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"^ S^^;^" > »■ I I A ! i ^ < i S • ■ 4 N . 1 ^ ,■ 1 . ^ * ■' ' « ^ ♦ i ''•^' THE MARINE MAMMALS North-western Coast of North America, DESCRIBED AND ILLUSTRATED: TliCKlMlCK Wrnl AN ACCOINT (IF THE AMERICAN WHALE-FISHERY. BY CHARLES M. SCAMMON, CAITAIN V. S. KliVKNUK MARINE. S A >• F R A X C I S C O : JOHN H. CAR MANY AND COMPANY. NKW YORK: C. P. I'l'TXAM'S SONS. 1874. Entered acioniing to Act of Con^^iess, in the year eighteen h timire J and seventy -t-xvo. By CHARLES Af. SCAAfA/O.V, In the Office of the Lihraiian of Congress, at Washington, D. C. •JOHS H, CARMANV &- CO., /'Kt.VJIiRS, 409 WttthtH^UH Strcctt San /•>-.? wrw*. .i! THIS VOLUME IS DEDICATKD TO THE MEMORY OK LOUIS AGASSIZ. AS A HUMllLE TRIBLTK IROM THE AUTHOR. • '. Pbeface ClIAl TER I. II. III. IV. V. VI. VII. VIII. IX Inthoduction Chapter I. II. III. IV. " V. VI. " VII. CONTENTS. Introduction . PART I. -CKT.VCKA, The Californu Gray Whale The Finback Whale The Humpback Whale The pAdK 11 17 20 38 Shahp-headed Finneb Whale 4, !) 0-2 (J(i The Bowhead, or Great Polar Whale The Eight Whale of the Nortf- western Coast The '>rT i'murbottom AVhale Yy The SPER.M Whale The Dolphins Seiilon I. II. in. IV. V. VI " VII " VIII IX. X. XL " A7/. " XIH. " XIV. " XV. " XVI 74 85 88 '.)3 95 98 99 The Blackfish ' j^g The Oica, or Killer The Whitefish, or White Whale ............ ...... The Bay Porpoise The Striped or Common Porpoise BainVs Dolphin The Eight Whale Porpoise joj The Cowfish jq. The Whitehcatlecl or Mottlod Grampus 103 The Bottlenosed Grampus jno The Panama Grampus jq< The Puget Sound Grampus jqS The San Diego Bay Grampus jQg The Squareheuded Grampus jyg The Bfownsided Dolphin of Santa Burbara Channel .". lOG The Narwhal 107 PART II.-PINMPEDIA, The Sea Elephant. The Sea Iiion The Banded Seal . . Fur Seals The Leopard Seal. The Sea Otter .... The Walrus 113 115 124 140 141 1(>4 1(18 170 ni CONTENTS. TAUT III.-TIIK AMKRUAN WIIALIv i- ISIIKUV. I'AIIK ChAPTEK I. OllKlIX AM) AXCIENT MoDE OF ■\VlIALE-IISIIINO Igfi II. The Amiumcan Wiiai.e-i'ishehy 'J02 III. Ships, OvTrrrs, axj) Manxeu of Takix(i the Whale 21G IV. A-VEiHCAX "\VnA[,iN;r.iicE 240 V. Caufop.xia Shoue-whalixu 247 VI. Life axu CHAiiACTEiussTics of Ajiepicax AVhai.emex 252 LaOOOX -WHAI.IXO 2uO Laiioun -WHAi.iXd Incidexts 2(iu AoAix TO THE Noi:th, ani> Ho.me 272 APPENDIX. Catalogue of the Cetacea of the Nopth rACiFic Oceax. By W. H. Dali 281 Desciuptiox of a Skeletox of the Eight AVilvle 308 Glossary of Woiids axd PniiASEs vsed dv Wilvlemex ;{0!) List of Htuiies axu Oltfits 31;j .* ILLUSTPvATIOXS. Platk I. riioxTisi'ii'.ci:. — AVlmlJiifj: Si'ciic ii' the Ciilifciriiiii Lii.nooiiM. II. The Ciilil'oriiiii (Iniy 'Wlmlc, iiii.l tlio Fiiiliiu'lv Wlialo l)C't\vp(>n pnfjos 21-25 III. Eiiilirvos of ii Ciilil'oniiu Gray Wliiih; facint,' pajfu 20 IV'. Iiuliiui AVlmliii^' Iiiii)lLiiieiits I'lK'iii^,'- Pii^e 28 V. C'lilit'Dviiia (ir.'iys amoiiif the Ico faciiij,' jiULje ',\2 YI. ]'',s([iiiiiiaii\ Wlialiii,!^- Cauou ami Wlialin.i,' Iiuiilciuciits faciiiy pa^c It? Outlines of a Niirtheni I'liiliaek ;J7 VII. Hiiniiiliaek and Sliai'iiliemled Finner 'Wliales between pn^'es 40- II VIII. Hiunpliaek.s Loljfailin--, Uoltin^', I5reaeliino-, and Finninj,' laein^' jia^'e 44 Outlines uf a Hunipliaek VVliale 47 Aleutian Islanders' VVliale Harpoon 47 Outlines of a Huniphaek, from above 4S IX. Appearance of a Female Humpback Huckliu'^- lier Young facing' [iii^'c 48 X. I\ve and Parasites of Biileeu VVhales facing- iiaj^e 5(i Outline of llovs' " Hunclibiu'k" r,(j XI. The Bowhead or (ireat Polar Wlr'.le between pages 52-53 Full-grown Baleen of Seven Species of Whales 55 XII. Bight "Whale t>f the North-western Coast between pages (IS-fi!) XIII. Snlphurbottom Whale between pages 72 -7;t XIV. Sp.'rm Whale between pages Tll-TT XV. Sperm Whale in Search of Food fiicin" iia^e 80 XYI. Tiu' Blacklish I',„.i„^. j,„^,, ^^ XYJI. Orcas or Killers facing page 88 XYIII. White AVhale, (U- Whitetisli of (ho Whalers facing page 1!(! XIX. Baird's Dolphin, Common Porpoise, and liigiit Wliale Porpoise.. .. facing [lagu 100 Approximate Outlines of Cowlish, White-headed or Mottled (iramims, Jiollle- nosed (irampus, anil Panama (irain]ins 102 XX. Sea J'llephant, and Sea laon facin" iite'-e 1 17 Club and Lance used in the capture of the Sea Elejihant ...,". 118 Male Sen I.ion Sleeping, and Male Sea Lion Waking 12(i Appearance of a Male Sea Lion when Roaring, and Female Sea Lions, of St. Paul's Island j 27 XXI, Banded Seal, and Fui Seal I'.icin"- pa"(> 140 Full-aged Male Fur Seal, St. Paul's Island ". 44;) Head of Feniide Fur Seal, from below, Iwo-tiiirds natural size 145 Head of Female Fur Seal, side view, two-thirds nutural si/e 147 Side vi(w of Fenude Fur Soul, view of I'emale Fur Seal froei below, and attitudes of Fu]' Seals 1 ii) Seal Spar ieee 2:?5 Outline of a Sjierm AVliale, showinj,' the manner of ('uttin{]f-in 2;)7 Mincing Knife 2li8 Hlublier-fork ; Stirring-pole ;■ Skimmer ; ISailer; and Fire -pike 2;!1) " XXVI. A Northern AVhaling Scene facing page 2-tl AVIiale-boat with (ireener's (iun Afounted 2-1!) " XXVII. AVhaling Station at Carniel Bay facing page 257 Skeleton of a /lahcKd )iiii.'ilirrltif' !i08 PKl' F ACi:. T>i:i\(; on tlic v^K\>{ of f'alirdniiii in 18-'')2. wlicu 'lie '•.u-old-fcvor" nigcd, llio forco of circiiinstancc's coiiipcllcd me lo tiiki' co.niiiand of a Iiriu'. Iiound on a scal- in,u'. sc'a-t'l('iilianl, and wlndini;; voya,L;-c, ov abandon sea- life, at least teniporai'ilv. Tiie olijects of our pur.-iiit were fmiiid in g-reat numbers, and the oiiporlunilies for studyin,:^- tlieir habits were so ,u'ood, that I lieeame ,uTeal]y interested in eol- leetinir facts bearin,-- updn the luitural liist(n-y of these animals. JJeferenee to the few books devoleil to the subject soon convinced nu' that I was at woi'k in a department in whi(di but little definite knowled-'e existed. 'I'his was 1imi(> even of the whales, the best known of this class: ami ] was soon led to believe that, bv diligent obsei'\atioii, I should l)e atilo to add materially to the scanty stock of infor- mation existing in regard lo the marine niannnals of the I'acilic Coast. I was the more encouragecl to pui'sue these investigations, bei'ause, among the great nuiidici' of intelligent men in conunaml of whaling-ships, there was no one who had contrib- uted anyihing of ini[iortance to the natural history of the Cetaceans; while it was obvi(Uis that the ojiporlunitiivs ollered foi- the study of their habits, lo those prac- tically engaged in the business of whaling, were greater than eould [lossibly be enjoyed by persons not thus eiiiploved. The (dii.'f object in this work is to give as correct ligiires of the dillerenl s]iecies of marine mammals, found on lli(> I'acilli' (.'oast of Xorlh America, as could lie oblained from a careful study of Ihein IV. it is also my aim to give as full an uecount of the habits of these animals as pra(dieabh\ together with sindi facts in refereiu'e lo their geograpliical distribution as have come lo my knowledge. It is liardly necessary lo say, that any person taking up the study of marine mammals, and especially the Cetaceans, enliM's a dilli,MiIt li.dd of research, simits can l)e obtained. Tliis has been particularly the case with the dol- phins, while many of the characteristic actions of whales arc so secretly performed that years of ordinary observation may be iusuflicient for their discovery. Tliere is little didieuUy in making satisfactoiy drawings of such smaller species of marine manumils as can be taken u[)on the deck of a vessel, but it is extremely difficult to delineate accurately the forms of the lai'ger Cetaceans. AVhen one of these animals is lirst captured, but a small part of its colossal form can be seen, as, usually, only a small iiortiuu of the miildle section of the body is al)ove the water; and when the process of decomposition has caused the animal to rise, so that the whole form is visilde, it is swollen and (piite distorted in shape. Again: tliese animals cliange their api)earaiice in the most remarkable manner with every change of position, so that it is only from repeated measurements an 1 sketches, and as the result of many comparisons, that I have been able to produce satisfac- tory illustrations of tliese monsters of the deep. I take occasion hei'e to arknowledge my indebteilness to Mr. Key, of the lirm of Ih'itlou iV Key, litliographers, who laid aside his own business, as far as possible, in order that he might give his personal attention to the execution of nearly all the plates representing whales and seals. Tlie remaining work of that descrii)tion was put into the hands of Mr. Steinegger, the junior partner of the linn; his excellent sea and landsc;i[ie baekgrouiuls speak for themselves. riain and >iniple language has been used in description. "Where whaling terms have lieeu employed, their delinitinus are indicated by reference marks, or may be found in 'he glossary contained in the A|i|iendix. 1 dcM.e to tender my sineore thanks to many personal friends and others, not only for lilei'ary, luit also fir linanrial aiil ; 'or, without tlie generous contributions of gentlemen of the I'arilic ("oast, and San Francisco especially, this work could not have nuule its a|ipi'aranee in its present form. To Professor .1. 1>. Whilnry, State (;e(dogist of ("alifornia, 1 wish particularly to acknowledge mv in(h'bledness for his encouiMgemcnt ami untiring assistance in pre|iaring this V(dume for the press. My thanks are also due to Trofes.sor S. V. PREFACE. 13 Baird, of the Smithsonian Institution ; Professor Cleorge Davidson, of the United States Coast Survey; Doctor W. 0. Ayres, of San Francisco; Doctor Theodore Gill, f)f Washington; ^h\ J. A. Allen, of Caiuhridgo ; ^fr. R. R. (_'. Stearns, of San Fran- cisco; M\\ Albert lUerstadt, of Irvinglon, X. Y. ; Mv. W. H. Dall, of the Smith- sonian Institution ; and to Doctor George Ilewston, of San Francisco, for s^jccial assistance. Also, to ^\y. F. C. Sanford, of Xantucket, ^fass. ; ^lessrs. Williams and Chapel, (.f the firm of Williams, Havens it Co., Xew London, Conn.; and Dennis Wood, Fsq.. of Xew Iiedford, for valual)le statistics relative to the whale-fishery. It is with pleasure that I also mention the assistance I have received from ollieers of the Uniteil States lU'venue Marine, in making scientific C(dlei'tions for the study of whales and seals, and in furnishing specimens for the Xational Museum at Washington. I would particularly mention Lieutenants George W. J>ailey, W. C. Coulson, G. K. McConnell, and i'higineers d. A. Doyle and H. Ilassel. The account of the American Whale-fishery has been conqiiled from the most reliable sources within reach, and I'rom the experience of many whalemen with whom I was associated for several j'cars, while in active servii^e on the principal whaling-grounds then frecpieiited. 1 have also attempted to give a chronological account of the rise, progi'ess, and decline of our great national marilin\e enterprise, the whale-ii>hery ; and to make the picture complete, a few pages have been devoted to a deseri[ition of the every-da}' life of a whaleman, his characteristic trails, and the incidents that make up the rcuitine of a whaling- voyage. The "Catalogue of the Cetacea" appended to tiiis work has 1)een drawn up with great care liy .Mr. AV. 11. Dall. who has taken i)ains to do the work as thor- oughly as circumstances would peri'. it ; anv distance to the pi'ofessional natui'alist. As .Mr. Dall remai'ks, however, "Completeness is not claimed for this list. In fact, it can hartlly be attaineil for a considerable [leriod, when the difiiculties and expense connected with these researches are appreciated," Only two s[)ecies of Cetaceans have been added to the list of those mentioned as not being represented by "material sufficient to indicate their zoi'dogical [xisition ;" and these were not known to Mr, Ihdl at the time he was pre[iaring his list. l.> f ■ .i 14 PREFACE. Tlio volume now presented to tlio public has l)eeu ])ut togetiier from materiiils wliieh have accuniulateil dui'in.L:- many years. At sea. wlu'U not ()ecui)ied with oflieial duties, ."mid calms and storms. I have devoted jnyself to its pi-eparation : and it is hoped that the pulilie may (ind in tiiese results fd' prolonged lalxir some- thing of the profit and pleasure with whi(di the author has been rewarded while occupied in their ccdlection and claboiatiou. ('U.\lfl.i;s M. rt(AMMO.\. H.\N Fhanciscci. ]\[av. ISTl. VART ]. C E T A C E A I-' 1 ■ i- ft * l>' '('" i 1 • i if ) LI PART I.-CETACEA. INTRODUCTION. The order of Cotacoa, as established by naturalists, includes all species of mammalia which have been created for inhabiting the water only; and although their forms bear a strong resemblance to those of the ordinary piscatory tribe, still they are animals having warm blood, breathing by means of lungs, and frequently coming to the surface of the water to respire. In nearly all Cetaceans, the nostrils — termed spiracles or spout- holes— are situated on the top of the head. Through these the thick vaporous breath is ejected into the atmosphere to various altitudes, according to the nature of the animal in this particular respect; and through the same oriflces a fresh supply of air is received into its breathing system. Although the Cetaceans are strictly regarded as mammals, they have no true feet; their pec- torals being in the form of heavy, bony, and sinewy fins, while the posterior extremity of the body terminates in a broad cartilaginous limb of semi -lunar shape, frequently termed the caudal fin or tail, but known among whalemen as the "flukes," the lobes of which extend horizontally. The different species of Cetaceans arc numerous ; hence they have been divided into groups, the most prominent of which are the Whalebone "Whales, the Cachalots or Sperm Whales, and the Dolphins. The group of Balcenidce, or Whalebone Whales, embraces all those which arc destitute of teeth when adult, and whose palate is lined on each side with rows of horny plates, called whalebone or baleen, which are fringed on their inner edges. This part of the animal's organization is pecul- iarly adapted to the nature of its food, which consists of zoophytes, moUusks, crus- taceans, and small fish. The group of Sperm Whales comprises those with inordi- nately massive heads, whose upper jaw has only rudimentary teeth, or none at all ; whoso lower jaw is narrow, rounded toward its anterior extremity, elongated and filling the furrow in the upper one, and furnished on each side with a row of heavy conical teeth, with which to procure and devour the enormous cuttle-fish Mabdie Mammals.— 3. •. • 18 MARINE MAMMALiS OF THE NORTH-WESTERN COAST. or squid upon which they prey. The group of Dolphins is made up of those com- prised in the Linnoean genus Dclphinus, and others, whose heads preserve tlie usual .; proportion to the body, and whose upper and lower jaws are set with sharp and usually conical teeth. They arc the most active and rapacious of the whole order of Cetaceans. All Cetaceans produce their young in nearly the same manner as other mam- mals. The male is commonly called a bull; the female a cow. The attitude of the two sexes when having intercourse with each other has been differently repre- sented by numerous observ jrs. Some maintain that the male covers the female ; wliile others are positive of their lying on their sides breast to breast, or assuming a perpendicular position. From personal observation, however, we are justified in .' . stating that all are correct. In fact, it may i-eadily be seen that, with their united efforts, it is easy for the animals to sustain any desired position in their native element, during the period of coition. The time of gestation is not known ; but from our observations we believe it is never less than nine months, and that in some species it extends to one year. The offspring of the female is called her calf; she nourishes it with rich milk drawn from two teats which lie on each side of her abdomen. All Cetaceans are destitute of the hair or fur which protects the surface of other marine mammals, and instead thereof the dermis is covered by a smooth and t ■ transparent scarf-skin. Under the dermis is the thick layer of fat, or "blubber," which infolds the whole creature, whoso flesh is dark and sinewy, resembling coarse beef. The natural term of life in Cetaceans can only be approximately determined ; it is probably from thirty to a hundred years. The new-born young are clothed in fatloss blubber with a thick dermis, and over all is a delicate cuticle. The calf, or "cub," follows the dam for several months — perhaps a year with some species — and during that time draws its chief sustenance from the mother. As her charge matures, its blubber thickens and becomes fat, the dermis becomes thinner but more compact, and the cuticle strengthens and presents a lively glossiness. Among the Bakenidce, tlie baleen with its fringes grows rapidly, and hardens as it matures. As old age comes on, the fringes to these horny plates become de- •} ' caj'ed and broken, and in some instances the baleen falls out. The thick blubber, once filled with oil, becomes thin and watery, and, for want of proper sustenance, the animal }ields to the course of Nature and dies. Among the Phjscterklm, the teeth of the young are sharp and perfect when first developed ; but they become ► _ more or less broken and worn with age: as years advance, they cither fall out or arc reducea to a level with the gums, and, like the Balccnklcc, being deprived of the >! INTRODUCTION. 19 natural means of obtaining food, the animals become emaciated, and at last expire. The same may be said of the Delphinidce or Dolphins. All the Cetaceans propel themselves through the water by the action of their pectorals and caudal fin, and the individual motions of the various species are simi- lar. Usually a small portion of the animal is seen rippling along as it makes its respiration, then, after a few moments, settling below the surface, it again appears in the same manner. When descending to the depths below, it rises a little, as in \>>y^:r>. ':&:!■:? figure 1; then pitching headlong, "rounds out," as in figure 2; then "turning e flukes," as in figure 3, disappears. Thus these animals wander through the track- less waters in their migrations ; or, when roving about at leisure on their feeding or breeding grounds, they are eometimes seea in various attitudes, which will be mentioned hereafter. I CHAPTER I. THE CALIFORNIA GRAY WHALE. Ehachiankctes olaccub. Cope. (Plate ii, fig. 1.) The California Gray is unlike other species of baleen whales in color, being of a mottled gray, very light in some individuals, while others, both male and female, are nearly black. The head and jaws are cured downward from near the spiracles to the "nib -end," or extremity of the snout, and the lateral form tapers to a ponderous beak. Under the throat are two longitudinal folds, which are about fifteen inches apart and six feet in length. The eye, the ball of which is at least four inches in diameter, is situated about five inches above and six inches behind the angle of the mouth. The ear, which appears externally like a mere slit in the skin, two and one -half inches in length, is about eighteen inches behind the eye, and a little above it. Tht length of the female is from forty to forty -four feet,* the fully grown varying but little in size; its greatest circumference, twenty -eight to thirty ""oct ; its flukes, thirty inches in depth, and ten to twelve feet broad. It has no dorsal fin. Its pectorals are about six and one -half feet in length, and three feet in width, tapering from near the middle toward the ends, which are quite pointed. Usually the limbs of the animal vary but little in proportion to its size. The following measurements give the correct proportions of several males taken in the Bay of Monterey, California, since 1865 : SEX, MALE. Ft- ^' T ,, 42 00 Length Cireumfcrenco at point of pectoral Length of pectorals 2 10 Width of pectorals Nib -end to pectorals A. C\C Pectorals to top of back Nib-end to corner of mouth * Forty-four feot, however, would be regard- taken that were much larger,, and yielding sixty ed as large, although some individuals have been or seventy barrels of oil. ■ff-.. iC'i^ '";»' .--,.4^ i.**;'.-,;*"..,-. ^j«:% • ■^c \ •M n \'\ -\: \ . il', < A !.M' f i: vv 'V'l 1.1' rf.\!'>V Ml |i r: I' ' '. ! I. ;. I Til. Tie <;' ■. 111.-! imil of wlf'^ii ''.ri !!i. liMrt ' ) il.;,. ■ '.I ' !•'' .. 1 .'^ ^ 1. ■ 1 ill ;. j'l 1 ;■; >>x iiv;i!i' '"'lni,i'l ■"..-->,■!■ it ' P<" ■ 1 1. 1 » J. ■■- y. I'll II Ki^iy B '^ la P o [I. (1. w I I ' I THE CALIFORNIA GRAY WHALE. 21 Ft. In. Corner of mouth to top of head 2 06 Nib-end to eyo 7 OG Spout-holes to nib-end 6 00 Length of opening of spout- holes 08 Length of flukes or tail 10 00 Breadth of flukes or tail 3 05 Thickness of each lobe of flukes 00 From fork of flukes to vent 12 00 From fork of flukes to genital slit IC 08 Length of longest baleen 18 Width of longest baleen 09 (Number of layers of baleen on each side of the mouth, 182.) Longest fibres to fringe of baleen 05 Average thickness of blubber 07 Depth of small at junction of flukes 18 Length of the fissure between the cyoiids Ol Four other individuals, ranging from thirty -five to forty feet, were measured, the result of which showed corresponding proportions, or nearly so. The animal has a succession of ridges, crosswise along the back, from opposite the vent to the flukes. The coating of fat, or ljlubl)er, which possesses great solid- ity and is exceedingly sinewy and tough, varies from six to ten inches in thickness, and is of a reddish cast. The average yield of oil is twenty barrels. The baleen, of which the longest portion is fourteen to sixteen inches, is of a light brown or nearly wiiite, the grain very coarse, and the hair or fringe on the bone is nuich heavier and not so even as that of the Right Whale or ilumpltack. Tlie male may average thirty -five feet in length, but varies more in size than the female, and the usual quantity of oil it produces may be reckoned at twenty -five barrels. Both sexes are inl'ested with parasitical crnstaceans [Cyamns Sarmmoni), and a species of barniicle {CnjptokjMis rhacluancdl), which collect chiefiy upon the head and fins.* •Following is W. II. Dall's description of fm-nislied with a branchia at each side. This, the Ciiamus Scammnui, and of the ('ryplolr/ms ix^m' it« hasc, divides into vwo cylindrical fila- rhachicouTli (Proceedings Cal. Acad. Sci., Nov. '"'^"t«' "r"''^l^.>' "''^'''^ f"-"'" "«!'* *" ^''"- "^^ ,, , ^,,_,, T,, i .. ,. If , , the base of each branchia are two ideuder acccs- Utli, 18(12). Illustrations, ligs. 1, 5, ])lato x. ,,, , . .i , i i i i •. * Hoiy iilamcius, not coiled, quite short, ami sitii- OenuH C'vAMCs, Lam. ated, one before and the other behind the base CijiiniiiK, Lam. Syst. An. b. Vert., p. IGG. of the main branchia, Hecoud pair of liaiids, Bate & Westwood, ii, p. 80, kidney -sliapcd, with tlie carpal artlcuhilioii lialf- Liirinuld and I'miopi'. Leach. way between tlie distal and pro.\imiil ends, and Ci/nmuK Sfdininoni, n, sp. J Body moder- having two iioiided Uibcrclea on tin inl'eridr ately depressed, of an egg-ovate form; segments edge, before the eaiiJiil joint. Third and fourth slightly separated. Third and fourth segments segments somewhat punctate above ; all the uth- 22 MAUIXE MAMMALS OF THE NORTH-WESTERN COAST. The California Gray Whale is only found in north latitudes, and its migrations have never been known to extend lower than 20° north. It frequents the coast of California from November to May. During these months the cows enter the lagoons on the lower coast to bring forth their young,* while the males remain outside ers fimooth ; tbo sixth and seventh slightlj' ser- rate on the upper anterior edge, and without ventral spines. Color, yellowish white. Lon. 0.70, lat. 0.39 in., of largest specimen. $ Similar to the 5 in all respects, excepting in being a little more slender, and in wanting the accessory appendages to the branchitc ; the ovigcrous sacs are four in number, overlapping each other. Habitat, on the California Gray Whale ( Rha- cliianrrtes glauciis of Cojie), upon the Coast of California ; veiy numerous. I may remark hero that these species are all so distinct from those figured by Milne -Edwards, Gosse, and Bate & AVoKtwood, that a comparative description has seemed unnecessary' ; also, that the species ob- tained on diflereut species of Cetaceans have so far been found invariably distinct. The infer- ence is, of coui>ie, that each Cetacean has its peculiar parasites — a supposition which agrees with our knowledge of the facta in many groups of terrestrial animals. C'njplnlrpa.< rhnchiniircli, Dall, n. s. Valves subciiual, rostnuu radiate, not alate. Lateral valves anteriorly alato, posteriorly radiate ; ca- rina alate, not radiate. Each valve internally transversely deeply grooved, and furnished ex- ternally with six radiating laminn\ vertically sharply grooved ; the adjacent terminal laminto of eadi two valvo'' <'oalesciug to form one lami- na of extrri thickness ; all the laminm bifurcated and thickened toward the outer edges, with two or more short sj>urs on each side, irregularly placed between the shell -wall and the bifurca- tion. Superior terminations of the valves (V)lunt- ly pointed?) usually abraded, tran-iversely striate. Scuta subijuailrate, adjacent anteriorly, and very slightly beaked in the middle of the occludent margin ; terga subciuadrntc, sniall, sejiarated from the sc\ita by intervening meiul)rane ; lioth very small in proportion to the orillcu. Membranes very thin and delicate, raised into Humll lamelliu between the opercular valves. All tlio calcareous nuitter pulvenilent, and showing a strong tend- ency to split up into luniimc, Antero-poBtorior diameter of largo specimen, 1.G2 inch ; ditto of oritice, 0.03 inch ; transverse diameter of orifice, 0.58 inch; lon. scuta, 0.17 inch; lat. ditto, 0.08 inch ; lon. terga. 0.07 inch ; lat. ditto, 0.07 inch. Color of membranes, when living, sulphur yel- \ov. ; hood, extremely protrusile. This species is found sessile on the California Gray Whale {Bhachianccles glaiicus, Cope). I have obsen-ed them on specimens of that species hauled up on the beach at Monterej' for cutting oft' the blubber, in the bay - whaling of that locality. The superior surface of the lateral lamina), being covered by the black skin of the whale, is not visible; and the animal, removed from its nat'-'o element — protruding its bright yellow hood in every direction, to a surprising distance, as if gasping for breath — presented a truly singular appearance. * The (luestion is often raised, as to whether the cetaceous animals have more than one young one at a birth? but it seems evident to us that they never have more than two, for Nature has made no provision whereby more than that mim- bcr could draw sustenance at the same time from the parent animal ; and even where provision is made for two among the marine mammalia, par- ticularly in the ease of the seal tribe, it is rare- ly if ever that the female produces twins. It is true that instances have occurred where two, three, or more cubs have been seen with one California Gray Whale ; but this has only hap- pened in the lagoons where there had been great slaughter among the cows, leaving their young ones motherlesH, so that these straggle about, sometimes following otlier whales, some- times clustering by themselves a half-do/en to- gether. AVo know of one instance where a whale which had a calf perhaps a month old was killed close to a ship. When the mother was taken to the ship to bo cut in, the young one followed, and remained playing about for two weeks ; but ;i TUE CALIFORNIA GRAY WHALE. 23 along the sea- shore. The time of gestation is about one year.* Occasionally a male is seen in the lagoons with the cows at the last of the season, and soon after both male and female, with their young, will be seen working their way northward, following the shore so near that they often pass through the kelp near the beach.' It is seldom they are seen far out at sea. This habit of resorting to shoal bays is one in which they differ strikingly from other whales. In summer they congre- gate in the Arctic Ocean and Okhotsk Sea. It has been said that this species of whale lias been found on the coast of China and about the shores of the ishaid of Formosa, but the report needs confii-mation. In October and November the California Grays appear off the coast of Oregon and Upper California, on tlicir way back to their tropical haunts, making a quick, low spout at long intervals ; showing themselves but very little until they roach the smooth lagoons of the lower coast, where, if not disturbed, they gather in large numbers.t passing and repassing into and out of the estuaries, or slowly raising their colossal forms midway above the surftico, falling over on their sides as if by whether it lived to como to maturity is a matter of ooiijc'cturo. *TLis statement is maintained upon the fol- lowing observations: "Wo have known of five embryos being taken from females between the latitudes of 31° and 37° north, on the California coast, when the animals wore returning from their warm winter haunts to their cool summer resorts, and in every instance they were exceed- ingly fat, which is quite ojiposito to the cows which have jjroduced and nurtured a calf while in the lagoons; hence we concludo that the an- imals propagate only once in (wo years. fit has been estimated, approximately, by observing men among the shore -whaling parties, that a thousand whales piuised southward dai- ly, from the IHth of December to the 1st of February, for several successive seasons after KhoH'-whaling was established, which occun-cd 111 1851. Captain Packard, who has been en- gaged ill the liusincss for over twenty years, thinks this a low estimate. Accepting this num- ber without allowing for those which passed oft' shore cut of sight from the land, or for those which paBsed before the 10th 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 num- ber seen from the stations passing daily would not exceed forty. From our own observation upon the coast, we are inclined to believe that the numbers resorting annually to the coast of California, from 18o3 to 185C, did not exceed 40,000— probably not over 30,000; and at the present time there are many which pass otT shore at so great a distance as to be invisible from the lookout stations : there are probably between 100 and 200 whales going southward daily, from the beginning to the end of the "down season" (from December 15th to February 1st). This 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 -^. M ^■ 41 4 - ' ■ ■ " ^S^'t^, S-.J .•'f «' ;;, V.-, ■I 1* / 1 '/ /., .i' I'O. I' ., : ! ' .ill -1 . I-. !<■ t ..•I , 1 n,- A' ,, . I'T ; . '• : '1'' ii-i..,,'". \i i' i I.I .^ • ■ (if ■'l'^' ;..;^( el,.-. '■'.:; si I'll a:.'i'' t :i , u■i:^^ '■..■( ' :; v '1 ^ ' i>\ . :i!'> .1. }■< .1" - .; • Hi . Ill , , . tl l!\ '. • ;i .^ ■ li!.', i >.■< • >. r.;v,-. , 1 •I 'iin] ii;-! '-■ \'i • .1 -11: Ml i ; I • i. 1 1 •' ,1' r ) ';M'^. Si. 'ill .' I: 1"' . Hi|ii i.i VI' i - ' .. . :^ ,1-, ■.. ,...,.- ( . <'i i.H-i ,.;■ li . •il :■ V |j W I ' ■< I .I.-': J",., I in !■ .' '•!,: . , ' \ , !.- ,'. . ; ■•■ ■ ■ vri .1 •■■ . ; 'm,!-.,; ■ ^' »- i-n-. • i( ■ i;'ii • ' 1 ■ ■•i;.M'' I, I'll' I ,,,ui .,i-',\;, ' l.i.- *•' ' si' ll, :'•! I '. .' I 'I ' 1" i'm ■ '.' l!," hi> 1, I. 'I -■ y ! I ii' ,1. i I., ". 1 ' uSj ' 'I' .; --ivi' i- .\\ 'm 'i, , li' '' '1. i: v: M I . ■■ • .1 1 t'. ■■ ■; i-l.i'! • :,t. I'' ' ■•:! . ■ , .,'.■' , ,-!i I .'' ; 1 iti:y '■ ■ ' ; I r'sini, ,,f I « i I :i ♦ b F TnE CALIFORNIA GRAY WUALE. 29 will stop and "sweep" around in search, and if the boat comes in contact with her, it is quite sure to be staved. Another danger is, that in darting the lance at the mother, the young one, in its gambols, will get in the way of the weapon, and receive the wound, instead of the intended victim. In such instances, the parent animal, in her frenzy, will chase the boats, and, overtaking them, will overturn them with her head, or dash them in pieces with a stroke of her ponderous flukes. Sometimes the calf is fastened to instead of the cow. In such instances the mother may have been an old frequenter of the ground, and been before chased, and perhaps have suiTerod from a previous attack, so that she is far more difficult to capture, staving the boats and escaping after receiving repeated wounds. One instance occurred in Magdalona Lagoon, in 1857, where, after several boats had been staved, they being near the beach, the men in those remaining afloat managed to pick up their swimming comrades, and, in the meantime, to run the line to the shore, hauling the calf into as shallow water as would float the dam, she keeping near her troubled young one, giving the gunner a good chance for a shot with his bomb -gun from the beach. A similar instance occurred in Scammon's Lagoon, in 1859. The testimony of many whaling -masters furnishes abundant proof that these whales are possessed of unusual sagacity. Numerous contests with them have proved that, after the loss of their cherished ofi'spring, the enraged animals have given chase to the boats, which only found security by escaping to shoal water or to shore. After evading the civilized whaler and his instruments of destruction, and per- haps while tliey are suffering from wounds received in their southern haunts, these migratory animals begin their northern journey. The mother, with her young grown to half the size of maturity, but wanting in strength, makes the best of her TV ay along the shores, avoiding the rough sea by passing between or near the rocks and islets that stud the points and capes. But scarcely have the poor creatures quitted their southern homes before they are surprised by the Indians about the Strait of Juan do Fuca, Vancouver and Queen Charlotte's Islands. Like enemies in ambush, these glide in canoes from island, bluff, or bay, rushing upon their prey with whoop and yell, launching their instruments of torture, and like hounds worry- ing the last life-blood from their vitals. The capture having been effected, trains of canoes tow the prize to shore in triumph. Tlio whalemen among the Indians of the North-west Coast are tliose who delight in the height of adventure, and who are ambitioi ■ of acquiring the greatest reputation among their fellows. Those among them who could boast of killing a whale, formerly had the most exalted mark of 30 MARINE MAMMALS OF THE NORTH-WESTERN COAST. . honor conferred upon them by a cut across the nose ; but this custom is no longer observed. The Indian whaling-canoe L tliirty-fivo feet in length. Eight men make the crew, each wielding a paddle five and a half feet long. The whaling -gear consists of harpoons, lines, lances, and seal -skin buoys, all of their own workmanship. The cutting material of both lance and spear was formerly the thick part of a mussel- shell, or of the "abelone ;" the line made from cedar withes, twisted into a three- strand rope. The buoys are fancifully painted, but those belonging to each boat havL a distinguishing mark. The lance -pole, or harpoon - staff, made of the heavy wood of the yew-tree, is eighteen feet long, weighing as many pounds, and with the lance attached is truly a formidable weapon. Their wiialing- grounds are limited, as the Indians rarely venture seaward f\ir out of sight of the smoke from their cabins bj' day, or beyond view of their bon- fires at ni i;ht. The number of canoes engaged in one of these expeditious is from two to riv( , the crows being taken from among the chosen men of the tribe, who, with silent stroke, can paddle the symmetrical canwi close to the rippling water beside the animal ; the bowman then, with sure aim, thrusts the harpoon into it, and heaves the line and buoys clear of the came. Tiie worried creature may dive deeply, but very little time elapses before the inflated seal -skins are visible again. The instant these are seen, a buoy is elevated (Ui a pole from the nearest canoe, by way of signal ; then all dash, with shout and grunt, toward the object of pur- suit. Xow the chase attains the liighest pitch of excitement for each boat Ijeing provided witli implements alike, in order to entitle it to a full share of the prize its crew must lo."" i'lcir harpoon in the animal, with buoys attached; so that, after the first attack is made, the strife that ensues to be next to throw the spear creates a scone of l)rawl and agility peculiar to tiiese savage adventurers. At length tlie victim, becoming weakened by loss of blood, yields to a system of torture characteristic of its eager pursuers, and eventually, spouting its last blood from a lacera'ed heart, it writhes in convulsions and expires. Then the whole fleet of canoes assists in towing it to the shore, where a division is made, and all the inhabitants of the village greedily feed upon the fat and flesh till their appetites are satisfied. After tlie feast, what oil may be extracted from the remains is put into skins or bladders, and is an article of traflic with neighboring tribes or the white traders who occasionally visit them. These "whales of passage," when arrived in the Arctic Ocean and Okhotsk Sea, arc seen emerging Ijetween the scattered floes, and even forcing themselves through the field of ice, rising midway above tho surface, and blowing in the same * I TUE CALIFORXIA GRAY WHALE. 81 attitude in which they arc frequently seen in the southern lagoons ; at such times the combined sound of their respirations can l)e heard, in a calm day, for miles across the ice and water. But in those fiir northern regions, the animals are rarely pursued by the whale- ship's boats: hence they rest in some degree of security; yet even there, the watchful Esquimaux steal upon them, and to their primitive weapons and rude processes the whale at last succumbs, and supplies food and substance for its captors. The Esquimaux whaling- boat, although to all appearance simple in its con- struction, will be found, rter careful investigation, to be admirably adapted to the purpose, as well as for all other uses necessity demands. It is not only used to accomplish the more important undertaking, but in it they hunt the walrus, shoot game, and make their long summer -voyages about the coast, up the deep bays and long rivers, where they traffic with the interior tribes. When prepared for whaling, the boat is cleared of all passengers and useless incumbrances, nothing being allowed but the whaling -gear. Eight picked men make the crew.* Their boats arc twenty -five to thirty feet long, and are flat on the bottom, with flaring sides and tapering ends. The framework is of wood, lashed together with the fibres of baleen and thongs of walrus -hide, the latter article being the covering, or plank- ing, to the boat. The implements are one or more harpoons, made of ivory, with a point of slate -stone or iron; a boat -mast, that se.70s the triple purpose of spreading the sail and furnishing the staff for the harpoon and lance ; a large knife, and eight paddles. The knife lashed to the mast constitutes the lance. The boat being in readiness, the chase begins. As soon as the whale is seen and its course ascertained, all get behind it : not a word is spoken, nor will they take notice of a passing ship or boat, when once excited in the chase. All is silent and motionless until the spout is seen, when they instantly paddle toward it. The spouting over, every paddle is raised ; again the spout is seen or heard through the fog, and again they spring to their paddles. In this manner the animal is approached near enough to throw the harpoon, when all shout at the top of their voices. This is said to have the effect of checking the animal's way through the water, thus giving an opportunity to plant the spear in its body, with lino and buoys attached. The chase continues in this wise until a number of weapons are firndy fixed, causing the animal much eflbrt to get under water, and still more to remain down ; so it soon rises again, and is attacked with renewed vigor. It is the "" It 18 said by Captain Norton, who com- several yeara ago, that the women engage in the mandecl the ship Citizen, wrecked in the Arctic chase. li f-v 1 32 MARINE MAMMALS OF THE NORTH-WESTERN COAST. established custom with those simple natives, that the man who first effectually throws his harpoon, takes command of the whole party : accordingly, as soon as the animal becomes much exhausted, his haidaira is paddled near, and with surprising quickness he cuts a hole in its side sufficiently large to admit the knife and mast to which it is attached ; then follows a course of cutting and piercing till death ensues, after which the treasure is towed to the beach in front of their huts, where it is divided, each member of the party receiving two "slabs of bone," and a like proportion of the blubber and entrails ; the owners of the canoes claiming what remains. The choice pieces for a dainty repast, with them, are the flukes, lips, and fins. The oil is a great article of trade with the interior tribes of " reindeer- men :" it is sold in skins of fifteen gallons each, a skin of oil being the price of a reindeer. The entrails arc made into a kind of souse, by pickling them in a liquid extracted from a root that imparts an acrid taste : this preparation is a savory dish, as well as a preventive of the scurvy. The lean flesh supplies food for their dogs, the whole troop of the village gathering about the carcass, fighting, feasting, and howl- ing, as only sledge -dogs can. Many of the marked habits of the California Gray are widely different from those of any other species of halmta. It makes regular migrations from the hot i southern latitudes to beyond the Arctic Circle ; and in its passages between the I extremes of climate it follows the general trend of an irregular coast so near that ' it is expoi^ed to attack from the savage tribes inhabiting the sea -shores, who pass much of their time in the canoe, and consider the capture of this singular wanderer 1 a feat worthy of the highest distinction. As it approaches the waters of the torrid 1 zone, it presents an opportunity to the civilized whalemen — at sea, along the shore, Jj and in the lagoons — to practice their different modes of strategy, thus hastening the time of its entire annihilation. This species of whale manifests the greatest jj affection for its young, and seeks the sheltered estuaries lying under a tropical sun, as if to warm its offspring into activity and promote comfort, until grown to the size Nature demands for its first northern visit. When the parent animals are ' attacked, they show a power of resistance and tenacity of life that distinguish them If » from all other Cetaceans. Many an exper. whaleman has suffered in his encounters j with them, and many a one has paid the penalty with his life. Once captured, i however, this whale yields the coveted reward to its enemies, furnishing sustenance for the Esquimaux whaler, from such parts as are of little value to others. The oil extracted from its fatty covering is exchanged with remote tribes for their fur- clad animals, of which the flesh affords the venders a feast of the choicest food, -wiTw—"'" - ilUfi wianp|pmim|piiRi,iiiiwii ■. iipinip I mMMov m.^ ,# u, ■■■^> ^^ #^"!J Vi 5) f {^ ,^r ((:ir :.r:s it,' ,.,..1 1,,-,-o'niv. n.;-!. , v,,.v, ;..;,,! lui 'T^fA't/-.- ;; ;-^v.^ ... :.-,(;,.. ill.- (,,•/ .. h'-l '. 1-- -I '.r .i.fr''-Knf ^ . -.. +-. , ^..Iji. 1; ]\ !■ ;it I' h^Mi : 1 ,1 ■. t'.;liAv> a, ' i t!..i .r. . !i-t !■ I I l,i.,'|!'. •ih. :■. 'I.J t^ (i . -iiKii i . 1 ! !)■■ 1. • , vj. i;.' ,- ■— .1.1 r'-U, (!!■ ■ !v: 11 r >!:otv !■ '.;, ;n, '!■■ ■•■' Mi-iUw:'/ tli- i.;!,^;.'ni ,:; nvi.,. U' "J L» * • 1* : t . ■ I :|. I'vtl 1. •■"' I iv.;rt I ,1 iM. ill'- iH h-:l! v. wnh '•!■> I . '\ ii I jiivitv, '.^.s I'.ru -if ■K t, ■ ■ tor tii tur- r •fii:. i'' -^M'-f Mi' i^'f r r - ^\ r^ THE CAlirOBXIA GRAY WHALE. ,j am. .ho Ai„s form n„ i„clispc„.»ble »r.ic]o of clothing. T.,o .VoHh-wcl Indian, rod^.o .1,0 ,amo comparative benefit n-om the cnptntod animals a, do the Esqni- n.an.x and look fonvard to it, periodical pas,age throngh their circnmscribed fi,hL. grounds as n season of exploits and proBt. The civilized whaler seeks the htmtcd animal fa ther seaward, a, from year to year .t learns to shnn the fatal shore. N'one of the species arc ,„ eonstantU and vartonsly pursned a, the one we have endeavored to describe; and the lar^e bay. nd lagoons, where these animal, once congrestted. bronght forth and nurtnr , thetr young, are already nearly deserted. The mammoth bones of the Californ 0..y he bleaehmg on .,.„ ,hore, of those silvery water,, and arc scattered along Ic b.oken coas,, from Siberia to the Onlf of California; and ere long it may b! oT« rPaci^^""' "'" ""'""■"' ""' "»' ^= """■^-O -™8 '-» -' -t »P ei MaBINE BllSQULS.— 3. I CHAPTER II. THE IIMJACK AVIIALE. BALjENonntA VEi.iFKin, Cape. (Pliitc ii, iig. 2.) Another spocios of the whale tribe is known as the Finback, or Finncr, m geographical distribution i.s as oxtonded as that of the Siilphurbottoni, and v ranks next to it in point of swiftness. (^ne picked np by Captain Poole, of the bark Sarah Warren, of San i'ran( adcrds us tlie following memoranda: ' 'ngth, sixty-five feet; thickness of blu seven to ; inches; yield of oil, seventy-live barrels; color of blulil'cr. a white, loj if head ([uite as Hat and straight as that of the Humpback. ])ii the longest, two feel four inciies ; greatest widtir lidrteen inches; its ci lor, a lead, streaked witli l)lack, and its surface presents a ridgy appeoran.'.' cross length of fringe to bone, two to four inches, and in size this may be compan a cambric needle. A Bakviiojitcra , which caine on shore near tiie outer heads or t!ie (iolden ' gave us the opportunity of obtaining the folhiwing rough measurements: rt. In. Lrngth (10 00 From nib - end to pootomls 15 00 From Jiili-ciiil to corner of mouth 12 0() From ni'j-end to eye 12 0(5 From notch of ciiiidid lln to i^euital slit 21 00 From notcli of caudal I'm to vent Ill 0(1 Expausiou of caudal tin It (10 Its fide fins and (iukes are in like proportion to the body as in the Calif Gray, lis throat and lireast are marked with deep creases, or folds, similar ti Humpback, Color of \n\rk and sides, l)liick or blackish -blown (in some in( Mills a curved bund ci' ligiiter .-hade marks its U[)per '■ides, between the spii and pectorals); belly, a milky white, lla back fin is paced nearer to the ci than the hump on the Humpback, and in shape approaches to a rigid -ai 1311 TH^a FINBACK WHALE. gg triangle, but rounded on the for^vard edge, curved on the opposite one; tlie lon-^est Side joms the back in some examples, and in others the anterior od-^o is "the longest. The gular folds spread ou each side to the pectorals, and extended half the length of the body. The habitual movements of the Finback in several poinfs are peculiar When It respn-es, the vaporous breath passes quickly through its spiracles, and when . irosh supply of air is drawn into the breathing system, a sharp and son.ewhat mus.cal sour.d may be heard at a consulerable distance, which is nuite distin.ui.h- able from that of other whales of the same genus. (We have observed the .ntervd between the respirations of a large Finback to be about seven seconds ^ It fre- quently gambols about vessels at sea, in mid-ocean as well as close in" with the coast, daicng under them, or shooting swiftly through the water on either side- nt one n..mont upon the suri-.e, belching Ibrth its quick, ringing spou., and the ne^t ns.u^ submerg.ng . .If henoath the waves, as if enjoying a spirited race with the :.,.^ T ah.^ uader a press of sail. In beginning the descent, it assumes a ^auety of pos,tw>ns : somet.mes ..oiling over nearly on its side, at other tln.es td"; le'' In" ;r •^"'"'' '^ ""^^ ""' '-'' ''^^"'"'"« "^^^'-'^ ^ perpendicular att tude. ,equentl3-^,t rennuns un .he surface, making a regular course and several mdoruj 'lows..' Occasionally they congrega,:e in schools of fin.en to twent :' -. In th,s s.tuatuu. v.. have usually observed them going quickly through the -^t , several spout.ng at .he same instant. Their uncertain movenLts, howev ~ Iten shown.g ,h,.,us.,lves twice or thrice, then disappearing-and their swiless make them verv difHcuit to canture The re.nlf« ..f , .''\\'ltntss, were as follou- • r,. .- , '''''''"''' '^'^^'"P*'^ to catch th.Mu 0 dcctulb, 1..U al.hough the boat ^.a. i,. ,,,Hiness for instant lowerin.^ before i ..:: : ,:"::"? Tr: ''- '""■"=••' *- '^^ '^^-^ --"-"-- - ^-^ -"; bo seen of then. n,. w .. ^■'^" »"<'"",^' "lore would ^n instance occurred in Monteivy IJay in 1805 nC iW- i • , :> i^".>, ui 1 000, ol hve being cap.ured under 36 MAlilNE MAMMALS OF THE NORTH-WESTERN COAST. * !■: I ; the following circumstances: A "pod" of whales was seen in the offing, by the whalemen, from tlieir shore station, wlio immediately embarked in their boats and gave chase. On coming up to them they were found to be Finbacks. One was harpooned, and, although it received a mortal wound, they all "run together" as before. One of the gunners, being an expert, managed to shoot the whole five, and they were all ultimately secured, yielding to the captors a merited prize. We have noticed largo numbers of these whales along the coast during the summer months, and they seem to be more together at that particular season ; but, as the opportunities for observing their habits have been much greater at that time of the year, we may have been led into error upon this particular point. Their food is of the same nature as that of the other rorquals, and the quantity of codfish wiiich lias been found in them is truly enormous. On the northern coast, the Finbacks, in many instances, have a much larger fin than those in warmer lati- tudes, and we are fully satisfied tint these are a distinct species, confined to the northern waters. We have had but little opportunity to observe the Finbacks that frequently rove about the Gulf of Georgia and Fuca Strait. Several have been seen, however, in May and June, on the coasts of California and Oregon, and in Fuca Strait in June and July of the year 18G1; these observations satisfy us that the dorsal fin of this — the northern species referred to — is strikingly larger than in the more southern Finbacks. Appended are (lie outlines of one individual of several seen in Qu^'on Charlotte Sound, in February, 18G5, which is a fair representation of them all. Those wo have noticed about Fuca Strait seem to have the l)ack fin modilied in size between the exti ■ niely small one found ou the coast of Lower California and the one here represented. •I, : f 'I i 4 t » "^'■im ^..T«p». ^ V^-if- ww^^PWl^nwPWWB^ 11 Tr ' 11 h. 1^ \ t » -> :■. .v^ :.,. 1 3: »", '■ i ' *^ or. % ;:■< 1- *■ *! ■. I h r ■f I f 1 , 1 r* 1 ^' •'^f^""/* /;4^ ^." *^ ■' «' »'-^r-.>- -v: ,; I THE FINBACK WHALE. 37 a r M CO O o 2 » w 09 > 0 CHAPTER TIL THE IIlMPnACK WHALE. Meoajptera VERSADiua, Cope. (Plate vii, fig. 1. ) P M ?•' The Humpback is one of the species of rorquals that roam through every ocean, genorall}- preferring to feed and perform its uncouth gambols near extensive coasts, or about the shores of islands, in all latitudes between the equator and the frozen oceans, both north and south. It is irregular in its movements, seldom going a straight course for any considerable distance ; at one time moving about in largo numbers, scattered over the sea as far as the eye can discern from the mast-head; at other times singbj, seeming as much at home as if it were surrounded by hun- dreds of its kind; performing at will the varied actions of "breaching," "rolling," ''finning." "lobtai.mg,'' or "scooping;" or, on a calm, sunny day, perhaps lying motionless on the molten -looking surface, as though life were extinct. Its shape, compared with the synunctrical forms of the rinback, California Gray, and Sulphurbottom, is decidedly ugly, as it has a .short, thick body, and frequently a diminutive "small," with inordinately large pectorals and flukes. A protuberance, of variable shape and size in dill'erent individuals, placed on the back, about one -fourth the length from the caudal fin, is calleil the hujnp. An- other cartilaginous boss projects from a centre fold innuediately beneath the anterior point of the under jaw, which, with the flukes, pectorals, and throat of the creature, are oftentimes hung with pendent parasites* {Otioa Sthnjysoni), and on ♦Wo jn-int hero Diill's descripticn of the CjinmiiH Kiil^'iiiiHs; also liis remarkH on Uio OHon SfimpHoni (Proc. Cnl. Acad. Sci., Dec. 18tl , 187li). Illusti'ationH, figures 3 and 5, plate x. Cijainiif! i^iiffusiis, n. sp. Body (lattonod, elon- gate; segments, sub-equal, outer edges ■uidely separtt'ed. Urancbiro single, cylindrical slender, with a very short papilliform appendage lieforo and behind each brancliia. Superior auteuuie unusually long and stout. First pair of hands quadrant - shaped ; second pair slightly punctate, arcua'c, emarginato on the inferior edge, with a pointed tubercle on each side of the emargina- tion. Thivd joint of the posterior legs keeled above, with a prong bo'.ow. Ploon e.vtremoly minute. Segments smooth. No ventral sjjine.s on posterior segments. Color, yellowish white, suftused wllh rose -purple, strongest upon the auteuuro and brauuhiie. Length, 0.41 inches; [38] THE HUMPBACK WHALE. 35, the males it is frequently studded with tubercles, as upon the head. A buke also rounds down on the lower part of the "small/' nearly midway between the hump and caudal. Its under jaw extends forward considerably beyond the upper one. All those combined characteristics impress the observer with the idea of an animal of abnormal proportions. The top of its head is dotted witii irreo-ular rounded bunches, which rise about one inch above the surface, each covering Ln-W lour square mches of space. ^ The following measurements and memoranda of a male Humpback were taken by Captam K fe. Rediield, of the whaling and trading brig Manuella, while cruisin. m IJehring Sea, September 17th, 18G6 : ° Extreme length rt. in. Length of pectorals ^ Breadth of pectorals ^^ ^ Distance from Faoiit to pectorals Distance from corner, of mouth to snout '.'. ^^ ^ Distance from eye to snout Distance from spout -holes to snout Expansion of Hukes ^ BreaJfh of flukes ''!!".'.". ^^ ^ Distance from anus to flukes "^ ^ 11 G some eight or ten in number, were m'l ' ^ a Iv "^ ' ""f • ^r^'^^l" ^ -° -'I form. Habitat, on the Humpback AVhale(i/,™i;/.m T; ""^vmm.tncal ; one sometimes nearly rcr.a,iU., Cope) Montc.e-, ^^io^^""'"" tT^l, ^^^ " /T'""f ' '■'' ''^^^^'^ = °* bodi, -MO inches; uf lobes, 2.00 inches; of ori- Otiox, Leach. ^''^' ^'^^ "^^^'^ ^ "^ '■cuta, 0.55 inch; width of nr T , ^ scuta, O.IC inch 0/;o)i, Leach. Enov. Britannica si-inl vnl vr\ ■, l , iii, p. 170. • ' ''•^'^^- '°'- Habitat, on the Humpback (J/ rcrmbais); Otion Slimpmn, Dull n s» \ T *''° ^'"'•"""^''^ ^vhich infest that spe- margin concave ; color ( in smrl.^ li,.l f ■ T, ^ ' '^ "'''"•'. Leach) and they are ^vM a dark pu,^,le str^ I^t^oS ^S m '^1^ ^ ^^t W ^ iV'^^ ^^^^'"'^ ;-7s;iert; itd^^rtu::;^ ^^ -r ^- --'--v:;: ^z:^^. ■aottlcd with dark purple The Tow ^ 1 ,' fbn '"'' ""'? '" "" ^''''' 1"^"^'^'.^ "^ --'l^^ «f orifice i.s transversJlv striated ,,nf ''1\"^*'^° '"'^^^'-^^'^^ l^^i'"- I «li"uia bo unwiliiu.^ to dc- tl.o upper iaa.^u: ili^ ^1,;:t/'^;:;2^ "?°, 'I" ^^'^"''"' ""^'^ '' ""^ *^-' ^^ ^^ «"^- wlute; in somc> specin^ms wUl two tn ' ' *° "'" ^"'" ^"""^^^'^ ^3^' «t""P-n for tions or small lob^s ab^e.^hioriCnr ^r^'^'""' "^"^ ""^ ^^'"''"^''^'^ ^^ ^^^ '-^ '"^' i I " t I f 40 MARINE MAMMALS OF THE NORTH-WESTERN COAST. Ft. IB. Distance from genital slit to flukes 17 0 Length of folds on belly 16 0 "Whole breadth of folds on belly 10 0 Distance from flukes to hump 12 3 Length of hump along the back 3 0 Height of hump 1 0 Depth of small close to flukes 2 6 Thickness of small close to flukes 1 6 Thickness of blubber, five to ten inches ; color of blubber, yellowish white ; yield of oil, forty barrels; number of folds on belly, twenty -six, averaging from four to six inches in width. These folds, which extend from the anterior portion of the throat over the belly, terminating a little behind the pectorals, are capable of great expansion and contraction, which enables the Humpbacks, as well as all other rorquals, to swell their maws when their food is in abundance about them. The following additional measurements, etc., were taken from Humpbacks capt- ured on the coast of Upper California, in 1872. 1. Sex, female. Color of body, black above, but more or less marbled with white below. Fins, black above, and dotted with white beneath. Color of blub- ber, white. Number of folds on throat and breast, twenty -one, the widest of which were six inches. Yield of oil, thirty- five barrels. The yield of bone, which is of inferior quality, is about four hundred pounds to a hundred barrels of oil. Ft. In. Anus to notch of caudal fin 12 C Genital slit to notch of caudal fin 12 11 Length of genital slit 3 6 Size uround the body behind pectorals . . 25 0 Average thickness of blubber 0 5 Depth of small at junction with caudal fin, 1 9 Thickness of small at junction with caud- al fin 1 6 From nib- end to hump 28 0 Height of hump 0 10 Length of hump 4 0 Thickness of black skin 0 OJ Eye to ear 2 0 Length of ear slit 0 IJ Navel to genital slit 5 0 Ft. Length cj animal 48 Length of each pectoral 13 Thickness of each pectoral 0 Breadth of each pectoral 3 Expansion of caudal fin, or flukes 18 Breadth of each lobe 3 Thickness of each lobe 0 From nib-end to pectorals 16 Pectorals to top of back 4 Corner of mouth to nib -end 10 Corner of mouth to top of head 6 Eye* to nib-end 10 10 Eye to top of head 4 6 Spiracles to nib -end 8 0 Length of cderior opening of spiracles.. 1 6 IQ. 0 0 8 5 0 6 9 0 6 0 4 The nib -end, or point of the upper jaw, fell short of the extremity of the *We refer the reader to fig. 4, plate x, for illustration of an eye taken from a Humpback forty -six feet in length, to natural size. The figure is drawn \ 1 , .1. . i I ;l t '■ i (. ^v .->■, '.1 1. H'-'.Mr'.'iAOK' I Megap'iera Vehsabilis Cope i 2. .~i fi-ED FiNN;.R. : HAL^NjprERA. DAVir.-iiiN! . Scanxon.l 'i \t ' I THE HUMPBACK WHALE. 41 lower one about fit'tocn inches. The tongue and tliroat wore of a leaden eolor. The orbit of the eye was four inrhes in diameter. Tiie lonjxest ])late of bone, or baleen, was two feet ; its color, bl lek, with a fringe of ligliler sliade. 2. Sex, female. Color of body, black, with slight marks of white lieneath. Color of pectorals, black above, wliito below. Color of flukes, l>lack aliove and below. Color of bluldjer, white; average thickness of same, six inches. Ticld of v)il, thirty barrels. Cvdar folds, eighteen. Tubercles on li^is. nine. Ft. In. Ft. In. Loiiffth of (iiiimiil 48 0 From nib-einl to ijuctoruls 10 l! Li ugtli of pector.als l^i 0 Notcli of flukt's to iiuiis 11 'i iiiOadtU of pcctonilH 3 0 Notch of flukes to genital slit 12 0 Tliickiioss of iicctoials 0 8 L(n;,'th of longest haleon 2 !» Expansion of tlukcs 11 0 Brcatlth of louyost balocii 0 10 Breadth of lUikos 4 3 3. Sex, female. Color of boily, black ubove, sliglitly mottleil witii white and gray l)elo\v. Fins an Lengtli of peetcjral 12 0 Length of hji , -est baleen 2 8 "Widtli of peetoral 3 (J Breadth of longest l)aleeii 0 i) End of lower jaw to spiraeles 10 0 Length of fringe to baleen 0 5 End V r lower jaw to eori.er of mouth. . . 11 !l It is proper to state, that flie dimensions of the skull, or upper jaw- lion.', of any ordinary sized aiiiiiial would lie about lil'tecn feet long by sLx broad. The lower jaw- lioiics, which iu'(> joined by a slight symphysis, are eaidi about tlie same length in their curves, and are about one foot wide and eight iiudies thii'k iiudway between the extremities. The (Idekaess of the linnhar vertebra) is about eigiit imdies ; the distance between the points of the spur., two feet eight ineiies ; and the weight, tweiity-HMir or moi'e pounds. The largest ribs are from nine to twelve feet long, measured on the curve, and ten to fit'teeii inches in circunifei'enc(>. The aggregate weigiit of two well ilried specimens (measuring respe<'tively lune and ten feet) was eighty pounds. '1 he lirst joint of the pectoral bones may be set down at two and a iiaU' feet in length, and lh(! same in circund'erence at its tiiiion with the shoulder-blade. This section of the lin bones ( xceeds lifty pounds in weight. The usual color of the llum|)I)ack is black above, a little lighter bidow, slightly inarliled with white or gray; 1ml sometimes the aiuuial is of spotless white under the %-» 42 M.lRIXi: n.lMMAI.S OF THE NORTU-WESTERN COAST. ■' "■. fins iunl iil)i)nt the ahdoiueu. Tho posterior edge of lln' liuinp, in many cxiin)|ili\s, is tipped with pure white. The niegaptcriv varies more in (lie pnnhietion of oil than all ulleTs of the roripials. "We have frequently soon individuals whieh yiehied liut eight or ten liarrels of oil, and others as much as seventy - li\-e ; the length ol' the animal varying from twenty-Hx'e to scvontj'-jive foot. Most of thesi' \ariations may he attrihnted to age and sex, as the female- with a large eul) hee.nnes ipiite destitute of fat in her eovering. These animals, more especially the smaller or younger ones, are infested with [)ai'asitic crustaceans [Cijaoutti f^)iffiit sure to liml them. On the coast of ''alifornia, in ISoll, we captured a whale of ordinary size, which liad many patches of the>e |)arasi(es united almost in one mass upon that portion of the hody wiiich was exposed when tlu' animal came to the surface, anil when "cut in " it proved to have what is termed a "dry skin," the Iduhher being destitute" of oil; this was atlrihuted to the almndaut f ihese tro ihlesome parasites. The llum|ihaclc has aho the largest l)arnacles adhering to, or imljcdded in, the epidermis, ahout the throat or tins. The habits of this whale — particularly in its undulating movements, iVcipient "roundings." "turning of llukes,'' and iri-egular coursi; — iire (diaracteristic indications, whiidi I In' ipiick and practiced eyi' of the whaleman distinguishes at a long distance. i'',vcu when beneath the surface of the sea, wc ha\e observed them Jii-t "under the rim of the water" (^as whalemc^n useil to say), alternately turning from siile to side, or de\ialing in their course with as little a[iparent ellbrt, and as gracefully, as a swallow on the wing. Like all other rorcjuals, it has two s[rn\ id(>s, ami when it respires, the breath and vapoi' ejin'ted through these apertures l,''m the "spout," and rises in ' i se])arate colunuis, which, howevei', unite in one as they asc( nd and expand. When the enormous lungs of the animal are l»rought into full play, the sp(!ut ascends twenty feel or more. When the whale is going to windward, the inllnence of the i)i'ee/.e ui)on the vapor is such, that a low, bushy spout is all that can be seen. The number of I'cspirations to a "I'ising" is cncimmI- ingly \ai-iab|e : soinelinies the animal blows only once, at another time si.\, eight, or ten, and from tint up to lil'tcen or twenty times. Although the Humpbacks ai'c fouml in every sea and ocean, our obserAations indicate thai ihey resort periodically, and with some den-riM' of regularity, to parti<'- ular localities, where the females bring forth their yoinig. It seems, nioreo\a'r, that large numbers of both sexes nud^e a soi't of general migr.ilion from the warmer to the colder latitudes, as the seasons (diaiige. They go north in the northern iiemisphere, as summer ap[)roaclies, and return south when winter .sets iii. Tin: lll'MPBACK WHALE. 43 TIic roUowinji- (il)sorv;ifii)ii:"< \V(M'o inado nlong tlio coasts of Xorth and South America, and in Ocoanica. In tin' years 1852 and 185o, large nuinl)ers of Iluinp- liaeks resorted to tlu^ (!uU' of (liiayaqtiil, coast of Peru, to ealve, and the height ol' tlie season was dnring the nioiilhs of duly and August. The same may he said of the gulfs iiud liays situated near the corresponding latitudes north of tln^ eipia- tor ; still, instances an- imt iuilVe(|uent where cows and their cah'es have l)een seen at all other seasons of the year about the same coast. In the ]>ay of Vidle de I'auderas, coast of ^h•\'"o (latitude 20" HO'), in the month of Deeemher. we saw numhei's of llu.nipbacks. with calves hut a few days (dd. In ^^ay, 18")"), at ^Fag- daleua l>ay. coast of Lower California (about latitude 2-^'' ."0'), we found them in like numbers; some with very large calves, while others were very small. The season at Tongatalioo (one of the I'l'iendly Islands, latitude 21° south, longitude 171" west), according to Captain lU'ckerman, includes August and Pe[)tend)er. Hero the females were usually large, yielding an average of forty harrcds of oil. imduding the cut rail fal. which amo\nited to aliout six barrels. The largest wdiale taken at this jxiini, during the season of 1871, produced seventy-three l)arr(ds, and she was adjudged to he se\'enty-(ive feet in length. It is worthy of ri'mark, that a kirge majority of tlu' whales resorting thither were white on the under side of the bodv and liiis.''' * Eijiiuont zodlojfists havo diviilcil tlio Humi)- fourtli tho entire lonprth of tho body; nose inul hacks int.) several siiccics. tlra.v, in his Ciln- «i'.\cn of thr.jiit liavo roiiiid warts; belly iilaited. Inijiii' nf /In- }1rili.--li ^fll.■0, makes inriitioii ot till' fiillDwuiL;- iiauics and eiitward dcscnp- , ., . ,• Calil'eniia coast, every species hero doH<'rili,-d, and {■veil in (lie same si'IkmiI or "{,'ani." ^loi'c- 1, 'MroAPTr.nA r.oNonr\\\ {.Tohiislou'n TTniiiphni'k <>vcr, \\(\ havo experienced the Ki'^'n'csl, dilllculty TF/in/c \ — T!lac]i, jiecteral fins and beneatli wliite, in lliidin;,' any two of these stran;,'c animals Mack varied; lower lip xvilh two series of („- externally ahke, or possossin- anv marked -vn- lieivles; ))ectoials ncai'lv oni'- third the cnliro ,,.■ ■,. i-,i' ■.■ ".i ,■„• ,,,11 i ■ ,1 ,. , "" '" ^pccilic dlllerences. It tile ddlcrenccn Icn--Ili ; dorsal eloiivate, ||„' Inrnt ed"-e over end nf pectoral; throat and belly ,.'rooved. Fo- 1""."''"' ""' '" '■"»^< ''"'"''>' 'li'l'Tcnt speci.s aro male: up)Mi' and lower li|) with a series of mainlaiiK'd, we conclu.le llier(> niusi lie a ,';reat liiberi'les; dorsal nn obscnr<> pi'Dluliciniice. nnmlier. ^\'c■ have observed, both in the .had '2. JlEoAi'Tnn .VMnacwv (lirniiihtu ITiiwp- ami livin.:;- animals, the following,' dill'crent cx- ^m^).-lilack, belly white; head with round tu- ternal marks: 1st. Body bla.k ai.ove. whito beneath 2d. liody l)|a(k alinve and bclew. with berdes. It. Mr.oM'TiUA l'oi'si;..c {l\>rd,f nr Ciijir llinup. hirl). Porsal n.'arly n t llie end el' i,e,'to,-,.,ls. """'' '"' '''^^ ''''"*" >"""lin^' under ll,«- throat I. AlKiM'Tiia Ki/iia {Tlif /v'(',;in(). — Dorsal '""' i''"'"* '''« abdomen; i)ectoral and caudal small, ;nid tiehiiid the iiiiddl(> of the back; the H"* while beneath, or Kli;jhlly spotted with l>ecbir:d lin- rather short, .nid less than on,-. black. ;id. liody black .Mbov," uhilr benc-ilh. 44 MABIXE MAMMALS OF THE XOIITII -WES TERN CO. In tlio Buy of >rontoroy, Upper Califoniia, the best season for I in the mouths of October and Xoveml)er ; but some whales are take peiioil from April to December, including a part of both of those i great liody of these whales, liowever, arc observed working their w; until St[)tember, when they begin to return southward ; and the l)a; to the north, many of the reiurning 1)and follow along its shores or vi cni extremity, in search of food, which consists principally of small lower orders of crustaceans. AVhen the animals arc feeding, the wl \i"ry l'a\'oral)lc opportunity for their pursuit and ca[)ture. The observ whaling parties, which have been established at this bay for over .sev furnish reliable data in reference to the periodical movements of wha Paeilic (/oust. Of the Humpbacks, individuals of every variety, size, i l)een taken, including oui- of the most gigantic specimens of the gem mal, which yielded one hundred and forty -live barrels of oil, was ta when the usual s(du)(d of large megapteras was making its annual \ ward. Oui' of tin; largest of these whales having an unusual mark — on the hump — was recognized for several years in succession in its with \uul(i' side ol ,,cetoral imd taudal iius nf ft tain I'lom ciirt'l'iil otisriTiitiou ; ii dark iiHh-coliir. .Itli. Uody l)liu-k above, with iufostuil by llio wmw. i)iU'a!sitcs. ^aay mottliui,' bcuoath. In all thoso varieties, protuboniuco palled the hump, it both the caudal aud pectoral fius dill'er ia whapo iJieviouisly stated, of no rep;ului and si/.e ; the latter in soino individuals boin;; but is nearly of a uniform heigli excci'din^ly lou;^', narrow, and pointed, as rcpre- odye is sonielinns (i]>ped with w Kentcd in ii;4'uve 1 of i)lato vii ; while others are tubercles on the heail and lips, comparatively short and lu'oad, as shown in the eut on all we have examined, I outline ( page ■!"), which also shows the parasites, Bpeciniens; those about the h (i)iumonly called barnacles, adherinj,' to the well -developed, while those up throat, pectorals, and C!Uidal tin. There are many individuals, are scarcely ] still (itliers \vhos(^ pect(irals arc nf iul<'rmcdiate sonu^ instances, however, they ( pr(i]iortions, but terminate alu'iiplly, as seen on thos j wliich erown Iho sl>ull. ' pa^'i' IS, which also represents the scallojjed ularity in the number nf fjular flukes pri^sent in some individuals, (In tjiis 11;;- far as observed, vary iji numbc \ire, ihe luark "A" shows the outlines of Kj)ira- to twenty-six. In some cases t eles, which form nearly a riy;ht arylo). Ayaiu, in ti) eacji other; Imt tisually tlioro other examples, the caudal tin is narrow, point- eillier cross or terminate neai ed, and lunate; in others, st''l, il is broad, and The animals are all described nearly str;u;,dit (Ui Ihe jiosU'rior ed;.'c All these aliove ; but in the examples \\ varieties fecil aiul as; ociate to;,'ether on the same examined, there was not (Uie, vvl (,'round, aud in every particular their habits are tinized, which did not reveal so (he same, so f'lr as we have been a1>le to asci'r- of white. ' ""m T"y V- --^ • '•rwimim'mmr *^ '1^ "'1.^ :.f- ^ £*■•>?' '^. ¥'■ l^f '*^' %■ i,:?|| -jf ^»F»M«i^^BWlf" ^»# '.'. ' // .:. ./- ( '■; > n i ■•).•) ; II . • 'I, ' r , : i ,-f ' 1 ! - I !-i- •' ir .)■ J: • til" I .'> a: < w .-^ THE UU MP BACK WHALE 45 :n4:::r ,:2r:;; „:rt:r - rP- ^^^-^ Aflcr many ye„s' study of the charactorislic haWl, „r tl,„ TT , , liovo tliat tin. fomnlo, r,f (l,(. . • ° nuinpUck, wo be- exception, *: ,1' :,::;■■'", ""^' '°-"' "-■■ .V-S; .-..* .,,e.„ „,,. n,a„y »SoJ. I., their „a„I r, he ', '■"'" '° ""'■''°™ ''■''"' '" "'« -"■»»->)■ "b-eachin., ..hoZ^ " I '' !::„ "f;;"' -r ""•" -^ °"'^'- ■■"■■" ■ - their an,„n,„,, a„He. At snel, r „ '" '° '""'"" ""-'y ■■»■" """-■'' '»■• - -«.. an,,- z :::.r »:" w :::,r r ;:: nr ;"" «... which I„ve-„at: C o. ? \:"r'1 '■ ! T""'° ""'" """ "■»■ '""^ »■» ..h eaeU o.L,- witlf't,:: ^e n"! .il e'V """"V' ■"""' "''^- f.-"ii. ."i.l.. to side and i,„l„l • ■ , ""' ''""'"S ocMsi'-.nallv ti.- .■o.crihed iC. : =:!mu" ■ °"":"* '^ "'■■ "'"=«■ '- ■-=--' tl.o sa,uo as „„, 7f he, ,Se 7 " " """" ^ '"" "' '"' '"■°'-'"'".>- " - Tl.e oalf, when h,,„W ,, * .^'''f '"%'">' «™->h= '". ».■ twelve ,„o,„hs. ,, '-""iionc loitli, IS about ono-fourth tlio IrMin-n, ,.v +i i -'•klcs by holding the to:,t bot.oeu tho cKfomitv f ' r "" ' ""' ^' "pother rceliucs a little on one side- .-, b •''"'' "' ^'P^' ^^'"'^^ ^'''^ nearly- out of water .nd 1^.7; ' ^^^ "'' l"^''""'' l^'^''^''^" «f ''-• f"na way t..; ealv^ ^uT .