Oct. 27, 1887.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



263 



outfit any more lie offered to take the things along in his 

 wagon, and we relieved our pack horses almost entirely 

 of their burden, thereby enabling us to travel a great deal 

 faster. That night we made McGinley's store on the foot 

 of Wood Creek, a distance of thirty-five miles, where we 

 made ourselves at home. 



Next day 1 expected to get back to the old mine in 

 good time, but meeting so many friends along the river, 

 it was pretty dark when we got to the Rocky Bar Junc- 

 tion and Charles's cabin. 



Charles advised me to stay with him that night and go 

 up to the mine in the morning; but I was too anxious to 

 get back to my old friend McK. I wish I had followed 

 his advice, for the snow lay deep and cold in the dark 

 cations, the creek was overflowed and frozen, and to 

 complete my misery my saddle horse broke through the 

 ice of the largest stream, was imprisoned perfectly help- 

 less, and obliged rue to break an opening for it to get out. 

 Then I had to return for my packhorse, which had bolted. 

 Soaking wet, I was now obliged to walk; the way never 

 before seemed so long and dismal. At last I came to the 

 New Mill, and resting tbe tired hores a moment for the 

 final steep hill, at last I beheld a light and distinguished 

 the outlining of the buildings of the mine. 



McK.'s dog had announced my arrival; Bill, glad to see 

 me back, tended to my horses, while his kind wife was 

 getting dry garments for my stiff, frozen ones. Then I 

 sat down to a nicely prepared supper, and had quickly 

 forgotten my last sufferings. It was late in the night 

 before turning into my cosy quarters, as I had to give a 

 full account of our eventful trip. 



Wednesday I was occupied in packing and arranging 

 my traps to take along on the stage. Next day after 

 dinner I took leave from Mrs. McK. and Howard's folks; 

 friend Bill accompanied me down to Charles's cabin, with 

 whom I spent the last night to be near for the early 

 morning stage. When parting here witli Bill McK. who 

 had to go back to the mine, I felt more like going with 

 him back to the old place Avhich had become so dear to 

 me; promising him to come again, he mounted his pony 

 and was out of sight. 



Charles had supper ready, but I did not have any ap- 

 petite, for I felt as blue as indigo. In the morning we 

 took breakfast at the junction; the stage came rattling 

 along, and thanking Charles, who had become as dear as 

 a brother to me for all his kindness, I took my seat on 

 the box with the driver, and away we went into the crisp 

 cold morning. At passing Willard's I had the chance of 

 saying good-bye to our friend Joe. The stage trip pro- 

 ceeded without any notable event, only it was cutting 

 cold on Camas prairie, and we were glad when the lights 

 of Mountain Home came in sight. 



Saturday morning I went over to the station agent and 

 found all iny shipped articles in proper condition. Con- 

 cluding to send all my trophies and camp outfit by 

 freight, I had a large box made resembling Noah's ark. 

 To let the interested reader form his own opinion about 

 the size, I give a summary of the spoils of my hunt, 

 which consisted of one large elk head and antlers, five 

 beautiful blacktail deer heads, eight bear skins, three 

 mountain goats, twenty -four beavers, thirty-five foxes 

 (among which were one' handsome "silver" and several 

 beautiful crosses), and divers fishers and martins. Hav- 

 ing all securely packed and the box well fasteued I step- 

 ped on the east bound train, which came steaming along 

 at 11 :30 P. M. and reached New York in due season. F. B. 



Ziphins yrcbnitzlm, Stejneger. 



Bering Island. 

 Mcsopbnlon »njxrhicnsis, Gervais. 

 North Atlantic. 



CETACEANS OF THE UNITED STATES 



BY R. W. SHUFELDT, M.A.O.TJ. 



Member of the American Society of Naturalists; Corresponding 

 Member Zoological Society of London, etc. 



WHALES constitute the marine mammalian fauna of 

 the coasts of our country, and few people, I think 

 unless they have paid especial attention to the subject, 

 realize how many of them we have, and the numerous 

 species we may lay claim to as properly falling within 

 that category. To continue with our list of animals as 

 published by the U. S. National Museum, we find the fol- 

 lowing to be the arrangement of this highly interesting 

 group of mammals, viz. : 



Order GET ACE A, Cetaceans. 

