Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1884-01-09
WOODSTOCK, W.T., WEDNESDAY, JAN. 9, 1884.
dUNTING SEA ELEPHANTS.
A Mans Strange Three Years Life on
n Lonely Island.

A Mans Strange Three Years Life on
n Lonely Island.
A New York longshoreman, who
spent three years on lonely island
hunting sea elephants, gives a repor-
ter the following account of his ad-
ventures: "The fisheries there are of
two general kinds--sea elephant and
fur seals. The elephants took about
all our time, l got into it first hy ac-
cident. Ishlpped on IL bark for Cape
Town, left her there on account of a
difference betwixt me and the mate,
and being broke. l shipped again in
what they called sealer for three
years cruise l didn't know any
thing about it, and after about a
months cruising to the south'ard they
put five of US ashore in place called
Heard Island, about the most fOrsak-
en- place you can think Of, and after
leaving us provisions, such as they
were, the schooner sailed, and that
was the last W. saw Of her for two
years and six months. During that
time three Of the men died. Heard
island is rocky island in about the
same latitude as the Straits of Ma
gellan, about twenty-five miles long
and five or six wide, and from the
landing about all you could see was
mountains and glaciers. Six Of the
latter can be seen from Whiskey Bay,
pouring down from a big mountain
called Big Ben, about 70OO feet high,
Some of the glaciers breast the sea
with front sever III hundred feet
high. anu every once in IA while they
break off with a crash that you could
hear five miles away In fact, there
was nothing but ice, and where
the rock was clear there was nothing
growing to speak of. The only way
to make house was to dig hole in
the ground and cover it over with
canvas, and in winter we nearly froze.
All the streams froze up, and the
ground was covered with snow; the
only water we had was that melted
"About the curiousest thing is that
when we have cold weather here, say
December, it's in the middle Of sum-
mer there, July is the coolest month.
but the place is in a regular gale, you
might say, the year arolnd, AMI only
about once week is there Il chance
to get ashore during the year. On
the shore were trees, at least trees in
shape, Just as natural as life, but made
out Of solid rock. No, they wa'n't
petrihed, but We're big rocks that lrad
come down in the glacier from above,
and been cut by the blowing sand into
all sorts Of shapes, and changing all
the time. Above was u big plain,
with bones strewn around, enough to
make a nervous man wish he was
home. There were thousands Of
them sea leopards, sea lions, and
great whale bones, rs if all the ami
mails had been dragged there; and the
strangest part of it was that although
they were not near the beach, they
were arranged in great layers, as if
the tide had washed them up--a curl.
Gus sight, l can tell you.
The seal fisheries didn't amount to
much, and most of the time was spent
in killing sea elephants, and rough
work it was. The animals had been
hunted so muth that they only came
ashore on one part Of the island called
Long Beach, and where there was a
heavy sea breaking all the time; so the
only way to do was to drive the ami
mails off shore and keep them off, 50
that they would come ashore in other
places where they could be killed. The
long beach was covered with thou
sands of elephants in regular herds,
like cattle, about fifty to a lot. and
each under the head Of a big male
called the beach master. Our busi-
ness was to take long seal-sliin whips,
sail into the herds, and drive them off,
which was no fool Of job. We walk
ed along about an eighth of a mile
apart, and had some close scrapes
sometimes. Some of the beach mas
ters were thirty feet long, and weigh
ed three cons. They didn't seem to
know what fear meant, and you could
walk right among them, and give them
the whip right and left, and then the
roaring and Hopping commenced
Fight? should say so. There was a
'Portug' with our gang that was about
as reckless chap as ever see. He'd
rush into crowd and run right up on
the back of a big fellow and lathcr it
with his Whip for a minute. and then
slide off. One day he did this when
we were in a crowd of big ones, His
foot slipped, and he slid right over the
critters shoulders, and the next min
ute the bull had him. lie had on a
thick canvas shirt and overhauls, and |
by the slack of the latter the bull |
grabbed him and tossed him six foot
in the air, his whip going one way aud |
he the other. He landed in the sand |
all right.
"But the worst fights I saw were
between the bulls themselves. If
young bull got into herd by mistake,
it was good-by, John. The old bull
would take him by the neck, tear great
pieces of skin off, and if he could get
oeod hold TOSS him ten ar tw elva foot |