Los Angeles herald., 1907-09-29

nF all American Industries whaling is
one of the Oldest and yet one in
" which, although neglected and be-
coming thing of the past, there has been
little, II any, development. Sixty years
ago, when the industry was at its height,
no less than 730 vessels were securing the
seas In search Of the leviathans and every
one of these craft few the American
ensign.
The New England states. and particu-
larly Massachusetts. were the principal
Headquarters of the whalemen while the
little town Of New Bedford. Mass.. was
the center. In 1854, from New Bedford
alone there sailed out 113 whaling ships
bound to every port on the globe. In
1904, half century later. there were but
fye ships to sail for the whaling grounds.
The latest Issue of the Whalemen's s
Shipping List shows that there are to-
day engaged In the whaling industry but
SO vessels representing all that Is iert OF
the once great business.
What Is the cause Of this declinef one
may ask. 1t Is the result OF an evolution.
when the whaling industry was at Its
high-water mark the discovery Of petro-
leum was made, discovery that instant
ly created a revolution In more than one
sense. At that time whale oil was used
for lighting but petroleum, cheaper and
more plentiful. speedily came into gen.
era use
with the demand for the cheaper fuel
came a drop in the price of whale oil, not
much at first but as the various by-prod-
ucts Of petroleum developed and many
articles that were formerly made OF oil
were superseded by petroleum the price
of the oil gradually but surely declined.
striking the death blow to the industry
of the deep.
Some idea of what this means may be
understood when one learns that In 1885
aperm oil sold for $255 gallon whereas
today 1t is quoted at 81 cents gallon.
One of the remarkable features OF the
industry is that in all these years there
has been but little development In the
methods employed in the pursuit OF the
whale and what little development there
has been ia chiefly in the use of few
steam vessels and the adoption OF mod
ern rig to the sailing ships employed.
The use Of the steam whaler Is aqapr-
ed to the Arctic waters, where 1t is more
handy In dodging VAST noes anu essapins
the danger of being nipped by the ice'
a fate that has sent SO many staunch sail
ing. craft to the bottom. Then TOO tne
steamers employ steam for the trying out
of the oil, instead of boiline'tt as is done
on the sailing craft. Donkey engines for
hoIsting are modern features on many OF
the sailing craft. while iron tanks take
tho nlaca Of wooden ones.
OF the apparatus used in the capture
and killing of the whale there Is practi-
caily no change and the Implements now
used were in vogue half century ago.
or the death-dealing appliance the snoui-
der bomb gun and lance play the most I'M
portant part, and every whaler carries
full supply of them. The bomb-gun Is
light but powerful and effective weapon
The bomb consists Of brass tube from
four to six inches long and filled with
gunpowder. Like torpedo 1t Is not In
tended to explode until 1t has pierced the
vltals of the mammal and Its work Is
almost instantaneous. This weapon aud
its proiectile is the invention OF Capt
Eben Pierce. hardy Down Easter. VINO