Pinnipeds, 1880. Murib : Trans. Zool. See, 1869-72.
THE FUE SEAL: REPEODUCTION. 107
as carried out by the Fur Seals on the breeding-grounds of the Pribylov Islands, should be under-
stood distinctly and authoritatively, before the truth or falsity of certain hypotheses, which depend
upon it, can be intelligently discussed. The general impression and commonly-received opinion
in the popular, as well as the scientific world, is that the amphibian life of the ocean breeds in the
water thereof; or, in other words, that the fertilization of the seal-life takes place by coition therein,
and that the young may be born in this watery element, safely nurtured and cared for by their
mothers.' No end of fanciful rumor and romance has been published touching this point. We are
told that some man of great credibility has seen Seals in the water, with their new-born clasped
to their bosoms, rising in the waves to look at their disturbers, and then sinking, to carry away
their young to safety and quiet. To this fanciful description, undoubtedly, the mermaid owes its
origin in our recent mythology; for the Hair Seal, in especial, has a bland, round, full physiog-
nomy ; the large circular eyes are placed more in front of the skull than in the crania of any other
genera of its kind. Such a head popping up suddenly in front of the mariner might naturally
suggest a human face; and it needs but a very little embellishment to trim it with long hair,
place mammae on its bosom, and all the other peculiar attributes of the yellow-haired mermaid
so celebrated in song and art.
Fine oppoetunities for observation. — Therefore, what I wish to distinctly settle with
regard to the reproduction of the Fur Seal, which I now have under consideration, is that mooted
question as to the place, the manner, and the time of the union of the two sexes necessary for the
reproduction of its kind. I have no personal knowledge of the system of fertilization employed,
with reference to it, by the Plwcidoe; hence I shall not attempt to describe it.^ What I have
'Reasonably enough, the closet naturalist, no matter how able, will be deceived now and then in this manner by
untrustworthy statements made by those who are supposed to know by personal observation of what they affirm.
As an apt illustration of this confusion which the best of closet naturalists are thrown into by untrustworthy
information touching this very matter, I may cite the case of Hamilton, who, in 1839, while writing of the Fur Seal of
Cook and Forster, discovered in particular by them on South Georgia, in 1771, declares it to be no Fur Seal at all! He
feels warranted in doing so, because one Captain Weddell says so. This authority was a hardy sailor who made sealing
a specialty in the Antarctic dnring 1823-'26. Hamilton, after specifying the wide range of this Arctocephaliia, "at
Dusky Bay, New Zealand, in New Georgia, Staten Land, Juan Fernandez, and the Gallapagos," goes on to say :
" It will be observed that several of these authorities, particularly Dampier and Cook, speak of the fineness of the
fur of this Seal. It is probably these statements which have led the able author of the article Phoque in the "Diet.
Classique d'Hist. Natnrelle " to state that this Seal is the Fur Seal of commerce. His words are : ' L'otarii de Forster
est le Phoque il fourrures des pScheura europ^ens.' But this, we suspect, is a mistake. No one will doubt that Captain
Weddell was familiar with the Fur Seal. He was also familiar with the Ursine Seal, both as encountered in its haunts
and as described by naturalists ; and yet, when speaking of the Ursine Seal (so denominated by him), he never once
hints that its fur has any peculiar value, but the contrary." — Amphibious Caruivora. Edinburg, 1839, p. 265.
Thus Hamilton quotes this old sailor, Weddell, throughout his whole memoir, with the utmost trust ; and in the
same manner others have been cited. They are worthless, unless taken " cum grano salis." The " long and short " of
it is this : when most of the seafaring sealers and whalers are in the field, they are blind to everything except the
mere capture of their quarry. When they retnru, they are importuned, usually at first, for details which, in fact, they
have never thought of, while away.
2 "The inconsequential numbers of the Hair Seal around and on the Pribylov Islands, seem to be characteristic of
all Alaskan waters and the northwest coast ; also, the PhocidcB are equally scant on the Asiatic littoral margins. Only
the following four species are known to exist throughout the entire extent of that vast marine area, viz :
Phoca viTULiNA — Everywhere, between Bering Straits and California.
Phoca fcetida — Plover Bay, Norton's Sound, Knskokvim mouth, and Bristol Bay, of Bering Sea ; Cape Sfeartze
Kammin, Arctic Ocean to Point Barrow.
Erignathus baebatus— Kamtchatkan coast, Norton's Sound, Kuskokvim mouth, and Bristol Bay, of Bering Sea.
HiSTRlOPHOCA FASCIATA — ^Yukou mouth, and coast south to Bristol Bay, of Bering Sea and drifting ice therein.
Then, in addition to this, Mr. Ivan Petrov, the special agent of the Tenth Census, United States Army, reports
the presence of a land-locked Seal in the fresh waters of Iliamna Lake, and .also in Lake Walker. It may be as distinct
from any of the Phooidce above enumerated as is the Baikal or the Caspian Seals ; and, as such, I suggest that it shall
receive the name of Phoca peirovi, when it is eventually secured, and if identified as new to our lists. — Preliminary
Report of Progress, Census of Alaska: Ivaii Petrov, Washington, December, 1880, p. 45.
In this connection, it is a somewhat curious fact that the description which Aristotle [300 B. C] gives of the
108 NATUEAL HISTORY OF AQUATIC ANIMALS.
heard from the natives would point clearly to the fact, that they know nothing really worthy of
scientific attention; but in regard to the Pur Seal I have had unusual advantages, and an extended
experience, ranging over four consecutive breeding-seasons, in which thousands of these animals,
all perfectly in accord, have passed within the scope of my observation and record.
Genitalia of the male and female Fite Seal. — Considering the male Gallorhinus :
When it is first born the external organs of generation are not evidenced to the sight, and it
requires a nice touch to find them under the skin. It is not until this animal has rounded off the
second year of its existence, that the testes descend and become externally exposed: first faintly,
but rapidly succeeding to the same prominence and same relative position that they occupy in the
example of the dog. When this creature becomes three and four years old, its testes hang pendant
in a somewhat flabby scrotum, which in the old male is as pe^ulous as that of an ordinary
bull; the. sack is smooth and shiny, entirely devoid of hair, and black, with a slightly wrinkled
surface. The sheath of the penis is so merged with the skin of the abdomen that it does not lie
ribbed there and prominent as in the other carnivora ; but it is an erectile organ, with a bony
skeleton, measuring, when fally developed, from five to seven inches in length. .The females have
their parts of generation exactly as they are described by Owen and Huxley — which descriptions
are based upon examples of the well-known Pliocidm; their external organs are entirely concealed,
by the fact that the rectum terminates on the opposite side of the vulva; and a common, somewhat
flaccid, sphincter closes both apertures. In other words, the anal and genital openings of the
female are united into a single one, through which the regular secretions of the body pass, and the
forces of reproduction are received and introduced. Thus, while the female Phoddw correspond
in this respect with the female Otariidce, yet the extraordinary development of the male organs in
the Otariidce are quite marked, when contrasted with those peculiar to the Phocidoe}
No EVIDENCE OF EUTTING ODORS: SPEEDY BIRTH OF PUPS. — When the male Fur Seals
or " Seecatchie," as the natives call them — a term implying strength and virility — arrive first
upon the breeding-grounds, long before the coming of the females, as described in a preceding
chapter of this monograph, they give no evidence of being in rut ; nor do they emit any odor
during the rest of the season which at all resembles the " rutting odor " ascribed to many animals.
I call attention to this because a common blunder has been made, and likely will be made, whereby
the smell upon the rocks, so far-reaching and so offensive, is called the " rutting funk." It is, as
I have also stated, due to other causes which are conspicuous and which have been specified here-
tofore. When the females came to land upon the breeding grounds, I noticed that, with the
exception of the virgin cows, they were heavy with young; that the period of their gestation must
soon culminate by the birth of their offspring, which usually took place within a couple of hours
after they reached the shore, or within as many days at the most. Frequently I have observed
the mothers land, and ere they were dry the young would be expelled ; and the thought rose then
to my mind " how wonderfully well-timed the return of those gravid cows was " — ^for, in spite of
tempests and currents, and many of them quite two and three thousand miles from their winter
Hair Seal (Monachus albiventer, very likely)' is, in most respects, correct ; while Bnffon, the celebrated French zoologist,
as late as 1785, has not, despite his vast advantages, been nearly as accurate in his treatment of the Pinnipeds. That
this old Grecian philosopher, three hundred years before the Christian era, should have done better in this respect
than that world-wide distinguished academician did more than two thousand years afterward, affords an entertaining
suggestion as to the alleged degeneracy of the present age, especially so since the monument erected over Bnflfon's
remains bears an inscription which declares that he possessed " a mind equal to the majesty of nature." (I)
' See Owen's Anatomy of Vertebrates," vol. iii, p. 699, London, 1868. The Phooidce are the subject of this eminent
author's examination and report.
THE FUE SEAL: SPEEDY BIETH. 109
feeding-places, yet they reach this land-speck in Bering Sea just in season for instant delivery after
arrival !i
Pai^gs of impending parturition AiiONE PROMPT FEMALES TO LAND. — The females do
not land until they are obliged to by the precipitation of this event of parturition. They land
upon the breeding-grounds of Saint Paul just as they come in contact with the shore— guided and
influenced at the moment of approach to the islands by only one ruling thought, and that is, to
reach as near as possible the locality upon which they resided in former years. Soon after landing,
which I have heretofore described, the birth of the young takes place, and in this wise : the cow
shows, an hour Or so prior to delivery, great nervous agitation; she trembles all over; her eyes
blinking, and flippers twitching; rolling, stretching, and thoroughly uneasy, until the labor-pains.
If the ground where she happens to rest is rocky, she manages to lie upon the top of a bowlder,
her hind-flippers working spasmodically with a wavy, fan-like motion backward and forward, as
she rests full upon her stomach, with the fore-flippers alternately pressed tightly to the rook or
closely to her sides, like pectoral fins ; she sways her head, her eyes are partly closed and her
mouth slightly opened in panting, during the fifteen or twenty minutes which usually ensue
between the first contraction of the uterus, until the expulsion of the intrauterine life takes place.
These labor-pains are not, in my opinion, at all very severe or abnormal in anj'^ respect. The pup
carries with it, at the moment of birth, the entire placental pouch or "after-birth." This envelope
is broken, usually by the mother, in forcing the labor and during the first expulsion of the pup's
head, which is always presented in advance. The little "Kotick" may be said to fairly drop upon
^^
' If there is any one faculty better developed than the others in the brain of the intelligent Callorhirtus, it must be
its "bump " of locality. The unerring directness with which it pilots its annual course back through thousands of
miles of watery waste to these spots of its birth — small fly-dots of land in the map of Bering Sea and the North
Pacific — is a very remarkable exhibition of its skill in navigation. While the Russians were established at Bodega
and Ross, California, sixty years ago, they frequently shot Fur Seals at sea, when hunting the Sea Otter off the coast
between Fuca Straits and the Farallones. Many of these animals, late iu May and early in June, were so far advanced
in pregnancy that it was deemed certain by their captors that some shore must be close at hand upon which the near
impending birth of the pup took place ; thereupon, the Russians searched over every rod of the coast-line of the main-
land and the archipelago, between California and the peninsula of Alaska, vainly seeking everywhere there for a fur-
seal rookery. They were slow to understand how animals, so close to the throes of parturition, could strike out into
broad ocean to swim fifteen hundred or two thousand miles within a week or ten days ere they landed on the Pribylov
group, and almost immediately after gave birth to their offspring.
There is no record made whicb shows that the Fur Seals have any regular or direct course of travel up or down the
northwest coast. They are principally seen in the open sea, eight or ten miles from land, outside the heads of the
Straits of Fuca, and from there as far north as Dixon Sound. During May and June they are aggregated in gro.itest
numbers here, though examples are reported the whole year around. The only Fur Seal which I saw, or which was
noticed by the crew of the Reliance, in her cruise, June 1 to 9, from Port Townsend to Sitka, was a solitary "Hollu-
schack " that we disturbed at sea well out from the lower end of Queen Charlotte's Island ; then, from Sitka to Kadiak,
we saw nothing of the Fur Seal until we hauled off from Point Greville, and coming down by Ookamok Islet, a squad
of agile "Hollusohickie" suddenly appeared among a school of hump-back whales, sporting in the most extravagant
manner around, under, and even leaping over the wholly indifferent cetacea. From this eastern extremity of Kadiak
Island clear up to the Pribylov group we daily saw them here and there in small bands, or also as lonely voyageurs,
all headed for one goal. We were badly outsailed by them ; indeed, the chorus of a favorite "South Sea pirate's"
song, as incessantly sung on the cutter's " 'tween decks," seemed to have special adaptation to them :
"For they bore down fi-om the ■windwi'ard,
A eailln' seven ^nots to our fonr'n."
The ancient Greeks seemed to have been impressed somewhere by rookery odors, for old Homer says —
"The weh-footed seals forsalce the stormy swell,
And, sleeping in herds, exhale nauseous smell."
Where this illustrious bard sniffed up this characteristic unpleasantness of breeding-seals, I am at loss to say.
The Pribylov Islands and the great Antarctic grounds were as far from that poet then as the moon is from us to-day.
He must have been introduced to it within the confines of the Caspian Sea, or else credibly informed, by trustworthy
authority, of this peculiarity of the large herds of Phoddai in those waters. Small bands, however, of Hair Seals breed
now, as they bred then, in the Mediterranean and Black Seas. He may have stumbled upon a few of them while
provoking his muse in lonely travels over Grecian pelagic shores.
110 NATUEAL HISTORY OF AQUATIC ANIMALS.
its feet, for the moment it appears from within the natal walls it seems to be in full possession of
all its faculties; its eyes are wide open, and its voice is raised in weak, husky bleatings, as it feebly
paddles around, still attached to the umbilical cord, which it, by its own efforts, pulls asunder as
it founders about on the rocks or ground of the rookery. The mother, in the mean time, gives her
oflspring none of that attention so marked in the case of the Ganidce and other carnivores, not even
turning to look at it; but she draws herself up with an expression of intense comfort and relief,
throwing her head back with a gentle, swaying motion, as she fans herself slowly with either one
or both of the hind-flippers. She also pays no attention to the cleansing of her own person, the
afterbirth lying undisturbed by her, it being speedily trampled under foot and ground out of
recognizance by the restless multitudes around her, which pass to and fro. The pup quickly dries
off, with rapid alternations of short naps with awakenings, in which it gets up and on its flippers
to essay brief scrambles over the rocks and ground until, in nosing about, it claims the attention
of its mother (sometimes hours after birth) : this she gives by gently elevating her abdomen and
turning her parts posteriorly, so that one or two of the obscure teats, filled with mDk, can be seized
by the hungry pup, which now nurses therefrom greedily, even to gorging itself.
Milk of the Ftjb Seal.— The milk of the Fur Seal mother is very rich and creamy, and
the secretion is always abundant, but there is not, under any circumstances, the enlarged udder
and mammae peculiar to dogs and similar animals ; the nipples are scarcely distinguishable, even
when exposed to the reach and notice of the young.
Iekegulak feeding of the pups. — The umbilicus of the pup rapidly sloughs off, and the
little fellow grows apace, nursing to-day heartUy in order that he may, perhaps, go the next two,
three, or four days without another drop from the maternal fount; for it is the habit of the mother
Seal to regularly and frequently leave her young, on this spot of its birth, to repair for food in the
sea ; she is absent on these excursions, on account of the fish not coming inshore within a radius
of at least one hundred miles of the breeding-grounds, through intervals varying, as I have said,
from a'single day to three or four, as the case may be. The manner in which she returns after
feeding, and in which she singles out by scent, and at a glance, her own oflspring from many
thousands surrounding it, I have clearly described in a foregoing chapter.^
Preliminary advances of the sexual union. — The pup being born, the cow rapidly passes
into "heat." I have noticed examples where ten hours only elapsed between the event of the birth
and that of copulation, and I doubt not of full impregnation for another period. But as a rule
forty-eight hours is a fair figure to express the time from the birth to the state known as "being
in heat." The cow always makes the first advances to the bull. If she is one of the earlier subjects
for his attention, the union is soon accomplished; but should she be of the later applicants in his
'When the females first come ashore there is no sign of affection manifested, whatever, between the sexes. The
males are surly and morose, and the females entirely indifferent to such reception. They are, however, subjected to
very harsh treatment sometimes in the progress of battles between the males for their possession, and a few of them
are badly bitten and lacerated every season.
One of the cows that arrived at Nah Speel, Saint Paul Island, early in June, 1872, was treated to a cruel mutilation
in this manner, under my eyes. When she had finally landed on the barren roclcs of one of the numerous "Seecatchie"
at the water front of Ihis small rookery, and while I was carefully making a sketch of her graceful outlines, a rival
bull, adjacent, reached out from his station and seized her with his mouth at the nape of the neck, just as a cat lifts
a kitten. At the same instant, almost simultaneously, the old male that was rightfully entitled to her charms, turned,
and caught her in his teeth, by the skin of her posterior dorsal region. There she was, lifted and suspended in mid-air,
between the jaws of her furious rivals, until, in obedience to their powerful struggles, the hide of her back gave
way, and, as a ragged flap of ihe raw skin more than six inches broad and a foot in length was torn up and from her
spine, she passed, with a rush, into the possession of the bull who had covetously seized her. She uttered no cry
during this barbarous treatment, nor did she, when settled again, turn to her torn and bleeding wound to notice it in
any way whatsoever that I could observe.
When severe inflammation takes place, they seek the water, disappearing promptly from your scrutiny.
TflE FUR SEAL: EEPE0DUGTI01»J , 111
harem, after he has been more or less exhausted by the vital drafts made upon him, she must wait.
I have observed instances of this character in which the female teased the male for hours and
hours before arousing him.
Pela&ic coition impossible. — In this act of coition on these breeding-grounds of Saint Paul
and Saint George, I have noticed the fact that, whenever the female was well covered by the
male on the flat or smooth shelves of rock or earth, they moved and shuffled about without any
particular effective coition until brought up againt a rougher inequality, or some fragments of lava
shingle, so characteristic of the rookery grounds. The reason for this is due to the fact, that in
spite of the great weight of the male, six times more than that of the female which he covers, the
orgasms are so rapid and violent that, unless the female is held by some other agency than the
weight of the male, she is literally shoved ahead and away from under him. This fact I call
attention to, as it alone is sufficient, upon the slightest reflection, to satisfy any judicial mind that
it is a physical impossibility for these Seals to copulate in the water. Under no conceivable position
assumed for this supposed pelagic coition could effectual sexual connection be made.^
Action of eepeoduction. — The male serves the female exactly as a big Newfoundland dog
would serve a small terrier slut. The "Seecatchie" draws his heavy body over and upou the out-
stretched spine of the female, who lies prone before him on her stomach; so that when the male
has adjusted himself, which he does by arching his back from the shoulders to the os coccyx, he
covers her so completely that nothing of her body can be seen, except a portion of her head just
peering out from between his fore-flippers and under his broad chest.
Ifotwithstanding their great rapidity and the muscular power employed, the orgasms last,
without interruption, for the surprising space of from eight to fourteen minutes — not a second's
intermission. Of course, toward the close of the season, when the male is tired, he does not remain
in coitu longer than three or four minutes. On account of the vigor and duration of this first
coitus, I am inclined to think that that female has no further intercourse with that male, or any
other one, during the rest of the season. She is satisfied, and passes rapidly out of heat. Certain
it is that she is not noticed by him again; she goes up to his seraglio-grounds, to and from the sea,
seeking her young and feeding undisturbed for the balance of the time; also, that the other bulls
seem to recognize this condition of passed sexual requirement and satisfaction, in her case, by
paying her no attention.
Period op gestation. — Thus it is apparent that the period of gestation in the Fur Seal is
nearly, lacking a few days, twelve calendar months; for the next year finds her again heavy with
young at almost exactly the same day that she gave birth to her previous offspring in the prior
season. The systematic and regular appearance of the females every year upon the Pribylov
Islands at such a time, usually in June or July, without the slightest regard to what the weather
Those extremely heavy adnlt males which arrive first in the season, and take their stations on the rookeries, are
80 fat that they do not exhibit a wrinkle or a fold of the skins enveloping their blubber-lined bodies; most of this
fatty deposit is found around the shoulders and the neck, though a warm coat of blubber covers all the other portions
of the body save the flippers; this blubber thickening of the neck and chest is characteristic of the adult males only,
which are, by its provisions, enabled to sustain the extraordinary protracted fasting periods incident to their habit of
life and reproduction.
When those superlatively fleshy bulls first arrive, a curious body tremor seems to attend every movement which
the animals make on land; their fat appears to ripple backward and forward under their hides, like waves; ,as they
alternate with their flippers in walking, the whole form of the "Seecatchie" shakes as a bowl full of jelly does when
agitated on the table before us.
There is also a perfect uniformity in the coloration of the breeding coats of the Fur Seals; and it is strikingly
manifest while inspecting" the rookeries late in July, when they are solidly massed thereon. At a quarter mile distance,
the whole immense aggregate of animal life seems to be fused into a huge homogeneous body that is alternately roused
up in sections and then composed, just as a quantity of iron filings, covering the bottom of a saucer, will rise and fall,
when a magnet is passed over and around the dish.
112 NATURAL HISTOEY OP AQUATIC ANIMALS.
may have been during the winter and spring previous, or is when they land, establishes without
doubt this exact limit of their gestation.
Impoetancb of this service. — The reason why I dwell upon these details is because
they have a very important bearing upon the question as to what ratio of males every year is
needed for service on this great breeding-ground of Bering Sea. If the common opinion, hitherto
entertained, was tenable, of free and effective pelagic coition, then it will be readily understood
that nearly all the males from four years up, and on, could have easy access to the females; and
that it would be a matter of very small concern how many old males, or rather those males upon
the land located over the rookeries, were fit for service. But understanding, as I now do, without
a shadow of tenable contradiction, that these "Seecatchie" which receive, fight for, and cover the
females on the rookeries, are the only active fertilizing powers toward the reproduction and
perpetuation of their kind, the importance of my detailed description of the method of coition is
evident; for it shows conclusively that unless we see every year, long prior to the arrival of the
females, a full supply of able-bodied " Seecatchie" holding out upon and located over the rookeries
of Saint Paul and Saint George — unless we see such a number in good condition — we may safely
count upon the fact that danger will arise of imperfect and nugatory fertilization for the coming
year. It will not do to indulge the hope, should a scarcity or diminution of the old males ever
occur, when the rookeries are mapped out in spring, of the deficiency being made good by the
young males which are swimming around everywhere in the water.
Vitality of the male. — I believe that an able-bodied adult " Seecatchie " is capable of
serving well from the 14th June to the 14th July, during which period the height of the breeding
season occurs, one hundred females. If he is, however, as he frequently is, enfeebled by previous
fighting and struggling with other males to hold the station which he has selected and fought for,
it is more than likely that his virility will not extend beyond the proper serving of twenty or thirty
cows. As I have said in another place, I found great difficulty in finding, to my own satisfaction,
a fair number of females as the average to every harem on the rookery.' Some instances occur
where the male treats forty-five or fifty females, owing to the peculiar configuration of the landing
grounds; but most generally, and as the rule, I think fifteen or twenty cows to every bull is a true
computation; hence I do not believe, under any normal circumstances and all normal disad-
vantages, such as fighting involves by weakening the males, that, when the females arrive, there
is the least risk of a single one of them getting back to the water without a perfect and effectual
impregnation. A common opinion was prevalent on the islands among the employes touching this
matter, that, when the female was not instantly covered during her first heat, she went to the
water, cooled off, and on returning, sexual desire never reappeared, and she became a farrow or
barren cow from that time to the end of her natural life. Analogous physiology confutes this
' This striking and accurate average is still further complicated by that unknown distribution of the virgin females
which come up to the rookeries every year for their. first meeting with the virile males. What proportion of them
reach the rear of the breeding-grounds compared with their numbers which are served at the water-line ? I surely am
at fault to say, for they do not leave that tangible evidence which the other older cows do in the forms of their young.
One of the curious contradictions to generally received ideas of the habit of Seals is the fact that the Fur Seal will
not rest either upon snow or ice ; it seems to positively avoid all contact with either of those substances upon which
the Pliooidce wholly, and the Sea Lions to some degree, delight in hauling over. Callorhinus has the warmest of sea]
coats, by all odds, yet it dreads a snowy or an icy bed with as much sincerity as any habitu^ of the tropics can. The
Sea Lions and Hair Seals have often been surprised in sporting, or sleeping on the ice floes of Bering Sea in the spring,
by whalemen while cruising at the edge of the frozen pack, waiting for the channel to open, clear into the Arctic
Oi^ean ; as neither Bumetopias nor Fhoca has any under wool, their sea-jackets are not half as heavy as those peculiar
to the bodies of Fur Seals ; hence in taking personal notice of this odd aversion of the Callorhinus to snow and ice, I
believe that its dislike is one of pure sentimentality rather than one based on physical inability to rest upon as cold
surfaces, for there is not much difference between the water's temperature and that of the snow and ice in the spring —
10° Fahr.j perhaps — ^both cold enough at all events.
THE FUE SEAL.— VITALITY OF MALES. 113
completely; that such warm-blooded, highly-organized creatures should never have a rapid
recurrence of sexual desire, in common with all other animals of their class, until it is gratified
in the u«ual way, is not at all probable, though it may be possible.
Small numbbb of baUrbn females. — To show, however, that a very small proportion of
the myriads of breeding females are barren, I have only to present this illustration, which is happy
in its conclusion, and easily portrayed : Whenever a female ceases to breed she refuses to haul
upon the rookeries; she roams with the " HoUuschickie," or the "Bachelors," growing a third
heavier and marked with corresponding darker tones to her coat, yet still preserving the familiar
pattern of the female, so that she can be picked out quickly by an experienced eye from the old
and young males around her. In driving up every season the "HoUuschickie" to the killing-
groundSf the natives noticed, and pointed out to me, those barren females in the drive, several of
which were secured for my examination and measurement; but the proportion of barren females
is not more than one in a thousand to the "HoUuschickie" with which they consort.
8p
114 NATUEAL HISTOEY OF AQUATIC ANIMALS.
C— THE SIRENIANS Tl SEA-COWS.
By Fredekick W. Tktje.
31. THE AMERICABT MANATEES.
Species of North American Manatees. — The numerous zoologists and travelers -who
have written upon the American Manatees are not agreed as regards the number of existing species.
In the many and oftentimes discordant descrij)tions and observations extant, some see»but the
variations of a single species ; ' others discern two species,^ one of Florida, the other of South and
Central America; and others still are able to distinguish three species, one, as before, in Florida,
but two in South America, a marine and a fluviatile species. I have satisfied myself by examina-
tion of specimens in the National Museum that there are at least two species, and that both occur
within the borders of the United States. Eegarding the Manatee of the upper water-courses of
South America I am still in doubt. In the following pages I shall refer to the southern form,
Trichechus manatus, Linn6, as the South American Manatee, and to the Floridan form, Trichechus
latirostris, (Harlan) True, as the Florida Manatee.
Distribution of the Florida Manatee. — We have, then, upon our coasts two representa-
tives of the Sirenians. The Florida Manatee, the leas-t widely spread species, apparently inhabits
only the Floridan Peninsula and the eastern Gulf States. Eegarding its distribution Mr. Sila-s
Stearns of Peusacola, Fla., contributes the following notes :
"It is generally supposed in Florida and the G-ulf State* that there are very few Manatees in
existence in this country, and that these are to be found in the southern portion of the Florida
Peninsula, in the freshwater rivers, both on the Atilantic and Gulf sides. I have heard of their
being taken or seen in the Myakka Eiver, Peace Creek, Caloosahatchie Eiver, and other small
streams south of Charlotte Harbor and Okeechobee Lake, on the Gulf side, and in the Sainte Lucie
Eiver on the Atlantic side.
"On the Gulf coast (where I am better acquainted) the oldest settlers say that ten, fifteen, or
twenty years ago Manatees were occasionally seen in nearly all the inland waters from Key West
westward to civilization at Pensacola, Mobile, and New Orleans. It is evident that they have
been abundant along the entire Gul^ coast, and probably on the Atlantic as far north as the
Carolinas, for their bones can be found along the shore nearly everywhere that civilization
has not reached.
«' Those generally found in the salt water along sand-beaches are petrified and black. I have
reason to think that there are still scattering individuals all through Florida, for during the
summer of 1880 I saw one in Santa Eosa Sound, some twenty miles east of Pensacola, where there
has been none seen for many years. While landing a sail-boat on the island we surprised the
animal in shoal water and had a fine opportunity to examine it as it swam by into deeper water.
As they are so shy, there may be many more existing in the State than we are aware of, and their
range may include the whole State of Florida."
Mr. Goode informs me that specimens could be taken from time to time in the year 1878 near
Sainte Lucie on Indian Eiver.
' Grav : Cat. Seals and Whales, Brit. Museum, 1866, p. 358, and others. {Manatus australis.)
« Harlan : Journal Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, first series, iii, 1824, pp. 390-394.
THE MANATEES: GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. 115
A writer in the journal "Forest and Stream," of June 11, 1874, under the heading "The
Manatee at Saint Augustine, Fla.," quotes from the Saint Augustine "Press," as follows:
"The Manatee continues her domicile in Bar Creek (Saint Augustine). Fishermen have again
reported it and citizens are anxious to go after it. . . . There are also vague rumors of a very
large animal of the same species having been seen roaming about a place on tlic North Kiver called
Oleander Town. If so, the one is probably the dam and the other the calf that have become sep-
arated. It is also probable that during some of the heavy blows along the coast between here and
Indian Eiver some herd of these animals has become dispersed and these two may have wandered
into our harbor. It will be remembered that two or three years ago a very large one was seen in
this harbor, which came up to the water-battery of the fort, where it remained until pelted by the
boys. Fishermen report them as having been frequently seen in the harbor."
Mr. C. J. Maynard, who has been much in Florida, has recorded some valuable notes on the
distribution of the Florida Manatee. He writes: " This singular animal is found in large numbers
about the inlets of Indian Eiver, and Capt. Dummett informs me that heiias captured specimens
as far north as his place, which is within five miles of the head of the river. I have been informed
by creditable authorities that it is remarkably abundant upon the western coast in the various
rivers and creeks which abound between Tampa Bay and Cape Sable. I have never seen it in
Mosquito or Halifax Lagoons, and am confident that it does not occur there. This species is said
to feed upon the leaves of the mangrove during the night." ^
Dr. von Frantzius stated some years ago, in an essay on the mammals of Costa Kica, that
the Florida Manatee was the only species found, in that country. He writes as follows : " If we
recognize M. latirostris as a separate species; we shall be able to say that only this species is found
on the coast of Costa Eica."^ It is evident, however, that he has confounded the two species, for a
few lines further on he says: "Nearly all the museum specimens arriving in Europe in later years
come from Surinam and belong to the species known as M. latirostris; so far as I know no speci-
mens from the coast of Costa EiCa or from Greytown have ever been sent to Europe. I had but
one opportunity of seeing the Manatees on the shores of the Sarapiqui, and that at a distance.""
This statement is in part erroneous ; a large proportion of the different figures of specimen*
in European museums are those of the southern form, Triohechus manatus.
DisTBiBUTiON OP THE SouTH AMERICAN MANATEE. — The South American Manatee is^
most abundant in the northern part of that continent and in Central America. Its range extends-
much farther north, I believe, than is generally supposed. A skull in the National Museum,,
belonging undoubtedly to this species, was received from Texas in 1855. It would seem that the
animal must occur in some abundance along the Mexican coast. Its range extends on the south at
least as far as the Saint Matthew's Eiver in ferazil.^ Manatees are found in nearly all the rivers
of northern South America, particularly in the Amazon and its tributaries, and in the Orinoco.
Those which are found in the upper water-courses, as has been already stated, are by some regarded
as distinct, and by others as identical with those of the lower regions and the sea.
The Manatee of the West Indies. — A species of Manatee occurs more or less abundantly,
in the West Indies, particularly about Cuba, San Domingo, and Porto Eico, but whether it is-
the Florida or South American species seems not to have been ascertained. It is supposably^.
however, the Florida Manatee.
' MAYNARDy C. J. : Cat. Mammals of Florida. Ex. Bull. Essex Institute, iv, 9-10, 1872, pp. 8-9.
' Von Frantzius : Sangethiere Costa Ricjis, in Wiegmann's Arohiv, xxxv, Jabrg. i, pp. 304-307.
' Loo. olt.
* Prince Maximilian.
116 NATURAL HISTORY OF AQUATIC ANIMALS.
Boundaries of the rangk of Amebican Manatees. — The entire range, therefore, of
the American Manatees extends over about forty-nine degrees of latitude— that is, from 30° north
to 19° south. It is probable, as Mr. Stearns surmises, that the existing species ranged farther
north in former days, and, furthermore, it is not defluitely linown that the southern Manatee does
not extend south of 19° south in Brazil. It is certain, however, as Burmeister distinctly states,
that it is not found on the coast of the Argentine liepublic'
As an instance of the unusual wandering of (probably) the Florida Manatee, it may be noted
that an animal, the description of which fairly portrayed the appearance of that species, was cast
on the coast of Shetland in 1785. It was described by the British zoologist Fleming as probably
being a Ehytina, but this seems very unlikely to one acquainted with the facts of the geographical
range and size of that animal. Gray refers it to his Manatus australis, which includes both the
Florida and South American Manatees. It seems to me that if it was carried across the ocean by
the Gulf Stream, as Gray suggests, itlnost probably "set sail" from the Floridan coast.^
Dr. Leidy has described the teeth of two fossil species, Manatus antiquus^ and Manatus inor-
natws,* from the "phosphate beds" of the Ashley Eiver, South Carolina, showing that, as in the
case of many other American genera, there has been a movement southward in geological time.
Oeigin of the name "Manatee." — I doubt if it is possible to arrive at any satisfactory
conclusion regarding the origin of the name Manatee. Certain it is that it was first used by the
early Spanish and Portuguese explorers. Pietro Martire, who is the first to record the existence
of the animal, in 1500, as I gather from Eamusio's collection. of early voyages, does not give it a
name.' The notes which he gives regarding the animal were probably taken from the original
records of Columbus's fourth voyage, in the midst of the narrative of which they are given.
Oviedo, in 1535, calls it "Manati";* Exquemelin, about 1650, states that the Spanish call it
"Manentine";'' Atkins,in 1735 uses "Manatea"; Gumilla, in 1741, uses "Manati."" The French
writers, beginning with Biet, in 1664, employ the names "Lamantin," "Lamentin" (Condamine,
1745), and "Manaty" (Du Tetre, 1667). The appellation "Manatee" occurs for the first tune, so
far as I am aware, in 1703, in Dampier's account of his voyages round the world. The word in
this form, or as "Majiati," has been used by most English writers. Whether this name, in its
various forms, refers to the peculiar fore-legs of the Manatee or to its means of suckling its young,
can only be decided by the investigations ot philologists more learned and more zealous than
myself.
Diffekbnt names of the Manatee. — Other names for the Manatee occur, most of which
define, as it were, the characteristics of the animal. Such are "Pegebuey," a native Amazonian
name, employed by Acuiia in 1641, and its translations: "Ox Fish," as written by Sloane in his
natural history of Jamaica, in 1725, and " Poisson boeuf," as given by Condamine, in 1667, in his
history of the Antilles. The French name, " Vache marin," and the correspouding English word,
«' Sea-cow," occur in numerous instances in scientific literature. In Guiana the natives use the
name "Cojumero" (Gray). Bellin (1763) alludes to "Lamenum." The term "Petit Lamentin du
nord," used by French writers to distinguish the South American Manatee from the Floridan
species, is, I believe, of later prigin.
'Bukmeistkk: Deaoriptioa physique, R6pub. Argentine, iii, parti, 1879, p. 530.
'Fleming: British Animals, p. 30. Gray: Cat. Seals and Whales, Brit. Museum, 1866, p. 359.
' Leidy, in Proc. Acad. Nat. Sol. Philadelphia, viii, 1856, p. 165.
* Leidy, in Kept. U. S. Geological Survey, 4°, i, 1873, p. 376, pi. xxxvil, figs. 16, 17.
' Oceani Dec. Hispali, 1500, fol., libr. 8, fide Brandt.
» OviEDO : Hist, general de las Indias, 1535, lib. xii, o. 10.
' ExQUEMBLix : Buccaneers of America, English translation, 1684, p. 82.
« Gumilla : El Orinoco lUustrado, 1741,
THE MAISTATEBS: SIZE AND W:BIGHT. 117
Size of the Florida Manatee. — In treating of the size of the American Manatees, it will
be necessary to consider the two species separately, although the adults seem to attain nearly
equal proportions. Harlan gives, as the uiaximum'leugth of the Florida Manatee, eight or ten feet,
but these measurements were not made by himself.' Mr. W. A. Oonklin, director of the Central
Park menagerie, in New York City, gives the following dimensions of a specimen kept alive in that
establishment in 1873: "The following are its absolute dimensions: length, 6 feet 9J inches; cir-
cumference around the body, 4 feet 9 inches; length of flipper, 1 foot; width of same, 4J inches;
width of tail joining body, 1 foot 6f inches; greatest width of tad, 1 loot 8J inches; weight, 450
pounds." ^
I am not aware that any other measurements of the Florida Manatee, under its proper name,
are on record.
Size and weight op the South American Manatee. — The size of the South American
Manatee has been differently estimated by different observers. "This Creature," says Dampier,
" is about the bigness of a Horse, and 10 or 12 foot long. ... 1 have heard that some have
weighed above 1200 L. but I never saw any so large." ^
Stedman, alluding to a Manatee which floated past his encampment on the river Cottica, in
Surinam, says: "This Manatee was exactly sixteen feet long, almost shapeless, being an enormous
lump of fat, tapered back to a fleshy, broad, horizontal tail"^
Smyth and Lowe captured a Manatee in 1835 in Peru, at their encampment at Sarayacu, on
the Ucayali. "We had one opportunity," they relate, "while at this place, of examining a vaca
marina, OT manatee, that was just caught; but, not being' anatomists, are unable to give a scientific
account of it. The animal was seven feet eight inches long from the snout to the tip of the
tail. . . . This was not considered a large one. . . . When the animal was killed, it
took the united strength of at least forty men to drag it up from the water to the town, which they
effected by means of our ropes." ^
In 1872 Dr. Murie published a valuable memoir oi^ tbe South American Manatee, in which he
gives measurements of two specimens which reached London in 1866, fresh but not alive. Tbe
length of one, a young male, from the Maroni Eiver, in Surinam, was forty eight inches or four
feet; that of the second,specimen, a young female, from Porto Eico, sixty-five inches,. or five feet
five inches. In his remarks on these animals. Dr. Murie says: "When studying in the Stuttgart
Museum, I derived much information from Professor Krauss, the able director. Among other
things he mentioned that their'large stuffed specimen of Manatee vvas the mother of our Society's
young male, as attested by Herr Koppler, of Surinam, who transmitted it. The length of the female
mounted skin I ascertained to be 122 inches [ten feet two inches], therefore twice and a half the
length of the young animal possibly six or eight months old. Another stuft'ed male specimen at
Stuttgart measures 94 inches. Both of the above are doubtless stretched to their fullest extent;
still, one is justified in assuming the adult Manatus to be from 9 to 10 feet long."'' Of the weight
of the specimens he remarks: "According to Mr. Greey, the entire carcass of the Zoological
Society's female, when weighed immediately after death on board ship, was 228 lbs. That of the
young male as ascertained by myself was 61 lbs."°
'Harlan: Fauua Americana, 1825, p. 277.
' Conklin: The Manatee at Central Park, iu "Forest and Stream," i, 1874, p. 166.
'Dampier: A New Voyage round !he World, i, 170J, pp. :i3, 34.
■•Stedmak: Narrative of an expedition to Surinam, ii, 1796, p. 175.
'Smyth and Lowe: Journey from Lima to Pa,ra. London, 1856, p. 197.
•Murib: On the form and structure of the Manatee. Transactions Zoological Society of London, viii, 1873, pp.
129-131.
118 IfATURAL HISTORY OF AQUATIC ANIMALS.
Another specimen, a female, received by the same society from Surinam, measured eighty
inches, but no indication of its age is given.' Still another specimen, this time a male, arrived
in London. When dead, measurements showed its length to be ninety-four and five-tenths inches
•or seven feet ten and one-half inches.'*
Of two male Surinam specimens which died in the Zoological Gardens at Philadelphia, one
measured exactly six feot from snout to tip of tail, the other six and a half feet.'
General Thomas Jordan, writing in "Forest and Stream," in 1873, says: " Three of these huge
mammals.I saw on Indian River, in 1849-'50, each weighing at least fifteen hundred pounds, and
between fifteen and twenty feet in length." He adds: "The Florida species {T. latirostris) are
much larger than those found in the Antilles, South America, or Africa."* This last statement can
scarcely be strictly correct. Other writers, as we have seen, have found quite as large specimens
as those here referred to in South America.
Breeding habits of Manatees. — In relation to the breeding of Manatees, and the size and
habits of the young, almost nothing is known. Ogilby, in his account of Cuba, says: "No less'
wonderful is the Fish Manate; it breeds for the most part in the Sea, yet sometimes swimming up
the Rivers, comes ashore and eats G»ass."^ '
This account, however, is of little value, as it was copied by Ogilby, who does not state
whence he derived it. Du Tertre states that two calves are born at a time. " If the mother is
taken," he writes, "one is assured of having the young: for they follow their mother and continue
to move about the canoe until they are made companions of her misfortuDe."^
Descourtlitz, writing regarding his own observations in 1809, says: "The Manatees possess a
gentle and amiable nature, and lament when they are separated from their young, which the
mother nourishes with much tenderness. They appear sensitive and intelligent; they weep when
they are taken without having received any bad treatment, seeming to regret that they can never
return to their haunts. Although sometimes they appear to avoid man, at other times they regard
him without suspicion and seem to implore his pity. The young do not quit the mother for many
years, and, sharing her dangers, often become the victims of their filial devotion."''
Brandt, who has examined much of the literature of the subject, states that it is said that the
period of gestation lasts eleven months, and that the young follow the mother a half year.'
Food of Sieenians. — The Sirenians, as a group, are very strictly graminivorous, and the
American Manatees form no exception. The structure of their lips and teeth is such that this fact
might be surmised were nothing known of their habits. Living as they do at the mouths of rivers
and about the coast, or in the upper waters of streams, they find no lack of aquatic vegetation on
which to subsist. Exactly what plants they thrive best upon has been the subject of inquiry by
several observers, especially those who have been interested in the attempt to keep the Manatee in
captivity. Mr. Chapman informs us that the specimen at the Philadelphia gardens ate freely of
various garden vegetables — cabbage, celery tops, spinach, kale, baked apples, and others, while
they devoured as well quantities of the aquatic plant Vallineria spiralis, and the sea-weed Ulva
latissima.' The Central Park specimen seems to have been more dainty. "A variety of aquatic
'Garrod: Transactions Zoological Society of London, x, 1877, p. 137.
'Mukib: Transactions Zoological Society of London, xi, 1880, p. 27.
^Chapman: Pioc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, xxvii, 1875, p. 452.
■•Forest and Stream, i, 1873, p. 169.
"Ogilby: America, 1671, p. .315.
6Du Tbktre: Histoire Nat. des Antilles, 1667, pp. 201,202.
'Descourtlitz: Voyage d'nu Naturaliste, ii, 1809, pp. 274,275.
'Brandt: SymbolsB Sirenologicse, faso. iii, 1861-68, p. 256.
^Chapman, H. C, in Proo. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, xxvii, 1875, pp. 459-461.
THE MANATEES: FOOD. 119
plants were placed before its mouth," says Mr. Conklin, "and each in turn rejected. At lengtli
some canna, Carina indica, was procured, which it devoured greedily, and which it continues to use
alternately with sea- weed, Fuciis vesiculosus, obtained in the East lliver."' The process of eating
takes place under water, which seems strange, in view of the fact that the animal cannot breathe
while therein engaged.
Dr, Murie thus interestingly narrates the feeding habits of the Manatee at the London
Zoological Gardens in 1878: "On first arrival at the aquarium, cabbage, lettuce, watercress,
pieces of carrot and turnip, loose and bundles of hay, and quantities of pond-weed were put into
the tank, both floating and sunk by weights attached. Occasionally it would sniff or examine
these by snoxit and lips without chewing or swallowing, until its appetite returned as above
mentioned. It then showed a preference to water-cress, though often taking cabbage, but after-
wards it chose lettuce, and entirely eschewed the others. When in the height of health it consumed,
according to Mr. Carrington, from ninety to one hundred and twelve pounds of green food daily.
As lettuce became scarce and dear it cost ten shillings a day to supply it with the French sort; and
although cabbage, etc., was then cheap and abundant, it daintily chose the former, and as steadily
avoided and refused the latter."*
Early allusions to the habits of the American Manatees:, By Columbus. —
What relates to the food of the Manatee in the writings of travelers and explorers is so connected
with observations on its habits in general, that I may be pardoned for not withdrawing the facts
for insertion in the previous paragraph. We shall find in reviewing the various accounts of the
Habits of Sea-cows that there is not always a harmony of statements, #nd it will be necessary to
1.00k with a critical eye upon the narratives of some of the earlier voyagers, who seem to have been
a little confused sometimes by the unfamiliar. phenomena with which they were surrounded.
The fiist apparent reference to the American Manatees in literature appears to be that in the
narrative of Columbus's first voyage, at the stage of his first departure for Spain, in 1493. Taking
up the thread of the narrative as given by Herrara, we read as follows :
" Wednesday the ninth ot January, he hoised sail, came to Punta Eoxa, or Eed Point, which is
thirty-six Leagues East of Monte Gliristo, and there they took Tortoises as big as bucklers, as they
went to lay their eggs ashore. The Admiral [ColumbusJ afflrm'd he had thereabouts seen three
Mermaids, that rais'd themselves far above the Water, and that they were not so handsome as they
are painted, that they had something like a human Face, and that he had seen others on the Coast
of Guinea."^
The probability of the. fact that, the mermaids here referred to were really Manatees is in
Columbus's statement of having seen others on the coast of Guinea, as it is in that region that the
African Manatee, T. senegalensis, is abundant. Not many years later, in 1502, on the occasion of
Columbus's fourth voyage to America, the Manatee became well known to the adventurers while
at San Domingo. Oviedo, as quoted by Herrara, says:
"The Spaniards at this Time found a new sort of Fish, which was a considerable advantage to
them: tho' in those parts there is much Variety. It is call'd Manati, in shape like a skin they use
to carry Wine in, having only two Feet at the Shouldars, with which it swims, and it is found both
in the Sea and in Rivers. Prom the Middle it sharpens off to the Tail, the Head of it is like that
of an Ox, but shorter, and more fleshy at the Snout; the Eyes small, the Colour of it grey, the Skin
very hard, and some scattering Hairs on it. Some of them are twenty Foot long, and ten in Thick-
' Conklin, iu Forest and Stream, i, 1874, p. 166.
" MuiUE, in Trans. Zoological Society London, xi, 1880, pp. 22, ^3.
'Hekraka (Stevens): Hist. America, i, 1725, p. 8iJ.
120 NATURAL HISTORY OF AQUATIC ANIMALS.
ness. The Feet are roand, and have four Claws on each of them. The Females bring forth like
the Cows, and have two Dugs to give suck. . . . Sometimes they are taken ashore, grazing
near the Sea, or Rivers, and when > oung they are taken with Nets." '
Then follows the oft repeated story of the tame Manatee of the Cazique Carametex:
"Thus the Cazique Carametex took one, and fed it twenty-six Tears in a Pond, and it grew
sensible and tame, and would come when call'd by the name ofMato, which signifies Noble. It
would eat whatsoever was given it by Hand, and went out of the Water to feed in the House,
would play with the Boys, let them get upon him, was pleas'd with Musick, carry'd Men over the
Pool, and took up ten at a Time, without any Difficulty."^
Fathee AcuNA upon the "Pegebijet." — In the fourth decade of the succeeding century
Father Acuila, in narrating his adventures on the Amazon River, makes mention of the South
American Manatee somewhat at length. Among other things he says: "But above all, the fish,
that like a king lords it over all the others, and which inhabits this river from its sources to its
mouth, is the Fegebttey (Fish Ox), a flsh which when tasted only can retain the name, for no one
could distinguish it from well-seasoned meat. It is large as a calf a year and a half old, but on its
head it has neither ears nor horns. . . . This fish supports itself solely on the herbage on
which it browses, as if in reality a bullock; and from this circumstance the flesh derives so good
a flavour, and is so nutritious, that a small quantity leaves a person better satisfied and more
vigorous than if he had eaten double the amount of mutton. It cannot keep its breath long
under water; and thus, as it goes along, it rises up every now and then to obtain more air, when
it meets with total destruigtion the moment it comes in sight of its enemy.'"
Rochefoet upon the habits of the Antillean Manatee. — After Oviedo, Gomara, and
Acuiia no one seems to have added any new facts, or supposably new facts, to the history of the
habits of the Manatees until Hernandez and Rochefort published their narratives. The work of
the former I have not had at command, but from F. Cuvier's notes it would seem that it contains
nothing of importance. Rochefort, the second edition of whose work on the Antilles was pub-
lished in 1665, gives the following information: "This fish feeds upon plants which it collects
about the rocks and on the shallows which are not covered with more than a fathom {brasse) of
water. The females breed at the same season as do cows, and have two mammae with which they
suckle their young. Two calves are born at a birth, which are not adandoned by the mother until
they have no more need of special nourishment, or until they can browse upon plants like the
mother."*
15. Biet's and Du Tbetee's accounts.— Biet repeat^ these observations, although it is to
be believed independently, saying that the Manatee roams about the shores near the sea browsing
on the plants which grow there.'
Du Tertre in effect repeats the little that his predecessors have laid down, but adds some
additional observations which are interesting if sufficiently substantiated. "The food of this
fish," he says, "is a little plant which grows in the sea, and on this it browses after the manner of
an ox. After being filled with this food it seeks the fresh-water streams, where it drinks and
bathes twice a day. Having eaten and been refreshed it goes to sleep (s'endort) with its snout
half out of water, a sign by which its presence is recognized by the fishers from afar."«
'Herraka (Stevens): History of America, i, 1T25, p. '27H.
i'HEURARA (Stevens): History of America, i, 1725, p. 279.
'CiiRlSTOVAi, DE AcuSi : Eiver of the Amazons 1641, pp. 68-99. (Hakluyt Soaietji.)
iRochbfokt: Histoire des lies Antilles, 2d ed., 1665, pp. 194,195.
«BiET: Voyage en I'Isle de Cayenne, 1664, p. 346.
«Du Tbkthe : Hist. g6n6rale des Antilles, 1667, p. 200.
THE MANATEES: HABITS. 121
The buccaneer Exquemelin's account. — Only a few years later we find the buccaneers
making fair use of the Manatee in replenishing their oftentimes empty larders, and, in the interval
of slaughtering the defenseless Indians and colonists, one of these hardy pirates finds time to
record some observatiotis regarding the animal. After the destruction of Panama, in 1670,
Bxquemelin and his companions sail along the coast of Costa Eica, en route for Jamaica. He
alludes to the Sea-cow in the following language:
"This Accident and Encounter retarded our Journey, in the space of two days, more than we
could regain in a whole Fortnight. This was the occasion that obliged us to return unto our
former Station, where wb remained for a fow days. From thence we directed our Course for a
Place, called Boca del Dragon, there to make Provisions of Flesh. Especially of a certain Animal
which the Spaniards call Manentines, and the Dutch, Sea Cows, because the Head, Nose, and
Teeth, of this Beast, are very like unto those of a Cow. They are found commonly in such
places, as under the depth of the Waters, are yery full of Grass, on whicb, it is thought, they
do pasture. . . . Their manner of engendering likewise, is the same with the usual manner
of the Land-Cow, the Male of this kind being in similitude, almost one and the same thing with
a Bull. Yet notwithstanding they conceive and breed but once. But the space of time that they
go with Calf, I could not as yet learn. These Fishes have the sense of Hearing extremely acute,
in so much as in taking them, the Fishermen ought not to n^ake the least noise, nor row,
unless it be very slightly." '
The buccaneer seems to have gathered correct information as to the mode of life of the
Manatee, but as to their breeding but once, although, as I believe, we have no facts to disprove
the statement, analogical considerations would lead us to reject it.
