The Lee County journal. (Leesburg, Ga.) 1904-19??, 1908-06-05

coast OIL Lower CalIornla, as TEN
devious for fleet of American bat
tleships, every mention of those wa
ters brings to the minds of few old
Yankee whalemen, and sundry seafar-
Ing naturalists, the memory of the
days when all the sheltered waters
of the Pacific Coast of Mexico. from
Punta Banda to the Gulf Of Tehuan-
tepec, were sought every winter by
schools of whales literally numbering
thousands.
When, as hide-buyers first, and lat-
.er as prospectors for gold, the people
of the United States went to the
coasts of the two CaMornias, they 3D.
served during the winter season many
whales swimming toward the SCUM
migrating like the wild fowl. some ol
the whales were of forms familiar 70
the men who had sailed on whale
ships. The humpback, for instance,
was common enough. The long anu
active sulphur bottom-much longer
and more active than his brother OF
the Atlantic-was also observed, ana
so, too, was the slender and almost
equally agile finback. Occasionally
the double spout of the common rlgnt
whale arose above the dancing waters
but many times more numerous than
all of these taken together, were the
whales of another and smaller breed
that, because of their color, were
named the California gray whale.
In a general way, it was noted that
these gray whales appeared on the
coast in December, every year, fof
their migration toward the SOUTH
and that the first migrants toward the
north appeared some time in Feoru-
airy. The regularity of their visits
seems to have been noted first about
the year 1916, but it was not until al
er 1850 that any one in California gave
the matter serious attention.
AS some readers will remember,
1850 was one of the years of the gold
en- era of American whaling as we'll as
one of the era of gold in California.
Hundreds of American whalers were
to be found every year in the Paclnc'
and after the discovery of gold in Cal
1fornia and a few of the whale ships
went to California where the crews,
from captains to cooks, went ashore
and hurried off to the diggings.
Driven Back by Hunger.
Inevitably, most of these deserters
failed to strike it rich" at the mines,
and were driven sometimes by star
walton, back to the beach. There
they heard the stories of the migrating
whales, and began to make observa-
lions for themselves. They even
counted the schools that appeared at
certain points, and according to pub
lished statements made by some who
were considered trustworthy in such
matters, they saw from the shore, be
tween the 18th of December and the
list of February, a thousand gray
whales, on the average, every day.
The southbound migrators appear
ed as early as December 1, but the
schools were few in number and wide
ly scattered before the middle of the
month. On the whole, it was estimat-
ed that during the early years of the
migration not far from $4,000 whales
passed south within view of the coast
of California; and at the same time
other uncounted thousands were pass
ing further out to sea. The number
seen going north after February was
much smaller, because at that season
the schools commonly avoided the in
shore waters.
Beginning in desultory way, some
of the whalemen went hunting these
whales, and found that, though small
er than humpbacks and right whales,
they Yielded oil of good quality and in
sufficient quantity to make it worth
while to pursue them. Thereupon
several more whaling stations were es-
tablished, the first at Monterey in
1871 The captains of whaleships
that came to the coast also learned
about or saw the migrators. The cap
tains naturally followed down the
beach, and on arriving off the differ
ont bays on the Mexican coast found
that the male gray whales were herd
ing in pods" just off the entrances to
the sheltered waters, while the fe-
males were all inside, having gone
there to bring forth their young.
But whales yielded from twenty to
twenty-five barrels of oil, while the
Weld from the cows was as much as
forty barrels, and more than sixty
was sometimes obtained. Because OF
tbis difference, the whaler captains
steered their ships into the uncharted
bavs cast anchor, lowered away, and
without a single shift Of position filled
their ships with oil from the slaught-