COMMON FINBACK WHALE. 199 



into ... the Orifice of the Uterus, and finding herself caught, tore away with such Violence, 

 that she towed the Ship out of the Harbour, as fast as if she had been under Sail with a good 

 Gale of Wind, to the Astonishment of the People on Shore, for there was nobody on board. 

 When the Whale came into deep Water, she went under, and had like to have carried the Sloop 

 wit h her, but the Cable gave Way, and so the Boats that were out after her, recovered it. This 

 Whale was found dead some Days after on that Shore, with the Anchor sticking in her Belly." 



On December IGth, 1874, "while the schooner Sultana was lying at anchor on Grand Bank, 

 ;i sudden motion was felt by those on board, and it became evident that the craft was being 

 carried through the water by some unseen and unknown power. Looking forward, it was 

 observed that the cable was drawn taut, and that some ' monster of the deep ' was attached 

 thereto, and drawing the vessel along at the rate of twelve knots an hour. Soon they obtained 

 positive evidence, as a mammoth whale came to the surface to blow, having the anchor of the 

 vessel hooked either into his jaw or blow-hole. There was also another whale which swam 

 near, evidently greatly astonished at the predicament of his companion. The men on board 

 one of the dories, which had just returned from visiting their trawls, had barely time to make 

 I'ast their painter ere the vessel started. Another dory, with two men, was at some distance, 

 also visiting their trawls. The captain stood ready with axe in hand, in case of emergency, 

 and allowed the whale to tow them some distance; but not wishing to lose sight of the men 

 in the dory, was obliged to cut the cable." 1 A rough sketch by the ship's steward accom- 

 panies this account, and represents a whale with prominent dorsal fin (and so probably a Fin- 

 back) towing the schooner. 



These instances of whales becoming caught by the anchor of a vessel indicate that they 

 occasionally seek the bottom at moderate depths, perhaps in pursuit of food, perhaps even to 

 rest briefly on the sea floor, as seals will sometimes do. An interesting note in this connection 

 comes from Captain Laffan of the U. S. cable ship Burnside which was sent north from Seattle, 

 Washington, a few years ago to repair the cable from that city to Alaska because of the diffi- 

 culty experienced that winter in sending and receiving messages. The Burnside picked up 

 the cable connecting Valdez and Sitka a few miles off Cook's Inlet, and finally discovered the 

 cause of the trouble. A large whalebone whale, probably while feeding near the bottom, 

 had succeeded in taking the cable in its open jaws where it had become wedged between the 

 whalebone plates. Unable to free itself, the whale had rolled and turned until the cable had 

 become tightly twisted about its head, effectually holding it until it drowned. The carcass 

 had been devoured by fish, but the great mass of whalebone was brought aboard by the crew 

 of the Burnside. No indication of the species of whale is given in the brief account of this 

 interest ing casualty. More lately a somewhat similar case is reported from Ceylon. 



1 Anon. The Fisheries of Gloucester, from 1023 to 1876. etc. Gloucester, 1876, p. (U. 



