The sperm is an exception to the rule of purely accidental attacks, however, for there are many well authenticated instances of whales of this species, while only slightly wounded and not in the death flurry, deliberately sinking boats and even three-hundred- or four-hundred-ton vessels. [Illustration: The spout of a finback whale. The column of vapor rises to a height of about twenty feet. ] Almost every deep-sea whaleman has stories to tell of “rogue” sperms, which are usually old bulls that have sought a solitary life either from choice or ostracism from the main herd. Such animals are often vicious and sometimes turn furiously upon the boats when struck with an iron. The “devilfish,” or California gray whale, had a bad reputation among the whalers of fifty years ago, for when attacked upon its breeding grounds it is said to have fought fiercely for the protection of its young. Under such circumstances its actions would undoubtedly be very different from what I have observed when gray whales were killed near Korea, where we had no more trouble than with other species. At sea it is often impossible to distinguish the blue and finback whales by the way they blow. The columns of vapor are much alike under ordinary circumstances, except that the spout of the blue whale is usually somewhat higher than is the finback’s. However, much depends upon the size of the animal, since a large finback will often blow as strongly as a small blue whale. But if not far away the blue whale may be easily known by the light gray-blue color of its body, for it contrasts strongly with the dark slate upper parts of the finback which, when dripping with water, often look almost purplish. The Norwegian name _blahval_ was given to the greatest of all living creatures because of the distinctly bluish color of its body. The Newfoundland and American whalemen call the animal “sulphur-bottom,” a most inappropriate name, for there is no suggestion of yellow on its body. The Japanese know it as _shiro-nagasu_ (the white finback). The diving movements of the two species are also similar except that in rare instances a blue whale will draw out its flukes when sounding, while a finback never does. Each one ascends obliquely, delivering the spout as soon as its head appears at the surface, and each slowly revolves, lifting its body high out of the water as it goes down. But the finback is more regular in its movements when traveling than is its larger relative. Then it will swim as straight as an arrow, not varying a quarter of a point from its course, and blow at regular intervals. [Illustration: A finback whale “sounding” or taking the “big dive.” ]