Newport daily independent., 1904-10-20
FORTUNE IN PORPOISES.
Aany of the White Cetaceans Fr> quent the Gulf of St. Lawrence,
 and Are Valuable.


 
 American tourists crossing the et Lawrence from the mouth of the Sague- nay can almost always enjoy thesight of . number of porpoises disporting them selves upon the water In the neighbor- hood of Tadoussac, says the New York Sun. The great white cetaceans appear like shapeless masses of blubber as their arched backs show from time to time above the surface. They are doubtless attracted to the mouth of the Saguenay by the large number of salmon which en- ter the river throughout the season.
 large industry is expected soon to spring up in various parts of the Gulf oa St. Lawrence in connection with the hunting of porpoisee. It has already been attempted upon small scale, but the dificulty of capturing any great number of the animals has stood in the way of success. Now tho dinlculty has been overcome through the observations and experiments of Campbell McNab. . Canadian hunter, who has spent many years In the study of thesa animals-
 The adult porpoise Of the St Lawrence and the North Atlantic ocean Is from IF to IS feet in length. It somewhat re. sembles dolphin in shape. with large dorsal fin and mouth armed with many strong and sharp teeth. Each porpoise ts believed to eat from one to three bar rels of fish day. so that 1t is difficult to estimate the frightful ravages which they make among the salmon. tho her ring and tho, cod. They are largely gre garious, though they often hunt theiI prey in couples. MT. McNab has often peered over the edge of an overhanging rock to watch them mecatch salmon pt the mouth of 8 stream and sometimes long distance up . river. where they follow their prey. They chase salmon into shallow and then two approach 1t from either side. The salmon appears un able to move. as If paralyzed with fear. If he attempts to rush from one of hia pursuers he falls into the open mouth of the other.
 The porpoise Is equally expert in flsf- Ing for tho slippery eel. MT. McNab opened one of these animals the other day and found more than 40 cells in its stomach. To prevent their wriggling, and to aid digestion, tho porpoise cracks tho skull of the eel between its teeth be. lore swallowing 1t.
 Like the eel, tho porpoise can live . long time out of the water. In fact,it 10 virtually amphibious. Some time ago Mr. McNab shot number of the anil mals which had been hauled ashore and bound together by their tails. After claiming another lot at some distance and taking out the blubber. he turned | few days later to the lot which had been last shot. Unknown to him one had not been killed outright. As he passed h front of 1t it growled at him ''like dog." " he says. and opened its jaws to snap him.
 The porpoises are captured by beinS imprisoned at low tide on the shoals over which they have journeyed wheE the tide was high. in pursuit Of thei, prey. Hitherto tho dtfaculty has been ta dud any barrier. strong enough to ,retAip such enormously strong, heayy beasts. and so many of them together as arA sometimes enclosed. Nr. McNab haa made the interesting discovery, that thA enormous nets through which they oftes broke are not necessary to hold bach the brutes. They are unable to stand the slightest vibration in the water, and ." all that tho hunter now finds necessary is to fasten . long thin pole like flshins rod to | stake In the mouth of the stream, the bay or the estuary. within which 1t is desired to retain tho DOT poises. They remain to be stranded and Killed upon the shallows rather than ven lure past the vibrating rod.
 This sensitiveness. Is believed to havs ks seat in the ear of the animal. which has 70 small an opening that 1t might almost have been made with pin. Fos years McNab has held firmly to thia theory, only to be laughed at for his palms, He has now proved 1t beyond oeradventure, and has reaped the fruit of his persistence. At one tide the other Aay he secured 69 of the animals on tho shoals of the Portneuf river few milea below Tadoussac. and next year Will pursue operations there upon a larger scale. He has secured a nine year lease ef the shoal from the government and has apparently a fortune within easy reach The skin and oil from singla porpoise are worth from $50 to $50. The utmost caution has to be taken not to drive the animals away from their haunts. If any of the blood or refuse 0. their dead is permitted to reach the va ter. MT. McNab declares, they will de- cert the place entirely. This Is the ex- planation he gives of the present absence of porpoises from the River Ouelle and other places on the banks of the St. Law renee, where . few years ago many ct them were annually killed. The DOT poive, he says, Is one of the most intelM- i feut animals created.
 Unprotected Fort.
 Inc reputation of house often ds- nends upon the manner of packing n