44 



MARINE MAMBIALS OF THE NORTH-WESTERN COAST. 



In the Bay of irontoroy, Upper Calilbiiiia, the best season for Humpbacks is 

 in the months of October and November ; but some Avhalcs arc taken during tlie 

 period from April to December, including a part of both of those months. The 

 great body of these whales, ]i(.)wcvcr, are observed worl^ing their way northward 

 Tuitil September, when they begin to return southward ; and the jjay being open 

 to the north, many of the returning band follow along its shores or visit its south- 

 ern extremity, in search of food, which C(msists principally of small fish and the 

 lower orders of crustaceans. When the animals are feeding, the whalei-s ha-ve a 

 ^'cry favoralde opportunity for their pursuit and capture. The observations of the 

 whaling parties, which have been established at this bay for over seventeen years, 

 furnish reliable data in reference to the periodical movements of whales along the 

 Pacific Coast. Of the Humpbacks, individuals of every variety, size, and age have 

 been taken, including one of the most gigantic specimens of the genus. This ani- 

 mal, which yielded one hundred and forty -five barrels of oil, was taken in 1858, 

 when the usual school of large megapteras was making its annual })assage south- 

 w-ard. One of tlie largest of these whales having an unusual mark — a white spot 

 on the hump — was recognized for several years in succession in its periodical mi- 



witli iiuder side of pectoral and caudal fms of a 

 dark asli- color. 4tL. Body black above, with 

 gray mottling l>eueath. lu all tliese varieties, 

 both tlie caudal and pectoral fins differ in shape 

 and size ; the latter in some individuals being 



tain from careful observation ; all, like-\vise, are 

 infested by the same parasites. As to the dorsal 

 protuberance called the hump, it is, as has been 

 previously stated, of no regular shape or size, 

 but is nearly of a uniform height; the joosterior 



exceedingly long, narro^v, and pointed, as repre- edge is sometimes tipped with white. As to the 



sented in figure 1 of plate vii ; while others are 

 comparatively short and broad, as shown in the 

 outline (page 47), which also shows the parasites, 

 commonly called barnacles, adhering to the 

 throat, pectorals, and caudal fin. There are 

 still others whose jjectorals are of intermediate 

 proportions, biit terminate abruptly, as seen on 

 page 48, which also represents the scalloped 

 flukes present in some individuals. (In this fig- 

 ure, the mark "A" shows the outlines of sjnra- 

 cles, whicli form nearly a right argle). Again, in 

 other examxjlcs, the caudal fin is narrow, point- 

 ed, and lunate ; in others, still, it is broad, and 

 nearly straight on the posterior edge. All these 

 varieties feed and associate together on the same 

 ground, and in every particular their habits are 

 the same, so far as we have been able to ascer- 



tubercles on the head and lips, they were pres- 

 ent on all we have examined, twenty or more 

 specimens ; those about the head are always 

 well -developed, while those upon the lips, in 

 many individuals, are scarcely perceptible. In 

 some instances, however, they equal or exceed 

 those which crown the skull. There is no reg- 

 ularity in the number of gular folds, which, as 

 far as observed, vary in number from eighteen 

 to twenty -six. In some cases they run parallel 

 to each other; but usually there are several that 

 either cross or terminate near the pectorals. 

 The animals are all descrilied as being black 

 above ; but in the examples which have been 

 examined, there was not one, when closely scru- 

 tinized, which did not reveal some slight marks 

 of white. 