Condamine's account. — Coudamine is, perhaps, the only other early writer to whom it will
be necessary to refer. He alludes to the South American Manatee among other fish, in which
group of animals all the early eiplorers insisted in placing it. " It is not amphibious, properly
speaking," he says, "because it never comes entirely out of the water, and cannot walk, not having
but the two fins near the head, in the form of wings 16 inches long, which serve in place of arms
and feet; it lifts only the head out of the water, and that to gather the plants along the shore."
In regard to the habits of Manatees in confinement, I can only quote from the writings of the
American and English observers who have had the opportunity to study the specimens in the Phila-
delphia, New York,, and London zoological gardens. Of the Central Park specimen Mr. Conklin
states: "It manifests at times extreme playfulness, and will answer the call of the keeper by a
peculiar noise, somewhat resembling the squeak of a mouse. Some time ago the epidermis on the
back peeled off in small pieces, leaving a bright new skin similar to that of a snake just after shed-
ding. It was kept out in the open air until the thermometer fell to 53°, when it was removed to
a building. It appears to be very sensitive to cold, curling up its back if the water is in the least
chilly. It has been observed to remain under water five or six minutes at a time without coming
tq the surface to breathe."^
Miss Crane's observations. — Miss Agnes Crane, who attentively observed the South
American Manatees at the Brighton Aquarium in 1879, has given us some interesting facts
regarding the mode of respiration of the Sireuians and their attitudes when at rest. After stating
that the specimens were received from Triuidad, she says:
"The young male, a fine animal in robust condition, measured, in November, 1879, four feet
ten inches from snout to tail, with a maximum girth of four feet. The female was four feet eight
'Exquemelin: Buccaneers of America, English translation, 1684, pp. 82,83.
'Conklin, in Forest d,nd Stream, i, 1«73, p. 166.
122 NATURAL niSTORY OF AQUATIC ANIMALS.
inches in length, of a lighter slate-colour than her companion, of more slender build and proportions.
Both are marked with white on the under sides of their bodies. The pair occupied a tank twelve
feet six inches in length by eight feet six inches in breadth, with an almost flat bottom. Temper-
ature of waterj about 70° F. : depth, two leet six inches in the daytime, reduced to six inches
at night. The water is run off daily, a fresh supply being admitted at the requisite heat from a
neighboring tank filled with warmed fresh water. Although the area of these quarters appear
somewhat limited when compared with the bulk of the animals, the Manatees seem perfectly
comfortable, and, being of a sluggish disposition, rarely explore the whole of their small domain.
Nor do they, so far as I observed, avail themselves of the shallowness of the water and, by sup-
porting their bodies on the tail-fin, keep their heads above the surface and avoid the constant
repetition of the upward movement in order to breathe the necessary air. They habitually rest
side by side at the bottom of the tank, with the caudal fin stretched out quite straight, and the
tips of the fore fins just touching the ground.
"Thence they rise gently, often with the least perceptible movement of the tail and flapping
motion of the paddles, raising the upper part of the body until the head reaches the surface, when
the air is admitted through the nostril flap-valves, which are closely shut after the operation, and
the original and usual position is gently resumed. They seem generally to be compelled to rise to
the surface for aerial respiration every two or three minutes, but the interval between respiration
varies much at different times. In one quarter of an hour, during which one was carefully timed,
it rose nine times, at very irregular intervals. I have been informed that they occasionally remain
under the water for a much longer period, but have never observed them to exceed six minutes,
although I have timed them before and after feeding, and at all hours of the day. The respiratory
movement appears to be repeated almost mechanically and without effort."'
The fact that these Manatees in confinement kept constantly beneath the surface does not
accord with the observations of Du Tertre, already quoted. It is probable that the air about the
aquarium was not sufficiently warm to induce them to float with the head out of water, as they do
in their native haunts. The name observer furnishes some facts of a highly important character
regarding the attemjjts made by the Manatees at terrestrial progression.
"The habits of the animals in captivity, while affording occasional evidence of the ease and
rapidity with which they move in the water, do not furnish much support to the views of their
capability of habitual active progression on land. Tet it must be admitted that, supplied with a
sufQciency of nicely varied food, they have no inducement to leave the water, and that the con-
struction of their straight-walled tank precludes such efforts, as a rule. The male, however, has
recently been observed to make some slight attempts at terrestiial movement, turning himself
round and progressing a few inches when his tank was empty. With jaws and tail-fin pressed
closely to the ground, the body of the animal becomes arched, and is moved by a violent lateral
effort, aided and slightly supported by the fore-paddles, which are stretched out in a line with the
mouth. But the effect of these very labored efforts was not commensurate with their violence; in
fact, their relation to active locomotion may Tje compared to those of a man lying prone, with
fettered feet and elbows tied to side. Nor does the Manatee seem at all at ease out of water, as he
lies apparently oppressed with his own bulk, while he invariably makes oft' to the deepest corner
of his tank directly the water is readmitted."^
Abundance of the Florida Manatee. — In the great struggle for life no animal is, in a man-
ner, more destructive than man himself. The fierce carnivora may prey upon the more peaceful
'Crane, Agnes, iu Proo. Zoological Society of London, 1880, jip. 456-457.
"ioc. cit., pp. 459, 4t)0.
THE MANATEES: ABUNDANCE. 123
graminivora, but the attack must be made, one may say, in person, subject to all the dangers
attendant upon an encounter with those weapons which a lonj^ course of selection has developed
in the prey. Man ensnares .alike the lion and the deer by the devices of his brain, with little or no
danger to himself. Notwithstanding, the fleetest animals oftentimes escape him and the strongest
intimidate him; but sucli drowsy beasts as the Sirenians fall helpless victims to bis strategy. The
past century witnessed the extinction of one of these animals, the Ehytina, through no other
apparent agent than man. The inquiry intrudes itself, Will the Manatees succumb to the same
fate which overtook their huge relative?
It is undoubtedly a fact that the American Manatees are much less abundant in many regions
than they were at the time of the discovery of America. They have withdrawn before the advance
Of civilization into the more inac6e88ible places out of the reach of man.
In regard to the Floridan Manatee, the statement of Harlan (who obtained it from Dr. furrows),
made so late as 1825, namely, that an Indian could readily obtain a dozen in a year,' is now doubt-
fully true. The statements of Mr. Stearns, given in the early part of this essay, show that it has
disappeared from some localities in Florida within a comparatively recent period. Nevertheless,
the Florida Manatee cannot yet be considered as threatened with extinction, and in Southwestern
Florida, if we may believe Mr. Maynard, is still abundant. Specimens are received from time to
time for our museums and zoological gardens, and to satisfy the curiosity of the gaping crowds at
the circus. The prices obtained for specimens of both American Manatees in this coun^'y and in
England show, however, that they are not to be obtained without difficulty.*
Gundiach refers to the abundance of the Manatee in Cuba in the following t**rms: " In former
tilnes very abundant; at present much reduced in numbers, but not rare though difficult to capture.'"
According to Dr. Von Frantzius, the South American Manatee was abundant along the western
shores of the Gulf of Mexico, especially in Costa Eica. " They are still very common," he says,
"along the Atlantic coast, where they find abundant nourishment in the numerous lagoons {Saff-
bildungen), and likewise the needed i)rotection ; they pass into the rivers and are found abundantly
in San Juan and neighboring streams, the Rio Colorado, Sarapiqui, and San Carlos. Apparently
they are prevented from going tar into the San Carlos on account of the rapids which occur near
its mouth, and lience are not found in the Rio Frio nor in Lake Nicaragua itself."*
Abundance of the South American Manatee. — In relation to the present abundance
of Manatees in South America, it is perhaps unne(!essary for me to enter into details here.
Brandt has reviewed the subject at length quite recently, giving many particulars.^ His investi-
gations show that in many regions, particularly about the mouths of rivers and in other places
where sufficient shelter is wanting, the Sea-cows are disappearing or have become entirely extinct.
In the upper waters of the rivers, however, where the native Indians are few and civilization has
not reached, little diminution is i)robable.
Probability of extinction. — Putting all the' facts together, it seems evident that not many
45enturie8 will pass before Manatees will be extremely rare, especially in our own country. More
specimens should be accumulated in our museums, both of the entire animal and of its bones, and
its wanton destruction should cease.
Modes op captuIib. — The methods of capturing Manatees are numerous. In Florida, Mr.
Goode informs me, strong rope nets, with large mesh, are oiten employed. The details of thi«
' Haklan : Fauna Anieiicaua, 1825, i>. 277.
'Trans. Zoological Society Londou, xi, 1880, p. 21. Edwards' Guide to Florida, 1875, p. 69.
'Gundlach: Revist.a y Cat.de los Mamiferos cubanos. Repertu Flsico-uat. de Cuba, ii, no. 2, 186G, p. 56.
■•Vox Fhantzids : Siingetbiore Costa Ricas. Archiv fiir Naturgeschiohte, xxxv, i, 1868 (?), pp. 304-307.
'Brandt: Symbolas Sireuolpglcaj, fasc. iii, 1861-68, p. 253.
124 NATURAL HISTORY OF AQUATIC ANIMALS.
method are given iu the notes of an observer, Mr. J. Francis Le Baron, writing from Titnsville in 1880.
His account of the fishery, given with much fullness, bears all the evidences of correctness. I may
be allowed to quote the part which pertains to my subject : " The manatee hunter aims to catch
the animal alive, and for this purpose quite an extensive outfit is required. It consists, first, of a
large seine net, about one hundred yards long and six or eight feet wide, made of ' spun yarn,' so
called, which consists of three or four rope yarns spun into one line, about the size of a (Jothes-
line, and very strong. The meshes are fifteen inches wide. The head-line consists of a strong
rope, and floats made of wood, shaped like a double-ended boat, are placed at intervals along this
to keep the top of the net near the surface of the water. The bottom is weighted with small
pieces of brick or stone, just enough to cause the net to hang perpendicularly in the water. A
large sail-boat is also required. The hunter, taking the net in the boat, proceeds quietly to the
part of the river frequented by the manatee, and keeps a sharp lookout for the animals, which
have a habit of passing up and down the river by certain points. If the lookout perceives a
manatee in the river above him he knows that sooner or later the animal will take a cruise down
the river, and he proceeds accordingly to stretch his net across the channel. One end of the net he
first makes fast to a small bush or twig, or, if no tree is available, to a stake driven for the purpose
into the bank. To this the shore end of the net is fastened bj' a small cord secured to the head-
line, and the stake or bush before mentioned, care being taken to use a cord so small that in its
struggles it will be easily broken by the animal, for a reason which will appear hereafter. The
boat is then rowed across the stream with the other end of the net, and when the latter is stretched
to its full length, the boat is anchored and the net secured by a similar easily broken cord to the
boat in such a manner that the first struggle of the animal will be felt by the occupants of the boat,
being communicated by the cord to a tell-tale, or the cord is fastened to the body of one of the
hunters, who now go to sleep if night has come on, or perhaps while away the time by a game of
cards, keeping perfectly quiet. There are very likely several manatee in the river, and before long
one attempts to pass by the boat. His progress is of course arrested by the net, and his struggles
to force a passage are at once communicated by the tell-tale cord. Unsuccessful in his first attempt
to effect a passage, the manatee increases his efforts, and the result is that the slender cords holding
the net to the shore and the boat are broken, and the net with the manatee entangled drifts away
with the current. The frantic efforts of the animal only serve to closer enwind him in the meshes
of the net, which doubles and wraps itself around him closer and closer. It is now that the objects
of the light sinkers and slender holding cords are apparent, The manatee is a warmblooded
animal and must come to the surface for air every few minutes. If the sinkers are too heavy, or if
the net is immovable in the water, he is unable to do this and is drowned. The large floats serve
now to show the hunters the location of the prey, and they bear down upon it and tow it with the
confined animal into shoal water. Here a large box or tank is ready. The net is unwound, ropes
are placed around the animal, and by the united efforts of the hunters, he is transferred to the box.
The box is then towed to the ' crawl,' which is an inclosure formed by driving stakeis close together
in the water with their tops projecting several feet above, and is generally near the home of the
hunters. The box is floated into the crawl and the animal let out. He is there kept and fed daily
until an opportunity occurs for shipment. This is made in the same large box, which is water-
tight and about half filled with water, Such is the method employed by the Indian River hunters
for catching the manatee alive. It is, however, often shot with a rifle, from the shore or a boat,
when feeding or coming to the surface to breathe, but the hunter must be very quick and expert
with his weapon, as they show only one-third of the head, and that only for a second. The profits
of manatee hunting are large. The skeleton, if properly cleaned, will readily bring a hundred
THE MANATEES: MODES OF CAPTURE. 125
dollars, and the skin a like sum if taken oft' whole, being in demand by scientists for museums all
over the world." '
"So valuable an animal," says Wood, alluding more particularly to the South American
Manatee, "is subject to great persecution on the part of the natives, who display great activity,
skill, and courage in the pursuit of their amphibious quarry. The skin of the Manatee is so thick
and strong that the wretched steel of which their weapons are composed — the 'machetes' or sword-
knives, with which they are almost universally armed, being sold in England for three shillings
and six pence per dozen — is quite unable to penetrate the tough hide. Nothing is so efl'ectual
a weapon for this service as a common English three-cornered file, which is fastened to a spear-
shaft, and pierces through the tough hide with the greatest ease.'"
Many of the early explorers give lively accounts of the manatee fishery in South America.
" Diners other fishes," says Oviedo, in alluding to the fishes of the Orinoco Eiver, as quaintly
translated by Pnrchas, " both great and small,, of sundrie sorts and kinds, are accustomed to follow
the ships going vnder saile, of the which I will speak somewhat when I have written of Manatee,
which is the third of the three whereof I have promised to entreat. Manatee, therefore, is a fish
of the sea, of the biggest sort, and much greater than the Tiburon in length and breadth, and is
very brutish and vile, so that it appeareth in forme like vnto one of those great vesseis»made of
Goats skins, wherein they vse to carry new wine in Medina de Gampo or in Arenale : the head of
this beast is like the head of an Oxe, with also like eyes, and hath in the place of armes, two great
stumps wherewith he swimmeth. It is a very gentle and tame beast, and commeth oftentimes out
of the water to the next shoare, where if he finde any herbes or grasse, he feedeth thereof. Our
men are accustomed to kill many of these, and diners other good fishes, with their Crosse-bowes,
pursuing them in Barkes or Canoas, bec'kuse j:hey swim in manner aboue the water, the which
thing when they see, they draw them with a hooke tyed at a small corde, but somewhat strong.
As the fish fleeth away. Archer letteth goe, and proloiigeth the corde by little and little, vntill he
have let it goe many fathoms: at the end of the corde, there is tyed a corke, or a piece of light
wood, and when the fish is gone a little way, and hath coloured the water with his bloud, and
feeleth himselfe to faint and draw toward the end of his life, he lesorteth to the shoare, and, the
Archer foUoweth, gathering vj) his corde, whereof while there yet remaine sixe or eight fathoms
or somewhat more or lesse, he draweth it toward the Land, and draweth the fish therewith by
little and little, as the wanes of the Sea helpe him to doe it the more easily : then with the helpe of
the reste of his companie, he lifteth this great beast out of the Water to the Land, being of such
bignesse, that to convey it frpm thence to the Citie, it shall be requisite to haue a Cart with a good
yoke of Oxen, and sometimes more, according as these fishes are of bignesse, some being much
greater then other some in the same kinde, as is scene of other beasts : Sometimes they lift these
fishes into the Canoa or Barke without drawing them to the Land as before, for as soone as they
are slaine, they flote aboue the water : And I beleeue verily that this fish is one of the best in the
world to the taste, and the likest vnto flesh, especially so like vnto beefe, that who so hath not
scene it whole, can iudge it to be nother when hee seeth it in pieces then very Beefe or Veale, and
is certainly so like vnto flesh, that all the men in the world may herein be deceiued : the taste
likewise, is like unto the taste of very good Veale, and lasteth long, if it be powdred: so that in
fine, the Beefe of these parts is by no means like vnto this. The Manatee hath a certaine stone, or
rather bone in his head within the' braine which is of qnalitie greatly aj)propriate against the
disease of the stone, if it be burnt and ground into small powder, and taken fasting in the morning
' Le Baron: In Forest and Stream, xiii, 1880, p. 1005, lOOG.
■^WooD: lUusfrated Natural History. Mammals, p. 548.
126 TiTATUEAL HISTOEY OF AQUATIC ANIMALS.
when the paine is felt, in such quantities as may lye vpon a peny with a draught of good white
wine. For being thus taken three or foure mornings it acquieteeth the griefe, as diuers hauo told
me which haue proved it true, and I my selfe by testimonie of sight doe witnesse that I have seen
this stone sought of divers for this effect." '
Du Tertre, whose narrative we have already several times quoted, gives an account of the
mode of capture, which has all the tokens of accuracy. He writes :
" Three or four men go in a small canoe (which is a small boat, all of one piece, made of a single
tree in the form of a canoe). The oarsman is at the back of the canoe and dips the blade of his
paddle right and left in the water in such a way that he not only governs the course of the canoe
but makes it advance as swiftly as if it were propelled by a light wind or under reef. The Vareur
(who lances the beast) stands on a small plank at the bow of the canoe holding the lance in his
hand (that is to say, a sort of spear, at the end of which a harpoon or javelin of Iron is fastened).
The third man, in the middle of the canoe, arranges the line, which is attached in order to be paid
out when the animal is struck.
"All keep a profound silence, for the hearing of this animal is so acute that the least noise
of water against the canoe is sufllcient to cause it to take flight and frustrate the bopes of the
fishers. There is much enjoyment in watching them, for the harpooner is fearful lest the animal
escape him, and continually imagines that the oarsman is not employing half his force, although
he does all that he is able with this arms and never turns his eyes from the harpoon, with the point
of which the harpooner points out the course he must follow to reach the animal, which lies asleep.
" When the canoe is three or four paces away the harpooner strikes a blow with all his force
and drives the harpoon at least half a foot into the flesh of the animal. The staff falls into the water,
but the harpoon remains attached to the animal, which'is already half caiight. When the animal
feels itself thus rudely struck it collects all its forces and employs them for its safety. It plunges
like a horse let loose, beats the billows as a negro beats the air, and makes the sea foam as it
passes. It thinks to escape its enemy, but drags him everywhere after it so that one might take
the harpooner for a Neptune led in triumph by this marine monster. Finally, after having dragged
its misfortune after it, and having lost a great part of its blood, its power fails, its breath gives out,
and being reduced to distress, it is constrained to stop short in order to take a little rest ; but it
no sooner stops than the harpooner draws in the line and strikes it a second blow with a harpoon
better aimed and more forcibly thrown than the first. At this second blow the animal makes a
fiew more feeble efforts, but is soon reduced to extremities, and the fishermen readily drag it to the
shore of the nearest island, where they place it in their canoe, if the latter is of sufficient size."*
Barbot, after quoting the account of the fishery by AcuDa, in the quaint translation which I
shall quote on a following page, adds some valuable notes on the commercial transactions which
are carried on in connection with salted Manatee meat. He says:
"The ManatVs flesh used at Cayenne is brought ready salted from the river of the Amazons;
several of the principal inhabitants sending the barks and brigantines thither with men and salt
to buy it of the Indians for beads, knives, white hats of a low price, some linen, toys, and iron
tools. When those vessels are enter'd the river of the Amazons, the Indians, who always follow
the Manati fishery, go aboard, take the salt, and with it run up the river in canoes or Piraguas to
catch the ManaWs ; which they cut in pieces, and salt as taken, returning with that salt fish to the
brigantines; which go not up, because the Portuguese who dwell to the eastward, at Para, and
other places of Brazil, claim the sovereignty of the north side of that river, and give no quarter
'Purchashis Pilgrimes, iii, 1625, pp. 987, 988.
»Du Tbrtrb : Histoire des Antilles, ii, 1667, pp. 800, 201.
THE MANATEES: CAPTUEB. 127
to the French or other Europeans they can take in their liberties, which has occasion'd manj
disputes and quarrels between them, as I shall observe hereafter.
"That controversy was decided by the treaty of Utrecht, in the year 1713. The Fortttguese
some years since designing to settle on the west side of the Amazons, cruelly massacred many, whp
before used to go unmolested, and consequently mistrusting no danger.
"The brigantines having got their lading of salted Manati, return to Cayenne, and sell it there,
commonly at three pence a pound."'
"The flesh of the Manatee being much esteemed," writes Descourtlitz, in 1809, from his own
observations, "and its fat never becoming rancid, the negroes employ many means to destroy
them, sometimes by the use of nets, in the places where they feed, sometimes by shooting them
from canoes; more commonly they harpoon them when they are able to approach sufficiently
near, but as the animal, although seriously wounded, does not die immediately, they let out a cord
in order not to lose so precious a prey, which one sees reappear at the surface of the water, drowned
and lifeless.""
Products pubnishbd by Manatees. — The Sirenians possess the quality, most fatal to
them, of furnishing palatable food for man. The lauge Sea-cow of Bering Sea disappeared from
this cause, and the Dugong, the Sirenian of the Indian Ocean, and the Manatees suffer not less on
the same account. For the Indian of South America the Manatee is a fund of wealth. On its
flesh he subsists, with its oil he anoints himself, from its skin he makes shields and cords, in its
bones he finds medicine. The early explorers werci not long in discovering its virtues. Herrara
gathers the fpUowing estimate of its importance from th«ir accounts of America:
"The Taste of it is beyond Fish: when fresh it is like Veal, and salted like Tunny-Fish, but
better, and will keep longer: the Fat of it is sweet, and does not grow rusty. Leather for Shoes
is dress'd with it. The Stones it has in the head^ are good against the Pleurisy and the Stone."*
Eochefort is not less impressed with the good qualities of the animal. He exclaims: "Among
all the fishes there is none having so good flesh as the Lamantin. Two or three of these beasts
will fill a large canoe, and the flesh is like that of a land animal, firm, pink and a])petizing, and
mixed with fat, which being rendered never becomes rancid. When it has been two or three days
in pickle, it is better for the health than when eaten entirely fresh." ^ He Also gives some very
good advice in regard to the use of the ear bones for medicine. "The superstitious," he says, "lay
great store by the stones which are found in the head, because they possess the power, they say,
when reduced to powder, to stop the formation of calcareous deposits, and to remove those already
formed; but, since the remedy is very violent, no one ought to use it without the advice of a wise
and experienced physician."^
Biet mentions the Manatee first in his list of the fishes [sic] of the He de Cayenne. Alluding
to the flesh, ho says: "It is very excellent, and although one may have other provisions, it will be
preferred to beef. Its fat, also, is as sweet as butter, and can be used to advantage in, all kinds of
pastry, fricasees, and soups."'
Barbot seems to have summed up all that was known of the Manatee of South America up to
his time, earlyiu the eighteenth century, and quotes, also. Father Acuna, in a translation which,
'Bakbot: Op.cit.,Tj}.56'.i.
^DesCoukti.itz: Vovage d'un Natiiraliste, ii, 1809, p. 276.
•■•The ear bones.
■•Herraka: History of America, i, 1725, p.278.
«Eochefokt: Nat. Histoire des lies Antilles, 2d ed., 1665, p. 195.
*£oc. cit, p. 195.
'Biet: Voyage eu I'lle de Cayenne, 1664, pp. 346, 347.
128 NATURAL HISTOET OF AQUATIC ANIMALS.
accordiug to my uotioii, is preferable to that of the Hakluyt Society. Having alluded to its small
eye,- but quick ear, and to other characteris tics of its organization, he says:
"The flesh of this creature is excellent, very wholesome, and tastes very much like veal of
Europe, when young: for the biggest are not so delicate and agreeable to the palate. Their fat is
hard, and very sweet, as that of our hogs; the flesh resembles veal. It dies with very little loss
of blood, and is not observ'd to come upon dry land; nor is there any likelihood it should,
considering its shape, as in the cut, whence it is concluded not to be amphibious.
"The Spaniards about the island of St. Margaret, or Margarita, called the ManaU PeceBuey,
that is. Ox Fish ; and particularly value the stomach and belly part of it, roasted on spits. Others
cut long slices of the flesh of its back, which they salt a little, only for two days, and then dry it
in the air; after which it will keep three or four months. This they roast and baste with butter,
and reckon delicious meat. A gentleman has assur'd me, that at Jamaica they give eighteen pence
a pound for young Manati. At Cayenne it yields but three pence a pound salted.
"F. Christopher de Aeunna, in the relation of his voyage on the river of the Amazons, chap. 25,
describes this flsh as follows :
"The Pece-Buey, says he, is of i^ deliciousS taste; any one that eats it, would think it to be
most excellent flesh well season'd. This fish is as big as a heifer of a year and a half old ; it has a
head and ears just like those of a heifer, and the body of it is all coj^er'd with hair, like the bristles
of a white hog; it swims with two little arms, and under its belly has teats, with which it suckles
its young ones. The skin of it is very thick, and when dressed into leather, serves to make
targets, which are proof against a musket bullet. It feeds upon grass, on the bank of the river,
like an ox; from which it receives so good nourishment, and is of so pleasant taste, that a man is
more strengthen'd 'and better satisfy'd with eating a small quantity of it, than with twice as
much mutton.
"It has not a free respiratiou in the water, and therefore often thrusts out its snout to take
breath, and so is discover'd by them that seek after it. When the Indians get sight of it they
follow it with their oars in little canoes; and when it appears above water to take breath, cast their
harping-tools made of shells, with which they stop its course, and take it. When they have
kill'd ifr, they cut it into pieces, and dry it upon wooden grates, which they call Boucan; and thus
dressed, it will keep good above a month. They have not the way of salting and drying it to keep
a long while, for want of plenty of salt; that which they use to season their meat being very scarce,
and made of the ashes of a sort of palm-tree, so that it Is more like salt-petre than common salt.'"
For the Eomanist of South America the Manatee is, as the old voyagers persisted in calling it,
a flsh. It is, therefore, eaten on days when a meat diet is forbidden by the rites of the church.
Conclusion. — In the Manatee, then, we have an animal of great size, of gentle disposition
and apparently of rapid growth, which lives in places readily accessible to man, and is easily
captured, and which furnishes meat which is not' inferior, oil which is remarkably fine, and
leather which possesses great toughness. From these considerations it would seem evident that,
with the proper protection, it would furnish no small revenue to the people in those portions of
our country which it inhabits, for centuries to come.
32. THE ARCTIC SEA-COW.
The extinction of species in his:]^okical time. — The catalogue of animals which are
known to have become extinct within historical times is not a long one. I do not allude, of
' Barbot : A Description of the Island of Cayenne, in Apijenrlix to Description of Ihe Coasts of North ami Soutb
Guinea, 173a, p. 563.
THE AEOTIC SEA-COW: EXTINCTION. 129
course, to those animals which have been driven from their native haunts before advancing civili-
zation, and which with its decline would flourish again amidst the fallen columns and crumbling
walls, but to those of which no remnant remains, whose existence as the representatives of certain
definite stages of organic development is forever closed. Such a one is the Ehytina {Bhytina
gigas, Zimmermann), which inhabited Bering Sea until within about a century. The story of its
discovery and extermination forms one of the most interesting pages of zoological history.
The geeat noetheen expedition.— At the opening of the last century the northeastern
portion of the Eussian Empire was one of the least known quarters of the globe. The barrenness
of the land, the dreadful winter, and the almost impassable sea, had deterred travelers and voyagers
to a large extent from penetrating into its wilds. Those who adventured in the frozen seas went
principally in search of a northwest passage, or in pursuit of other matters relating to geography
and commerce, and paid little attention to the products of the land or of the waters. Early in the
seventeenth century, however, Peter the Great, desirous of knowing whether Asia and America
were contiguous, gave orders that an expedition should proceed to ascertain the truth. Before
they could be executed he died, but the Empress Catherine commanded that they should be fulfilled.
Capt. Vitus Bering was placed in charge of the expedition, and Gmelin, of the St. Petersburg
Academy, was appointed chief naturalist. After several preliminary cruises had been made which
extended over a number of years, two ships set sail from Kamtchatka on the 15th (4th) of June,
1741. Before the departure of this final voyage, however, Gmelin had withdrawn on account of
ill-health, and George William Steller, who had been sent oat by the St. Petersburg Academy as
his assistant, was commissioned to complete the scientific researches.
The disooteet op Beeing Island and weeoking op the "St. Petbe." — The two
vessels, the " St. Peter," commanded by Bering, and the " St. Paul," in charge of Tschirikov, sailed
eastward toward the American continent. Before arriving, however, on the 1st of July (20th of
June) a storm separated them. Having touched at Alaska, Bering started westward again, encoun-
tering before long the most tempestuous weather. The crew grew weak and sick through long-
continued hardship. On the 10th of November (30th of October) the ship approached Bering
Island, then unknown. A few days after the storm drove her upon the rocks, and the crew were
forced to take up winter quarters on the island.
Death of Beeing. — Many of the sick died as soon as they were removed to the land, and on
the 19th (8th) of December the commander also perished. After some days ''it was resolved to
examine what store of provisions there was, and compute how long they would last, to regulate
the distribution of the shares accordingly, notwithstanding which thirty persons died on the
island. They found the stores were so much exhausted that if they had not been supplied
with the flesh of sea-animals they must have all perished for want of food."'
Fse op the Ehytina to the stjevivoes. — ^Prominent among the -animals which served
them as food was the Ehytina. Its well-flavored flesh and pleasant fat proved a great boon to
them. "And the sick found themselves considerably better, when, instead of the disagreeable
hard beaver's flesh, they eat of the Manati, tho' it cost them more trouble to catch than one of the
beavers. They never came on the land, but only approached the coast to eat sea-grass, which
grows on the shore, or is thrown out by the sea. This good food may, perhaps, contribute a great
deal to give the flesh a more disagreeable'' taste than that of the other animals that live on fish.
The young ones, that weighed 1,200 pounds and upwards, remained sometimes at low water on the
dry land between the rocks, which afforded a fine opportunity for killing them; but the old ones,
' MOller : Voyages from Asia to America. English translation, Jefferya, 1761, p. 58.
' This is surely a typographical error for agreeable.
9 P
130 NATUEAL HISTOEY OF AQUATIC ANIMALS.
which were more cautious, and went off at the right time with the ebb, could be caught no other-
wise than with harpoous fixed to long ropes. Sometimes the ropes were broke, and the animal
escaped before it could be struck a second time. This animal was seen as well in the winter as in
the summer time. They melted some of the fat, with which, like hogs, they are covered from three
to four inches thick, and used it as butter. Of the flesh, several casks full were pickled for ship's
provision, which did excellent service on their return." i
Stellek'S obseevations.— In the midst of these privations, Steller did not fail to make and
record observations relative to the animals which came about the island. To his most praise-
worthy perseverance we owe all that we know of the appearance and habits of the Ehytina. Not
a word has been added to his account of the characteristics of the animal, which a few years later
became extinct.
The kettjrn to Kamtchatka ; misfoetxjnes of Stellee.— In the summer of 1742 the
shipwrecked crew of the "St. Peter" built a boat from the wreck of their vessel, and on the 21st
(10th) of August sailed toward Kamtchatka. " The next day at noon they were in sight of the
southeast point of Bering's Island, at a distance of four leagues N. by E., to which they gave the
name of Cape Manati ; from the above-mentioned Sea-cows, which herd more here than in any other
parts."^ Shortly after they arrived safely in Kamtchatka. But while some of the crew soon
afterward readied St. Petersburg, and had distinctions conferred upon them by the government,
Steller was most shamefully treated because he dared to condemn the abuses of the officials, and
finally died, in November, 1746, in an obscure town, with but a single friend to sympathize with
him. 3 His observations on the Ehytina, which I shall quote at length, together with those on
other marine animals, were published by the St. Petersburg Academy in 1751.
His statements, it should be remembered, relate to the occurrence of Ehytina on Bering
Island only. The somewhat numerous facts which have accumulated regarding the reality or
probability of its occurrence in other regions, I shall cite on another page.
After giving a table of measurements, and a very detailed description of external and internal
parts, which I am not at liberty to quote in this connection, Steller expands upon the natural history
of the Sea-cow.* The following translation of the original Latin is the product of the unremunerated
labor of my brother, Mr. A. Charles True, of the State Normal College, Westfield, Massachusetts,
who has taken pains to make it as accurate as possible.
Stellee's observations on the natxteal histoet of the Sea-cow. — " It was my fortune
on an unlucky occasion," writes the naturalist, " to observe daily during ten months the habits and
lioc. cit, pp. 61,62.
^Loe. ciJ., p. 64.
' "As to the academical company of travellers," says Muller, ' ' Gmelin and I arrived at Petersburg on Feb. 15 [26], 1743,
having passed through all the ports of Siberia. But Steller, who stayed in Eamtechatha after Waxel, to mate researches
in natural history, did not enjoy this good luck. He immerged himself -without necessity, though with good inten-
tion, in matters that did not belong to his department ; for which he was called to an account by the provincial chancery
at Jakuizk. Steller vindicated himself so perfectly that the Vice Governor there gave him permission to proceed on his
journey. The proceedings were not sent to the Senate at Petersburg so soon as transacted. The Senate, who had
intelligence of his passing through Tobolsk, sent an express to meet him, and- to carry him back to Jakutzk. And soon
after advice being received from Irkutsk, of his acquittal, another express was dispatched to annul the first order. In
the mean time, the first express met Steller at Solikamsk, and had carried him back as far as Tara, before the second
express overtook him. He then proceeded without delay on his return for Petersburg by the way of Tobolsk, but got
no farther than Tumen, where he died of a fever in November, 1746, in company of one Hau, a surgeon, who had been
with him in the Eamtscliatka expedition. I have thought it necessary to relate these circumstances, because many
falsities have been propagated abroad concerning him, nay, even his death has been doubted. He was born on the
10th of ifarc/i. (21st), 1709, at Winsheimia Franeonia." — MtJLLER: op. cit, pp, 65, 66. Scheerer (/de Nordenskiold), in his
biography, attached to Steller's account of Kamtchatka, states that Steller got as far as Moscow when ordered to
return, and was frozen by the way.
■• Steller, George William: De bestiis marinis auctore Georgio Wilhelmo SteUero. <Nov. Comm. Acad.
Imp. Petropolitanae, tom. ii, 1751, pp. 289, 294, et seq.
THE AECTIO SEA-COW: STELLEE'S ACCOUNT. 131
manners of these animals before the door of my hut. Hence in a few words I will subjoin the
facts which were most faithfully observed by me.
"These animals love shallow and sandy places about the shore of the sea, but most willingly
spend their time about the mouths of rivers and small streams, allured by the pleasant motion of
the running waters, and they are always found in herds. In feeding they drive before them those
who are tender and not yet full grown, surround them carefully on the flanks and in the rear, and
always keep them in the middle of the herd, and when the tide is risen they approach so near the
shore that they not only have been often attacked by me with a stick or a spear, but sometimes I
stroked their backs even with my hand.
"Having received any severe injury, they do nothing else than to depart farther from the shore,
and after a short time ; having forgotten the injury, they again approach nearer. Whole families of
them live most harmoniously as neighbors, the male and female with one full-grown and one young-
offspring. They seem to me to be monogamous; they produce their young at any season of the
year, but most commonly in the autumn, as I inferred from the number of new-born young seen
about that time; and from the fact that I observed them in sexual intercourse most especially in
the early spring I concluded that the period of gestation covers more than a year, and fiom the
shortness of the horns and the dual number of the breasts I conclude that they produce not more
than a single calf, and besides I never observed more than one calf near a mother.
"Moreover, these animals eat most voraciously and without limit, and on account of too great
greed have the head always under the water. They are not at all anxious about life or safety, so
that in a boat or as a naked swimmer you can go into their midst and safely select whichever one
you wish to strike with the harpoon. Four or five minutes having been passed in this intense
devotion to eating, they breathe out air and a little water with a noise like the neighing of horses.
Wnile feeding they move one foot after another slowly forward and so partly swim quietly, partly,
as it were, walk after the manner of feeding cows or sheep. Half of the body, the back and sides,
always rises above the water. During the feeding of the Ehytina, gulls are wont to sit on his
back and refresh themselves with the fleas clinging to his skin in the same way as crows are wont
to feed on the fleas which infest hogs and sheep. Moreover, they do not devour all sea-i>lants
promiscuously, but especially, (1) a fucus with the crisped leaf of the Savoy cabbage, (2) a club-
shaped fucus, (3) a fucus with the form of an ancient Eomanwhip, (4) a very long fucus with wavy
edges whose sinuses reach to the nerves.
" Where they have pastured even for a single day great heaps of roots and stems are seen thrown
out by the waves upon the shore. When their bellies are filled some among them, lying on their
backs, sleep, and retreating farther from the shore, lest they should be left on dry ground by the
receding tide, are often choked in winter by the ice floating around the shore, which also happens
if, caught by the waves dashing violently about the rocks, they are thrown against the latter. In
winter these animals are so lean that besides the spine all the ribs appear. Coition takes place
in the spring, and especially about evening, in a tranquil sea. They perform many gambols in
anticipation. The female swims quietly hither and thither in the sea while the male continually
pursues. For a long time the female eludes him with many turnings and meanderiugs until herself
impatient of further delay, as if wearied and overpowered, she throws herself on her back, when the
male, rushing upon her furiously, extorts the tributum Veneris and both mutually embrace.
"Their capture was accomplished with a great iron harpoon, the point of which resembled the
flattened blade of an anchor fluke, and the other extremity, with the aid of an iron ring, was
fastened to a very long and strong cable. A vigorous man took this harpoon, and, together with
four or five others, embarked in a boat, and while one guided the helm and three or four rowed
132 NATURAL HISTORY OP AQUATIC ANIMALS.
hastened out to the herd. The striker stood in the prow, held the harpoon in his hand, and, as
soon as he was near enough to strike the animal from the boat, hurled his weapon. As soon as
this was done thirty men standing on the shore, seizing the other extremity of the rope, held the
animal, and in spite of his desperate efforts to resist drew him with great labor toward the shore.
Those who wree in the boat re-enforced themselves with another rope and wearied the animal with
repeated blows until, exhausted and quiet, he was dispatched with dirks, knives, and various
weapons, and was drawn to the shore. Some cut great jjieces from the living animal. All that the
animal did was violently to move his tail and struggle so with his fore-limbs that often great pieces of
the skin split off. He breathed heavily, and as with a groan. Prom his wounded back the blood
was thrown in a spray high up after the manner of a spouting fountain. As long as the head was
hidden under the water the blood did not flow, but as soon as he raised his head and breathed the
blood gushed out. The reason for this is that the lungs, situated on the back, were wounded first,
and as often as these were, afterward filled with air they increased the strength of the flow of blood.
Prom this phenomenon I almost came to the conclusion that the circulation of the blood in this
animal, as in the seal, is completed in a twofold manner— in the open air through the lungs, but
under water through an oval aperture {foramen ovale) and arterial duct, though I did not find
both. But that they at the same time respire in a different way from fishes I think happens on
account of the deglutition of solid food rather than because of a forward-moving circulation.
"The full-grown and very large animals are captured more easily than the calves, because the
calves move with a far more violent motion ; and though the harpoon remains intact, yet when the
skin is broken they easily escape, a thing which is repeatedly attempted.
" But if an animal captured by the harpoon begins to move quite violently, those near or in a
neighboring herd are frequently stirred and are aroused to bear aid to the captive. On account of
this, sometimes they attempt to overturn the boat with their backs, sometimes they fall upon the
rope and strive to break it, or, by the vibration of the tail, labor to extract the harpoon from the
back of the wounded animal, which oftentimes they attempt not without success. It is a most
curious proof of their disposition and conjugal affection that when the female has been taken and
drawn in with the harpoon, the male, after he has attempted her liberation with all his strength,
but in vain, and has been struck many blows by us, none the less will follow her even to the shore,
and sometimes unexpectedly and suddenly will approach her when she is already dead. On the
next day at early dawn when we came to cut the flesh in pieces and carry it home we have found
the male still standing near his female, and I have even seen this on the third day when I
approached alone for the sake of examining the intestines.
"As regards voice, the animal is mute and does not give forth any sound, but only breathes
heavily, and when wounded sighs.
"How much power lies in his eyes and ears I dare not afBrm, but frequently he sees and
hears very little for the reason that he keeps the head continually under water; nay, the animal
himself seems to neglect and despise the use of these organs. Among all who have written con-
cerning Sea-cows,^ no one has produced a more full and careful account than the most curious and
diligent Captain Dampier in the narrative of his travels published in London in 1702. As I read
his account, nothing seemed to me to be worthy of censure, although some few things did not agree
with our animal. Por he says that two species of Sea-cow exist, one of which has stronger eyes
than ears and the other stronger ears than vision. "What he says concerning the hunting of this
animal, namely, that the Americans approach it vrithout any noise or talking lest the Sea-cow flee,
'The allusions to the "Sea-cow" in this paragraph relate to the American and African Manatees. Stellar at this
time seems to have regarded hoth these and the Rhytinia as forming but a single species.
TBE AKCTIO SEA-COW: STELLEll'S ACCOtJFT. l33
is •without doubt so in localities where they are frequently captured and by long experience have
learned that men are hostile to them, in the same way as others, otters and seals, which in this
deserted island never before have seen men, nor have been disturbed in their enjoyment of secure
peace, and were killed by us strangers on Bering's Island without any labor, have already been
rendered equally wild, and in the Kamtchatkan land, not only when an enemy is seen, but when
they scent his tracks, hastily commit themselves to flight. It happens sometimes that these
animals are thrown out dead by the tempests around the promontory called Kronozkoi ISTos, and
also around Awatscha Land, and are called by the Kamtchatkans, on account of their use for food,
in their language, Kapustnik, 'Kraut Eraser,' which fact I learned after my return in 1742.
Finally, concerning the use of the parts of this animal, according to Hernandes, the thick, firm, and
tough skin is used by the Americans for the soles of shoes and for belts. I hear that the skin is
used by the Tschuktschi for boats. They are accustomed to stretch the skin on sticks, and to treat
it in the same way as the tribe of Koraeccica do the skins of the very large seals called Lachtak.
"The fat encircling the whole body under the skin, a span, and in some places almost nine
inches thick, glandulous, consistent, white, when exposed to the sun turning yellow like hog's
lard, of a very pleasant odor and flavor, is to be compared with the fat of no marine animals,
nay, rather much to be preferred to the fat of quadrupeds ; for besides that it can be heated for a
very long time on the warmest days and not become rancid or otherwise offensive to the smell,
when tried out it is so sweet and palatable that it took from us all desire for butter ; in taste it
comes very near to the oil of sweet almonds, and can be applied to the same uses as butter ; in a
lamp it burns brightly without smoke or smell. Nor, indeed, is its use for medicine to be despised,
since it gently relaxes the bowels ; drunk from cups it causes neither nausea nor loss of appetite,
and, as I think, for those afflicted with gravel the Sea-cow would be of more benefit than the
masticatory bones or stones {masticatoria ossa seu lapides), so called. The fat of the tail is harder
and more consistent, and when cooked more delicate. The flesh consists of fibers somewhat more
stout and thick than those of neat cattle, is a deeper red than the flesh of terrestrial animals, and,
what is wonderful, even in the hottest days warms in the open air a very long time without stench,
though it is beset on every side with worms. The reason I allege for this fact is, that since the
animal subsists only on marine fuci and Tierbs, and these fuci are more sparingly composed of sul-
phur and more largely of sea salt and niter, these salts prevent the exhalation of sulphur and the
softening and resolution of the flesh in the same way as salts or salt brine sprinkled on flesh, and
the more because these salts are mingled intimately with the substance of the flesh and cohere very
strongly to sulphurous parts. Though the flesh must be cooked a longer time, yet when cooked
it is of the best flavor and not easily to be distinguished from the flesh of neat cattle. The fat of
the calves so resembles fresh hog's lard that you can scarcely perceive the difference ; and the flesh
does not differ at all from veal, is quickly softened with cooking, and, that continuing, so swells,
like the flesh of a young pig, that it claims for itself very much greater room in the pot than before.
The tendinous fat about the head and tail is scarcely fit for boiling; on the other hand, the muscles
of the abdomen, back, and sides are far to be preferred. It not only does not resist salting, as
many have thought, but only grows soft ; so that it comes out like salted beef in all respects, and
very palatable. The viscera, heart, liver, and kidneys are too hard, and were not much sought
after by us because there was a very abundant supply of flesh.
" The full-grown animal weighs about 8,000 pounds (eighty hundredweight), or 200 Eussian
puds.
" There is so great a multitude of these animals about this single island that they continually
suffice to support the inhabitants of Kamtchatka.
134 NATtJEAL HISTOEY OF AQtJATiC ANIMALS.
" The Ehytina is infested with a peculiar insect, like a louse, which is wont to occupy and
inhabit in large numbers especially the wrinkled limbs, breasts, nipples, pudendum, anus, and the
rough cavities of the skin, and which bore through the cuticula and cutis. From the extravasated
lymphatic fluid conspicuous warts arise everywhere ; the gulls (Lari) are also allured to hunt with
their sharp beaks these insects (clinging to the backs of these animals), a pleasant food, and more-
over the birds perform a friendly and grateful office for the animals troubled by these parasites." '
Additional obseevations. — This narrative, as I have already stated, contains all that we
know of the natural history of the Arctic Sea-cow, and, I venture to say, all that we shall ever
know from visual observation. There are a number of facts, however, bearing upon the mode of
capture, geographical distribution, and the history of the extinction of this animal which have
been the theme of writers after Steller. Dr. Brandt, a celebrated naturalist of St. Petersburg, and
the Danish explorer Nordenskiold, have taken pains to bring together all that is known on these
topics up to the present time. Most of the books and manuscripts from which they have gathered
their information being inaccessible to me, I must content myself with summing up the results of
their investigations.
The extinction of Ehytina. — The extinction of the Ehytina followed close upon its
discovery. If we may accept the results of Kordenskiold's investigations upon this point, the
animal was last seen in 1854, or a little more than a century after its discovery. Long before this,
at all events, it had become so diminished in numbers as not to furnish any considerable food
supply.
It appears that the existence of the Sea-cow on Bering Island had no sooner been made
known in Eussia than the vessels engaged in the fur trade in Bering's Sea began to make a
practice of wintering on the island, in order to take in a supply of the flesh of the animal for
food. That this custom became general in a few years,. appears from Scherer's narrative of the first
Eussian hunting expeditions to the Aleutian Islands. "Ivan Krasselnikoff's vessel," he writes,
"started first in 1754, and arrived on the 8th October at Bering Island, where all the vessels
fitted out for hunting the sea-otter on the remote islands are wont to pass the winter, in order to
provide themselves with a sufficient stock of the flesh of the Sea-cow."^
The next year, 1755, the engineer Jakovlev, who visited Bering Island and the adjacent
Copper Island, in search of copper, recorded in his journal the mode of capturing Ehytina, which
differs in no way from the method employed by Steller and his companions. Jakovlev, however,
was so impressed with the rapidity with which' the Sea-cow was disappearing from the islands
that he petitioned the Kamtchatkan authorities that its capture might be restricted. It appears
that at the time of his visit the Ehytina had been driven away from Copper Island. ^
Scherer informs us of the landing of three other hunting expeditions at Bering Island.
between 1757 and 1762, for the purpose of capturing Sea-cows, implying at the same time, as in
the instance already quoted from him, that such was the custom of all expeditions sent thither.
His allusions to the subject are as follows: "The autumn storms, or rather the wish to take on
board a stock of provisions, compelled them (a number of hunters sent out by the merchant
Tolstyk under command of the Cossack Obeuchov) to touch at Commander's Island (Bering
Island), where, during the winter up to the 24th (13th) June, 1757, they obtained nothing else
than sea-cows, sea-lions, and large seals."
' Specimens of this crustacean were found in a small piece of Ehytina skin discovered in the British Museum.
^Scherer: Neue Nachrichten von denen neuentdeckten lusuln in der See zwischen Asien und Amerika, 1776,
p. 38, fide Nordenskicild.
' Jakovlev's diary was published in Russian in 1867, by Pekavski, and translated into Latin and republished in
1868 by Brandt. See Brandt: Symbolro Sirenologiose, fasc. iii, pp. 295, 296.
THE AECTIC SEA COW. EXTINCTIOl^. 135
Again: "They (a Russian hunting vessel under Studenzov, in 1758) landed on Behring Island
to kill Sea-cows, as all vessels are accustomed to do." On another page he states that "after
Korovin, in 1762 (on Bering Island), had provided himself with a sufficient stock of the flesh and
hides of the Sea-cow for his boats ... he sailed on.'" Saner, in his account of Bering's
voyages, published in 1802, alluding to the Rhytina, says: "The last was killed on Behring Island
in 1768, and none has been seen since then."^
In this conclusion most authorities are agreed. Nordenskiold, however, obtained information,
of a character which he regards reliable, which would seem to show that the Sea-cow was not
entirely exterminated before 1854. The first informant was a Creole. Nordenskiold writes : "A
Creole (that is, the offspring of a Russian and an Aleutian), who was sixty-seven years of age, of
intelligent appearance, and in the full possession of his mental faculties, stated 'that his father
died in 1847 at the age of eighty-eight. He had come from Volhynia, his native place, to Behring
Island at the age of eighteen, accordingly in 1777. The two or three first years of his stay there,
i. e., until 1779 or 1780, sea-cows were still being killed as they pastured on sea- weed. The heart
only was eaten, and the hide used for haydars. In consequence of its thickness the hide was split
in two, and the two pieces thus obtained had gone to make a baydar twenty feet long, seven and a
half feet broad, and three feet deep. After that time no sea-cows had been killed.'
"There is evidence, however, that a sea-cow had been seen at the island still later. Two
Creoles, Peodor Mertchenin and Stepnoff, stated that about twenty-five years ago [in 1854] at
Tolstoj-mys, on the east side of the island, they had seen an animal unknown to them which was
very thick before, but grew smaller behind, had small fore-feet, and appeared with a length of about
fifteen feet above water, now raising itself up, now lowering itself. The animal 'blew,' not through
blow-holes, but through the mouth, which was somewhat drawn out. It was brown in colour with
some lighter spots. A back fin was wanting, but when the animal raised itself it was horrible, on
account of its great leanness, to see its backbone projecting. I instituted a thorough examination
of both my informants. Their accounts agreed completely, and appeared to have claims to be
regarded as trustworthy. That the animal that they saw was actually a sea-cow, is clearly proved
both by the description of the animal's form and way of pasturing in the water, and by the accoiint
of the way in which it breathed, its colour, and leanness. In AusfUrliclie Beschreibung von sonder-
baren Meerthieren, Steller says, page 97 : ' While they pasture, they raise every fourth or fifth min-
ute their nose from the water in order to blow out air and a little water. Page 98: 'During winter
they are so lean that it is possible to count their vertebrae and ribs'; and page 54, 'some sea-cows
have pretty large white spots and streaks, so that they have a spotted appearance.' As these
natives had no knowledge of Steller's description of the animal, it is impossible that their state-
ments can be false. The death-year of the Rhytina race must therefore be altered at least to 1854.'"
Neither of the statements appear improbable, but they should be accepted, I believe, with
caution. At all events, the Sea-cow was practically extinct within four decades from the time of
its discovery.
Caxtses op the extinction. — Two causes have been assigned for this rapid destruction.
The most generally accepted notion is that the rate of capture much exceeded that of the increase
of the animal, and that extinction followed as a matter of course. Nordenskiold, however, and, in
a certain way, Brandt also avows his belief that the Sea-cow had gotten out of harmony with its
environment many years before the Russians discovered it, and that its extermination would have
' SCHEKKK : Op. cit. , pp. 40, 45, and 82, fide Nordenskiold.
