Telegram-herald. ([Grand Rapids, Mich.) 18??-1892, 1891-06-05
CAPT. CASTLES WHALE.
4 ns~ssss - sss Deep Uses . Fnssssss
fox . SusHEca.ax-Foss-

- . DG1AGc8-nx-fcek
One night the plIotboat Lady Mine.
Capt. Steve Castle, was lying bccalEnedk
about ten miles southwest Of the main
taralIones. says the San Francisco
Examiner. Not ship was IN sight,
and ths captain improved the oppor-
tunify % shift the sehooner's canvas
for her lighter summer suit. All
hands were engaged on the work. and
u secure more room TIE yawlboa.
o4sd fur boarding vessels was heaved
over tho aide and m=de fast astern by
Sir or eight fathoras oi painter.
The sea was f1ll Of whales, lolling
about On the CLASSY surface. playing
AID blowing, and emitting al uapleas-
ant oily odoF, - wales are wont 10 do
vhsn the sun Is shining. the air IS still.
snd the water sme- 4. One particular
~ big fellow OF fnbaclS variety,
commonly called .fornia grays, man
iessed much In : and came along
eide 10 investigzf The frat notice OF
Lis approach WIS ,sived frcn . tre-
nendons foclz q. aEali seabirds that
&Zinmed along tae sarfaee. flying
DOWN To snatch their food Of parasites
every time the whale came 70 the sur
face. All the birds dew away when the
whale sounded cables length from
thu Lady Mine, AID the crew thought
no had taken his departure. In this
they were erroneous, for in about two
minutes the schooner set up q violent
rocking, . hugo black bulk suddenly
doomed up alongside, there was sound
Is of escaping steam, and half the deck
WA wet with a cloud Of ill-sEnelling
spray.
IL was N awful big whale for q in
bacl.. IL was loEgcr than the Lady
Mine. which measures eighty-th-ee
feet.
When he came up he touched the
schooner. bat did Il very gently, no.
with jar or bump bet with slow
upheaval that simply showed the vessel
of sideways and carcenod her over q
little until hos round bottom slid of the
monsters back. The whale appeared
highly delighted. and repeated the per-
fsrrnancc. For two hours he was never
two hundred yards from the Lady Mine,
end half the time when he was above
water tho crew could have touched
tin by simply extending their hands
over the sido. A dozen times he rubbed
.aSainst her side, but always with the
sarno gcntieneSs that characterized his
first contact, and often his huge fin
protrlded above the rail as big as a
boat sail
He was an old ball and his back and
bead were literally covered with
harnacles- IL was % rid himself OF
these that he rubbed up against the
boat, the crew soon learned. Several
times it looked very scary to see the
terrible bulk rising swiftly from the
rseyths of clear water, but he was con-
sidcrate enough TO always slaclsep
speed just before striking, so that the
contact amounted to no moro than q
gentle push
Tho crew did not mind the whale
nsing tho Lady Mins FOR backscratch-
er as long as he continued good natured
about it, but they did protest against
the odor and finally made nm attempt
TO drive him away. The boatkeeper
proddcd him with sharp pointed spin
maker boom just as he rose near the
schooner's stern
Down he went like a fash and in his
furry he preached directly across tho
little yawrs painter, which was hang
ing slack a foot or so beneath the sur.
face OF tho water. One Of his lukes
caught the line and as the sever
al tons of blubbcr and whalemeat went
down the yawlboat went too. The bow
plunged under with terrific dash and
the oars and loose bottorn-boards Of tho
boat few for yards around IN all direc-
tons.
The entire boat was lost TO sight for
over a minute, when it popped up like
q cork, full Of water, but right and
tight and perfectly uninjured. The
crew used garnished language, bailcd
the boat out, gathered up tho gear that
s:rcvved the surrounding ocean, and
hauled the rescued craft aboard.
The whale manifested no anger
v7hate~e-, but returned In few minutes
Is IL nothing had happened He rubbed
OF a couple or three moro barnaclcs as
gently as before. firted his monstrous
tail contemptuously. and took his de-
parture-