BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 415 



Portuguese, who was so anxious to obtain the blubber. Hence it was 

 left to the mercies of the waves, and, appearing here and there on the 

 coast, gave rise to different and conflicting reports. 



HABITS OF THE SPEEM WHALE GRAMPUS. 



When the whalemen discover a school of these little, active creatures, 

 from the lookout at the mast-head, believing them to be young sperm 

 whales, they usually lower the boats for a capture. They are very 

 wild and difficult to approach, and are consequently very rarely taken. 

 When struck with a harpoon they suddenly "turn flukes" and descend 

 to the depths below with astonishing celerity, taking all the line allotted 

 to one boat, usually 300 fathoms. In this way fish, harpoon, and line 

 are all lost. As soon as the whalemen perceive that the school is not 

 composed of sperm whales they draw off, and the sportive fish pursues 

 the even tenor of its way. Even when taken, as they are occasionally, 

 they yield very little oil, on account of their smallness. 



The whalemen distinguish the sperm whale grampus or "square- 

 headed grampus," as they term it, from the young of Physeter macro- 

 ccphalus by the spout. The former blows oftener at a rising, and the 

 time of respiration is much shorter or "quicker." 



The captains of these life-saving stations are generally just the men 

 to know all about such rare specimens being cast upon the coast. The 

 crews are often composed of fishermen and whalemen. Capt. Isaac 

 J. Fisher, of Station ISTo. 7, was at one time the captain of a whale- 

 ship. As these men patrol the beach they have time and facilities for 

 rendering you assistance. 



Peovincetown, Mass., October 18, 1882. 



PLANS FOR OBTAINING HEAD AND SKELETON OF A SPEEM WHALE. 



The heads, including the case, junk, and white-horse, of all whales 

 under 25 or 30 barrels, can, by the improved windlass power, be raised 

 from the water and hoisted on deck, where they are dissected. The 

 lower jaw-bone is wrenched from its socket separately and also landed on 

 the deck. The heads of the larger whales are usually dissected in the 

 water. It would, therefore, be easy, after saving the junk and the con- 

 tents of the case, to preserve the osseous formation; but I am told it 

 would be a difficult matter to obtain the skeleton of the body. The 

 greatest difficulty seems to me, however, to lie in the fact that none of 

 the fathers or forefathers of the present whalemen ever did such a thing. 



I have been told that during July and August sperm whales are oc- 

 casionally found off Cape Henry, Fortress Monroe, Hatteras, and even 

 Charleston, S. C. Two boat crews could be hired from New Bedford 

 and Provincetown, be taken on board the Fish Hawk, or such other 

 vessel as you might indicate, and make a trip to those waters. Having 

 killed the whale, it would be lashed to the sides of the Fish Hawk, flukes 

 foremost, and towed to the beach at high tide. It could be photographed, 