^Saubr: Bering's Voyage, 1802, p. 181, fide Nordenskiold.
'Nordenskiold: Voyage of the Vega. English translation, ii, 1881, pp. 277,278,
136 NATURAL HISTORY OF AQTTATIO AKIMALS.
occurred within a comparatively short time without the intervention of man. The fact that in
Steller's time the range of the animal was much circumscribed, seems to give weight to the latter
view.
The range of the Sea-cow, when discovered by Europeans, seems to have been confined to
Bering and Copper Islands, but the investigations of Brandt show that it probably extended
from Nishne-Kamtchatka or the bay of Karaguescensi to the coast of China and included also the
outermost islands of the Aleutian Archipelago. Sauer's statement that " Sea-Cows were very
common on Kamtohatka and on the Aleutian Islands, when they were first discovered," seems with-
out foundation, and is properly rejected by Nordenskiold. Whethet the Sea-cow ever occurred on
the Aleutian Islands appears somewhat uncertain. Vosnessenski found a rib of the animal on
Attn, the last island of the archipelago, but, as Brandt suggests, it may have been derived from a
Ehytina washed thither by the waves. Mr. Lucien Turner kindly informed me that an aged Aleut
woman stated that Ehytina had been seen at Attn by her father, but such testimony is, perhaps,
not altogether satisfactory.
I»^RT II
THE USEFUL AQUATIC REPTILES AND BATRACHIANS
OF THE
TJDSriTED STA.TES.
FREDERICK Vs^. TRUE.
ANALYSIS.
Page.
E. — The Alligator and the Crocodile:
33. The Alligator and the Crocodile 141
F.— Tortoises, Turtles, and Terrapins :
34. The Marine Turtles in general , 147
35. The Loggerhead Turtle 147
36. The Hawt's-bill Turtles 149
37. The Green Turtles 150
38. The Soft-shelled Tortoises 152
39. The Snapping Turtles 153
40. The Musk Tortoises 154
41. The Fresh- water Terrapins 155
42. The Diamond-back or Salt-water Terrapin 156
43. The Pond Tortoises 157
44. The Box Tortoises 158
6. — The Amphibians:
45. TheBnll-frog 159
139
ALLIGATOR AND THE CROCODILE. 141
E.— THE ALLIGATOR AND THE CROCODILE.
33. THE ALLIOATOB AND THE CBOGODILE.
The North Ambkioan Alligator and Crocodile. — We have in the United States two
reptiles of the Crocodile family, one a true Crocodile, Orocodiliis acutus, Cuv., and the other the
well-known Alligator Alligator mississippiensis, Daudin.' The former animal is of rare occurrence,
only a few specimens having been captured in the United States, and it can, therefore, scarcely
claim attention from a commercial standpoint.^ I shall confine my remarks to the Alligator.
Origin op the name "Alligator." — The origin of the name "Alligator" is involved
somewhat in obscurity, but several theories have been entertained regarding it. "Some," says
Holbrook,' "have supposed it derived from the word 'Legateer' or 'A116gater,' a name by
which the young Crocodile is distinguished in some parts of India. Cuvier says it is much
more probable that it is a corruption of the Portuguese 'Lagarto,' derived from the Latin -Lacerta,^
as Hawkins writes it 'Alagartos,' and Sloan, in his 'History of Jamaica,' spells it ' AUagator.' "
The matter was undoubtedly set right by Cuvier. In the writings of all the very early
English explorers which I have been able to consult the terms "Crocodile" and "Cayman" are
generally used in alluding to the Alligator. Under the name " Cayman " it would seem that the
Alligator and the true Cayman of South America have been confounded. In Sir Walter Raleigh's
account of his travels in 1595, however, he used the name " Lagartos" for the Alligator. He says:
" Vpon this riuer there were great store of fowle, and of many sorts : we saw in it diuers sorts
of strange fishes, and of maruellous bignes ; but for lagartos it exceeded, for there were thousands
of those vgly serpents ; and the people call it for the abundance of them. The riuer of Lagartos, in
their language." *
The name Alligator, with its present orthography, seems to have been adopted about 1730.
Geographical distribution. — The geographical range of the Alligator has not been very
accurately defined. Holbrook ^ fixes the northern limit on the Atlantic coast at the mouth of the
Feuse River, North Carolina, although at the present day it is doubtful whether any specimens
could be found so far north. It occurs in increasing numbers southward, and is comparatively
abundant on the northeast coast of the Gulf of Mexico. It ascends the Mississippi River as far
as the mouth of the Red River. In regard to the western limit of its range, Cope states that " it
'A recent writer, the place of publishing of whose article I have forgotten, raises the question of the occurrence
of two species of Alligator in the South. No herpetologist, however, so far as I am aware, has made such a distinction,
and I cannot, therefore, give the matter more than a passing notice here.
*I have been able to gather but few references to instances of the actual capture of C. acutus in Florida. Wyman,
I beliere, first pointed out its existence in that state, in 1869, bas>ing his remarks on the features of a skull sent from
the Miami River by Mr. William H. Hunt. (See Amer. Journal of Soi. & Arts, xlix, 1870, pp. 105-106.)
Another specimen, this time a full-grown animal, was obtained by Mr. H. A. Ward, of Rochester, New York,
in Bascayne Bay, Florida. This specimen is now in the National Museum.
Still another Crocodile was said to have been captured in North Lake, Florida, in 1875, by a Mr. William Butler,
but whether this specimen was ever sent to a museum, or was identified by a professional herpetologist, I am unable
to say. (See Forest and Stream, iv, 1878, p. 167.) Two other writers, Mr. 0. J. Maynard, of Newtonville, Mass.,
and a gentleman concealed under the pseudonym "Wanderer," claim to have seen the Crocodile in Florida, the former
in 1867. (See Forest and Stream, xiii, 1880, p. 867.)
•Holbrook: North American Herpetology, ii, 1842, p. 61.
''Rai.eigh : The Discoverie of the large, rich, and beautiful! empire of Guiana. <Hakluyt'8 Collection of Voyages,
iv, 1811, p. 137.
• Op. mt.
142 . NATUEAL HISTORY OF AQUATIC ANIMALS.
is common in the waters of the Guadalape drainage, and is occasionally seen in the San Antonio
Eiver, within the limits of the city of San Antonio," ^ and Professor Baird has recorded a specimen
from Brownsville, Tex., on the Eio Grande.^ From thence its range extends southward into
South America.
Abundance.— The Alligator is growing less and less abundant, particularly on the Atlantic
coast, and on the west coast of Florida, owing to the increase of population and the reckless
manner in which it has been hunted and destroyed. Many persons have engaged in slaughtering
these creatures merely for the sport which is supposed to be derived from so doing, no use having
been made of the carcasses.
Size. The Alligator is the largest living reptile occurring within the United States, and is
approached in size only by the marine turtles. Holbrook records having seen one which was
thirteen and a half feet long,^ while Bartram, in his narrative of travels in Florida, afQrms that
they attain a length of twenty to twenty-three feet in that region.* The latter statement, however,
must be taken with some caution; if true, it would seem that the Alligator does not now attain his
former wonted proportions. From a note in " Forest and Stream," of 1876, we learn that " the
largest alligator killed in Florida for many years was shot last spring [1876] by Dr. De Marmon, of
Kingsbridge, N. Y. The animal measured 12 feet 6 inches in length when spread on the dock. It
was 6 feet 10 inches round the body, 5 feet 10 inches around the jaws, and weighed about 700
pounds. The head, which is now in the doctor's possession, is 30 inches long. It was killed on
the Homosassa Eiver, about two miles from Alfred Jones's grove."' The average length would
appear to be about ten feet.
Food and mannek of obtaining it. — The food of Alligators consists almost exclusively
of fish and such small land or semi-aquatic animals as it is able to secure. It would appear that
they are also expert fly-catchers. The quaint allusion of Exquemelin to this subject is too
interesting to be omitted. "The Gaymanes," he says, "are ordinarily busied in hunting and
catching of flies, which they eagerly devour. The occasion is, because close unto their skin,
they have certain little scales, which smell with a sweet sent, something Uke unto musk. This
aromatick odour is coveted by the flies, and here they come to repose themselves and sting.
Thus they both persecute each other continually, with an incredible hatred, and antipathy."*
The existence of this habit, I have recently been informed, has been frequently confirmed
in Louisiana by reliable observers; but the gentleman who informed me was inclined to believe
that it is the saliva which attracts the flies into the gaping jaws of the Alligator. The manner
in which the reptile secures his fill of fishes is related by Dowler in a paper written in 1846, who
founded his remarks on the statements of some, to him, credible observers. He writes as follows:
"Many authors assert that Alligators cannot swallow under water. In offering some facts
to disprove this assumption, the sagacity of these animals will be more or less illustrated. A
gentleman, on two occasions, watched Alligators when catching sunflsh, which were swimming in
shoals in shallow water. The Alligator placed his long body at a suitable distance from the shore.
As soon as the fish came between him and the land, he curved his body so that they could not
pass; the tail was moored on land; the mouth was opened under water, and brought so close to
' COPB : On the Zoological Position of Texas. Bull. U. S. National Museum, No. 17, 1880, p. 13.
- GiRAED : Herpetology, U. S. and Mex. Boundary Survey, ii, pt. 2, p. 5.
" Holbrook : Nortli American Herpetology, ii, 1842, p. 56.
■"Bartram: Travels through East and West Florida, 1791, p. 128.
^Forest and Stream, vii, 1876, p. 84.
^Exquemelin : Buccaneers of America. English translation, 1684, p. 48.
THE ALLIGATOE: FOOD AND FEEDmG. 143
the shore that the fish had no method of escaping but through the mouth, where they were
entrapped. Inoidit in Scyllam, qui vult vitare Gharybdim."^
PuGNAOiTY OF THE ALLIGATOR. — When we come to consider the possibility of the Alligator's
ability to attack successfully large terrestrial animals, such as horses and cows, as well as men,
we find ourselves in great doubt. The accumulated testimony of travelers and observers on
this point can hardly be set aside, although several critical writers have done so, with ridicule.
Whether it was that the earlier observers, misled by the forbidding appearance of the Alligator,
were repeatedly imposed upon by fabulous stories, or whether they actually saw, at least in part,
what they recorded, seems to me, I must confess, a very open question. To cite all the accounts
of mishaps which are said to have occurred to man and beast through the aggressiveness of the
Alligator, would be to fill many pages of this volume. I can only refer to one or two prominent
examples.
Herrara gives the following account of the Alligator in the harbor near Porto Belo, at the
Isthmus of Panama, on the occasion of Columbus's explorations there in 1502 :
" In the Harbour there were extraordinary large Alligators, that went to sleep ashore, and
smelt like Musk, being so ravenous, that if they find a Man asleep on the Land, they drag him
away to devour him: tho' they are so timorous, that they fly, when attack'd. There are many of
them in these Elvers that fall into the North Sea, but many more in those that empty themselves
in the South Sea, and they are very like, if not the same as the Crocodiles of the Eiver Nile."^
Ealeigh, after his allusion to the "river of Lagartos," a tributary of the Orinoko, as already
quoted, adds: "I had a negro a very proper yoong fellow, who leaiiing out of the galley to swim
in the mouth of the river, was in all our sights taken and devoured with one of those lagartos.'"
Herrara, again, relating what happened to the Spaniards in Central America in 1516, writes :
"At Panama an Alligator has been known to take a Man off from the Stearn of a Boat, and
carry him away to the Eocks, where as he was tearing him in pieces he was kill'd by a Musket
Shot: the Man being recover'd as the Monster was biting him off near the Groin was carried to the
Hospital, where he liv'd long enough to receive the Eites of the Church."*
Velasquez seems also to have been impressed with the ferocity of the Alligator during his
sojourn in Cuba. By Herrara he is made to say :
"On the South Side about the Middle there runs down into the Sea a mighty Eiver, which the
Indians call Gauto, the Banks of it are very agreeable, and in it are a vast Multitude of Alligators.
Those who happen to be benighted near it, must be upon their Guard, for those Creatures then
come out of the Water, walk about the Land, and if they can surprize a Man, they drag him into
the Water, and devour him. They sometimes do so by such as venture to ford the Eiver, and even
by Horses. They are to be found all over the Indies, especially to the southward, but in Guba only
in this Eiver." ^
In the eighteenth century the writer who is most loud in the denunciation of the Alligator is
Bartram. He has devoted several pages of his book to the relation of the habits of these animals,
from which I will quote a few lines. Although he begins his account with a query as to how he
shall do credit to what he observed without arousing the suspicion of his readers regarding his
veracity, his description seems overdrawn :
"My apprehensions were highly alarmed after being a spectator of so dreadful a battle; it was
obvious that every delay would biit tend to increase my dangers and difficulties, as the sun was
' DOWLER, Bennbt, M. D. : Contributions to the Natural History of the Alligator. New Orleans, 1846.
^Herrara (Stevens): Hist. Amer., i, 1725, p. 271.
'Ealeigh: loc. cit., p. i:^7.
■■ Herrara (Stevens): Hist. Ainer., ii, 1725, p. 100.
''Herrara (Stevens): Hist. Anier.,ii, 1725, pp. 11, 12.
144 NATUEAL HISTOET OF AQUATIC ANIMALS.
near setting, and the alligators gathered around my harbour, from all quarters ; from these con-
siderations I concluded to be expeditious in my trip to the lagoon, in order to take some fish. Not
thinking it prudent to take my fusee with me, lest I might lose it overboard in case of a battle, which
I had every reason to dread before my return, I therefore furnished myself with a club for my
defence, went on board, and penetrating the first line of those which surrounded my harbour,
they gave way; but being pursued by several very large ones, I kept strictly on the watch and
paddled with all my might towards the entrance of the lagoon, hoping to be sheltered there from
the multitude of my assailants; but ere I had half-way reached the place, I was attacked on all
sides, several endeavoring to overset the canoe.
"My situation now became precarious to the last degree: two large ones attacked me closely,
at the same instant, rushing up with their heads and part of their bodies above the water, roaring
terribly and belching floods of water over me. They struck their jaws together so close to my ears
as almost to stun me, and I expected every moment to be dragged out of the boat and instantly
devoured, but I applied my weapons so effectually about me, though at random, that I was so
successful as to beat them off a little."'
Writers of the present century also allude to cases of fatal attacks by Alligators; I may
quote one instance. Wells, writing of Lake Nicaragua in 1857, says: "Large tiberones (sharks)
have been captured in the lake ; and a few months previous, a woman at Virgin Bay, washing
on the banks, was seized and killed by an alligator." ^ Many other similar statements are on record.
The mass of most recent writers and investigators, however, seem inclined to regard all tales of
the Alligator's aggressiveness as idle fiction, and contend with one accord that he is sluggish,
harmless, and even timid, and that the damage which he sometimes does with tail and jaws
when wounded and tormented is due to aimless madness induced by pain, and not to any deliberate
attempt at revenge.
The stomach of Alligators is often found to contain, in addition to its natural food, a num-
ber of rounded masses of hard material, large pebbles and other indigestible matter. Zoologists
are not agreed regarding the function of these objects, some supposing that they aid in reducing
other matter taken into the stomach, and others that they serve to keep the stomach distended
when the animal is in a state of hibernation in winter. It seems probable, however, that they are
swallowed by mistake for better food, or are taken down with more nutritious matter when he
feeds too greedily.
Mode of life. — Alligators are pre-eminently fitted for an aquatic or semi-aquatic life. In the
water they seem perfectly at ease, and move about with great velocity, propelling themselves by
powerful strokes of their broad paddle-like tails. The peculiarities of their internal structure,
too, are such as fit them for remaining a considerable time beneath the surface. On land, how-
ever, the Alligator moves slowly and with evident difficulty on account of the weight of the body
and the shortness of the legs. Nevertheless they come frequently to shore, being very fond of
sunning themselves for hours on the sandy or muddy banks of the streams they inhabit. They
are protected from assault while indulging in these siestas by their dull colors and their perfect
immobility. Holbrook states that "such Alligators as dwell in ponds and streams out of the
influence of tide- water, wander much further from the banks and are notunfrequently seen a mDe
or more from water." ^
This statement is confirmed in the writings of other observers. " Following the lonely track
> Baktram : Travels in East and West Florida, 1791, p. 119.
^Wells : Honduras, 1857, p. 35.
'Holbrook, op. eit, p. 57.
THE ALLIGATOE: HABITS. 145
which leads for thirty-three miles through Savannah's sand-hills and pine barrens from New
Smyrna, Florida, to the St. John's River," writes a correspondent of " Forest and Stream," " we once
came upon an alligator seven feet long, taking his siesta in the middle of the road. . . .
Many alligators have I seen in Florida lakes and rivers, but never before met one on the high
road. Probably the dry weather had drawn the reptile from its accustomed haunts in search of
water." ^
Voice. — In spring and during the breeding season Alligators utter a cry, which has been
likened to that of the bull-frog, but intensified, and to the noise of distant thunder. It is probably
to this cry that Bartram frequently refers, as, for example, in the following sentences : " But what is
yet most surprising to a stranger, is the incredible loud and terrifying roar which they are capable
of making, especially in the spring season, their breeding time; it most resembles very heavy
distant thunder, not only shaking the air and waters, but causing the earth to tremble; and
when hundreds and thousands are roaring at the same time, you can scarcely be persuaded but
that the whole globe is violently and dangerously agitated."^ Most evident hyperbole!
HiBEENATiON. — At the approach of winter the Alligators embed themselves in holes and pits
on the banks of their favorite streams, and remain dormant until spring.
Bebbding habits. — When the breeding season arrives, early in spring, the female resorts to
a sheltered spot on the bank of the stream, and constructs a small mound of mud and other materials,
in which she deposits her eggs, one to two hundred in number. The eggs hatch in about thirty
days, and the young Alligators immediately take to the water. Although I am loath to quote so
much from one observer, I must refer again to the narrative of Bartram, for I find no other in which
the nests of the Alligator are so fully described, with so great an appearance of accuracy. He
writes :
"1 now lost sight of my enemy again. Still keeping close along shore; on turning a point or
projection of the river bank, at once I beheld a great number of hillocks or small pyramids,
resembling hay cocks, ranged like an encampment along the banks, they stood fifteen or twenty
yards distant from the water, on a high marsh about four feet perpendicular above the water ; I
knew them to be the nests of the Crocodile, having had a description of them before, and now
expected a furious and general attack, as I saw several large Crocodiles swimming abreast of
these buildings.
" These nests being so great a curiosity to me, I was determined at all events immediately to
land and examine them. Accordingly I ran my bark on shore at one of their landing places,
which was a sort of nick or little dock, from which ascended a sloping path or road up to the edge
of the meadow, where their nests were; most of them were deserted, and the great thick whitish
eggshells lay broken and scattered upon the ground round about them.
" The nests or hillocks are of the form of an obtuse cone, four feet high and four or five feet
in diameter at their bases; they are constructed with mud, grass, and herbage: at first they
lay a floor of this kind of tempered mortar on the ground, upon which they deposit a layer of
eggs, and upon this a stratum of mortar seven or eight inches in thickness, and then another
layer of eggs, and in this manner one stratum upon another, nearly to the top : I believe they
commonly lay from one to two hundred eggs in a nest : These are hatched I suppose by the heat
of the sun, and perhaps the vegetable substances mixed with the earth, being acted upon by the
sun, may cause a small degree of fermentation, and so increase the heat in those hillocks. The
ground for several acres about these nests shewed evident marks of a continual resort of alligators :
10 P
1" S. C. C." [S. C. Clakkb] iu Forest and Stream, xii, 1879, p. 307.
^Bartram: op. oit., p. 129.
146 NATURAL HISTORY OF AQUATIC ANIMALS.
The grass was everywhere beaten down, hardly a blade or straw was left standing; whereas, all
about, at a distance, it was five or six feet high, and as thick as it could grow together.'"
Economical talue. — The principal commercial products furnished by Alligators are leather,
ivory, oil, and musk. The first two are by far the most important.
Alligator leather is quite impervious to water, and consequently a valuable material from
which to manufacture shoes and boots. Besides serving for these purposes, however, it is fire-
quently more carefully prepared and used in making articles which require a soft leather, such as
satchels, card cases, and the like, the oddity of its appearance being much admired. It has
many cheap imitations. Hides of large size and good quality bring about eight dollars in the
market.
The ivory is obtained from the teeth. These are carved into a variety of forms, such as
whistles, buttons, and cane-handles, and also sold as jewelry. This iudustry is carried on prin-
cipally in Florida.
Alligator oil, which is extracted from the fat of the animal, has been recommended for the
cure of quite a variety of diseases.
The musk of the Alligator is obtained from glands situated in the lower jaw. It is not of the
beat quality, but serves as the basis of certain perfumes.
The fishery. — In regard to the capture of Alligators in Florida for the products they
furnish, and their consequent diminution, a writer in " Forest and Stream " states :
'■ Alligator hunting is growing "less and less successful in Florida as the game diminishes in
numbers. From being simply a pastime it has become a regular business, and thousands upon
thousands of these creatures are now annually slaughtered for the;r bides and teeth. The former
are converted into leather, and make a valuable commodity, while the teeth are manufactured into
various articles of use and ornament At the rate the alligator family is now disappearing, not
many years will elapse before the supply will be wholly exhausted, and the capture of an alligator
become an uncommon event in sporting life."^
Mode op capture. — There is but one mode of capturing Alligators, so far as I am aware,
namely, that of shooting them with the rifle. This is not so expeditious a method as would at first
appear. The iron-like hide of the upper surface of the reptile's body, with its rugged bosses,
secures him impunity against the ill-aimed shot. The eye is the most vulnerable spot, and it is
through this organ that the rifle-ball penetrates into the vital region, the brain.
iBaetram: 0}}. (At., pp. 126,127.
= " P. H. A." in Forest and Stream, vi, 1876, p. 264.
TORTOISES, TUETLES, AND TEEEAPINS. 147
F.— TORTOISES, TURTLES, AND TERRAPINS.
Intkodxjotion. — The species of Tortoises which inhabit the territory of the United States
and the adjacent seas are forty-two or forty-three in number. With the exception of the Musk
Tortoises, all are more or less available for food and other economic uses. The number of species
actually in demand, however, is small. It includes tbe Marine Turtles, two- or three species of
Soft-shell Turtles, the Snapping Turtle, Ihree or four kinds of Terrapins, and the Gopher or Land
Tortoise. Some are too small to be of any great ^alue, and others are of too rare occurrence, at
least within the limits of the United States.
For convenience of treatment, following iu a certain way the classification of Dum^ril,' we
may separate the Tortoises into three large groups, namely, (1) the Marine Turtles, (2) the Marsh
Tortoises, and (3) the Land Tortoises.
34. THE MAKINE TURTLES IN GENERAL.
Mode of life. — The Marine Turtles are especially adapted for their aquatic life. Their bodies,
which are large and broad, have a specific gravity almost exactly equivalent to that of the water
iu which they are immersed, so that they are able to sustain themselves at the surface of the sea
for any length of time without fatigue. Their feet are transformed into broad paddles, enabling
them to swim freely and rapidly. The fore-feet are used in propelling the body, while the hind-feet
serve as rudders. The motion of the forefeet is very similar to that of a bird's wings, and, indeed,
all their movements are more those of flying than of swimming. These Turtles never go on shore
except to lay their eggs, and their movements at such times are slow and constrained.
Distribution op the Marine Turtles. — The Marine Turtles are most abundant in tropical
regions, and occur in considerable numbers only along the extreme southern portions of our coast.
Specimens are occasionally seen as far north as Long Island Sound, and still more rarely in Massa-
chusetts Bay and on the southern coast of Maine. I am further informed by Capt. Joseph W.
Collins, a most reliable observer, that he has frequently seen Turtles, which he believed to be Green
Turtles, about the fishing banks of Newfoundland. Such occurrences, however, must be considered
accidental, and are unimportant from a commercial point of view.
Species of commercial, importance. — The species which are of commercial impo'rtauce
are, 1. The Loggerhead ; 2. TheHawk's-billTurtlesof the east and west coasts; and, 3. The Green
Turtles of the east and west coasts. In addition to these, a species known as the "Bastard,"
Thalassochelys Kempii, Garman, has been recently described. It occurs commonly in the Gulf of
Mexico, but is not at all sought for. In contrast to the other species, it lays its eggs in the winter
months, from December to February.
Thk Leather Turtle. — Another species which may be mentioned is the so-called "Leather
Turtle," or " Luth," or " Trunk Turtle." It belongs to a different family from those enumerated
above, is larger than they, and occurs sparingly all along our Atlantic coast, from Massachusetts
Bay to Florida. It has no commercial value with us, so far as known, but in the West Indies a
fat is procured from it which is used as a lubricator.
35. THE LOGGERHEAD TURTLE.
Distribution op the Loggerhead. — This Turtle is conimouly known in the United States
as the " Loggerhead," Thalassochelys caretta, (Linu6) True, in allusion to its large and thick head.
' Dum:6ril and Bibron : Erp6tologie g^n^rale.
148 NATURAL HISTORY OP AQUATIC ANIMALS.
It occurs along the Atlantic coast from Virginia to Guiana and Brazil, and is common everywhere
in the Gulf of Mexico and among the West Indies. It is also found in the Mediterranean, where
formerly it was very abundant, and specimens have been taken on the coasts ot England and Scot-
land. Thus it appears that the Loggerhead inhabits generally somewhat more northerly localities
than most other species of Marine Turtles.
Size of the Logg-erhbad. — In size the Loggerhead is second only to the huge Leather
Turtle, previously mentioned. A specimen of moderate size, captured in 1871, measured six feet
in length, and nine feet across the back to the extremities of the fore-feet or "flippers." The head
was eleven inches long and eight inches broad. Its weight was about 850 pounds. In the more
southern localities the species sometimes attains a weight of 1,500 or 1,600 pounds. The specimens
taken on our coast about Beaufort and Morehead City, N. C, which enter into commerce, are
undoubtedly young animals. Their average weight, according to Mr. Barll, is not more than fifty
pounds.
Food. — The Loggerhead is one of the most powerful of the Marine Turtles. It swims with
very considerable speed and not ungracefully. It is frequently seen far from land, floating on the
waves and apparently asleep or resting. Unlike most of the members of the group, it is generally
considered carnivorous, feeding upon crabs, various shells, and fishes. It is said to be particularly
fond of a large conch {8trombus), which it breaks with its powerful jaws and devours in great quantity.^
Breeding habits op the Loggerhead. — On our shores this Turtle breeds in April, May,
and June, during which months the female comes to land and deposits its eggs in the sand, usually
selecting a spot on the southern side of a shoal. She scoops out a shallow pit with her hind legs,
and deposits a number of eggs, varying from 150 to 200. Having laid this large number, the Turtle
covers them with sand and leaves them to be hatched by the heat of the sun. While these animals
are engaged in this operation they seem unconscious of the presence of intruders, and from this
fact, and because they are very helpless on land, thej'' are frequently captured while so engaged.
They breed sometimes as far north as Virginia, and commonly in Georgia, Florida, and the eastern
Gulf States. The young make their way to the water as soon as hatched.
Rate op growth. — Like all other species of Turtles, the Loggerhead is probably very slow
in coming to maturity, and many years must elapse before it is fully grown. One of the small
Marsh Terrapins is said to be ten or eleven years old before it breeds,^ and it would seem that iu
marine species, which are many times larger, the period must be much longer.
Economic value. — The economic value of the Loggerhead, aside from that of its eggs, is
very small. The flesh of the adult is leathery and oily, and smells very strongly of musk; it is,
therefore, not generally eaten, although some pretend that they have partaken of it when fresh
without nausea. Formerly it was salted in the West Indies and given to the slaves for food.
Toung Loggerheads are considered tolerably esculent and are eaten to a limited extent in the
United States. They are captured from time to time on the coast of North Carolina, and sold in
the markets of the interior cities.
A large amount of oil can be obtained from this Turtle, but its rank odor unfits it for use in
cooking. It has been employed, however, to smear on the sides of vessels, which it is said to pre-
serve from worms; and to soften certain kinds of leathers. Its scales, although larger than those
of the Tortoise-shell Turtle, are very thin, and apt to be wrinkled and filled with impurities, and
therefore are not used to any considerable extent in the arts.
The eggs of the Loggerhead are larger than those of other species, and are not inferior in
flavor. They are highly esteemed as food, and also furnish a considerable quantity of oil.
'Holbbook: North American Herpetology, ii, 1842, p. 37.
i'AGASSiz : Contributions to the Natural History of the United States, ii, 1857, p. 496.
THE HAWK'S-BILL TURTLES. 149
36, THE HAWK'S-BILL TURTLES.
North American species. — These two Turtles, the former inhabiting the Atlantic and the
latter the Pacific Ocean, were for a long period erroneously considered identical. But though
different, the distinctions which separate them are of a technical nature, and we can readily treat
of them together. They are commonly known under the names '' Hawk's-bill " and "Tortoise-
shell" Turtles (Eretmochelys).
Eange of the Hawk's-bill Tcrtles. — The Atlantic species, JE. imbricata, occurs on the
southern coasts of Florida and of the States bordering on the Gulf of Mexico, and from thence
its range extends southward over the Gulf, among the West Indies, northeastward to the Bermudas,
and as far south as Guiana and Brazil. Holbrook records as an unusual occurrence the presence
of a Turtle of this species on the shores of Carolina, whither, he says, it was probably driven by a
heavy storm. ^ The Pacific species, U. squamata, occurs on our western coast, and is common also
in the Chinese and Japanese waters, and in the Indian Ocean generally.
Size. — The Hawk's-bill is smaller than either the Loggerhead or the Green Turtle. It is
generally considered that a Turtle must have a weight of about one hundred and sixty pounds
before its "shell is of suitable thickness to be used in the arts, but it often attains to at least twice
that weight, and sometimes even approaches in weight the Green Turtle."
Food and habits.— The habits of the Hawk's-bill Turtle do not differ essentially from those
of the Loggerhead. Its diet is strictly vegetable, but it is said to be much more fierce than the
carnivorous but harmless Loggerhead. It bites severely, and occasions painful wounds, so that
the fishermen have to be on their guard against its attacks. On our shores its breeding season
extends from the latter part of April to the first of July. It usually selects a gravelly rather than
a sandy beach in which to deposit its eggs.
Economic value: Grades op '■ shell." — The Hawk's-bill Turtle is chiefly valued for the
horn-like scales or plates which cover its bony shell. These form the "tortoise-shell" of com-
merce. The back of the Turtle is covered with three rows of plates, a central and two lateral
rows. The central row contains five plates and each of the lateral rows four plates; in addition,
the margin of the shell is occupied by twenty-five small plates. The plates of the three rows
covering the back are known as "blades," and collectively as the "head" of shell. The small
marginal plates are denominated "feet," or "noses." These, together with the thinner plates of
the central row, are also sometimes known as "hoofs and claws." The plates which have the
highest value are the two middle ones on each lateral row, since they have the greatest thickness
and size. The colors of tortoise-shell which are preferred are mingled "golden yellow, reddish
jasper, and white, or brown approaching black." A variety of shell in which a large amount of
white occurs is also much esteemed, especially by the Chinese. Such shell is known as " white"
head or "blonde" shell. Plates in which the patches of color are nearly of equal size, and occuj)y
nearly the same position on both sides, are also highly valued. The largest Turtle does not furnish
more than fifteen or sixteen pounds of tortoise-shell. "The best tortoise-shell comes from the
Indian Archipelago, where Singapore is the principal port for its exportation. It is also sent
from the West Indies, from the Gallapagos Islands, situated on the west coast of South America,
and from Mauritius, Cape Verde, and Canary Islands."
The plates on the plastron, or under part of the shell, are golden yellow in color. Articles
made from them are much admired in some localities. It is said that combs of this color are
eagerly sought for by Spanish ladies, who will readily pay fliteen or twenty dollars for them.
' Holbrook : North American Herpetology, ii, 1842, p. 42.
150 NATUEAL HISTOKY OF AQUATIC ANIMALS
The Hawk's-bill as food. — The flesh of the Hawk'sbill Turtle is comparatively value-
less; indeed, in the West Indies it is said that it possesses cathartic qualities in a high degree.
The Turtle is occasionally brought to our markets from North Carolina. I have seeu it in
Washington several times recently, both in the markets and before certain restaurants of the city.
The eggs are not inferior to those of other Marine Turtles, and are valuable both as food and as
the source of a limpid and not ill-flavored oil, which is used in cookery and in the arts.
37. THE GREEN TURTLES.
North Ambeican species. — The two species ot Green Turtle, the one, 0. mydas, inhabiting
the Atlantic and the other, 0. virgata, the Pacific Ocean, like the two Hawk's-bill Turtles, are very
similar in general aspect, and have been confounded by many observers. The Atlantic species,
however, has been most often described and commented upon, and it is to that species that most
of my remarks will refer.
Names. — As far as known, the Green Turtle has no other popular name in the United States
or in England. In Prance it is called the "Tortue Pranche," in Portugal the "Tartaruga," and
in Brazil the " Jurucua."
Distribution. — The Atlantic species occurs all along our coast, from Long Island Sound,
where it has been taken several times, but is not common, to Florida and the coasts of the Gulf
States. Captain Collins believes that he has seen this species on the northern fishing-banks.
It is abundant in the West Indies, and is found as far south as Guiana and Brazil; is said to
occur also along the west coast of Africa. I am informed by Mr. E. G. Blackford that the
supply for New York market is brought principally from Indian Eiver, Cedar Keys, and Key
West, Florida. The Pacific species is "found along the whole southern coast of California," but
its northern limit has not been ascertained. It is said to occur also in the Indian Ocean.
Size. — In size the Green Turtle ranks intermediate between the Loggerhead and the Tortoise-
shell Turtles. Those taken on the coast of the Carolinas are very small, but the species increases
in size southward. The specimens taken at the more northerly localities seem to be young or
dwarfed individuals, as in the case of the Loggerhead. At Beaufort and Morehead City, as Mr.
Earll ascertained, they weigh only about eight pounds; at Charleston, usually from five to fifteen
pounds, the largest weighing twenty -five pounds; about Saint Augustine, the average size is
twenty or twenty-five pounds; at Halifax Eiver, thirty -five pounds; at Indian Eiver, fifty or sixty
pounds, specimens weighing as much as two hundred pounds beipg not infrequently taken; at Key
West the weight is usually from forty to one hundred pounds ; at Cedar Keys specimens weighing
from six hundred to eight hundred pounds are sometimes taken, and rarely some weighing a
thousand pounds. Thus it appears that there is gradual increase in size as we pass southward.^
Food and feeding habits.— Holbrook makes the following statements in regard to the food
of the Green Turtle: "The Ghelonia mydas lives mostly in deep water, feeding on marine plants,
especially one called turtle-grass (Zostera marina). This, according to Audubon, they cut near
the roots, to procure the most tender and succulent part, which alone is eaten, while the rest of
the plant floats to the surface, and is there collected in large fields, a sure indication that the feeding
ground of the Green Turtle is near. In confinement, however, they eat readily enough purslain
{Portulaca oleracea), and even grow fat on this nourishment." ^ A specimen taken at Noank,
Connecticut, in August, 1874, was full of Irish moss {Ghondrus crispus). After browsing for a
1 This fact, wliich correspontls with what has been observed regard! ug some other auimalB, is of great interest from
a zoological poiut of view.
i! Holbrook: North American Hepetology, ii, 1842, p. 29.
GEEEN TUETLES: FOOD AND FEEDING. 151
time in these pasturages of sea-weed, the Turtles seek the mouths of rivers, where they apparently
take great pleasure in bathing in the fresh water, which seems to be necessary to them from time
to time. They are very timid on such occasions, and hasten away into deep water at the approach
of man. In Florida, it "is said by turtle-flshers to enter the creeks which abound on that coast,
and having eaten its fill of the sea-grass growing there, to roll together masses of it of the size of
a man's head, vrhich it cements with clay on which the grass grows, and then when the turn of
the tide takes it out to sea, follows it, feeding upon it. When, therefore, the fishermen find any
of these balls floating down from a creek, they at once spread a strong net across the mouth, and
almost always secure a number of these Turtles." '■
Bkeeding op Green Turtles. — The Green Turtle breeds on the coasts of Florida and in
the Bahamas and West Indies generally. On our coast its breeding season is from April to July.
Holbrook gives also an excellent account of the breeding habits of this Turtle, and we cannot do
better than quote his words. "In the mouths of April and May, great numbers seek for this pur-
pose [the laying of eggs] the sandy shores of desolate islands, or the uninhabited banks of certain
rivers, where they are least liable to interruption in their work of reproduction. The Tortugas
Islands are a favorite haunt ; these are four or five uninhabited sand banks, which are only visited
by turtlers and wreckers. Between these islands are deep channels, so that the Turtles come at
once to a good landing. They are not confined, however, to these islands, but are found abun-
dantly on keys and inlets on the main. The female arrives by night. Slowly and cautiously she
approaches the shore, and if undisturbed, crawls at once over the sand above high water mark;
here with her fins she digs a hole one or two feet deep, in which she lays her eggs, between one
and two hundred in number. These ' she arranges in the most careful manner, and then scoops the
loose sand back over the eggs, and so levels and smooths the surface that few persons on seeing
the spot could imagine that anything had been done to it.' This accomplished, she retreats speedily
to the water, leaving the eggs to be hatched by the heat of the sua, which is generally accomplished
in about three weeks.^ Two or three times in the season does the female return to nearly the same
spot and deposit nearly the same number of eggs, so that the amount annually would be four or
five hundred."' The young make their way at once to the water, but many of them fall a prey to
the various carnivorous birds which frequent the breeding grounds.
Uses. — The flesh of the Green Turtle is considered an excellent article of diet, and forms the
basis of the well-known "turtle soup." Two portions of the body have received special names in
the language of cookery. These are " calipash," a name for the flesh which is attached to the
upper shell of the Turtle, and is of a dull greenish color; and "calipee," the corresponding name
for the flesh adhering to the lower shell, which is of a yellowish hue.
The animal is brought to the markets of New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and other cities
regularly during the season, and large numbers are sold. The Pacific species, Professor Jordan
informs me, is seen from time to time in the markets of San Francisco, being brought in occasionally
by vessels coming from the south. The eggs of the Atlantic Green Turtle are eagerly sought for,
both on our coast and in the West Indies, and are valuable both as food and on account of the oil
they furnish. I am informed by a jjromiuent manufacturer of soap that the article bearing the
name of "turtle-oil" soap is in realitj^ made from beef or other fats, and contains not the least
modicum of turtle oil. The name is simply a "trade name"; no turtle oil has been imported into
the United States for many years.
' ICnight : Proceedings Boston Society of Natural History, 1870, p. 16.
^ Agassiz says tlie period cannot be less than seven weeks.
2 Holbrook: Op. ci/.,p. 29.
152 NATURAL HISTORY OF AQUATIC ANIMALS.
38. THE SOFT-SHELLED TORTOISES.
The marsh and river Tortoises constitute a large group, well represented in North America.
It includes all the Tortoises which live in the marshes, iresh and salt, and in ponds and running
streams. It may be conveniently divided into six sections, comprising (1) the Soft-shelled
Tortoises; (2) the Snapping Turtles; (3) the Musk Tortoises; (4) the Freshwater Terrapins; (5)
the Salt-water Terrapin and Geographic Tortoises ; (6) the Fond Tortoises.
Range oe the Sopt-shblled Tortoises.— The species of Soft-shelled Tortoises, Trionychidw,
inhabiting our country are six in number, and belong to two different genera, known scientiflcally
as Amyda and Aspidonectes. Their combined range extends from Lake Champlain, the Lower Saint
Lawrence, and the Upper Hudson on the east, westward through the great lakes and Northwestern
States, to the Yellowstone and Musselshell Rivers ; thence southward, east of the Rocky Mountains,
to Eastern Texas'; thence along the G-ulf States to Florida, and from there northward, west of the
AUeghanies, to the Upper Hudson.
"In the Northwestern States, two species occur together, belonging to two different genera,
Amyda mutica and Aspidonectes spinifer ; in the middle Western States one species, Aspidonectes
nucJialis; in the South-Eastern and Southern States, two species, belonging to two different genera,
Platypeltis [Aspidonectes] ferox and Aspidonectes asper;^ and in the South-West, in Texas, one species,
Aspidonectes Umoryi."^
These Tortoises seem to be known everywhere in the country under the single name "Soft-shell
Turtle." As the habits of all the species are very similar, it will be scarcely necessary to consider
each separately. They vary in length from six or eight inches to two feet or even more, and their
weight is from four or five pounds to fifteen or sixteen pounds. Probably the largest species is A.
spinifer.
Food. — The food of the Soft-shell Turtles consists of small fishes, snails, and other small
animals, and a variety of vegetable matter. It is said that some species do great damage in potato
fields, situated near the streams they inhabit, since they are very fond of browsing on the stems.
It is improbable, however, that they go very far from the water. They are most frequently seen
on the margin of sluggish, shallow streams, their bodies buried in the mud, and only the tip of their
long snout protruding, or crawling over the muddy bottom of the stream, or floating on its surface.
The fact of their fierceness has been regarded with doubt by some authorities, but they will
undoubtedly bite severely if provoked. They breed in June and July, seeking a dry sandy spot
on the bank of the streams they inhabit, in which to deposit their eggs. The female leaves the
water for this purpose, and returns to it immediately after the eggs are laid, leaving them to be
hatched by the heat of the sun. The number of eggs is large, varying from thirty or forty to sixty
or seventy.
Economic taltjb. — Soft-shell Turtles are commonly eaten in the regions where they occur,
and are frequently seen in the markets. Their flesh furnishes a superior article of food, surpassing,
it is said, in delicacy the flesh of the Green Turtle. The eggs also are considered very excellent.
The Turtles are captured with hook and line, almost any bait being suitable, for they snap greedily
at any kind of food. They are also shot with the rifle while sunning themselves or floating on the
surface of the water. Mr. E. C. Pridgen, of Oakohay, Mississippi, informed me that the eggs are
discovered by following the tracks of the animal to the nest, the location of which is recognized by
the presence of a little depression of the earth.
^Both belong to the same genus, acoording to Cope. See Cope: Check-list, North American Batrachia aad
Eeptilia, 1875, p. 51.
^Agassiz: Contributions to the Natural History of the Uuited States, i, 1857, pp. 402, 403.
SNAPPING TURTLES: NUMBER OF SPECIES. 153
39. THE SNAPPING TURTLES.
NOETH American species.— The Snapping Turtles, or Ghelydridce, of the United States
are two in number, belonging to two different genera, Chelydra and Macrochelys. The more
northern species, Chelydra serpentina, known everywhere throughout the United States as the
"Snapping Turtle,"' is very widely distributed. It has been found as far north as Nova Scotia,
and its range extends from that point southward to Florida and the Gulf States, and westward to
the States immediately on the west bank of the Mississippi River. It has not been recorded
from farther west than the limits given, but it is probable that it occurs even as far as the Sierra
Nevadas. The southern species, Macrochelys lacertina, known as the "Alligator Turtle," or "Log-
gerhead,"* is found in western Georgia, and in all the States bordering on the Gulf, from Florida
to Texas. It also occurs in Missouri, where it is said to receive the name "Caouane."
Size. — The northern species is considerably smaller than the southern ; twenty or thirty
pounds may be considered the maximum weight of the former, but the latter commonly attains a
weight of fifty or sixty pounds, and frequently as much as one hundred. In both the strength of
the jaws is very great. I have myself seen an "Alligator Snapper," of perhaps forty pounds
weight, bite the handle of a broom quite in two when enraged.
Both species inhabit running streams and stagnant, mnddy ponds and lakes, but they
apparently prefer the latter.^ They are sometimes seen at a considerable distance from the
water, walking with a constrained and limping gait, very similar to that of the Alligator. At
such times they are probably in search of food or of a suitable place for the deposit of their eggs.
Their food consists of various animal matter, fishes, frogs, and shells, and lastly of ducks and
other water fowl, which they draw under water to be devoured at leisure.
Breeding season and habits. — The breeding season of the Snapping Turtle is in June,
in the North from the 10th to the 25th ( Ghelydra serpentina). In preparing to deposit its eggs, it
"excavates at first directly downward, and then laterally, so that the widest part of the hole, in
which the eggs are deposited, is on one side of the external opening of the nest. Hence a stick
thrust straight into the mouth of the nest would not touch the eggs, which are laid in the lateral
dilation of the excavation.
" The fact that these animals oftentimes dig several holes before selecting one for deposit, shows
that they exercise a discrimination with regard to the fitness or unfitness of these several spots for
the encouragement and rapid development of their young. When engaged in digging or laying, not-
withstanding their habitual shyness at other times, they seem utterly unconscious of any intruder,
but proceed in their occupation till it is finished, and then trampling down and smoothing over the
earth, so that when dry the place of the nest may not be noticeable, leave the spot and disappear
among their usual haunts."^ The place of deposit is usually at a short distance from the water
in a sandy bank. The number of eggs varies from twenty to forty, or even more.
Regarding the breeding habits of the Alligator Turtle little is exactly known, but they are
probably similar to those of the Snapping Turtle.
Economic value. — Both the Snapping Turtle and the Alligator Turtle are esteemed as food,
and are commonly eaten by the people in the localities where they occur. The former is generally
considered inferior to the Soft-shell Turtles, or the Green Turtle, while it is claimed by some,
although it seems liardly probable, that the flesh of the latter is even more delicate than that of
the Green Turtle. In old animals, at any rate, the smell of musk is very strong and disagreeable.
'This is not to be confoanded with the marine Loggerhead.
"During the summer of 1877 two specimens of Snapping Turtle were caught in the salt waters of Provincetowu
Bay, Cape Cod, Massachusetts.
'Agassiz • Contributions to the Natural History of the United States, ii, 1857, pp. 500, 501.
154 NATURAL HISTORY OF AQUATIC ANIMALS.
The Snapping Turtle is regularl.v seen in spring in the markets of Washington, dressed for
cooking, that is, having the under part of the shell and the entrails removed. The eggs of both
species are comparatively small, but delicate, and are eaten in many localities. They may be
found by probing in the sand with a small rod, in places indicated by the tracks of the animal.
A large proportion of the commercial supply of the Snapping Turtle, as the observations of
Capt. J. W. Collins show, is derived from Delaware.
Storer remarks that in many localities in the interior of Massachusetts the oil of the Snax)ping
Turtle is carefully preserved on account of its supposed curative properties for bruises and strains,
when externally applied.' The carapace is used by the Indians as a rattle and ornament.
40. THE MUSK TORTOISES.
Charactbeistics of the Musk Tortoises. — It is perhaps scarcely necessary to mention
the Musk Tortoises, or Cinosternidce, in this connection. They are of small size, and possess a
very strong and rank scent of musk, which makes them entirely unavailable as a source of food
supply. Indeed, the exceeding rankness of the odor of one species, Aromochelys odorata, has
gained for it the very expressive appellation of "Stink-pot." They are very troublesome to fisher-
men, in placid waters, often swallowing the bait so quietly as to produce no agitation of the float,
so that their presence for some time is unperceived. They are often seen devouring dead and
decaying animals in streams, and therefore undoubtedly prove ef&cacious as scavengers. In fact,
it has been Surmised that one cause of the prevalence of yellow fever in the Southern States is to
be found in the wholesale destruction of various Tortoises which feed on the refuse vegetable and
animal matter which collects in the rivers, some for food and others because supposedly obnoxious.
Distribution.— Of the six species of Musk Tortoises inhabiting the United States, three are
found only in Arizona and the Sonoran region generally, one in the Southern States, except lower
Florida and Texas, and the remaining three in the Eastern and Southern States, and the central
States westward to the extremities of the tributaries of the Mississippi.
41. THE FRESH -WATER TERRAPINS.
Terrapins and Pond Tortoises. — In the group of Terrapins and Pond Tortoises are
comprised about one-half of all the Tortoises inhabiting the United States. The members of the
group vary greatly in habits and size and in other relations. Exclusive of the Marine Turtles,
they furnish the greater proportion of the reptilian food of the country. All the species are
available for food; that is to sny, none of them have disagreeable qualities such as the Musk
Tortoises, for instance, possess, but some are too small and others of too rare occurrence to
furnish any considerable supi)ly.
The Emydidce of the United States have been divided among six genera,^ based on certain
differences of their structure, and since the division is a convenient one for the present purpose,
we will adoiJt it and treat of the species of each genus together.
The Fresh-water Terrapins.— The habitat of the members of this group is decidedly
southern, for they are rarely seen north of the forty-tirst parallel of latitude. They live in moist
and marshy localities and in running water, their structure being well adapted for semi-aquatic
and aquatic life. Some are vegefable feeders, while others are carnivorous. The genus includes
seven North American species. Of these the most important is the "Red-bellied Terrapin,"
Pseudemys rugosa. The animal is also known under the names "Potter," "Red-fender," and
' Storbr: Report on the Fishes, Reptiles, ami Birrls of Massachusetts, 1839, p. 213.
''Cope: Check-list nt North Amerii-an Uatvacliia aud Reptilia, 187.^, pp. ,52, 53.
THE EBD BELLIED TEKliAPm OR SLIDER. 155
■Slider." Its range seems to be limited to the Delaware River, the Sasquehanna River, and other
streams emptying into Chesapeake Bay. It is common in the vicinity of Washington, and is
frequently seen in the markets in considerable numbers. It is a large species; the shell is usually
ten or eleven inches in length. As has been already stated, the Red-bellied Terrapin is regularly
seen in the markets, and as it is more abundant and less esteemed than the "Diamond- back
Terrapin," it is usually much lower ia price. It is commonly substituted in certain proportion for
the "Diamond-back" in making terrapin stew.
Aside from its somewhat slow growth there is apparently no reason why this Terrapin should
not be introduced into waters both north and south of its present range. It furnishes a very
considerable amount of nutritious food at no expense to the producer.
The Mobilianek. — Another important si)ecies is that known as the " Mobilianer,"
Pseudemys mobiliensis. This is perhaps the largest representative of the genus or of the whole
group in the United States. The shell is often from 14 to 16 inches in length. It is found more
or less abundantly in all the G-ulf States, from extreme Western Florida to the Rio Grande of
Texas. Its form would suggest tjiat it lives mostly in the water. Of what its food consists is
not definitely known, but it is undoubtedly mostly of a vegetable character. It is considered
quite delicate, and is esteemed as food. It is frequently sold in the markets of Mobile, New
Orleans, and other Southern cities.'
The Yellow-bellied Terrapin. — Pseudemys scabra, a species which occurs in the Carolinas,
Georgia, and ISTorthern Florida, is used to a considerable extent for food. It is known popularly
as the "Yellow-bellied Terrapin." That it is a very abundant species, at least in Florida, we may
learn from the following note, communicated to the Boston Society of Natural History in 1870, by
the Rev. 0. F. Knight:
"In the early summer [this speciesj congregates in great numbers in the shallow parts of
certain lakes, and the warm and still baj'ous near the mouths of those streams which empty into
the Gulf. On one occasion the speaker [Mr. Knight], floating quietly down stream, came upon
one of these gatherings where there seemed to be many thousands within the space of two or
three acres, covering every log and stump and hummock almost as thickly as shingles lie upon a
roof."
The Yellow-bellied Terrapin is largely a carnivorous animal. It lives on small reptiles and
other such animals as it can capture in the streams and ponds which it inhabits. In confinement,
however, it will condescend to partake of vegetable food, particularly of the common purslain,
Poriulaca oleracea, of which it seems quite fond. It is frequently brought to Charleston, South
Carolina, and other Southern markets in considerable numbers. The flesh is not considered as
delicate as that of the "Diamond-back Terrapin," but the amount furnished is greater.
