Birmingham age-herald., 1895-01-30
TORTOISE HUNTERS.
DIFFICULTIES IN THE WAY OF SE-
 CURING WATCHMAKERS OIL.

Delicate Lubricator, but Men Take Their
 Lives In Their Hands to Get It-How
 Sharks Crowd In at the Death of Por-
 poise-rold b an Eyewitness.
 What do you suppose this oil am using comes om'" asked the watchmak- or. "This comes from the jaw of the porpoise itch in the bay of Fundy and othel on tho coast of Maine. I say they cdllA the porpoiscs, but that isn't exactly the fact, for they don't catch them any more than tho 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 decid- edly 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 good sprinkling of whites among them too took winter trip once along the coast of Maine, and at Indian beach Isoon noticed that there wero a great many men, old and young, both among tho Indians and the white men, who had but one arm or one arm and half while hands and parts of hands and fingers were missing on others. I finally asked a native what was the cause of tho lack or loss of those missing mem bers.
 :. Sharksl' was his grim reply.
 .'By further questioning l learned that very frequently when @ porpoise is shot on the hunting grounds of the coast its death struggles will not be over before the 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., pionsly from the stricken porpoise It is seldom that sharks will bite at the carcass of a porpoise, but they will follow it to the boat as tho hunters pull 1t in, and if the latter arc not wary will with one snap of their terrible jaws take off an arm at the elbow, or at least hand.
 ''I was not anxious to see any ono have an arm taken of, but did want to see pcrpoise killed and watch the array of sharks that they said was almost invari- ably in at the death. I hired couple of big Indians to take me with them on O days hrnt Sometimes these Indians will uOU SG OWU ooyo, uo ii1VsVA ho" hAAo tho weather is, but loaf and lay around like lazy pigs. But when they do mako up their minds to go out there is no weather too rough to stop them. They launch their boats at all risks and mako start for the hunting grounds, whether they ever reach them or not. It is by no means an unheard of thing for boat to start out in tempestuous weather and for neither boat nor hunters to be heard of neain unless by chance tho waves wash them ashore. Two men go in boat but as tho boats are made large enough to fetch back two or three porpoises, weigh ing from 200 to 300 pounds, there is room enough for third person if he is anxious to take the risk and share the hardships.
 'sThe morning I made tho third occu- pant of the boat speak of was sunny and calm, but 1t was March, and the Indians told me squarely that 1t might blow great nu before Ye could bone -to, ,G6t back: