The times., 1899-07-31
TO HUNT SEA ELEPHANTS.
& New Bedford skipper Expects to
Ger n Rich Cargo.

New Bedford, July 3p.-Capt. Ben Cleve-
land is going to take another trip TO Desc
lation Island in search of sea elephants
Desolation Island. or. more strictly speak
ing, Kerguelen Island, is situated in the
Antartic Ocean. The old whsleman aptly
named it Desolation. 1t is about as barren
spot as can be found on the footstooi.
1t is uninhabited. about 100 miles long and
80 miles wide, mountainous and in some
parts 2.500 feet above the sea. Yves Joseph
de Kergueien- -Tremarec, a French naviga-
for. discovered il. Scarcely anything grows
theresr To the southeast lies Heard's Island.
distant about 500 miles, and here the sea
elephants. as they are called by whalemeH.
are found even more plentifully than al
Kerguelen.
In the early part of last year Captu !
Cleveland made a voyage TO the islands in
the bark swallow and one bright day last
summer returned with oolors flying and his
ship filled to the deck with oil. That voy-
age netted rot far from SIS. 600 and the TAX
I ing of the oil covered period -
/ than six months. Years ago France was
/ the great market for sea elephant oil, but
! Captain Cleveland found that there was "a
market for his cargo right here at home
and he disposed OF it quickly. 1t was this
! quick sale that determined him TO make
another venture this year.
He and his partners have bought the
J three -masted schooner r. ). Granam, OF
/ Philadelphia The Graham has carrying
! capacity CT $500 barrels. and is at present
on the marine railway at Feirhaven, where
she is being calked and made otherwise
ready for the cruise. Captain Cleveland
/ saws he has got just the vessel he wants,
and that in years time he will have re-
! turned to pert with full cargo, which he
1 expects TO take next winter and spring.
l The Graham is to sail about August 10.
and Captain Cleveland says that about No
vember IL he expects to be busy slaughter
ing his prey.
The sea elephant Is really species of
seal and is often called the elephant seal.
The largest measure twenty feet in length,
ard the animals yield considerable oil.
They live in families or schools. and, be-
ing slow in movement, are easily captured.
In fact it is only a matter OF finding a
group Of them in order TO capture the en-
tire school. For working purposes the
crew of the Graham will be divided. part
Of the men living on board the vessel ly-
ing at anchor in landlocked harbor, while
the remainder will live on shore, from
where the attacks on the seal can be more
easily made In this work the men will
| alternate. and those on the vessel will
I try out The flesh as soon as Il is brought
to them. While this is going on, and the
work must be completed before April /, the
schooner will be riding in smooth wafer.
In the catching of the elephant seal there
; is not much of the excitement seen when
giving chase tea whale Hunting the ele-
phant seal is simply a one-sided proceed
ing in which the seal. If caught mapping
hasn't the ghost of a show. For number
of years blubber hunters have paid no at
;ention TO the sea elephant, the last known
voyage previous TO that made by Captain
Cleveland in the Swallow having beer
made by the schooner Francis Allyn abou
six years ago. The schooner returned filled
10 the matches. In the early sixties New
London whalemen were very much inter
! esied in this branch OF the oil business
and Starbuck mentions several voyages 4
DesoiatIon Island in the decade previous