Newport weekly independent., 1904-10-21
FORTUNE IN poKPorsEs.
aany of the White CstAeea~s Frss Suent the Gulf sf st. Lawrence,
 and Are Valuable.

ana Are Valuable.
 American tourists crossing the St Lawrence from the mouth of the Sague- nay can almost always eAjoy thesdght cf number of porpoises disporting them- selves upon the water in the neighbor- hood of Tadoussac. says the New York Sun. The xrsat white cstaceans appear like shapcless masses of blubber as their arched backs show fron time to time above the surface. They are doubtless attracted to the mouth of the Saguenay ey the large number of salmon which en- ter the river throughout the season.
 A large industry is expected soon to spring up in various parts of the Gulf oi St. Lawrence in connection with the hunting of porpoises. It has already been attempted upon . small scale, but tho dinculty of capturing any great number of the animals has stood in the way of success. Now the dtfnculty has essn overcome through tho observations and experiments of Campbell McNab, Canadian hunter, who has spent many years in the study of thaHa animaIsL
 The adult porpoise Of tho St. Lawrence and the North Atlantic ocean is from 12 to 1S feet in length. It somewhat re- sembles | dolphin in shape, with large dorsal in and . mouth armed with many strong and sharp teeth. Each porpoise ts believed to eat from one to three bar rels 'of hsh day, 50 that it is dimcult to estimate the frightful ravages which they mako among the salmon, the her ring and tho cod. They are largely gre garious. though they often hunt their prey in couples. MT. McNab has often psered over the edge of an overhanging rock to watch them catch salmon at the mouth of . stream and sometimes long distance up river, where they follow their prey. They chase salmon into . shallow and then two approach it 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 fish Ing for tho slippery eel. MT. McNab opened one of these animals the other day and found more than 40 cells in It's stomach. To prevent their wriggling, and to aid digestion, the porpoise cracks tho skull of the eel between it's teeth be. lore swallowing 1t
 Like the eel, the porpoise can live long time out of the water. In fact, it is virtually amphibious. Some time ago Mr. McNab shot a number of the ani- mals which had been hauled ashore and bound together by their tails. After skinning another lot at some distance and taking out the blubber, he turned a few days later to the lot which had been last shot. Unknown to him one had not been killed outright. As he passed in front of 1t 1t growled at him Hike dog" :" he says, and opened it's jaws to snap him.
 The porpoises are captured by being imprisoned 1t low tide on the shoals over which they have journeyed whes the tide was high. in pursuit of theis prsy. Hitherto the difficulty haa been ts find any barrier strong enough to retain such enormously strong, heavy beasts, and 50 many of them together as are sometimes enclosed. Mir. McNab has made the interesting discovery that thA enormous nets through which they oftes broke arc not necessary to hold bach the brutes. They are unable to stand the slightest vibration in the water, and se all that the 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 withiA which 1t is desired to retain tho DOT. poises. They remain to bs stranded and killed upon the shallows rather than ven, ture past the vibrating rod.
 This sensitiveness is believed to havs Ns seat in the ear of the animal, which has so small m opening that 1t might almost have been made with pin. For yearS McNab has held fitmly to this theory. only to be laughed at for his pains. He has now proved 1t beyond peradventurs, and has reaped the fruit of his persistence. At one tide the other day he secured 69 of the animals on the shoals of the Portneuf river few milee below Tadoussac, and next year will pursue operations there upon . larger scale. He has secured nine year4ease N the shoal from the government and has apparently fortune within easy reach. The skin and oil from [ singla porpoise arc worth from $30 to $50. The utmost caution has to bs taken aot to drive the animals away from theiI AauntA If any ef the blood CT refuse o. their dead is permitted ts reach the wa tar. Nr. NcNab declares, tAsy will de- ssrA thS place saursly. This is the ex- y1AaAtsa hs give sf the yrsss0t absence M DRDeksss fr&a 0s River ousas and OlA9 DaAcsa - tAs bAaks sf tAs eA Law nnss, whss~ . tsw ysArs aOo many ef tAAm vsrs aansally Mllsd. Ths Dsr- Ds1ss. As sAys. is enc sf the most iaAsah- fsak animals reatAl.
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 1Aa reputation sf . houss oftsa ds> psnds upon the manner Of packing aa much as sa the merchandise itself 0es1s for Manila should h acked with special arA The port is 1-protscte1