Other species. — Of the remaining species it will be necessary to speak only of Pseudemys
concinna. The other three species, Pseudemys hieroglyphica, inhabiting the Middle, Western, and
Gulf States, Pseudemys Troostii, inhabiting the Mississippi Yalley, as iar north as Illinois, and
Pseudemys elegans, inhabiting Ohio and Texas and the States through which the western and
northern tributaiies of the Mississippi River flow, seem not to be sufftciently abundant to furnish
regular supplies of food. Pseudemys concinna, the " Florida Cooter," is found in all the Southern
States, from southern North Carolina to Florida, and from thence westward to Texas, and also in
Arkansas. They seem to prefer brackish waters, but are found also in fresh-water streams.
Their diet is principally of animal matter ; in Florida they are said to feed upon certain species of
worms which they capture by thrusting their long claws into the worm-holes in the clay. Although
' Holbrook: North Ameiican Herpetology, i, 1H42, p. 74.
156 NATURAL HISTORY OF AQUATIC ANIMALS.
not as abundant as tlie Yellow-bellied Terrapin, tbey are sufficiently so to furnish considerable
food, but whether they are brought to market I am not aware.
42. THE DIAMOND-BACK OR SALT-WATER TERRAPIN.
Three species of the genus Malacoolermnys inhabit the United States. By far the most
important of these, and the most valuable of all Terrapins, is the Malacoelemmys palustris, or
"Diamond-back Terrapin."
The other two species, the Geographic Tortoises, M. geographica and 31. Lesueuri, are of com-
paratively rare occurrence, and are not used for food to any considerable extent.
Distribution. — The "Diamond-back," or "Salt-water Terrapin," is common along our entire
Atlantic coast from Nantucket and New Bedford, in Massachusetts, to Texas. It also occurs in
South America. It was introduced into Italy by the Prince of Oanino, a number of years ago, but
of the success of the enterprise I have been unable to learn. Those which enter into commerce,
however, are principally from Chesapeake Bay and the coast of the Carolinas. Some very fine
ones also come from Egg Harbor, N. J.
Charactebistics and habits. — The Diamond-back lives in salt marshes near the coast, and
is seldom found far from them. They were formerly very abundant in such localities, and could
be often seen on warni days sunning themselves on the bars and flats. But the increasing demand
for them and the wholesale capture of old and young have reduced their numbers very materially.
The species is a comparatively small one, and varies much in external appearance. The females
attain a larger size than the males, and are much more highly prized in market. The average
length of the iinder part of the shell is seven inches, and the weight of the animal four or five
pounds. Rarely the length reaches ten inches, and the Terrapin weighs about ten pounds. The
fixed standard of length for salable females in most markets is six inches, but in some it is as low
as five inches. Terrapin having that length are known as "counts." The small specimens are
separated into "heifers" and "little bulls"; their under shell rarely exceeds five inches in length.
As has been already said, they are deemed very inferior to the females, and the price of them is
therefore much lower.
In regard to the rate of growth, I have seen it stated that the Diamond-back reaches
maturity, or rather lays eggs, when four years old, but this is hardly probable. It does not accord
with the observations of Agassiz and others, nor with the peculiarities of the group generally.
Experiments made by a dealer in North Carolina seem to show that the species grow about one
inch each year, so that "counts" are at least six years old. Probably ten years at least elapse
before they are fully grown.
Pood. — What the food of the Diamond -back Terrapin is does not seem to be exactly known.
Very probably, however, it consists of such matter, both animal and vegetable, as the animal is able
to find in the marshes in which it lives. When penned, preparatory to sending them to market, they
are fed on crabs, oysters, and fish. To give them the finest flavor they are said to be fed upon
celery for some days previous to being served. In the winter the tortoise hibernates and takes no
food, remaining buried several inches in the mud. Unfortunately for its welfare, a little mound of
mud is always raised above the spot where it disappears, which at once catches the eye of the
terrapin fisherman. A large proportion of the Terrapins are taken while they are in this torpid
condition.
Breeding habits. — Like all other species of Tortoises, the Diamond-back deposits its
eggs on land. When the laying season arrives the female seeks some sandy bar or bank above
water, and having excavated a shallow pit with the hind legs, deposits from five to seven eggs.
THE DIAMOND-BACK: BREEDING HABITS. 157
The breeding season occurs in the latter part of June and early part of July. It is said that the
young show no disposition to seek the water, but prefer to remain in the sand.
EooNOMio VALUE. — The Diamond-back is highly prized for food. Philadelphia furnishes
the best market for this species, but it is also sold in large numbers in Baltimore, Washington,
New York, Boston, Chicago, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Saint Louis, and many other cities. The
season lasts from the beginning of October to the first or middle of June; the best months are
October and November. The specimens from North Carolina usually appear in the market last.
The "counts," or those over six inches long, bring from eighteen to thirty-six dollars per dozen in
the market; the smaller ones are usually sold separately, at prices of from fifteen to fifty cents
apiece. These prices, however, are almost sixty per cent, higher than the prices received by the
catcher, for the Terrapins pass through several hands on their way to market. The majority of
Terrapins are actually caught in the summer months and are penned in yards, known as " crawls,"
until the marketing season arrives. A description of the crawls and of the method of capturing
the Terrapin will be found in the chapter on The Terrapin Fishery.
There are two principal modes of cooking the Diamond-back Terrapin, one known as the
Maryland style, and the other as the Philadelphia style. The Maryland style is as follows : The
Terrapin is first thrown alive into tepid water, the skin and claws are removed; a second
immersion in the water- follows. The under shell is then cut away and the gall-bladder and
liver removed. After this operation the Terrapin is stewed until thoroughly cooked. The stew
is then garnished with eggs, cream, butter, and spices, and when ready for the table a little
wine is added. The Philadelphia style is different from the preceding only in the addition of
terrapin eggs, which, in the estimation of epicures, are necessary to complete the dish.
43. THE POND TORTOISES.
The genxts Chrtsemys. — Three species of genus Ohrysemys, the Pond Tortoises, inhabit
the United States : 0. piota, whose range extends from Nova Scotia and Maine to Wisconsin and the
States on the east bank of the Mississippi, and southward to Louisiana, Northern Mississippi, and
Georgia; G. Belli, whose range is from the States on the west bank of the Mississippi, and Texas,
westward to the Sierra Nevadas, excepting the Sonoran region ; and 0. reticulata, whose range is
from Southern North Carolina to Florida and west to Louisiana. Of these the most important,
perhaps, is the Ohrysemys picta. It is a very abundant species, is of considerable size, the shell
being six or seven inches in length, and has no disagreeable qualities. It lives in ponds, ditches,
and sluggish rivers, where it is almost invariably seen lying on rocks and fallen trees, basking in
the sun. It is very timid, dropping into the water immediately on the approach of man, and soon
dies in confinement. It feeds on worms, insects, and small aquatic reptiles.
The "(Jhioken Tortoise." — Of the two remaining species G. reticulata is the more valued.
It is known under the name of "Chicken Turtle" in the region where it occurs. Its habits are
very similar to those of the preceding species, but it is a somewhat larger animal. It is
frequently brought to the Southern markets, and is somewhat more highly esteemed than the
Yellow-bellied Terrapin Pseudemys scabra.
Bell's Tortoise. — The remaining species,' G. Belli, is a fine Tortoise, but appears to be rare,
except in the Cumberland and Tennessee Rivers. Little is known of its habits, except that it
prefers clear waters. So far as I am aware it is but rarely eaten.
The genus Ohelopds: The "Bl-la-ohick." — Four species belonging to this genus inhabit
the United States, of which the most important, commercially, is C. marmoratus, occurring on the
Pacific coast between the Sierras and the sea, from Vancouver's Island to Monterey, California.
158 NATTJEAL HISTORY OF AQUATIC ANIMALS.
It lives in the rivers and fresh- water ponds, preferring those of which the water is somewhat warm.
It grows to a very considerable size, the shell frequently measuring seven or eight inches. It is
said to deposit its eggs in June. "They are almost constantly for sale in the markets of San Fran-
cisco, and make pretty good soups, though much inferior to the Sea Turtles." They are also seen
in the markets in other parts of California. The species is called "El-la-chick" by the ZSTisquallies.
The Wood Tortoise: Other species. — Chelopus insculptus, or the "Wood Tortoise,"
which inhabits the Eastern States from Maine to Pennsylvania and west to Ohio, is a species of
medium size, but though available for food, it is, as far as I am aware, rarely eaten. It lives mostly
in ponds, but is frequently seen on land, either in search of food, or, as has been suggested, to rid
itself of the leeches which cling very persistently to it. The "Spotted Tortoise" or "Speckled
Turtle," Ohelopus guttatus, and Muhlenberg's Tortoise, Chelopus Muhlenbergi, are comparatively
worthless varieties. The former occurs in the Few England States and in New York, Pennsylvania,
and Michigan, and probably also in Ohio. The latter inhabits southern New York, New Jersey,
and eastern Pennsylvania. The Speckled Turtle lives in ponds and running waters, but C. Muhlen-
bergi is frequently found on land. Both subsist principally on an animal diet. The Speckled
Turtle, when feeding, uses the fore-feet in retaining the prey, in a manner reminding one of that
of the domestic cat.
The genus Emts. — Only one species of this genus inhabits the United States; it has, so
far as I am aware, no common name. This is the Umys meleagris. It occurs in the New England
States and westward to Wisconsin. It is a rare animal and seldom seen, and hence little is known
of its habits.
44. THE BOX TORTOISES.
The Carolina Box Turtle. — To tbe genus Gistudo belong the Tortoises whicli have the
power of shutting the body and limbs within the shell, and from this peculiarity are known as
"Box Turtles." The most common species is Gistudo earoUna, with its Southern variety, triunguis,
which singularly has but three claws on the hind foot. It occurs all over the eastern United States
from the coast to the States on the west bank of the Mississippi Eiver. In the Southern States it
is known as the "Pine-barren Terrapin," and is also called "Cooter" by the negroes. It lives
almost entirely on land, feeding on insects and other animal matter, and also on certain kinds of
vegetables.
It is said to do damage in the fields to cucumbers and other growing vegetables. In confine-
ment it can be readily raised on apples and other fruits. It has been sometimes kept in
cellars to destroy mice and rats, but it is doubtful whether so sluggish a tortoise would be able to
capture so nimble a rodent as a mouse.
Another species, or perhaps only a variety of the preceding, known as Gistudo ornata, occurs
in the Mississippi Valley .^
'Although not appertaining strictly to the subject of this report, but as completing the foregoing sketch ofthe
Tortoises of the United States, I may be allowed to allude to the three Gopher Tortoises of the South and West. Tbe
Florida "Gopher," Xerobales poUiphemus, (Daudin) Cooper, inhabits the Southern States from South Carolina to Texas ;
Agassiz's Gopher, X. Agassizi, Cooper, is found in Southern California and Arizona; and Berlandier's Tortoise, X. Ber-
landieri, Agass., Southern Texas and Northeastern Mexico. All live in dry and sandy regions, and feed upon vegetable
matter. The eastern and western Gophers, and possibly Berlandier's Tortoise, dig deep burrows in which to dwell.
The Florida Gopher furnishes no inconsiderable proportion of the meat supply of many negro families in the South.
THE BULL-FEOG. 159
G.— THE AMPHIBIANS.
45. THE BULL-FEOG.
DiscoTEEY OF THE BuLL-FEOGr. — The first mention of the Bull-frog, Bana Catesbiana, Shaw,
is found in the eighteenth volume of the Philosophical Transactions, published in London in 1694,
in which Clayton alludes to it as being a larger Frog than any found in England, and one
which "makes a noise something like the bellowing of a bull.'" Tears later it was accurately
described by Catesby under the name of "Bull-frog," an appellation by which it is now universally
known.
Eange. — The geographical range of the Bull-frog has never been accurately defined. It is
found in all the States on the Atlantic seaboard, and in Canada. In the collections of the
National Museum there are specimens from Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Arkansas,
among the southwestern States; from Ohio, Wisconsin (Eacine), and Montana (Yellowstone
Eiver); and from California (San Diego). If the specimens have been correctly identified, the
species must extend over the greater part of the United States.
Size: Mode op life. — In regard to size, the Bull-frog is undoubtedly the largest animal of
its kind inhabiting North America. Holbrook^ states that it reaches a length of twenty-one
inches, although the average, of course, is considerably less. It lives in quiet ponds and slug-
gish rivers, and is solitary in habit, collecting together only during the breeding season. Like
other Frogs, it is carnivorous, feeding upon insects, mollusks, and other small animals which live
in or near bodies of fresh water. It seizes its prey when in motion, and bites greedily at the hook.
Breeding habits: Feog culture. — The Bull-frog breeds in spring, at which time hundreds
are to be seen together in small ponds. During this season the male utters the wHl-known
bellowing cry which may be heard at a long distance.
The artificial culture of Frogs has been attempted iu a number of localities, with greater or
less success. Mr. Seth Green gives the following account of a method for propagating them,
which he employed with good results :
"1. How to get the spawn. — Take a large dipper and go to the pond where the frog casts
its spawn. Ton will find them in a glutinous bunch. When you dip them up, be very careful
not to break the glutinous matter which binds them together. Put them in a pail or can, filled
with water, and take them to your hatching-box, which is made after the fashion of the shad-
hatching box. It is a box two feet long, eighteen inches wide, and a foot deep, covered on the
bottom with gas-tarred wire sieving, twelve wires to the inch. Anchor the box in a gentle
current. They will hatch in from seven to fifteen days, according to the temperature of the
water.
"2. How to take care of them. — Soon after they are hatched, they should be turned loose
in a pond prepared with great care, as they have numerous enemies, such as fish, snakes, birds,
lizards, coons, and many other animals. The pond should be made where the ground is springy,
and have plenty of soft muck in the bottom. In this muck the frog lies during the winter.
The pond should have a tiglit board fence, so that no animals could get in, and should be built
so close to the water that no bird could stand on the ground inside the fence and pick up the
'Philosophical Transactions, xviii, 1694, p. 125.
^Holbrook: North American Herpetology, iii, 1838, p. 82.
160 NATUEAL HISTORY OF AQUATIC ANIMALS.
poUiwogs. If yon do not heed all these precautions, and more too, your young fry will all
disappear down the stomach of some bird or animal ; and if you are not an unusually close
observer, you will be in great wonder where they have gone. You will have no trouble in feeding
the young while they are poUiwogs ; nature has provided for that in all waters. They feed upon
microscopic forms found in the sediment." ^
Modes op capture. — The capture of Frogs is effected in various ways. In Canada the fishery
is carried on largely by boys, who employ spears, in the use of which they are said to become quite
expert. In some localities scoop nets are used. Mr. Paul Pieombo, of Oatland, California, informs
me that he seldom has need of any apparatus, as he finds no difficulty in securing the Frogs
by grasping them with his hands.
In regard to the capture of Frogs in Europe, where the species Bana esculenta is most
generally eaten, Mr. Buckland furnishes us with the following information :
" The old fishwife of whom I bought the frogs informed me that she had a man regularly in
her employ to catch them. He went out every evening at dusk to the ponds in the neighborhood
of Paris, with a lantern and a long stick, to end of which was attached a piece of red cloth. The
frogs were attracted by the light to the place where the fisherman stood. He then lightly dropped
his cloth on the surface of the water ;. the frogs, imagining that some dainty morsel was placed
before them, eagerly snapped at it, and, their teeth becoming entangled, they became an easy prey,
destined for to-morrow's market and the tender mercies of the fish or rather frog woman.'"
Economic uses. — Desmarest, in his article on Frogs in the "Dictionnaire d'Histoire Natiirelle,"
makes the following remarks regarding the uses to which these animals may be put:
"The flesh of Frogs is white and delicate, and contains a great deal of gelatine. It is eaten
almost everywhere in Europe, but particularly in France. Frogs taken in autumn are in the best
condition for food, but they are also taken in the summer. In spring the flesh is not at all deHcate.
In England all parts of the Frog are eaten except the skin and the viscera, but with us only the
hind legs are employed.
"Frog soup is used in medicines in cases of phthisis, hypochondria, and all those chronic affec-
tions which are accompanied by permanent irritation. This remedy, which has been prescribed by
a celebrated Doctor Pomme, is not in use at the present time. In ancient days many preparations
were made from Frogs, such as oil and salve, and from the spawn, wa.ter and oil, etc. Dioscorides
recommended Frogs cooked with salt and oil as a remedy for the bite of the venomous serpents,
and would have the patient swallow a heart every morning as a pill for incurable diseases. In the
country the lack of ice is sometimes supplied by the application of a frog to the forehead in cases
of cerebral congestion." ^
The late Mr. Buckland, in his entertaining work on " Curiosities in Natural History," already
quoted, also alludes to the gastronomic value of the Frog, in his usual inimitable style, as follows:
" Frogs are not often used in Germany, but in France they are considered a luxury, as any bon
vivant, ordering a dish of them at the ' Trois Freres ' at Paris, may, by the long price, speedily
ascertaiu. Not wishing to try such an expensive experiment in gastronomy, I went to the large
market in the Faubourg Saint-Germain and inquired for Frogs. 1 was referred to a stately looking
dame at a fish stall, who produced a box nearly full of them, huddling and crawling about, and
occasionally croaking, as though aware of the fate for wbich they were destined. The price fixed
was two a penny, and, having ordered a dish to be prepared, the Dame de la Halle dived her hand in
'Eoport, Uaited States Fish Commissioner, part ii, 1874, pp. 587,588.
^Buckland, Fraxcis T. : Curiosities of Natural History, 1840, p. 39.
^Dictiouuaire Universel d'Histoire Naturelle, vi, 1845, p. 328.
THE BULL-PKOG: GASTEONOMIC QUALITIES 161
among them and, having secured her victim by the hind legs, severed him in twain with a sharp
knife ; the legs minus skin still struggled and were placed on a dish, and the head with the fore
legs affixed retained life and motion and performed such motions that the operation became painful
to look at. These legs were afterwards cooked at the restaurateur's, being served up fried in bread-
crumbs, as larks are in England; and most excellent eating they were, tasting more like the
delicate flesh of the rabbit than anything else I can think of.
" 1 afterwards tried a dish of the common English frog, but his flesh is not so white nor so
tender as that of his French brother.
" Should any person wish to have a dish of real Freiich frogs, he can buy them at Fortnum
and Mason's for half-a- guinea, a tin-easeful. They are beautifully preserved and are ready for
cooking. I have eaten them at the house of a lady who kindly invited me to luncheon when she
tried the experiment. . . .
" The edible frog {rana esculenta) is brought from the country, in quantities of from thirty to
forty thousand at a time, to Yienna, and sold to great dealers who have conservatories for them.
These conservatories are large holes, fotir or five feet deep, dug in the ground, the mouth covered
with a board, and in severe weather with straw. In these conservatories, even during a hard
frost, the frogs never become quite torpid; they get together in heaps one upon another,,
instinctively, and thereby prevent the evaporation of their humidity, for no water is ever_ put to
them."i
The custom of eating Frogs was introduced into the United States from Europe, and has
spread from the cities on the east coast to those in the interior and on the west coast. On account
of the limited supply which is sent to market, frog meat has hitherto been considered an article of
luxury, rather than one of general consumption. In- restaurants and hotels it is seldom found on
the regular bill of fare, but in those of the better class, in the large cities at least, it is not
wanting on the order-list.
The supply of Frogs for the New Tork market, according to the statement of Mr. E. G. Black-
ford, is obtained principally from Canada, JJTorthern New York, and the vicinity of Philadelphia.
The season lasts from May to November. The hind legs, or " hind quarters" as they are termed,
are the only portions usually eaten, there being but an insignificant amount of flesh on other parts
of the animal. Mr. Blackford states that he is accustomed to sell about 12,000 pounds of frog
meat annually, and it is probable that the consumption of New York City is not less than 60,000
pounds. The average retail price is thirty cents per pound.
At Boston "Frogs are sold generally by the dozen, and bring from twenty to fifty cents,
according to quality. As the demand increases the business will furnish quite a source of rural
income. . . . The subject of canning Frogs is being talked of, and efforts are being made
to discover a good process for this purpose."^
The following paragraph from an American newspaper of recent date contains some informa-
tion regarding the extent of the business in Minnesota : "A new industry has recently sprung up
in parts of Minnesota, that has already arrived at the dignity of statistics. Frog culture is the
new thing ; it is a simple matter, consisting chiefly in the protection of eggs and tadpoles from
bii'ds and other enemies, by means of wire screens. The product, thus far reported, amounts to
3,000 dozen of frogs' legs, of which about two-thirds have been shipped to Saint Louis. The
average quotation of prices is twenty cents per dozen."
Frogs are quoted regularly as appearing in the San Francisco market. Mr. Paul Pieombo,
'BUCKLAND, Pkancis T. . Cwiosities of Natural History, 1840, pp. 38-40.
^ Boston Commercial BuUetiu.
IIP
162 NATURAL HISTORY OP AQUATIC ANIMALS.
■whose name has been already mentioned, if his statements are reliable, is one of the largest dealers
in Frogs in California. He writes, in answer to a circular : " Most of the Frogs caught in this State
are caught by me"; and in response to the_ questions propounded, states that he sells about three
hundred dozens of live Frogs annually, sending two-thirds of them to San Francisco, and the
remainder to various other localities in California. The price during summer ranges from one
dollar to two dollars and a half, and in winter from three to five dollars.
P^RT III.
THE FOOD FISHES
OF THE
UISriTED STATES.
BY
G. BROWN GOODE.
WITH DISCUSSIONS OF THE PACIFIC SPECIES BY "DAVID S. JOEDAN AND TAELETON H. BEAN,
NOTES ON THE FISHES OF THE GULF OF MEXICO BY SILAS STEAENS, AND CONTEIBU-
TIONS FEOM JOSEPH W. COLLINS, N. E. ATWOOD, MAESHALL McDONALD,
E. EDWAED EAELL, LUDWIG KUMLIEN, AND OTHEE AUTHOEITIES.
ANALYSIS.
Pago.
H. — The File Fishes, Pipe Fishes, and Anglers 1*59
46. The Ocean Sun Fishes {Orthagorisaidce) 169
47. The Porcupine Fishes {Diodontidw) 1*0
48. The Bellows-Fish Familj {Tetrodontidm) 170
49. The Trunk Fishes (Og«racioK«(J(e) 170
no. The File-Fish Family {Balistidw) 171
51. The Sea-Horse Family (^Hippocampidm) 173
52. The Pipe-Fish Family (Syngn'athidw) 172
.53. The Devil Fishes {Antennariida and Maltheidce) 173^
54. The Goose Fish {Lophius piscatorius) 173
I. — The Flat Fishes and Flounders 175
55. The American Soles (Soleidm) 175
56. The Plaice {Paralichthys deniatus) '. 178
57. The Bastard Halibut {Faralichthys maculoaus) 182
58. The Flat Fish or Winter Flounder ( Pseadopleuronectea americanus) 182
59. The Flat Fishes and Soles of the Pacific Coast 184
60. The Halibut {Bippoglosaus vulgaris) 189
61. The Sand Dab or Rough Dab {Hippoglossoides platessoides) 197
62. The Greenland Turbot (PlalysomatidlUhys hippoglossoides) 197
63. The Pole Flounder or Craig Flounder {Glyptocephalus oynoglossita) 198
64. The Spotted Sand Flounder (Lopliopsetta maculata) 199
J.— The Cod Family and its Kindred 200
65. TheCod(Ga(ii(smo9T;iMa) ' 200
66. The Tom Cods ( Miciogadus tomcod and M. proximas) 223
67. The Haddock {Melanogrammm csglefinus) 223
68. The Pollock {PoUachias carbonarius) 228
69. The Cusk (Brosmius hrosme) 233
70. The Hakes (PAycis c7(Mss, etc.) 234
71. The Burbot (£o<a macitJosa). By Tarleton H. Bean 235
72. The Silver Hake and the Merluccio 240
73. Several Unimportant Families related to the Gadidie 243
74. The Lant, or Sand Eel (Ammodytes Janceolatus) 244
K. — Wolf-Fishes, Sculpins, and Wrasses 247
75. The Lycodes Family {Lycodidm) 247
76. The Wolf-Fishes or Sea Catfishes (AnarrhichadidcB) 248
77. The Blenny Family (Blenniidai) 250
78. The Toad-Fish (^airacftws to«) 251
79. The Lump-Suckers : Lump-fish and Sea-Snails 253
80. The Gobies (Goiiidce) 255
81. The Sea-Eobin or Gurnard Family {Triglidee) 255
82. The Sculpin Tribe {Cottidce) 258
83. The Eose-Fish or Eed Perch (Sebastes marinus) 260
84. The Eock Cods of the Pacific. By David S. Jordan 262
85. The Eock Trouts (C/wriScB). By Davld S. Jordan 267
86. The Tautog or Black Fish (TaMtoja oni«8) 268
87. The Chogset or Gunner {Gtenoldbrua adspersus) 273
88. The Parrot Fishes and some of their Allies 274
89. The Demoiselle and the Cichlid Families 275
90. The Surf-Fish Family (^mMo/ocito). By David S. Jordan 276
91. The Moharra Family {Gm-idce) 279
92. The Thread-Fish Family (PoJj/nemito) 279
93. The Snrgeon-Fish Family {AeanlkuHdm) 279
94. The Angel-Fish Family (ChatodonHdm) -^ ,... ''^O
165
166 ANALYSIS.
Page.
L. — The Mackerel and its Allies -- ^^^
95. The Mackerel (Scomhef soomhrus) ^°^
96. The Chub Mackerel (ScomVer eolias) ^^
97. The Frigate Mackerel {Auxis thazard) 3"^
93. The Spanish Mackerel and its AUi'es ^^
99. The Bonito {SardamnUierranea) 31^
100. The Horse Mackerel, Tunny, or kVoiaote (Orcynus thynnua) 320
101. The Little Tunny or Albicore (Oreynua alUteratus) 322
102. The Silver Moon-Fishes 322
103. The Cavally, the Scad, and the Jurels 323
104. The Pompanos {Trachynotus caroUnus, etc.) 326
105. The Pilot Fish {Naucrates ductor) 330
106. The Amber Fishes and the Leather Jackets 331
107. The Dolphins ( Coryphcmidce) -- 332
108. The Eudder-Fish Family (S<»-omo<ei(i(e) 332
109. The Dory, Hen-Fish, and Opah Families 335
110. The Cutlass Fish {TricMtirus Upturus) 335
111. The Sword Fish Family (XiijAiMffi) 336
M. — The Tile-Fish Family and Others 360
112. The Tile-Fish Family (iafiZito) 360
113. The Red Mullet Family (MitZZito) 361
114. The loosteus Family {Icoateidce) 361
115. The Beryx- Family {Bm-yoidce) 361
N.— The Drum Family .' 362
116. The Squeteague (Cynosdon regale) 362
117. The Spotted Squeteague (Cynosdon maculatum) 365
118. The Silver Squeteague ( Cynosdon nothum) 367
119. The Drum {Pogonias chromis) 367
120. The Fresh Water Drum (BapZoidono<«S5'»-»nnien«). By David S. Jordan 370
121. The Spot, or Lafayette {Liostomus xanthurus) 370
1» 122. The Red Fish, or Bass of the South (Sdmna ocellata) 371
123. The Yellow Tail {Bairdiella chrysura) 375
124. The King Fish (^Mentidrrua nebvXosna) 375
125. The Whitings (Mentidrrua alburnua and M. littoralia) 376
126. The Croaker {Mieropogon wndulatua) 378
127. The Corvinas and Eoncadors of the Pacific coast. By David S. Jordan 378
0.— Sheepshead, Bass, Bream, Perch, etc 381
128. The Sheepshead {Diplodus probatoceplialua) 381
129. The Scup or Souppang (Sienotomus cliryaopa and S. Gardeni) 386
130. The Sailors' Choice {Lagodon rhomboides) - 393
131. Certain Minor Sparoids 394
132. The Red and Gray Snappers 395
133. The Grunts or Pig Fishes 397
134. The Big-Mouth Black Bass (Micropterus salmoidea), and the Small-Mouth Black Bass (M. Dolomiei).. 401
135. The Sun-Fishes and their Allies. By David S. Jordan 404
136. The Sea Bass {Serranus atrarius) 407
137. The Groupers 410
138. The Serranoid Fishes of the Pacific coast. By David S. Jordan 413
139. The Yellow Perch (,Perca americana) 414
140. The Log Perch (Percina caprodes). By David S. Jordan 417
141. The Pike Perches 417
142. The Striped Bass (Roccua Uneatua) „ 425
143. The White Bass (Boccus chryaopa) ^ 428
144. The Yellow Bass (^Boccua inlerruptua) 431
145. The White Perch (Boooua amerioanua) 431
146. The Blue fish Family (Pomatomidce) 433
147. The Cobia or Crab-Eater {Elaeate. Canada) 444
148. The Triple Tail or Black Perch {Ldboiea awrinamenaia) 444
149. The Moon Fish {Choitodiptei-ua faler) 445
150. The Eemora Fstmilj (Echenddidce) 446
P. — Barracouta, Mullet, Pike, and Mummichogs 448
151. The Barracoota Family {SpliyrcBnidce) _ 448
152. The Deal-Fish Family (Traehypteridce) 449
153. The Mullets (Mugil albnla and M. braailienaia) 449
ANALYSIS. 167
Page.
P. — Barkacouta, Miii.lkt, Pike, and Mummichogs— Continued.
154. The Sand Smelts or Silver Sides {Atherinid(e) 45G
155. The Stickleback Family {Gastirosteidw) 457
156. The Silver Gar-flsbes (BeZonMcB) 458
157. The Flying-fish Family {Scomhei'eaocidm) 459
158. The Pike Family (aocito) 461
159. The Mummichog Family {Cyprinodontid(B) 466
Q.— The Salmon Tribe 468
160. The Salmon {Salmo nalar) 468
161. The Salmons of the Pacific. By David S. Jordan : 474
162. The Quinnat or California Salmon ( Oncorhynehu8 chouiclia). By Livingston Stone 479
163. The Namaycush or Lake Trout {Salvd'mua namaycush) 485
164. The Speckled Trout {Salvelinus fontinaJia) 497
165. The Saibling or Bavarian Char (^Salvelinus alpinus) 500
166. The Dolly Varden Trout {Salvelinus malma). By David S. Jordan *.. 504
167. The Grayling (Thymallus tricolor) 505
168. The Lake White-fish (CorfgoMMs efajjei/orniis). By E. 1. Geare 507
169. The Lesser White-fishes. By David S. Jordan 541
170. The Smelt Tribe 543
171. Families related to the Salnionidas 547
E. — The Herring Tribe 549
172. The Herring ( Clvpea harengus) ". 549
173. The Herrings of (he Pacific Coast. By David S. Jordan 568
174. The Menhaden (Brevoorlia iyrannus) 569
175. The Gulf Menhaden {Brevoortia patronua) 575
S. — The Shad and THE Alewives. By Marshall MacDonald 579
176. The Eiver Herrings or Alewives (Clupea ceatwalis and C. vet-nalia) ,579
177. On the occurrence of the Branch Ale wife in certain Lakes of New York. By Tarleton H. Bean.. .588
178. The Inland Alewife or Skipjack (Chipea chryaoeliluria) 594
179. The Shad {Clupea aapidiasima) ,594
180. The Hickory Shad or Mattowacca ( Clupea mediocris) 607
T. — Families Related to the Clupeld^ 610
181. The Mud Shad {Doroaoma cepedianum) 010
182. The Tarpnm {Megalopa thriaaoidea) 610
183. The Big-eyed Herring 611
184. The Anchovies (Engraulidce) 611
185. The Lady-fish Family (Alhulidw) 612
186. The Moon-eye Family {Hyodontidoe) 612
U.— Carp, Suckers. Catfish, and Eels 614
187. The Sucker Family (Ca<osiomi(i«B). By David S. Jordan 614
188. The Carp Family {Cyprinidw). By David S. Jordan 616
189. The Carp (Cyprinua carpio). By Rudolph Hessel 618
189. The Catfish Family ()SJ?iM-idcE). By David S.Jordan 627
190. The Morays (MiircBnidw) 629
191. The Eel (Anguilla vulgaria) 630
192. The Conger Eel (Leptocepkalua conger) » 656
V. Sturgeons, Skates, Sharks, and Lampreys 659
193. The Bowfins (Amiidai) 659
194. The Fa.(l<R6-&BheB (Polyodontidce) 660
195. The Sturgeons (Adpenseridce) 660
196. The Chimaera Family (ChimcaridcB) 663
197. The Gar Pikes (Lepidoateidca) 663
198. The Torpedoes and Skates (iJofe) 665
199. The Saw-fish (Priatia pectinatus) 668
200. The Shs,Tks (Squali) ' 668
201. The Sharks of the Pacific Coast. By David S. Jordan 675
202. The Lampreys {Petromyzontidw) ' 677
203. The Hag Fishes {Myxinidce) 681
204. The Lancelets {Branohioatomidw) 682
THE FILE FISHES, PIPE FISHES, AND ANGLERS. 169
H.— THE FILE FISHES, PIPE FISHES, AND ANGLERS.
Note. — In preparing the following chapters upon the food-fishes of the United States, the
authors have avoided all technical discussions, all descriptions of form, all digressions of the kind
in which naturalists, even when writing for the general reading public, are so prone to indulge.
We anticipate the criticism that the book is of no use in identifying the different kinds of fish, by
the statement that we expressly desire that it shall not be. We have tried to present in concise
form the information suited to the needs of the fisherman, the fish purchaser, the statistician, and
the general reader. Most of our important species can be identified by reference to the plates.
If greater accuracy of identification be needed, the inquirer is advised to consult Jordan's Synopsis
of the Fishes of North America, which forms Bulletin No. 16 of the United States National Museum
series.
46. THE OCEAN SUN FISHES— ORTHAGORISCIDiE.
The family Orthagoriscidw is represented in the Western Atlantic by two species.
The common Sun Fish, Orthagoriscus mola, with its compressed, disk-shaped body and its
elongated dorsal and anal fins, is one of the most grotesque of sea animals. This species is found
in all parts of the world in temperate and tropical seas, and has been recorded from the coasts of
Japan and California. It occurs also in the Mediterranean and on both sides of the Atlantic.
On our own eastern coast it may be observed every summer, from the Banks of Newfoundland to
Florida. It has not been seen in the Gulf of Mexico, but there is one instance of its capture at
the Bermudas. It rarely frequents the New England coast except in summer. In the winter of
1874-'75 two large specimens were taken at the mouth of the Saint John's Eiver, Florida.
Sun Fishes attain a length of seven or eight feet and a weight of seven or eight hundred
pounds. They may be seen along our coast on almost any calm summer's day. As many as ten
or twelve are often met with in the course of a day's cruise. They float lazily, with one of the
bright sides of the body just at the surface. As they float, the waves ripple and break over them,
and the heavy pectoral fins move slowly to and fro through the air; thus lying, they are very
conspicuous objects, and may be seen at long distances. They spend whole days in this position,
and may very easily be approached and harpooned. Prom this habit of sunning themselves they
have gained the name of Sun Fishes.
Their food consists of the jelly-fish, or sun-squalls, which are so abundant along the New
England coast in summer. Their jaws, however, are strong, and it would seem probable that they
sometimes seek more substantial food.
Nothing whatever is known of the place or time of their breeding : the young are occasionally
taken in mid-ocean.
Many individuals are harpooned by our fishermen every summer. They are not applied to any
practical use, but are brought to the cities and exhibited as curiosities. The fishermen of Cape Cod
sometimes make oil from the livers. This oil is prized highly as a remedy for sprains and bruises.
In the " Transactions of the Royal Society of London," 1740, was published a communication
"Concerning the Mola Salu, or Sun Fish, and Glue Made from It," contributed by the Rev. William
Barlow, in which mention is made of the capture of a specimen near Newfoundland. I am not
aware that the suggestions of this author have ever been further carried out.
As a food-fish the Sun Pish is probably the most worthless species in our waters. The flesh is
thin and hard, and, when cooked, separates into oil and bunches of tough fibers.
On the California coast, according to Jordan, this species is very abundant, especially in the
170 KATtTEAL HISTORY OF AQtTATIC ANIMALS.
Santa Barbara Channel in summer, where it may be seen lying near the surface, or even some-
times leaping from the water. It is known to the Italians as the Mola, to the Americans as the
Sun Fish. It seldom appears before June, and disappears in the winter. No use is made of it, as
it is not easily caught, and rarely, if ever, eaten. A specimen weighing 636 pounds was brought
to San Francisco some years ago.
There is a small species, Banzania trunmta, much more elongated in form, which has been
taken in various parts of the Atlantic and Pacific, but never nearer to our shores than the
Bermudas, where an individual of eight inches was captured in 1878.
47. THE PORCUPINE FISHES— DIODONTIDiE.
Swell Fishes and Puffers. — There are four species of this family inhabiting the Atlantic
coast, and two on the coast of California. The best known is the Swell Fish of New England,
GMlomyoterus geometricm. These fishes are commonly known by such names as "Burr Fish,'"
"Bail Fish," "Swell Fish," and "Toad Fish"; while in Southern Florida the names "Porgy,"
"Puffer," and "Puff Fish" are sometimes used.
With their short, thick, spiny bodies, which they have the power of inflating to twice their
ordinary size, and their harlequin-like colors, they are always conspicuous, and are favorite fish
for aquaria. After they have inflated their bellies by swallowing air, they turn upon their backs
and swim at the surface.
They have the power, when handled, of uttering loud grunting sounds.
No practical use is made of them, but their skins are often stuffed and exposed for sale in
the curiosity shops, particularly those at places of p opular resort, like Nantucket, Oak Bluffs,
Jacksonville, and Saint Augustine. These flsh belong to a tropical family, and are only seen
in summer.
Nothing definite is known about their food or breeding habits.
48. THE BELLOWS-FISH FAMILY— TETRODONTID.a:.
Of this family, which is extremely numerous in warm seas, over sixty species being known,
there are seven species in the waters of the United States, one of them being found on the California
coast. They are summer visitors from a warmer climate, and, like the members of the preceding
family, are chiefly important to curiosity hunters. They are known by such names as "Swell
Fish," "Bottle Fish," " Bellows Fish," "Egg Fish," "E&,bbit Fish," "Globe Fish," "Swell-toad,"
"Box Pish," "Porcupine Fish," and "Blower."
One species, the common Swell Fish, or Egg Fish, Tetrodon turgidm, ranges from Cape Cod to
the Gulf of Mexico, being very abundant about the eastern end of Long Island, where a hundred
or more are sometimes taken in one haul of a fyke-net.
The Eabbit Fish, Lagoceplialus IcBvigatus, is known in New England waters through the occa-
sional visits of stragglers. It is quite abundant in the Gulf of Mexico, where it is occasionally
taken with hook and line upon the red-snapper banks. According to Stearns, it breeds about
Pensacola in June and July.
This flsh, which attains the length of three feet and the weight of five or six pounds, is used
for food in Cuba, but it is not sufSciently abundant with us to have any commercial value.
49. THE TRUNK FISHES— OSTRACIONTID^.i
The Trunk Fishes, Oatraoiontidm, are occasionally taken on our coasts, especially to the south
of Cape Hatteras. We have five species, one of them being Californian. Like the Porcupine and
•See Goode: A study of the Trunk Fishes (OstraciontidcB), with notes upon the American species of the family.
■<Proceeding8 United States National Museum, ii, 1880, pp. 261-283.
THE TRUNK FISHES. 171
Swell Fishes, which have just been described, great numbers of them are preserved for sale in
curiosity shops.
The Trunk Fishes appear to have been objects of curiosity in the early days of American
exploration, and were evidently among the choicest treasures of the primitive museums of the
seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Their strange shape naturally attracted the attention of
travelers, while the ease with which their shells could be preserved then, as now, made them
valuable to the curiosity hunters.
No group of tropical fishes is so thoroughly worked out in the writings of the fathers of
Natural History as this one. Over two hundred years ago every species of Trunk Fish now taken
from the Atlantic was known to and described by the naturalists of Northern Europe, and it is a
well-deserved tribute to their discrimination as zoologists to say that none of the many efforts, which
have since been made to subdivide their species, have been at all successful.
Artedi, in his notes upon the different forms of Ostracion, mentions the various collections iu
which he observed specimens. "The Nagg's Head," "White Bear," and the "Green Dragon iu
Stepney," to which he very often alludes, seeto to have been London taverns where curiosities were
kept. He also speaks of seeing them in the museum of Hans Sloane, which was the nucleus of
the British Museum; also in the collections of D. Seba, in Amsterdam, of Mr. Lillja, in London,
of Mr. (Don) Saltcros, in Ghelsey, and of seeing various specimens at Stratford, and "in Spring
Garden." No other kinds of fishes appear to have been preserved except " the monk- or Angel-fish
Anglis, alias MermaM-fish,^^ probably a species of Squatma, which he saw in London at the Nagg's
Head and in the town of Chelsea. The art of taxidermy was evidently not thoroughly established
in 1738.
Of Ostracion bicaudalis he remarks, " Vidi Londini, in the White Bear," and " Apud D™ Sebam
vidi." Ostracion trigonus he saw " Apud Sir Hans Sloane et in Nagg's Head"; Ostracion triqueter
and 0. quadricornis, "Londini in the Nagg's Head et apud Mr. LUlia."
These specimens were all said to have come from India.
In the West Indies and in Florida the Trunk Fishes are sometimes baked in their own shells,
and, when cooked in this manner, are considered by many persons to be great delicacies.
There are instances on record of serious cases of poisoning which have resulted from eating
them. These cases occurred in tropical countries, where the flesh of fish often becomes delete-
rious after a few hours' keeping.
50. THE FILE-FISH FAMILY— BALISTID^.
File Fishes, Balistidm, are found everywhere in tropical and sub-tropical seas. It is supposed
that they breed in mid-ocean. There are numerous species in this family, of which nine or ten
occur along our Atlantic coast. They belong in warm seas, and only four species are found as far
north as New England. With their strong teeth they are able to break the shells of moUusks,
upon which they feed. They are known to be very injurious to the pearl fisheries in regions where
such fisheries exist. The best known species on our coast is the Orange File Fish, Alutera Schoepfii,
also called "Barnacle-eater" and "Fool Fish," which is rather common in Southern New England
and in the Gulf of Mexico.
This species is conspicuous on account of its bright skin, sometimes of an orange and some-
times of a tawny hue. It attains the length of eighteen to twenty inches, and feeds upon many
species of soft marine animals.
There are one or two small species which are of no importance except to the possessors of
aquarium tanks, with whom they are great favorites.
172 NATUEAL HISTOEY OF AQUATIC ANIMALS.
The Leather-jacket of Pensacola, Balistes capriseus, called "Trigger Fish" in the Carolinas, and
at Key "West and the Bermudas known as the "Turbot," occasionally finds its way as far north as
Massachusetts. It is, however, of no importance north of Florida. In the Bermudas it is con-
sidered a valuable food-fish. According to Mr. Stearns, "it is very common in the Gulf of Mexico
from Key West to the Mississippi Eiver, and lives in deep waters near the coast on the grounds
where Eed Snappers and Groupers are caught. It is one of the most abundant species. In regions
where it is not eaten it is regarded as a pest by the fishermen from its habit of stealing bait from
their hooks. Its manner of taking the bait is rather peculiar, I think, for instead of pulling the
line backward or to one side it raises it upward so quietly that the fisherman does not perceive the
motion, and then, by careful nibbling, cleans the hook without injury to itself. Expert fishermen,
howevei-, can tell by the "lifting of the lead," as it is called, what is going on below, and know what
they have to contend against. The usual remedy is to seek other fishing grounds where Leather-
jackets are not so troublesome. When one of these crafty fish has been hooked there is not much
probability that it can be landed, for its sharp, powerful teeth are almost sure to cut some part of
the gear, enabling it to escape. I have several timeS known of their biting in two the large red-
snapper hooks on which they were caught. They remain throughout the year on the fishing
grounds, where the water varies from ten to forty fathoms. On these same grounds it is probable
that they spawn."
Only adult specimens have been seen in West Florida. More could probably be learned of its
spawning habits in the vicinity of Key West, where it occurs in shallow water and quite near to
the shore. At Key West it is known as the Turbot, and is a favorite article of food. It is to be
seen almost daily in the market.
The skin of this species is used for scouring and polishing purposes at Key West and the
Bahama Islands. In the Bermudas also the skin of the Turbot is used by carpenters almost to
the exclusion of sand-paper, the former being better adapted for fine work in polishing wood.
51. THE SEA-HOESE FAMILY— HIPPOCAMPIDiE.
There are one or more species of the Sea-horse family on the Atlantic coast, and also one
on that of California. Their strange shapes and interesting habits render them very popular
inmates of aquaria, and dried specimens are frequently sold in the curiosity shops in seaside towns.
The ordinary species of the Western Atlantic is the Hippocampus heptagonus; this also occurs
in Europe. There have been only one or two instances of the capture of this fish north of Cape
Cod; one was seined with a school of mackerel on George's Bank in August, 1873. Two or three
specimens have been taken at Wood's HoU during the last ten years, and instances of their capture
in Connecticut and about the mouth of the Hudson are not rare.
A Sea-horse was described many years ago under the name H. hudsonitts, but it seems to be
identical with H. heptagonus. On the New Jersey coast and south to the Gulf of Mexico it appears
to be very abundant. An excellent account of the habits of this fish may be found in an article
by the Eev. Samuel Lockwood in the "American Naturalist."' Three other species occur on our
southern coast. H. ingens, the Californian species, is very large, often attaining the length of
eight to ten inches.
52. THE PIPE-FISH FAMILY— SYNGNATHIDiE.
The Pipe Fishes, Syngnathidce, which are closely related to the sea-horse, but have small
heads and elongated bodies, so that at first sight they closely resemble small eels, are found
nearly everywhere on our coasts, living among the eel-grass and feeding upon very minute marine
'Lockwood, SAitnTHi.. The Sea Horse and its young. <;Amer. Naturalist, i, 1867, pp. 225-234.
THE PIPE E18H FAMILY. 173
animals. There are three or four species in Eastern North America, but their relations have not
been definitely learned. I have observed them in Florida spawning in April, and in Southern
New England in July and August. They are of no importance to man except as interesting objects
for the aquarium. They are too hard and fleshless even to serve as food for other fishes.
63. THE DEVIL-FISHES— ANTENNAaiID.ffi: AND MALTHEIDiE.
The fishes of this group are very grotesque in form and very remarkable in their habits
Some of them are pelagic and are met with in tropical seas, especially where there are masses of
floating vegetation, whilst others are found in the depths of the ocean. On our coast are several
species, the names and distribution of which are given in the list which accompanies this report.
Although they are among the most interesting of all fishes, they have no commercial value, and
it is therefore inappropriate that they should be discussed in this report. The best known species
are the Marbled Angler, Pterophryne Mstrio, and the Sea Bat, Malthe vespertilio.
54. THE GOOSE FISHES— LOPHIUS PISCATORIUS.
The Goose Fish or Monk Fish, LopMus piscatorius, is common to the coasts of the North
Atlantic States and of Europe. In the Western Atlantic the species has not been observed
south of latitude 38°, where, according to Uhler and Lugger, it is found in the drains of
Worcester County, Maryland, and along the coast of that region, though there is reason to
believe that stragglers occur at Cape Lookout (latitude 34° 40'), where the jawbones have been
found, and the fishermen claim to know them. It abounds along the coast of New England, and
has been found at depths of three hundred fathoms or more off Newport, Ehode Island, and one
hundred off Halifax. The limits of its northern range are not known, Nova Scotia being the
most northerly point of record. Eichardson suggests that the Thutinameg or "Wind-flsh" of
Hudson's Bay, which is said to come to the surface in windy weather only, belongs to this
family; and, indeed, this was thought by Pennant to be LopMus piscatorius. This is at best
extremely doubtful, for its range, as now understood, is limited by the parallel of 50°. It is not
known to occur in Greenland.
Instances are on record of its capture in Iceland,' and it is said very rarely to occur at the
Faroe Islands. It has been found at the North Cape, latitude 71°, and doubtless penetrates to the
White Sea. It is found along the coasts of Scandinavia, south to Spain, and throughout the
Mediterranean, where it is abundant in the Italian waters. Either this or an allied species occurs
at the Cape of Good Hope. On the American coast it occurs at temperatures of 32° to &P.
There is some reason to think that south of Cape Cod it retreats to deep water in summer.
The names of the fish are many ; that most commonly in use among the Massachusetts fisher-
men is "Goose Fish." In Maine it is often called " Monk Fish"; in Ehode Island, "Bellows Fish";
in Eastern Connecticut, "MoUigut," and in North Carolina, "AUmouth." The Connecticut name
reminds us of the "Greedigut," a fish, probably the same, mentioned by early colonial writers,
particularly in the poem in Wood's " New England's Prospect."
In England the same names are in use; also, "Angler," "Fishing Frog," "Frog Fish," "Mer-
maid," "Bound Eobin," "Sea Devil," "Toad Fish" (Germany), "Wide Gut," and "Wide Gap."
"Kettlemaw" is like the American "AUmouth." Scotland has "Keethie," "Keghie," and "Keit-
hok." The continental languages have at least fifty distinct names in addition.
Goose Fishes are sluggish, slow-moving animals, and are occasionally seen swimming near the
surface, though ordinarily found upon the bottom. They feeds upon other fish — often on large
ones, their swallowing powers being practically unlimited. Mackerel, sculpins, sea ravens, and
' Faber : Fische Islands, p. 58.
174 NATUEAL HISTORY OP AQUATIC ANIMALS.
dog-fish, crabs, sqaids, and lobsters have been found in their stomachs by observers of the United
States Fish Commission. They 'often attempt to feed upon each other. The common name refers
to the fact that they have been known to swallow live geese. A fisherman told me he once saw a
struggle in the water, and found that a Goose Pish had swallowed the head and neck of a large
loon, which had pulled it to the surface and was trying to escape. There is authentic record of
seven wild ducks having been taken from the stomach of one of them. Slyly approaching from
below, they seize birds as they float upon the surface. They annoy the fishermen by swallow-
ing the wooden buoys attached to the lobster pots. Mr, Minot, of Magnolia, Massachusetts,
caught one by using his boat- anchor for a hook.
Although they come thus to the surface to feed, the Goose Pish is emphatically a bottom-loving
species. "It is adapted," writes the Duke of Argyle, " for concealment at the bottom of the sea—
for lying perfectly flat on the sand or among the weeds — with its cavernous jaws ready for a snap.
For more perfect concealment, every bit of the creature is imitative both in form and in coloring.
The whole upper surface is mottled and tinted in such close resemblance to stones and gravel
and sea- weeds that it becomes quite undistinguishable among them. In order to complete the
method of concealment, the whole margins of the fish, and the very edge of the lips and jaws, have
loose tags and fringes which wave and sway about amid the currents of water, so as to look exactly
like the smaller algse which move around them and along with them. Even the very ventral fins
of this devouring deception, which are thick, strong, and fleshy, almost like hands, and which
evidently help in a sudden leap, are made like two great clam-shells, while the iris of the eyes is
so colored in lines radiating from the pupil as to look precisely like some species of Patella or
limpet. But this is not all ; not only is concealment made perfect to enable the Lophius to catch
the unwary, but there is a bait provided to attract the hungry and the inexperienced. From
the top of the head proceeds a pair, or two pair, of slender elastic rods, like the slender tips of a
fishing-rod, ending in a little membrane or web which glistens in the water and is attractive to other
fish. When they come to bite, or even to look, they are suddenly engulfed, for portals open with a
rush and close again — portals over which the inscription may well be written: 'Lasciate ogni
s;peranza vol cli' entrate."'
Prom the time of JSIian every popular essay on the " Habits of Fish " or " Curious Pishes" has
told how the Angler entices its prey with its long tentacles. No one has ever seen the perform-
ance, and, although the theory is not altogether incredible, it seems more probable that the tops
of these organs are intended by their sensitiveness to warn the fish of the approach of its prey
than to act as allurements to attract other fishes.
