The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1894-12-16
CAUGHT I'm BY THE TAIL.
That's the Way Those Fishermen Captured
That Sperm Whale.

From the Iroridencc Journal
The capture Ct a spcrmaccti whale Mt Ston-
ington has stirred a food OF memories in the
minds OF old sea Captains OF that place. and. as
a consequence, the smoke talks at the local
grocery stores for the past two nights have been
OF an unusually spicy and reminiscent nature.
Most Of the old whaling Captains are dead new,
but II few OF them remain. and these few have
been carried back 10 the days of their young
manhood by the plucky achievement Of the
fishermen who landed the marine monster at
Quiambsug. two miles west of here. last Sunday
morning.
II was on Saturday afternoon that George
Denison of QuiambauG, while setting his nets
a short distance from the shore. caught his first
GLIMPSE OF q genuine sperm whale in the ofing.
ture OF the leyiathan, but during the evening
plans were made to secure him the next day II
he should still be In the neighbOrhOOd. and ON
sunday morning IA party of sturdy fishermen
went forth to the battle. To the uninitiated the
capture OF q whale i a difficult operation, but
matter in q .%jaunty and nonchalant sort
Of way; Their experience 10 be sure,
and mackercl. or swordfsh and bass nj
the most. but they seem Ia have had no particu-
Whale Was promptly on hand, and Ii! prosp bHe
tive captors lost no time In making their way
Ggs n Two boats %a TO fns spot on Sersefher's
Cautiously approaching the big black bodied
creature, Denison and his companion, George
W. Wilcox, who occupied the advanced boat.
were able to get into the immediate vicinity OF
tine whale without attracting his attention, and
ia less time than n takes To tell IL they had
fastened a line about his big ami dangerous
look ing tail. This story has an improbable air,
when the suddenly aroused monster awoke 10
the situation and dashed himself into a
fury, breaking the rope in two as IL
il with a good inch-thick hawser. Then. 10.
gether with their comrades, Moses and Denison
Wilcox. who had occupied the second boat a
short distance away during the capture. they
went ashore and endeavOred To haul the marine
king of beasts out of his native element. Their
combined strength, however, was unavailing,
and u was not until they had secured n pair OF
oxen that the monster showed signs of yielding
to the inevitable. Slowly he approached the
land tail hTsL writhing about and blowing water
a distance Of ten or Fifteen feet into the air in
traditional whale fashion, the plodding animals
at the other end of the rope being more than
equal to the emergency. IL is doubtful IL any
oxen, we're ever compelled to draw SO strange a
When the whale grounded in the shallow wa
ter near shore II was found To be impossible To
get him any further, The oxen strained and the
whale sputtered, but there he stuck. and so his
tied . rope. combining him TO a neighbor-
the disastrous consequences Of his visit 10 this
latitude. Yesterday he lay alongside Loper's
wharf. near the railroad station at StoningtOn,
dead and ig-nominious, with ropes tied fast about
his tail aud lower jaw, while his cAptors charged
all copeTs q fee OF ten cents per capita tor the
privilege OF gazing upon mis- ugly black body.
The enterprising fishermen must have Teaped
quite a harvest In this way, as there were inter-
ested sightseers, not only from StOningtOn, but
from the neighbOTing towns,
The whale Is "A genuine spermacetl, 80 feet
long. with a broad head as black as ebony, and
an evil little eye almost one-third OF his length
away from the extremity OF the snout. There
can be no doubt that he is not one Of the oTdi-
nary loW-dOwn, hump-back whales that some
tunes venture into Long Island Sound. but a
genuine sDerm whale 81 the most valuable
variety. IL Is said that this Is the first authenti-
Gated instance on record Of such a creatures be-
Ing seen In these waters. Twenty years ago q
similar whale was reported In the Sound. but as
Il escaped capture very few people believed that i
il WAS q sperm whale At all. or this specimen, |
however. there can BE- no doubt: at least that IL /
hat the local whaling Captains sAy. |