The star. (Reynoldsville, Pa.) 1892-1946, 1907-04-17

emily the sea all rOunu us was mass
of fountains as the mammals rose to
the surface to spout. BY stroke of
luck we had run into a verltable
school of cachalots.
The captain showed not the slight
est sign of excitement, although he
was inwardly boiling over with the
good fortune that had come his way.
He quietly climbed up aloft so as to
obtain a good survey all round, and l
soon followed him.
"Geei We have run into about
three hunared of EN-" he yemarked,
and I do not think he was exaggerat-
ing in the slightest, eor on all sides
as far rs we could see were the black,
lolling bodies of the whales, blowing
| their spouts of water high into the
air. 1t was certainly the largest
school Of whales that any of the old,
! experienced hunters on the Kathleen
! had ever seen. Truly the Fates had
been kind to us after five months
idle cruising about, through storms
and calms, with only single in
! significant catch to our credit.
The captain was determined to
profit as much as possible by this
stroke of good luck. Lower every
boat" he yelled, and in a few sec
onds, amid much groaning and
sQueaking, the four whaleboats which
we carried were being swung from
their davits into the water. AS soon
as the boats touched the water the
crews. eager for the coming fray,
tumbled into them and got the tackle
aboard. Soon they were pulling
might and main away from the ship.
Whaling tackle comprises har-
poon attached to the end of long
length of Manila rope an inch and a
half in thickness. The harpoon is
fitted at the end with hook having
single barb, which, however, is
fixed on a pivot, so that it can swing
round easily. The harpoon is at
tached to heavy pole of strong,
! tough wood, specially selected so as
to withstand the severe strains to
which it is subjected. One edge of
the harpooa is ground fine unit. it
has the keenness of razor, while
the other is quite blunt. The rope
attached TO the harpoon is carefully
coiled in tubs, so that when it is ra-
pidly paid out there is no possibility
Of 1t becoming entangled and thereby
| pulling at the catch. The length of
rope within the tub varies, some con-
| tanning only six hundred feet, while
others hold twelve hundred feet of
line. The shaft of the harpoon is ap-
proximately thirty inches in length,
and is made Of the best soft iron, so
that the danger of its breaking under
| the heavy and sudden strains i'm
posed is rendered a remote contin-
gency. Three harpoons-or, to quote
the whaler's parlance, iron" are
generally carried in each boat, fitted
one above the other in the starboard
bow.
The harpoon is used solely for
useless for killing it. For this pur-
pose lances resembling long, thin
spears are utilized. They are each
about four feet in length and have
broad points as sharp as razors. The
wooden handles to which the points
are attached are about four feet long,
with light lines fixed to them,N SO
that after thrust has been made
the lances can be withdrawn il nee
essary with little exertion. These
lances are carried on the port bow
and when thrown by skilful whaler
penetrate right into the vital parts
of the catch, thereby quickly render.
ing him hors de combat. In battling
with big, powerful whale very often
two or three thrusts will be required
In the space of few minutes the
whaleboats had left the Kathleen's
side. The captains decision to dis
patch all the boats simultaneously
practically denuded the whaler of it!
crew, the persons left on board com
prising the captain, his wife, the
cook, and cabin-boy. This, o.
course, left the skipper plenty O.
work to do, since when the boats are
out, owing to their being low dowI
upon the water, their range of visior
is limited, and they have to receive
instructions from aboard the whaler
, one of the crew being stationed IL
the crows nest for this purpose. II
, this case this work had to be car
, ried out by the captain.
l was in charge of the bow boat
First blood was drawn by the chic
mate, De Viera, who got his harpool
well home in big whale. AS TO
; myself, could not get glimpse o
: the school; but presently the cap
tain's voice came believing over tn
J water: Keep going to leeward, Rey
| nolds, and you'll run right into 'em.
My men bent to their long oars
and we bore down very rapidly. w
kept going for an hour, and then
> deserted big bull whale, and at th
; first shot got good hold OF him wit
! my harpoon. Now the fun began i
real earnest. He was a big brute
' capable of yielding, should think
| some forty barrels of oil, so / de
: termined to stick to him, come wha