Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1898-10-29

some distance beneath the surface
standing order. too, among them Is never
by any chance to injure cali While tne
mother lives. since such an act exposes
all and sundry near the spot 10 iihin'hsu.
and violent death. Neglect OF 'hiS mus
necessary precaution. or more pioDaD'y
accident. once brought about caiaiiiity
that befell fleet Of thirteen A'ne' :"
whaleships which had been ehsaseu III
the 'bowhead" fishery among the zee
foes of the Arctic Pacific. In oruer "
waste no time they came south "ne"
u,inter set I'm. and by common consent
rendezyoused in Margharita Bay Lower
California. for a month or t"os oe'"-
fishing"
The whales were exceedingly abundant
that season and all the ships were soon
busy with as much blubber as they coulu
manage. The ease with which the "naieS
were obtained. however, led 10 GorSiusi :
able carelessness ana lorse'lul,s 80.
the fact that the whale never changes lts
babits one bright morning, about three
weeks after the opening Of the season
the whole fotilla Of ffty-two boats, Iour
rom each ship. had been lowered aho
were making their way as rapiuly do
possible to the outlying parts OF the great
bav keeping a bright lookout Tor Hsn'
Spreading out fan-wise they were gettlns
more and more scattered, when ABOUT lle
centre of the fleet some one suduehlS
struck" and got fast to a hsh' Du'
hardly had the intimation been gwen
when something very like panic selzed
mon tho cr0wd. In a moment or two
tho reason was apparent. From some
cause never definitely known, mar
poo1er had in striking large COW Whale
trans6xed her calf at her side with me-
harpoon, killing IL Immediately Inc
mother. having quietly sahshed herseh
that her offspring was really dead, turn
Cd upon her ageressors like a veritable
demon OF destruction, and, while care
fully avoiding exposure of her body to
attack. simply spread devastation among
the fotilla. Whenever she rose TO the
surface, il was but for a second, TO emit
an expiration like the hiss of a HttlhS
safety-valve. and almost always TO de-
stroy a boat or complete the destruction
Of one already hopelessly damaged
Every blow was dealt with an accuracy
and appearance OF generalization that
filed the superstitious Portuguese, VINO
formed a good half Of the crews, with dis
may-the more so that many OF them
could only guess at the original cause OF
what was really going on. Inc speed
almost simultaneous appearances at
points widely separated made her seem
ubiquitous; and as she gave no chance
whatever for a blow it certainly looked
as II all the boats would be destroyed
seriatlrn. Not content with dealing one
tremendous blow at a boat and reducing
II at once to a bundle OF loose boards,
she renewed her attentions again ana
again to the wreckage. as IL determined
that the destruction should be complete
Utter Generalization had seized even the
veterans, and escape was the only
thought governing all action. But the
distance to shore was great, and the per
sistence and vlgor of the furious leVla-
than. so far from diminishing, seem
ed TO increase as the terrible work went
on. At last two boats did succeed IN
reaching the beach at a point where II
sloped very gradually. The crews mad
hardly leaned overheard, to run their
craft up high and dry, when close be-
hind them in the shadows loaned ana
rolled their relentless enemy just TOO
late 10 reach them. out of the large num-
Der of well-equipped boats that the LETT
the ships that morning, only these two
escaped unchanged, 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 outright.
The triumphant avenger of her slain OF
spring disappeared as silently as she had
carried on her deadly warfare, as far as
could be known, unhurt, and with an
accumulated hoard Of experience that
would. II possible. render her more OF q
"devil' 10 any unsuspecting whalemen
who should hereafter have the misfortune
to meet with and attack her than she
had proved herself to be already De-
jected and crippled the feet lost no time
in getting away from the spot and fleeing
north 10 San Francisco, there TO refit
for other and more profitable fishing