Smyrna times., 1891-02-04
WHOLE NO. 1870.
A PET SPERM WHALE.
A WHALE THAT WAS o.,ou-
WHEN VERY YOUNG

/ nF fha
oOuIh Pacific lives a Dlantnr 49, % ie sie
"HlCe man on the island. which ie f,,Ii =,
skinned folk, who cut and d.,
~ iueaC OF cOcanut, which he saIla -
trading vessels. When anv $500 eo
stOps at his island he will show hin, r,sot So.
Sne plantations; he will give him tba
jest Uhe Island affords; he will pat IN
SIe5C concerts anu dances OF tho Je
tahuers above all he will take him om+
Ior,os4 us us, pet; which is, perhaps, the
IarSest and oldest animal that wae o.'oU
petted by any man. '' o'eF
-, come along with me-" he said ~,
Lne morning after my arrival at the 10
iaTu' come out and see my net "
was not much surprised wben bo Ia
Iue way 70 the boats. for in the tronics
every one goes by sea rather than waG,'
mile. The brown-skinned ratioa,
were seated on the thwarts waiting foT
Us ana IN the bow was barrel fnu ~
meat chopped fine. U'i VI
=. W nat is that meat for?" asked
nv, 10 Ieeu my pet. he said, laughing
a. Cie" roWed away from shore over
Cne quiet waters between the reefe Tlo
ls'ahd was surrounded by coral and froro
each corner OF its northern side vvbJob
| vas ABOUT Two miles long, wall Of coral
| SIietCHeu away northward to meet at >.
suafp angie five or six IN les away Tno
| great sea waves broke into toam 49,
Ihese walls, but within their nrOtaotJO..
was triangle of water as smootb n ss 90.
lake; Ont over this the boat rode eesiII,
! EH'H we reached point about midwav
"eeh the middle point OF the reefs
] rowing. and two of them bcpan GL,,r. 49,
! INNS with clubs upon the bottom Of tbo
| boat Vi 'he
q. Shut your eyes" said the nlantar
you wish to enjoy a surprise"
ciused my eyes and the bows soon
TTTa9eu Cheir drumming, and some one
DleW iOnS blasts upon horn. Tbon int
700, c'ased, and the boat Law motionIosS
ana hoUhlng disturbed the stiffness An
az once heard huge sigh, and felt
hoI ana slcklsh breath. There was r0
noeu Ior the planter to bid me omen NV
~ Ior surprise or no surprise. the
Ci'dn SIX leet away l saw a huge nODstor
HoaJlng on the surface and LOOKING a+ ~,
win The most eXpress.Onless eyes that 7
ever saw in a living beast
1here my ct, cried the r,Iantar
raised him almost IRON the tlrna ba
was D ibY OF twenty feet long. and now
ne measures siXty-seven feet over ali
ana lots more growth to come vet +"
Inc pet was a sperm whale. H. seemed
n ~ lHOuN Wheh compared with US men.
behlnd the great head there stretched
It, Oue " l"h- oiY covered in great patches
WIN barnocles as Ian ge as a teac'1D onJ
the sleek lukes of the tail Ivin1, ~ ~
upon the water seemed ever So for
away, yet ever so much too near WHOM
recalled Whalers accounts Of tba -
hAVlOr OF this animal when enraoed Tbo
great lead rose from the sea so bicb
above the water that it becalmed tho
poaJ. The eye was about the size Of an
OK eye, and had almost the Same dear,
N,!oIeC shade. The ear was not so far
ulslant from the eye, a simple Orifice in
tne SKID the color Of the skin was
uISUy OIacK' which became lighter and
tlOIe iiIo EelIoW underneath; except for the
Darnacles the skin was quite smooth
The great animal lay motionIe Sc ins+
out OF arms reach, until the nIanter
caleC 70 him and dabbled his fingers in
the water, much as one attracts a kitten
DV scratching on the carpet The dis
Iant nukes made a half turn in the
water, and the whale moved aasiIT,
Toward US and ranged up alongside inst
touching the boat. The planter reached
over the gunwale and began to pick a
lumber OF wrlggling things out of the
corner OF the whales eye. He handed
'eNeIdl 10 me, and l found them to be
egs spread out, would cover one Of the
I'D silver haf dimes. These naraeitae
ire constant annoyance to all whales
when nave no means Of ridding them
elves of the pest.
Lend hand" said the master of
his unwieldy pet, If you have anv
ympathy with a suffering cetacean.
ust scoop out his mouth while | am
'usy with this ear"
felt that l should much prefer In
axe liberties with an elephant than To
anuie whsIe, but soon saw that the
nimal enjoyed the attention and pavs
very ASSISTANCE IN his power by draw
1g up his lips to give free access to the
nIns' and laid bare a bristling arrav ~
eetE When one side was cleaned the
lshIer gave the whale q slap between
ne ear ana eye and babe him turn To
le OLher SIDE. Immediately the preat
cad sank, passed under the boat and
lme up dripping on the other side
hen this one had been picked clean the
male sculled quickly ahead until it was
U or fUO feet away from the boat. Then
began a series of antics and displayed
agility scarcely to be expected from
great an animal. It darted STRAIGHT
read, it suddenly backed water ~
yam in circle, it gRmboled like a
'lphln, 1t threw itself clear from the
lter, making great splash and dan.
rouS waves when it fell back: last Of
l. IL put its head down and dukes mn
rowing nearly half its length into the
r, and rose quietly beside the bOet
e chopped meat was thrown over
ara. and we rOwed back to the shore
lile this odd pet was feeding.
HOW CID get him?" said the planter.
answer { o my flood of questions. 'It
70 =.
81 one day some years ago I was
ling up the lagoon with a barrel fulI
chopped meat to bait q pool in the reef
iond. All at once felt the boat lifted
and overturned, and when I had
hted her and clambered aboard there
$ the whale feeding on the meat which
been scattered all about. He was
ytwenty feet long then, but that was
Ce long enough to give me a good
re- IN ldlJiOn to my ducking. Some
or other he never seemed able to
the pass back into the sea, and now
S so big that he could not pet opt
n II he wished to. From being afraid
nm grew reoonOiled to his presence
the lagoon. One day he came nm
70 to the boat, and, though was
much frightened, I began to nick
SO crabs out Of his eye.
from that time he attached bimself
g. ana found that he relished being
ed. Once when was in / left him
ttended for several weeks. He came
II Jhe lagoon much further than
Al, and at last ran himself aground
below my house, and had to wait
raj hours for the tide to float him
That shows that he missed me-
sburgh Dispatch.
French Thrift.
le thrift of the French people Il in.
ted in its accumulated savings
ch are intrusted to the savings banks
lie country. According to a docu-
t prepared by the head Of the stats.
bureau in the Department OF
moe, there are recorded in the
ngs banks and postal banks 6.5OOO00
'sitors. representing 2,SO0, 0,0OOOOQ
rs, or say S5lS, 100000. As gratifying
lis exhibition must be to all, in or
If France, who believe In MAKING
the cause OF his own elevat on. with
eeourse to Government ownership
nd or Government suppression Of
petition, tn officer points out that
cures would be much larger were II
Tor that foe to thrift. the drinking
He declares that a war to the
Is ragged in every French town and
% between the savings bank and the
shop. In certain eommunes of
any the establishment of savings
$ has been temporarily abandoned
termined Is the hostility on the
side. The annual outlay ON spirits
aDsinthe amounts to 5000. 10000