^ed r^r"" t^ -^^ ^^^ ^^''^ '''-'-■ ^" ^i^ Tl.o IIu„n,baeks -u < , ' """ "'^"'''•^'"-^fc '^^ the same tln.e. -.•oe.w. naU:r.;;:;::;;;'it Lm,— .ir'^^Tr "" '-^ - tliov are very Hublc to .b.l- i i ' ^ wlmleslnp',, crew; and us ;;"•..• .«■- ... the hotton,, a\':; -s'l. 'r':,,:: :';:;t- /'"™. ^^ ;■.« -... V .t, uulil the decomposition of i(s (]„ .., , " '""' "'" '' '^"'^^ ^'^'^ "!'• Iho length of tunc that elapses before this takes place of 46 MAllIXE MAMMALS OF THE NOBTII-WESTEllX COAST. course (lopencls much on the iloptli of water and the solidity of the animixl's forma- tion ; some individuals remaining but a few hours on the bottom, while others will remain down for two or three days at the same depth. We have known many whales to be reeovered when sunk in from forty to sixty fathoms of water. The moihiii oj^erandl in hauling these di'composing subjects to the surl\ice is this: If the water is rough, the line is taken into the bow-chocks'-' of the boat; then uniting two crews in the after part of om? jjoat, they eitli'M" haul on the line by hand, or with a tackle, until the boat's bow is nearly sufjuierged, or flie whale is lifted ; or, if in a smocUh bay, two boats are sometimes used, by laying a spar across Ixjth, and taking the line betwee!i them over the spar, wliiidi serves as a sort of windlass purchase. If the dead animal lias been long down, in a consideraL'" depth, care is taken to avoid its coming up under the boat ; for as the carcass noars the surface, its velocity is so much accelerated, that in some instances the animal rises with a bound which equals its sprightliest actions before life became extinct. The megapteras are captured by the Indians of the North -western Coast, and the E.-^qnimaux aljout the sluu'es of the Arctic Ocean, in the same manner a he California Clrays, as has been described in the o[)ening chapter of this work ; and the natives of the Aleutian Islands pursue them, as well as other rorquals. When ii whale is seen, the hakVirhi (skin -boat) is launched ami manned by two or three men, and a spirited chase ensues. When close to the olyect of pursuit, their toy- like harpoons arc hurled into the animal. This, however, does not insure an im- mediate capture; but their weapons, which are pointed with glass or (lint- stone, and barbed with bone, are so fashioned, that, as the wounded creature writhes in its agony, every motion tends to work the tortuous instrument farther in ; and at last the fatal work is accomplished. Each whaler's spear has his own jirivate mark, and should the prize be found l)y others, they seek to ascertain by this means the rightful owners, who by their laws or customs are entitled to the booty wherever it may be found. The l)cst points for IIuni[)back whaling on the coast have boon Magdalena, Balenas, and Monterey btiys ; but, since the acquisition of Alaska, nunuM'ous places have been found in the bays and about the islands of that Territoiy, which donbt- less in the future will become prolitable whaling stations. Several baj's around the Aleutian Arcliii)elago, bordering on 13ehring Sea, may bo indicated as likely to be valuable for this business. * Tho 1 low -chocks are two pieces of wood boat; between these chocks is a mctiillic roller, fiiHtciietl upon each side of the stem of the over whicli the whale -lino runs. THE HUMPBACK WHALE. 4T O I ^ ^ ■^ c 'J. u < 0. 0 C/} i ^ 48 MARINE MAMMALS OF THE KORTII-WESTEllN COAST. PUTLINES OF A WuMPBACK, FROM ABOVE, .A.iV, ^' i.' ;'''■■ )^ -•^''^"^y^y Wl)ffeWT«iK-^^^W' ■^g^-" -ffww-ry ?:way«gi-^7'gr?wg*^-y Tpip r^Tggiw'w*^' '.J - .,jjyiiii.^«wP!W?^w J f i, CHAPTER IV. THE SHARP- HEADED FIXNEIl AVHALE. B,VL^NOPTE«A Davidson,, Scammon. (Plate vii. fig. 2.) « Jtn:„:ft;^t";!:L""n: ", ""^"" ': ™" «■« -»"- »"-- - ou .1,0 ,,...,,0,.,, „,.„,,. ;,,i '°,:^' ™V'° ■"•;—"-> »™ «,„„, ,„„, in „„„ .„ , : „, i , r " •'""";'" "■"°- "-« -l.lo, we,.„ „„1 „itl, -,i. .„„.„.„ .■.:.. ,;;",:";;i;:,rr ■" .""^"' '- "^■"'"° "•""'"'■■ "■■■ ■■'"' "— ' --•■■"--: :::.:r:;;;jr:4:L;: *nus fu3tu.s was roraarlmMy woll fomo.l "•"' '" l-i"t of colo,.-,„,u.K„, ..orreH„o.ulo.l witli Tro-n fork of ..,„,,, t„ ' „,<,,, „„ ';■ l!' t'"" "f ;-..., Ho„H.what d,n.u.... The following. H,.i,ht of .,o..„ . , ^ " ' i omt of sin.iit to i-ornor of moulli . 1 o Totnl lon-th '■'• '"• ^'"'"' "f """"t <" fy..H 1 2i (""u.lal (In botwecn rxircmitie^- ',' ! J!"""' "^ "'""" '" l'"'''""''« 1 lo' Width of rncl. lolm of c^.M lin " ' n jt ^ '''' "^ '""''' ^" '""■'"•'"'" " •' Mai.inj-mimmv,.,_7, "" " '"'" '"!' 'Jf '"""• to conici' of mouth 0 .] 50 MARINE MAMMALS OF THE NORTH-WESTERN COAST in it, five and a half feet long, which rrispelled all doubts in regard to i rity. The principal distinguishing features of this wJialo are, its dwarfish pointed head, which in form i>:?"mbles a beak; its low, falcated dorsal fi is placed about two- thirds of t',o length of the animal from the anterior c of its lower jaw, which is the longest; and its inordinately small, pointed ] which are marked with a wliite band vihovo and near their bases, and ai about one -third of the animal's lengtii from its anterior extremity. The baleen, in its natural state is of a pure white, with a short, thin fringe of color. The nuraljer of laminae on each side of the mouth was two hun( seventy, and the longest of these measured ten inches. The surface of tli was a dull Idack above, white below. The under side of both pectoral an fins was white also. Seventy longitudinal folds extended along the throat lower portitm of the body, between and a little behind the fins ; and, ^ outer surface of the folds was of a milky whiteness, the creases between tl of a pinkish cast, imparting the same shade to tl j tlu-oat ns far back as tl rals. The following table gives the proportions of this specimen : Lon{:fth of animal 2' Lciu'lh of jicctonils { ErciuUh of poetomls End of suout, to Kpiraclcs i End of snout to pcctoinls I End of Knout to corner spects like tlioso of the Finl TUE SHARP. UEADED FINNER WHALE. 5^ plainly accounts for whalemen taking it to ho tl,. . cetaceans , which latituaes. they oft.n hoot L T ^ '"? '"' ''' '"''^"'^ '''''''' '' ^-^^ '!-, CHAPTER V. THE BOWIIEAI), OR GllEAT POLAR WHALE. Bal^ina MYSTICETU8, Liiin. ( Pliito xi.) Tho Bowhoad, or Great Polar Wlialo, is by far the most valuabl'^, in a commer- cial point of view, of all tho BakcaklcE, and is the chief object of pursuit by tho whalemen in tlie northern seas. From its great j'ield of oil, which in some individ- uals has exceeded two hundred and seventy -five barrels, with a production of bono or baleen equal to over three thousand five hundred pounds,* one might suppose it to be the largest of all the Cetaceans. Such, however, is not the fact, for it seldom attains the length of sixty -five feet, and it is a stout whale which measures fifty feet between its extremities. The striking feature of the animal is its ponder- ous head, forming, as far as our observations go, more than one-third of the whole creature, which i-i short, bulk_y, and bloated in its appearance. Its upper jaw, or tlie top of the head, is curved downward more than tiiat of tlie Riglit AVliale {Bahana Slehnldii?), lu which it bears the nearest resemblance. To tlie edge of this jaw, the long, finely fringed, transverse layers of baleen are attached, projecting downward and i-utward, and hedging in, as it were, the animal's tongue, and all is in(dosed by the under lip when the mouth is shut. Tlie tongue is incapable of protrusion, being fixed from near its point to the root. It is a mass of spongy fiit, intermixed with sinewy fiesh, and yiehls one-tenth as much oil as the "bod^^-blub- ber." The two extended rows of baleen wliicli line tlu; sides of the upper jaw provide the means l)y wiiicii tlie animal secures its insect food, which is tlie chii-f sustenance of the colossal mysticetus. Its eyes, which in size (juadruple tliosc; of an ox, are ]>laced, one on each side, about a foot above and behind the angle of the mouth. The .spiracles are at the apex of the high protuberance on the liead, which is forward of the eyes. Its short l)ut heavy pectorals are placed about two feet from the e\ c-! and nearly in a horizontal line with them, Its ears are a little above and behind the eyes; they arc siiiii)ly openings, not over one-fourth of an * Vtde Roj-h' first, voynf+o in tlio Arctic. iw; im-),U"r the fol- J This may bo a fair average, and 370 is the lowing year. highest number wo have counted. IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 !f ia I I.I 1.25 2.5 '- ^^ III 2.2 2.0 U ill 1.6 <^ /a ei * *>..-■ ^>. '/ yS« Photographic Sdences Corporation 33 WIST MAI> .<: 'ftllT WIBSTIR.N.f. USSO (716) 873-4503 ^ \^' iV <^ 4 %. -."is '^.^k. <^^ ^^t K ^^%^*!^ #.^ 6^ o li ' 54 MARINE MAMMALS OF THE NORTU-WESTERN COAST. bono, seven pounds. The bone extends back of spout- holes in the throat three feet, and falls short of nib -end one foot. CAPTAIN smith's WHALE. Sex, male ; color above and below, black. Ft. In. Length 45 0 Girth in largest place ( behind pectorals ) 28 0 Length of pectorals 7 3 Breadth of pectorals 3 9 Nib-end or noso to pectorals 18 8 Corner of month to nib - end 16 0 Eye to nib -end IG 0 Spout-holes to nib-end 14 0 Length of opening to spout-holes ( longitudinally ) 1 2 Flukes from tip to tip 16 0 Width of flukes from notch to junction with the body 4 2 Vent to flukes 8 10 Genital slit to flukes 12 0 Size around the "small " at genital slit 19 0 Length of longest bono or baleen 9 6 Width of longest bone or baleen 1 0 Average thickness of blubber 0 9 Color of blubber, slightly reddish. The number of layers of bone on each side '! of the jaw was three iiundred and eight. The yield of oil was sixty barrels ; yield ii of bone, one thousand and fifty pounds. % When the Bowliead feeds, it moves through its native clement, either below or III near the surface, with considerable velocity, its jaws being open, whereby a body of water enters its capacious mouth, and along with it the auimalcula) (termed by the wlialemen "Right Whale feed," or "brit"). The water escapes through the layers of baleen,* but the insect food is retained l)y the fine fringes on its inner edges, and is afterward swallowed. When not disturl)ed, the animal remains up, generally, to respire, from one and a half to two and a half minutes, during which time it spouts from six to nine times, and then disappears for tho space of ten to twenty minutes. The volume of vapor ejected is similar to that of the Right Whale. Sometimes, when engaged in feeding, it remains down for twenty -five minutes or 1 I * *For illustrations of loyers of bolccn, or ius); Right Whalo of tho North-western Coast, "slabs of bono," as nomod hy whalers, see {Jhlnaa SiebokUif); Sulphurbottom, {SWbaldiua page 55, which shows tho relative proportions nu)/urcug); Humpback (Miyai^ira veraabilis); and of tho baleon of tho Dowhcad, {Dalaina mystice- tho California Gray {lihachiancctea ylauctiB). THE BOWUEAD, OR GREAT POLAR WHALE. ''■/■. ii Tlio nbovo illustration rpprosonts tlio relative proportions of the full-grown bnlccn of different Hpcfics of wlmlt'lxiiu' vlmloH, rh follows ; 1. a. 3, 4. c. «. lliileon of the Dowliciul, or Oioiit Polar Wlmlo. Balopu of tlio Kiyht AVlmlo of the North-western Const. Baleen of tlio Hiil])hurl)<)ttom AVluile. Baleen of the Humpback AVlialc. Baleen of the Californiu CI my AVhalc. Baleen of the California Gray Whalo. in a section, showing the tnannor of its being nnleddeil in the gun; of the jaw. Baleen of the California Gray Whale, in a section, showing how the fringes lie across. ii I 56 MARINE MAMMALS OF THE NORTIl-WEHTERN COAST. (I \k c n 0 0 VI c I I ■111* tp' Twwwwww^imipyniiii II ,!■ .-fei; ■•■1< .; ' r r^^"" , '1^1'^ ^./ if '^1 n ..W t: A3 ■J 'J )IAH.E -V. ''.'.!/.•.'/. V f.F THE Xo U'n! ' 'iTFny in. 1ST. :3 * y-^'^: i. m •r z / !-.1 /'•'■ r 0 / \ \ \.c / /■ ^. m ':-*■. Plate X. :br^:^r p 1/ .sJ V •-. -' y- •\ 9 »' SfitfM d -^f^. ^'£A EYK AND PARASITES OV HALEEW WHALES. Via.l. CYAMU3 aCAMMatU.DALL ♦ i FI8 + HIGHT KTB UK HUMPBAnK,n«i »i2B. t. SCYAMim MT.'iTICETI.DALl. ♦ •< „ 5, QTIUM 3T1MP;10NT PAU. n»' sjn IStasiit Oh Ca»ciM. u D.^i. t v») „ 3,CYAKl.'b SUFVUSTl.'J TjALI, » *■ „ 6. CR-iTTl t.El'AS RHAi.UlAIItCTI DAL.I.. • ^, n nPT^BI^^^Vv ..ir- THE BOWHEAD, OR GREAT POLAR WHALE. 67 more. The depth to whicli the animal descends when pursued is not accurately known, for as a general rule, it has been captured "on soundings" in the Arctic Ocean and Behring Sea, as well as in the Sea of Okhotsk, where the depths, in places, do not exceed a hundred fothoms, and from that to less than fifty. Some- times they have been taken in very shallow water ; yet this animal, when in deep water, has been known to. "sound out" a line, in its descent and return, equal to a mile in length. But it must not be inferred that this was done by the perpendic- ular course of the whale, for it is found that the line runs out with great swiftness, when the creature begins its return to the surface. Repeated instances have occurred, where the animal, after being fastened to, would "sound;" and, if the bottom was soft, would there remain motionless for quite an incredible length of time for this species of Cetacea. In several cases, individuals have held their pur- suers in momentary expectation of their rising, for an hour or more. One instance occurred with Captain Comstock, (a well-known whaling -master), in the Arctic Ocean, when, after fastening to a huge Bowhead, the creature descended to the muddy bottom, and there remained for an hour and twenty minutes. The day was unusually cold, and the men in the boats became much chilled during this period of inactivity ; and to use the captain's own words, when giving an account of the incident, "The old sogger nearly played us a game of freeze - out." When the whale returned to the top of the water, it was literally covered with mud, and appeared much exhausted. A thrust of the lance prevented the animal from again "sounding," and after throwing up hetvy volumes of thick blood, in its spoutings, it rolled over, "fin out," with but slight struggling. The Arctic Bowhead is comparatively free from parasitic crustaceans, as well as barnacles. Occasionally, however, a species of Cyamus-f is present about the head or fins. The range of this animal extends east and west from Nova Zembla to the coast of Eastern Siberia. Its northern limits remain undefined ; and it is sel- •fWe quote the following from Dall's paper yellow. Length 33 inches; breadth (of body) on the Cyamua myaliceti. See illustration, plate K^ inches. Two female specimens. J fi„^ 2: Habitot, on the northern Bowhead Whale, probably BaUena myslicelua, Linn., near Behring Cyamus mysticeti, n. sp. Body flattened, and Strait, subovate, segments adjacent. Branchio) single, This is the most compact of the three spe- short, stout, pedunculated, a single papilliform ciea, as well as the smallest. I find, in compar- appendage behind each. Head short and wide. ing large series of C. Scammoni, that a consid- First pair of legs very small. Hands all simple erable variation in form obtains so far as re- and smooth, fingers greatly recurved. Carpal ar- gards comparative length and breadth, even in ticulation in the second pair of hands, holf way adult specimens, and these differences are great- between the proiumal and distal ends of the er than those observed, in the same characters, hand. Fleon very minute. Color dork brownish between the sexes. llAamc Mamhau.— a. , t 68 MARINE MAMMALS OF THE NORTH-WESTERN COAST. dom seen in Behring Sea south of the fifty- fifth parallel, which is about the far- thest southern extent of the winter ice ; while in the Sea of Okhotsk the southern limit of this species is about the latitude of 54°. In tracing the history of its capture, we can revert to the Dutch and Russian fishery about Spitzbergen anterior to 1C15, and we find that, as years passed on, it was extended westward, on the Atlantic side, as far as the icy barriers in Davis Strait, and the adjacent waters connecting with the Frozen Ocean. Everything tends to prove that the Balcma mys- ticetus is truly an "ice -whale," for among the scattered floes, or about the borders of the ice-fields or barriers, is its home and feeding -ground. It is true that these animals are pursued in the open water during the summer months, but in no ■' instance have we learned of their being captured south of where winter ice-fields are occasionally met with. In the Okhotsk Sea and its bays, these whales are found throughout the season, after the ice disappears ; nevertheless, they remain around the floes until dispelled by the summer sun ; and they are found in the same localities even after the surface of the water has again become congealed by the rigors of returning winter. Right whales were pursued for several years on the North-western Coast, on the coast of Kamschatka, about the Kurile Islands, and in the Japan Sea, before Bowheads were known to exist in that part of the Arctic Ocean adjoining Behring Strait, or in the Okhotsk Sea. In the year 1848, Captain Rbys, in the American bark Superior, was the first whaling -master to work his vessel through Behring Strait into the Arctic Ocean, and there found whales innumerable, some of which yielded two hundred and eighty barrels of oil. The '.abits of the Bowhead are, in many respects, like those of the Humpback, ' being irregular in its movements, in its respirations, and in the periods of time cither above or below the surface of the Avater. When going gently along, or lying , quietly, it shows two portions of the body : the spout- holes, and a part of the back, on account of the high conical shape of the former, and the swell of the latter, which is about midway between the spout- holes and flukes. The Bowheads if the Arctic may be classed as follows : Ist class — the largest whales, of a browr. color ; average yield of oil two hundred barrels. 2d class — smaller, color black; yield of oil one hundred barrels. 3d class — the smallest, color black; yield of oil seventy -five barrels.* Those belonging to the last named class are generally found among the broken floes the first of the season, and they have been known to break through ice, three inches in thickness, that had been * We do not mean to convey the idea of ape- our acquaintance agree that the difference in size ries when mentioning classeB, as all observers of and shade of color arises from differance in age. THE BOWHEAD, OB QBEAT POLAB WH4LE. 59 formed over water between the floes. They do this by coming up under and strik- ing it with the arched portion of their heads. Hence they have been called "ice- breakers." In point of color, nearly all are found with more or less white on the under side, especially about the throat and flns. Whalers bound to the Arctic are generally at the "edge of the ice," which is met with near lat. 60°, about the Ist of May. They then work their way north- ward as fast as the broken floes will permit, keeping as near shore as practicable, in order to be on the best "whale -ground," and to avoid the ice. Many whales were formerly taken off Karaginski Island, lat. 59% on the coast of Kamschatka. Bch- ring Strait is sufficiently clear of ice from the 1st to the 20th of July, for ships to navigate with comparative safety. A large fleet collect, and grope their way through ice and fog into the Arctic (as teimed), and frequently reach the high latitude of 72° north. Occasionally an open season occurs, when whalemen hazard their ships around Point Barrow. Captain Roys entered the ocean in the middle of July, and left on the 28th of August, but at the present time ships remain until October. The pnncipal herding -places of the Bowheads in the Okhotsk were at the ex- tremities of this great sheet of water, the most northern being the North -cast Gulf (Gulf 01" Obijigha), the most southern, Tchantar Bay. The whales did not make their appearance in North-east Gulf so soon as in the bay. Whalers endeavored, as soon as possible, to get to the head of Tchantar Bay, where they found the objects of pursuit in the intermediate water, between the ice and the shore, long before the main body of the congealed mass was broken up, and before the ships could get between the ice and the shore, even at high tide — the boats being sent forward weeks previous to the ships. Soon after the ships' arrival, the whales avoided their pursuers by going under the main body of ice, situated in the middle of the bay, where they found breathing- holes among the floes. The boats cruised about the edge of this barrier, watching for them to emerge from their covert, which occasionally they did, when chase was instantly given. Frequently, in sailing along this ice -Held, you could hear distinctly the sound of whales blowing among it, when no water was visible at the point whence the sound came. The first of the season, before the ice broke up and disappeared, when there were "no whales about," the question was frequently asked, "Where are the whales?" and as often answered, "They are in the ice;" and, "When do you think they will come out?" was answered by, "When the ice leaves." It has been established, beyond question, that this species pass from the Atlantic to the Pacific, or rather, if we may be al- lowed the expression, from the Atlantic Arctic to the Pacific Arctic, by the north ; and, too, it is equally certain that numerous air-holes always exist in the ice that fi i 60 MARINE MAMMALS OF THE NORTH-WESTERN COAST. covers the Arctic waters, even in the coldest latitudes. These fissures are caused by the rise and fall of the tides, and contraction and expansion of the ice. Storms acting upon the water hundreds of miles distant also have their influence in rend- ing asunder the icy fetters of those frozen aeas. It appears to us not improbable that the Bowhead, has a feeding and breeding ground in a polar sea. And as they have never been seen during the winter months in any other quarter of the globe, except as before raentiored, it would appear that they must either remain among the rough water and broken ice, a( the southern edge of the winter barrier, or migrate to some remote sea unknown to man. OKHOTSK SEA BOGHEADS. The preceding remarks have been confined chiefly to the Bowheads of the Arc- tic, in the vicinity of Behring Strait, north and south. The Okhotsk Sea at one time equaled if not surpassed the Arctic as a productive whaling -ground. Our memorandum does not state with certainty what year Bowheads were first taken in the Okhotsk. It, however, was not earlier than 1847, nor later than 1849.* They were found to be easy of capture, and yielded a large amount of oil and bone. On making further explorations, the whales appeared in great numbers, and, from the peculiar shape of the head, the spout- holes terminating in a sort of cone, they were at that time called "steeple -tops." But a few years elapsed before a large fleet of ships was pursuing the animals throughout the whole extent of this vast inland water. Tchantar Bay, Taousk and Penjinsk gulfs soon became noted whaling -grounds, as well as several other points about the coasts. The Avhales of this sea, as far as known, are the same species as those of the Arctic ; although in the bays is found, in addition, a very small whale called the "Poggy," which yields but little oil (twenty to twenty-five barrels). f Many whalemen are of the « * Captain J. H. Swift, ytho was cruising in enced and yery intelligent whaling -masters, it Behring Sea about the year 1847, is quite posi- is desired to make mention, that we are under tive that the French ship Asia was the first to much obligation to them for valuable data in take Bowheads in the Okhotsk (in 1847). Cap- relation to several species of Cetacea, more es- tain Roys, of Arctic notoriety ( before spoken pecially as they are regarded as very correct and of), in a recent interview, seemed equally cer- close observers of the habits of whales. tain that the Asia was not the first to take Bow- t We are convinced that there are two van- heads in that sea. He thinks none were taken eties of Bowheads, which are found on the same till 1848 or 1849, and that the American ship ground. The variation from the animal above Huntsville, Captain Freeman Smith, was about described is a bunch, or sort of hump, present the first, if not the Jirsl, to take Bowheads in on the top of the "small," which is situated that region. In justice to both of these experi- about six feet forward of the flukes, extending i ' THE BOWHEAD, OR GREAT POLAR WHALE. ei opinion that this is a different species. There is little doubt, however, of this being a young whale of the same species, as its blubber is close and fine, produc- ing but little oil in proportion to size of body, as is the case with all calves or young whales of every description.* BOWHEAD WHALING. In the Arctic r>id about Behring Sea, the whaling is "done from the ship," as it is termed: i. e., the vessels cruise, and the look-outs are kept aloft as usual, and when whales are seen, the boats are I'^'vered and the pursuit is carried on in sight from the ships, unless obscured by fo^-. In the Okhotsk, much of the vhal- ing is about the bays, particularly Tchantar Bay, and contiguous waters. The nat- ure of the pursuit is such, iu these locu 'ties, that the inodua operandi is quite differ- ent. Vessels bound to Tchintar Bay endeavor to approach the land off Aian, if the along the top of the back two to three feet, and in some individuals rises in the highest plnce about six inches. The sketch on page 56 will perhaps better represent the difference in shape, than a written description. Captain Boys sajs he has repeatedly taken them in the Arctic, as well as in the Okhotsk. They have been fre- quently taken in the Norih-east Gulf (Okhotsk Sea). Our personal observation was only on a dead one (in Tchantar Bay, 18C2), and on that individual the protuberance was so slight, that it would not have been noticed unless our par- ticular attention had been called to it. Captain Bandolph, of the American whale -ship South Boston (1862), informed us at the time that nearly all the whales he had taken that season in the North-east Gulf were " Bunchbacks," and yielded a very large amount of bone in propor- tion to yield of oil. Captain Boys also men- tioned that one season he took numbers of them, and to distinguish them from others they were then called "Bunchbacks." Several whaling- masters who have taken them observed that the spiracles are usually situated higher than upon those not having the bunch or hump on tJho " small." * Captain Boys is of the opinion that the Bowheads breed but slowly. Moreover, his ob- servations of many years in northern whaling, goes to show that the young of this species suck but a short time compared with other ceta- ceous animalR. This opinion seems quite con- clusive when we compare the immense head and baleen of even the smallest individuals with those of other species, as though nature had provided them with immensely capacious iLouths to gather insect food, instead of drawing suste- nance from the dam. As to the linear propor- tions of the young of the Bowhead, in com- parison with the dam, there is a diversity of opinion among those whalers who may be relied upon as men of excellent judgment, but a large majority maintain that the calf is not over one- fourth the length of the cow, and usually the proportions would bo nearer one -fifth. From our own observations on the young of other whales, we have arrived at the conclusion that there is considerable diversity of size in the young of all whales when first bom; and their rapid growth, imtil weaned, may doubtless be ascribed to the constant attention of the mother, iu affordihg her offspring a bountiful supply of nutritious milk from her capacious and prolific udder. 62 MARINE MAMMALS OF THE NORTH-WESTERN COAST. ice will permit, which ia generally suflSciently broken and scattered by the 20th of June ; then, working along between the ice and the Siberian coast, to the south- ward, as far as practicable with the ships, they dispatch boats to follow along the shore and if possible to reach the head of Tchantar Bay, where whales in former years were to be found in very large numbers. These expeditions were always attended with excessive labor, and much exposure as well as risk to the crews. Frequent instances have been known of boats leaving the ships off Aian, then threading their way along the coast, between the masses of ice, or between the ice and shore, as the ebb or flood tides would permit, until they reached the head of Tchantar Bay. On reaching their destination, and finding whales plenty they immediately commenced whaling, and by the time the ships arrived, in several instances, whales enough had been taken to yield a thousand barrels of oil. The elapsed time from leaving the ship till again joining the vessel in the bay would vary, from one to three weeks. Meanwhile, the crews lived in or around their boats, being afloat when making the passage or engaged in whaling ; and when driven to the shore by the ice or by stormy weather, or resorting thither to cook their food, or sleep, the boats were hauled up and turned partially over for shelter, and tents were pitched with the sails. Fallen trees or drift-wood furnished abundance of fuel, and by a rousing fire all slept soundly when an opportunity oflcred ; but the more abundant the whales, the less the chance of sleep for the whalemen in those high latitudes, where daylight lasts nearly through the twenty- four hours during summer. TCnANTAR BAY WHALING. Arrived on the ground, with the boats, all surplus provisions and outfits are quickly landed, and the chase begins. Frequent spouts in the air tell that the animals are all around. One of the number breaks the smooth surface of the water, between the land and ice, and is at once pursuod ; but perhaps, before the boat can reach within darting or shooting distance, the animal goes down. Then cornea an impatient waiting for it to rise again. As the Bowliead is irregular in its course, when next seen it may be in another direction. Quickly the boat is headed for it, and before approaching near enough the whale goes down again. In this way the chase is frequently prolonged, sometimes abandoned, and other whales Ttursued ; or, it may be that, when nearly within reach, the animal glides under a floe and thus evades its pursuers ; or, if harpooned, it may run for the ice, and before being killed reaches it, and escapes with harpoons, lines, etc. If the pursuit proves successful, the captured whale is towed to the beach at high tide, and a THE BOWHEAD, OR OBEAT POLAB WHALE. 68 scarf is cut along the body and through the blubber, to 'which one end of a tackle is hooked, the other end being made fast on shore ; then as the tide falls the ani- mal is literally skinned, the carcass rolling down the bank as the process goes on. The bone is extracted from the mouth as the animal is rolled over and presents the best opportunity. As soon as the blubber is taken oflF it is "rafted,"* and lies in the water until taken on board ship. The water being very cold, the blubber remains in its natural state for a long time, retaining the oil with but small loss. Whi'o the whaling is going on in this wise, the captain and the "ship -keepers" improve every opportunity to work the vessel near the whales. If there is an opening between the ice and the shore, she is at once worked through, either by towing, kedging, or sailing. On meeting an adverse wind or tide, the vessel is an- chored with a very light anchor, so that if beset by ice unexpectedly, in the night or during the dense fogs which prevail, the vessel will drift with the floe, thereby avoiding the danger of being cut through. Heavy fogs prevail until the ice disap- pears, and the circumscribed clear water being crowded with vessels and boats, much care and maneuvring is exercised to prevent accident. These fogs frequently are so dense that no object can be seen much farther off than a ship's length ; conse- quently, at such times cruising and whaling in the bays is full of excitement and anxiety. A ship may be lying quietly at anchor one moment, and the next be surrounded by a field of ice, or the close proximity of another vessel may be re- vealed by the splashing of the water under her bow. Then comes the blowing of horns, the ringing of bolls, the firing of guns, or pounding on empty casks, to in- dicate the ship's position, in order to avoid collision. Neither fog nor drifting ice, however, prevents the whalers from vigorously prosecuting their work. In thick weather, when neither the spout of tiio whale nor the animal itself can be seen, its hollow -sounding respiration may be heard a long distance. In such instances the boats approach as near as can be judged where the sound was heard, and if the animal is found and captured, it is at the risk of the boats coming in contact with passing ships, ice, or what not — and, too, not knowing with any degree of certainty what part of the bay they mny be in, the first and main object being to capture the whale at all hazards. This being done, it is taken in tow by the boats, or is anchored. Then, if the crew can not discover their own biiip, but meet with another, the custom is to go on board to eat or sleep, if nece.isary. and when recruited, or the fog lifts so as to give them a chance of finding their own vessel, they are supplied with provisions, if needed, until they • Tied together with ropeB in a sort of raft. 64 MARINE MAMMALS OF THE NORTH-WESTERN COAST. can reach her. If anchored, one boat always remains with the whale while the others go in search of the ship. As soon as found, the master, learning of the capture, makes every effort to work his vessel to the dead animal ; or, if that can not be done, every favorable tide is improved to tow the whale to the ship, where it is cut in and tried out in the usual manner. As the season advances the ice disappears, leaving more room for cruising with the vessels, when the fleet becomes scattered, and tlie features of the whaling change. The boats are then kept more of the time on board, look-outs are stationed at the mast-heads, and the whal- ing is principally "done from the ship." Sometimes two boats are sent to look for whales in an adjoaiing bay. Meanwhile the nights have become longer. Then comes the "night- whaling." The phosphorescent light caused by the whale's movements in the water shows quite distinctly his whereabout, and, the Bowhead whales being easy of capture compared with other kinds, "night -whaling" is often successfully pursued. We have spoken of the Bowheads as being comparatively easy of capture but it must not bo inferred that the pursuit is not often tedious or unsuccessful, nor is the attack made without risk of life or limb, as well as in other kinds of whaling. The Bowheads, compared with other species ol whales that are pursued, are con- sidered very shy and timid. After the ice leaves the bays, until the fall winds begin, much calm weather is experienced ; and, although we have frequently seen largo numbers of whales spouting among many boats scattered over the water, not a single animal could be approached near enough to "dart at" with the hand- har- poon, or to present a fair chance to shoot a bomb -lance into it, notwithstanding the boats were rigged with extra large sails, in order to take advantage of the light airs or winds that may prevail in midsummer. The use of oars or paddles would be quite sure to frighten the whales, and when tiiero is not sufficionl; wind "to sail on to them" there is but little or no chance of "getting fast." After the "irons" are firmly planted in the animal, or, as we frequently hear whalemen say, "after the whale has boon fastened to, good and solid," down the creature may go to the bottom, and there roll until cither the "irons" are torn from its body or the lino is wound about it, and the valuable prize may bo lost. Cases have oc- curred where the animal, after being "fastened to," has darted to the depths be- neath in such a state of trepidation as to unhoodingly strike the rocks or sand, with so much force as to dislocate its head -bones, and cause instant death. The breeding - places of the Bowheads soom to bo a matter of conjecture among the most observing and experienced whaling- masters. The only place known has already been mentioned, in the vicinity of Tchantar Bay ; and a diflcrenco of •_W:^ THE BOWHEAD, on GREAT POLAB WHALE. M opinion exi.t, as to wLelher the "Pogglcs" before mentioned are cl,e., or whether they are not a "^e^g- .peeiee, which have a corresponding relation rtlet, grown Bowhead, that .he "ecrag" Right Whale I.,, .o .hel^^er ld« of hai ™/^:'tth"'""'"^' ""' '""^ '" "' '""•'' "»-■ their'njh:!^:^" t^e elwf , . """""■""' '"'°«™^ """ "" "■PP"'"'' '» ^ •"■■o-ght forth by Okholek Sea have ever been seen passing in or out the passage, of the Kurile where the B , . \T*°'' """"^^ *° """' "''""'""""' «">alem',, a, to I ned 1^ ;°'°'*''' '° '""« '""■"' "■* ^"""8. " »'-« «.« young re- ThT, b r" ° ---"W" degree of maturity; but within a L year^ hales have been seen around Point Borrow with young calves, and that relte hue of open water, .nacecssible to ships, between the summer i e-border andth^ northern shores of the American continent, from Point Barrow to Zks' Lid doubtless affords ample herding and breeding places for the mysticeTestnd roroTaU Which are indigenous to those icy regions. rorquals Mumn w.inf^tj _ f CHAPTER VI. RIGHT WHALE OF THE NORTH-WESTERN COAST. Balsna SiEBOLDn? Oray. (Plate xii.) This great northern baleen whale, in its principal proportions, resembles the Bakma mysticetus. The latter, however, is destitute of the protuberance called the "bonnet," upon the anterior extremity of its beak -like upper jaw, which is a I peculiarly prominent feature of the Bakena Sieboldii. The color of the Right Whale , is generally black, yet there are many individuals with more or less white about the li throat and pectorals, and sometimes they arc pied all over. Its average adult length i may be calculated at sixty feet — it rarely attains to seventy feet — and the two I sexes vary but little in size. Its head is very nearlN one -third the length of the I whole animal, and the upper intermediate portion, or the part between the spiracles and "bonnet," has not that even spherical form, or the smooth and glossy surface ',; present with the Bowhead, but i.s more or less ridgy crosswise. Both lips and head I have wart- like bunches moderately developed, and in some cases the upper surfoce ! of the head and fins is infested with parasitical crustaceans. Its tongue yields oil I like the mysticetus, but its baleen is shorter and of a coarser and less flexible ' nature. The average product of oil of the BalcBim Sieboldii may be set down at one hundred and thirty barrels ; yet there have been many individuals of this species, I captured in early times, that yielded from two hundred to two hundi 1 and eighty barrels. The amount of bone ranges from one thousand to fifteen hundred pounds. In former years, the Right Whales were found on the coast of Oregon, and occa- sionally in large numbers ; but their chief resort was upon what is termed the "Kodiak Ground," the liuiits of which extended from Vancouver's Island north- t westward to the Aleutian Chain, and from the coast westward to longitude 150". In the southern portion of Behring Sea, also tipon the coast of Kamschatka, and * in the Okhotsk Sea, they congregated in large numbers. The few frequenting the coast of California are supposed to have been merely stragglers from their northern haunts. Some, indeed, have been taken (from February to April) as far south as [MJ BIGHT WHALE OF THE NORTH-WESTERN COAST. 67 the Bay of San Sebastian Viscaino, and about Cedros or Cerros Island, both places being near the parallel of 29° north latitude; while on the North-western Coast they are captured by the whalers from April to September, inclusive. The Bahma SiMdii is regarded as being a distinct species from the southern Right Whale, and is universally known, by American whalemen, as the "North-west Whale." This distinguished baleen animal of the north, in its geographical distribution, ranges to the Japan Sea and Gulf of Tartary ; but how many species or varieties are included under this name is not within our province to decide. Our observations, however, make it certain that there is a "scrag" Right Whale in the North Pacific which corresponds very nearly to that of the southern ocean, known under the teciinical name of BaloBna gibbosa? and which yields a paltry amount of oil. The time of gestation with the Balceiia Sieboldii is not known, but is supposed to be nearly one year ; tiie dam usually producing but one young at a birth, although, in some instances, twins have been observed. The new-born "sucker" is about one -fourth the length of the parent animal, which relative proportions are approximately uniform in all the whalebone whales which we have had the oppor- tunity of examining. It has ever been a matter of mysterious conjecture with the most philosophical whalemen, where the northern Right Whales go to bring forth their young, and whither they migrate during the winter months. That they do not go into the southern hemisphere is well known, and it is equally certain that but a few stragglers, even, roach within a number of degrees of the northern tropic in their -.vanderings. The Esquimaux about the no. ih- western shores of Behring Sea speak about the Bakena mysticetus resorting to the bays when the "small ice comes," and they look forward to that season as a time of plenty, and reap a kind of marine harvest by catching numbers of them, thus securing an abundant supply of food for winter store. It seems, therefore, beyond question, that the mysticetus is quite at homo in that region at the beginning of the Arctic winter, and the immense numbers of Bowheads and Right Whales that would necessarily appear in ■•he temperate latitudes, if they migrated southward, would be sure to arrest the attention of passing navigators, who frequently go fur north, even in the winter Bcaso)), to make their passages from China and Japan. Some have asserted that these animals probably congregate around the borders of the drifting or field ice, which joins the open water of the Pacific about the Kurile and Aleutian Islands. All agree that they do not pass the tropics and reach the southern ocean. The Bouthcrn Right Whales resort to the bays in that region to bring forth their young, and formerly were sought for in the inland waters of those high soutliern latitudes, where many a ship quickly completed her cargo by bay -whaling. But no bay has 68 MARINE MAMMALS OF THE NORTH-WESTERN COAST. yet been discovered north of the equator, in the Pacific, where the north-western Right Whales go to calve ; and, as before mentioned, nothing is definitely known of their winter resort. The last seen of them in high latitudes, by whalemen, is on their return from the Arctic Ocean, when they are found in the vicinity of St. Paul's Island, Behring Sea, in the month of October, end these are usually very large. In view of all the facts we have been able to gather, there is little doubt that these gigantic animals, although of another group, have the same constitutional habits as the Sperm Whales, of bringing forth their young at any time or place that nature may require, without resorting to sheltered inland retreats. In the Okhotsk Sea, the Right Whale is found toward the northern borders in the early part of the season ; later, the ships cruise in the southern quarter, about the Kurile Islands. We find the habits of these animals, when roaming over the ocean, full of interest. 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 liscern from the mast-head. Toward the last of the season they are seen in large numbers, crowded together. These herds are called "gams," and they are regarded by experienced whalemen as an indication that the whales will soon leave the ground. 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 some- what 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 diificult to get near to, especially in calm weather. The manner of propelling the boat at such times is by paddling, and when there is a breeze, by sailing, if practicable, using the oars only when it is not possible to use sails or paddles. Sometimes, during the first of the season, the animals are very wild and shy, and for days in succession the boats may be in hot pursuit without success. Among right- whalemen there is a difi'erence of opinion about "going on to a whale,"* whether it is best to get out of or into its wake, to avoid "gallying" it. As regards safety, some prefer to have a good breeze ; then, setting all practicable * "Going on to a whale" ia a whaleman's term for getting near enough to dart the harpoon. [ CM. ScauMr.jn del. RIGHT WHALK OF THE Plate xn:. EST COAST [HMuKUA 3iKR;H.r):: ;■. -ray) Bri'Cr A Rev /-if.*) tjju im^wKii wt ^mmrmv^mi^r' THE BIGHT WHALE OF THE NORTH-WESTERN COAST. 69 sail, "run over" the animal to leeward, at the same time that the harpoon is thrown. The whale, after being struck, often runs to windward, thrashing its flukes in cve.y direction. After going a short distance, it frequently stops, or "brings to," "sweeping" as it is said, "from eye to eye," and at the same time making a terrific noise called "bellowing;" this sound is compared to that of a mammoth bull, and adds much to the excitement of the chase and capture. Others will not stop until they are hamstrung, as it were, by "spading." The spading process is performed by hauling the boat near enough to cut the cords that connect the body and the flukes, either on the top or underneath, as the attitude of the animal may be. A large vein runs alonf^ the underside of the "small," terminating at the junc- tion of the caudal fin, which, if cut, will give the creature its death -wound. The instrument used for cutting is called a "boat- spade," which may be compared to a very wide chisel, with a handle six or eight feet long. Sometimes the cords are so efTectually severed that the flukes become entirely useless, and still the animal hardly slackens its speed perceptibly, showing, evidently, that its pectorals are pow- erful pi'opellers. Another mode of stopping the whale is by throwing a number of harpoons, detached from the line, into the "small;" a kind of torture that would, if the bleeding victim could speak, cause it to entreat its tormentors to put an end to its misery. Yet not unfrequently, after being lacerated on every side, it holds its human pursuers at bay by assuming a vertical attitude, with flukes upper- most, which are dashed in every direction witli a furious swoop, hurling sheets of spray and foaming water into the boats, and often nearly fllling them. But when once "brought to" it will remain quite stationary for a few minutes, or roll from side to side, giving the officer of the boat a good opportunity to shoot a bomb -lance, or use the hand -lance with goou effect, which soon dispatches it. Sometimes, however, one of these huge animals, in spite of the bo:ab-guns, har- poons, and all the whaling-gear combined, will, after being "fastened to," make the best of its way to windward with the boat, taking it so far from the ship as to oblige the men to cut the line and give up the chase. Of late, Greener's gun has been used to some extent in its capture. But before harpoon or bomb guns came into general use, the whalemen of the North-western Coast made such havoc among these colossal animals (which were regarded as the most vicious of their kind), as to have nearly extirpated them, or driven them to some unknown feed- ing-ground. CHAPTER VII. THE SULPnURBOTTOM WHALE. SiBBALDirs ' BDLFUBEiTB, Ci)pe. (Plate xiii.) The largest whale found up^i the coast, and the largest known, is the Sul- phurbottora. Never having had an opportunity of obtaining an accurate measure- ment of its proportions, we can only state them approximately. Length, sixty to one hundred feet.* Its body is comparatively more slender than that of the Cali- fornia Gray. Its pectorals are proportionately small, even in comparison with the Sperm Whale's, which in size and shape they very nearly resemble, being short and rounded at their extremities. Its caudal fin bears about the same proportion to the body as does that of the Finback, while its dorsal is much smaller and nearer the posterior extremity. Its head is more elongated ih^n the Finncr's ; its baleen is broader at the base, the color being a jet black in several specimens we have examined, while others were of a bluish hue. The Sulphurbottom, in its food and manner of feeding, is like the other whales of its genus. It is a true rorqual, with folds beneath the anterior portion of the animal, which are a series of fine longitudinal furrows. The color of this, the greatest Avhale of the ocean, is some- what lighter than the dull black of the lesser rorquals, and in some instances it is a very light brown, approaching to white ; but underneath it is of a yellowish cast or sulphur color, whence the name "Sulphurbottom" is supposed to have arisen. Its coating of blubber is unevenly distributed over its body, massively covering the top of the head, but more thinly disseminated over the main portion of the trunk ; while the posterior extremity, between the trunk and caudal fin, is more heavily infolded with the oily covering than all the rost. ♦Captain Roys, of whaling notoriety, has Length, 95 feet; girth, 39 feet; length of kindly furnished me with the following memo- jaw-bone, 21 feet: length of longest baleen, 4 randa of a Sulphurbottom whale, which was feet; yield of baleen, 800 pounds; yield of oil, taken by him while be was in command of the 110 barrels; weight of the whole animal, by barque Iceland: calculation, 147 tons. [WI THE SULPHURBOTTOM WHALE. 71 A Sulphurbottom whale is found in the Atlantic as well as in the Pacific. The Pacific species occurs at all seasons on the coasts of the Californias. Diiring the months from May to September, inclusive, they are often found in large num- bers 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 they do noi approach ves- sels with the same boldness that the Finback does, although 'vo have observed them following in a vessel's wake for several leagues.* ♦Through the kindness of Doctor J. D. B. Stillman, of San FraHcisco, Cal., wo give the following extracts from Lis journal of a voyage between that port and Realejo, Central America, in 1850, in relation to a Sulphurbottom which followed the ship Plymouth, in which the Doctor sailed, for twenty -four consecutive days. The account is os follows: " November 13th : We are witnesses of a very remarkable exhibition of the social disposition of the whale. A week v ■> to- day, we passed several, and during the after- noon it was discovered that one of taem contin. ued to follow us, and was becoming more famil- iar, keeping under the ship and only coming out to breathe. A great deal of uneasiness was felt, lest in his careless gambols he might un- ship our rudder, or do us some other damage. It was said that bilge -water would drive him off, and the pumps were started, but to no pur- pose. At length more violent means were re- sorted to; volley after volley of rifle-shots were fired into him, billets of wood, bottles, etc., were thrown upon his head with such force as to separate the integument ; to all of which he paid not the slightest attention, and he still continued to swim under us, keeping our exact rate of speed, whether iu calm or storm, and rising to blow almost into the cabin windows. He seems determined to stay with us until ho can find better company. His length is about eighty feet; his tail measures about twelv' feet across; and in the calm, as we look down into the transparent water, we see him in all his huge proportons. November 20th: The bark Elrkwood hove \ sight, and bore down to speak us. When off a mile or two to leeward, our whale left us and went to her, but returned soon after. He showed great restlessness last night; and to-day, whenever we stood off on the outward tack, he kept close below us, and rose just under our quarter, and most commonly to windward, to blow. But whenever we stood toward the land he invariably hung back and showed discontent. This afternoon he left us. It is now twenty -foui* days since ho attached himself to us, and during that time he has fol- lowed us as faithfully as a dog an emigrant's wagon. At first we abused him in every way that our ingenuity could devise to drive him off, lest he might do us some mischief ; but, save some scratches he received from our ship's cop- pering, and numerous sloughing sores, caused by the balls that had been fired into him, no damngo was received by either of us from his close companionship, though cur white paint was badly stained by the impurity of his breath. We long since ceased our efforts to annoy him, and had become attached to him as to a dog. We had named him 'Blowhard,' and even fan- cied, as we called him, that he came closer under our quarter, when I felt like patting his glabrous sides, and saying : ' Good old fellow, ' As the water grew shoaler he left us, with re- gret unfeigned on our part, and apparently so on his. This story of the whale is so remark- able, that were there not so many witnesses, I would not venture to tell it, lest I he accused of exaggeration. There were a number of ex- perienced whalemen among our passengers, who said the animal was a 'Sulphurbottom.'" 78 MARINE MAMMALS OF THE NORTH-WESTERN COAST. It is rarely that the Sulphurbottom "bolts" or "breaches," yet, when engaged in this sprightly act, the animal presents itself in that degree of magnificence which is commensurate with its inordinate activity and immense proportions. The Sul- phurbottom is considered the swiftest whale afloat, and for this reason is but seldom pursued, and still more rarely taken. Captain Thomas, of the bark Lagrange, in 1857, off San Bartolome Bay, caught one by first shooting a bomb -lance into a vital part; and although the whale ran a long distance before "turning up," the pursuers were enabled to keep trace of u among the large number around by its "spouting blood." When the animal was nearly exhausted, the boats approached near enough to "get fast," and the capture was completed. This individual yielded about ninety barrels of oil, and measured eighty -five feet in length. The schooner Page, of San Francisco, succeeded in taking several Sulphurbottom whales, near Ascension Island, the capture being made with the bomb-gun and lance. Notwith- standing that a large proportion of these whales sunk as soon as dead, the whale- men were enabled to save them, the water being of moderate depth, in consequence of which they rose to the surface before decomposition was far advanced. The size of those taken by the Page compared favorably with the one taken by the Ixtgrange. Several days' trial were made in the brig Boston, in 1858, off Cerros Island, to capture these animals. It was in the month of July, and the sea, as far as the eye could discern, was mirked with their huge forms and towering spouts. Ten were "bombed" by the best shooters, who affirmed that they "chose their chance," but as soon as the gun was discharged the whale would disappear, and that was the last trace seen of it, except a patch of foam, sometimes mixed with blood. On the last day of pursuit, toward evenintj, another vessel appeared in the offing, and approached within a mile or less, when the last trial bomb was fired, and the men in the boats looked eagerly to the rising of the wounded whale, but in vain. A signal was made from the approaching ship that they had seen the animal, as it "broke water" close to their vessel, when it soon rolled over dead, and sunk. The swiftness of the Sulphurbottom under water, as demonstrated at this time, appeared to make pursuit impracticable. Doubtless, several of those fired at received mortal wounds, or were killed outright, but their propensity to sink, and also to "run under water," baffled the s^iiH of the whalers to secure them. On a second voyage of the Page, six of those immense creatures were taken by the bomb -gun and lance, off the port of San Quentin, Lower California, where the moderate depth of water was favorable for the pursuit. Large numbers of them were found on this ground, where they had been attracted by the swarms of sar- • k!i«ii>.aw*> 1 ^mtn i Knj 1,11, -I THE SULPHVRBOTTOM WHALE. 73 dines and prawns with which the waters were enlivened ; and the whales, when in a state of lassitude from excessive feeding, would frequently remain nearly motion- loss ten to twenty minutes at a time, thus giving the whaleman an excellent oppor- tunity to ghoot his bomb -lance into a vital part, causing almost instant death. The enormous size of the Sibbaldius sulfitreus is not easily to be comprehended by the reader, when compared even with the lesser rorquals, or the mysticetus, or the Cachalot. In 1862, the whalemen at Monterey, California, killed one of these immense animals which measured ninety- two feet in length. Before they could tow it to the station, it became "blasted;"* but on arrival, no effort was spared to strip the colossal prize of its fatty covering. Accordingly, their "purchases" were applied to roll tiie swollen creature over upon the beach; but in so doing, the capstan, which was firmly placed on the bank, and had lifted many a large whale, was torn up and the "falls" were parted. Finally the whalemen gave up the under- taking, and only cut off the fat that could be reached above water. In contempla- ting this, the greatest whale of the ocean, one can but admire its prominent char- acteristics, which are its enormous yet symmetrical proportions, and the muscular dovolopmont which enables it to excel in velocity all its congeners, while its whole bearing indicates its superiority to all the other Cetaceans. It glides over the sur- face of the ocean, occasionally displaying its entire length. Wiien it respires, the volume of its vaporous breath ascends to a height which reveals at once, to' the observer, the presence of that leviathan of tiio deep, whose capture baflles the practical skill of the most experienced whalers. When "rounding" to descend to the depths below, it throws its ponderous flukes high above the waves, with u swoop that is well in keeping with its matcliless strength and vigor. ♦"Blasted" is a whaler's term for boiug much swollen. kUusK MAiniug. — 10, CHAPTER VIII. THE SPERM WHALE. Phtseteii UAcnocEPHALtrs, Linn. (Plate xiv.'> This, the largest of the toothed Cetaceans, is known to English and American whalemen as the Sperm Whale, to the Germans as the Pottfisch, and to the French as the Cachalot. It widely differs from all others of its order, botli in figure and habits. The fully matured animal equals, if it does not exceed, the Bowhead, or Great Polar Whale, in magnitude and in commercial value. The adult female, how- ever, is only about one- third or one-fourth the size of the largest male. She is likewise more slender in form, and lias an effeminate appearance. The time of gesta- tion is supposed to be ten months, and she seldom produces more than one young at a birth — never more than two — and these are brought forth at any time or place that nature may demand. The now -born cub is about one -fourth the length of the mother. It obtains its nourishment from two teats, situated one on each side of the vaginal opening. In giving suck, it is said the female reclines on her side, when the calf seizes the teat in the corner of its mouth, thereby giving the milk -food immediate passage to its throat. The length of time that the youug follow the dam is not known. The largest males measure from eighty to eighty -four feet. The ponderous head is nearly one -third of the whole bulk of the animal, and over one quarter of its length. The opening of the mouth is about five -sixths the length of the Iioad ; the lower jaw, from the expansion of the condyles, contracts abruptly to a narrow sym- physis, and is studded on each side with twenty -two or twenty -four strong, sharp, and conical teetii, fitting to the furrow, or cavity, in the upper jaw, which is desti- tute of, or contains only rudimentary teeth. The tongue, which is usually of a whit I color, "is not capable of much protrusion." The throat, liowever, is largo, and ^>aid to be capacious enough to receive tiio body of a man. The eyes are placcu . little above and behind the angle of the mouth. A few inches behind the eyes are the openings of the ears, which are not over one- fourth of an inch in n4i THE SPERM WHALE. 75 diameter. Above, and at the junction of the head with the body proper, is a swell called the "bunch of the neck." About midway between this protuberance and the caudal fin, is another and larger bunch, called the "hump;" then follows a succession of smaller processes along the "small," toward the posterior extremity, which is termed the "ridge." The pectorals, or side-fins, are placed a little behind and below the eyes, and in size rarely exceed six feet in length and three feet in width. Tiie caudal fin is about six feet in breadth, and measures twelve to fifteen feet between the extremities, or about one -sixth the length of the whole animal. Cnlike the baleen whales, the Cachalot has but one spiracle, or spout- hole, which is placed near the anterior and upper extremity of the head, a little upon the left side ; its external form is nearly like the letter S. This fissure in the adult is ten or twelve inches in length. The color of the Rperm Whale is generally black, or blackish -brown above; a little lighter upon the sides and below, except on tiie breast, whore it becomes a silvery gray. Some examples, however, are piebald. The oldest males are frequently well-marked with gray about the nose, or upper portion of the head, and when this is indicated, they are called "gray -headed." In the young Sperm Wiialos, as in the young of all Cetaceans, tiie black- skin, or epidermis, is much heavier than in the adults, it being half an inch in tliicknoss, or thereabouts, while it does not exceed a quarter of an inch on the old whale. As age advances, tiie skin becomes more furrowed. Beneath the black- skin lies the rich coating of fat, or blubbc>r, whicli yields the valuable oil of commerce. The head produces nearly one -third of all the oil obtained. Xext to and above the bono of the upper jaw (wliich is termed the "coach," or "sleigh"), is a huge mass of cartilaginous, elastic, tougli fat, wliich is called the "junk." Above the "junk," on the right side of the head, is a large cavity, or sack, termed the "case," which contains oil in its naturally fluid state, together with the granulated substance known as "spermaceti." From tliis capacious hidden receptacle, as much as fifteen barrels of "head -matter" has been obtained. The "ambergris," which is so iiiglily prized, is nothing more than the retained anal concretion of a diseased whale. On the left side of the cranium, above the "junk," is the breathing- passage, or nostril, of the whale. This, with the "case," is pro- tected by a thick, tough, elastic substance called the "head-skin," which is proof against the harpoon. We now come to the general habits of this gigantic animal, relative to its movements in the vast oceans of the globe. Among the whole order of Cetaceans, (here is no other which respires with the same regularity as the Cachahit. When emerging to the surface, the first portion of the animal seen is the region of the 76 MARINE MAMMALS OF THE NORTH-WESTERN COAST. hump ; then it niises its head, and respires slowly for the space of about three seconds, sending forth, diagonally, a volume of whitisli 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 respiring at its leisure, the animal sometimes mukes 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 feeding -ground to another, it may accelerate its velocity. When in progressive motion (after "blowing"), hardly an instant is required for inspira- tion, when the animal dips its head a little, and momentarily disappears ; then it rises again to blow, as before, each respiration being made with great regularity. The number of its spoutings, when in a state of quietude, depends on the size of the animal : varying in the adult females and the younger of both sexes from the oldest and largest males. The same may bo said as to the period of time it remains upon or beneath the surface of the ocean. With the largest bulls, the time occu- pied in performing one expiration and 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 head-foremost downward; then "rounding out," turns his flukes high in the air, and, when gaining nearly a perpendicular attitude, de- scends to a great depth, and there remains from fifty minutes to an hour and a quarter. While on a cruise in the bark Rio Grande around the Galapagos Islands, in 1853, a large Cachalot was captured, which yielded eighty -five barrels of oil. This animal was pursued from eleven o'clock a.m. to four p.m., during which time it spouted, or "blowed," very regularly, fifty-five times at each "rising" while on the surface, and when he descended was not visible again for fifty -five minutes. All this time ho was going a direct course at the rate of three miles an hour. The smaller and younger whales, however, are not so regular in their time of remaining upon or below the surface of the water, and, as before mentioned, they spout a less number of times. They generally continue above the water one -fourth or one- fifth of the time consumed by the others, making thirty or forty spouts while up, and remaining under water twenty to thirty minutes. But 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 in a horizontal attitude (as the sailors say, "he can let go and go down in a jiffy"). 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 -. .ijiiiHiv iww,»ii«ua^wwivii,,^i.iLqip.gj II i«j|jii||ippppainp^|P!pi^nnaippqB^ '-■^_J . C. /■<. Sea mivorj o e • . SFER\: \' Plate XC ^M^ Brit.t:n.A Rev I't'r. KYSITEH IIACROCEFHAI.US LINN) . THE SPERM WUALE. 77 around from side to side with its flukes, to ascertain whether there is any object within reach. At otlier times, wlien 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 "lobtailing." Oftentimes it descends a few fathoms beneath the waves ; then, giving a powerful shoot nearly out of the water at an angle of forty -five degrees or less, falls on its side, or leaps bodily out in a semi -lateral attitude, coming down with a heavy splash, producing a pyramid of foam which may be seen from the mast-head, on a clear day, at least ten miles, and is of great advantage to the whaler in searching for his prey. These singular antics of the Sperm Whale arc said to be performed in order to rid itself of a troublesome parasite, known among the whale -fishers by the name of "Suckfish;" but the animal is seldom infested with the parasitic Crustacea which are indigenous to the rorquals and Right Whales. M;i;.y have the impression that the Sperm Wiiale is found but rarely out of the limits of tropical or temperate waters, but we know that the largest Cacha- lots have often been taken as far south as 5G* of latitude, both in the Pacific and Atlantic, and as far north in the Pacific as Cape Ommany, which is in latitude 56' 12'. We may further add, that it is one of the few species of the larger Cetaceans which inhabit every ocean not bound with icy fetters during the rigors of winter, and although great numbers are found in the cold latitudes, they also delight to bask in the equatorial waters under a tropical sun.* It is true, however, that but few arc met with in the far northern limits of the Atlantic or the Pacific, compared with the number Avhich inhabit the great range of the southern seas. This, how- ever, may be easily accounted for, as there is no northern thoroughfare by which these whales of passage can migrate to or from the Atlantic or Pacific, while at the south they are continually passing to and fro from ocean to ocean throughout the year. The Cachalots arc gregarious, and they are often seen in schools numbering from fifteen or twenty up to hundreds. The oldest and largest males, however, for the greater part of the year roam alone ; yet there is no lack of instances where * We are aware that eminent naturalists have to substantiate, as far as our obsen'ations go, averred that there are several species of the what that excellent and practical observer, Beale, Sperm Whale, on the ground of their geograph- has maintained : that there is but one species of ical distribution; ond it is not within our prov- Sperm Whale "in the ocean roving," and as far ince, nor is it our intention, to enter into any as any variety is A-isible, it exists in every zone discussion relative to the question, further than end hemisphere. 78 MARINE MAMMALS OF TUB NORTH-WESTERN COAST. these monsters havo been found in herds by themselves ; but the usual assemblage is made up of males and females — the latter with their j'oung. At such times two or three large bulls are in attendance, whicli lead the van. The female is quite solicitous for her playful offspring, and when pursued, the mother may be seen assisting it to escape by partially supporting it on one of her pectorals. The females likewise manifest much sympathy for each other, for when one of their number is attacked by the boats, they all "bring "o," and remain, usually for some time, with their dying companion ; by this means a number of whales are often captured from the same school. The young bulls periodically go in largo herds ; but, unlike the females, if one of their band is harpooned, its cowardly associates make off in great trepidation. When individually attacked, however, 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 bo taken with but little effort on tiio 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. It is said that the Cachalots are endowed with the faculty of communicating with each other in times of danger, when miles (and some observers say leagues) distant. If this be true, the mode of communication rests instinctively within their own contracted brains. It has been the general belief that the Sperm Whale is excessively timid ; but, if this is its general character, there are many exceptions among the larger males, for when attackeil, they have in repeated instances turned upon their pursuers, in the most defiant manner, and their own disfigured jaws — which are their principal weapons of defense — prove that they either engage in desperate contentions with their kind, or with some unknown leviathan inhabiting the deep. Moreovei, it is, we believe, a well-established fivct, that ships have been sunk by the deliberate assaults of vicious, gray -headed, old Cachalots.