The Fairfield herald. [volume] (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1849-1876, 1866-08-15
A Whale in Portland l(arbor,

to the amuscmcnt of soiourncrs nt
Cape Cottage. They generally nlovcd
around the outside. but ot ono t,uo
were observed as far in os Diamond
Cove. Monday morning ono Of the
monsters accompanied a vessel 50 far
in that he evidently rot fr;rhtoncd
and lost his reckoning. Uc swan intn
our inner harbor. sIrofobtun by MI tho
wharyes. md tLrouoE thr Dortl,nJ
Bridge and the p, s, g. p Ro;moaJ
Bridge! There the water oot 60 sho.l
that he quit the prccrns.;y,, NH rnm-
mcnccd to run from shore 70 .Lnro omL
back and forth between V,maI,r,..
bridge and the railroad br;Inn Ln
| being able to 90 IN M d;root;nn orn
than half a mile. ~
| Meantime tho votoro,n;l,t l w
turcr of bio fish. Cant Kan; W r WiHI
lard. was notified Of tLn ,,r,.orc, nf
orr DISTINGUISHED ouos, ,dI I,o n,,aa
immediate plans 10 r;yr lin :, yyar,,
rcccnt;on With his h,r,nn,,. n.h,I
ino.aun. etc. Cnntoin Ran w,s ,onn i,
his ioot. with six stout c,lInw, - .,,,
oars. They pulled to the scene wbnrc
the frinhtencd whale wosv,;nlv .nci
inr an outlet. aud tho finn comnorno1
4 crowd of some fifteen hunJrcj MOO.
plc we're soon gathered on thc Lr;lr,.
occasionally the whale would rn.L 70
tile surface will such terrific snooJ th,t
nearly his entire body wouIl ,nnn,r
above the surface. and hc wnulI' r,u
with a splash that world send cnlumns
of water high in the air.
The boat in chase was pronc]lcd
with areat specd. but thc whnln ovo;L-
cd it for long time. Men nnnrarcd
with their rifles, took rop 3, the
giant of the deep when he came near
! \ number of rifle balls put uto him
without effect, save in the single in.
stance, where one struck him ni Short
range near the eye. The shot seemed
to stun him for moment. and an n.
mcnt only, for lie was off AGAIN NOR.
frisky than ever, closely followed NV
Captain Ben in his boat. Back nnI
forth they fed, pursucr and pursued
The excitement became intense. Fl
nully ,hc whale broke water within
some thirty-!iyc feet of.the boat. and
the next instant a harpoon was seen
circling through the air, sent bv the
sturday arm of Captairs Ben Willard
Notwithstanding the great distance
the iron took effect, and boat and
whale were rushing along at spccd of
nigh twenty miles an hour. The
scene was now indeed strange one.
There in the extreme back of tic h.r-
Dor of Portland, SIX miles from the
ocean, was being witnessed the most
thrilling part Of the wia .ire Of a
whaIcman. Unfortunately for all bu,
the whale, the harpoon gave way iu.t
as the boat was being worked M near
to give his majesty asecond iron,
The chase was renewed, but the
rising gave the whale more water and
room, and it seemed impossible to get
near him. The struggle had lasted
nearly six hours; the crew were about
tired out, and Captain Willard deter
mined to try the whalc-gun and boat
lance, rather than longer wait for the
manly and exciting fight incident to
the use of the harpoon. Just as he
got in readiness his whale ship came
up within fifteen feet of the boat, look
ing 50 huge and frightful MS to elicit
a cry of horror and alarm from those
| oi 'no pi'"Sc cloSc DS. "On, Tor my
harpoon J" exclaimed Captain Ben:
81 could bury ito the wood" But
there was no time TO get it ready, and
bang went the big bomb lance Gun.
1t struck Just in the thick of the whales
back, went entirely through him, and
exploded about ten yards beyond.
Though not inflicting fatal injury, it
evidently cost the monster some ankle
ty, for he got out Of the way at the
speed of an express train. Up he went
to Vaughan's bridge, whirlod about
and rushed down like mad, striking
on the ways from which the Monitor
Win s,cb fnroo aa+a - u:', no"I -
drv ont of tbo wotor % e Moan Ie"' ~, "n''
;mmonso str,,no.,a '' '"'''' "''
No 49, H., ou, ;. :,