The Sun.
London, England, 1856-10-02 00:00:00

WHALING ON ULVERSTOZNI SANDS.

On Saturday morning last while one of the fishermen
of Mr. H. W. Askew was visiting his nets in More-
cambe Bay, opposite the Coniston Priory, be had his
attenticn attracted by the appearance of an unusual enor-
mous substance possessing animal life floundering in a
sand hole, where it bad been left by the recent tide, and
promising a god-send of some sort or other. Advancing
upon the waif he found this monster of the deep to be
nothing less than a whale—a small one, certainly, but
still veritably a whale. How to secure his prize was the
first consideration, and the man with a strong oaken
net stake commenced battering the creature upon the
head to kill it, but, as might be expected, without effect.
Having a strong line in his possession, about the thick-
ness of a cart rope, he rove it round the animal's tail,
drove his stake into the sand to a considerable depth,
and tethered the creature to it, hopir•g, when the tide
rose, he should find all safe and have no difficulty in
towing it in his boat to land. In this, however, he was
mistaken, for whale no sooner found itself fairly afloat
again than it " up anchor" and away, taking altogether
with it. Af6er this there was a most exciting hunt and
endeavour to capture by a reinforcement of three more
persons—Tweedel, the guide over the sands ; White,
the landlord of the New Inn ; and a man named
Gracie ; and the chase was finally run into at
Hammerside-hill, in a pool almost dry. In the midst
of the onslaught the animal jumped from the
sand on the beach, as if it were amphibious, in its en-
deavours to escape. Then came the final struggle—boat-
hooks and other weapons likely to despatch it were de-
sperately wielded for a long time, without the desired
and deadly effect. As a whale-killing in Morecambe was
not an everyday occurrence, the circumstance, as may be
imagiaed, was one of great attraction, and crowds has-
tened to the spot to view the prize. On Monday last it
was taken to Ulverston and exhibited in a barn at the
Gill, at the admix ion price of 31., and to continue as
long as the carcase did not become offensive, when it
would be boiled down for the oil. Those at all conver-
sant on the subject of cetaceous animals, from its size
—lf feet in length, and 9 feet in girth—pronounced it
to be either belonging to the species pyhseter, described
by Hunter and Pennant under the name of bottle-nose
or beaked whale, or a young one of the physsias, or fin-
fish description, both of those being destiaguished from
the common whale by a fin on the back, placed very
low and near the tail. 111 r. Beardsley, of Ulverston,
surgeon, however—no mean authority on • uch [natters—
identified it as belonging so the genus balmnoptera, and
called the rorqual, which differed from the Greenland
whale and its allies by having a dorsal fin situated a
short way above the tail, and a series of longitudinal
folds and wrinkles on the skin on the under surface of
the throat and chest. The folds are supposed to be
capable of dilation, but their use is not determined. Of
the rorquals only two or three species are known. The
plates of baleen situated in the upper jaw are short and
of inferior quality, and the blubber they yield is always
in smaller quantity; from this, as well as from their
great ferocity, they are generally avoided and seldom
chased by the crews of whaling vessels. The great ror-
qual often exceeds 100 feet in length, and is a native of
the Polar Seas, where it is seen both in troops and in
pairs. The rorqual is more restless, snore suspicious,
and fiercer than the common whale.—Lancaster Guar-
dian.

The Milan, Gaz,ette, of the 24th, announces that
Marshal Radetzky has granted a full pardon to a
political refugee of the name of Ricca de Rosa,
and reinstated him in the enjoyment of his pro-
perty.

- REPRESENTATION OF TOTNES.--Mr. John Gregory,
a banker of London, has announced his intention of
contesting the borough of Totnes against the present
members, Earl Clifford and Mr. Mills, at the next
election. The hon. gentleman addressed a number of
the electors and non.electors of the borough on Fri-
day evening, at the Dartmouth Inn. Mr. W. Bentall
presided. A resolution, pledging the meeting, to
support Mr. Gregory, was carried unanimously, and
the hon. gentleman distinctly pledged himself to go to
the poll on the day of election.
ITALIAN OPERAS AT DRURY LANE.—Encouraged by
the success which has attended his operatic representa-
tions in. Dublin and the provinces, Mr. Beale has made
arrangements with Mr. E. T. Smith for a series of per..
formancus at Dtury-laue Theatre, conimencing
on the
27th October. The company will consist of those
emi-
nent artistes at present under engsgelreuls with Mr.
Reale oil his provincial tour, and will include Madame
Grisi and Signor Mario, Mons. and Madame Gassier,
Madame Amadei, Signor Lorini, Signor Albicini, Siguor
Rover% and Herr ?onus.