The Dolphin 347 



ship made her course again under the stiff breeze, 

 with cordage whistling the music of Arion in 

 the ^Egean Sea. The dolphins came in schools 

 and raced along under the cutwater, darting by 

 it, performing mighty feats of valor. It was an 

 easy matter to observe and catch them, and 

 swinging from an improvised seat on the dolphin 

 striker the men supplied the galley with these 

 splendid fishes. 



Few fishes are better known than the dolphin, 

 yet as rarely seen at close quarters, though I have 

 often taken them from the bows of ships at sea, 

 and the sport is a common one among sailors. 

 The real dolphin is a well-known figure in my- 

 thology. It was Arion who, captured at sea by 

 pirates, when sentenced to death, asked permis- 

 sion to play upon his harp. The notes drifted 

 away over the sea so sweetly that they attracted 

 a school of dolphins, and when Arion was tossed 

 over he fell upon the back of one and was carried 

 to the shore ; hence we see in the heavens Arion's 

 harp and the dolphin forming the well-known 

 constellation of that name. 



The dolphins (Coryph&nida) are pelagic fishes 

 living on the high seas and offshore on the Amer- 

 ican coast from Virginia to the Rio Grande, often 



