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


Paper Read Before the Cha,tta,qua Circle.
HE home of this great American
industry is New Bedford and
Nantucket, Mass. Whales and
whalemeu are names inter-
changeable with these two Massachu-
setts seaports, and before considering !
the main topic of this paper let us be-
come acquainted with the brave and
hardy men who compose the backbone
of this wonderful industry. These
men, the whalemen, form distinct
class of mariners, as they must be not
Only expert seamen but skilled in the
art of capturing and rendering the
giant leviathan of the deep. The
whalemen of New England have been
the sinews of the American navy. In
ured to danger by a calling in which
the chances were as desperate as those
of battle, they stepped from the wfale-
boat to the man of war simply to face
a foe of different kind. They needed
little or n, training before they could
meet an enemy without finching, and
when they responded to their country's
call, a well.known writer has stated,
they grimly applied to each hostile
ship the old whaling motto-"Dead
whale or stove boat"
The male population of the old whal-
ing ports was divided into three sets.
Those who were away on whaling
yoyaye. those who were just return
ing and those who were preparing to
start on one. 1t is to these remarkable
men that our forefathers are indebted
for their source of illumination. The
hardy pioneers of the Colonial period
were obliged to content themselves
with light from pine knot or ta'loW
candle. After the close of the war OF
1912 when the revival of the shipbuild-
ing industry brought the carrying
trade to the merchants of New Ecg-
land their increasing wealth gave the
means to exploit the whaling Industry
on a large scale which resulted In
cheapening tho cost of sperm oil and
spermaceti candles, bringing tie lux
ury and convenience of artificial light
within reach of even the very poorest
classes.
Probably few in this section of the
country have ever seen live whale III
his native element, or even dead one
on the beach. It is NJ unusua! occur
renee for whales, along with other
large fish, to become stranded on the
numerous shoals bordering Cape Cod
later to be washed or thrown up on ths
teach. Hence, it is possible for the
people living near Cape Cod ol
Martha's Vine jard islal t obtain first
hand knowledge of this great fish.
There are several known varieties o1
the whale, the finback whale, TIT
humpt ack whale and the sperm whale
The shapes of these three species o.
whale are distinct. The finback whale
as the name signifies-has large I'll
set in the center of his back and als'
has long protruding front or mouth
The humpback whale has an enOrmou
girth and carries most of his meat o
biubler bumped we'll forward. Th
sperm whale is larger and better pre-
portioned and is the most sought after
as they yield the largest quantity an
the best quality of oil to be found Il
the market. The wha'e requires reg
ular supply of oxygen-being supple
with a respiratory canal. To obtai
this needed supply he rises to the sui
face at frequent intervals. Coming t
the surface Of the water he raises hi
head, forces his tongue into the cavit
of his whalebone sieve and drives tn
water out with immense force and to
great height. This action of the whal
is watched for and noted by lOokor
who is stationed at the masthead {
the whaler and he calls out, "There sf
blows" "Where away2" asks the mai
or officer of the deck. The gener
direction is given, such as "Thrt
points off the weather bow, sir"
s.Broad on the lee bow, sir"
The oil yielding capacity of whas
varies considerably, depending alt
.Rether on the thickness and quality
.blubber. Blubber being the fat linir
the interior Of the whales body. Son