228 PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM. vol. xxvii. 



desirable to publish reproductions of two admiral)le photographs of a 

 killer stranded at Eastport, Maine, in March, 1902. These photo- 

 graphs were obtained by the National Museum from Mr. William S. 

 Hume, throuoh Di'. Richard Ilath})un. 



My attention was iirst attracted to the animal by the following item 

 which appeared in the New York Sn/t newspaper of March H, 1902: 



Eastport, Maine, March 2. — Two large finback whales found their way into a 

 small cove in the western part of the oity on Thursday and will probably soon be 

 killed. The whales have been seen in different parts of Passaniaquoddy Bay for 

 four weeks, and had made their way a few days ago up the Concook River, where 

 the water is shallow. 



A small stream flows out from the river to the east, passing under the toll bridge 

 which connects this island city with the mainland, 4 miles away. It w^as under 

 this bridge that the two whales made their way into the small cove, which is inclosed 

 on the other entrance by the three wooden bridges of the Washington County 

 Railroad. 



At low tide the cove is shallow and there is hardly room for the whales to move 

 about. The cove is within a half-mile of the Passamaquoddy Indian settlement, 

 where there are 400 Indians. 



Upon writing to Mr. Hume, I was surprised to learn that the whales 

 were not finbacks, but killers. Later Mr. Hume forwarded the two 

 photographs of one of the specimens, which are published herewith, 

 and the following measurements and memoranda: 



Ft. in. 



Total length of whale, straight 25 4 



Vertical height of dorsal fin 5 7 



Length of base of dorsal tin 3 



Length of pectoral 3 



Breadth of pectoral 3 



Spread of flukes 9 2 



General color above, black; below, white. Color of pectorals above, black; below, 

 white. Color of flukes above, black; below, white. Sex, male. 



Much to my regret the carcasses of these tine specimens were towed 

 out to sea before it was known that the skeletons and casts of the 

 exterior would be of interest to science. 



European killers have been figured many times, the best drawings 

 being those published by Schlegel," Liitken,^ and Van Beneden.'" 



Liitken's figure agrees with the photograph of the Eastport specimen 

 with the greatest exactness, except that the grayish mark on the back, 

 posterior to the dorsal fin, is not observable in the latter. As this 

 mark is probably rather indistinct, it may have been present in the 

 Eastport specimen, but is not visible in the photographs on account 



« H. Schlegel, Abhandl. aus dem Gebiete der Zoologie und Vergleich. Anatomic, 

 1841, pi. vii. Female, about 14 feet long. Wyk op Zee, Holland, 1841. 



&C. F. Liitken, Vidensk. Selsk. Skv., 6 Rgekke, nat. og math. Afh., 4, art. 6, 1887, 

 pi. I. Female, about 16 feet long. Limfiord, Norway. 1872. 



'• P. J. Van Beneden, Mem. Acad. R. Belgique, XLIII, 1879, pi. i. Young, about 

 6 feet 8 inches long. Ostende, Belgium. 1843 or 1844. 



