Tensas gazette. [volume] (St. Joseph, La.) 1886-current, 1908-06-12

devious for a feet of American bat
ueships, every mention of those wa
tiers brings to the minds of a 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 Cauiornias, they OBJ.
served during the winter season many
whales swimming toward the south
migrating like the wild fowl. Some of
the whales were of forms familiar to
the men who had sailed on whale
ships. The humpback, for instance,
was common enough. The long and
active sulphur bottom-much longer
and more active than his brother of
the Atlantic-was also observed, and
so, too, was the slender and almost
equally agile finback. Occasionally
the double spout of the common right
whale arose above the dancing waters
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, for
their migration toward the south,
and that the first migrants toward the
north appeared some time in Febru-
airy. The regularity of their visits
seems to have been noted first about
the year 1876. but it was not until af-
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 well as
one Of the era of gold in California.
Hundreds of American whalers were
to be found every year in the Pacific,
and after the discovery Of gold in Cal
ifornia 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-
tions 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 south-bound migrators appear
ed as early as December /, 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 !
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 a 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 |
1851. 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
ent 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 7
twenty-five barrels of oil, while the
yield from the cows was as much as
forty barrels, and more than sixty
was sometimes obtained. Because of
this difference. the whaler captains
steered their ships into the uncharted
bays. cast anchor, lowered away, and
without a single shift of position filled
their ships with oil from the slaught-
cred females.
Killing Not an Easy Task.
The work of killing California gray
whales while the fishery lasted had
same peculiar features, the shore sta
lions being of special interest. Thus
the whalers began. of course, with the
tools to which they were accustomed.
The boats adopted at the first shore
stations were purchased from whale
were the harpoons, etc. In a boat
that was pulled by four oars and that
carried a man at the bow, ready to
throw a harpoon, with another at the
stern handling the steering oar, 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 in shoal water.