The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1898-10-16

stoical creatures fell bleeding and half
senseless to the earth. The thing was
magnificently simple. The woman who
kept her senses longest and remained
on her legs to the end was the victor.
There was no kind of i'll feeling after
these extraordinary combats, and the
women would even dress one another's
wounds.
1 now come to an event of very great
Importance in my life. Elsewhere I
have spoken of my penchant for 0u-
gong hunting. Well, one day this sport
effectually put an end to all my pros
poets Of reaching civilization across the
sea. went forth one morning, accom-
panied by my ever faithful Yamba and
the usual admiring crowd of blacks. In
a few minutes We two were speeding
over the sunlit waters, my only weapon
being the steel harpoon 1 had brought
with me from the island and about 40
or 80 feet of manila rope. When we
were some miles from land 1 noticed a
dark looking object on the surface Of
the water a little way ahead. Feeling
certain that it was q dugong feeding on
the well known grass, 1 rose and hurled
my harDoon at it with all the force I
could muster. Next moment, to my
-amaZement, the head of a calf whale
was thrust agonizingly into the air,
and not until then did ] realize what
manner of creature it was 1 had struck.
This baby whale was about Is feet long,
and it sounded Immediately on re-
ceiVing my harpoon. AS l had enough
rope, or what I considered enough, /
did not cut him adrift. He came up
again presently, lashing the water with
his tail, and created a tremendous up
roar, considering his size. He then
darted off madly, dashing through the
water like an arrow, and dragging our
boat at such a tremendous pace as al
most to swamp us in the foaming wash.
BABY WHALE TRAGEDY.
Up to this time I had no thought of
danger, but just as the baby whale
halted 1 looked around, and saw, to my
horror, that his colossal mother had
Joined her offspring, and was SWIM
ming round and round it like lightning,
apparently greatly disturbed by its suf-
feringS. Before I could even cut the
line or attempt TO get out Of the way,
the enormous creature caught sight of
our little craft and bore down upon it
like a fair-sized island rushing through
the sea. ! shouted to Yamba, and we
both threw ourselves over the side into
the now raging waters, and commenced !
to swim away with long strokes, in or
Ger to get as far as possible from the +,
boat before the catastrophe came which |
we knew was at hand. We had not got |
many yards before / heard a terrific |
crash, and, looking back, / saw the |
enormous tail oe the great whale tow !
ering high out of the water, and my
precious boat descending in fragments !
upon it from a height of from l. ceet |
TO 20 feet above the agitated waters !
Oddly enough, the fore part of the |
boat remained fixed to the rope of the |
harDoon in the calf. Ny first thought |
even at so terrible a moment and in so |
serious a situation, was one of bitter |
regret for the loss Of what 1 considered |
the only means of reaching civilization. |
Like Q fash it came back to me how
many weary months of toll and hope !
and expectancy I had spent over that !
darling craft: and I remembered, too, |
the deliriOus joy of launching it. These !
thoughts passed through my mind in a /
few seconds.
\ TEN-MILE SWIM.
At this time we had a swim of some |
ten miles before us, and yet in the far |
distance 1 could not only see land dis |
tinctly but also the crowd of blacks, |
who ran to help us. Some of the blacks, |
as I limited before, always accompanied |
me down to the shore on these trios. !
They never tired, l think, of seeing me !
handle my giant "catamaran," and the |
Ito then) mysterious harDoon. After
the mother whale had wreaked its ven
geance upon my unfortunate boat, it |
rejoined its little one, and still contin-
ued to swim round and round it at |
prodigious speed, evidently in a per-
feet agony of concern. Fortunately, |
the tide was in our favor, and we were |
rapidly swept inshore, even as we float
ed listlessly on the surface of the
water The sea was calm, and we had |
no fear OF sharks, being well aware
that we could keep them away by /
srln Shincr in the wa ter