Cetaceans of the United States

Oct. 27,1887.]

FOREST AND STREAM. 263

outfit

any more

lie offered totake the things alongin his wagon,and

we

relieved ourpackhorses almostentirely oftheirburden, thereby enabling us^totravelagreat deal faster. Thatnight

we made

McGinley'sstoreonthe foot of

Wood

Creek,adistanceof thirty-five miles,

where we made

ourselvesathome.

Next

day 1expected to get back tothe old

mine

ⁱⁿ goodtime,but meeting so

many

friends along theriver, it

was

prettydark

when we

gottothe

Rocky

Bar Junc- tionandCharles's cabin.

Charles advised

me

tostaywith

him

that nightand go

up

tothe

mine

inthemorning; butI

was

too anxiousto get back to

my

old friend

McK.

IwishIhadfollowed his advice, for the

snow

laydeepandcoldinthedark cations, the creek

was

overflowed and ^frozen,and to complete

my

misery

my

saddle horse broke throughthe iceofthe largeststream,

was

imprisoned perfectly help- less,andobligedrue tobreak an openingforittogetout.

Then

I

had

toreturnfor

my

packhorse,which hadbolted.

Soakingwet,I

was now

obligedtowalk; the

way

never beforeseemedsolonganddismal.

At

last I

came

tothe

New

Mill,and resting tbe tiredhoresa

moment

forthe finalsteephill,at last I beheld alightanddistinguished the outliningofthe buildingsofthe mine.

McK.'s dog had announced

my

^{arrival;Bill,gladto see}

me

back,tended to

my

horses,whilehiskindwife

was

gettingdry garmentsfor

my

stiff, frozen ones.

Then

I sat

down

to a nicely prepared supper,and hadquickly forgotten

my

last sufferings. It

was

latein the night before turning ^into

my

cosyquarters, as Ihadtogivea fullaccountofour eventfultrip.

Wednesday

I

was

occupiedin packing and arranging

my

traps to take along on thestage. Next dayafter dinnerItook leavefromMrs.

McK.

and Howard'sfolks;

friendBillaccompanied

me down

to Charles's cabin,with

whom

Ispent the last night to be near for the early morningstage.

When

parting herewitliBill

McK. who

hadtogo backtothemine,I felt

more

like going with

him

backtothe old place Avhich

had

becomeso dearto me; promising

him

to

come

again,he

mounted

hispony and

was

out ofsight.

Charleshadsupper ready,butI did not have any ap- petite, for I felt asblue as indigo. In the morning

we

took breakfastat the junction; the stage

came

rattling along,and thankingCharles,

who

had

become

asdearas abrotherto

me

for all his kindness,Itook

my

seat on thebox with^thedriver,and

away we went

intothecrisp coldmorning.

At

passing Willard'sIhadthe chanceof sayinggood-byetoour friend Joe. The stage trip pro- ceeded without any notable event, onlyit

was

cutting coldon

Camas

prairie,and

we

wereglad

when

thelights ofMountain

Home came

in sight.

Saturday morningIwentovertothestationagent

and

foundallinyshipped articlesinproper condition. Con- cluding to send all

my

trophies and

camp

outfit by freight, Ihad alargebox

made

^{resembling Noah's ark.}

To

letthe interested readerform his

own

opinionabout thesize,Igivea

summary

^of the spoils of

my

hunt,

which

consisted of onelarge elkhead andantlers, five beautiful blacktail deer heads, eight bear skins,three mountain ^goats, twenty-four beavers, thirty-fivefoxes (among

which

wereone'

handsome

"silver" and several beautifulcrosses),anddivers fishersandmartins.

Hav-

ingallsecurelypackedandtheboxwell fasteued Istep- ped ontheeastboundtrain,which

came

steamingalong at 11:30P.M. and reached

New York

indueseason. F.B.

Ziphins yrcbnitzlm, Stejneger.

BeringIsland.

Mcsopbnlon »njxrhicnsis,Gervais.

NorthAtlantic.

CETACEANS ^OF THE UNITED STATES

BY

R. W. SHUFELDT, M.A.O.TJ.

MemberoftheAmericanSocietyofNaturalists; Corresponding MemberZoological SocietyofLondon,etc.

WHALES

constitute themarine

mammalian

faunaof thecoasts ofour country,and

few

people,Ithink unless theyhave paid especialattentiontothesubject, realize

how many

of

them we

have,

and

the

numerous

species

we may

layclaim to as properlyfallingwithin that category. To continuewithourlist of animalsas publishedbythe U.S.National

Museum, we

findthefol- lowingto be the arrangementof thishighly interesting groupof

mammals,

viz.

:

Order GET ACE

^{A, Cetaceans.}

Suborder DENTICFTE. Toothed Whales.

Family Dblphinxd^b. TheDolphins.

Sotalia pallida,Gervais. Floi-ida('?).

1Stemfuscu8,Gray. Cuba.

.

Stenocfrmprcssus.Gray. GultofMexicoU).

Delphi tws hairdii.pall. Baird's Dolphin. Coastof California.

Delphinusdel phis,Uim€.

Common

Dolphin. AtlanticOcean.

Drlphinwjnitira, Gray. TheJanira. Newfoundland(Gray).

?Prodrfphinu*euphroRi/nc (Grav).True. NorthAtlanticOcean.

Leucorhamphusborcalis(Petile),Gill.Right-whalePorpoise.Pacific-

coastofNorth America. . . - .

Lagenorhynchusacutus,Gray. Eschncht'sDolphin.North Atlan ticOcean,

Lagenorliunriinsalbimstris,Gray.White-beakedBottlenose.North

Atlantic Ocean. ^{» .} ,

Lagenorhynchus obliquidens, Gill. Striped or

Common

Dolphin.

Pacificcoastofthe UnitedStates.

Lagenorhynchmthicolea,Gray. WestcoastofNorth America.