* * Tho aec"unta of tho destruction of tbo Amori- creature gave the vessel sucb a shock, as ho camo can HhipH Esxex aud Ann Alcjeaudrr liaving bcou iu collision, as to sprin'? n Hcvious leak. Then published in various works ijertaiuiug to tho ho wcut down aud ro-appearod a ship's lougtU whalo- fishery, wo will only briefly no.o them or two oiT, lashing tho water into foam. After hero. Tho Essex was destroyed in tho South going a distance of about ono- fourth of a niilo, Pacific by an infuriated whalo, in tho year 1820, and recovering from tho concussion, ho returned under tho following circumstances. The auimal with great velocity, aud, striking tho ship's bow, was scon ahead approaching tho ship at tho rate stavrd it iu, which caused tho vessel to sink ten of about three miles an hour, and tho ship run- miuutos after. Tho Ann Akxandcr was sunk ))y niiijj at about the sauio speed, when tho hugo a Sperm Whalo ou tho coast of Peru, in 1851, THE S PER 31 WHALE. n It is the opinion of many experienced and observing whalemen — with whom we concur — that the Sperm Whale has a higher organization than any other species of Cetacea. Its massive form is composed of bone, flesh, and sinew, which lias a Pner texture than that of the rorqual or the mysticetus. The latter subsists on minute Crustacea and small fishes, skimmed as it were from the surface of the seas and inland waters. The mouth of the Cachalot is armed with teeth of ivory, Enoly set, for the purpose of prehension, and the animal is endowed with the power of descending to the remote caverns of the ocean in search of its prey, and remaining there a length of time unequaled by any of its congeners. The principal food of the Sperm Whale is familiarly named by the whalers "squid ;" which inchides one or more species of cuttle-fishes (cephalopods). The animal's manner of pursuing its prey is not definitely known ; but several high authorities zivv.r.- tain, that after descending to the desired depth it drops its lower jaw nearly to a right angle with the body, thereby exhibiting its polished white teeth, which attract within its reach the swinniiing food, while the creature moves along through the ocean's depths ; the moment its prey comes in contact with the expanded jaw. under like circumstances ^o thope of the EsisJr. In 1807, the ship Uino)i, of Nantucket, was wrecked "by striking," says the narrator, "on a Sperm Whalj." It was in the night, and the » question is, whothcr the ship struck the animal accidentally, or whether the whale made an attack, r Other disasters to vessels might, be cited, which were occasioned l>y the attack of, or by coming in collision with, the colossal Cachalot. The ferocit- of many old male Sperm Whales has been fully demonstrated by their attii'L..! on boats, aid to diKtunguish them from other whales they are oiK'U called "eating whales." According to the author of the Arctic Whaleman, an instance occurred with the boats of ihe ship Cilitcn, upon the Atlantic Ocean, in the year 1851, where, after the whale had been struck, lanced, ond while spouting blood, he made an attack and demolished one boat, after which he gave chase to another; but the fifth boat, having been dispatched from thp ship to the res- cue, came up just in time to divert th<) animars attention, when ho turned upon it. By the dex- terous management of the captain, who had como in this relief boat, the whale was foiled in his attempt to destroy it. In the midst of the fray, the bleeding animal caught sight of the ship, which was approaching the boats under flowing sails. Instantly the enraged animal made for the vessel; while those on board, being advised of the fact, put the ciuft before the wind to avoid him. On the whule came ; but, owing to the increased speed of th-) ship, he shot past the stern a few feet, and soon after went into his "flurry," and "turned up," when he was taken to the vessel, "cut in," and "tried out," yielding seventy -five barrels of oil. Another instance, somewhat similar, occurred to the boats of the bark Athalia. In this case, however, the whale, after staving a boat, not being content with the manner in which he destroyed it, went deliberately at the renmins and chewed them into fine pieces. These instances are only mentioned as among scores of other simi- lar cases \ ''lich might bo given. And wo have no doubt but that many vessels which have sailed from port, and never been heard of after, have suffered wreck through Cachalots. 80 MARINE MAMMALS OF THE NORTH WESTERN COAST. it is instantly crushed, aid a portion or all is swallowed. This hypothesis of the mode in which the animal feeds may be correct. As to the nature of its food there is no question, ioc it is well known that the ceplialopods are its main dependence; yet occasionally the codfish, albicoro, and bouito, are laid under con- tribution.* But the true aod natural way in which this great rover of the hidden ♦Relative to the food of the Sperm Whale, Vie quote the following from Beale's interesting account of the Sepia octopus: NATUltE OF THE SPERM WHALE's FOOD. The Sej)ia octopus, or "sea squid," as it is termed by whalers, sometimes reaches an enor- mous size. Mr. Henrj' Baker, F. R. S., in the Philosophical Transactions for 1758, p. 777, after having given an interesting description of a specimen, sent to him for examination by the Earl of Macclesfield, states that it can, by spread- ing its arms abroad like a net, so fetter and entangle the prey they inclose, when they are drawn together, as to render it incapable of ex- erting its strength ; for, however feeble these branches or arms may Li t;ingly, their power united becomes surprising ; and we are assured ■ — Nature is so kind to these animals— that if in their struggles any of their arms are broken off, after some time they v/ill grow again, of which a specimen at the British Museum is an un- doubted proof, for a little new arm is there seen sprouting forth in the room of a large one which had becu lost. "It is evident," ho continues, "from what has been said, that the sea polypus, or octopus, must bo terrible to the 'nhabitanta of the waters, in projiortion to its tize ( Pliny mentions one, whose arms were thirty feet in length), fo.' t,he close embraces of its arms and adhesion of its suckers must render the efl'ovts of its prey inefl'ectual, either for escape or resist- ance, unless it be endowed with an cxtraordi- ary degree of strength." Of the smaller genera of these animals, thj reader will find some in- teresting details, by referring to the appendix to Turhci/'s Voyagi: to the. Comjo, vol. iii. There is also an account of a newly discovered cepha- lopod, in the appendix to Sir J. Ross' Voi/aije to the Antarctic Hcyions. A gigantic c;ephalopod was discovered by Drs. Bank and Holander, in Capt. Cook's first voyage, floating dead upon the sea, surrounded by birds, who were feeding on its remains. From the parts of this specimen which arc still preserved in the Hunteriau Collection, and which have always strongly excited the at- tention of naturalists, it must have measured at least six feet from the end of t'le tail to the end of the tentacles. But this last we must imagine a mere pigmy, when we consider the enormous dimensions of the one spoken of by Dr. Schewediawer, in the Philosophical Transac- tions, vol. Ixxiii, p. 220, whose tentaculum, or limb, measured twenty-B0\en feet in length; but let the doctor speak for himself. "One of the gentlemen," says he, "who was so kind as to communicate to me his observations on this sub- ject (ambergris), also, ten years ago, hooked a Spermaceti Whale that had in its mouth a ten- taculum of the Sepia octopoda nearly twenty- seven feet long 1 This did not appear its whole length, for one end was corroded by digestion, so that ill its natural state it may have been a great deal longer. When we consider," says the Doctor, "the enormous bulk of the tentaculum here spoken of, wo shall cease to wonder at the common saying of the fishermen, that the cut- tle-fish is tl"i largest fish of the ocean." In Todd's Cycloixvdia of Analomij, p. 529, treating of Ccphdlopda, in an admirable paper by Mr. Owen, it states, that "the natives of the Poly- nesian Islands, who dive for shell -fish, have a well-foundud dread and abhorrence of these formidable cephalopods, and one can not feel suiijrised thiit their fears should have perhaps exaggomted their dimensions and destructive at- tributes.'' The same learned writer, after having beautifully doscril)ed another animal of the same order, observes: "Let the reader picture to hira- Bolf the projecting margin of the horny hook de- veloped into a long- curved, sharp - pointed claw, and these weaponn clustered at the expanded terminations of iho tentacles and arranged in a double alternate series, along the whole internal surface of the eight muscular feet, and ho will have some idea of the formidable nature of the ^fw^ M. iK®/' J- '' if • i ■(. ■^^* n 4^. r ^ MJhJXi: iJj.r^f.ui: TilK xniiTfi ! j,^ I .r.y co. si: ''•!'":'"""^-' '.....;..„)•. th.. .....,.-3,. .dl,k..,.:-.. ... ,.„, ,,, S:,;,. nad.,-.:,. ISe ^J ■..!/. 111. i', »' ,1. -l; ' ,,,: I., * ''■ ■'•' ' i^^ -fl M, >.,, % -'x ■■.-,! Ih.. ,tt> ' ■'■'-- '■ ; ■».%!•' .• ' :ri:rc.l ;it ■I .■■ ■■* (. .-t ■ ■ ■ -At '.,.:..: Ivv..,,., ;un-. -.■ -i,,.: ., „:, ' . "-'-■' ■■»■-• ■• -v^-ii ......ly ,«,^.,tv- •I- i'v'' i. ■ i;ii 'I I. I'l ). ■ AY., .,,.,,, "I ■'■\ a '!>• l/;.n.i, :,!„..,.„, ., , ,,„.,,., ,, ' . ^"' -"■ .A..-,. )n::. ,v . ,' ■ ' "V -."" ' ' •' '^^ ^-^lu." • I •■''- ' • " ''"!' >:• " U) WDluliT ,,t ' ■ •■ Ifc I 1.1.' i.il' *■ '' ' i ' : '- /'.■ .■. '' '■ »f .' ■ ri' ! ' .J :- ! ) i^-' Mi-.. ; ''liij, ■■ ' ■A-h..,-,- .:. h»-i,m v.tr.i t-Lit^v (.., . iJ. ■■ 'M Ru-.-iifi-s ruu:v v,,,„i,.,. (!• i'(V\.i, (> ,)f i-ii.i.i .l.].. i' •■ lf.'tli(l,l, «>itl,i.r J'.i i-:.fiij. or J ■:!-!(. .n:-.!:-.,i •'•- It !>f |.ati..\v,.a U..I) ii.i .•■|','|. i-'i- J-.-r::'. M('"■)-> ^-H. ,;u.. .,; a, .t.,J;'i.V; ■ '..1 \ ■,'! i ' < r '■• rriir r. . t! "!i l-j'.w 1. wh J .,.1 < ., ,.' oil ;:>: , I 'U«l'' .,» iflul- 1:!.- 'U' ^. of I;,,. - .nu I'lUI " , '-' ■' ■■■•'•■ -'••■■■" " ' •■■■I ■■ ^ i-'.- •'ii.niiul A < ,■ '^ '■ ' ',' ' '■ . '. H ;i, .ri-; . '*•■» ' • ■ •■r ".o 't» )m .„ ■I ..t.. '.' »|l-l.OII.;(,',l .;;,..\v, ' ■ ■ .'II l!)" ' ■ jH'.'iiifid '■ ■ in •.! Ill I'lUt;; I'll II i, "•' (ll'l lVi:,,io llilflllll Jti.i .'V; '-IS' !. (.i, a>i(l iii: ivili ^1 r-* Q o o W o Oh t-'v :(.. NnjfM .Hi .,iVJiLWUj.BVil.MLiM!IWiP^^^^«HHPJIVHIWIVill>«Ul^f1««aRiPBpVP^9)0^ THE SPERM WHALE. 81 depths seeks and devours its animal food, is still tinged with mystery. In past years it was commonly believed that the Cachalot s home was in the fathomless depths of the ocean, and that only a few stragglers were occasionally met with near coast waters of moderate depth. But we find abundant proof, and from our own observations, too, that they are met with and have been captured in waters carniverouB Onychoteuthis." This species of ceph- alopod is thus armed with those kind of teeth at the termination of the tentacles, ju order to sec. the "agile, slippery, and mucus-clad fishes" on which it preys. And there is an in- stance recorded in Sir Grenville Temple's Excur- sions in the Mediterranean, by which we perceive that these terrible creatures sometimes prey upon men! "In those shallow waters," saj's Sir Gren- ville, "are caught great quantities of fish, by forming curved lines or palisades some way out to sea with palm branches, by which the fish that come up with the high water are detained when it recedes. The homd jjolypus, which is, however, greedily eaten, abounds, and some are of enormous size. They prove at times highly dangerous to bathers. An instance of this oc- curred two years since. A Sardinian captain, bathing at Jerbeh, felt one of his feet in the grasp of one of these animals ; on this, with his other foot ho tried to disengage himself, but this limb was immediately seized by another of the monster's arms ; he then, with his hands, en- deavored to free himself, but these, also, in suc- cession, were firmly grasped by the polypus, and the poor man was shortly after found drowned, with all his limbs strongly bound together by the arms and legs of the fish; and it was extra- ordinaiy, that where this happened, the water was scarcely four feet in depth!" Other species of these surprising animals, as the Calamarics, or "flying squid," as they are termed by the whalers, have the power of propelling themselves through the atmosphere. "There is good reason for believing," says Mr. Owen, "that some of the small, slender -bodied, subulate species of this genus arc enabled to strike the water with such force as to raise themselves above the surface, and dart, like tho flying -fish, for a short dis- tance through tho air." I have myself seen, veiy frequently, while in tho North and South Pacific, tens of thousands of these animals dart simultaneously out of the water, when i^ursued MAniNE Mamhalh. — II. Ly tho albicore, or dolphins, and propel them- selves head first, in a horizontal clirection, for eighty or a hundred yards, assisting their pro- gression, probably, by a rotatory or screwing motion of their arms or tentacles, and which they have the power of thus moving with a singular velocity. This species, also, as well as the large Onychoteuthis, I am led to believe, often serves the Sperm Whale with food. I have seen, on several occasions, very large limbs of the latter species of squid floating on the surface of the ocean, appearing as if bitten off by some ani- mal— most probably by tho Sperm Whale — for when these remains have been seen, I have al- ways looked most anxiously for these animals, and have never been disappointed in seeing them within a few hours afterward. One day, being on tho coast of Peru, off Paita Head, as it is called, which lies in about tho latitude of five degrees south, I was startled by seeing a remark- able-looking animal raising itself c^uickly to the surface of the sea by means of a number of very long flexible arms, which it threw about witli great precision, in a rotatory or screwing -like motion, so that it appeared to move itself through the water with the same kind of action that an eight -pronged corkscrew would maintain in pass- ing through any penetrable substance. This curi- ous animal, however, quickly disappeared ; and it was not until I explained its apiJearance to the captain, that I knew it to be a squid. On an- other occasion, while upon the Bonin Islands, searching for shells upon the rocks, which had just been loft by tho receding sea-tido, I was much astonished at seeing at my feet a most ex- traordinary looking animal, crawling toward the surf, which had only just left it. I had never seen one like it under such circumstances before; it therefore appeared tho moio remarkable. It was creeping on its eight logs, which, from their soft and flexible nature, bent considerably under tho weight of its body, so that it was lifted by the efforts of its tentacula only, a small distance S2 MARINE MAMMALS OF THE NORTH-WESTERN COAST. Tvhero the soundings wore not over one hundred and fifty fathoms, and frequently not over sixty or seventy : for example, off San Bartolome Baj', coast of Califor- nia ; also about Point Abraojos on the same coast, and near Asuncion Island, which is midway between the first named points. It has been previously remarked that the elongated under jaw of the Sperm Whale, with its bristling teeth, is its chief arm of attack and defense, and tlie agile manner in which the animal uses it when upon or near the surface is quite sur- from the rocks. It appearetl much alarmeil at seeinnf mo, and made every effort to escape, while I was not much in the humor to endeavor to capture so ugly a customer, whose .ippearance excited a feeling of disgust, not unmixed with fear. I, however, endeavored to prevent its ca- reer, by pressing on one of its legs with my foot ; but although I made use of considerable force for that purpose, its strength was so great that it several times quickly liberated its member, in sijite of all the efforts I could employ in this way on wet slipperj' rocks. I now laid hold of one of the tentacles with my hand, and held it fiiTnly, so that the limb appeared as if it would be torn asunder by our united strength. I soon gave it n powerful jerk, wishing to disengage it from the rocks to which it clung so forcibly by its suckers, which it effectually resisted ; but a moment after, the apparently enraged animal lifted its head, with its large eyes projecting from the middle of its body, and letting go its hold of the rocks, suddenly sprung upon my arm, which I had previously bared to my shoul- der, for the purpose of thrusting it into holes in the rocks to discover shells, and clung with its suckers to it with great power, endeavoring to get its beak, which I could now see between the roots of its arms, in a position to bite. A sensation of horror pervaded my whole frame when I found this monstrous animal had affixed itself so firmly upon my arm. Its cold slimy grasp was extremely sickening, and I immedi- ately called aloud to the .aptain, who was also searching for shells at some distance, to come and release me from my disgusting assailant. He quickly arrived, and taking me down to the boat, during which time I wan employed in keeping the beak away from my haiid, quickly released me by destroying my tormtntor with the boat-knife, when I disengaged it by por- tions at a time. This animal must have meas- ured across its expanded arms about four feet, while its body was not larger than n large clenched hand. It was that species of Scjna which is coiled by whalers 'rock squid.'" Thus are these remarkable creatures, from the differ- ent adaptation of their tentacles, and slight modifications of their bodies, capable of sailing, flying, swimming, and creeping on shore ; while their senses, if we may judge from the elaborate mechanism of their organs, must possess corre- sponding acuteness and perfection. But for the description o£ the anatomy of these animals, I must refer the reader to Mr. Owen's masterly paper on that subject, in Todd's Cyclopiedia of Analpmij, above quoted. Having thus quoted from Doctor Beale on the nature of the Sperm Whale's food, we will add another quotation, relative to ambergris; Though ambergris, even during the sixteenth centuiy, appeared to bo much valued as a mer- cantile commoditj' by the English, it is curious we knew nothing of its source, and very little of the use which was made of it in other coun- tries. In the year 1G72, wo find the Honorable Robert Boyle claiming the honor of having dis- covered its source, from a manuscript which was found on board a Dutch East-Indiaman, which had fallen into our hands by the chance of war. This precious document stated, that "amber- greese is not the scum or excrement of the whale, but issues out of the root of a tree, which tree, howsoever it stands on the land, alwaics shoots forth its roots towards the seo, seeking the warmth of it, thereby to deliver the fattest gum that comes ■>\it of it, which tree otherwise by its copious fatness might be burnt and destroyed : wherever that fat gum is shot into the sea, it is so tough that it is not easily broken from the root, unless its own weight and THE SPERM WHALE. 83 prising. It opens and shuts its mouth, if need be, in a twinkling, or it throws the lower jaw down to nearly a right angle with its body, or sways it from side to side at an astonishing angle, when we take into consideration the distance between the condyles at their junction with the animal's head. "When the creature essays to grasp a large object on the water, it instantly rolls over to bite ; but docs it necessa- rily follow that the same attitude must be maintained when obtaining its food in the abyss beneath? Or is it impossible that this protruding jaw of massive bone and I: the working of the -warm sea cloth it, and so it floats on tho sea; there was found by a souldier seven -eighths of a pound, and by the chief two pieces, weighing five pounds. If you plant the trees where the stream sets to the shore, then the stream will cast it up to great advantage ! March 1st, 1G72, in Batavia." (Phil. Trans., vol. viii, p. C133.) But notwithstanding the above statement, Doc- tor Thomas Brown, in his work published a few years afterward (1G8G), in his description of a Sperm Whale which was thrown on the coast of Norfolk, states that "in vain it was to rake for ambergriese in the paunch of this leviatlian, as Greenland discoverers, and attests of experience dictate, that they sometimes swallow great lumps thereof in the sea — insufferable fetor denying that iuquirj' ; ond yet, if as Paracelsus cncourageth, ordure makes the best musk, and from tho most feted substances may be drawn the most odorif- erous essences, all that had not Vesx^asiau's uoso might boldly swear there was a substance for such extractions;" which proves that the doctor still suspected that the ambergris was found iu the Sperm Whale, although it was found by this animal floating in the sea, and swallowed by it in "great lumps!" But it was reserved for Doctor Boylston, of Boston, to enlighten mauldnd upon this important subject, nnd he thei'efore claims tho discovery of its source in the following manner: "Tho most learned part of mankind are still at loss about many things even in medical use, and jiarticularly were so in what is called ambergris, until our whale fishermen of Nantucket, in New England, some three or four years past made the discovery. Their account to mo is this : Cutting up a spei-macoti bull-whale, they found, accidentally, in him, about twenty pounds weight, more or less, of that drug; after which, they and other Buch fishermen became very curious in searching all such whales they killed, and it has been since found in lesser quantities in several male whales of that kind, and in no other, and that scarcely in one of a hundred of them. They add further, that it is contained in a cyst or bag, without any inlet or outlet to it, and that they have sometimes found the bag empty and yet entire ; tho bag is nowhere to bo found but near the genital parts of the fish. Tho amber- gris is when first taken out moist, and of an exceedingly strong and offensive smell." This letter was written to tho Royal Society in 1724. (Phil. Trans., vol. xxxiii, j). 193.) In the same year, however, wo have another letter from America, written to tho Royal Society by the Honorable Paul Dudley, F. R. S., who, lifter telling us that tho old Si^erm Whales carry their young ones "on the flukes of their tails, who with their fins clasp about the small, and hold themselves on," also says, "•one of our country doctors tells me that the tooth of this fish (Sperm Whale) shaved or powdered, and so infused in liquor, equals tho hartshorn, and has been used in the small -pox, and given to lying-in women in case of sickness, with suc- cess!— the quantity is as much as will lie uijou an English shilling." Farther on in the same letter ho states, "I meddle not hero with tho jirccioiiti ambergris found in this whale, because I design to close tho whole with that discovery." And hero is his conclusion: "But truth," says he, "is tho daughter of time; it ia now at length found out, that occuUum naturw is au animal iiroduction, and bred in the body of tho Spermaceti Whale. I doubt not," he continues, "but in process of time some further particulars may be procured with respect to ambergris, and I shall bo proud to transmit them; in tho mean time I hope the Society will accept of this first essay, and allow my poor country tho honor of discovering, or at least ascertaining, tho origin ivory is not sometimes employed to remove the kraken from its slimy bee that as it may, however, it is our belief that all Cetaceans occasionally re< the bottom of the ocean, sea, or inland waters, as well as rise to the suri breathe and display their various attitudes. We also regard the Cachalot i to descend to a greater depth and remain there a longer time than any whale ; and that it evinces, in its characteristic movements or evolutions, a riority over all other cetaceous animals that have come under our observatio and nature of ambergris." {Phil. Trans., vol. xxxiii.) In a paper which was read before the Royal Society by Doctor Schwediawer, in 1783, re- specting the medicinal properties of ambergr's, he remarks, that "if we wish to see any medi- cal efifecta from this substance, we must cer- tainly not expect them from two or three grains, but give rather as many scniples of it for a dose ; though even then I should not expect much from it, as I have taken of pure unadulterated ambergris in powder thirty grains at once, without observing the least sensible effect from it. A sailor, however, who had the curiosity to try the effects of some recent ambergris upon himself, took half an ounce of it melted upon the fire, and found it a good purgative, which proves that it is not quite inert." {mi. Trans., vol. lx.xii, p. 22G.) In 1791, the attention of the government was drawn to this subject, in order to discover if it could be more frequently found. When Captain Coffin was examined at the bar of the House of Commons on the subject, he stated that he had lately brought home three hundred and sixty -two ounces, troy, of this costly substance, which he had found in the anus of a female Sperm Whale that he had captured off the coast of Guinea, and which he stated was very bony and sickly. At the time he brought this quantity to England, the ambergris was selling for twenty -five shillings an ounce, but he stated he sold his for nineteen shillings and sixpence per ounce, to a broker, who exported it to Tur- key, Germany, and France, among the natives of which it appears to have been long celebrated for its aphrodisiacal properties. "The use of ambergris," says Brande, "in Europe is now nearly confined to perfumery, though it has formerly been used in medicine by many emi- nent physicians. In Asia and part of Africa, ambergris is not only used as a medic perfume, but considerable use is also i it in cooking, by adding it to several d a spice. A great quantity of it is also c ly bought by the pilgrims who travel to probably to offer it there, and make ui in fiunigations, in the same manner as cense is used in Catholic countries. Th make use of it as au aphrodisiac. Our ers add it to scented pastiles, candleE bottles, gloves, and hair powder; and its is mixed with pomatum for the face and either alone or united with musk, the smell is to some persons extremely o Ambergris may be known to be genuin fragrant scent when a hot needle or thrust into it, and its melting like fat o form consistence, whereas the counter! not yield such a smell, nor prove of sui texture. One thing, however, is very able, that a resemblance to the smell drug, which is the most agreeable of perfumes, should be produced by a pre] of one of the most odious of all sub Mr. Romberg found that a vessel in w had made a long digestion of human fte quired a very strong and perfect smell bergris, insomuch that any one wouL thought that a great quantity of ess ambergris had been made in it; the j was so strong and offensive that the ves to be removed from the laboratory! (j 3fanual of Chemistry, p. 594.) Ambergris to be nothing but the hardened faeces Spermaceti Whale, which is pretty well from its being mixed so intimately w refuse of its food (the squids' beaks] Enderby has a fine specimen of this sul six or seven inches long, which bears v dent marks of having been molded by tb portion of the rectum of the whale. iMi • ^-'jl-. ii ^m'\::- "ixi-.; ^ 4;.;^■ ■ . ' .■ ./ ■^ ,« 4 J/'Jy.V' Ji/AMM.ILS OF Tflh' yo UTJ' if 'SiriLS" COAST. «!rtt !^^ iiiiiv ]. ivvoV' r. it i- ■ tr !• ::i.i' thar i ' ' } , >■,»;•. : flit '. ••■«;'! 'ijiKly rrsori to ■.• '•Isi! t') till'* siirlai'i' 1 I ,'■ ■• M!)" Ihuij :my otlior - ■ olnli(.n-i. n suiie- . obsi'i" .i; .'>ii ..-<<•• r -' II*. n inocli'.-.. • • . 1 M> (II kl • 1 I,. 1 ■■■•■■1} " ^ ' tV'^ .:,T>;ii»: , -.»,ll- >i-ir ' » ' 'j, ,• W' I • ' ■ 'II. iJIsli li. • '■ :.■ ■-•[■ .. .. :• •>. .ifi,, i ; suVstaO''<\ 'vr .uii I < ■ r •••i-lv "..ot i'.J'ncl ;')OI)s ♦"uiu 'wri ;>( 'jiiM ^' ;ii|is', i"jt :iv; r.'»lhf' ur ':i in> .iiVi!!;!! ^ i! it fi. n ) 'I.i-I; L ..il r. ul .ot I • : •,•: uMdjl; irMii ii, as I liuvi- r-ti)..Mi of pu y ai .it'iuit'Tii,k-J :.L')I' 'f'.rri.i ii; i">«",U'v 'iiirly . '.-.ii.s 10 iMJtf , '.iitli'lll • .IjHcr'wU;,' tllf .'.;(}■■.' l.'.RJ-.lL'lo ci'i't f:' .';i i( A tijiiliT, hov.fvfr, ^\iiii bin! vhr fur; ~it;-- Ui tr tlio i.if<.<'- i -it'n.t >•.•■,* !iiuLi.'i;,:i'J V >n riiUHt!" 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Il' A^:lB llU.t part .if AlVii';!, '^' 1'* U *•'.*- . • . .^>i 1 - ' ./ • N : i-C i .; . . ' , ni.'- ---•-' .*, t ■ t ,. ^t •M.' :d iirt.'i ;! ;w ..' V fi- -■nS 1 ' . tMijIi;,',! I)f ft •" 1*. ^ ' ' »« ' 1 \ '. Uip yit'iruiu" ^\ .-.n ■J . -, • ' ' n 1 .'. '.'•f< vitLie'i liad ' • !' --V- . f "fOli -.' 'Oryl Hrjii-i'-'i .»^:t/n 'l^t •I^- V f ^ mlv f;:i 5- npp- ire i.; 'i. .'.'alh-^ kl' iv'llO 1 f'tiHS of '.ho .sr-'. t.K.r>:t> n-<')! pr"V"l fl-V. (tv b»-;in itiHrj-'iiU'ly «'.'! tlui f' (Ui . .f iti.i ^•l{•i,^l.s hf^nk^). Mr Ki.l. 1-1 hoM ... . > i'l'.. "'" thi.s sub>n;iiu 0, BJX 1 '• 6l-^voj, ' -'^' •^ •i''-Ii. lieara voiy evi- ftcn' marks .'' 1 lOf ! .:. '1 Ipd by tlio iov.-iT pi.r'.! on of :' • ..-.eA !•» ■)m ivLulf. .>.M«;i ■'.>...« itj .J.' .iW . i.'«t:«.>.jal--| „.a .iWi, ; lai ii-;i>ilt.i''» ■ '^' -i'-'^- '3 to 5 M w ^:3 < O -1 o «, o I -■LI«,|l|l1PiHIMIIIUJIVl ^^9^m^ i * CHAPTER IX. THE DOLPHTNS. In addition to tne whalebone whales, and the Cachalot, which have b'-en de- scribed in the preceding pages as frequenting the North-western Coast of North America, many species of Dolphins are also found. Those coming under our ob- servation a^e known as the Blackfish {GlobiocepMus Scammmii), the Killer (Orca), the "W'titefish {Hduga), the Bay Porpoise {Phocmna vomerim), the Striped or Com- mon Porpoise {Lagemrhymhus obliquidens), Baird's Dolphin {Ddphinus Bairdii), the Right Whale Porpoise {Leucorhamphus borealis), the Cowfish {Tursiops GiUii), the White-headed or Mottled Grampus {Grampus Stearnsii), the Bottle-nosed Grampus, the Panama Grampus, the Puget Sound Grampus, the San Diego Bay Grampus, the Square -headed Grampus, the Brown -sided Dolphin of Santa Barbara Channel, and tlie Narwhal {Monodou monoceros). All these species are covered with a coating of fat, or blubber, varvin ■ w I iRT •^lisi 88 . MJJUY^: )funrAL^ of tuh Nonm.rnjsi^h^ coa.st. BEOTFON ]i,-Tirr: ^m^ m ki 'm 'I'll" Orc\ -11 o'.f:!,OL v»ll I <;■';; m. h iurnl " ,r.i;M..nlon at Hs juiwti.u nirl, :J,c buck, .aH 1. a.oro falcu.r Tl.u '.;;vi ?^.'/^»;)(;^ , so Air ;is wc iiuvo ^,bs,:^od i-' .niorf' slcii'lcr m ifs pro] tin,,.. uM.l H .oM v.nk■' .. i \ ; '■>'■: '• ^ ■'';».•■, ,:(>ativ n>^;(^ >:. (j, )-uis ,i!ht I'l.: Ci,mi.al lit, '•'' •'''', i ';,''" \ P'iiJ'"lih r-.nurhht ) i« \\> i-l ' 1'^" '■ ' -r ■• 1 --^ iiTi.ioni, :ii 'N-'iupar-KK! \'=*\ "'■''■ ;>'•.•.'■ , :,:;;"> i|s 'iMpo-'iUoa, ^v, " -i-'"' ^: • -' " '■ ' i M: ix, i.^.. ..lO.lO .. U •■■t la-. ..('• (J 1 ">>!<, i ' ■■.!5i 'Jiat; 0 It i'l itii I'yo ii t n NOf'ifie. i ■Fi-'lff, ■■iliU'p ^i.'H' '- (it ■ H' " " . \d its \vli..l< itgl.,". mi" ■■ .■!i»pBP«~"*<.IWW-P«M') ••' I'lin Ji«HH5H»flP«'lBWil,«JH!,! •^immmiirimm^mi^m^ 4i4>JiLaiiu"^jjl(pi|ilf^!ij (iiiji 'i!^^ Plate xvn ~i C.A! i'Mifi.^KJi' jfl ORCAS CR tCILLERV. 1. ORCA RECTIPiHNA,COP| E QRCA ATER, uCPF. 3 O '^CA > ATtK , / ft « ! . (.(/ft riOi'lMiA Rsy i f .jiMA-ii^ MiiiiitaHiMiMi. rn— iiiiV are able to add the measure of a White Whale killed at the fishery on Tigol River, Eastern Siberia. Tl scription and proportions of the specimen alluded to are as follows : Ft. I) From tip of snout to noich of flukos . . . , 16 ( From tip of snout to f.orn> r of mouth 1 ( From tip of Hnout to eye 1 ^ From tip of Hnout to sjiout-holo 2 i From tip of snout to pectorals 3 ) From eye to top of head 1 ! From notch of flukos to vent 4 ! From notch of hukes to genital Blit R ! Expansion of flukes ?> 1( Breadth of flukos 1 1 Thickness of flukos 0 I Round the body in largest place 'J K Length of pectorals 1 \ Width of pect' 'i-als 1 ; Thickness of blubber 0 • Sex, male ; color, white. Color of blubber, yellowish white ; yield of oi hundred gallons. At this place the animal ascends the river a dihtance of thirty miles,* it i^" cnptured with the harpoon and lance as in ordinary whaling; but in Cftuaries^ which branch from tlie northern seas it is taken in nets, (hiring II son from .Tune to September. Large numbers are captured by \\w natives ol c asts, a»id the oil obtained is to them a valuable article of coi..iuorco. In i the fat of the White Whale is considered a luxurious dish fo' the table, ai lean lleih supplies ample food for the sledge- dogs. * Dall gives nn account of a btlugii being tho Yukon River, about seven liundrec taken by the Russians, in 18C3, at Nuln.to, on from tho Hoa. TEE DOLPHINS. 96 SECTION IV.-THE BAY PORPOISE. PnociNA VOMERINA, Gill. (Plate xviii, fig. 2, 3, 4.) This peculiar species of Dolphin is the least in size of the entire whale tribe inhabiting the Pacific North American Coast. When fully matured it may attain the length of six feet, iKit those we have had opportunity to measure fell con- siderably short of those dimensions. Usually the adults arc not more than four and one- half feet between linear ex+remes. The body of the male is jet black above, a little lighter below ; and whilo the female is of the same color above, it is liglitor on the sides, with a narrow black streak running from the corner of the mouth to the pectorals, and the lower portion of the animal is of a milky white- ness, yet the pectoral and caudal fins are black underneath, or of a dark gray. Occasionally, however, both males and females are found with the larger portion, or th(! whole, of their dorsal and caudal fins white. The former are of triangular shape, and placed very nearly midway between the animal's extremities. The caudal fin varies much in its contour, sometimes licing quite broad and straight 0 1 ita posterior edge, wliich is slightly notched in the centre; in other specimens the caudal lobes are lunate, and united present a forked appearance. Its pectorals are v-xtremely small and placed low. Its head is somewhat pointed, but destitute of the slender, elongated beak of the Delphinaa Bairdii, and the Right Whalo Porpoise, The anterior portion of the animal resembles that of both the Orca and the White-headed Grampus-. lis eyes are placed about two inches behind the corner of the mouth, and nearly in a line with it. Its ears are two inches from the eyes, and these minute orifices would not be noticed by the casual observer, as they are less than a sixteenth of an inch in diameter. The spiracles are placed a little forward of the eyes, aiul unite in one where they pass through the fleshy part of the cranium. The valve whicii covers them is convex on its posterior side. When the animal respires this valve is turned downward. Roth upi.er and lower jaws are furnished with teeth, which in the adults aio thin, flat, and broadest near their summits. In one example, a female four feet long, taken at San Francisco, California, the number was U, "nd in another, H In a male, four feet eight inches in lengtli, taken in Port Townsend Ray, Washington Terri- tory, the number was the same as last mentioned. The foUowing measurements and memoranda were carefully taken from a male Bpecimen obtained at Port Townsend, Washington Territory, April 28th, 18G9 • 90 MARINE MAMMALS OF THE NORTH-WESTERN COAS'j Length Greatest girth ( behind pectorals ) Girth at the vent From tiji of snout to pectorals Length of pectorals Width of pectorals From tip of snout to dorsal fin Length of dorsal fin, along the back Height of dorsal tin Expansion of caudal fin Greatest breadth of each lobe From tip of snout to genital slit From tip of snout to vent Opening of mouth From tip of snout to eyes From tip of snout to spout-hole Dejith of small at junction with caudal fin Depth of small at the vent Thickness of blubber Another specimen, a female, taken at San Francisco, California, d summer of 1872, was examined and measured, with the following results Length Greatest girth ( behind pectorals ) From tip of snout to pectorals Length of pectorals V^'dtli of jjectorals Irom tip of snout to dorsal fin Height of dorsal fin Length of dorsal fin along the back Expansion of caudal fin Breadth of each lobe of caudal fin Depth of small at junction with caudal fin Thickness of small at junction with caudal fin From tip of snout to corner of mouth From tip of snout to eyes From tip of snout to spiracle From tip of snout to oars From notdi of caudal fin to voiit From notch of caudal fin io genital slit From notch of caudal fin to toat slit Thickness of blubber •I' ■' ■■^' i'i-i >*'? ¥• -4 •■(■■* J '•^ ny, :.\ ,4 ^n #^ ' '^-f-SW'SiE. .* . -' . {)Cy Ms'. : A .f- V V i ^: J f / ?^' rji u so ■■: Til- - a '• ' oj,s r. L<^=ij;- . t^ : 1 )'. tUi- \'-i-l . • Vim ti,> i.f Kjumf I' '.lotsal ti^. . . 1 ,: ' . . ■■ «.in! :,' VPM t!. -U. •J ■3 ... •' 2 1 1 1 0 ■J 8 l> '-•i '2 .■■ 9 . * i \ J^^ i). pill h;„.. ill :■; jrii,c;.i<.T- \Mih <.'ai i .1 Jh'. ^' l>t-;.tL of sw.'l (it tlu> v,M Tl)'. ii.; .-K ')• Muliber. 0 7 .: 1 iiri)nu-r 'ii i^'^': v^.t^ .;■ i^ ; •; ^ ;■ •• ^ . '. ■■■- ' .» .' > ;-^' '•i. I- . . ' ■' ^ \ (I) !l, ^ |»'-l ■'■■■ ■^\ ,.1 1 - .■• .■■-'; n ■.;\! ■.■■ !■ •iti !. Jj ;i ti; ■•' l.'i-'Ul lin 1 I .i',r ii' ii.uk. ,. ... . ij\i 'U... •■< lif ••.uiiiiil li.i .,,. l>r. ■ '1; .t ■•.I' i; •■'>• ;<1 :u: ill K^i , , fi.'.i'i >)■ ,!i. .'; -.t iu'i'iir." n-.tl. • >.1U liii . ■ •• •• ••■ 'j:;! '.i.ti -I .. . [it jli! ^0; i''i.rHiidal Hu ... )■■ , ;, ,,• f -^ 1, tn ••..utmi • ■ li.>>uHi .... r. ■_ : , .: U, ■-• .s .... . " ■: , 1 \ lit * |.' ■ II- ,.,.,... ". ,) ., " . ui . . . , rr..'-i ' • ■' ■ >v, ',.'■: .1 • ■ , I' ,1,1 ,, , ;,. •/• . u I . tuln' isli* 1 'iii'li'.i'."*i-< .'i ' •''''. • ■ • ' • ■ I ■I 1) 0 t ■] s' li 0 ■1 0 I'l 0 ;U (• K I 4 1 5 , , , ( C ... *l <►? imi.iiiijii^fiBiiumji x-Jvw.fip)' ■ U!,-W4f Tin vt. ^ ■ . « ^ ■> ? ;:';^.y coa.^t. V.-5.H.- aT;d l)lnok ..■., ''ks l»f'-ivf<-'»i t'Sr trii ; tin rf ■ •>• ' '"ar lie mc'rii'l lino •i.i Thf iiudev side (;f tho IxH'ly , a ].i.KNw';v'. >»h ^ ; ■'•;'.}»«:,' i.a the- A.'titril side, froia t'.i' nu ! Uo o!' (ho itxl r jaw i<' f ^n ^ . \- f On- vulvti' ; i riar- i-iuv v.hit J*' rip i;xteiv!iaj' ft ni\ fio •■•'jrner i l" sht ^ :■ i *•> *;,^var. ai *■;.;, a!/ tlio t^\o woot'u;;^ ljf?li.tw it lisif- P(«i;ion of ill*'' vonr. An(,>tl'-; ^Jit <. • ''■. : ^l 'Mioewtiat ob;--c.urr. 4arf:- \4. Ihe »a.m;» •■' :i h - %cn* !n;\ (>;i«;'-i "'•>»!»rt adytlM to. Append";'.! • ro tlie ui-s ■ »-.f, in '■•!■'. ;> ' " - c-? -I'.f- fiwj ;-N ii&i-v ' mentioned: r -J lc';i'i(tb 1? ftii mal , , . Air-T!or »*1gp rf jwi-iml* .... . . l'i«;'ri'r f<\;'i- t.; »urr!* ■■? trMUJftivj), , . *■ V■■:"^■^ltk >i \".- f.>i:t»i'* t^ I'jj'r-'jt'i >;» :i> f;i,,i.r:i. . . . . ' I ! LjnsiluJin=U ^i.ltk ..... .. "15 ;" / Heii;ht of .knval u.i 0 V t) V LfDirMi o' d na.:'. tin aloru tli*. btick ■ 0 hk \ 0 lip (.f l.< .'• to .interior (•'\i!f 01 pcolorils 1 S 1 8 Tip .f lA>ak *i) '.n'. -v , i,i ■■.,-.^-~ ■ ,-..- . ';..■■£ . .'. y !;' «* :v.i.- ,>"^f- .,. '^ / C'ir '.luii «»r'.')^ \f*i, If- >-*''••» -:»! I'.r.- ..aifoifiv.'o Ht. ,;i ii^;,!* . ' ; .. : Crcuuit =rau«'-3 \ii.U<-c. vbis rv n-^-.i ri. .' i ■ .' 'ifTLt 'I'jm ovo to tt);') i{ h nd ( .-it'-rvifrL;. i,uh\ ^ t,t Hi-i^'ul ifOiil eyP to i. n.U.' -iilc nf i'lm. (st..'jii!.'W ;.!■!■. i ' !. h.'-ii.:bt .'n.j:.- vtwtoial- Iv' tnf> of har.'n (straifflM iin- ;. • W li i: I tr:>u I'jrjj*:' uf lu. i-.'!- io Vfp of ht'dd (.itra\Hi^ Utt^-.-, if '. 4J t- .:k% ' ■ -. ■;'>rf. f of iii<.»it . to i: utlei-ssdo of ihro.vt in-vtit*' j,: '..: <> 3 'i ■', rti if ■.'iiUl c!uH<. i.<^ J.' duko!' if '» 4 ^\• to ei.- (<...<. ui''h l«li)\v tiyt) ., . . ■ i (i 2 I '"*» t \ ■ i"> .ri* ii ' limw' ^ I .'.V -irdnpoi»<), rcp'^ctiTpU". .v." ^f--.* ■ .'lu i oa" hundred arrl -.• ' £• • i>-/'.'. in ay lie d-nsider-d .;;:'Ui.ij'f;'nc»;; ■• '■■f rroportions. It iri'ivi'^ il .-nil'*- *h vft>-»i 1 ith j'ri.-at s^'if'.tio^s a:. I ^rf.::(*. I Jam J ^ ^ < 17) n -^ c: ^ o ■e U) ^ >■= ■ ~^ "y S ""o >. -j^ i^ P^ ;c QJ C ■hus horeali, is not usually mot with in large numbers, and is seldom found m shallow bays or lagoons. We have seen them as far south as San Diego Bay on the California coast, and as for north as Behring Sea; showing plainly, that the two species of the same genus have a feeding -ground which embraces at least the western coast of North and South America. SECTION YIII.— THE COWFISH. TcBsiops GiLLn, Doll. This porpoise is larger than the Striped or the Right Whale species, and is known by the name of Cowfish. It is longer also in proportion to its girth, and is snout is somewhat contracted. Its teeth are much larger, straight, conical and sharply pointed, but less in number. A specimer taken at Monterey, in 1871 r!n ^\ ^\' '^^^Z. '"""'^ '^'" '^'"■"■' "' ^'"^"'' '' ^^^°g black all over, lightened a htt e below. Tins description is based upon two momentary observations -the first at San Bar^.lome Bay, in 1853, and the second in Ballenas Lagoon, in 1859 The habits of the Cowfi.sl, as observed on the coasts of California and Mexico, are strikingly chfferent from that of the true porpoises. It is often remarked by whale- uien that they are a "mongrel breed" of doub'Pul character, being frequently seen m company with Blackfish, sometimes with porpoises, and occasionally with Ilump- backs, 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, o^ lu fives and sixes-rarely a larger number together-straggling about in a vagrant manner through the winding estuaries, subsisting on the fish that abound in those 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 111 listless attitudes among the plentiful supplies of food surrounding them ir t 102 MARINE MAMMALS OF THE NORTH-WESTERN COAST. Approximate Outmnrs of a Cowfish. Approximate Outlinf.s of a Whitf.headeh or Mottli i> Grampus. Approximatk Outlines of a Bottlknosed Grampus. Ai'PROXIMATK OUTl.INKS i}V A I'anama Grampus. THE DOLPHINS. jQg GRAMPUSES. Of this group of the Delphinid,^, which has been observed along the Pacific North American Coast, there is but little known ; they are commonly distinguished by the names given in the list of the dolphins found upon this coast. Our per- sonal knowledge of these obscure animals is so limited that we have hesitated whether or not to mention them; but after due consideration we submit the fol- lowmg remarks: SECTION IX.-TnE WHITEHEADED OR MOTTLED GRAMPUS. Ghampds SiEABNan, Dull. The average length of the Whiteheaded or Mottled Grampus may be ten feet is muzzle terminates in a rounded point, and very nearly resembles that of the Wu^ .on^ruut. Its dorsal fin is narrow, quite high, and slightly falcated; hence he ammal is sometimes taken for the Orca aier, and its general appearance and movements through the water are very similar to those of that animal. Its indi- .dual marks vary more than any other species of the toothed whales of the coast nnlo the preva.hng color is very dark, approaching to black, the head and anterior ort.on of the body-as far as the pectorals in some examples-are white, in hers , ,s only partially so; and frequently they are seen more or less mot led h hght gray to the region of the dorsal fin. They are gregarious, and congre- xte f oquently m large schools; at other times two or three, or even a solitarv >d.v.dual will be met with, wandering about the coast or up ihe bay:! qut f |od. winch consists of fish and several varieties of cvustaceans. It is rarely taken 1 It IS extremely wild and shy. ' ' SECTION X.— THE 50TTLEtfOSED ORAMPUS. ineoan, I, color approaches nearer to brown than black. The f.n on the Lk d placed mnch nearer the eandal On than on other specie, of the same genus. '11 104 MARINE MAMMALS OF THE NORTH-WESTERN COAST. The name "Bottlonose" is said to have been given it by reason of the head sembling the upper portion and neck of a junk-l)ottle ; if so, from our observat of it (which was many times, from the vessel's deck or masthead), in its dif cut natural positions, the bottle must have been one witli a very large but exec ingly short ) « jk ; still the comparison is not, perhaps, inappropriate. The larj of this specii'J are not less than twenty- five foot long, and otherwise are similai their proportions to the Blacklish. The head appears to be of a shape between t of the Globiocephalus and the Phocceaa vomerina, having a short rounded beak. ' habit? of the Grampus are such as nearly preclude capture, and little is known its peculiarities. Two or three are generally seen together, ''rounding" to go d( as soon as they come to the surface of the water and spout, and when ii rising may be beyond view. An exception to this, however, occurred in July August, 1856, on the coast between Cape St. Lucas and Ccrros Island, at wl time we saw large numbers of thorn going in schools, ten, twenty, or tli together, nearly all being of the largest growth ; their actions were a good i tation of a school of small Cachalots — spouting several times when up, only remaining down the usual time of Sperm Whales of their apparent s Several fruitless trials were made to capture one. In two instances the harpo were fastened eifectually, and the consequence was that the animals immodiai went down with great velocity, each in its descent taking a line one hundred fifty fathoms long, almost before tlie boats' crews knew what they were about. I is said, however, that they have been taken with comi)aratively little difficu I where the boats were supplied with lines upwards of three hundred fathoms h I Tlie (lil produced by the liottlenose is reputed to be equal in quality to i ' of the Sperm Whale, and the yield is in a similar ratio to that from the Black I and Killer. I ,, SECTION" XI.-THH PAXAMA aUAMPUS. In ^farch, 1853, oil' Panama Bay, (Hi board tlie bark HI) O-mnrle, we capti what were supposed to be two small Blackfish ; but, on making an examination was decided that thoy were a species of grampus. Our notes are as follow : Lengtli of largest specimen, ten feet. Back liu [ laceil as ou a Blackfish. per end of dorsal more pointed than that of the (Hahiocephilus — the ulmlo liu very nearly the form of that of the Striped or Common Porpoise. Boiiy lesi I circumference in proportion to length than tiiat of I he Blacklish. Form of 1 ; somewhat pointed, approaching to a boak. Color, a uniform jet black. Avoi THE DOLPUIKS. ,„. 105 .hicknc, of blubber, ab„„t .„ i„eh ; its color i, ,„i,e red, anc, the oil roKtae,! SECTIO.Y XII.-THE PUGET SOUND GRAMPUS. In Port Townsend Bay, Washington Te.ritory June 19th IRM o of small whales, ovulontlv x sno.in« f ' ' ^ ^''^''^ "-™^'^^ -- or eight individ r wl ^"™'"' "'"" ''"' ^""^«'^"- '" ^^'^'^ <'f fin was nan-owor v v 2o T , " ""' ^^' ''"'^ ^^^^^ '^ ^"^ ^'^ ^^--^ fom .s fluk s S 'u ' '"' ^'""^ ^'""* ^"^^-^""^^^^ «^ ^'- -'-l-s length uuivos. fro fai as our observations go, the Piio-of c;n„n,l n not numerous, and they are but rarolv « , / Grampuses are w.r„ .b.ei, . .Je„.xr:r:r :^:;™^:r °'^"^^'-'°° SECTION Xin._THE- SAN DIEGO BAY ORAMPUS. .ho,";:';:,;::; ;;;:: 'rC'Tc^''"^ r ""°" -'-' --'-'-'^ - ^™iy «... „„,ri, .,,0 „,„, „ „„„„ „ ,, '^zT'^: r n T'""'"""' "' """■'> '"■ less ,vl,ii, b,.,,,.,ll, I, r , , , "■ " '''■"■■'' »'"'"'. "'iU, tlH.r ,„.o,.„,,i„„,, „,„„, „,„ ,v.,le, ' , ■ '''"° '""" °' >""Vom.ut, ],„vo llm» far nrcclu,lo,l cverv , rr ' '"' '''^'""'" "'"' ''"I'M lOG MARINE MAMMAL3 OF THE NORTH-WESTERN CO. SECTIOX XIV.— THE SQUAREHEADED GRAMPUS. The conflicting descriptions given of this animal forbid an exaci Some observers say it has nearly the form of the Sperm Whale — head, which is square and extremely bulky. Others aver that its i "lays low," terminates in a short beak, with a high .square foreheac observations have been confined to distant views of them from 1 or from tlie deck ; yet thoy liave afforded considerable opportunity ' movements, wliicli are very nearly an imitation of the smaller Sf Their spouting and ''turning of flukes," which are performed with regularity, have deceived many an expert whaleman, and repeatedly tl l)een lowered in pursuit of them, the animab: having been mistakei lots. The Squareheadod Crrampuses, however, frequently remain long underneath the surface of tlie water tluui the Sperm Whales, and sol go in largo schools, as do tlie Cachalots and lilackflsh. In this have more the iiabit.s of the Orcas. They are said to yield a suf of oil, but in small quantity, compared to their size. SECTION XV.— THE BROWNSIDED DOLPHIN OF SANTA B CHANxXEL. Although the knowledge wo possess of this dolphin is very me discovered the animal after the natural history part of this work h pared for the press — still it is thought advisable to submit a doscrip brief it may be. While lying at anchor ofl' the town of Santa Ikrbai 1873, a school of what we took to bo the Striped or Common P soon playing around the vessel. Their irregular movements, and the u of time they remained upon the surface of the water, afl'ordod an o study them. Their forms wore apparently the sanio as that cf th Common Porpoi.so, except tliat the dorsal fin is of the triangular sli present witii Ikird's Dolphin, and the color on its sides is brown, w is of a dull l)la('k , hence it has been given the provisional name o Hided Dolplr .. Willi regard to the habits of the animal, wo observed feature: that of darting through the thick beds of kelp whi(di front Really they seemed to dolight in sporting among it, and occasionall THE DOLPHINS. 107 band would be scon leaping clear of the water, taking with it long sprays of the fucus. All our efforts to capture one proved unavailing ; but enough was seen to convince us that they were an undescribed ppecios. SECTION XVI.— THE XARWHAL. MONODON MONOCEROS, LijlH. Although the Narwhal is but rarely mot with in that part of the Arctic Ocean accessible to the whalemen who pass through IJehring Strait, yet, boj'ond question, it is an occasional visitor to those icy waters, and even to the neighboring shores of eastern Siberia. We have it authentically stated by a trader and traveler in Siberia, that the aborigines of tliat frozen coast have a superstitious dread of the casual visits of tiio Narwhal, and when one is soon by a single native, it is regarded as an ill omen, and the beholder either immediately puts an end to his existence, or he becomes a prey to evil forebodings, which ultimately bring tlie poor victim to an untimely end. The tusks of the Narwiial have been exchanged in barter by the inhabitants of that portion of north-eastern Asia bordering the Arctic Ocean, and, as articles of traffic, have passed from one party to another, till they have finally reached the trading- posts on the northern shores of the Okhotsk Sea. Cap- tain Arnold, who was engaged in a trading expedition from San Francisco to the Okhotsk coast, in 18G8, obtained at Tavisk I5ay a very fine tusk of a Narwhal, which measured eight feet in length, including the root, which was fifteen inches. The tusk at its base was seven and a half inches in circumforonco, and tapering to its extremity, where its diameter was one- half of an inch. From its junction with the head, its whitish and polished surface exhibits a uniform twist, which adds much to its symmetrical beauty. Relative to the natural history of the Nar- whal, we can state nothing from our own observations, but make tlio following extracts from Codmaii's monograph of the animal, which is based entirely upon tlie observations of the renowiiod Scoresby : "The Narwhal, when fully grown, measures from thirteen to fourteen feet in length, exclusive of the tusk, and at the thickest part, which is two feet behind the fins, the circumference is about eight or nine feet. The part of the body interior to the liiis luul liead is paraboloidiil ; tho middle portion of tho body is almost cylindrical ; the posterior portion, to within tiu'ee or four feet of the tail, is somewhat conical ; thence a ridge, commencing both at the back and belly; the section becomes lirst an ellipse, and then a rhom- bus at tlic junction of the tail. Tho back and belly ridges run iialf-way or more A 108 MARINE MAMMALS OF THE NORTH-WESTERN COAS across tlio tail ; the ridges of the tail run the same way along the bod}' ridges on the sides of the rump. The back appears depressed and fla four feet posterior to the neck. The head forms about one- seventh of length of the animal, being small, blunt, and round. The mouth is incapable of much extension, having a wedge-shaped under lip. The eye one inch in their largest diameter, and are placed on a lino with the the mouth at about thirteen inches from the snout. The opening c situated six inches behind the eye on the same horizontal lino, is of th of a small knitting-needle. The spiracle, or blow- hole, is situated immed the eyes, and is a singular semicircular opening about three and one-hal diameter, and one inch and a half in length. The fins are tAvelve c inches long, and six or eight broad, and placed at one- fifth of the len animal from the snout. Whore fixed to the body, the fin is elliptical. Ir Narwhal, the ground is wholly white, with dark -gray or blackish spo spots are of a roundish or oblong form ; on the back, where they sold two inches in diameter, they are the darkest and most crowded togethei sides these spots are fainter, smaller, and more open. On the boU^ extremely faint and few. A close patch of brownish -black, without an often found on the upper part of the nock, just behind the blow- hole. ' Narwhals are almost uniformly of a bUiish-gray, or slate color. Very o uals become almost white. The remarkable peculiarity of the Narwhal : spiral, ivory tusk, which grows from the left side of the inferior port upper jaw, sometimes to the length of ten feet or more. This tusk ii covered with a dark, greasy incrustation above, while below and at the kept white by use. In addition to this external tusk, peculiar to the i is another on the right side of the head, about nine inches long, imbed skull. In females, as well as in young males, in which the tooth docs externally, the rudi'^vjuts of two tusks are generally found in the upper The food of the Narwhal is said to consist of molluscous animals, times fish, although the creature is destitute of teeth exclusive of its i\ Narwiial is considered a harmless animal, but active and possessed of c swiftness ; yet, when on the surface of the water for the purpose of res * Scorcsby, in his Grecnlan'l voyage, killed a of conical form and obliquely trur female Narwhal ha^^nf,' an external horn four thickest end, and without the kn( feet three inches long, twelve inches of which many of the milk -tusks. The hori were imbedded in the skull. It had also, as left side of tlio head, and the spi usual, a milk-tusk nine inches long, which was trorsal. THE DOLPHINS. 100 frequently lies motionless for several minutes. The Xarwhal is captured by shooting It w.th a ride or it is taken with the harpoon and lance, as are other whales. The blubber of tlie body yiekls a fnie quality of oil. The Greenlanders and Esqui- maux utilize the whole creature. The flesh is devoured as excellent food- the oil IS burned in their moss lamps; the intestines are manufactured into lines and garments; and the tusks are flishioned into spears and other weapons PART II. P I N N I P E D I A . • . IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-S) k /. A 4t 1.0 I.I ^123 |2.5 1.8 us Wtau IL25 i 1.4 M 1.6 ^ <^ % -^^^^ % > vV^ ^ om HiotDgiaphic Sciences Corporation 4 \ as WBST MAIN S?it?2i WHSYIR.N.Y. MS80 (716) 172-4903 '^< ^; PART II.— PINNIPEDIA. INTRODUCTION. A VARiETT of marine animals inhabit the western coast of North America which are scientifically classed under the head of Pinnipedia, but familiarly known under the general name of Seals. Those described in the following monograph are enu- merated, and their technical names given, at the conclusion of the catalogue appended to this work. All the pinnipedes periodically inhabit both the water and the land adjacent. Their food consists of fish, crustaceans, and various other marine invertebrates found about the shores, and of sea- fowls. All the different species of pinnipedes bring forth and suckle their young in a similar manne; to other mammals. The general form of the animal is elongated, with quite full anterior proportions, exclusive of the head and neck. The posterior part of the body is tapering, and terminates at the junction with the hind limbs. Their appendages for locomotion are commonly called flippers. The anterior, or side ones, nearly correspond to the fore limbs of carnivorous animals ; and, in some species, they take closely the form of the pectorals of Cetaceans. Where one set of flippers is furnished with claws, or nails, the other is nearly or quite destitute of them ; and, whether it be the anterior or posterior members which are thus armed, it is these of which the animal principally makes use in its movements upon the land. These flippers are very flexible, and seem much better suited for propulsion in the water chiin for terrestrial locomotion. The body of the animal is usually covered with short and bristly hair ; but in some few species their inner coating is a thick, rich fur, with long, glistening hairs over all. The geographical distribution of the pinnipedes is unlimited, the family being distributed in difiprent groups over every iiono and both hcmisphcrea. llABiiiaIi*nuu.-Mw tWI small • while ia another posture the creature seems distorted into a swollen form throughout. Hence we shall introduce a few illustrative figures in addition to the p ites which represent the general forms of these animals. CHAPTER I. THE SEA ELEPHANT. Maoeobhinot ANOusTmosTBis, GUI. (Plate xx, fig. 1, 2.) Among the varieties of marine mammals which periodically resort to the land, no one attains such gigantic proportions as tae Sea Elephant. This animal, which was sometimes called the Elephant Seal, and known to the old Californians as the m/ante marino, had a geographical distribution from Cape Lazaro, latitude 24° 46' north, longitude 112« 20' west, to Point Reyes, latitude 38° north, longitude 122= 58' west on the coast of California ; and, strange as it may appear, we have no authentic accounts of this species of amphibious animal being found elsewhere in the northern hemisphere. At the south, however, about Patagonia, Tierra del Fuego, and numerous islands in both the Atlantic and Pacific, and the Crozets Kerguolen, and Herd's Islands, in the high latitudes of the Indian Ocean, have been pomts where the Sea Elephants have gathered ^n almost incredible numbers and where hundreds of thousands of them have been slain by the seamen, pursuing then- prey in those distant regions. The sexes vary mi-ch in size, the male being frequently triple the bulk of the female; the oldest of the former will average fourteen to sixteen feet; the lo-gest wo have ever seen measured twcnty-two feet from tip to tip. The following meas- urements (m feet and inches) and notes were taken of two large females and new-born pup, obtained on the coast of Lower California: one Lengtli from tip to tip Round the body behind fore flippers 5 lo "fi 9 Ko. I. No. a. 9 0 10 0 Length of tail . 0 2 0 2J Q <2 Q 01 Breadth of tail at root Length of posterior flippers - „ Expansiuu of posterior flippers , o Length of fore flippers Width of foro flippers q 0 (lUJ 116 MABINE MAMMALS OF THE NOBTH-WESTEBN COAST. No. I. No. 9. Bound extremity of body at root of tail 16 17 From tip of nose to comer of mouth 0 7 0 8 Opening of mouth 0 4| 0 4^ From tip of nose to eye 0 8 0 9 From tip of nose to fore flippers 2 7 3 0 Length of fissure between the eye lids 0 0 0 If Nev-bocn Pop. Length from tip to tip 4 0 Length of posterior flippers 0 1\ Length of fore flippers 0 7 Breadth of fore flippers 0 2 J From tip of nose to side flippers 1 6 From tip of nose to eye 0 4 From eye to ear (the minute opening of which is barely perceptible) 0 2 From tip of nose to comer of mouth 0 4^ Opening of mouth 0 3 The posterior flippers of the Sea Elephant are very nearly like those of the Leopard Seal, except that they are clawless. The fore flippers, however, are fur- nished each with Ave nails, which, in shape, somewhat resemble those of the human hand, but in color they are a dull black ; the longest in the two adult examples examined measured one and a half inches. The two teats of the smaller animal were twenty inches from the posterior termination of the body. In the larger one they were two feet and three inches from the root of the tail, which is extremely short and pointed. The whiskers on each side of the face, in both specimens, numbered from thirty -five to forty, the longest of which were seven inches; their color was of a dark brown tipped with a lighter shade. Eight or ten bribtle-like hairs were present upon or near the upper lid of the eye, and constituted the eye- brows. The pup, whose measurements are given above, had forty -six whiskers on one side of its face, and forty -two on the other, and ten frizzly hairs over each eye. Its color was a dark brown, or nearly a chestnut shade. The color of the adult Sea Elephant is a light brown, when its thin short hair is grown to full length ; but, immediately after shedding, it becomes like that of the land elephant, or of a bluish cast. The average thickness of its skin is fully equal to that of the largest bullock. A fat bull, taken at Santa Barbara Island, by the brig Mary Helen, in 1852, was eighteen feet long, and yielded two hundred and ten gallons of oil. 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 bocomea wrinkled — the fUrrowa crosaing each other, producing a checkered •tm^l^^^ *f" ■"■"»*■■. "Ilk ivm^f^mmm^mmm' ^W Plate .::x. •«?fe«*- ^.r . 5 ^' i7 rn /n p/i aV/ EA-KLt'.PHANT. i MACRORHIMUP ANOUSTIROSTKIS.! GlI.L. 1 M A L F. . 2 >■ E M .^ '-ir. tIKA-LloIl lEUMETCPU? HTELLKRi.j Gill 1 MA^t.a FEMALE. ' rJPHANT. m upper 4 **!« It;}-' . 'jit, iA>fS* ttiujigij. • ' v.'eth riiailar to . ' -t'. nf't\yeeB extremir •uo commou \..-. 7 wofo or less marked with nrfaJH: spote. Its wi^Ie of the Hicuth forward i^m the larger . «;rt.uture is jji & state of quk-tude, m<\ the '^1 the mami mkm sm ewit-ed i-espitation, (Lu r[df;e# ftt^jriv disftppenr. The mouth is • lUe asa hmn. The aU.»it femalea averago tun <-y »m 'Mt^tUkii yf the proboscis, tho nose bo- '''■* *»^^*' '^^^f^ tL.. lytmth. Their oaruiio i:«j-ger ftt ilw U'^e, and hollow nerirly ■ tV S..a l:.f j;h&nt grounds, iv.t huvitig ' ' »'>« (j'lilis or leg bones ' ' Slows. I tii« foaming '>r,«>rrfc lions •■, or ■ low-(Wfw, '■■% » active on JSKttiniiH 8r.v * -ating gvut, tti,,' '^adiug f\mr u 4 «H»tid, fi%' The pnii ■*^d tbiir . > •■, mrclv i . ^ ,.1. ,.i : . , :i\r^ •". t)(< ooiitiit-.b -^ nanner thor WiHild a5c<^,] the •igregnting l.y hundreds, ffer-v excited to inordiuaty ,W*,,,^^ ■ring with thoir o/,t - .ifessliug 1,'rout. ftittjjijie ?. utd tliom i.ui br.keii *»•'. . more, ai'e. wlien they aj^ r\ « ,., ■He Bcasona for "haul^^ j^. & . jnt ps^rioda ajig kuamp ®eB,.i4j, ,4,,,, ■bull imd M^-,- »«4 -*l|»n.j, ^.4 ■ ''ti the iiiJimia,.v. „( cljm; • ^i their jajotliw* »4 t^u ^ may ^.miUy hwe dyi*«a ^iijwim"""'"" 'I ■^. ,\ ■■/..^i 0' 5r' 'ii^ij* '*y-- 'f: f'f '■ -oil .*«*"' #* THE SEA ELEPHANT. 117 surface — and sometimes ' the throat is more or less marked with white spots. Its proboscis extends from opposite the angle of 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 more elongated, and the ridges nearly disappear. The mouth is furnished with teeth similar to those of the Sea Lion. The adult females average ten feet in length between extremities. They are destitute of the proboscis, the nose be- ing like that of the common seal, but projecting more over the mouth. Their canine teeth are shorter, smoother below the sockets, larger at the base, and hollow nearly to the upper point. The sailors on a voyage to the Sea Elephant grounds, not having a supply of tobacco pipes, made them of these teeth, and the quills or leg bones of the pelican ; the former furnishing the bowls, and the latter the stems. The habits of the huge beasts, when jn shore, or loitering about the foaming breakers, are in many respects like those of the Leopard Seals. 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 upon their favorite beaches, which were about the islands of Santa Barbara, Cerros, Guadalupe, San Bonitos, Nativi- dad, San Roque, and Asuncion, and some of the most inaccessible points on the main -land between Asuncion and Cerros. When coming up out of the water, they were generally first seen near the line of surf; then crawling up by degrees, fre- quently 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. Notwith- standing 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 diflerent periods are known among the hunters as the "pupping cow," "brown cow," "bull and cow," and "March bull" seasons ; but on the Califv)rnia coast, either from the influence of climate or some other cause, we have noticed young pups with their mothers at quite the opposite months. The continual hunting of the animals may possibly have driven them to if 118 MARINE MAMMALS OF THE NORTH-WESTERN COAST. 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 urtil the old hair falls oflF. By the time this change comee about, the animal is supposed to lose half its fat ; indeed, it some- times becomes very thin, and is then called a "slim-skin." 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" (retiu-ning to the sea). On warm and sunny days we have watched them come up siugly 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 mode of capturing them is thus : the sailors get between the herd and the water ; then, raising all possible noise by shouting, and at the same time flour- i! battle, or attempt to escape; but a musket -ball through the brain dispatches it ; or some one checks its progress by thrusting a lance into the roof of its mouth, which causes it to settle on its haunches, when two men with heavy oaken clubs give the creature repeated blows about the head, until it is stunned or killed. After securing those that are disposed to show resistance, the party rush on the main body. The onslaught creates such a panic among these peculiar creatures, that, losing all control of their actions, they climb, roll, and tumble over each other, when prevented from farther retreat by the projecting cliffs. We recollect in one instance, where sixty -five were captured, that several' were found showing no signs of having been either clubbed or lanced, but were THE SEA ELEPHANT. 119 smothered by numbers of their kind heaped upon them. The whole flock, when attacked, manifested alarm by their peculiar roar, the sound of which, among the largest males, is nearly as loud as the lowing of an ox, but more prolonged in one strain, accompanied by a rattling noise in the throat. The quantity of blood in this species of the seal tribe i_ supposed to be double that contained in an ox, in proportion to its size. After the capture, the flaying begins. First, with a large knife, the skin is ripped along the upper side of the body its whole length, and then cut down as fur as practicable, without rolling It over ; then the coating of fat that lies between the skin and flesh — which may b^» from one to seven inches in thickness, accord- ing to the size and condition of the animal — is '•'* into "horse -pieces," about eight inches wide, and twelve to fifteen long, and a puicture is made in each piece suflSciently large to pass a rope through. After flen?in^ the upper portion of the body, it is rolled over, and cut all around, as alv "c de'<:ribed. Then the "horse- pieces" are strung on a raft-roie (a rope three fathoij;s long, with an eye -splice in one rriV, and taken to the edge of the surf; a loii^ line is made fast to it, the end of which is thrown to a boat lying just outside of the breakers ; they are then hauled through the rollers and towed to the vessel, where the oil is tried out by boiling the blubber, or fat, in large pots set in a brick furnace for the purpose. The oil produced is superior to whale oil for lubricating purposes. Ow- ing to the contmual pursuit of the animals, they have become nearly if not quite extinct on the California coast, or the few remaining have fled to some unknown point for security. Thus far, we have been writing of the Sea Elephant and manner of capturing it on the islands and coasts of the Californias ; and, although thousands of the animals, in past years, gathered upon the shores of the islands contiguous to the coast, as well as about the pebbly or sandy beaches of the peninsula, affording full cargoes to the oil- ships, yet their numbers were but few, when compared with the multitudes which once inhabited the remote, desolate islands, or places on the main, within the icy regions of the southern hemisphere ; and even at the expense of digression, we have thought it well to give an account of the animal in those regions. Several geographical points have already been mentioned, and among these Kerguelen Land, or Desolation Island, and Herd's Island, are the great resort- ing-places of these animals at the present day. The last-named place is in latitude 53® 03' south, and longitude 72' 30' to 73" 30' east. Its approximate extent is sixty miles. Its shores are somewhat bold, broken, and dangerous to land upon ; no harbor being found that is secure for the smallest vessel. In the smoothest 1 120 MARINE MAMMALS OF THE lORTH-WESTEBN COAST. time/ when landing, the boat's crew are obliged to jump into the water, to hold and steady the boat, that it may not be staved on the beach, or swept out by the reced- ing undertow. In fact, a heavy surge always beats upon those frozen, rock -bound shores, varied only by the combing seas, that dart higher yet up the precipitous cliffs, when urged on by the oft -repeated gales that sweep over the southern por- tions of the Indian Ocean. Captain Cook, the celebrated explorer, on his voyages of discovery in the ^es- olution, when he visited Kerguelen Land, called it the Island of Desolation, on account of its barren and uninhabitable appearance, although it possessed flne har- bors, where the hardy mariner could rest securely with his ship during the violent winter storms. But not so at Herd's Island. The Sea Elephant oil -ship, breasting the changing winds and waves to procure a cargo, is officered by the most fearless and determined men, who have had experience in whaling, sealing, or Sea Elephant hunting in those rough seas. The majority of the men are shipped at the Cape de Verde Island ■«, they being of a muscular race, who have proved themselves to be excellent hands for the laborious work. The ship, when first sent out, is provided with a "double crew," and is accompanied by a small vessel, of a hundred tons or less, for a "tender." On arriving at the island, the ship is moored with heavy chains and anchors, and every other preparation is made for riding out any gale that may blow toward the land. The sails are unbent, all the spars above the top- masts are sent down, and, with the spare boats, arc landed and housed during the "season," whicli begins about the middle of November, and ends in the middle of February. Quarters are provided for that portion of the ship's company which is assigned to duty on shore. The habitation is a small hut, properly divided off into apartments — one for the mates, one for the steerage officers, and another for the men. This dwelling is no larger than necessity demands. Its walls are built of the detached pieces of lava, or bowlders, nearest at hand ; rough boards and tarred canvas, supplied from the ship, form the roof, which must be made water- proof and snow- proof. During the day, light is admitted to each room through a single pane of glass, or a spare dock or side light — perhaps found among the rubbish on board the vessel ; and doors are made after the fashion of "good old colony times," with the latch -string ever swinging in the wind. In this dank habitation, planted between an iceberg on one side and a bluff volcanic mountain Oil the other, these rough men of the sea at once adapt themselves to their several situations, and all the discipline is maintained that they would be subject to if on board ship. The high surf at this island renders it impracticable to haul off the blubber in "rafts," as at Desolation Island and on the coasts of the Californias : II THE SEA ELEPHANT. 