The herald., 1898-12-25
CAMERA CAUGHT WHALE HUNT
A Shetland Fisherman, However, Cor
raled the Mammal Himself

Hunters and other sportsmen who carry
the camera with them when they go after
biz game have an advantage over the ordi-
nary man because they often manage TO get
a snap shot to prove the truthfulness of their
stories. Recently the improvement in small
photographing apparatus that could be car
ried in a pack has made it possible for hunt
ers to return to civilization not only with
the heads and hides of big game, but with
pictures that showed the quarry while it
was still alive and ignorant OF the fate
that was creeping on it. Thus stay-at-homes
have been treated to pictures OF rogue ele-
phants, pumas, bear and deer taken by
clever and piucky men, but never, until an
English sportsman in the Shetland islands
was fortunate enough to have his camera
along just as a school of whales appeared of
the fishing village has the world been treated
to a photograph of whale hunt.
The sportsman photographer was lettering
around the shore one day when the fisher
men cried out that whales were coming into
the voc The voc is deep narrow inlet or
firth. of the kind which abound on the
coast of the Shetland and Orkney islands.
The daring fishermen OF those coasts are
always on the lookout for such prizes as
whales and almost before the cry had
ceased they were running toward the beach
from all directions to launch boats and fight
the immense sea creatures. Our English
man was as greatly excited as were the
fishermen, only instead of harpoon he car
ried his camera, and soon he was in one OF
the boats that were speeding toward the
tumbling whales. He was lucky enough to
get his boatmen into position just as the
whaleboats closed in on the school, and when
the first harpoon was thrown he got an ex-
cellent picture.
The whales which are shown in it are the
bottle-nosed or grinder whales. They are
large, Though not as enormous as the right
whale, and they make fierce fight. The
Shetlanders approached the school in such
a way that they cut off the retreat to deep
water, and having the whales between the
boats and the shore, they fastened several
boats together with long towing lines so
that the victim when struck should have
as much of load as possible to pull. Then
the foremost, or harpooner's beat, was
steered close to the whale, as near his head
as possible, and yet SO far away from his
eve that he could not see his enemies ap-
preaching. The iron was hurled into him
and the boats all backed away as swiftly as
the men could WELD the oars.
In the particular hunt which made it pos
sible to take this picture the first and
largest whale to be struck was killed i'll
good shape, after having towed the boats
only a short distance. But the second whale
to be harpooned, though he was a small
fish, was so savage that the battle lasted
for hours, and finally, when the men were
tired out, it ended in the escape of the
pIucky animal. The Shetlanders, however
did not have to return with only one whale
While the fight with the small whale was
going on the other fishermen managed to
drive part of the school close in shore. and
three or four of the whales, panic-stricken
swan into the inlet, where they were Gagged
by the failing tide. 1t was an easy matter
to dispatch them, and the village soon was
rich and odorous with whale oil.-New ork
Press.