580 APPENDIX. 
to dine. While still about a mile distant from Sandaig, one of 
the ladies called out that there was a shoal of porpoises playing 
astern, and on looking in that direction there appeared to me a 
number of dark objects, which at first sight seemed not unlike 
porpoises, making a considerable commotion on the surface of the 
sea, the only peculiarity being that they all followed each other 
in a line. As they rapidly approached, I then perceived that the 
black lumps which I at first thought porpoises could not be so, 
but were evidently parts of one and the same creature. This im- 
pression seemed to come over the minds of all at the same time, 
and every appearance of the creature afterwards clearly verified it’. 
“I was looking at it through a binocular (we had three on 
board), and when it came to within one hundred yards of the 
stern it dived below, the surface of the sea remained agitated at 
the spot where it had disappeared for some time afterwards. Just 
before it went down, as it came head on towards our stern, it 
raised a succession of waves. The first was unbroken, and through 
it I distinctly saw the colour of the creature, and what appeared 
to be a small fin on the back or neck, moving rapidly sideways, 
and two or three yards behind the head. Its colour was a dark 
slaty brown, somewhat similar to that of a porpoise.” 
“While we were all speculating about this strange creature, it 
suddenly appeared about a quarter of a mile off between us and Skye, 
going at a rapid rate along the calm surface of the sea, and leav- 
ing a large wake behind. It was only now that J had any idea of 
the creature's length. It kept cruising about on the surface after 
this for more than an hour, sometimes only four or five bumps or 
dark raised portions of its body appearing above the surface, about 
the size of herring barrels, at other times up to eight. I noticed 
that the less the speed the more bumps appeared, always com- 
mencing from the first in rotation, and that when going very fast 
only one or two appeared.” 
“After landing on Sandaig, where we had dinner, we started for 
Loch Hourn, the weather still being very calm and sultry, with 
hardly a cat’s-paw on the water. We had barely entered the mouth 
of the loch when this creature again made its appearance , proceed- 
ing in the same manner as before along the surface of the sea, 
sometimes coming quite close. There was a large schooner yacht — 
not far off, in tow of a noisy steam launch, which about this time — 
probably frightened the animal, as it was not seen again that night.” — 
“As evening fell, a breeze sprang up, and we reached Loch 
