Walker Lake bulletin. (Hawthorne, Nev.) 1883-1926, 1894-06-27
THE MARIPOSA WHALE
Sons Great Exploits of a Giant
California Hunter.
His Fame 80 Re rerpetust~d by n Monu.
nent-Stronger Than sandow and
More Dext-rous Than
Corbctt.

erect a monument to ASberry Wills.
the famed Mariposa giant. who used to
whip bears singlc-handea and who
could lift more tan Sandow, and was
altogether more formidable in his way
than Corbett.
lie was the most famous OF all Cali.
fornia's strong men. and was probably
the most phenomenal man in his sue
cesscs as hunter ever known on the
Pacific coast Asberry died over .
dozen years ago. and his body lies in
rocky dcfile near the edge of Kings
Canyon. TIE determination on the part
of some California pioneers to build o
monument to his memory has caused
many remarkable stories of his proves
to be related. His phenomenal
strength. coupled with his exploits In
the Sierras. are fresh in the minds OF
the Argonauts.
Asberry was born in Mariposa county.
and at the age of seventeen years
stood six feet four inches in his stock
ing feet. and was ut once entitled to
and received the sobriQuct of the
"1Butterfly Whale" The word butter
n.y. was the translation of Mariposa,
which in the Spanish means butterfly.
The name was originally bestowed to
the county because of the very large
number of curious butterflies there.
The "Whale" was exceedingly fond OF
adventure in the wild mountains about
him. lie was of fine physique, pro-
portionately built, and with eyes rs
sharp as an eagles. His hair and
h.a ri Nc hlncl. r1 tyinfy
and he always wore quantities OF both.
This man was always accompanied
by two companions. whom he desig-
mated as "Old IIell-in-the- Brush" and
"IIeart Deep" The former was mag.
nif;cent London twist riie-bore gun,
which carried an ounce ball. II
weighed eighteen pounds, and was nm
old-fashioned muzzlc loader. but never
in any way went back on the name be-
slowed on it by the butterfly Whale"
Heart Deep was huge double-edged
steel dirk weighing eleven pounds,
which the "Whale" welded rs easily
us the average man would a penknife.
On one occasion. while on a hunting
trip on the south fork OF Kings river.
ne came to meadow and concluded TO
fence off little of it for the use of his
mustangs. lie and the single CON-
panion with him began telling the
trees. By some miscalculation one OF
the trees fell in n different direc-
ton from what was expected. and
caught the friend OF the giant, crush
ing him to the earth. 1t had been
very lofty tree, was two feet thick,
hn ,v.fa rf,,n at to- maj
and was almost as heavy rs lead. But
the Whale" was equal to the cmerg-
ency. Concentrating all his giant
strength, he lifted the trunk from the
crushed and bleeding form. The man
soon died of his injuries. but his last
hours were much easier by reason OF
the feat of his giant friend. Many
other feats of strength were per-
formed by him at different times. His
lifting power was nine times his own
weight. or eighteen hundred pounds
One of his most phenomenal feats Of
strength. combined with his great pres
ence of mind in time OF danger, was IL
Illustrated while he was on the middle
fora of Kings river prospecting Tor
gold. Juet before dusk one evening
ne espicd six-months-old grizzly.
weighing fully two hundred pounds, on
q shelving ledge of rock asleep. The
.Whalc" said he would capture the
beautiful thing alive, and began TO
steal up on it. His companion, Lewis,
advised him that he had better shoot
it, but the ..Whale" SAID he would en-
Joy the fun. At this Lewis climbed .
H., - y,ncSthla GeYlYn.
mage. The giant advanced cautiously
up to the edge of the ledge and grasped
the young grizzly by it's hind feet The
bear woke, was astonished, and for the
FIRST time in its life summoned oil its
Young strength in q desperate battle.
1t CHANGED that the edge OF the bowl.
| der on which the Whale" stood was
sloping, and he could not get firm
| foothold A fearful struggle ensued,
! and at length both bear and man
rolled off into the copse OF yerba
| bucnn and fern. The brute was pow
erful and set up yelling.
This called the mother, huge griz-
| zly, only a few rods away, from the
brush She came twenty feet at q
bound. growing terribly, and with
! eyes blazing like fire. Lewis, from his
perch in the tree tried to shoot heE
and fired several times. In rolling over
with the bear the "Whale" had come
mp on top. Ierealized immediately bis
| prccarious position. and, grabbing the
cub by its heels, swung it with pro.
digious force, by o powerful swing OF
his great arms. against the giant griz
ely. It's head struck the fiery brute
square in the mouth. and its bruised
and bleeding form dropped from hi
hands. Quicker than 1t would be pos
sible to tell it the Whale" had jumped
to the fore and buried the clever
pounds of steel of Heart Deep" II
the vitals of the old bear, killing bel
Immediately. Lewis clambcred dowr
from his tree and looked in vain TO,
marks OF his bullets. He had not hi
the bear at all. Heart Deep" clone
had done the work.
The giant OF Mariposa only met on'
| enemy to which no was forced to sue