121 hence it is usually "minced" (the "horse -pieces" cut into thin slices) and put into tight casks to prevent any waste of the oil ; then, when a smooth day comes, they are rolled down the beach, and pulled through the rollers by the boats ; or the tender is anchored near shore, a line is run to the vessel, and the casks hauled alongside, hoisted in, and transferred to the ship, where the oil is tried out and "stowed down" in the usual manner. As soon as the season is over — or, rather, when the time has come for the ship to leave, either for home, or to find shelter in some harbor at the Island of Desolation — the shore -party is supplied with provisions, all the surplus articles that were landed are re -embarked, the heavy anchors are ut last weighed, and amid hail, snow, and sleet, the ship under her half- frozen canvas bounds over the billows, and soon disappears in the offing. The vessels having departed, the officers and men left on the island resume their daily occupations. Usually the number is divided into two "gangs," stationed at separate places, where clusters of huts have sprung up for the use of those belonging to the different vessels, who have from time to time made it a tempo- rary abiding- place. Try-works are built, and a shanty is erected for a cooper's shop. These two habitable spots are known as "Whisky Bay" and "The Point;" the former being a slight indentation of the shore -line, where the Elephants in countless numbers were found by the first vessel visiting there, which, as report says, had a supply of "old rye" stowed in her run. The captain, in the heat of hip successful prosecution of the arduous business of procuring a cargo, gave his men permission to "splice the main brace strong and often," so long as the work went briskly on; and it is humorously told that this noted landing-place was "christened" at the cost of barrels of the beverage, thus securing to it a name as lasting as that of the prominent headland on the borders of the Okhotsk Sea, well known to whalemen as "Whisky Bluff." From day to day the separated parties, living some thirty miles apart, hunt the animals for leagues along the shores, with the varied success incident to season or circumstances ; and, although on the same island, the face of the country is so broken — being rent into deep chasms, walled in as it were by fjiddy, shelving heights, making it impossible to travel, even on foot, far inland toward its extremities, and the shores hedged in by sharp ridges of basalt, stretching out into the sea — the two divir'.ons know nothing of each other until the vessels return, which is frequently after an absence of from eight to twelve months, and during that time a thousand or more barrels uf oil nay have been collected. Notwithstanding the hardships and deprivations that are undergone to make a MiBiKi MimiAU. — 16. i i 122 MARINE MAMMALS OF THE NORTH-WESTERN COAST. successful voyage, there is no lack of enterprising merchants ready to invest their capital in any adventure when there is a prospect of ultimate gain ; and no ocean or sea where there is a possibility of navigating appears too perilous for the advent- urous seamen to try their luck upon. The very fact of the voyage being fraught with danger and difficulty tends to stimulate them to action. And in this remote part of the world of which we have spoken, that was unknown to the early explor- ers, as well as to those who have more recently voyaged toward the Antarctic con- tinent— and for the geographical position of which we are indebted to the enter- prise and nautical skill of those of our countrymen who commenced the life of a sailor by "coming through the hawse-holes" — we find that rival parties are left on its bleak shores, who, when opposed the one to the other, watch with greater care every movement that may be made, than the coming and going of the creatures which are the objects of pursuit. Many a war of words has arisen, with the brand- ishing of club and lance in the strife ; but, like the pioneer California miners, when left to rely on their own good sense for self-government, there was littl to fear but that all laws made would be simple, just, and strictly adhered to. When parties from different vessels are located on the same beach, the custom is for all to wor'.v together when killing the animals, as well as when skinning and cutting the Liubber from the bodies into "horse -pieces." These are thrown into one or more piles ; after which, the men of each party arc ranged in squads, and each one, in turn, draws a piece from the heap, until all is disposed of. These divisions are made whenever the animals are found and killed in any considerable numbers ; and, if far from the rendezvous, the blubber is "backed," or rolled in casks to the main depot. "Backing" is the stringing of eight or ten pieces on a fole, which is carried on the shoulders of two men ; but if a cask is used, three mer. aru allot- ted to each one of six or eight barrels' capacity, to roll which the distat.ce of two miles is allowed to be a day's work. While the ship is away, homeward bound, or returning to the island for another cargo, the tender may bo at Desolation Island, picking up what scattering Elephants can be found upon shores that once swarmed with millions of those huge beasts; or a short whaling- cruise is made, until the time comes for commencing operations at the island. Hunting for the scattering animals about the shores of Desolation Island, "between seasons," is the most exposed and solitary pursuit either in the whalo or seal fishery. The tender takes a detachment of the crew, and plies along the island coast, landing one or two men on r^ach of the best beaches, with a supply of water and provisions ; a tent or shanty is erected, partly of wood, partly of canvas ; and the skins of the Elephants furnish the floor, couch, and covering of THE SEA ELEPHANT. 123 the temporary habitation. Here the banished hunter or hunters rest at night, after the fatigues of ranging along the shores, killing and flaying the animals met with, and transporting the blubber to a place of deposit, where it is buried, to pre- vent the gulls from devouring it, until taken aboard. As the season returns at Herd's Island, the vessels are usually "on the gt:>und;" the treacherous surf is again passed and repassed in the light, frail whale-boats, landing the fresh crew from home, who relieve those who have thus literally "seen the elephant." The time passes quickly away, in the toil and excitement of killing and flensing ; and again the floating fragment of the world departs for the land of civilization, leaving her last crew from home to pass an iutarctic winter, amid the solitudes of icebergs and the snow -covered peaks of the mountain land. No passing sail is seen to break the monotony of their voluntary exile; even many varieties of sea-birds found at Desolation Island do not deign to visit them. Multitudes of penguins, however, periodically resort to the island, and their eggs, together with the tongues of the Sea Elephants, and one or two kinds of fish, furnish a welcome repast for all hands, by way of change from that substantial fare called "salt-horse" and "lard- tack." Beside the close stoves in their apartments, which are heated with coal from the ship, or the fat of the Elephant pups, and the flickerings of a murky oil -lamp, the long winter evenings are passed in smoking and playing amusing games — "old sledge" and "seven-up" being favorites — and the reckless joking that circulates among adventurers who make light of ill-luck, and turn reverses into ridicule. The extent and value of the Sea Elephant fishery, from its commencement up to the present date, is not definitely known, as the ships engaged in the enterprise, when whaling and sealing was at its height in the southern ocean, were also in pursuit of the valuable fur- bearing animals, as well as the Cachalot and the ba- loena ; hence their cargoes were often made up of a variety of the oils of com- merce. We have reliable accounts, however, of the Sea Elephant being taken for its oil as early as the beginning of the present century. At those islands, or upon the coasts on the main, where vessels could find secure shelter from all winds, the animals have long since been virtually annihilated ; and now they are only sought after in the remote places we have mentioned, and these points are only accessible under the great difficulties that beset the mariner when sailing near the polar re- gions of the globe. Enough data are at hand, nevertheless, to show that hundreds of thousands of the animals, yielding as many barrels of oil, have been taken from Desolation and Herd's Islands, by American ships, which for many years have main- tained a monopoly of the business. CHAPTER II. THE SEA LION. (Plate xxii, fig. 1, 2.) Among the numerous species of marine mammalia found upon the Pacific Coast of North America, none excite more interest than the Sea Lion ; even the valuable and almost domesticated Fur Seal of the PribylofF group of islands fails to equal it in utility to the Aleutians, who depend upon it not only as a staple article of food, but obtain, by the sale of its silky skin, their foreign luxuries of every nat- ure. But the Fur Seal {CaUarhinus) dwells only periodically in isolated places, while the Sea Lion, although having an extended geograj 'lical range, is a frequent- er, not only of remote and secluded places, but also of thickly inhabited coasts j entering inland bays and rivers ; at times disporting among the shipping, and quite frequently making some detached rock or reef, contiguous to the busy shore, a permanent abode, where it seems to enjoy its approximate union with civilization. The Sea Lion is known, among naturalists, as belonging to the sub -family IHcho- phocirujB, of which there are three genera, and several varieties, said to be distribut- ed as follows: Otaria jubata, found on the southern coasts and islands of South America ; Eumetopiaa SteUeri, which inhabits the coasts and islands of the North Pacific, from California and southern Eamschatka northward ; Zahphus OlUef li, found on the coasts and islands of the North Pacific, from Lower California and southern Japan northward ; Zahphus lobatus, of the Australasian seas.* To whatever genus of the IHchophocituB the animals may belong, their general habits, so far as I have had opportunity to observe, a.-e the same ; the only difference being that those among their number who migrate north or south, conform, in some respects, to the various situations they may be placed in between the equatorial and polar regions. *The olassification and geographical distri- Eared Seals, lately published; with an account bution here given, are based upon the authority of the northern Fur Seals, by Oaptain Charles of the valuable work of J. A. Allen, on the Bryant. C»«] THE SEA LION. 125 We are acquainted, however, with only two genera,* one of which {Otaria jubata) inhabits the coast of South America, and the other (Mimetopias Sldleri) we have met with between the tropical lines of the Pacific, from the Qalapagos islands — which are situated about the equator — northward on the west coast of North America nearly to Behring Strait, and westward to the Island of Saghalien on the coast of eastern Siberia. The first -named genus has a short, rounded head, prom- inent above the eyes, and a shaggy mane, which imparts a resemblance to the king of beasts ; hence the appropriate name, Sea Lion, which was given it when first described. The Eumetopas Stelleri is of more symmetrical proportions than the Otaria jubata, and very nearly resembles the Fur Seal, more particularly the males ; and, * Since tho publication of the article "About Sea Lions," in the Overland Monlldy of Septem- ber, 1871, we have had opportunity of making additional observations upon these animals at the Farallone Islands, where wn saw the largest females we have ever met with on the California coast. Hence, what we have formerly taken to be the Eamatopiaa Stelleri may prove to be the Zalophus Gillespiif; but, if such be the fact, both species inhabit tho coast of California, at least as far south as the Farallones. Moreover, both species, if we may be allowed the expression, herd together in the same rookeries. On mak- ing b series of observations upon the outward forms of Sea Lions, it will be found that a confusing variety exists in the figiires of these very interesting animals, espeoially in the shape of the head : some having a short muzzle, with a full forehead; others with forehead and nose somewhat elongated ; and still others of a mod- ified iiaa^o, between the two extremes. Within the past five years, several observers have assured mc that the Sea Lions of the north, pai-ticularly those of St. Paul's Island, Behring Sea, were much larger than those on the coast of California; but this information proves to be incorrect, for the same observers, aft«r visiting the island a second time, and in- vestigating the matter more thoroughly, have arrived at the conclusion that the male Sea Lions there found will rarely exceed eleven feet in extreme length ; while on the coast of Cali- fornia, animals of that length are frequently met with, and, as before stated, there is no lack of cases where the animals have reached the length of twelve feet, and an instance is known, as stated by Professor Davidson, of the U. S. Coast Survey, where the specimen meas- ured fifteen feet from tip to tip. In any event, there is no further question about the northern Sea Lions exceeding in size the Sea Lions of California, as those inhabiting the last-named region are at least fully equal in magnitude to their congeners of the north. The accompany- ing figures may convey a better idea of their forms than a written description. Doubts have been expressed as to the mi- gratory habits of the Sea Lion ; but we are fully convinced that there are individuals, at least, among all the northern herds, that change from the cold latitudes to the tropics, as wo have killed several of the animals upon the southern coast of California, during the month of June, in which were found arrow or spear heads, such as are used by the northern sea -coast natives. Professor Davidson states that in June, 1870, a spear -head, such as is used by the natives of Alaska, was found in a large male Sea Lion, taken at Point Arenas, in latitude 39°, on the coast of California. 126 MARINE MAMMALS OF THE NOBTH-WESTEBN COAST. iiiui)»7^uyi%t!iS» Male Sea Lion Sleeping. Male Sea Lion WAKiNa THE SEA LION. 127 Appearance of a Male Sea Lion when Roaring. Female Sea Lions of St Paul's Island. 128 MARINE MAMMALS OF THE NORTH-WESTERN COAST. at a distance, it is difficult to distinguish between a fully matured Fur Seal and a Sea Lion of ordinary size. The extreme length of the ful -grown male Sea Lion of the north may be set down at sixteen feet from tip of nose to end of posterior flippers, and yield of oil at forty gallons ; but it is seldom they are found meas- uring twelve feet from tip of nose to tip of tail, and the individual yield of oil throughout the season would not exceed ten gallons. Its greatest circumference would not be over eight feet, and its weight about one thousand pounds. Its head and neck are more elongated, and the latter is destitute of the mane which is characteristic of the Lion of the southern seas. Its mouth is armed with strong, glistening, white teeth. Its projecting upper lip is furnished, on each side, with strong, flexible whiskers, which are generally of a white, or yellowish - white color, some of which grow to the length of eighteen inches. When the animal is either excited by curiosity or anger, its eyes are full of expression ; and at such times they appear large, but when the creature is dozing, these members have quite the opposite appearance. Its ears are cylindrical at the root, tapering to a point, are covered with short, fine hair, and lie nearly in a line with the body. Its limbs, which are incased with a sort of thick shagreen, combine the triple functions of legs, feet, and fins, and are far better adapted to locomotion in the watery ele- ment ; where, when excited, its movements are swift and graceful, while on the land, the creature's imposing, though awkward traveling, requires great effort. Its body is covered with short, coarse, shining hair. The color of the adult males is much diversified ; individuals of the same rookery being quite black, with scatter- ing hairs tipped with dull white, while others are of a reddish brown, dull gray, or of light gray above, darker below. The adult female is not half the bulk of the male, and its color is a light brown. One of the average size, taken at Santa Bar- bara Island, coast of California, in the spring of 1871, measured six feet four inches from tip of nose to tip of posterior flippers, and weighed one hundred and eighty -two pounds. We submit the following measurements, etc. (in feet and inches), of a full- grown male Sea Lion (No. 1), taken at the Farallone Islands, July 17th, 1872 ; of an adult female Sea Lio (No. 2), taken at Santa Barbara Island, coast of Califor- nia, April ^2th, 1871; and of a male Sea Lion (No. 3), about ten months old, taken at the last-nt.med island, April 4th, 1872: Ho. 1. No, a. No. 9. Length of animal from tip of nose to tip of posterior flippers, 12 0 6 4 4 10 Length of posterior flippers 2 2 11 0 llj^ Breadth of posterior flippers (expanded) 0 9 0 8 Bound the body behind the pectorals 7 0 8 8 2 8 THE SEA LION. 129 Ro. 1. Ko. 1. Ho. S. From tip of nose to pectorals 6 0 2 1 19 Length of pectorals 2 6 14 13 Breadth of pectorals 1 1 0 6 0 4J Distance between extremities of pectorals 10 0 From tip of nose to eye , 0 3J 0 3^^ From tip of nose to ear 0 8 0 7 Length of ear 0 IJ 0 IJ 0 1 Girth of body at root of posterior flippers 1 6 0 11^ From tip of nose to root of tail 3 lOi From tip of nose to comer of mouth 0 4^ 0 3| From end of lower jaw to comer of mouth 0 3 0 2^ Length of taU 0 7 0 2 0 2J Length of longest whiskers 1 6 0 6 0 6^ Length of longest claws on posterior flippers 0 1^ Breadth of longest claws on posterior flippers 0 Of From root of tail to genital slit 1 2 0 6 From root of tail to hind teats 1 2 From root of tail to forward teats 1 10 Distance between the two hind teats across the belly 0 5 Distance between the two forward teats across the belly 0 8 Thickness of blubber 0 1 0 OJ 0 OJ Number of whiskers on each side of the face: No. 1, thirty -one; No. 2, thir- ty-five; No. 3, thirty -six and thirty -five. Three other males were measured at the same time of the first example, which varied but little in their proportions. The number of claws on posterior flippers of No. 1 were five, three of which were rudimentary. In the adult female example, (No. 2) the blubber was half an inch thick on the back, and one inch on the belly. The following are the measurements, etc. (in feet and inches), of a female Sea Lion (No. 1), supposed to be a yearling, taken at Santa Barbara Island; and of a new-born female Sea Lion pup, (No. 2), taken at the same island, May 3d, 1873: No. 1. Ho. 9. Length of animal from tip of nose to tip of posterior flippers 4 10 2 4 Length of posterior flippers Oil 0 5J From tip of nose to root of tail 3 lOJ 111 Length of taU 0 2i 0 H From tip of nose to pectorals 2 0 0 lOJ Length of pectorals 1 2J 0 7 Breadth of pectorals 0 4J 0 8 Girth of body behind pectorals 2 7 1 8 Girth of body at junction with posterior flippers 11 0 6J Mabwi MAmfALa. — IT. 130 MARINE MAMMALS OF THE NORTH-WESTERN COAST. \ \ No. 1. Mo. a. ; From tip of nose to corner of mouth 0 3} 0 2 From end of under jaw to comer of mouth. 0 2 ,. From tip of nose to eye 0 3 0 \% 4 ' From tip of nose to-ear 0 6 0 4 Length of ear 0 IJ rj Thickness of blubber 0 Of 0 0} In the first example, the whiskers on each side of the face numbered thirty- five and thirty -six; length of the longest whisker, four and three -eighths of an j inch. The color of the second example was black above, a little lighter below, ' with scattering hairs of light brown or dull white. It had three rudimentary claws ] on each pectoral ; and five claws on posterior flippers, two of which were rudiment- ary. Weight of animals, respectively, eighty and ten and a half pounds. We give also several zincographic illustrations, which may afibrd a better idea of the different forms of the animals in varied attitudes, as well as their facial expression when sleeping, waking, and when in a state of excitement, which is manifested by howling or roaring. Both males and females have a double coating of fat or blubber, lying between the skin and the flesh of the body. These coatings are separated by a thin layer of muscular tissue. The fat yields the oil of commerce, although inferior in quality to that of the Sea Elephant. The young pups, or whelps, are of a slate or black color, and the yearlings of a chestnut brown. An erroneous impression gener- ally prevails relative to the size of the Sea Lion, which is considered, by many, to be of mammoth proportions. And, when describing the larger species of mam- malia found in the vast ocean, there is a manifest propensity to magnify them until transformed into huge monsters, like the whale of the ancient voyagers, which "wore nine hundred foot long," or that distinguished specimen of the seal family, honored with the name of "Ben Butler," who, with his troop, holds possession of Seal Rock, off the cliffs of San Francisco, and that has been estimated at the great weight of two thousand pounds. The habits of the Sea Lion exhibit many striking features. It not only dwells near the Arctic and Antarctic latitudes, but it basks upon the glittering sands under an equatorial sun. On approaching an island, or point, occupied by a num- ;, erous herd, one first hears their long, plaintive bowlings, as if in distress ; but, i when near them, the sounds become more varied, and deafening. The old males ' roar so loudly as to drown the noise of the heaviest surf 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; THE SEA LION. 131 in fact, their tumultuous utterances are beyond description. A rookery of the 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 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, associate 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 mov€ over the broken, slimy, rock -bound shore, or upon the sandy, pebbly beaches, and to dive and gambol amid the surf and rolling ground -swells. 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 as 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 sub- sistence, but they do not venture far from their young ones. That the Sea Lion can go without food for a long time is unquestionable. One of the superintendents of Woodward's Gardens informed me, that in numerous instances they had 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 the annual assemblage, thosf^ '•eturning or coming from abroad are seen near the shores, appearing wild and siiy. Soon after, how- ever, 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 sufliciently recuperated for another attack ; and, really, the attitudes assumed, and the passes made at each other, equal the amplifications 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 ani- mals then slink off to some retired spot, as if disgraced. Nevertheless, 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 132 MARINE MAMMALS OF THE NORTH-WESTERN COAST. Sea Lions of the California coast, there ia but little attachment manifested between the sexes ; indeed, much of the Turkish nature is apparent. But the females show some aOection 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 extended and detailed 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 break- ♦It is positively asserted by the natives of St. Paul's Island, Behring Sea, that the female Sea Lion of that locality suckles the male pup the second year. Special Agent Bryant, who has passed several seasons upon this island, has informed us that he has investigated the mat- ter as far as practicable, and gives credit to the assertion. There would seem to be nothing im- probable about the young Sea Lion suckling the second year, as the fact of yearlings of land mammals doing likewise is fully established. But whether the female Sea Lion, of a year's growth, is denied the nourishment which is af- forded to the male, would seem a critical ques- tion; yet, if such is the fact, this may account for the great discrepancy of size between the adult males and females. Although a digression from, yet in a sense corroborative of, the habits imputed to the Sea Lion, in nursing its young, we will mention facts which have just come to our knowledge, through the whalemen at Monterey Bay, Cali- fornia, which present nearly a parallel case with that of the Sea Lions. On the 1st of October, 1873, the whalers captured a cow whale of the Humpback species; also a calf that was with her, which was judged to be about one year old. That this yearling was the offspring of the captured female, there can be no question, as she followed close to the calf (which was first harpooned) until it was nearly lifeless ; and when the exhausted creature was about to expire, the mother made an effort to support it by holding it upon the surface of the water with her head. These solicitous manifestations on the part of the female are regarded as unquestionable evi- dence, that the young whale in question was her cherished offspring. As soon as it expired, the mother turned to make her escape, but while in this act, she was "harpooned" and "bomb* ed," killing her almost instantly. Both whales were towed to the station ; and when the calf was cut in, it was found to be a male ; and on flensing the mother, a well -grown foetus was found in her, which proved, in this instance, that the yearling whale not only follows its dam, but during that period the mother asso- ciates with the adult males, and again becomes pregnant before separating from her former calf. At the time of the capture of the two whales above mentioned, an adult bull was in their company, which was also captured. THE SEA LION. 133 ers, and waddling up the beach with head erect, or, with seeming effort, climbing some icelp- 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 encounters were to be seen on all sides of the island, with torn lips, or mutilated limbs and gashed sides ; while, now and then, an unfortunate creature would 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 of "hauling up" drew near, the island became one mass of animation; every beach, rock, and cliff, where a seal could find foot- hold, became its resting-place; 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 precipitous, with a projecting ledge hardly perceptible from the beach below, upon which one immense Sea Lion managed to climb, and there remained for several weeks — until the season was over. How he ascended, or in what manner he retired to the water, was mystery to our numerous ship's- crew, as he came and went in the night; for "Old Gray" — as named by the sail- ors— was closely watched in his elevated position during the time the men were engaged at their work on shoi"!'.* 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 sufficient 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 eqV'.ai to the demands of their human pursuers. On the south of Santa Barbara * Belative to the Sea Lions leaping from their own minds, that, by surprising the ani- giddy heights, an incident occurred at Santa mals, we could drivo them over the cliff. This Barbara Island, the last of the season of 1852, was easily accomplished; but, to our chagrin, which we will here mention. A rookery of when we arrived at the point below, where we about twenty individuals was collected on the expected to find the huge beasts helplessly mu- brink of a precipitous cliff, at a height at least tilated, or killed outright, the last animal of of sixty feet above the rocks which shelved from the whole rookery was seen plunging into the the beach below; and our pf Hy were sure in sea. 134 MARINE MAMMALS OF THE NORTH-WESTERN COAST. 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 crawled to their favorite resting-place. As the sun dipped behind the hills, fifty to a hundred males would congregate upon 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 prevented 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 eyes, were quite overcome with dismay, and remained nearly motion- less. 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 maneuvre is called "turning them," and, when once accomplished, the disheartened creatures appear to abandon all hope of escape, and resign them- selves to their fate. The herd at this time numbered seventy -five, which were soon dispatched, by shooting the largest ones, and clubbing and lancing the others, save one young Sea Lion, which was spared to ascertain whether it 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 fin -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 the 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 the whiskers, find a market in China — the former being used medicinally, and the latter for personal ornaments. At the close of the season — which lasts about three months, on the Califor- nia coast — a large majority of the great herds, both males and fcmaleSj 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 main- land, which are their annual resorting- places. They live upon fish, moUusks, crus- THE SEA LION. 135 taceans, and 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, iu the southern hemisphere, and the gulls in the northern ; while the manner in which they decoy and catch the gaj'ota of the Mexican and Californian 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. Thb uura- ber of seals slain exclusively for their oil would appear fabulous, when we roalize 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 valuable for glue- stock, and the seal -hunter now realizes more comparative profit from the hides than from the oil. But while the civilized sealers, plying their vocation along the sea- board of California and Mexico, destroy the Leon 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. It appears an * The enormous quantify of food which would be required to maintain the herd of many thou- sands, which, in former years, annually assem- bled at the small island of Santa Barbara, would Beem incredible, if they doily obtained the al- lowance given to a male and female Sea Lion, on exhibition ot Woodward's Gardens, San Fran- oisoo, California, where the keeper informed me that ho fed them regularly, everj- day, forty pounds of fresh fish. Since those animals have taken up their abode in the ponds of tho gar- dens, the male has become quite expert in catching food within his jaws, as it is thrown to him or near him, while lyin(; upon a pile of rocks in the centre of the pond. Sometimes a piece of sturgeon, upon which fish the animals are chiefly fed, would be thrown in the water near by; and, although it would sink out of sight from tho surface, the huge beast would make a bound from the rocks, and diving, would instantly recover it and again return to his ele- vated position; or when a morsel lodged upon the rocks, ho would seize and devour it in a moment, and in the same manner as the ani- mal picks up a crab, with his mouth, from the slimy rocks of the ocean, and instantly bolto it. Tho female was fed in the water; and as the food was thrown from side to side in the aqua- rium, tho animal would dart through the (de- ment with surprising velocity to receive it. 13C MARINE MAMMALS OF THE NORTH-WESTERN COAST. instructive fact in the order of Providence, that the northern belt of coast is clothed with gigantic forests, and swarms with terrestrial animals of the chase, whereby the natives of the wooded regions find meaus of transport across the inland waters, and ample clothing from the skins of the animals which range through their hunt- ing-grounds, while the thousand islands which diversify the shore between the capos of Mendocino and Ommany are but sparsely inhabited by the I/umetopias, and those found are turned to little account by the semi -aquatic savage. But ou the seal islands of Alaska, where the only timber at hand is drifted from the great rivers draining the wooded main -land, or borne by the Kamschatka branch of the Kuro Siwo, we find rookeries of the largest Sea Lions met with upon the shores of the Pacific, gathered with the great herds of Fur Seals which constitutt the chief wealth of Alaska ; and although the two species differ in their character still they are found peacefully occupying the saiuo or adjacent breeding -grounds. The Aleutians even aver that the Sea Lion and the Fur Seal sometimes cohabit together. The principal rookery of Sea Lions on St. Paul Island is near its north-east point ; and to this place the natives resort, between the toils of the Fur Seal season, to make their annual "drive" to their village, which is clustered about the slope and glen of the opposite shore. This "drive," to the good-natured Aleuts, is what the buffalo -hunt has been to the red -skins on the plains of the Platte, or matanza- time with the old Californians ; for the pi Hy starts out as on a sport' j foray, and at night they stealthily get between the herd of Sea Lions and the water; then, with professional strategy, they manage to "cut out" six or eight of the largest at a time, and drive them a short distance inland, whore they are guarded until a band of two or three hundred are assembled. Formerly the implement used in driving was a pole with a small flag at the end ; but, since our adopted country-folk have become more Americanized, that Yankee production, a cotton umbrella, has been substituted, and it is said that any refractory siuich in the "drive" is instantly subdued by the sudden expansion and contraction of an umbrella in the hands of a pursuing native. To collect the desired number for the yearly supply involves several days ; therefore a throng of villagers, it is said, sntfi -out prepared with everything needful for the campaign. As the work of driving goes on only at night, the Jay is passed in sleeping and cooking their food by smoldering fires of drift-wood and seal -fat, sheltered by their umbrellas, or a sort of tent contrived by spreading bl" ikcts and garments over whales' ribs in lieu of tent- poles — never forgetting in their repast the fragrant chi, which is quaffed in numberless cups from the steam- THE SEA LION. 137 ing aam-o-var. At length, the whole troop of animals being assembled, a flt-sh of umbrellas here and there, with the call of the herdsmen, brings all into moving phalanx. But the time for driving must be either at night, after the dew is fallen, or upon a dark, misty, or rainy day ; as the thick mat of grass that covers the land must be wet, in order that the animals may easily slip along in their vaulting gait over the green road to their place of execution. Under the most favorable circumstances, the march does not exceed six miles in twenty- four hours; and it being a distance of four leagues or more to the village, three days and nights, or more, are spent before they arrive at the slaughtering place. There they are allowed to remain quiet for a day, to cool their blood, which becomes much beated by the tedious journey ; after which, they are killed by shooting. The cead animalo are then skinned, and their hides packed in tiers until fermented sufiBcicntly to start the hair, when they are stretched on frames to dry, and eventually become the covering or planking for the Aleutian baidarkas and baidarras. The fat is taken off and used for fuel, or the oil is rendered to burn in their lamps. The flesh is cut in thin pieces from the carcass, laid in the open air to dry, and becomes a choice article of food, '."^hc sinews are extracted, and afterward twisted into thread. The lining of the animal's throat is put through a course of tanning, and then made into boots, the soles of which are the under covering of the Sea Lion's fin -like feet. The intestines are carefully taken out, cleaned, blown up, stretched to dry, then tanned, and worked into water -proof clothing. The stomach is emptied of its contents, turned inside out, then inflated and dried for oil -bottles, or it is used as a receptacle for the preserved meat ; and what remains of the once formidable and curious animal is only a mutilated skeleton. Crossing Bohring and the Okhotsk seas, to the coasts of Siberia, including the peninsula of Kamschatka and the island of Saghalion, the mode of capture by the natives changes from that of the eastern continental shores. The inlets and rivers of those Asiatic regions swarm with salmon from Juno to September, and at this season the seals follow, and proy upon them as they ascend the streams. The natives then select such places as will be left nearly bare at low tide, and there set their nets — which are made of seal-thongs — to strong stakes, so placed as to form a curve open to the confluence of the stream. These nets are similar to gill- nets, the meshes being of a size to admit the seal's head — which gives free passage to the shoals of fish — and the pursuing animal, as soon as entangled in the net, struggles forward in its efforts to escape, but is held firmly in the meshes, where it remains till low water, when the natives, in their flat-bottomed skin- boats, approach and dispatch the victim with their rude bono implements. As the season M/snii MA1IIUU.-M. 138 MARINE MAMMALS OF THE NORTH-WESTERN COAST. becomes warm, the animals of both sexes congregate in their favorite rookeries, and the females climb to the most inaccessible places among the rocks and crags, to bring forth and nurture their offspring. But here they are hunted by the natives accustomed to the use of fire-arms, who shoot them for the skins of the young f ones, which are used for clolaing. In this region also, during the spring and fall, after the "net-sealing" is over, great numbers of Sea Lions are captured upon the floating ice, with gun or I i spear; and during the rigorous months, the seal -hunters cut through the congealed mass what they terra "breathing -holes." Through these the seals emerge to the , A frosted surface, and, if the sun peers through the wintery clouds, the creature, i| warmed into new life, may stroll hundreds of yards away; the watchful hunter, I secreted behind a cake of ice or a bank of snow, rushes out from his covert, and I places a covering over the hole, effectually preventing the animal's escape, and then dispatches it with knife and spear. Its skin is stripped off, scraped clean, closely jl rolled, and laid away until the hair starts — this process is called "souring;" then the hair is scoured off, and the bare hide is stretched to season — a process usually ,1 requiring about ten days — when it is taken down and rubbed between the hands h to make it pliable ; this completes the whole course of dressing it. The prenared )'i hides are then converted into harness for the sledge -dogs and reindeer, and water- ' If 5'i proof bags; if wanted for the soles of moccasins, or to cover their skin- boats, they are dried with the hair on, and become nearly as stiff as plates of iron. The blub- ber of -the animals, if killed in the fall or winter, is preserved by freezing, and is used for food, fuel, and lights, as desired; while the same part of tl ■«" taken during the spring and summer is put in the skins of young seals, and piaced in earthen vaults, where it keeps fresh until required for consumption. The residue ; of the animal is tumbled into a reservoir, sunk below the surface of the ground, where it is kept for the winter's supply of food for the dogs, which live upon the frozen flesh and entrails of the seals, whose skin furnishes the tackle by which they transport the primitive sledge over the snow -clad wastes of Siberia and Eamschatka In the southern regions, the Sea Lion is but rarely pursued by the aborigines; for the Fuegians, who are so little elevated above the beast, have no means of capturing the animal, as have the Aleuts and Koraks of the north ; and those ji degraded types of humanity, who wander about the shores of Tierra del Fuogo, partake of the same food as do the amphibious herds. But the Patagonians are sometimes found clothed in long mantles of Sea Lion skins, and the seal is other- wise utilized by them. Along the coasts of Chile and Peru, the inflated skins of THE SEA LION. the Sea Lion are frequently used instead of the wooden laha, or catamaran The vast herds of these marine animals, to the far north and south, do not materially dimmish, as they are hunted by the natives solely for domestic consumption • but those on our California shores will soon be exterminated by the deadly shot of the rifle, or driven away to less accessible haunts. CHAPTER III. THE BANDED SEAL. HiSTiaoPBOcA EQUESTBiB, OUl. (Plate xxi, fig. 1, 2.) Of this beautifully marked animal, which attains the length of six or eight feet, there is but very little known. Its geographical distribution is said to extend east- ward to Amoor land. It is found upon the coast of Alaska, bordering on Behring Sea, and the natives of Ounalaska recognize it as an occasional visitor to the Aleu- tian Islands. It is said to be found in greater numbers on the Asiatic coast than on the American. In April, 1852, we observed a herd of seals upon the beaches i ,j at Point Reyes, California; these, without close examination, answered to the 1^ i{ description given by Gill, which is as follows: "The species is remarkable for ' color as well as structural peculiarities. The male is at once recognizable by the color, and this may be said to be a chocolate brown, except (1) a band of whitish yellow, bent forward toward the crown around the neck; (2), an oval ring of the J same color on each side, encircling the fore feet and passing in front just before them ; and ( 3 ) another band, also bent forward above, behind the middle of the trunk. There is considerable variation in extent of these bands, and sometimes the puribrachial rings are more or less confluent with the posterior band. The females are simply whitish yellow, or have very indistinct traces of the pastmidian ba^d." Although we are quite confident the seals we saw on Point Reyes were the same as those described by Gill, still it is a remarkable fact that we have never seen this species on the coast of California since. The Russian traders, who formerly visited Cape Romanzoff, from St. Michael's, Norton Sound, frequently brought back the skins of the male Histriophoca, which were used for covering trunks and for other ornamental purposes. I " V ^ >»Mf^..-' ^■vfy l»v i ■. '■?■■ ll* ■:*:■ ■i. 'M t.-AI.J,C.iHV . '1 ■' I. - 'J. r ,k. ■*,.■><•■ CHAPrER III. Of liii. b'*siutiful]y inark.'d a!>ra:il, Mi':!', atliiitss the IcnglJi of si \- or eight fcH, {!)i;rc !» 'ill vw-_v JiUif kn.'wn, ft- gengriphiiMi! r!i- i.5 ^ivid to f.--Mi. .:aiti- wird fa Amoor land. Ii is f.nind uprn the coayt of Alaska, b.irdoriup un Hcl.riiijj BcT, and I'io natives of Otmalark;). lecotrnize it ts an ocLisionsil visitor to thf Aleu- u;at inlands \\. is said to be foiiiid in Lrrritor numberfj O" iho. Asiatic ■•oa;t ihan on t'' : Amoriean. In April. ISoJ, v,o obsor 'ed a herd of swil.-, upon th • bea hes at Po.it Reyo.s, ('nlif.vrniA ; \\\^^ the; do 30 ■rq,:i.iOTi «3;u"e:. IV' li !.«( foU ows : 'The ^p<^^■ H );. K-y-Xi. •■ii'til.' for i-. Hi4,r jocuapriu"^. Tbo male is ut on;::-! recogm/At »<■ ■• :.!.<> ^7«i_t b.- said *> b'^ ii rhoovUt- l;>ro-.*-;v ex^**!}!: ;!> » H*ad of v,i».«.i^ii t^. >ii ■ i-i ••■'•■ *«! - rO/'V' ';-T >v>Jir'i ;;.](*) -'«•■■■ *,>ir,ii: Mi;' 'V-i> j;w . v.- ;>;.*s»-u,^, i^ (Xt^i ^Hrf ti.<>f«»>t!' UuM 1%A ■- i, c; ^;^,f!^M■*i:^f ■!>(>..'■•& 1 ,-Av^'ijJ ■!>( 'bi:--*- bivtids, A\A Eoiiiotiniea the pnnbr;ii>bijil riu,;? ii!f< ^i\o»..> -i b-^'= ^<)ivrb,«'Hfc with fUu pcsterior band. Tho ^'cmalos ai.- simjdy wliit; h yo 'o^^ "v uavo vovy ind!stiii<;t tn-os of tiie ■nait.rK'diufi band." Altliougb n.: ill fiuile eoi. • dent tbo y<^nbi wo ,^iiw on Point Hoy.,-, w r, the fun:.e a;i t!inj f'csoribed by Ciii- tti!! 3t i.-; a m.'iarkitble fact tbai w> np.' ^.evo? sten «pocies 0*1 iIm coust uf Califomi.i i-;nce, Tho Burf: m t. iv -% ivbo for/nerlv vit- ■•.'(; rutie lUmiunvo.'T, from l-it. Mici'-dol's, Korton Soun'' trt*j. -j.i' ■ brought back th.; >.k- .' -.f tho Ti.iu\^ I'^»tmphoou which wove used for v-iivi-.*^ insuks aud ft>r other . :V.iK»}.'iUflJl jmrjK>lSf:«. ? P'ij.t..' XXl }3ANl)>':i) Sl'lAl, I IHS'rKIOPlIOCA KQUKSTKI.S ] GIU, I.MALK- 2 ■ female: ' .'r^^camman del l''Un .SKrtT,, , rAl.I.OHU INIJS DK.SINU.S. I JHAY I M -M.i:- 2 1- t MALK if; r H -J CHAPTER IV. FUR SEALS. The Nobthebh Tub Seai, (CAixoBHuros ubsinus, Gray.) (Plate xxi, fig. 1, 2.) The Fur Seals have so wide a geographical range— extending nearly to the highest navigable latitudes in both the northern and southern hemispheres— and are found assembled in such countless numbers at their favorite resorts, that they become at once a source of great commercial wealth ; and, among marine mammalia, they are the most interesting we have met with. Captain Fanning— one of the noted sealing -masters in early times— distinguished the different ages and sexes as follows: "Full-aged males, called 'wigs;' the females, 'clapmatches;' those not quite so old, 'bulls;' all the half- grown of both sexes, 'yearlings;' the young of nearly a year old, called 'gray' or 'silvered pups;' and before their coats are changed to this shade, called ' black pups.' " The color of the full-grown males, or "wigs," is dark brown— with scattering hairs of white about the head, neck, and anterior portion of the body— and, in some instances, nearly approaches to black. At a distance, it is difficult to distin- guish between an old "wig" and a full-grown male Sea Lion of the California coast, the former being frequently found measuring nine feet from tip of nose to extremity of posterior flippers. The "clapmatches" average fully one-half the length of the largest "wigs," and the greater portion of them are of a silver -gray color; the very oldest, however, are dark brown on the back and sides, with scattering white hairs over all. The fur is reddish brown inside. The thick mixture of black, glistening hairs imparts the dark hue to the oldest animals, and the white hairs on the younger ones give them the silvery lustre. Both old and young are of lighter shade underneath, particu- larly about the pectorals and posterior portions of the body. The layer of fat, or blubber, between the skin and flesh, may average one and a half inch in thickness, varying according to the time the animal has been on shore— it being very fat »-i [141] .1 I ! i I .' 142 MARINE MAMMALS OF THE NORTH-WESTERN COAST. when the season begins, and very lean when the season is over, which changes the animal's appearance considerably from its former robust condition. When in full flesh, the adult females weigh about eighty -five pounds. Following are measurements of five female Fur Seals, taken at the mouth of the Strait of San Juan de Fuca, in the spring of 18G9 : No. I. No. 3. No 3. Length of animal from tip of nose to tip of tail 4 0 4 7 4 0 Length of taU 0 IJ 0 2 0 H Length of posterior flippers 1 4 1 6 1 4 Extreme width of posterior flippers when expanded 0 8 0 8 0 7 Tvoiu end of posterior flippers to nails or claws on same .... 0 6 06 Length of nails or claws 0 Of 0 Of From tip of nose to ear 0 6J 0 6^ 0 6 Length of each ear 0 1 J 0 IJ 0 If Length of under jaw 0 2 0 2^ 0 2 From tip of nose to eye 0 2^ 0 2f 0 2J Length of fissure between the eyelids 0 1 J From tip of nose to pectorals 1 11 2 0 1 10 Length of each pectoral 1 2 1 2 1 2 Width of each pectoral 0 5 0 5 0 4f Circumference of body just behind pectorals 2 7 ^ 0 2 6 No. 4. No. S. Length of animal from tip of nose to tip of tail 4 9 3 6 Length of tail 0 2 0 IJ Length of posterior flippers . 1 5 1 3 Breadth of posterior flippers when expanded 0 7 From end of posterior flippers to nails 0 3 Length of nail,? on posterior flippers 0 Of From tip of nose to pectorals 1 4 Length of pectorals 12 11 Width of pectorals 0 5 0 4J From tip of nose to ear 0 6 Lengtii of each ear 0 IJ From tip of nose to eye 0 2J Length of under jaw 0 2 Circumference of body just behind pectorals 3 1 2 2J The succeeding figures afford a general illustration of the forms, or proportions, of the animals, when in various attitudes. The zincograph (No. 1) of the full -aged male gives a good representation of the animal's anterior figure, as well as imparting. t! '- i FVR SEALS. 143 to some degree, the surly expression ever present with those veterans who have fought for prestige upon the rookeries many successive seasons. Xo. 2 is an excellent representation of a female head when seen in that position. Xo. 3 affords a good idea of the outline of the head (side view), and the expression of the ham. less mother, who bears her offspring, and submits to the harsh treat- ment of her male companion and master, without manifest complaint or resistance. No. I. — Full-aged Male Fur Seal, St. Paul's Island. (Drawn hy Elliott.) Xos. 4 and 5 represent the relative proportions of a female, (view from side and below, which were drawn from a dead animal, verified by measurements. X"o. C illustrates the familiar attitudes of Fur Seals of both sexes, more especially the younger animals, or those supposed to be three or four years old. It is very rarely that the "clapmatch" has more than one pup. Out of twenty- two individuals examined, not one was found with twins ; and the Indians about Fuca Strait say they never have seen two foetuses in the same seal. They have, 144 MARINE MAMMALS OF THE NORTH-WESTERN COAST. however, two teats each side of the belly, nearly on a line with the corners of the mouth and the posterior limbs. While taking measurements of some "clapmatches" at the summer village of Kiddy Kubbit, situated near the mouth and on the south side of the strait, where the animals lay in one of the large lodges, the women were engaged in skinning them and trying out the oil from the blubber. The question arose, whether a Fur Seal ever had more than one pup at a birth. A bevy of squaws discussed the subject with great spirit, raising such a din about our ears that nothing else could be heard ; at last, a herculean kbochman clutched a knife, and slashing into the seals, brought forth one pup only from each individual, and, with a knowing look as well as a multitude of words, gave us to understand that this examination, together with past experience in the matter, was proof positive that the offspring of this species of mammalia did not come in pairs. The time of gestation has been supposed to be about nine months, but later observations at the seal islands of Behring Sea prove it to be at least ten months, or more. The pups, when first born, arc about one -third the length of the mother. They are covered with a thick mat of coarse fur, which changes to a finer texture and lighter shade as the animals mature. The time of bringing forth the young ("pupping season"), on the coast of California, is from May to August, including a part of both months ; on the coast of Patagonia, and the latitudes near Cape Horn, from October to March. The flippers of the Fur Seal are destitute of hair, T)eing covered with tough, black skin, similar to shagreen, which is very flexible about the terminations of their extremities , the side limbs are shaped much like the fins of the smaller Cetaceans ; the posterior ones have each five distinct toes, or digits, ai.d three nails, or claws, project from their upper sides, four inches or more from their tips, accord- ing to the size and age of the animal. The tail is extremely short, and pointed. The ears are quite pointed also, slanting backward, and are covered with short, fine hair. The head, in proportion, is longer and sharper than that of the Leopard Seal. The number of whiskers on each side of the face may average twenty ; they arc of difforent shades, from blackish brown to white, and frequently attain the length of seven inches. The eyes f\VQ invariably dark and glistening, and have a human- like expression. The intrinsic value -of the animal does not depend upon the price of its skin alone ; for the layer of fat adhering to it yields the oil of commerce, and supplies liglit and heat to the natives in their dismal winter quarters. The flesh, likewise, affords them a staple article of food. Fanninr;, as well as other early voyagers, speaks of the flesh of the Fur Seal pups, when six weeks old or more, as being FUR SEALS. U5 N * I 5< tr. C X p o u MARntE &UUMAU. — 1 146 MARINE MAMMALS OF THE NORTH-WESTERN COAST. equal to the best mutton, :.f properly cooked. Notwithstanding, after repeated trials, we confess our preference for the latter. The hearts and livers of young seals, whether of the Fur or Lair species, are excellent ; but we would advise those fond of fiesh meat not to witness the killing of the animals and the extraction of those choice portions of them. The employes of the Russian - American Company frequently salted seal meat for ship's use, when a supply of beef could not be obtained. The habits of the Fur Seals differ in several respects from those of the numerous Hair species. One of their most remarkable traits is their extended geographical range. To give a clear idea of their varied haunts as regards climate and diversity of locality, we may mention the following as among their favorite resorting places : The coast of Patagonia, west coast of Africa, Falklands, New South Shetlands, South Georgia, southern coast of Chile, island of Masafuero, Lobos Islands (on the coast of Peru), Galapagos Islands (off the coast of Ecuador), the islands of Desolation, Crozets, and St. Paul's iu the Indian Ocean, and St. Paul and St. 'leorge islands (Behring Sea), and Ptobin and Jonas islands in the Okhotsk Sea. Thus it will be seen that these curious animals are inhabitants of the antipodes of the globe, and bask in a tropical sun as well as cadure the rigors of the icy regions of the Arctic and Antarctic. Some idea may bo had of their numbers in former years, when on the island of Masafuero, on the coast of Chile — which is not over twenty- five miles in circum- ference— the American ship Betsey, under the command of Captain Fanning, iu the year 1798,* obtained a full cargo of choice skins. It was estimated at the time * At the present day, when the American Bhipu that double Capo Horn, and the Cape of Good Hope, are magnificent types of naval arch- itecture compared with those of the early voy- ages, a reminiscer' note, relative to the Betsey, her owners, ctmmander, and ship's company, is nf peculiar interest, as portraying the char- acter of i^W those who, at that period, entered 80 praotiaally yiet cqth'isiastically into commer- cial pursuits. " Iu t|^o rarly part of the month of May, 1797," w»itp8 Ciiptifii) Fftpijing, "it wos the good fortune of tljo aifthov to n^oftt ,at New York with Captain John Wlfotten, a gent|pn)w distinguished as an able navigator, and at tho time in command of the ship Ontario, in the China trade, With him originated, and with him also was the project first discussed, of fit- ting out a suitab' vessel, which should proceed to the South Sc .s, there to procure a cargo of Fur Seal skins, and with this cargo thence to cross the Pacific for the Canton market, where the article wos well ascertained to bo greatly in demand, and held at prices that furnished good grounds upon which to hope that a very hand- some profit would be realized. Another groat inducement hold out in favor of the attempt, was the probability that (Captain Whetten him- self, in the Ontario, would bo at Canton at ^bput tho period of the an'ival there (which would bo iu our fall part of the year, say the month of September, October, or November) of any vessel shortly fitted out. The intimate knowl • ^UR SEALS, J47 148 MARINE MAMMALS OF THE XORTII-WESTERX COAST. that thcro wore left on the island at least five huiulrod thousand seals. Subse- quently, there were taken from the island but littk' short of one million skins. The seal fishery was extensively prosecuted for many years by our countr3'men. The sealing fleet on the coast of Chile alone, in 1801, amounted to thirty vessels, many of which were ships of the larger class, and nearly aii were under the Amer- ican flag. Up to the present day, American vessels are the pioneers in the moat remote and unexplored regions, where\xr the migratory animals are to be found in suflicient numbers to induce that class of our seamen who are fond of a sportsman's life, in addition to that of sea- faring, to embark in the enterprise. In the midst of the Crimean War, an enterprising firm in Xew London, Con- necticut, fitted out a clipper bark, which was oflicered and manned expressly for a edge Captain "Whetten had of tbo mauiier of doing business with these iicople, and the great assist- ance he could afford, being conversant in all Iheir intricate trade, and in the jiurchasing of silks and other articles for the New York mar- ket, as our homeward cargo, were certainly such arguments as were well calculated to increase the confidence of success in the contemplated V03age. This -was an opportunity not to be loft unimproved ; and to one naturally possessed of an ambitious and aspiring mind, with a strong attachment to a seaman's profession, increased as it had been, since my first visit to the South Seas, by a perusal of the voyages of such cir- cumnavigators as Drake, Byron, Anson, Bougan- villo, Cook, and others, the hope of being able to add some new discoveries to the knowledge already in the possession of man relating to those seas, and the no less flattering hope of realizing a fortune should the enterprise be well conducted and successful in its termination, were sufficient to bind mo to esert myself in bringing about this de'-irod voyage. Every view was en- couraging; but funds were necessary, and to raise these without delay, I applied to that up- right and liberal merchant, Mr. Elias Ncxscn, with whom also to consult and advise upon the best means of securing the early fitting -out and sailing of the enterprise. To the information and encouragement given by Captain Whetten, ■\, •.. 1 my own stroug confidence in its praci 'ty, and the flattering results that such an adventure held forth. The plan met with his entire approval, and after some convers.'\tion with Captain Wlictten, on 'Change that day, in the afternoon of the same he made the offer of his brig, the lietsaj, then in port. She was New York built, a little short of one hundred tons, and an excellent vessel of her class. 'If she will answer,' said ho, ' I will put her into the business, and at whatever price, upon a mi- nute inspection, her value shall be ascertained to be, I will take the one -half in the adventure of the vessel, and hor outfits.' I was imable," adds ;he captain, "to take more than one-eighth myself, but the remaining three worn, by the evening of the same day, taken by other friends, and. thus the w'hole amount required to insure the sailing of the vessel wos made up. An in- ventory was taken, agreeably to the imderstand- ing at the commencement, by which the value of the vessel was ascertained, and made Batis- factory to all concerned. In less than a month from the time the enterprise was first enter- tained, the Betiteij sailed from Now York, to stop at New Haven (the native place of Mr. Caleb Brintnall, the first oflicer, a groat disciplinarian), and afterward at Stonington, to obtain and com- plete her complement of men, in all twenty- seven : for it had been concluded to bo the FUll SEALS. 149 ( ..^*»«..jj.i No. 4. — SiDF, View of Femai.k Fur Seal. No. 5. — View op Female Fur Seal from p'.low. No. 6. — Attitudes of Fur Seals, 150 MARINE MAMMALS OF THE NORTH-WESTERN COAST. sealing voyage in the Okhotsk Saa. The captain was a vetoian in the business, and many thought him too old to command, but the result of the voyage proved him equal to the task. The vessel proceeded to Robin Island — a mere volcanic rock, situated on the eastern side of the large island of Saghalien. Many outlying rocks and reefs are about it, making it dangerous to approach, and affording but slight shelter for an anchorage. Here the vessel (of about three hundred tons) lay, with ground-tackle of the weight for a craft of twice her size. Much of the time fresh winds prevailed, accompanied by the usual ugly ground - swell ; and, in conse- quence of her being long, low, and sharp, the deck was at such times frequently flooded; nevertheless, she "rode out the whole season, though wet as a half- tide rock," and a valuable cargo of skins was procured, which brought an unusually most judicious policy, to select the ^eatest pro- portion of them from the New England States. Having obtained the number of hands required for the Betsey, on the 13th day of June, 1797, the vessel was got under way, and proceeded to sea, from Stonington, Connecticut. When off Watch -hill Point, (situated about nine leagues to the northward of Montague Light, on the east end of Long Island) she was brcught to, in order to discliarge the pilot, and the occasion was embraced, ab the best suited to ascertain the minds and inclinations of the seamen. All hands were therefore mustered on deck, aft, and liberty was given to all such as were disinclined to proceed on the voyage — to all those who were un\vMv" , to encounter the dangers, privations, and sufiurings, usually attendant on similar ex- peditions— now to return with the pilot. Not- withstanding this, no one seemed so inclined, but all, to a man, answered, their desire was to proceed on the voyage, confirming the same by three hearty cheers. And here it may be re- n.arked, that a more orderly ond clieerful crew never sailed round the world in any vessel. The pilot accordingly returned by himself. At six P.M. wo took our departure from Block Island, with a fine breeze from the southwest." On their passage to the Cape de Verde Islands, as related on the ship's log, "At four p.m. fell in with a mast ; sent the boat to tow it alongside ; hoisted it on deck, to be made to answer any purpose that future emergency might require." "While on the passage to the Cape de Verdes, by the expressed wish and counsel of the oflS- cers, it was thought advisable to alter the rig of the Betsey, and change her into a ship. This, it was supposed, and afterward ascertained to be the fact, would be greatly to our advantage; for while laying off and on at the seal islands, to procure our cargo of Fur Seal skins, the cabin-boy alone could tend and work a mizzcn- topsail, who certainly would be altogether unable to do anything with the heavy boom of a brig's fore -cd- aft mainsail. At this place the alter- ation was carried into effect; the mizzen-mast, top, spars, rigging, sails, etc., were already in readiness, and the armorer, ot his forge erected on shore, forged and made the chains and all the other requisite iron -work, so that the mast was stepped, sails bent, and the Bclse\ igged into a ship all ready for sea, in five days' time. This was accomplished without one dollar extra expense to the owners." The Betsey, having ob- tained supplies at the Cape de Vordes, sailed on the 23d day of July, 1797, for the Falkland Islands, whore she arrived October 19tli of the same year. Not finding Fur Seals there in any considerable numbers, it was decided to double Cape Horn and make the best of their way to the Island of Masafuero ; accordingly they sailed FUR SEALS. 151 high price in the European market, on account of the regular Russian supply being cut ofT in consequence of the war. This is only given as one instance of the many that may be /elated of sealing life. The "season," as understood by sealers, is the time the animals collect in herds, or rookeries, on shore : the females to bring forth their young, and copulate with the vigorous males, while the valiant old bulls guard the rookeries, until all again return to the sea, and migrate to some unknown quarter. A few days before the main body arrive, a number of old "wige" come up as if to see that all is right. Frequently the innumerable herd have been seen, in the southern hemi- sphere, fr jealous lord is off his guard, or engaged in driving away a rival, a female will slip into the water, and an attentive 'bachelor' seal followa her some distance from shore. Then, breast to breast, they embrace each other, tur iing alternately for each other to breathe, the act of copulation sometimes continuing from five to eight minutes. When the fc nolo again returns to the shore, she is i.,ll ' — '■"-■'- ' ":■ ;■■ ■ ft^n., ..,.,, , lillilllil' FUR SEALS. 159 treated \v»th indifference by all the males. By the middle of August, the young are aVi born, and the females are again pregnant. The old males, having occupied their stations constantly for four months, without food, now resign their charge to the younger males, and go some distance from fehore to feed. "The fact of their remaining without food seems so contrary to Nature, that it appears to me propei to state some of the evidences of it. Having been assured by the natives that such was the fact, I deemed \c of sufficient importance to test it by all the means avail- able. Accordingly I took special pains to examine daily a largo extent of the rookery, and note carefully the resul'.B of . ly observations. "I'lie rocks on the rookery are ^'oru oinooth and washed clean by the spring -tides, and any discharge of excrement could not fail to be detected. I found, in a few instances, where newlj*- arrived seals lind made a single discharge of red -colored excrement, but nothing wat' seen afterward to show that such discharges were continued, nor any evidence that the animals had partaken of food. 1 also examined the stomachs of several young ones, killed by the nati\es for eating, and always without finding any traces of food in them. The same was true of the few nursing females killed for dissection. "About the 20th of July, the great body of the previous year's pups arrive, and occupy the slopes with the younger class of males, and they continue to be mixed together during the ren>ainder of the season. The two-years-old females, wli'ch pair with the young males in the water near the island, al.»!o now a.ssoc.; ;e with the other females. The pup.4 are five week old when the old females go off to feed ; they go with the mothers to tlie upland, but keep by themselves. The pups born on the lower edge of the rookery, A'here the surf breaks over then occasionally, learn to swim early, but the larger portion of them do not take to the 1 1 leO MARINE MAMMALS OF THE NORTH-WESTERN COAST. water until later, and many have to be forced in by the parents. Once in, how- ever, they soon love to sport in it. The young are taught to swim by the old males on their return from feeding. "By the last of October, the seals begin to leave the islands in small compa- nies, the males going last, and by themselves. In November, the j'oung seals (as 1 was informed by the natives, my own observations ending in August) stop to rest a few days on the Aleutian Islands, and at Ounalaska the natives obtain several hun- dred skins annually. "Man.n'er of Killing the Se.\ls. — It will be recollected that I have described the yoanger seals as spreading out on the slopes above the rookeries to rest at night.. A jjarty of men approach these places armed with clubs, and quietly creep between the seals and the shore. When ready, the men start up with a shout at a given signal, and drive the seals inland in a body. When at a sufficient distance from the rookery, they halt to screen the flock of as many as possible that are too old for killing, only those that are two and three years old yielding prime skins ; the fur of those older is too coarse to be marketable. The screening is done by driving the seals slowly forward in a curve; the older, sullenly holding back, force the more timid forward, Avhcn the men, opening their ranks, let them pass through and return to the shore. The remainder of the llock is then driven to the killing- ground, though still containing many too old to be of value. "It is necessary to drive the llock some distance from the breeding- ground, as the smell of the blood and the carcasses disturbs the seals. Another object is, to make the seals carry their own skins to the salt -house ; hence it is sometimes necessary to drive them six or seven miles. The driving has to be conducted with great care, as the violent exertion jauses the seals to heat rapidly, and, if heated beyond a certain degree, the fur is loosened, and the skin becomes valueless. In a cool day they may be driven one mile and a half per hour with salcty. When arrived at the killing- ground, a few boys are employed to keep tlieni from strag- gling, and they are thus left to rest luid cool. Then from seventy to one hundred arc separated from the flock, surrounded, and driven on each other, so that they confine themselves \)-^ treading on each other's flippers. Those desired for killing are then easily selected, and quickly dispatched by a blow on the nose. When those arc killed, the remainder are allowed to go to the nearest water, whence they immediately return to the place from which they were driven. This operation is repeated until the whole flock is disposed of. The work of skinning is per- formed by all the men on the island, and everyone participating in it is allowed to share in the proceeds. FVR SEALS. 161 "As the seals are not wholly at rest until the females (arrive, great care is necessary in selecting the time and place from which to drivt. These points are determined by a head-man, who assumes the whole control of this part of the bus- iness. In the month of May, only the small number required by the natives for food are driven. In June, when the seals are more numerous, they are driven and killed for their skins, although the percentage of prime skins is at this time very small, often not twenty per cent, of the whole flock driven. About the middle of July, the females go off into the water, and there is a period of general rest among all tlie seals, during which time the natives desist entirely from killing for ten to fifteen days. At the close of this period, the great body of yearling seals arrive. Those, mixing with the younger class of males, spread over the uplands, and {;;reatly increase the difliculty of killing properly. Up to this time, (here having been no females with the seals driven up for killing, it was only necessary to distinguish ages ; this the difference In size enables them to do very easily. Xow, however, nearly one -half are females, and the slight difference between these and the younger males, renders it ncccfsary for the head-man to see e\ery seal killed, and only a strong interest in the preservation of the stock can insure the proper care. Sep- tember and October are considered the best months for taking the seals. "Besides the skin, e„d, .„d that the killmg yearly of thi, number will in no way check their increase.* ci„al'7'! °r jr ^T" " ™ "^^-The fle,h of the »e.l constituteMhe prin- opal food of he .nUbitant,, they killing, fron. time to time, such numbere ae re necessary for that purpose. Before the seals leave in autumj, a number are Hied sufficent for the r winter's supply. The carcasses are allowed ,„ freeze, and in U tat they keep them until the return of the seal, in the spring. The flesh of the yearling seal ,s somewhat darker than beef; it is juicy and tender, but itk. the swootness and flavor of beef, and is less firm and nuLtious. In Lighy s^onti d.shes, .t ,s rehshed by nearly all who partake of it. The soldiers on ^hHs ani l.refe.ed ,t to salt rations. A five-weeks-o.d pup roasted is esteemed a g-' CHAPTER V. Tin: LKOPARi? >EAL. Phoca Pealii,?