THE SQUID AND OCTOPUS — BAETSCH. 371 



The schooner SaraJi P. Ayer, Capt. Oakly, took one or two. The E. R. Nicker- 

 son, Capt. McDonald, secured one that had its arms and was not entirely dead, 

 so that it was harpooned. Its tentacular arms were 36 feet long. 



The schooner Tragabigsanda, Capt. Mallory, secured three in one afternoon. 

 These were 8 to 12 feet long, not including the arms. 



These statements are confirmed by other fishermen, some of whom state that 

 the " big squids " were also common during the same season at the " Flemish 

 Cap," a bank situated some distance northeast from the Grand Banks. 



The cause of so great a mortality among these great Cephalopods can only 

 be conjectured. It may have been due to some disease epidemic among them, 

 or to an unusual prevalence of deadly parasites or other enemies. It is worth 

 Avhile, however, to recall the fact that these were observed at about the same 

 time, in autumn, when most of the specimens have been found cast ashore in 

 Newfoundland in different years. This time may, perhaps, be just subsequent 

 to their season for reproduction, when they would be so much weakened as to 

 1)6 more easily overpowered by parasites, disease, or other imfavorable condi- 

 tions. 



Aside from man the sperm whale is imdoubtedly the greatest 

 enemy possessed by these monstrous animals, for it is well known 

 that parts of them are usually found in the stomach or are vomited 

 by the sperm whale when the animal is captured by whalers. We 

 quote from The Depths of the Ocean, by Sir John Murray and Dr. 

 Johan Hjort (pp. 651-652) : 



On the 15th of August the Michael Sars arrived in Mofjord on the east 

 coast of Iceland, and visited the local whaling station. On the shore were two 

 freshly caught whales, one a north-caper, the other a cachalot. Inspecting 

 the cachalot I saw around its enormous jaws several long parallel stripes con- 

 sisting, as closer scrutiny revealed, of great numbers of circular scars or 

 wounds about 27 mm. in diameter. It occurred to me that these scars must 

 have been left by the suckers of a giant squid, and following up this idea I 

 found in the whale's mouth a piece of a squid tentacle 17 cm. in maximum 

 diameter. In the stomach of the whale many squid-beaks of various sizes 

 were found, the largest measuring 9 cm. in length, besides some fish bones, 

 and the men who had shot the whale told me that in its death flurry it dis- 

 gorged the arm of a squid 6 meters long. 



Our illustration (pi. 15) shows the sucker scars in the skin. 



An encounter between a sperm whale and giant squid is described 

 in Frank T. Bullen's book on The Cruise of the Cachalot, from which 

 we quote (pp. 143-144). 



At about 11 p. ni. I was leaning over the lee rail, gazing steadily at the 

 bright surface of the sea, where the intense radiance of the tropical moon made 

 a broad path like a pavement of burnished silver. Eyes that saw not, mind 

 only confusedly conscious of my surroundings, were mine; but suddenly I 

 started to my feet with an exclamation, and stared with all my might at 

 the strangest sight I ever saw. There was a violent commotion in the sea 

 right where the moon's rays were concentrated, so great that, remembering 

 our position, I was at first inclined to alarm all hands: for I had often heard 

 of volcanic islands suddenly lifting their heads from the depths below, or dis- 



