X. 



Off Cape Cod. 



whaling in massachusetts bay. 



Provincetown, Barnstable County, 

 Aug. 12, 1887. 



My dear Mr. Editor, — Since my 

 arrival in this old fishing-town, whales 

 have been the absorbing topic of conver- 

 sation, not only among the transient sum- 

 mer-boarders, but among the permanent 

 residents as well. A few days before I 

 came, a large school of fin-back whales, 

 for the first time in two years, made its 

 appearance at the entrance of Massachu- 

 setts Bay, and ever since there has been 

 great excitement here. Several of the 



