The Wrangell sentinel., 1926-12-30
The Whaling Industry
 of Alaska


 small island on almost the extrems Alaska tip of the AlentIau chain O islands. On one side of the island the seas of the North Pacific break uneeasingly, while on the opposite side of the island, 6he Bering Sea lashes it's desolate shores. Fron this station a fleet of whaling boats are operated into both seas. Four hundred eighty whales of all de seription were harpooned on the high seas last season by this com panys Whalers. which netted the company about SSQ0.000.
 From a limited research for in= formation regarding the lie an6 habits of the whale, we find no au= thentic knowledge on this subject Science does not give Us the origin or age Of this LeViathan of the deep neither do we know to a cer- tainity the whereabouts of it's habi tation.
 If we tarn to primitive history of the whales We find a similarity to many marine mammals such a. the sea-otter and some species O seals. but no corresponding lines
 
 these.
 In the whaling area of ths North Pacific ocean there are fiY6 distinct specie of the whale family of which the Blue Whale or Sul phur bottom is the largest This gigantic animal attains a length of loo feet and a height of aboUf thirty feet It weighs approximate ly I00 tons, OF one ton to the foot Nature has provided him with 2 great candal fin. and a pair flukes or flippers of about D feel in length. These, with the dorsa fin and a powerful tail to act as steering guide. enables him te swim at terrific speed The sperm, next in size with it's iln= mense head and mouth that could comfortably house q small family is valuable for the sperm oil. an6 one full size sperm whale will pro duee 200 drums of loo gallons eae of oil of which there are three grades The number of teeth vary but often as many as 240 are found on the lower part, each tooth weigh ing from one to two and one-half pounds. This whale deeomposes rapidly and must be taken to the station as soon as possible after be- ing harpooned. The Right whale comes next in size and importance from which whalebone is obtained. The Finbaek and Humpback arc about 50 to 50 feet long and easily found as they seem to sleep on the surface of the water They con fTih fa arfi meal.
 Most whales live on fish, great quantities of these are taken at one time into their mouths together with barrels of waten The fish are entangled in the meshes of the whalebone in theiE mouth The water is forced out without allow ing the fish to escape and then they are swallowed at leisure. As an idea Of the size of a whales mouth, it's tongue alone would fill a room 20x15X10 and yields from 1 5 to 20 barrels of oil besides many hundreds of pounds of fertilizer.
 The dissecting of a whale is an art and not one stroke of the knives are ever misealculated. A flineing crew of eight natives with their sharp flincing knives with slightly curved blades from four teen to eight inches long and a handle about four feet resembling a grass scythe can prepare a whale for the retorts in about four hours, where different portions of the whales are placed into different Vats and are boiled until their pro ducts are taken out for commercial purposes. The oil brings the big money and after being graded it is shipped to the markets in the states where it is used for manY valuable commercial purposes.
 The Whalers leave the station and travel in a radius of about 200 miles in search of their prey. They are speedy little vessels of about loo tons and have whale guns mounted on deck from which the harpoons are shot into their vic tins. On many cases they have to slip up on the whales very care fully as they are easily scared and will be away like a flash of light ming at a speed often said to be 40 miles an hour or greater. The male specie is often subdued by one or two well directed shots just at the base of the head, but the female with her mother instincts predomi- hating, fights furiousIy with super power and often as many as eight harpoons, each with a bomb that explodes three seconds after strik- ing, must be used before she is quieted. After a whale is killed hole is bored into the body and compressed air is pumped into the cavity and then closed. A small red flag is fastened on, and the whale floats until the whale boat has as many as it can tow in. Some times as often as four giant whale are slowly brought to the station a the result of one days work, but many times after a struggle for days with storms and heavy seas
 The mother whale carries her be loved ha ba p1oca tn b0,. a;1a