Thailand 1821
Finlayson, George, The Mission to Siam, and Hué the Capital of Cochin China, in the Years 1821-2, John Murray, London, 1826, p. 275.
A species of white porpoise is common in the seas about these islands. It is of a clear white colour, with a very slight tinge of pink.
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France [Saint-Malo] circa 1908
Victor Forbin, Dolphin-Hunting, Wide World Magazine, Vol. 22, No. 128, November 1908,
Their favourite diversion, however, is dolphin-hunting, a sport which the authorities encourage by every means in their power, since dolphins and porpoises are causing terrible havoc among the schools of herring and sardines on the French coast, thus destroying the livelihood of the fisher-folk.
….
But you’re losing money,” urged my host. “You forget that a certain official is ready to pay you a five-franc piece for each dolphin’s head you may bring him!”
Five francs! I rose to the bait. What glory for a writer to be able to boast that he has earned money with his gun! How I could crow over my fellow-scribes! So, tempted by glorious visions of many five-franc pieces, I weakly surrendered.
… I hastily jumped aboard the yacht Christiane, where Desmond and his mousse (cabin-boy) … were waiting for me, meanwhile endeavouring to ascertain from some old salts in which direction and at about what distance out we should be likely to meet with a school of marsouins [variety of porpoise].
“Marsouins?” ejaculated one old fisherman, between puffs at his pipe. “The confounded vermin are to be met with everywhere and nowhere.”
….
It is quite likely that several of my victims sank while breathing their last, for I really cannot believe that a single one of my dozen shots missed its mark. Be this as it may, however, I had undoubtedly broken the record in dolphin-hunting, for, as a matter of fact, Desmond and the boy succeeded in harpooning and bringing back half-a-dozen of the creatures.
