The times., 1897-12-24
LEvIATHAN vs.. SEA WOLVES
Result Might Have Ben Different
Eut for Swprdfish's Help.

| Eut Tor SwDrdfisi'S HelD.
| (FIon the Portland Telegram.)
Did you ever see a school OF thIashers
| after a whale, with 4 swordfish assisting
the sea wolves"
Some cr the party had witnessed the
sight; others had not; all, however, were
| cognizant Of the association existing be.
| tween the tlIra sher and swordfish, but The
story was asked for
| 'It was frcm the deck of the old brig
| FREELY, plying in the fruit trade between
| san Francisco ana Tahiti, during the sew
| entics, that saw this sen battle" said
| tbs. shipping ma an. we were off the Mar
| quesas, ana loling along with the equa-
| torial drft, not enough wind moving to
| keep the sails from Stating against the
| masts. The heat was something deadly
| in its Intensity, and there wasn't enough
| energy among either crew or passengers
| to eve. read.
Suddenly We were ruused by a call
| from the Lockout: Sonnet hing coming up,
sir Two points off the lee bow, and
| at tn, break Of the horizon!'
In moment we were III on our feet
ana leaning over the port taffraii. Far
down rear the horizon could tc seen Il
| furry OF foam and a tumble Of dark ob
jectS. These would appear and disappear.
with eGcl appea rance the white spray Ne
had first noticed sho wing clear sainst the
blue OF tie equatorial sky.
Member Of native canoes out after 4
| whale / make it, said Capt. Turner, as
hr handed the glass over t. me.
Il gOt . steady SIGHT on the objeits, which
We're rapidly approaching us. Win the
second flGfry Of foam, as the black spots
approached IN the sirfac. l could MAKE
them ont. II was i big sperm whale scing
chased by q schoni OF thrashers.
- But the While doesn : s,und !olg
enough 10 hive thrashers fter him, said
the capt; in. 1t must be natives in ca locs
and tie swell hides them from the dec.;.'
TO maze certain went aloft in the
fore rigging. ana ff1nrphe top could ma e
out the fight distinctly But, Just as The
captain had said, i Was puzzled at the
short Iapses Of time transpring between
the whales flukiBg and his again up-
pearing OIL tie surfacc.
The " hale was headed straight for US,
and working alon9 att ! rate that within
half an hour would bring him. with the
thrashers, abreast ~ the brig providing he
did not change his course. This. for
tunately foro eXcitedcurioslty, the whale
did not do, ard at n tiistanca of less than
300 fathoms the people ot the Firefly Were
treated to such sight as seldom comes.
even in the varied incidents which 60 t.
make up Il life a sea.
We had all been offering conjecture es as
10 why the whale lid not sound to a
depth the thrashers could not follow. When
the big GLOW had ranged Just off our quar-
ter the ques ton was answered.
'FluEing high aud bringing his tail down
with Swash that would have crushed the
life out or any thrasher caught beneath
the blow the whale attempted to sound.
lie could not have reached five fdthomS
deep when, with below of pain, he shot
To the surf ace, flinging his huge bulk high
In the air. simultaneously q cry went up
from all o. US. Dangling from the whales
belly was I. swordfish, it's sword i'm mbeddel
deep in til,, bubber. Twisting and throw |
ing itself tho swordrish seemed endeayor.
ing to work loose from the whale before
the latter could again land its great body
in the sea. This 1t succeeded n doing, a
fraction OF second only separating the |
all of the svordfish and that of the whale |
into the ocean. This was sufficient how |
ever. for the sworflrish to gather depth and |
with another prod keep the whale on the |
surface. Then with rush the school OF |
thrashers We're upon the whale. Setting |
their teeth into its sides half of the school |
would tear great chunks % biubber from |
the believing leyiathan, while the balance |
of the school, with fearful blows would |
thrash at the whale with their flukes, the |
swordfish i'll the meantime keeping up a |
steady Stab,ing from beneath, until at last. !
in sheer agony of pain, the whale would |
sound, dragging the swordfish, with its |
sharp, sawtooth blade of bone sunk deep |
in the bluhber with 1t.
1T seemed impossible, however, for the
whale to reach any depth, impeded s it |
was by the twelve-foot swordfiSh ha aging |
to il, and with below it would again
come to the surface. Three times while
life remained i'll the whale did we see the
huge bulk shoot out of the water, the white
body of the swordfish hanging FRONT it's side.
stranger still, though, were the tactics
used by the swordfish to so wound the
whales blowfoIe a s to incapacit ate it en-
tirely from sounding. Twice, when the
whale had been stabbed at the surface and
the thrashcrs had taken good hold, the
sworsifish, rangingelose to the whales head
threw himself out of the water and with its
sword endeavore to cut
open the whales blowhole. Thatthesword-
fish ha a succeeded in one. of these attempts
prior to our getting a closer view Of tie
light, was evidenced by the scattering
spray in which the whale sent forth it's |
blow on rising
The whale had hardly gone three miles
,stern of Us tefOre its bGdy, floating still
on the ocean, showed that swordfish and
.hrashers hat conqEeTed.T
To Restore Full EIstern Ra.as.
New York, Dec. 23s-The. presiden.s
)f the many IailroadSt that are members:f {
ihe trunls line assoria tipn, at meeting