MY FIRST WHALE HUNT Making ready for the hunt—Three humpbacks sighted—The first kill—Inflating the whale—Cutting in a whale by machinery—Disposition of the parts 22 CHAPTER II HOW A HUMPBACK DIVES AND SPOUTS Diving—How far down whales can go—Spouting—Construction of the blowholes 38 CHAPTER III AN EXCITING EXPERIENCE IN ALASKA A fruitless chase of two humpbacks—Another humpback sighted—It bursts from the water half under the vessel’s side 46 CHAPTER IV THE “VOICE” OF WHALES AND SOME INTERESTING HABITS The voice—How long whales can remain under water—Where whales sleep—The “double-finned” whale 54 CHAPTER V THE PLAYFUL HUMPBACK The whalebone, or baleen—What whales eat and how—Affection for young—The fighting qualities of humpbacks—Breeding habits—Nursing the baby whale with milk—A story of whale milking 63 CHAPTER VI JAPANESE SHORE STATIONS Studying whales in Japan—Japanese shore stations and their method of cutting in—Cutting in at night—Whale meat as a food 77 CHAPTER VII A JAPANESE WHALE HUNT Hunting sei whales off the coast of North Japan—The whale runs—Moving pictures—The second whale 91 CHAPTER VIII CHARGED BY A WILD SEI WHALE The first sight—The shot—The charge—The death flurry—Sharks 107 CHAPTER IX HABITS OF THE SEI WHALE A distinct species—Wandering disposition—Migration—Distinguishing characteristics—Food—Speed 122 CHAPTER X A LONG BLUE WHALE CHASE The whale runs—The ship dragged through the water—A broken harpoon line—Caught after a day’s chase 129 CHAPTER XI THE LARGEST ANIMAL THAT EVER LIVED Weight and size of a blue whale—Why whales grow so large—A new-born baby 25 feet long—The wonderful strength of a blue whale—A remarkable hunt described by J. G. Millais 140 CHAPTER XII WHAT HAS BECOME OF THE WHALE’S LEGS Watching a whale swim—The flippers and hind-limbs—Ventral folds—Blubber—A blue whale which followed a ship 24 days 148 CHAPTER XIII THE GREYHOUND OF THE SEA