, 1877-02-04

| haro first nrnvod whales could be transported.
It was in 1856. if remember rightly, that he
made a successful experiment The opinion oil
naturaIists then was that whale could not live
out Of his native element longer than six hours
Prof. Butler, who had given much study to
/ whales. believed otherwise. He went to con-
| suit Agassiz abont it.
/ aHow long, he asked, "can keep whale
| out OF water and alivc!"
"About six hours" said Agassiz.
| "That is what everybody says. Can you give
| me nothing new on the subjectl"
| II now nothing further" the Professor add
cd but he encouraged his visitor to test the mat
ter, and was hopeful his own opinion might he
disproycd, which Is not usual thing among
| men,
1t was disprovcd. Prof. Butler first caught
his whale of the coast Of Labrador, and then
made arrangements to transport him. he hired
special train, put his whaleship III tank, kept
Z stream Of salt water playing OH him, aud paid
well for making fast time. Ten hours Of travel
convinced him of the correctness Of his conclu-
sions, aud overthrow all previous notions on the
subject The whale stood the journey so we'll,
indeed, that less hurry was made thereafter,
and in one case young whale was subjected to
two days' experience on the rail without appa-
rent injury.
- LENGTH OF LIFE AND CAUSE OF DEATH.
The tank-lifc OF whale is almost as brief as
it must Ec monotonous. One lived eighteen
months, but that ,ras an exception. The aver
age would be nearer SIX months, and the young
white whale TINT died Saturday was tank-ascd
but four. The cost Of getting them, Prof. But
Ter says, is between s., 600 and 5000. But even
at this expense, and with so short lease Of life,
the whale is paying investment The eight
ceF-month survivor brought over $4,000 day
into tue treasury OF his owners. That, how
ever, was when Boston never before possessed q
lcyiathap, and all the city went out
to sec. To estimate the drawing power
Of one attraction among SO many attrac-
tions is not easy; yet the whale Is
much relied on, and q successor to the late
lamentcl will be carly sought. The quick de-
cease is attributed to the close confinement and
necessarily small body Of water. If the price OF
real estate would allow four or five acre Eeser-
yoir aud this could be joined to the salt water,
q young whale fishery might be established On
laud. This Is one of those possibilities of the
future. like Mr.. Strakosch's million-lollar
opcra-housc. Consumption kills the whales.
They live, as dissection shows, till their lungs
arc completely gone. To quote the Professor,
they cat ono minute and die the next. There Is
no inyalidism about it, The huge bulk comes
to the surface. The crowd looks to see the
"blow." There is none, and the huge bulk
sinks again. The whale is dead.
WHALE BIOGRAPHY.
Tic white whale was plurging aud spouting
in lively style Saturday afternoon. At of
the evening he had collapse. The musicians
were playing Struss waltz at the time, but the
collapse was attributed less to the effect Of this
than to q change in the temperament of the
water. There were few straight dashcs across
the tank instead Of the usual circle swim; the
water foamed from sudden 1ashing, which
seemed to be the death spasnl, and the young
whale was no more. A consultation of physi-
clans and post-mortcm followed next day, the
remains were cmba1med Monday, and at present
the dead whale can be inspected much more at
pleasure than the live whale ever vas.
This namelcss subject Of obituary was caught
of Labrador by Capt. Zachariah Coup. Near
the mouth Of a small bay where whales feed,
q tank was sunk and net stretched across the
outlet when the tide was high. At low tide the
whales made for the open sea. Meeting the net
as an obstruction, and following it in search Of
opening, they would naturally accept the deeper
watcrof the tank rs the desired escape-ho1c. In
went 4 younoSteY. down wcnt the bip lid. and
the prisoner was made. When the tank had
been brought to land the whale was trans
fcrrcd to nannc1-lined box, allowed constant
stream OF salt water, and brought bv rail
to this city, Here his life, though brief, was
not unmarked, Despitc the murky character of
the water in which he moved, he was theccntral
figure in q large circle Of admirers. He received
more attention ten thousand told than was given
Mr., Tupper, and not cycn the maryclous gentle
man who sticks dasrers into himself Ike pins
into cushion was able to draw spectators from
the great tank. Nor did this whale know what
# was to want, While thousands were in poy-
erty that has daily hunger, hc had lis forty
mounds of cells ncr day. Tears NAV hare rolled
down his checks at thoughts of his ocean home.
but it is believed he never suffered an hour from
indigestion, and never knew Ills scientific name.
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