Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1885-03-07

are lowered, the OARS are dropped into
the water and things are made ready.
"Ihe WhaleboaJ is long, sharp, and
high at the bows and stern. 1t cuts the
water like a knife and can move back
ward or forward with equal facility. At
the bows is a. deep-grOOVe lead-ined, for
a line to pass through; near the stern Is
a lOggerhead, stout round post, about
I which a Jne may be passed Two tubs
/ containing six hundred fathOms e. 600
feet Of carefully coiled rope lie in the
| bottom of the boat. In the bows is the
| bOat-steerer with his irons, to which is
attached the long rope. At the stern
stands the bOat-header guiding the boat
| with an oar.
"The whale lies mOtiOnless. At inter
walls he spurts up a bucketful of water
three or four feet high. But not much Of
his body can be seen. AT times, in a
calm see, hardly more than a square foot
is above the water. His eyes are so set
that he can't see straight before him, so
/ the boat tries to 60 down on him IN
/ front, which is done so successfully
| sometimes that the boat runs half out Of
| the water on his head. The positions
| best suited to begin operations are
near either Of the fns-the vulnerable
points of a whales coating. The boat
moves quickly, but cautiously. and the
/ excitement increases. The boat-steerer
! steadies himself and makes ready with
/ his first iron as the boat edges toward
| the monsters fin, keeping as far as posi-
/ bic away from the fnkes, you under
stand, the tail. When within two or
| three feet of the whale the bOat-steerer
pulls himself together and with all his
/ might darts his iron in near the I'm.
| Then he quickly seizes his second iron,
! or preventer, which is fastened to the
same line by a short lanyard and which,
! should the first iron pull out, would pre-
vent the whale from getting away. The
irons very quickly wake the whale from
! his reverie. He mighty quick becomes
! lively. He slashes the water into foam
/ and bangs his fiukes with about as loud
! reports as heavy artillery. Suddenly he
! dives under. Out goes the line ike a
i fl sh of lightning, and water is used to
! keep the boat from taking fire. He stops
! when ne gets down one tube, three hun
/ dred fathOms, and stays almost station
airy. A ffteen-barrel whale will stay
down half an hour; a sixty-barrel whale
/ Will remain a quarter Of an hour longer.
/ At last the line slackens, and he begins
to rise. The bOat-steerer, who threw the
! irons, is now at the oar in the stern Of
the boat, and the boat header is forward
"The line is hauled in until the whale
is within a few fathOms Of the surface,
and the boat moves of to keep clear OF
the hukes. Up he comes and blows ire
mendously. He bangs the water with
his flukes until the noise is almost deaf
ening, and the boat rocks ftfully on
sea Of frOth. Over he rolls in fury until
almost his whole belly is out Of water,
1 and back he comes again rolling over on
/ the other side. New men not knowing
| their danger generally laugh and shout
! and do everything but obey orders. But
many Of the experienced men know too
/ Ill @E,r n
allied with fear. The boat header by
turns rOars and sWears at and cOaXes the
! men to lay me on and LAY me Oft IN
! til he has become almost hOarse. One
/ flap of the hukes on the boat would
smash it into kindling wood, or the
| slightest Encouragement Of the boat
! steerer might spill them all into the wa
| ter. The whales rolling lasts but two
minutes. Then he is sure to start off on
a run dead to WindWard. So it needs
quick work, and the bOat-header worries
| the boat as close as is safe. When the
| animal rolls well over and exposes his
/ life in goes the lance.
of this piece of cold steel gets into his
/ life, matters became more lively around
! those parts than ever. His dukes slash
| about wilder than ever and around and
around, now diving, now jumping clear
/ out of the water, the whale rushes IN his
! death agony, dragging the boat after him
as a child might a chip on pond. Up
! he spurts clOts Of blood large as q hat,
covering the boat, its crew, and the sea
| for half a mile around with the sanguin-
airy fluid. But this tremendous exer-
/ ton does not last long, and in ten min
utes the whale is mOtionless-dead.
Sometimes when hit with the lance
| the whale dives to such a depth that the
| line has to be cut, and he is never seen
! again. Some people think that while
underneath the whale dies, and the car
cass becoming filed with water, its spe-
ciic gravity becomes so great that it can
not rise to the surface.
eff only slightly wounded near the life
! the whale starts on run to WindWard at
/ a tWelve-knOt rate. The boat plOWs after
at perilOus speed and walls of water
stand foot above the gunwales. Away
| they 90 for half an hour, the bOat-header,
with Ratchet in hand, ready to cut the
rope should the fish dive or in any other
way be likely to haul the boat under.
| Suddenly the whale will stop and turn
and show fight while they are trying to
close up and lance him. 1t needs much
dexterity to keep away from his Onsets
and the slashing of hukes, and at the
same time get the lance in. But if they
do not wound him MORALLY this time
away whale, boat and all 90 again, pos
slDly to le6Ward, but almost surely 70
windWard, and there is another big run,
/ followed by another battle. This sort of
thing lasts until they stick the king of
the sea in his life, which quickly settles
matters.
"At length, having dispatched him,
the ship, which may be six, eight or
more miles distant, is signaled. The
whale is made fast alongside the ship, a
cutting in stage is then rugged from the
side of the vessel, extending out two or
three feet above the whales body, and
several men, with spiked boots to pre-
vent slipping, get off on the carcass and
| l. |. II !. l. - L. L.