Daily independent. [volume] (Elko, Nev.) 188?-1915, 1893-06-20
WHALING IN NEW SEAS.
A Prospecting Cruise In the Ant
arctic Ocean
New Grounds to Be Sought on 40
count OF the Growing Scarcity
of WhalebOne In Our
Markets.

The bark Gayhead, of this city, is on,
her way to the southern seas. on an eN-
petition the like of which has not been
undertaken since 1871, says the San
Francisco Chronicle.
In thut year the British man-of-war
Challenger was sent on an exploration
to the Antarctic to ascertain whether
or not there was 4 field there for the
catch of whales, and she returned with
al adverse report.
Since that date many thousand YES
sells have doubled Cape Horn and fire.
+ quently have been driven many degrees
further south than was absolutely
necessary to make the trip. Invariably
they have reported q 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-five years which have elapsed
since then no one has had the daring
or enterprise to undertake 4 personal
survey Of the waters until the present
time.
f. In October last the Gayhend was
started from New Bedford with in
structions to spend 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
sec if new hunting ground cannot be
opened to commerce. The Gayhcad
will extend her voyage over what is
called the New bedford whaling or Mise,
f1,n{ To- Be- =, a.
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
I In BaEin's bay, Davis strait and in the
| Spitzbcrgen whaling ground. The
+ fright" and "bowhead' whales, which
are more desirable on account of tie
I bone they produce, are virtually ex-
tinct in these waters, and the whaling
fleet now push on to. Behring sea,
OlIhotsl1 sea, and the Arctic proper.
It is 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
whalebone sold at one. dollar and a
half a pound; it's price to-day is six dol
lars That gives fair idea of how tile
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 tho
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 YES.
sells at Dundee for the purpose of send
ing them into the Antarctic for whales
1t is not unlikely, therefore, that in q
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 ut present.
| ---------.--
Country Gentlemari'a Surprise.
| 4 story is told 90 N, 1Cnkleru n II, tho