Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1886-11-21
Especial corrcspoudence.I

mother would not desert her young. She
swan slowly when chased that the feeble
offspring might keep up with her. so, III
such case, there was more time for the lance
To do its murderous work. She would bear
repeated thruSts, and seek only to get away.
Sometimes, by accident, tine calf was
wounded Then, on her part, the instinct for
battle and revenge supplanted that OF flight.
The whalemen used to say that the cow
could smell the calls blood when thus
drawn, no matter though it might be yards
behind. An Infatuated dam provoked III
this manner once chased one of our boats
ashore. When the INSTRUCTED iron pierced
the calf, directly she turned and churnlng
and thrashing the sea with iiuke and in came
head on toward the boat. The crew saw that
she meant business" Grief and fury had,
as it were, given q momentary sense OF her
own might and the pigmy weakness of her
pursueIs a hundred tons or more of flesh
and bone shooting through the water at the
rate Of mile in two minutes isaSerlOuS pro
jectile for an eggshell of whaleboat to en-
counter, and would start the timbers of the
staunchest vessel Fortunately the shore and
shallow water were but few yards distant
1t was a close race. The great black mas
rolling q sheet of foam before it was but Il
few feet from the boats stern when the water
suddenly Swallowed, and these animals know
well how many feet they draw. She block
AIDED her foes, however, for an hour, swim
ming to and fro, waiting for them To put of
But in her present mood they did not see fiji
to renew the contest
For ever mother whale slain calf died OF
starvation. Every dead whale on being
lowed to the vessel was followed by its young
one. Through the night we could hear its
feeble ~ low" in the vicinity. 1t would re
main for days swimming about the carcass,
even when stripped of the blubber coating
and cut loose u vast mass OF putrcScence, Il
float with wind and tide up and down the
lagoons, navigated by stupid gulls gorged t.
repletion. These islands OF CarriOu rising
daily higher out of water, huge bladders, as
it were, filled with gas generated from their
own decomposition, sometimes came sailing
straight down upon US, and lodging under
the bows or counter gave all hands an hours
work with poles and handspikes to set them
off again on their aimleSs voyage. The
stencil was simply terrific.
There can DO no skulking In the fight witt
the whale To plant the iron in his back, the
boat must be rOwed straight up to and even
on him 1t is a fair, open fight; no trees
rocks and thickets for concealment and shell
ter, nor land TO run away on, no escape 10y
flight, should the animal turn and give fight
\ kink i'm the rushing, smoking line may
snatch rover from his seat and drag him
into the depths. When hauled up and driv
ing the lance home a smash is imminent
every moment; in mid-Ocean the boat may hC
capsized and the ship miles away lost to sigh!
in fog.
The man who made our voyage" the king
Of whalemen and champion grayback slayer
Of Marguerite bay, was Jake. Jake was q pure
blooded African. His uglineSS was grand; Lis
face magnificent in its groteSqnness, massive
in its coarseness. His strength waS enormous
lie could throw the harpOon twice rs far a
an ordinary man. A harpoon when "shod'
with the heavy iron pole Is no light weapon
1t must be cast by the two arms in curve
depending Us much on its weight for burymg
the iron in the whales body as on the im
petus given 1t.
Jake lounging about decks or i'll the fore
castle was only "nigger" But when he
stood at the boats bow in chase Of the Gray
back his cap Off, his eyes fixed on the spot
Just ahead where mOmentarily unexpected tC
see the monsters enormous bulk emerging
from beneath his two great, barred. black
arms holding over his head the harpoOn ready
| fOl the cast, the Niger" had vanished and
IN his place stood the Ethiopian gladiator
The leader Oh ghUsc couragn, GOODNESS anC
skill depended success and life itself
/ Out flies the iron and line attached from
the arms Of our black Hercules Barely has
its sharp point settled in the great Llacb
mas ERE the strength Of every GnwerS arr
Is employed In oLcyIng the mandate starr
ALL there i AN angry tiirt Of tue iiukc'
which were they I" reach the boat wOull
cut It 10 halves a. easily as the mowers Llad,
sweeps through the grain stalk. Fins and
tail for "A few seconds Cburn tho water int
foam. the animal dives, the lire flies smoking
around the logger head, the boat rushcs gun
wslc deep through the waves, tho rowerS sit
quietly IA th'ir seats, the long oars apeak
ready 10 let fan u the least warming
/ Ia skill, p,hIeSs and courage Black Jake
is now king Ills force and rule contro
tn" kauaka crew as one man. The GraybacI
/ has spent his first fury The line is slowly
hauled in and CoIled away. The boat i.
brought "cloSe aboard" The round headed
razor edged lance lies by Jake's side. Th,
enemy is out Of sight The boat ruShe.
through the smooth waters Of the lagoon, nc
motive power being visible Jake neve,
/ looks behind His eye is on the whirls ant
eddleS Just ahead, which indicate the sub
merged passage of the whale. He signals by
backward wave of either arm to the hand
at the steering oar the direction in which b,
wishes the boats head kept. He buries tn,
lance in lung or heart whenever the gray
back comes up for breath Of air
The unseen foe is willy and dangerous some
times, the line suddenly slackenS Toe gray
back has stopped The boat lies idly on III,
water. Hearts beat fast and faces wear al
anxious look. The whale may be practicing
one OF its peculiar Strategenls, that Of doub
ling ON the purSuers and cropping about under
meath until its wicked little eve catche.
sight OF the boat, when it rises from the
depths, the craft is rudely lifted on the pol
ished ebony hack and the crew tumble int
the waves.
But in this chase the grayback continue.
its flight The jets Of white foam from tn,
nnStrils, after repeated thrusts, give place t.
streams of darker hue. Miles away the @olt
man," watching the chase through his glaS
from the Henry's deck, sees the fatal sigr
and mutters, ~Spouting thick blood!n The
great fountain Of life has been tapped, ant
| its crimson flow dyes the sea for yard.
around The grayback stops and beats tn,
water irrcsolutely with its fms Its vas
| strength is going, the mists are gathering