Tensas gazette. [volume] (St. Joseph, La.) 1886-current, 1894-08-24
WHALING IN NEW SEAS.
A Prospecting Cruise in the Ant
arctic Ocean.
New Grounds 20 lie Sought on Ac
cSaut of tho Growing Scarcity
OF Whalebone 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 mar-of-var
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
sells have doubled Cape Horn and FIRE
quently have been driven many degree
further south than was absolutely
necessary to make the trip. Invariably
they have reported q number of school.
of whales encountered on their voy-
ages.
BY reason of these reports the
whalers of England and America hav.
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 darino
or enterprise to undertake a persona
survey of the waters until the present
time.
started from New Bedford with in
structions to spend a couple of years IL
the Antarctic. where she-is to skirt thu
ice foe as far south as she can possibly
reach. She is to fab for whales an
see if a new. hunting ground cannot be
opened to commerce. The GayheaG
will extend her voyage over what f.
called the New Bedford Whaling cruise
that ordinarily lasts one year. but tina
will keep her out about three years tai
time.
The route calls herto 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-
ploratiou trip of the Gayhcad, 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
Fright" and "bowhead' whales, which
are more desirable on account Of to
bone they produce, are virtually ex-
tinct in these waters. and the whalin~
feet now push on 70 Behring sea,
Okhotsl, sea. and the Arctic proper.
1t Is q fact that whalcbOnR and ivory
are two animal products which art or
science have not been ablesto repro
duce. In the good days of plenty
whalebone sold at one dollar and q
half pound; its price to-day is six dol
lars. That rives 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 ont.
At the present time an English and
Scotch company is building three YES
sel at Dundee for the purpose of send
ing them into the Antarctic for whales.
1t is not unlikely, therefore. that in a
few years the whaling Acct that sails
ont of this port will steer south after
leaving the Hawaiian grounds, instead
of going north, as they do at present