The mirror. (Stillwater, Minn.) 1894-1925, 1909-02-04

this. The condition OF the deck OF the
vessel and the mems apparel during
this period cannot re descrit ed with
Justice to the subject. But some faint
idea may be obtained by a knowledge
of the work to be done. The great
whale being cut and chopped to pieces,
the huge trying out apparatus near
the fOrecastle, the decks knee deep
with fat. blood and entrails--it is truly
dogs life. fused the present tense
because this prostratedl}American in
dustry is awake ling to something like
its old time vivor There are now
twenty New Bedford vessels on the
whaling grounds and more are being
fitted out. Schools of whales are re-
ported as numerous, aid with the pre-
vailing demand for sperm oil, whale
bone aud ambergris the industry is
once more pIa ed on profitable basis.
Perha .ls many pres 1T are familiar
with items appearing at frequent in
tervals about some ship coming into
port with few pounds of ambergris
valued at several thous and dollars.
No doubt many who read news items
of this characteri place them in the
same class as those published about
the sea serpent Every summer some
one at the fashionable seaside resorts
along the Atlantic coast solemnly and
with much detail relate the story OF
his experience with the sea serpent.
Its immense length, its formidable ap-
pea ance and the lightning-like rapid
ity of its movements. Many swallow
this ysIn,; espe e,ially if vouched for by
some well known sea captain. But
the writer has first hand knowledge of
the sea and all therein, and assures the
good people of Min ,esota and other
inland states that their ocean voyage
ne d not he deferred on account of the
supposedly terrible monster of the
deep. For there is no sea serpent as
described. 1t is an annual joke of old
New England sea captains. The sea
serpent is usually discovered by care
full and prolonged inspection of the in
terror of demijohn containing Ja-
maica rum,L peach brandy or apple
ia :k-this last item of local manufac-
ture and in strength one hundred times
stronger than ~ liquor known.
Now the stories published about am
, bergris are true, so far as they relate to
the value of the find. Amtergris is a
secretion of the Intestines of the whale
and is created by some unknown in
, ternal disea e. It is frequently thrown
, out by the whale and as it floats on the
r surface of the sci, mariners familiar
, with its appearance and value pick i,
> up aud sell it, for fabulous prices
, ranging from three TO five hundred
dollars a pound. The bark Bertha
3 whose arrival in New Bedford wai
j, previously mentioned, brought one
g hundred and fifty pounds of ambergri'
/ which sold for sixty-five thousand dol
t lars. Ambergris is used by perfumerl
as a basis for their wares, but it mus
1 undergo some wonderful transfOrma
y tion to convert 1t into anything that il
= acceptable to the dainty nostrils of th'
o ladies. During the school days Of th'
8 writer it was a fsvorite pastime of al
+ the young school boys and girls to visi
q the wharves in New Bedford and in
+ spect those ships fitting out and ais
!. those lately arrived. 1t was considere'
q q good joke to induce the young ladie
n to 90 aboard aud see the kitchens a
+. they termed the doctors (cook) quar-
j. ters," also the glistening array 0
q lances, harpoons and knives. There
Il distinct smell about whaler tina
n one who once is acquainted with
,e never forgets. at reminds me" said
,r young lady, "ef the time had to TAX
e cod liver oil, and it smells the way O
tastes only more So" But ii one is nc
i'd content with the simp'e whaler smel
n one may go helow to become a.
Is quainted with the ambergris. After
le Whit there remains no doubt that
N whale with such stuff within hil
lg should tie extremely i'll.
10 The tales that the writer has hear
~ from old retired sea captains living
% New Bedford,a and spun in their slooI
as we travelled for blue fish along Vim
ut yard Haven Sound seemed more VOL
W derful than any Sinbad the Sailt
sh could tell, some that made the story ,