New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1904-03-06

As the locomotive drove the Dunalo UOIn lHe
prairie, so the steamship is driving the whale
from the ocean Its extinction. whalers say
seems certain in the near future Ten Of the
twenty ships which returned TO New-Bedford
some days ago reported clean holds" There
was a time when a New-Bedford whaler was
sure 20 bring back cargo Of oil or bone worth
anywhere from $4,000 to $4,000 In the last
century the price Of whalebone has risen from
S125 TO $4,000 a ton So rare is whalebone,
according 10 men Of the trade, that al the
present time four tons represent the world S
supply.
c,,,lv the o-ca. or killer whale" was able 10
,enetrate his thick walls Of blubber. and even
e. ,-ca nerisbed beneath a single blow Of his
,o,5arous fulzes Barnacles fastened them
selves upon his back. but they stuck SO persist
o,fl,- tl,a+ he became accustomed 70 their IN
welcome colrpanionship. Now and then be felt
q main in his entraIls after devouring an eA0I4
ton OF cuttlefsh, and he became 81 -
nj and hated TO leave the surface OF lne
wafer. and lay floating in the sun untl lne So
grew black and the waves became SUI d.
never knew how he died. he never retul.-e1
10 The great blue hunting grounds 70 le-iH 1----
r. 80 had been washed ashore. and that Two
- .-...,,-oe had torn him open and found
a hunk OF arbergris where those eo''-e--|--
had hurt him So
Ever since the farawey times when the al
=. cha With huge flying creatures with PAL
like wings and long Jaws the whale gre" -
60. ,a-qe- r-oportions- he was wont to escape
81 f.n1v ~ the fixing reptiles by diving DC
80 the waves. and he fed from the mon
.,--o,,s armed things OF - deep by paoo-411e
- .,,sT,ovT bavs- AS tais'other animals grew
smaller and less fierce. be found hiIrsen grow
tr- bsrrer. until al last he boosted that ne e1-
canea ali those antedTuvian monsters except I-e
terrible dinosaur-
Then there appeared upon the surface OF Us
sea a new form Of life At first ne tnoueH. =
one OF his own kin II had q huge OO0S' ~
tt,,soI, ana e. moved at about the same rate OF
- VIC himself. f. seemed 70 exult In time
30 storm for il Ieaped I'D and down. as u IN d
-, ,Tstb the waves II seemed TO be
-,o.,,e-sv sort OF beast for on its back IL car
- IS ,zoung with bodies shaped like Its own.
-. co. smaller. Occasionally its calves woulo
leave their mother and move about py 0eIn-
se,vss whenever the mother neared land Der
oefsr-inp always left her and swan for the shore
by means Of long rows OF hnA
Vet there were characteristics ABOUT tnis
..,,.,e t-ute which made the whale believe AZ
.s-,os I. was some other order OF creation IL
- ,-rea. white GINS, which 81 spread out above
&C. bacl. as II 10 catch the wind; and Il olo noe
dive. except at times when j sank ano SID
Law on The bottom Worst Of an Il nae q Eiilu
OF crab that swarned over IL ana eppe4Ieo V
"a. t--.,se s.s body. Sometimes only one crab
,.,,,,d te vtsfhle and then, again. multitude OF
&C PARASITES would pour out Of q hole In its
hack
soon the whale found that this mysterious
creature with the big white fms was It's enemy
As soon as be appeared near the parasi1es
rushed toward him on the backs OF the caIVeA
And when they came near one crab Woulo nun
a SHINE into his SIDE which stung Ike the s"oro
OF the swordhsh- Only IL went deeper ano nae
a long tentacle fastened to II which was i1'iiO-S
~, .,s which he could not shake OF, no mat
Ser how deep he dived or how furiously he beat
his dukes And when he gasped for breath. after
a half hour at the bottom OF the sea, and came
plungiug TO the surface again. there was thai
same internal litter swimming around him. with
the crabs ready 70 plunge more Epines into bus