The Jennings daily record., 1902-10-23

In front OF the bow, SO close lcOulO n1v
poked my finger against the fiabby
blubber. up rose the giant nose-up. up
up till he lowered full Is feet above
the rail! jumped back in genuine
fear that he would topple over on the
deck. Then he turned . somersauls
with splash and drenched us all. HI
rose again, churning the water white
raised his tail quite 20 feet and slappet
the water with noise like thunder
clap at our very toes. He turned rount
and round, wrapping the rope abou'
his huge body, then shot straight for
ward on the surface, skipping from
wave TO wave like swallow. He
reached the end Of his slack rope will
q jerk that sho the ship from stem te
stern. There was an instant tug o.
war between the whale and the re-
versed engines. Then the whale wor
and for minute pulled the vessel for
ward with him.
Again the windlass whirred an<
whizzed. but with Diminishing speed
Far out at the end Of HIS two miles OF
rope. the whale churned and lashed the
water and blew big blasts Of hot vapor
The crew saw the er.f and relaxed their
tenseness. They gave him half an hour
or so to end his commissions. Then the
captain shouted the order to wind IN
the rope.
As the whale felt the pull he gave one
feeble. dying jump. The men stopped
a minute, then continued slowly TO pull
IN. Finally tHe huge. inert. f1abby
81 al; ~ ~-} 0ff tho
bow. They lowered brat. raesed
chain about the narrow circumference
where the tail widens, and grappled
him to the side Of the vessel. could
see a dozen quarreling porroises eat
ing the tongue Of the monster that
had been an hour before alive and. to
those scavenaers, invincible. The cap
tain gave sigh and smile OF content
and leaned over the side to measure
with his eve the size Of his prize. The
crew busted themselves with loading
the harpoon gun again and putting
things in order.
All this was before Ave in the morn-
ind-and before breakfast. After the
meal, when we came ca deck again.
there had risen a heavy Iceland wind.
The car:ein shifted It and glanced at
the chorpy sea- "'Twill be bad day
for the feesh," he said; and went aloft
to his bridge to watch with his glass
es for another "blow." With the wind
came rain. and the two did. indeed.
make had fishing. Not that the whales
went in out of the wet, as an irreverent
sailor must tell the guileless lands
men: there was scarce a time when we
could not see dozen "blows" within
a five-mile radius. Often. when we
were not prepared for them, they
would swim right past us with all the
| dignity Of an ocean liner speeding past
bobbing fishing craft They never
seemed to be merely browsing idly
around-they were always swimming
in straight line, and alway very fast,
az If they had important business
somewhere on the coast OF Sweden
When they were close by we could fol-
low them readily with the eye, and see
them rising and dipping at regular in.
tervals. Farther of. milestones OF
| their course were their "blows." It Is
the one conspicuous mammal charac'
teristic remaining to this expatriated
land animal who has chosen the en-.
vironment of fish for his abode; once
in so often he must breathe. And az
his taking breath involves blowing 6
2o-foot high pillar Of white varor into
the air, it is this mark OF the beast
and of the beasts natural habitat that
betrays him to his enemies.
Late in the aftern oon the captain or
the bridge swept the sea with his
glasses, and saw no sign of "blow.
He glanced at the sinking sun ane
measured with his eye the 20 miles II
the harbor. He dropped his glasse!
and gave quiet order that meant th'
davis work was done. The deck was
put in order, and the stocky littl'
whaler, with her trophies grapplet
close to her side, set her bow towards
the mainland. 1t was not for the wan
of "fsh" that we had fsherman's lucl
that day. But the whaler was NJ
larger than a tugboat. The heavy SCI
tossed her about like a cork, and aim
ing a cannon with so unsteady a bas'
as the whaler's bow was difficult bust
ness even for the expert captain
Three times he fired and missed; an<
AZ It took an hour or two to reload thu
gun and prepare the harpoon AM
bomb. It was two o'clock in the after
noon before we got our second prize
The process was in all respects like tn
: first: but there was the same frenzy o
excit e,nent aboard the ship. The on
appetite that never becomes satiatte
the one instinct that is never satisfied
the one experience that no amount o
repetition du1ls. Is, II seems, the IN
stinct to hunt and kill. In primitiv
man it was the first law of his being
; and. like the whales breathing. !
stays with him in VIII oily change
environment.
The captain slowly paced the bridg
and puffed long cigar in profoun
s,,j~,J 6,- 1s,he he In