The Goose Fish spawns in summer, in the sounds and at sea along the coast. The eggs are
very numerous, enclosed in a ribbon-shaped gelatinous mass about a foot in width and thirty or
forty feet long, which floats near the surface. One of these ribbons will weigh perhaps forty pounds,
and is usually partially folded together, and visible a foot or eighteen inches from the top of the
water, its color being brownish purple. The number of eggs in one of them I have estimated at
from forty to fifty thousand. The spawning season on the New England coast is in summer. 1
have observed the floating eggs in July and August, and in the same months young fish two or
three inches long, and undeveloped eggs in the parent fish. The young have rarely been taken
except at considerable depths. Their growth is rapid. The adult is commonly four feet long,
weighing from thirty-five to forty-five pounds.
The Goose Fish is extensively used for baiting lobster pots. Although not commonly eaten,
its flesh is very palatable. The full-grown fish will yield from ten to fifteen pounds of good meat.
In Italy it is much esteemed as an article of food, and in parts of Great Britain it is also eaten, the
steaks from the neighborhood of the tail being preferred.
THE FLAT FISHES AND FLOUNDERS. 175
1.— THE FLAT FISHES AND FLOUNDERS.
55. THE AMERICAN SOLES— SOLEIDiE.
Ameeican Soles. — The much-prized Sole of Europe, Solea vulgaris, does not occur in the
Western Atlantic, although attempts have been made to introduce it, and in 1877 two individuals
were set free in Massachusetts Bay by the United States Commission of Fisheries. Its nearest
representative, the American Sole, is found along our coast from Boston and Nahant to the mouth
of the Mississippi River. It occurs in all of the rivers south of the Susquehanna, and is taken in
great numbers in the shad seines. It rarely attains a greater length than six inches, and, though
edible, is never eaten, and it must be regarded as of extremely small importance. There are also
two or three other fishes belonging to this family in our Southern waters which are insignificant
in size and of no importance whatever.
Aphoristia atricauda is a very small species of Sole, the only genuine representative of the
European Sole on our Pacific coast. It reaches a length of six inches, and is occasionally taken
in San Diego Bay. It has no economic value.
TuEBOT AND SoLE IN Ameeica. — A Philadelphia writer has lately tried in the news-
papers to revive the long-obsolete belief that the Turbot and Sole of Europe occur on our coast.
Although he has never seen them himself, and fails to bring forward evidence that any one else
has seen them, he insists that they occur in the greatest abundance in New Jersey, particularly
in the vicinity of Atlantic City, "and doubtless all along the Atlantic coast from Portsmouth, N.
H., to Wilmington, S. C." {sic). He upbraids the American public for their incredulity, though
this does not surprise him so much when he calls to mind that " our Government Fish Commissioner
has actually contemplated sending a steamer to English waters to procure turbot-seed to plant
along our shores." He would not be surprised if incredulity were to continue longer " under such
official indorsement." He accounts for the ignorance regarding them by the theory that the
English trawl-net is unknown in America, and that our fishermen would not know how to catch
such fish if they were aware of their presence, and have not become aware of their presence
because they have no means of catching them. He intimates that he is preparing to form a
company for the purpose of developing a turbot fishery upon our coast; an enterprise "in which
but little will be risked, and the results will be a surprise to all." He closed one of his letters to
a New York journal with the following appeal : " I trust that you will not let this question subside,
but persevere in calling attention to it until we do away with the extraordinary anomaly of this
enlightened nation being within reach of treasure that for more than a century they have been
unaware of, and have remained persistently blind to."
All this is very entertaining, and furnishes a neat text for a few remarks on the history of
this belief, as well as an opportunity for demonstrating to the public a fact which has for forty years
or more been known to ichthyologists, that the Turbot and the Sole never have been seen on the
western side of the Atlantic, and never will be, unless they are introduced by artificial means.
From the beginning to the end we encounter the well-known sources of confusion — the giving of
old-world names to species which resemble in a general way the old-world species which bear them,
and the unquestioning acceptance of these names as authoritative, by persons who are not trained
to close discrimination.
176 NATURAL HISTORY OF AQUATIC ANIMALS.
When Boston was occupied by the British during the revolutionary war, the ofdcers of the
fleet are said to have been bountifully supplied with Turbot, which was caught in the neighbor-
hood of an outer harbor. This fact is recorded by Dr. J. V. 0. Smith, in his '-Natural History of
the Fishes of Massachusetts " (Boston, 1833), on the authority of William Ladd, esq., of Maine.
He also mentions " a statement of Mr. Parker, the conductor of the marine telegraph," who told
him that "many years before, Admiral Sir Isaac Coffin brought out to this country a trawl-net,
such as is used on the coast of Holland, for taking Sole for the London markets, with which
he succeeded in capturing that delightful fish in Ipswich Bay, which was not before supposed
to exist here." The fish found in this manner were no doubt the common Flat Fishes of
Massachusetts Bay. The common Flounder, Paralichthys dentatus, taken in Provincetown water,
where it is commonly called "Plaice," was in 1880 sold in Boston under the name "Turbot."
Captain Mackinnou, of the Eoyal Navy, who visited this country in 1850, conceived the idea
that Turbot ought to be found on the shores of the United States, and took pains to search for
them with a trawl-net. The nets which he used had been imported ten years before by Mr.
Nathan Smith, an American gentleman, who had hoped to introduce them, but had never used
them. Captain Mackinnou tried one net at Newport, Rhode Island, and succeeded in taking
a number of different kinds of Flat Fish. He carefully refrains, however, from pronouncing any
one of them to be identical with the Turbot or Sole, though from the vagueness of his language
it is evident that his ichthyological knowledge was very scanty, and that he was not accustomed
to observe the differences between the different species of fishes which somewhat resemble each
other. His experiences are described at length in his book of travels, entitled "Atlantic and
Trans- Atlantic Sketches, Afloat and Ashore" (Harper & Bros., New York, 1852, pp. 166-170).
Capt. C. C. Churchill, U. S. A., who saw the results of Captain Mackinnon's experiment, tells
us that the fish taken were the common species of New England flat flsljes and flounders.
We fancy that the inspiration of the new advocate of the turbot-in-America question, as well
as the information upon which he bases his conclusions, was drawn from this very same book of
Captain Mackinnou, for he uses many of the same phrases, and he repeats, in almost the same
words. Captain Mackinnon's statement : " The fish markets in America are not at all in keeping
with the size and wealth of the States," a statement which, however true it may have been thirty
years ago, will be amusing to any one who has recently had opportunity to compare the fish
markets of America and Europe. The Philadelphia gentleman sums up his evidence as follows :
"The Turbot, Sole, and Plaice are, however, in abundance in your deep-water sand banks.
They were caught there in 1812 by English sailors, and in 1880 Turbot have been obtained off
Atlantic City, if the ' Baltimore American' is any authority."
The notion that the introduction of the English trawl in America would be novel and would at
once open up a field for a fishery industry of boundless extent, deserves a word. The trawl has
been assiduously used by ihe summer collecting party of the United States Fish Commission for
ten years past, and also by Professor Agassiz upon various exploring trips. The steamers of the
Fish Commission have used it on every portion of the New England coast, and as far north as
Halifax. Professor Agassiz has used it in the Gulf of Mexico and on the coast of Florida, and
during the present summer, while on the Coast-Survey steamer "Bache," has employed it in
running five lines of research at right angles to the coast from Cape Hatteras, at points nearly
equidistivnt between Charleston and Cape Cod, one of them directly out from the entrance to
Delaware Bay. These lines were carried from near the shore to a depth of twelve hundred
fathoms or more.
THE AMEEICAJT SOLES. 177
lu 1854 Professor Baird made a careful exploration of the coast of New Jersey with a special
reference to the fishes, and since that time every stretch of coast line from Brownsville, Texas, to
Eastport, Maine, has been thoroughly investigated by the offlcers of the United States Pish Com-
mission. It is true that a new species of flsh is occasionally discovered, but the new fishes always
belong to one or two classes. These are either swift-swimming species, members of the West
India fauna, which come upon our northern shores in sum mer, or they are inhabitants of waters
more than six hundred feet deep, which have never previously been explored. The Turbot and
the Sole are shallow-water species, and, laad they occurred iu our waters, would have been discov-
ered many years ago.
There are twenty-six species of flat fishes on the east cpast of the United States. Four of
these belong to the same family with the Sole, but are utterly worthless as articles of food. The
nearest relative of the Sole is often called the American Sole, AcMrus lineatus, and is known' on
the coast of New Jersey as the Hog-choker, Cover-clip, or Cover. Of the other flat fishes only
two are positively unfit for food, and these two, strangely enough, are the representatives of the
subfamily Bhombince, to which belong the Turbot and Brill of Europe. One of these, Lophopsetta
maculata, is sometimes called the Spotted Turbot, and in New Jersey is called Window-pane, or
Daylight, because it is so thin that when held to the light the sun can be seen through its
translucent flesh.
The most important Flat Pish is the Halibut, which is identical with that of Europe. This
si)ecies, and the Pole Flounder, which has recently been brought to light in our waters by
the Fish Commission, are the only two of the number referred to that are found on both sides of
the Atlantic. We have in our waters an abundance of flat fishes, some of which, for instance, the
common Flounder of the New York market, Paralichthys dentatus, are probably fully equal to
the Turbot for food uses. In fact, it oiay be had in the New York restaurants and hotels under
this name. Another, flsh, Platysomatichthys Mppoglossoides, resembling the Turbot in flavor, is
sometimes brought to New York in winter. It is found at great depths on the coast of Newfound-
land, and is often called the American or the Newfoundland Turbot. The Pole Flounder is
very similar to the Sole in flavor and in the texture of its flesh, but it unfortunately inhabits some-
what inaccessible localities at great depths, and it is hardly to be expe«ted that, with the present
supply of excellent food-fish to be obtained at so much smaller expense, our fishermen will take the
pains to go in search of it. That the popular taste for flat fish is already cultivated is shown by
the fact that, in 1879, 1,796,000 pounds were sold in New York alone.
It is needless to refer to the efforts of the United States Pish Commission to introduce Solej
they are familiar to all who are interested in the subject. The introduction of the trawl-net has
been for many years under consideration, but this expensive mode of fishing does not seem to be
required at present, since the supply of fine-flavored food-fishes is more than equal .to the demand.
With an eye to the interest of the American fishermen. Professor Baird has recently detailed an
attach^ of the Fish Commission, one of the most experienced fishermen of Massachusetts, to study
the trawl flshfery in the German Ocean, and his report will soon b^ published.
Finally, it may not be amiss to state that Mr. E. G. Blackford, of Fulton Market, New York,
has for some time been authorized by the Commissioner of Fisheries to pay twenty-five dollars to
any one who should present a true Turbot or a true Sole, caught on this coast. This offer is still
standing. *
' Forest and Stream, xv, No. 6, September 9, 1880, pp. 103, 104.
12 P
178 NATUEAL HISTORY OF AQUATIC AliTIMALS.
56. THE PLAICE— PARALICHTHYS DENTATUS.
The Plaice, Summer Flounder, or Turbot Flounder, Paralichthys dentatus, is, next to the Hali-
but, the most important flat-fish on the eastern coast. It is a member of a genus not existing in
Europe, though represented on our own Pacific coast, in China and Japan, and in the Indian
Ocean. Its affinities are with the Halibut, which it much resembles in form, and to which it is more
similar in flavor than to the Turbot* and Brill, so well known in transatlantic fish markets. *Our
common species was first brought to notice in 17C6, when Linn£Eus received specimens from
South Carolina, sent him by Dr. Garden. It seems at that time to have been of recognized com-
mercial importance, since it was on§ of the few received by Linnaeus from Garden which had a
common name. In South Carolina at this time it was called Plaice, and this is a name which is
now accepted in the New York market and about Cape Cod, although it has never been recognized
by those who have written books on American fishes. The fishermen of the Saint John's Eiver also
use the name Plaice, but whether for this species has not been determined. In Connecticut, North
Carolina, and in Florida, east and west, as well as on other parts of the coast, the names Flounder
and Common Flounder are current. In New York and New England the name Summer Flounder
is also frequently heard. In Ehode Island the names Brail and Puckermouth are used, the former
doubtless a modification of the English name Brill, while on the bills of fare in Boston and New
York hotels it is often called the Deep-sea Flounder, at least since the Pole Flounder has been
brought to noticfe by the Fish Commission, and has obtained a reputation as a delicious table fish.
Fishermen sometimes mistake them for young Halibut, and they doubtless at times are sold under
the name of "Chicken Halibut." Turbot Flounder is another name which has been suggested,
but, upon the whole, Plaice seems most desirable for general adoption.
This fish is abundant upon the eastern coast of the United States from Cape Cod to Cape Flor-
ida, and according to Mr. Stearns' report is also found along the entire Gulf coast. Southward,
its range extends at least as far as Paraguay. To the northward it barely rounds Gape Cod.
Captain Atwood remembers that in the first half of the present century great quantities of Plaice
were found inside the Point at Provincetown. They were so numerous that in one afternoon he
caught two thousand pounds. They are now only occasionally taken, and have not recently been
seen north of Provincetown, though Storer has recorded their occurrence at Wellfleet. Captain
Atwood attributes their disappearance, which was nearly simultaneous with the advent of the blue
fish, to the fact that blue fish destroyed their favorite food, the squid, and rendered it impossible
for them to live longer in these waters. The Plaice has been much less abundant in Cape Cod Bay
within the last thirty years, but there is no evidence of considerable diminution in, numbers else-
where. On the eastern coast of Connecticut and Long Island, where the Plaice fishery is most
extensively prosecuted, it is the opinion of experienced fishermen that no change in numbers has
, been perceptible within the last thirty years. The Connecticut fishermen say that they are
frequently so abundant that they have only to throw out and pull in their lines, catching " all
they choose," while the bottom seems to be carpeted with them.
Like others of its tribe, the Plaice are usually upon the bottom, where their peculiar shape
and color protect them from observation and give them excellent opportunity to capture their prey.
In the north they are usually found at a depth of two to twenty fathoms, and in winter move off
into deeper water. In New Jersey they occur at lesser depths. Professor Baird records that they
are sometimes taken in large numbers by means of nets in the deep slues along the beach. In
winter they do not run out so far into deep water, and "at times," says Professor Baird, "seem to
be quite torpid on the shallow grounds, suffering themselves to be taken up with oyster-tongs
THE PLAICE: HABITS. 179
without making any attempt to escape." Still farther south they are found in the shallowest of
water. The fishermen of Saint John's Kiver seine them in the grass along the shores at a depth
of three or four feet. Mr. Stearns writes, speaking of the eastern part of the Gulf of Mexico:
"They are found mostly in the bays and bayous where the bottom is muddy or grassy, but it is
not unusual to find them in shoal water along the sand beaches of the coast and bays. Very shoal
water seems to be particularly attractive, and they are often found at the water's edge embedded
in the sand, with only their eyes in view. When alarmed or in pursuit of prey their movements
are very swift, and the quickness with which they bury themselves in the sand is quite wonderful."
Their habit of ascending Southern rivers is remarkable. They are said to occur in Lake
George and the other lakes at the headwaters of the Saint John's and the Ocklawaha Rivers. At
Jacksonville they are commonly taken in company with bream, black bass, and other fresh-water
fish, in winter as well as summer.
Although present in the shoal waters of Florida throughout the year, Mr. Stearns states that
they are most abundant in summer. On the Connecticut coast, however, their habit of migrating
seaward is much more pronounced. The Noank fishermen never find them until May. They say
that they never catch them until after they have fished awhile for sea-bass. As early as the first
of October they begin to grow scarce, and none are ordinarily caught after the middle of the
month. I cannot find that they have ever been seen moving in schools, though fish taken in th«
same locality at the same time are usually quite uniform in size. They shift their position, prob-
ably in search of food, and where any are found they are plenty. This indicates th^at they are
gregarious in habit: the abundance of food in special localities sufficiently explains this fact.
The Plaice feed upon small fish, scrimps, crabs and hermit crabs, squid, small species of
shell-bearing mollusks, and certain radiates, such as sand-dollars. They are frequently seen at
the surface, rapidly swimming, and even jumping out of the water, in pursuit of schools of sand-eel*
and sand- smelts. They also feed upon dead fish thrown out from the fish-houses. Little is known
of their breeding habits. All the large females observed in July and August, 1874, upon the Con-
necticut coast contained spawn, but this was, evidently, far from maturity. The Fish Commission
has obtained no very small specimens; in fact, none less than eight or nine inches in length,
though the fishermen speak of capturing six-inch individuals. Their average length is from sixteen
to thirty inches, and the weight about two and a half pounds, though it is not unusual to take
individuals weighing seven or eight pounds. At Noank about eighty fish are ordinarily packed
in a barrel, weighing from 160 to 175 pounds. The largest ever brought to Noank weighed
twenty-six pounds. Others, of whose capture I have informed, weighed twenty, seventeen and a
half, and fifteen pounds. In Florida and at Provincetown I haiye seen them three feet in length.
A one-pound fish measures about fifteen inches; a one and^^a quarter pound fish, sixteen or
seventeen; a two-pound fish, seventeen or eighteen; a three-pound fish, about twenty; a four-
pound fish, about twenty- two; ah eight-pound fish, about twenty-seven, and a ten-pound fish,,
about thirty inches. These proportions are taken front notes relating to a large number weighed!
and measured at Noank, Connecticut. The Winter Flounder or Flat Fish spawns in late-
winter and early spring near the shore, and it is possible that the Plaice breeds at about thfr
same period.
The most extensive fishery for the Plaice is in the waters of Southern New England. Favorite-
fishing grounds are on sandy bottoms, at a deptfi of ten to twenty fathoms, along the Atlanticf
side of Block Island, Martha's Vineyard, and Eastern Long Island, where they are most plentiful..
They are obtained in smaller numbers in the harbors and bays along the south shore of New
England, on Shagwam and Middle Ground Reefs, in Fisher's Island Sound and Long Island
180 NATURAL HISTORY OF AQUATIC ANIMALS.
Sound, aud outside of Fisher's Island. They are also taken in considerable numbers in the
pounds of this region, occasionally five or six hundred at a time. The quantity taken in the weirs
of Kew England in 1876 was estimated as follows:
PoundB.
Weirs on nortli side of Cape Cod 436
Weirs on south side of Cape Cod 36,000
Weirs in Vinej'ard Sound T 326,620
Weirs in Buzzard's Bay 15,749
Weirs on Block Island, estimated '. 94,500
Weirs in Fisher's Island Sound, estimated 4,000
Weirs on east end of Long Island 14,000
Traps in Ehode Island 172,250
663, 555
From other localities 50,000
713,555
Estimated annual catch of Flat Fish 600,000
1, 313, 555
Value of the above, at four cents a pound, $52,542.
These statistics of the catch in pound-nets include Plaice and Flat Fish, and in the statement
of the total catch no distinction will be made between these two species.
Immense numbers of them are sometimes taken in large seines hauled up on the beach. In
1876 E. Cleveland seined 128,000 pounds at Menemsha Bight, Massachusetts. By far the greater
quantity, however, is taken by small fishing smacks belonging to and hailing from Noank,
Mystic, and New London, which pursue tliis special business from May until October. These
vessels are usually absent from port four or five days, and spend two days in fishing. The fish
are shipped in ice from Noank and New London principally to New York, and also to inland
cities in the vicinity. A single smack, with a crew of a man and two boys, usually will obtain
and ship to New York, on an average, about 12 barrels a week, about 160 barrels a year, or
25,000 to 28,000 pounds. Captain Palmer, of Noank, in 187.S, caught on one trip of two days
about 1,000 fish, weighing, perhaps, 2,000 pounds. On this trip he used four lines. A good fisher-
man is able to manage two lines, eachv carrying two hooks. Menhaden bait is always used by
professional fishermen, though I have caught Plaice to good advantage with lobster bait. A
vessel usually consumes one barrel of menhaden on each trip. The fish strike the hook sharply
as soon as it approaches the bottom, giving little opportunity to the skates, which verj' seldom
get a chance at a Plaice's hook. In this respect they are very different from the cod. When the
fish have been hauled to the surface, they are quickly transferred, with as little injury as possible,
to the well of the smack, which is amply large enough to hold a product of two or three days'
fishing. They are thus brought alive to the place of shipment and reach the markets in excellent
condition, a fact which partially explains their popularity compared with that of other fish of the
same family.
In 1877 there were seven smacks engaged in this fishery — one from Mystic, one from New
London, and five from Noank. It was estimated by the owner of one of these vessels that each
vessel made on an average fifteen trips during the summer, and that each trip averaged 800 fish,
weighing If pounds each, making a total of 1,400 pounds to a trip, or 21,000 pounds to the season,
thus giving an aggregate of 147,000 pounds as the result of this branch of the fishery.
Captain Atwood states that in 1846 he began catching Plaice for the Boston market, in Prov-
incetown Harbor, anchoring where the keel of the smack would just clear the bottom, and anywhere
near Race Point he could catch them in great numbers, the largest weighing from ten to fifteen
pounds each. In one afternoon he caught two thousand pounds. These he carried to Boston in the
THE PLAICE : FISHERIES. 1 8 1
well of his smack and tried to sell, but was unsuccessful, though they were offered under the name
of Turbot, local prejudice being against them. In 1879 there were seven or eight boats engaged in
the plaice fishery during the month of June, this month being the best for plaice fishing. In the
latter part of July, when I made my observations, all of the winter boats had quitted for the year.
The method in use here is somewhat peculiar, and merits descri|(tion. The fishermen call it
"drailing for Plaice." The boat used is an ordinary cat-boat, managed by one persou, and is
allowed to drift with free sheet before the wind, while .the fisherman stands in the stern dragging
the line over the bottom, baited with a bit of squid or clam. The boat is kept as nearly as possible
over the places where the flats are deepening most abruptly into the basin of the harbor, and where
the water is from eight to eighteen fathoms deep. Only very large fish, weighing ten, fifteen, some-
times even twenty pounds, are taken in this manner. The average catch is from eight to twenty
a day. In one day one man reported eight, one fourteen, 'one twenty-three. Some of these fish are
sold in Provincetown, but the greater portion is sent iced to New York, where a price of twelve
cents a ])ound, wholesale, is easily obtained. In Boston there is no market for them.
On the coast of New Jersey Professor Baird states that in 18.'54 they were taken in large
numbers, by means of nets, in the deep slues along the beach. Aloug the southern coast they
are occasionally taken by the line fishermen, and a considerable quantity is seined by the river
fishermen. In the Gulf of Mexico they are rarely taken by hook and line, and are usually
speared or jigged at night, by torchlight. ,
The Plaice has always been the most popular of our In-shore flat fishes, being exempt in a
certain degree from the prejudice attaching to '■the fishes of this family. It seems to have been a
common food-fish in South Cafdlina as early as 1760, and Schoepf mentions it as one of the food-
fishes of New York in 1776. In 1856, according to Gill, it was found in the New York market io
autumn, but seems to have been less in favor than the Flat Fish. At present the Plaice is grow-
ing in favor in New York, and is upon the lists of all good restaurants, though perhaps not so
generally consumed as the Flat Fish, which comes iu the winter, when the market is less lavishly
supplied.
In Boston, and indeed throughout the greater part of New England, this, with all other
Flounders, is considered unfit to eat, and it is by no means generally popular along the Southern
coast, though in Florida its flesh is highly prized. The Connecticut fishermen esteem it greatly,
and when preparing it for their own use are accustomed to hang it in the open air for a day or
two "to dr5'," as they say. The wholesale price in New York varies from one and a half to six
cents, but is usually three cents a pound.
Another species of Flounder, closely related to the Plaice, is the common Four-spotted Flounder,
Paralichthys oblongus, which occasionally finds its way to market in company with the Plaice, and
is doubtless sold under the same name. It is a small species, rarely attaining a greater length than
twelve inches and a weight of one pound. It may be readily distinguished by the presence upon
the back of four large, dark spots, elliptical in form, but these sooH fade out after death.
Its distribution is much mor.e restricted than that of the Plaice; it is most abundant, at a
depth of ten to forty fathoms, off the southern coast of New England ; it rarely occurs north of Cape
Cod, though one individual was taken by the Fish Commission at the mouth of Salem Harbor, nor
has it been recorded south of New York. There are two smaller si)Pcies upon the Southern coast —
one, Paralichthys quadrocellatus, broader than Paralichthys oblongiis, also marked with four dorsal
spots, and known in the South as the Four-spotted Flounder. This species has been observed
as far north as Charleston and Fort Macon, while its western record of limit is Pensacola. Stearns
records it as common from Cedar Keys south to Kej' West, and pronounces it an excellent fooil-flsh.
182 NATURAL HISTORY OF AQUATIC ANIMALS.
It cannot at present, however, be considered very important. The other species, Paralichthys
stigmatias, occurs in deep water (seventy-five fathoms) off the coast of South Carolina, and may be
distinguished by the presence of three conspicuous spots upon the upper side of the body.
57. THE BASTAED -HALIBUT.
This fish {Paralichthys maculosus Girard), writes Jordan, is known as the Halibut, Bastard
Halibut, and Monterey Halibut. South of, San Francisco, where the true Halibut is not found,
the larger individuals, which really greatly resemble the Halibut, are known by that name, the
young being rarely distinguished from other " Soles." At San Francisco, where the true Halibut
is known, this species is called the Bastard Halibut, and sometimes the Monterey Halibut, as they
are mostly brought from Monterey. It reaches a length of three feet and a weight of sixty poundsj
the largest seen by us weighing fifty-five pounds. A great majority of those taken' weigh less than
three pounds, and it is said that large individuals are much less plenty than they formerly were.
Its range is from Tomales Bay to San Diego, and south of Point Concepcion. It is the commonest
species of its family. Although not rare at San Francisco, it forms no more than four per cent, of
the entire flounder catch. It lives in rather shallow water, the young abounding close to shore,
large ones being taken in the gill-nets. Large ones are more abundant at Monterey than farther
south. It feeds upon fishes and Crustacea, and in its habits seems very similar to the Eastern P.
dentatus. It spawns in early summer, like other large fishes. It is subject to the attacks of the
Bag Fish, Bdellostoma Dombeyi.
As a food-fish, it does not rank very high, the large specimens being tough and coarse
eompared to the Halibut, while the young are inferior to most of the species termed " Sole."
58. THE FIAT FISH, OB, WINTER FLOUNDEE.
Next in importance to the Plaice comes the Flat Fish, Pseudopleuronectes americanus, or
Common Flounder, sometimes called the " Winter Flounder," said to be known in Massachu-
setts Bay as Mud-dab, and occasionally to be sold in New York under the name of Sole. This
fish, like the Plaice, belongs to a genus unknown to Europe, but is closely related to the common
Flounder, or Fluke, of the British coast. Its range is somewhat extensive, and in a certain
degree it replaces the Plaice along our northern coast. It has not been observed south of Chesa-
peake Bay, but northward is common in the Bay of Fundy, on the eastern shores of Nova Scotia,
and in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, and, as far as observations have been made, upon the coast of
Labrador.
Storer, writing in 1849, remarks: "It is probably the most common Flounder on the southwest
coast of Labrador ; we met with it first, though but sparingly, at the Saint Mary's Island, and
observed it as far easterly as Bras d'Or, where it is to be found in immense numbers, the bottom
being almost alive with them, and of large size."
Flat Fish are always upon the bottom, feeding chiefly upon minute shells, such as Nucula and
Bulla, upon young crabs, or whatever they can find among the stones in the mud. Their mouths
are very small, and since they would be unable to seize and kill other fish, they never come
to the surface in pursuit of prey, as do the large-mouthed Flounders. They prefer sheltered bays
and harbors, and appear to be equally abundant on the bottmns of the sand, mud, or rock; when
at rest, they are usually partially embedded in the mud or sand at the bottom. I have observed
that, when they come to a stop, they always settle themselves by convulsive motions of the fins
and body, which has the effect of pushing them down into the soft bottom. This species is
probably a more permanent resident of the localities which it inhabits than any other on our coast,
THE FLAT PISH OE WINTER FLOUNDER: HABITS. 183
•
unless it be the sculpins. There is very little evidence of a tendency to move to and from the
shore with a change of season. Winter and summer, they appear to be equally abundant from
New York to the Bay of Chaleur, where, in the tide-way of Miramichi River, they are caught in
winter through holes in the ice. In Labrador they are described as exceedingly abundant in
summer, but notliing is known of their winter habits. Professor Baird found them scarce in
Southern New Jersey in summer, but learned that they were very abundant in the bays in winter.
Small quantities are brought to Washington in winter from the mouth of the Chesapeake.
The spawning season occurs early in spring, in February and March on the Connecticut coast,
and is thought to be closed by the first part of April. Young fish of half an Inch in length are
found in July in the deeper parts of the bays and sounds", and in August and September, having
attained the length of one and one-half to five inches, occur in great abundance in the coves and
along the sandy shores of the Southern New England coast, in very shallow water. Their growth
is probably rapid, though it would seem most likely that the five-inch specimens, just referred to,
were eighteen. months rather than six months old. The largest that have been discovered were
fifteen inches long, and would weigh from one to one and a half pounds.
The flesh of the Flat Fish is solid, white, and of excellent flavor, and deserves a more general
popularity thfn it has yet attained. It is, and has beeh for the last century, largely consumed in
New York in winter. Schoepf, writing in 1776, mentions it as occurring in the market in spring;
later, writing in 1818, he states that small numbers were found in the stalls in January and
February, taken with spears while searching for eels. These were not very inviting, owing to
their mangled. appearance and frozen state, but, with the disappearance of ice and the approach of
spring, their numbers increased, and in March the stalls were well filled with them, cheap and fresh
and good. They were only used as pan>fish. Gill wrote, in 1856: "This is the most common species
of flounder that is brotight to the city markets in the winter and spring months ; it is seldom sold
at a higher price than eight to ten cents per pound. Flounders are chiefly sold by the weight;
occasionally they are strung through the branchial apertures on twigs and nominally sold by the
bunch."
The Smooth Flounder, or Christmas Flounder, Pleuronectes glaber, is very similar in habits and
appearance to the Flat Fish, and is still closer to the Flounder of Europe, being a member of the
same genus. It may be distinguished from the former by its smooth skin, which has given to the
species, in some localities, the name " Eel-back." Its distribution is extremely limited, it having
been recorded as only found in Salem, Massachusetts, Portland and Belfast, Maine, or within the
limits of two degrees of latitude. Its range may in the future be extended farther to the north, but
it is certain that at present none occur south of Salem. lu Casco Bay they are yery abundant in
summer, and the Fish Commission secured great quantities of them in water three or four fathoms
deep in Bluelight Cove. They have never elsewhere been observed, except in winter, about Christ-
mas time, when they come into the harbors to spawn. At Salem they are, on this account, called the
Christmas Fish. Considerable quantities are caught every year by spearing them upon the sand.
At this place they are also called " Fool Fish," because, in their anxiety for food, they will bite at
any kind of bait, even at a rag. The spawning season is short, and they soon retire into deeper
water. At Portland, and in the vicinity, considerable numbers are taken in the winter fishery in
company with the Flat Fish, and with thera are sent to New York ^nd neighboring markets. In
one instance a quantity was offered for sale in the markets of Washington. The spawning season
on the coast of Maine is slightly earlier than that of Massachusetts, beginning as early as the
middle of December, while in Penobscot Bay they are taken at the very beginning of the month, full
of spawn. In Penobscot Bay they aie taken in traps, or " fliers," as the fishermen call them, shaped
184 NATUEAL HISTOEY OF AQUATIC ANIMALS.
m
sometbing like lobster-traps and baited. The young Smooth Flounder may be taken in summer on
the beaches. The largest females observed weighed twenty-three ounces, the weight of the spawn
being seven ounces. Too little attention has hitherto been paid to this fish, but it seems more
than probable that in the future it will greatly increase in favor.
59. THE FLAT FISHES AND SOLES OF THE PACIFIC COAST.
By DAvii) S. Jordan.
The Stakry Flounder — Pleuroneotes stellatus Pallas.
This species is known, wherever found, as the "Flounder," all others being considered as Bas-
tard or False Flounders. At San Francisco the name Flounder is rarely used in a generic sense,
but only as a special appellation of this species. It reaches a length of nearly thi-ee feet, and a
weight of fifteen to twenty pounds, I'arger individaals being found northward than southward along
the coast. The average length in the market is about fifteen inches, and the weight two or three
pounds. Its rate of growth is probably rapid, but we have no certain data in regard to it.
It ranges from San Luis Obispo to Kamtchatka, and from San Francisco nortkward it is by
far the most abundant species. It probably coiistitute/t half, by weight, of the total annual catch
of Flounders on the Pacific coast. It enters the mouths of rivers, aiid considerable numbers are
taken in the salmon-nets on the Lower Columbia. It is found in water of moderate depth, and is
taken in seines and gill-nets^' and sometimes with the hook.
Its food is Crustacea, mollusca, and such fishes as it can swallow, its mouth being compara-
tively small. It spawns in summer. Nothing special is known of its breeding habits. It has, no
especial enemy that we know of, with the exception of a tetradecapod, known as "fish-louse,"
which is very frequently found attached to the fins, gill-membranes, and gills of this and other
species of flounders.
As a food-fish this species is held in rather high esteem. The flesh is firm, and although
coarser than in the So-called Soles, is of fair flavor in the young. The very large individuals
(eight to twenty pounds) are sold at a lower price, and are considered »poor eadng. A considerable
portion of those in the San Francisco market come from Humboldt Bay.
This, according to Dr. Bean, is one of the Inost widely distributed littoral fish known to exist,
ranging in North America to the mouth of the Colville and Anderson Eivers on the arctic coast.
It enters extensively into the resources of Alaska, being the largest and most abundant of its kind
in that region.
A related sjiecies, P. glacialis, is especially abundant in Northern Alaska, occurring plentifully
as far south as Saint Michael'^. Although small, its great abundance and fine flavor make it
important as an article of food. Traveling parties of Eskimos generally have a supply of this fish
in their bidarras. They are usually eaten raw.
The Eough Limanda — Limanda aspera (Pallas) Bean.
This species, according to Dr. Bean, is smaller than its Atlantic relative, Limanda ferruginea,
which it closely resemble;^, and its range is rather limited. It is found about Unalashka and has
been taken at Sitka., Wrangel, and other localities in the Gulf of Alaska. Its flavor is fine, and it
is used extensively for food by Eskimos and Indians.
THE DIAMOND FLOUNDEE, 185
The Diamond Flotjndee. — Hypsopsetta guttulata (Girard) Gill.
In the neighborhood of San Francisco this spiscies is known as the "Turbot," many of the
dealers stoutly averring that it is identical with the English flsh of that name. South of Point
Concepcion the name Diamond Flounder is in use. This refers to the rhombic form of the flsh,
and the name seems an appropriate one. It reaches a length of eighteen inches and a weight of
four pounds, but as usually seen in the market its length is about one foot.
The geographic range of this species seems to be from Cape Mendocino to Magdalena Bay.
It seems to be more plentiful in the bays of Tomales and San Diego than elsewhere, apparently
preferring shallow water and sandy bottoms. It is one of the more abundant species, forming
perhaps two per cent, of the catch of Flounders in the neighborhood of San Francisco.
Its food consists mainly of Crustacea and small mpllusks. JSTofehing special is known of its
breeding habits. Its enemies are those of all Flounders, and no diseases have been noticed.- As
a food-fish it ranks high. It is one of the most flrm-fleshed of the Flounders.
TSE "SOLES" OF CALIFORNIA.
Lbpibopsetta bilinbata (Ayres) Gill.
ThiS'Species has no other distinctive name than "Sole." It reaches a length of twenty inches
and a weight of five or six pounds. Its average weight in the market is about three pounds. It
ranges from Monterey to Alaska, and its relative abundance steadily increases as we go north-
ward from Monterey to Vancouver's Island. In Puget Sound it ifiakes about thirty per cent, of
the flounder catch ; about San Francisco barely two per cent. It lives in rocky places in deep
water, and most of those taken about San Francisco come from the neigh borhood of the Farallones.
It takes the hook more readily than any of the other small- mouthed Flounders, and considerable
numbers are taken by the Chinese on their set-lines, especially at Monterey. They feed chiefly on
crustaceans and small fishes.
Nothing special is known of its breeding habits, and nothing distinctive of enemies or
diseases. It is perhaps more subject to the parasitism of the fish-louse than any of the other
species. i
Dr. Bean found this fish abundant in Alaska, and one of the most important of the flat fishes
in that territory.' It is there regarded as an excellent food-fish . The natives spear it as it lies
entirely concealed in the loose sand along shore, where it comes at eventide to feed on small
crustaceans.
Pakophrts ischyeus Jordan and Gilbert.
Four specimens only of this species have been seen. These were taken with a seine at Seattle.
It resembles the preceding in appearance, and probably in habits. Those seen were about eighteen
inches long, and weighed about three pounds.
" This is a coarse, rough fish in its general appearance, greatly resembling the Flounder, Pleu-
ronectes stellatus, but differing from it in the ctenoid scales, and in the presence of an accessory
lateral line, characters in which it agrees with the next species. It has hitherto been found only
in Puget Sound, and reaches a length of about eighteen inches." — LocMngton.
I Paeopheys vetulus Girard.
This species is always called Sole by the fishermen. It is one of the smallest species, reach-
ing a length of about fourteen inches and a weight of about two pounds. Those usually seen in
186 NATUEAL HISTORY OF AQUATIC ANIMALS.
market average less than half a pound. It is found from Santa Barbara to Alaska, and from San
Francisco northward is extremely abundant. In number of individuals taken, this c.pecies is
exceeded only by Pleuronectes stellatus. In number of pounds it probably ranks below Eippotjlox-
soides Jordani. It forms about one-fifth the whole flounder catch ©f the coast. It lives near the
shore, and is taken in gill-nets and seines. It feeds on Crustacea and the like. As a food-fish it
meets with a ready sale, but its flesh is rather poor and tasteless. It spawns in spring. Nothing
farther is known of its breeding habits, and nothing of its enemies or diseases. It is often found
in the stomachs of larger predaceous fishes.
Its flesh is softer than that of other Flounders, and it does not make an attractive appearance
in the market. It always readily sells, however, and the quality of the flesh is probably better
than that of some of the other kinds.
Pabophrys isolbpis (Lockington) Jordan and Gilbert.
This species, too, is a Sole to the fishermen. It reaches a length of about fifteen inches and a
weight of about two and a half pounds. Its usual length is about ten inches, with a weight of
half a pound. It ranges from Monterey to Paget Sound, inhabiting rather deep water and
becoming larger in size and more plentiful northward. About San Francisco it is mainly taken
by the paranzelle fishermen, who obtain it in great numbers, but it forms less than one per cent, of
the flounder catch of the coast. Its food is mainly Crustacea and moUusks. It spawns in spring,
at which season the largest catches of it are made.
Large specimens of this species are sold with the best Soles {PsettichtKys), which they greatly
resemble. Small ones rank with Olyptocephalus pacificm and the like, and often cannot be sold.
CiTHAEiOHi HTS SOEDIDUS (Girard) Gthr.
This species is often known as the "Plaice" in Puget Sound. About San Francisco it
becomes, like the others, a "Sole.'' It is one of the smallest species, reaching a length of fifteen
inches, and a weight of two pounds. Its average weight in market is little more than half a
pound. It ranges from San Diego to Puget Sound, being rare south of Point Concepcion, and most
abundant about Monterey. It lives in comparatively deep water, and is considered distinctively
a deep-water species b.\ the fisliermen in Puget Sound. It takes the hook very readily, and great
numbers are taken on set-lines by the Chinese, to dry for market. It probably makes about eight
per cent, of the entire flounder catch of the coast. It feeds on small fishes, the anchovy being
one of its special ariicles of food.
PSBTTICHTHYS MBLANOSTICTUS Girard.
f
This species is everywhere a Sole, and at San Francisco it is considered to have a better
claim to that title than any other species. It reaches a length of about twenty inches, and a
weight of four or five pounds. Its average length is about fifteen inches. It ranges from Mon-
terey to Wrangel, Alaska. It lives at no great depths, and is about equally abundant the entire
length of the coast. Although never found in large numbers, it is always present in the markets,
and forms some five per cent, of the entire flounder catch of the coast. It feeds upon fishes and
Crustacea.
Nothing special is known of its breeding habits, enemies, or diseases. As a food-fish it is
considered the best of the family by those who distinguish it from related species.
/
THE CALIFORNIA "SOLES." 187
HiPPOGLOSsoiDBS JoitDANi LockingtoD.
This speoies is known universally as the "Sole." I have also heard the Italian name "Soglia"
iipplied to it more often than to related species. It reaches a length of eighteen inches, and a
weight of six or eight pounds, the average being abont three. It ranges from Monterey to Puget
Sound, being comparatively scarce north of Cape Mendocino, but in Monterey Bay the commonest
species, and forming probably fifteen per cent, of the Flounders in the market of San Francisco.
Great numbers are taken by Chinamen on set-lines baited with anchovies. It lives in water of no
great depth. It feeds upon anchovies, shrimps, and all sorts of small fishes and Crustacea. It
spawns in early summer. Nothing especial is known of its breeding habits. Its enemies and
diseases are similar to those of other Flounders.
It is one of the best of the Flounders as a food-flsh. Great n umbers are dried yearly by tho
Chinese, who suspend them by strings on a frame placed on the roofs of the houses, as they are
too fleshy to dry well on tables. Here they rustle in the wind, and, striking together, produce a
sound like the wind among the leaves.
"It appears strange," remarks Lockington, "that this common species should have escaped
the notice of naturalists until last year. In the markets of San Francisco it abounds throughout
every month of the year, and in Monterey Bay it is the most abundant of its tribe. Professor
Jordan informs me that about five hundred pounds' weight of this fish are taken daily at Monterey
alone by the Chinese, besides large quantities taken by the Italians. An examination of the stock
in trade of the Chinese located near Monterey, proved that over nineteen-twentieths of the fish
that dry on hurdles and flap in the wind around the hovels consisted of this fish; a few sharks,
with Psettichthys melanostictus and Citharichthys sordidvs, constituting the remainder."'
It occasionally reaches sixteen inches or more in length and a weight of five pounds, and is
considered one of the best of its tribe, but is inferior to the Black-dotted Flounder, the Turbot, and
one or two others. It becomes rare northward, yet occurs in Puget Sound; south of Monterey it
is not on lecord.
HIPPOGLOSSOIDBS EXiLis Jordan, and Gilbert.
This species is one of the smallest, reaching a length of about nine inches, and a weight of less
than a pound. It inhabits deep waters on sandy bottoms from San Francisco to Puget Sound.
It is taken in the sweep-nets of the paranzelle in spring off Point Eeyes in enormous numbers,
sometimes nearly a ton at a time. In Puget Sound it is less common, although frequently taken
in seines. It has not been noticed by naturalists until the present year, and has probably been
rarely taken until the introduction of the paranzelle. It feeds on small fishes, crustaceans, etc.
It spawns in spring, perhaps coming from still deeper water, as in the winter none were noticed in
the markets. Its enemies and diseases are unknown. Most of those taken by the paranzelle are
thrown overboard. The flesh is soft, and the fish does not sell for enough to pay for bringing it in.
This species is readily distinguished from the preceding by its much more slender torm, and
by the large size of the scales, which are very delicately ciliate on their hinder edge. The eyes
are very large, their longitudinal diameter contained about three and one-third times in the length
of the head. The greatest depth is contained about three and a half times in the total length.
In July it was tolerably (jpmmon in the markets of San Francisco, and its previous rarity is
probably occasioned by the fact that it is only taken in tolerably deep water, and is too small to be
considered of much value.
' Report, Commissioner of Fisheries State of California, 1880, p. 25.
188 ISTATURAL HISTORY OF AQUATIC ANIMALS.
The specimens I have seen were from eight to ten inches in length, and three-quarters of a
pound in weight. It occurs in Puget Sound, but is not very common.
HiPPOGLOSSOiDBS ELASSODON Jordan and Gilbert.
This species reaches a length of about fifteen inches, and a weight of two or three pounds at
least. It has been found in Puget Sound, in rather deep water about the wharves of Seattle,
Washington Territory, and New Tacoma. It takes the hook vei;y readily, and affords the boys
considerable amusement. Its value as food is probably similar to that of H. Jordani.
Dr. Bean states that he has specimens from Kodiak, Unalashka, and the Shumagin Islands,
Alaska. It is a food-fish of some importance in these localities.
Xystbeuk'xs liolepis Jordan and Gilbert.
This species reaches a length of fourteen inches and a weight of two pounds; ranges fi'om
Point Concepcion southward. It lives in water of moderate depth, usually about the kelp. It
takes the hook readily, spawns in spring, and feeds on Crustacea and small fish. It is too scarce
to have any special economic value.
Atheeesthes stomtas Jordan and Gilbert.
This species, so far as known, does not exceed eighteen inches in length and one and a half
pounds in weight. It is perhaps the slenderest Flounder known. It has only been seen among
fishes taken in the sweep-nets 6f the paranzelle off Point Eeyes, and only about a dozen specimens
are known. It probably inhabits considerable depths, and will doubtless be found to belong to the
Alaskan fauna.
The Slippery Sole— Glyptocephalus paoifious Lockington.
Like various other species, this fish is known as the Sole, wherever found. It reaches a length
of fifteen inches and a weight of two pounds. As usually seen in the market, it is about eight
inches in length and weighs about half a pound. It inhabits "deep or cold waters, and ranges from
Monterey to Vancouver's Island. In California it is only taken in deep water, and is therefore
rarely brought in except by the paranzelle, who obtain it sometimes in enormous numbers. In
Puget Sound it comes nearer shore, and is often taken in the seines. It has been brought into
the San Francisco market only since the establishment of the paranzelle fishing a few years ago.
Since then, it has rapidly increased in abundance in the market, and now makes about five per
cent, of the Flounders sold in San Francisco. Many pounds of small ones are daily thrown away
in the spring and summer. It feeds on Crustacea and the like.
It spawns in May and June, and probably then comes into shallow water, as the catch is then
greater than in winter. The large ones are considered among the best of the Flounders. The
small ones are little valued. The whole boc^y is "excessively slimy when out of water, more so than
in any other Flounder.
The Long-einnbd Sole — Glyptooephaltjs zaohiexts Lockington.
This species is likewise known as a Sole, but occasionally distinguished as long-finned. It
reaches a length of eighteen inches and a weight of about two pounds. The average length is more
than a foot. It has been thus far noticed only in deep water about ^an Francisco and Monterey.
It is one of the least abundant of the Flounders, rarely more than a dozen coming into the San
Francisco market in a week, and often for long periods none at all. Until the introduction of the
paranzelle, it was unknown at San Francisco.
THE CALIFORNIA "SOLES." 189
In respect to food, breeding habits, and localities, it agrees entirely with G. pacificus so far as
we know. Its skin is not slimy, and its flesh is very Arm and white^ and said to be of very superior
flavor, similar to that of the European Sole.
" Up to the present time," says Lockington, " this species is only known from the markets of
San Francisco, to which it is brought from deep water near Point Eeyes, some thirty miles north
of the city. It is comparatively rare ; seldom more than three or four are offered for sale on any
one day, and it is not brought in at all in the winter. It attains a length of eighteen inches, and
a weight of about two pounds, and is held in high esteem. Hitherto it is only known to occur in
Monterey Bay and in the vicinity of San Francisco. As its mouth is too small for the hook, and
its habitat too deep for the gill-nets, it is taken chiefly in sweep-nets."
• The three following species are very similar in size, appearance, habits, and value, and the-same
remarks, except in regard to distribution, will apply to them all :
Pleuronichthys tertioalis Jordan and Gilbert.
Pleuroniohthys quadrittjbbrctjlatus (Pallas) Lockington.
Pleuronichthys coenostjs Girard. \
These three species have no distinctive popular names, the fishermen confounding them with
various other species under the name of Turbot and Sole.
As usually seen in the markets, these species average about ten inches in length, P. verticalis
being usually the smallest of the three, and P. qwadrituber.culatus the largest; all, however, reach
sometimes a length of fifteen inches and a weight of two or three pounds.
P. quadrituberculatus and P. verticalis have been thus far noticed only in Monterey Bay and
about Point Eeyes and tbe F'arallones. P. ccenosus is found from San Diego to the Aleutian Islands,
and is especially abundant in roeky coves about Puget Sound. All three of them are now
migratory and live in considerable depths of water, being rarely taken near shore except in the
spawning time.
Compared with other Flounders, none of these are ever abundant. Fifteen individuals of the
three species together would be a large proportion in one haul of the gill-net in Monterey Bay,
in the season of their spawning. At other times tliey rarely -come near enough to shore to enter
a gill-net.
Unlike the other Flounders, these three species feed chiefly or entirely on plants; the stomach
and intestines are always full of algae, and, although they occasionally take the hook, animal food
makes a small portion of their diet.
These species spawn in the spring, chiefly in May and June. Nothing is known of theii;
breeding habits, further than that they are taken in the gill-nets and in the sweep-nets of the
paranzelle in greater numbers at that season than earlier in the year, and they probably spawn in
sandy places, and otherwise live among the rocks.
No special enemies are known, other than predatory fish, and no diseases have been observed.
As food-fish, they are not distinguished from related species.
60. THE HALIBUT— HIPPOGLOSSUS VULGAEIS.
The Halibut, Hippog\ossus vulgaris, is widely distributed through the North Atlantic and
North Pacific, both near the shores, in shallow water, and upon the off-shore banks and the edges
of the continental slope down to a depth of two hundred to two hundred and fifty fatlioms or more.
In the Western Atlantic the species has not-been observed south of the fortieth parallel, stragglers
190 NATURAL HISTORY OF AQUATIC ANIMALS.
having occasionally been taken off Sandy Hook, Block Island, and Montauk Point, while it ranges
north at least to Cumberland Gulf, latitude 64°, and to Holsteinborg Bank in Davis Strait, and
as far as Disko aud Omenak Fiord, latitude 71°, on the coast of Greenland, five or six degrees
within the Arctic Circle. Along the entire west coast of Greenland they exist, abundant about
Iceland and'%orth to Spitzbergen, in latitude 80°. No one knows to what extent they are
4istributed along the European aud Asiatic shores of the Arctic Ocean, but they have been
observed on both sides of the North Cape, in East aud West Denmark, and from the North Cape,
latitude 71°, south along the entire western line of the Scandinavian Peninsula, in the Skager
Eack and Cattegat, but not, however, so far as I can learn, in'the Baltic. Halibut are occasion-
ally seen in the southern part of the North Sea and in the English Channel: south of latitude 50°
their range in the Eastern Atlantic appears to cease. There is yet some question whether it is
found in Southern Ireland, but some of the largest individuals recorded from Great Britain were
taken in the Irish Sea, off the Isle of Man.
On the Pacific coast the Halibut, which has been shown by Dr. Bean to be identical with that
of the Atlantic, ranges from the Farallone Islands northward to Bering Straits, becoming more
abundant northward. "Its center of abundance," says Bean, "is in the Gulf of Alaska, par-
ticularly about Kodiak, the Alexander Archipelago, and the Shumaigins. Large halibut are
numerous about the Seal Islands, but the small ones have been killed by the seals. I have
heard from good authority of their capture as far north as Saint Lawrence Bay, near East Cape,
in Siberia. It has several times been reported from off the heads of Marcus Bay, Siberia." It
is occasionally taken off San Francisco and about Humboldt Bay. In the Straits of Fuca and in
the deeper channels about Puget Sound it is taken in considerable numbers.
A large halibut bank exists in the mouth of the Straits of Fuca, about nine miles from Cape
Flattery in a northwesterly direction, and their capture is an important industry to the Coast
Indians.
The Halibut is emphatically a cold-water species. That it ranges nine or ten degrees farther
south on the American than on the European coast, is quite in accordance with the general law of
the distribution of fish-life in the Atlantic; indeed, it is only in winter that Halibut are known to
approach the shore to the south of Cape Cod, and it is safe to say that the temperature of the
water in which they are at present most frequently taken is never, or rarely, higher than 45°, and
seldom higher than 35°, and often in the neighborhood of 32°. Its geographic range corresponds
closely to that of the codfish, with which it is almost invariably associated, though the cod is less
dependent upon the presence of very cold water, and in the Western Atlantic is found four or five
degrees — in the Eastern Atlantic at least two — nearer the Equator, while the range of the two
species to the north is probably, though not certainly, known to be limited relatively in about the
same degree. In the same manner the Halibut appears to extend its wanderings further out to
sea, and in deeper and colder water than the cod. Although observations on this point have
necessarily been imperfect, it seems to be a fact that, while cod are very rarely found upon the
edge of the continental slope of North America, beyond the 250-fathom line, Halibut are present
there in abundance.
