The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-10-11
HAS A KILLING ROLE.
Fish of New South Wales That Helps
Out the Whalers.
From the Chicago Inter-ocean.

From the Chicago Inter-Ocean.
Two-fold bay, a magnificent deep-water
harbor on the southern coast of New South
Wales is a fisherman's paradise, though
its fame is but local. or known only TO out
siders who may have spent a day there
when travelling from Sydney to Tasmania
In the fine steamers Of the Union COM
pany, which occasionally put in there to
ship cattle from the little township of
Eden. But the chief point of interest about
Twofold bay is that 1t Is the rendezvous
of the famous killers" (orca gladiator,
the deadly foes OF the whole race of ceta-
ceans other than themselves, and the most
extraordinary and sagacious crea lures that
inhabit the oceans depths From July 10
November two SCHOOLS" of killers may
be seen every day, either cruising to and
fro across the entrance of the bay or en-
gagged in Titanic combat with a whale
a right whale, a "humpback," or the
long, swift 'fnback" But they have never
been known to tackle the great sperm
whale, except when the great creature has
been wounded by his human enemies. And
TO witness one of these mighty struggles
is worth travelling many thousand miles to
see; 1t is terrible, awe-inspiring and won
derful.
The killer ranges in length from ten feet
to twenty-five feet (whalemen have told me
that one was seen stranded on the Great
Barrier reef in 1862 which mea sured thirty
seven feet.) Their breathing apparatus and
general anatomy is much similar to that
of the sperm whale. They spout breach"
and sound" like other cetaceans, and are
of the same mlgra tory habit as the two
schools" which haunt Twofold bay, al
ways leaving there about Nov. %, to cruise
In other seas, returning to their headquar-
ters early in July, when the humpback and
finback whale make their appearance on
the coast of New South Wales, travelling
northward to the breeding grounds on the
hampton shoals, the coast of New Guinea,
and the Moluccas.
The head of the killer is of enormous
strength, the mouth being armed In both
jaws with fearful teeth, from two inches
to three inches long and set rather widely
apart. In color they show an extraordin-
airy variation, some being all one hue
brown, black, or dull gray; others are
black, with large Irregular patches or
streaks of pure white or yellow others
are dark brown with black and yellow
patches. One which I saw stranded on
the reef at Nukulaelae, in the South Pa
cific, was nearly black, except for few
irregular botches of white on the back
and belly. This particular killer had died
from starvation, for the entire lower jaw
had decayed from a cancerous growth.
The whaling station at Twofold bay is
the only one in the cOlOny-the last rem
nant of once great and thriving indus
try. 1t Is carried on by a family named
Davidson, father and sons, in conjunction
with the killers. And for more than TWEEN
ty years this business partnership has ex-
listed between the humans and the ceta-
ceans, and the utmost rectitude and so
licitude for each others interests has al
ways been maintained-orca gladiator
seiZes the whale for Davidson and holds
him until the deadly lance is plunged into
his life" and Davidson let's orca carry
the carcass to the bottom and take his
1.-THE of luscious blubbsr. This is the lit
eral truth, and grizzled old Davidson or
any one of the stawart sons who man his
two boats will tell YOU that but for the
killers, who do half of the work, whaling
would not pay, with oil only worth as
to f24 a tun.
And now comes the curious and yet abb
solutely truly described part that the kill
ers play in this ocean tragedy. The kill
ers the moment the whale is dead close
around him, and, fastening their teeth in
to his body bear him 10 the bottom. Here
they tear out his tongue and eat about
one-third of the blubber. In about thirty
six to forty hours the carcass will rise
again TO the surface, and as the spot
where he has been taken down has been
marked by a buoy, the boats are ready
waiting to tow him ashore to the trying
out works The killers accompany the
boats to the head of the bay and keep
of the sharks, which otherwise would
strip off all the remaining bluDber before
the body had reached the shore.
The killers never hurt man. Time af-
ter time have boats been stove in or
smashed into splinters by a whale. and
the crew left struggling i'm the water to
be rescued by the pickup" boat, and the
killers swim up to them look at-aye, and
smell them-but never touch them. And
wherever the killers are. the sharks are
not, for Jack Shark breads killer as the
devil dseads holy water. Jack viii
rush In and rip off a piece of blubber il
he can, but he Will watch his chance to
do so