Omaha daily bee., 1917-06-08
Avenging Jonah
By Frederic j. Hasktn

II Bg FTedeTlc y. HGSkaB
Washington, June 5-From the Pacific coast
comes Word that the whalers of the state Of
Washington and OF Alaska are seeking markets
tor whale meat IN all effort to increase their
own profits and supplement the nations de-
pleted food supply. This report has excited so
much interest that the Bureau OF Fisheries here
has had number of inquiries as to the edibility
OF whales and the chances OF creating national
market for their flesh. The government experts
looking into the matter are not prepared yet
to publish their conclusion.
No government investigation is needed to de-
termnc the edibty OF the whale. In Japan whale
meat, both fresh and canned, is staple and plays
a very important part in the diet of the poorer
classes who cannot afford to buy beef. In the
island empire the heart, liver, tongue and intes-
tines OF the whale are eaten, we'll the
meat and blubber The meat Of the humpback
whale, which is considered the most desirable
sometimes sells for as much as IS cents pound
but is generally obtainable for about half that
amount. Roy Chapman Andrews who has spent
much time at the shore stations of the modern
whaling industry studying the great sea Great
urcs for the American museum of national his
tory, states that he has eaten large quantities
of the meat and has found it both palatable and
healthful. He says that chemical analysis
shows it to contain about 98 per cent of digesti-
BILE material whereas beef has seldom more than
93 per cent 1t is described as coarse meat,
which tastes something like venison. but has
very distinctive favor. The favorte way of
serving it in Japan is raw, with chopped vege-
tables and sauce Great quantities of it are
cooked. canned and sent to all parts OF the EN-
pire. This canned whale is said to be superior
to great many of the potted meats sold in the
American market.
While the old New England whaling captains
we're writing their memoirs of this vanished in
dustry young Norwegian was busy invent
ing new method of whaling by which the re-
naming abundant species, the blue whales and
fin whales, might be proftably hunted. Back in
the 70s the harpoon gun and the shore station
were being perfected and now this new whal-
ing business has grown into world industry
with products worth $70,0000O0 annually.
1t is carried on up and down the Pacific coast
from Mexico to Alaska, where the whales con-
gregate in immense herds on certain rich feed
ing grounds; from South Africa, Japan, from the
Shetland Islands, the South Orkneys, the Falk-
lands and South Georgia; from Spitzbergen, the
Faroes, the Hebrides, Greenland and the Gala
that practically all OF the harpooners, who are
generally also the captains of the vessels come
from Tonsberg, the little Norwegian town where
Svend Foyn, the inventor of the harpoon gun,
lived.
whale is due to the fact that besides greatly in
creasing the value of the industry and adding
to the worlds food supply, it might be the means
of saving the whales from determination AL
though there are some few laws with regard to
whaling, there are none that are effective. In
the sub-Antarctic islands especially the whale is
being rapidly exterminated by means of the float
ing factories. These are great steamers carry
ing apparatus for the trying out of blubber, from
which the smaller vessels operate. Not only all
of the meat, but often all but the thickest part
OF the bubber, is thrown away. A whale that
would be worth several thousand dollars in Japan
yields only about $40 or $50 to these wasteful
methods. In this way an industry which is worth
millions of dollars is being rapidly destroyed.
This new method of hunting whales from shore
stations, while it threatens the determination of
the race, has also afforded science its first good
opportunity to study them. From the decks of
the whaling vessels many new and interesting
observations OF the movements and habits OF
whales have been made, while at the shore sta
tions, where the huge bodies are pulled out for
butcherng, the first accurate measurements and
records of color and marking have been OBJ
tanned. As almost everyone knows, the whale is
a mammal, the same as man and the other higher
forms of animal life. There is no doubt that it
is descended from some mammal which lived on
land in former geologic ages, and was forced by
some sudden change in its environment to adapt
itself to a life in the sea- 1t still breathes air,
but is able to hold its breath for long time,
and is known to stay under water for at least
forty minutes at time. How deep it is able
to go no one knows. 1t was formerly supposed
that the pressure of the water made it impossi-
Bile for the animals to descend more than 800
feet, but whalers report instances in which
whale has taken out quarter of mile of har-
poon line and risen within 100 yards of the point
where it disappeared ..ft
The blue whale is the largest animal that in
habits the globe and is believed to be the largest
that ever did inhabit it, exceeding in size even
tka RJtat ala haua haar faGa
which were eighty-fve feet in length and weighed
seventy-fve tons.
With the exception of the killer whale which
is very ferocious species about fifteen feet in
length that destroys seals and fish, the whales
potsetnn bo,mss o nf hotb ,hsr sy se;srtc my
terest and their commercial value.
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