Common names. — The name of this species is quite uniform in the regions where it is known,
though, of course, subject to certain variations in the languages of the different countries, and
its characteristic features are so unmistakable that it is rarely confcpnded with other species^
the only fish for which it is ever mistaken seeming to be the Turbot of the European coast, with
which it sometimes interchanges names. In Scotland it is said that the Halibut is frequently
called the Turbot, and Yarrell has expressed the opinion that in instances where it had been
THE HALIBUT: COMMON NAMES. 191
claimed that Halibut had been taken in the south of Ireland the Turbot -was the species actually
referred to.
"Halibut" and "Holibut" are words which are as old as the English language. In Germany
it is called "Heilbutt" or "Heiligebutt"; in Sweden, "Btilleflsk" or " Halleflundra," while in
Holland the name is "Heilbot."
In studying these names it should be borne in mind that " bat" or " bott" is another word for
a flounder or flat fish, and that the English, Dutch, German, and Scandinavian prefixes to either
this word or the equivalent word Flounder are presumably of the same meaning. A false
derivation has been imagined for the name, which is exemplified in the German word "Heilige-
butt" just mentioned, and also in the English orthography, which is sometimes encountered
"Holybut." This is without foundation, for the Halibut has never been mentioned more than any
other species of fllat flsh, and the dferivation is as fanciful as the New England one of " Haul-a-
boat," which our fishermen have frequently assured me was the proper name, referring to the size
and strength of the fish. The true derivation of the word is best understood by a study of its
Scandinavian names, from which it appears that the prefix has reference simply to the holes or
deep places at sea in which the flsh is found, and that the name simply means "a deep-sea fish,"
'r " a deep sea flounder." The name " Platan " which a species bears in France is not distinctive,
the fish being ^Imost unknown in that country.
DiSTRiBTTTiON IN THE NoRTHWESTEEN ATLANTIC. —Ths general distribution of the Halibut
having been sketched in outline, it seems appropriate to discuss more fully the range and abun-
dance of the flsh upon the coast of North America, where they are sought by American fishing
vessels, and in this discussion some of the facts already briefly stated will necessarily be repeated
in part or at length. Halibut are taken abundantly on Holsteinborg Bank, at the southern entrance
to Davis Strait, latitude 67° north. and longitude 54° to 56° west, where several Gloucester
schooners have in .past years obtained large cargoes of salted fish. In Etzel's "Gronland," the
materials for which were largely derived from Eink's "Gronland geographisk og statistisk
Beskrevet," published in 1857, the distribution of the species in this region is quite fully discussed.
It is there stated that Halibut are taken chiefly in the southern part of North Greenland, and
especially on the shoals among the islands in the district of Egedesminde, especially about Agto,
Eiskol, and Ikerasak, in latitude 68°, and somewhat less. near Disko, in latitude 70°. They are
captured most abundantly in the spring and fall, when the Greenlanders take many in these
localities. They are even taken, at greater depths, as far north as Omenak, in latitude 71°. In a
later work, however, Eink asserts that " the Netamak or larger Halibut is found on the banks, as
well as in different places outside the islands, up to 70° north latitude, in depths of from thirty to
fifty fathoms." 1
In the same later work Eink remarks that Halibut are plentiful in the fell about Egedesminde,
especially about Agto, the southernmost outpost of North Greenland.^
Eegarding the occurrence of Halibut in South Greenland, Etzel goes on to state that in July
and August they are taken on the outer coast and among .the islands at depths of thirty to fifty
fathoms, while in winter they frequent deeper regions and are but seldom seen, chiefly on the cod-
'Bkown, Robert: Danish Greenland | its People and its Products | By | Henry Eink | Knight of the* Order of
Dannebrog | Director of the Royal Greenland Board of Trade | Formerly Inspector of South Greenland | Author of Tales
and Traditions of the Eskimoes, etc | (Cut of medal.) | Edited by | Dr. Robert Brown, F. L. S. F. R. G. S. | Author of
The Races of Mankind, etc | With Illustrations by the Eskimo, and a Map | Henry S. King & Co., London | 1877.
8vo, pp. xvii, 468, 16 plates, and a map on p. 1 (p. 134).
"Eink : Op. dt, pp. 340, 341.
192 NATUEAL HISTOEY OF AQUATIC ANIMALS.
banks off Holsteinborg and in the sounds farther south.' Eink narrates that " in the year of the
war," when the Europeans were obliged to supply themselves with provisions from Greenland,
there were taken among the islands off Godthaab (64° 8' north latitude) two thousand Halibut, and
that in a single half day two boats took over one hundred. This was in 1809. They are rarely
taken in the district of Julianshaab, in latitude 60° 43' north.
Peter C. Sutherland, writing of Eiskol Bank, in 1850, stated that Halibut wefe then very
abundant in that locality, and that the cod-fishing vessels which visited Davis Strait every season
use them to bait their hooks, though the supply far exceeded the demand for this purpose. ^
On the return of the Penny Expedition, in 1851, Sutherland narrates that when crossing the
Arctic Circle, in longitude 53°, the sailors put over lines baited with park and hooked a cod and a
Halibut at the depth of forty fathoms.^
The most northern occurrence of the Halibut on the western side of Davis Strait is that
recorded by Mr. Ludwig Kumlien, naturalist of the Howgate expedition, who saw a large indi-
vidual taken by the Eskimos off the mouth of Davis Strait, near latitude 64° north.
Eichardson, in the "Fauna Boreali- Americana," speaks of the occurrence of the species on the
Greenland coast, but seems to have no authentic information of its having been observed even as
far north as Labrador on the .opposite side. '
There can be no reasonable doubt that Halibut are found along the entire eastern coast of
Labrador, though there is no other published record of their occurrence nortli of Eed Bay, in the.
Straits of Belle Isle, near latitude 51° 40' north, where they were observed by Mr. Horatio E.
Storer, several having been taken during his stay at that place in the summer of 1849.^
They are abundant in certain parts of the Gulf of Sainii Lawrence, especially the island of
Anticosti, and are also found along the entire coasts of Newfoundland and the eastern shores of
Nova Scotia.
In June, 1878, the schooner "G. P. Whitman," of Gloucester, caught a fare of Halibut in two
to twelve fathoms of water near Green Point, Newfoundland. The crew said that they could see
the fish lying on the bottom in shallow water.
Capt. George Olsen, schooner "Proctor Brothers," arrived at Gloucester August 2, 1880, with
22,000 pounds' weight of fresh Halibut, from Anticosti. He reported Halibut plenty then at the
western end of the island close inshore — within half a mile; he saw the Halibut sporting near
and OU: the surface ; he found they would not bite, as on the banks, at Halibut bait, and since fresh
herring or capelin could not be obtained, could get only a partial trip of Halibut. They were good
fish, weighing sixty to eighty pounds.'
According to M. H. Perley they are found in the Bay of Fundy up to its very head, where
they are taken in summer in Cumberland Bay, near the light-house off Apple Eiver, and also in
West Bay. He states that they are also found on the south shore of the Bay of Fundy, and
abundantly from Cape Split to Brier Island, as well as in the Annapolis Basin.^
'Etzbl, Anton von: Gronland geographisch iiud statistiach besohrieben. Aus danischen Quellsohiiften vou
Anton von Etzel. Stuttgart, J. G. Cotta'solier Verlag, 1860. sVo, pp. xiv, 6S5 (p. 254).
« Sutherland, Peter C. : Journal of a Voyage in BaiBn's Bay and Barrow Straits in the years 1850-1851, per-
forinedbyH. M. Ships "Lady Franklin" and "Sophia" . . . in search of the missing crews of H.M. Ships "Erebus"
and "Terror." . . . By Peter C. Sutherland, M. D., M. E. C. S. E., Surgeon to the Expedition. In two volumes.
. . . London: . . . 1852. (Vol. i, p. 26.)
= SaTl-lERLAND: Oj3. Clt , ii, p. 341.
■• Stoeek, Hokatio Robinson : Observations on t'lie Fisheries of the Coasts of Nova, Scotia and Labrador, with
Descriptions of New Species. <Proc. Boat. Soc. Nat. Hist., vi, 1857, pp. 247-270, pis. vii-vlii (p. 267).
* Statement of A. Howard Clark.
i>Eeports on the Sea and liivcr Fisheries of New Brunswick, 1852, pp. 159-163.
THE HALIBUT: DISTEIBUTION. 193
Perley's report was prepared in 1852, aud there is no evidence of a diminution in that region
since the time he wrote.
Mr. J. Matthew Jones tells me that Halibut are occasionally taken at Five Islands in the
Basin of Minas, but that this is of rare occurrence.
I am indebted to Captahi Ashby for the following facts about the southern limits of the
distribution of the Halibut:
He has never known them to be found south of Sandy Hook, where large ones are occasion-
ally taken in winter. In May, 1876,. the schooner " Oartwright," fishing ten miles southeast of
Montauk Point, caught many Halibut. In February, 1876, some Noank smacks caught a few Hal-
ibut about eight miles from land, off the southeast point of Block Island. Within the last forty
years one or two Halibut have been taken off the outer shore of Fisher's Island. He has never
known any to be taken in Long Island Sound. Halibut are sometimes taken in three fathoms of
water among the breakers of Kantucket, in " blowy weather." Forty years ago they were abundant
about Gay Head and Neman's Land. There has been no systematic fishing there lately, but
some Halibut have probably been taken.
The local papers chronicled the capture, on May 1, 1876, off Watch Hill, Ehode Island, of an
eighty-pound Halibut, the first taken in that vicinity for many years.
They are occasionally taken along the shores of Maine and Massachusetts, but so seldom that
a capture of this kind by one of the inshore fishermen is always mentioned in the local papers.
Abundance. — Half a century ago Halibut were extremely abundant in Massachusetts Bay.
Elsewhere in this essay are given several instances of their great plenty and voracity, as narrated
by some of the early fishermen of Cape Ann. Of late years, however, few are found except in
deep water on the off-shore banks.
The presence of so important a food-fish as the Halibut in America did not long escape the
observations of the early English explorers. Capt. John Smith, in his " History of Virginia," wrote:
"There is a large sized fish called Hallibut, or Turbut: some are taken so bigg that two men have
much a doe to hall them into the boate; but there is such plenty, that the fisher men onely eate
the heads & finnes, and throw away the bodies: such in Paris would yeeld 5. or 6. crownes a
peece: and this is no discommodity."
Size. — The Halibut is surpassed in size by only three of our eastern species — the sword fish,
the tunny, and the tarpum. There is said, by experienced fishermen, to be a great difference in the
size of the two sexes, the females being much the larger; the male is said rarely to exceed fifty
pounds in weight, and to be, ordinarily, in poor condition and less desirable for food. The average
size of a full-grown female is somewhere between one hundred and one hundred and fifty pounds,
though they are sometimes much heavier. Captain Collins, who has had many years' experience
in the Gloucester halibut fishery, assures me that he has never seen, one which would weigh over
two hundred and fifty pounds, and that one weighing over two hundred and fifty pounds is
considered large. There are, however, well-authenticated instances of tbeir attaining greater
dimensions. Captain Atwood, in communication with the Boston Society of Natural History, in
1864, stated that the largest he had ever taken weighed, when dressed, two hundred and thirty-
seven pounds, and would probably have weighed three hundred pounds as taken from the wavii-.
In July, 1879, however, the same reliable observer saw at Provincetown two individual? taken
near Eace Point, one of which weighed three hundred and fifty-nine pounds (three hii-iiiired and
two pounds when dressed), the other, four hundred and one pounds (three hundred .'ir.d twenty-
two pounds when dressed).
13 P
194 NATUEAL HISTOEY OF AQUATIC ANIMALS.
There is a tradition in Boston that Mr. Anthony Holbrook, one of the early fish-dealers
of that city, had in his possession a Halibut, taken at New Ledge, sixty miles southeast of Port-
land, which weighed over six hundred pounds. This storj'^, which is recorded by Storer in his
"Fisheries of Massachusetts," Captain Atwood believes to be untrue. Halibut, weighing from
three to four hundred pounds, though unusual in comparison with the ordinary size, are by no
means rare. I have before me a record of ten or twelve such, captured on the New England coast
during the past ten years. Nilsson, a Swedish ichthyologist, has mentioned the capture of a Hali-
but on that coast which weighed seven hundred aud twenty pounds. There are stories of Halibut
ten feet in length; a fish weighing three hundred and fifty pounds is between seven and eight feet
long aud nearly four feet in width. The largest individuals are not considered nearly so good for
table use as those of less than one hundred pounds' weight. A fat female of eighty pounds is,
by good judges, considered to be in the highest state of perfection. Males are not, however, so
highly esteemed. Small Halibut, known as "Chicken Halibut," ranging from ten to twenty
pounds, are much sought after by epicures, and bring a high price in the New York and Boston
markets. They are comparatively rare, however, and a Halibut weighing ten pounds or less is
rarely seen; the smallest recorded on our coast was about five inches in length and was taken by
Professor Verrill in a dredge-net in the Strait of Canso.
The Halibut of the Pacific are apparently similar in dimensions to those of New England.
Mr. Anderson, inspector of fisheries for British Columbia, states that they there attain a weight of
200 pounds.
The wholesale dealers of Gloucester, in buying fresh Halibut from the fishermen, recognize
two grades ; one, which they call " Grey Halibut," they consider to be of inferior value, and pay
a lower price for. The Grej' Halibut are distinguished by dark cloudings or blotches upon the
under side, which in the most remarkable fishes are pure white. Almost all the largest Halibut
are classed among the Greys. Fishermen claim that there is no actual difference between the gray
and the white fish, and it is a fair question whether they are not right.
MiGrKATiONS. — It is useless to attempt to describe here the migrations of the Halibut from
place to place; although much information has been received upon this subject, the problem re-
quires long and careful study.
The history of the halibut fishery has been a peculiar one. At the beginning of the present
century these fish were exceedingly abundant in Massachusetts Bay. From 1830 to 1850, and
even later, they were extremely abundant on George's Banks; since 1850 they have partially
disappeared from this region, and the fishermen have since been following them to other banks,
and since 1874 out into deeper and deeper water, and the fisheries are now carried on almost
exclusively in the gullies between the off-shore banks and on the outer edges of the banks in water
one hundred to three hundred and fifty fathoms in depth.
Captain Benjamin Ashby, of Noank, Connecticut, who is familiar with the fisheries south of
Cape Cod, informs me that they frequent the deepest water in the spring and fall, and that they
come up in the shoal water, in sixty or seventy fathoms, in May and June, while in July they begin
to go out again into deep water, and by the latter part of the month are on the way into the gully
on northeast part of George's Bank.
Captain Collins briefly expresses his views as follows : " Halibut are found in the deep water —
say from one hundred to two hundred and fifty fathoms in depth — on the edge of all the banks from
George's to the Grand Bank the year round. Sometimes, however, they are found more numerous in
comparatively shallow water in the winter and early spring. This was the case in the winters and
springs of 1875-'76 and 1876-'77, as well as in the year preceding. But in 1878 there was no great
THE HALIBUT: MIGRATIONS. 195
catch of Halibut in less than one hundred fathoms on any of the banks. The great schools that
were found in the western part of the Grand Bank in February and March, 1876 and 1877, appear to
be migrating. The fish that were found to the south of latitude 44° north were mostly small-sized
white Halibut. They went off the bank into deep water, and nobody knew what became of them.
Those that were caught to the north of this parallel were mostly large gray flsh, and were traced as
far as Saint Peter's Bank. These are possibly the same flsh— they are certainly the same kind of
iish— that struck in on the western coast of Newfoundland in the summer months in pursuit of
capelin."
Gapt. George A. Johnson states that the large Halibut frequent the outer and deeper part
of the banks, while the little " bull flsh" lie inside, on shallower ground, and are caught on the inner
end of the trawl lines, but that sometimes the large Halibut come up on the shallow grounds.
On the coast of Newfoundland, Anticosti, and Labrador, Halibut frequently run inshore in
summer after capelin. When in shallow water near the shore they are usually wild and very active.
The fishermen within eight years have extended their fishing much farther out to sea ; previous to
that time the greater part of the Halibut were taken on the top of the Grand Bank in thirty to
fifty fathoms of water, but after the beginning of April the flsh went elsewhere, and the flshermen
lost sight of them. They soon learned, however, to follow them down the slopes of the banks, bnt
before 1876 had rarely flshed in water deeper than seventy to ninety fathoms. Since that time, as
has already been stated, fishing has been carried into twice or three times that depth. All that can
at present be said in explanation of their movements is that they occur in great schools, and, soon
consuming the available food in any one locality, are obliged to shift their position to some other
place where they can find fresh pastures. It does not seem possible that their migrations can be
caused by conditions of temperature or are in connection with their breeding habits. During the
breeding season the schools sometimes remain for months in one locality, and these places are
generally of limited extent. While spawning but little if any food is found in their stomachs.
Food. — They are large-mouthed, sharp-toothed, voracious, although adapted for life upon the
bottom, and doubtless feed largely upon crabs and mollusks ; they are particularly fond of fish of
all kinds ; these they waylay, lying upon the bottom, invisible by reason of their flat bodies, colored
to correspond with the general color of the sand or mud upon which they rest. When in pursuit
of their prey they are active, and often come quite to the surface, especially when in the summer
they follow the capelin to the shoal water near the land. They feed upon skates, cod, haddock,
menhaden, mackerel, herring, lobsters, flounders, sculpins, grenadiers, turbot, Norway haddock,
bank clams, and anything else that is eatable and can be found in the same waters. Captain Ashby
tells me that common flounders and flat flsh are among their most favorite food; they follow them
up on the shoals of George's and Nantucket ; they lie in wait for them on the sand-rips and catch
them as they swim over. He has seen a half bushel of flat flsh in the stomach of one ; they stow
them away very tightly. He has often seen Halibut chasing flat flsh over the surface of the water.
About Cape Sable their favorite food seems to be haddock and cusk. He has seen eight or ten pounds
of haddock and cod taken out of one of them. When they are on the shoals they are sometimes
filled with flat-fish, haddock, cusk, sculpin, and herring, but when in deep water he has found very
little food in them. They eat crabs and other crustaceans, but shells are rarely found in their
stomachs, except those of clams and mussels.
Captain Hurlbert tells me that when the vessels are dressing codfish on the Grand Banks, and
the back-bones and head are thrown overboard, these are frequently found in the stomachs of
Halibut taken in the same locality.
196 NATURAL HISTORY OF AQUATIC ANIMALS.
Mr. William H. Wonson, of Gloucester, has seen live lobsters six inches long taken from the
stomach of a Halibut. Captain Marsh states that they feed on whiting, mackerel, and herring.
He remarks : " Halibut will drive off any kind of fish and take charge of the ground."
At the meeting of the Boston Society of Natural History, in 1862, Dr. W. O. Ayres stated that
he had seen a block of wood, a cubic foot in dimensions, taken from the stomach of a Halibut, where
it had apparently lain for a long time. Capt. George A. Johnson found an accordion key in one of
them. Olafson, in 1831, studying them on the coast of Greenland, found not only pieces of iron and
wood in them, but in the stomach of one individual a large piece of floe ice. Captain Collins
has observed that they often kill their prey by blows of the tail, a fact which is quite novel and
interesting. He described to me an instance which occurred on a voyage home from Sable Island
in 1877 : " The man at the wheel sang out that he saw a Halibut flapping- its tail about a quarter
of a mile off our starboard quarter. I looked through the spy-glass, and his statement was soon
verified by the second appearance of the tail. We hove out a dory, and two men went in her,
taking with them a pair of gaff-hooks. They soon returned bringing not only the Halibut, which
was a fine one, of about seventy pounds' weight, but a small codfish which it had been trying to
kill by striking it with its tail. The codfish was quite exhausted by the repeated blows, and did
not attempt to escape after his enemy had been captured. The Halibut was so completely engaged
in the pursuit of the codfish that it paid no attention to the dory, and was easily captured."
The Halibut, in its turn, is the prey of seals, of the white whale, and of the various large
sharks, especially the ground shark, or sleeping shark, in the stomachs of which they have some-
times been found; their sides, 1 am told by Captain Collins, are often deeply scarred, probably by
the teeth of the sharks, or in their early lives by months of larger individuals of their own kind.
SPAWNiNa. — There is diversity of opinion regarding their spawning. Some fishermen say that
they spawn at Christmas time, in the month of January, when they are on the shoals. Others
declare that it is in summer, at the end of June. Capt. George A. Johnson, of the schooner
"Augusta H. Johnson," of Gloucester, assures me that Halibut "spawn, just like the human race,
at any time of the year." In April, 1878, he was fishing on Quereau Bank, and found large and
small Halibut, the large ones full of spawn. In May he was on the Le Have Bank, where he found
only small male fish full of milt; in June he was on Le Have again, fishing in shallow water,
where he found plenty of "small bull fish, with their pockets full of milt"; in July he was again
on Quereau Bank, where he found a school of small and big male and female fish, all, apparently,
spawning, or ready to spawn, "with milt and pees soft"; in August he was on the outer part of
Sable Island, where he found females full of spawn.
Captain Ashby, speaking of the Halibut on George's Banks, states that roe is always found in
them in May and June. The roes of a large Halibut caught by him in 1848 on the southwest part
of George's, and which weighed 356 pounds, after it had been dressed and its head removed,
weighed 44 pounds. He states that the Halibut in this region have spawn in them as long as
Connecticut vessels continue to catch them, or until September. He has seen eggs in Halibut
of twenty pounds' weight, and thinks that they begin to breed at that size. The spawn of the
Halibut is a favorite food of the fishermen of Southern New England, though never eaten by those
of Cape Ann.
Captain Hurlbert, of Gloucester, tells me that on the Grand Banks of Newfoundland the
halibut school used to come up in shoal water, in forty or fifty fathoms, in summer, and that the
spawn was ripest about a fortnight later. In August, 1878, he found many with the spawn already
run out. At that time several Gloucester fishermen reported that the Halibut on Le Have and
Quereau Banks were full of spawn. Captain Collins told me that in July and August, and up
THE HALIBUT: SPAWNTING HABITS. 11)7
to the first of September, they are found here with the ovaries very large, aud are often seen with
the ova and milt exuding. The ovaries of a large fish are too heavy to be lifted by a man, without
considerable exertion, being often two feet or more in length. At this time very little food is
found in their stomachs. In September, 1878, the Fish Commission obtained from Captain Collins
the roes of a fish weighing from 190 to 200 pounds, taken by the schooner " Marion" on the 13th
of the month on Quereau Bank. This fish was taken at the depth of 200 fathoms, and the temper-
ature of the water was roughly recorded at 30° F. These ovaries were put into a basket with
ice and brought to the laboratory of the Fish Commission, where they were found to weigh seven-
teen pounds, two ounces. Part of the eggs were nearly ripe, and separated readily, while others
were immature aud closely adherent to each other. A portion of the roe, representing a fair aver-
age of the size of the eggs, was weighed, aud was fonnd to contain 2,185 eggs; the weight of this
portion was two drams. The total number of eggs was from this estimated to be 2,182,773. It
is not yet known whether the eggs float or rest upon the bottom, nor is it known how long is the
period of incubation, nor what is the rate of growth of the fish. As has already been mentioned,
young fish are very unusual; the smallest ever seen by Captain Ashby in Southern New England
was taken on Nantucket Shoals, and weigb.ad two and a half pounds after it had been eviscerated.
Abnormal individxjals. — Left-handjd Halibut are sometimes taken. Perhaps one out of
five thousand is thus abnormal in its form, having the eyes upon the left rather than upon the
riglit hand side of the head.
Halibut with dark spots or patches on the under side of the same dark color as the back are
occasionally taken. These are called by the fishermen "Circus Halibut." They are generally of
medium size, and thick, well-fed fish.
61. THE SAND DAB, OR ROUGH DAB.
The Sand Dab, or Eough Dab, Hvppoglossoides platessoides, also sometimes known as the Rusty
Flounder, is taken in winter by the line fishermen of New England, and small quantities are doubt-
less brought to market and sold with other flat fishes without discrimination as to species. It
often attains the length of twenty to twenty-four inches, and the weight of two to five pounds,
and is, in all respects, a desirable food-fish, being highly esteemed on the other side of the Atlantic.
In summer, individuals of this species are to be found only in very deep water, thirty fathoms or
more, on the New England coast, and, though never very abundant in any one locality, might be
taken in considerable quantities, in company with the Pole Flounder, by the use of a trawl-net, or
even by specially devised trawl-lines.
The Rough Dab has not been observed south of Wood's Holl, Massachusetts, but ranges north
to Greenland, is abundant on the English coast, and is a well-known food-fish of Scandinavia. Its
breeding habits in our waters have not been observed, but in Southern Sweden the spawning time
is in April and May. It is a large-mouthed species, feeding upon fish as well as upon large inverte-
brates, such as crustaceans and annelids, and mention has been made of it more on account of ita
possible value in the future than for its present importance.
62. THE GREENLAND TURBOT.
The Greenland Turbot, Plafysomatichthys hippoglossoides, though never occurring in our inshore
waters, is found on the off-shore banks, as far south as George's Bank, and a certain quantity of
them is usually brought to New York every winter. It is emphatically an arctic species, being
abundant on the coast of Greenland, often found at Holsteinborg and beyond, and along this
entire coast very eagerly sought by the natives. The Eskimo name is " Kalleraglik," and the
fish is also known as "Little Halibut." In Giinther's great work on "The Fishes of the British
198 NATUEAL HISTORY OF AQUATIC ANIMALS.
Museum," he has confused this species with the true Haliljut, making it appear that only the former
is to be found on the coast of North America. In Nortlieru Greenland the Turbot is found only at
very great depths, and is fished for, in water of three hundred and fifty to three hundred and eighty
fathoms, through holes in the ice, over certain banks in Omenak Fiord and at the mouth of the
Jacob's-Haven ice-fiord, Avhich is also packed -with great ice-floes. It is said to be found only in
the ice-fiofdS and between the great ice-fields, and there only in the coldest months of the year.
In South Greenland they are taken on the oceanic banks at a depth of sixty to one hundred
and eighty fathoms, though there considered to be not so abundant as in North Greenland. In
Fortune Bay, Newfoundland, according to Captains G. Johnson and A. Leighton, of Gloucester,
they are very abundant in sixty to three hundred fathoms, and are caught chiefly in winter.
They are also obtained by the Gloucester halibut fleet on the outer edge of the oceanic banks, in
two hundred and fifty to three hundred fathoms of water.
Their habits are not at all well understood, but it would appear from the statements of several
experienced fishermen, whom I have questioned, that they occur on the very edge of the conti-
nental slope in deeper water than the true Halibut, in fact in places where the slope is so nearly
perpendicular that the Halibut can hardly hold their places on the bottom. This species is
more symmetrical than any other of the family on our coast, and, moreover, is colored upon both
sides of the body — a fact which indicates that its movements are more like those of the ordinary
symmetrical fishes and that it can rest with the body la a vertical attitude.
It would seem probable that its chosen haunts are along the declivities of the outer slope of
the continental plateau, where abundance of food is known to occur, and where other fishes are
not so well adapted to live. Many hundreds of pounds are caught, every year, on the halibut trawls,
and the fish are frequently iced and brought to market with the Halibut, and frequently eaten by
the fishermen themselves. The greater portion of those brought to New York in winter are, how-
ever, taken on trawl lines at the mouth of Fortune Bay, and brought down by the vessels which go
there to procure cargoes of frozen herring. It is impossible to obtain statistics of the quantities
thus brought in, because the market returns do not discriminate between the different species of
flounders and flat fishes.
The (xreenland Turbot is an exceedingly palatable fish, its flesh being firm, white, and less dry
and more delicate in flavor than that of the Halibut. The average weight is from ten to twenty-
five pounds. In Greenland they are perhaps more highly esteemed than any other fish. The
Greenlanders begin fishing as soon as the fiords are frozen over and the white whales, which prey
greedily upon this fish, have left the entrances open. They fish through holes in the ice, and attach
little threads at intervals to their lines, so that they may better see the motion which the nibbling
fish makes. Under favorable circumstances a man may take ten to eighteen of these fishes daily.
The fishery continues from January to the middle of March, sometimes, however, only a week or
two, and usually only about a month. The fish are cut into strips and dried for the consumption
of the Danish colonists. It is said that a very fine oil can be made out of their fat, so that in
hard times the fish serves to warm and light their houses as well as feed their occupants. In South
Greenland they are not so numerous, but are constantly sought for, being taken in company with
the sea perch, or red fish.'
63. THE POLE FLOUNDER, OR CRAIG FLOUNDER.
This fish, Olyptoeephalus oynoglossus, often known as the Deep-sea Flounder, was first
observed on this coast in 1877, when numerous specimens were obtained by the United States
' These facts are taken from Eink's " Greenland."
THE POLE OR 0BAr(5 FLOUIfDEE. 199
Fish Commission, in the deepest part of Massachusetts Bay. Specimens have since been obtained
sonth of Cape Cod, at a depth of one hundred fathoms or more, by the Fish Commission, and by
Professor Agassiz, off the entrance to Delaware Bay, at a depth of three hundred and ninety-five
fathoms. The Pole Flounder appears to be a perniauent resident, throughout the whole year, in
the deep basins of Massachusetts Bay and ou the edge of the continental slope, and is found
abundant in Bedford Basin, the inner exi)ansion of Halifax Harbor, at a depth of thirty-seven
fathoms. It ranges nearly to Greenland, and is also found on the coast of N"orthern Europe,
where it is found in the Trondhjem Fjord, in latitude 65°, and south to the coast of Ireland. Its
thermal range appears to be confined by the limits 34° and 45°.
It breeds abundantly in our waters in summer time, numerous individuals, full of spawn, and
young from half an inch upward, having been taken, from July to October, in various localities.
The Pole Flounder has been pronounced, by all who have tasted it, a most delicious food-fish,
resembling more closely than any other species on our coast the English Sole, having a great
quantity of peculiarly flavored mucilaginous tissue about the base of the fins; it has never been
taken by our fishermen, because, on account of its exceedingly small and weak mouth, it could
not hold fast to an ordinary hook and line; and, should it ever come into demand, it will be
necessary for our fishermen to introduce the English trawl-net.
64. THE SPOTTED SAND FLOUNDER.
The Turbot, or Steinbutt, Rlwmhus maximus, and the Brill, or Clattbutt, do not occur in our
waters, although many attempts have been made to prove that they do. The nearest repre-
sentative of the Turbot is the Spotted Sand Flounder, Lopliopsetta maculata, a species found from
Bucksport, Maine,' to Fort Macon, j^orth Carolina, variously known along the coast as Water
Flounder, Window-pane, and Daylight ; the latter name refers to the remarkable thinness of the
fish, its flesh being so transparent that, when held to the light, the shadow of an object on the
other side can be seen. Its flavor is good, but the amount of flesh is so small that it is of no
consequence as a food-fish. There are other smaller representatives of the family on the southern
coast, and in deep water from Cape Cod southward, belonging to the genus Citharichthys, which,
although edible, are never eaten.
'According to Mr. G. A. Boardman, of Calais, Maine, an individual was taken in Passamaqnoddy Bay in September,
1880.
200 NATURAL riiSTOllY OF AQtfATIC AKIMALS.
J.— THE COD FAMILY AND ITS KINDEED.
The Codfish and its allies constitute, from an economical point of view, the most important of
all the families of fishes, containing, as it does, a large number of species, most of them of consider-
able size, distributed throughout all parts of the northern hemisphere, usually found together in
great numbers, readily captured, and easily preserved for future use.
An elaborate discussion of the geographical distribution of the cod family, and its relations to
fisheries and commerce, by Karl Dambeck, was published in " Gsea," in 1877. A translation of this
paper may be found in the Eeport of the United States Commission of Fish and Fisheries, Part Y,
1877, pp. 531-557. This paper is not without value, although it contains many false statements,
the writer appearing to have been but slightly acquainted with the more recent ichthyological dis-
coveries. In the translation referred to, the paper has been revised and annotated by Dr. Bean, and
is sufBciently accurate so far as the American species are concerned.
65. THE COD— GADUS MORRHUA.
Names op the Codfish. — Mr. J. Carson Brevoort, of New York, contributes the following
interesting sketch of the names applied to the cod family by the different nations of Europe :
"The appellations under which the weather-dried Codfish, split and stretched on a short stick,
is known throughout the civilized world can all be traced to one common root, based upon the
mode of preparation for the market.
"Among the Greeks the large Codfish were called Bacchi, from Bacchus, a rod. By the Latins
the fish was named Oadus, from a Sanscrit root cad or gad, a rod. We find this root in English in
'goad,' and, perhaps, in 'cat-o'-nine- tails'; in Gaelic gad and godan, signifying a small rod. By the
Iberians the dried Cod were called Bacalaos, from Baculeum, a small stick.' This points also to
the root of the French Baguette, a rod, Bilboquet, the toy known as cuj) and ball, really a sticlc and
ball, and other words. By the Anglo-Saxons it was called the God, from the word gad or goad, a
rod. By the Germans it was known as the Stoclcfiscli, from Stocic, a stick.
"The Hollanders varied a little from this, and as far back as the year 1400 called it the
Kaheljaauw, which seems to be from the Dutch gabel, a fork. They also called it the Bakkeljauue.
"The French Morue is not from the above root. It may be from the Celtic Mor, the sea. The
French, however, never prepared the Cod by drying it on a stick, but salted it as the Mortte verte,
or green Cod. The French Molue is merely a change in the liquid consonants.
"When the Cod is dried on the downs it is called Dunflsh, from the Gaelic root Duin, a hill.
If dried on the rocks it becomes the Eoclc Cod, or the Klippfislc of the Norwegians. Among these
last the Cod is called the Dorset, or Torslc, in English Tuslc, from the Gothic Biirren, to dry.
"The English 'Aberdeen fish,' or French Laberdan, is from the Gaelic Ahar, the mouth; Ban,
a river, or fish caught near the river's mouth."
These remarks are suggestive in the extreme, since they explain the origin of almost all of
the names now applied to this species both in its fresh and cured condition.^
' The rod held by Mercury was called a Baouhum.
^ Skeat in his Etymological Dictionary, recently published, does not confirm the views advanced by Mr. Brevoort,
remarking, "I suppose that this word cod must be the same as the Middle English codde or cod, a husk, bag, bolster;
though the resemblance of the fish to a bolster is but fanciful. It is obvious that Shakespeare knew nothing of the
Linnseau name gadua (Greek yaSoi), nor is the derivation of cod from gadua at all satisfactory."
THE COD: COMMON NAMES. 201
The name by which this species was known among the Narragansett Indians is indicated by
the following sentence from Eoger Williams' "Key into the Languages of America":
"Panganaut, tamwocb. Cod, Which is the first that comes a little before the Spring."
In the vicinity of Cape Ann the young Cod, too small to swallow a bait, are sometimes known
to the fishermen as "Pickers," and throughout all Eastern Massachusetts the name "Scrod,"or
"Scrode," is in common use. In its primary meaning it seems to refer to these small fish slightly
corned, in which condition they are a favorite article of food, but the name is also transferred to
the young fish themselves. The fishermen recognize several varieties of Cod for which they have
different names. Rock Cod are those which are found in shoal water among the reefs and ledges,
and which usually are of a dark color: these fish are often brilliant red in color, owing to the
fact that the small animals upon which they live feed upon the red algse, abundant in those
localities, and from them have absorbed the red coloring matter into their tissues. "Eockling"
are probably young Eock Cod. In the vicinity of Scituate, Massachusetts, Eock Cod are also called
"Native Cod."
Another class of names appears to apply to those fish which live near the shores, but which
are less closely limited to the reefs. These are called "Shoal- water Cod," " Shore Cod," "Inshore
Cod," "Worm Cod," "Clam Cod," "Black Snappers," "Black Biters," "Brown Cod," "Ground
Keepers," and "Ground Tenders" or "Groupers."
Still another class of fish is known by such names as "Deep-water Cod," "Bank Cod," and
"School Cod."
There are also certain local schools of fish which have names of their own; for instance, the
"Herring Fish" or "Herring Cod" of Southeastern Maine, and the "Squid School" of Nantucket
and other parts of the coast, the " Pasture School " of Cape Ann, and the so-called " Shad School"
which frequented Massachusetts. Bay between 1815 and 1830.
In Southeastern Maine the name " Pine-tree Cod " is also in use. It is dififlcult at present to
determine exactly to what extent these names are used and what their precise meaning may be,
but it is almost certain that each community of fishermen has its own peculiar names by which to
designate local peculiarities of habit and movement.
In the markets the Cod from George's Bank are usually classed as "George's fish," and are
considered to be of superior value. George's fish are very fat fish with white "napes." This name
is becoming a commercial term to describe Codfish of the finest quality. No one of these names,
excepting Eock Cod, or Eed Cod, appears to be in use in Great Britain, although there, as here,
there are various names of local significance, which are of little interest, however, to Americans.
"Bank Cod" and "Shore Cod" are commercial names, used in the same manner as the name
"George's Cod."
History of the Codfish in America. — As early as 1415 A. D., English vessels frequented the
fishing grounds near Iceland, and it is claimed by some authorities that the Banks of Newfoundland
were known to the Basques centuries before the discovery of the American continent. The Banks
of Newfoundland were among the principal inducements which led the English to establish colonies
in this country, and in the records of early voyages are many allusions to the abundance of Cod
along our shores.
In the Appendix may be found an essay, by Mr. Eobert S. Eantoul, on " The Cod in Massachu-
setts' History," a paper read at a field meeting of the Essex Institute at Gloucester, September 14,
1866. It is really an epitome of the early history of the cod fisheries of the United States, con-
taining much interesting information upon the use of the Codfish upon the seal of Massachusetts
and upon the colonial coinage.
202 NATURAL HISTORY OF AQUATIC ANIMALS.
A Nova Scotia coin or bank-token has upon it the figure of a Codfish. Upon the obverse is a
plow with the legend "Speed the Plough," upon the reverse a salted Codfish with the words,
"Success to the Fisheries."
Distribution op the Cod.— The Codfish is found in the North Atlantic, in the North
Faciflc, and in the Polar Ocean, its range extending far beyond the Arctic Circle. It seems
unnecessary to enumerate all the localities in which it has been observed, for its geographical
range may be defined with sufficient accuracy and by a much more comprehensive statement: In the
Western Atlantic the species occurs in the winter in considerable abundance as far south as the
mouth of the Chesapeake Bay, latitude 37°, and stragglers have been observed about Ocracoke
Inlet.' The southern limit of this species may safely be considered to be Cape Hatteras, in latitude
350 10'. Along the coast of the Middle States, New England, and British North America, and
upon all the off-shore banks of this region. Cod are found usually in great abundance, during
part of the year at least. They have been observed also in the Gulf of Boothia, latitude 70° to
7r)0, and in the southeastern part of Baffin's Land to the northward of Cumberland Sound, and it
is more than probable that they occur in the waters of the Arctic Sea to the north of the American
continent, or away round to Bering Straits.^
The Cod has been observed on the western coast of Greenland. In the North Atlantic the
range of the species extends to Iceland and Spitzbergen, latitude 80°; along the arctic coast of
Europe, as far as Eastern Finmark, and probably round to Siberia; while southward it ranges at
least to Brittany. Its southern limit is probably near the Bay of Biscay, latitude 40°, although
Yarrell states that it is found south to Gibraltar. It does not enter the Mediterranean,' but pene-
trates into the Baltic to the coast of Western Russia. Its distribution in the North Pacific is not
so well understood, though it appears to occur in the same abundance on all the off-shore banks of
this region, and also close to the coasts to the north of the Straits of Fuca. According to Jordan,
there is said to be a cod bank outside of the mouth of the Columbia, but the species at present is
of no economic importance south of Alaska. A full discussion of the Alaskan Codfish is given
below by Ur. Bean in the chapter on The Alaska Cod-fisheey.
The Cod enters fresh water upon occasion.^ It is found, according to Canadian authors, well
up the estuary of the Saint Lawrence, though how far up is not definitely stated, probably not
beyond the limits of brackish water. Dr. C. C. Abbott records that on the 23d or 24th of January,
1876, a healthy, strong, active Codfish, weighing nearly four pounds, was taken in a draw-net in
the Delaware River near Trenton, New Jersey; the stomach of the fish showed that it had been in
river-water several days. Many of them had been taken about Philadelphia between 1856 and
1869.^
Mr. George R. Smith, of Millbridge, Maine, states that Cod are found all along the coast, even
entering brackish water at the mouths of rivers.
Mr. Wilson M. Albee, of Mohegan, Maine, affirms that Cod occur in all places along the coast
of that region, even in brackish water.
Mr. A. T. Gamage, of Damariscotta, Maine, says : "There is not a place of any extent on the
coast of Maine and seaward where Cod are not found. They occur from the edge of the breakers
' The mackerel schooner " Releuter," of Gloucester, April 5, 1880, caught, on one hand-line, some 600 pounds of
large Cod, with mackerel bait, in twenty fathoms of water, when about eight miles off Cape Charles. — A. H. Cl-AEK.
' EiCHABDSOJsr : Fauna Boreali Americana, p. 243.
'"Forest and Stream," December 25, 1873, contains the following astounding statement, which, of course, is
entirely unworthy of credence: "Three Codfish, weighing six pounds each, were caught in the Saint John's Eiver,
Florida, near Palatka, last week ; the first of the liind ever caught in Southern waters. The ' Herald,' says Captain
Vogel, of the steamer 'Dictator,' pronounced them genuine Codfish."
* American Naturalist, iv, p. 116.
THE COD : GEOGEAPHICAL DISTEIBUTIOF. 203
out to seventy-flve fathoms and up to fifty miles and further, wherever any bank has been discov-
ered. Quite frequently they enter brackish water in pursuit of their natural food."
Thomas Day, of Parker's Island, Maine, says that small Cod have been caught in the
Kennebec Elver.
Mr. M. A. Hanna, of Bowery Beach, says that they are sometimes caught in rivers at some
distance from the sea, where the water at the surface is quite fresh.
These statements are confirmed by several other persons. The New York "Evening Post" of
February 6, 1877, says that a six-pound Codfish was taken on February 1 in the Hudson River
above Peekskill, New York.
The schooling of the Codfish. — Before taking into consideration the periodical move-
ments of the Codfish, it seems necessary to study the manner in which they assemble together in
schools. Mr. Earll, who has studied with great thoroughness the habits of the Codfish about
Cape Ann, writes as follows upon this topic :
" In examining the Codfish landed from time to time, one cannot but notice the great indi-
vidual variation in the species. But iu addition to this seemingly accidental variation, that gives
every gradation to either extreme, there is a more constant difference in both form and color, due
perhaps to the peculiar habits and surroundings of the individual. This difference is so noticeable
that the fishermen can easily distinguish the one from the other, and they have come to call the
one a school fish in distinction from the other, which they call a shore fish or • ground-tender.'
"The school fish are supposed to be constantly on the move, remaining usually in the deep
water, where they are very active iu the pursuit of their prey, consuming such quantities as to
keep them in excellent flesh. Such fish are usually very shapely, with small and very distinct dark
spots on a light background, and seem to have the head quite small iu proportion to the body. On
the whole, they are just such fish as would be expected from continued activity and good living.
On the other hand, the shore fish, or ' ground-tenders,' live constantly among the rocks and sea-
weeds along the shore, where the water is less pure and the food less abundant. They seem to
lead solitary lives during a greater part of the year, being scattered along different portions of the
coast, living upon the little rocky spots, where they feed upon such animals as they chance to find;
or at times entering the shoaler water among the sea-weeds, where they feed upon the mollusks
and articulates that are often so abundant in such localities. They are generally in poorer flesh
than the school fish, having a relatively larger head in proportion to their bulk, with larger and
less distinct spots on a darker background. In addition to these large fish, that for some reason
seem to prefer the shore as a feeding ground, there are many young and immature that have not
yet joined the school fish in their migrations. These fish are the sole dependence of the boat fish-
ermen in summer, or from June to November, and one must know the grounds pretty thoroughly,
and row about from one feeding spot to another, in order to secure any considerable number of
them. During the months of June, July, and August the fishing is quite limited, being confined
to a few boat fishermen who row, or sail, out daily with hand-lines, returning in the afternoon with
from one hundred and fifty to three hundred pounds, which they usually sell at fair prices to
supply the fresh-fish trade.
" Early in the fall the spawning instincts of the fish cause them to gradually gather from the
different parts of the shore to special rocky grounds, where they remain until they have deposited
their eggs. At such times, being more numerous in these localities, the fishing becomes more
profitable, so that many small vessels and a larger number of boats frequent these grounds, and
by the middle of October the daily catch reaches about four hundred pounds per man.
"Thus far the catch has been composed almost wholly of the young and shore fish ; but about
204 NATURAL HISTORY OF AQUATIC ANIMALS.
the 1st of November the fall school of spawning fish, known as the ' pasture school,' makes its
appearance. All the smaller vessels and boats are now pressed into service, and the winter
fisheries are soon at their height. The vessels are usually provided with dories, taking from three
to twelve each, according to the size of their crews. Such fishermen as are unable to ship on the
vessels now row or sail out in boats. These often endure great hardships, as the wind may rise
suddenly and drive them out to sea, giving them a hard pull of hours before they can regain the
shore, while an occasional unfortunate fails to return.
"The pasture school is composed of fish averaging probably between twelve and fourteen
pounds, some being much larger, while others are quite small. In the falls of 1877 and 1878 the
fishing was unusually good until the first of January, the average daily catch per man often
reaching eight to nine hundred pounds, while an active fisherman at times caught nearly twice
that quantity.
"At the present time there are but few towns on the north side of the cape extensively
engaged in the shore fisheries, and for this reason little is definitely known about the first appear-
ance of the Ipswich Bay school of Codfish in that locality. We cannot even feel certain of the
month when they reach the grounds, as the fishermen have many and conflicting opinions on the
subject. From the best obtainable information it seems probable that Cod have visited these waters
regularly for many years, and that they were formerly taken in considerable numbers by the boat
fishermen of the section who rowed out from the shore in pleasant weather during the winter
months. But for a number of years these grounds were nearly deserted, and it was not until
1877-78 that the shore fishermen of Gloucester and Swampscott learned their value.
"In January, 1879, after the fish had left ' the pasture,' several vessels sailed for Ipswich Bay,
where they found the Cod remarkably plenty, returning in a short time with unusually large fares.
The news spread rapidly, and soon all the shore fleet were in the bay, while vessels of sixty to
seventy tons abandoned the other fisheries and fitted out for this locality. Vessels from other towns
along the shore soon joined the fleet, and by the middle of February 104 sail, with upwards of 600
men, were fishing within a radius of five or six miles, and twenty to twenty-five thousand pounds
of round fish were sometimes taken in a day by the crew of a single schooner.
"The above number of vessels was reached only during the height of the season, and several
causes operated to reduce the fleet so that at times it was quite small. But allowing an average of
45 sail during the entire four months, each vessel carrying six dories, the trawls averaging 800
hooks each, and we have the enormous number of 216,000 baited hooks spread out upon the sandy
bottom to tempt the spawning fish. It is not surprising, therefore, that the catch reached fully
11,250,000 pounds on this little patch of ground between the first of February and the last of May.
"Fishermen are agreed that the individuals composing this school averaged larger than those
of any school that had previously visited the shore. There were almost no small ones among them,
the great bulk being of uniformly large size with a few very large. Of over five thousand, selected
without regard to size at different times during the season, the average weight was 20f pounds.
" Fishing continued good in Ipswich Bay until the first of June, when the school left the shore,
being perhaps hurried in their movements by a large school of dogfish {iSqualm americanus)
that made their appearance in the bay about this time.
"After the school-fish leave the shore in summer the fishermen frequently resort to the outer
grounds, such as JefEry's and Stellwagen Banks, when they often secure good fares from what they
suppose to be a new school that visits these grounds for the purpose of feeding. We have had little
opportunity for examining these fish, but there seems a strong probability that they belong to the
THE SGHOOLma OF THE CODFISH. 205
school that has just left the shore, and that they remain on these grounds for a few days or
weeks on their way to deeper water."
I have before me the statements of ninety -four fishermen, most of whom are of tbe opinion
that the Cod associate together in schools throughout the entire year; many of them, however,
speak of particular schools of very large size which they noticed at particular seasons. Captain
Atwood, on the other hand, makes the assertion that the Cod never school, but that they wander
independently over the bottom in search of food.
It seems most reasonable to suppose that tlic Codfish, like most other species which habitually
feed on the bottom, are less disposed to wander to^'ether in great bodies from place to place than
the surface-swimming fishes which usually feed upou substances or animals which are found col-
lected together in one place in great quantity. The Codfisb, being habitually bottom-feeders, find
their food, it is probable, with more or less uniformity, over the areas which they frequent, and are
ordinarily met with moving about independently. They are most likely to occur in great numbers
in places where food is particularly abundant. At certain seasons of the year they are brought
together by a common desire for wandering together from place to place in immense bodies, some-
times their object being a united attack upon some special kind of food only to be found at that
season, and in particular places. The capelin and lant schools, known to the fishermen of
Newfoundland, Labrador, and the G-rand Banks, are examples of such association, as also is the
herring school observed in the spring in Massachusetts Bay, and the great schools known on
the coast of Norway under the name of Liidde-fisk.
Capt. Epes W. Merchant, of Gloucester, tells me about a remarkable school of Codfish
which frequented Massachusetts Bay between the years 1815 and 1830. This was called the
"shad school." They continued in the bay from early April until the middle of May. They were
caught with alewives and shad for bait. The fishermen were accustomed to get these fish for
bait as soon as they began to run. The Cod seemed to be waiting for them. The "shad school"
was composed of young, sharp-nosed, bright-eyed school fish of regular size, very different from
the ground-tenders or grubbers.
Professor Baird has made some interesting generalizations concerning the effect upon the
abundance of Cod of the decrease in the shad and alewives off the mouths of our rivers
caused by over-fishing in inland waters.^
Another cause of the assembling of the Codfish together is the reproductive instinct, in obe-
dience to which the fish gather together in localities where the temperature and depth of water are
suitable for the deposition of eggs. A school of this kind is the so-called " pasture school," already
referred to in the quotation from Mr. Earll, and the great schools — the so-called "fish-mountains" —
which make their appearance on the coast of Norway in January, February, and March, and which
have been so well described by Professor Sars.^
The fisheries carried on at this time are called "spawn fisheries" to distinguish them from
those which are carried on later in the spring on the coast of Finmark, the object of which is the
capture of Codfish following schools of bait.
"Codfish," continues Mr. Earll, "are gregarious in their habits, going in schools of greater or
less size, and are governed in their movements by the presence or absence of food, the spawning
instinct, and the temperature of the water. When migrating, the schools are quite dense, though
by no means like schools of menhaden or mackerel. But when they reach the feeding ground they
' Keport United States Commiasion of Fish and Fisheries, pt. ii, 1874, pp. xi-xiv.
'Report of the "Practical and Scientiiio Investigations of the Cod Fisheries near the Lofoden Islands," made
daring the years 1864-69 by S. O. Sars ; translated by H. Jacobson. Keport United States Commission of Fish and
Fisheries, pt. v, 1879, pp, 565-661.
206 NATURAL HISTORY OF AQUATIC ANIMALS.
seem to distribute themselves over a large area, though more or less grouped together iu little
bunches. This is particularly noticeable on the shore, when the fish are moving about in search
of food, and the fisherman soon catches up all that chance to be on one patch of rocks, and must
then row to another in order to find a new supply. The same thing is seen on western banks, where
a vessel usually carries dories to distribute her crew over different parts of the grouYid, and often,
by setting her trawls in one locality for a day or two, seems to catch up all of the fish, and must
then ' shift her berth.' Fishermen also cite many instances where the fishing is excellent on a
few particular, well-defined spots on different parts of the ground, while almost no fish can be
taken in other places.