'Lagenorhynchus gubenator, Cope. SkunkPorpoise. Coastof

New

England.

Lagewirhynchmperspivilhilvs.Cope. Atlantic coastofthe United States.

Tivrskrps tursio(Bonnaterre),Van Ben.

&

Gervais. Bottle-nosed Dolphin. NorthAtlanticOcean.

XuraiopsgilUi,Ball. Cowfish. Pacificcoastofthe United Sta^tes.

Ztorefojift'en-hnmus, (Cope)Gill. BlackDolphin. Atlantic coast oftheUnitedStates.

Orca.gladiator,(Bonnaterre) Gray.Atlantic. Killer.Atlantic Ocean.

Oralatra,Cope. Pacific Killer. PacificcoastofNorth America, QreapacAfica,(Gray). North^PacificOcean.(?)

GloWM-ephalasmelas,(Traill). Blackfish. NorthAtlantic Ocean, Globiocepiiaius hracliyptei-us,Cope. Short-finned Blackfish. Coast

of

New

Jersey.

Globiocephalusxcanintoni, (Cope). Scammon'sBlackfish. Pacific coastofNorthAmerica andsouthward.

Grampusgriscus, (Cuvier)Gray. Grampus. NorthAtlantic Ocean, Grampusstearnsii, Dall. Mottled or White-headed Grampus,

PacificcoastofNorth America.

Delphinapterus calodou, (Linne)Gill. WhiteWhale. Arcticand Subarcticseas.

Monodonmonoecros,Linne. Narwhal. Arcticseas.

Phoeoe-naeommuuis, Lesson. Puffing-Pig. Herring-Hog. North Atlantic Ocean.

Plioewnalincata, Cope. Striped Porpoise. Atlantic coast ofthe UnitedStates.

Plwcct-navomcrina,Gill. CaliforniaBayPorpoise. ^Pacificcoast oftheUnitedState.

FamilyZiphitd.*;. Bottle-noseWhales.

Berarclius bairdii,Stejneger. Baird'sWhale. BeringIsland.

Hyprroiklon roslratus,(Chemnitz)Wesmael. Bottlfi-noseWhale NorthAtlanticOcean.

Ziphiuseavirosbris,Cuvier. Temperate andtropicalseas.

?Ziphiussemijuncttis, (Cope). Atlantic Ocean.

Grebnitzky's Bottle-noseWhale.

Sowerby'sWhale. Temperate Family PnYSETEKiDJG. TheSpermWhales, yseter macroccphalus, Linne. SpermWhale. Temperate and

' jpieal seas.

put hrcmceps, (De Blainville)Gray.

Temperateandtropical seas.

Pygmy

SpermWhale.

SunoKDUR MYSTICETE. WnADKBONin Whales.

FamilyBalventd^e.

Rhachiancctes glaucns, Cope. Devil-fish. Gray Whale. Pacific coastofNorthAmerica.

AgaphehisffiJ>f>osuS,Cope. (?)ScrapsWhale. NorthAtlantic.

Megaptera longimana, (Rud.) Gray. HumpbackWhale. North AtlanticOcean.

Megaptera heVic.um,Cope. C'arribbeanHumpbackWhale. Car- ribbcan Sea.

Megapteraversabilis. Cope. Humpback Whale. North Pacific Ocean.

Physalus antiquorum,(Fischer)Gray. FinbackWhale;Razor-back.

NorthAtlanticOceau.

PhmalUSsiiihaldii,Gray. NorthAtlanticOcean.

Ba)amopterarostratus, (Aluller)Gray. PikedWhale('/Grampusof

New

Englandfishermeu). NorthAtlanticOcean.

Bahrnoptcradavidsoni,Scammon. Finback Whale.Northeastern PacificOcean.

Sihhatdiimhtticcpjs, Gray. Rudolphi's Rorqual. North Atlantic Ocean.

Sitbaldiustuberosus,Cope. MobjackBay, Virginia.

SibhubJins vtbifcrus, (Cope). Finback Whale. Pacific coast of North America.

SihbtihHmteelirostris,Cope. CoastofMaryland.

Sihbaldiussulfureus.Cope. Sulphur-bottomWhale. Pacificcoast ofNorthAmerica.

Bahvuojaponica.Gray. RightWhaleof NorthPacific. North PacificOcean.

Balnenabiscai/eusis.Gray. BlackWhale;RightWhaleofthcNorth Atlantic. Temperate NorthAtlantic.

Bahvnamystieetus,Linne. BovvheadWhale. ArcticSeas.

It willlie observed of the species enumeratedin this formidable list, that the vastmajorityof

them

actually occuruponour

own

coasts,sothat inapaperofa length thatthe present

must

of necessitybe,itwillsimply be out of the question for

me

togiveeventhebriefest his- toryof the several types, as

much

as I

would

like todo

so,asthelimitationsofspacewouldbe greatly exceeded, andeven, perhaps, the

main

objectof

my

contributionin the present instance,

somewhat

interferred with, notto say,defeated.

In thegroupofCetaceans

which

Ihave chosentoillus- trate this article,those UnitedStatestypes have been designedlyselected by

me which

I

deemed would

best conveytothe general readeranideaofthe variousforms assumed

by

thespeciesrepresentingthisOrder;

and

inthe text itwill be

my aim

to present ina general

way

the habits

common

tothegroup,

and

as faras possible,the characteristicsoftheseveralgenera.

Sofar asthe fruits of Geologyhave to thistime been enabled to indicate it for us,

we

are obligedtoconfess that the ancestryofthe Cetaceansintimeisstillinvolved in

much

obscurity. Huge, serpent-like

Whales

(Zeuglo- don)have been foundinafossil statein certain partsof Alabama,

which

have thrown

some

lightonthisperplex- ing subject,

and

in other parts of theworldfossilforms have been discovered which have helpedustoabetter solution, but, as I say,

we

arestillalong

ways from

being inpossessionofanexactknowledgeofthe origin of this group,as

we

^areinthe caseof

many

otheranimals.

