308 AUDUBON 



the Rudder-fish. The little things scarcely measured 

 three inches in length ; they were thin and deep in form, 

 and afforded excellent eating. It was curious to see them 

 keep to the lee of the rudder in a compact body ; and so 

 voracious were they that they actually leaped out of the 

 water at the sight of the bait, as " sunnies " are occasion- 

 ally wont to do in our rivers. But the very instant that 

 the ship became still, they dispersed around her sides, 

 and would no longer bite. I made a figure of one of 

 them, as indeed I tried to do of every other species that 

 occurred during this deathlike calm. Not one of these 

 fishes did I ever see when crossing the Atlantic, although 

 many kinds at times come close to the stern of any vessel 

 in the great sea, and are called by the same name. 



Another time we caught a fine Porpoise, which meas- 

 ured about two yards in length. This took place at night, 

 when the light of the moon afforded me a clear view of 

 the spot. The fish, contrary to custom, was grained, in- 

 stead of being harpooned ; but in such a way and so effect- 

 ually, through the forehead, that it was thus held fast, 

 and allowed to flounce and beat about the bows of the 

 ship, until the person who had struck it gave the line 

 holding the grains to the captain, slid down upon the bob- 

 stays with a rope, and after a while managed to secure it 

 by the tail. Some of the crew then hoisted it on board. 

 When it arrived on deck, it gave a deep groan, flapped 

 with great force, and soon expired. On opening it next 

 morning, eight hours after death, we found its intestines 

 still warm. They were arranged in the same manner as 

 those of a pig ; the paunch contained several cuttle-fishes 

 partially digested. The lower jaw extended beyond the 

 upper about three-fourths of an inch, and both were fur- 

 nished with a single row of conical teeth, about half an 

 inch long, and just so far separated as to admit those of 

 one jaw between the corresponding ones of the other. 

 The animal might weigh about four hundred pounds ; its 



