Jasper County Democrat, Volume 1, Number 34, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 3 December 1898 — A WHALE’S REVENGE. [ARTICLE]

A WHALE’S REVENGE.

Destroyed Boats aud Men Because Bet Calf Was Killed. A widely-known and feared devilfish has its headquarters in the north- ; ern Pacific, mostly along the American coast, especially affecting the j Gulf of California. crea- j ture is a mammal, one of the great whale family, really a rorqual of medium size and moderate yield of oil. Only the elite of the Yankee whalemen, dexterous and daring as are all the tribe, can hope to get “to windward” of the diabolically cunning giants whom they abuse with such fluent and frequent tlow of picturesque profanity. It is a peculiar characteristic of this animal that it seems ever on the alert, scarcely exposing for one moment its broad back above the sea-surface when rising to spout, and generally traveling, unljke all its congeners, not upon, but a few feet below, the water. For this reason, and in this fishery alone, the whalers arm themselves with iron-shafted harpoons, in order to strike with greater force and certainty of direction & whale some distance beneath the surface. A standing order, too, among them is never by any chance to injure a calf while the mother lives, since such an act exposes all and sundry near the spot to imminent and violent death. Neglect of this most necessary precaution, or more probably accident, once brought about a calamity that befell a fleet of 13 American whaleships which had been engaged in the <c bowhead” fishery among the ice-floes of the Arctic-Pa-cific. In order to waste no time, they came south when winter set in, and by common consent rendezvoused in Margharita bay, Lower California, i for a month or two’s “devil-fishing.” i The whales were exceedingly abuni -Lint that season, and all the ships ! were soon busy with as much blubber a y'.- y could manage. The ease with < ; ich the whales were being obtained, l however, led to considerable careless- | ness and forgetfulness of theffact that 1 the whale never changes its habits. I One bright morning, about three j w'eeks after the opening of the season, i the whole flotilla of 52 boats, four from each ship, had been lowered and were making their way as rapidly as possible to the outlying parte of the peat bay, keeping a bright lookout for “fish.” Spreading out fan wise, they were getting more and more scattered, when about near the center of the fleet some one suddenly “struck” and get fast to a fish. But hardly had the intimation begn given when some-

thing very like panic seized upon the crowd. In a moment or two the reason was apparent. From some cause, never definitely known, a harpooner had in striking a large cow whale transfixed her calf at her side with his harpoon, killing it immediately. The mother, having quietly satisfied herself that her offspring was really dead, turned upon her aggressors like a veritable demon of destruction. Every blow was dealt with an accuracy and appearance of premeditation that filled the superstitious Portuguese, who formed a good half of the crews, with dismay—the more so that many of them could only guess at the original cause of what was really going on. The speed of the monster was so great that her almost simultaneous appearances at points widely separated made her seem übiquitous; and as 6he gave no chance whatever for a blow, it certainly looked as if all the boats would be destroyed seriatum. Not content with dealing one tremendous blow at a boat and reducing it at once to a bundle of loose boards, she renewed her attentions again and again to the wreckage, as if determined that the destruction should be complete. Utter demoralization had seized even the veterans, and escape was the only thought governing all action. But the distance to shore was peat, and the persistence and vigor of the furious leviathan, so far from diminishing, 6eeraed to increase as the terrible work went on. At least two boats did succeed in xeaching the beach at a point where it sloped very gradually. The crews had hardly leaped overboard, to run their craft up high and dry, when close behind them in the shallows foamed and rolled their relentless enemy, just too late to reach them. Out of the large number of wellequipped boats that left the ships that morning, only these two escaped undamaged, and the loss of the season’s work was irremediable. Over 50 men were badly injurerY, and six, one of w hom was the unhappy origin of the whole trouble, were killed outright. The triumphant avenger of her slain offspring disappeared as silently as she had carriea on her deadly warfare, as far as could be known unhurt, and with an accumulated hoard of experience that would, if possible, render her more of a “devil” to any unsuspecting whalemen w£o should thereafter have the misfortune to meet with and attack her than she had proved herself to be already. Dejected and crippled, the fleet lost no time in getting away from the spot and fleeing north to San Francisco, there to rent for other and more profitable fishing grounds. —Cornhill Magaaine.

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