The record-union., 1898-10-11
THE KILLERS. y
MOST EXTRAORDINAR IN
HABITANTS OF THE SEA.
Their Annual Battle With the
Great Cetaceans OFF Two
fold Bay.

Twofold Bay, a magnificent deep wa
ter harbor on the southern coast Oh
New South Wales, is a fisherman s par
adise though it's fame is but local. or
known only to outsiders who may nave
spent a day there when travelling from
Sydney to Tasmania in the fine steam
ers of the Union Company, which occa-
sionally put in there to ship cattle from
the little township of Eden. But the
chief point of interest about TWofold
Bay is that it is the rendezvous OF the
famous killers (Orca gladiator), the
deadly foes of the whole race of ceta-
ceans other than themselves, and the
most extraordinary and sagaciOuS crea-
lures that inhabit the oceans depths.
From July to November two schools"
of killers may be seen every day, either
cruising to and fro across the entrance
of the bay or engaged in a Titantic
combat with Whale-a right whale,
a ''humpback," or the long, swift fin
back" But they have never been
known to tackle the great sperm whale,
except when the great creature has
been wounded by his human enemies.
And to witness one of these mighty
struggles is worth travelling many a
thousand miles to see; it is terrible,
awe inspiring and wonderful.
The killer ranges in length from ten
feet to twenty-five feet (whalemen have
told me that one was seen stranded on
the Great Barrier Reef in 1852 which
measured thirty-seven feeO. Their
breathing apparatus and general anat-
omy is much similar to that OF the
sperm whale. They spout breach"
and sound" like other cetaceans, and
are of the same migratory habit as the
two schools which haunt Twofold
Bay, always leave there about Novem-
Der 2Sth to cruise in other seas, return
ing to their headquarters early in July.
when the humpback and finback whale
make their appearance on the coast Of
New South Wales travelling norIhWard
TO the breeding grounds on the Bamp-
ton Shoals, the coast of New Guinea
and the Moluccas
The head of the killer is of enormous
strength, the mouth is armed in both
jaws with fearful teeth from two inches
to three inches long. and set rather
widely apart. In color they show an
extraordinary variation, some being all
others are black, with large irregular
patches of pure white or yellow; others
are dark brown, with black and yellow
patches One which l saw stranded on
the reef at Nukulaelae. in the South
Pacific, was nearly black, except for r
few irregular blotches of white on the
back and belly. This particular killer
had died from starvation. for the en-
lower ioy ho1
cerous growth
KILLERS" DO HALF THE WORK.
The whaling station at Twofold Bay
is the only one in the colony-the last
remnant OF once great and thriving
industry. 1t is carried on by a family
named Davidson, father and sons. in
conjunction with the killers. And for
more than twenty years this business
partnership has existed between the hu-
mans and the cetaceans, and the ut
most rectitude and solicitude fo- each
other interests has always been main
tained-Orca gladiator seizes the whale
TOR Davidson, and holds him until the
deadly lance is plunged into his life"
and Davidson lets Orca carry the car
cass to the bottom and take his tithe Of
luscious bubber This is the literal
one of the stalwart sons who man his
two boats will tell you that but for the
killers, who do half of the work. whal-
ing would not pay, with oil only worth
from lis to f24 a tun.
Let us imagine a warm. sunny dav
in August at Twofold Bay. The man
who IS on the lookout at the old light
house. built by Ben Boyd on the south
ern headland fifty years ago. PAGES to
and fro on the grassy sward, stopping
now and then to scan the wide ex-
panse of ocean with his glass. for the
spout Of a whale is hard to discern at
more than two miles; if the creature is
In a playful mood and 'breaches'-
that IS springs bodily out of the water
and sends up white foam and spray
like the discharge of a submarine mine
you can see it five miles away.
The two boats are always in readiness
at the trying-out works. a mile or so
up the harbor; so, too, are the killers;
and the lookout man. walking to the
verge of the cliff, looks down There
they are. cruising slowly up and down,
close in shore. spouting lazily and show
ing their wet, cleaning backs as they
rise, roll and dive again. There's Fat
ty'' and Spot" and "Flukey" and
Little Jim and Paddy" and Tom
Tug"-nearly every one of them has
name. and each is we'll known to his
human friends.
Presently the watchman sees, away
TO the southwark, a white, misty puff,
then another and another. In an in
stant he brings his glass to bear.
"Humpbacksi" Quickly two flags fiut-
tered from the flagpole, and a fire is
lit; and as the flags and smoke are
seen the waiting boats crews at the
trying-out station are galvanized into