A. FE. 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,* growing 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 more 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 mouth, as they swim along. 
Mr. Hayward of St. David’s Island states that they fed on jelly fishes. 