 Suborder DENTICFTE. Toothed Whales. 

 Family Dblphinxd^b. The Dolphins. 

 Sotalia pallida, Gervais. Floi-ida ('?). 

 1 Stem fuscu8, Gray. Cuba. . 

 Steno cfrmprcssus. Gray. Gult of Mexico U). 

 Delphi tws ha ird i i. pall. Baird's Dolphin. Coast of California. 

 Delphinus del phis, Uim€. Common Dolphin. Atlantic Ocean. 

 Drlphinwjnitira, Gray. The Janira. Newfoundland (Gray). 

 ? Prodrfphinu* euphroRi/nc (Grav). True. North Atlantic Ocean. 

 Leucorhamphusborcalis (Petile), Gill. Right-whale Porpoise. Pacific- 

 coast of North America. . . - . 

 Lagenorhynchus acutus, Gray. Eschncht's Dolphin. North Atlan 

 tic Ocean, 



Lagenorliunriins albimstris, Gray. White-beaked Bottlenose. North 

 Atlantic Ocean. » . , 



Lagenorhynchus obliquidens, Gill. Striped or Common Dolphin. 

 Pacific coast of the United States. 



Lagenorhynchm thicolea, Gray. West coast of North America. 



'Lagenorhynchus gubenator, Cope. Skunk Porpoise. Coast of New 

 England. 



Lagewirhynchm perspivilhilvs. Cope. Atlantic coast of the United 

 States. 



Tivrskrps tursio (Bonnaterre), Van Ben. & Gervais. Bottle-nosed 



Dolphin. North Atlantic Ocean. 

 Xuraiops gilUi, Ball. Cowfish. Pacific coast of the United Sta tes. 

 Ztorefojift 'en-hnmus, (Cope) Gill. Black Dolphin. Atlantic coast 



of the United States. 

 Orca .gladiator, (Bonnaterre) Gray. Atlantic. Killer. Atlantic Ocean. 

 Oral atra, Cope. Pacific Killer. Pacific coast of North America, 

 QreapacAfica, (Gray). North Pacific Ocean. (?) 

 GloWM-ephalas melas, (Traill). Blackfish. North Atlantic Ocean, 

 Globiocepiiaius hracliyptei-us, Cope. Short-finned Blackfish. Coast 



of New Jersey. 



Globiocephalus xcanintoni, (Cope). Scammon's Blackfish. Pacific 



coast of North America and southward. 

 Grampus griscus, (Cuvier) Gray. Grampus. North Atlantic Ocean, 

 Grampus stearnsii, Dall. Mottled or White-headed Grampus, 



Pacific coast of North America. 

 Delphinapterus calodou, (Linne) Gill. White Whale. Arctic and 



Subarctic seas. 

 Monodon monoecros, Linne. Narwhal. Arctic seas. 

 Phoeoe-na eommuuis, Lesson. Puffing-Pig. Herring-Hog. North 



Atlantic Ocean. 



Plioewnalincata, Cope. Striped Porpoise. Atlantic coast of the 

 United States. 



Plwcct-na vomcrina, Gill. California Bay Porpoise. Pacific coast 



of the United State. 



Family Ziphitd.*;. Bottle-nose Whales. 

 Berarclius bairdii, Stejneger. Baird's Whale. Bering Island. 

 Hyprroiklon roslratus, (Chemnitz) Wesmael. Bottlfi-nose Whale 



North Atlantic Ocean. 

 Ziphius eavirosbris, Cuvier. Temperate and tropical seas. 

 ? Ziphius semijuncttis, (Cope). Atlantic Ocean. 



Grebnitzky's Bottle-nose Whale. 

 Sowerby's Whale. Temperate 



Family PnYSETEKiDJG. The Sperm Whales, 

 yseter macroccphalus, Linne. Sperm Whale. Temperate and 

 ' jpieal seas. 



put hrcmceps, (De Blainville) Gray. 

 Temperate and tropical seas. 



Pygmy Sperm Whale. 



SunoKDUR MYSTICETE. WnADKBONin Whales. 

 Family Balventd^e. 

 Rhachiancctes glaucns, Cope. Devil-fish. Gray Whale. Pacific 



coast of North America. 

 Agaphehis ffiJ>f>osuS, Cope. (?) Scraps Whale. North Atlantic. 

