Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1898-12-17

we're making their way as rapidly as
possible to the outlying parts of the
great bay, keeping bright lookout
for "tish." Spreading out fan.wise,
they were getting more and more scat
tered, when about near the centre Of
the feet some one suddenly "struck"
and got fast to fish. But hardly had
the intimation been given when some
thing very like panic seized upon the
crowd. In moment or two the rea-
son was apparent. From some cause,
never definitely known, harpoouer
had in strikinga large COW whale trans
fixed her calf at her side with his har-
pooh, killing it Immediately. The
mother. having quietly satisfied her.
self that her offspring was really dead,
turned upon her aggressors like Yer.
liable demon of destruction, and, while
carefully avoiding exposure OF her
body to attack, simply spread devas-
tation among the fotilla. Whenever
she rose to the surface, it was but for
a second, to emit an expiration like
the hiss of lifting safety-valve, and
almost always to destroy boat or
complete the destruction of one already
hopelessly damaged.
Every blow was dealt with an nc
curacy and appearance of premedita-
ton that filled the superstitious Por-
tuguese, who formed good half of the
crews, with dismay-the more 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 ap-
pearances at points widely separated
made her seem ubiquitous; and as she
gave no chance whatever for blow,
it certainly looked as if all the boats
would be destroyed seriatim. Not
content with dealing one tremendous
blow at boat and reducing it at once
to bundle OF loose boards, she re-
newed her attentions again and again
to the wreckage, as if determined that
the destruction should be complete.
Utter decentralization had seized even
the veterans, and escape was the onl ~
thought governing all action. But the
distance to shore was great, and the
persistence and vigor Of the furious
leviathan, so far from diminishing,
seemed to increase as the terrible work
went on. At last two boats did sue
coed in reaching the beach at a point
where it sloped very gradually. The
crews had hardly leaped overheard, to
run their craft up high and dry, when
close behind them in the shadows
foamed and rolled their relentless
enemy, just too late to reach them.
Out of the large number of we'll
equipped boats that left the ships that
morning, only these two escaped I'M
damaged, and the loss of the seasons
work was irremediable. Over fifty
men were badly injured, and six, one
of whom was the unhappy origin of
the whole trouble, were killed out
right. The triumphant avenger of
her slain offspring disappeared as
silently as she had carried on her
deadly warfare, as far as could be
known unhurt, and with an accumu-
lated hoard of experience that would,
if possible, render her more of
"devil"to any unsuspecting whalemen
who should hereafter have the misfor-
tune to meet with and attack her than
she had proved herself tc be already.
Detected and crippled, the feet lost
no time in getting away from the spot
and fleeing north to San Francisco,
there to reht for other and more prof
liable fishing grounds, --COrnhill
Magazine.