One

thing,however,

must

bebornefullyinmind,andthatis,

theWhales ^{are just astruly}

mammalian

ⁱⁿallrespects, asaresuch animalsasseals,pigs,or bears. Indeed, they arenothing

more

norlessthan monster marine

mammals

thathave become^speciallymodified intimetoleadstrictly anaquatic^lifeinrecent epochs.

The

general external characters of

Whales

can be jeadily appreciated from the several drawings of the speciesaccompanyingthis paper; thefish-like

form

isto be noted,withtheenormous headin

some

of thespecies, and with thetotalabsence of anythinglikeuntoaneck inallthe forms; the peculiar patternofthe horizontally ilacedtailWithitsdiverging,lateral"flukes,"posteriorly dividedbythemedian notch; theform of the anterior paddles,andtheentireabsence of a hinderpair; thata

::'ewofthespecies

may

haveashowingofscattered hairs onthe body,

more

especially near themouth;the small eyes,the simple aperture^oftheears,the valvular openings ofthenostrilssituatedontop of the head;and a

number

of other points.

Whales

alsopossess immediately be neaththe skin a thick layer^{of fat}

known

asthe"blub- ber,"from whichtheoil ismanufactured,

and

for

which men

hunt and^capturethem.

As

inthe case of thetopo- graphical

anatomy

,the internal structure of thesepon- derous creatures is highly interesting and instructive, butour spacewill admit ofnone^ofithere. Butitwill be properto note,however, that all

Whales have

teeth_

with but fewexceptions,andthat these varygreatlyin number; neverbeing precededbyamilkset,whileinthe adult right whales, in

which

family the teeth areabsent, thewell-known whalebone^isseen(baleen).

(

Itwould be

we

^ll toremark,too, that the

mamma?

inthe female Whales^aresituatedoneither side of the genitalfissure,

being

two

innumber, and each being under^the.control ofaspecialcompressor muscle by

means

of

which

the milkofthemother can^beinjectedintothe

mouth

ofher young one^(therebeingrarelytwo),andthelatteristhus enabledtonurseunderwater.

Whales

ofall species subsist on animal foodof

some

kindor other,such as forexample, fish, squids, crusta- ceans,andthe medusa?.

The

killers (Orca) alone prey

upon

thespecies of their

own

Order,

and upon

suchother warm-blooded animals^{as seals}

and

theirkind.

During ayear thatIspentatsea in theGulfof Mexico and^theSouthAtlantic, Ihad

many

opportunities to^ob- serve the various kinds^ofwhalesand^porpoises,

which

¹ availedmyselfof tothefullest extent,

and

have seen an old

Sperm

whale blow

many

and

many

a time. Professor Flowerwell describesthis act,andaccordingto thisemi- nentauthority,

when

speakingof

what

ahelplesscreature awhaleisonshore,hesays that

when

intheir element, thesea,"theyhave,however,to rise very frequent!_{y_ to} the surface^forthe purpose ofrespiration;and,inrelation tothe constant

upward

and

downward movement

inthe water thus necessitated, their principal instrument of motion, the tail, is expanded horizontally, quite unlik"

thatofa^fish,whose

movements

are mainlyin straight- forwardor lateral directions. Thepositionoftherespir atoryorificeornostrilonthe highest part of the head^"

very important^{for this}

mode

^{oflife,asitis}the only part ofthebodvthe exposureof which above the surface^is absolutely'necessary. Ofthe numerous erroneous ideas connected with natural history,few are so widespread andstillsofirmlybelieved,notwithstanding repeated ex-

The

factis,the'spouting,'or

more

properly'blowing,'of the

Whale

isnothing

more

than the ordinaryactofex- liration,which,taking placeatlongerintervalsthanin- land animals,is performed with a greater

amount

of miphasis. The

moment

theannualrises to the surface

itforciblyexpelsfromits lungs the airtaken in atthe last inspiration,which,of course,ishighlychargedwith watery vaporinconsequence of.the natural respiratory changes. This,rapidlycondensinginthe coldatmosphere hiwhichthe

phenomenon

is generally observed,forms a columnofsteamor spray,which has been erroneously takenforwater. Italsooften happens,especially

when

the surfaceoftheoceanisagitatedinto waves, that the animal

commences

itsexpiratory puff before the orifice hasquitecleared the top ^ofthe water,

some

of

which may

thus be driven

upward

with the blast,tendingto complete theillusion. In hunting Whales the harpoon oftenpiercesthe lungsor airpassagesofthe unfortunate victim,andthen fountainsof blood

may

be forcedhigh intheairthroughthe blowholes,as

commonly

depicted in scenes of arctic adventure; butthisisnothing

more

(allowancebeing

made

^fortheWhale'speculiar

mode

of breathing)than

what

alwaysfollows severe

wounds

of the respiratory organs^ofother animals."

Therefinedoil

known

as"spermaceti"ismanufactured fromthatoilwhichisfoundⁱⁿthe great cavityabovethe skull inthe

Sperm

Whale,while "ambergris,"soexten- sivelyusedby perfumers in theirart,isfoundinthein- testines of the same animal,and sometimes^floatingon the surfaceoftheseastheyinhabit.

By

theaid of

modern

appliances, the chaseandcapture ofthese huge

mammals

has within recent times been reducedalmosttoascience,butan accountofsuch mat- terswould,intheopinionofthewriter,be outofplace in the present connection, dealing^as

we

are

more

particu- larlywiththelife histories oftheseCetaceans;itwillbe aswelltoadd,however,that their constant pursuitand destruction by

man

must in due time^tellmarkedly on their numbers,if itdoes not leadto theiractualexter- mination.