* GUI. (Plato xxii, fig. 1.) JIOVIXO ATTITUDE OP A LEOPARD SEAL, ON SHORE This species of Phoca, known under the local name of Leopard Seal, inhabits according to our observation, the western coast of Xorth America and the contiguous northern region as far as the most western islands of the Kurile chain. The adult animals we have met with in diderent lat- itudes, were, to all outward appearances, of the same form and of the same modi- fied colors. The places of observation were Plover Bay, coast of Eastern Sibori.i, 1SG5; coast of Tpper California, 1852; coast of Lower California, 185G; Strait of Juan de Fuca, 18G9. The skeleton of tlie one examined at Plover Bay was forwarded to the Smithsonian Institution, througli our friend W. II. Dall, wlio assumed charge of the scientific enterprise connected with the "Western Union Telegraph Expedition, after tiie death of the lamented Konni- cott. The Leopard Seal in its proportions may be regarded as under-sized. It never exceeds six feet in length ; and its tliick body, with its short limbs, gives the animal a bloated appearance, whicii seems ill adapted to much activity. Its head is short, broad, and rounded ; the e3-es are large, full, and expressive, with five coarse, bristle -like hairs placed on a curve one inch above the edge of the upper lid, which constitute the eyebrows. It has tliirty to tliirty-fivo whiskers on each * "W. H. Dall, who has had consiilerablo op- but, whether such is the fact or not, we will jiortunity to observe upon these sealh, is under state that, so far as our observation has oxtend- tbc impression that several species of them exist ed, the habits of these seals, both north and upon this coast, in which opinion we con(!ur; south, are the same. M 'W i^"^l ♦•■■••". ire ■ '■■^«' ti •■5' ^^y.::,!'S1,,, ■i^r- *f. i^^:^.' A r ••>«»»■' #^ \ '. ,jf ■''*'^ii''' ■■" .'*V'- «^ ,.,-»^%^V> . , '-i 1 n.\rTKF< ^ Tin: n---f -i^'-: •r.i w ,^- a- ( 'i iho !(!ca) I'.um) of I.tMifianl S'til tu'isil/'fv^ j ivconlitig to ou>' ob-.(>rvirioii, tJic western y^j ooasf; of \orlU Aiis ■ricii iumI ibo contiguous ' orthei'ii roividu ns f;i.r as tho irio> ^\l' iinvi ni'.l villi in diiTcroui. !at- /I ■.\c»r:ih(H». \l t!ii> sii'iK' !■'!■'!! :i:\ ni iho ni'ur. li •■•!;■ . 1, ;!.!> iJiV. . > >^ >^ ■»:ih( !!■ _"^--, 'ii'.: •Mt'U'M-u of ill" i.trn .:r .-!r-:)n'!i\'i "rtv; , ^ ■■■^^ :■'■:■ \ llif "Wi'Sforii I'lM i![ i' .■!■ •^ijp! !'• ,;.t,'tUiit;t, ,>i':.< c \ k- t:K;;ih (■■;' ih.' luuienti i Ki'nai- o't Th' liffiparil f^'-iil in ''tri I'lropuniuii-i iii.u- ])0 iVLtarilii! -■ ' 'i.^l-;! ,')'■"). If; lii vvi o\r i-"\> '-ix 1V( t. ill U'lijtU; arul its thi^'k I'Otly, 'vilh ' -h/?' U.^>\- u;i\"(S i;" ,: i»'..'rtl a !>ii..a'oil ii}i!'"a>'in.' , wlif:! -. v'U,^ il! iiiiajUi.''! ''■ ,\n' ti'iivity. [t'^ 1j •:t'l .- ■ ;,• 'p'riv'. ii i nn.iiili'il ■ !!,(.' ( afo lu-ge, f ill, uw^t ^ » ; - < * -ve, ^ulil fivo 'WV'.'ir^, •- ' -in- n!,!' 'd hi n cv.vv- one iu^'li HjOhj ""' '■ 'it; i>'' *«)' upper 'i'i « i,;. i, ■■ '■ ,4', *.••> I'Vt.'n (ixv^. It Inirf liiii'tv t, ■ t!:ir!>\ :, *', wi thi".-^ on r:\ch ^\ l-t 1 ■: • . ■ 't*'- ' 'Vl .M.uvi';' i.iMii pjv- hit, As^.-iliU ,n--i\ ij.*^ *». * or :iot, we v.VA J1..M llllil'v '..' '>'••'<«-.' :#*i ■ i;-... ...!llK, iS -UiiU-.l' Rtalr: Uilvt> ««) ^t^»• 'i / f f i-»»>S* T iixti- lU luiS (.'.Nl'.'nil- (lir. iuijllfci-- '^ f'-m\ -I *; » *i • ' ' tliCUl IMk! I;i'l, tlrt» (lalvfS ..: '..):* t«Blli, Ltull llOl'fU 1111(1 \ivoa tliis .-•'h-i a ■>; I jj .1 ;. cuneu!': ;outi», fiiC l)i«* ^i«.^ .»eated THE SEA OTTER. 173 very quickly, if the first does not take effect ; and ball after ball is sent after the animal, until it is far out of I'each. It is esfimated that the best shooters average at least twenty -five shots to every Otter obtained, and that about one -half the number killed are secured by the rightful owners ; but, when once in their posses- sion, it is quickly fleeced of its valuable skin, which is stretched c:i the walls of the cabin to dry. It is no unusual occurrence for the hunter to pass a week trav- eling up and down the beach, and he may nhoot sixty or more rounds, and, per- haps, kill several Otters; but, owing to "bad luck," not one may be secured — the carcass cither drifting to sea, or to shore, possibly, with the flowing night -tide, and the object so patiently and eagerly sought for is at last stealthily appropriated by some skulking savage. Notwithstanding their propensity to purloin, the Indians of the North-west- ern Coast not only occasionally shoot the Sea Otters, as do the whites, but in the months of July and August, when calm weather prevails, they capture them by night. A small canoe is chosen for the purpose, and the implement used to capt- ure the animals is a spear of native make, composed of bone and steel, fitted to a long polo by a socket. Four chosen men make tlio crew for the canoe. Near the close of day, a sharp lookout is kept for any band of the animals that may have been seen from the shore, and their position accurately defined before beginning*'the pursuit. All being in readiness, as the shade of evening approaches, they launch their pigmy craft upon the calm sea, and three men paddle in silence toward the place where the Otters were seen, while the fourth takes his station in the bow. He is either a chief, or some one distinguished ia the chase. He watches intently for the sleeping Otters. As soon as one is descried, the canoe is headed for it, and, when within rearli, the spear is launched into the unwary creature. In its efl'orts to escape, it draws the spear from the pole. There is a small but strong cord connecting the spear and pole, which admits them to separate a few feet, but docs not free the GHer. The animal dives deoply, but with great effort, as the unwieldy pole greatly rounds its progress. The keen -eyed savage traces its course, in the blinding darkness, by the phosphorescent light caused by the animal's tran- sit through the water ; and when it rises upon the surface to breathe, it is beset with clubs, paddles, and perhaps another spear, and is finally dispatched, after repeated blows or thrusts. The conflict arouses the whole band, which instantly disappear ; so that it is seldom more than one is secured. As soon as the hunt is over, the animal is brought on shore, the skin taken off and stretched to dry, and, when ready for market, the lucky owner considers himself enriched to the value of ten or fifteen blankets, and the flesh is devoured as a choice article of food. 174 MARINE MAMMALS OF THE NORTH-WESTERN COAST. The mode of capturing the Sea Otters between Point Grenville and the Aleu- tian Islands varies with the difierent native tribes inhabiting that coast. The Aleu- tians, dressed in their water -proof garments, made from the intestines of seals, wedge themselves into their baidarJcas (which are constructed with a light, wooden frame, and covered with walrus or seal skin), and, donning their hunting -caps, plunge through the surf that dashes high among the crag.', and, with almost instinct- ive skill, reach the less turbulent ground -swell iLat heaves in every direction. These aquatic men are so closely confined by the narrow build of their boats, and keeping motion witli them, too, that their appearance suggests the idea that some undoscribed marine monster had just emerged from the depths below. Once clear of the rocks, however, the hunters watch diligently for the Otters. The first man that gets near one darts his spear, then throws up his paddle by way of signal; all the other boats forming a circle around him, at some distance. The wounded animal dives deeply, but soon returns to the surface, near some one of the baidarkas forming the circle. Again the hunter that is near enough hurls his spear and ele- vates his paddle, and again the ring is formed as before. In this way the chase is continued until the capture is made. As soon as the animal is brought on shore, the two oldest hunters examine it, and the one whose spear is found nearest its head is entitled to the prize. The number of Sea Otter skins taken annually is not definitely known, but from the most authentic information we can obtain, the aggregate for the past three years has been five thousand, one thousand of which came from the Kurile Islands ; and, valuing each skin at fifty dollars, amounts to the sum of two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. Whether these very valuable fur animals have decreased in numbers'within the past few years, is questionable. The hunting of them on the coast of California is no longer profitable for more than two or tliree hunters, and we believe of late some seasons have passed without any one legitimately engaging in the enterprise ; notwithstanding, olT Point Grenville, which is an old hunting-ground, sixty Otters were taken by only three hunters during the summer of 18G8 — a great annual increase over many past years. It is said the Russian -American Company restricted the number taken yearly by the Aleutian Islanders, from whom the chief supply was obtained, in order to perpetuate the stock. Furthermore, may it not be that tiieso sagacious animals have fled from those places on the coasts of the Californias where they wore so constantly pursued, to some more isolated haunt, and now remain unmolested? THE SEA OTTER. 176 > c H > m > O H n o M o a > > > H 3: B c 2! ■H W !» M M >! O > O M a S H n n CHAPTER VII. THE WALRUS. BosMARUS 0DE8CS, llligeT. Eminent naturalists have remarked that the Walrus, or Sea-horse, appears to be the connecting link between the mammals of the land and those of the water. This bulky and unwieldy animal when on shore has some resemblance to the seal, yet differs materially in its proportions, as well as in its elephant- like tusks. The Walrus attains the size of the largest Sea Lion, and measures from ten to four- teen feet in length, and about eight feet in circumference. Its head is rounded, small (when compared with the anterior portion of the body), and flattened in front. Its eyes are diminutive in size, and deeply set ; the small orifices of the ears are about three inches behind, and two inches below the eyes. The chocks are studded with four or five hundred spines or whiskers, some of which are rudimentary, while others grow to the length of three or four inches. They are transparent, curved, abruptly pointed, and about the size of a straw, but not twisted, as has been stated by some writers. Its neck is short, and its unwieldy body is largest about the chest. Its posterior is abrupt. By the courtesy of Mr. 11. W. Elliott, we present on the following page figures of the Walrus, copied from his excellent sketches, executed at St. Paul's Island, Behring Sea, in 1872. The tusks of the Walrus are not only a means of defense, but are used in obtaining food, and in mounting the ice-floes, when the shore is not accessible. The canine teeth, as they are sometimes ca^'-^d, may average two feet in length, including the root, which is imbedded in vUe jaw six or eight inches. Yet some individuals have been taken with tusks two and a half to three feet in length, and each weighing from ten to twenty pounds. In shape they are somewhat bowing, and slightly liollowod, notched, and ridgy at their bases. At their junction with the skull, they are about three inches asunder ; they project at an obtuse angle from the upper jaw, and, in some instances, meet at their extremities ; while others grow perpendicular to each other, or turn outward on each THE WALRUS. side. There is considerable diversity in their length, shape, and size, even in the full-grown tusks, some being very short and stout, while others are elongated and slender. The Walrus has no sharp incisors like the seal. The nostrils are placed ou the superior portion of the snout, through which the animal appears to inspire, and expires through its mouth, as it dips its head below the surface, blowing up the water into spray, in such a manner as to resemble the spout of a whale. Never having had an opportunity of taking detailed measurements of the Walrus, we quote from the most reliable authorities: "Its fore feet, or flippers, are from two to two and a half feet in length, and about twelve inches in breadth ; they arc webbed, and the under sides are protected by a tough skin, a quarter of an inch or more in thickness. The posterior flippers are from two to three feet long, and are Walruses. capable of expansion at their extremity nearly equal to their length ; each toe is furnished with a small nail." The skin of the animal is thick and somewhat spongy, but exceedingly tough. The hair that covers it in most adult individuals is short and of a dark brown ; yet there is no lack of examples where it is of a much lighter shade, or a light but dingy gray. Unlike others of the seal tribe, the animal is abundantly infested with vermin. Under the skin lies the coating of fat which yields oil — it is from two to three inches in thickness. The appearance of the fully developed Walrus in the water, with its long tusks, which seem like an incumbrance, has a striking contrast with that of the common seal. The young, however, before its cumbrous canines protrude, resembles the latter in general form, but is of a black color. On land the Walrus is comparatively inactive and clumsy Mabihc HAmuta. — U. 178 MJniNE MAMMALS OF THE NORTH-WESTERN COAST, in its movements ; but in the water its motions are easy and vigorous. Its geo- graphical distribution quite encircles the globe in that colder belt of the northern hemisphere, above the latitude of 45®, and but few individuals are met with south of 47° north. In Behring Sea they are found as far south as the shores of the peninsula of Alaska, and in the Pacific Ocean about several of the islands which fringe the central coast of Alaska Territory. They feed upon shell -fish and other submerged marine productions. The Walrus is gregarious, being sometimes found in herds upon the ice, and at the proper season the animals collect upon the beaches, or they clamber upon rocky islets in remote places. They are said to be monogamous, but we are of the opinion that they are not exclusively so. The sea- son when the sexes seek each other is in the last of the spring months, or the first of the summer. The time of gestation ia about nine months. The mother and her ofTspring manifest a stronger mutual affection than wo have observed in any other of the marine mammals ; and the cub seeks her protection, clinging to her back whenever there is cause for alarm,* and she "ill at all times place herself between the foe and her helpless charge. Frequently has she been known to clasp to her breast the terrified little one, embracing it with her fore flippers, while receiving mortal wounds from the whaleman's lance. A male, and a female with her cub, are often seen together ; yet herds of old and young, of both sexes, are met with, both in the water and upon the ice. When undisturbt i they are quite inoffensive, but if hotly pursued they make a fierce resistance ; their mode of attack is by hooking their tusks over the gunwales of the boats, which may overturn them, or they strike a blow through the planking, which has repeatedly been the means of staving and sinking them. Captain Lyon remarks: "Mr. Shirer described the fury of the wounded animals as being quite outrageous ; but those which were unhurt quickly forsook their suffering companions." There may have been instances of a combined attack of Walruses on besieging boats ; but like all other marine mammals which have been continuously pursued, they soon become wary, and when there is cause for alarm they give warning to their neighboring associates by loud ♦Captain T. "W. 'WllHams, a whaling master a bowline was easily thrown over it, and the of much espcnence and observation, states, that bereaved creature taken on deck, when it instant- on one voyage to the Arctic Ocean, a female ly mounted its mother's back and there clung Walrus was captured two miles from the ship, with mournful solicitude, until forced by the and the young cub kept close to the boats that sailors to again return to the sea; but even were towing its dead mother to the vessel ; and then it remained in the vicinity of the ship, be- when arrived, made every effort to follow her as moaning the loss of its parent by uttering dis- she was being hoisted on board. A rope with tressful cries. THE WALRUS. Wi roarings, or if asleep, by pecking at them with their tusks, when all make a pre- cipitate retreat from the ice, or they will tumble and roll over the rocks or rough ground, if on shore, in their flight to the sea, unless detained with their young. "The chase of the Walrus is of great antiquity; accordingly, we find that Ohthce, a Norwegian, about the year 890 gave an account of it to Alfred the Great, having, he says, 'made a voyage beyond Norway for the more commodite of fishing horse- whales, which have in their teeth bones of great price and excellence, whereof he brought some at his return to the King.'" The capture of the Walrus is made both upon the water and land. It is stated that a Greenlander will never venture on the encounter alone, nor without the assistance of three or four expert comrades. Thc^ employ a harpoon, which, however, from the toughness of the skin, is fixed with difficulty, and hence it is not so easy an operation as the striking of a whale. When the instrument holds, the animal is allowed to swim about until it is wearied ; they then try to secure it and kill it with lances. But even under these circumstancis the process is not an easy one ; the creature, as we have stated, getting roused and fighting a hard battle. It is necessary, according to Zorgdrager, to make a selection. Accordingly, the fishers aim at the eyes, which obliges the animal to turn its head, and then the fatal blow is aimed at the breast. "In this crisis," remarks Scoresby, "the best defense against those enraged animals is sea-sand, which, being thrown into their eyes, occasions partial blindness and obliges them to disperse ; then the captured one becomes a more easy prey." According to Lord Sheldham's account of the capture of Walruses upon the land in early times, the hunters, armed with spears, and under cover of night, with trained dogs, made an eCFort to partially disperse the main herd ; then falling upon detachments of the animals, which, being bewil- dered in the darkness, were then slain in large numbers. Godman relates that one of the Esquimaux modes of killing the Walrus in summer is, when perceiving a large herd asleep on the floating ice, they paddle to some other piece near by, which is small enough to be moved. On this they lift their canoes, and then bore holes, through which they fasten their lines ; and when every thing is prepared, they quietly paddle their ice -float toward the herd, each hunter sitting by his own Bpear and line. "When arrived at the place where the animals lie snoring, each man, if so disposed, strikes a different one, though two generally attack the same. The stricken creature instantly makes great effort to escape, but, although he tum- bles into the water, he is held by the spear -lines which are made fast to the ice. As soon as the victim becomes wearied, the hunter launches his canoe, and at a Bafe distance spears him to death." According to our observation, the manner of 180 MARINE MAMMALS OF THE NORTH-WESTERN COAST. capturing the animaU by tho natives about the eastern coast of Behring Sea, and in the Arctic Ocean, is by shooting them when on shore with a rifle, and pursu- ing them when in the water with spears and lances. In approaching the animal in their skin -boats, a paddle formed from a slab of whalebone is employed to gently beat the surface of the sea, which is thought to servo as a kind of decoy to the creature ; and when within roach, the spear, with a line of walrus hide attached, is thrust into the object of pursuit, and subsequently it is dispatched by being pierced with knives and other sharp instruments. But the natives of the PribylofT Islands, and also those of the peninsula of Alaska (who have become excellent marksmen), shoot them with heavy muskets. Great numbers of Walruses are found about the waters of the Arctic uniting with Behring Straits, and in Behring Sea, and innumerable herds still resort in the summer months to different points on tho southern or central coasts of Alaska, particularly at Amak Island and Point Moller, on the northern shore oi the Alaskan peninsula. Within the last ten years many of these animals have been destroyed by the whalers, both in the Arctic and Behring Seas. The mode of capture was by shooting them when upon tho ice with Spencer rifles, or, if in the water, by harpooning and lancing them. To the natives of the coasts where the Walrus frequents, the animal is of indispensable value. Tho flesh supplies them with food ; the ivory tusks are made into implements used in the chase, and for other domestic purposes, as well as affording a valuable article of barter ; and the skin furnishes the material for covering their summer habitations, planking for their baidarras, harness for their dog- teams, and lines for their fishing - gear. But tho savage native and the civilized fisherman and sailor are not the only enemies of the Walrus. The polar bear seeks them in its prowlings, and when meeting with a herd, tho huge beast selects and seizes one of the smallest individuals with his capacious jaws, and the resisting struggles of the poor victim to free itself are quickly suppressed by repeated blows with bruin's paws, which cause almost instant death. Tho murderous beast then quickly tears the skin from the body by means of his long, sharp claws, when the remains are devoured. That carnivorous animal of the cetacean order, known as the Orca, or Killer, also watches for the young cubs of the Walrus, and if there is floating ice at hand, the mother with her charge clambers upon it to avoid the pursuer ; if this fails, however, the cub will mount the mother's back as the only place of- refuge. But the Killer is rarely baffled in obtaining the object it seeks by this mode of the mother's protection, for the pursuing animal dives deeply, and then comes head up under the old Walrus, with such force as to throw the cub from the dam's back into the water, THE WALSU8. jg. when it is instantly seized and swallowed by its adversary. Instances have been known however, where the Orca has paid dearly for its murderous temerity, as the enn^ged Walnas, when bereft of her young, will sometimes strike her tusL into her foe with such effect as to cause a mortal wound or instant death Among the numerous enemies of the Walrus, it is to be regretted that the whalers are included they having been driven to the necessity of pursuing them on account of the scarcity of Cetaceans. Already the animals have suffered so gi.at a lighter at their hands that their numbers have been materially diminished and hey have become wild and shy, making it difficult for the Esquimaux to success- fuUy hunt them, m order to obtain a necessary supply of food. It is stated that there has been much suffering among those harmless people of the far north on account of this source for supplying themselves with an indispensable article of sustenance being to an alarming extent cut off. According to The Friend, published at Honolulu, March 1st, 1872, the whalers first began to turn their attention to Walrus -catching about the year 1868, and the the litof th" I '''I' '^^"'"'^^^^ *° ^^P^"^^ ^^^^^^^' ^^-^ ^-g -thin the units of the icy barrier. Hence, much of the whalers' time during the months of July and August has been devoted to capturing the Walrus; and it is estimated that at least sixty thousand of these animals have been destroyed by the whale- fishers in the Arctic Ocean and Behring Sea during the last five years' which pro- duced about fifty thousand barrels of oil, with a proportionate amount of ivory ^ PART III. THE AMERICAN WHALE-FISHERY. ■■ili PART III -THE AMERICAN WHALE-FISHERY. CHAPTER I. ORIGIN AND ANCIENT MODE OF WIIALE-FISHING. B™> entering upon the history of the A„,erie»„ Whale-fishery, we will intro- ;iorablo probable than sixty." THE AMERICAN WHALE-FISHERY. 187 the inhabitants of Massachusetts were making their first attempts in the capture of the whale (about 1G50), the Biscayans had ah-eady extensively engaged in that business ; the Dutch and the English had followed their example ; the Russian Company had obtained an exclusive charter for it, and many other nations of Europe had directed their attention to the northern fisheries." "It is probably true, as has been sometimes contended," says M'CuUoch, ''that the Norwegians occasionally captured the whale before any other European nation engaged in so perilous an enterprise. But the early cifTorts of the Norwegians were not conducted on any systematic plan, and should only be regarded in the same point of view as tho fishing expeditions of the Esquimaux. The Biscayans were certainly the first people who prosecuted the whale-fishery as a regular commercial pur.suit. They carried it on with great vigor and success in the twelfth, thirteenth, and iburteenth centuries. In 12C1, a tithe was laid upon the tongues of whales imported into Bayonne, they being there a highly esteemed species of food. In 1388, Edward III relinquished to Peter de Puayanne a duty of six pounds sterling a whale, laid on those brought into the port of Biarritz, to indemnify him for the extraordinary expenses ho had incurred in fitting out a fleet for the service of his majesty. This fact proves beyond dispute that the fishery carried on from Biarritz at the period referred to must have been very considerable jr.deod ; and it was also prosecuted to a great extent from Cibourre, Vieux Boucan, and subsequently from Rochellc and other places. The whales captured by the Biscayans were not so large as those that are taken in the Polar Seas, and are supposed to liave been attracted southward in the pursuit of herrings. They wore not very productive of oil, but their flesh was used as an article of food, and the whalebone was applied to a variety of useful purposes, and brought a very high i)rice." In 1554, Pierre Belon writes concerning the Right AV'halo, or at least one of the baljon whales, as follows: "The animal which wo call the whale (baleen) was named by the ancient Greeks, j)Jialene; by the Latins, hakna; and is designated 1)y the Italians as the capodoglio (oil -head). It is generally considered to bo the largest of all fishes, as may well be suppoued from the size of the bones and ribs of the animal, which is enormous, so that they have been much wondered at when exhibited. It is for this reason that some Lave called it the Cetc. There is no ground for believing that the whale has two large horns on its head, as soni(> ha^-n drawn this animal; but there is a kind of tube on the upper part of I lie head, which does not, however, rise above the skin, and the existence of wli, I. only becomes appaient when the animal throws out the water through it, wlsirli has been taken in by the muzzle. This it docs sometimes with such violence that I * 188 MARINE MAUMALb OF THE NORTH-WESTERN COAST. ships have been capsized by it" (the jet of water). "It is also believed that the whale, like the porpoise and the dolphin, jumps entirely out of the water in order to take breath, and even that it has been heard blowing from a great distance off. This fish has neither hair nor scales, but is covered with smooth, hard, black, and thick skin, or hide, under which there is a layer of fat fully a foot in thickness, and this is what is sold during Lent. The tongue is marvelously large, and excel- lent eating ; and it is customary to salt and preserve it, as is also done with all the rest of the flesh of this fish. And that which is called whalebone {coste de halene — literally, whale's ribs), vnih. which ladies nowadays make their corsets and stiffen out their drosses, and which the beadles of some churches caiTy as wands — these ai'c certain pieces cut off and drawn out from that which serves as eye-lids for the whale, and which covers his eyes, and which is furnished at its extremity with a kind of long, stiff hair. This is what the Latins call the pretentures, and which they say enables the animal to direct his course through the sea. As far as the other exterior and interior parts of the wLale are concerned, they clearly resemble those of the sea -hog, and, making allowance for size, those of the por- poise and dolphin." Although this writer in some points gives us a very erroneous account of the whalebone whale, yet in a general view it is an intelligible description of the animal ; and it also establishes the fact that the animal's baleen, fat, and flesh were utilized at that period, the former being used as at the present day to distort the figu>'os of women in their dress, and the latter was esteemed as luxurious food. The author's figure of the bala)na is almost entirely in error, yet it is hardly more so than the representations of the same animal which may bo found in popular worki of the present century. Wo continue to quote from ^M'Culloch : ■'This branch of industry among the Basques and Biscayans ceased long since, and from the same cause that has occasioned the cessation of the whale-fishery in many other places — the want of fish. Whether it was that the whales, from a sensr of the dangers to which they exposed themselves in coming southward, no longer loft the icy sea, or that the breed had been nearly destroyed, certain it is that they gradually became loss numerous in the Bay of Biscay, and at length ceased almost entirely to frequent that sea ; and the fishers being obliged to pursue their prey upon the banks of Newfoundland and the coasts of Iceland, the Frencli fishery rapidly fell off. Tlie vo)rages of the Dutch and English to the Northern Ocean, in order, if possible, to discover a passage through it to India, though they failed of their main object, laid open the haunts of the whale. The companions of Bare \tz, who discovered Spitzbergen in 160(), and of Hudson, who THE AMERICAN WHALE-FISHERY. 189 soon after explored the same seas, I'opresonted to their countrymen the amazing number of whales with which they were crowded.* Vessels were in consequence fitted out for the northern whale-fishery by the English and Dutch, the harpooners and a part of the crew being Biscayans. They did not, however, confine their efforts to a fair competition with each other as fishers. The Muscovy Company obtained a royal charter, prohibiting the ships of all other nations from fishing in tbo seas round Spitzbergen, on pretext of its having first been discovered by Sir Hugh Willoughby. There can, however, be no doubt that Barontz, and not Sir Hugh, was its original discoverer ; though, supposing that the fact had been other- wise, the attempt to exclude other nations from the surrounding seas on such a ground was not one that could be tolerated. The Dutch, who were at that time prompt to embark in a commercial pursuit that gave any hope of success, eagerly entered on this new career, and sent out ships fitted equally for the purposes of fishing and of defense against the attacks of others. The Mu&oovy Company having attempted to vindicate its pretensions l)y force, several encounters took place between their ships and those of tliu Dutch. The conviction at length became general that there was room enough for all parties in the northern seas ; and in order to avoid the chance of coming into collision with each other, they parceled Spitzbergen and the adjacent ocean in districts, which they respectively assigned to the English, Dutch, Hamburgers, French, Danes, etc. The Dutch, thus left to prosecute the fishery without having their attention diverted by hostile attacks, speedily acquired a decided superiority over all their competitors. When the Europeans first began to prosecute tlie fishery on the coast of Spitzbergen, whales were everywhere found in vast numbers. Ignorant of the strength and stratagems of the formid- able foe by which they Avero now assailed, instead of betraying any symptoms of fear, they surrounded the ships and crowded ail the bays. Their capture was, in consequence, a comparatively ' eas}' task, and many wore killed which it was after- ward necessary to abandon, from the ships being already full. While fisli were thus easily obtained, it was the practice to boil the blubber on shore in the north, and fetch home only the oil and whalebone ; and perhaps nothing can give a more vivid idea of the extent and importance of the Dutch fishery in the middle of the eevcntoenth century, than the fact that they constructed a considerable village (the * Doctor Lintleman fitatcs in his ■work upon foi-cncc with their whale - fisheries on the coast of the whale-fishery (7>i(; nr/7i.s(7ic i'^iw/irrci (/(■/• i>('i(^ Jutland." Ho further mentions, that "the first ifchcn SfcsUultc, 1G20 (o 1808), "in the thirteenth English whaling -shijis wero sent out from Hull and fourteenth centuries iho Hunseatio cities car- in 1508, to the coasts of Iceland and the region ricd on war with Denmark on account of inter- of the North Capo." 190 MAIilNE MAMMALS OF THE NORTH-WESTERN COAST. houses of which were all previously pioparcd in ITollaiul, on the isle of Amster- dam), on the northern shore of Spitzbergen, to -which they gave the appropriate name of Smeercnberg (from stnecrcn, to melt, and bcrj, a mountain). This was the grand rendezvous of the Dutch whale-ships, and was amply provided with boilers, tanks, and every sort of apparatus required for preparing the oil and bone. But this was not all. The whale- ships wore attended with a number of provision -ships, the cargoes of which were landed at Smeercnberg, which abounded during the busy season with well -furnished shops, good inns, etc., so that many of the conveniences and enjoyments of Amsterdam were found within about cloven degrees of the Pt)le ! It is particularly mentioned that the sailors and others were every morning supplied with what a Dutchman regards as a very great luxury, hot rolls for broakAist. Batavia and Smoerenberg were founded nearly at the same period, and it was for a considerable time doubted whether the latter was not the more important establish- ment. {.De Jieste, Ilktoira des Peches, etc., tome i, p. 42.) "During the flourishing period of the Dutch fishery, the quantity of oil made in the nortu was so great that it could not be carried on by the whale -ships, and every year vessels were sent out in ballast to assist in importing the produce of the fishery. But the same cause which had destroyed the fishery of the Biscayans ruined that which was carried on in the immediate neighborhood of Spitzbergen. Whales became gradually loss common, and more and more difficult to catch. They retreated first to the open seas, and then to the great banks of ice on the eastern coast of Greenland. When the site of the fishery had thus been removed to a very great distance from Spitzbergen, it was foimd most economical to send the blubber direct to Holland. Smeercnberg was, in consequence, totally deserted, and its position is now with difficulty discernible. When in the most flourishing state, toward 1G80, the Dutch whale-fishery employed about two hundred and sixty ships and fourteen thousand sailors." Frederic ^larton, who made a voyage to Spitzbergen and Greenland during the summer of 1C71, gives a quaint account of the British whalers at that period, from which wo extract the following : "Wo ,set sail the 15th of April, 1671, about noon, from the island of Elbe. The name of the ship was Jonas in the Whale, Peter Peterson, of Frisland, master." Having arrived at Spitzbergen, the writer continues: "On the 5th of Juno, in the forenoon, it was moderately cold and sunshiny, but toward noon darkish and cloudy, with snow and great frost. Wo saw daily many ships sailing about the ice. I observed that as they passed by one another, they hailed one another, crying IloUal and asked each other how many fish they had caught, but would not stick THE AMERICAN WHALE- FISHERY. 191 sometimes to tell more than they had. When it is windy, that they could not hear one another, they waved their liats to signifio the number caught. But when they have their full freight of whales, they put up their great flag as a sign thereof; then if any hath a message to be sent, ho delivers it to them. On the 12th of July wc had a gloomy sun — sunshine all day. We saw but very few whales more, and those we did see were quite wild, that we could not come near then.. That night it was so dark and foggy that we could hardly see the ship's length. Wo might have got sea-horses enough, but we were afraid of losing our ships, for wo had examples enough of them that had lost their ships, and could not come to them again, but have been forced to return home in other ships. When after this manner any have lost their ships, and can not be seen, they .lis- charge a cannon from the ship, or sound the trumpets or hautboys, accordin-r us they are provided in their ships, that the men that arc lost may find their ships again." * As to the mode of capturing and flaying the mystketus, as well as the process of extracting the oil from the blubber, the ^u-rator gives the following description, under the headings respectively of "How they Catch the Whale," "What they do with the Dead Whale," and "Of the Trying out of the Train-oyl from the Fat." "First, it is to be obscrv'd, that when it's like to be a good year to catch whales m, there is many whUe-Jhh to be seen before: but where wc see many seaks, there wo do not e.xpect to meet with many whales; for they say, that they eat up the food of the whale, wherefore the whales will not stay in suc.'i empty places, but go to find out better, and so come to Spitzbergen, for there, at the shoar, we see great plenty of the small sea-snails, and perhaps some other small fish. They are caught after the following manner: When they sec whalet^ or when they hear them blow or spout, they call in to the ship, Fall, Ml; tlien every body must bo ready to get into the long-boat that ho doth belong to; commonly six men go into every long-boat, and sometimes seven, according as the long-boats are in bigness; they all of them row until they come very near unto the whale; then doth the harpoonier arise, who sits always before in the boat, where the harpoon, or the sharp iron made like unto an arrow fixed to a stick, doth also lie on the foremost l.ard of the long-boat, which the seamen call the Staffen, that is, the broad piece of wood that cometh up before the boat from the bottom, and stands up higher than all the rest. But when the whale runs strait down towards the bottom underneath the water, then ho doth draw the rope very hard, so that the upper part of the long-boat is even with the surface of the water ; nay, ho would certainly pull it down to the bottom, if thcv 192 MABINE MAMMALS OF THE NORTH-WESTERN COAST. should not give him rope enough. This ho doth commonly ■whore the sea is deepest ; and this doth require an incredible force to draw so many hundred fathoms of rope under water. This gives me occasion to remember, that when we on the 27th of April, in the year 1672, did fling out our lead, near St. Kilda, behind Scotland, into the sea, whore it was one hundred and twenty fathom deep, when the weather was calm, and when we would pull it up again, it was so heavy that twenty men had much to do to heave it. The harpoonicr takoth his har- poon, and holds the point, or the iron thereof, togeiher with the rope or line of five or seven fathom long, about an inch thick, and is laid up round like a ving, that it may not hinder the harpoon when it is flung, for as soon as he doth fling or dart the harpoon, this line follows ; for it is more pliable than the rest that are fastened to it, wherewith they pursue the whale. It is made of the finest and softest hemp, and not daubed with tar, but it doth swell in the water, and so it grows hard. The harpoonier darts his harpoon with the right hand at the fish. When the whale is hit with the harpoon, all the men that are in the long-boat turn themselves about and look before them, and they lay their oars nimbly upon the sides of the long-boat. There is a man in the long-boat, whose business it is to look after the rope; for in each of these long-boats there is a whole heap of lines, between the two seats or benches ; this heap is divided into three, four, or five parts, and each of them is of eighty, ninety, to one hundred fathoms long. The first of them is ty^d to the fore-runner, or small line ; as the whale runs under the water, they tyo more and more line to it, and if in one boat there should not be enough, they make use of those that are in the other long-boats. These ropes or lines are thicker and stronger than the fore- runner, and are made of strong and tough hemp, and tarr'd over. The line -fur- nisher, or the man that doth look after the ropes, and also the other men that are in the long-boat, must have groat care that the ropes or lines may not be entangled when they run out so swift, or that they may not run towards the side of the long-boat, for then the long-boat would be overset, and many men lose their lives, if other long-boats were not near to their assistance. The line must run just before, in the middle of the long-boat, that is called the Stave by the seamen, and by reason of this strong and violent motion, the wood and rope would be set on fire. But to prevent this, the harpoonier hath a wc- /ag ly'd to a stick (like unto a mop) ready at hand, wherewith he wets the wood without ceasing. The other three men that arc in the long-boats take also care of the lines, as well when they are let out, as when they are taken in again ; and when they can not hold it with their hands, they wind it about the staves of the boat, TnE AMERICAN JVEALE-FISHERY. 198 and so thoy do stop it from going any further. Another, that is called the steer- man, stands behind in the long-boat, and steers the boat with an oar, and ho takes groat care, and minds the rope, to see which way it runs out, for if it doth go towards either side, and doth not run just before over the stave, lie so guides the boat, that it may run exactly out before. The whale runs away with the long-boat as swift as the wind. If the harpoonier can, he doth dart the harpoon just behind the spout- hole of the whale, or in the thick fat of his back, where they also do launce him, for that maketh him spout blood sooner than if wounded in any other place, and die sooner than if you should launce them into their belly, or through the guts. The first whale we caught spouted blood in such a quantity, that the sea was tinged by it wherever he swam, whercunto the Mallemucks flock'd in great numbers, as I have mentioned before. They also launce the whales near their privy -parts, if they can come at it; for if they are run in there, it doth pain them very much ; nay, even when they are almost dead, if you run in your launce thereabout, it causes the whole body to tremble. For the most part the}' do not much mind where they launce or push them ; for there is no time to take deliberation, but they strike at him as well as thoy can. But about the head the harpoon can do him no hurt, because the fat is but very thin there on the bones, which the whales know as well as we ; for when they find themselves in danger, so that they can not escape the harpoon, they rather leave their head than their back undefended, for there the harpoon breaks out easier, and so the whale gets away, like one that hath no mind to fight any longer. The use of the harpoon is, to tye, as it were, the whales with them, that they may not run away. It is shaped like an arrow before : it hath two sharp beards, they are sharp at the edge, and have a broad back, like unto a hatchet that is sharp before and blunt behind, or on the back, so that it may not cut with its back, for else it would tear out, and all your labour would bo lost. The iron handle is thicker behind than before, and it is hollow, whereinto they put the stick. Before this hollow part, the fore -goer is fastcn'd or ty'd, that is to say the foremost rope. Those are the best harpoons that are made of clean and fine steel, and are not hardened too much, so that you may bend it without sutapping, for oftentimes two hundred pounds are lost (for a midling whale is esteem'd at so much) in a minute's time for want of a good and well-temper'd harpoon. The wooden stick is fastened within the iron collet or funnel of the harpoon, with packthread wound all about the iron ; somewhat higher up, about two spans ofl", there is a hole made through the stock. The harpoon is light behind, and heavy towards the point, or before, like an arrov/, that is made heavy before with iron, and light behind with feathers, IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) ^O ^/a^ ^-,V4 C ^"^^ ^ :/. 1.0 I.I 11.25 1^ |2.8 I ■ 50 *^™ IHi 2.5 2.2 2.0 1.4 iim I 1.6 V ^■^y '^ Photographic Sciences Corporation 33 WEST M/ttN STRUT WIUTM.N.Y. MSIO (716) S7a-4303 1G4 MARINE MAMMALS OF THE NORTH-WESTERN COAST. so that fling it which way you will, it cloth fall always upon the point. Through this hole Cometh a piece of packthread, wherewith the end of the fore-runner is fastened to the handle or stock of the harpoon, but this is soon torn off, and it servcth for nothing more after the harpoon sticks in the body of the whale ; neither is the wooden liandle of any further use, and so it doth soon come out from the iron. When the whale is struck with the harpoon, all the other long- boats row out before, and take notice which way the line doth stand, and some- times they pull at the rope or line. If it is stiff and heavy, the whale doth draw it still with his might; but if it doth hang loose, so that the long-boat is before and behind equally high out of the water, then the men pull in the rope again, and the rope -giver laycth it down in very good order, round, and one row above the other, that if the whale should draw on again, he may have it ready to give him without being entangled. Ilcro is also this to be observed, that if the whale runs upon the level, they must not give him too much rope, for if he should turn and wind himself much and often about, he miglit easily wind the rope about a rock or heavy stone, and so fasten it to it, and so the harpoon would come out, and all the labour would be lost, which hath often hapned, and we ourselves lost one that way. The other long-boats that are towed behind, wherein the men look all before them, and sit still, and let the whale draw them along. If the whale doth rowl upon the ground, s: that the long-boats or sloops lye still, they draw their lines in again by degrees, and the rope -master doth lay them down again in their proper places, as they hud been laid before. When they kill the whale with launces, they also pull their lines in again, untill they come near to the whale, yet at some distance, that the others may have room to launce. But they must have great care, that all the lines of every sloop may not bo cut off together, because some whales sink, and others do swim even with the water when they are dead, which nobody can tell beforehand, whether they will do one or the other. The fat ones do not sink presently after they are fresh killed, but the lean ones sink immediately after they are dead, but after some few days they come up again, and swim on the water. But it would be too long a while for a man to stay till he Cometh up again, and the sea is never so quiet that one can stay long in the same place ; and where the sea is quiet, and without waves, there the stream doth carry the ships and the ice along together, so that we should be forced to leave the whale unto others, that would find him dead some days after. 'Tis true, this is the easiest way to catch whales, but it is very nasty and stinking work ; for louj; tnd white maggots grow in their flesh, they are flat, like unto worms that breed in men's bellies, and they smell worse than ever I smelt anything in my life. The TBE AlIEBIOAN WHALE-FIBHEBT. jM Ir fr,'"'^ "r '"? '° ""^ ""■""■ "'° '''^'■■■"- "'' ■"»* "^^ »'«™ ='; «°- ™,ra a foot Ingh above lh« water, others to their nuddlc, and then they do burst eas.ly, and g,™ a very great report. They begin immediately to stink, and this enereases hourly and their flesh boil, and ferments like un.o beer or ale, and holes break m the.r bell.es, and their guts eome out. If any man is enolined to sore eye,, h„ vapor mflamos then, immediately, a, if quieklime wa, flung i„,o them But when the l,v„ whales rise and ,w:m again, ,on,„ of them are astoLhd, othe", w.ld or star mad. To those that are wild we eome softly or gently from bin as ve do when we are going to trapan them, for when the wind i, down, th weather cam and aw serene, so that the sea doth not foam or roar, the whale hoar mmiediately the striking of the oars ■■If many ,„,all iee-sheets lye near to one another, so that we oun not follow the whalo w«h our sloops or long-boat., we fetch „> our line with all might and srength, and ,f w.th one or more pulls „„ „.„ ,,,„,. „„. ,^, „., .^^^^ f not, wo chop off the rope or line. The whale i, best and surest s. nek wi.l a h rpoon when he spouts water, a, is already said above, for wc do observe ta :rsom^- ' ""' '"' '"'''■ '""' '"'^ ">™ "*°- "»<■ »™ -etime und: and somefme, above water, so that their back doth not quite dry, and before wo n,. aware of .t ho fling, up hi, tail behind out of the sea.lnd so bids u. g od- - Ino whrlos mav easily bo caufflif wlmn ti,-. >■ • -'' . y.u.mij oc caugiit uiien the air is very serene and clear anrl thn sea , met and where tbore float neither ,reat nor small ioe-,hee^ so 2 we . ,^ go ,n between them with our boats or sloops, to follow them; fo at the ielflelds lie: "t tb ': 7"'°°'V>;°, "»■' ™^ '^-»»'- »' '"-, l-haps by reason o 1 .ce that b.te them, lies.des, again,t the ico-sheets the sea beat, dahes and foam,, w„h small eurling wave,, so that the whales do not observe .'.omM , stnkmg of the oars, and so they are easily struck with the harpoon. It s v v dangerous ,„ kd a female, chiefly when she is big wi.h young for they dc ™d hen„elvc. very long, and arc harder to be kilfd than « male on . Oft nit he long.boa,s w„,t s.x or seven hours, nay, » whole day, for a whale, befo,„ th!; "Where groat quantity of small ico is crowded together, the,^ it is also very ::r:rti:terr;r;r-n^i::: '^ir "'-.'7- the ,.. f ti long boat, and doth draw on the":;';; to";':!:::;? :;' :.::n:ei: t:i:r:t^;Ters:^:l::^^"^" ..oops after him. If he doth run LderneathTrtt I^d tl^'^ 196 MARINE MAMMALS OF THE NORTH-WESTERN COAST. a knife in his hand, which they call the chopping- knife, and if the ice-field be hollow, or spongy, or full of holes in the middle, so that the whale can fetch breath 'ndcrncath it, and the rope is not long enough to follow him, and if the ice be several miles long, they draw the rope in as much as possibly they can, until it be strait, and then he chops it off, loosing the piece of the rope whereon tlie harpoon is fastened, that sticketh in the body of the whale, yet not without great loss, for oftentimes they run away with the lines that belong to five and more sloops. It happens very often, that they run to the ice with the long-boats, so that they dash againit it, as if they would break it into pieces, which also very often happens. But when the whale rises again, they oftentimes fling one or two more harpoons into him, according as they find he is tired more or less ; then he dives under water again. Some swim or run even all along on the water, and they play with their tail and fins, so that we must have great care that we may not come too near them. When the whales fling their tails about in this manner, they wind the line about their tail, so that we need not to fear the harpoon tearing out, for then they are ty'd strong and firm enough with the rope. After they are wounded, they spout with all their might and main, so that you may hear them as far off as you may a cannon ; but when they are quite tired, it comoth out only by drops, for he hath not strength enough to force the water up, and therefore it sounds as if you held an empty mug or bottle iiiidor water, and the water runs into it. And this sound is a certain sign nf his feebleness, and that he is going to expire. Some whales blow blood to the very last, after they have been wounded, and these dash the men in the long-boats most filthily, and d3'c the sloopa red as if they were painted with a red colour ; nay, the very sea is tinged red all along where they swim. Tliose whales that are mortally wounded heat themselves, that they reek while tiiey are alive, and the birds sit on them, and eat on them while they are still alive. When tlie whales blow up the water, they fling out with it some fattish substance that floats upon the sea like sperm, and this fat the Mallemucks devour greedily, of which several thousands attend him, so that a whale often hath more attendants than a king hath servants. Sometimes also the harpoons break out I then often long-boats of other ships attend, and as soon as they see that the harpoon is come out, they fling their own into iiim, and the whale is theirs, altho' the first harpoon hath almost kill'd the whale, yet if he doth get loose, the second party claims him, and the first must look for another. Sometimes at the same time two harpoons, belonging to two several ships, are struck into the whale ; such ones are divided equally, and each one haih half: the other two, or three, or more sloops, as many as there is of them, wait for the whales coming up again, and when they THE AMERICAN WHALE-FISHERY. 197 see that he is tir'd, they kill him outright with laimces. In doing this is the greatest danger, for the first that do fling the harpoon into him are drawn along by the whale, and are at a good distance from him, but those that kill him with launccs are as well upon his body as at his sides, according as the whale turns and wmds himself, and they receive many severe blows. Here the steerman must take care to observe how the whale runr, and turns himself about, that the harpoonie- may reach him with his launces ; all the other men in the sloops row diligently sometimes forwards, and sometimes backwards, which they call rowing on and strik- ing, and when the whale lifts up himself out of the water, he commonly doth strike about with his tail and fins, that the water dasheth up like dust. A long-boat he values no more than dust, for ho can beat it all into shatters at a blow; but a great ship is too hard for him, und if he strikes against it with his tail, he 'feels it more than the ship, for he doth .0 paint the ship with his own blood, that it maketh him vc-y feeble. A good steerman is next unto the harpoonicr most useful in the sloop ; he Lteers with one oar and doth look out before ; the other four men turn their back to the head, and look towards the stern, therefore doth the steerman and harpoonier always cry, row on, or strike, that is to say, row near to the whale or else keep farther off. The launces have a wooden stick or handle above two fathoms long, or somewhat shorter than a pikestaff; the iron thereof is commonly a fathom long, and pointed before like unto a pike; it is made of steel or tough iron, that it may bend without breaking. For after you have made a deep hole in his body with your launces, you poke into it with them one way and the other way, as they do when they poke for eels, but if he doth get one or more out of your hands, you take another, for every sloop hath at least five, si:: or seven and yet sometimes be has them all out of three, four, or more boats sticking in his body. "After the whale is killed they cut off his tail; some keep the tail and fins, and hang them up at the outside of their ship, for that defends them from the ice when it prosseth upon the ship. The tail hinders the boat in its course, because It doth lye across, and that is the reason why they cut it off Before the tail they fasten a piece of a rope, and at the other end at the stern of the last s'oop. There is in all four or five sloops fastened to one another behind, and so they row one behind the other to the great ship. When they have brought the whale to the ship, they tye it with ropes fast to the ship ; that part where the tail is cut off they fasten to the fore-part of the ship, and the head towards the stern, about the middle, near the great shrowds of the mainmast on the larboard of the ship ; it is seldom that a whale doth reach farther than from the poop to the middle of 108 MARINE MAMMALS OF THE NOItTH-WESTERN COAST. the ship, except the vessels are very small. By the larboard is to bo understood that side of the ship that is at j-our right hand as you go from before towards the stern ; but that side of the ship that is on your right hand as you go from the stern towards the fore -part is called star -board, because you go from the steer forward. "Whoever of the ships' crews sees a dead whale, cries out Fish mine, and there- fore the merchants must pay him a ducat, for his care and vigilance. Many of them climb often up into the mast, in hopes to have a ducat, but in vain. When the dead whale is thus fastened to the ship, two sloops hold on the other side of the fish or whale, and in each of them doth stand a man or boy, that has a long hook in his hands, wherewith he doth hold the boat to the ship, and the harpoonier stands before in the sloop, or upon the whale, with a leathern suit on, and sometimes they have boots on. Underneath the hook are some sharp nails fixed, that they may be able to stand firm, for the whale is very slippery, so that one may easily fiill, as upon slippery ice. These two men that cut the fat off have their peculiar wages for it, viz: about four or five rix- dollars. First, they cut a large piece from behind the head, by the eyes, which they call the Renter - piece, that is as much as to say the winding- piece ; for as they cut all the other fixt all in I'ows, from the whale towards the end, so thi'y cut this great kenter- piece larger and wid'H" than all the rest. This piece, when it is cut round about from the whale, reaches from the water to the cradle, (that is the round circle that goeth round about the middle of the mast, and is made in the shape of a basket), from whence you may guess at the bigness of a whale. A strong and thick rope is fixed to this kenter -piece, and the other end is fixed underneath the cradle, whereby the whale is as it was born up out of the water, that they may come at it, and by reason of the grout weight of the whale, the ship leans towards that side. One may judge how tough the fat is, for in this piece an hole is made, through which the rope is fastened, yet not deep into the fat, wherewith they turn the fish at pleasure. Then, as is before said, they cut another piece down hard by this, tliat is also hauled up to the ship ; and then in the ship they cut it into less pieces about a foot square. These two men have in their hands, as well as those that stand on the whale, long knives, wherewith they cut these square pieces. These knives are, with their hafts, about the length of a man ; and the more the fat of the whale is loosened, just as the hide is flea'd from an ox, the higher must they pull up tho fat with their pulleys, that they may cut it the easier. And when they have drawn up this fat, the men take it to them into the ship, and loosen the rope that it was fastened unto. The rope is fastened with a ring whcreinto they TUE AMERICAN WHALE-FISHERY. X 4/ (7 ! M • T','""™''- "^ "'-' »'""J» »"otl,cr, that ,.„i|, . rtort hook „ , ' larboard. Whe„ .t i. a g„„d ,;,„„ („ „„,^.|, „,,,,,„ „j j. no 0.7 , T toiv Bomot hues several fish behind li.ei,. i ■ . . ' "'"^ tho great piece, of Uo^^Zt^T^^C' "T '"T '■ ""' "'°^ ""' °"'^ when the,, I ' ^ """ >"iJ«rao.'tli into the sjiip But whn they have no „ore vessob to put their fat into, they ,ail into an h,rbor 1 to a Aeet of ,ce and ,o they drive along with Iho >,.re„,„. The other „,en , h fat ,nto .nail pieeo,, on a table; on the further side of the e "■ , fastened, whereunto they fasten a hook, which they put into the f, t la. ii pieces are less than the other, about three foot long witl ijl h t. The u I - the soft and tough fat into sS';::! :: j^: ::^z :::::z ":X:i 1 :,;: :r:r rrr'° ": r '- '*™' -- "" "- and of some red. The wllfat is l^n f '"'"n ' " "''"°' "' °"""' >•'"<'"■ ...0. oy, as the yeiiow."t "w Liirtr,:; t.t:: xtsn,: out the blood set.les ,n ,ts roon,, and yield, the worst and least oyl. Before I mi' ed f„ if ul"'"h f /•": '""'■'" "°"°" '°^°"'"' "l--.'o\ho .Jl n :.:; t? : lvti^::^^ ^ '- ^^ "«-- ■-- « .»« roaches down into the sh p o o ' t Z^M " ""I""'"""'' '° '""' " wooden funnel which they^'ut upon c;"!!!; t'cll rtCcIll'l: and the n.cn that are below in the ship fill the. with it, .nd' so it is kept m 200 3IARINE MAMMALS OF THE NORTH-WESTERN COAST. they try it up into train -oyl. When the fat is cut off from one side of the whale, before they turn liim they cut out the whalebone in one entire piece ; and this is so heavy that all the ship's crew hath enough to do to pull it up. They make use, for that purpose, of a peculiar sort of hooks, two whereof they fix on the sides, and one on the middle of it, very well provided with strong tackle, and afterwards they cut out the whalebone of the other side of the fish, and draw it up also witli pulleys into the ship, where it is cut into such pieces as they bring it hither in. The whalebone doth only belong to the owners of the ship, and the others that run their hazard, whether they catch few or many whales. The rest, which take their pay by the month, receive their money when they come home, whether they have caught many or none, and the loss or gain falls upon the merchants. The hooks that they crane up the whalebone withal, are made on purpose for it, like a beam of a pair of scales ; on each end are two sharp points, which they knock in between the whalebone ; in the middle of the beam is fastened a long handle with a ring, whereon the ropes are fastened ; on this handle there are fixed two other crooked hooks like bird's claws ; in the ring where the ropes are fastened is another crooked hook, at the top fastened by a ring, such a one as we make use of here when we wind anything up by a crane ; but in the middle between these two hooks is fastened another rope, which keeps the lower- most hook steddy ; the two hindmost points arc knocked into the whalebone behind, and the two foremost short ones before, which hold the whalebone fast between them when it is wound or pulled up. "The dead whales, when the fat is cut off of them, they let float, and are the food of the birds of prey when they are hungry ; but they liad rather have dead whales that have still their fat left on them. The white bear is generally not far off, whether there be any fat left on them or no, and look like dogs that only feed upon carrion, and at that time their white fur is turned into a yellow colour, and at the same time they shed their hair, and their skins are worth very little. Where a dead whale is near, we see it by the birds, whereof .u'o many, and also the white bears discover it, chiefly in the spring, when but few whales are caught, for then they are greedy of their prey ; afterwards, when many whales float on the sea, they have their bellies full, and we do not find so many by a whale, because they are dispersed. "Formerly the Dutch did try out their train-oyl in Spitzbergen, at Smecron- berg, and about the Cookery of Harlingbn, where still, for a remembrance, all sorts of tools belonging thereunto are to be seen, whereof I have made mention before. Ihe Frenchmen try up their train-oyl in their ships, and by that means many THE AMERICAN WHALE-FISHERY. 201 ships are burnt at Spitzbergen ; and this was the occasion of the burning of two ships in my time. They try out their train -oyl at Spitzbergen, that they may load the more fivt in their ships ; and they believe it to be very profitable, for they go their voyage upon part, that is to say, they receive more or less, according to what they catch : but I do not account it wisdom to fill up the room of the ship with wood, where they might stow vessels. But our countrjTnen, as I told you before, put the fat into the vessels, wherein it doth ferment just like beer ; and I know no instance that ever any vessel did fly in pieces, although they are stopt up very close, and so it becometh for the greatest part train -oyl in them. Of the fresh fat of whales, when it is burnt out you lose twenty in the hundred, more or less, according as it is in goodness. At the place where they try up the fat into train -oyl, near Hamburg, they try up the fat out of the vessels into a great wooden trough or tub, and out of this two men empty it into a great kettle that stands near it, that doth hold two cardels of fat, that makes one hundred and twenty, one hundred and thirty, and sometimes one hundred and forty gallons. Underneath this copper that is made up with bricks they put the fire, and so they boil it, and try it up into train -oyl, as you try up other fat. This copper is very well secured, as the dyers' coppers use to be ; it is very broad and flat, just like a frying-pan made of copper. When the fat is well tryed or fryed out, they take it out of the pan with small kettles, into a great sieve, that the liquid only may run through ; the rest is thrown away. This sieve stands over a great tub, which is above half filled with cold water, that the hot train -oyl may be cooled, and that what is unclean and dirty of the blood and other soil may fall to the bottom, and only the clear train -oyl swim at the top of the water, like other oyl. In this great tub or trough is a small spout or tap, which doth run out over another as big as a tub, out of which the train -oyl runs into another tub, when it is almost ready to run over, which is also filled with cold water to the middle, wherein it is more cooled, and becomes clearer, and more refined than it was before. In this trough is another spout, through which the train -oyl runs into the warehouse into a vatt, whoreout they fill it into cardels or vessels. Some have but two tubs. A cardel or hogshead holds sixty -four gallons. A true train -oyl barrel doth liold thirty -two gallons. The greaves they try up the second time, and make brown train-oyl out of it; others that think it not worth their while, fling them away." Having submitted a brief sketch of primitive European whaling commerce, de- duced from the most reliable papers and publications accessible to us, we will now enter upon an account of the American whale-fishery. Mabims IUhhau.— M CHAPTER II. THE AMEllICAN WHALE-FISHERY. The American Whale-fishery began as early as 1614. According to Captain John Smith, the enterprise was prosecuted by the colonists along the New England coast prior to that date, and it was among the first pursuits of the colonial inhab- itants of New York and Delaware.* The right of whale -fishing "was guaranteed by the Royal Charter of 1629 to the proprietors of Massachusetts, as being within their waters."! Yet, according to Cheever, "the first person that is recorded to have killed a whale, among the people of New England, was one William Hamil- ton, somewhere between 1660 and 1670;" J and as early as 1700 they began to fit out vessels from Cape Cod and Nantucket, to "whale out" in the deep sea for sperm whales. These treasures of the ocean were of great value to the early settlers, both commercially and in a domestic point of view. One John Iligginson, of Cape Cod, writes: "We have a considerable quantity of whale-oil and bone for exporta- tion." Even in those primitive times, among the few inhabitants of the coast who were engaged in the exciting adventure, it was not without its strifes, for, in 1692, Mr. Higginson, one of the spiritual advisers of those days, and Timothy Lindall, wrote to Nathaniel Thomas : § "Sir, we have been jointly concerned in seuerall whale voyages at Cape Cod, and have sustained greate wrong and injury by the unjust dealing of the inhabitants of those parts, especially in two instances ; y* first was when Woodbury and com- pany, in our boates, in the winter of 1690, killed a large whale in Cape Cod harbour. She sank, and after rose, went to sea with a harpoon, warp, etc., of ours, which have been found in the hands of Nicholas Eldridge. The second case is this : Last winter, 1091, William Edds and company, in one of our boates, struck a whale, which came ashore dead, and by y« evidence of the people of Cape Cod was the very whale they killed. The whale was taken away by Thomas Smith, of Eastham, and unjustly detained." *Amuils of Salem, vol. ii, p. 223. XWhale and his Captorg, p. 23. fVide Annals of Salem, vol. ii, p. 223. %Annala of Salem, vol. ii, p. 228. THE AMERICAN WHALE-FISHERY. 