The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1894-03-06
HE RODE HIS WHALE HOME.
Not From the Arctic, but From Right off
Morehead City, N. c.
Washington Evening Star.)

Inc p1scF tOrlal reporter will now in
troduce Capt. Jim Willis, who will
favor us with a fish story. Capt. Jim
halls from Morehead City, N. G. At
this moment he is leaning against the
buffet at the Normandie, and this is
what he is saying:
Down yonder where I live we have
all sorts of finny denizens of the deep
from minnows up to whales, including
yachtsmen. 1 don't propose to stuff
you with a trout story, or to say any
thing to you shout the size of a black
bass. because l am aware that there are
a class of land lubbers right here in
this city who Can lie just about as
hard as anybody else in this particular
line. l can't tell yarn with any bigger
bass In it than the next fellow. Ny
speciality is the whale. I'd like to bet
a hundred dollars to a cent that when
a request for a story comes round 1 can
catch a bigger whale than anybody
else.
But, throwing all jokes to the four,
or even a greater number Of the winds
OF heaven, I did have an experience
with a whale that came near to making
a Jonah out of me with the casting up
process omitted. enc sunny afternoon,
not very long ago, 1 was sitting in the
shade OF my own fig tree and swinging
in my own graps vine swing. 1t was
n of those days when nature takes an
outing. A jet of the ocean went up
and fell back az spray. Isaw this, but
| was in too much of a reverie to trace
causes. A party of my fisher friends,
who lived further up the beach, came
running by, and as they passed me
they sang out, There she blowsr This
cry woke me up. Once more the jet
of water spurted upward from the sea,
and down to the pier I rushed. A
whale is apt to create a sensation in
any seaside community, sven though
there be no summer guests, because
there are always many hundreds of
dollars concealed on its person. It is
a red letter event IN local annals when
q whale comes. The saloon keepers
especially make merry Ove the ar
rival. This kind of guests, however,
were 80 few and far between at More
head that accommodations for them
were rather below the standard.
"Our reception facilities in this par
ticular instance were so inadequate
that it was long an open question
| -lokIz- 49, -L1 --o,,lI -~0,,lI
not conclude to settle in our town. 1t
was only by luck and through no par
ticular preference of his own, that he
did 30. The town only boasted of two
happening outfits. One was an ancient
happening gun that years before had
been found by wreckers on board the
hulk Of a South Sea whaler, which had
gone on our coast while bound to New
Bedford, and the other was a very
primitive hand power harpoon rig.
The other two were without any arma-
ment except shotguns and n or two
rifles.
ut was almost a hopeless case with
us, for if a whale is not hit in the vitals
he will go down to come to the surface
in a distant part Of the sea. When one
is struck in the vitals he spouts or blows
blood, and then floats into eternity.
We rowed off 80 as to come at the same
time from different points Of the COZ
paSs, AS we approached the whaleitw was
seen that he was a large and fat one.
He took no notice of our coming. When
we got within about 100 feet Of the
monster the harpoon gun was fired and
the barbed weapon took effect just be-
hind the head and pretty well up on
the back. This was a painful but not
necessarily a fatal shot. The other
boats turned themselvesloos and made
some insertions in the flesh.
Instead of going under a. wounded
whales do, he remained on top to fight
it out. He swishGd his tail and turned
the sea into sues, and made such a
swell that the good people of Alexan
dria would not have permitted him to
pass their port without slowing down.
He plunged headlong against one of
the boats and stove it so it would hardly
float. Its occupants were knocked
overheard. There was a go d deal Of
excitement. The sea round about Us
was boiling, the whale vas red hot with
rage, the men were shouting and the
guns were popping. We could see that
the beach away off was friDged with
the population of the town, and we
knew that all our movements we're be-
ing watched anxiousIy tbroughglasses.