Glancing again at our List above

we

findthat these Cetaceans are primarily dividedintoFamiliesof

Toothed Whales,

Bottle-Nose

Whales, Sperm Whales

and

Whalebone Whales. Among

thefirstofthese

we

find the

Common

Dolphin(D. delphis),and

who

that has ever been out for an ocean voyage over theseasthathein- habits,does not

know

him. Suddenly a"school"of

them

willappear underthevery bowsofyourvessel,plunging inandoutofthewateringraceful curves,andina

man-

nermostfascinating totheobserver,

who

never wearies ofthesight. Their powerful, tooth-armedbeaksare the veryterror ofthe smallfishesupon

which

theyhabitually prey,and it is anextraordinary thingtoseetheagility with which theyeffectsuchcaptures*

Captain

Scammon

speakingofthe

Common

Porpoiseof thePacific coast, says,

"They

are seen in numbers vary- ingfromadozenupto

many

hundreds tumblingover the surface of thesea,or

making

arching leaps, plunging again on the

same

curve, or darting high andfalling diagonally sidewise

upon

thewater with aspiteful splash, accompanied bya report which

may

beheardat some distance. In calm weather they are seen innumerous shoals, leaping, plunging, lobtailingandfinning,while the assemblage

moves

swiftly in various directions.

They

abound more along thecoastswheresmallfishare found. Occasionally a large

number

of

them

will get intoa school^offish,frightening

them

so

much

thatthey losenearlyallcontrolof theirmovements,while the Por- poises fill themselves to repletion." Thisspeciesis the L. obliquidens of our List.

On

our

New

Englandcoast thebest

known

form isthe

"Skunk

Porpoise,"

shown

in Fig. 2 ofthe present paper,andits habits are fullyas interesting asthoseoftheDolphinofwhich

we

havejust been speaking.

Even

at the present time, it isby no

means

a rare thing to discover a

new

species of this group, and undoubtedlythere stillremaina

number

of formsasyet

unknown

to science.

The

Orcasor Killer

Whales

constitute another genus of thisfamily,

and

they are only too well

known

to the

whalemen

as the veriest wolvesofthehighseas,often robbing

them

of theirhard-earnedspoils.

They

arepos- sessed,ofenormousstrengthandspeed,and evenatadis- tanceatseathey canbeeasilyrecognizedbytheir lofty dorsal fins, an appendage which, in the High-finned Killer, attains totheenormousheightof sixfeet. These merciless animalswillravenously attackand^killthebig- gest whale that ever plowedthe ocean,and devourthe carcass afterward, piecemeal;theyarealsoverydestruc- tive of the seals about the islands inhabited bythose valuable animals,

and

according to Professor Goode, Eschricht says that thirteen porpoisesand fomteen seals were foundⁱⁿthestomachofanAtlantic Killer,sixteen feet in length.

TheBlackfishes(Fig.4)areamedium-sized whalethat range over then oceanic habitat in schools sometimes numbering ^several hundreds; they are not especially valuabletothe whalers, but are mercilesslypreyed

upon

bytheKillerWhales.

Rarer than the last mentioned species,thoughoften associated with them, are the Grampuses (Fig. 3), a smallerwhalethan they,though with verysimilar habits, and

we

aretoldthat they

make

their appearance in our waters only about onceintenyears. ProfessorFlower hasproved beyondall

manner

ofdoubtthatthefantastic markings onthebodyof thisanimalarenormal andare notdueto scarsfromconflictswiththeirfellows or other species.

A

fine cast of a

Grampus may

be seenand studiedattheSmithsonianInstitution, whereit used to surmountthedoorwayofthe

main

entrance, down-stairs.

One

ofthemostinteresting ofallCetaceansisthe Nar- whal(Fig.5),an animal whichstands responsible^forthe TJnicorn^offancy,and which^is

now

restrictedinitsrange tothe northern shores ^of our Alaskan territories. The spiraltusk grosvingfromtheleftside of itsupper

jaw

is

amodified toothwhich

may

attain a lengthof eight or tenfeet. Itisabsentinthe female, the sex being prac- tically toothless, or at leastthe teeth are concealed in the

jaw

asisthe caseontheright*side inthemale Narwhal.

This tuskiswithoutenamel,

and

a single oneisvalued at $50.00, the ivory beingputtoa varietyofpurposes.

Occasionallybothtusksare developed, in

which

casethe spiralseachturn the

same

way,^orthe twist has the

same

direction. Narwhals feed

upon

small fish and crusta- ceans.

Herring

Hogs

(Phoccena),arerepresentativesofanother positions of its 'falsity,as that the Cetacea spout out very interesting genus(Fig.6); these animals arealso throughtheir blowholes water taken in at the mouth.I

known

astheharborporpoises or "puffing pigs, they

264 FOREST AND STREAM.

[Oct.

m, mi.

REPRESENTATIVE SPECIES OF UNITED STATES CETACEANS.

Copied by the Author.

F \eLThof3tl0ft

l^engtnoradultlUtt.^{Phin (De}

^Mnm Mtev

Flower-

^*^

Trans.Zodl. Soc. of^eK

^P

^,

^t

^c

^

Lond., Vol.^T(Gtoi,f

W^

8,PI.

^w

30.

^

Length

^{F iX m}

of

^?

adult^{2d?:^}18^t?to^r Blake.^'--TheLengthSperm Whaleofadult25ft.Porpoise (HyperoortoH^/rA^,). After

*%<^Sco$^^

^{From ViS}

f

£

t-The

Narwhal (Momritm monoccros). After Elliott, Fig. S.-The Sperm Whale (Phwta- macrocephalv^. Prom

'aller^^ope' ^^Sitioradultabout10ft. LengthLengthofc adult10to14ft. Goode,afterScammon. Lenethofadultmale84ft.

m

*'

t

js^li^Wf^iHii*

^{AfterElliott. Length Fig.} 6.-The "Herring-Hog"

Phomna

communis). Fromapho- Fig. 9.-The Bowhead Whale(Balama miMariw). FromGoode, tographbythe U.S.PishCommission. Lengthofadultrather afterScammon. _Lengthofadultmale-47ft.

morethan4ft.

have earnedthis last

name

from their habit of puffing and gruntingasthey disport themselves in the surf oras theyrollinthe breakers at the mouths of harborsand rivers. These Herring

Hogs

areverydestructive of sev- eral species of the small ediblefish,andof oysters,but theyin turn are often attacked

and

killed

by

thePor- poises.

