The Athena press. [volume] (Athena, Umatilla County, Or.) 18??-1942, 1895-02-01
AN OCEAN COMBAT.
The Terrific Battle Between a
Whale and Three Orcas
Enemiss Before Whom the Giant of the
Ocean Riees In Terror-Their Singular
Method of Attacking the
Monster.

Hank Welsh, who has followed whal-
ing for many years, was lucky enough
to be one of crew beyond the gulf of
the Holy Cross last spring that came
upon large whale in distress, sur
rounded by three monster orcas, or
billers, which had him winded and
badly wounded. The story of the
fight was told as follows by Welsh to
the San Francisco Chronicle:
1--WE saw a big broadhead half
mile away to windward, and he kept,
a jumping so hard that we knew he
was in trouble. When we got closer
we saw some thrashers or billers afoul
of him, and the water for an acre or
two around was bloody. The orcas
were pretty big ones and very vicious,
especially one which was fully twenty
feet long, and when the whale went
down few fathoms this old boy
rushed down after him, and gave it to
him hard. You see whale can stay
under about half an hour, and he can
go down four or five hundred fathoms
without minding the pressure, but he
can't do single submarine trick ahead
of an orca. These orcas some times
chase whale so hard that when he
hits the bottom he breaks his jawbone.
Well, this old orca followed the whale
so savagely that he did not stay down
over five minutes at a time, and when
he came up he was jumped on by the
other two, which kept watch on him
like two hungry wolves. When he saw
the ferocious gang he seemed to lose
heart, for they were too quick for him.
think he was just about worn out
or d0wn-hearted or something, for he
anchored for second. This gave the
big orca chance to slide up and catch
him by the under lip and bite piece
out. The old fellow lashed and dived,
but down went another orca after him.
"When the whale came up the orca
had him by the lip, and the third one
caught him by the tongue. Now, a
whales tongue is six feet long and
weighs as much as man. The way
the orcas jerlzed it all out of him piece
by piece and then ate off his lower lip
in spite of all he could do beat all the
fights under the sun. How that whale
did suffer till we got up and let dy-
Mantle bomb into him. When Bill
Peters lanced him he seemed to enjoy
1t, for he turned over and died easily"
1t seems to be agreed among all
whalers that no fight ever seen equals
the awful combats which these sea
monsters wage against one another
with unhagging ferocity. The orca is
the only grampus or warm-blooded an
imal of the ocean that constantly preys
upon warm-blooded creatures Of his
own kind, preferably the whale, the
largest of his species. The orca's hab-
its are predatory and his strength and
ferocity are remarkable.
''The orcas often travel with sword
fish," said Capt. Thompson, an old
whaler, "and have sometimes seen ID
whole school in combat with four or
five orcas and few swordfish When
the swordfish get under a whale and
the orcas commence to tear his under
lip and tongue, which are choice NOR
sells for them, he seems to know his
days are numbered. don't know how
long q whale can live after these saw
age creatures attack him, but our
crews have found several carcasses of
whales which had bled TO death from
the wounds thus inflicted by their enc
mics have also seen broken-baclsed
orcas which had been struck by a
whales tlukes,"