The National Museum has incurred no small expense in obtaining the photographs of the types and other specimens, and I am also indebted to the following museum officials for courtesies, for which I desire to express my very sincere thanks: To Dr. S. G. Dixon, President of the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences, and Mr. Witmer Stone, for assistance in locating the types of Cope's species and other interesting specimens, and permission to study and photograph them; to the proprietor of the Niagara Falls Museum, for permission to photograph and study the type of Megaptera osphyia; to the director of the Field Columbian Museum and Dr. D. G. Elliot, for photographs and measurements of the skeleton of Balana in that museum; to Mr. H. H. Brimley, Curator of the State Museum, Raleigh, N. C., for assistance in measuring the skeleton of Balaena in that institution and for photographs; to the director of the American Museum of Natural History and Mr. Sherwood, for measurements and photographs of the Balana skeleton in that museum; to Dr. Horace Jayne and Dr. Greenman, for assistance in measuring the fine skeleton of Balaenoptera in the Wistar Institute, University of Pennsylvania, and permission to take photographs of it; to the director of the Museum of Comparative Zoology and Mr. Outram Bangs, for photographs of Balana, and for other aid; to Prof. Geo. H. Ashley, for assistance in measuring the skeleton of Balana in the Charleston College Museum, South Carolina; to Mr. F. A. Ward of Ward's Natural Science Establishment, Rochester, N. Y.

I wish to express appreciation also especially for the opportunities afforded me by the Cabot Steam Whaling Company of St. John's, Newfoundland, through the late Honorable A. W. Harvey, President of the Company, Mr. John Harvey, Secretary, Dr. A. Nielsen, Manager, and Captain Bull. Through the friendly co-operation of these gentlemen I was enabled to pursue my investigations under conditions which were quite exceptional. I also owe to Dr. L. Rissmüller a debt of gratitude for his enthusiastic forwarding of my desires in the matter of obtaining information and specimens. Mr. D. C. Beard permitted me to examine some interesting photographs and sketches of the Balana figured in Holder's article on that genus; and Mrs. W. E. Crain allowed me to reproduce her valuable copyrighted photographs of a West Coast Humpback.

In regard to the system of measurements used in this work and the use of English rather than metric measures, a word is perhaps called for. In measuring whales at the Newfoundland stations, I adopted for the total length the distance from the tip of the upper jaw to the notch of the flukes, measured along the back. I adopted this for two reasons: first, because it gave rigid points from which to measure, and, second, because it is nearly impossible under ordinary circumstances to have a whale placed so as to be in exactly a straight line from head to flukes, and measuring between uprights is less expeditious than along the curves. Stranded whales are almost invariably measured in this way, and hence the measurements. recorded in the literature can be more advantageously compared by employing the curvilinear total length rather than the rectilinear. The difference between the two is, in fact, much less than would be anticipated. In the tables included in this work, I have been obliged in some cases to cite lengths without knowing what

method was used. The difference is, I believe, immaterial where an average is drawn from a considerable number of specimens. It must be admitted that there is some uncertainty as to how to interpret the measurements of various observers, and I am fully conscious that the tables are not mathematically correct. Still, I am convinced that their inaccuracy is not such as to materially vitiate the result. The literature of cetology is in every language of western Europe, and the dimensions of specimens are similarly recorded in every variety of measure, such as Rheinland feet, old French feet, Spanish feet, Danish feet, Russian feet, and so forth. To avoid the great loss of time in converting all these measures to one system, I have reduced the dimensions in each instance to percentages of the total length. This has many advantages besides avoiding laborious calculations, which will be readily recognized. Where it has been necessary to cite actual measurements, I have reduced them all to English feet and inches, in the belief that for large dimensions this is preferable to employing the metric system. In the United States, at least, metric tapes for measurements up to 30 meters are not readily obtainable. All quoted matter is translated into English.

No attention has been paid to the Greenland Right whale, or Bowhead, Balana mysticetus, in this connection, as no new material of value was available. The omission of this species is not especially important on account of the elaborate researches of Eschricht and Reinhardt, with which every cetologist is familiar.

CHAPTER I.

THE EARLIEST REFERENCES TO WHALEBONE WHALES IN AMERICAN WATERS.

The first reference to cetaceans in American waters is in the Saga of Thorfinn Karlsefne, giving an account of his voyage to Vinland. DeCosta's translation contains the following:

Afterward a whale was cast ashore in that place [Stream Bay]; and they assembled and cut it up, not knowing what kind of whale it was. They boiled it with water; and ate it, and were taken sick. Then Thorhall said Now you see that Thor is more prompt to give aid than your Christ. This was cast ashore as a reward for the hymn which I composed to my patron Thor, who rarely forsakes me.' When they knew this, they cast all the remains of the whale into the sea and commended their affairs to God. From that time there was an abundance of food; and there were beasts on the land, eggs in the island, and fish in the sea."1

2

DeCosta gives this the date of 1008 A.D., and identifies Stream Bay with Buzzard's Bay, Mass. Beamish has a note to the effect that "this whale was probably a species of the Balana physalis of Linnæus, which was not edible, and being rarely seen in the Greenland and Iceland seas, was unknown to the Northmen." This is hardly probable as Balana physalus of Linnæus is the common Finback of European waters and is edible. It may have been a bottlenosed whale of the genus Hyperoödon, the fat of which is purgative. The fact that the Northmen could throw the remains into the sea shows that it was not one of the large whales.

GREENLAND, DAVIS STRAIT, AND BAFFIN BAY.

The narrative of Iver Boty (or Burt), maître d'hôtel of the Bishop of Greenland, as quoted from the papers of Barents in Henry Hudson's possession, contains the following notice of whales:

"Item, from Skagen Ford east lyeth a hauen called Beare Ford: it is not dwelt in. In the mouth thereof lyeth a riffe [reef], so that great ships can not harbour in it.

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'Item, there is great abundance of whales; and there is a great fishing for the killing of them there, but not without the bishop's consent, which keepeth the same

1

DECOSTA, B. F., The Pre-Columbian Discovery of America by the Northmen, 2d ed., 1890, pp. 125-126.

/* BEAMISH, N. L., Discovery of America by the Northmen, 1841, p. 91, foot-note.

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for the benefit of the cathedrall church. In the hauen is a great swalth; and when the tide doth runne out, all the whales doe runne into the sayd swalth."2

Boty's account is of course pre-Columbian, and as it is supposed to relate to the most flourishing period of the Norse colonies in Greenland, we may properly consider that the events mentioned in it occurred in the 12th century. Whatever the fact as regards the date of this observation, we may well doubt that the whales referred to were whalebone whales. It is much more probable that they were white whales, Delphinapterus.

Passing on to the times of Columbus and the great discoverers and explorers, the earliest bit of information about the larger whales of Greenland which I find is in Beste's narrative of Martin Frobisher's third voyage to Davis Strait in 1578. An odd accident happened to one of the vessels in his fleet, which is thus described:

[1578. FROBISHER'S THIRD VOYAGE.]

"On Monday, the laste of June [1578], wee mette with manye greate whales, as they hadde beene porposes.

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This same day the Salamander being under both hir corses and bonets, hapned to strike a greate whale with hir full stemme, wyth such a blow, that the ship stoode stil and stirred neither forwarde nor backward. The whale thereat made a great and ugly noise, and caste up his body and tayle, and so went under water, and within two dayes after there was founde a greate whale dead, swimming above water, which we supposed was that the Salamander stroke."

The place where this happened must have been just east of Frobisher Bay, the entrance to which (Queen Elizabeth's Foreland) they sighted July 2d.

It is somewhat singular that there is no vessel named Salamander in the roster of the fleet. As there is a Salomon or Sollomon, however, it is probable that the name is misspelt in the paragraph quoted above.

