The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1901-08-04


and as the men swan to the remaining
boat, the active and savage creature beat
the water into foam In its dying agony,
and soon lay on the surface, dearly
bought game. 1t was towed ashore, haul
ed in at high water and when exposed
later on constituted a feast for the ma
tives for days, age or previous condition
of servitude having no effect upon the
Alaskan appetite.
The savage nature Of the orca or killer
is well established and there are several
instances on record of their having
crushed boats with their teeth. They are
very common in the Pacific, and the
writer has often been within a stones
throw of a school moving along With
dignified motion. On several occasions
moralization of the occupants, fairly
chasing them into small bay and out
upon the beach.
The savage nature of the orca can be
imagined from the following incident OBJ
served by an acquaintance of the writer
He was rowing down the shore of enc of
the Southern California islands when 20
feet or so ahead large whale leaped al
most entirely clear of the water, car y
ing with it several orcas which were
cllnging to it. The whale was surround
ed by a school of these animals. which
were literally tearing it in pieces. They
attacked it's lips, so finding their way TO
the mouth, eating the tongue out and
continuing their cannl baliStic feast until
the water was uyeu WIN DlOOu lOT ydTIS
about, and the whale, which was at
least sixty feet in length, was dragged
down. That an animal weighing many tons
and of vast physical strength could Re
killed by these wolves of the sea seemed
incomprehensible, but the whale was of
the Whalebone variety and defenscless
except for it's tail, which hurled about
blindly, doing little execution. The orcas
apparently are aware of the defenseless
conCition of the giant of all animals and
attack it with impGnity. That the orcas
are natuTal-born fighters, killing for the
mere love of it, is beyond question. When
they approach the coast animals of all
kinds fee. The huge horse mackerel,
which attains a weight of 1,O2O pounds,
disappears; sea lions and seals take 10
the rocks and the field is left to the de-
VaStatOrS.
The orcas are particularly common on
the northwest coast. where seals and sea
lions are also abundant, and that they
destroy vast numbers of them is Wen
known. An Orca has been seen to dash
out of the water, seize sea hon from
shelving rock and bear it off. The
mouths Of salmon rivers are faVorite
feeding grounds for these ANIMALS, which
cash into the schools, cutting them down
by hundreds The voracity Of the orca
may be imagined when it Is known that
from a specimen not over sixteen feet III
length four large porpoiSeS were taken
while another occa devoured thirteen
PURPOSES and fourteen seas, well earn
ing the tile of g adiato~ The most stril6-
ing of the family is the orca
glad ator of the North Allan
tic, which reaches a length Of TWEEN
ty feet in the male and is distinguished
by a remarkable dorsal fin at least six
feet in height and nearly straight, the
tip turning over The black fish and
grampCs are allied forms and almost
equally destructive to fishes. They are,
especially the former, common on the
coast of Massachusetts, where they
are often caught in numbers Some years
ago a school came into a shallow bay and
in their eagerness to secure their prey
a school of macAerel-- they grounded In
about four feet of water. whereupon
scene ensued that created great excite
ment. No boats were at hand. so farm
ers +, de out to tie fish on horseback,
killing them with pitchforks and other
imp oyised weapons. The black fish
dashed the bay into foam, hurting the
water into the air, rushing over each
other in their efforts to escape, creating
a picture long to be remembered and
one that was not without danger, as the
powerful animals laid about them with
their tails IN a manner that made near
approach extremely difficult Whal ng on
horseback was here inaugurated, bat it
is needless to say that it will not be-
come a common or favorite sport.