The St. Johns herald., 1893-08-03
WHALING IN NEW SEAS.
A Prospecting Cruise in tho Ant
 arctic Ocean
Kew Grounds to Be Sought on Ac- count of the Growing Scarcity Of TyhaIebone in Our
 Markets.

The bark Gayhead, of this city, is on her way to the southern seas on an ex- petition the like of which has not been undertaken since 1871, says the San Francisco Chronicle.
 In that year the British man-of-war Challenger was sent on an exploration to the Antarctic to ascertain whether or not there was field there for the catch of whales, and she returned with an adverse report.
 Since that date many thousand yes sels have doubled Cape Horn and ire ouently have been driven many degrees further south than was absolutely necessary to make the trip. Invariably they have reported a number of schools of whales encountered on their voy- ages.
 By reason of these reports the whalers of England and America have felt obliged to doubt the accuracy of the Challenger's report, but in the twenty-two years which have elapsed since then no one has had the daring or enterprise to undertake a personal survey of the waters until the present time
 0In October last the Gayhead was started from New Bedford with in structions to spend a couple of years in the Antarctic, where she is to skirt the ice foe as far south as she can possibly reach. She is to fish for whales and see if a new hunting ground cannot be opened to commerce. The Gayhead will extend her voyage over what is called the New Bedford whaling cruise, that ordinarily lasts one year, but that will keep her out about three years this time.
 The route calls her to pass St. Helena and skirt Graham's land, from where she will sail for Australian waters and then go north, taking in the Japanese waters, Behring sea and the Arctic ocean. San Francisco will be reached about October, 1894.
 The fact of the matter, and the one point that has caused this extended eX- ploration trip of the Gayhead, is that the hunting grounds in the north are giving out very rapidly, and the whalers have virtually ceased fishing in Bafin's bay, Davis strait and in the Spitzbergen whaling ground. The right and 'bowhcad' whales, which are more desirable on account of the bone they produce, are virtually cX- tinct in these waters, and the whaling fleet now push on to Behring sea, Olxhotsl1 sea, and the Arctic proper.
 It is a fact that whalebone and ivory are two animal products which art or science have not been able to repro duce. In the good days of plenty whalcbone sold at one dollar and a half pound; it's price to-day is six dol lars. That gives fair idea of how the supply has diminished in the last ten years.
 Little is known of the waters south of seventy degrees south as compared to the knowledge had of the waters north of latitude seventy degrees north. Next to nothing is known re- garding the Antarctic ocean, and the hope is entertained that the present expedition will develop new field to replace the old one that is dying out
 At the present time an English and Scotch company is building three ves- sels at Dundee for the purpose of send ing them into the Antarctic for whales. It is not unlikely, therefore, that in few years the whaling fleet that sails out of this port will steer south after leaving the Hawaiian grounds, instead of going north, as they do at present.