 Megaptera longimana, (Rud.) Gray. Humpback Whale. North 

 Atlantic Ocean. 



Megaptera heVic.um, Cope. C'arribbean Humpback Whale. Car- 

 ribbcan Sea. 



Megaptera versabilis. Cope. Humpback Whale. North Pacific 

 Ocean. 



Physalus antiquorum, (Fischer) Gray. Finback Whale; Razor-back. 



North Atlantic Oceau. 

 PhmalUS siiihaldii, Gray. North Atlantic Ocean. 

 Ba)amoptera rostratus, (Aluller) Gray. Piked Whale ('/Grampus of 



New England fishermeu). North Atlantic Ocean. 

 Bahrnoptcra davidsoni, Scammon. Finback Whale. Northeastern 



Pacific Ocean. 



Sihhatdiim htticcpjs, Gray. Rudolphi's Rorqual. North Atlantic 

 Ocean. 



Sitbaldius tuberosus, Cope. Mobjack Bay, Virginia. 

 SibhubJins vtbifcrus, (Cope). Finback Whale. Pacific coast of 



North America. 

 SihbtihHm teelirostris, Cope. Coast of Maryland. 

 Sihbaldius sulfureus. Cope. Sulphur-bottom Whale. Pacific coast 



of North America. 

 Bahvuo japonic a. Gray. Right Whale of North Pacific. North 



Pacific Ocean. 



Balnena biscai/eusis. Gray. Black Whale; Right Whale of thcNorth 



Atlantic. Temperate North Atlant ic. 

 Bahvna mystieetus, Linne. Bovvhead Whale. Arctic Seas. 



It will lie observed of the species enumerated in this 

 formidable list, that the vast majority of them actually 

 occur upon our own coasts, so that in a paper of a length 

 that the present must of necessity be, it will simply be 

 out of the question for me to give even the briefest his- 

 tory of the several types, as much as I would like to do 

 so, as the limitations of space would be greatly exceeded, 

 and even, perhaps, the main object of my contribution in 

 the present instance, somewhat interf erred with, not to 

 say, defeated. 



In the group of Cetaceans which I have chosen to illus- 

 trate this article, those United States types have been 

 designedly selected by me which I deemed would best 

 convey to the general reader an idea of the various forms 

 assumed by the species representing this Order; and in the 

 text it will be my aim to present in a general way the 

 habits common to the group, and as far as possible, the 

 characteristics of the several genera. 



So far as the fruits of Geology have to this time been 

 enabled to indicate it for us, we are obliged to confess 

 that the ancestry of the Cetaceans in time is still involved 

 in much obscurity. Huge, serpent-like Whales (Zeuglo- 

 don) have been found in a fossil state in certain parts of 

 Alabama, which have thrown some light on this perplex- 

 ing subject, and in other parts of the world fossil forms 

 have been discovered which have helped us to a better 

 solution, but, as I say, we are still a long ways from being 

 in possession of an exact knowledge of the origin of this 

 group, as we are in the case of many other animals. One 

 thing, however, must be borne fully in mind, and that is, 

 the Whales are just as truly mammalian in all respects, 

 as are such animals as seals, pigs, or bears. Indeed, they 

 are nothing more nor less than monster marine mammals 

 that have become specially modified in time to lead strictly 

 an aquatic life in recent epochs. 



The general external characters of Whales can be 

 jeadily appreciated from the several drawings of the 

 species accompanying this paper; the fish-like form is to 

 be noted, with the enormous head in some of the species, 

 and with the total absence of anything like unto a neck 

 in all the forms; the peculiar pattern of the horizontally 

 ilaced tail With its diverging, lateral "flukes," posteriorly 

 divided by the median notch; the form of the anterior 

 paddles, and the entire absence of a hinder pair; that a 

 ::'ew of the species may have a showing of scattered hairs 

 on the body, more especially near the mouth; the small 

 eyes, the simple aperture of the ears, the valvular openings 

 of the nostrils situated on top of the head; and a number 

 of other points. Whales also possess immediately be 

 neath the skin a thick layer of fat known as the "blub- 

 ber," from which the oil is manufactured, and for which 

 men hunt and capture them. As in the case of the topo- 

 graphical anatomy , the internal structure of these pon- 

 derous creatures is highly interesting and instructive, 

 but our space will admit of none of it here. But it will 

 be proper to note, however, that all Whales have teeth_ 

 with but few exceptions, and that these vary greatly in 

 number; never being preceded by a milk set, while in the 

 adult right whales, in which family the teeth are absent, 

 the well-known whalebone is seen (baleen). ( It would be 



we ll to remark, too, that the mamma? in the female 



Whales are situated on either side of the genital fissure, 

 being two in number, and each being under the. control 

 of a special compressor muscle by means of which the 

 milk of the mother can be injected into the mouth of her 

 young one (there being rarely two), and the latter is thus 

 enabled to nurse under water. 



