142 ALLEN: NEW ENGLAND WHALEBONE WHALES. 



began to "look out for fish" about the middle of that month. In October, 1688, a whale proba- 

 bly Eubalaena, was killed in Boston Harbor, and two others, probably also Eubalaena, in 

 October, 1852, but otherwise, the earliest specific instances for its appearance in our waters 

 in fall seem to be those given above for 1850, 1876, and 1877, when single individuals were 

 noted during the first few days of November. The figures show that in this month and in 

 December they were present in some numbers. Probably most of them were leisurely follow- 

 ing the coast to more southerly latitudes, so that by January there is an apparent falling off, 

 which in our table, owing to the paucity of entries, is perhaps more than normally evident. 

 It is significant, however, that the addition of the Long Island records above detailed hardly 

 changes the total for this month. The decrease after December no doubt indicates an actual 

 migratory movement to the south, and is in accord with the statement of Dudley ' in 1725, 

 that in the fall of the year the Right Whales go westward, following the general trend of the shore. 

 It seems that already by December this species used to appear off the coasts of Delaware, 

 and probably wintered regularly as far south as the Bermuda Islands and the coasts of South 

 Carolina. In the latter region they probably reached their general southern limit, and in 

 this were doubtless influenced by the warm Gulf Stream waters which turn eastward away from 

 the shore at about this latitude. Manigault (Proc. Elliott Soc., 1886, vol. 2, p. 98-104) 

 describes a Right Whale killed in January, 1880, in Charleston Harbor, S. C., and a second 

 shortly after was cast ashore on Sullivan's Island, S. C. A third was captured off the harbor 

 of Port Royal, S. C., in February, 1884, and a fourth off Cape Lookout, North Carolina, 

 Mar. 20, 1894. These are all therefore wintering animals. Some numbers must have wintered 

 as far north as Massachusetts Bay, but probably the greater part move to the south of Cape 

 Cod after December. 



An instance of the supposed wintering of a Right Whale in Boston Bay is noted in 1895. 

 What was believed to be the same individual was said to have appeared near Hull in early 

 October, 1894, and after having been repeatedly seen in that vicinity during the succeeding 

 months was finally killed near Nahant in the following March. The evidence does not seem 

 wholly satisfactory that the October animal was even a Right Whale, but yet the story may 

 be essentially true. 



After January comes a distinct increase in the number reported in the Massachusetts 

 and neighboring waters. This increase apparently took place from about the middle of Febru- 

 ary on, and it may be supposed that the northward migration of these whales had then already 

 begun. In March and April the numbers increase, so that in the latter month they seem more 

 numerous than at any other period of the year, along the southern coasts of both Massachusetts 

 and Long Island. The reason for this is apparent; for in following the trend of our coast south- 

 ward in fall, they must in part pass well out to sea beyond Cape Cod, but in returning north- 



1 Phil. Trans. Roy. Soc. London, Abridged, 1734, vol. 7, pt. 3, p. 426, 



