Waterbury evening Democrat., 1895-08-15
KILLING A WHALE.
TC,opyriyht, 1895.

When I used to go in whaioboat, LOOK five men with me. I steered and they all pulled the cars till we came near the l whale. Then the man next tho bow peaks his oar--that is, pulls it in--'nd lays it sticking up at tie l3"ad of the iOtt at an angle of about 30 anraeCs to keep it from getting into the water in case we have swift run. He then takes his iron and throws it into the whale and runs to the stern. The whale may somci imcS be lying asleep on the water, hut he is almost al ways awake, at least ny the time we come up with him. He starts off us soon as he feels the iron, and sometimes sounds or dives and swims under water, but not very often, especially the sperm whale. And after he has run awhile he stops and has q ''hurry,' as we call it-he shakes all over and struggles violently. Then is the time to spear him. If you don't kill him then, you probably never will.
 The killing is done with a lance about 15 feet long, with a sharp point, some times made rounding at the end, hut by some thought better when sQuar2. It should, however, be held with the fat laid sideways, and not up and down, because then, if it hits rib it is more sure to glance and go in right.
 Tho best man ever had with me was n Shinnecock Indian from the east end of Long Island. He was with mo seven years anu rSnNerStl IllS 1llpOFIttnb SeFNlCc III SIlLS cases in which thought any other man l ever knew would have been unable to act quite in time, or with sufficient strength, coolness and dexterity.
 One day I was out with him and a whale "rode" my boat-that is, he came up and threw himself right across the middle of it, and of course broke it in two and instantly threw us all into the sea. believe he did it by accident, coming upon
 
 1 pened to lie in his way. 1 recovered my self and got into tho mates boat and helped to get in my boats crew. The | whale in few minutes made his appear | anCo again ahead of us, but l did not ob- | serve him. The boat was crowded, having l two crews in, and I was sitting with a ! lance in my hand and the line which be- | longed to it about my feet. Suddenly my Indian called to me:
 | Look! He's comingF'
 saw the whale swimming down right | toward Us, just ready, I thought, to strike our bows with his head. had heard it said that if you prick whale in the nose l it will stop him immediately, as it seems | to take him right aback and he will sud \ denly stop and turn away. 1 determined to try it and struck him with my lance and wounded him deeply, but he did not ! mind it in the least. On he came, and the I and going deeper and what troubled me more than that was that felt the rope | around my ankles and knew that when 1t I frightened I should be tied tight, for one end was fastened to the boat and the other to the lancc. I strove to clear away the rope and got it of from one leg, but it took me some time to get the other free How ever, 1 succeeded and then began to try to find out my position This, as 1 have re- I ind enough to do, and can tell you it is high
 ly important. Some men do not stop to look. but do what they first think of and so are as likely to jump into danger as out of it. 1 looked above mo and saw it was dark and therefore presumed was under tho whale. 1 then attempted to swim a
 little on ono side, but that brought me | against his fin, and then dived, knowing l that the fins of that kind of whale are | very broad and extend down much lower | than the belly, so as to shut man con- | plctcly in who once gets between them. ! When had swum under tine fin, looked
 up again, and then l perceived that half q
 dozen other whales were in company and
 very near each other, side by side, on the | surface of tho sea above mc
 thought it might be hazardous to rise
 among them, as should havo no way of | avoiding thcn, and therefore waited a mo. | lIGLU TUT IIlClll u lltiSS ny 4illS IICS Sooh
 did, and I was glad to be once more or
 top of the water, where 1 could breathe
 for though had been under it much less
 time than it has taken me to write about
 it felt the want of air and found my
 strength somewhat reduced. got into tho
 boat and began to order tho men to thCil
 places, intending to get all ready and pur
 sue the whales and get one of them a
 least.
 Seeing ono of the crew i'll the stern
 sheets, bending over the water, 1 ordered
 him to the bows and was surprised and 1
 little vcXcd that he did not obey me. l did not at first see that it was my Indian
 but 1 saw at the next glance that he had ; | man by the hair who was sunk in the wa tor. Going to help him pull him out, l discovered that he was a young man wh l had shipped for the voyage for the benef of his health and had a large circle 0 highly rcSIclIable relatives in England
 to whom his death would bo a sad calam
 ity. Ho was a man of uncommon statur | and frame and had gained so much feSl
 at sea that he Was almost unmanagcabl
 even in the water. l attempted to assis
 my faithful Indian, but found my gras
 so much weakened by exhaustion that
 dcspaired of getting him into the boat
 when 1 reflected that my crew had bee
 struggling with the waves as well as my
 
 man if possible and gave orders to TOW fo
 tho ship, which we reached; dragging tn l young man after us managing after awhll | to get his head and shoulders clear nf tn
 water and aft"rward to pull him into tn = l boat.
 When wn came alongside, they lnwere Il | | tar rklefall and wn hust"d him on hoart e where mNny hours were spent in end"aN t ors to restore him. At last we were suC = Ccssful and the boat which had sent af
 CT the whales on reaching the vessel IL " turned with one of the best of them, whic a they had taken.
 = It is thought by many persons that tt most dangerous thing that can happen { a man is to be thrown into the air by tf q blow of a whale. 1 have not found it $, }. although have had frequent experience l. that way. It is certain that the strcngt e of the animal is so great that nothing ca if withstand it's direct force, but a man ma
 be thrown up with boat without bein :, struck himself and without having h
 bones broken. Now, it always happene '' to mo to be unhurt, and got only duel e ing and was usually soon picked up by al Il other boat havo been thrown a distan' lc of several rods through the air, and, put ,r | altogether, I suppose the entire distan' ,s | that have been thrown by whales mu be about mile. LIEUTENANT TRIGG. ,s Poisoned Arrows.
 er The use of poisoned arrows ill prim
 tive warfare is undoubtedly of yer III ancient origin. The custom is mention 1f ed by Strabo, Pliny and Aristotle, a