dolphins are generally numerous, the explanation being that the fish are attracted
by the rice that falls into the water, they in their turn drawing the dolphins to the
place. In the stomach of IVallago attu rice has been frequently found; and, moreover,
this fish has the reputation of being occasionally destructive to paddy crops. The
remains of beetles and the presence of a bee in the stomach are probably also to be
accounted for by their having first been swallowed by fish.
Gestation.—It appears to give birth usually to only one at a time, although
it is stated that it sometimes produces twins: two gravid uteri opened by me
in April each contained a single mature foetus, and in two other instances, of
which I have been informed, only one young in each was discovered. Some of
my informants record that the period of gestation is from 8 to 9 months, and
that the young are bom between April and July, also that they are sometimes
captured in the nets of the fishermen clinging to their mothers; and a correspondent
at Dacca observes that they hold on by their mouths to the base of the mother’s
pectoral fin. I have observed the young following the mother in the months of
November and December.
Native names.—This genus is known by different names along the Ganges, Indus,
and Brahmaputra. Along the first-mentioned river, the term generally applied to it is
8us, susu, or sunsar; along the Indus it is called, as a rule, bulhan, but the term
sunsar appears to be occasionally applied to i t ; and along the Brahmaputra it is
known to the Assamese as hihoo or sihoo, and in Cachar and Sylhet as huh, both
h’s being strongly aspirated. All these terms appear to be imitations of the sound
made by the dolphin in respiration.
Capture and uses.—The Tlatanista is not unfrequently captured in the nets
of the fishermen, but such an event is not considered a cast of fortune, for the
animal, in its struggles to escape, seriously damages the nets, which are not adapted
for entrapping such unwieldy and powerful mammals. A gravid female so caught
in the Hughli, and measuring about 8 feet in length, was brought to me alive
on the 4th March 1873. Eor about half an hour after her capture she had lain
without shelter under the blazing heat of an almost tropical sun, only, however,
to be transferred to the bullock cart in which, without any protection whatever
from the scorching rays, she was driven a distance of more than three miles.
Notwithstanding this barbarous treatment, she was, as I have said, alive, after
having been more than four hours out of her native element, under circumstances
most adverse to vitality. When I first saw her, she exhibited no movements but
those of respiration, and even these were feeble. She respired about every minute
or, minute and a half. Thinking there was a prospect'that I might preserve her
alive and so observe her habits, I resolved to let her loose in a large sheet of water,
close at hand. On reaching this, however, she appeared so exhausted that
I took the precaution, in case I might lose her if she sank, to tie a light rope to her
tail. No sooner did she touch the water than she floundered into it, and rolling
about for a minute or so seemed to regain her strength and made off feebly
for the middle of the tank, twice rising to the surface to breathe. After waiting
some timp. in the hope that she would again show her vitality by coming up
to the surface, my desire was disappointed, for her position was at length alone
indicated by a profuse discharge of air bubbles over the spot where she was
submerged. The rope now proved of use, for on gently pulling her out I found
to my chagrin that all life had ceased.
When the dolphin is purposely sought for, which does not, however,
appear to be a frequent occurrence in Bengal, it is transfixed by a harpoon,1
in the use of which, in catching Trionyx gmgeticus, some of the fishermen are
experts.
At Sukkur, on the Indus, the Dhopels are said to catch dolphins in shallow
water by the aid of trained otters.
The flesh and blubber are occasionally eaten by many of the low-caste Hindus
of India, such as the Gurhwals, the Domes of Jessore and Dacca districts, the
Harrees, Bourees, Bunos, Bunpurs, Tekas, Tollahas, the Domes of Burdwan and
Bhagulpore, who compare it to venison; also by the Teewars and Machooas of Patna,
the Mussahars of Shahabad, the Gourhs and Teers of Tirhoot, and the Mullahs of
Sarun. In the North-West Provinces about Allahahad, the Chumars, Passees,
Kooras, Khewuts or Mallahs, have rather a high estimate of the flesh, which they
assert resembles ,turtle. The Koonths of Benares, Phunkeeas, Natehmurrahs, and
Budhoas of Moradabad, and also such gipsy tribes as the Sainsees, Kunjars, and
Hubbossahs in the neighbourhood of Meerut, do not despise it. In the Punjab
we find the Choorahs, Dhapels, Sainsees, Budous, and Burars eating the flesh; and
in Sind, the Kehuls. The Moras, a tribe of Mahomedan boatmen who lead a
wandering life on the streams in the Punjab and in Sind, subsist on the dolphin
when by good chance they catch one; this is also the case with the Cacharies and
the Nag&s of Assam. The Sansee women on the Indus eat the flesh under the idea
that it makes them prolific.
All along the Ganges, Brahmaputra, and Indus the oil is universally considered
as of great value as an embrocation in rheumatism and for giving much strength
when rubbed on the back and loins. But many other animal oils, such as those of
various species of turtle, the crocodile, and the pelican, have a similar reputation.
I t is said to be of a very penetrating nature, and owing to this property it is highly
prized for preserving leather, such as harness, &c. The illuminating powers of this
oil are said to be very high. The Mooreahs of Assam, who work in brass,, use it
whenever they can, burning it in little earthen lamps, as the light it gives is more
clear and brilliant than that to be obtained from fish or mustard oil. Also the
natives along the banks of the Ganges and Indus value it much for its lighting
1 The harpoon consists of a long thin hamhoo, varying in length from 6 to 9 feet, into the thick end of which an
iron harb, fitted in a wooden socket, is let loosely. A strong cord is attached to the base o f the iron harh, and its other
end is tied round the socket end of the bamboo. The cord, which may be from 40 to 50 feet long, is then coiled
round the bamboo from below upwards. This spear-harpoon is thrown with wonderful precision at the turtie or
dolphin as it raises its head to breathe. When transfixed, the animal plunges into the deep water, carrying the barb
away with it, whilst the line spins out from off the bamboo-shaft, which floats on the surface, or disappears to rise agam,
marking the position of the wounded animal.