The St. Mary banner. (Franklin, Parish of St. Mary, La.) 1889-1931, 1901-11-30

W whose forces cOIldSt thou more
hororably yield than to ours. the
young warriors who have learned Of
thee all We know. and who will carry
On the magnificent traditions thou has.
handed down to Us IN q manner worthy
of our splendid sire And if we be
slain, as we'll may be. remembering
with whom we do battle, the greater
our glory, the greater thine also"
A deep murmur like the bursting Of
a tical ware against the sea-worn
lava rocks Of Ascension marked The
satisfaction OF the group at this expo-
sltion OF their views. and as if ac,n-
ated by one set OF nerves the coIos-
sal four swung round shoulder to
shoulder. and faced the ocean mon
arch. Moving not by a barnaclas 5
breadth, he answered, 1T is well
spoken, oh, my children; ye are wiser
than |. And be the issue what it will
all shall know that the royal race
still holds. AS in the days when our
fathers met and slew the Shiny dragons
of the pit, and unscarrcd by fathom-
long claws or tenply coats of mail
dashed them in pieces and chased
them from the blue deep they ne
foulde, SO today when the world has
grown old, and our ancient heritage
has soreiy shrunken, our warfare Shall
be the mightiest among created
things"
Hardly had the leviathan uttered
the last word when, with q roar like
Niagara bursting its bonds in spring,
he hurled his vast bulk headlong upon
the close gathered band of his huge
offspring. His body was like a bent
bow, and it's recoil tore the amazed
sea into deep whirls and eddies as if
an island had foundered. Full upon
the foremost one he fell and deep an
swered unto deep with the impact.
That awful blow dashed it's recipient
far into the soundless depths, where
the champion sped swiftly forward on
his course, unable to turn until his
impetus was somewhat spent Before
he could again face his foes, the three
were upon him, shifting him with Ii
tanic fluke strokes, circling beneath
him with intent to catch the down
hanging shaft OF his lower jaw, rising
swiftly, end on, beneath the broad
spread Of his belly, leaping high into
the bright air, and falling heavily up
on his wide back.
The tormented sea foamed and
hlssed in angry protest, screaming sea-
birds circled around the conflict, raw
ening sharks gathered from unknown
distances, scenting blood, and all the
countless tribes of ocean waited
lad passed came the wariness. came
the fruitage Of all those years of train
ing, all the accumulated instincts OF
ages to supplement blind brutal force
with deep-laid schemes Of attack and
defence. AS yet the three survivors
were but slightly injured, for they
bad so divided their attack, even in
that first great onset, that the old
warrior could not safely single out
one for destruction. Now the young
est. the spokesman, glided to the
front of his brethren and faced his
waiting sire:
M What! so soon weary? Thou art
older than we thought. Truly, this
battle hath been delayed too long. We
looked for a fight that should be re-
membered for many generations, and
beholu-" Out OF the corner of his
eye he saw the foam circles rise as the
vast tail of the chief curved inward
for the spring, and he, the scorner,
launched himself backwards nun
dred fathoms at a bound. After him,
leaping like any salmon in a spate,
came the terrible old warrier, the smit-
ten waves boiling around him as he
dashed them aside in his tremendous
pursuit But herein the pursued had
the advantage, for it is a pecuiarity
of the sperm whale that, while he
cannot see before him. his best arc OF
vision is right astern. So that the
pursuer must needs be guided Ly
sound and the feel of the water. and
Tue very vigor of his chase was telling
far more upon his vast bulk than up
on the lither form Of his flying enc
MY.
In this matter the .monarch's wis
dom was of no avail, for experience
could not tell him how advancing age
handicaps the strongest, and he Won
dered to find a numbness creeping
along his spine-to feel that he was
growing weary. And suddenly, with
an eel-like movement. the pursued
one described a circle beneath the
water, rising swiftly, as a dolphin
springs towards his pursuer, and dash
ing at the dangling, cleaning jaw
These two great jaws met in clashing
contest, breaking off dozen or SO Of
the huge teeth and ripping eight or
ten feet of the gristly muscle from
the throat Of the aggressor. But hard
ly had they swung clear of each other
than the other two were fresh upon
the scene, and while the youngest one
rested, they effectually combined to
Dreyent their fast-weakening foe from
rising to breathe. No need now tor
them to 90 more. for the late enor-
NOUS expenditure OF force had SO