New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1905-10-08
SOME OF THE
OUEEREST PETS
Continued from page 8


it to light boat. At first it resented
this. but the spirit of this tiger OF
the sea was broken and it swan along
slowly like a lion whose spirit had
been crushed-a strange contrast to the
revengefui active creature that a few
months before had towed me several
miles and when at last hauled along side
the boat seized it in its teeth-lined jaws
and shook it as a cat would mouse.
The shark was pet in name only
One of the most remarkable animals
ever trained was a white whale that was
brought down from Labrador on the cars
out of water and placed In tank IN
Boston. where, harnessed, it towed about
a boat bearing a little girl. The method
by which this whale was caught was sug-
eestive of it's nature-a direct air breather,
theoretically not dependent upon water
In parts of the St. Lawrence River, down
near the mouth, the white whale, sixteen
or seventeen feet in length, is common.
At high tide they went into a certain bay
in search of food, bay that was dry at
low tide The ingenious hunters pro-
vided themselves with a wooden tank
or trunk about twenty feet long, and
placing this in a vessel sailed into the
bav at low tide, finding themselves high
and dry. They then dug big hole and
sank the tank into this having first
partly filled it with seaweed. When
the tide came in and the whales with 1t
the hunters closed the entrance of the
bay with nets and waited.
The whales made every effort to escape,
and all but one were permitted to do so;
then when the water was down to about
four feet the remaining whale was easily
driven to the vicinity of the sunken tank
and finally settled into it as the fiat
became bare At high tide again the
sloop was brought alongside and the box
and it's occupant hoisted to the surface
and towed to the nearest railroad station,
where by using a heavy derrick the box
was hoisted and placed on a fiat car,
several men attending to it, pouring
water over the imprisoned whale at every
station. In this manner the white
whale was taken to Boston and placed in
a large tank, where it became docile.
The writer saw one placed in the old
New-York aquarium in the same way.
The hour of its arrival was telegraphed
and it reached the 42nd-st. station at
midnight At two o'clock in the morn
ing over three hundred guests, scientific
men and others, gathered at 35th-st.
and Broadway to see whale arrive after
a four days trip on the cars from the
mouth of the ST. Lawrence. A heavy
dray rumbled up the street, derrick
lifted it, and few moments later the
spectators at this remarkable ceremony
caught a glimpse of the animal. 1t
was cream-colored, and lay comfortably
on it's bed of seaweed and was constantly
bathed in fresh water to keep its skin
moist, but otherwise entirely out of
water 1t made no struggle, seemingly
having accepted the inevitable, and in a
short time was poised over a huge tank.
The box was gradually turned or tipped,
and presto! like giant Jacll-in-the-box
out rolled the white whale with a splash
that sent the Croton spray to the ceiling.
The animal swan around the tank and
soon began to catch eels-the first meal