Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1873-09-04
A PAIR OF FISH STORIES.
a whale caugh, IN a Submarine


Writing from Kurrachee, India, on the
sth ultimo, a correspondent, signing
himself II. Izaak Walton, sends the fol-
lowing 10 the London Times
The cable between kurrachee and
Gwadur Ia distance Of about three hun
dred miles, suddenly failed on the eve
ming Of the 4th instant. The telegraph
steamer Amber Witch under the com
mand of Captain Bishop (late |. NJ.
with the electrical and engineering staff
under Mr.. Henry Nance, proceeded on
the following day to repair the damage,
which by tests taken at either end APP
peared TO be one hundred and eighteen
miles from Kurrachee. The Amber
Witch arrived on the ground at two .. m,
on the 9th, heavy sea and thick fog
prevailing at the time, but the cable was
successfully grappled within quarter
Of a mile of the fault
The soundings at the fault were very
irregular, with over-falls from thirty to
seventy fathoms. On winding in the
cable the unusual resistance was ex-
perienced, as il it were foul of rocks,
but after persevering for some time the
body of an immense whale, eDtangled
in the cable, was brought TO the surface,
when It was found to be firmly secured
by two and half turns of the cable i'm
mediately above the tail. Sharks and
other fish had partly eaten the body,
which was rapidly decomposing, the
jaws falling away on reaching the sur
face The tail, which measured fully
twelve feet across, was perfect, and
covered with barnacles at the extremi-
ties. The sea being too rough at the
the time to. make use of the boats, an
attempt was made to haul the whale on
board but its own weight broke it away
from the injured cable as soon as it was
above the surface.
Apparently the whale was at the time
Of ENHANCEMENT using the cable to free
itself from parasites, such as barnacles,
which annoy them very much, and the
cable, hanging in a loop over subma-
rine precipice, he probably, with FLIP
of his tail, twisted it round him, and
thus came to an untimely end.
During the time the Amber Witch re-
mained on the ground large school of
whales continued to play in the close
vicinity Of the ship, frequently blowing
within dozen yards of the vessel, and
even rubbing themselves against the
hawser by which the ship was secured.
Before the outbreak of the civil war
several American whalers regularly fire.
quented the coast of Beloochistan, and
we're generally very successful in filling
up with oil in single season, but of late
years the whale fishery in these waters
has been abandoned.
To show how closely these whales can
be approached, may mention that was
coming in native boat from Ormara to
Kurrachee, distance of one hundred
and forty miles, ON the 18th OF Novem-
ber, 1872. The inhabitants of the coast
looked on me as jadoo-wallah, or magi-
clan, when first introducing the telegraph
into their inhospitable country, and re-
the annual display of me-
teors that would take place about the
time of my leaving Ormara, | told my
wild boatmen to expect shower of
stars during the night. The meteoric
display duly commenced about am,
and shortly afterwards an enormous
whale came alongside and kept COM
pany with the boat, now and then pass
ing under it and grazing it with his
back, much to our alarm. Having a |
double. barreled rife and a revolver
under the cork-bed on which | was lying |
wished to fire at the whale, with view
to frighten him away, but the natives
begged me not to do so, as he would de-
stroy the boat and vivid recollections of
the pictures illustrating whale fishing,
with boat thirty feet in the air, bottom
upwards, and the crew with their ropes,
harpoon, etc., coming down head fore
most satisfied me of the prudence of
their advice. We made all haste to get
into shallow water, my crew praying fu-
riously and shouting to Allah for protec-
ton, when another whale came along
side, and the two keptus close company
for two or three hours, until we got into
some four fathoms of water. Had |
been well armed / SHOULD probably have
been treated like Jonah, or disposed of
in some equally unceremonious manner,
although, perhaps, with less fortunate
result.
As the officers engaged in repairing
.he late fault and the boatmen who ac-
me in 1862 are all accessible,
must refer any skeptical readers to
hem for corroboration of my statement.