New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1898-09-18
~r,x, vOpty Tp1DJ1NE ILLUSTRATED SUPPLEMENT-

ing back for FIFTY feet or so. charge him amid.
ships and strike him on the ribs with their bonx
heads Around and around in wide circles The
tortured hu-npbaok sWins. sometimes turnin,
over on his back or swimming On his side. but
fast losing his strength.
Hes done for. lads. Pull up. and give him
the iron
Thc boat jashes up. the man pulling the bow
oar uhe harpooner) ships his oar and picks In
his harpoon. A minute later it IS buried deem
into th,. ouiycring animal, cutting through ths
tough skin as a razor would cut through tho
skin Of drum.
"Stprn all" and the harpooner tumbes aft and
prins the steer oar and the steersman takes his
Mace i'm the read of the boat with his lance
J,ut "humry" Is almost spent. and though By
mi,btv effort ne ups fukes" and sounds no
soon rises. and the boat hauls alongside again
Then the flashing lance two three swift blows
into his ''life.' gushing torrent 81 warm FOOD
and h. rolls over on his side
And now comes the curious and yet absolutely
truly described part that the killers play in this
ocean tragedy. The killers. the moment the
whale is dead close around him and, fastening
their teeth into his body bear him TO the bot.
TOM Here they tear out his tongue and eat
about one-third Of his blubter In about thirty.
six TO forty hours the carcass VIII rise again 10
the surface and as the spot where he was taken
down has been marked by buoy the boats are
ready waiting 10 tow him ashore TO the trying.
cut works The killers accompany The boats to
the head Of the bay and keep off the sharks
which otherwise would stri,, Off all The remain.
ing bluhber before the body had reached the
snOre.
NO ENMITY TO MAH.
The killers never hurt a man. Time after
time haze boats been stove IN or smashed into
splinters by whale and the crew left Strug.
Cling in the water. to toe rescued By the pick
up" boat and the killers swim up 10 them. look
at-aye and smell them--but never touch them
And wherever the killers are the sharks are not
for Jack Shark breads a killer as the devil
DIRE ads holy water. Jack" will rush H. and rip
off n piece of olubber if n can, but he win
watch his chance TO do ~.
Sometimes when pack Of killers set out
/ matchmaking they VIII be- joined by thresher
the fox shark (Alopias vulpes)-and then. while
the killers bite and tear the unfortunate ceta-
+ cean the threshcr deals him fearful blows with
his scythelike tail The master Of whaling
70 ssel told me that of the north end Of New
Caledonia there was q pack Of nine killers which
was always attended by two threShcrs and .
sWordfish Not only he. but many other whal-
ing shippers had seen this particular swordisa
year after year joining in attacks upon whale.
The (. Using ground of this pack extended sor
thirty miles and the nine creatures and their
associates we're individually known to hundreds
4 81 whal.nen And no doubt these cOmbats. wit.
. messed from a mcrch mt ship have led to many
a-strpant stories for when A thresher stands
his long twenty feet Of slender body straight up
on erd like 4 pole he presents a strange sight
But any American sperm-v whaling captain vii.
wink the other eye when you say sea SERPENT