The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1873-08-16 00:00:00

A STRANGE STORY.

The following interesting communication has been
sent to Yhe TiMES :-

As the following Incident relating to submarine telegraphy
may Interest a large portion of your readers, I send you the
account, In the hope that you may think it worthy of publi-
cation in ha Times.

The cable between Kumchee and Gwadur (a distance of
about 300 miles) suddenly failed on the evening of the 4th
Inetar.t. The telegraph steamer Amber KVA, under the
command i Captain Bishop (late I N.), with the electrical
mid engineering staff miler Mr. Henry Mance, proceeded on
the following day to repair the damage, which by tests taken
at either end appeared to be 110 miles tr‘lm Kurraphee. The
Amber Witch arrived on the gr, und at 2 pm. on the 6th, a
heavy sea and thick fog prevailing at the time, but the cable
was successfully grappled within a (porter of a mile of the
fault.

The slundings at the fault were very irregular, with
over-falls from 30 to 70 fathoms On winding In the cable
unusual resi,tance was experienced, am If It were foul of
rocks, but after persevering for some time the body of an
Immense whale, entangled In the cable. was brought to the
surface, when It was found to be firmly secured by two
and a half turns of the cable Immediately above the tail.
Sharks and other ash had partially eaten the body, which
was rapidly decompalng, the Jaws falling away on reaching
the surface. The tall, which measurer' fully 12 feet across,
Was perfect, and covered with barnacles at the extremities.
The “a being too rough at the time to make use of the
boats, an attempt was made to haul the whale on boast, but
Its min weight broke it away from the injured cable as soon
as It was raised above the surface.

Apparently the whale was at the time of entanglement
ugh g the cable to free Itself from parasite., such as bar-
nacles, which annoy them very much. and the cable, hanging
in • loop over • submarine precipice, he probably, with a
allio of his tail, twiated it round him, and thus MTN to an
untimely end.
- •- • • • • --

During tbe Urn. the Amber W Rah remalneyl en the
ground a large school of whges continued to play in the
clone vicinity of the ship. frequently blowing within • dozen
yards of the vessel, and even rubbing themselves against the
hawser by which the ship wee secured.
- • •

Before the outbreak of the Civil War several American
whalers regularity frequented the coast of Beloochistan, and
were generally very successful in tilling up with oil in• single
season, but of late years the whale fishery In these waters baa
been abandoned.
To chow how closely these whales can be approached, I
may mention that. I was coming in a native boat from ormara
to Kurrachee, a dlytance of 140 miles, on the 12th of Novelly.
her, 1832. The inhabitants of the comet looked on me as •
ladoo.waliah, or magician, when first Introducing the
telegraph Into their Inhospitable country, and remembering
the annual display of meteors that would take place
about the time of my leaving Orrnara, I told
my wild boatmen to expect a shower of stars during
the night. The meteoric display duly commenced about
1 am , and shortly afterwaros an enormous whale came
alongside and kept close compani with the boat, now and
then passing under it and grazing it with its back, much
to our alarm. flaying • donniebtorelled rifle and •
revolver under the cork-bed or. which I was lying, I wished
to fire at the whale, with • view to frighten him away, but
the natives begged me not to do so, as he would destroy
the boat ; and vivid recollection, of the picture. illus-
trating the whale fishing, with a b at thirty feet in the air,
bottom upwards, and the crew with their ropes, harpoon, Ac.,
coming down head foremost, satisfied me of the prudence of
their advice. We made all haste to get Into shallow water,
my crew praying furiously and shouting to Allah for protec-
tion, when another whale came alongside, and the two kept
noel as company for two or three hourn until we got into
some four fathoms of water. tied I not been well armed I
should probably have been treated like Jonah, or disposed of
in some equally unceremonious manner, although, perhaps,
with a less fortunate result.
- - - - - -

-
A. the c fit mrs engaged in repsirlur the late fault and the
boatmen nho accompanied me In 1862 are all accessible. I
matt refer any sceptical readers to them for corronoratlou of
my statement.
Kurracbee, July 8. I zAAK WAITON.