203 These remarks show that shore -whaling was pursued at the Cape previous to 1690. About 1748, the whales, having been driven from the contiguous shores, were pursued farther seaward in sloops and schooners of fifty tons, each of which had a company of thirteen men, and lowered two boats in the chase. In 1765, the whale-fishery from Boston and adjacent ports amounted to one hundred small vessels,* vhich cruised as far to the northward and eastward as the Straits of Belle Isle, the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and to the Western Islands. But at the island of Nantucket, or among the Nantucket men, originated the grand whaling enterprise which has reached every accessible point around the world, f The colonists who had come hither to settle were, like all other New Englanders of their time, made up of those characteristic spirits, who believed in God, and maintained the right of worshiping Him according tc the dictates of their own convictions. Moreover, they were inured to frugal habits, but were alive to industry and adventure. Their first whaling from the island was in boats from the shores, which occurred as early as 1690. J A tall spar was erected, upon which the whalemen in turn ascended to watch, for whales. As soon as the spout of the animal was seen in the distance, the signal was given, when immediately the boats were manned, launched through the surf, and with sturdy stroke they plied their rudely fashioned oars, and away flew the primitive whaling squadron, which was soon invisible from the island hamlet. The capture being made, the prize was towed to the beach and stripped of its blubber, which was transported in carts to the try -houses, where the oil was extracted and put into casks ready for market. The shore -whaling continued for over fifty years, but eventually it was abandoned, for the same reason that the Spitzbergen and Smeerenberg fisheries were — the scarcity of whales near *Annah of Salem, vol. ii, p. 225. navigation, which they have an opportunity of fj. Hector St. John, who published a book practicing on the spot. They learn the great in 1793, entitled Letters from an American Farmer, and useful art of working a shij} in all the dif- gives many interesting facts concerning the Nan- ferent situations which the sea and wind so oft- tucket people and the whale-fishery of the pe- en require; and surely there can not bo a better riod, from which we extract a few paragraphs, or a more useful school of that kind in the Belative to the children, he says : world. Then they go gradually through every "At school they learn to read, and to write station of rowers, steersmen, and harpooners; a good hand, until they are twelve years old; thus they learn to attack, to pursue, to over- they are then in general put apprentices to the take, to cut, to dress their huge game : and cooper's trade, which is the second essential after having performed several such voyages, branch of business followed here; at fourteen, and perfected themselves in this business, they they are sent to sea, where in their leisure are fit either for the counting-house or chase." hours their companions teach them thb art of X Hunt's Merchants' Magazine, vol. iii, p. 364. company, except the captain, were Indiana; and the "Xattick" language was, in a great measure, adopted on board.f With these vessels, thus manned, and with the addition of an occasi-mal representative of the African race, the fishery was success- fully pursued up to 174G,J wh'?n larger ones, schooners and brigs, from one hun- dred to one hundred and thirty tons, were employed. These more capacious whaling craft stretched across the Atlantic, in their voyages, to the coast of Africa, traversed the Banks of Newfoundland, and contended with the ice of Baffin's and Hudson's bays, in search of their mammoth prey, and in open seasons reached the latitude of 8P. According to Ricketson's History of New Bedford, the founder of that city, Joseph Russell, Esq., was the first to engage in the whale-fishery at that point, which dates back to 1755. In 1765, he, with others, employed in the enterprise the sloops Nancy, Polly, Greyhound, and Ilannah, each of which was about fifty tons burden. Their cruises were extended during the milder months of the year as far south as the "Capes of Virginia." In these primitive voyages, the oil was not extracted from the blubber until the vessel's return, when the hoy -like craft was hauled broadside upon the shore, and an ox -cart was the means of transporting ^Pitkins mentions that the American whal- ing-fleet, in 1731, amounteu to thirteen hundred tons. — Piikina on Commerce, p. 43. fit has been stated by sereral 'writers that the American colonists followed up the Indian mode ot capturing the whale, by first striking it with a harpoon having a log of wood attached to it by a line, even as late as the commence- ment of the Sperm Whale fishery. It is quoted that the Hon. Paul Dudley stated: "Our peo- ple formerly used to kill the whale near the shore, but now they go o£f to sea in sloops and whale •hoaU. Sometimes the whale is killed by a single stroke, and yet at other times she will hold the whalemen in play near half a day to- gether, with their lances; and sometimes they will get away after they have been lanced and spouted thick blood, with irons in them, and drags ("droges") fastened to them, which are thick boards about fourteen inches square." It was considered presumption to attempt to capt- ure the huge creatures "in small boats, and by the aid of lines, from the end of which was attached the harpoon, by which they could draw themselves to the harpooned whale whenever they wished to destroy it with the lance." We ore of the opinion, however, that the colonial whalers did not follow the Indian mode of whale - fishing ; for it is well known that the British whalers, as early as 1670, used the line attached to the boat, and, bo far as the drags or "droges" are concerned, they are used at the present day in cases of emergency. XSurU'a Merchants Magaiine, vol. iii, p. 866. '!"'■ '^ m-*^' HE AMERK ly \ni A!. K .FISHERY. 205 tJxi riH'kin 'j r.-Hu tho Vfsscl to Uu' " try-l >ust'^," Tlii.-^ w.is 'he cisK/rn with ali tlio »i-!jii;-,. »?' till so tiniivi/" * Afi»-" ' 'I. oiht'r vrs,st'l.-< ot itirgc.- tcTiiiii^t,! \V( ro jul !< tl t' tiiu \v!ial;n;j: squad • • .ri r <■■.•. ..xcu'ioil llK'ir V'iy5k!/t>i». like Uu; N'»utiii'koi ■ ui -n, uci-os>s the Atlantic. .V - ' - •- ■■ . w re i!n; ^'ovv Ui.:dr«*r .7 v-(>[ili linsm-Ii v f^'/iis mid ' 1 M.\'klaii(:l \vti!i nnK.n^ vhi' ii'-j>r., li' v.<'i ilic lir-i, nf Arii.'jit.in whulors wludi .'P ib.rn iiiui (ibtaincl :, full .•nrg.i m li.o Viu-i:;.- Th'; .;:ii ■.rurlt.-r 4uitv. ^ !! liii' lu'hvxn was only tin.- iiiui'lri'il smd S'„n'vii'v-fiv'.' tv.".-!. slu; ,\as ;oi ,sill- '" fv l.irg \x'.^«.'l, aiil 'MIS \!Sit('il a- .m I'bjoi I ul' v-dider/' Tim.- L)i-j;.im liio > r :■ I "i.t.M ..;.(. .a \.-\v Ik-i inl - 0!,ixs t 'i.! f': n \-:i,-; fii-l snnied, B''i'',,ril - -• ■1 h.is .■i;i'\ pn-i .-t'ii ■■', til..' wi'ulin!: HMi'i-o^ ,-,!,, ^ ,(' t!;i •vcrld. 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Jl, 'r,„ I .1.. ,. .,; ^ll! ,-. ., i;,- : r!, £>,..- ^.■,..., .,..1 =i'l .a 6<.T!t<..-« 11 in hiH Wi.'k, fro.. v,1u.;!t wi- (.xt..ai . wtuoli , *i.i^!. -i;^t .■ ti-:i.,i.»|..),-li.'! iii ,n<,;. to •t.' ■■■Ui).>-in{j', •\ iu,u \\.<.. H\.ix». li< - W'i..fii in..r tli- t:>.tt;.rto. • Jfoi-e (h.ii'.[,i.ukii..s ■iiui i,. ;ij(i' ■ *•- ■■»' .-(n .' nc ,ff t.iu' ,.«.,iill mi«*:U lb i, , .u- .l,.. ) . l\wl-'<^\>i y:{ ■ .-.kfi. ft 'v;t , :t v.Mc)i ..,i l)„ iTi'asi. |io.iriii, -il t)..n t '4ft' ., '■; .««•»{ * .. vBr-r ' 'Jr*. . ' .^.,.* -.'-lii- l^;;;/- baJ.Ul^'vt ilijir,,.)- uil.-' (I Nfdmli.u-lux.iM.d Imi ■ *■'"' "^'- '/ ■>- .' i • '^: .' ^ '^. -^iT- ,>l HI, cl."i i.un.ili).^ ..V3< ti). hlnl^i.v i ; ,ukI • * '"*■*'■"'■'' ■ •'■" '•■" -' ■ '■■ ■■ >' HU;; }' -V !'(TU.'.!• bur I .(ikiii^ f-i.. . ih •4 Inwpu.- ;.vm tU. . *::: -V*..,,, \- ci, fUi,: ..j^„ K.U, luM l.a«*'t,. a.hl 1, •....:-- . J*efully ou.'tff.t..i. •;, ^-'h , -, - I',,;.,. siiK ,i ^-.iit^r Ih h.^j-tI .ip,>i, . -•■ku; iiVi^t. .-^il (inVl tt V ,'.■ ■ i4= •^; M • v,„. V. F,;,f;,l.,( I.. , M. itl'd iip,.:; t.K- (l. „l;uf H iriMcl- J.(, I*.' ivnil Nu'M,..-,. .11 (■»♦• i >-.As ., v'.rt'-. «t,.j„,, r.„l C'viji!.: (lir.rtu))is 'n I. colu'vl unn, (V,,* -;,,.-<; Jij3rH,fVA4 Mj„i ..,„V! ,.,,.,. , .,, ,,„^ ^1 , .„ l,.,|^li„^, ;,i^ „1,-,H it's hoi-SO l.y ihl- i.Yuik. f!»- : V < -*t tr»'«- .IV Mf'n rtf«, wti !*.« I 7i>^ is WM), ■„ lus l.i-.-.ft.M.ntiim.'.) Imt au\ lvi-..,llv U. 'I- *..,!>» «ljg# fn tlio f. '»^'. .»i . Uf. ocftf. '. ;>;), ^■I^" 'is**- *■ -?■ ^ "X v'i.' 't . i' 'C )A I ^■ 'H'^-i^K-iih,.^. lit ■ ,^' f 1 ■ —-- ^''^■'^- r V •' -■i5» '& f .;.■*" THE AMERICAN WHALE-FISHERY. 205 the reeking fat from the vessel to the " try - houses." This was the custom with all the whalers of those times.* About 1770, other vessels of larger tonnage were added to the whaling squad- ron,! which extended their voyages, like the Nantucket -men, across the Atlantic. Among them were the Xew Bedford Lrigs Patience and N'o Duty on Tea. In September, 1791, the ship Rebecca, owned by those veteran merchants, Joseph Rassell & Sons and Cornelius Ilowland, was among the first, if not the first, of American whalers which doubled Cape Horn and obtained a full cargo in the Pacific. The chronicler states: "Although iha Rebecca was only one hundred and seventy -five tons, she was consid- ered a very large vesse', and was visited as an object of wonder." Tlius began the commercial enterprise at New Bedford — or, as the town was first named, Bedford — which has since become, and still is, the whaling metropolis of the world. Between the years 1771 and 1775, Massachusetts alone employed annually, in the northern whale-fishery, one hundred and eighty- three vessels, tonnaging thirteen thousand eight hundred and twenty tons ; and one hundred and twenty - one vessels, with an aggregate burden of fourteen thousand rwA twenty tons, were engfged in the south- ern fishery,! 'i^d many places along the sea- board of New England, as well as towns * The plato facing this page, representing a whaling-scene of 1763, was copied by permissiou from the celebrated painting by William H. Wall. The author of the Historij of New Bedford de- scribes it in his work, from which wo extract the following: "Upon the shore lies keeled over on her side one of the small vessels then em- ployed for whaling; the model of the craft, a sloop, indicates a primitive idea of naval archi- tecture. By t.»>o side of this sloop, but other- wise concealed from view, is seen the sail of another vessel, with the union-jack of old En- gland drooping from the mast-head. The river lies peacefully outstretched, with a view of P»\lm- er's Island and the shore along by the 'Smok- ing Bocks,' and Naushon in the distance. Where now fif^nd our wharves and warehouses, the pri- meval forest trees are seen extending their roots to the water's edge. In the foreground of the picture, and that which will l>e to most its chief interest, is seen a group of the early inhabitants of New Bedford, busily employed. Under an old shed is seen the try -pot, with its attend- ants ; and also the jaw of a whale thrown upon the roof;" and between the she I and the sloop may be seen the ox -teams, hitched to a sort of sled (in lieu of the ordinary wheeled cart), on which the whale -fat is transported in casks to the trj'- works. "More conspicuous, and nearer the beholder, stands one man in a red shirt with a patch on the breast, pouring oil from a long -handled dipper into a wooden -hooped bar- rel ; another handling over the blubber ; und still more prominent, a fine -looking fellow is coopering a barrel, in conference with an In- dian, who, with his baskets and moccasins for sale or barter, is seated upon a broken mast. Farther on, seated upon the frame of a grind- stone, and giving directions to a colored man, who is holding his master's horse by the bridle, is seen, in his broad -brimmed hat and Friendly coat, the founder of New Bedford and father of her whale-fishery, Joseph Russell." f History of New Bedford, p. 59. JSeo Hunt's Merchants' Magazine, vol. iii, p. 36G. 206 MARINE MAMMALS OF THE NORTH-WESTERN COAST. farther north and south, became whaling -ports. The subjoined table gives the number of American vessels annually engaged in the enterprise, with the amount and value of oil taken each year from 1762 to 1770, inclusive: Year. No. Vessels. No. of Barrels. Value of Imports. 1702. 78 9,440 $102,618 40 1763.* 60 9,238 100,324 68 1764. 72 11,983 131,135 38 1765. 101 11,512 125,020 32 1766. 118 11,969 129,983 24 17G7. 108 16,561 179,852 40 17G8. 125 15,439 107,667 54 1769. 119 19,140 462,996 60 1770. 125 14,331 346,666 89 906 119,013 $1,746,165 51 About 1774,t the fleet was augmented by st'U larger vessels, J some of which crossed the equator, and obtained full cargoes upon that noted ground called the "Brazil Banks," while others cruised around Cape Verde Islands or the West Indies, * Scoresby, in his account of the Whale- Fish- ery of the British Colonies in America, states that there were eighty vessels employed in the Amer- ican fisheries during the year 1763. t Histoi and Schn. 8 1 4 2 10 4 1 3 Amonat of Tonnage. 56,118 13,274 874 1,443 904 2,615 27,364 2,659 1,180 1,604 1,269 1,099 910 4,265 125 581 2,490 172 388 380 PUeea where owned. Portsmouth . . . . Newport Bristol Warren Providence New London . . . Stonington Mystic Sag Harbor . . . . Greenport New Suffolk. . . . Jamesport Bridgeport Now York Hudson Poughkeepsie . . Cold Sjiriug. . . . AV'ilmington . . . . Newark Shipa and Barka. Brlga ana Schra. Amoant of Tuniuiie. 1 . , 348 9 2 3,152 5 1 1,782 18 3 6,075 3 1,086 30 9 11,447 7 6 2,912 5 3 1,797 31 10,605 4 1 1,414 1 274 1 236 3 913 3 710 8 2,902 0 2,043 2 629 5 1,578 1 366 In 1846, the American force engaged was six hundred and seventy -eight ships and barks, thirty -five brigs, and twenty -two schooners, aggregating two hundred and thirty-three thousand one hundred aiad eighty- o tons, valued at $21,075,000. At the same time, all the investments connected with the business are sjiid to have been at least $70,000,000, and seventy thousand persons derived their chief support from the whaling interests. The first Bowliead Whales taken in the North Pucific, or in Behring Sea, were by the American ships Hercules, Captain Ricketsou, and Janus, Captain Turner, which were on the coast of Kamschatka in 1843. In 1847, Bowheads were discovered in the Okhotsk Sea; and in 1848, Captain Royco, in the bark Superior, of Sag Harbor, was the first to pass through Behring Strait, and capture the Bakena mysticetus of the Arctic Ocean. From 1846 to 1851, inclusive, the whale-fishery of the United States may be regarded as having been in its most flourisliing condition, the average number of vessels annually employed for these years being six hundred and thirty -eight, with an aggregate tonnage of two hun- dred and two thousand two hundred and seventy -two tons. This immense fleet was scattered around the world, plying upon the well-known cruising -grounds, which wore familiarly named as follow : Sperm Whale Grout; ds : Atlantic Ocean and contiguous waters. — Around the Azores or Western Islands ; about the Capo do Verde Islands ; the Charleston Grounds ; north of the Bahama Islands; in the Gulf of Mexico; in the Caribbean Sea; about the West India Islands ; on the coast of Aft-ica ; and the Carrol Ground, whicli is a space of ocean situated between the island of St. Helena and the coast of Africa. Sperm Wiiale Grouxps: Indian Ocean and neigliborimj waters. — To the south of Madagascar, and between that island and Africa ; off the northern end of Mada- gascar ; along the coast of Arabia, including the mouth of the Rod Sea ; on the coast of Java; Malacca Straits; on the north-western coast of Australia; on the southern coast of Australia, and botwon it and Tasmania or Van Dicman's Land. Sperm Whale Grounds: Pacific Ocean and adjacent imters. — The On-shore Ground, which includes the whole extent of ocean between the southern boundary of Chile and the northern limits of Peru, and west to the island of Juan Fernandez and the Gallapagos group; the Off-shore Ground, which extends to latitude 5' and 10' south of the equator, and from longitude 90' to 120' west ; off Cape Ilorn ; around the Sandwich Islands ; in the vicinity of the Society Islands ; in the vicinity of the Fiji Islands ; in the vicinity of the Navigator Islands ; about the King's Mill group ; about and to the south of the equator, from the coust of Ecuador to the King's Mill group ; across the South Pacific between the latitudes of 21° and 27' ; across the North Pacific between the latitudes of 27' and 35' ; off the Bashce Islands ; off the east coast of New Zealand ; on the Middle Ground between Aus- tralia and Now Zealand ; Sooloo Sea ; China Sea ; on the coast of Japan, and between it and the Bonin Islands; on the North-western Coast of America; on the coast of Upper and Lower California. Sperm Whales are also found in as high lati- tudes as GO' south and 50' to GO' north. All these whaling- grounds, it will be seen, were the resorting -places of the Sperm Wliales, and consequently of their captors, nearly all of them being in the temperate or tropical latitudes ; but the Right Whales' feeding - grounds are chiefly in the colder regions, although some of their resorts were upon coasts or banks in common with their congeners. The principal grounds, however, of the Right and Polai* Whales were designated as fol- lows: Northern Right Whale Grounds : Including those of the Bowhead or Polar Whak. — On the Atlantic coast of North America, from Newfoundland south to the Bahama Islands; on the North-western Coast of North America, which includes Behring Sea; on the coast of Kamschatka ; the Okliotak Sea ; the Japan Sea ; the Gulf of Tar- THE AMERICAN WHALE-FISHERY. 215 tary; through Behring Sea into the Arctic Occm, and as far north as the icy bar- rier, which, in some seasons, was found beyond Point Barrow: in Hudson's Bay • in Baffin's Bay; in Davis Straits; on the Coast of Greenland;' about Soitzbergen' Southern Right Whale Grounds. -On the Brazil Banks; on the coo.st of Africa; on the coast of Patagonia; around the Falkland Islands; the Tristan Ground, which was around the island of Tristan d'Acunha in the South Atlantic • around Gough's Island ; around St. Paul's, the Crozet and Kerguelen islands • coast of New Holland; south coast of Chile; coast of New Zealand; off the Cape of Good Hope. Many of the whaling- grounds mentioned have long since been aban- doned, as the animals p-.rsued have been literally exterminated by the harpoon and lance; and many of the names to the grounds arc only given in the familiar appcl- lations of whalers, which embrace large tracts o; ocean, sea, or gulf, within the limits of which, in many cases, are found choice feeding -grounds where the animals congregate. This is well-known to all careful observers, and is a foct that proves the theories establishing the legitimate r^ .rts of whales on purely scientific princi- pies, in connection with the ocean currents, to be erroneous. These places can only be known, or have been discovered, by practical observation ; and many a ship has been filled with oil by cruising on a favorite spot, while others but a few leagues distant, on the same general ground, may have met ^vith indifferent success. Besides the Cachalots and the Right \7hales, two species of the rorquals were occasionally pursued, which are known as the Humpback, and the California Gray or Devilfish- the former are found t"oadcast over the waters of the globe, but many have been taken in some of the bays on the coa^s of Africa, Chile and Peru, Central America and California, about the Rosemary Islands, and at Tongataboo (one of the Friendly group); and the latter were, and still are, taken on the coast of California in the Arctic Ocean, and Okhotsk Sea. With the Humpbacks and California Grays may be mentioned the Blackfish, which were sometimes taken on Sperm Whale grounds • these, included with the Right Whales and Cachalots, were all the different species of Cetaceans sought after by the whalers.* •Tho great rorqual, commonly called the greatest of great shales, has been devised. The Sulphurbot torn has been occasionally taken on manner of capturing those obtained on the coast, the CO St of Cah fomia of late years, but as yet is given with the description of the aaimal in no really successful mode of capturing this, the this work. CHAPTER III. SHIPS, OUTFITS, AiND iMAX^ER OF TAKING THE WHALE. It is the general impression among those imacquaintod, that a successful whal- ing-voyage is inordinately remunerative; or rather, that a '"full sliip" insures great profit. This, however, does not always follow, for the success of the American Whale-fishery is due, first, to the economical but efficient manner in which the ships were fitted out for their long and tedious voyages ; secondly, the perseverance and good management of the captains and chief officers, and, when the voyage ter- minated, the disposition of the "catch" to the best advantage. There has been as great a revolution in the mode of killing whales during the past twenty years, as there has been in the art of naval warfare ; were it not for this, but few whalei^ would now be afloat; and the "well -'pointed" whale -ship of the present day, in all her appliances, shows a corresponding improvement when compared with the whaler of the seventeenth century. Relative to those oldcn- timo vessels, we quote the following from Macy's IFistory of Xmitucket: "The ship Beaver, of two hundred and forty tons, sailed from Nantucket on a whaling -voyage to the Pacific Ocean, in the year 1791. The whole cost of said ship fitted for the voyage, together with the cargo, amounted to $10,212. She carried seventeen men, manning three boats of five nien each, which left two, called ship -keepers, on board the ship when th'- boats were out in pursuit of whales. The principal part of her cargo, when fitted for sea, consisted of four hundred barrels iron -hooped casks (the remainder, about fourteen hundred barrels, were wooden -hooped), forty barrels salt provisions, three and a half tons of bread, thirty bushels of beans and peas, ono thousand pounds ol rice, forty gallons of molasses, and twenty -four barrels of flour. All the additional provisions during the \'oyagc were two hundred pounds of bread. The ship was seventeen months out, and was the first belonging to tlie island that returned from the Pacific Ocean." The ships of the present time which engage in whaling arc from throe hundred to five hundred tons, and when ready for a three years' voyage, their estimated value may bo set down as ranging from $30,000 to $G0,000. The variety and quantity of nrtiolos which go to make up the entire THE AMERICAN WHALE-FISHERY. Ill outfit of a first-class whaler, would swell a list too lengthy to be mentioned hero.* But instead of the small boats, pulling four oars each, as did those of the Beaver, the modern ship lowers foiu" uuai.:- with five oars each to pull ; and two or three spare boats are taken on board as a reserve ; and instead of the old stylo windlass, which was "hove 'round" with handspikes, they now have the patent purchase. The try- works, which in former times smoked the whole ship's company when ''boiling-out oil," are now so fitted with portable pipes, as to carry the smoke clear of the decks; in fact, there is hardly a fixture, or an implement, pertaining to the "outfit," that has not been improved upon, which will bo further described in subsequent pages. History is replete in portraying the toils and hazards of the whaleman; but very little is said about the merchant who embarks his capital in this branch of industry, which to no little extent is a game-pursuit of chance: and the irksome detail of preparing a whale- ship for sea is only known to those who have had the trial of it. The success of this particular branch of our national commerce inny be directly traced back to the persistent elTorts of those sterling business gentlemen, who have been, or still are, the leading merchants of the chief whaling- ports of the Lnited States. And first and pre-eminent among them were the Rotches of Xan- tucket,t and the llussells and Rodmans of New Bedford. Yet there are scores of * For a ilctaileil list sco Appendix. t A i-cmiiiisceuco of Mr. William Rotch, who •".as the grtat leader in tho early days of Amer- ican wbaliMSf commerce, may bo interesting, as relatinpr fo his business career both in Ent,'land and France. After tho Revolution, Mr. Rotch, found his losses to bo very heavy on account of the war, and tho Nantucket -men experiencing great difHouHy in prosecuting whaling to any profit, owing to tlio vexatious restrictions of En- gland relative to tho import of oil and whale- bone, induced Iho distinguished pioneer whaling merchant to visit England, hoping by direct per- sonal communication with tho British Ooverument that some arrangement might bo brought about to lessen tho burdens of himself and his compeers. Accordingly, ho, with his son Benjamin, fitted out tho ship Jl/iiria— which was commanded by one of tho favorite captains, William Mooors ; and both father and son sailed from Nantucket, Makini Mahhals. - 39. for London, tho 1st of July, 1785, where thoy arrived ou tho 21th of the same month. Among Mr. Botch's influential friends in London was Robert Barclay, and this gentleman introduced him to Henry Beaufoy, a member of Parliament, and that dignitary presented him to the Chancel- lor of tho Excheciuor, tho groat imi)crial William Pitt (then about twenty -seven years of age). Mr. Pitt received him witli great politeness, and listened attentively to Mr. Rotcii's remarks, which are reported to have been as follow ; "'When tho war commenced, wo declared against taking any part in it, and strenuously adhered to this determination, thus placing our- selves as a neutral island. Novorthelcss, you have taken from us two hundred b,uI of vessels — valued at ono million dollars — unju. Coffins, Stiirbucks, Sanfords, and Gardiners, of Xantucket ; also, the names of Williams, Barnes, Chapel, Havens, Perkins, and Smith, of Xew London ; and the Icadiug men of Fairhavcn — Church, Whitwell, Gibbs, Jenney. And Provincetown, one of the oldest whaling- ports in Xew England, which is distinguished for its numerous fleet of small vessels, has upon her record tlio Cooks and Nickcrsons. Stonington speiilo of her Williams and Trumbull ; Edgartown of her Osborne and Worth ; Greonport of her Ireland, Wells and Carpenter ; Warron of its Childs and Johnson ; Westport of its Hicks ami Wilcox. Sag Harbor had her Deerings, Howells, Huntings, Sleights, and Browns ; Mystic her Mallory, Randall, Smith, and Ashley ; and Mattapoisctt her Barstow. lion I consequently, nono could have been in* eluded in it but such ns were in arms, or those who were aiding such. We have done neither ! As a proof of our being without the reach of your declaration, yoacu to i\jacrica, in which, any province, county, or town, that should make submission and receive juinlon, should bo reinstated in its former situation. As we had not oflfcnded, wo had no submission to make, nor pardon to ask, and certainly it is very hard if wo do not stand on better ground tliau those who have offended ; consequently, wo remainotl a part of your do- minions until separated by the peace I' After a long pause, Mr. Pitt replied : ' Undoubtedly you oi'e right, sir. Now, what can bo done for you?> 'I ansAvcred him,' said Mr. Rotch, 'that in the present situation of tilings, the principal part of our inhabitants must leave the islan 1 Some wcmld go into the cw^ntry, and a part would remain, and contiiiuo their legitimate business, uud I wish to continue the whale-fishery wher- ever it can be pursued to advantage ; thcreforo, my eliief business Ijeforo this nation is, to as- certain if the fishery Ih an object worth giving BUcU cncourogement for a removal to England as the subject deserves.' Thus our conversation ended, and I withdrew with my friend Hany Beaufoy. "The subject was laid before the Privy Coun- cil, as the secretarj", Stephen C tterel, sent mo a note, soon after this conversi.cion, saying the Council would sit at an early day, when they would licar what I had to say. I waited for that early day a mouth, and then I waited on Secretary Cotterel to know what occasioned do- liiy? His answer was, that so much business lay before tlio Council, that they had not time or had not bo/;u able to attend to it, but would soon. Thus I waited, i.ot desiring to leave town lost I slioidd bo called for. This state of things continued for more than four months, during which time I received several, what I called un- meaning, c(«irt mcsa.igos, such as 'Thej' wore sorry they wore not able .o send for mo,' etc., etc. I then desired them to appoint some per- son for mo to confer with, that the matter might bo brought to a close. This was done, but un- hapi)ily Lord Hawkosbury was tlio poi-son. A greater enemy to America could not be found, 1 believe, in that body, nor hardly in the nation. I waited on him, and informed him what on- THE AMERICAN WHALE -FISHERY. 219 Wg speak of the whaling merchants as being not of that class who anticipated largo profits and quick returns, but only a legitimate compensation for their labors, and a fair interest upon the capital invested in the voyages, wlucli required from one to four years' time to accomplish ; and often, thougli the expedition terminated unsuccessfully, the ship waa again sent out on another voyage, trusting that con- tinued perseverance would bring about final success, which in many cases was fully realized. There are over one thousand different articlos required to complete the outfit of a first -class whale -ship, many of them of trifiing value to be sure, yet all important to the success of the voyage. Then there are the officers and crew to bo shipped, "on a lay." The latter may bo without much difficulty obtained from the shipping agents ; but to solect and engage a set of officers, of the liighest char- acter and unu^ubted skill in their profession, is not so oasy a matter, and it is but rarely accomplished. If half tlicir number are really "crack whalemen," the voyage will usually be a successful one, if whales are found ii\ sufficient numbers. couragemont I thought would induce a removal, which I ostimatod at one hundred pounds ster- ling transportation for a family of five jjersons, and one hundred pounds sterling settlement — say twenty thousand pounds sterling, for a hun- dred families. 'Ah I' said ho, 'that is a great sum ! and at this time, too, when we are all endeavoring to encourage our own expeditions.' I replied, 'Thou mayst think it a great sura for this nation to pay —I think two- thirds of it a great suui for you to have taken from mo as an individual, unjustly and illegally!' Wo had a long conversation, and I left him, to call again in a few days, which I did. I then added to my demand the liberty to bring thirty ships — American ships — for the fishery. 'O, no!' said he, ' that can not bo ; our carpenters must bo employed.' I mentioned that we had some ships that were built before the war, ' those can sure- ly be admitted?' 'No; they must be British- built.' 'Will it be any advantage, if an emigra- tion takes place, for tho emigrants to bri.ig property witli them?' I replied. 'Yes, certainly.' •If they can invest their money in articles that will be worth doublo hero to what they are at homo, will that bo any additional advantage to this country?' 'Yes!' 'Then why not bring ships, when two of ours will not cost one of yours?' 'O! we don't make mercantile calcu- lations; 'tis seamen wo want!' 'Then, surely, two of our vessels will answer your purpose better than one of yours, as they will make doublo tho number of seamen, which is tho thing aimed at?' He saw that ho was in a dilemma, out of which ho could not reason himself, and stniggled through with some violence. He had made his own nice calculations of eighty - seven pounds ten shillings for transportation and set- tlement of a family, and said he, 'I am about a fishery bill, and want to C(nne at something I can insert!' INIy answer was, 'Thou canst go on with thy fishery bill. Thy offer is no object to mo!' 'Well, Mr. Rotch, you will call on me again in two or threo days?" 'I soo no neces- sity for it.' 'But I desire you would.' 'If thou dcsirest it, perhaps I may call.' However, ho let mo rest but one day, before he sent for me again. Fe liad tho same story over again, but I told him it was unnecessary to enter again upon the subject. I then iuform(>d him that I had heard a rumor that Nantucket merchants had agreed to furnish Franco with a quantity of 220 MARINE MAMMALS OF THE NORTH-WESTERN COAST. "When the ship is nearly in readiness for lier voyage, she leaves the Avharf, and is anchored in the effing, to complete her necessary requirements. When the last article is taken in, the crew and officers embark, the pilot goes on board, and the man.iging agent informs the captain that the vessel is ready to sail ; he gives him his general instructions for the vo3T»ge, shakes him by the hand, and wishes him a "full ship" and a safe return; and he (the agent) feels relieved to get the expe- dition temporarily oT his hands ; but not so the captain, for he keenly feels his responsibility. A long, anxious, and tedious voyage is before him ; if successful, he may return to be amply rewarded for his toils ; if unfortunate, he meets with reproach and an empty purse. But there is no time for dallying, and he acknowl- edges the compliments of his employer, bids him a hurried good -by, steps into the waiting boat, and repairs on board. The pilot gives his orders, the ship speeds away under a press of canvas, and at length she is plunging and reeling on the broad expanse of waters. The pilot is now the only connecting link between them oil. Ho stepped to Lis bureau and took out a file of papers, from which he pretended to read au entire contradiction of the report, tliougli I was Batisfiod there was not a line there on tho Bubject. I said ' it was only a vague report that I heard, and I can not vouch for tho truth of it, but wo are like drowning men, catching at every straw that passes by. Therefore, I am determined to go to France and see what it is. If there be any such contract, euflScient to retain us at Nantucket, neither you, nor any other na- tion can liavo us ; and if it is insufficient, I shall endeavor to culargo it.' 'Ah!' said ho, 'Quak- ers go to Franco?' 'Yes, but with regret!' I then parted with Lord Hawkesbury for the last tino. ' ' I immediately embarked Avith my son Ben- jamin, for Dunkirk, whoro I drew up my pro- posals and sent them to Paris, not wishing to proceed farther until I found tho disposition of tho French Court. They sent for us to come immediately. Wo lost no time in answering tho summons, and proceeded at onco to Paris. Tho Master of Requests, who was the proper minis- ter to receive our proposals aud make his re- marks on the soToral articles, had examined them and made his remarks- accordingly, ^he propo- sals were : '"Ist. A full and free enjoyment of religion according to tho jirinciples of tho people called Quakers.' "To which ho annosod, 'AccordW " ' 2d. An entire cxem-^tion from military reg- ulations of every kind.' "To this ho annexed the following just re- marks : ' As they aro all jieaceablo people and meddle not with tho quarrels of princes, neither internal nor external, this proposition may bo granted.' "Tho other proposition related to tho regula- tion of tho whale-fishery. "Wo next proceeded to tho several ministers, five in number, at Versailles. First, to Calonno, Comptroller of Finance. Wo gave our reanons for not taking off our hats on being introduced to them all. Calonne replied : ' I caro nothing for your hats, if your hearts aro right.' Nest, wo went to tho aged Vorgonnos, Minister of For- eign Affairs ; then to tlio Marshal do Castro, Minister of Marino ; then to tho Prince of Rubcc, Ghjneralissimo of Flanders ; at last, to tho In- tondant of Flando.-a — who all agreed to my pro- THE AMERICAN WHALE-FISHERY. 221 and the shore. He gives the word to "haul aback," bids a hasty farewell, jumps into his boat, and returns to liis secure and quiet haven. Quickly the order is given on board to "fill away," and before the fresh, fair wind the floating fragment si^eeds with swelling sails, and soon the receding land, teeming with blissful life and plenty, sinks from view beneath the undulating waves. Sea life is such a change from that on shore, one fully realizes the transition ; and the monotony, as well as the thrilling incidents associated with a sailor's career, have been so often and so vividly portrayed, it would be useless to attempt here to add any new features; hence, we shall only give a somewhat terse account of the present manner of conducting a whaling voyage. The company of a four- boat whale -ship number at least thirty- five persons, viz.: a captain, four mates, a cooper, a carpenter, four boat-steerers, a cook, and a steward, with twenty -two men and boys. When the vessel is making a passage, the officers and crew are divided into two watches, with the exception of the captain, and in some instances posala. We then retm-ned to Paris, and were to visit "Versailles to take leave according to the etiquette of the Court. "Before wo set out, one of the ministers ask- ed us if we did not wish to visit the palace. We excused ourselves, as we did not think curi- osity would justify us, if our plain way would give offense. While we remained in Paris, wo received a note from the minister, saying he had spoken to the King, 'who gave full liberty to the Nantucket Friends (they avoided the name of ' Quaker I ' when they found it was given in reproach) to visit the palace, both its public and private apartments, when ho was out— which happened almo-t every day.' To view the pri- vate apartments was a great privilege not often grunted, except to persons of note. But unfa- vorably for us, the King did not happen to bo out on the day we went to take our leave, which was a disappointment ; but wo went through the public apartments and into the Chapel I When we hesitated at the latter, the officer iusintod on our entering in our own way, showing us ev- erything remarkable, and pointing out the place occupied by the royal family in time of mass, etc. "Wo now took leave, and returned to Lon- don. After I was gone to France, Lord Hawkes- bury became alarmed, and inquired of Harry Beaufoy, and asked hira if I had gone to France. He replied in the affirmative. 'Why has he gone there?' 'For what you or any other man would have gone; you would not make him an oflfer worthy his acceptance. He will now try what can be done in France!' "AI xander Champion wrote to me (I sup- pose at Lord Hawkesbury's request) to inform me that ho had made provision for us in his fishery bill, and inserted liberty for us to bring in forty ships instead of thirty! which I had demanded, ho having forgotten the number ; but it was too late. This letter was brought to our apartments, and wo understood the bearer to inquire if a Dutch gentleman resided there. He was answered in the negative, and my letter was lodged in a small letter -office, always an appendage to a large hotel. The very evening it was brought to me, we left Paris. "Wo now returned to London. I was soon sent for by George Rose, who was one of Pitt's secretaries. He inquired if I had contracted with France? I told him, 'No! I did not come to make any contract! Propositions were if 222 MARINE MAMMALS OF THE NORTH-^> ESTERN COAST. the chief mate, Avho stand no watch, but arc up at any time of niglit, if occasion require, and tlirougliout the day. The two watches arc designated as the starboard and port, tlic second mate being officer of the starboard, and tiie tiiird mate of the port watch. There being four boats, there are as many mates, or "boat- headers," one of which has charge, or, as it is termed, heads eacli boat, except when the captain chooses to go in his own boat, which is tlie starboard one ; at such time, tlie fourth mate acts as boat-stcerer. The cliief mate's is tlie port boat, the second mate's tlie waist boat, and tlie third mate's the bow boat. All the boats are sus- pended from tall, stout wooden davits, with two cranes under each for the keel to rest upon ; the last mentioned three usually hoist on the port side of the ship, and the captain's on the opposite quarter. Besides the boat- header, there is a boat- stcerer and four men, who complete the crew. The boat-stoerers are shipped as such ; but the men for each boat are selected from the hands, having duo regard to their physical strength, activity, and intelligence, and the remainder of the the extent of my business.' 'You then are at liberty to ajjree vrith us, and I am authorized by Mr. Pitt to tell you, that you may make your own terms!' I told him it was too late! ' I made very moderate proposals to you, but could not obtain anythinfj; worth my notice. I went to France, and sent forward my proposals, which were doubly advantageous to us, com- pared with what I offered yo\u' government. They considered them a veiy short time, and on my arrival in Paris, were ready to act. I had separate interviews with all the Ministers of State necessary to the subject, who all agreed to, and granted my demands.' He still insisted that I was not bound to France, ond I should malio my own terms. But all in vain; the time had passed over ! Lord Litchfield also sent for mo on the same subject, but was soon convinced that it was too late. The minority caiuo to mo ir materials to attack Lord Hawkesbury, but I 'fused to supply them." It was at one of these interviews that Mr. i 't, or his majesty George III, asked Mr. Rotch wliat equivalent would bo given in return for all these favors now sought from his government. "I am going to give England and bia majesty the services of our young men from my native place — the island of Nantucket." And fullj* was this assertion verified in subsequent j'oars. Nan- tucket-mcn went to England, and her great su- premacy in whaling was carried forward by these promised whalers ; and for years she held sway through all difficulties in this branch of commerce in Europe. The island was well represented in London bj* more than five hundred ship -masters, the hist of whom (Win. Swain, Esq.) died in 18G8, upwards of ninety -two years of f.ge. Mr. Eotch's son Bonjaniiu was left in Dunkirk as a partner of his son-in-law, Samuel Rodman, who resided at Nantucket. Ships were soon aft- er fitted out from Nantucket, on distant whaling voyages, manned and officered by Nantucket-men, who, after filling their vessels, repaired to Dun- kirk, where their oil and whalebone fouml a ready market for Franco and Holland. The busi- ness was pursued wilh great energy by Mr. llotch and ills associates. All their ships cnme from America with the necessary outfits for their voy- ages, as they could not bo easily obtained in France. Many arti.sans immediately connected with the business loft Nantucket witli their fami- lies to take up their residence in Dunkirk. THE AMERICAN WHALE- FISEESY. 223 company are termed "ship -keepers." Due care is taken, as far as practicable, that two boats' crows sliall bo in the same watch, so that in the event of mooting with whales on the passage to the cruising -grounds, they may be immediately lowered in pursuit. But usually a few days pass, after getting to sea, before a perfect organization of all hands can be obtained ; for a portion of them being green, are generally so debilitated or entirely prostrated by sea-sickness, and a majority of the old sailors so demoralized by their last excessive potations of "part- ing drinks," that little can bo accomplished under such circumstances. But it is not long before Jack gets a sufficiency of substantial food, instead of being soaked with the vile stimulants of a sailor boarding-house, and the work of "fitting ship" for whaling begins in good earnest. The hold is "broken out," and casks contain- ing linos, cutting- gear, harpoons, lances, etc., are unhoaded, and their contents laid under contribution as may be required. The cutting -gear, which consists of heavy tackles, pendants, etc., is to be overhauled or fitted anew, and the implements belonging to the try-works must be looked after; but the first and most important duty is the proper fitting of the boats. It may bo a mat^^er of surprise, even to an old whaleman, when he sees before him the number of things required to fit out a modern whale-boat, which is only twenty -eight or thirty feet in length, and Mr. Rotch with his \nte and children remained In Franco through all the troublesome times of the Revolution of 1702, and sufl'ered much in his busi- ness, wliich had become extensive in the fishery and iu the imiwrtation of other oils into France. Mr. Eotch had seen that a war between England and Franco was inevitable. With these views, ho began early in 1793 to make arrangements for leaving France and returning to Nantucket. Go- ing over to London on his way home, he found that two of his ships had already been captured full of oil, and condemned by the British Govern- ment as French prizes; but being present with the authorities, he was able to recover them again through his English friends. "My going to Franco," said he, "to inirsuo the whale -fishe/y, so disappointed Lord Hnwkcsbury that ho under- took to bo avenged upon mo for his own follies; and, I have no doubt, gave directions to his cruis- ers to take any of my ships that they might meet going to Franco. For, when the ship Ospratj was captured by the king's ship, the officer sent on board to examine her papers, said to the cap- tain; 'You will take this vessel iu, sir; she be- longs to Mr. Rotch.'" Mr. Rotch, with many other Americans, em- barked secretly from Dunkirk in a ship bound for America, but he and his family were landed in England, where, he remarked, " I had the comfort of receiving these ships of mine four months after I left France." On the 24th of July, 1794, Mr. Rotch, with his family, embarked in the ship liarkiay, and after a passage of sixty -one days, arrived at Boston. They soon proceeded to Nantucket, whore they remained one year, after which they removed to New Bedford. Hero ho died May 28th, 1828. Through a long and eventful life of usefulness, ho was greatly beloved and respected, and was di'oply lamented when ho departed for the spir- itual world, at the advanced oge of ninety -four yeara. k. I. V,)- 224 MARINE MAMMALS OF THE NORTH-WESTERN COAST. six foot wide. It is sharp at both ends, with flaring sides, and is of a model that insures groat smftnoss, as well as the qualities of an excellent sea -boat. At the bow (or ''head," as whalers usually term it) is a groove, in which is placed a metal sheave, over which tiio line runs ; near the end and upper edges of the groove, a slender pin, of tough wood or whalebone, passes across through holes above the lino, to prevent it from fl>"ing out when running. This groove is called the "chocks." About three feet from the stern is the " clumsy -clcet," a stout thwart with a rounded notch on the after side, in which the officer or boat-steerer braces himself by one leg against the violent motion of the boat, caused by a rough sea, or the efforts of the whale while being "worked upon." The space between the clumsy -cleet and the chocks is covered witli a sort of deck, six inches below the gunwales, and is called the "box," or "box of the boat." Five thwarts, or seats, for the accommodation of the rowers, are placed at proper distances apart, between the clumsy -cleet and stern sheets; and opposite each rowlock, near the bottom of the boat, is a well -fastened cleet, to receive the end or handle of the oar, which is called a " peak- cleet ;" and when fast to a whale, or when the crew are resting, the end of the oar is placed in the hole of this cleet, while the heavy portion still rests in the rowlock, thereby elevating the blade far above the water. About four feet of the stern is decked over, through the forward part of which, a little to one side, is placed the loggerhead, shaped like a post with a largo head, which projects six or eight inches above the gunwales, and by this log- gerhead the lino is controlled when the boat is fiist to the object of pursuit. The equipment belonging to a modern whale-boat consists of one mast and yard, or sprit, one to three sails (but usually a jib and mainsail), five pulling- oars, one steering -oar, five paddles, five rowlocks, five harpoons, one or two line -tubs (into which the lino is coiled), three hand-lanccs, three short-warps, one boat-spado, tlu-eo lance -warps, one boat -warp, one boat -hatchet, two boat -knives, one boat -waif, one boat - compass, one boat-hook, one drag, one grapnel, one boat- anchor,* one sweeping -line, lead, buoy, etc., one boat -keg, one boat -bucket, one piggin, one lantern -keg (containing flint, steel, box of tinder, lantern, candles, broad, tobacco, and pipes), one boat-crotch, one tub-oar crotch, half a dozen chock -pins, a roll * Tbo full equipment ns hero enumerated, is tho bays or lagoons, the anchor is indispensable, modified to suit tho particular branch of whaling and tho grapnel, sweeping-line, lend, and buoy, l)ursued, as for instance, in deep-sea whaling aro of much service. But many other articles there is no use for tho anchor, and in sperm aro left out or supplied to a limited extent, so whaling tho sweeping -lino, buoy, etc., aro not that tho boat may be as light as possible, and leciuired; whilo in California Gray whaling in work easily and quickly in shallow water. M 1, nar,2 Boat-waif.3,Soat-honk. 4Padd!e, 5,Boat-sails, 6. Sweeping line - buo/ ZLead let Sweepm^-line.S Chock-pm.S Snort-warp. 10.Boat-pi^§ir., 11 Boat-keiie, lantern-key. 13.SweepiTi§ line. 14.Boathalchei,lf).Lanr,e-waTp.3( le.Boat^rapnfiUZ Roal-knifelS.Fo^-hnTn.lS I.metul]. 2Q,Boat-l)ucket,aDr4 2S;.Nipper, 2S Boat-crotch, 24 Baatcompa3,s 25,Boat-anchnr.26,Rnw-lock,27.Tub- uar crotch, 28.Hand-lance. 29. Dne-nued-harpcGn 30.To6§le-harpoon.3l Boat spade, 'S7. A 33 GreeruirsGim-harpoon, 34, Greener's Harpoon-^ari.,35,Bonib-l;i:ir.--; 36. Bnn-ib-i£i.i.i;.: (juri C W.ScamtTiOTi.clel. IMPI/KMEN'I'b BKl.nNOlNG TO A. 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Ihi jt 'la 'I'Jul: il.o sh' rl - ^^iU pf !u'" ',;) •. nr^'/f ih>.> M'v iM.' :i.'fjr.(iii t'- \>.,. iiiuii iiii',' •"•Ih-n •,',:nr.•. ■. i. (' ,,' I •■•-■ .■ii'i 111 • \v\\. ■■ ' 1 ', : .: ! . .1 , t ji ' in);:i ];aii i.' ! r,! ■ !•: ;i i ■ ' I .1 iisvi > K'" -.[i^. , 'if. ';.>,)! .', !l''ii I.-I .■-'•. il.ti'f. .' Ill :i i'''\, 1 V.'li I ii ■> l!'!lC. fi' fi!" ^], :■'■:' ,',. Hi; -,1 i ilf ! V,;l (I ! n' • V- :. (■> 'i^i:^!! / I" Is,'!-!, q ' uhili:! !;;■ M f i ;' i,; ..'1 ill'' .!• ij. t - ' (.'' t.,lS:'- ! -. '.ISCU' ii> ',':.'i ' iil' '1 ■, ,!■ I *.>< .:••!'!• I'lir. Xh:' l)>.;it. The •>ll-,i^' i'i >'•)■ ■ .>i:;m h(r ' .-• :^ ,. ■.,«•, - • '...ii '■\,-h : ■ :•"' Jill I.- ■ ' ' '.■ Jl' t,!i I ' Ml. IIL' 'i >l'!lUi: 1!> I ■ '••V,\' I -r:!) I i <)■ ' ■ I'. .;;.>] I'l.- . .'\ rni) II I ;;i:! -•' -.1,.! .■,»'.. I., i:, „ ., ,r. ; ,. - :l -n\i\'\^ HUpi-i !■■■ IV, , I. V' :\ ,. 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J!S ii..;' : f Al.;; ;a)r. -i.c/.-i.oi!^ * ,1 .-.h **■ »;* .5 ,:i| < IMi'hllHKh' b BFT,f,HlSfi*K TO A, "WHAJK ' :AT a iiik fi>ilii-\ hfttf.S.f THE AMERICAN WUALE-FISUEItY. 226 of canvas, a paper of tacks, two nippers, to wliicli may be added a bomb -gun and four bomb -lances ; in all, forty-eight articles, and at least eighty-two pieces. The oars, sails, and paddles, of course, are to propel the boat, yet we may say that the two last mentioned are of much more importance now tlum formerly, by reason of the objects of pursuit becoming more wary. The rowlocks confine and support the oars in their proper places when rowing; the harjjoorLs with the line are the instru- ments used to fasten the boat to tiie whale; the line -tub holds the lino; the hand- lances arc used in killing the whale after being hai-pooned ; the lance-warp, when connected to the lance- pole, is hitched to the cluuisy-cleet to prevent its loss wiicn darted at the whale; the boat-warp is the painter to the boat; the short-warps are to connect the second hnrpoon to the main line when a second iron is thrown into the animal; the boat-spade is for cutting the cords about the "small" of the victim, or that portion of the body which connects with the flukes, crippling it, thereby retarding its progress through the water; the boat-liatchet and knives are to cut the line should it get foul and endanger the boat, when fast ; the boat- waif if? a small flag, used as a signal, or placed in a dead whale to indicate its whereabouts. The boat-hook is one of those indispensable implements, wiiich is put to a variety of uses, but especially to liook up a whale's fin or stray lines, or to hold the boat in position; and the boat -compass is used to find the true course to any object not visible from the boat. The ''drag" is for "bending on" to the line to assist in impeding the whale when running, or is itvstened to the line when compelled to let it go from the boat. With the grapnel, the dead animal's flukes, or its head, are hauled up, in order to cut a hole and reeve the tow-rope, or to hook up lines which can not be reached with the boat-hook; and the sweeping- line, lead, and buoy, are used for getting the fin and fluke chains on to the whale when alongside the ship, or otherwise. The boat -keg is for carrj'ing a supply of fresh water. The boat -bucket and piggin are for bailing the boat. The lantern- keg is for holding in reserve a small supply of broad, a lantern, and fire -works, in case the boat should be caugiit out at night, that the crew may be able to set a light to indicate to the ship their whereabouts, and in extreme necessity to have a small supply of food, with the luxury of a quid of tobacco or a smoke of a pipe. The boat-crotch is to rest the end of the iron or lance-pole on; it ships in a hole through or on the side of the gunwale. The tub -oar crotch is to receive the tub- oar and raise it above the line -tub, when the boat is fast to a whale; the chock- pins are to keep the whale -line in the chock. The canvas and tacks are to cover holes Avhich may be staved in the boat ; the nippers are several luvors of canvas stitched together, and are used for holding on to the line when it is swiftly run- ItUtlNE MaMIUI.3. — 29. Mf 226 MAIIINE MAMMALS OF THE NORTH-WESTERN COAST. M ning out. The bomb -gun sind lances are for killing the whale at a greater distance than could be done with the hand -lance; it does good execution within a range of twenty-five yards. Greener's harpoon -gun is also used b}' whalers to some extent, and quite successfully when the sea is smooth. It is similar to a small swivel -gun. The barrel is three feet long, with a bore of one inch and a half; when stocked and complete, it weighs ''event}' -five pounds. The harpoon, four and a half feet long, is projected with considerable accuracy to any distance under eighty -four yards. It is mounted on the bow of the boat, and was formerly fired by the boat-steerer, who pulls the "harpooner oar." This was the old Scotch plan, the gun being first used by the Scotch whalers ; but at the present time it is more successfully managed by the ofliccr m charge of the boat, who takes the boat-steerer's pLace for the time being. The whale-boat being properly equipped, the crew take their places as follows: the officer in charge (or boat- header) in the stern, who steers the boat with the sleering-oar, which is usually twenty-two feet long; the boat-steerer, who pulls the oar farthest forward, which is called the liarpooncr-oar, its length being usually seventeen feet, and who also darts the harpoon, and after the boat is fast changes ends with the boat -header and steers the boat, while the latter attends to killing the whale. The next man is called the "bowman," with an oar seventeen and a half feet in length, and besides his general duties he attends to the line when "bowing- on." The next man is the "midship -oarsman," .vhose oar is eighteen feet in length; then comes the "tub -oarsman, " with an oar the same length as that of the bowman, whose special duty is to see that tlio line runs clear from the tub The last is the "after -oarsman," who is the lightest of the crew, and pulls a correspondingly liglit oar ; his particular duties arc to attend the line as it is hauled in and coiled in the stern -sheets, or when it is "paid out," and to bail the boat. The whole outfit of the boat has two general and rather indefinite names, "bat-gear" and "cruft;" but the word "cn\ft" applies pai'ticularly to the weapons immediately used in the capture. When the boat is lowered for the chase, the line (which is nicely coiled in tlie tub or tubs, as the case may be) is placed between the two after thwarts. Tlic men being seated in their proper places, the line from the tub is taken aft around the loggerhead, then forward over the oars, and a few fathoms of it i\.o coiled in the box of the boat; it is then termed a "box -warp." Two harpoons are placed at tlio head of the boa^, the staves or poles of which rest in the "boat- crotch." The end of the box- warp is made fast to the "first iron;" the "second iron" is connected with the main lino by a bowline in the cud of a short -warp THE A ME It ICA N WHA L E - FKUIEU Y. 22^ which is bent on to the second iron. The lances arc in their places at the head of the boat, on the starboard side; the boat- spado on the side opposite; the boat- hatchet and a knife in tlieir proper places in the head of the boat, and the other knife ready at the stern. When pursuit is made, the whale is approached in the most cautious manner, to avoid "gallying" it. If necessary, the oars are used ; but in calm wcatlier the paddles are resorted to, as pulling v/ith the oars is adopted only when sails or paddles can not be made available. When nearly within dart- ing distance, which is about three fathoms, the order is given to the boat-stecrer to "stand up." At this command he instantly springs to his feet, and seizing the hurpoon, darts it into the whale ; if opportunity ofTers, the second iron is also thrown before the animal gets out of reach. When the harpot)ns are dart'jd. word is given to "stern all,' and the oarsmen make every edbrt to force the boat astern, in order t.o be well clear of the animal in its painful convulsions from the first wounds re- ceived. Xotwithslanding every precaution is taken, it is by no means an unusual occurrence to have the boat itaved by the whale when harpooned. Should the boat l)o nuich injured, the line is cut, or a dra- or buoy is bent on to the end of it, and nil is lot s:;o. The boat nearest tlu^ whale usually continues the piu-suit ; the next boat pulls for the one that has become disabled, and rescues the crew. When struck, the whale nniy attempt to escape by running; if so, every exertion is made by the boats' crew to haul up to the auinial so as lo shoot n bomb into it, or work upon it with a haiid-lance ; or if the creature descends to the depths below, wliioh is called "sounding," every effort is made to 228 MARJAE MAMMALS OF THE NORTH-WESTERN COAST. check the movement by holding on to the line, or by slowly slacking it. In this m.aneuvre the boivt is occasionally hauled bow under water. Sometimes all the line is talcen out almort instantly, when it is cut to prevent the boat from being taken down, and the whtilc escapes. At other times the animal Avill "bring to;" that is, it will stop and roll from side to side, or thrash the water with its ponderous flukes and fins, when the boat may be pulled withiu bomb -shot, and the creature dispatched by one or more of these missiles. Hand -lancing for the purpose of killing a whale is now going rapidly out of practice, and the same may be said relative to boat- spades, and "loose irons" to stop a whale from running. By the use of "Pierce's bomb -lance,"'" the Bow- head or Polar Whale is now frequently captured in tl c Arctic Ocean, close to the * It is a m.atter of surprise that so ingenious an invention for killing whales has no appropri- ate nanifi, the whole apparatus being only known as "Pierce's bomb-lnnco;" hence, to facilitate description, we will give it the provisional des- ignation of Pierce'^ Hni-poon-bomb-lanco Gun. The weapon, wi.ich is of brass, is fourteen inches long in the barrel, r.nd tlie square portion in- closing the lock, together with the socket which receives the iron -pole or harpoon - statl', increases its linear dimensions to about one and a half feet. On one side, and near the muzzle of the gun, are two lugs with holes, which receive the end of a harpoon, to which the whale -lino is attached. On the other side is a steel rod bent in the form of a staple, at the socket end of tlv" gun, which passes through tubes attached to the socket and lock -case, as represented at G and H ( in the ilhistration upon the preceding page), then, passing through a hole in the lug at I, it extends past the muzzle about ten inches. Upon the upper part of the rod, at J, rests the trigger to the lock. The whole appa- ratus, exclusive of the lines and iron - jmle, weighs about ton pounds. This wc^apon is load- ed with n light chaige of powder, and projects, ■when discharged, a bonib-lanco sixteen inches long, and seven -eighths of an inch in diameter. The lance is loaded with powder, which is ig- nited by a percussion - cap placed upon a nipple at B, as seen ni diagram B, at the end of the cylinder ( which 's connected rvith the point of the lance by a screw), Ihi., nipple (at B) r 0) X 0 0 -) m > 8! % m 0 ~n c 0 I tM S8 238 MARINK 2IAMMALS OF THE XORTII-WESTERN COAST. it and the skull -bono; then, cutting across the end of the junk and root of the case, from E to F, oomplotcs the process of cutting off the head, which is tempo- rarily made Aist to the ship's quarter. The fluke- chain is then hauled in again, and the blubber is rolled from the body in the same manner as that of a baleen whale, until coming to the region of the small, when it is unjointed just behind the vent, and the remaining posterior portion of the animal is hoisted on board in one mass. The head, as it is termed, is then hauled to the gangway, and one of I the tackles is hooked into the junk -strap at J, and by means of this cutting- i tackle purchase, the head is tak«n in whole, if the whale is under forty barrels ; but if over that size, it is raised sufficiently out of the water to cut the junk from the case, when it is hoisted on deck. The case is then secured by one or both tackles, hove up to the plank -shoe;', and an opening is made at its root, of a suitable size to admit the case- bucket, when the oil is bailed out, or the v. hole case is hove in on dock before being opened, which finishes the cutting- in of a Sperm Whale. The entire blubber being now on board, preparations arc immediately made for trying -out the oil. The blanket -pieces are cut into horse -pieces, which are about fifteen or eighteen inches long, and six or eight inches in breadth and thickness. Any flesh termed "lean," or "fat-lean," that may adhere to the horse-pieces, is cut off with leaning- knives ; and being thus prepared, the blubber is transported in strap-tubs to the mincing-horse — where the ordinary two-handled knife is used — or else _ is taken to the mincing machine, where it is NIINCING KNIFE. ° , cut crosswise into slices a quarter of an inch I to a half inch in thickness; then it goes into a large mincing- tub, which completes its preparation for boiling. From the mincing- tub it is pitched into the try -pots with the blubber- fork, where the oil is extracted by boiling. During this process, I. the minced blubber is frequently stirred, to prevent it from burning and settling to the bottom of the pots ; and when the scraps are sufficiently browned to show \ that the oil is well tried out, they are skimmed off with the skimmer into a rocep- I tacle called the scrap -hopper, and, after the oil drains from them, they furnish an I abundant supply of fuel for the fires. 'i From the pots, the oil is bailed with the bailer into a large copper tank i called a cooler; from the cooler, it passes through a cock into the deck -pot; and from the deck- pot the casks are filled. When a cask is full, it is rolled off and headed up, and in rough weather it is lashed to the ship's rail for greater secu- rity. The oil, after passing through the cooler and deck -pot, is still very hot, if THE AMERICAN WIIALE-FISIIEHY. 239 the blubber is being tried out rapidly ; and for this reason, the casks, when first filled, require the constant attention of the cooper, as tlie hoops have to be fre- quently driven, to prevent leakage. The oil taken from the case of the Sperm Whale is sometimes put into casks without boiling ; but, usually, it is carefully scalded with the junk and a porticn of the hump, and when put into casks, it is known as head, or head -matter. After the oil becomes cool, it is run through a hose into empty casks, which have been prepared with great care, and securely stowed in the hold, or they arc lowered and stowed after being filled on dock. The whole "fare" having been stowed down, the decks are cleaned up, and with lyo (which is leeched from cinders and ashes taken from the furnaces of the try-works), the ship is thoroughly washed, as well as the soiled clothing of the 1 ■tirrfMirtiMffiitfi^iiitol^ "^ -♦'*k^SJ?a5i.^ '-"•■-" '•'"-•■'-"•-•"-•"irTtrtrfifiilliMliiS^^ I. Blubber-fork. 2. Stirkixo-pole. 3. Skimmer. 4. Bailer. 5. Fire-pike. crew, when everything fore and aft again wears an aspect of order and cleanliness. Notwithstanding the great labor involved in obtaining the oil from a whale after its capture, ships have often been filled in a very short sjiace of time. In former years, it was no unusual occurrence for both sperm and right whalers to get "blubber -logged," which is the expression used when as many whales are caught at one time as can possibly be cut in and tried out ; and at the present day, in the Arctic Ocean, whales are so scarce, that, in order to secure a good catch, if opportunity presents, as it may the last of the season, the whole between- decks of the ship is frequently filled with blubber before much boiling is done. At such times, it is necessary to drive the work, and often eighty or one hundred barrels of oil have been tried out and stowed down in twenty- four hours, an'' in a few weeks many an empty ship has been filled, or has secured a good catch. CHAPTER IV. AMERICAN WHALING COMMERCE. It has ever been a subject of interest to Ud to conteii-plate the advancement of commerce by sea, from the time of the barbarian sailors up to the present cent- ury, when every ocean is teeming with magnificent modals of naval architecturci which are the pride of maritime nation" Yet, is tbyre any sea-faring pursuit recorued in history which has displayed a more legitimate, energetic, and intelligent character than the whale-fishery? To be cast upon the ocean, far from land, in an open boat, is considered a perilous sit'iation ; but what may it be regarded, when, in a slight, frail hoy, like the whctlo-boat, we find the primitive whale- men in the same situntion, attacking, with 'ude weapons, these monsters of the deep upon their own feeding and breedirc gi funds? Moreover, these adventurous men were succc&jful in making their captures, and, after patient toil by day and night, brought their colossal prizes over tne water to their village shores. With such impetuous daring did they pursue t;ioir precarious calling, that but few years elapsed before the whales of value vrcre driven from the borders into mid -ocean, where they were pursued in mere shallop? of thirty to fifty tons, into which the crews wore crowded ; and when a suflicient number of captures had been marie to supply n. full fare of blubber, the pigmy vessels returned to the home s'lores, apparently transformed into a mass of slimy whale -fat, above which peer-id the weather-worn sails. And, as years passed on, in still larger ships, they pressed forward, contending with every danger incident to the life of u sailor, upon unknown waters and in unhealthy climes, until a voyage around the world became as legitimate in the course of their professional lives, as was the launching of boats through the surf to pursue the game neai shore, over a hundred years before. As the fishery increased, several of the larger whaling -ports became distin- guished for pursuing some particular branch of this commerce. Nantucket was noted for its sperm whalerr who performed long voyages, maintained excellent discipline, and their ships, bting genoially confined to the temperate or tropical latitudes during their cruises, were examples of cleanliness and good management. (Ml ! pilS**IJ5JJPB^9l"«»PIW»"P'!»fPB»PffJ?«W»T'?"W!»M«?pH^^ r? int: AMEh]C.:S 'niM.E-FUllEHT, 24! t'r. •■ii.t.-el.o'vri Ikks ev< r iunMi forpinqs!; Ui ;■ Ju't tui; >^.)ih i'eo^t ^r [.luin-jiVitMingers, .1^. iii wbulidg jiiiia-i', "'piUiii- j> i-di. -fi, •.ff-if-h *■■.! &m»ll vcssi , . !nj)'n\'":I nn /.rr ,())iif;'i\''"::,i!'' f'''-'!»j!rj, i» t w^ ,.<,rh v,-at.crp t)t* 'li'/h i>.iil".''l''.-, lUi'-l pursuing' i!)<.' -'.is* .•'.' .,i.'.-i!'C ul-" '. t|jv ''m ;i^ ^ iilicirc.s ol' Kcrj^fiii'lou' r.iM.iJ, 'ho Cnvi^ft's ami Ifu"'' (■ !-'i..>.il-\ «c.iU*.i-»! ;> ;*•-: *:•., i!!'ii--in f 'omin ; a j'l i'!-io ill foiit'-ndinir ■^^'i^h f'"- !:■■ uir'rn i; ; «»>; /ir « . ^..i^ .'-'Inut 1:. il 'liujsiii.'iH i\\y, ill foiiii-li .'!' ihc f>'.<:^ lnvii ' i.\A rli.< Wh ^-i W ■,■- ' -ix:^ Jhu imr .♦rid Kl.oninujto!! lik- uiso oirxpidso'l ii.iuy of lii.Mr iiij-- i'l tlif^ ii lU. u uad sfuth- 'fi'ii iviu'lil- Whnli; ;i [if>!-v ; Sill.! %'(>>/ JMi'ltiVtl, 1,1 ([,, cause of hm fib.M.i'i.tin- ,■{ iho .■Xi-'CNitci j)( riifiit -f l!)t' wl'iiiiiL? rai'i!);' f ■■! f Uio fTiiiti'il i-^mtoH. prosoculo'J lii' f-litorj. «•■-•' 1, i- '.~r'H<'i,f bi ju- hi-'- il .:■.-. i»( ^ ef'-i ' \'- .]. 'i\ :\'.«"lin;' li.,!f I)!' (?!" ^sl*•v■i !' \-t.\:,\ < < \h t y*\ :i, '.(.Un,.. ■ :,.;vt>* ,.i> .-?, ,-'\-. f,-M-i 'ithi r qiiixrUrs, IlllliJ l'l';i:(>',:iK; 'it', I :,:!!;•-<' " >' ' ' ^' !. i ■ ' ' ' jt,.'^. iKi> \ ■ v' hfci !.iltr>' • :< ■ '». , ■» ■•' . .S It !•',,. , '■. :■: ''^■■■i..- 'iji,,;.,,? '- ,:' f .' I ■; r" ;r>.\ ;..;,;;. ■vliich 1' i-.- rM!it!;i" i> n': •'ix r.ii- wliil !ii.,-i I'll- «u.r>tri' i If 'U'l-o! itPi tt'"\-. '.li'iv > ' ■ • 01 . a ' •' ■''\ •'• '■>';i.-" ] iiic. ',in^i>-.,i I,. 1 ' Mliuiti'- M' I :p.-lH -t-t :-':ij.' Ilallinr, \,l,i,li in l.SrO h,i.i t V ■; '•f l;H'-,r- i.'Iu— . liDV liii,- (.Illy !'<■> f-jiuti! ; -tvMiin :'-;■, \' s(i'. li; (.e'livM I. WiiiT'',, i i I^l\t'r, !',);i,l .in;!, (icldi ■:' Jli!', '"V,-. ., tl ''«f-. )( • V.inii.iiii!i, ^isi'! ^■ll^, *;[(». t ''r.ii, (ii. , somsw i. .>, x I ■ "h; a '.•■ ■^ .^t'...^, ■\nl.. s.c.uni: ;.r I.. !.t ■• H '„',,, .„' s:i,^:.^.. .~r ] . ,,.,., U, m '.. ■' ' ,.••, • "l". i"^V'i, l!',!-.' !■- ...'t ;■ »:M;rii. W- ' ■•i.U. ' ■\.:^'.\-\-'_ i I |i i,i.i.i.i ■■ I'f. ' M' ti.i^ {■'^■•ij -I i^!,; v-i.-j-:. '(Hi.. I;-- •:. , ■" V l.;.)V. li - ( '"■.tl. II,, <. .,*'|-< \yA\ I'U tlu- !i'i '■, icLii'inr h'> v., ii\'.'lj,,, K- i \\. ■ ■■^'l_ h-i.) Tty-si-. \vh:iliiii;- vos'- 'i-:, i 1' \:\\.\\ ,\\) .. '• . ■ ,i, -"i..ii-if.l ■■ \ wt-f-. Trov • clijw.rb --■'(iiiK'ru;i iif At!, .11',. .■..ti(.!>. > ' <«■ '. miii mov, u .. ^,.«,.')^, nluch ■'iUj4<.'i,i in (ho ngsTf. «:,|i. I,;"'! -..i,,* , x j. ^ .u I'Vihrvmry I'-it. niiir.ti'oii v ^s*.|,.<, • .'w iMjin'-'ily iiMiUbln'i to \ ■.''■ liii,.'. ' . 'li, u'Vinvii, in l^.Vl, Im ■! liy.- la:>; • '.'.tif* i'^ ili<; I'm ilic, in. .111. litivr I'l lit. Ai n^i'"; in ?k7". pni>- flii . roi iKii.'.i ^•■' / ^hu'') Wi'i'i' ill poH ; ulcl 'iVt>r, -I'tU' (|h7<1) lifts only fi::;Iit. TI-!' fiT<^J li-.T), of Noiv U.^ ll'ir-', .! iHt -'■',■■« m^U^^ •^K «P'"7F'lfW5W^|r»M' )'• M^pinjii«iiiip»|iny»i,pt ^|i '■H-i mnm'm\ '" m % .i\ .1 . »..f ■ 5. ■:. jMr^ V j# l« ■•^ lA' >^ IHE AMEBIC AN WHALE-FISHERY. 241 Provincetown has ever been foremost with her numerous fleet of plum-puddingers, or, in whaling phrase, "plum-pu-dn-rs," which are small vessels, employed on short voyages in the Atlantic Ocean. New Londoners have been, and still are. renowned for prosecuting the Right Whale fishery, in the rough waters of high latitudes, and pursuing the Sea Elephant about the forbidding shores of Kerguelen's Land, the Crozets, and Hurd's Islands, situated far south in the Indian Ocean ; and also in contending with the northern ice and snow of Davis Strait and Hudson's Bay, in search of the Bowhead and the White Whale. Sag Harbor and Stonington likewise employed many of their ships in the northern and south- ern Right Whale fishery ; and New Bedford, in the course of her absorption of the greater portion of the whaling commerce of the United States, prosecuted the enterprise in its various branches all over the ocean world, by availing herself of the services of many of the best whaling- masters and officers from other quarters, thus combining the highest energy and skill for the successful prosecution of the fisher}'. But, with all the judicious management of the merchants, and the unpar- alleled vigor and tact put forth by the seamen, our whale-fishery, as previously stated, has been for years on the decline; and the first famous whaling- port of America — Nantucket — wliicii once boasted of her hundred fine ships, has now disposed of her last whaler — the R. L. Barstow — at that port of recruit, Payta, wliich is as familiar to all sperm -wlialomen as that ui Tumbez, where they went for supplies of sweet potatoes, after obtaining their onions at the former place. Sug Harbor, wliich in 1850 had twenty -three whalers, the majority of which were of largo class, now has only two small brigs, which are employed on the Atlantic. Stonington, Mystic, Greenport, Warren, Cold Spring, Seppican, Wareham, Fall River, Falmouth, Holmes' Hole, Providence, Newport, L^nn, Quincy, ^lattapoisott, Yarmouth, and Somerset, altogetlior mustered, in 1850, a fleet of ninety- two sails; but, according to the Whalemen s SMiiping List, [)ublislied at New Bedford, February 4tli, 1873, there is not a single vessel engaged in whaling from any one of those ports. Of the forty- eight vessels comprising the New London fleet of 1850, there are left on the list of February 4tli, 187;'), only twenty. Fairhaven, in 1850, had forty -six whaling -vessels, of which only five are retained in the business. Prov- incetown's squadron of Atlantic cruisers, in 1850, numbered sixteen vessels, which tonnnged in the aggregate 1,871 tons; it had in February, 1873, nineteen vessels, whose capacity amormted to 1,GG1 tons. Edgartown, in 1850, had five large whalers in the Pacific, and one brig in the Atlantic ; in 1873, only three remained, two of which were in port ; and Westport, which had a squadron of fifteen vessels in 1850, now (1873) has only eight. The great fleet of New Bedford, in 1850, num- Mahimi Mahmali, — 91. 