406 THE WORLD OF THE SEA. 
chasing each other, diving under the keel, and re-appearing to 
begin afresh their gambols. These shoals consist of five or six, 
rarely of more, though troops of twenty may occasionally be seen. 
When they are hunting their prey, they always go in packs, like 
wolves. 
They show to each other a sympathy which is truly remark- 
able, and far more real than their supposed affection for the 
human race. As soon as one of a party is taken, the rest come 
near and surround it till it has been drawn up on deck. Then 
they all go off together, and will not eat anything, whatever may 
be thrown to them. This is the case only with old ones that 
have grown cunning and suspicious. If a troop of little dolphins 
are met with, they will all remain feeding round the vessel, | 
as if they were curious to ascertain for themselves what had 
become of their companion, and by this means they are all 
captured. 
The largest known kind is the Delphinus orca. One was 
caught in the Thames in 1787, twenty-six feet long, and another 
in the Loire in 1793, twenty feet long. It is asserted that they 
sometimes measure even thirty-four feet. A female and its young 
were cast on shore near Ostend in 1844. This fine dolphin was 
black on the upper part of the body, and white underneath. It had 
a white spot, in the shape of a cross, on the head, above the eyes. 
Its teeth were conical, and rather hooked. This dolphin is 
considered the most formidable of the cetacea which visit our 
shores, and will attack the largest animals of the sea: it will even 
pursue the whale; a troop will torment the king of the cetacea 
till he open his mouth, and then they will devour his tongue 
(Cuvier). Nothing is more interesting than to hear the tales of the 
ferocity and gluttony of these dangerous animals related by the 
fishermen of Greenland and Spitzbergen. 
On the Ist of August, 1862, a fine dolphin was stranded on 
the coast of Jutland. Information was immediately sent to 
Professor Eschricht, of Copenhagen, who repaired to the spot. 
The first thing the naturalist wished to discover was how the 
monster had been fed during the last hours of his life; and, on 
examining, ¢hirteen porpotses and fifteen sea-calves were found in 
his stomach! 
