412 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 



of conveyance. We started this morning at 8.30 and returned at 4 

 p. ni., alter a cold and blustering ride in an easterly wind. 



At this point I .shall digress merely to show the reasonings of a man 

 who is so well acquainted with this coast. Mr. Cook's argument was 

 that if "that fish" came ashore near Parmet Harbor on the "back 

 side " of the cape, the carcass, or that which might be left of it, would 

 certainly work to the "nor'ward," following the bend of the coast, and, 

 judging from the time it had been ashore, and taking into consideration 

 the point from which the wind had been blowing "fresh," he was fully 

 satisfied that we would find it about 3 miles to the north of the point at 

 which it first landed. He then pulled his hat over his eyes, stuck spurs 

 into his horse, and away he went at a lively canter. He kept up this 

 gait until we reached North Truro, a distance of G miles, where, much 

 to my relief, we stopped to water the horses. Then away we went again, 

 his sure footed horse carrying him over sand flats, marshy grounds, 

 through scrub pines and horribly distorted oaks, and I following help- 

 lessly. 



Having arrived at a blind path leading through a gulch which he 

 called "Long Nook Valley," he said he guessed "we would head him 

 off here," and away we sped across the cape to the sea-shore. We de- 

 scended a precipitous bank of sand, and felt the spray from the thun- 

 dering surf which was madly dashing against the beach. My guide, 

 pulling his hat closer over his eyes, plunged the spurs deeper in the 

 flanks of his horse, which, elevating its rear legs and twisting its tail 

 in a most, peculiar manner, led me to believe that it premeditated 

 throwing its rider into the surf. 



After riding for about one-quarter of a mile to the south, Mr. Cook 

 reined up before the head of the fish, which, true to his predictions, had 

 been washed ashore 3 miles north of its first landing place. I imme- 

 diately dismounted, and by means of a piece of driftwood cleared away 

 the sand and turned over the mass, which proved to be a portion of the 

 upper jaw or cranium of the cetacean. A fisherman who was picking 

 up driftwood near by told us that no other fish of this kind had come 

 ashore recently. He also said that he had seen the fish ; that it was 

 not a finback, nor a black fish, but that he supposed it was a young 

 sperm whale. Upon questioning him he said that he had been living 

 on that coast for sixty years, and had never seen anything like it 

 before. 



The cranium was far from perfect, having evidently been severed 

 from the body in a very rough manner, being fractured and hacked 

 at either end. We, however, looked carefully around for other por- 

 tions of the carcass, marked the spot, and went on down the beach un- 

 til we arrived at Station No. 9, having found the cranium about 2 miles 

 north of this point, between No. 9 and Highland light. From the cap- 

 tain of Station No. 9, we learned that the remains of the fish had been 

 washed out to sea, during the night, shortly after the blubber had been 



