A Sportsman 321 



and the finale occurred when the last grand pull 

 took place, which broke the rope, and sent all tumbling 

 down on the sand. The tail end of our victim was 

 well out, however, and the retreating tide soon left 

 him clear. I gave him to my men, who tried out two 

 barrels of oil from him. We estimated his weight 

 as a little rising from a ton. His black, glossy hide, 

 for he had a veritable hide, was tough and thick, and 

 almost impervious to the penetration of a knife blade. 

 He had a few blunt teeth on his lower jaw, two inches 

 in diameter, but no others. My ball had penetrated 

 by chance a large blood vein, cutting through to the 

 lungs, which was fatal. 



The grampus is not a fish, but a warm-blooded 

 animal of the sea, kindred in family with the whale, 

 killer, walrus, porpoise, dolphin, etc. Its food prin- 

 cipally consists of small fishes, and the occasional 

 large class, as salmon, cod, flounders, etc., when good 

 fortune attends his comparatively slow movements. 



Another animal of the sea of the grampus family 

 which I had experience in meeting, of which little is 

 known by the general public, is known as the killer 

 (Orca Gladiator of the genus Orcinus). This is the free- 

 booter of the sea, the pirate, the terrible; ravenous 

 and ferocious, and of desperate courage. As the wolf, 

 it fights in packs, and nothing in the sea can with- 

 stand it, when united with others in contest. The 

 mighty whale, the largest animal of nature on earth, 

 succumbs to the united efforts, and the wonder is 

 that even they can exist. 



It is no idle tale I shall relate of them, nor do I 

 mean to adduce any instances as facts which cannot 

 be substantiated by sufficient evidence. If you will 



