Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1924-09-24
Whaling Station on South Georgia.

harbor. Mail and supplies are dis
tributed by water despite the prev
alence of rough weather.
Port Stanley, capital of the Falk-
lands and its dependencies, has a
population of about 900 people, third
of the entire population Of the Falk-
lands. The harbor is excellent, being
practically land-locked, and flanked
by high rock ridges which screen its
waters from the winds. Situated as
it is near Cape Horn, this harbor has
long been a refuge for ships battered
by rough seas in their trips around
South America. Even now scarcely a
month passes that some vessel minus
a mast, or otherwise crippled, does not
limp into Port Stanley. Because of
this strategic position the little town
has built up a considerable ship-repair
industry.
Few British colonies are as isolated
as the Falklands. Save for struggling
ships or whalers the islands have con-
tact with the outside world only once
each month through mail steamers
plying between Great Britain and the
coast of Chile. During the World
war this isolation was broken by I'M
welcome visits from German waroes-
sells. Numerous whaling ships operat-
ing from the Falklands were sent to
the bottom, and in December, 1914, a
German squadron fresh from having
defeated the British in the Battle of
Coronel off the Chilean coast, APP
preached the Falklands with the idea
of Selling them. But a strong British
naval force was in Port Stanley harbor
and in the ensuing battle of the Falk-
lands all but one of the German ships
were sent to the bottom.
The Falkland Dependencies.
BY official proclamation in 1917,
Great Britain added to the Falklands
colony thousands Of square miles
known as the Falkland Island Depend
encies. These include the island of
South Georgia east of the Falklands,
the South Odkneys and the South
Shetlands, somewhat farther south
than Cape Horn and Graham Land and
Coats Land, the former largely within
the Antarctic circle and the latter
wholly within that zone of cold. None
of these lands save South Georgia can
be inhabited by Europeans the year
round, but they and their neighbOring
waters are extremely valuable because
Of their whale fisheries. This is now
the worlds most important whaling
region, contributing a greater catch
annually than all other whaling areas
combined
SO long as other regions were well
stocked with whales, only desultory
whaling was carried on near the Falk-
lands. The industry has been con-
Quoted in earnest in these waters only
since the beginning of the present CEN
fury. 1t was left to the enterprise of
Norwegians to open the field, and
these modern vikings dominate the
industry. Whaling adds much to Port
Stanley's Importance and prosperity.
This Is the chief supply station and
base of operations. Oil is the princi-
pal product derived from whales. 1t
is extracted from the fat of the ami
mails in factories operated during the
open season on the shores of the de-
tendencies, or in floating factories"
former ocean steamers fitted up for
the purpose, which follow the whal-
ing fleet around. All whale products
are cleared from Port Stanley, and
constitute the Falklands' chief ex-
port, greatly surprising wool and
mutton in value. During the World
war when there was great demand for
whale oil as a basis of glycerine for
explosives, more than $5,000,000 worth
of oil was exported annually.