The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1886-12-16

| UusiHcSS Is 10 arrange Gne length or the
fuse so that the bomb will explode in
the body of the whale the instant it has
Penetrated to a vital part. Otherwise
the projectile may pass entirely through
the whale s body and inflict no immedi
ate mortal injury. When properly .ex-
ploded, the bomb produces terrible
wound, sometimes instantly fatal.
From thirty to forty feet is the distance
best adapted to its use. The gunner,
standing in the bow of the boat, gen
orally waits till the muzzle of the piece
is within this distance of the whale s
side. The bomb-lance is sometimes
fired from the deck of the schooner at
/ passing whale; and a good shot may
Kill the huge creature, or wound him
so seriously that he is easily overtaken
and secured.
| remember one afternoon in May,
1882. we were cruising off Isle au Haut,
on the Maine coast, ten or fifteen miles
out to sea. We had lain becalmed for
an hour or two, when one of the sailors
called out "Bloosr' and within five
minutes we saw several white jets ris-
ing about mile from the schooner.
A school of tinbacks was coming
from the direction of Grand Manan.
After watching them blow few mo-
ments, it became evident that they
| would pass us to seaward, going
sou westerly. Seeing this, our skipper
hastily ordered the boat manned, ran
for his bomb-gun, and we put off to in
tercept them. 1t was quite warm
afternoon, with a bright sun, and the
sea unusually smooth and CLASSY for
these waters. There were five whales
in the school. They were moving leis-
urely. rolling an blowing, and we
pulled directly ahead of them.
1t was interesting to watch the huge
creatures, for our boat seemed to fill
them with sense of curiosity. They
came rolling and tumbling around it.
The oars were quietly shipped, and we
lay by, watching their movements.
waiting favorable position for shot.
The motion of two of them in particu-
lar l watched with interest. They were
half-curious, half-sportive. Sinking
suddenly in the water, ten or fifteen
feet, the huge creatures would turn
partly on their sides and rise up to
within short distance of us, beneath
the boat. with their round eyes observ-
ing it. Then with a sudden twist of
their tails they would shoot ahead,
come to the surface to blow, and then
roll under again, for another peek
at us. The light was of such a nature
that their movements down in the
water were distinctly visible-the twist
ing and waving of their fins, and the
bubbles which escaped from their blow
holes. Inever witnessed a more in
teresting sight.
At length, the larger of the two,
which 1 took to be the male, rose slowly
to the surface few yards ahead of our
bow, and with one lazy squirm of his
immense tail, started to cross. in front
of us. A straightforward bow-shot
was what the skipper had been waiting
for; he was crouching in the bow. sup
porting his heavy piece across one knee.
No one had stirred from his place, or
made sound, for some minutes. But
now as the whale rose, the skipper
suddenly braced himself, sighted his
big gun and fired. The lance struck
the huge creature just beneath the for
ward fipper, and the recoil of the gun
threw the captain backward. He
dropped the gun and instantly seized
the harpoon.
But my eyes were fixed on the whale.
For an instant it lay motionless, as if
merely surprised. The sensation of
pain had not yet reached his BRAIN
The skipper, in the meantime, hurled
the harpoon. which buried itself in the
whales side. Then, as if touched by
an electric thrill, the enormous creature
gave one mighty squirm forward. Its
tail rose high out of water, then dis
appeared with loud sudge, downward
into the depths.
We were drenched, and as we dashed
the salt water from our eyes, heard the
harpoon-line Hopping and flying out
Four, five, six hundred feet of line ran
out. and we watched anxiously the
rapidly lessening size of the coil in the
tub. The skipper caught up hatchet
and stood with it raised ready to chop
the line off ere the last coil went out.
But the whale just then rose rapidly,
at broad angle to his line of descent,
coming to the surface some three hum
dred yards distant and with such force
as to throw its huge body nearly clear
of the water At the same moment he
spouted, throwing out what looked to
be bushels of red apples high into the
air.
That's the color" cried the old salts
in the boat. "He's ours-if we can
hold to him.
A jerk interrupted these exclama-
tions. Our. would-be prize had struck
off after his flying kin fish, and in a
moment we were shooting along the
water like an arrow. Every moment
now the boat seemed to gain headway,
like a log on long, steep shoot. A
clear wall of water rose on both sides
of the boats gunwale, fully foot above
them: We seemed to be flying along a
big groove in the ocean surface. The
water whizzed as it went past US.
most peculiar seething note. 1t was
terrific! Fortunately our watery steed
kept straight course. -Four or five
miles must have been made in at most
ten minutes, when down plunged the
whale into the depths again, but rose
and lay perfectly motion
less.
"Deadp" queried,