HOW A HUMPBACK DIVES AND SPOUTS 



from the passengers. But it is only when sounding 

 that the tail is shown and never when the whale is 

 feeding or swimming near the surface. 



The humpback comes up obliquely and, as soon as 

 the spout has been delivered, arches the back and be- 

 gins to revolve, finally drawing out the flukes . and 

 going down vertically. When hunting, the proper 

 time to shoot is when the dorsal fin begins to show 

 above the water depending, of course, upon the dis- 

 tance. The iron then has a fair chance to reach the 

 lungs or heart and a larger target is presented. 



How far a whale can descend is a matter of con- 

 jecture and more or less dispute among naturalists. 

 One writer argues that whales cannot go deeper than 

 three hundred feet because of the tremendous water 

 pressure. But all cetaceans have certain specializa- 

 tions in body structure which undoubtedly enable 

 them to withstand high pressure. 



I have, as personal evidence upon this subject, the 

 fact that a blue whale, harpooned between the shoul- 

 ders and but slightly injured, dove straight down- 

 ward and took out over a quarter of a mile of rope. 

 We were, at the time, almost a hundred miles at 

 sea and so far as could be determined the animal had 

 gone down to the full limit of the line which hung 

 from the bows as rigid as a bar of steel. The whale 

 remained below for thirty-two minutes and reap- 

 peared not more than a hundred yards away and di- 

 rectly in front of the ship. 



It is the opinion of every whaler with whom I have 

 talked that all the large cetaceans can descend to a 