"During the spawning season this tendency to become scattered is less noticeable, for the
instincts of the fish seem to bring them nearer together, and great numbers are often taken in one
particular locality. Even here, however, the tendency to separate into groups occurs, for some
boats find good fishing, while others, but a few rods away, catch almost nothing; and in trawling,
some parts of the line have a fish on nearly every hook, while other parts take only a scattering
one.
" In schooling, both sexes are always found together, whether it be on the spawning or feeding
ground or on the journey; but the relative numbers of each seem to vary greatly, and we have been
able to discover no invariable rule whereby one can predict with certainty the sex that will first
appear, or that which will be most abundant at any given time during the season. The fishermen
have a commonly accepted tradition that in the spawning schools the females always come first and
the males later, but this theory is not supported by facts. Observations were frequently made on
the relative numbers of the two sexes landed by the shore-fishermen between September, 1878, and
July, 1879. The results showed that during the early fall, or before the school fish had made their
appearance, the fish were nearly equally divided between males and females — first the one and then
the other being more abundant. When the school fish first reached the shore early in November
the males were a trifle more plenty than the females for about a week, but from that date until they
left the grounds the females were taken in greater numbers, sometimes in the proportion of two to
one, and at others in nearly equal quantities. In the Ipswich Bay school during the first two or
three days in February there were ten males to one female; by the middle of the month the females
composed about forty per cent, of the catch, and from this date until the 1st of June the males
numbered two to one. From reliable fishermen we learned that the same was true of the fish on
the off-shore banks, and that, though varying greatly in their relative numbers, both males and
females were always present.
"There Is usually a great difference in the size of the individuals taken by the fishermen on
the shore feeding grounds in a single day, for the young and 'ground-tenders' remain on these
rocky ledges during th^ entire year, and late iu the season the school fish come in upon the same
grounds and are naturally taken with them.
"But when the school fish visit a locality not frequented by the young, as they do in Ipswich
Bay, there is a noticeable absence of immature fish, and the catch is composed almost wholly of
individuals of large size. Thus, in the winter of 1878-'79 many trips of from twenty-five to forty
thousand pounds were landed with scarcely a small fish among them, while vessels fishing only a
few miles distant found young fish plenty, and there were occasional instances where such vessels
caught only small ones. Again, tbough the school fish may differ considerably in size, we have
not found one, thought to belong to their number, that had not reached maturity. Indications
strongly favor the idea that the young remain separate from the school fish during the first few
years of their lives, and we are led to believe that, though they are often taken together, the
THE SCHOOLING OF THE CODFISH. • 207
occurrence is accidental and the young will not follow the old in their migrations uniil they reach
maturity, though after this point is reached they seem to mingle freely without regard to age.
"Codfish are probably governed in their movements by the abundance and migrations of
food, the spawning instinct, and the temperature of the water, though the last named seems to
exert but little influence. It is generally acknowledged by the fishermen that during the feeding
season fish are plenty only where food exists in considerable quantity, and that after 'cleaning up"
one part of the bank they go to another. They also follow schools of bait for long distances, living
upon them until they are broken up or entirely destroyed. Thus they often follow the capelin
{Mallotus villosus) into the shoal water, and 'even drive immense numbers of them upon the shore,
"The spawning instinct seems to exert a decided influence upon the movements of the fish,
for we find them visiting the same locality year after year during the spawning season, often
remaining for several months at a time. The fish that visit the waters of Cape Ann during the
winter, doubtless come in for the purpose of spawning rather than for food. This seems clear from
the fact that they do not arrive when bait is most plenty, nor do they follow any species to the
shore. On the contrary, the pasture-school usually arrives about three weeks after the large
herring have left the coast, and remains on the south side of Cape Ann, while Sperling are abundant
in Ipswich Bay. The Ipswich school is also the largest after the Sperling have been driven away
by the cold weather, and remains on the sand -flats, which supply almost no food. From these
facts we are led to believe that food has little influence upon the movements of the fish during the
spawning season.
"The instinct that leads the spawning fish to seek the shoal water in such great numbers is
certainly a wise one, for they generally select spawning-grounds where the tide runs strong and
the water is rough, and the large number of individuals is absolutely necessary, that the water
may be filled with germs for their successful impregnation. If, instead of schooling in such
numbers during this period, they remained scattered over a large area, almost no eggs would be
fertilized.
"Again, while food is not essential to the spawning fish, it is of vital importance to the young,
and it seems a wise provision that these should be brought into being where food is abundant,
rather than that they should be hatched in mid-ocean, where almost no suitable food exists."
Migrations and movemknts of the schools. — The causes which influence Codfish to
assemble together in schools also influence their movements from place to place. It seems most
probable that while great numbers of these fish may remain together in the same locality, feeding
upon the same kind of food without it being said that they are schooling, a movement from place
to place is, however, usual, in obedience to some tangible law, and is made simultaneously by
numerous individuals.
The migrations of the Codfish are usually of the class which I have described under the name
"bathic."'
The Cod, like most of the other species which migrate to and from the shore instead of
northward and southward, is, doubtless, more or less dependent upon temperature conditions than
fishes like the menhaden and the blue-fish, and, as Mr. Barll has suggested,^ the abundance of food
doubtless has much more influence upon its movements. We cannot doubt, however, that the Cod
moves periodically to and from the shore as a direct result of the seasonal changes of temperature.
The Cod prefers a temperature of from 35° to 42° F., approximately, and this it secures in a
temperate climate, such as that of Southern New England, by remaining on the off-shore banks in
' Report of United States Commissioner of Fish and Fisheries, pt. y, 1879, p. 51.
« Op. dt., p. 707.
208
• NATURAL HISTOEY OF AQUATIC ANIMALS.
fifteen to thirty fathoms of water, coming into the shallows in winter. On the coasts of Labrador,
Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, and Eastern Maine, moving to and from the shore from deeper to
shallower water and vice versa to secure at different seasons of the year a temperature environment
best suited to their needs, they are near the shore in summer and in deep water in winter.
In Norway they are caught, to some extent, in the fiords in the summer season, though more
are caught in winter, while in summer great numbers of them still remain on the off-shore banks.
Professor Hind gives tliis exposition of the movements of the Cod on the Labrador coast.'
"The following tables show the periods of the first arrival and last catch of Cod on the
Newfoundland and Labrador coasts. In framing these tables I have been careful to eliminate
extreme seasons, for the Cod have been known to approach the shore during an exceptionally
early season, a fortnight or three weeks sooner than during the average of years. Early and late
springs occur in the movements offish just as irregularly as in the movements of migratory birds
or in the leafing and flowering of plants. The salmon and tlie Cod generally come within a week
of one another, and the Eskimo of Ukkasiksalik have a tradition that the salmon may always be
looked for on the day of the first spring tide after the 16th July. In 1875, a very late season.
Codfish were not taken before the 7th August; this year they came in on the 20th July, and this
accords with the experience on other parts of the coast.
" Table showing the approximate mean date of arrival of God, mean date of departure, and mean length
of the fishing season for God, in Northeastern Newfoundland, Southern and Northern Labrador.
Lat.
47 30
48 20
48 30
60 00
49 30
51 00
51 30
52 00
53 24
54 26
54 56
55 14
64 57
65 27
53 30
65 52
56 33
57 30
58 30
58 46
Locality.
NEWFODHBLiNI).
Conception Bay
Bonavista Bay -
jjfotre Dame Bay
Cape Saint John to Par. Point
White Bay
Cape Rouge Harbor
Cape Bauld to Cape Onion
(Over four degrees of latitude.)
SOUTHEEN LABKADOK.
Chateau Bay
Batteaux
Indian Harbor -
Cape Harrison
(Over three degrees of latitude.)
KOBTHEBH LABBADOB.
Aillik
Kypokot
Hopedalo
Double Island Harbor
Ukkaaiksalik
If ain
Okak ..
Hebron
Lampsou
(Over three and a half degrees of latitude.)
Mean
date of
arrival.
Mean
date of
close of
fisheries.
Mean
length of
flshlng
season.
June 1
Nov. 20
June 10
Nov. 10
June 20
Nov. 10
June 20
Nov. 1
1 143 days.
June 10
Nov. 1
June 10
Nov. 1
June 20
Oct. 20
June 20
Oct. 1
July 12
Jnly 15
Oct. 10
Oct. 1
87 days.
Jnly 18
Oct. 1
Jnly 20
Oct. 1
Jnly 20
Oct. 1
July 20
Oct. 1
July 22
Oct. 1
July 28
Oct. I
•61 days.
Jnly 28
Oct. 1
July 28
Oct. 1
Aug. 15
Sept. 25
Aug. 15
Sept. 15
"From this table, impeifect as it is, we may deduce the following law: 'Over an area
extending northerly from Conception Bay for seven hundred miles, the Cod approach the shore
about one week later for every degree of latitude we advance to the north.'
'Hind, H. Y. : The Effect of the P'ishery Clauses of the Treaty of Washrngton upon the Fishermen of British
North America. Halifax, 1877.
HIND ON MIGEATIONS OF THE COD. 209
"The table shows also that for a period of about forty days the cod fishery goes on
simultaneously during August and September, throughout the length of a coast line extending
from latitude 47° to latitude 50° 30', or more than seven hundred statute miles in one continuous
line. Hence it appears that the migrations of the schools of this fish are merely from deep-water
winter feeding grounds to the nearest coast spawning grounds, and from the coast to the nearest
deep-water feeding grounds again. The coast migrations during the summer months appear to
be of equally limited extent, and schools of Cod frequenting any particular coast may be said to
be indigenous to it.
"On the Labrador, especially in well-known deep bays, such as Hamilton Inlet, the coast
movements of the fish appear to be very regular, and determined to a large degree by the tidal
currents. The caplin generally precede the Cod by a few days, and these fish are known to
approach the coast and enter sandy coves for the purpose of spawning. The same meteorological
influence which guides the movements of the Cod affects also the periods of spawning of the
caplin. I saw numerous schools of this fish spawning in Trinity Bay on the 2.7th Junej a month
later they spawn in Kypokok Bay, and still later further to the north." ^
I have before me the statements of nearly a hundred observers which I hope to discuss more
fully at some future time. These opinions confirm, in a very striking manner, the generalization
just stated. They show that while on the coast of Maine the God leave the immediate shores in
the autumn, not reappearing in any considerable numbers until late in the following spring, south of
Cape Cod they apijroach the shore only in the winter season, while during the summer they
keep out in the cold Labrador current, which extends south to the inside of the current of the
Gulf Stream. In Vineyard Sound, Buzzard's Bay, and off the shores of Connecticut, New York,
Delaware, New Jersey, and even in Eastern Virginia, there is excellent cod fishing during the
winter season. "A wise provision of nature," remarks Professor Baird, "in the absence of so
many species that supply food during the summer."
It will probably be found that fishing in deeper water in these same regions in summer will
bring to light an abundance of Cod.
"In European seas," writes Professor Hind, "the depth at which the fishermen look for Cod
vari3s with the season of the year, and is a point toward which much attention is paid in Norway
and England. On the Dogger Bank, the smacks fish at the following depths during the months
named :
Fathoms.
December 12 to 15
January 14 to 18
February 18 to 22
March 10 to 12"
From Professor Hind's pen the following paragraphs are also taken :
" When the coasts of Finmark are thronged with fishermen catching their fares of the ' Lodde,' or
Summer Cod, the shores of Northeast Newfoundland and the shore of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence
are alive with fishermen successfully capturing the same variety of fish in British American waters ;
and when the Eussian on the Murmanian coast is laying in his winter stock of Cod, and accumu-
lating a large overplus for a foreign market, the Newfoundlander and the Labradorian are securing
their fares as far as the Mora%'ian Missionary Stations, Okak and Nain. So, also, in the North Sea
and on the coast of the British Isles, around the" Faroe Islands, all along the Icelandic shores, on the
south coast of Greenland, off Arksut Fiord, away up north to Torske Banks, and down the Atlantic
'Hind : op. (At., pt. ii, p'. 70.
14 P
210 NATURAL HISTORY OF AQUATIC ANIMALS.
coast of America to over the Grand Banks, and as far as, and even beyond, Saint George's Shoal,
the Cod is taken simultaneously and in great abundance.
"Local variations of days, and even weeks, occur in a coast line or stretch of shallow sea of
nol more than one hundred miles in length ; but these arise from the one great leading cause which
guides the Cod in its approach to known feeding grounds on the coast or known banks at sea.
This leading cause is temperature, which determines the movement toward the coast of the various
forms of marine life on which the Cod, inhabiting different waters, is accustomed to feed. . . .
The Cod, caught on each stretch of coast line within variable but tolerably well-defined limits, are
indigenous to the sea area adjacent to the sea-coast which they frequent.
"Thus the winter haunts of the Codfish on the Northern Labrador coast are the slopes of the
great range of outside banks on that coast. The summer haunts of the ' Winter Cod' caught on
the coast of Norway during the winter season, are on the slope of the 'Storegg' and its continua-
tions which lie seawards from the Norwegian coast, following the edge of the barrier separating
the ' polar deeps ' from the shallower coastal seas. The seasonal movements of the Cod are reversed
in this case, purposely introduced, but have afforded a beautiful illustration of the principles
adopted and confirmed by Professor Baird and of the influence of marine climate on fish-life.'"
The depth at which Codfish are found varies greatly with the season and locality. It is stated
by Mr. Earll that they seem to prefer water less than seventy fathoms deep, and that by far the
greater numbers are caught in from eighteen to forty fathoms. This generalization will doubtless
hold true for the whole coast of North America. Many of our correspondents state that they are
occasionally seen in water two or three feet in depth. In the course of the recent explorations by
Professor Agassiz, Cod were found three hundred fathoms below the surface.
" In February, 1879, there was good fishing in three fathoms of water, within a few rods of
shore in Ipswich Bay, while in May of the same year large numbers were taken in one hundred
and ten fathoms from the channel near Clarke's Bank."
It would be extremely interesting to know the extent of the migrations of Codfish, from deep
to shallow water and back again, on different parts of the coast. This, however, varies with local
conditions. There have already been many observations made, the study of which will doubtless
aid in the solution of this problem, but it is exceedingly important that there should be systematic
exploration at a distance from the shore both in winter and summer. This is one of the tasks
proposed by the Commissioner of Fisheries for the new sea-going steamer now being constructed.
Mr. Marcus A. Hanna, of Bowery Beach, Maine, states that he knows certain places on the coast
of Maine where Cod are found in mid-winter not more than two miles from land, in water from
forty to fifty fathoms deep, and upon soft bottom. A portion of the Gloucester George's Bank
fleet continues fishing through the winter months, though at this season the vessels do not, as in
spring and summer, fish upon the shallow parts of the bank, but rather seek the deep waters
around its edge. The fish make their appearance, however, on the bank early in February.
An experimental cruise made in winter by Captain Mar throws some light on the movements
of the Cod in this region : " One winter I started on a cruise before the time for the Cod to come,
which was usually from February 7th to the 10th. I sounded all over the usual ground. None there.
Cruised seventy-five miles to the south'ard, sounding in thirty to one hundred fathoms of water.
Found none — only one Codfish. Got back to the banks and found the Codfish there." At another
time he was going over the shoal ground of the banks in February, with a load of fish; in sounding,
passing over the shoals in sixteen fathoms of water, he caught six pairs of large fish. He thinks
that they were " solid," passing over the shoal. It should be borne in mind that these fish were
'Hind, op. eit., pt. i, pp. 15, 16.
CAPyAIN MAE'S EXt'ERIMENTAL CEUISE. 211
caught on hooks fastened to the sounding-lead, which was thrown over while the vessel was in
motion.
The remarks made in the previous section regarding the times at which Cod were present and
Absent on different parts of the coast should be understood as expressing the facts only in a general
way. It is undoubtedly true that Cod may be found in greater or less numbers within reach of
the land from Block Island to Newfoundland, and perhaps to Labrador, at all seasons of the year.
South of Block Island, Codfish are very rarely noticed in summer, even in the deepest water
frequented by the fishermen, though a few remain on the grounds in the vicinity of the Islands
during the whole summer.
In the waters from Cape Cod to Cape Ann, and perhaps a little farther to the north, we find
the district in which the bathic migrations of the Codfish are least apparent, the periodical changes
in depth being but slight from winter to summer — the fish being within easy reach of the fishermen
at all seasons of the year. Even here, however, there is a great increment in their numbers in
winter.
The statements which have been made regarding the periodical movements of the Cod I do
not by any means consider satisfactory or final. These movements are the results of many
influences, and no one yet understands how much weight to attach to the relative importance
of these three influences, i. e., (1) the direct effect of temperature upon the fish themselves ; (2)
the abundance of food, as affected by temperature and other causes; and (3) the direct relations
between temperature and the reproductive habits of the fish. There is no more difficult problem
in ichthyological science.
" The Codfish sometimes make long journeys from one bank to another, and, indeed, from one
region to a very distant one. It is, of course, nearly impossible to trace their movements at such
times, and one can usually only guess at the place from whence they come or the distance traveled.
" During the winter of 1877-'78 an unusually large school visited the coast of the United
States. At this time Cod were more plenty along the shores of New England than for many years.
Among the fish captured at Cape Ann and other points were quite a number with peculiar hooks
in their mouths. These hooks gave a clew to the movements of the fish, for thej' differed from any
in use by the American fishermen, and proved identical with those used by French trawl-fishermen
on the Grand Banks, and indicated that the fish must at some time have been in that locality, as
the hooks probably came from no other place. If the above be granted as proven, the fish must
have traveled a distance of five to eight hundred miles at least, and, as a portion of the school
continued well to the southward, some individuals must have journeyed much farther.
"In moving from one bank to another, where the intervening depth is much greater, it seems
probable that, instead of following the bottom, they swim in a horizontal plane, following a stratum
of nearly uniform density and temperature. The fishermen of Cape Ann have often caught them
with seventy to eighty fathoms of line, between Brown's and George's Banks, where the sounding-
line indicated a much greater depth. The finding of pebbles and small stones in their stomachs is
not an uncommon occurrence. The fisherm en regard these as an unfailing sign that the fish have
either just arrived or are about to leave the bank. These stones may play no small part in adjust-
ing the specific gravity of the fish to that of the stratum of water in which they are to move.
" There seems to be a tendency for the large fish to remain in deeper water or nearer the
bottom than the small; and usually, beyond a certain depth, the deeper one fishes the larger the fish.
Formerly, in hand-lining from deck on the banks, the vessels often anchored in eighty or even
ninety fathoms, and the catch averaged over two-thirds large; but in hand-lining from dories
they seldom fish in over fifty and usually less than thirty-five fathoms, as they find it difficult to
212 NATUEAL HISTOEY OF AQUATIC ANIMALS
handle so much line, and the catch runs about two-thirds small. The same is true in fishing at
different depths at the same time and in the same place. Thus, of two men fishing side by side
from the deck of a vessel, the one with his hook on the bottom wiU catch much larger fish than
the other who lets his line but part way down. Larger fish are also taken ou the trawl than on the
hand-line, for the former lies constantly on the bottom, while the latter may be raised to any
distance above it." "
Food. Codfish feed upon all marine animals smaller than themselves which are found in the
same waters with them and are digestible. It would seem useless to give a catalogue of the species
-which have been discovered in their stomachs. For a long period of years, before our naturalists
learned to use the hand-dredge, a favorite place in which to search for the rare Invertebrates of the
deep water was the fish-dealer's store, and from the stomachs of Codfish scores of shells new to
science have been taken. Since the introduction of improved methods of deep-sea research this
mode of collecting has been somewhat less prosperous, but even at the present time many impor-
tant additions to zoology are yearly made by the aid of this omnivorous animal. In the Eeport of
the United States Commission, Part I, pp. 516, 517, may be found a list of the species of moUusks
obtained by Mr. J. Hammond Trumbull from Cod caught near Stonington, Connecticut, and this
includes but a very small percentage of the number that has thus been observed.
Codfish swallow bivalve shells of the largest size, like the great sea clams, which are a favorite
article of food on certain portions of the coast; for instance, in Ipswich Bay great beds of empty
shells of the sea-clam, Mactra ovalis, may be found upon the bottom. These shells are " nested,"
the smaller inside of the larger, sometimes six or seven in a set, having been packed together in
this compact manner in the stomachs of the Codfish after the soft parts have been digested out. Some
of them had shreds of the mussels remaining in them and were quite fresh, having evidently been
but recently ejected by the fish. In Dana's " Geology" are mentioned great banks of dead shells
off the island of Grand Manan, which doubtless originated in the same manner. Mr. W. H. DaU
found some similar beds on the coast of Alaska which he attributed to the walrus, but which are more
probably the remains of mollusks eaten by the Codfish. They feed also upon crabs of aU kinds,
lobsters and star fish, and have been seen at the surface catching the potato beetles and " June-
bugs" which have drifted out from the shore. It is said that they succeed occasionally in capturing
a duck,2 and that they vary their diet by browsing upon carrageen, or Irish moss, which grows on
the ledges near the shore. In searching at the bottom for shells and worms, Codfish often pick
up objects which can hardly be regarded as nutritious. A very amusing catalogue of such objects
might be included in this chapter, in which would be enumerated articles such as scissors, brass
oil-cans, potato parings, corn cobs, and head of a rubber doll. The finding of finger-rings and
fragments of oil-clothing, and the heel of a boot, inside of a large Codfish has suggested the idea
that sometimes they swallow the fishermen.
"A wedding ring which belonged to Pauline Burnam, an English lady who was lost in the
steamship Anglo Saxon, wrecked off Chance Cove, N. F., in 1861, was lately restored to her rela-
tions by a St. Johns (N. F.) fisherman, who found the ring in the entrails of a Codfish. The
lucky fisherman received a present of £50 for restoring the highly prized memento to the lady's son."^
Stones of considerable size are often found in their stomachs, and fishermen have a theory
that this is a sign of an approaching storm and that the fish thus take in ballast to enable them
'Eakll: loo. cit.
2 The Vineyard Gazette says that Mr. James Osborne took a Codflsh on Wednesday, at the " South Side," which
weighed over sixty pounds. On dressing it, two full-grown ducks (old squaws) were found in its entrails. They were
quite fresh, having most of their feathers on. — Gloucester Telegraph, May 6, 1857.
'Boston Journal, July 6, 1871.
FOOD OF THE cot). 213
to remain at the bottom when the waters are troubled. It is more liltely that these stones are
swallowed on account of sea-anemones or other edible substances which may be attached to them,
in just the same manner that the shells of mollusks are taken in for the sake of the nutritious
parts which they contain.
It is believed that certain schools of Codfish feed almost entirely at the bottom, while others
prey upon fish. The fishermen claim to be able to distinguish these two classes by their general
appearance, the first being heavier, with shorter heads, blunter noses, and smaller fins, and fre-
quently known as "grubbers" or "ground-keepers," while fish belonging to what are known as the
squid school, the herring school, and the lant school, which are probably the same fish at different
seasons of the year, are brighter-eyed, slenderer in form, with sharper head, and in every way
better adapted for swift locomotion. On the coast of Labrador, as well as in Scandinavia, Codfish
follow the schools of spawning capelin in to the shore and prey greedily upon them, and elsewhere,
at other seasons, they feed with no less voracity upon other species of fish which may be schooling,
and of which they destroy vast numbers, such as mackerel, menhaden, herring, alewife, salmon,
sculpin, fiounders, cunners, and haddock.
In November, 1877, Mr. Vinal ]Sr. Edwards found in the stomachs of Cod taken at Noman's
Land many species of fish, some of which, like JEumesogrammus subbifurcatus, are found only at
great depths, and others, like the two-spined stickle-back, Gasteroseus biaculeatus, and the little
file-fish, Monocantlim setifer, must have been taken at the surface or near the shore.
On the Grand. Banks, especially in shallow water about the Virgin Eocks, I have been told
that they follow the lant to the surface, pursuing them with great fierceness. Along our northern
coasts they replace, to some extent, the voracious blueflsh and bonito of the South. Captain
Atwood remarks that the amount of food which they consume is enormous, when the size of the
fish is taken into account. He has seen them on the coast of Labrador, where the capelin were in
great numbers, with their stomachs filled to the greatest possible extent, and capelin in their
mouths which they were unable to swallow for want of room, and in this condition they were still
biting at the hook. They even feed upon the young of their own kind. They are said to feed
largely upon herring spawn, though they are not seen in great numbers, about the spawning
grounds until the schools of parent fish have departed. The herring, also, is a favorite article of
food, and when these fish approach the shores or are seen on the banks it is a very good sign that
Cod will soon be abundant. Mr. Barll remarks :
"I am told that in the spring of 1879 an immense school of herring moved closely across
George's Bank, and that with them came the largest school of Cod that has been seen in that
locality for a long time. The Cod remained constantly among the herring, so that when the latter
had passed the fishing fleet, the vessels were obliged to weigh anchor and follow them in order to
secure the Cod.
"About Proviucetown the common squid sometimes appear in great numbers, and they are
most vigorously preyed upon by the Cod."
The same accurate observer gives the following notes concerning their food while breeding :
"During the spawning season the Codfish cease to search for food, and give less attention to
feeding than at other times, though they will usually take the bait when placed before them. That
they do not search for food is shown by the fact that the pasture school remained within a few
miles of a large school of sperling without being drawn after them ; and that the Ipswich Bay
school was largest after the sperling had left the coast, and remained for a number of months on
sandy wastes which supported only three species of invertebrates, Buccinum undatum, Fusus sp.,
and Asterias vulgaris^ in any considerable abundance. The examination of the stomachs of several
214 NATtriiAL HISTOEY OF AQtTATIC ANIMALS.
hundred individuals showed four-flfths of all to be entirely empty, while a greater part of the
remainder contained only bait picked from the ti'awls of the fishermen. A small number contained
fish of one or more species that had probably been captured in the locality, while a few scattering
invertebrates were found. Of the species mentioned as abundant on the grounds, not a star-flsh
and but two shells of one species and one of the other were found. But it was clearly shown that
the fish would not refuse food, for often the stomachs were well filled with bait picked from the
trawl before the fish were hooked. From ten to fifteen pieces were frequently found, and in one
case eighteen were counted.
"The females when fully ripe seemed less willing to feed than at other times, and few were
caught with the moving hand-lines ; but when the trawl was used, thus leaving the bait motionless
on the bottom for hours at a time, they were induced to bite, and many were taken with the eggs
running from them. Eipe males seemed to bite readily at any time.
"The young fish, as has been remarked, seems to spend the first three or four years of its life
in shoal water, among the rocks and algse. Here its food consists at first of the minutest forms,
and later principally of small Crustacea, though it often picks up mollusks and worms, and even
enters the harbors in summer, where it remains about the wharves, picking up bits of refuse thrown
from the fish-houses."
Oapt. E. H. Hurlbert tells me that sometimes a school of Codfish will bite at night ; these the
fishermen call "Night Ood."
In 1860 the schooner "0. C. Davis" caught one entire trip of fish on George's Bank all in
the night, and there are other instances on record, though, as a rule, these fish feed only in the
daytime.
Eepeoduction. — Two important papers on the breeding of the Codfish have recently been
printed in the Eeport of the United States Fish Commission. The first of these is a translation
of a report by Prof. G. O. Sars upon the practical and scientific investigations concerning the Cod-
fish of the Loffoden Islands, Norway, made during the years 1864-'69, in behalf of the Norwegian
Government.^ His observations are full of interest. He tells us how, from year to year, he
observed the movements of the Codfish and studied out their spawning habits.
In 1864 he visited the Loffoden Islands, in January, February, and March. He observed the
coming in of the fish, as they approached the coast, swimming up the fiords in large schools, and
in the latter part of February, and from that time until the end of March, found the eggs in
immense numbers floating at the surface.
In 1865 he reached the islands in the beginning of March and remained until the middle of
May. He gathered the eggs as they floated at the surface, and hatched them out in glass jars.
He also artificially impregnated the eggs and found that the period of incubation lasted eighteen
days. He also observed a few very small young fish at the surface.
In 1866 he was on the ground on the 7th of May, and remained until July. This year he
found great quantities of young Codfish — the largest being about one and a half inches in
length — swimming under the jelly fish (which are so numerous in those northern waters), and
also under other objects floating in the sea.
In 1867 he reached the islands late in July, and remained until the beginning of October, and
succeeded in finding the young fish, two inches or slightly more in length, swimming near the
surface in the "slicks," and also in the shallow inlets near the shores, in company with the young
pollock, while the stomachs of all the larger Codfish and pollock taken in the neighborhood were
full of them. He also found in the beginning of October many larger young Codfish, upwards
' United States Fish Commission, pt. v, pp. 565-661.
SAiiS ON EEPEODUCTION OF THE COD. 215
of four inches in length and about seven months old, as estimated, at the bottom, at a depth of
several fathoms.
In 1868 he began his observations in l^ovember, and in November and December found young
fish six or seven inches in length at a depth of eight to twelve fathoms, usually in the vicinity of
steep ledges and rocks. This year he remained until March, and in February found great num-
bers of young Oodiish, the average length of which was about one foot, at an average of twenty
to thirty fathoms, on sandy bottom. "In the beginning," he remarks, "I thought that these must
be two-year-old fish, but when I afterwards set my line in shallower places I also collected smaller
fish, so that I soon had all the different grades of size."
This last visit extended over into the year 1869, and at the time of his departure the schools
of spawning flsh were again on the ground. He had thus traced the development of the Codfish
throughout a period of twelve months, and had secured a very complete chain of evidence with
which to bind together the isolated facts regarding the growth and habits of the young fish which
had hitherto been or should hereafter be observed.
From 1870 to 1873 he continued his observations upon the young and adult fish, and in
midsummer found Cod at a distance of twenty to thirty Norwegian miles from the shore, and
at a depth of from one hundred to one hundred and fifty fathoms. These observations, as
has already been remarked, are of the utmost importance, and the reports of Professor Sars are
full of observations of the most suggestive kind concerning the food, the movements, ^nd the
general habits of the fish.
The other paper referred to, which is of equal value, is the report of Mr. E. E. Earll upon the
natural history and artificial propagation of the Cod, as observed at the station of the United
States Fish Commission at Gloucester, Massachusetts.' His remarks upon the reproduction of the
Codfish are here quoted in full, with the single observation that no one has so carefully observed
the spawning habits of any other species of flsh.
"The Cad is one of the most prolific of the ocean fishes, and we find not only thousands but
millions of eggs in a single female. All members of this family contain large numbers of eggs,
but the Codfish is the most prolific of all.
"The exact number of eggs in a female varies greatly with the individual, being dependent
largely upon its size and age. To ascertain the number for the different sizes, a series of six flsh,
representing various stages of growth from twenty-one to seventy-flve pounds, was taken, and
the eggs were estimated. Care was exercised that the series should contain only immature
females, so that no egg should have been lost, and that all might be of nearly equal size.
The ovaries were taken from the flsh and their weight accurately ascertained; after which small
quantities were taken from different parts of each and weighed on delicately adjusted scales,
the eggs in these portions being carefully counted. The number contained in a given weight
being known, it was easy to ascertain approximately the entire number for each flsh.
"The results obtained are given in a table, quoted below, showing a twenty-one-pound flsh to
have 2,700,000, and a seventy-five-pound one, 9,100,000. The largest number of eggs found in the
pollock was 4,029,200, and in the haddock 1,840,000.
"When the eggs are first seen in the flsh they are so small as to be hardly distinguishable,
but they continue to increase in size until maturity, and, after impregnation, have a diameter,
depending upon the size of the parent, varying from one-nineteenth to one-seventeenth of an inch.
A flve to eight pound flsh has eggs of the smaller size, while a twenty-flve-pound one has them
between an eighteenth and a seventeenth.
' Report of United States Commission of Fisli and Fisheries, pt. 6, 1878, pp. 685-740.
216 NATtTEAL HISTOEY OF AQtTATIO ANIMALS.
"From weighing and measuring known quantities it is found that one pound avoirdupois will
contain 190,000 of the smaller size, or that 1,000,000 eggs well drained will weigh about five
pounds. Again, by assuming one-nineteenth of an inch as the standard, or by precipitating a
known quantity in chromic acid and measuring, we find one quart, or fifty-seven and three-quarters
cubic inches, to contain a little less than 400,000, or that 1,000,000 will measure between two and
a half and three quarts.
<' With these facts in mind, it will be an easy matter to estimate the quantity of eggs taken
for hatching purposes during any given season.
"When the little fish first breaks through the shell of the egg that confines it, the fetal curve
or crook is still quite noticeable, but it soon straightens, and is then about five-sixteenths of an
inch in length. At this time the yelk-sack, situated well forward, is quite large, but so transparent
as to escape the notice of the ordinary observer. This is gradually absorbed, disappearing wholly
in about ten to fifteen days, and the little fish begins to move about with a peculiar serpentine
motion, at times darting quite rapidly, and then remaining motionless, as if resting from its
exertions. It now begins its independent existence, and moves about more frequently, apparently
in search of food. From this date it is impossible to follow the Cod, for none have been confined,
and it is only by catching large numbers at different seasons and carefully recording their weights
and measurements that one is enabled to judge of their growth. The habits of the species, that
cause them to live near the shore for the first few years, furnish excellent opportunities for such
observations, and many were examined during our stay at Cape Ann.
" At the outset the problem becomes difiQcult, in that the spawning period, instead of being
limited to a few weeks, as is the case with most species, extends over fully three-fourths of the year,
and the diflculty is greatly increased by other causes that affect the i:ate of growth of individuals
hatched at the same time.
"The results were what might be expected; for a table of measurements, made late in June,
gave an almost continuous series, with only one or two breaks, that could with certainty be taken
to represent the non-spawning period of the fish. But though the gaps were so completely closed
by the extremes in variation, which seemed to cause even an overlapping, showing the last hatched
of one season to be smaller than the first hatched of the next succeeding, yet there was a tendency for
the greater number of individuals to be thrown iuto groups at intervals in the series, these seeming
to represent the height of the spawning season for the different years. The break was distinct
betAveen the smallest and those of a year earlier, so that, taking the height of the spawning season
on the south side of Cape Ann to be December, the large number of young fry ranging from one
and a half to three inches must have been hatched the previous winter, and were consequently
about six months old. The large number of individuals having a length of nine to thirteen inches
indicated the normal growth of those hatched a year earlier, or fish of eighteen months, to be ten
to eleven inches, and their weight seven to eight ounces. The next group, or the fish thought to
be thirty months old, measured from seventeen to eighteen inches, with an average weight of two
to two and a quarter pounds. The fish now begin to increase more in weight than in length, soon
appearing in the markets as ' Scrod,' and by the following summer measure about twenty-two
inches and weigh from four to five pounds.
"Beyond this period nothing can be determined, for the variation, constantly growing greater,
now gives every size and weight, with no indication of breaks in the series.
"But enough has been learned, if the above be correct, to show that the male reaches maturity
at three and the female at four years; for the smallest ripe male noticed during the season of
1878-'79 weighed three and a half and the smallest ripe female five pounds.
SPAWNING HABITS OF THE COD. 217
"Evidence is not wanting to show that a Cod spawns every year, and that it deposits the
entire number of eggs in the ovaries each season. "We have examined hundreds of specimens and
have failed to find a single instance where the condition of the ovaries did not clearly indicate
that such was the case. During the first of the season no mature fish were found in which
eggs were not present, though they often varied greatly in development from very small to
nearly ripe. Again, later in the season, no spent fish were seen with any eggs remaining
in the ovaries; and no fish were found during the spawning period in which the condition of the
ovaries did not indicate that the eggs were gradually maturing, and would be deposited before the
close of the season.
"The eggs contained in the ovaries are separated into little irregular conical clusters, each
being connected with the general mass by a slender thread that expands into a delicate membrane
containing minute and diffusely branched blood-vessels. This membrane envelops each of the eggs,
and the blood-vessels supply the nutrition so necessary to their future growth and development.
As the eggs mature they gradually increase in size, until, when ripe, they become detached from
the membrane, and pass down through secondary channels into the main channel leading to the
genital opening of the female.
"The first ripe female seen during the season of 1878-'79 was found in a lot of shore-
fish or ground-tenders landed September 2. The eggs were noticed to be running from this fish as
it lay upon the floor of the fish-house. On opening it, we found that it had just begun spawning,
for a few eggs only, perhaps five per cent, of the entire number, were transparent, and a small
number of these had separated from the membrane and fallen into the channels leading to the
genital opening, while the great bulk were far less mature and represented almost every stage of
development from green to ripe.
"From this date ripe fish, both males and females, were occasionally taken, though they did
not become abundant until the middle of October. E.aily in November, when the school-fish made
their appearance on the south side of Cape Ann, the individuals varied greatly in their spawning
condition; some were quite ripe and had already thrown a portion of their eggs, while others were
so green as to indicate that they would not spawn for several months at least, though, in nearly
all, the eggs had begun to enlarge. By the first of December fully fifty per cent, of the catch had
commenced spawning, but when driven away, probably by the unusually heavy storms, in January,
a few were not quite ripe, and the majority had not thrown all their eggs.
"About the first of February the fish in Ipswich Bay were found to average fully ninety per
cent, males, with the spermaries mostly well developed. At this time there was a great variation
in the ovaries of the females ; of these not more than one in ten had spawned, while fully sixty
per cent, were still green. By the middle of the month the females numbered about forty per cent.,
though over half had not commenced spawning. On March 13, three hundred fish from this school
were opened, with the following results : Fourteen per cent, were spent males ; fifty -three per cent.
were ripe males; six per cent, were spent females; fourteen per cent, were females in various stages
of spawning; and eleven per cent, were green females. May 10, fully half of the females had not
finished spawning, and an occasional green one was noticed. Even in June, when the fish left the
coast, a very few, though ripe, had not finished throwing their eggs.
" The results of the above observation prove not only interesting, but surprising, for we find
the Codfish spawning through nine consecutive months in the same locality, a period far exceeding
that required by any other species of which we have any knowledge.
"This fact can be more easily understood when we remember that the individuals do not
deposit all their eggs in a single day or week, but probably continue the operation of spawning
2 IS VATf -g4T. hzstmly of aqcjluc AisncAJ^
»Hiles siss be^ik r.: lAswr ixa^ -ex^ aitf * '^^^'^ asafl. paeeMH^ «f &» '
L «f iaffiniiBife M saie h-L~izji^ sa^es. sitae ftand^srlfe^^;
rlrc-'zi:* ifte .->.>.r-^> t» like «fKniMg, £»i aK esi^Biisi brhb like to^. oAer as idhe
Ii weaM be iiiT>:>~^";rrr iw a b^ 7,? lesaai aB, ^r er^^ a saaJi put. af irs i^^s ike
i«e-te^ aaifl Ha Ils^ kaS xjfiinRii. &r tikt ^•fi;^.&ii^ de;^ tbe A uTVn— M :~ i«rr ^maE. ami
A^ wmU cemn to kn^ a ^alk gK^o- rii;^ ike <aiiw ^roiBai^ catvi^rMf tte ^^ Tke ib»-
liKtEsaftshe ■: -^-r^ aff a sewgy-a^e psMid feh, aSia- iiiBCgiTmiiHi, inaaM iw^^ a%«ac Sarlpaw
twiaaul Mill I ■iiiiiilj ii III II a ^. iiDiMi iiiiiiiiil i iniiiii liilf nifiriiriHii -'' i nn u ii^ftr iw liall rfiku ' 'i
^'-iaeiks- jBBsf skaa lie Oeifi^ 'i-r.jiscrs ~5 e^rs jrraiarilir c'zzk.g a fo^r yanw i :■? s«-z:ial*e
i^KS liat itw caM be rsii-z. mam the ±^Zi xt a S^ku Im •so^fmg Ghe s^i.' aa: ike ka ad b iaj> ia
G Jto a pKa eiv it ^[^i$ l^ani Ikat aahr one f^an;, re Jes^ ikaa .S<iiA.ilH «@;«!Ss eeaM be «teB £»■■ a
tw^M5~~<iBe paaaA ±5c a: a a^e ssi^ipiag. ABt '«±i;f ske wfanes . c' 7l5> f^ lt«> cMiaHt ±,?MUMi
^«s. aad ike line «f ^avvi^ T<c^ lie ivio n«aik& ike £^ Bi^ dfpasilt ia tib^ KHKial icaQT I3^.^M^
ar aeai^ a nmrfc, eaA ipbA.
-Bat lrrAesiilKia]meA«d.i(kaescN^exserBaIfEi^saieeaqnpfied,atxB^
praibaiify ^eesivd at «&ae Ikaa infaM be aatna^ir tthraira Ig- dbe fi^ Tkas Ae s«k ■z.s.i esk»
gWwJaallTJqpesteMoc&acliKS eggs eaKfedagr.dBg^ ike aaiie ~i'iirai^3 'nmnna . m il -— ~l ihim'il
at iafeavals sepaiabed l^- vds^ a di(T ar two a£ noaL
-Tbe sekooLs of <Oed ^ve abeex bat Kde dan^g; Ike ^awai^ seafco. esK^i a^ea drivm
aaajbr^Kad^orbf-TielctttsSiacss. Ifni-TlkrrTnirbtkr irilmr iiifriiiu laii ifrkiiii^. mnanlaaii. ,
l>e~ciaike£aMeIfMafiEk&aadeTi»apaa1^esa»e^po^«BHfl ik«iyfeav«. Tke nivralaafe^ M*,
£^«M to Kove aboat bat llEde ais^e^ idbeM9etves. Wkea At framlf l!<e«@aKS i^ ^be
qneil:^ sear ike better. wUie ike safe', a Inile neve aedf«. ei&eB sasis kt^ker a^c life fe i
eatoi bjr tke &er tihat «ieasa- aaidMxs af ^taawag lioHAes se lakia «nk ske nawl, vteeh
fics £iec%aa Ae botiOM, ilen «iA Ae kaaUlBe a B^e aaf- abofv ^ ir^ie Ike sake aie takea
«M <»e as v^d^ ^5 <sb Ae oiker.
-liaa^aot be fInT•:•s^^^:^ ikat tfte ef^ a»e ^iifisxd akOe Ji«^
waatesaan-essiaeieiasaBd tkw AtsieasradesrsTLaZyfisaBd Atike^pamai^«iaaaBfeffaaraB
^90itaat pan ia di^}ribati^ ike «ia^ ikas aBdaag Ae <teK^ ef B^tegwAMK wei« j^T«^^
l»*wiitiBaTbepo^aile,aad,if tike ^pavatag: ^ses ea ^aAaal^ftr ^v^r%: aKHitk^. $>;««> aM
nqprafeahle. Aat tibe nneffiate pK^ese^ «tf ike oppo^te sexes darii^ tkt atf flf ffawni^ is aoc
■eo^anr. bat latker ikat ike .^gs aie iartifiBed Mua|jr >y aeadtemal ewtac*. Oti^emAxw^
viMldsee»K*sieagikalAepn)l^bailMscfikis«kmi:!r; iiaE,if Aefekav^apai^tktgrwwadd
(rflHB be tak^ oa adjoiu^ kods «f «ke iiaid. or oae <oa eifeker keefc «f tke kaadfiae. Sack i>
■or asoal!;^ tke ease, kovterar. bat, «» tke eoalxaiyj seT^tal «f Ae sane %e aw Mcce fie^aeaQjr
tabatogeAer.
■"Tke eggs kaw a i^eoiie gnTiiy ef l.io> k- 1.«S^ as iadioaed 1^ tke fiwt tkat ikqr loat ia
salt aatn- and aakia^idDhriafK^li. Tbcgr aay be «Mwd at tke sn&(« m <«auaea viA e«^ «4'
tkeFoIh)dz,Haddoi^;Kiidi»»bah^cAw£fieci^«f tkeeod&^ :< swwtk: bat
vkea tke »aJer beeoaes Kaia«k tkey are <ainifd ts. a deptk «f sev^er^i fitfciMS by tke eaii«it«
tkoB^tkeltoadNwx&toieiBaiBiiear tke^o&ee. Tke oldest fi^enaw kad m<« tke ^^teet
lowaledge of Ais fici^ b«t keld to tte tkeoi3^ lte« Ike fiaaal^ di^pasteed A(w
THE HATCHING OP THE COD EGGS.
219
where they were visited and impregnated by the males, and left to become the food of the various
animals so abundant in such localities. They had at times noticed the little transparent globular
bodies in the water, but it had never occurred to them that they were the eggs of any fish.
"There are many ways in which the eggs may be destroyed. The principal loss is probably
the result of non-impregnation, for unless they come in contact with the milt of the male very soon
after being thrown from the parent they lose their vitality. Again, being drifted about by the winds
and tides, they are often carried long distances from the spawning grounds into the little bays and
coves, and are driven in immense numbers upon the shores, or are left dry by the tides, where they
soon die from exposure to the atmosphere, or, during the cold winter weather, are instantly destroyed
by freezing. Ipswich Bay, the most extensive spawning ground in the locality, is especially
unfortunate in this particular, for the heavy storms from the north and east sweep with unbroken
force across its surface, and each breaker as it rolls in upon the beach must carry with it many
millions of eggs.
" But such impregnated eggs as escape destruction upon the shores are subjected to the ravages
of the myriads of hungry animals living about the rocks and coves. One day in January we placed
a jelly-fish or medusid, having a diameter of but one and a half inches, into a tray of eggs in
the hatching-room, and in less than five minutes it had fastened seventy eggs to his tentacles,
loading some of them so heavily that they were severed from the body by the weight or resistance
of the eggs as they were dragged through the water.
"By the aid of a microscope, numbers of vorticelli were frequently found upon the eggs, in one
case forty-six being counted on a single egg. In addition a peculiar growth, thought to be minute
algae, was often noticed upon them. Just what influence these would exert, or whether they would
occur in the clear water outside the harbor, is not known. Thus, owing to the many different
circumstances that teud to destroy the eggs, probably but a very small number out of a million
are successfully hatched, and of the young fish but few reach maturity."
In the winters of 1878-'79 and 1880-'81 the United States Pish Commission successfully carried
on the work of artificial propagation of Codfish. The results of the first winter's work at Gloucester
will be found detailed in Mr. Earll's paper, from which quotations have already been so extensively
taken.
In addition to his other observations, Mr. Earll computed the number of eggs in Codfish of
different sizes. The results of his observations are shown in the following table:
Table showing the number of eggs in Codfish of different sines.
iS .
"s
""■S
«
"H
Number.
1
!
Hi
1
fi
It
■S o
ti
1
11
ft
1°
1.9
a a,
H
Ft. in.
Lbt.
Lbs. 02.
Oz.
Lbs. oz.
1
70-75
8 8
8 2
1,108
1 132
1 (O) 1
70 75
8 8
g
8 2
7
\ 160
9, 100, 000
22
i 2J
51
7 2
5
6 13
6
l,13t
S
188.5
8, 989, 094
3
3 8
30
2 8J
2i
2 6
6
1,341
233.5
3, 715, 687
4
3 5
27
2 H
2S
2 7
7
1,680
240
4, 095, 000
6
3 a
223
2 2i
2
2 0§
6
1,308
228
3, 229, 888
6
3 3
21
1 15|
li
1 14
6
1,249
208. 17
2,732,237
1 !N"o. 1 (a) represents a second quantity taken from the same ovary tlie following day, and the greater number
may be partially accounted for by the evaporation of moisture dui'ing the night.
* H"o. 2 contained a fsvr ripe eggs.
220 IfATUTtAL HISTOEY OF AQUATIC ANIMALS.
It is interesting to compare these with the observations made during the last century, refer-
ences to which may be found in all the standard works on natural history, Leuwenhoek is said to
have found in a Cod of middling size 384,000 eggs. Harmer found, in one weighing eighteen or
twenty pounds, between 3,000,000 and 4,000,000 eggs. It was examined December 23, and was
estimated to have 294 eggs to the grain, the ovaries weighing 12,540 grains; the total number,
according to this calculation, is 3,086,760.^
The size op Codfish.— The result of Mr. Earll's observations indicates that in June the
fish hatched the previous winter, or about six months old, range from one and a half to three
inches in length; while those from nine to thirteen inches long, and weighing seven or eight
ounces, were eighteen months old; those seventeen to eighteen inches long, and weighing two to
two and a quarter pounds, were supposed to be two years and a half old; those of about twenty-
two inches, which weighed four to five pounds, were three years and a half old. He also concludes
that the male reaches maturity at the age of three, and the female at the age of four years, for the
smallest ripe male noticed during the season of 1878-'79 weighed three and one-half pounds, and
the smallest ripe female five pounds.
On pages 733-734 of Mr. Earll's report may be found the measurements of a large number
of Codfish of different weights, and with the ovaries and spermaries in different stages of develop-
ment. These measurements are interesting, since they show the relation between the length
and weight of individual fish.
I have before me memoranda relating to a large number of enormous Codfish, taken along
the New England coast at various times from 1830 to 1879. It seems unnecessary to refer to them,
excepting the cases of a few which exceed one hundred pounds in weight.
Capt. King Harding, of Swampscott, tells me that he once caught, on the eastern side of Cape
Cod, a fish weighing 101 pounds as it came from the water.
On the 22d of July, 1873, Miss Fannie Belis, of Saint Louis, while on a fishing excursion off
Eastern Point, on board the yacht " United States," caught a Cod which weighed 130 pounds.
Capt. C H. Martin caught, off Chatham, a Codfish which weighed, dressed. 111 pounds.
Capt. Stephen Mar, of Gfeucester, saw a Codfish taken on George's Banks in 1838 which, after
having been eviscerated, weighed 136 pounds.
Captain Atwood says, on the coast of Cape Cod he has never seen a male Codfish, with one
exception, which weighed more than 60 pounds; he once saw one, however, which weighed 160
pounds. This fish was not much larger than an ordinary fish weighing 75 pounds, but was very
thick.
Captain Atwood remarks: "In regard to size, the Cod differs very widely in different localities.
When taken on the Grand Bank it usually requires from thirty to forty to make a quintal when
dried. Those caught in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence with hand-lines are smaller, requiring
seventy to eighty per quintal; in the same locality, however, Cod caught on trawl-lines require
only twenty to twenty-five per quintal, while on the coast of Labrador they are all small, and it
requires about one hundred to one hundred and ten to make a quintal."
Writing in the summer of 1877, Captain Atwood expressed the opinion that the average
weight of the fish taken about Cape Cod was in the neighborhood of ten pounds; but he informed
me that in the winter of 1877, in two days, thirty thousand pounds of Codfish were landed from
the boats, and that there was not a fish among them small enough to be classed as a market Cod,
a market Cod weighing from six to ten or twelve pounds.
'Philosophical Transactions, Ivii, 1778, p. 387.
SIZE OF THE COD. 221
I have before me much information concerning the average size of the fish caught at different
cjeasons of the year by the fishermen at different localities along the coast, but it seems at present
hardly necessary to discuss this subject at greater length.
CONOLTJSIONS AS TO DECKBASE OP COD PISHEEIES ON THE KeW ENGLAND COAST.— In
conclusion, it may not be amiss to quote the remarks of Professor Baird concerning the decrease
of Codfish along our coast, and the probable causes for such decrease :
"Of all the various fisheries formerly prosecuted directly off the coast of New England, north of
Cape Cod, the depreciation in that of the Cod appears to be of the greatest economical importance.
Formerly the waters abounded in this fish to such an extent that a large supply could be taken
throughout almost the eutire year along the banks, especially in the vicinity of the mouths of the
larger rivers. At that time the tidal streams were almost choked up with the alewives, shad, and
salmon that were struggling for entrance in the spring, and which filled the adjacent waters
throughout a great part of the year.
"As is well known, the erection of impassable dams across the streams, by preventing the
ascent of the species just mentioned to their spawning grounds, produced a very great diminution,
and almost the extermination, of their numbers ; so that whereas in former years a large trade
could be carried on during the proper season, now nothing would be gained by the effort.
