802 The Zoologist — July, 1867. 



All these measurements were carefully taken with a measuring-tape, 

 following the curves of the body ; as the animal was lying on its side 

 I was unable to ascertain its girth. The men said their "fish" was 

 twenty feet in length, but their idea of a correct measurement was to 

 start from the mouth and proceed down the back, up the back-fin and 

 down again, and so right on to one of the points of the tail-fin : in this 

 way, which they all declared to be the only received and orthodox 

 manner of measuring a whale, they easily added four or five feet to the 

 true length. They were extremely civil and obliging in giving me 

 facilities for making the above observations, as well as in supplying 

 information as to the capture of the animals. From their statements, 

 and from the accounts which appeared in the Edinburgh and Glasgow 

 papers, I compile the following particulars. 



It appears that the shoal, supposed to be about two hundred in 

 number, had been known to be in the Firth for about a fortnight before 

 the day of slaughter. On Friday, the 19th, the Volunteer Artillery at 

 Portobello practised at them with their guns without success. Next 

 day a Prestonpans fishing crew struck one of the whales with a 

 harpoon, and the boat was dragged up the Firth, followed by the rest 

 of the shoal ; then boats put out from Newhaven and other fishing 

 villages and joined in the pursuit. The whales were now thoroughly 

 alarmed, and being surrounded were driven in shore. Many of them 

 got into shallow water, where they were received with pickaxes, spades 

 and other improvised weapons. The chase must now have been a 

 most exciting one ; wherever one whale led the rest followed (as is the 

 invariable habit of the species) ; the wounded ones rolled in agony, 

 spouting water mingled with gore ; the shouts of the boatmen were 

 echoed by the cries of the men on shore and by the reports of carbines 

 (for the officers at Leith Fort had joined in the attack) ; the sea around 

 was deeply tinged with blood ; all combiniug to form a most savage 

 and appalling scene. At length, about 5 p. m., one of the poor animals, 

 the one I have described, was harpooned by the crew of a Newhaven 

 boat, and at once took to sea, towing the boat after her and followed 

 by the survivors of the " school;'' she dragged her captors nearly to 

 the island of Inchkeith, where she was at last despatched with spears. 

 The rest now escaped, though three more were captured on Monday 

 the 22nd, and one or two others were cast dead on shore by the 

 tide. Altogether twenty-three pilot whales were slaiu on the Saturday : 

 some of these were said to have measured as much as 25|- and 27 feet 

 in length, but, as above remarked, the fishermen's mode of measure- 



