Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1916-02-06
RICHMOND TIMES DISPATCH: SUNDAY FEBRUARY g. 1916

, cents pound when green. The whal
meat is eaten by the natives. 1t is OF
Erayish color and fun OF OIL"
AS to the whaling industry OF the
rest or the Territory. il Is carried on il
southeastern Alaska and in Wcstcr.
Alaska. Some whaling is done by shore
stations. and some by ships that go out
from san Francisco and Seattle every
season. The steamer Karluk. whicl,
went north with the StefauSSon Arctic
expeditions. belonged to tho San Fran
cisco whaling fleet Another vessel OF
that fleet Was the Gay Head. which was
wrecked in Alaskan waters I'm the
spring OF 1914. IL had already caught
some whales. and :. ::rta, deaf of SPERM
oil was lost The steamer Herman. an
other san Francisco ship. caught six
bowhcad whales I'm 1914. and took alto
Ccthcr about 10000 pounds or whale
bone and the brigantinc Jcnnette.
which went as far north as Point Bar
row. on the Arctic Ocean caught three
whales which yielded something like
800 pounds Of bone. The Polar Bear
Of Seattle. caught ten bowhcads last
season. an;l the steamer Bclvedcre,
from the same port, took five.
The shore whaling stations are
operated by two companies. There is
one here at Port Armstrong, on i;ara-
noT Island. in Southeastern Alaska
owned hy the United states Whaling
Co. ana another at Akutau. near Uni
max Pass in Westerm \!aska. owned
by the Pacific sea Products co Both
Of these companies have steamers
which they send out to shoot whales.
Each vessel has n three-inch muXZle-
loading ruu on :t@ bow. The projcc-
tile * attached /" = heavy lin" that rs
fastened 10 n steam winch or the deck
hN q in
the projcc;il" il supposed To =" into
the whale. Il cNp!odcs ANA leaves 4
barhed harpoou in its flesh. Thc barb
opens as tn" wiu,c is struck, ana it
is thus caught 10y the wire rope and
can be played by means Of a steam en-
CINE, the line bciu2 looScncd and tight
cncd as necessary. After the animal
is dead i, is drawn near 10 the vessel
and then pumped up with air to pre-
Vent it's sinking. ANA III this way ~
foated and t"w.d 20 the shore station.
Upon the arrival a, the station the
whale is hauled out on platform and
the blubher is chopped with axes and
then stripped of by means OF IA steam
winch. The whale is then cut up and
cooked to get out the oil and the res
iduc is used for fer; ilzer
The best oil comes from the sperm
whale. which has 4 cavity in its head
fun OF fat. y single sperm whale is
worth as much ~ SS.hh". IL VIII some
times produce many barrels Of valu-
able oil, the best Of which sells for
$50 per barrel. The cheaper grades
sell for much less the poorest bring
ing only about SI2 per barrel Some
Of the whale meat is saved FOR cattle
food. II sells tor $40 per ton. The
Fertilizers bring from SO TO s2I n ton
u has been suggested that the sal
mon canne:iss might can the whale
meat; and make whale beef packing
industry in ;his part of the world
Trey could do thi" during the parts
uf the year when the salmon are not
running. Whale beef is said TO be
healthful and palatable. the product
would be large. as single whale
sometimes weighs as much as lSo.o0O
pounds.
The salmon is by far the most im-
p"rtant OF tn" fish of Alaska. There
are four kinds al! Of which are de-
licious. The largest and most valua ME
is the King salmon, which has an aver
age weight Of twenty-five pounds, and
sometimes weighs as high AS 100
pounds. This is found in Southeastern
Alaska in ali months OF the year, and
IN Mag and juno II runs up many OF
She rivers TO spawn. The next in size
IS the sock-eyc Or red salmon, which
is about n yard long and has an aver