Los Angeles herald., 1907-09-29

| and the familiar cry "There she blows.
| There she blows" is heard from aloft
| tremor of excitement Is felt by every
one on board.
Where away?" queries the skipper and
| as the answer About three points Off the
| port quarter, SIR is heard every eye Is
turned In that direction. A mile or two
| away a small stream Of water rising
| out of the bosom of the sea like tiny
| fountain denotes the presence of whale.
| instantly all is action, the crews of the
| small boats rush to their stations and at
| the command Lower away" three crafts
| splash into the water and four pair OF
| arms in each hurry them to their quarry
| Each whaleboat carries a crew Of six
| an officer, a boatsteerer and four oars
| men. The boats are each twenty-eight
| feet long, six feet beam with round,
| buoyant bottom and deep sheer that
| enables them to ride dry under condi-
| tions that would quickly swamp the Or
| dinary type Of boat of the same length.
! The boats are provided with centerboards
and mast and sails and an ordinary rud-
| der as well as a twenty-five foot steer
| ing oar.
| Despite the boats being comparatively
| small and their crews of six taking con-
siderable space, 1t is astonishing how
much gear, etc., is also carried. In addi-
| tion to the two tubs Of whale line, each
| line being several hundred fathoms long.
| four or five harpoons, lances, hatchct
| or two and four knives, the latter being
kept handy in event of having to cut the
| whale line, there are ''waif flags" fuke
| spade, boat hook and a number Of
smaller articles, all of which are used in
| the hunt. Then there is another outfit
| and that is for the preservation and COM
| fort Of the men. This consists OF drag
| to which the boat lays in event Of heavy
weather, a keg Of bread, a breaker Of
water, a keg containing lantern, can
dies, matches, tobacco and pipes, pack
age of First Aid to the Wounded" and
compass.
| By this 1t viii be seen that the whale
men go fairly well prepared. They have
to or else run the risk Of losing their
|ifves for to be oyertaken by darkness or
lose their ship in sudden fog means pos
sible suffering.
When chasing a whale the boatsteerer,
who is also the harpooner, pulls the for
word oar. AS rule whale pays little
attention to the approaching boat Which,
with oars and oarlocks wrapped with
rope, silently comes up along side. Then
the harpooner drops his oar, picks up
either his harpoon or bomb-gun and waits
for a favorable moment
Generally the first warning that the
whale has is the report of the gun and
| he plunges for the bottom. Too late,
| however, for even as he makes his first
| movement the deadly bomb has exploded
| in his vitals and the wnter is reddening
| with his blood. There is no sport at all
| In this method of whaling and many men,
| although it is a matter of business, will
| not adopt 1t. They prefer to give the
| mammal chance.
With the harpoon there Is difference.
The thrower standing in the bow Of his
| boat hurls the iron with all his might.
| Then. before the whale has recovered
| from his astonishment at the prick, an
| other Iron is thrust into him. With
| mighty sweep of his tail the monster
| darts head dowa for the bottom of the
sea, the whale line r-1rs out Of the tub
and over brass roller in the bow with
such rapidity that 1t fairly smokes from
the friction; indeed 1t is often necessary
| to pour water on 1t.
| At last when the rs or so fathom mark
Ia reached there ia a slackening of the
I, line, then a stop and the men know that
the whale has turned and is ascending.
| This is the most ticklish part of the work
| The sperm whale is a great fighter, using
| its tail and Jaw with fearful effect and
many a gallant crew have become victims
| to its ferocity.
! As the whale comes toward the surface
the line is watched, the slack hauled In
| and coiled back In the tubs for sometimes
| the whale has to be played, especially II
| his struggles consist of numberless sound
| ings. Sometimes the whale will rush
| away dragging the boat through the
water ut terrific speed SO fast that II
| there is any sea, the lines have to be cut
to prevent being swamped.
| While this Is going on the other boats,
II there be no more whales In the vicin-
| ity, lay around and wait. Very often 1t Is
| well they do for now and then whale
| will sound and come to the surface along
| side of the boat swish Of the tail and
| there Is a badly smashed boat and six
| men swimming for their lives 1t Is then
| that one boat goes to the rescue and the
other after the whale.
When the whale has been played until
| 1t Is exhausted and lies still the really
critical part Of the work contemplating
the lance. Again the boat is placed along
side and the long sword-like weapon is
plunged deep into the monsters side.
There Is another rush or sounding but the
death wound has been given and in
little while the whale turns on its back
and expires.
1t Is curious to note that almost every
whale dies with it's head toward the sun
and also that when dead 1t rolls over on
Its side exposing one Of It's nns, hence
the whalers use the expression ''in out"
when referring to death.
with the death of the whale begins the
real work. The huge hsh Is towed to the
ship and laid along side. tail to the bow.
ALI whalers "cut In on the starboard
side and the ships rail is removed and
platform rigged out. On this stand the
cutters and they work with long spades
First hole Is cut near the whales eye
while other cuts are made, four feet
apart, until great strip. known as the
''blanket piece" Is outlined. Then from
the rigging a block and fall with blub-