Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1888-08-24
WHALE-FISHERY.
HUNTING THE LEVIATHANS IN
FROZEN ZONES.
The hardy Seamen Who Follow
This Exhilarating but Dangerous
CaIling-Methods of Captur-
!. ing the Various Species.

The finback whale, says the New York
TELEGRAM is so called from fin located
on his back about a third of the distance
from the fukes toward the head. He is
O lean, athletic fellow capable of enor-
nous speed. 1t is said that he can go
through the water at the rate of hun
dred miles an hour. He is not sought
for by whalers, because it is difficult to
capture him, and when caught there is
little profit for the captors. He has but
little blubber, which is the oil bearing
tissue enveloping the body under the
skin, and the bone is small and worth
but little. 1t Is short and frowsy, and
used chiefly for making coarse brooms.
1t is worth only about twenty-five cents
pound, while that of the bow head,
the whale of the Arctic seas, sells now
for $2.75 and So per pound, while sales
have recently been made as high as 81. so
per pound.
Within few years it has increased in
price, as new field has been opened in
its application to some of the electric
light systems. While the finbaCk whale
bone, that is located as fringe around
the lower jaw, is only about two feet
long, the bowhead bone, that grows in
the upper jaw, is sometimes eighteen
feet in length. This is the valuable
quality The bowhead is also the largest
whale as we'll as the richest in bone and
oil. One is on record as having yielded
800 barrels of oil, and those of $50 and
200 barrels are not rare. The most val
liable bowheads are caught in the Arctic
waters of the eastern coast of America,
as the proportion of bone is the greatest,
averaging about twenty pounds to the
barrel; while those in Behring Sea and
to the northward thereof yield only from
ten to twelves pounds. The oils of little
value and is used mostly to mix with
other oils for painting,
Sperm whales are found in any seas
between the Arctic and Antarctic waters,
and are sought for on account of the eX-
cellent quality of the oil, which is un-
surpassed as a lubricant for fine machin-
cry. They are not supplied with
whalebone, but their lower jaws contain
teeth that fit neatly into sockets in the
upper jaw when. the mouth is closed.
They live upon squid, a jetly-like living
mass, which they swallow in parts as it
breaks off, and then dive for again un-
til they finish the entire lot. The finest
oil and the greatest quantity is in the
animals head and is called the cease. !"
A sperm whale that would yield 100
barrels, would have sixty barrels of this
in IFS head
When whale is brought alongside a
ship the head is cut off and hoisted
aboard. The oil is then baled out with
buckets. The sperm whale is fighter
when attacked and many are the thrill
ing adventures that are met with by the
brave men whose lives are devoted to its
capture. 1t is exhilarating though and
the iron nerves of the hardy seamen are
additionally braced with the reflection
that whale represents big pile Of
money and each has his interest, or "lay"
as it is called. If it were not CONNER
cial pursuit whaling would be the grand
est sport in the world.
Many ambitious hunters go to Ceylon
and India to kill an elephant. An ele.
phant is big animal large one weigh
ing perhaps ten tons, but how small he
is in comparison with whale When a
whale is seen sporting in the distance the
uldu dL UllG ulotSG uCttIl Cdllo OuG' IAClo
she blows' All is now activity
aboard. The vessel is headed toward
the spot where the spout was seen, and
soon the boats are lowered, each con-
tanning five men and an officer. The
bow man is called the "boat steerer, u
because after he throws the harpoon into
the whale he exchanges places with the
officer, who is called "boat header" and
the latter goes to the bow and lances the
whale until he is dead, or shoots bomb
lance into him from an iron gun with a
barrel about three inches in diameter.
The gun is heavily charged with powder,
and the recoil frequently kicks the boat
header overheard.
This is contratemps not to be con.
sidered if the bomb does its work II
requires some resolution to come up
alongside of a whale which looks as big
as ship upside down, and stick sharp
lance into it repeatedly until it spouts
blood. When struck with harpoon
the whale usually darts off at full speed,
dragging the boats after it at a rate Of
speed that takes away the breath of the
crews. They care little for this, or the
long row back towing the mammoth
carcass, as long as he has been caught
When sitting in their seats with oars
outstretched, waiting for the whale t.
rise and the harpoon to be delivered nc
thought of danger enters the head of thu
sailor. He only wants to be prompt il
response to the order ''Starn all, for you
lives," that comes the moment the blow
is struck.
Safety depends on getting back out o
the reach of blow from that enormous
fuke. Perhaps the boat is struck and
all hands are thrown out into the water
but the other boats do not come to tht
relief of their unfortunate comrades unit
they have either caught or lost thu
whale.
The fnback is not caught in thi'
manner, for it is very difficult to harpoor
him at sea. He swims so rapidly that
when he comes up after going down a
he blows, he may be many miles away
They are sometimes caught off Long
Island and Cape Cod by getting int
shoal water and grounding, when the,
are harpooned and shot with boml
lance.
The whaling interest is very small
now compared with few years ago
when from New Bedford alone, ther,
were 500 whalers at sea, and from New
London and Martha's Vineyard 20
each.
Whales are scarce, too, and will 500
become extinct unless a syndicate shoult
be formed to charter Hudson's Bay as
whale ranch. This may sound ridicu
lous, but only few years ago it wa
seriously considered to bring some of tn
valuable fur seals from the South Shet
land Islands, southeast of Cape Horn
and hrand thnn in Rnnnlen Bow th