70 



THE WHALES 



known to steal a whale from a crew of whalers. The orca 

 which I have observed in the Santa Catalina Channel is 

 jet-black above, and lighter beneath, with a clear, light, 

 oblong spot back of the eyes, and a white, or maroon, 

 crescent-shaped band on the back like a saddle behind the 

 dorsal, which makes it a conspicuous object. I have had 



several of these savage 



monsters pass my boat 



within a stone's throw, 



one behind the other, in 



a Hne, and I always felt 



that discretion was the 



better part of valor. 



The grampus and blackfish are similar forms, while the 



porpoise (Fig. 47) is an example of the smallest of the 



tribe. The dolphin (Fig. 48) is an equally active animal. 



Fig. 47. — The Porpoise. 



Fig. 48. — The Dolphin. 



In many seas it is a familiar object, darting swiftly along 

 before the cutwater of swiftly moving vessels. 



The common dolphin is a famihar example of these 

 clever jumpers. To illustrate the jumping powers of the 

 porpoise, a friend in endeavoring to capture a school ar- 

 ranged a line of boats across the entrance of a bay into 