From the expression "greate whales, as they hadde beene porposes," in the first sentence, it might be inferred that the Salomon ran against an Orcinus or Hyperoödon, rather than a baleen whale, but it seems hardly probable that either of these could stop a vessel of above 130 tons under full sail. Furthermore, I presume it An eddy, or whirlpool.

2

A Treatise of Iver Boty a Gronlander, etc. In Asher's Henry Hudson the Navigator (Hakluyt Society, 1860, p. 231). From Purchas His Pilgrimes, v, 3, pp. 518–520. Writings of William Barentz in Hudson's possession.

The complete heading of the narrative is as follows: "A Treatise of Iver Boty a Gronlander, translated out of the Norsh language into High Dutch, in the yeere 1560. And after out of High Dutch into Low Dutch, by William Barentson of Amsterdam, who was chiefe Pilot aforesaid [of the expedition of 1595 to the Northeast]. The same copie in High Dutch is in the hands of Iodocvs Hondivs, which I haue seene. And this was translated out of Low Dutch by Master William Stere, Marchant, in the yeere 1608, for the vse of me Henrie Hudson. William Barentsons Booke is in the hands of Master Peter Plantivs, who lent the same vnto me."

'The Three Voyages of Martin Frobisher. Ed. by R. Collinson. Hakluyt Soc., 1867, p. 234. Reprinted from the 1st ed. of Hakluyt's Voyages.

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'Or Cape Resolution, Resolution Island.

is not necessary to suppose that the "greate whale" which was struck was of the same sort as those referred to as resembling porpoises. These early narratives usually contain no more than a passing word regarding the animals observed and anything like satisfactory identifications are impossible.

From the accounts of the voyages of John Davis to the strait which bears his name we are able to get a little better idea of the whales which were encountered. In the narrative of his first voyage to Greenland in 1585, is the following note: "Between the 16th and the 18th [of July, 1585] great numbers of whales were also seen.'

This was just before Davis made a landfall at Cape Discord on the east coast of Greenland, which he sighted on July 20, 1585. Soon afterwards he passed into Davis Strait and crossed to the vicinity of Cumberland Sound, where, according to the narrative written by John Janes, the following incidents occurred :

[1585. DAVIS'S FIRST VOYAGE.]

"The 17 [of August, 1585] we went on shoare [in Cumberland Sound] Our Captaine and master searched still for probabilities of the [Northwest] passage, and first found, that this place was all Islands, with great sounds passing betweene them. Thirdly, we saw to the west of those Isles, three or foure Whales in a skul, which they judged to come from a westerly sea, because to the Eastward we saw not any whale. Also as we were rowing into a very great sound lying southwest [Irvine Inlet ?-ED.], upon a suddayne there came a violent counter checke of a tide from the southwest against the flood which we came with, not knowing from whence it was maintayned.'

Davis was at this time, as the narrative shows, exploring Cumberland Sound with the hope of finding the much-sought Northwest Passage. We may suppose that the whales seen there were either Humpbacks or Finbacks; though from lack of a description it is impossible to determine which of the two they were. The Greenland whale is not in these parts in August.

In the narratives of Davis's third voyage to Greenland in 1587 we find other allusions to whales, as follows:

"The 24 [of June, 1587] being in 67 degrees and 40 minutes, we had great store of Whales, and a kinde of sea birdes which the Mariners called Cortinous [probably a misprint.-ED.]." "

This was in Davis Strait opposite the Cumberland peninsula. The kind of whale, as before, is uncertain. It may have been the Beluga.

Another allusion, about a month later, is as follows:

"As we rode at anker [July 23, 1587, among the islands "in the bottome"

Voyages toward the Northwest. Ed. by Thos. Rundall. Hakluyt Society, 1849, p. 36.

'The Voyages and Works of John Davis the Navigator. Ed. by A. H. Markham. Hakluyt Soc., 1880, pp. 12–13.

'Op. cit., p. 43.