Bennington semi-weekly banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 1894-1902, 1895-02-15
PORPOISE HUNTERS.
DIFFICULTIES IN THE WAY OF ST.
CURING WATCHMAKERS OIL.

er ms OIL comes from the Jaw or the
porpoisc they catch in the bay of Fundy
and other places on the coast of Maine.
say they catch the porpoises, but that
isn't exactly the fact, for they don't catch
them any more than the hunter catches
the deer he goes out to bag. They hunt the
pOrpoiSes and shoot them, and immense
fellows they are, sometimes weighing $50
pounds. Hunting pOrpOises in the bay of
Fundy know from experience is a dCCid.
eddy dangerous business, but great many
people get their living by it along the
coast. The most expert pOrpOise hunters
are the remnants of that ancient tribe of
Indians, the Passamaquoddies. They usu-
ally camp on Indian beach, bordering on
the bay of Fundy, and there is a good
sprinkling of whites among them too l
took winter trip once along the coast of
Maine, and at Indian beach IsOOn noticed
, that there were a great many men, old and
young, both among the Indians and the
white mon, who had but one arm or one
hrm and half, while hands and parts of
hands and fingers were missing on others
l finally asked u native what was tho
cause of the lack or loss of those missing
members.
Sharks!' was his grim reply.
by further questioning | learned that
very frequently when a porpoiso is .shOt
on the hunting grounds off the coast its
death struggles will not be over before tho
water all around the hunters boat will
bristle with the bayonetlike back fins of
sharks that have suddenly como from the
depths to gulp in the blood that flows CO.
piousy from the stricken porpolse. 1t is
seldom that sharks will bite at the carcass
of a porpuisG, but they will follow it to
the boat as the hunters pull it III, and if
the latter are not wary will with one snap
of their terrible jaws take off an arm at
the elbow, or at least hand.
Il was not anxious to see any one have
an arm taken off, but did want to see
pOrpoisc killed and watch the array of
sharks that they said was almost invari-
ably in ut the death. | hired couple of
big Indians to take me with them on "A
days rUnt. Sometimes these Indians will
not q ont for days, no matter how fine
the weather is, but loaf and lay around
like lazy pigs. But when they do make
up their minds to go out there is no
weather too rough to stop them. They
launch their Ats at all risks and make IA
start for the hunting grounds, whether
!
means an unhcard of thing for boat to
start out in tcmpcstuous weather and for
neither boat nor hunters to be heard of
again uni ,ss by chance the waves wash
| them ashore. Two men go in boat, but
as the boats are made large enough to
fetch back two or three porpoises weigh.
ing from 200 to 300 pounds, there is room
enough for Il third person if he is anxious
l 81 i,I. ,,,I oh, hp bnr debt
The morning | made the third occu-
pant of the boat l speak of was sunny and
calm, but it was March, and the Indians
told me squarely that it might blow great
guns before we could hope to get back
But was resolved to go, and go did.
No one will ever know how prayed few
hours later TO be safe back on the beach.
ION the way out to the pOrpoise grounds
the Indians told me that it took years to
make an expert porpoise hunter out Of a
beginner, and that they put their boys to
the task rs soon as they were large enough
! and strong enough Each Indian had
heavy gun, with barrel at least foot
| longer than an ordinary gun. The bore
was smooth and very large They put in
charges of powder that it seemed to me
were heavy enough to load cannon and
rammcd on top of them a handful of dou-
| BILE b shot
"WG went out two miles, and long be.
fore we got to the place we were headed
for we could hear the porposes blowing
| like steam whistles On clear days the
sound is easily heard on the beach, a
/ stiff nOr'easter was coming up, and as the
| hunters picked out porpoise and were
stealing upon it The wind was gale. The
higher the waves rolled the more the pOr.
! poiscs seemed to enjoy themselves, and the
| gale didn't seem to worry the Indians
bit big porpoise raised on the crest of
| a wave u short distance away, and tire
| mCndOus report shook the boat One of the
Indians mad discharged his gun The wave
brought the pOrpoise and a crimson lido
almost against the boat and here and
there, all around it, long black blades
dartcd to and fro above the surface
They didn't need to tell me what they
were, for | knew They were the black
| fins of sharks, "a dozen ut least of which
were playing about in that porpoise' blood
and drinking it The Indians, apparently
paying no moro attention to the sharks
than if they had been bits of floating wood
proceeded tC land their prize The one In
dian had reached out for the dOrsal fin
when | saw n flash in the water on the
other side. With sharp cry the Indian
jerked back his hand, and blood trickCd
from cash on its back
" Shark close! he said, with no more
sign of emotion than wooden Indian, and
| he wiped the blood on his blouse. Waiting
for a favorable roll of the waves, which
were rolling alarmingly high now, the In
! dian unconcernedly reached for the fin
again, got it, and the porpoise was raised
in the boat
The Indians take all this risk the year
round to get the oil the porposes yield,
the average yield being three gallons OF
blubber oil to porpoise, which they sell
for 80 cents gallon. 1t is tried out in the
old fashioned soap kettles on the beach
The jaw oil is obtained by hanging the
jaw in the sun, the heat of which tries it
out. A good rich jaw will yield half
pint of oil, but that half pint is worth
more than a gallon of the blubber oil 1t
is the very best of oil for watches and del
icate mechanism, as the merest mite of it
will oil a watch for months, and it never
corrodes. New York Sun.
AvariciOus to the End.
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