A. E. Verrill — The Bermuda Islands. 683 



these whales have become rare. The Hump-back and the Biscay 

 Right Whale are practically extinct in these waters. The Sperm 

 Whale is still taken occasionally, but must be considered uncommon. 



The following is the statement of Silvanus Jourdan, 1610 : 



"There hath beene likewise found some good quantitie of Amber- 

 greece, and that of the best sort. There are also great plentie 

 whales which I conceive are very easie to bee killed, for they come 

 so usually and ordinarilie to the shore, that wee heard them often- 

 times in the night abed ; and have seene many of them neare the 

 shoare, in the day time." 



The following is an extract from the letter of Richard Stafford 

 (see p. 510) to the Royal Society of London, in 1668, (Trans., iii, p. 

 792). The first part evidently refers to the common Hump-back 

 Whale : 



" We have hereabout very many sorts of Fishes. There is 

 amongst them great store of Whales, which in March, April and 

 May use our Coast. I have my self killed many of them. Their 

 Females have abundance of Milk, which their young ones suck out 

 of the Teats, that grow by their Navell. They have no Teeth, but 

 feed on Mosse,* gi*owing on the Rocks at the bottom, during these 

 three Moneths, and at no other season of the year. When that is 

 consumed and gone, the Whales go away also. These we kill for 

 « their Oyl. But here have been Sperma-Ceti- Whales [Sperm Whales] 

 driven upon the shore, which Sperma (as they call it) lies all over 

 the Body of those Whales. These have divers Teeth, which may 

 be about as big as a Mans wrist ; and I hope by the next opportunity 

 to send you one of them. My self with about 20 more have agreed 

 to try whether we can master and kill them, for I could never hear 

 of any of that sort that were killed by any man ; such is their 

 fierceness and swiftness. One such Whale would be worth many 

 hundred pounds. They are very strong, and inlayed with sinews 

 all over their Body, which may be drawn out thirty fathom long." 



The identity of the commonest Bermuda whale has always 

 remained in doubt. No specimens of the skull or skeleton have ever 



* This was a common notion at that period, apparently due to the appearance 

 of the contents of the stomach, simulating moss or sea-weeds. Probably the 

 tentacles of jelly-fishes and the remains of various other small surface animals 

 gave this appearance, but niore or less of the abundant floating sea-weeds 

 (Sargassum, etc.) would naturally be swallowed with the animal food which they 

 captured at the surface of the sea, for they take in everything within range of 

 the open motith, as they swim along. 



Mr. Hayward of St. David's Island states that they fed on jelly fishes. 