242 MARINE MAMMALS OF TUE NORTH-WESTERN COAST. bered two hundred and thirty -seven, which were principally whalers of the larger class. It now has (1873) une hundred and twenty- nine. San Francisco, in 1853, had ten vessels in the business, but the present year there is but one legitimate whaling -craft sailing from that port. It may be regarded as a singular coinci- dence, that Boston and New York, which repeatedly, in former years, attempted, but failed, to successfully cstablisl: lie whaling business at citiier port, have now (February 4th, 1873) six small vessels in the Atlantic and one in the Pacific whale-fishery. Marion has three small schooners, Beverly one brig, Dartmouth two ships, San Francisco one bark, which make up the whole American whaling- fleet of the present day, consisting of twenty -six ships, one hundred and twenty- five barks, twelve brigs, and thirty -eight schooners — in all, 47,378 tons. The following prices have been taken from the MercJiants Magazine, and the Whalemen s Shipping List of November, 1840; also from J. Ross Browne's work: AvEUAOE Prices of Oil (peu gallon) and Bone (per pound), from 1835 to 1872, inclusive. (' 183.5. 1830. 1837. 1838 . 1839. 1840. 1841. 1842. 1843. 1844. 1845. 184G. 1847 . 1848. 1849 . 1850. 1851. 1852. 18,53. Sperm Oil. Wbalo on. $0 84 $0 3G 88 44 82 33 85 32 1 GO 35 1 02\ 30 1 00 30i 94 31.1 73 33J C3 341 OOi 3Gi 88 32J 875 33:^ 1 OOi 3C 1 09 40 1 m 49 1 27:} 45i 1 23i G8S 1 24J m 24 25 22 19 19 18 19 |l 193 '\ 23 ^1 35 J il 40 331 34 81 31i 34i 341 50J 34.V 1854. 1855. 185G. 1857 . 1858. 1859. 18G0. 18G1. 18G2. 18G3. 18G4. 18G5. 18GG. 18G7. 18G8. 18G9. 1870. 1871. 1872. Sperm Oil. $1 48:j 1 77 1 G2 1 28i 1 21 1 3Gj 1 41^ 1 3U 1 42i 1 01 1 78 2 25 2 55 2 33i 1 92 1 78 1 351 1 35 1 45,} $0 58J 71 791 73^ 54 481 49J 44} 591 95.} 1 28 1 45 1 21 73.} 82 1 01,1 07.} CO C51 $0 39} 45} 58 9G.1 92} 85 80} GO 82 1 53 1 80 1 71 1 37 1 17i 1 02i 124 85 70 1 281 Following, wo give a tabular statement of the condition of the fishery for thirty-eight years, beginning in 1835 and ending in 1872, inclusive: M& mmM ■fliMtiillki^ THE AMERICAN WHALE-FISHERY. 243 YoarB. Number of BUIpxilua Uwka. NuoibtT of Brigii. No. Scbrs. and Sloopl. AKgregate Tonn«(je. Barrel! of Sperm Oil. BuTeU of Whulo Oil. Pounds of Bone. Vsluo of Imports. 1835. 483 8 9 145,120 172,083 120,049 905,192 $ 0,108,997 92 183G. 488 9 10 150,209 132,130 131,170 1,028,773 5,733,530 21 1837. 490 9 10 150,909 181,724 219,138 1,753,104 7,357,553 31 1838. 495 25 30 159,723 131,850 227,010 1,783,848 0,157,037 52 1839. 498 100 78 109,983 150,000 230,000 Not Itendereil. 7,544,250 00 1840. 510 40 9 171,190 157,791 207,908 2,000,000 9,775,002 GO 1841. 535 41 9 191,707 159,304 207,348 2,000,000 7,084,087 70 1842. 542 43 9 195,833 105,037 101,041 1,000,000 0,829,788 90 1843. 578 40 9 198,754 100,985 200,727 2,000,000 0,497,587 04 1844. 595 41 11 200,147 139,594 202,047 2,532,445 6,523,384 01 1845. 043 35 18 218,055 157,917 272,730 3,107,142 9,128,235 07 1840. 078 35 23 233,189 95,217 207,493 2,270,939 5,.553,817 52 1847. 070 31 22 230,218 120,753 313,150 3,341,080 7,807,805 20 1848. 021 22 10 210,003 107,970 280,050 2,003,000 8,905,021 04 1849. 581 21 12 190,110 100,944 248,492 2,281,100 7,321,100 09 1850. 510 20 13 171,484 92,892 200,008 2,809,200 7,743,880 98 1851. 502 24 27 171,971 99,591 328,483 3,900,500 10,042,530 94 1852. 558 27 35 193,990 78,872 84,211 1,259,900 5,720,455 23 1853. 599 30 32 200,280 103,07" 200,114 5,052,300 10.730,037 94 1854. 002 28 38 208,399 73,G90 319,837 3,445,200 10,710,748 80 1855. 584 20 34 199,842 72,049 184,015 2,707,.500 9,391,182 98 1850. 585 21 29 199 Ml 80,941 197,890 2,592,700 10,589,844 74 1857. 593 22 40 204,209 78,440 230,iHl 2,058,900 10,491, .^r37 28 1858. 587 18 49 203,148 81,941 182,223 1,540,000 7.043,997 07 1859. 501 19 45 195,115 91,408 190,411 1,923,850 8,407,393 41 18C0. 508 19 42 170,842 73,708 140,005 1,337,050 0,555,700 05 1801. 459 14 41 158,740 08,932 133,737 1,038,450 3,233,393 15 1802. 372 10 41 125,405 55,041 100,478 703,500 5,001,088 49 18C3. 301 10 42 103,888 05,055 02,974 488,750 5,930,507 17 18C4. 258 G 43 88,754 04,372 I...03 700,450 7,875,002 50 18G5. 220 7 43 80,053 33,242 70,238 019,350 0,897,285 15 180C. 199 8 50 71,809 30,003 74,302 920,375 7, 037, 88 S 08 1807. 222 10 80 80,383 43,433 89,289 1,001,397 0,294,003 82 1808. 223 17 89 82,304 47,174 05,575 900,850 5,470,250 01 1809. 223 25 88 82,708 47,930 85,011 003,003 0,190,947 54 1870. 218 22 81 80,885 55,183 72,091 708,335 4,497,300 10 1871. 210 18 54 70,712 41,534 75,152 000,055 3,807,071 05 1872. 172 12 34 52,701 44,881 31,395 193,742 2,950,288 80 38 17,085 907 1,351 0,037,551 3,071,772 0,553,014 00,087,580 $272,274,910 27 .' 2U MARINE MAMMALS OF THE NORTH-WESTERN COAST. The average number of vessels employed annually for these years was five hundred and twenty-four, aggregating 158,883 tons, and the amount of oil taken yearly was a fraction over 96,025 barrels of sperm, and 172,448 barrels of whale ; Tlie number of Sperm Whales required to produce this amount of sperm oil (allow- ing them to average twenty -five barrels each) would be 3,865; add to this ten per cent, for whales mortally wounded, lost after capture, etc., brings the number up to 4,253, or thereabouts. The black whales annually destroyed, which includes Right Whale-., Bowhcads, California Grays, and Humpbacks, allowing them to average sixty barrels each, would make the number 2,875 ; add to this twenty per cent, for whales lost, increases it to 3,450 ; so that the number of Sperm and black whales annually destroyed was 7,703. According to this estimate, during the thirty -eight years, there were no less than 292,714 whales captured or destroyed by the American whaler's lance. The history of !nany of the old whale -ships is of peculiar commercial inter- est, large numbers of them having performed scores of voyages ui the merchant service, or served as vessels of war, before being transformed into cruisers for oil and bone. Among them was the ship Maria. This vessel was built at Pembroke (now called Hanson), Mass., during the year 1782, for a privateer, but was pur- chased by the celebrated wlialing merchant, William Rotch. It was one of the first vessels to display tiie American flag in the Thames after the War of Indepen- dence,"" being at that period employed as a freighter. The Maria concluded her first whaling- voyage September 2Gth, 1775, and from that time continued in the business for seventy years, during which service she performed twenty- seven voyages. She sailed from New Bedford upon her last whaling- voyage under our flag on the 29th of September, 1859 ; the oil taken in all these expeditions, includ- ing eight hundred barrels on her final voyage, being 24,419 barrels of sperm, and one hundred and thirty -four barrels of whale oil. The vessel was commanded and officered by Xantucket-men while owned by Mr. Rotch; and after his decease, in 1828,t she passed into the hands of his descendants. On her last, unfinished voyage mentioned above, she was sold at Talcahuano, Ciiile, February, 18G3, being tlien eighty -one years old. At this epocii in her history, the venerable craft clianged her namo and nationality, being christened the Maria Pacheco, and, instead ♦Preble, in his Ilislory of the American Flag In that case, to John Singleton Copley, of (page 215), states that "The honor of dis- Boston, the American painter, and the father playing our flag in England for the first time of the late Lord Lyndhurst, must be assigned does not, however, rest with any vessel, if a the honor," printed representation of it can bo considered. f Vide Sanford's Letters. 11 I 1 THE AMERICAN WHALE-FISHERY. 245 of the "stars and stripes," the banner of Chile — red, whito-and blue, with its star, emblems of republican power and prowess — was raised at her peak, when she again resumed the work of a common carrier. But, in 18G6, she was fitted for a whaling - voyage ; and it is asserted by one authority, that the Maria Pacheco found- ered at sea in 1870 ; and another record maintains that she sunk at her anchors, tiic same year, in the roadstead of Payta, at the advanced age of eighty- eight. This memorable old vessel was one of those models which combined great capacity with fast sailing, for her time: her length being "eighty -six feet; breadth, twenty- three feet and one inch ; depth, eleven feet six and a half inches ; and measure- ment, two hundred and two and twenty -ei^'ht ninety -fifths tons." In 1820, a whale -ship was built at Plymouth, Mass., named the Mayflower. This vessel made several voyages from that port, after which she was sold to a firm in New Bedford; and in April, 1849, she was among the gold -fleet which sailed for California, making a passage of one hundred and sixty -five days, enter- ing the Golden Gate September 13th, and soon after rested on the mud -flat in front of the then tented city of San Francisco. Here she was dismantled, mutilated, and turned into a store-ship, and her cabin was transformed into convenient quarters for a gentleman and his wife, where they made it a pleasant sub- aquatic residence. The vessel was of that ancient build which presented a swelled stern and drooping bow, with her masts standing plumb or pitching forward ; and the question was frequently asked by passing gold -miners, on their way to the "diggings," if she was really the ship that brought over the Pilgrims? It is said, too, by good authority, that pieces of timber were taken from her sides, as soumdrs, by several California adventurers, who believed her to bo the old Pilgrim ship of 1G20. After being battered as a receptacle of merchandise for several years, the capacious port which had been cut in her side was closed up, and she was again refitted for a whaling-cruise; but the expedition proved to be unsuccessful, and she again returned through the Golden Gate, with a broken voyage and in a leaky condition. Soon after, however, she was turned into a lumber -carrier, and literally pumped her way back and fortii between Puget Sound and San Francisco ; until, becoming 60 shattered that she could no longer efficiently perform sea voyages, was made to transport lumber across the Strait of Juan de Fuca, to Victoria, in the time of the Frazer River gold fever ; and, after a changing career of forty years, returned to San Francisco, whore she was dismantled for the last time, and her hull broken up. The question is frequently asked, What has become of the largo number of whale -ships which were but a few years ago engaged in the fishery? In answer, wo will state, that the scattered wrecks of many are found in every quarter of the 246 MARINE MAMMALS OF THE NORTH-WESTERN COAST. globe; while others have been sold into the merchant service, or broken up at home. San Francisco Bay and Sacramento River were the last ports many of the old ships made. The Charleston Bar swallowed up the stone fleet, which was chiefly made up of old whalers; and the cruisers, during the Rebellion, destroyed many valuable vessels while at sea; and, last of all, the ice of the Arctic made a fell swoop upon the northern fleet, in the foil of 1871, pi „^iMS&sitestiim CHAPTER V. CALIFORNIA SIIORE-WHALOG. Although brief mention has been made in the Natural History department of this work, relative to the shore -whaling along the coasts of Upper and Lower California, jet it may be well to devote a chapter especially to this fishery. California shore - whaling was commenced at Monterey, in the year 1851, by Captain Davenport, formerly a whaling -master of much experience and enterprise. The whales were pursued in boats from the shore, and when captured were towed to the beach and flensed, much in the same manner, doubtless, as it had been done by our New England whalers more than one hundred and fifty years ago. At the point where the enormous carcass was stripped of its fat, arose the "whaling station," where try -pots were set in rude furnaces, formed of rocks and clay, and capacious vats were made of planks, to receive the blubber. Large mincing-tubs, with mincing -horses and mincing -knives, cutting- spades, ladles, bailers, skimmers, pikes, and gafis, with other whaling implements, surrounded the try -works; and near by, a low structure, covered with brush -wood, constituted the store -house for the oil. A light shanty, with four apartments, served the purpose of wash-room, drying-room, store-room, and cooper's shop; and a sort of capstans, termed "crabs," were used in lieu of the ship's windlass, whereby the falls to the heavy cutting -tackk-s were hove -in, when fastened to the blanket- piece, which served to roll the massive forms of the captured animals on the beach during the process of flensing. From this experiment of local whaling sprung up a system of shore or coast whaling, which has been prosecuted for over twenty years, and which now extends from Half Moon Bay (latitude 37° 30'), on the north, to Point Abanda (lati- tude 32° 20'), in Lower California. At the present time, there are eleven whaling parties scattered along this belt of coast, located at Half Moon Bay, Pigeon Point, Monterey Bay (two), Carmel Bay, San Simeon, San Luis Obispo, Goleta, Portuguese Bend (near San Pedro), San Diego, and Point Abanda. The organization of each party is nearly on the same plan as that of the whale -ship's [S47] i 248 MARINE MAMMALS OF THE NORTH-WESTERN COAST. officers and crew — all being paid a certain share, or "lay," which corresponds to the position or individual services rendered by each member. A "whaling com- pany," as it is termed, consists of one captain, one mate, a cooper, two boat- steerers, and eleven men; from these, two whale-boats arc provided with crews of six men each, leaving four hands on shore, who take their turn at the lookout station, to watch for whales, and attend to bf)iling out the blubber when a whale is caught. The stock of the company consists of boats, whaling implements, and whaling- gear, winch is divided into sixteen equal shares, and the "lay" of each member is the same. The captain and mate, however, arc paid a bonus of two or throe hundred dollars for the term of engagement, which is one year, and they are also exempt from all expenses of the company. The whaling year begins on the first of April, this being about the time that the California Gray Whales have all passed toward the Arctic Ocean, and the Humpback Whales begin their northern passage. The cruising limits of the local whalers extend from near the shore -lino to ten miles at sea. At dawn of day, the boats may bo seen, careening under a press of sail, or propelled over the undulating ground -swell by the long, measured strokes of oars, until they reach the usual whaling- ground, whore the daj' is passed plying to and fro, unless the objects of pursuit are met with. Each boat is furnished with Greener's harpoon -gun, mounted at the bow, besides the bomb -gun in general use, which imparts to thorn more of a military appearance than the usual aspect of a whaling- craft. Generally, whales are first seeu from the boats ; but occasionally they are discovered by the man on watch at the station, who signals to the boats by means of a flag elevated upon a j^ole, with which he runs toward the quarter where the V hales are seen; or a series of signals are made from a tall flag- staff. The cetaceous animals frequenting the coast, having been so long and con- stantly pursued, arc exceedingly wild and difficult to approach ; and were it not for the utility of Greener's gun, the coast fishery would be abandoned, it being now next to impossible to "strike" with the hand- harpoon. At the present time, if the whale can be approached within thirty yards, it is considered to be in reach of the gun -harpoon. Wiien the gunner fires, if he hits his game, the next effort made is to haul up near enough to shoot a bomb -lance into a vital part, which, if it explodes, completes the capture ; but, if the first bomb fails, the second or third one does the fatal work. The prize is then towed to the station ; and if it bo night, it is secured to one of the buoys placed for the purpose, a little way from the surf, where it remains until daylight, or until such time as it is wanted, to bo stripped of i.s blubber. The whales generally taken by the shore parties are THE AMEItlCAX WII A LK - FWIl KUY 240 Mabtne Mammals.— :W. 260 MAltlNE MAMMALS OF TII^ NOBTJI-WESTERN COAST. Humpbacks, and California Grays ; but occasionally a Right Whale, a Finback, or a Sulphurbottom is captured. The localities of :'everal of the stations are quite picturesqiio. Some of them are nearly concealed from seaward view, being inside some rocky reof, or behind a jagged point, with its outlying rocks, upon which each successive wave dashes its foam, as if forbidding the approach of ship or boat. The one which most inter- ested us is half- hidden i;' u little nook, on the southern border of the Bay of Carmel, just south of Point Pinos. Scattered around the foot-hills, which come to the water's edge, are the neatly whitewa hed cabins of the whalers, nearly all of whom are Poitugueso, from the Azoro« or "Western Islands of the Atlantic. They have their families with them, and keep a pig, sheep, goat, or cow, prowling around the premises; these, with a small garden-patch, yielding principally corn and pumpkins, make :ip the general picture of the hamlet, which \^ a paradise to the thrifty clan in comparison with the lioinos of their childhood. It is a pleasant retreat from the rough voj-ages experienced 3i\ boai'd the wliale-ship. The sur- rounding natural scenery is l)roken into majestic spurs and peaks, like their own native isles, with the valley of the Rio Caimel a little beyond, expanded into landscajie loveliness. Under a precipitous bluff, clof^e to the water's edge, is the !3tation ; where, upon a stone -laid quay, is erected tlio whole establishment for cutting- in and trying-out the blubl)er of the whales. Instead of rolling them upon the beach, as is usually done, the cutting- tackles are suspended from an elevated beam, whereby the carcass is rolled over in the water — when undergoing the process of flensing — in a manner similar to tliat alongside a ship. Near by are the try- works, sending fi^un volumes of thick, l)lack smoke from the scap-fire under tlie steaming cauldrons of boiling oil. A little to one 'e cutting at the shapeless and lialf-putriil mass of a muti- lated whale, together with the men shouting anu heaving on the capstans, the screaming of gulls and c/t'icr sea-fowl, mingled with th< noise of the surf about the si^ores, and we have a jiicture of the general life at . California coast- wlialing stition, Tiio aggregate amomif of oil tidcen l»y the several shore })arties, since their first establishment, miiy be estimated at not less than 05,000 barrels; of this amount, 75,000 barrels have l)een obtained from the California Gray Whales, and THE AMERICAN WHALE-FISHERY. 251 20,000 barrels from the Humpbacks, Finbacks, and Sulphurbottoms. The value of the oil may be placed at about thirteen dollars a barrel, which would give a gross amount ff $1,242,800, or an annual product for twenty-two years of $56,490. To obtain this oil, not loss than 2,100 California Grays, and eight hundred Humpbacks and other whalebone whales, were robbed of their fatty coverings. If we add to this one -fifth for the number of whales that escaped their pursuers, although mortally wounded, or were lost after being killed cither by sinking in deep water or through stress of weather, we shall swell the catalogue to 3,552. To this add one- eighth for unborn young, and the whole number of animals destroyed would be 3,990, or about one hundred and eighty- one annually. This may be regarded as a low estimate ; doubtless the number of these creatures destroyed every year by the enterprising California whalemen far exceeds the above estimate. But this peculiar branch of whaling is rapidl}- dying out, owing to the scarcity of the animals which now visit the coast ; and even these have become exceedingly difficult to approach. CHAPTER VI. LIFE AND CIIAHACTERISTICS OF AMERICAN WHALEMEN. In tiikiiig a general view of winding life, we find it replete with incidents of daring adventnre, hardsliip, nnd deprivation. The vessels first employod in deep- sea whaling were so contraeted, that no degree of comfort could be afforded to (heir crews, wlio, l\y sIi'mt, ambitious hardihood, maintained existence on board during (lieir short voyages. As the pursuit became extended, requiring larger vessels, the barks and brigs of the iishers were much improved, while the absence from tlieir native shores was more prolonged. At this period a system for litting out vessels for long voyages was inaugurated, as well as the establish- ment of eflective discipline on board, for which well-regulated whale-ships have always been noted; and the whale-fishery steadily advanced under the judicious management of tiiose able and systematic business gentlemen, whoso names have long since become as f;imiliar in the remotest parts of the ocean world, as the ships named in their honor. The broad expanse of the Atlantic soon became too limited a field for the vast enter^jrise, and in consequence of this, the fourth epoidi in the fishery was inaugurated, when still larger vessels were sent out to search the nearly unknown waters of the Pacific and Indian Oceans. These vessels doultled Capes Horn and Ciood Hope, in their wanderings, whicii were so pro- tracted, under the most favorable auspices, that the "green hands," many of wiiom never had snulVed the ocean's breezes until afioat on board a whaler, returned to their New England or Western homes, transformed into seamen and whalemen. The Capo Horn and Indian Ocean voyages were at first of comparatively short duration ; but as the pursuit was followed to more distant seas, three years or more passed away bel'nre the return of these cruisers.* During this long absence, *Tlio uporm- whaling voyuf^oH wore tho most Piicific, which wna niiiUHin<»ly ilhistrntivo of llio Iirotnictcil mill (cilidus. Soiiio forty yours ii^jo, diet luul riicrffy of lior limstor in iiiaiiiif:;iiit» lui iuciilciil tninsjiiixHl on boiinl a spcrni wlmlc- afluirM, iiftor wearing' away nearly a wlioln sca- fliip, while cruising about the equator, in tho Hon with intliflcruut huccchs. Near tho close ot THE AMERICAN WHALE-FISHERY. 253 an occasional vessel would bring them news from home. Reallj', the only legiti- mate means of communication, in early times, was by the outward-bound and homeward-bound ships;* and as a natural result, a system of transmitting letters was faithfully carried out. Speaking and visiting between whale -ships was a uni- versal practice; and a custom of signaling and "gamming" was established, to pre- vent, as far as possible, any detriment to the voyage. A ship desiring to speaic with another, out of ordinary signal distance, would haul up her mainsail ; and the vessel with the wind free would bear up and run down to the new-comer on the ground, who, being hauled aback, awaited the approach of the visitor. There is, usually, considerable formality observed in these casual communications, especially if between strangers. The captain of the ship making the signal to speak, hails hrst, and asks whatever questions ho may desire ; after which, the master of tlie other vessel docs likewise, and mutual invitations are exchanged to visit. If either accept, the rule is for the chief mate of the ship visited by a captain, to return, in the same boat, on a visit to his executive officer. If whales are raised during the time of ganiaiing, the vessels generally "mate," in order that all shall have a motive in working together effectively ; and, if there has been no previous agreement to meet the exigency, a flag is hoisted at the peak jf the the cruise, the supply of fresh water had he- come nlnrmingly short for the allotted time before returniug to port. This was a source of regret, with both officers nnd men, as it was hoped they could fill the ship before the season terminated ; and the captain would not have listened for a moment to the proposition to put the crew on a short allowance, had it been sug- gested. Ho, however, ordered a drinking -cup made, so as to bo easily secured to, or detached from, the royal-mast head. Having placed it in its exalted position, all hands were mustered, and given to understand that they would have their regular allowance of tea and lofVeo served night and morning; but when anyone (includ- ing himself) desired to cjuench his thirst during the (lay, ho nuist go aloft, get tho drinkiiig- cup, bring it on dock, obtain and drink the water (witliout spilling a drop), then take it back and place it at tho mast-head again. The uarrator of this episode jocosely remarked that, ' ' It was wonderful to observe what a ' per- suader' against too much diinking was tho exercise of 'shinning' to tho rjyal truck twice, for a pot of water." And, by this means, the supply held out; and before tht end of the cruise, tiiny imi)roved the timely opporUsi^y of filling every empty cask with oil, and trimmed their sails for tho homeward passage. * Post Office Bay, upon the north-western side of Charles Island, took its name from the custom establislied by tho whalers (before it was inhabited), of depositing letters in a box, placed upon a post for tho purpose ; ' ' and homeward-bound ships," says Findlay, in his Soiilh Piwijw Jhirrlorij, "examined the directions, taking with tlirm all which they might have the moans of forwarding." A similar place of de- posit f(U' letters was established on tho island of Juan Foriiandez. We have hoard, too, that a letter-box was at one time posted on tho island of New Zealand. 25-t MAHINE mammals of tub NORTH-WESTERN COAST. captain's ship, which familiar sign (especially on Sperm Whale ground) is readily understood ; and when the boats arc lowered for the chase, the visiting captain takes charge of the mate's boat of the ship ho is on board, and the executive officer visiting heads the captain's boat. If successful in capturing whales, the oil they obtain is divided. It was rarely, however, that a distant signal was made for the sole purpose of gamming ; but the desire for letters from mothers, fathers, wives, children and other relatives, and friends, was sometimes irresistible. During these occasional meetings, not onl}' is there an exchange of news verbally, but also an exchange of books and other reading matter that either ship can supply. It is a spirited sight, on a rough sea (or, as is sometimes said, "when too rugged to whale, but just right for a gam"), to watch these fragments of the commercial world, with swelling sails, surging over the breaking waves, until brought into close communion ; and to observe the formal salutes between their commanders, while "speaking ship;" or, if they are old acquaintances, to witness the boisterous and hearty mutual greetings, heralded through trumpets, together with the general desire of everyone to associate, oven for an hour, with some person \ besides his comrades, who are confined with him on his own reeling deck. Next to the joy of being on the return passage, with everything full, is the meeting of the old-time, voyage -worn whaleman, with a ship just out from homo. Letters are received, and perhai)s l)ooks and stores of other reading material, fresh to them, after having been borne half-way round the glo1)e, for the space of six months (l)erhaps a year), are ravenously devoured; and a hundred and one inquiries are made about "How were things when you left home?" "What was the price of oil and bone?" "Wore any new ships fitting out?" "Was there any danger of a war?" etc. A whole day was often spent under such gladsome circumstances; and the officers and men, passing and repassing to each other's vessels, always observed the same rules with regard to changing boats' crews as did their superiors. In these pleasant meetings, no efi'ort was spared on the part of the hosts to enter- tain tiiei'- guests mosc hospitaltly. The cabin table was spread with the l)est tlio ship cotild afi'ord ; many a plump porker of Oceanica, or a choice terrapin from 1 the Galapagos, was sacrificed, and a general feast enjoyed fore and aft."" In the course of these prolonged voyages, there was hardly a ship's company *It may bo noted that boiuo etiquette was orij,'inatecl from the nature of the work when observctl at (ho table, peculiar to the whulin;^ takin(» oil, their outer pannontH nocesHarily bo- Horvice, where all apiieared at the board cominf,' soiled. Hence, when couiiui,' to the table in their shirt - Hleeves ! This is said to have at meal time, the jacket or coat was thrown aiiido. ,..™i— -•* THE AMERICAN WHALE -FISUERY. 255 which did not experience many changes ; men were lost through casualties, died of disease, deserted, or were exchanged, sometimes discharged, and frequentl}- a smart 3''outh would be promoted to an advanced position liofore Jus first voyage termi- nated. Anyone who gave promise of the requisites for a good whaleman had but little difficulty in shipping as a boat-steerer on the second voyage. At first, as has been previously stated, the colonial whaling- craft were manned almost exclu- sively by the colonists and Indians ; but at length the fleet became so numerous, that, in a majority of cases, it was only practicable to obtain Americans for the principal officers, the rest of the ship's company being made up, as one might say, of all nations ; and not luifrequently, in the forecastle, would be found runaway American youths of the best blood, ambitious farmers' sons from the interior, who were intent on becoming sea-captains, together with criminals in disguise, and hapless emigrants from the old country — Portuguese from the Azores, and negroes from the Cape de Yerdes'"' — altogether making up a motley crew, which could only be controlled by strict discipline, ifuch has been written about the duplicity and sharp dealing of the owners of whaling - vessels, and the heartless severity of whaling-captains; but it is found that the authors of these glaring complaints were usually impracticable or discontented characters, who went drifting about the world witli no fixed purpose of action, being generally dissatisfied with them- selves and everyone witli whom they came in contact — more especially if subjected to their control ; or they were of that class who imagined they could make a con- venience of the vessel to sail around the world — their chief object being to gratify their curiosity in sight-seeing, regardless of the faithful discnarge of their duties — or, to say the least, they took no interest in the success of the voyage ; hence tlieir view of everything pertaining to whaling presented no pleasing features. Unfeeling and nnpiincipled men are sometimes found holding the responsible posi- tions of mates and masters of whaling -vessels, as may bo found in all other branches of the marine service; l)ut that the majority of whaling-masters are unjust and tyrannical to those under their command, is a libel on their humane characters. It is not surprising that the discontented adventurer regards the [irac- tical discipline on shipboard as severe, and the commanding bearing of the officers as unnecessary. On the other hand, the officers, who have learned by (heir pro- tracted schooling in a hardy and perilous profession that the success of the voyage *It liin been a frcncvnl custom for outward- of vpgctablps niut frcKli in'ovisions; (iiut nt Biich bound whalers to call at the Azores, or at the times they iiiado up their complement of men, Cape de Yerdes, if the Heasf.j-';d \'^V< thi' .;ii''r , it'i I'vi . v :v.'; j<.. 1 ■ •■ .^n, : s a ratO'jig, > t,:i ■1.' ■i. i .I'ln Iv '.ik-i tLc .^- ■:■.. '-v^th *\i.ii hai>h, rhti^..;^ .'■■• ■•' •V" ^- ^ ■ ( 1 -:.' i 1 V :•• i,.-;. .'t !iU'( :> ijnVii.'il oi' !'li«(..iiy i .SI), .\\ , C; '.I. It 'i v-nv .'nl A.);-s to o^c;.lu;. Lv ;-.;iiiiM^ o -v 'ho mm ^-ut if il.t- s^a/ i!..;a -i' ... !■> ,; . ,1 lb I », -lilt i< ' < !■ ■h,;., , i > r. '.>-.; .r- II.. ' •■!- i' , '■- \\ iii •\i'. (■r.ii^i I-.TUj-v. 1 Vl5 V. rliiud. .■(' ^pii'V i" *i- 'iy.r a ,'1 h • ;:ii]?kMii • !•.* >v (,;; t;;. t'ul;; lag- Hl.i^f, .; ■-. -I'li .;i,k.., .It:. 1 ■ '(■I- Li.-* mivf. a nrt Ihu a.i !\i;>i i. out' ^.ti i-ip. i < 1 n-- i 1 ir ■ '.icai'fd up, ihi- \r% ■ v."i'\i ■■ .i'>i-a! . ' ■ " ■ ii(i ;hai ill It," ■^-•s riia^ ) ll!;. i" a ^ v'.-iv-'i' II ul, ili-.i' ' ''0 Illll.f'U il'i.i; ■:;aaui' ; 'n'' ''Jiy marni .ii.. ( iriiiK r\. I .. . U ii'-c. wacii . 1 U:liilitai|;. '!):■:. uai'iy 'I V I ! ' .• '-ti'ifo I'l' .'•<:-ii' boul -hoU'If ! ■ i- ■ ;.t|d liii ii- I;. ■ ^!i:i.l;'- A ' ■ '• 1 ••11; ■ , u, . u ' -••i\^i!.., i^v '1. J; .•!: - ^ va, li .. ;i ' ' 111, ' t, ' ' Sllil, ' .. ,i! ' I , '■ l' iM^!! '^ ■ ' it,'' i.il iii'i li ' M 1 ".ou uni" i ■p'M Jill' ii' ;":lr I I,' lip? ' a,,' »';. ' i.'cn •'-;.. I'iivl' ilu^n^ » nri ,>!■ !m I !-■ ;-t.;k^,' I'H' > ':'!'' ^ ujxluru til.!, -^t-ao 'vf ,;ra;.' -^'11 Uar.lv .M-t :uiu ■' ..|>iu,^;t!.'P '^hsOi;; -^."■"V"" - jsmw^^a^mf^mi^^mmiK^mmmmfm^mfiummm ■- - * It •w V-' i ■r ■^». -tfe^ .*»*•„..., . ■ A--. •f , Kf f^J ■_^r-;;*r^,.r ■MkiaUtti^iilii THE AMERICAN WIIALE-FIiSUERY. 257 responded to. The boats are in readiness; they are "hoisted and swung;" and when the time comes for "lowering," they are dropped into the water with every man in his place. Springing to the oars, the boats bound over tlio waves ; and in approaching the whale, the officer of the boat in advance carefully "cons" his little craft, and orders the "harpooniersman" by word or motion, to stand ready, with his weapon poised, as a rattling, rippling sound is heard, and a huge black form breaks the water, with the harsh, ringing noise of its first respiration. Instantly the deadly spear flies from ready hands, and plunges into the manunoth creature. Tiie water is lashed into a pyramid of bloody foam, the boat is "fast," and the whale in vain endeavors to escape by running over the surface of the sea, then diving to tiie depths below ; but its human pursuers still cling to the line attached to the fatal harpoon. The whale rises again to the surface, in some degree exhausted. Another boat approaches, and darts its murderous weapons, and the pursuit is con- tinued with renewed vigor. When, at last, a vital part is pierced, the animal deeply crimsons its pathway with its remaining life-blood, and lashes the sea into clouds of spniy in its dying contortions. Then follow wild cheers by the crews in the boats ; while the ship bears down under reduced sail, and the whale is secured by the ponderous fluke -chain. The boats are again hoisted, and all hands are on board. Everyone is cheerful, and works with a will; up goes the cutting- gear, and the implements are in rea»rsome materials not required until the vessel is nearly filled with oil or the se^^on is over. The "tender" is fitted for cutting- in the whales, the cutting-gear of the ship is sent aloft, and with the cutting- stage placed over the side, preparations for the slaughter are completed. When sufficient numbers have assembled at the head -waters of th'i estuaries, the boats are lowered in pursuit. A cow with a young calf is usually selected, so that the parent animal may be easily struck ; yet the race is sometimes so pro- longed as to nearly exhaust the boats' crews ; and when at last the creature lags, 260 MARINE MAMMALS OF THE NORTH-WESTERN COAST. J su that lior tircu on'spriiig may keep near, thereby presenting the opportunity to I I the "harpconicrsniau" lo thrust efTectivol}' with his weapon, tlio murderous blow often causes the animal to recoil in its anguish, aud give a swoop of its ponderous flukes, or a toss of its head, which, coming in contact with the boat, produces a general wreck, and more or less injiu'y to the men, In the win*^er of 185G, we were wluiling about the atcros of Magdalena ]?ay, where, in attacking sixteen wliales, two lioat; were entirely de.-troyed, while the others were staved fifteen times ; and out of eighteen men who oflicered and manned tlicm, six were badly jarred, one had both legs broken, anolher lluve ribs fractured, and still another ' \\a^ so much injured iuteriially that ho was anablc to perform duty during tho rest of the voyage. 'VU tiiese serious casualties iiappened before a single whale was captured. However, after a few days' rest, while the boats were being repaired and new ones fitted 1 1 take tho place of those destro3-ed, tlie contest with tlio ''Devil-tish" was again renewed, and with successful results. Several whales were taken without accident, and no serioun casualty occurred during tho rest of the season. f During the spriiig arid summer montlis of 1857, we were engaged with the ' brig Jjostnn in whaling, sealing, and Sea Klephant hiniting, but with i'l success. Tho crew was .•^hipped for eight months (ml}' ; hence we would hiive boon ol)liged to return to port with nearly an empty vessel, had not nearly all the ,nen volun- teered to engage for the winter season, rather than leave the vessel, penniless. Only three men desired to leave the b>rig, who were lai ded at Santa Barbara. Having previously ascertained tiiat a large lagiou branched from the Bay of San ' Sebastian Viscaino (heretofore urknown to whalers), where tiie California Grays, in ' the season, probalil}' resorted, a .'I'.'.ill schooner as a tender, with men to increase our company, was dispatched from San l-'rancisco, aud joined tho brig at the appoip.teil place of rendezvous, in the snug harbor of Caialina Island. All being in riadiiioss, both vessels sailed, the la.st of November, 1857, for the new whaliiig-grounil. Notl,in;jc of special int(>ri>st transpired until we arrived olV our I first landmark — now known as Lagoon or Safety Head. Under this laml both 1; vessels anchored for the ni^ht. On the following day, tliree boats and tho f tender were dispatched to explore tlie coast to the southward, and "sound o'lt" the channel into the lagoon. Two days jiassed, when a, messenger returned wit!\ tho report thai, the tender had entered th(> (>stuary without, diiliculty, and that thco was suflicient dei)lh of water on the bar for the brig to pas.s over. It was after- nunn ))efore we got und(M- way. A brisk bi'(>e/.e was blowing, and wouM have car- rieil us to a land-locketl liarlxu' l)efore evening, had it not failed us when vicarly THE AMERICAN WHALE -FISUEliY. 261 on the shoalest part of the entrance, obliging both vessels to anchor — the tender having previously joined us. Night came on, dark and misty ; and as the tedious liouiH wore away, an increasing heavy swell rolled in, breaking fitfully around both brig and schooner. Nothing could relieve us from our perilous situation but a strong land-breeze, to take the vessels back to the first anchorage or to sea. Not a soul on board slept during tluit night. A light puff of wind, at long intervals, came through the mouth of the lagoon, each time giving us hope for the desired land-breeze; l)ut it only increased the dismal sound of the angry surf as it beat upon the sandy shores. At dry'jght, a gentle air came in from seaward, when signal was made for both vessels to got under way ; but before the anchors were lifted, it fell calm again, and near noon the wind came from the northward, wlien we were quickly under all sail, and soon passed through the turbulent passage, and cast anchor behind a sheltered point of the lagoon. It was too early to connnencc whaling; and l)oing short of wood to last througli tlie season, IIk time and opportunity were improved to obtain a supply from the wreck of a ship which lay strewn about the contiguous ocean sliore. To reach the "wooding" place, it was necessary to land inside the passage and go some distance along the beach, as no boat could approach from the outer coast. One dfi} having been spent in preparing the fuel, another was expected to be ample time to put it on board. All the boats engaged in transporting it were moored near the shore in the lagoon, and left iu charge of a boat-keeper, it being impracticable to haul them up at high tide on account of the broad, flat beach exposed at low water. All the wooding party being out of sight when at tlie wreck, the boat- keeper con- cluded to refresh himself by a lialh, and conceived the idea of converting one of the boats into a bath-tul), liy pulling out the plug in tlie bottom. The boa*^. soon became water-logged, and the fellow, carelessly enjoying his ablutions, got too far to one side of tlie critn, which instantly capsized, turning him into the lagoon. The current running swiftly, dragg(>d ilie anchor, and the man, in his fright, swam to the .shore, abandoning his lioat, to wlu h three others were fast, and all four went drifting out of the passage. The alarm was given to the party on shore, and it was a disheartening sight to behold the four boats drifting through the breakers, for everyone knew that witlumt tuem our voj-ago would be fruitless. There were several Kanakas among the crew, who immediately saw the necessity of saving the boats; and selecting pieces of plank, to he used as "'surf- boards,' put off through the rollers to rescue them. Our carpenter was an expert swimmer ; and as soon as lie saw the boats drifting iiloiig the shore into the lireakcrs, he threw off his dollies, plung<>d into the surf, and had nearly reached them, when the anelitir, 2(52 MARINE MAMMALS OF THE NORTH-WESTER .f COAST. S which hiul bcoii dragging all tho while, brought up, and the •■urr.^'mt swept both 1 tho carpenter and Kanakas out of reach. They tlien made for the shore, which all i of tlio'u regained in an exhausted condition, excejj^t the cairpentt^r, who was n •er seen again. The officor-s present, with a p(M't'on of the cr<3ir. wt>ii»' so mue\\ dis- couraged that they gave up all liopes of re3|5i*.ining the boats, and tO'ponlj avowed that our anticipated successful voyage must be abandoned. Peimission was asked to go in search of the tender, which was engaged in sounding out the channel of the lagocm, th«tt those on board might be advised of tlio disaster and come to our relief, as we could not return to the brig for the want of a boat — the tender liaving tlie onl}' one left between the two vessels. Tlieir request was granted, ! while the rest of the crew remained with me at tlie site of the ill-fated wreck; they were immediately directed to take stations along the beadi, and watch for the carpenter's remains and for the re -appearance of the bo; '.■. It was near)/ low tide when the catastrophe occurred, and we had a faint ,i')j)e that the cliange of the flood would bring some of the boats, even in a wrecked condition, back or near to the pa^slge of tiu' lagoon. It was liut a short tinv aifter fhe hx/koiits were stationed, before a hawk-eyed youngster, who had climbed a ' ' rep^yftcd \ that a boat was in sight; vhen the preconcerted signal was givi.-u. and in a moment a dozen men, at tlie risk of their lives, grappled it in the sur-f. and dragged it far beyond high -water mark They had hardly accomplislied the feat, before another appeared, which, in a few moments, drifted within reach, and was soon placed beside the first one; a third appcanMi, was .seized, and (jiiickly trans- \ ported l)eyond the other two, with a .spontaneous (dieer from the men. for all now knew that our means of rescue, and for pursuing tho whales —which had already apjieared in large numbers — were restored to us. Toward evening, the party that went in search of tlie tender returned ; but it was late in the night b<'lV)re all the I ' men were embarked, when we returned to the brig, tired and dejected over the day's disasters, involving the loss of a favorite shipmate. 1 ji At an early hour on the following day, all humls tliat could l»o spared from ,\- • the vessel were busily employed in transporting tlie boats along tho beach to a , j place where they could be launched into the lagoon ; but it required throe days to , complete tho transportation of boats and fuel. Meanwhile, a vigilant search was made for tho body of tho carpenter; but no traces of it could bo found. As tho I ' last of th«' wood came alongside, a norther broke upon us in all it,s fury, and both vessels Htruck adrift, Iiut were brought up l)y their anchors. On tlie third day tho gale al)at('r with our present company, and no otliers could be obtained before the season would bo over. Among ilie ofReers there wore two wiio had been considered good 2G-1 MARINE 3IAMMALS OF THE NORTH-WESTERN COAST. sliots with the Vionib- lance gun, one of whom we personally know to be unequalod as a marksniun. There seemed to be but one way to successfully capture these spriuhtly animals, and that was by using tlic bomb -lance. The officers were called togethvi', and the matter plainly set before them ; the best marksmen were selected, and informed that if they could kill a whale withouL expending more than three luiuli- lances, our supply was ample to insure a "full ship." Tiiey were then directed to place tlieir boats on the side of the narrowest channel in the lagoon, near where tlie whales passed, but in shallow water, so that tliey could not possiltly roacli the boat, and there wait until one would come within gunshot. Tiie idea was a novel one, and to old whalemen it seemed impracticable. Tiiree 1 .)ats were at once dispatched — two j)repared for shooting, and the tliird as a relief l)oat in case of emergency. They took tlieir positions as ordered, and it was not long before tlu'ee wliales iiad been "bombed" — the third one was killed instantly and secured. On returning to tiie vessel, the officers reported their good luck ; and on the following day they were again dispatched, but with instructions to lirst board the tender, and take a look from her mast-head for the whales that had been Ijonibed the day previous, as we confidently e.-pected that either one, or both, would be found dead not far from where they were shot. It was a pleasant •surprise to tli,' cliief officer, wlien, on going iiaU'-way uj) the tender's rigging, both whales were seen lloating dead near the liead of the lagoon ; and no time was lost in securing then). From that time, whaling was prosecuted without serious interruption. When- ever a whale was wanted, one or two boats were sent off, and it was not long before the reports of the guns would be heard, wliich lieralded a capture, witiiout the staving of bo.its or injury to the men. The try-works were incessantly iscpt going — with liio exception of a day, now and tiien, when it became necessary to "cool down," in order to stow ; way the oil and clear the decks — until tiie last cask was filled. Nor did we stop then ; for one side of tiic after- cabin was turned into a bread-locker, and the empty bread-casks filled with oil; and the mincing- tubs were fitted with heads, and filled, as well as the coolers and deck- ])ots ; and. last of all. the try-pots were cooled, and filled as full of oil as it was tiiouglit (iiey could hold without .slopping over in a rough sea. Both vessels liaving lieen literally crammed with oil, a few days were spent ie. cleaning and washing ship, and getting ready for sea. Our supply of fresh wa'er was bccomiujj reduced ; but as it was only about fifty miles from thj lagoon to the watering- place on (,'erroH Island, and having in former voyages obtained fresh w.iter at Magdalena Day, l)y digging wells in the sand- beaches, a few yarda from high-water TEE AMERICAN WHALE-FISHERY. 2G5 mark, wc gave our.^olvcs little anxiety about the needed supply, should wo be unavoidably detained in the lagoon. All being in readiness, we took advantage of a light morning air to work down toward "the bar; but the fresh sea-breeze soon after setting in, compelled us to anchor ; and a tedious week was passed Ix fore we reached the sandy heads of the estuary. The change of the moon brouglit with it adverse gales from the norlh-west, and an accompanying heavy sea, which broke "feather -white" seaward, as far as the eye could discern from the mast-head, precluded all attempts, daring such weather, to pass the bar and work tlie vessels across the open bay of San Sel)astian Yiscaino, to Cerros Island. Day after day we anxiously waiched for a favorable change ; but two weeks passed away before the wind nu)derated. ^fcan- while, our supply of water had become so reduced, as to compel us to put all hands' on an allowance of one pint a day. As soon as the gale had settled into a strong breeze, we at once made every eflbrt to get to sea, even un lor shortened sail. The brig and tender, having laid at amdior for nu.nths, became very l\)ul, and for this reason made their way at a snail's pace through the lireakers that still surrounded us, and while the vessels were passing over the sIuiUonv water, their keels stirred the sandy bottom, so that their wakes were whitened for a long distance astern. U last we passed the bar, and felt that we were once more at sea, or. at least, clear of the shoals, which presented a forbidding barrier to the ingress or egress of those inland waters; but, as niglit appr..a.'hed, the wind again increased to a gale, and a heavy, breaking sea continually washed over the vessels, from stem to talVrail. Early the following mnrning. we were well up to the watering-place at Cerro- but nearly the whole day was spent before we gained the andioragc, and we lad barely time to make all snug bef..rc the gale burst upon us with increased fury, and conlinued for two days. As soon as it abated, a boat was dispatched for an immediate supply of water. Here we renvained for several days, employed in recleaning ship and in oldaining wood and water, after which wo sot sail for Sau Francisco, where we arrived in due time, with the vessel so deeply laden that h.>r scuppers were washed by the rippling tide. Thus ended a voyage which in no small d -gree was a novel one. LAr;oox-wiiAUNa incidents. The following season found us again in the lagoon, with a little scp.adron of vessels, consisting .-f one bark an.l two small schooners. Althougli this newly discovered whaling-ground was dillicult of approach, and but very little known Maiiini: Mammals- 31. -2M MARINE MAMMALS OF THE XORTII-WESTEllN COAST. abroad — and ospocl.illy tlic channel which led to it — yet, soon after onr arrival, a large fleet of ships hovered for weeks ofr the entrance, ov along the adjacent coast, and six of tiie n'iiiil)er succeeded in finding their way in. The whole force pursuing tlie whales that season nuniljcred nine vessels, whicli lowered thirty boats. Of (his nuuil)er, a; least twenty-five were daily engaged in whaling. Tlie different branches of the lagoon where the whales congregated were known as the "Fish- pond," "Cooper's Lagoon," "Fort Lagoon," and the "^hiin Lagoon." Tlio chief place of resort, however, was at the he id- waters of the ,Maiii Lagoon, which may be compared to an cs/cro, two or tlireo miles in extent, and nearly surrounded b}'- dunes, or sand -flats, which were exposed at neap tides. Here tlie ol)jects of pur- suit were found in large numbers, and here Oie scene of slangliter was exceedingly liictiuesque and unusually exciting, especially (.n a calm morning, when the mirage wo'-ld transfiu-m not onl)' the boats and their crews into fantastic imagery, but the whales, as they sent forth their towering spouts of aqueous vapor, frequently tinted with blood, would appear greatly distorted. At one time, tiie upper sections of the boats, with their crev,-s, would be seen gliding over tlie nndten-looking surface of the walcr, witii a portion of the colossal form of the whale apjiearing for an instant, like a specire, in tlie advance; or lioth boats and whales would assume ever-changing forms, while the report of the bomb-guns would sound like the sudden discharge of musketiy ; but one can not fully realize, unless he be an eye- witness, the intense and boisterous excitement of the reckless pursuit, by a large li'ct (if lioats from different ships, engaged in a morning's whaling foray. Xumbers of thrin will l)e fast to whales at the same time, and (lie stricken animals, in their ell'di'ts to escape, can be seen darting in eviM'v direction through the water, or lircacliiiig headlong clear of its surface, ccuning down with a splash that sends columns of foam in eviM'y direction, and with a rattling report tlau can l)e heard beyond the surrounding shores. The men in the boats shout ami yell, or con- verse in vehement strains, using a variety of liie^'o, from the Portuguese of the Western Fslands to the Kanaka of Oceauica. in fact, the whole spectacle is lieyoiid descrip(i crews that .serious di~ast .'s were a\-oide(l. Sometimes a line was cut, or let go, and again recovered, or the whale e-caped with the harpimn. Our teinlers being anchored at Iho sceiM' of action, nll'orded an oxcelleul, opiiortiiiiity to observe, from their mast- heads, all that was trans[iiring. One dull, quiet morning, with a light fog-cloud *«L — -*,-*.^«.,*p. THE AMERICAN WHALE -FISHERY. 2G7 above us, tlio voices of tlie men in tlic pursuing flotilla could bo distinctly heard lor mi'es distiuit. At least hveuty boats were quickly changing their positions, as tlie 'Mast"' (ish might take them; or perhaps some unlucky craft would suddenly stop, and the next moment, boat, oars, whaling impleiuonts, and men, would be seen flying through the air, or scattered upon the water around some Devil-fish, which, in whaling parlance, was ''the devil among cedar." The boats oi" two differ- ent ships, which were fiist to whales, passed quite near us ; and while the officers of each party had no relish for keeping close company, the two whules exhibited no disposition to separate ; and as the group swiftly approached, we heard loud voices ana saw violent gesticulations. Very soon we distinctly heard a burly fellow, who stood at least six feet in his stockings, bare-headed, with his long locks streaming behind, shouting to his opponent: "That won't do! that won't do! cut your line ! I struck my whale first ! Cut that line, or you'll be into us ! Cut that line, or 111 put a bomb through you!" But the officer of the opposing boat very coolly replied: "Shoot, and be d d, you old lime-juicer! 1 won't let go this line till we git 'tother side of Jordan!" Then, turning to his crew, he said: "Haul line, boys! haul ahead! and I'll give old Rip -sack a dose he can't git to the 'pothecaiy's ! Haul ahead, and I'll tap his claret-bottle!" By this time the two whales had separated, and the boats were beyond hearing; but both whales were seen spouting blood, and soon after pyramids of foam showed that they were in their "(lurry." The whale being dead, and floating, the grapnel is brought into requisition, and the animal's head is hooked and hauled up, when holes are cut through the lips, and a short warp is rove through, by which means its mouth is closed, and the tow-rope is made fast; then the prize is taken in tow to the vessel. Usually the whales are killed during the morning hours, or in the fore part of the day; and before noon, trains of boats would be seen towing them, with sails spreail to a h'ading bree/.e, or they wended their way slowly down the lagoon by the long, steady striikes of oars, and not unfrequently a boat song, with a lively chorus, cheered the men at their laborious work. Sometimes a casualty prevented pome whaling -gang from making their capture after a liard chase, or "working upon" some cunning Devil-fish which baflled their skill to destroy; or, if the capture were made, it might be when the da)' was far advanced, or perhaps the shades of evening would compel them to "cut line," lherel)y giving up the chase, and returning to the ship with everyone jaded by a long and unsuccessful battle. Notwithstanding the danger in lagoon -whaling, we have known of the California Gray being killed during the darkest hours of nigh^ An instance of this kind 2G8 MARINE MAMMALS OF TUE XOItTU -WE STERN COAST. came to our notice. "When tlie wluile had been honihed rope:itc(lly, laneed, and spouted thin blood, its teiKK-il}' of life was truly surpiis^iuj;;. Long after dark, the crippled creature, with the pursuiuLi; boats (dini:;ing (o it by the lines and harpoons, was lieard coming toward tiie vessel, and, on closer a[)[)roach, we could .see the "white water."' a.s tjie animal writhed in its agony. Tiie boat-header, lance in liand, worked witli miglit and main, hupiiig at every dart to gi\'e it a fatal thrust. "Wo couhl hear the usual orders of -^'ull ahead!" 'Hold tiie boat!" "Stern all!" '"Lay the boat oil'!'' etc.. ^\ilh new and tiieii the encouraging words to the crew tliat the whale was "spouting blood as thick as tar." "WIkmi the party jtassed their shiii. the captain hailed them, and advised the oHicer in charge to cut liis line and give up tlie whale. He replied: "A^-e, aye, sir; I've killed the bloody (ii "k st'ven times, but lie won't turn up — lie's got more lives llian a, Kilkenny cat ; Imt I'll (piict him in less than live minutes — lie can't last much longer." And. a few moments after, the exhausted creature made its last gasping struggle, and "turned u[i." A wild cheer from the Imats' crews told that the fatal work was finished, and all returned to the shii», fatigued by the long combat, but in good s[iirits. for tiieir prize was secured. The use of the bomb-huu.'e has greatly diminished tlie dangei' of capturing the ('alifornia (ira}' ; and it has been meiiticuu'd, in preceding pages of tliis work, that this whaling was first prosecuted in the Iniy ami lagoons of Magdalena, in the year 18-lii. In the winter of 1818. lil'ty shi[)s ancliori'il there to pass the "bL'tweeu seasons" in bay-whaling, whirh began \\ith llattering iiros[)ects ; but it was a new w!iale-grou"d, in shallow water, and the animal a strange one to the fishers, whose actions. wIhmi pursued, they knew nothing ahout ; hence, there was hardly a ship that did not have one or more of her boats sta\"ed wliene\'er they made an attack. An'ain. altlioU'.z'h the ba\- and h.Li'oons wi^'re of great extent, and the whales nlenti- fill, the licet was large, and it was a time when all the ships "broke out and cooiHM'ed their oil. " I'lvcry slii|i's cooper and his gang Wi.'Y<} tiiisily at work with their heavy hammers. dri\iiig the lioojis on the casks, uiid the whole combined produced a deafening noise upon the water, whiidi eehocd from dill' to crag along the mounlain island of Margarita. Tliis. with the chase and ca[itiire of the animals, the sta\'iiig of boats, m.d the smoke ami bia/.e from try-works by night, soon drove the whales to the outsidi' shores. The ardent hopi.'s of the most san- guine were siully dampened. A parley was Iicld b\- the captains, and the matter was fully discussed, what course to take in order to seiatrc a good season's catch, liiilcs and regulations were drawn up and agreed to by all that decided (o remain and try their luck through the season ; bul many ships, after the lirst few days' THE A ME It WAX WHALE- FISHERY. 2G9 whaling, left to cruise in the open soa for Sponn Whales, until the northern season yAw\\\A come round again. Disappointed in tlieir new whaling enterprise, they usually left with many maledictions on Margarita Bay (as it was usually called), and on the whales especially, which had already boen given a nudtitudo of signili- cant names. After suspending whaling ft)r a few days, and a number of siiips leaving meanwhile, the whales again returned to their favorite haunt, and, the whalemen so(ui learning how to "work around them," the ships that reurained generally made a fair season's catch. The dangers incident to whaling in ^[agdalena Bay and lagoons gave rise to many a marvelous tale, some of which were literally true, while others, though anmsing, partook strongly of that flavor which sailors term '•lishy." After the first few years of '"gray "-whaling, the pursuit came to l)e regarded as somewhat impracticiil»k>; and the oil obtained being of an inferior (jualily, witlioul tiie accompanying yield of bone, as in the Bight Whale and P.owhead, this branch of the fisliery was for a time nearly al)andoned. A few ships, however, passed a portion of the winter months in pursuing the Devil-lisli of Magdalena ; and one captain in particular made periodical visits to a favorite estuary, where the animals were found in great abundance, aiul were captured with less than the usual dllh- culty ; but a season never passed without casualties occurring — souutimes serious ones. This indefitigable master (whom we will call Captain L.), .'n order to play a little game of blulV with his boon compani(ms, would, on his return to the Sandwich Islands to recruit ship for the north, ])ring with him erne of his boats which had been staved beyond repair, that those interested might luivo convincing proof of the terrors of "ripsack- whaling." Added to this, his spicy yarns when dilating upon the dangerous chase, created in those unac(iuainted an aversion to engage in so precarious a pursuit. At length, however, the norliiern whales becoming scattered and dillicult to capture, caused some of the most enterprising capi.r.u. lo t.y their hand with the (irays. At the time wo are writing alx.nt, a largv (leet had concentrated at Honolulu, after tlie accustomed sununer cruise to th(> north; and at tiiese periodical gatherings, the whalers, from the steerage-boy to the captain, enjoyed a season of rela.xatiou from the restraint of strict disci- pline, as well as from th(- duties cm board ship, and a good deal of familiarity was tolerated on shore during thrir brief stay, wliich at sea would liave been promptly suiipressed. I'^-eryone seemed to follow his own inclinations in seeking pleasure wherever, or in whatever way, it i-onld be found. And one of Captain L.'s felicitous amusements was in dilating upon the terrors of "devil -fishing" (he faniil- iavly termed it) "over to Margarita." At one time, when in the midst uf a 270 MAUJXK MAMMALS OF THE NORTII-lVESrEUX COAST. riiniiiu.'o, Olio of his brother cMptains ironically ri'iiiixrk('(l Unit, as ho "lolil tlio truth so oftcMi. ho hardly kuew wIk'ii to believe him." "You don't, eh?" retorted Captain L. ; "well, unu have a heap of good manners, F think, to interrupt a gentleman when he's taJking? Now, look here, old Doubtful, I'll tell you what happened to nic in my own boat, up in the 'mud -hole,' season afore last. W(^ was ehasing a cow and calf, and 1 charged my boat-steeror to be careful ami not touch t!ie 3'oung sucker, for if he did, the old whale would knoedc us into chop- sticks; but no sooner said than done — ,slam went two irons into the critter, chock to the hitches, and that calf was 'pow-nnicky' in less than no time; and tin,' boat-stecrer sung out: 'Cap'n, I've killed the calf, and the old cow is after us.' Well, just about this time, I sung out to the men to pull for the shore as they loved their lives; and when that boat struck the beach, wo scattered. I'll admit 1 never stopped to look round; but the boat-stecrer yelled out: 'Cap'n, the old whale is after us still.' when I told all hands to climb trees!" This graphic picture of "ripsacking ' was received with a shout of laughter l)y the knot of listeners who had circled about the loquacious captain, and all admitted that ho was th(! king of skippers in Devil-fish lore. ]3ut with all the warnings and direful tales, ^fagdalona Day whaling was resumed with ardor about the j-ears 1855 and 185G, and was continued and extended along the whole coast of both I'ppcr and Lower California. Every navigable lagoon of the region was discovered and explored, and the animals wero hunted in every winding and intricate estuary which wore their resorting or breed- ing places. In the seasons of 1858 and 1859, not only the bays and lagoons wero 'icoming with all the varied incidents of the fishery, but the outside coast was r.ned with ships, from San Diego southward to Cape St. Lucas. A few vessels of this fleet cruised near the .shore by day, standing a little way off at night; but by far the largest number anchored about the islands, points, and capes, wherever the animals could bo most successfully pursued. It was a novel sight to view a single ship, or a small squadron, anchored olT some exposed headland or island, rolling and surging at their cables in the ugly ground -swell, and the fleet of boats lying along the lino of kelp just without the surf- bound .shore, or. with their sails spread to the breeze, skimming over the waves in the various directions the gigantic game led them. At such times, a feature was observed in this fishery which is not often witnessed, namely : the peculiiu" marks or devices pictured upon the .sails of the boats belonging to the different vessels. Some had a largo cross covering the mainsail, while others would have the whole sail of blue, with a white jib or gafl- topsail. On another boat's canras would bo figured one, two, or three balls; or THE AMEItlCAK WIIALK-FlSIIEltY. 271 stars, or crescents ; or a largo letter or number designated the ship to which they belonged. The diversity of colors, and the dilTerent tastes displayed in painting the boats, added another pleasing I'eature : some were pure while, others black, still othei s oi' ii lead cohn' ; or iancifully striped with Iri-colors, or with the bow red, blue, or green, while the rest of the craft would be of a contrasting shade. Sonielinies a huge eye on either side of the stem, or a large circle, would be the designating mark ; all these combined making up an extended group of dashing water -cnU't, especially pei'taining to the California coast and fishery. As the success of a whaling -voyage depends chielly (when whales arc plenti- ful) upon the odic^ers being good whalemen, there is frequently more or less con- tention among ca[)tains and agents to obtain those of unquestionable skill ; so that the "crack" men of the harpoon and lance have often dictated their own terms as to their lay and bonus ; and in former years the advance wages and extra pay received by ofllcers of great reputation as right- whalemen and devil -fishermen, might be considered enormous. Hut it was not always that these ''bonus men' proved to bo e([ual to the reputation which they perhaps had olitained either by accident or purely good fortune. Ill luck sometimes robbed a good whaleman of his prestige, and many a game man for a Right Whale of the Xorth- western Coast found himself quite luiequal to the task of '•turning up"' a California Gray. Wc recollect an instance which occurred on board a New London ship, where the mate returned on board after a hard chase and combat with an old cow and her calf in one of the shallow estuaries. As this officer approached his captain, to give an account of his mishaps, he became greatly excited; but at last he said: "I didn't know, sir, that the whale was within fifty fathoms of me, when up Ave went — and there ain't enough left of the boat to kindle the cook's fire." On another occasion, a famous Xew ]3edford captain ilew into a fit of passion at his "Ijonus mate," for coming ou board with a staved boat, instead of bringing alongside a dead whale. Words ran high with the "old man;" but his chief officer seemed to take things philosophically, lie remained siloiii. until his commander had vented his spleen, when ho replied as follows: "Look a- here, Cap'n Simmons, I don't ask no odds of any living man that can pull an oar or dart an iron. I can catch as many whales as the next one, ef ye'll give me a fair show. I don't say as I cud do any nior'^ , but uid'nt I bring as many whales to the ship, down to the Rosemerry Lslai ds, i- all the rest of your boat-headers that was counted as beiu' great on a lluni;>ij;ick ( And what kind uv whales did they git, anyhow? — calves, and old cows i'l.il had been sucked down till they was too poor to skin — why, the blubber ou 'em wouldn't make coal-tar ef you biled it a week; ard the most of © o o I % ..■».-. IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-S) 1.0 I.I 1.25 UilM 125 ■ 50 ■^™ ■■■ •Uteb m 1.4 1.6 % yj Hiotographic Sciences Corporation 23 WIST MAIN iYim.r WnSTIil.N.V. M5«0 (716) t73-4S03 v 4 •N5 \\ ;\ 0 7-) MAE IKE MAMMALS OF THE NORTH-WESTERN COAST. "the whales I had the luck to captivate was them old white -bellied fellers that had a fin on 'em like a seventy -four's breast-hook, and would turn up sixty barrels apiece, without skimmin'- slicks ; and didn't I catch my share of whales on the Nor'-west?" "Yes," replied the captain; "I had no fault to find until we came in here to Devil-fish it." "Yes, well," replied the mate; "I hain't no growlin' to do, only one thing: I shipped to this ship to go a-whalin'; I'd no idea of bein' required to go into a duck -pond to whale after spotted h3enas_ Why, Cap'n, these here critters in this bay ain't whales!" "Well, if they ain't whales, what are they?" asked the captain, in a husky voice. "Well," replied the mate, "I don't know rightly what they be; but I hev a strong notion they are a cross 'tween a sea-serpent and an alligator. Why, these Mussel -diggers will turn round in their tracks, Cap'n ; and it's no use — you can't git these here IJipsacks without a good deal of boat - staving ; but I'll bring my whale, or split the cedar, else my name ain't Cooper." These incidents are only given as illustrative of whaling life in the lagoons of California ; yet, with all the hazard pertaining to the fishery, such extremely daring efforts have been put forth by many whaling- masters to capture the Cali- fornia Gray, that we will, in justice to them, further mention that, where ships were of too heavy draught to pass the bars of several of the lagoons, they anchored near the breakers at the conOuence of those inland waters, where they were exposed to the sweep of the wind and waves from seaward, remaining there the whole season, the boats passing and repassing the bars during fine weather, in order to reach the prey in their coverts, or were employed in attacking them around the shoals of the harbor's mouth, when the sea was comparatively smooth ; but even there an occasional breaker would roll up its foaming crest, when the "fast" fish would run through it, as if by instinct, to rid itself of its relentless enemies ; yet, in many cases, this endeavor to escape proved abortive, as the whalemen would "fleet aft" in their boats, in order to elevate their bows to meet the sea, when with one bound the danger was passed, without shipping much water, or what might be taken in was quickly bailed out, and, being then in the open sea, the work of capture would be renewed effectively. AGAIN TO TOE NORTH, AND HOME. It is time to leave the coast of California, as the bay -whaling season la over; and the ship having been thoroughly cleaned, and a supply of wood taken on board, with perhaps a recruit of green turtles for a sea- stock of fresh meat, the THE AMERICAN WHALE-FISHERY. 