Torepresent thenext Family,the Bottle-noseWhales, Ihavegiven a figure of Hyperoddon bidens, but very

little is

known

of theseforms andthenomenclatureof thegroupisnotina verysatisfactorycondition.

Passing next to the Family of the true

Sperm Whales

(Physeteridw),

we

find

them

represented by the Giant

Sperm and

the

Pigmy Sperm

Whales.

The

Sperm Whale

or Cachalot(P.macrocephalus) isa verywell-knownCetacean,oneofwide distributionand of greatcommercial importance(Fig.8). In thisspecies themale

may

attaintheenormouslengthof84ft.,where-

asthefemales are not

more

thanone-third as large,and areslenderer. Incolorthese animals are ofablackish

brown

above, paler ontheir sides, and grayish on the underparts;veryold ones are gray ontopofthehead and aboutthenostrils.

They

feedonsmallfishprincipally, andsquids; itis related that severalhundred mackerel have been taken

from

thestomachofa third

grown

one.

Alltimesoftheyearisthebreeding seasonforthem,and oneat a birth is the rule,never

more

than two. The femalenursesher

young by

reclining quietlyonherside, asshefloatspassivelyonthe surface ofthe ocean. The periodofgestationissaid tobe tenmonths.

Itsactions

and

habitsundervarious circumstances are familiartothemostof us,and have been well described by

Scammon;

the"blowing"of thiswhale,andthe use- fulproductsityields,Ihavealready alludedtoabove.

TurningtotheSuborderMysticeteofourList,

we

find a splendid array of species representing the animals

known

asthe

Whalebone

Whales,all ofwhicharecrea- tures of great size, and valuable forthe products they yield tomen. Of nolittleimportance

among

theseisthe whaleboneofcommerce,but this isprincipally obtained fromthe

Bowhead Whale

(Fig.9)ofthePolarSeas. The habits of the

Bowhead

partakeof the habitsofwhales generally,witha

number

ofveryinterestingonespeculi- arlyitsown. ProfessorGoode remarks that ''Thefood of the

Bowhead

consists of floatinganimals,classed by the

whalemen

under the

names

'rightwhalefeed'and

'brit.'

Many

kinds of invertebrates are,of course, in- cludedunderthesegeneral terms,oneofthemost abund- ant of

which

^is,perhaps,akindof wingedorpteropod mollusk, the Clioborealis,whichoccurs in thenorthern seas, floating in great masses.

When

the

Bowhead

is feedingit

moves

withconsiderable velocitynearthesur- face,itsjawsbeingopentoallow the passageofcurrents of water into the cavity of the

mouth and

throughthe

Oct. 27, 1887,]

FOREST AND STREAM. ₂₆₅

layersofbaleenatthesides. All eatable substances are strained out bythe fringesof thebaleen

and

areswal- lowed."

Much

'morecould besaidaboutthesewhalebone

•whales,but I find

my

space alreadynearly exhausted, andIstillhaveafewconcludingremarksto

make

ofno

littleimportance.

My

studies of the Cetaceans and

my

reading about

them

have both convinced

me

that theOrderhasby no

means

received the attentionatthehands of descriptive

izoologistsandanatomists thatitso justly deserves. This 'neglect can be atoned for in

many

ways, and

more

especiallyby suchpersonsas reside theyearroundeither upontheAtlantic orPacificseaboards,orbycapable ob- servers

who

lead a seafaring life. Lighthousekeepers and

whalemen

bothhaveexcellent opportunitiestothus.

powerfullyaidscience insuch work.

Whalemen

should beencouraged by some

means

to systematically capture specimensofthe smallerCetaceans

when

the opportunity

isaffordedthem, and fromtheseto takeaccurate meas- urementsofthespecimensatthetimeofcapture. Skele- tons could also bemade,andviscera placed in crude

spirits,both beingbrought

home

andturned overto the properauthorities for description. And,

when

itsohap- pens that

somebody

chances to be on board

who

can

make

a serviceable sketch of the animal,thisessential aidshouldneverbe overlooked; the habits ofwhales in theirnormalhabitatshould alsobe constantly recorded, and particularly as soon afterthe observationas possi- ble. Lighthousekeepersandother seashore observerscan effectall this,and

much more

besides,for where

any

of the whale tribe aredriven ashoreintheir vicinity,they can,in additionto

what

issuggested above, often be en- abled to take agoodseriesof photographsofthespeci- men,as well as a very complete setof measurements.

When

withina reasonable distanceofWashington,they can,too,immediatelysend atelegramtoMr.F.

W.

True, Curator of theDepartmentof

Mammals,

TJ.S.National

Museum,

thatsuchand suchsuspiciouslookingspecimens have gone ashore at suchand suchapoint,thus giving the proper authorities the opportunity to dispatch a responsiblepersontothe spotshouldtheydesire todoBp.

Thereareundoubtedlya

number

ofthesmallerspecies of

'Cetaceansinour watersasyet undescribed.

Thoseof

my

readers desiringtofurther informthem- selves upon the subject

which

ofnecessityIhave been compelledtodealwithso briefly in thiscontribution,can donobetterthanconsult

some

ofthefollowingworks:

Bibliographyof Cetacea: D. F. Eschricht,"Uutersuckungen liberdie NoruischenWallthiereJ' 1849. "•Osteoefgapbiedes Oeta- e&,"byP.J.Van BenedenandP.Gervais,18R8-79. O.M. Scam- mon, "Marine Mammals ofthe N.

W.

