Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1913-04-25
GREATEST OF MARINE GIANTS
One Monster Whale Measured So Feet
in Length and SO Feet In Girth.

Giants are always interesting, wheth-
er they are human, animal or vegeta-
BILE, and while in ages past nearly all
divisions Of the animal kingdom boast
ed giants Of greater size than those
Of modern times, yet often nowadays
gigantic creatures exist in numbers In
the sea.
The greatest Of these marine giants
are the whales. And probably the
largest Of the whales, as well as the
most gigantic Of all living creatures, is
the sulphur bottom. It attains length
Of nearly or quite 100 feet and weight
Of $50 tons. a...rs. 49,.
One individual measured 95 feet In
length, 80 feet in girth, with a jaw
bone 81 feet long; baleen (whalebone)
4 feet long; weight Of baleen, 800
pounds; weight of entire whale, 147
tons, and It yielded 10 barrels Of oil.
The sulphur bottom seldom bolts, as
the whalers term the action Of leaping
diagonally from the sea, or breaches, as
perpendicular springs are called, but
when 1t does perform In this manner
he presents a truly wonderful sight.
While whales are the largest OF ma
rine animals, yet certain fish grow to
almost as gigantic size. The largest of
true fishes are found among the sharks
and the largest Of these formidable
fishes are the whale sharks. These
huge fish occur in the waters Of India,
Japan, South America, Panama, Cali
fornia and the West Indies.
The nose is very broad and blunt and
the mouth, although very wide, Is arm
ed only with very minute teeth. It Is
q dark -colored creature, marked with
small, whitish spots and is perfectly
harmless to man., feeding exclusively
on small fish. It's huge bulk makes 1t
dangerous when wounded. This great
fish reaches a maximum length OF 10
feet. a
Probably the second largest shark Is
the basking shark, known also as ele-
phant shark and bone shark. This
species derives its name from its habit
Of collecting in schools or basking In
the sun at the surface Of the sea. 1t
reaches a length Of 40 to so feet, and
while large is perfectly harmless.
It's teeth are small and numerous
and its food consists Of small fishes,
shrimp, crustacans, etc. 1t is ordinar-
lily of a gentle and quiet disposition,
but II wounded or injured can readily
hacked with knives and pierced with
its powerful tail. 1t was formerly
widely hunted for its oil, but has be-
COlIlC lOO oSdiSC ~ NUM- "AsAA
success.
The man eating sharks, which are 80
greatly dreaded by many people and
are 80 very common In tropical seas,
grow to immense size, and with their
ferocious character and powerful jaws
and teeth are probably the most for
midable Of ocean giants.
The great sleeper shark Is most
stupid gluttonous species-as, in fact,
are most Of the sharks-and spends
most Of its time doing on the surface
of the sea. When aroused or hungry
It attacks whales, porpoises or, in fact,
anything 1t can A! =, and bites pieces
from its victims with Its knife-like
teeth.
At such times it seems perfectly OBJ
livious to pain or fright and can be
backed with knives and pierced with
spears without paying the least atten-
tion or seeming to take any notice.
This savage creature reaches a length
Of SO to 40 feet and Is fully as large
and even more formidable than are the
true muan- eating sharks.
Related to the sharks are the old
saw fishes of the tropics, which are
common in the lagoons, bayous and
sounds Of the West Indies and our