Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1909-07-15
BIGGEST WHALE EVER
steamship Vecrs TO Let Passengers
Sec Boats Of Yankee Schooner
Harpoon Two Monsters.

ports OF its length arc correct, was har
pooned on Tuesday one hundred miles
southeast Of Cape Henry and brought
alongside one of tho smallest two-masted
whalers that ever set out from n Yankee
port to capture cetaceans In southern
waters. To be exact, as Ia some times
necessary in whale stories, the schooner
MarEarett-and that's the way to spell 1t
too--hailing from Salem. Mass. Is % feet
over all, and the whale measured con-
servatlvcly by Capt. Leslie of the steam
ship Curtyba. who Is not given to eX.
aggeration and who used his sextant
sidcwlse, was not less than 100 fect-over
all. When the captain first saw the
whale the great creature was moving
on In hurry and ne found 1t hard to
estimate It's length. but 100 feet is the
best he could make OF 1t. The books
admit that there are flnbacks 100 feet
long in the Pacific. but they shy at any
thing over 20 feet IN these waters.
The Curityba is n Munson liner that
flies tho Cuban flag and has officers and
crew OF nearly all nationalties, includ-
Ing few Cubans. The skipper Is a
Briton who has sailed in many seas but
never saw a whale hunt until he hap
pened to sight the Margaret on Tues
day morning about II o'clock while COM
ing to this port from Cuba with TWEEN
ty-seven cabin passengers. The sky
was overcast and there was a moderate
casterly wind. The little schooner. with
what seemed to Capt Leslie to be an
enormous crows nest a her topmast. in
which there was man with marine
glass. was hove to in the long, crestless
swels Just off the bow of the schoon-
er, or to windward. the sea was filled
with geysers from n school OF whales
Capt. Leslie says there were nifty or
more whale.. He noted commotion
on the little Margaret, and presently
three small boats from tho schooner were
seen under sail, swiftly set up. making
for the school. Tho three boats each
with five men aboard and a harpoon gun.
or what looked like harpoon gun, In
the bow, began tackng toward the
whales. After getting what Capt. Ro-
land Coffin used to call the weather
gauge on the school the whaleboats
made for IT. One OF the boats sent the
iron whizzing into the body of the big
gest whale. He sounded a moment lat
er and many fathoms OF line smoked
over the bows of the whaleboat. which
dropped Its sail so quickly that 1t SEEM
cd to have been carried away.
The Maurctana, the skipper said never
made greater speed than that whaleboat
did under tow Of the whale. The boats
bow was buried in a smother Of foam
and spray in Jets spurted all over the
crew. When the whale came up again
he spouted blood and tho smashing Of his
nukes made the sea look Ike the space
under the counter OF a liner making n
record. The big fellow started eastward,
following the school. now In panic.
Capt. Leslie became much interested
and his cabin passengers none Of whom
ever had seen a whale killed, were even
more DESTROYS Of being In at the death.
They petitioned him to please go n little
closer. so he steered course for the
hunt. He passed within a few ship
lengths of the little schooner. which flew
a burgee with her name on it, and the
schooner's skipper asked to be report cd
In a manner that showed that hc was
feeling quito contented with the trend
of events anoat in his neighborhood.
The master of the Curitybn headed for
the whaleboat that was making good. 1t
was no use the speed Of the whale WASH t
less than that Of an express train. Capt.
Leslie declared. All the passengers
crowded to the starboard rail Gas the
battle was scaward) and cheered the
boats crew when few minutes later
the whale headed toward the Munson
liner. The performance OF that whale
for the next fifteen minutes surpassed
any three rnEed show ever pulled off at
Madison Square Garden. The whale
made its own circus ring and circlcd II
In a way that brought more cheers from
tho Curityba. Some bet were laid on
the whale. but most on the boats crew.
who seemed to look upon the situation
with positive calmness although they
were looping the loop at the rate OF
about forty knots an hour. The pas
sengers had begun to feet as dizzy as II
they themselves were In the cetacoap
merry-so-round when there was a slack
ening of speed Then the exhausted
whale headed to the eastward and when
few miles from the Curityba gave IN
the ghost. The sail on the whaleboot
appeared as quickly as il had vanished
ana the carcas, was lowed slowly back
toward the gallant little whaler, which
got under way and headed for the whale
boat TO meet It half way.
The officers and passengers OF the
Curityba turned their attention TO the
TWO other whalebOats. They noted that
one had fred the harpoon gun at n
small whale ana had missed. The other
boat had driven the iron into a large
whale and was doing quite well. This
whale put UP a good tight. but nothing
Ike that Of the giant bull, The whale
boat that missed turned about and
drove second harpoon into the sec
ond whale. This was too large load
for the most ambitious whale. and aft
er towing the two boats, ono on the star
board and the other on tho port quart
err for more than a mile It collapsed
The Curityba was forty-five minutes
overlooking the hunt. which the skipper
says was the most impressive show he
has ever seen outside OF the Hippo
drome' He denied the rumor that the
Munson Line would hereafter advertise
us SHIPS as whale seeing yachts, but
declared that II was common thing to
see whales disporting Off Hatteras and
the South Carolina coast, where much
whale oil has been collected within the
last several years.
Tho Hamburg American liner Sarnia
capt Meissener. from the West Indies
passed when within two DAYS Of Sandy
HOOK the halves Of big whale floating
near each other Sea gulls were feast-
ing on the carcass. Capt. Me,ssene,
thinks he cut the whale In two h,m..,,
| when bound out