The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-05-27
THE LAST FIGHT OF
THE LONE WHALE

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foundations ~ tho iesp IN he fiishI. sIs,
Nothing cuuli 10 heafd ~ seeh ~ 90
stupsnstyus tafnult. uhtii subsiiinr iHs
~toffnented asehs revealed tbe whale ~,
u any hainpefiHe harpoob, lyihe dus'|y
~ befuFe. Fhils twu byals we're nps ru
dueett "a t~iaaieaa ~srerkaas Hu' f.s'I.
hately NJ N wae hurt o. Pc
We cannot hlRns The officers ~ Tho o.,
remaining brsts thai Instead ~ rushing FOO
The attack they paiI@~si for fehert,un So
ordinary whale cobfrunt~i them. II ~,
evident. They reco gnigei him. II cr.fsa
~ q Ion whale morose and savage from
having been BUSTED from hia leadcgship ,f
Q school, but never In all their eHpeuen..
had they met one ~ savage ami wlv
Moreover, II was imperative that rs
wrecked boats' crews should 10 rescued It
once, and, besides. the whale evtnr~I r
desire 30 %. ~ they divided the suIIai
men between them, hindering their IVA
operations by ~ much, because six men ara
all that can work effectively In tho whats
boat
While they we're doing this necessary
work. the whale meantime booking di.-
painfully on. another boat was seen az.
preaching at its top speed for oar propul.
sion. II wa bringing the skipper, full Of
rage at the audacity OF the whale and what
he was pleased to coll the no-account char.
acter Of his crew.
Without uttering a word to the waiting
boats crews or officers he made ~straieh.
for the whale, struck il squarely at night
angles, his harpoon at the same moment
~plunging deep down by the side Of the hump.
The boat. beautifully handled, shot back
ward under the stress Of the oars, and having
no sail to hinder. lay in the smooth water
to await the usual excited Of
the wounded mammal.
They did not occur. A slight strain on
the harpoon line told that 1t was well fast.
but the whale neither thrashed about the
surface nor sounded.
This made even the maddened skipper
pause. We fear that which we do not
understand, and truly here was something
entirely non-understandable from q whale
mans point Of view.
For IN appreciable- space OF time there
was a lull, during which only the slight
moaning Of the wind was audible, and
every one was breathless with expectancy.
Then suddenly with a rush and a roar
like the upheaval Of an earthquake the
whale broke water close TO the shippers
boat and came at him straight on end;
Nobly the skipper maintained his high
reputation. With. q great sweep of the
steer oar and q shout of Pull two, starn
three!' he swung his boat just clear OF the
huge head and in q whirl OF white it passed
him harmlessly. And he, losing no oppor-
tunity, took aim with his bomb gun and
fired as the mighty mass surged past, but
the deadly missile only cut q deep furrow
along the blubber Of the back and dropped
harmlessly on the other side.
The whale disappeared and, must have
turned a complete somersault beneath
the surface, for almost Immediately after
ward he came up underneath the shippers
boat, striking it with his head so doughtily
that the boat was dashed to fragments,
and the men, some of them being badly
hurt, were scattered over the sea surface
like withered leaves. The skipper re-
appeared amid the smother unhurt, but
Iull OF Jury at MS nlSndp.
The other two boats, already overladen,
came swiftly on the scene and rescued tho
unfortunate crew, and if prudence ever
formed part OF a Yankee whaler's equip
ment when fighting whales they should
then have retired and at any rate have
got rid Of their extra hindering hands.
But in q hardly articulate voice, bang
nearly ohoked with rage. the skipper gave
orders to get on to the whale at once,'
and all the oarsmen BENT to the task as il
imhllad hv hia anIFif Tho uuhalo Nuy,x
as II in pursuance Of a certain design, Just
kept out Of their reach. soulling in ~leisurely
fashion along the surface. and, it could he
imagined, just ~glancing casually over his
shoulder occasionally to make sure Of his
distance from his pursuers.
This he did for an hour or more until all
hands were goaded into a condition of semi
madness and some Of them vera ready 10
relapse into panic, feeling that this whale
showed no sign Of fatigue, but then, in great
contrast to the usual behavior Of a fast
sperm whale, he had INDUCED in no aimless
eyolutions,. but was apparently reservins
his strength for a time when it would H.
greatly needed.
This part OF the proceedings, indeed, would
have been tame but for the fury of the
skipper and the mate; they looked as il mad
ness must supervene shortly. The men. whose
monetary and reputational stakes were 81
much less, were fast relapsing into apathy,
and in any case the strain upon their muscles
was beginning to tell a warning tale.
Suddenly a cry Of horror and warning
was heard and cut short in the middle, for
the whale, with that amazing agility o.
which he had alresdy given them a fore
taste, had reversed his position and was
rushing UPON them, Re reached them.
throwing his huge body crosswise as he did,
so that his Simultaneous blows of hea d
and tail might fall upon both boats.
AND amid Il crashing of timber, yells of
agony ana foGfrIg OF wafer ne disHTpFTrr--
beneath the surface, W hich was all bestrewn
with w~reckage and helpless men.
Then those OF board the ship, who al a
distance Of less than half a mile had been
watching the fray with intensest anxiety,
were suddenly interrupted in their task of
getting the spare boat of the skids by a
shout from aloft, He's coming for the ship
All rushed to the rail to see. and the vision
was appalling.
He came, a hundred ton battering ram a.
fourteen miles an hour, bead on, pointlnR
direct for the Desdemona's broadside. n"
ship trembled, reeled over nearly on her
beam ends. and us her panic stricken crew
climbed upon the weather rail thinking she
was going to capsize. they saw their destroy,
A. an Nka laak a-&@. x-;tE - N-.Nn 80 ll,ul