548 H.S.H. Albert L, Prince of 3Ionaco, [May 27, 



hood, and I have seen how these mammals fjo to the intermediate 

 depths of the ocean in search of the great cephalopods which form 

 their exclusive nourishment. When the cachalot in question came 

 to endure the convulsions of death, its stomach rejected enormous 

 fragments of the prey which it had captured during its last sounding. 



It is in this way that I have recognised the existence of a fauna 

 remarkable for the size and the number of its components, relegated 

 to the enormous space which separates the surface from the great 

 depths, but whose organisation prevents its rising to the regions 

 illuminated by the light of the sun and probably also its descend- 

 ing to the bottom, when this lies beyond a certain depth. 



What other groups of living animals inhabit these regions ? We 

 know nothing of them yet, but we may believe that they abound, 

 because beings as powerful as these cephalopods require much 

 nourishment. 



So soon as I understood the importance of researches capable of 

 throwing light on the life which exists in regions inaccessible to our 

 ordinary means, I established on board of my ship all the equipments 

 of a whaler, namely, three whale boats each carrying a harpoon gun, 

 several harpoons, a lance and a thousand metres of line, and I added 

 to the complement of my ship an experienced Scottish whaler. The 

 results (jf this organisation have left nothing to be desired. The 

 cetaceans obtained already form an interesting collection, and their 

 stomachs were abundandantly furnished with these cephalopods. 



In the Mediterranean, where previously the cetaceans had never 

 been hunted, I have taken several species of Grampus griseus, of Orca 

 gladiator, of Glohiceps melas, and I lost a Balinoptera musculus. In 

 the Atlantic Ocean I have found several Glohiceps and Grampus, as 

 well as a very rare specimen of dolphin, Steno rostratus. I have also 

 lost a cetacean of moderate size but of undetermined species. 



The attack of cetaceans, especially when they are large, causes 

 the harponeering novice an emotion which diminishes his adresse; 

 and even for a good shot the use of the harpoon gun is very difficult 

 when there is the least motion of the sea. A troop of animals has 

 been signalled. Their presence has been revealed by their blowing, 

 or by the regular reappearance of their backs at a greater or less dis- 

 tance from the ship, which is then steered towards them. If the 

 animals are of the species already mentioned, the movement of the 

 propeller does not trouble them ; on the contrary, they may almost 

 always be seen to come and take up station under the stern as if 

 retained by curiosity. But some species, and among them the 

 cachalot, seem to distrust this neighbourhood, and care must be taken 

 that they do not hear even the too marked sound of oars ; indeed 

 in such cases it is preferable to use paddles rather than oars. 



The animals have found in the depth a favourable hunting ground, 

 and they do not leave it. They sound to this depth during a time 

 which varies from ten to forty-five minutes, according to the species, 

 and come to the surface again to breathe during four or five minutes. 