27S anchor is weighed, and her prow is turned once more to frozen seas. The temper- ate hititudes are passed, and she emerges into a region of gloom, where fog, mist, and storm follow in quick succession, varied at long intervals with clear weather, which reveals a nearly ice -fettered ocean on one hand, and a snow -clad mountain coast on the other. A treacherous channel may be open between the shore and the main body of the ice, but it is thickly beset with floes ; and among these the whale -ship threads her way along the Kamschatka shore, if bound to the Arctic, through Behring Sea and Strait, unless she is delayed by captures en route. At length, about mid -summer, having arrived at the icy barrier of the Arctic Ocean, the vessels cruise "ofi" and on," along its margins, in quest of the Bowhcad. Following the belt of open water, in their persistent search, ships sometimes pass far beyond Point Barrow ; but it is not long before the autumnal gales drive them from this haunt, when they again return to warmer latitudes, and a port of recruit is sought, where all hands arc refreshed ; when, if the ship is not full, perhaps a cruise is made in the southern hemisphere, upon the coast of New Zealand, or Australia, and the Indian Ocean, before being fairly on their homeward passage. Many a ship, which would have otherwise returned with a broken voyage, has been fdled by taking her last season on the New Zealand, or New Holland (as Australia was formerly called) ground. And, rs has been mentioned in that por- tion of this work devoted to the chronological history of the American whale-fish- ery, the New London and Sag Harbor whalemen were noted for pursuing their prey in stormy latitudes ; and when referring to the former, we havj frequently heard the remark made, "0, they arc under- water follows!" Some thirty years ago, an incident transpired which vividly portrays the perseverance with which the fishery was then prosecuted. A New London ship, and another from Sag Harbor, having been unfortunate in their efforts to obtain a full fare of oil and bono upon the North-western Coast, resorted, as a last effort, to the coast of Australia, where the two captains met during a "gam" off Geographo Bay. Tiiis place being an open roadstead, exposed to the heaviest prevailing gales of that region, was considered an unsafe anchorage ; but the two captains, with their officers, concluded if the ships could possibly ride them out, that during the intervals of moderate weatiier enough whales could be taken to fill both vessels. They all agreed that they had but little choice between going homo with empty ships, and dragging ashore in a gale of wind. Accordingly, by agroomont, both vessels anchored in tiie best positions, and, as a forlorn hope, began the battle — not only with the whales, but with the boisterous eltmonts of the Indian Seas. All the ground -tackle of both vessels was laid down to the best advantage ; and when a gale came on, heavy Mauinu Mammalh.— 9.V 274 MARINE MAMMALS OF Till:: NORTH-WESTERN COAST. tackles were hooked to tlie cublos, then led aft, and secured to the mainmast, to relio\e the strain that would otherwise come on the windlass. In this way a succession of severe blows were ridden out in safety ; and during the intervals of good we.' uher, whaling was carried on with such vigor, that, before the seusou was over, botli ships departed for home with full cargoes. Right -whaling in the Indian Ocean, and the taking of Sea Elephants upon the shores of Kerguelon's Land, was a special branch of the oil commerce, which, to a great extent, was prosecuted by the New Londoners, their main dependence being the catch of Sea Elephants ; consequently thei'e was but little attention paid to whaling while making the passage from home, and on their return, the vessels being full, precluded the usual routine of standing mast-heads, and the casual "lowering for whales." When outward bound, however, a spirited chase, attack, and capture, would sometimes be made upon a shoal of Cachalots, although the boats were in no wise well prepared. An episode of the kind occurred many years ago with a large ship on her way to Desolation. When off the island of St. Helena, a school of Sperm Whales was descried ; but none of the boats were properly fitted, and some had not a line coiled. Among the officers was one (a favorite, both among men and after -guard, as well as the owners at home) who was by his messmates familiarly dubbed "Jube." Jube was a fine t3'pe of a mariner — nuiscular (or, as Jack expressed it. "well put up"), ready for an adventure of any kind, made the best of everything, could hold on to a Right Whale when running to windward around the Crozets (and the ship under double-reefs), and counted it a laughable joke if all hands in the boats were drenched to the skin "afore ho could git the critter mnugor." At lliis time his boat had no line prepared ; but jumping below, ho seized a new coil, tumbled it into his boat, and, with a single harpoon and lance, lowered away with the other boats in quick pursuit. Tho whales were down; but when they came up, his boat had "the chance." "Pull ahead, my hearties!" ho shouted; "a fool for luck, and a poor man for babies!" and in a moment more they were fast. The whale sounded ; and away went the line, tearing and smoking through the "chocks," till it became kinked and tangled, when, in his efforts to clear it, he was taken overboard, and disappeared beneath the waves ; but a moment after the harpoon loosened from tho whale. Slowly tiie crew hauled in the fouled line, bemoaning the loss of their officer ; but aa they drew it in, they found him clinging to it, where it wound around his body, lie was quickly released, and laid in the boat for dead, when they hastened to the sliip, where the captain at once made every effort to restore him to life ; and, to the great joy of all, ho was soon resuscitated. He was well cared for, and, with a TUE AMERICAN WHALE - FISHERY. 275 little rest, was all right again. On awaking from a refreshing sleep, a chum, in his expressions of joy at his recovery, said: "Well, Jube, how did you like it down there?" "0!" replied he, "it is a lonesome road to travel. There are neither mile -stones nor guide -boards that I could see!" Such was the reckless hardihood and bearing of those men whose lives were passed upon the ocean, or about the forbidding shores of the Antarctic regions. In former days, when whaling was in its highest state of prosperity, much of the leisure time during tliose long voyages, and especially while on the homeward passage, was occupied in "scrimshawing," by those of a mechanical turn of mind, who manufactured useful or ftincy articles from whalebone, or rare woods obtained from the tropical coasts. Canes, swifts, knitting-needles, stamps, bodkins, etc., were made from the jaws or teeth of the Sperm Whule ; and the shells of the cocoa-nut were fashioned into unique drinking -cups. Sometimes a large plate of baleen would be finely polished, and the history of the prominent incidents of the voyage engraved upon it in hieroglyphical figures. A variety of articles were wrought out of wood, ivory, or shell, which were carefully put by for presents to relatives and friends at home. Many of these articles were fine specimens of workmanship. The smaller blocks, and the belaying- pins, of some of the first- class sperm whale -ships, were made of white whalebone; and sometimes the decks were, with infinite pains, inlaid with diamond -shaped pieces of ivory. Many of the junior officers and boat-steerers kept regular journals, similar to the ship's log-book, some of which were examples of good penmanship, giving a brief but clear account of what transpired on board every consecutive day during three or four years ; while others were embellished with sketches of ships spoken, headlands and islands sejn ; and whenever a whale was taken, his full figure was stamped on the margin of the page recording the event; or if a whale was struck, and lost, his head only was represented ; while for one that was chased, but not harpooned, the fiukes and a portion of the small were figured. But under the most propitious circumstances, the vast extent of ocean to be traversed rendered the homeward passage tedious ; for buffeting the gales off Cape Horn, running down the trades, and contending with the equatorial squalls, with a deluge of rain, made up the general weather record ; and when approaching ♦ho American coast in the Atlantic, one of those heavy blows which are often exper. cnc.J would sometimes drive them far off to sea again, after having seen the land they had left years before. At last, however, the welcome cry of "Land ho!" is again hoard from aloft ; and soon a trim craft, with a number in her sail, and the Union jack flying at the main, gives the cheering and welcome news that the pilot is on 276 MARINE MAMMALS OF THE NORTH-WESTERN COAST. the lookout. The ship is hove to, and he is soon alongside. He clamber.s up the vessel's side, vociferates his orders to trim sail, and assumes full command on board. All now becomes hurry and bustle, and a scene of joyful excitement ensues. If u full ship, the old iron cannon, which has been used as a signal -gun at night and in foggy weather on the whaling -grounds, is brought out to send forth a salute, at intervals, as the ship glides along the inland waters, until anchored in her destinol port, and the voyage of years' duration is completed. Then comes the greeting of friends on board, or a restless desire to meet them c.i shore, there to pass a time of rest and recreation before again launching upon the deep for another expedition involving peril and uncertainty. ^.-l ■■.^^.....laJ-j-i-.Jiiin APPENDIX I , ■■"-'■ ■** if CATALOGUE CETACEA OF THE NORTH PACIFIC OCEAN, OSTEOLOOIOAL NOTES, A5D DE8CBIPTI0HS OF SOME KEW lOEMSi TTTB SPECIAL BEFEBENCE TO THE FORMS DESCRIBED AND FIGURED IN THE FOREGOING MONOGRAPH OF PACIFIC CETACEA, BY CAPTAIN C. M. SCAMMON, U. S. R. M. By W. H. ball, Shithiohiaii Innmnioii. The object in the following Catalogue— besides bringing together condensed descriptions of the species of Cetaceans reported from the Pacific, and such of unicnown habitat as might have come from that ocean, with references to such figures and fuller descriptions as may be readily consulted by the student— has been especially to determine, as exactly as possible, the genera and species described by the author in the preceding pages of this work, in order that his figures and contributions to our knowledge of the habits and natural history of those animals may have their fullest value for the scientific student of the group in question. I have adopted in full the general groups eliminated by Professor Theodore Gill, of the Smithsonian Institution, in the Catalogue of the Families of Manmah published by the Institution ; a course warranted not less by the scientific stftnding of the author in question, than by the paucity of works of reference on this coast, and the confusion which has hitherto existed among the best naturalists in regard Mabimi I(ahiuu.-M. [ »| J :t : ;i 282 APPENDIX. to the classification of the Cetacoa. For convenience in reference T have also, for the most part, adopted the minor divisions used by Dr. J. E. Gray in his Supple- nwitanj Catalogue of Seals and Whahi in the Britush Museum, 1871; though many of them appear to have a more subordinate value than that ascribed to them by that eminent naturalist. In f noting his works, for greater brevity, I have simply referred to them by their dates, namely : the British Museum Catalogues of 1 850 and 1866 ; the Synopsis of Whales and Dolphins, 1808 (containing, with others, the plates of the Zoology of the Urebus and Terror, partialiy published in 1846); and the Sup- plementary Catalogue of 1871. I have to thank Captain C. M. Scammon for placing all the material and infor- mation in his possession at my disposal, for examination ; also. Professor S. F. Baird and Doctor Theodore Gill, of the Smithsonian Institution, for assistance ren- dered in many ways, without which I should hardly have been able to complete this Catalogue. I have also incorporated extremely brief notices of the material from which each species has been described, and the museum in which the specimens are pre- served; "S. I." referring to the National Museum, in charge of the Smithsonian Institution at Washington. I have also endeavored to refer to all the remains of Cetacea preserved in the collections on the west coast. Completeness is not claimed for thi*? list ; in fiict, it can hardly hope to be attained for a considerable period, when the difficulties and expense connected with these researches are appreciated. Still, it is to be hoped that, in bringing together this material, something has been accomplished in rendering the path easier for subsequent students. The references to plates opposite the specific name adopted, are to the plates and figures in the preceding portion of this volume. CATALOGUE OF THE CETACEA. 288 Order CETE. Suborder Denticete. Superfamily DELPIIINOIDEA. Family Delphinid^. Subfamily DELPUiNAPTEmif.«. Genus Delphinapterus, Lac. Delphimptems, Lacopede, Lilijo org, Gill, 95. Beluga, Gray, 1871, p. 94. AucLorum. Delphinapterus oatodon. PI. xviii, fig. 1. liihifia, of Scammon, Proc. Phil. kca.C 18G9, p. 57. Beluga catodon, Grv, 18C6, p. 307, fig. 61; 1871, p. 94. Plnj^iier catodon, Linn., S. N. 107. Delphimts leucas, Gmfilin, S. N. 1232. Delphinapterus beluga, Lacepede, Get. 2-t3, 1804. Arctic Seas, Bering Sea, Ochotsk, Japan? Pure white. Twelve to sixteen feet long. Skulls in B. M. Three skulls from Norton Sound, Dall, Coll. S. I. Doctor Gray, having examined skulls collected by Captain Kellett, R. N., from Bering Strait, unites the beluga of the western seas with that of the north of Europe. The teeth in specimens (80 or 90 in number) examined by me, in Norton Sound, Bering Sea, varied from j to { } ; often being unequal in number on opposite bides. Genus Monodon, Linn. Monodon monoceros. Monodon monoceros, Linn. Faun. Suec. 2, IG; S. N. i, 105. Narwhal. Arctic Seas. Specimens are sometimes brought overiand, across eastern Siberia, by the natives, and sold to traders in the Ochotsk Sea. Subfamily DELpmym^, Gill, p. 95. Genus DelphinUS, Gray. Ddphinu9, Gray, 1871, p. 67. Delphinus Balrdil. PI. xix, fig. 1. D. Bairdii, Dal. Prel. Descr. Proc. Cal. Acad. Sci. v, Jan. 1873. Back posterior sides, fins and flukes, black. Anterior sides gray, with two narrow lateral white stripes. A white, lanceolate, belly-patch. TuU descriptions of the colors and measurements ^M 284 append: X. of two female specimens taken by Captain Scammon, o£f Point Arguello, California, will be found in his monograph. Length, sis feet and seven to nine inches. Dorsal falcate, immediately over the navel. Front of head prominently bulbous or convex beyond the even curve of the bock of the head ; a slight convexity below, behind the vent. Beak slender, elongated. The following are the dimensions of the cranium, in inches and decimals : Length of skull in straight line 18 .76 Internal length of brain cavity 4 .40 Length of beak anterior to maxillary notches 11 .90 Length from tip of beak to anterior margin of superior nares 13 .40 Length from tip of beak to posterior notch of palate in the median line 13 .90 Length from tip of beak to posterior tooth 10 .60 Height of skull at vertex 6 .00 Greatest breadth at zygomatic process of squamosals 6 .95 Breadth at supra-orbital ridge 6 .10 Breadth between maxillary notches 3 .40 Breadth at middle of beak 2 .00 Breadth of the two premaxillaries at middle of beak 0 .90 Width of condyles 3 .70 Closest approximation of condyles below the foramen 0 .90 Height u: foramen magnum 1 .40 Width of foramen magnum 1 .60 Entire length of ramus of lower jaw 15 .90 Tip to posterior edge of last tooth 9 . 80 Length of symphysis 2 .10 Height of ramus at coronoid process 2 .75 Width between outsides of articular surfaces (i .10 Width between posterior teeth 2 .10 Length from tip to anterior notch of dental foramen 11 .40 Length of largest teeth, sharply conical 0 .66 Greatest diameter of same 0 .13 Length from tip of beak to superior transverse ridge behind the frontals 15 .60 Teeth in the specimen before me, l^f by J^. The anterior six on each side above are barely indicated, and do not project above the gums ; the next four on each side, though projecting, are very small. Below, 47 teeth on each side are plainly visible, and there is room for four or five more between the most anterior tooth and the end of the sj'mphysis. The teeth are very sharply conical, rather wider transversely than in the direction of the ramus, and slightly incurved at the tips. The number in the other specimen is reported to have been |^ on each side. The principal features of the cranium, as compared with the other species of the genus Del' phimig as restricted by Gray (1871), are the great length of the beak as compared with the brain- case, and the remarkably deep channels in the maxillary bones on each side of the palatal ridge, which actually overlaps on each side to the extent of 0.2 of an inch. Six and a half inches behind the end of tlie beak, a groove commences in the median line of the palate, which widens anteriorly, exposing the premaxillaries near the end of the beak. Behind the point mentioned, the oalate rapidly rises as a narrow ridge (from 0.7 of an inch to one inch in width), evenly rou;.aed on the edges and slightly convex in the middle, contracting a little in width after passing the posterior end of the tooth line ; its edges overlapping the lateral channels, and its inferior face extending at its junction with the palatines to the distance of 1.2 inch below the superior arch of tho niaxillarics. A groove extends posteriorly between ihe palatines and pterygoids, ter- minating in a slight notch between the latter, which notch is a little posterior to the posterior termination of the narial septum. The pterygoid and tympanic bones are wanting in this specimen, CATALOGUE OF THE CETACEA. 285 with the exception of those portions of the former which form the deeply -notched lateral walls of the posterior nares, and which are continuous with the very broad lateral expansions of the basi- occipital. The occipital condyles are nearly an inch apart at their closest approximation below; the foramen magnum is large, rounded below, and angular, rather than notched, above. There is a sharp vertical lamina on the inner side of the supra -occipital, extending forward in the median line, nearly an inch from the inner surface of the supra -occipital, and terminating below about half an inch above the foramen in a small triangular tentorium, from which slight laterally extending ridges indicate the boundary of the cerebellar fossa. The superior aspect of the cranium presents no very distinctive features. Compared with Clymenia nxicrops. Gray, as figured in the Zoology of the Erebus and Terror, pi. 25 (also, in Synopgia of Whales and Dolphins, 4to., Gray, 1868, pi. 25), the following differences are noted: The pre- maxillse are narrower, more elevated above the maxillte ; the nasal triangle er.tends half an inch beyond the posterior end of the tooth line instead of falling about as far behind it, and is much more acute in front in D. Bairdii. The posterior angle of the supra -orbital process in D. Bairdii is much less prominent, when viewed from above, than in microps, and the extension of the max- illaries over the jugals is less elevated, being evenly rounded off at the sides and in front. The supra -occipital is pressed in above the condyles, and the superior portion of it is more roundly convex than in microps. The proportion of the beak to the brain -case is greater than in Clymenia stenorhynchus, Gray, and the beak is wider, both at the notches and anteriorly. The laterally channeled palate would in any case distinguish it from the species of Clymenia and Sleno, to which it bears a superficial resemblance. In the anterior third of the beak, the premaxillis evenly slope off toward the maxillee in the same plane, and are separated by the mesethmoid cartilage. Behind this, however, the premaxilltc are solidly united, and much more elevated above the maxillie, forming a ridge with nearly parallel and vertical sides, rounded off above, and attaining a maximum height above the maxillie of 0.43 of an inch. The nasal triangle is evenly excavated, divided by an open suture terminating in a notch above the narial septum. The mesethmoid plate is provided with a submedian ridge, and terminates above in three points. The nasals are knob -like and rounded transverse, forming the vertex of the skull. Cebvical Vertebrje. — These are coossified into three groups, as hereafter mentioned; but it is proliable that individuals vary in this respect to some extent. The first mass has a total diameter, from point to point of the transverse processes, of 5.35 inches ; and from the middle lower anterior edge of the atlas to the bifurcation of the spinous prtcess of 3.65 inches. The neural arch is 1.10 inch high and 1.53 inch wide; the extreme width across the condylar facets is 3.3 inches. The centrum of the third cervical is 1.3 inch wide by 1.0 inch high. The neural arch (incomplete at the top), 0.92 inch high by 1.0 inch wide; the extreme width from point to point of the vertebm is 1.66 inch. The fifth cervical has a total width between the points of the lower transverse processes of 1.57 inch. The height of the centrum is 1.1 inch; of the neural arch, 0.8 inch; the width of the centi-um is 1.15 inch; of the neural arch, 0.89 inch. The length of that part of the vertebral column composed of third, fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh cervicals is 1.2 inch, and that part composed of the atlas and axis, 1.0 inch more. The neural spine of the seventh cervical is 0.8 inch long, and the width from point to point of the transverse processes, 3.65 inches ; of the second thoracic, the bpine is 1.6 inch, and the width 3.55 inches. The first matiii consists of t)ie atlas and axis solidly coossified both by their spines and bodies, so that the only vestige of separation is an ovate and somewhat oblique opening between the pedicels of the urclies. The inferior portion of the atlas is much produced forward, giving an oblique appearance to the whole bone, which is of an approx'mately triangular shape. Its arch is transversely ovate, with a broad triangular space between Jxe condylar facets. The first spinal nerve enters by a shallow groove over the latter. The transverse proceises appertaining to the atlas are rather lung and obliquely flattened above and below, with a slight knob, indicating a superior transverse process, just above thorn. These two processes are separated by a narrow groove from <.wo nodular projections which indicate the corresponding parts in the axis. A slight ridge txists on the inferior surface of '.he centrum. The neural spine is very broad, stout, and 286 APPENDIX. moderately long; it tapers from before backward, and has a stout, blunt, bifid, posterior termina- tion. The anterior face is broadly triangular, the base of the triangle (forming the superior portion of the neural arch ) being straight. The spine is concave below and grooved throughout its extent ; the triangular portion of it overshadowing the arches of the third and fourth vertebrsB. The pedicels of the axis are very slender. The centra of the third and fourth vertebne are coossified, but not the arches. The summit of the arch in the third is incomplete in this specimen, and the pedicels in this and the succeeding cervicals are slender and compressed. In the third and fourth, the superior transverse processes are only slightly indicated, and the inferior are absent; the centra are slightly pointed below and flattened above, though generally rotundate. The fifth and sixth cervicals are ankylosed by their centra and inferior transverse processes, and the sixth by its centrum to the seventh cervical, forming the third moss preriously mentioned. In the fifth and sixth, short inferior transverse processes are developed, though the superior ones are insignificant. The centra are more squarely shaped than in the preceding. There are no spinous processes, but the superior portion of the arches is rather pointed. The planes of the zygapophyses are nearly horizontal, and the ar<'hp« are not coossified. The pedicels of the seventh cen'ical are much broader, and long recurved superior transverse and spinous processes are devel- oped, though the inferior transverse processes are barely indicated. Two rounded knobs, which are nearer the summit of the centrum than the processes of the preceding cervicals, serve as points of articulation for the head of the first rib. In the first thoracic, this tubercle appeal's lo be missing, though it re -appears on the second. Both the first and second thoracic have strong, stout, superior tranRverse processes, with large and prominent facets for the tubercular articulations of the ribs. The vertebra rapidly increase in size and the spinous processes in length, and the centra assume a more rounded outline. ■^ ■■o specimens of this species were obtained October 29th, 1872, by Captain C. M. Scammon. The entire skeleton of one specimen, and the skull and cervical vertebroe of the other, above described, were presen-ed. The former is now in the Mus. S. I. Of the species included under the genus DrIphinuK, as restricted by Gray {Siipl. Cat. 1871, pp. 68-!)), D. hnyirostris is entirely black, of different proportions, with the posterior part of the palate keeled instead of gi'ooved, and the triangle extending only to the tooth line instead of beyond it. (Reported from Japan.) D. major has the grooves on each side of the palate, "veiy wide and rather shallow, scarcely extend- ing behind the hinder half of the beak." (Habitat unknown.) D. Fornteri is differently colored and proportioned. (Norfolk Island.) £>. obliquidfiia, Gill, belongs to another genus. The remain- der are all Atlantic species. Of other species of unknown or Pacific habitats, which have been described from drawings, or of which the skull is unknown, and to some of which this species might be suspected to belong, D. Niivai ZflamUai is differently colored (though the distribution of the color is somewhat similar), and has a short beak; the pectorals are white and the flukes slate color; 1). obxcunm, Gray, to which Peale's Phocasua augtraUn and D'Orbigny's D. bivUlatuH have been refeiTcd by Cassin and Gray, belongs to on entirely different group. None of Peale's other species resemble this one ot all, ond ofter long and careful consideration, I am forced to the conclusion that the species is uuilescribed ; and it is with great pleasure that I have followed the request of Captain Hcammon, and dedicated it to Professor S. F. Baird, of the Smithsonian Institution, to wLose never-tiring courtesy and unfailing liberality nearly every American naturalist is more or less indebted. Delphlnus longirostrls. V. lougiroHlris, Gray, 18GG, p. 241; 1868, p. 5; 1871, p. C8. Schlegel, F. Jap., pi. 24. Japan ? Eighty-one inches long. Block, with large high dorsal. Skull, 22 inches; beak, 13j inches; teeth, J J. Stuffed specimen. Cope of Good Hope; B. M. Skull, Molobar; Mus. Paris. Drawing, Japan ; Sclilogel. CATALOGUE Ot THE CETACEA. 287 Delphlnus mi^or. D. major, Gray, 1866, p. 397; 1868, p. 5; 1871, p. 68. Habitat? Skull, 21 inches; beak, 12J inches; width at notch, ^ inches. Teeth, |4> ^^^ ^^ ^^ '°^^' Palate grooves very wide and rather shallow. Skull only, B. M. Gen as Clymenia, Gray. Clynienia, Gray, 1868, p. 6 ; 1871, p. 69. Clymene, Gray, 1866, p. 249. Type B. clymene, Gray, 1866, p. 249. Cljrnienla alope. C. alope, Gray, 1866, p. 252; 1868, p. 6, pi. 32; 1871, p. 70. Cape Horn. Cranium, 16J inches; beak, lOf inches; width at notch, 3J inches. Teeth, Jf. Skull only, MuB. Warwick. Clymenia stenorhynohus. Delphinua stenorhynchua. Gray, 1866, pp. 240, 396. C. slenorhynchug, Gray, 1868, p. 6; 1871, p. 69. Habitat? Cranium, 18 inches ; beak, 12 inches ; width at notch, 3 inches. Teeth, f|. Like C. micropa, but larger, with proportionally longer beak. Skull only, B. M. Clymenia dorides. Tursio dorcidea, Gray, 1866, p. 400. (7. dorideg. Gray, 1868, p. 6; 1871, p. 71. Habitat ? Skull thick and hea%'y; beak once and one-third the length of the brain-case; twice and one- third the width at the notch. Palate flat. Teeth, f|, slender, five in an inch. Skull only, B. M. Clymenia obsoura. Delphinua FUzroyi, Waterhouse. D. biviitalus, D'Orbigny. Phocwua auslralig, Peale, Zool. U. S. Ex. Exp., pi. 6, fig, 2, 1848. Tursio obscurua. Gray, 1866, pp. 264, 400. C. obsciira. Gray, 1868, p. 6, pi. 16; 1871, p. 71, fig. 3. Cape of Good Hope, South Pacific. Black, with oblique diverging streaks at the sides; beneath, whitish. Length, 15 feet. Skull, 14 inches. Teetl, f^ to |f Full material, B. M. Clymenia sesthenops. , Delphinua wsthenopa. Cope, Proo. Phil. Acad. 1865, p. 201. C. (Bsllienoiis, Gray, 1871, p. 72. Habitat? Cranium, 15 inches; beak, 9 inches; width at notch, 3.3 inches. Teeth, ||, to |J. Skull only, Mas. Peabody Academy of Science, Salem, Mass. 288 APPENDIX. Clymenia orotaphisoa. Delpkinus crotaphiscus. Cope, 1. c, 1865, p. 203. C. crotaphigcus. Gray, 1871, p. 72. Habitat? Cranium, 16 inches; heak, 10 inches, flat; width at notch, 3J inches. Teeth, jj. Temporal fossa small; a keel in front of superior nares. Skull only, Mus. Peabody Academy. Clsrmeiila longldens. Delphinm longidenx. Cope, Proo. Phil. Acad. 1866, p. 295. Habitat? Teeth, |^. Skull, 15.25 inches. Beak, to maxillary notches, 8.25 inches. Breadth at notch, 3.55 inches. Skull only, S. I. Professor Cope, in criticising Doctor Gray's arrangement, suggests that Sleno, Delphinus, Lageno- rhynchus, and Tursio can form but one genus if further characters can not be brought forward. While this criticism might be somewhat justified by the confused arrangement of the Catalogue of 1866, yet it would seem as if that of 1871 to some extent remedied the difficulty, and that the groups there indicated are natural ones, and recognizable, though perhaps some of them are of less value than supposed by Doctor Gray. In this new light Professor Cope's view would hardly seem tenable. Clymenia plagiodon. Delphinus (Tursio) plagiodon, Cope, 1, c, p. 296. Habitat? Skull, 17 inches. Beak to notch, 9.8 inches. Width at notch, 3.55 inches. Greatest width of skull, 7.25 inches. Teeth, ||. Triangle advancing a little before the last tooth. Besembles Gray's figure of C. doris. Skull only, S. I. Genus Tursiops, Gorvais. Ihrsiopis, Gervnis, Mammif., p. 323. Tursio, Gray, 1866, p. 254. Type B. tursio, Linn. TursiopB Oillli. Outline, p. 102. T. Oillii, Dall, Prel. Descr. Proc. Cal. Acad, v, January, 1873. Coujfish, Scammon, Proc. Phil. Acad. 1869, p. 45. Monterey, California. Dull black, lighter on the belly. Dorsal low, falcate. Teeth, |J to J|? A lower jnw of the present species, which is the only portion of the animal yet collected by Captain Scammon, has twenty-two teeth on each side. The rami are solid and strong, especially their anterior halves. The symphysis is short, extending backward as far as the fifth tooth. The gonys is more produced downward than in any of the species figured by Gray, ond is evenly rounded upward in front. The ramus has the least height a)>out the middle of the tooth line, which rises before and behind. The anterior six teeth are smaller than the others, and much more incurved. The teeth are solid and conical, with the tips attenuated and sharply pointed, which accounts for the ease with which they may become truncated. The outer margins of the alveoli are remarkably rough, being produced in arborescent points resembling the septa of some ammon- ites. The gonys is somewhat iieoled. The condyles are broad, of a rounded triangular shape, CATALOGUE OF THE CETACEA. 289 with the inner edges obliquely inclined to the vertical plane of the ramus. The measurements, in inches and decimals, are as follow : Length from end of beak to condyles 16 .80 Length from end of beak to end of coronoid process 15 .80 Length from end of beak to end of tooth line 9 .30 Length from end of beak to inner notch of dental foramen 11 .00 Length of symphysis 2 .00 Width between outer edges of condyles 9 .75 Width between inner comers of condyles 6 .50 Width between two posterior teeth 3 .50 Width between teeth at posterior end of symphysis 1 .40 Width between anterior teeth 0 .75 Height of ramus at coronoid process 4 .40 Height of ramus at posterior tooth 2 .25 Height of ramus at twelfth pair of teeth 1 ,50 Height of ramus at middle of symphysis 1 .70 Thickness of ramus at twelfth pair of teeth 0 .85 Height of largest tooth above alveolus 0 .80 Height of smallest tooth above alveolus 0 .42 Transverse diameter of larger teeth 0 .38 Diameter in the plane of the ramus 0 .33 The angle at which the rami meet behind the symphysis is quite acute. The anterior end of the symphysis from above appears bluntly rounded, and has a narrow median groove. This species does not appear to have been described, and though the material at hand is unfortunately very slender, I have applied to it the name of Tutsiops Gillii. The specimen was obtained at Monterey, California, in 1871. The hardly-worn appearance of the teeth suggests that it was a young animal, though the bones are thoroughly solidified. The only other species which may be found in the books, from the Pacific or its vicinity, is the T. catalania, Gray, N. W. Australia, and it is described as being lead -colored. Genus Oephalorhynchus, F. Cuvicr. Cephahrhynchus, F. Cuvier, Cetac, p. 158. Futropia, Gray, P. Z. S. 18G2, p. 145; 1866, p. 262; 1871, p. 75, JephalorhynohuB Eutropia. Belphinus Eutropia, Gray, P. Z. S. 1849, p. 1. Eutropia Dickiei, Gray, P. Z. S. 1866, p, 215; 1868, p. 7, pi. 34; 1871, p. 75. Turaio Eutropia, Gray, 1866, p. 262. Coast of Chile, South Pacific Ocean. Skull, 15 inches; beak, 8 inches; width at notch, 3.5 inches. Sides of skull bent down i behind the notch. Teeth, |J, five or six in an inch. Skull only. Coll, Dickie. | Some one of the species described from drawings, and of which the skull is unknown, may be ' identical with this. llAam liAiniAU.-M. 290 APPENDIX. Genus IiageXLOrhynchUS, Gray. Lagenorhynchns, Gray, Ztol. E. and T., 1846, p. 34; 1850, p. 97. Section Ekdra, Gray. Eleclra, Gray, 1866, p. 268; 1871, p. 76. Lagenorhynohus eleotra. L. electro. Gray (1846), 1866, p. 268. Eleotra obtusa, Gray, 1868, p. 7, pi. 13 ; 1871, p. 76. Habitat? Skull, 17.5 inches; beak, 9.76 inches; width at notch, 5.5 inches. Teeth, }^, four in an inch. Skull only, B. M. Lagenorhynohus aaia. L. asm, Gray, 1866, p. 269. Electra asia, Gray, 1868, p. 7, pi. 14; 1871, p. 76. Habitat? Skull, 16.75 inches; beak, 9 inches; width at notch, 4.75 inches. Teeth, f|. Skull only, B. M. Lagenorhynohus olanoulus. L. clanculus. Gray, 1866, p. 271. Electra clancula, Gray, 1868, p. 7, pi. 35; 1871, p. 77. South Pacific, New Zealand. Skull, 14.5 inches; beak, 7.25 inches; width at notch, 4.75 inches. Teeth, ||. Skeleton and skulls, B. M. Lagenorhynohus thioolea. L. thicolea. Gray, 1866, p. 271. Electra thicolea, Gray, 1868, p. 7, pi. 36; 1871, p. 77. West coast of North America. Skull, 14.5 inches; beak, 8.33 inches; width at notch, 3.9 inches. Teeth, f^? Skull only, B. M. Compare Clymenia crolaphisca, Cope. This is very likely to be one of the species described from drawings by Peale. Section Leucopkurus, Gray. Leucopleurua, Gray, P. Z. S. 1866, p. 216; 1868, p. 7; 1871, p. 78. Lagenorhynohus obllquidens. Plate xis, fig. 2. L. obliquidens. Gill, Proc. Phil. Acad. 1865, p. 177. Delphinm obliquidens. Cope, Proc. Phil. Acad. 1869, p. 21; Gray, 1871, p. 69. Striped or Common Porpoise of Scammon. California. Not the "Bottle-nosed Grampus" of Scammon, as supposed by Cope, loc. cit. I have been able to identify this species by means of photographs of Professor Gill's typical specimen, which were kindly sent me by Professor Baird. It diflTers, however, in some particulars, from those I have examined. The skull is a little larger oxA longer, the pterj'goids ore less pointed, tie temporal fossa smaller, and the edges of the triangle are higher and more extended CATALOGUE OF THE CETACEA. 291 laterally, than in the specimens which I have seen. The teeth are more numerous (|f ), f.nd the occipital condyles less rounded and prominent, but larger. It is quite possible that this sk.'.!l may be that of a male. Those which I have examined were both of females. I consider the difforences as at most no more than sexual, and probably only individual peculiarities; and I have no doubt whatever of the identity of Captain Scammon's species with that described by Professor Gill. It is evidently the most abundant species on the coast of California, and varies considerably in size with age. It is very close to L. leucopleurus of the Atlantic. The following are the measurements of two crania, in inches and decimals : No. 1. No. a. Length of skull in a straight line 16 .00 15 .50 Internal length of brain cavity . 5 .00 5 .00 Length of beak before the maxillary notches. 8 .00 8 .20 Tip of beak to anterior margin of superior nares 10 .25 10 .00 Tip of beak to posterior notch of palate 9 .75 ? Tip of beak to posterior tooth 7 .40 7 .75 Height of skull at vertex 6 .75 5 .50 Greatest breadth at zygomatic process of squamosals 8 .20 7 .50 Breadth at supra-orbital ridge 7 .20 6 .30 Breadth between maxillary notches 4 .60 4 .00 Breadth at middle of beak 3 .40 2 .80 Width of condyles 4 .00 3 .25 Closest approximation of condyles below the foramen magnum 0 .12 0 .18 Height of foramen magnum 1 .35 1 .30 Width of foramen magnum 1 .35 1 .50 Entire length of ramus of lower jaw 13 .00 12 .00? Tip to posterior edge of last tooth in lower jaw 7 .50 6 .75 Length of symphysis 1 .30 1 .00 Height of ramus at coronoid process 3 .00 2 .60 Height of ramus at four inches from tip of anterior end 1 .00 0 .95 Width between outsidcs of articular surfaces 7 .25 6 .40 Width between posterior teeth 3 .60 3 .50 Length from tip of beak to superior transverse ridge behind f rentals.. 13 .00 12 .00 Length from tip of ramus to anterior notch of inferior dental foramen, 9 .00 7 .75 Greatest width of premaxi'laries 3 .75 ? Width of premaxillaries at middle of beak 2 .10 1 .00 The surface of the beak in No. 1 is moderately and quite regularly arched from side to side, no grooves separating the maxilhe and premaxillue. The nasal triangle is nearly plane but elevated, and its surface rough ; behind, it gradually ascends ; before, it is gradually incurved, and is con- tinued as a narrow internal margin to the premaxillic, to the anterior fourth of the beak; its greatest width is less than half the width of the cranium. The mesethmoid groove is wide, and scarce!' contracted in the middle. The supra -occipital projects forward, nearly or quite touching the nasals. The temporal fossae project far backward. The teeth are {J in number, elongated and boldly curved, about four in an inch. The occiput is deeply impressed obove the condyles. The mesethmoid plate is sharply pointed above, and divided into three lobes behind the narial openings, by perpendicular sutures, which are evident for an inch and a half vertically. The mesethmoid -t evident for nearly an inch between the premaxillto in front of the superior nares. The pterygoids are obtusely keeled below, but not at the sides, and deeply roundly notched laterally. The palate is flat, constricted slightly at the palatines, and somewhat concave in the anterior half of the jaw. The periotics are wanting. A very peculiar feature of the cranium is the enormous development of the tentorium. The septum above it projects into the brain -case nearly two inches. From the base of this septum, half an 292 APPENDIX. inch above the foramen magnum, the broad arch of the tentoriunc, as lung in its axial diameter as the septum, extends on each side a little farther than the upper exterior angles of the condyles, thence giving out a triangular wing on each side, which, attenuating as it descends, reaches the floor of the brain cavity in advance of the opening between the alisphenoid and ex-occipital, and is ankylosed with the former. The cerebellar fossa is thus almost completely inclosed, communi- cating with the cerebral fossa only by an opening in the front of the arch but little larger than the foramen magnum, and by the narrow openings between the outer edges of the wings of the tentorium, bounded below by the alisphenoid, and laterally by the ex-occipital wall. The septum ceases abruptly in front, below the frontal and supra -occipital suture. ..\. ridge from the front of the tentorial wings is coossified with the orbito- sphenoid, above the sphenoidal fissure; the latter in this species being posterior to and distinct from the foramen rotundum, which opens into the cerebral "avity. In No. 2, the dimensions were constantly smaller, the skull belonging to a younger, though fully adult individual. The teeth were |J-,, the tip of the lower jaws being mutilated. The ten- torium presented the same features as in No. 1, and the skull o£fered no special peculiarities not common to the other. The scapula and cervical vertebrae of a third specimen, of which the entire skk^leton was preserved, oflfered the following peculiarities : The external face of the scapula is flattened, slightly excavated in the middle, and with a slight ridge behind. The prescapular fossa is inconspicuous, but has a width of three-quarters of an inch on the outer face of the scapula, above the acromion. The latter is «o shaped, notched above behind, with a projecting process below in front. The upper anterior corner is connected with the anterior angle of the prescapular fossa by a strong ligament; the anterior termination of the acromion is incurved, and externally convex. The cora- coid is triangular, with the distal edge thickened, anteriorly excavated, and knobbed at the corners. The external surface is concave. The glenoid cavity is sub-rotundate ; the post- scapular edge is evenly rounded in a sigmoid curve. Beyond the upper posterior corner a triangular mass of cartilage extends beyond the bone, an inch in its greatest width. The inner face of the scapula is flattened, with three or four narrow low ridges radiating from the glenoid border. The inner surface of the coracoid is convex, and of the acromion concave. The measurements are as follow, ia inches and decimals : Greatest length of scapula 9 .50 Greatest length of acromion 3 .00 Greatest length of coracoid 2 .25 Greatest diameter of glenoid cavity 1 .30 Glenoid cavity to anterior angle 6 .25 Glenoid cavity io superior border 6 .00 Glenoid cavity to posterior angle 6 .00 Glenoid cavity to anterior angle of acromion 4 .50 Glenoid cavity to anterior angle of coracoid 3 .00 Glenoid cavity to pr terior angle of coracoid 2 .00 The cervical vertebrm oflfer some differences from those of Detphinua Bairdii. The atlas and axis are r idly coossified by both body and spines ; the others are all free, though whether in aged individuals this condition continues, is a matter of ^oubt It is probable, from the generally abnormal condition of the cervical vertebrae in the Cetacea, that comparatively wide variations in the amount of ankylosis may obtain in different individuals of the same species, and also in the same individual at different ages. The bones in this individual are larger and stronger than in D. Bairdii, but the spinal canal is proportionately smaller. The canal of the first spinal nerve, which in D. Bairdii is a shallow groove behind the upper edge of the condylar facets, is here (by a slender process extending upward and backward from that edge, and coalescing with the anterior base of the spinous process) converted into a foramen. The spine is keeled and convex below, instead of excavated, and flat, with a very narrow median keel, above. The spine is broader, acd CATALOGUE OF THE CETACEA. 298" not distinctly bifurcated. TLe lower transverse processes in the axis, instead of being obsolete, as in D. Bairdii, are here produced into sharp points. A median triangular area on the lower surface of the centrum (wanting in D. Bairdii) is here very prominent, and continued backward by a strong, deep keel. In the posterior vertebrae, all except the third are provided with a more or less evident spinous process, while in D. Bairdii none except the seventh shows any spine. In the present species the cervicals behind the axis are more nearly equal in size than in the former, and the upper and lower transverse processes are more strongly developed. In the third, fourth, and fifth cervicals in the median line, below and in front of the base of the neural spine, projects a smoU triangular prolongation of the bone, connected with the axis in the Jiird, and with the preceding vertebrse in the fourth and fifth, by a small but unmistakable articular surface or facet. The pedicels of the neural canal are more arched laterally than in D. Bairdii, giving the passage a more flattened appearance than in that species. The following measurements will facilitate a comparison : Coossified otlas and axis, extreme width, 6.0 inches; from the middle of the lower anterior edge to the posterior point of the spine, 4.1 inches. Height of neural arch, 1.0 inch; widsa, 1.5 inch. Extreme width of condylar facets, 3.6 inches. Third vertebra : width of centrum, 1.58 inch ; of neural arch, 1.15 inch; height of centrum, 1.42 inch; of orch, 0.8 inch. Extreme width of vertebra between the points of the transvei-se processes, 2.25 inches. Lcmgth of tliat part of the vertebral column consisting of the five posterior cervicals, 1.6 inch. i>itla8 and axis, 1.35 inch more. The neural spine of the seventh cervical is 0.93 inch, and the extreme width between the points of the transverse processes is 3.75 inches. The spinous processes of the fourth, fifth, and sixth cervicals average about 0.3 inch in length. The head of the first rib articulates with the body of the seventh cervical, as in D. Bairdii. The animal is rather thick in proportion to its length; black above, with a strongly falcate dorsal. Below, white, to the edge of the patch passing froii the lower lip below the pectorals and terminating a short distance behind the vent. A broad gray smouch on each side above the line of the black color, and interrupted about the middle of the animal on each side; the edges of the gray are ill defined. The posterior edges of the pectorals and dorsal are also grayish. Length of animal, 7 feet and 3 inches ; breadth of flukes, 2 feet ; tip of snout to anterior edge of dorsal, 3 feet. Full descriptions of the colors and full measurements are given by Captain Scammon in the preceding monograph. A complete skeleton and the additional skull above described were obtained from two female specimens taken at Monterey, November 20th, 1872; besides which, one other skull is in Captain Scammon's possession, and one in the collection of the California Academy of Sciences. Ijagenorh3rnohus alblrostratus ? Delphinus albirostralus ? Peale, U. S. Ex. Exp. 1848; pi. 6, fig. 2. D. ceruleo-albus (Mayen) Cassin, 1. c, p. 31, pi. vi, fig. 2. Pocific Ocean, latitude 2° south, longitude 174° west. Peale. Blue gray, with small vermicular white spots. End of snout white ; dorsal nearest the head. Six feet and seven inches long; teeth, JJ,. No specimens; described from drawing (Peale). This species is referred by Cassin (as I think, erroneously) to V. ceruleo-albus, Mayen, a south Atlantic species; and to D. Chanmsonis, Wiegm., by Gray. Captain Marston, of the schooner Maggie Johiuslone, on a voyage from Tahiti to San Francisco, obtained a specimen of a porpoise which is not improbably the species described by Peale. He informed me that the animal was gray, ligliter below and darker above ; that some of the same "school" had whit« noses, but in others the snout was light gray. The dorsal is rather small. The specimen wos obtained in latitude 13° north. Tlie skull presents intermediate characters between several of Gray's sections, and agrees with none of the skulls described or figured in the works accessible to me. It is in the collection of the California Academy of Sciences. 294 APPENDIX. The following are its dimensions, in inches and decimals : Length of skull in straight line : 14 .00 Internal length of brain cavity 4 .25 Length of beak anterior to maxillary notches 8 .00 Length from tip of beak to anterior margin of superior nares G .30 Length from tip of beak to posterior notch of palate 9 .20 Length from tip of beak to posterior tooth 6 .75 Height of skull at vertex 5 .40 Greatest breadth at zygomatic process of squamosals 6 .50 Breadth at supra- orbital ricige 5 .50 Breadth between maxillary notches 3 .25 Breadth at middle of beak 1 .75 "VVidth of condyles 3 .20 Closest approximation of condyles below the foramen magnum 0 .22 Height of foramen magnum 1 .40 ■\Vidth of foramen magnum 1 .50 Entire length of ramus of lower jaw 11 .90 Tip to posterior edge of last tooth in lower jaw 7 .00 Length of symphysis 1 .50 Height of ramus at coronoid process 2 .20 Height of ramus 3.5 inches from tip of anterior end 0 .CO Width between outsides of articular surfaces 5 .20 Width between posterior teeth 1 .70 Length from tip of beak to superior transverse ridge behind frontals 11 .25 Length from tip to anterior notch of inferior dental foramen 7 .70 Greatest width of premaxillaries 2 .50 Width of premaxillaries at middle of beak 0 .90 Teeth, ^f, six in an inch, subcylindrical, conical, recurved at tip, sharply pointed. Coronoid process, slender, inconspicuous ; jaws thin and light. Anterior three teeth minute. Premaxillte sepai-ated widely by the mesethmoid cartilage, approximating more nearly ot the middle of the beak, hard, rather flat in front. Beak rather flat, evenly shelving at the sides. Nasal triangle passing an inch before the hinder tooth, rough anteriorly, subcariuate in the middle behind, on the left side not reaching the nasals. Maxillse sharply turned up before the notch, evenly rounded ofl" behind it. All the bones of the left side a little shorter behind, and the left nasal smaller and in advance of the right. Brain cavity larger on the left side. Septum and tentorium small and inconspicuous. Lateral keels of the pterj-goids flattened. Vomer extended back as far as the posterior edge of the zygomatic process of the squamosals. Posterior ridge of the temporal fossa obsolete. Mesethmoid appearing between the maxillee for Ij inch in the middle of the beak, and succeeded by the premaxillm, to the end of the beak. Palatines separated by a slight groove. Lateral notches of the pterj-goids, narrow, small. The portion of the basi - occipital gutter formed by the vomer and pterygoids, narrower than the inferior nares. Palate flattened above, imjiressed before the palatines, with a tendency toward lateral grooves at the outer edges. Skull evidently of a young animal. Genus? FerOSa, Gray. Fereaa, Gray, P. Z. S. 1870, p. 77; 1871, p. 78. Feresa intermedia. Feresa intermedia, Gray, 1871, p. 78. Orca intermedia. Gray, 1866, p. 283 ; 1868, p. 8, pi. 8. Habitat ? Skull resembling Orca, but only 14 inches long ; beak, 7 inches ; width at notch, 4J inches. Teeth, ff. Skull only, B. M. CATALOGUE OF THE CETACEA. 295 Species inceiice sedis. The following species are known only from drawings, or very insufficient materials; most of them (unless we except those of Mr. Peale, whose delineations have proved in at least one case to be remarkably accurate) can hardly hope for identification, and it is very probable that many of them are identical with species described from skulls only. It is of course impossible to determine the genus of any of them ; and it would be a relief, if they, together with the species erected on aboriginal pottery and carvings, and drawings of Chinese and Japanese artists (!), could be wiped away from our books altogether. Dblphinus albimanus, Peale, Zool. U. S. Ex. Exp., ed. i, p. 33, 1848; Cassin, Mamm. ditto, p. 29, pi. vi, fig. 1. Coast of Chile. Head, back, and flukes, black ; sides, tawny ; belly, white ; top of pectorals, white. Length, 6 feet 6 inches. $ Snout to eye, 12 inches. Teeth, ^. No specimens known. Referred to Z>. Novce-Zelandiae by Cassin, but not by Gray. Delphisus Forsteri, Gray, 1868, p. 6, pi. 24. New Caledonia. Rust colored above; beneath, white; a small white spot on the disk of the dorsal and pectoral fins. Six feet long. Teeth, JJ. No specimens known. Described from Forster's drawing. Per- haps the same as C. microps, Gray. Delphinus lateraus, Peale, 1. c, p. 35, pi. 8, fig. 1, 1848; Cassin, Mamm. ditto, p. 32, pi. vii, fig. 1. Pacific Ocean, latitude 13° north, longitude 161° west. Dark above, purplish gray below, with a dark lateral line with light spots above and below it. Fins and snout, black. Length, 90 inches. Teeth, {^. No specimens; described from drawings. Referred to Lagenorhynchus, by Cassin. Dklphinus pectoralis, Peale, 1. c; Cassin, p. 28, pi. v, fig. 2. Near the Sandwich Islands. Black obove; belly, reddish white; a frontal band of slate - jor extending behind the eyes; a white spot on each side before the fins. Length, 8 feet 8 inches. Teeth, ff. No specimens. Delphinus chidensis, Desmoul., Qray, 1850, p. 132. China Seas. "Shining white;" no specimens; perhaps a beluga. Delphinus lunatus. Lesson, Voy. Coq., pi. ix, fig. 4. Coast of Chile. "Tunenas" of the Chilenos. No specimens. From sketch of animal swimming I Delphinus nioer, Lacepbde, Mem. Mus. iv, p. 475. China? Black, with white edges to lips and fins. No specimens. From Chinese drawing I Delphinus lorioer, Schreb. Saugeth., pi. 362. Habitat? Lead colored; middle of sides, chest, and belly, white. No specimens. 296 APPENDIX. Delphinus styx, Graj-, has been referred with doubt to Scnmmon's "Common Porpoise," and the North Pacific habitat thus indicated has been credited to D. styx by Gray in his last supple- mentary catalogue, but there are no good grounds for considering it a West American species, and the t^-pe is known to come from West Africa. Genus LeuCOrhamphus, Lilljcborg. Leucorhamphua, Lilljeborg, Gill. Ddphinaj^ems, Gray (not Lacepbde), Zo'jl. E. and T., 1846, p. 35; 1871, p. 72. lieuoorhamphus Peronll. IMphinus Peronii, Lacppfcde, Get., p. 517, 1804. 1). leucorhamphus. Brooks, Cat. Mus., p. 39, 1828. Ddplanaplerus Peronii, Gray (Lesson), 1866, p. 276; 1868, p. 6, pi. 15; 1871, p. 72. West coast of South America, latitude 50° south (Pickering). Black above, white below; the dividing' line j^assing from the middle of the forehead below the eye, above the pectorals, and stopping at the flukes, which arc black. Skull, 18.25 inches; beak, 10 inches. Teeth, |J, six in an inch. Skulls, Mus. Paris, and drawings of animal. LeuoorhamphuB borealis. PI. xix, fig. 3. Dvlphinaptenia borealis, Peale, Zocil. U. S. Ex. Exp., p. 38, 1848; Gray, 1866, p. 277. Delphinus borealis, Cassin, Mamm. U. S. Ex. Exp., p. 30, pi. vii, fig. 2. lUght Whale Porpoise, of Scammon. West coast of North America. Form elongate ; black, with a lanceolate white spot beneath, extended in a narrow line nearly to the tail. Length, 4 to 6 feet. Teeth (?). Skull, Mus. S. I. Notes and measurements from life. A specimen of this species was obtained by me oflf Cape Mendocino, October, 1868. Careful notes, a sketch, and measurements were secured, together with the cranium, now in the National Museum. On comparison with Mr. Peale's original drawing, they agreed exactly, except that my specimen was considerably larger, measuring about six feet. Unfortunately, these notes are not now accessible. Cassin and Gray refer to it as being probably the young of a species of beluga; but why they should do so, I can not imagine, as there are no gi-ounds apparent for such a belief. It is unquestionablj" a dolphin. Genus OrCft, Gray. Orca, Gray, Zool. E. and T., 1846, p. 33; 1866, p. 278. Ophysia, Gray, P. Z. S. 1870, p. 76; 1871, p. 93. Oroa magellanloa. O. magellanica, Burmeister, An. Mag. Nat. Hist., Ser. 3, xviii, p. 101, pi. 9, fig. 5; Annals Mus. Buenos Ayres, i, p. 373, pi. 22. Patagonia. Skeleton, Mus. Buenos Ayres. Oroa destructor. O. deslruclor, Cope, Proc. Phil. Acad. 1866, p. 293. Payta, Peru. Teeth, J. Skull only, S. I. CATALOGUE OF TUE CETACEA. 297 Oroa rectipinna. Fl. xvii, iig. 1. 0. rvdipinna. Cope, Proe. Phil. Acad. 18G9, p. 25; Scammou, 1. c, p. 56, fig. 15, IG. North Pacific, coast of California, Bering Sea. Black, with high, erect dorsal. Skull? coll. Scammou. Skull, coll. Cal. Acad. Sci. Estab- lished on Scammon's iigures ami descriptions. The first skull referred to is supi)osed to be that of 0. n-clipiuna, but this is not absolutely certain. The most notable peculiarities are the turning up and in of the posterior emi.; of the maxillaries, by the side of the nasals, and to some extent over the posterior ends o* ihe premaxil- laries. The transverse frontal ridge is very high and thin, the back of the skull lehind it quite flat; in the temporal fossa, in the line of union of the squamosals and parietals, and extending some distance each side of the suture, is a ridge, or blunt carina, nearly as long as the fossa. The measurements of the cranium are as follow, in inches and decimals. The individual was doubtless rather aged : Length of skull in a straight line 39 .00 Length of brain cavity, internally 11 .00 Length of beak before the maxillary notches 21 .00 Length from tip of beak to anterior margin of superior nares 24 .50 Length from tip of beak to posterior notch of palate 25 .00 Length from tip of beak to posterior edge of last tooth 17 .00 Length from tip of beak to frontal ridge 32 .50 Height of skull at vertex IG .50 Greatest breadth ( at zygomatic i)rocess of squamosals) 25 .00 Breadth of supra-orbital ridge 23 .00 Breadth between maxillary notches 11 .50 Breadth at middle of beak 10 .50 Breadth of the two premaxillie at middle of beak 1 .I'O Breadth of the fissure between them 0 .75 Breadth of condyles 7 .50 Closest approximation of condyles beneath the foramen magnum 0 .10 Height of foramen magnum (notched above) 3 .25 Width of foramen magnum 2 .75 Teeth in upper jaw, 12 or 13 (lost.) Oroa ater. PI. xvii, fig. 2. O. aliT, Cope, 1. c, p. 23; Scammon, 1. c, p. 58, fig. 17. 0. alra, Gray, 1871, p. 02. Coast of California and Oregon. Smaller, with a white spot before the pectorals ; white below, with a maroon colored, crescentic spot behind the dorsal. Established on Scammon's desciiptious and figures. A jaw, supposed, with some probability, to belong to this species, is in Captain Scammon's possession It is of an adult individual, but retains all the teeth, and measures as follows, in inches and decimals : Length of ramus 28 ,00 Tip to posterior edge of last tooth 13 .00 Length of symphysis G .25 Height of ramus at coronoid process 8 .50 Width between outsides of articular surfaces 21 .00 Width behit ' posterior teeth 10 .00 Length from p to anterior notch of dental foramen 17 .00'? Height of lar eat teeth above alveoli 1 .30 Mabine MuiiiAU.— as. 298 APPENDIX. Greatest diameter of the same ( transverse) 1 .00 Antero- posterior diameter of same 0 .70 Height of jaw at gonj's 3 .00 Height of jaw at posterior tooth 4 .00 Length to coronoid process from tip 25 .50 Width at posterior end of symphysis 7 .50 Thickness of ramus at seventh pair of teeth from tip 2 .50 Number of teeth on each side, 12. Orca ater, var. fUsoa. PI. xvii, fig. 3. A variety (?) of the above, with a lower falcate dorsal, with the belly, spots, and crescent of a yellowish cream color, instead of white and maroon, reported by Scammon from similar localities, may take the above varietal name until more material in regard to it is obtained. An Orcn, under the name of Ddphinus orca, is reported by Chamisso from the North Pacific and Komchatka ; very likelj' one of the above raeutioued fonus. Oroa paoifioa. O. capensin, Gray, 18C8, p. 8, pi. 9. Opinjsia pacifica, Gray, P. Z. S. 1870, p. 76; 1871, p. 93. Skull only, B. M. Reported by Gray to be probably from tlie South Pacific or Chile, but originally stated to be from the North Pacific. I can see no grounds for separating this from Orca, even subgenericuHy. Genus PhOC8BIia, Gray. Phoccemi, G/ay, 18GG, p. 301; 1871, p. 81. Phocsna vomerina. PI. xviii, fig. 2-4. r. vomerina. Gill, Proc. Phil. Acad. 18G5, p. 178; Cope, 1. c., 18G9, p. 24; Scammon, 1. c., p. 54. Hay Porpoise, of Scammon. San Francisco, California. Full material, skulls and skeleton, Mus. S. I. Figures and photographs from nature, and measurements. Eight blunt spines were noticed by me on tlio dorsal of a specimen of this species oljtaincd in the harbor of San Francisco, Februaiy 8th, 1873. A dark line extended from the corner of the mouth to the pectorals. The belly was white, shading gradually into dark slate color on the back. The teeth in this species vary considerably in their shape, in some specimens being spade shaped, in others nearly tricuspid, p'ld in still others truncated squarely. Ootiiis Sagmatias, Cope. Sagmat'uts, Cope, Proc. IMiil. Aciul. 1866, p. 201. Sagmatias amblodon. S. amhhxlm, Cope, Proc. Phil. Acad. 18GC, p. 294. South Pacific? U. S. Ex. Exp. No triangle. Teeth "jiumerous," rounded, obtuse, stout. Skull, 15.25 inches. End of beak to notch, 7.() inches. Width at notch, 3.7!) inches. Allied to Fhoc:. m. Skull only, S. I. CATALOGUE OF THE CEIACEA. 299 Genus NeomeriS, Gray. Neomeris, Gray, 1866, p. 306 ; 1871, p. 81. Neomeris phooaenoides. N. phucmnoLles, Gray, 18G6, p. 306; 1868, p. 6; 1871, p. 82. Delphinapterus molagan, Owen. Japan. Reported also from the Indian Ocean. Black; no dorsal fin. Teeth, fj. Full material, Japan, figured in Fauna Japonica. Skull, Mus. Leyden. Subfamily GLOsiocEPiiAim.^, Gill, p. 96. Genus GlobiOCephaluS, Gray. GloUocephulus, Gray, 1850, p. 86. (Lesson.) Globiocephalus Sieboldii. ,' G. Sieboldii, Gray, 18G6, p. 323; 1871, p. 85. | G. sibo? Gray, 1871, p. 85. (From Japanese account!) I G. chinenais? Gray, 186G, p. 323; 1871, p. 85. (From anonymous description in Chinese | Repository.) | Japan. ^ Black, with a paler streak beneath. Figure of animal and skull in Fauna Japonica. Skeleton {ubif). The synonyms above quoted appear to have been established on veiy insufiicient evidence, and without specimens. i Globiocephalus Soammoni. PI. xv, fig. 1-3. ; G. Scammoni, Cope, Proc. Phil. Acad. 1869, p. 22; Scammon, 1. c, p. 59, fig. 15, 16. j Blackifish, of Scammon. ' Lower Oalifornir.. i Entirely black. Teeth, V to }g. Fifteen feet long. Skull, etc., in Mus. S. I. | Genus GrampUS, Gray. Gmmj)us, Gray, 1808, p. 9; 1871, p. 82. Orampus? sakamata, 0. aakamala, Gray, 186G, p. 301. Japan. Genus uncertain. The species, whatever it may be, is said to be black, with white spots on the belly, back, and sides. Described from a Japanese account, and figure published by Sehlegel, Fauna Japonica, p. 25. No specimens or reliable figures. Grampus Steamsii. Outline figure, p. 102. G. StcarnKii, Dall, Prel. Dcscr. Proc. Cal. Acad, v, January, 1873. Wlakheaded or Mottled Orampi(», of Scammon. Two lower jaws, evidently belonging to an animal of this genus, are in my hands for examin- ation. As no Orampus appears to have been described from the Pacific, I feel warranted, though 300 APPENDIX. with some hesitation, in applying a specific name to the animal described by Captain Scammon. The following are the measurements, in inches and decimals : No. 1. No. J. From end of beak to condyles 17 .50 17 .50 From end of beak to posterior end of coronoid process 16 .40 16 .20 From end of beak to posterior end of alveoli 9 .00 9 .50 From end of beak to anterior end of dental foramen 9 .75 10 .00 Height at coronoid process of ramus 5 .00 4 .GO Height at inferior dental foramen 3 .50 3 .00 Height at posterior end of symphysis 1 .45 1 .30 Height of gonys '.....' 2 .00 1 .90? Length of symphysis 2 .00 2 .75 Width behind posterior teeth 3 .00 2 .90 Width at inferior dental foramen 7 .00 7 .20 Width at coronoid process 10 .30 10 .00 Width at inner corners of condyles 11 .20 11 .00 Width at outer comers of condyles 14 .00 14 .00? Thickness of ramus behind posterior tooth 0 .90 1 .00 The ramus is quite thin and light behind ; the inferior dental foramen is large ; the coronoid process almost evanescent. The alveoli are entirely filled with spongy bone behind the posterior end of the symphysis. The posterior angle formed by the junction of the rami at the symphysis is rather broadly rounded. The end of the beak is moderately pointed. The gonys is very short, and produced in a rather sharp point below. No. 1 has three teeth on each .side ; No. 2, four. They are inclined forward and outward; most of them are broken off or truncated. The teeth are much the shape of an orange -seed: solid, and without any cavity in their proximal ends. ^he crown, or portion covered with enamel (which, from the disc ''oration, seems to bo the only po. don projecting above the giims), is slightly, but distinctly, differentiated from the rest of the tooth, of which less than one -half is inclosed in the alveolus. The crown is attenuated, slightly recurved, and sharply pointed, which may account for the ease with which it becomes truncated. The remainder of the tooth is irregularly subcylindrical, transversely compressed, and pinched off at the bottom. The dimensions are as follow : Length of crown, 0.52 inch ; of whole tooth, 1.43 inch. Diameter at base of crown, 0.37 inch ; transverse diameter of root, 0.5 inch ; greatest diameter of ditto, 0.6 inch. Length of the tooth line in No. 1, :\25 inches; in No. 2, 2.5 inches. Animal, 12 to 15 feet. The specimens were obtained at Monterey, California, by Captain Scam- mon. Supcrfaniily PIIYSETEROIDEA, Gill, p. 96. Family Physeterii>.f,, Gill, p. 96. Subfamily Physeterin.ic, Gill. p. 96. Genus Physeter, Linn. Physeter, Linn., S. N. i, p. 106 ; Gill, p. 90. Catodon, Gray, 1866, p. 196; 1871, p. 58. CATALOGUE OF THE CETACEA. 301 Physeter maorooepba.^us. PI. xiv, xv. P. macrocephalus, Linn., S. N. i, 107. Catodon macrocephalus. Gray, 1871, p. 58. Calodon Colneli, Gray, 1866, p. 209. Sperm Whale, of authors. Ubiquitous in the warmer seas. ! A lower jaw, probably of a young animal, Mus. Cal. Acad., has 22 teeth on each side, for the |( most part sharply pointed. ! Subfamily Koaim^, Uill, p. 96. Genus Kog^a, Gray. Kogia, Gray, ':ool. E. and T., p. 22, 1846. Euphjsetes, V^aW, Hist. New Sperm Whale, pp. 50, f3, 1851. Kogia Flo-weri. K. Floweri, Gill, Am. Nat. iv, p. 738, fig. 167, 172, 1871. Mazatlau. Black above, yellowish white below, including the end of the snout. Nine feet long. Teeth long, slender, recurved, ^j. Dorsal very low. Snout pointed and projecting beyond and above the mouth. Jaw and drawing from nature in Mus. S. I. Suborder Mysticete. Family BAL^NOPTEKiD.f!, Gill, p. 97. Subfamily AoapueliNjE, Gill, p. 97. Genus Rhachianectes, Cope. Hhachianedes, Cope, Proc. Phil. Acad. 18C9, pp. 14, 15. Rhaohianeotes glauous. PI. ii, fig. 1; pi. iii, fig. 1, 2; pi. v; baleen, p. 55. li. glaucuK, Cope, 1. c, p. 17; Scammon, 1. c, p. 40, fig. 8. Jgaphdu» glauciin, Cope, 1. c, 1868, p. 225. California Gray Whale, of Scammon. Arctic Sons to Lower California. This species was originally described from specimens and notes obtained by me at Monterey, California, in January, 1860, and now in the Mus. S. I. A peculiar barnacle, Cryptolcpas rliachi- anecli, Dall (pi. x, fig. 6), and the Cyaimts ScammoiU, Dall, (pi. x, fig. 1), appear to be restricted to this species. They are described in the Proc. Cal. Acad. Sci. 1872, vol. iv, pp. 281, 300. A skull collected by me at Monterey, California, is now in the collection of the Cal. Acad. Sci., and another in Mus. S. I. Subfamily MEOArTEiiiNAs, Gill, p. 97. Genus Megaptera, Gray. Megaptera, Gray, An. Mag. N. U. 18G4, pp. 207, 350; 1866, p. 117. 302 APPENDIX. Megaptera versabills. PI. vii, fig. 1; pi. viii, ix; outline figure, pp. 47, 48; baleen, p. 55. SI. vermbilin, Cope, Proc. Phil. Acad. 18G9, p. 17; Scammon, do., i). 50, fig. 5, 6; Graj-, 1871, p. 51. North Pacijic Humpback of Scammon. Arctic Seas to Lower California. Established on Scammon's measurements and descriptions. Vertebra), ribs, and humerus in Mus. Cal. Academy. Baleen, Mus. S. I. Parasitic on this species are the Coromda diadema and balcenaris, Lam., Olion Slimjisinii, Dall, and Ci/amus miffusus, Dall (pi. x, fig. 3, 5), described in Proc. Cal. Acad. Sci. 1872, vol. iv, pp. 282, 301. Megaptera kuzira? 3f. kuiira, Gray, 18GG, p. 130; 1871, p. 50. Japan. Ten gular folds. Belly, gray or white ; back, black. Described from Japanese accounts and drawings. No specimens. A skull from Java, reported to be of this species, is said to be in the Leyden Museum ; but, from the habitat, the identity seems doubtful. Subfamily Jjal.exopterix^, Gill, 97. Genus Sibbaldius, Gray. Sibhuldus, Gray, V. Z. S. 1804, p. 223. Sibbalduts, Flower, P. Z. S. 1804, p. 392; Gray, 186G, p. 169. Floicerhts, Lilljeborg, Nov. Act. Upsala, vi, 1867. Sibbaldius sulAireus. PI. xii, fig. 1 ; baleen, p. 55. S. aul/ureus, Cope, Proc. Phil. Acad. 1809, p. 20; Scammon, 1. c, p. 51, fig. 11; Cope, Proc. Am. Phil. Soc. 1870, p. 108. SulphurbuWnn , of Scammon. Coast of California. Brown above, sulphur yellow bemath. Described from baleen (Mus. S. I.), and Scammon ■ de8crii)tions and figures. Sibbaldius Irctironlrin, Cope, is an Atlantic species, but is erx'oneously credited to the Pacific by Gray, 1871, p. 50. Genus PhysaluS, Gray. Pbjsalus, Lac(5pede, Gray, P. Z. S. 1847, p. 88; 1806, p. 139; 1871, p. 52. PhyscduB? Tsohudll. llalaenoplera Tiichudi, Reich, Cet., p. 33. /'. fancialuti, Gray, 1850, p. 42; 18G{i, p. 1G2. Coast of Peru. " Head and bock, brown ; belly, whitish ; tips of fins, and a streak from t!ie eye to the middle of the body, whiti'. Length, 38 feet." Described from the preceding notis of Tsohudi I No Bi)ecimons. CATALOGUE OF THE GET ACE A. 308 Physalus? Iwasi. r. Iivan, Gray, 1850, p. 42; 186C, p. 1G3. Balcenoptera arclica, Schlegel, Faun. Jap. Mamm. 2G, pi. 30. Japan. Biack ; sides, white spotted ; belly, white. Length, 25 feet. Described from Japanese accounts and drawings. No specimens. To the above senseless additions to the catalogues may be added the following names, applied to Chinese drawings, Japanese clay models, Aleutian \>ooden carvings, and similar trash, by authors of scientific reputation : lialwnoptera punclidata, B. nigra, B. cccruh'scens, B. niaculala, Balcena lumdata, and B. Japonica, Lacepcde, Mem. du Mus., iv, p. 473; from Chinese drawings. Balcena agamachschih (!), U. kuUomok; Aleutian Islands, and B. IxcMckaghik, Kamchatka, Cham. Nov. Act. Curs. 251), Pallas, Zoiil Ross, Asiat. i, 280. These are from Aleutian models in wood. . They should be entirely expunged; but the B. kuUomok, or cullamcwh, has obtained to some extent an entrance into scientific literature, vide Bakena SicbohUi. Balcena austmlis, Temm. Faun. Jap., pi. 28-29. Japan. Described from clay model. No specimens. Genus Balsenoptera, Gray. Bukmoptera, Gray, 1806, pp. 114, 180 ; 1808, p. 3 ; 1871, p. 50. Balaenopteia velifera. PI. ii, fig. 2. ;;. velifera, Cope, Proc. Phil. Acad. 18C0, p. 18; Scammon, 1. c, p. 53, fig. 9, 10. Finback, of Scammon ; Oregon Finner. Oregon and California. Brownish black; belly, white. Described from baleen and Scammon's descriptions. Baleen, Mus. S. I. Balaenoptera velifera, var. borealls. Outline figure, p. 37. Northern Seas and Aleutian Islands. The form found in the more northern waters is distiuguisher. according to Captain Scammon, by a larger and higher dorsal fin. I observed many of them, during tlio summer of 1872, in the Shumagin Islands. In some individuals the fiukcs were black; in others, white below; and in a few the white extended above over the external points of the fiukes. Tliose of Oregon appear to have a dorsal intermediate hi size between the northern and the small -finned southern forms. Balaenoptera Davidsonl. PI. vii, fig. 2. B. I>((viit.