206 ALLEN: NEW ENGLAND WHALEBONE WHALES. 



Occurrence in New England Waters. 



In general, Finback Whales do not approach our coasts closely except near outlying islands 

 or the outstretched arm of Cape Cod, which projects as a narrow strip of land many miles 

 out to sea and by its recurved tip seems often to intercept schools of whales moving at some 

 distance eastward of the general coast line. Fishermen with whom I have spoken, agree that 

 the Finbacks are usually seen at some distance from shore. Mr. George Dobson, of Rock- 

 port, Mass., tells me that though he has often seen them well offshore they rarely come in as 

 near as the outer islands. They particularly frequent areas where the plankton is most abun- 

 dant. Off Cape Ann and in the northwest part of the Gulf of Maine seem to be favorite haunts, 

 and particularly the waters south and east of Cape Cod. Whales seem rarely to enter Long 

 Island Sound from the western end as their general movement is too far to seaward, but they 

 are sometimes found at the eastern entrance, as far west as Block Island, R. I., or eastern 

 Connecticut, but records for the latter State are few. Major E. A. Mearns sends me the note 

 that Captain B. F. Gardner who was pilot and captain of the steamboat George W. Donaldson, 

 running between Block Island and Newport, R. I., from 1880 to 1896, reported that almost 

 every year Finbacks were seen on this run, usually in pairs, or in schools of from six to twenty. 

 Whales often are seen from the Nantucket shores, or occasionally from the Maine islands, but 

 it is seldom that they are seen from the mainland. Nevertheless individuals now and then 

 come close in and may even enter the harbors, as they have been known to do at Eastport, 

 Portsmouth, Gloucester, New Haven, and elsewhere. Such temerity not infrequently results 

 in their becoming stranded and summarily dispatched by the 'longshoremen. 



The movements of this species show a rather marked periodicity, for they are much more 

 frequently seen in the warmer months than in winter. Yet there seems to be no definite migra- 

 tion season as there is with the Atlantic Right Whale, for they may he noted at any time of 

 year. In the following pages are brought together what definite records I have found for Fin- 

 back Whales in New England waters. They can at best represent but a small fraction of the 

 known occurrences, yet are I think, sufficiently numerous to indicate in a general way the 

 seasonal distribution of the species. On page 218 I have summarized these records in tabular 

 form and discussed them in more detail. In some cases where schools of whales are reported 

 it is possible that other species than Common Finbacks were present, but the records are given 

 for what they are worth. 



1614. — Captain John Smith's narrative of his voyage to New England gives us the first 

 definite reference to Finback Whales on this coast. In the month of April, in this year, he 

 "chanced to arrive" off the coast of Maine, near Monhegan Island, and here found many 

 whales and "spent much time in chasing them." But the whales proved not to be the Right 

 Whale as he had expected, but instead "a kind of jubartes," i. e. Finbacks, and owing to their 



