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

the whalers began, of course, with tho
tools to which they were accustomed.
The boats adopted at the first shore
stations were purchased from whale
ships having outnts to spare, and so
were the harpoons, etc. In a boat
that was pulled by four oars and that
carried man at the bow, ready to
throw harpoon, with another at the
stern handling the steering car, the
whalemen rowed away merrily to at
tack this new kind of whale. The
whales were so fearless when bound
south that they came prowling among
the kelp-marked rocks i'll shoal water.
and even rolled themselves in the
breakers on alongshore sand bars.
1t was easy to place boat within
striking distance. But when the man
at the bow hurled his harpoon, the
result was something astounding to
the inexperienced. For the gray
whale, while no more than thirty-five
or forty feet long, was possessed of
strength and agility out of all proper
ton of its size. and a temper that
was frightful. Ordinary whales, on
feeling the iron, would usually sound"
or run. If one turned to fight, it's mo-
| lions were so slow, relatively, that
alert whatemen were usually able to
"starn all" or turn aside, in time to
escape. But the instant the harpoon
touched the gray whale it turned like
a fash to fight.
Guns for shooting whales we're al
ready in use on some of the whale
ships The projectile was she'll that
exploded in the whale with deadly eff
feet. But in the ordinary fishery the
gun was never used, until the boat
had been fastened to the whale by
means of a harpoon thrown by hand,
and even then the whalemen pre-
! ferred the hand lance unless the whale
| turned to fight.
In the gray whale fishery these
guns, which were fired from the Shout
der, were used from the first. If we'll
especially if quickly-handled, they
| served the purpose. But so many boats
were knocked out of water by these
fighters that the gray whales soon
came to be known as the devil fish,
/ and by that name they are now called
1 in the books. 1t is a significant fact
that many of the whales we're cover
ed with scars from wounds that had
DRY weapons of the Eskimo and other
Indians; and many of Lnese crude
weapons were cut from the blubber of
the whales that were saved.
American wha!emen had shown
themselves to be among the most con-
sentative of any class of workmen in
the country, but when they had fully
comprehended the danger in the gray
whale fishery they began to look
around for some new-fangled notion
that would make their pursuit less
dangerous. The darting gun now in
use in the Arctic fishery had not been
invented at that time, but the whalers
from the Scotch ports used harpoon-
throwing gun, that was so big and
heavy it had to be mounted on
swivel This gun had been useful
along the Arctic ice because Of its
range. The Greenland whales were
so shy that it was difficult to get with
in hand-throwing range. While the
gray whale was comparatively easy
to approach, what it's hunters wanted
was method of striking that would
enable them to keep out of range OF
its ready tail, and the British gun
proved just. the thing.
The barrel of this gun as described
by the maker was three feet long and
the bore had diameter of an inch
and half. The projectile was a two
barb harpoon of steel-pOinted iron
that was inserted, butt first. in the
muzzle of the gun. The shank of the
harpoon was slotted and in the slot
was a ring to which the harpoon line
was attached. The charge of powder
used in the Greenland fishery was six
drains. The lock was of the old
hammer style, enclosed in brass
box that usually protected it from the
spray. The trigger was pulled by
means of a cord The weight of the
gun was seventy pounds. When this
gun was fred, the harpoon few, point
first, dragging the line behind it. to a
range of forty yards.
Special Harpoon Adopted.
In adopting this style of gun the
California whalers made a harpoon Of
| their own. Instead of two barbs 1t
had only one, and this one was made
in a separate piece which was affixed
to the shank of the harpoon in such
way that when fired from the gun
the barb lay close beside the head of
the shank. After it had entered the