New-York tribune., 1885-01-26
WHALERS OF AMAGANSETT.
CHASING THE LEvIATHANs OF THE DEEP.
SCENES ON SEA AND sBORE-CAPTAIN EDwAhDos
FLAG-THE FRUITS OF VICTORY.


old davs of whae-oil lamps and Franklin frepaces,
sixty whaling vessels sailed out of sag Harbor ana all
the sturdy manhood OF this part OF Long lsiahu Wc
a-whang, and OF all the hardy that sang Oh '
erpo0l Jack and Hanging Johnny none were COM
posed of such bold expert harpooners rs
those which drew their strength from the men OF Aa
gansett The good old days have passed away put 'nc
men of are stout Of heart and strong vi
limb as we're their fathers and since they no longer go
after the whalos the whales obligngly come to tne'
They come In winter when strong "i'
blow over the ocean and the surf thunders OH
shore Then when the whales are seen playing
about of the village. the traditions Of generations Oh
whale hunters stir the hearts OF the men OF Amagahse,
and launching their boats through the breakers 'hey
pull off through the wintry sea.
Then begins a sport worthy OF tho days when giants
hunted the masodon and shed for the lcthyosaur In
each whaleboat six Not ordinary men, ethcr'
the strongest and braves and most expert that are
to be found on the MOntauk to shinnecocK
them row. and the sixth, the captain steers the
boat with twentyfOo oar, run through rowock III
the Coied upon the bow is long rope to whieh
is attached harpoon Other harpoons and lahces iie
handy In the boat strong post sticks up In the DOW
around which the coil OF rope is laid and to whlch one
end o. the rope is fastened The lances have diamond
shaped head OF steel. and arc rs sharp as
razor The handle is OF iron up to certain point whe
IL becomes wood for convenience in handling lhcSc
ances for killing the whale after 1t mas oeeh
harpOOned and the boat drawn alongside The harpoons
have either arrow-shaped heads head which opens
after has penetrated the whale and holds the harpoo
fast The man pulls the nearest the bow Is the
"harpooner." He II is who throws the harpoon whch
the enough. There IL great excitement anu
each boat strain every muscle. making the tough
bend and the hoepns creak anxious for the honor
of being first to fasten to whale Meantime nag
ying from pole stuck through the sky light In captain
Joshua Edwards has told the village that there Is
"a whale off," and the Of the place and the men
not fortunate enough have place in the boats collect
on the beach. tho women sheltering themselves
behind tho sandy knols to wnteh the
combat 1t Is chd's play. this huntingof the whao
and some OF the watching may be WIDOWS Deiore
IT maiden may see her lovers body hung ny
the breakers on the her feet But never rer-
hearted knights fought IN the lists for love ana
glory than these men Of Amagansett who struggle for
honor and the means 10 make their bleak homes more
comfortable For each whale represents considerable
amount OF money and, nearly all the Anagansett
men are fishers and consequently on. of work In
winter the money obtained by the capture OF whale
comes In exceedingly handy in the long months of Idle
ness.
Above tho noso of tho SURF tho people collected the
beach can shouts OF tho non In tho boats rs
the pull for the whale Tho whale disappears for mo-
ment but presently to the surface, blowing two
fountains OF water from his blow-holes There she
blows !" shouts the captain, who tho whale frat
Blows blows" echoes from the other captains, and
the IN hot pursuit Before they can reach him.
however whale sounds. dives below the surface
Then the boatmen lay their oars, anxiously waiting
Suddenly great black mass Itself from the water
and falls back with splash. There she breaches " Is
then the shout and the boats OF again This time
the whale s~ms along the surface, aud the boats
rapidly approach IT, When the leading boat IA within
twenty feet the whae the harpooner." standing up
the bow throws the harpoOn The whale feels Pene
trate thick side and Is of like shot from cannon
The rope hes the bow rapidly that tie wood
smokes and II the whale keeps Qn until all the line II out
the boat drawn through the with great rapidty
the whale j. struck the captain shouts starn
all and the mon back water to get at safe dis,
tance from whale for H. instead Of starting of with
rush he feels the harpoon he should prove ugly
aud turn tho would be death for every one In II
he reached H. The harpoon having been planted IN The
whale the harpooner takes the captains place at the
.tcens oar and The eapn going tSc Msis m az
the bow wiz lance. rrHly :" puiy ~ W ~ 'no , m "
the proper time The other boats come ana ne h'hI,
hut do not interfere In the struggle unless the
that struck the whale is In need oi assistance
IL would not be whaling etiquette 10 90 =" In' sts
e between the whale and IT. hunters Ia most despcr
ate one Inc whale innAoa gg rnsg hr"achinS hoyine
and dragging the boat about the water with great
bo,t from being s,yamped or crushed by the whale.
When the whale. exhausted by his frhntlc rnort';
close alongside OF him. wood and blackssin "
the wbalef. cali It. when II IL wood and blackskln
the lets ny his lance cndnayoring TO srko the
whar M & ~ ,i VIZ, pr and The hattie rae. for hours.
Finally some notices that the water which the whale
spouts s inged with blood ana the cry dead whale"
goes up. Ia few minutes after he spouts boOd the
whale dead and the boats. all making fast To the
great black carcass. tow II To the beach whete
is secured 10y ropes posts driven into the shore
The shout that goes up from the wind--wept beach
when the villagers see the stcce'slul boalr returning
.cares the scagul- whrchg overhead and the men who
captured. the whale the heroes IN triumphant pro
ccs,ion that winds from the beach through the sandy
hlocks TO where the lights In the village windows
already CLEAN through the gathering gloom.
Last year for rome reason. no whales appeared
of the coast. but this winter they have come
again as usual and have been captured Together
the whales are estimated TO De % wGrth al UI hae
bone will be divided evenly among the men who manned
the ono caught last Tuesday. e sighted of the
Sssen s9S1. about va. GfIS sd He Hs now he. a
the beach about mile from the be. ,,IiIgss yillage
and busily at work stripping him OF his buber
places with large Iron 10 Ties over them Here the
Re1e m Is 20 be- dpe QUIZ The bab5er mas been
stripped from the carcas OF the other whale which leS
brought to the she'd The bubber lies all about
he shed now in great cakes frozen sold As soon a, ~,
leach IL regarded place OF Importance by tho VII
layers and is spoken OF as g The try works o ,be
whale. man came running down the beach from mon
tauk Point and said that whale rh bad vnsn 9eGn
dh not appear on the Ml9g howeyes we later N
@s S%, diy in Ons %n' aSo was did s'S% Sa,
OF the Amagansett beach. The whaleboas which are
used here are Kept In niue a on a."s g @
wards's house 1t acts did the whistle of Roderck
Dhu minute before not living being Ia to be seen
but only the snow-covered field. the houses OF the WI
age the deserted shore. Suddenly the flag Is h0ised
IN an instant 1t seems. there are seen men, |
hurryng the fields aud running along the behch
To boat putting their ossn jackets Us they
=, -., |
When the Of Amagansett 90 after whale they SCI
dom fail capture year ago last March tho boats
went oil particularly large whale which was seen
the beach They fought with him all the afternoon
and then being out Of sight OF land and night & hnI
The ne day passing ship the whale floating dead
In the water miles of the shore.