Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1916-07-21

tie kept up lIlS program lor US
until we We're abreast the college
grounds, then, after coming along
side the boat so closely we could
touch him with a broom and SWIM
ming just under the surface of the
water for at least 10 minutes, he
started downward and speeded up
and we could see the green phosphor-
Gus light he made in the water for at
least 800 feet ahead of us.
"Then he went out of sight but
we heard him blow twice, way ahead
of us. We discussed the wonderful
exhibition we had experienced and
had just settled down to the old
routine of things, loaded our pipes
and were almost asleep when, just
off the buoy, he came up under my
window and gave blow that startled
me so nearly fell off my stool. This
time | could plainly smell the vapor
and breath he expelled from his
lungs, and | actually believe l could
have caught some of the water in
my hand as it came down, if l had
reached out for it,
1T seems he realized the life of a
tug-boat crew is a slow, lonesome
one, for from now on he kept right
to our side and only two or three
times did he get so far away that we
couldn't see him. When we were
within half a mile of the Buchanan
mill he came alongside of the boat
SO close there wasn't 10 feet between
us and travelled exactly as we did,
without changing his position from
there to the mill any more than did
the barge fastened to our port side.
The Stunts at the Mill.
Il was so busy watching our new
acquaintance that we were into the
booming grounds before | realized
1t. and l almost had to beg the chief
to go below long enough to land the
scow. We landed it right in short
so that the end was touching bottom,
and still the whale was at our side,
The after end of the barge was up
against boom of logs.
Now, we thought we had seen a
good deal OF that whale up to this
time, but 1t didn't hold a candle to
the performance he gave us from now
on until he finally left. We didn't
attempt to make our scow fast-it
lay just as we came in and precisely
where we wanted it to be-but we
kept our eyes on this said whale be-
cause he had become so familiar we
thought he must have an axe to
grind.
What that whale didn't do for
the next half hour, whales can't do,
I guess. First of all, he worked his
way out from between us and the
beach, got around our stern and in
under the raft Of logs in the inner
pocket at the mill, then got out from
under there and came back in along
side of us again. The next thing, he
went underneath us and out into the
outer log pocket, raised a boom stick
out Of water, came back to us again.
went around our stern so close that
the wake churned up by his tail
ratified our rudder chains, sank down
to the bottom, reared up on his tail
and fell over backwards, and pulled
all kinds of stunts.
Finally, at 1880 in the morning,
he started northward down the west
shore and If the campers along there
didn't sleep too sound they probably
saw him, as he was still there when
we left for the dock. We didn't
have to stay there that half hour and
wait for him to leave before we came
into the dock, but we did wait, for
several reasons, few of which might
be mentioned.
Looking Out for Mistakes.
First of all, that big 4OO-ton
barge had to stay at the mill and we
felt more like entertaining whales
when we had it alongside. Not that's
we say he would have attacked us,
but we realized that whales are like
the rest of the seafaring bunch
when they get into shallow water
and into close quarters with piling,
saw logs, steamboats,. etc, and get
excited, they are liable to make mis-
takes.
I'VE also had regard for the boat
houses and the owners of OIympia's
mosquito fleet, for we have every
reason to think he would have come
clear IN with us if we had not given
him the slip, because he proved it
TOOK more than shallow water to
drive him from our side while we
were under way.
I'VE passed him Sunday noon in
the mouth of Oyster bay, but we