Whales of all species subsist on animal food of some 

 kind or other, such as for example, fish, squids, crusta- 

 ceans, and the medusa?. The killers (Orca) alone prey 

 upon the species of their own Order, and upon such other 

 warm-blooded animals as seals and their kind. 



During a year that I spent at sea in the Gulf of Mexico 

 and the South Atlantic, I had many opportunities to ob- 

 serve the various kinds of whales and porpoises, which 1 

 availed myself of to the fullest extent, and have seen an 

 old Sperm whale blow many and many a time. Professor 

 Flower well describes this act, and according to this emi- 

 nent authority, when speaking of what a helpless creature 

 a whale is on shore, he says that when in their element, 

 the sea, "they have, however, to rise very frequent! y_ to 

 the surface for the purpose of respiration; and, in relation 

 to the constant upward and downward movement in the 

 water thus necessitated, their principal instrument of 

 motion, the tail, is expanded horizontally, quite unlik" 

 that of a fish, whose movements are mainly in straight- 

 forward or lateral directions. The position of the respir 

 atory orifice or nostril on the highest part of the head " 

 very important for this mode of life, as it is the only part 

 of the bodv the exposure of which above the surface is 

 absolutely' necessary. Of the numerous erroneous ideas 

 connected with natural history, few are so widespread 

 and still so firmly believed, notwithstanding repeated ex- 



The fact is, the 'spouting,' or more properly 'blowing,' of 

 the Whale is nothing more than the ordinary act of ex- 

 liration, which, taking place at longer intervals than in- 

 land animals, is performed with a greater amount of 

 miphasis. The moment the annual rises to the surface 

 it forcibly expels from its lungs the air taken in at the 

 last inspiration, which, of course, is highly charged with 

 watery vapor in consequence of. the natural respiratory 

 changes. This, rapidly condensing in the cold atmosphere 

 hi which the phenomenon is generally observed, forms a 

 column of steam or spray, which has been erroneously 

 taken for water. It also often happens, especially when 

 the surface of the ocean is agitated into waves, that the 

 animal commences its expiratory puff before the orifice 

 has quite cleared the top of the water, some of which 

 may thus be driven upward with the blast, tending to 

 complete the illusion. In hunting Whales the harpoon 

 often pierces the lungs or air passages of the unfortunate 

 victim, and then fountains of blood may be forced high 

 in the air through the blowholes, as commonly depicted 

 in scenes of arctic adventure; but this is nothing more 

 (allowance being made for the Whale's peculiar mode of 

 breathing) than what always follows severe wounds of 

 the respiratory organs of other animals." 



The refined oil known as "spermaceti" is manufactured 

 from that oil which is found in the great cavity above the 

 skull in the Sperm Whale, while "ambergris," so exten- 

 sively used by perfumers in their art, is found in the in- 

 testines of the same animal, and sometimes floating on 

 the surface of the seas they inhabit. 



By the aid of modern appliances, the chase and capture 

 of these huge mammals has within recent times been 

 reduced almost to a science, but an account of such mat- 

 ters would, in the opinion of the writer, be out of place in 

 the present connection, dealing as we are more particu- 

 larly with the life histories of these Cetaceans; it will be 

 as well to add, however, that their constant pursuit and 

 destruction by man must in due time tell markedly on 

 their numbers, if it does not lead to their actual exter- 

 mination. 