"Of late the attention of the legislatures of the New England States has been called to this
fact, and to the importance of restoring their fisheries, and a great deal has been already accom-
plished toward that end. Unfortunately, however, the lumbering interest in Maine, and the
manufacturing in New Hampshire and Massachusetts, are so powerful as to render it extremely
difficult to carry out any measures which in any way interfere with their convenience or profits;
and notwithstanding the passage of laws requiring the construction of fishways through the
dams, these have either been neglected altogether, or are of such a character as not to answer
their purpose. The reform, therefore, however imperatively required, has been very slow in its
progress, and many years will probably elapse before efficient measures will be taken to remedy
the evils referred to.
"It would, therefore, appear that while the river fisheries have been depreciated or destroyed
by means of dams or by exhaustive fishing, the Codfish have disappeared in equal ratio. This
is not, however, for the same reason, as they are taken only with the line, at a rate more than
compensated by the natural fecundity of the fish. I am well satisfied, however, that there is a
relation of cause and effect between the present and past condition of the two series of fish ; and
in this I am supported by the opinion of Capt. U. S. Treat, of Eastport, by whom, indeed, the
idea wasfirst suggested to me. Captain Treat is a successful fisherman and dealer in fish on a
very large scale, and at the same time a gentleman of very great intelligence and knowledge of
the many details connected with the natural history of our coast fishes, in this respect worthily
representing Captain Atwood, of Provincetown. It is to Captain Treat that we owe many experi-
ments on the reproduction of alewives in ponds, and the possibility of keeping salmon in fresh
waters for a period of years. The general conclusions which have been reached, as the result of
repeated conversations with Captain Treat and other fishermen on the coast, incline me to believe
that the reduction in the cod and other fisheries, so as to become practically a failure, is due to
the decrease off our coast in the quantity, primarily, of alewives; and, secondarily, of shad and
salmon, more than to any other cause.
"It is well known to the old residents of Eastport that from thirty to fifty years ago Cod could
be taken in abundance in Passamaquoddy Bay and off Eastport, where only stragglers are now
to be caught. The same is the case at the mouth of the Penobscot River and at other points along
222 NATUEAL HISTORY OF AQUATIC ANIMALS.
the coast, where once the fish came close in to the shore, and were readily captured with the hook
throughout the greater part of the year. That period was before the multiplication of mill-dams,
cutting off the ascent of the alewives, shad, and salmon, especially the former. The Saint Croix
Eiver was choked in the spring with the numbers of these fish, endeavoring to ascend; and the
same may be said of the Little Eiver, the outlet of Boynton's Lake, about seven miles above East-
port. The lake in question is one of considerable size, and was visited by immense numbers of
alewives, which could be dipped out, to any extent, on their passage upward, while the waters of
the adjacent bay were alive with the young fish on their return.
"The fish themselves enter the waters of the streams in May or June, and return almost
immediately after spawning to the sea. But they may be taken by the drift-nets along the
shores as early as March and April; and, indeed, it is quite probable that the whole period of
their abode in the salt water is spent adjacent to the rivers in which they were born. The young
come down from the ponds in which they are hatched, from August to October, keeping up a
constant stream of the young fish. In this way a supply of alewives was to be met with
throughout the greater part of the year, and nearer the coast they furnished every inducement
for the Cod and other ground fish to come inshore in their pursuit.
" It is true that the sea-herring is also an attraction to these fish, and probably but for their
presence our pollock, haddock, and hake fisheries would be greatly diminished. Nevertheless,
the alewife appears to be more attractive as a bait, and furthermore the sea-herring are less
constantly on the coast, especially inshore, occurring as they do at stated intervals, when they
come in from the deep sea to spawn. It is possible, too, that they are less easily captured by the
Cod, since they swim nearer the surface than the alewives. Corroboration of this idea is furnished
in the testimony of Mr. W. B. McLaughlin, of Southern Head, Grand Manan. This gentleman
informs me that the only stream in the island which ever furnished alewives to any extent was
Seal Cove Creek, which discharges to the east of the southern extremity of Grand Manan, and
into which these fish entered in immense numbers in the spring. At that time Cod, Haddock,
and Pollock, as well as halibut, were taken in great abundance in Seal Cove Sound, between
Harwood Cove, on Wood Island, and Indian or Parker's Point, on the main island. They were
to be met with during the greater part of the year, especially from May to January; and the
fishery in the channel-way within a quarter of a mile of the shore was really more productive
than on the banks much farther out to sea.
"Although still a young man, Mr. McLaughlin recollects the capture of these fish; and,
indeed, as a mere boy, enjoyed the sport within a very short distance of his father's house. Soon
after that time a dam was built across this stream about two hundred yards above its mouth,
cutting off entirely the upward passage of the alewives, and by a remarkable coincidence, if it
be nothing more, the cod fishery in question diminished very soon after, and in a very few years
ceased almost entirely, so that up to the present time there are not enough Cod in those waters
to repay the experiment of attempting to catch them. A few alewives still find their way up to
the foot of the dam, but in such small numbers as to make it often doubtful whether there are any
there or not.
"The other fishing grounds about Grand Manan are farther out to sea, at the northern end
of the island, where there are no alewives, and where herring appear to be the principal food,
although the variation in the abundance of these in different seasons appears to have an important
bearing upon the number of Hake and Cod.
"If these conclusions be correct — and I am quite satisfied of their general validity — we
have, for the efforts made to establish flshways in the rivers of Maine, New Hampshire, and
DECREASE IN ABUNDAlsrCE OP COD. 223
Massachusetts, a much more weighty reason than that of merely enabling a few salmon to enter
the streams in order to permit their capture while on their way.
"Whatever may be the importance of increasing the supply of salmon, it is trifling compared
with the restoration of our exhausted cod fisheries; and should these be brought back to their
original condition, we shall find, within a short time, an increase of wealth on our shores, the
amount of which it would be difflcult to calculate. Not only would the general prosperity of the
adjacent States be enhanced, but in the increased number of vessels built, in the larger number
of men induced to devote themselves to maritime pursuits, and in the general stimulus to every-
thing connected with the business of the seafaring profession, we should be recovering, in a great
measure, from that loss which has been the source of so much lamentation to political economists
and well-wishers of the country."
66. THE TOM CODS. MICKOGADUS TOMCOD AND M. PROXIMUS.
The Atlantic Tom Cod. — The Atlantic Tom Cod, Microgadus tomood, is found only in the
Western Atlantic, ranging from New York at the south to Cape Sable at the north. It is
ordinarily known as the Tom Cod, but in the Bay of Pundy, and in various places south of
Cape Cod, it is known as the Frost Fish, owing to the fact that it becomes most abundant in
the early part of the winter, when it approaches the shore and even ascends the rivers and creeks
for the purpose of spawning. Dr. DeKay states, on the authority of Dr. Tates, that Tom Cods
sometimes appear at Albany in abundance, while I am informed by the Eev. Dr. F. Gardiner
that they are taken in winter in the Kennebec, sixty miles from its mouth, and far above the reach
of the tide. They ascend the Charles Eiver to Watertown, where they are taken in dip-nets and
by the hook from the wharves and bridges. Although most abundant near the shores and in the
streams in early winter, they are found along the coast at all seasons of the year. In form the
Tom Cod is the miniature of the Codfish, rarely exceeding ten or twelve inches in length, and
there is much difllculty in distinguishing the young of the two species. The Tom Cod, however,
varies even more in its color than the Cod, and several varieties have been described under
different names. When these fish approach the shores in winter they are taken in great quantities
with nets, and are esteemed in many localities as a great delicacy.
The Tom Cod feeds upon numerous species of crustaceans and mollusks, and also upon the
young of many other kinds of fishes.
The Pacific Tom Cod. — Professor Jordan gives the following notes upon the closely related
species, Microgadus proximus, found in California, and there known as the Tom Cod :
"The English at Victoria know this species by the name 'Whiting.' Elsewhere on the coast
the name of 'Tom Cod' is universally applied to it. In the restaurants at San Francisco, it is
usually served under the name of Smelt. It reaches the length of a foot and a weight of about
half a pound. It ranges from Monterey to Puget Sound and northward, being everywhere very
abundant, and taken in great numbers in seines and sweep-nets, both outside and in the bays. Its
food is small fishes. Nothing special is known of its breeding habits; it is apparently abundant
at all seasons. It is one of the important food fishes of the coast, always abundant and always
meeting a ready sale. Its flesh is, however, watery and tasteless, and cannot be ra.ted high."
67. THE HADDOCK. MELANOGRAMMUS iEGLEFINUS.
DiSTBiBUTiON. — The Haddock, Melanogrammus ceglefinus, is found only in the Atlantic. Its
wanderings are more limited than those of the Cod. It is not found nearly as far to the north ;
while its southern range is no wider. Haddock are probably found in company with Codfish on all
224 NATUEAL HISTORY OF AQUATIC AJSilMALS.
the northern fishing grounds, as far south, at least, as the Capes of Delaware, though concerning
their occurrence iu southern waters there is dearth of information. In winter and spring they are
taken in Fisher's Island Sound and outside of Fisher's Island, on the coast of Eastern Connecticut;
and also in great quantities on Nantucket Shoals by the smacks, and are carried thence with
Cod into l^Tew York market. In 1871 it was estimated that the catch of Haddock here was
nearly equal to that of Cod, although the latter usually predominate. They abound north of Cape
Cod, in the Gulf of Maine, and in the Bay of Fundy, in the Basia of Minas, on the coast of Nova
Scotia, in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, and in the Bay of Chaleur. In the Gulf of Saint Lawrence,
according to Captain Atwood, they are not very abundant, but the individuals taken are very large.
They are taken on the western coast of Newfoundland in winter; their northern limit appears to
be marked by the Straits of Belle Isle, latitude 52° N. The researches of Dr. A. S. Packard on
the coast of Labrador failed to bring this species to light, and fishermen of that region told him
that in the course of forty years' experience thay had never seen a Haddock. In 1863 and 1864
they were found in abundance on the southern border of the Grand Bank. Capt. R. H. Hurlbert
states that he has seen them in great abundance in May at Louisburg, Cape Breton, playing at
the surface among the reefs, but that they are not so frequent on the Grand Bank as on the
Western Bank, and, in turn, less common there than on George's Bank.
In the Eastern Atlantic the range of the Haddock is somewhat wider, for they are found in the
seas of Iceland, the whole length of the Scandinavian coast to East Finmark and Varanger Fjord,
and on all the shores of Great Britain, and in the North Sea, where they are particularly abundant,
though rarely or never entering the Baltic. There is no evidence that they are found to the south of
the English Channel. De La Blanchfere states that they are caught in considerable numbers on the
coast of Manche. In the Eastern Atlantic, then, they are found between the parallels 48° and 66° ;
in the Western Atlantic between the parallels 38° and 53°.
Names. — The Haddock is often called " Dickie" by Connecticut fishermen. Hadot and Hadou
are old French names for the same fish, though the species is now usually known by the name Egrefin.
In Scotland the name is said to be pronounced almost in the same way as in France, and is often
varied to Haddie. It is the Schellfisch of Germany. Concerning this fish many of our fishermen
entertain the same idea, which with them can hardly be called a superstition, that the black spots
upon their side are due to the impression of the thumb and finger of Saint Peter when the apostle
took the tribute money out of the mouth of a fish supposed to be of this species, the fisherman's
mark having been continued among its descendants ever since. This notion is prevalent also in
England, and in Southern Europe is attachedto other fishes, particularly to the John Dory, Zeus
faber: It is needless to say that no member of this family occurs in the Sea of Galilee.
Movements. — Haddock are not so active and powerful as the Cod. Dr. Gilpin has expressed
the opinion that on the coast of Nova Scotia they do not retreat so far from the shore in winter as
the Cod, but this does not appear to be true in Massachusetts Bay.
Storer, in 1839, made the assertion, which was repeated in 1867, in another edition of the
" History of the Fishes of Massachusetts," that in Massachusetts Bay in the warm season about
twelve hundredweight of Haddock are taken to each hundredweight of Codfish, and in the wiater
about twelve hundredweight of Cod to each hundredweight of Haddock; but since the haddock
fishery is of longer duration, the proportion throughout the year averages about three Haddock to
one Cod. They abound in Massachusetts Bay throughout the summer, and it is at this season also
that they are taken in the greatest abundance on the off-shore banks in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence.
There is a strange absence of information concerning their movements on the European coast.
On the coast of East Friesland the haddock fishery is peimitted by law from March to the begin-
MOVEMENTS OF TOE HADDOCK. 225
ning of June, and from October to the middle or end of January, a winter recess being allowed for
the purpose of spawning. It is stated by Dr. Wittmack that during the heat of summer they
retreat from these coasts, with the Cod and the flounder, into the deepest waters, appearing again
towards the end of September. On the coast of Scotland they are said to be most abundant in
winter. In Massachusetts Bay, as it has been said, they are most abundant in summer, coming
in after the cod pass out, though they are also taken in deeper parts of the bay the whole winter
long, and are sought at this season on George's and other off-shore banks as well as localities
farther to the north.
A study of such data as these is unsatisfactory in the extreme, since it is impossible to draw
from them any conclusions concerning the relation of the movements of the Haddock to the tem-
perature of the water in which it is found. The only movements which are now intelligible are
those which take place at the period of spawning.
Abundance. — Eemarkable variations in the abundance of this fish are upon record ; at certain
times they have been exceedingly rare, at others abundant in the extreme. They appear to be
much more gregarious than the Codfish, and to swim together in large schools from place to piace.
Storer, writing in 1839, said that they were common about Cape Cod, but that ten years before they
had been rare. An item in the " Gloucester Telegraph," June 3, 1837, stated that Haddock were
at that time brought in abundantly and sold from the Swampscott boats at a cent apiece.
According to Capt. B. W. Merchant, in the years from 1814 to 1820 there was a great catch in
the vicinity of Nahant, about five miles at sea, east-southeast. So plenty were they that two men
and one boy could catch with hand-lines from one boat 600 to 1,000 in number in one day. This
school of fish came in about the 20th of March and continued until the first of May, then grad-
ually decreased and spread over the fishing banks in Massachusetts Bay. At this time the
majority of the boats belonged to Sandy Bay, now Eockport, and to Gloucester.
Capt. King Harding, of Swampscott, tells me that in 1843 Haddock were so scarce that they
were sold singly. The fishermen received twenty-five cents each for all they could get. A vessel
could not get more than one hundred in the course of a day's fishing.
At this time Isaac Eich & Co. chartered the schooner " Harriet," of Duxbury, to go out on a
special cruise for Haddock, paying $200 toward the venture. She started out with a crew of five
men about the 20th of February, and fished on soft bottom in the deepest water. Her fare was
two hundred and twenty Haddock, and the trip was considered a remarkable success.
In May of the next year great schools of little Haddock came in. They were six or eight
inches long and a great bother to the fishermen. The following year they were about half grown,
or a foot or so in length and very thick. They came in May.
In 1846 they came in earlier, many in March, but mostly in May. They were quite large and
very abundant.
Haddock were also very abundant in 1857. On the 13th of March one hundred Swampscott
fishermen, in twelve vessels, caught in a period of about six hours 160,000 pounds of fish, chiefly
Haddock. *
In 1877 and 187° . ue Haddock were very large and quite scarce. In the winter of 1877 and
1878 they were larger than for many years. Some were caught near Swampscott which weighed
fifteen and sixteen pounds. The average size is from four to six pounds.
Captain Atwood states that in 1834 Haddock were very scarce on the Grand Bank, and few were
caught anywhere on the coast, but in 1840 they became so numerous about Cape Cod as to interfere
seriously with the cod fishery, devouring the bait before the Cod could reach it, and about 1850
' Lewis : History of Lynn, p. 450.
16 P
226 NATUEAL HISTOEY OF AQUATIC ANIMALS.
they had increased so rapidly that the markets were glutted. In 1864 they were caught in great
numbers and were still on the increase. In 1870 the same observer related to the Massachusetts
senate the story of another period of scarcity and abundance. His statements may be found in
the Eeport of the United States Commission of Fish and Fisheries, part 1, 1873, p. 119. He
elsewhere says :
" If over-fishing were possible, it seems to me that we should see some of its results where great
changes have taken place in the modes of our fisheries of Cod and Haddock in Massachusetts Bay.
What is called 'trawl fishing' was first introduced about 1850, and it resulted in the taking of a
vast number of fish of these varieties. In consequence of the competition in the business, the
Swampscott people petitioned the legislature for a law prohibiting trawl-fishing, on the ground
that it would exterminate the Haddock. At that time I proved before the legislature that Had-
dock was much more abundant than it had been at any previous time, and that I was selling
them at thirty-seven and a half cents per hundred pounds. That fishery has been going on ever
since, and the amount taken was greater this last winter than for many years past. A fisher-
man in a dory fifteen feet long has often brought in as much as 1,800 pounds in a single day.
There are eighty boats fishing out of the harbor, and 83,000 pounds have been caught in one day.
This increase has taken place in spite of the constant practice of the new mode of fishing, by
which twice as many are taken in the same time as formerly." '
Captain Atwood explains the great increase at this time by the introduction of fishing with
long trawl lines, which destroyed many species of fish preying upon haddock spawn. At the
present time Haddock are very abundant; they are caught throughout the summer in great
numbers by the Irish market-boats of Boston, and in winter a large fleet of Gloucester and Port-
land vessels are engaged in catching them upon George's and other off-shore banks. These
vessels fish with trawl lines, and it has been stated that a single crew has been known to
take nearly 60,000 pounds in a day.^
Food. — The food of t*lie Haddock resembles that of the Cod, except that they are, if possible,
more omnivorous ; their diet consists, however, largely of invertebrates. They are rarely seen
feeding at the surface, though they devour the spawn of other fishes, particularly that of the
herring, with great eagerness. They devour great quantities of shells, many of them of the bar-
rowing species. Professor Verrill has well said that a complete list of the animals devoured by
the Haddock would doubtless include all the mollusks belonging to the fauna of New England.
The Haddock are said to be jjarticularly abundant on clam-banks. From this habit of feeding
on shells has originated the German name for the fish. The difference between the habits of the
Haddock and the Cod is illustrated by the remark of Captain Atwood that Haddock will take a
baited hook as it rests upon the ground, while the Cod will only notice it when it is raised a short
distance from the bottom. Salted menhaden is a favorite bait for Haddock, but not desirable for
Cod, while both Cod and Haddock will readily take stale clams, which are much better for bait
than fresh ones.
Eepeoduotion. — The spawning habits of the Haddock in our waters have been carefully ob-
served by Mr. Earll, whose statements are quoted below: On the German coast the Haddock spawn
on rocky bottoms in February and early March at a depth of twenty-two to twenty -five fathoms;^
'Extracts from Captain Atwood's manuscript biography.
"-Big Haddock trip.— Schooner "E. L. Eowe," of this port, Capt. Sewell W. Smith, arrived from George's on
Monday at Boston, with 70,380 pounds of Haddock, the largest trip ever landed. Time absent, five days. The largest
trip previous to this was landed by the same skipper in schooner " Cora E. Smith," 52,679 pounds, February 13, 1877.
In February of the same year, schooner "Paul Revere," Capt. John Bentley, landed 51,700 pounds of Haddock and
3,500 pounds of Codfish as the result of one day's fishing.— Cape Ami Advertiser, Februaj^y 21, 1878.
^WlTTMAOK, L. : Beitriige zur Fischerei-Statistik des Deutschen Eeiohs, 1875, p. 25.
SPAWNI2TG or THE nADDOCS
227
and according to Yarrow the spawning period is the same on the British coast, the young growing
to a length of six or seven inches before the beginning of September. At the Loffoden Isles, accord-
ing to Sars, the spawning season of the Haddock takes place a little later, beginning toward the
end of February and being at its height late in March.'
Mr. Earll's observations are as follows :
"The fish usually remain on the off-shore banks till the winter is over, and they do not reach
Cape Ann until just before the spawning season, which for this species begins about the middle
of April and continues during nearly three months, the height of the season being in May.
" In the spring of 1879 it is thought that two schools visited this coast, the first, composed of
fish of large size, arriving early in April and leaving by the middle of May; and the other, com-
posed of smaller individuals, reaching the grounds abotit the 20th of May and leaving gradually
after the 1st of July, a few remaining during the greater part of the summer. When the fishing first
began the fish were several miles from the shore, but they continued to ' work in,' until there was
good fishing at the mouth of the harbor for several days, after which they seemed to move back
again, and toward the close of the season remained on muddy bottom, when trawls were extensively
used in their capture.
" Early in May Haddock were so plenty that one man caught 1,881 pounds in one day with
hand-lines, and about the same time many different fishermen secured over 1,000 pounds daily.
The males were usually a trifle more abundant, though at times the females composed fully half of
the catch. The latter average larger than the former, and some days there would be a difference
of two pounds in favor of the female.
"The first ripe females were noticed on the 23d of April, and in the middle of July an occa-
sional one had not finished spawning. The first eggs were secured May 5, and others were taken
at intervals to June 2, the total quantity being about 250,000. The method of impregnation was
similar to that used for eggs of the Cod, and the size of the eggs was one-nineteenth of an inch.
Though the number contained in the larger individuals of the species reaches over 1,800,000 (see
table), the quantity obtained for hatching purposes at any one time was quite small as compared
with the number taken from the Cod or the Pollock, and the quantity of milt in the male fish was
very much less than in either of the other species."
Mr. Earll's observations confirmed those of Professor Sars, that the spawn of the Haddock
floats at the surface like that of the Cod, and that the spawning process is in every way similar.
The following table gives the result of his enumerations of the number of eggs in Haddock of
different sizes :
Table showing the number of eggs in Haddock of different sizes.
d
2
■B
S"!
•H
-g
■g
J3
d
"SS
'§"§)
So®
Si
bid
Number.
■s
bD
■s^
i
la
i3
t
1
1°
lag
'A
it
11
a n
In.
Lis.
Oz.
Oz.
Oz.
1
28}
26
9-h
6ft
94
5%
6i
6i
5i
51
28
i
8S
54
g
4
1 950
487 5
1, 839. 081
849,315
856, 156
634, 380
2
4
1,479
1 457
369 75
3
4
364 25
i
24
6i
4|
2
1,160
5
22
6
20i
19i
3ft
2ft
398, 976
169, 050
7
5
966
193.2
Eeport cf the United States Commission of Fish and Fisheries, part 5, 1879, p. 586.
il28 NATURAL HISTORY OF AQUATIC ANIMALS.
The average size of the Haddock is probably not far from three or four pounds; many twelve-
pound fish are brought to market, and individuals weighing seventeen pounds are on record.
In L879 Haddock were successfully hatched, under the supervision of Mr. Earll, at the G-lou-
cester station of the United States Pish Commission.
Uses. — The Haddock is now very highly esteemed as a food fish, ha\ing grown in favor during
the last twenty years. It is especially desirable for boiling or for making chowders, and is a great
favorite in Boston, while iu Philadelphia enormous quantities are yearly consumed. Being well
adapted for preservation in ice, great numbers of them are distributed through the interior of the
country, together with the Codfish. The success with which the Scotch method of smoking Had-
dock has been introduced into this country has also greatly increased the demand for them, and
Finland Haddies are manufactured in enormous quantities in Portland and Boston. At Province-
town a Haddock salted and dried after being split is called by the name "Skulljoe," or "Scoodled
Skulljoe."
68. THE POLLOCK. POLLACHIUS CARBONAEIUS.
The Pollock, PoUachhts carbonarius, which is the Coalfish of England, the Kohler of Germany,
and the Sei of Norway and Sweden, is closely related to the Pollack of Great Britfiin, Pollachius
virens, from which, however, it is specifically different. It is one of the best-known fishes of North-
ern Europe, as may be inferred from the abundance of its common names. The following names
are in use in different parts of England : Baddoch, Billet, Billard, Black-Pollock, Black-Jack,
Black-Coalsey, Blockan, Blockin, Coal, Coal-fish, Coalsay, Coalsey, Coal-Whitin^-, Coleraie, Col-
mey, Oooth, Cudden, Cuddy, Dargie, Gilpin, Glassock, Glashan, Glossan, Glossin, Green-Cod
Green Pollock, Grey-lord, Gull-fish, Harbin, Kuth, Lob, Lob-Keling, Maulrush, Parr, Piltock,
Podley, Poddlie, Podling, Pollack, Prinkle, Rauning Pollack, Rawlin Pollack, Rock Salmon,
Raw Pollock, Saithe, Sethe, Sey, Sey Pollack, Sillock, Skrae-fish, Stenlock, Tibrie.
Distribution. — Its geographical distribution is quite different from that of either the Cod or
Haddock, its northern range, at least in the Eastern Atlantic, being fully as wide as that of the
Cod, the species having been found in the northern part of Spitzbergen, beyond the parallel of 80°,
and on the arctic coast of Europe. It rarely enters the Baltic. Blocli records a specimen from
Lubeck, and it is said to occur on the coast of Pomerania.
Concerning the limits of its southern range authorities differ. Gtinther places this at latitude
46° in the Bay of Biscay, while others claim that it enters the Mediterranean. Canestrini states
that it has been observed at Taranto.' It does hot appear, however, that the species is abundant
south of the English Channel. It occurs about Iceland and on the west coast of Davis Straits,
where specimens were obtained by Sir Edward Parry on his first voyage. North of Newfound-
land it does not seem to be very abundant, while to the soutli the limit appears to be in the
vicinity of Nantucket Shoals, where specimens are occasionally taken by the cod smacks.
In Perley's "Catalogue of the Pishes of Nova Scotia," he states that he had never seen the
fish in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, nor heard of it except near the Straits of Canso, although it
was found very abundant in the Bay of Fundy and everywhere except iu the muddy waters,
such as those of Cumberland Bay and the Basin of Minas.
I have seen large individuals taken in midsummer in the pounds iu Vineyard Sound, and
the capture of small individuals iu these waters is not unusual. They are often taken, according
to De Kay, off New York, in company with the Cod. In June, 1 881, the schooner " Edward E.
Webster," of Gloucester, Solomon Jacobs, captain, returning from a southern mackerel trip, feU in
' Canestkini : Fauna d' Italia. Peschi, 1872, p. 155.
DISTEIBUTIOF OF THE POLLOCK. 229
with a school of Pollock and captured sixty thousand pounds of them in her purse seine. Its
range, as now understood, is in the Eastern Atlantic between the parallels 46° and 80°, in the
Western Atlantic between 40° and 70°. That its southeastern limit is as near the equator as the
parallel of 36° seems quite improbable.
Habits and pood. — Unlike the Cod and the Haddock, the Pollock is, to a great extent, a
surface-swimming species. The fishes of this species congregate together in large schools, roaming
from place to place in search of food. To a certain extent they feed at the feottom, like Cod, but
are more often seen at the surface of the water, where they prey upon young fish of all kinds.
Professor Sars gives the following account of the manner in which they prej^ upon little
Codfish:
"I was much interested to see how the Pollock caught the young Codfish. It looked like a
systematic chase, and it certainly looked as if the Pollock were acting with a common and well-
defined purpose. As far as I could observe, the schools of Pollock surrounded the little Codfish
on all sides, making the circle constantly narrower until all the Codfish were gathered in one lump,
which they then, by a quick movement, chased up to the surface of the water. The poor little fish
now found themselves attacked on all sides: below, the voracious Pollock, which in their eagerness
often leaped above the water; and above, hundreds of screeching sea-gulls, which, with wonderful
voracity and precision, pounced down upon the places where the Pollock showed themselves, to
share the spoils with them. The whole chase is carried on so rapidly, and the young fish stay only
so short a time at the surface of the water before they are scattered in all directions with lightning-
like rapidity, that it was not even possible for me to see any, much less to catch any with my
insufficient implements."^
On the coast of Hew England they are much disliked by the fishermen, who claim that they
consume great quantities of other fish much more valuable than themselves; in consequence of
this the fishermen have a great prejudice against them and refuse to eat them.
Captain Atwood states that about Cape Cod they do not take to the hook freely; that in other
localities they are exceedingly voracious, and great numbers of them may be caught in Massachu-
setts Bay with a surface bait.
When the United States Fish Commission steamer has been stationed north of Cape Cod, a
favorite amusement of the officers has been to catch young Pollock with a fly. The older fish are
less active and remain more at the bottom.
Movements. — Concerning this species, Captain Atwood states that they appear about Cape
Cod in schools in early May, frequently passing round Eace Point so closely to the shore as to be
caught with the seine among the "tide-rips."
Capt. B. W. Merchant, of Gloucester, tells me that the Pollock were very abundant in Massa-
chusetts Bay early in this century — before the war of 1812. They were especially abundant on
Middle Bank. They were at that time chiefly caught with bait of herring, taken in seines from
the beaches. The fishing boats were of about thirty tons, and carried three men and a boy. Fishing
was carried on chiefly at night, when the vessels would all "fleet up," and the bait on their hooks
would toll the schools of fish together. The vessels would take about fifty quintals in a night.
There were about thirty fish to the quintal. This abundance of Pollock lasted until about 1820.
These Pollock were salted, and consumed at home or carried to Maine. They sold for about two
dollars a quintal. The oil of their livers was tried out in kettles on the shore. Their roe was
exported largely in those days. It was sold by the bushel, at the rate of about sixty cents.
'Eeport of the United States Fish Commission, part 5, 1879, p. 593. Another vivid description of the manner in
which the Pollock feed upon the sand-eels, or lant, may be found on pp. 619 and 620.
230 XATUKAL HISTORY OF AQUATIC AXDIALS.
Mr. EarU urates:
"Large Pollock are absent from the waters of Cape Ann from the middle of January till early
in May. the small ones leaving earlier, in the fall, and returning in April.' The j onng may be taken
almost anywhere along the shore, but the large fish seem to confine themselves to definite locali-
ties : and. though not particularly abundant during the summer at Cape Ann, it is a favorite
spawning ground for the species, and dtiring this period large schools visit this shore.
'■They begin to grow plenty about the first of October, and by the last of the month are so
numerous as to greatly annoy the cod-fishermen by taking the hook before it can get to the bottom.
"During this season some of the smaller vessels fish exclusively for Pollock, ' seizing up " their
lines a number of fathoms from the bottom, and at times the fish bite as fast as the fishermen can
haul them. Early in ^November, a crew of four men landed 10,420 pounds, or about 1.100 fish, the
result of less than two days" fishing. Owing to a foolish prejudice, the price is always low. at times
being less than thirty cents per one hundred pounds. The average weight of the fish is about
nine or ten pounds, and during the spawning season the sexes are taken in about equal numbers."
Early in :\ray, ISSl. two vessels at Chatham caught in one day 35,000 pounds each. The fish
were caught with seines as they schooled at the surface like mackerel.
Perley. writing in ISol, mentioned that he observed that a large number of small fishing
schooners was engaged in the capture of Pollock in the rips, or riplings, off Grand Manan. •• These
rii)S are formed by strong currents and the conflict of tides, in which the lively Pollock delight to
play. Here there is found an abundance of small herring for food. For this description of fishing
the vessels are kept in easy sail, the lines attached to poles of seven feet in length, which project
from the sides of the vessel. A round, bright lead is used, about seven inches in length, weighing
from one-half pound to one and one-half pounds ; the bait is a piece cut from the under, or bright,
side of the Pollock; it is called the -last': this, being kept in brisk motion by the saUing of the
ves.sel, closely resembles the living fish darting through the water, and is eagerly chased by the
PoUock. The fishers oft«n take twenty PoUock with a single "last." it being a very tough bait."
In the Bay of Fnndy and along the coast of ilaine the capture of young Pollock from the
rocks is a favorite amusement. At Eastport these fish are often called "Quoddy Salmon." Hind
states that in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence they are known as "Sea Salmon' : this name may refer
both to their active and voracious habits, and to the excellence of their flesh in those localities.
The capture of young Pollock, or mort, on the coast of ^Norway, is described by Sars in the
paper already referred to.*
Eepeoductio>'. — The spawning of the Pollock occurs in the German Ocean, according to
Wittmack, from December to February ; in Scotland, according to PameU, in February, after which
it remains out of condition until May.
About the Lofodens. as indicated by the observations of Sars, the breeding time corresponds
with that of the Codfish, the young Pollock being found in early summer in company with the
young Cod, swimming under the protection of the jelly-fishes.
Mr. EarU found Pollock spawning at Cape Ann in November and December, but he does not
state whether the breeding season continued through the winter and early spring. Concerning the
observations made at the Gloucester station, he writes:
"They seem to spawn while swimming about in the water, and their eggs, being buoyant, are
found at the surface with those of the Cod; but they may easily be distinguished from the latter
by their smaller size. The tirst ripe female was seen at the fish wharves October 23. November
'In ISSl the first Pollock came into Gloncester Harbor May 2.
'See Beport of tlie United States Commission Fish and Fisheries, part 5, p. 720.
EBPRODUCTION OF THE POLLOCK.
231
11, a few good eggs were taken, and, after impregnation, found to have a diameter of one twenty-
fifth of an inch. They were placed in an aquarium at the hatchery, and within forty-eight hours
the fish could be distinctly seen, though no pigment cells were visible. This proved that the
development of the eggs after leaving the parent was quite rapid, and indicated that they would
hatch in five or six days at most, with water of the ordinary temperature.
"At the time of taking these eggs no suitable apparatus had been arranged, and we did not
succeed in hatching them; and as no others were obtained during the season positive statements
cannot be made ; but the eggs were well advanced before they died, and careful observations up
to this point fully convinced us that these eggs are as hardy as those of the Cod, and that they
may be successfully hatched by a similar method.
"The table gives the result of our computation of the number of eggs in individuals of differ-
ent size, from which it will be seen that a twenty-three and one-half pound fish has over 4,000,000
of eggs, while a thirteen -pound one has 2,500,000."
Table showing the number of eggs in Pollock of different sizes.
CD
+=
o
"2
r=l .
a ^
m
Numlier.
o
I
P
S o
1^
■s
3
IZi
HI
O ID
Number of egg
the grain.
i.s
a 01
J ®
Ft. In.
Lit.
Lbs. Oz.
Oz.
Lis. Oz.
1
3 3J
2 Si
23i
33
2 2
2
2
6
1,727
287.8
4, 029, 200
2
1 2^
li
1 H
C
2,043
340.5
2,569,753
Captain Atwood states that in Cape Cod Bay they are caught in large numbers about the
10th or 15th of ISTovember, when going to spawn. They spawn upon the same rocky ground as the
Cod, and it is only at this time that they dare to take the hook freely. In the vicinity of Prov-
incetown the deposition of eggs takes place in Ifovember.
The growth of the Pollock is probably somewhat more rapid than that of the Cod, since
the young fish are so much more voracious, but we have no means of determining the length of
time required for them to attain maturity. The average size is probably not far from ten
or twelve pounds, but individuals of twenty, and even of thirty pounds, are by no means
uncommon.
Uses. — The Pollock is one of those species whose value as an article of. food is very much
underestimated. Many persons, who have investigated the subject accurately, prefer salted
Pollock to salted Codfish, although the flesh is not so white. Its value for use in the fresh state,
we think, deserves the highest commendation. I quote from " Land and Water," December, 1866,
the following remarks upon the Pollock fisheries of the Orkney Islands, showing how highly they
are esteemed in that region.- The writer signs himself "A. E. D.":
"Having observed in 'Land and Water,' of the 20th October, an article by Mr. Buckland,
on the Merlangus carbonarius, or Saith, it has occurred to me that some additional information as
to the habits and uses, and more especially with respect to the commercial value of that fish,
might be interesting.
"The Saith occurs in great abundance among the Orkney Islands. The fry, called Sillocks, are
first observed in May or June, and are very small. In July and August they are about four or five
inches long, and are caught in great numbers with flies (made with a bit of white feather tied to
the hook), by means of boats, and often from the rocks on the shore. They are much esteemed
as food, and more especially for the oil prepared from the livers. Towards winter they generally
232 iTATUEAL HISTORY OF AQUATIC Al^lMALS.
set in to the SUetlaud bays iu immeuse and closely congregated shoals, from which they are swept
ashore by nets in enormous quantities, and are often bought by the farmer for the dunghill. At
this season they fall off in quality as an article of food, but are still eagerly purchased by the coun-
try people on account of the oil, which suits better for their cottage lamps than any other kind.
Next year, when nine or ten inches long, they are called Cooths, or Cuths, and are caught with the
fly in the months of May, June, July, and August. In June and July they are in perfection for
eating, and are cooked without taking out the entrails, after being rolled in salt and flour, or oat-
meal, and done on the gridiron; but unless used within an hour or two after being caught, the fine
flavor and curdy quality of the fish quickly disappear. If used next day they are somewhat coarse
eating. It is a singular circumstance that they will not take the fly except an hour before or an
hour after sunset and sunrise. In the third summer they become larger, and are called Cuttims, or
Guddons, in which state they betake themselves to deeper water, and are comparatively seldom
caught. After this, when full grown, they are known by the name of Saith, and become an
important object of fishery. The fishing commences in May, and continues till September. In
July aiid August they are in their best state, and are sought after with great assiduity. They
chiefly occur in very rapid tideways, where there is much broken water, and the fishing is not
unattended with danger, several fatal accidents having occurred within my recollection by the
boats having been swept by the current into the breakers. The fish average from fifteen to
twenty pounds, but many specimens are met with weighing much more. When cleaned and
thoroughly dried on the rocks, about seventeen will weigh one hundredweight, and yield three
gallons of oil, which -is equivalent to 340 fish and sixty gallons of oil to the ton. The dried article
sells at market for about £12 per ton, when Codfish fetch £20 per ton, but the extra quantity of oil
in the former far more than compensates for the difference in price, and consequently when a
shoal of Saith sets in, the fishermen invariably desert the cod-fishing in favor of the other. Dried
Saith are perfectly well known in the market, and are tolerably good eating, though inferior to
Cod. The oil is chiefly used by tanners, and is in good demand. In the fresh state they are
extremely good eating, firm and curdy, if cooked within an hour or two after being caught, but if
kept some time they lose their flavor and become coarse. The inhabitants of Fairisle, which lies half
way between the Orkney and Shetland groups of islands, pay their rent exclusively by saith-flshing."
Pollock are more highly prized in New Brunswick than anywhere else on the Western Atlantic
coast, and the pollock fishery was in 1850 pronounced by Perley the most valuable and extensive
of the deep-sea fisheries of the Bay of Fundy.i It is stated by this authority that directly after
the spawning season the fish is lank and almost worthless, but that it becomes in good condition
again in August and improves as the season advances.
The liver of the Pollock yields a great quantity of oil, proportionally much more than that of
the Cod. It is probable that most of the cod-liver oil in the market is more or less adulterated
with pollock-liver oil. Ko one has yet demonstrated that its medicinal properties are inferior.
The eggs of the Pollock are very large, and great quantities of them have been in past years
salted and exported to France.
The Alaska Pollack, PollacMus chalcogrammus (Pallas) J. & G.^ — The Alaska Pollock is
thus described by Professor Jordan : " This species is known as Pollack to those who have seen
' 1877. New method op captueing Pollock. — For some days past the schooner " Matchless," of Barrington,
has been fishing for Pollock with a purse-seine in the vicinity of Cape Sable, and doing very well at the business,
which is a kind of experiment, as the purse-seine, we believe, has been used hitherto in taking only mackerel, herring,
and such small fish. On Monday of last week the crew of the " Matchless" caught at one haul about 130 quintals
of Pollock, an immense catch, which took the men over twenty-fours hours to dress and salt. — Cape Arm Advertiser.
August 17, 1877.
^ Gains chalcogrammus Pallas. Zoogr. Ross. Asiat., iii, 198. Gadus periscopus, Cope. Proc. Am. Philos. Sec, 1870.
THE ALASKA POLLOCK. 233
the Atlantic species. It is possibly identical with the 'Beshow' of the Makah Indians, the 'Coal-
fish ' of the English settlers northward, a deep-water fish noted for its rich, fat flesh. It reaches a
length of about two feet. It ranges from Monterey to Behring's Straits. It is taken with hook
and line in deep water, and is never plentiful south of Cape Flattery. It feeds upon anchovies
and the like. Nothing is known of its breeding habits, enemies, or diseases, and, unless it be the
'Beshow' above noticed, it is not sufficiently abundant to attract any notice as an article of food."
69. THE CUSK— BROSMIUS BROSME.
The Cusk, Brosmius hrosme, is a deep-water species, inhabiting rocky ledges in the Korth
Atlantic. It has not been observed south of Cape Cod, but ranges northward to the banks of
Newfoundland and of Greenland. It occurs in Iceland and Spitzbergen and along the entire length
of the Scandinavian Peninsula, but is not known on the coast of Germany, while Paber states
that it just touches the most northern part of Denmark at the Scaw in Jutland, and that it is occa-
sionally taken in the Frith of Forth and brought to the Edinburgh market. It is also plentiful
about the Faroe Islands. Its range in the Western Atlantic is from latitude 42° to latitude 65°,
or beyond ; in the Northeastern Atlantic to latitude 80°, and south to latitude 55°.
The Massachusetts fishermen tell me that these fish are usually found in considerable abun-
dance on newly-discovered ledges, and that great numbers may be taken for a year or two, but
that they are soon all caught. Sometimes, after a lapse of years, they may be found again abun-
dant on a recently-deserted ground. From these facts it has been reasoned that the Cusk is very
local in its habits and rarely changes from one locality to another.
On the " Broken-ground Ledge " Cusk are said to be abundant at any season, and also on
" New Ledge," and Captain Atwood says that they inhabit deep water in rooky localities, not hard,
smooth, rocky bottoms, but large, angular rocks. About Cape Cod they are quite rare; he has
seen a few to the eastward of and near Cape Cod, but they are more commonly found farther
north ; at a rocky spot near the eastern portion of the Middle Bank, between Cape Cod and Cape
Ann, large numbers had been taken prior to 1866, and in that year 400 quintals, or probably 60,000
pounds of Cusk, had that year been taken by one Provincetown firm. Off Wells Bay, in Maine,
about Cape Porpoise, and on Cashe's Ledge, he had also observed them in large quantities.
The food of the Cusk doubtless consist chiefly of moUusks and small crustaceans.
Concerning its spawning habits nothing is known, except that, according to Faber, it spawns
in April and May on the coast of West and South Ireland.
The Cusk is considered a very excellent fish, especially for boiling, but there is a very limited
demand for it, and most of those which are taken are salted. On account of their low prices,
fishermen shun them, and they are hardly in better favor than dogfish. In the spring of 1878
they were worth in Gloucester from twenty to fifty cents per hundred, and in August of the same
year about one dollar per hundred. One of their peculiar habits, eel -like, renders their capture
difficult, and frequently causes the destruction of the fishing-tackle; it is said that after they have
taken the hook they curl their tails round the angles of the rock and cling to them with such
strength that it is impossible to dislodge them. Fishermen say that when they are brought to
the surface the skin rises from the body in great blisters. This they regard as a favorable sign, as
showing that the fish are "thrifty," or healthy. The name "Tusk," used for this fish in New-
foundland, is now never used in the United States, although it seems to have been in use a century
ago, a well-known fishing ground in the Gulf of Maine being known as the "Tusk Eock."
234 FATUEAL HISTORY OP AQUATIC ANIMALS.
70. THE HAKES— PHYCIS CHUSS, ETC.
DiSTEiBUTiON. — We have five species of the genus Phycis. One, P. Chesteri, recently discov-
ered by the Pish Cominission, occurs off the coast from Cape Ann to Cape Hatteras, at a depth of
from seventy-five to three hundred fathoms. It has been collected in great numbers with the deep-
sea trawl-nets used by the Fish Commission and the Coast Survey, and appears to be extremely
abundant. It is, at present, of no economic importance. It may be distinguished by its exceed-
ingly long fin-filaments.
Another species, the King Hake, P. regius, occurs in deep water with the preceding, and
has also been found near the shore in the vicinity of Cape Hatteras, in Chesapeake Bay, and at the
eastern end of Long Island. A specimen was obtained many years ago at Halifax, Nova Scotia.
In the Chesapeake, according to Major Ferguson, it is very abundant.
This fish attains the length of twelve to fifteen inches. Concerning its habits little is known,
except that it has the power of communicating strong electric shocks. It may be distinguished
by the low first dorsal fin, unprovided with a filament and black at its tip, and by the peculiar row
of white spots along the lateral line. P. Uarllii occurs only on the coast of South Carolina.
The two species which have a commercial value are P. chuss and P. tenuis. These species
are very similar in appearance, and it is with difl&culty that they can be distinguished from each
other by the trained eye of the zoologist. The most tangible distinction may be found in the
number of scales, which are much smaller in P. tenuis, there being from one hundred and thirty-
five to one hundred and forty oblique rows between the bronchial opening and the root of the
caudal fin, while there are about twelve rows between the lateral line and the region of the first
dorsal. In P. chuss there are oidy one hundred rows in the lateral line and nine rows above the
lateral line; in the former the ventral does not ordinarily reach quite to the vent, in the latter it
extends beyond the vent. This character, however, could not always be relied upon.
Our Hakes are all quite different from the Forked Beard, P. llennioides, of Great Britain, some-
times called the Hake's Dame, which is a member of the same genus.^ Owing to their great simi-
larity, Phycis chuss and P. tenuis are usually known indifferently by the name " Hake" ; the former,
however, is sometimes called the Old English Hake, and the other, Phycis tenuis, the Squirrel
Hake or White Hake. In the Gulf of Saint Lawrence and the Bay of Chaleur, and also south of
Cape Cod, they are invariably called Ling. There has been much confusion both in the names
and descriptions applied to them by fishermen and ichthyologists. Their geographical range
appears to be essentially the same. The young of one or both species are frequently taken swim-
ming at the surface, on the southern coast of New England, in midsummer, and numerous
individuals have been found off Block Island and Watch Hill, seeking shelter between the valves
of a large species of scallop, Pecten tenuicostatus ; the majority appear to belong to the species of
P. chuss. About sixty were obtained from a single trawl-full of Pectens taken off Watch Hill,
September, 1874, where they were found in one out of every three or four shells taken. Their
companions in the interior of the shells were a species of Pinnotheres, related to the oyster-crab,
and a species of lump-sucker, Liparis lineatus.
One or both species are frequently taken by the cod-fishermen, on the shoals south of Cape
Cod, but they are there considered to be of but little value. They are more or less abundant in
Massachusetts Bay, in the Bay of Fundy, and in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence. Large specimens of
one or both species have been taken at a depth of three hundred fathoms as far south as Virginia.
'The Hake of Europe is a different fish, more closely related to the Silver Hake or Whiting of the New England
coast, Merludus iilinearis.
HABITS OP THE HAKES. 235
Habits. — Captain Atwood gives this account ot the Hake in Cape Cod Bay: "It is a ground
fish, found close to the bottom, and rarely comes to the surface. They are much more inclined to
take the hook by night than by day; are found on muddy bottoms, during the whole summer and
autumn, along the coast of Maine and Massachusetts. They yield a large quantity of oil, which
is used for the same purpose as that of the Pollock and Cod. The autumn finds them in the best
condition, and, if prepared with care, they are a tolerably good table fish." Captain Atwood has
known them to grow to the size of forty pounds, but the average in summer is only five to ten
pounds.
Perley remarks that they are taken largely on muddy bottoms,, both in the Bay of Fundy and
in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, chiefly during the night, at which time they feed on the smaller
Crustacea; their stomachs are then generally found to be filled. Hake are frequently taken, in
the Gulf especially, measuring three feet in length.
The Hakes appear to be bottom-loving fishes, and rarely change locality. They feed on
crustaceans, and occasionally indulge in a fish diet. One taken at Gloucester, in July, 1878, had a
menhaden in its stomach.
It is believed that they spawn throughout the summer, for the young fish are found during
all the summer months, while specimens taken at the depth of thirty-seven fathoms, August 18,
1878, off Ipswich, at a temperature of 41° F., contained well-developed ova, and were apparently
ready to spawn.
Uses. — An extensive fishery is carried on from Cape Ann for these fish in winter, and there are
sometimes as many as fifty vessels engaged. It was estimated in 1878 that the total quantity
landed at Gloucester was not far from 5,000,000 pounds. The fishing is carried on almost entirely
at night with the use of trawls, which are about the size of those used in the capture of Haddock.
Hake are salted and dried in the same manner as Codfish, and are often sold under the name
of Codfish. Before the introduction of boneless fish it was sometimes difficult to sell them on
account of the difference in appearance, but at the present time great quantities of Hake are put
up in boxes under the trade name of "boneless fish," the qualifying word "Cod" being usually
omitted from the brands and labels. Hake are rarely eaten fresh.
The air-bladder, or sound, of the Hake is of great commercial value, being used extensively in
the manufacture of isinglass ; great quantities of sounds are sent from the British Provinces to
the United States annually, sounds from the Gulf of Saint Lawrence being considered much better
than those from farther south. In 1880 New England produced 255,698 pounds of dried sounds,
worth $178,808. Massachusetts had eight isinglass and glue factories, employing one hundred
and eighty-two men and a capital of $315,000, and producing $450,000 worth of ribbon isinglass
and glue ia 1879. These sounds were for the most part derived from the Hake.
Capt. Epes W. Merchant gave me the following account of hake-flshing at Gloucester in 1818:
"Hake used to come in September, October, and the first half of November, and then we would
get leady to go baking. Father would say, 'Go down, get your pork, and put on your squid-jig.'
We were always sure of bait; the boy would catch enough bait for three men; the squid were in
great schools. We used to lay out two nights and get fifteen or twenty quintals of Hake. These
were worth fifteen shillings per quintal, and we sold them in Boston for the West Indies trade."
71. THE BURBOT— LOTA MACULOSA.
By Taeleton H. Bean.
Name. — The first name applied to the American Burbot was Gadus lota. This was used by
Pennant. Walbaum established the name Gadus lacustris for the Mathemeg, or Land Cod of Pen-
236 NATURAL HISTORY OF AQUATIC ANIMALS.
naut. This flsh has, however, proved to be a catfish, and the name lacustris is untenable for the
Burbot. In 1817, Le Sueur described a Burbot from Lake Erie under the name of Qadus maculosus,
and another species from Northampton, Connecticut, as Gadus compressus. The name maculosus is
the oldest available specific name for the American species. In 1818 Mitchill described a Gadus
lacustris in the "American Monthly Magazine," evidently not knowing that the same name had
been previously applied by Walbaum. In 1819 Le Sueur redescribed Gadus compressus under the
name Molva Huntia. In 1842 De Kay described Lota inornata from the State cabinet at Albany.
In 1844 D. H. Storer set up the Wiunipiseogee Lake Burbot as Lota brosmiana. From this it will
appear that six specific names have been applied to the American Burbot, and that the form from
Hudson's Bay was considered identical with the European species. All of these names following
Gadus maculosus are considered synonyms of maculosus. The name compressa was retained
longer than any of the others, but it is now known that the compressed form is simply an indi-
vidual variation.
Giinther, in his " Catalogue of Fishes in the British Museum," volume iv, 1862, places all the
names applied to the American Burbot in the synonymy of Lota vulgaris, believing that we have
only one species, and that identical with the European. Even if his view be correct, he should use
the name Lota maculosa, which, dating from 1817, has priority over vulgaris. The combination
Lota vulgaris was not employed, as far as I know, by any author until Jenyns used it in a Manual
of British Vertebrate Animals in 1835. It is not, however, established that the European and
American Burbot represent the same species. The number of vertebrae seems to be smaller in the
European. Giinther gives it as twenty-one abdominal and thirty-eight caudal vertebrte. In two
skeletons examined by myself the abdominal vertebrae were twenty- two to twenty-three, and the
caudal thirty-eight to thirty-nine. There seems to be no other important difference. For the
present it may be best to consider the European Burbot as varietally distinct from the American,
and we should call it Lota maculosa, variety vulgaris.
Popular names. — In the Hudson's Bay region, according to Pennant, the Burbot is known as
" Marthy " ; according to Richardson, as " Methy." In Alaska, according to Dall and Turner, it is
known as "Losh"; in Canad 
