The mirror., 1919-10-23
Whaling IN the Arctic Ocean


have been told that it is sometimes found
floating on the sea. or lying on the sand
near the sea coast. Ambergris is very valu-
able. 1t is, or was, few years ago, worth
in the neighborhood of $500 pound, and
that in the year of 1905, two pieces were
found which sold for $l0,500. They
weighed about 38 pounds. No wonder a
tenderfoot on the Arctic ocean, has his head
hanging over the ships rail looking for
Ambergris, when there is a possibility Of
fortune awaiting him.
The total catch of the Port Armstrong
plant during the year of 1905 was about
200 whales. The whales were of half
dozen different varieties, most of them be-
ing spurm, sulphurbottom, 6nbacks, and
humpbacks. These varieties are among the
most common to the whale fisheries of to-
day, they were not considered of great value
in the past. Now they are catching fin
backs by means of the harpoon-gun in
many parts of the ocean. In the south seas
around South America the annual catch is
not less than l0,0 fnbacks and hump.
backs. They are also taking many whales
about the islands of South Georgia, not far
from the Falklands, and have been told that
the whales killed in one season produced
more than 75,000,000 pounds of oil, or
enough to fill basin in which a whale
steamer could turn around and maneuver.
In the year of 1908 more than 1000 whales
/ were caught near Cape Horn, and near
there, the whalers found strait that seemed
to literally boil with whales. There were
so many that single boat would capture
eight or more in a day.
In that same year there were 81 steamers
working around the South Shetland Islands,
and they caught more than 5000 whales.
The whole catch of the world is said to be
upward of 20, 900 year. This includes the
right whale, the Finback, the Humpback,
the Sperm whale, Sulphur bottom and 9TH
ers. The most of these are caught in the
Southern oceans, many being captured
about South Africa.
The biggest gold nugget found in the
placer mines of the sea is known as the
right whale, it is one of the giants of the
sea. 1t is from 40 to so foot long and it
sometimes weighs go tons. 1t is not the
largest of the whales. The common Hump
back is fully as large, and the Sperm whale
often reaches sixty feet, while the Rorqual
sometimes runs up to 120 feet, the blue
Rorqual is the largest of known animals.
The head of the right-whale is of euor-
nous size. 1t forms about one-third of the
whole body. The cavity of the mouth is
so large that if the animal could bend itself
up, like the Indian-rubber man in the cir
Gus, it could almost swallow the rest of its
body. 1t is from the mouth that the whale
bone comes. This is in the shape of great
blades which run along the side of the jaws
and gives the floor of the mouth the shape
of great spoon. There are more than 70U
of these blades, and some of them are from
10 to IL foot in length. They are black in
color. and attached to them are the soft,
silky, tough hairs which the animal uses to
catch its food, consisting of fish and small
water animals which it scoops into its
mouth. The whale bone acts as a sieve,
letting out the water aud holding the food.
There are other varieties of whale-bone,
but none compares with that of the right
whale, which sometimes sells for $40, 900 q
ton.
/ IL e1nS tko -holo ss
not an animal at all, that it lis judged by
the company it keeps" If such is the case,
what would they call some of our sharks
l believe that the whale is not fish, it is /:
mammal, and it might be called the gres
cow of the sea. 1t has teats and it suckle
its young like COW. 1t is said to have al
enormous amount of milk, and some year
ago articles were published advocating th'
use of whale milk for human food.
If it were possible for US 10 domesticat
the whale, as a sea-cow, for the production
of meat and milk. it would not be strsng
: for many of us especially for thos
who live along the sea shore, to hea
the lady of the house cry out, maggie g
milk the whale
The skin of the whale is smooth, but it
hide is sometimes incrusted with barnacle
e and other shell-like parasites. The anims
: is kept warm by the heavy layers of fat o
e blubber that lies under the skin of the Who'll
# body. This enables it to live in che cold
e est water, and the arctic rjght-whale abou
! Greenland and Hudson Bay and in the arc
:, tic ocean north of Alaska and Canada
: Many are found about Spitzbergen and j
e Danis strait.
There are vessels that start out from Sa
Francisco and Seattle in the spring and G
u through Bering strait into the Arctic ocean
Is They begin fishing for the right-whale i
IS May and continue their fishing in the aui
+ umn. The whales disappear in the sum
u mer. and between seasons some of the We.
u sells go south for Sperm whaling. In tn
'e past these whales were numerous abou
II Greenland and Hudson Bay. They wer
hunted by whalers from New England an
~ Scotland and also hv the Dufch and M,