The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1904-10-30
STORY OF A WHALE HUNTER.
ADVENTURES AND PROFITS or
A HAZARDOUS BUSINESS.
Quickness OF the whale and the Facility
With which He Uses His Monstrom
Flukes-HOw School TraSels-Use
OF Carcass by New Zealanders.

With which He Uses His MOnstroh
FIukes-HOw School Trayels-Use
OF q Carcass by New Zealanders.
Within the entire range OF natural history
there Ia nothing, in my opinion, which can
give TO the general student moro profound
interest than the whale, and nothing In all
the various pursuits Of mankind possesses
a more exciting and thrilling field OF ad-
venture than that Of hunting the whale,
says a writer In Forest and Stream.
MY experiences as whaer have been
chiefly as an officer. and have both made
and lost good deal Of money sailing from
New London and New Bedford.
II we can believe anything that Ia as
serted by the wise average man OF science
the whale would never make fish stew,
as II Is In reality quadruped. 1t Is warm
blooded animal, and those appendages
called fms or hppers are In reality its legs;
ITS heart Is like that Of man and other NAM
mails, having two cavities and doing double
duty In the line OF circulating blood. 1t
- is not the offspring of an egg, but Is born
alive. What are generally called the blow
sSholes OF the whale are really nothing but
It's nostrils The whalebone of commerce
comes from the jaw of'the animal and is
found only in the variety known as the
Greenland or right whale.
While the whalebone whale has no teeth,
those Of the sperm whale are carried in the
lower jaw; and as to the size which these
screatures attain it may be stated that they
shave been known to measure 100 feet in
length and to have weighed nearly 25o
tons. We often hear the remark that some
thing We see is very like whale and yet
s4here are several animals to which we may
I, Struthfully apply that remark viz. the dol
>phin, porpoise, grampus, bottle nose
manatee, sea elephant and narwhal, or
pea unicorn. Nor will stop to give all
1.-THE particulars bearing upon the equipment
of whaling ship. but proceed at once
-pwith some Of my adventures.
-. And first in fancy let us take little run
in the South Atlantic. We are IN the vicin-
ity OF a great plain Of seaweed which is
- the favorite food of the right whale. and
s.ithey are numerous in that vicinity One
: of the crew has assembled to the crows
: nest" for you must understand that 1t Is
desirable to discover whale or school
Of them before we come near enough TO
:. see them from the deck.
The boats are ready, equipped with har-
poems and lances and rope, the crews duly
assigned, when r.! from the Cows wL rest
away" "Abeam. to the lceward. sir"
How far Off" Two miles, sir Let us
know when the ship heads for her" .Ay.
81" Ha s ksep pr her e steady uB the
There she blows! large right whale
with her calf, sir, heading right at us Very
large. There she blows Now half mile
of and feeding sir, and coming ight tow
b" Now it is that you see the advantage OF the
drill we have pract sed for many DAYS.
-" Every movement must be quick and sure,
with no guessing or questioning what Is
. Dft mr. xyyh a
Followed Af By ReF os s a ee both Of them
moving SLOWLY and not needing the com
ing danger. The boat has reached her side,
a feaI full furry Of excitement follows among
lances are thrown, and away, sI'e goes
-coloring the ocean with her blood. drag
ging the rope with fearful rapidity, then
stops, goes into what we call furry. or
her death agony, when she swims with her
head out of the water, making circuit
of miles and lashing the sea into foam with
her tail, and as she q ows weaker and
: weaker slackens her pace. straightels
. and with her head invariably toward the
least die, VI thu wind Is blowing the sea
: makes a Gle IT breach over her as if she
were a rock aud iris has sometimes deceived
where a cartain reported in New York
the discovery of rock in the track to Eu
rope an suggested that this had perhaps
1,een the couse of manv shipwrecks. when
:hch only been deceiv d by dead whale.
1t has frequently happened in my ex-
pelience thai a whale after Icing har-
,pooned has turned in anger upon his pur.
suers and with his great fiukes shattered
their boat to pieces and killed many men;
On and have also known whale when angry
to raise himself 80 far out Of water a. to
look like a man on his feet, and then TO let
himself down with crash upon the i'll
fated boat. And then the speed with
which the whale can move Is continual
xxy,yh oil thNan hllntad
:. them The quickness and facility with
which they can use they monstrous flukes
is only equalled by the 'oachman's whip.
lit was never my fate to be seriously in
=: jured by an angry whale, but they have fire.
: tquently suggested very decided thoughts
: OF eternity.
Once a fellow dragged me downward
,. Into the sea full forty fathoms, judging
Ihar3ened to be on the back of big sperm
. whale ~hen he made start, and, holding
:, on to the harpoon ! travelled for short
time in a circle at the rate OF thirty miles
: an hour, when thought it expedent to
slide into the sea, and trust to being picked
up by one Of the boats forming the hunting
party. And what will strike you as a fish
story, but 1t is true, before was rescued
sactually wont within an ace OF swimming
directly into the mouth of another whale
which was strolling along the spot as If
anxious to inquire about the general COM
motion going on.
s> The largest right whale ever saw was
captured of the coast Of Kamchatka by
one Of my crews, and it was during the
same year that I procured a full ship Of
= 8 200 barrels OF oil and 10000 pounds Of
- whalebone within the space of sixty DAYS
When the monster just n entioned was killed
the sea was very rough. After the boats
had been lowered, II was necessary TO move
them with great care, lest an unlucky wave
should carry us on top Of the whale, and
this actually happened for when called
upon the harpooner to fasten he did SO,
when our boat was instantly thrown up
ward and one ran killed. Fortunately.
before the boat filed ] had time to put a
Fatal lar e into the whale, and We were
rescued by another boat.
As I was getting in ] saw near by the
body of the killed man. in standing posi-
E ton, a few feet below the surface of the
water, when by diving / caught him by
the ear, but big wave came, causing me
to lose my hold. and the body OF our brave
comrade went down out Of sight in the blue
waters. Into this whale we We're Obliged
to send a succession Of lances and he spouted
blood and dis9orged food for six hours.
having in that time lost what We estimated
at hundred barrels Of blood alone. But