CoastofNorth America,"

1874. Forthestructureofwhalebone,seeHunter, "Observations on the Structure and Economyof Whales,"Phil.Trans.,1787;

Eschricht and Reinhardt, "Onthe Greenland Right Whale,"

English translationbvtheRavSociety",1866,pp.07-78;andSir

W.

Turner,is Trans.Roy.Soc. Edin.,1870,ThomasBeale;"Natural History of the Sperm Whale," London, 1836, AndrewMurray;

"The Geographical DistributionofMammals,"London,1800, p.

312. T.N.Gill;"Sperm- Whales,Giant and Pigmy,"Amer.Nat.

iv, p. 738,fig.167. Capt.DavidGray;Landand IVatcr,Dec.1, '77,

p.4.68,and

many

otherspecialmonographs.

wnt §zg mtd _<§mf.

HUNTING THE ELK.

T> Y

^{the older}writersthe elk

was

called thewapitior _L> wapiti deer, this being the Iroquois

ntme

forthe animal. The term isemployed

now

only inbooksand byEuropeans. TheelkofEuropeisalmostidenticalwith our moose,which

name

isderived froma CreeIndian Word,moosoa. Itisunfortunate thattwo suchmagnifi- cent animals, inhabitingdifferentcontinents,should bear the

same

Englishname, butthe appellationelkis

now

so firmlysettled in Americaas belonging toCerviiscana- densis,thatitcan neverbe changed.

The young

elkarebornin

May

orJuneand,like

young

deer of mostspecies,are at first spotted. The coatis brightbay,like thatofthe Virginia deer, butthespots are neither sonumerous,so regular,norsowelldefined.

At

thefirstsheddingofthe pelage,

which

takes place in September, thespotsarelostandthe animalsassumethe yellowish gray which is their winter coloring.

The

calvesare usuallyborn in pairs,male andfemale, and duringthe

summer

the mother

and

her

young

keep by themselves. In the early partof August theybegin to collectin scattered companies,

and

earlyin September the ruttingseasonbegins.

Meanwhile,thebulls have been keeping apart. Late in the winter,their superbhornsdroppedoff,andinthe early spring the

new

antlers beganto appear,through the

summer

theyhave beenincreasingin sizeand bythe middle ofAugust have reached thenfulldevelopment.

They

are still covered with the "velvet,"however,and althoughtheyhaveceased growing and are quite hard, the tender skin, beneath which the

warm

blood still courses, clings to

them

foralittlewhile longer.

At

this timethe elk arefoundinbands,

more

orlessnumerous, according asthe countrywhich they inhabit is

much

huntedornot. The timefor freeingthehornsfromthe velvetvariessomewhat.

Mostof the bulls begin to "shake," asthemountain

men

term it, about thefirst of September.

The

older ones are usually thefirst to setaboutthis,and

some

of the yearlings carry the velvetuntilthe latefall. Soon afterthe horns are fully

grown

and hard, the flow of bloodthroughthearterieswhichsupply the hornsandthe velvet,ischecked,andthe skinbeginsto itch. Thebull

now

rubs his horns furiously against bushesandtrees, andthe velvetistorn offand hangs fromthehornsand abouthisears in bleeding^strips. Usually heseekssome low stiff-branched shrub, like the willows ina stream bottom,ora

young

pineonthe mountainside,andthrust- ing his head

among

the branches,

moves

itvigorously

up

and

down

and from sideto side. This, of course, causes the bushto

wave

to and fro,andit isfromthis

movement

thattheterm "shaking"isderived.

It is just atand immediatelybeforethistime that the bull elk arein theirverybest condition.

They

are

now

enormously fat.

and

the flesh is delicious, though elk meat,like that of mostotheranimals,shouldalwaysbe kept a

few

daysbeforeeaten. Immediatelyafterbeing killed it is a little coarse,andinthe bullssometimes tough,but, after hanging four or fivedays,itbecomes tender and verypalatable. It has aflavor ofitsown,

which

isnotfoundinanyotherwild

meat

with

which

I

am

acquainted,exceptinalessdegreeinthatofthe

mule

deer,andismoreover extremelyrichandnutritious.

Duringthetimethat thebullsare"shaking"they are veryeasilyapproached, for with their heads hidden in thebrush they can neitherseenorhear,andthe hunter, provided he has the

wind

in hisfavor, findslittlediffi-

cultyincreeping withinriflerange. Thisismoretrueon theplainsandinan opencountry thaninthe mountains.

Therethe elkisas likeiy todohisshakinginthemidstof adenseforest asanywhereelse,andinsuchsituationshe

isnoteasilydiscovereduntiloneisquiteclosetohim.

As

soonas hishorns arefree

from

the velvet,and are hardandpolished,the bull elk begins to gather about

him

allthecows hecan.

He

searches for

them

in the thickets,along the streams,inthe ravinesand

among

the timber,andthissearchisconductedinaverysystematic manner.

A

year ago last fall,while hunting*in

Wyo- ming

Territory, Iwitnessed verysatisfactorilythe

method

inwhich theyoperate. I

was

outon foot four or five milesfromthe camp, and

was

sitting on a higli mesa scanningthe surrounding country with

my

field glass,

when

I

saw

afine bull elkemerge from aravine,which ranupintothe plateauonwhichIwas,walk along over the plain below to the next ravine, enter that and presently

come

outatitshead onto the mesa, andthen walktotheheadof the nextravine and proceed

down

that.

When

liereachedthe plainhe again kept alongthe foot ofthehillsuntilhe reached the

mouth

of another ravine,andthenhe

came up

that. Inthis

way

he pro- ceeded, systematically searchingthrough these hiding placesfor

any

cowsthat miglit be lurkingthere.

As

the cows have

now come

together, a bull that finds one is likely toget adozenor perhaps fifty at the

same

time.

