The Miller press. [volume] (Miller, S.D.) 190?-current, 1923-06-21

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A Breathtaking Battle With an Enraged 9O-Ton
aBulp' Whale, in a Tale Replete With Thrills,
Romance and Adventure, Makes Elmer
Clfton's Down to the Sea in Ships"
an objectionable Masterpiece
srERs CODE O. THE SEA, a DEAD wIhIE OR !, /. sToyE BOAT"
YAWI, JEOPARDIzING LIVES OF CREW
- "a dead whale Or a stove boat
This expression is, to the oldtime whaleman.. his creed and his
Of o ocean as monsters : asn 8 just the ea sa%e as |" the he f Northwest n mounted police %Sss
the slogan Of Get Your Man" inspires them to a full realization Of
veteran whaleman knows only too well that in the game Of whale hunt,
smash their small boat or they will get His Majesty. As in the case Of
q Northwest r st. there % can be eG no OS eompr . ~ This is a tradition Of the he
sea that has existed since time immemoral, and will continue o long
The dead whale or stove boat epigram is 50 popularity, and at the
was recently erected in the city Of New Bedford, Mass, the acknowI-
bears the famous inscription. and depicting a whaloman in a small boat
In the old Quaker meeting house near New Bedford, tablets are
hung in memory of departed whalemen. those heroes of the sea who
To perpetuate for all time the romance, thrills and adventure of
the whaling INDUSTRY sGy there was recently produced produce, b by Elmer oI, Clifton IG and
Down to the Sea in Ships" and is to be the feature attraction at the
SUNBEAM CHURCH on THURSDAY, JUNE ssth
A graphic description is given of an industry, now nearly obsolete. but
which 70 to 100 years ago thnved and proved the foundation for many
their memory the real story Of what the pioneers Of the whaling in
marked the hazardous profession, Down to the Sea in Ships, was
so1,owSs tS ann nr eoq%Srs business "a s a ssr Of 81 see %fnof ot and 'P battn%r tm meP Rr al
est of all monsters of the deep.
That the whaling profession has been fraught with danger has
long been known by those more or less identified with the industry,
and when II Is known that motion picture actors, in order to lend real
ism to the new screen special. actually participated in and subjected
themselves to similar hazards, the completeness Of the Down to the
Sea i'm Ships" special can he best realized.
Raymond Mckee, vino enacts the leading role in the production,
not only mastered the art of throwing the harpcon, the principal wea-
pom of attack against the mammals. but he actually participated in the
Staying of a giant bull" whale, one that weighed close to 100 tons, and
was more than 80 feet in length. That the whale hunt, which is vivid
ly portrayed in the photoplay, was replete with thrilling adventures
and near escapes from death, Is evidenced from the fact that the small
boat, containing Mckee and five members of the whaling crew, all ex-
pert whalemen specially engaged for the cruise, were attacked by an
injured whale, which maddened with pain and anger, charged their
frail craft and hurled them into the chilly water, while their boat was
smashed to kindlng
Only the fact that the veteran whal smen knew just what to do in
such a crisis, and the fact that help was close by, presented what might
have resulted in a catastrophe. AS il was. another tradition of the in
dustry, that a whale is Of more benefit than a human life, was uncon-
sciously revived in the minds Of the rescung whalers, and before they
lent assistance to the capsized crew. they first made fast to the trailing
rope attached to the harpoon with which Mckee had first attacked the
animal. thereby insuring the impossibliy of its escape.