The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-10-16

ba's and my own safety, 1 was still greatly
distressed al the loss of my boat. Never
once did this thought leave my mind.
remembered, too, with a paug, that l had
now no tools with which to build another
boat and to venture out into the open
sea on a cantamaran, probably for weeks,
simply meant counting certain destruction.
My harpoon had evedeutly inflicted a
mortal wound on the whale baby, because
as we looked we saw it lying exhausted on
the surface Of the water, and being gradu-
ally swept nearer and nearer the shore
by the swift-fowing tide. The mother re-
fused 10 leave the little calf however, and
still continued to wheel round it contu-
uously, even wren her offspring had reach
ed dangerously shallow water.
Gigantic Prizes.
The result was that when the tide turned
both the mother and her calf were left
stranded high and dry on the beach, to
the unbounded delight and amazement of
the natives, who swarmed around The
leviathans, and set up such a terrific up
roar, that 1 verify believe they frighten-
ed the mother to death. Furious smoke
signals were at once sent up to summon
the tribes of the surrounding country
enemies as well as friends. Next day the
carcasses were washed further still in
shore-a thing for which the blacks gave
me additional credit.
1 ought to mention here that the loss
of my boat was in some measure com
pensated for by the enormous amount of
prestige which accrued to me from this
whale episode. To cut long story short,
the natives fully believed that 1 had killed
single-handed and brought ashore both
whales. And In the corroborees than en-
sued the poets almost went delrious In
trying to find suitable eulogiums to bestow
upon the mighty white hunter. The moth
-, -t,o1 in a I ad
seen or read about. I measured her length
by pacing and 1 judged it to be nearly
$50 feet My measurements may not have
been absolutely accurate, but still the
whale was certainly larger than any
had ever seen or even read of. AS she lay
there on the beach the head lowered above
me to a hight of nearly fifteen feet. Never
can | forget the scene that followed, when
the blacks from the surrounding country
had responded to the srnoke-signals an
nouncing the capture of the great fish"
From hundreds of miles south came the
natives, literally i'm their thousands-every
man provided with his stone tomahawk
and whole armory of she'll knives. They
simply swarmed over the carcass like YER
min, and 1 saw many of them staggering
away under solid Jumps of flesh weighing
between thirty and forty pounds.
For about a fortnight this cutting up
and gorg.ng went on. The spectacle wit
messed on the beach would have been in
tensely comical were il not so revolving
Many of the men and women gorged them
selves to such an extent as to be absolutely
unable to walk, and they rolled about on
the sand tearing at the ground in agony.
It may amuse you 10 know that smoke
signals were at once sent up for all the
doctors in the country, and these min
istering angels could presently be seen
with their massage shells, rubbing the dis
tended stomachs of the sufferers as they
lay on the beach. l saw some men fairly
bowling with agony. but yet still devour-
ing enormous quantities of blubber. Be
sides the massage treatment with The
thumbs as well as shelis). the doctors"
administered kind of pill, or pellet. of
some green leaf which they first chewed
in their own mouth and then placed In
that of the patient. So magical was this
potent herb in it's action, that l feel sure
It would make the fortune of an enterpris-
ing syndicate. Others, who had obtained
temporary relief through the kind offices
of the medicine men, returned to the
whales again. and had another enormous
gorg. In fact, the blacks behaved more
like Wild beasts of the lowest order chan
men, and in a very short time-considerine
the enormous bulk OF the whales-nothing
remained except the immense bones.
! Make Use OF the Visitors.
The orgy. however, had its uses from my