372 AI^NUAL EEPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1916. 



appearing in a moment, and, with Sumatra's chain of active volcanoes so near, 

 I felt doubtful indeed of what was now happening. Getting the night glasses 

 out of the cabin scuttle, where they were always hung in readiness, I focussed 

 them on the troubled spot, perfectly satisfied by a short examination that 

 neither volcano nor earthquake had anything to do with what was going on ; yet 

 so vast were the forces engaged that I might well have been excused for my first 

 supposition. A very large sperm whale was locked in deadly conflict with a 

 cuttle-fish, or squid, almost as large as himself, whose interminable tentacles 

 seemed to enlace the whole of his great body. The head of the whale espe- 

 cially seemed a perfect network of writhing arms — naturally, I suppose, for it 

 appeared as if the whale had the tail part of the mollusc in his jaws, and, in 

 a businesslike, methodical Avay, was sawing through it. By the side of the 

 black columnar head of the whale appeared the head of the great squid, as 

 awful an object as one could well imagine even in a fevered dream. Judging 

 as carefully as possible, I estimated it to be at least as large as one of our 

 pipes, which contained 350 gallons; but it may have been, and probably was, 

 a good deal larger. The eyes were very remarkable from their size and black- 

 ness, which, contrasted with the livid whiteness of the head, made their ap- 

 pearance all the more striking. They were at least a foot in diameter, and 

 seen under such conditions looked decidedly eerie and hobgoblin-like. All 

 around the combatants were numerous sharks, like jackals around a lion, 

 ready to share the feast and apparently assisting in the destruction of the 

 huge cephalopod. So the titanic struggle went on in perfect silence as far as 

 we were concerned, because, even had there been any noise, our distance from 

 the scene of conflict would not have permitted us to hear it. 



It is quite possible that the animal observed was an octopus, which 

 would better fit the geographical position of the conflict than the 

 squid. Such a fight is depicted in chapter 11, The Autobiography 

 of a Sperm Wliale, Frank T. Bullen's " Denizens of the Deep," from 

 which we have taken plate IT. 



It is probable, from various observations, that this and the other species of 

 squids are partially nocturnal in their habits, or at least are more active in 

 the night than in the day. Those that are caught in the pounds and weirs 

 mostly enter in the night, evidently while swimming along the shores in 

 " schools." They are often found in the morning stranded on the beaches in 

 immense numbers, especially when there is a full moon, and it is thought by 

 many of the fishermen that this is because, like many other nocturnal animals, 

 they have the habit of turning toward and gazing at a bright light, and since 

 they swim backwards they get ashore on the beaches opposite the position 

 of the moon. This habit is also sometimes taken advantage of by the fisher- 

 men, who capture them for bait for cod fish ; they go out in dark nights with 

 torches in their boats and by advancing slowly toward a beach drive them 

 ashore. 



That Cephalopods furnished an attractive bait for fish was known 

 to the ancients, for Aristotle tells us : 



For this reason fishermen roast the fleshy parts of the cuttlefish and use it 

 as bait on account of its smell, for fish are peculiarly attracted by it ; they also 

 bake the octupus and bait their fish baskets or weels with it entirely, as they 

 say, on account of its smell. 