Theparticularbullmentionedwas,

when

first seen, per- hapsa milefrom me,but hetraveled so briskly that I triedinvaintogetwithin shootingdistance. Although hecovered

more

thantwice the distanceIhad togo,he keptfarahead of me,

and

finally,having followed the edgeofthe

mesa down

to where it sloped offinto the plain,and the ravines ended,he turned brisklytothe right,crossed a broad valley where

some

cattle were feeding,

and

disappeared in a narrow mountain valley which raninto the hills

two

or three miles fromthe camp.

The next day,however,Ihadthe pleasure of seeing him,infact, of

making

hisintimate acquaintance. There werethreeofusinthecamp,andallthe fresh

meat

that there

was

underthe

wagon was

oneantelope ham.

We

had been hard at

work

forseveraldayssinking apros- pect holeinthehillside,high abovethecanrp,and

we

all ofusfeltlike taking adayforrest. So

we

startedout after breakfast,and

went

backintothehillstotryand get

some

blacktail.

We

only

saw

four,oneofthema doe,which walkedoutontothehillside within seventy- fivestepsofus,and

which we

could easilyhave killed.

But there werethree bucks followingher,and asthe bucksareso

much

fatterinSeptember thanthedoes,

we

lethergo,hopingthat thebuckswould

come

out of the green timber,sothat

we

couldsee

them

distinctlyenough to shoot. Instead of doingthat theykeptundercover until they had passed us,and then one of

them

must have caughtourwind,foronasuddentheyallstampeded, and

we saw

no

more

ofthem.

The

rest ofourhunt

was

fruitless,and about three o'clock

we

started

down

the valley,

which was

the

same

onethebullelkhad entered the claybefore,and followed it down,intending,

when we came

to a point opposite thecamp,tocrossthelow spurofthehillsjustbelowwherethe

mine

was. I

was

riding ahead,Billnext,

and

Ike bringing

up

the rear.

SuddenlyI heard Bill call to

me

in a low voice, and

knowing

fromhistone thathe

saw

game,I had slipped off

my

horseand throwna cartridgeinto

my

rifle,before Ilookedathim.

Then

following the directionof hisrifle barrel, I

saw

inthebedofthestream

among

thewillows about200yds.away,theheadsandbodiesofadozen

cow

elkwalkingupoutofthecreek.

The

shotsflew prettyfastforafewseconds.

The

band, which

numbered

aboutforty inall,didnotwaittoinves- tigate thenoise,but dashedoutofthestreambed. It

was

abadplacefor them, however. Before they couldcross the ridgetheyhadat least600yds. of steepopenground tocover

and

allthistimetheywere exposedtoourrifles.

The

last elk toemerge from thewillows

was

the bull,

w

^Thohadstayed behindtohurryupthelaggardcows and

who now

broughtupthe rearofthefleeingband. Before theyhadgot in motiona calf had fallen,and erethey

had

gone50yds.two cows dropped.

We

had

more

than meat enough andI shouted at

my

companions,"Fireat thebull."

He was now

between300and 400yds.distant, butonthesmooth^slopeoverwhich he waspassingit

was

easytogaugetheelevation.

My

firstballstruck a little

under him,the nextjustbeyond,andatthethirdcarefully aimed shotI

saw him

flinch,bend down,and thensud- denly turnatright anglestothe coursehehadbeen pur- suing. Igavealittle cheer of triumph,for as he

was

runningIfeltsure that theball, ifithadhit hisbody at all, had

made

a fatal wound.

And

soitwas. After going100yds. furtherheslackened his trotand beganto walk with hishead down, and presentlyhe laid

down

beneathasolitarypinetreethatstoodnear the topofthe slope.

We mounted

our horses and rode

down

thehill, across thestreamand

up

towherethe elklay. Nearthe cows

we

^leftthe poniesstandingandwalked

up

thesteep ascent towhere the bullwas.

As we

approached

him we

couldseethe greatantlerstossinginthedeath agony, but

when we

reached

him

thestruggle

was

overandthe

monarch

oftheforest

was

dead.

Ihad longedtopossessthatgreathead

when

Ihadfirst seenit,and hadfelt a savage satisfaction as I

saw

the lead strikethe bull,for I

remembered

the exhausting laborthatI had undergone onthe previousdayin

my

effortsto

come

up withhim. But now,as Istood over

him

onthe mountainside,andbeheldhisbeauty andhis strengthand his symmetry,I wished that

we

hadnot killed him. It seemed acruel

wrong

totakesogranda life,except in caseofabsolutenecessity. Isuppose that every

man who

haskilled

much

large

game

^{often has} theseremorseful moments, but usually thefeelingthat heexperiences is nothing

more

thanremorse,anddoes notreach the heightofpenitence. Sothenext timehe goeshunting hetrieswithallhismighttodoexactly the thingwhich he hadpreviously regretted doing.

Some

of us there are

—

^old hunters

— who

have reached a point where

we

^try tokillonlyenoughforour requirements.

One

deerorantelopeorelka

week

isenoughfora party of

two

orthree

when

travelingthroughthewilds,butit is difficult

—

almost impossible

—

if you have

young

and ardent hunterswithyou,tokeep

them down

toanything like this limit, I have traveled for weeks throughthe

mountainswhere,without _{hunting, a}dozenshotsmight behad each dayatantelope,elkanddeer,and haveonly fired

two

orthree shots aweek,killing meatonly

when

it

was

absolutely required for the camp,but Icanre-

member

well enough thatyearsago,

when

I

was new

to the mountains, I used toshootat prettynearly every- thing thatI couldsee.

When

abullelkhas got together a band of cows he guards

them

jealously.

The

younger bulls,which have notbeenabletoaccumulateanywives, oftenloiterabout the

harem

of their

more

successful brothers, andtry to steal

away

someofthecows. Theoldbulliskept pretty busyduring the seasonoftherut,chasing

away

intruders and keepinghiscowstogether.