Glancing again at our List above we find that these 

 Cetaceans are primarily divided into Families of Toothed 

 Whales, Bottle-Nose Whales, Sperm Whales and 

 Whalebone Whales. Among the first of these we find 

 the Common Dolphin (D. delphis), and who that has ever 

 been out for an ocean voyage over the seas that he in- 

 habits, does not know him. Suddenly a "school" of them 

 will appear under the very bows of your vessel, plunging 

 in and out of the water in graceful curves, and in a man- 

 ner most fascinating to the observer, who never wearies 

 of the sight. Their powerful, tooth-armed beaks are the 

 very terror of the small fishes upon which they habitually 

 prey, and it is an extraordinary thing to see the agility 

 with which they effect such captures* 



Captain Scammon speaking of the Common Porpoise of 

 the Pacific coast, says, "They are seen in numbers vary- 

 ing from a dozen up to many hundreds tumbling over the 

 surface of the sea, or making arching leaps, plunging 

 again on the same curve, or darting high and falling 

 diagonally sidewise upon the water with a spiteful splash, 

 accompanied by a report which may be heard at some 

 distance. In calm weather they are seen in numerous 

 shoals, leaping, plunging, lobtailing and finning, while 

 the assemblage moves swiftly in various directions. 

 They abound more along the coasts where small fish are 

 found. Occasionally a large number of them will get 

 into a school of fish, frightening them so much that they 

 lose nearly all control of their movements, while the Por- 

 poises fill themselves to repletion." This species is the 

 L. obliquidens of our List. On our New England coast 

 the best known form is the "Skunk Porpoise," shown in 

 Fig. 2 of the present paper, and its habits are fully as 

 interesting as those of the Dolphin of which we have just 

 been speaking. Even at the present time, it is by no 

 means a rare thing to discover a new species of this 

 group, and undoubtedly there still remain a number of 

 forms as yet unknown to science. 



The Orcas or Killer Whales constitute another genus 

 of this family, and they are only too well known to the 

 whalemen as the veriest wolves of the high seas, often 

 robbing them of their hard-earned spoils. They are pos- 

 sessed, of enormous strength and speed, and even at a dis- 

 tance at sea they can be easily recognized by their lofty 

 dorsal fins, an appendage which, in the High-finned 

 Killer, attains to the enormous height of six feet. These 

 merciless animals will ravenously attack and kill the big- 

 gest whale that ever plowed the ocean, and devour the 

 carcass afterward, piecemeal; they are also very destruc- 

 tive of the seals about the islands inhabited by those 

 valuable animals, and according to Professor Goode, 

 Eschricht says that thirteen porpoises and fomteen seals 

 were found in the stomach of an Atlantic Killer, sixteen 

 feet in length. 



The Blackfishes (Fig. 4) are a medium-sized whale that 

 range over then oceanic habitat in schools sometimes 

 numbering several hundreds; they are not especially 

 valuable to the whalers, but are mercilessly preyed upon 

 by the Killer Whales. 



Rarer than the last mentioned species, though often 

 associated with them, are the Grampuses (Fig. 3), a 

 smaller whale than they, though with very similar habits, 

 and we are told that they make their appearance in our 

 waters only about once in ten years. Professor Flower 

 has proved beyond all manner of doubt that the fantastic 

 markings on the body of this animal are normal and are 

 not due to scars from conflicts with their fellows or other 

 species. A fine cast of a Grampus may be seen and 

 studied at the Smithsonian Institution, where it used to 

 surmount the doorway of the main entrance, down-stairs. 



One of the most interesting of all Cetaceans is the Nar- 

 whal (Fig. 5), an animal which stands responsible for the 

 TJnicorn of fancy, and which is now restricted in its range 

 to the northern shores of our Alaskan territories. The 

 spiral tusk grosving from the left side of its upper jaw is 

 a modified tooth which may attain a length of eight or 

 ten feet. It is absent in the female, the sex being prac- 

 tically toothless, or at least the teeth are concealed in the 

 jaw as is the case on the right*side in the male Narwhal. 

 This tusk is without enamel, and a single one is valued 

 at $50.00, the ivory being put to a variety of purposes. 

 Occasionally both tusks are developed, in which case the 

 spirals each turn the same way, or the twist has the same 

 direction. Narwhals feed upon small fish and crusta- 

 ceans. 



Herring Hogs (Phoccena), are representatives of another 

 positions of its 'falsity, as that the Cetacea spout out very interesting genus (Fig. 6); these animals are also 

 through their blowholes water taken in at the mouth. I known as the harbor porpoises or "puffing pigs, they 



