File:The American Museum journal (c1900-(1918)) (17973005310).jpg

Title: The American Museum journal
Identifier: americanmuseumjo14amer (find matches)
Year: c1900-(1918) (c190s)
Authors: American Museum of Natural History
Subjects: Natural history
Publisher: New York : American Museum of Natural History
Contributing Library: American Museum of Natural History Library
Digitizing Sponsor: Biodiversity Heritage Library

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AMERICAN MUSEUM WHALE COLLECTION 285 beached in a sandy cove where the gray rock wall rose in a jagged mass, making a perfect background for the white body, its purity of color intensified by the crim- son streaks of blood which dripped from the bullet holes. There was something almost unearthly about the picture, the beautiful ghostlike animal, a very Spirit of the North, seeming strangely out of place away from its icebound home. Five complete skeletons were secured of the marsouin blanc on this expedition as well as plaster molds of its body. Early in August of the same summer a temporary appointment on the United States Steamship "Albatross" bound for a cruise of zoological exploration in the Dutch East Indies was offered, and I joined the ship at Manila, Philippine Islands. In the first part of the expedi- tion the only Cetacean material which was secured consisted of several skulls of the Southern Pacific blackfish. These have thrown new light on the blackfish of the southern waters and will probably necessitate an entire revision of the genus. After the East Indies cruise was ended I went up to Japan early in February of 1910 and obtained permission from the Toyo Hogei Kabushiki Kaisha (Oriental Whaling Co., Ltd.) to study and collect specimens at their stations. The presi- dent and directors of the company not only offered the free use of their ships and stations but also presented to the Museum all the skeletons which we de- sired to collect. This was an unrivaled opportunity, for the Japanese whales had been in the most complete scientific darkness and what species were to be found there was quite unknown. Work was begun at the island of Oshima close to the north- ern entrance of the Inland Sea and con- tinued for several months at this and neighboring villages. The skeleton of a splendid blue whale seventy-nine feet in length was secured. I was also in- tensely delighted to find that a whale
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Whaling station at Aikawa, Japan. The stations are always located in a little bay near the feeding grounds of the whales. In the distance is seen a large steamer which was used by the Russians as a "floating factory" and was captured by the Japanese during the late war with Russia

Tokio, Feb 10, 1904. A state of war with Russia was formally proclaimed today. The capture of the Russian Steamers... and Russian whaler Rossia, by Japanese cruisers is confirmed.^[1]

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