Year: 1878

a WHALES FIERCE Battle ron
LIFE.-A letter in Panama paper tells
how hard whale fought, tba. vas pur-
sued by whaler's crew. The wsiler
ssys:


"We lowered our boats for whales.
Mr. Martin, our nrst mate, soon fas-
tened 10 large one, which stove bis
boat slightly, but this one was soon
killed and brought along side. In the
mesntime, The second mate, Dir. Han
cock, bad chased The y hsles long way
off 10 leeward. aud fastened TO an eigh-
iy-barrel fellow, and got slightly stove
IN doing SO. The whale acted very
ugly. At the least noise from the boat
be would rush toward it, Iashing the sea
with bis flnges and obliging Mr. Han
cock 10 keep at respectable distance,
he being alone at the time, and his boat
stove and leaking badly. Every time
SIR. Hancock would try to get near the
whale, the monster would rush toward
the boat. Sometimes he would raise
his head out of the water and appear 20
be listening for the least noise, turning
slowly round and then all at once down
would go bis head and up his tail, and
the sea would be lashed INTO foam.
In short time the third mate arrived
on the scene Of action, and was ordered
BY the second mate not TO fasten 70 the
whale, bat to play 'loose boat" that
is, not being encountered with line
fast 10 the whale, he could more easily
row up 10 or away from him, and could
watch for a favorable opportunity to
shoot the monster with bomb lance.
IL the mean time the ship was running
down toward them, and the mate at the
masthead reported boat stove, as Mr.
Hancock bad set the signal which indi-
Gated that fact. Capl. Kelly then sen.
Mr.. Martin in the fourth mates boat to
assist in killing the whale. On his ar
rival at the scene he went boldly on and
fastened, when suddenly his boat was
badly stove and capsized. Nr. HanA
cock picked up the crew, and the first
mate went into the third mates boat
and again attacked the whale. No
sooner did the monster hear the sound
of The approaching oars than he made
for the boat at great speed, and before
they could get out of the way, struck
them, stayIng in the boat and capsiziug
il. Fortunately the whale was quiet
for a few moments, enabling Mr.. Han
cock to pick up the men, bat none too
soon, for just as they had sterned of a
short distance the whale again attacked
the stoven boat, seizing it in bis mouth
again and again and shaking il as dog
would rat then up would go his tail and
fragments OF the boat, oars, etc, would
fiy high in air.


Mr Hancock went TO the ship, and
soon returned with another boat. All
this time the whale was rushing FIRST
here and then there; at one moment on
his head, and al another on his tail The
only thing TO do was to lay ofand shoot
bombs at him, but il was difficult ieb
to get near enough 10 him for the bombs
to be eheetual, his body most Of the
time being perpendicular. The first
mate was fortunate enough 10 shoot a
bomb into the right spot, which soon
killed the whale.


The writer OF these lines has followed
whaling since 1S49, and has never seen
but one whale fight so deierminedly as
this one, who no doubt would have at
lacked and stove the ship had 1t been
near enough. The Ann Alexander and
Essex were both stove and sunk by
sperm whales.