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Runaway Horse Leads to Rich Find

A little over one hundred-fifty summers ago, a resident of Wellfleet, Captain Daniel Rich, had an unusual experience. One of his horses ran away, and in pursuing the animal in its pasture, Capt. Rich looked seaward and to his amazement discovered that on the beach there was a large number of blackfish (pilot whales).

Hastily calling his two sons, he ran with them to the beach and in a short time the three had secured no fewer than eighty-two of the valuable fish. When these had been killed and their blubber tried, and tally taken, it was found that this lucky find had yielded between seventy-six and eighty barrels of oil, worth about sixty cents a gallon, or approximately $1,300.

Throughout local Cape Cod history whale and dolphin strandings are well documented. In old times this event was considered a windfall for those who discovered the stranded mammals.

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