Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1889-09-19
Willy PoRPOISES.
Slippery as Trout, Cunning as Mon
keys, and Strong as Ponies.

Advices from the south OF France
intimate that the porpoise is lordint it
IN II most annoying fashion on the Med
iteranean flood. Your sea swine is an
aggravating beast, full of cunning and
prompt at practical ioke, and he Is
more than the Municipal Council OF st.
Nasaire can any longer put up with.
his body has re lues.ed the French
Minister of Marine to form n Commis-
sion "to study the physiology of por-
poises," that by 50 doing it may be dis
covered how to secure their absence
from the neighborhood of the shore dur
ing the fishing season.
1t appears that it is an old complaint
that the porpoises of the Mediterranean
commit intolerable depredations. 1t
appears that each generation OF por-
poises is little cleverer than its for
bears; and, whereas the poreine rascas
used only to drive the fish into nets or
sallow water, they now encourage them
to be caught that they may themselves
feast on the netted captives. The
Department of Marine has often been
asked to interfere, and as early as 1860
the commander of the Mediterranean
fleet formed scheme for the dcstruc-
ton of porpOises, which was like one OF
the wolf laws of the midd q ages. a fee
of francs was offered for every head of
porpoise, n sum raised at last to %
francs. Srec;al nets we e devised, and
the fishermen of Marseilles, Narbonne
and Port Vendres put their heads
together to entrap their enemies. AS n
matter OF fact they found it easy enough
to catch the porpoises, andplenty of fish
Us we'll. But here came out original sin
i'll the wicked cetacean. The nets were
s'yly drawn close; tie proposes mean
while ate the fish, their fellow prisoners,
until, just when the space within the net
began to lessen seriously, with the inim-
table grace of n flap of their tail fins,
they lightly sprang, like salmon, over
the edge OF the net and into the ocean.
Tie fishermen of Malsel 'es, Narbonne
and Port Ncndres, wild with rlge at
being fooled in this way, once more
brought the conduct OF the polpoises
before the notice of the Government,
The Minister was shocked, but could
suggest nothing. Three other com
munes thereupon requested the depart
ment itself to undertake the chastise
ment of the porposes. There was
long delay; but ut length two gunboats,
the Ayene in 1883, and the Albatross in
1884, were sent to punish the sportive
pirates, They shot torpedoes among
them, and fired cannon galore. The re-
suit was melancholy in the extreme. A
few porpoises were killed, but not many;
the ma, ,ority fled out to deeper waters;
but alas tho fish fled with them, so that
it was more tlan n week in each case
lefore the fishery could be recommended.
And when the fish came back, like the
ghost in the laureate's poem, the ire
prassible porpoises returned in their
company. The new report is not more
encouraging than former ones have
been. 1t says that the porpoise is an
animal "fort agile, and that the use OF
artillery against him is worse than use
less. 1t can only suggest in n melan-
choly wa that "the fishermen who COM
plain of the depre lations of these ceta-
ceans would do we'll to unite in organ
ling porpo,se hunts, or else in forming
n mutual insurance against the injuries
the commit. Meanwhile the depart
ment might continue to indemnify to
certain degree the proprietors of nets
which have been injured in any very
preposterous degree" This is cold
comfort, and is, in fact, another way of
saying that nothing can be done with
beasts that are as slippery MS trout, as
cunning rs monkeys, and rs strong rs
ponies. II Saturday Review.