DOLPHINS AND PORPOISES 



151 



a band of Killers to chase large schools of blackfish 

 and porpoises into shallow water. They also per- 

 secuted the horse-mackerel, or tunny. The Killer 

 is widely distributed, and his deeds of destruction 

 have made him widely known and feared. 



The Dolphin. — Few persons cross the At- 

 lantic, or make a voyage of half a dozen days in 

 any direction, without seeing a school of dolphins. 

 In fact, it might almost be said that every voyage 

 has its dolphins. As a rule, they do not appear 

 until the passengers have recovered from sea- 

 sickness, and are on deck, eager- 

 ly scanning the surface of the 

 sea for living things. 



To most voyagers, the sudden 

 appearance of a school of dol- 

 phins is a thrilling sight. Hour 

 after hour the eye scans the 

 watery expanse, eager for a sign 

 of life, or gazes with awe and 

 fear into the dark, watery abyss 

 below. Suddenly, out of the 

 steep side of a green-topped 

 wave leap forth a dozen shining, 

 sharp-pointed forms. They seem 

 oyous and full of power, like 

 acrobats entering an arena. In 

 sublime ignorance of man's ra- 

 pacious nature, they confidently 

 swim within twenty feet of the 

 ship's side. They curve up to the surface, fre- 

 quently leaping clear of the water, arch their 

 bodies, breathe quickly, and dive again. For a 

 few yards, perhaps, they race along under water, 

 but in plain view, then some leap out again. 

 How easily they keep pace with the ship! Their 

 mastery of old Ocean is so complete that it is 

 a wonderful thing to see. 



Sometimes the animals are so near the ship 

 that the species can be determined to a certainty, 

 especially those which are marked by light col- 

 ors. However, it is no disgrace to any natural- 

 ist to declare his inability to say positively what 

 species is alongside. 



Dolphins are particularly fond of playing 

 around the bow of a ship; but for some reason 

 best known to themselves, they evince a decided 

 preference for the out-thrusting bow of a sailing 

 ship, and are not attracted so much by the high, 

 perpendicular cutwater of a steamer, with no 

 bowsprit or jib-boom. 



A swift ocean steamship is not escorted very 

 far, for such a promenade soon becomes tiresome; 

 but I have seen a school of these interesting creat- 

 ures circle about a sailing ship, and play around 

 its cutwater for half an hour. It is a simple mat- 

 ter for an expert sailor to take a position on the 

 martingale-guys of a ship, under the bowsprit, 

 and harpoon a dolphin; but to me it has never 

 seemed like a fair thing to do. 



In North American waters there are about 

 twelve species of dolphins, most of which are 



THE COMMON DOLPHIN. 



from (i to 7 feet in length, and but two or three 

 species exceed 10 feet. The Short-Beaked 

 Dolphin of the Pacific is the most beautiful 

 species. 



The Common Dolphin, 1 of the Atlantic 

 Ocean, may well be taken as the type of the 

 family of true Dolphins. It is the species that 

 is most frequently seen, and the one longest 

 known. It has a slender, cigar-shaped body, 

 a small head, and its beak is long and narrow. 

 Its length is from 6J to 7+ feet, and in color it is 

 dark gray above and dull white below. Dolphins 

 generallj r feed upon small fish, and at times de- 

 stroy great numbers of mackerel. 



The Common Porpoise,- of the Atlantic 

 Coast, is a jet black creature, blunt-headed, 

 heavy in action, a veritable pig of the sea. It 

 loves to roll about in the breakers, and loaf 

 lazily in harbors and sheltered bays, and at river 

 mouths. As before stated of porpoises gener- 

 1 Del-phi'nus del'phis. - Pho-cae'na com-mu'nis. 



