Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1895-10-17

Now England coast, was once the proud
monarch Of our seas. He held undisputed
sway. and from Qnoddy to Cape Cod
ruled the piseatory tribe without any SUI
perior
With the scarcity Of the smaller fish,
for it's an old and true saying even to
this day TINT big fishes eat up he little
ones''-the herring, maekerel and porgie,
,he whale Il left without food, and the
fox that have escaped capture have left
for other climes. The whale is rarity
now along New England waters.
There IS a great deal OF music in whale
hunting. said Capt. Justice Bickford,
the subject Of this sketch, to the writer,
few DAYS ago, ''and there il nothing ever
did in my life that like So much.
Can't. Justice W. Biekford is native of
Gouldsboro He wa. born there on the
first day Of October, 1919. and is therefore
seyenty-nine years Old He can tell hun
drcds OF hale stories, all interesting and
true. His father was Whalcr befor"
him and his ancestors on as mother
side were all New Bedford whaIemen. He
was even named for an old whaler, JUS
tice White, of Rochester, Mass.
when was twelve years old went on
a " haling cruise with my father, and |
have probably seen as much Of the whale
As any other living man. When was
twenty-five years old, | commanded
whaling schooner, and followed the
business for twenty-five years,
II cannot tell you how many whales !
have killed in my life, for | regret that |
have never kept II record. But the most
ever killed in one season and saved was
eight whales These made all the way
from fifteen to one hundred barrels OF oil
each
The old whalcr informed me that the
best le-hunting grounds in his time
were found between Cape Cod and Grand
Manan and Seal islands, Jones grounds
and Schoodic ridges, up along the coast TO
Monhegan.
On these grounds We're found the
hump back and the tinbaek, for these
were the kind OF whales most numerous.
The sperm " hale j. not found in these
waters.
|
ness were those from fifty to seventy five
tons. \ schooner Of seventy-ttve tons
usually carried a crew Of eighteen men
and two whale boats. Six men eonsti-
tuted crew for boat. with harpoons
and lines the men leap into the boats and
push off as soon a. n-back or hump
back is sighted by the man on lookout.
a RICH STRIKE.
~ took "A whale once, said Captain
Biekford, that yielded over 100 barrels OF
oil, the biggest ever killed. That " hale
was seventy eight feet long His fins
We're eighteen feet, and from one huke to
the other, eighteen feet. oil at that time,
1916, was worth 80 per barrel, 50 the
whale was worth about y 800. During
the war oil sold for about eighty-eight
cents per gallon
"The monster OF the deep killed after
hard battle between Monhegan and
Georges Islands on the Maine coast. III
was in the month OF October, lsi6. We
found him carly in the morning, and
about 10 ociock We harpooned and fast
ened him. From that time on tai :
O'Clock IN the afternoon We 'oueh' nun
with harpoons and lances uh'!l We hlIeu
him. The monster died hard enough
tell you. lie was "a mammoth hump
back and a piueSy 'un a. ever sax. l
put six irons into him and TIE carried tins
load for hours before hc threw up the
sponge. and made a die Of il. After had
put "a lance into him hc began spout ing
blood and he threw tEe claret IN way
that was thrilling. Then he began TO
sound and prevented Us from getting near
him.
He took u about fifteen miles out by
Monhegan in sou west course oeloIe
he died He was so big that We couldn't
do anyt hing with him after we had killed
him. A big storm arose. and our vessel
we had left far asteru in our exciting