The daily morning journal and courier., 1898-09-22

with greater force and certainty of dl- rection a whale some distance beneath the surface. A standing order, too, among them is never by any chance to inJure a calf while the mother lives, since such an act exposes all and sun dry near the spot to imminent and vio- lent death.
 Neglect of this most necessary pre- caution, or more probably accident, once brought about a calamity that be- fell fleet of thirteen American whale ships which had been engaged in the "bowhead" fishery among the ice-hoes Of the Arctic Pacific. In order to waste no time, they came south when winter set in, and by common consent rendez- Voused in Margharita Bay, Lower Cal ifornia, for month or two's devil flshing."
 One bright morning, about three weeks after the opening of the season the whole flotila of fifty-two boats had been lowered and were making their way as rapidly as possible to the outly- Ing parts of the great bay, keeping a bright lookout for fish. Spreading out fanWise, they were getting more and more scattered, when about near the center of the fleet some one suddenly struck and got fast to fish, But hardly had the intimation been given when something very like panic seized upon the crowd. In a moment or two the reason was apparent From some cause never definitely known, a har- boomer had, in striking large COW whale, transfiXed her calf at her side with his harpoon, killing it immediate ly The mother having quietly satis- fled herself that her offspring was real ly dead turned upon her aggressors like veritable demon of destruction, and, while carefully avoiding exposure of her body to attack, simply spread devastation among the fotilla. When ever she rose to the surface, it was but for a second, to emit an expiration like the hiss of a lifting safety-valve, and almost always to destroy a boat or complete the destruction of one already hopelessly damaged.
 Every blow was dealt with an accura- cy and appearance of reconciliation that filled the superstitious Portuguese, who formed a good half of the crews, with dismay-the m ore so that many of them could only guess at the original cause of what was really going on, The speed of the monster was so great that her almost simultaneous appearances at points widely separated made her seem ubiquitous, and as she gave no chance whatever for blow, it certain ly looked as if all the boats would be de- stroyed seratim Not content with dealing one tremendous blow at boat and reducing it at once to a bundle of loose boards, she renewed her atten- tions again and again to the wreckage, as if determined that the destruction should be complete.
 Utter demoralization had seized even the veterans, and escape was the only thought governing all action. But the distance to shore was great, and the persistence and vigor of the furious le- viathan, so far from diminishing seemed to increase as the terrible work went on. At last two boats did sue ceed in reaching the beach at a point where 1t sloped very gradually. The
 crews had hardly leaped overheard, tc run their craft up high and dry, wher close behind them in the shallows foamed and rolled their relentless enc
 my, just too late to reach them. Out ot | the large number of well-equippet boats that left the ships that morning only these two escaped undamaged, ant the loss of the seasons work was ire l mediable. Over fifty men were badly | injured and six, one of whom was the | unhappy origin of the whole trouble were killed outright. The triumphan avenger of her slain offspring disap peared as silently as she had carried or l her deadly warfare, as far as could bt | known unhurt, and with an accumula | ted hoard of experience that would, il | possible, render her more of a devil tt any unsuspecting whalemen who should | hereafter have the misfortune to mee with and attack her than she hat | proved herself to be already.
 Dejected and crippled the fleet los no time in getting away from the spo | and fleeing north to San Francisco | there to refit for other and more profit
 able fishing grounds.-Cornhill Maga
 zine.