Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 137, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 18 June 1918 — LAST PORT MADE BY PELORUS JACK [ARTICLE]

LAST PORT MADE BY PELORUS JACK

FAITHFUL DOLPHIN SUCCUMBS TO INFIRMITIES OF AGE. After Piloting Ships 35 Years, He Grieved for Absent Friends and About War. Sydney, Australia. Pelorus Jack is dead. The famous New Zealand pilot fish had conveyed steamships frawi yVellington to Nelson at a point .near French Pass for the last thirtyfive years. According to Ben Ruddles, the tarry-handed, bronzed, and bearded bo’ sun of a British freighter, the finny pilot died from the infirmities* of old age aggravated by grief of the war. j “I knew Pelorus Jack back in 1886,” said Ben Ruddles, "when I was bo’sun of the old Wanagatiki, running be-' tween Australia ahd New Zealand, and he was a smart, young dolphin dazzling blue and white in color and about fourteen feet long. ' “In those days Jack, as the fish was ' known by all men in the coasting and , deep-water trade to New Zealand, i could swim like a streak, and moved ; so fast that when the sun wa. shin- I ing strong all the officen. on the bridge and lookout forward could see was a flash as he jumped out of the ■ water ahead to show his dexterity.

“Jack always kept on the starboard bow as he knew that was the Captain’s side of the ship, and was a regular nautical aristocrat in manner. Skippers who followed Pelorus Jack never grounded on any shoals or hit rocks, and this became so well known that many of the older mariners would not go thru French Pass unless he was ready to pilot them. “They all took a delight in feeding him with pieces of beef and small fresh loaves, which Jack had a great fondness for. One of his best friends was Captain Inman R. Sealby, of the White Star Line, who afterward had the Republic, and the two were so chummy that Jack would miss two or three vessels when he knew that Sealby was about to leave Wellington for Nelson. “In *904 some young landlubber, with more money then sense, came along in his yacht and fired a shot at the old pilot fish as he came under the bow and knocked a chunk off his starboard fin. This cruel act upset Pelorus Jack so much he swam away and was not seen for three months, and many of the coast skippers believed that he had given up his job. “Finally the New Zealand government sent a dispatch boat to look for him, and Jack was discovered hiding up a small inlet in a lonesome stateand brought back to French Pass. To protect him from further attacks the governor of New Zealand issued a special order in council establishing a fine of SSOO for any person who attempted to injure Pelorus Jack. “Just before the war began it was noticed that the famous dolphin was turning gray and was showing his age in other ways. He took on a shovelnosed whistling grampus called Billy to teach him the pilot business, but Billy had lost his port headlight, and had to carry so much starboard helm that he was continually going aground. Then Jack got hold of a frisky young dugong named Wiffin which indulged in so much skylarking around the nips that the officers would not trust him, and the sailors used to chuck coal at him to chase him away. ‘What with his age and sciatica, in the part which wagged his tail, and missing all his old friends who had been called away to the Atlantic trade by 'he war, Pelorus Jack just pineo away and died. His body was found on the sandy shore near French Pass, and out of respect for his long and faithful services the crew of a coast steamer dug a trench and put the body of the old finny pilot in it on a bed of seaweed and planted a blue gum tree at the head and tail to mark the spot.” Ben Ruddles, who seemed much affected by the death of Pelorus Jack, said that after the war the officers and men in the Australian and New Zealand coast trade would take up a co’lection for a monument to the only fish ever known to have been honored by a special order in council.