He

treatsthelatterwith scant courtesy, and does not hesitate to prod

them

viciouslywithhishornsifthey are slow in

moving

inthe directionin

which

he desires

them

togo. Ifanalarm takes placeherushes about,startingeachoneoftheband inflight,andnotuntil all areinmotiondoeshehimself taketo his heels.

Even

then he always brings

up

the rear,threatening thelastanimalswith"Irisgreat antlers and urging

them

togreater speed.

Just before the rutbegins,thebull,ashasbeensaid,is

enormouslyfatandat his best. But

now

lie begins to get out of condition. His neck swells, his fat turns yellow,and hehasa stronganddisagreeableodor. More- overhisarduouslaborssoon cause

him

toloseflesh,and, bythetimethe seasonisatanend,heisgauntandpoor.

Itdoes not take

him

longtopickupagain,however,

and

oftenbythemiddleofthewinter the bulls areagainin fairorder,though

by

no

means

as fat asthecows.

Down

ontheplains inyears gone byIhave had

many

agood run after elk,onhorseback. Thisisa delightful

method

of pursuing them, but a fast, quick horse is

needed for success. Speedis required to overtake the game,

and

quicknesstoavoid theobstacles

met

within thevery roughground where the chase

must

oftenbe made.

The

naturalgaitofthe elkisatrot,andittakesa verygoodhorsetoovertake

him

while in this gait.

He

can keepthis trot forhoursif not for awholeday,and the

amount

ofground that hecan cover at this pace, withouttiring,isastonishing.

He

alsoruns,buthisrun, whilefasterthanthetrot, isalso

more

exhausting, and, therefore, the

man who

is running elk alwaystriesto push

them

ashardas possible atfirst,so as to

make them

breaktheirtrot,in which casehe will be likely,if his horseisa goodone, toovertake the fattest of theband.

In acountrywherethegoingis good it is by no

means

difficulttorunelkin this way,

when

the sportbecomes very

much

likebuffalorunning, butinaroughor

moun-

tainousregion,there is little opportunity forachase of this kind.

When

^alarmed they always

make

for the roughest ground, choosingrockyhillsides,groundcovered withfallen timber, or the densest forests. Ihaveseen a band slide, roll and tumble

down

an almostvertical precipice,whereit

would

be utterly impossibleforarider tofollowatall,ortrotsmoothlyand easilyalong a steep mountainside,rough with huge blocks of stone,

among

which a horse would have brokenhisneck or legs at almost everystride,

It isveryexcitingsport togetabandofelkonjustthe right ground,and witha horseinwhich you havecon*

ence,dash out from behind some hill,' and, almost beforetheyhave takenthealarm,findyourself close to theoutskirts oftheband.

They

get togetherhastilyand startoff,atfirstina closebunch,then graduallystring- ing outin a long line,the cows and calves ahead, the bullsbringing

up

therear. Ifyou^arechasing

them

just fortheride,and without the desire tokill,perhaps

you

willpassthelastofthe herd,andasyou doso,theywill turnoff,and runninga

few

hundredyardstoonesideor theother,willstop andstare atyoufora

few

moments, and thenthrowingbacktheirhorns overtheirhipswill trotoffover thehills,andoutof sight. Ihaveahunting mare,aswift,beautiful animal,

which

is veryfondof this sport,and has

more

than once carried

me

^intothe

verymidstofabandof elk. GL

ADIRONDACK DEER.

KEENE ^VALLEY,

^{N. Y.,Oct.16.—EditorForest}

^and

Stream; Perhaps you would like areportofthe deer shooting in this section thisseason.

Fewer

deer have been killed here than in

any

year in

my remem-

brance;andtheadvocatesofhounding,

who

insisted last year that the deerwere

more

plentythan ever, this sea- sonadmitted that there was little useinhuntinghere.

The

Au

Sable Lakes are closedto

them

,fromthefact thatthey are includedinthetract recentlybought by a

number

ofgentlemen,

who

forbidallhuntingandfishing onitfora time:andthefactthattheirorders areobeyed bythe

men who

have huntedtherealltheirlives,shows, to

my

mind,

how

easyitwouldbeforthe Statetoenforce its lawsfor the protection of

game

ifthis

was

seriously attempted.

Some

halfdozendeerhave beenkilledupJohn'sBrook, astreamthatrises on the northern slopes of Mt.

Marcy

andemptiesintothe

Au

SableRiverat this place.

They

were driven bydogs and shoton runways.

The same men

have broughtindeerfromotherlocalities,andwith- outdoubt have exceededthelimit ofthreetoonehunter.

Quite a partywent fromheretoCatlinLake,inthe

town

of

Newcomb,

and returned with two bucks andthree does.

They

wereenthusiasticin their praise ofthatsec- tion forhunting, saying that they

had

tokeepthe dogs tiedtillthey got a mile orsofromthelake, asthey could

"jump them

up" at anyj>oint near theshores.^"There had been no houndingclonethereto

amount

toanything;

the deerwere so plentyand so tamethattheycould be killed atany time bystill-huntinginsummer. Yetthat

isthe

home

ofa familyof notedstill-hunters,beginning withold John Cheeny, ending with his descendants of the third generation. His nephews, Caleb and

John

Chase,arequiteas skillful asCheeny wasin his bestdays.

Ifit isthestill-huntersthatexterminate thedeer,andthe hounds that save

them

fromthepanthersandallother dangers,

how

is itthattheyare yet soplentythere,in a still-huntingdistrict,whilein this place,wheretenorfif-

teen years ago the deer were

more

plentyand where hounding is the rule, they are

now

too

few

to

pay

to hunt? Ithink there ishere a

conundrum

forDr,

Ward

to "put in his pipe and smoke." The one goodthing aboutthishuntwas, that the partyleftfivehoundsthere.

They

said there

was

nouseinwintering

them

here. If the stiU-huntersof that section willthink thesame,

and

put

them

out of existence,thehuntwillprovetohave beenaverysuccessfulone.

Au

Sable,