New-York daily tribune., 1843-05-27


WHALING OFF FFNEwZEALAND.-The whale-bo rs
are admirably adapted for the purpose Tor winch
they are intended. They are Of various constuc-
doas, and are designated as English French or
Ameriran each has somc pccuhaniy to recon-
mend II. The. arc capable OF resisting the rough
sec of Cook s straits but Al the same tune
swift and buoyant When starting on "a whaling
cxpetlifion. the boats leave Fc-awa-ltl before the
dawn of the morning. Each has either tive or
six oars and a crew accordingly. The boat
stearcr and the heudsman arc the pTin1pa men
N The boat and are generally Europeans the
res, ore natives They pull 10 the entrance o
Tory Chanac, where view opens over COOK 5
Straits and Cloudy Bay from the southern head
land. where they keep lookout Tor the spout
ing OF a whale The boat which kills the CALI
claims the COW, even though 1t should have been
killed by another boats crew. Ii whale mas
been killed the different boats assist each other
an towing 1t to Te.awa-lu. | once sa" ten or
twelve boats towing In whale. Each boat hhd
l, little flag, and the scene was gay and animated.
One dav a calf had been killed, and the COW. hav-
inv been fastened upon but not dispatched, was
towed inside the channel. Gasplng IN the ago
MES Of death, the tortured animal, when close 10
our ship, threw up Jets of blood, winch dyed the
sea all round and beating about ITS tail, IL broke
n boat right in the middle, and threw the crew
into the water; but 1t at length died, exhausted
from the many wounds which the irons and har-
Moons had inflicted The calf was stated by the
whalcrs to be six weeks old, (on what grounds
do not know, and was twenty-iour icet long. IT
was Gu, up in few minutes, and gave several
barrels of oil. The process was so rapid, that
when came ashore found only the head. | cut
out the brains, the weight OF winch, amounting
to five pounds and one ounce, asoniShed me
greatly The whaiebonc was soft, and therefore
useless. There were two hundred plates OF 1t on
each side of the roof OF the upper jaw.
GOT the whole roof cut of, and, intending TO
ary and preserve it, placed 1t on the roof ot Il
nc,cbbor,ny house, but on the following morning
T had the mortiicotion To find that the rats and
native dous had found their way to ii IN the night
and had eaten all the softer parts so that the rest
fell TO pieces portion OF the heart OF thus call
was roasted and sent to our table. In taste found
II yery like beef, but it darker IN color. The
cow was SO feet long, and measured between The
fins on the belly eighty'two inches. Her SKIN was
yelyetlike black, with the exception OF milk'
white spot round the navel. As regards the color
of the whale have been assured that II Is some.
times specklcd; and that even perfect alblnoS, or
cream -colored ones seen, which must indeed
be beautiful ANIMALS The fat or biubber OF this
whale was nine inches thick, and yielded eight
tons and a halt OF oil Whales have been known
10 yield twelve or thirteen tons; but have been
told, that large quantity is now rarely OBJ
tanned, from the great decrease OF the whales. A
whale which Yields nine tons IS al present regard.
ed as very good one The tongue wasof white
or ash color, and backish toward the roots. This
organ gave several barrels OF oil, and Is mono.
poly OF the tonguer,' or cutterln.' The latter
operation is performed at Fc-awa,iti near the
shores, where, by means OF a windlasS, the whal,
is raised to the surface Of the water under a seal
fold ,lled 4 shears. The buhber is cut of III
square pieces by means of a sharp spade; its The:
carried to the shore, and immediately put into the
trying.pots. The cu,ung-up' OF whale, seclt0.
dem artem, is process which requires great pHo
fciency like tha, ofthe sklliul diSScctor, who Sc
parates the cuts, and with 1t al once all FAT anc
cellular tissue, from the Subjaccnt muscles. IL
the whale the bubber is 10 he regarded as the GU.
lis, in the cellular structure of which the oily mat
ter has been deposited. Shortly after the Death o.
the fish the cpidermis comes off IN large pieces
looking like oiled and dried sa,in,
[Defenbach's Travels In New Zealand.