The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1899-01-21

poons, in or.ler to strike with greater
force and cer:airtyof direction q whale
some distance beneath the surface. A
standing order, toe, among them IS
ne-er by any chance to iDiure q calf
While the mother lives, since SUCH an
act exposes all and sundry near the
SPOT to imminent and violent death.
Neglect of this most necessary precau-
! ton. or more probably accident, once
brought about calamity that befell .
feet Of thirteen American wna!eships
which had been engaged in the ''bow-
head" fishery among the ice-does OF
! the Arctic Pacific. In order TO waste
no time, they came south when winter
set in, and by common consent rea-
dezyoused il Margharita Bay, Lower
California, for amonth Oh two's "deTll-
fishing"
The whales were exceedingly abun-
daut that season, and all the ships were
soon busy with as much blubber as
they could manage. The ease with
which the whales were being obtained,
however, led to considerable careless
ness aud foryetfulness os the fact that
the whale never changes its habits.
One bright morning. about three weeks
after the opening Of the season, the
whole fotil!a Of ffty.two boats, four
from each ship, had been lowered and
were making their way as rapidly as
possible to the outlying parts Of the
great bay, keeping bright lookout
for "Gsl." Spreading out fan-wise,
they were getting more aad more scat
tered, when about near the centre OF
the fleet some one suddenly "struck"
aad got fast to fish. But hardly lad
the iutimation been given when some
thing very like panic seized upon the
crowd. In moment o. two the rea-
son was apparent. From some cause,
never definitely known, harpooner
had in strikinga large cow whale trans'
fixed her calf at her side with his har-
poou, killing it Immediately. The
mother. having quietly satisfied her
self that her offspring was really dead,
turned upon her aggressors like YER
liable demon Of destruction, and, while
carefully avoiding exposure OF her
bodyto attack, simply spread devas-
tation among the aotilla. Whenever
she rose to the surface, it was but for
second, to emit al expiration like
the hiss of lifting safety-valve, and
almost always to destroy a boat or
complete the destruction of one already
hopelessly damaged.
Every blow was dealt with an ac-
curacy and appearance Of premedlta-
tion that filled the superstitious Por-
tuguese, who formed good half Of the
crews, with dismay-the more so that
many OF them could only guess at toe
original cause of what was really going
on. The speed Of the monster was so
great that her almost simultaneous ap-
pearauces at points widely separated
made her seem ubiquitous; and as she
gave no chance whatever for a blow,
! it qertaioly lockei as if all the boats
would he destroyed seriatim. Not
content with deting one tremendous
blow at boat and reducing It at once
to bundle OF loose boards, she re-
newed her attentions again and again
to the wreckage, as if determined that
tue destruction should be complete.
Utter decentralization had seized even
the veterans, and escape was the only
thought governing all action. But the
distance to shore WAS great, and the
persistence and vigor Of the furious
leYiathan, so far from diminishing,
seeme.. to increase as the terrible work
went on. At last two boats did sue.
ceed in reaching the beach at point
where it slopel very gradually. The
crews had hardly leaped overheard, to
run their craft up high and dry, when
close behind them in the shadows
foamed and rolled their relentless
enemy, just too late to reach them.
Out Of the large number Of we'll
equipped boats tnat left the ships that
morning, only these two escaped un-
damaged, and the loss of the seasons
work was irremediable. Over fifty
men were badly injured, and six, one
OF whom was the unhappy origin OF
the whole trouble, were killed out
right. The triumphant a7enger o.
her slain offspring disappeared as
silently as she had carried on hel
deadly warfare, as far as could be
known unhurt, and with an accumu.
lated hoard of experience that would,
if possible, render her more OF d
"devil" to any unsuspecting whalemen
who should hereafter have the misfor-
tune to meet with and attack her than
she had proved herself tc be already.
Detected aud crippled, the fleet lost
no time in getting away from the spot
and fleeing north to San Francisco,
there to reft for otIa" and more ..,rof-
liable fishing grounds.-Cornhlll
Magazine.