A THRILLING WHALE FIGHT

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 281, 23 August 1919, Page 3

A THRILLING WHALE FIGHT

KILLERS V. GRAY WHALES

A TRIANGULAR ATTACK

An American naturalist happened to be on hand when some whales who desired only peace were attacked by a school of deadly enemies below tho surface and :by a well-equipped whalingvessel above. The ship belonged to a Japanese whaling company, and tho incident occurred off the Korean coast. Japan, according to the witness and narrator of this incident, is now the premier whale-hunting country of the world, and the largest and most progressive whaling company doing business to-day is the Toyo Ilogei Kabushika Ivaisha. Stories that Japanese whalers had been capturing the so-called California gray whale or devil-fish, which had not been seen oft''the California coast for twenty or thirty years, canie to the notice of (iha American Museum of Natural History. Mr. Andrews, who is ono of tho foremost living authorities on whales and whaling, and tho author of "WhaleI Hunting with Gun and Camera," went i to the Orient during tllie winter of 1911-12 I to investigate for the museum. Mr. Anj drews now tells in "Asia" how on the day after his arrival he 6aw a dead specimen of the whale the Japanese call koku kujira. He at once saw that it really was- the long-lost California gray whale! This whale is apparently not much of an offensive fighter, but he has an interesting method of dcfence both from whalers and from the "killer whale," which is 'his chief enemy and a regular sea terror. The plan of the gray, whales is to speed along the shore, hiding behini! jocks and sometimes wallow, ing half-submerged in .the surf. In. tibia way they often baffle the human hunter, as they head "straight for shoro and lio in tho breakers, where no vessel the size of a whaler dares go." And except when they are quite paralysed with fear of the killers, wno- attack in schools, "they make straight for the shore, and slide in so close to Ihe .rocks that the sea-wolves will not follow them." T' . arrival of the whajingvessel Main it Utsan gave Mr. Andrews the opportunity on tho next day, of .seeing ho »• gray whs-s conduct tiiemsolves in the face of si iltaneo:i9 attack by "killer whales" aiiu by tho human kilters. Captain MeUora; of the whaler, was. an old friend of Mr. Andrews, and asked hint to go whaling with him. Mr. Andrews went on board in the evening. When he awoke tho next morning the ship wns steaming northward about three miles from the coast, where the surf "was breaking in «, ragged whito line on the dangerous cliffs." Mr. Andrews had not long to wait 'before tho excitement began. Here is his vivid narrative of the three-cornered light he saw:— "Kujira!" It was 6 o'clock when I came on deck, ami the sun was just using out of the soa, a great red ball of fire. I was glad to see tbe sun, for the wind cut like a knife and the spray froze when it wan Hung across'the rigging. There was a heavy swell, the arterinath of a storm, and the Main bobbed like a cork on the great waves, i huddled up in,u corner of the bridge, partly under u cnnvaii screen, watching uiptain Atelsom guide tne snip toward shore. The mau in the 'barret' at the masthead was swinging about watching the water ahead.- Suddenly he clapped tho glasses to his eyes, gazed towards the open sea, and snouted excitedly: "iuijira!" (whalo). 1 jumped as mough a bomb had been exploded on the bridge, and whirled around just in time to see a silvery fountnin of spray shoot up almost in the eye of the sun. It hung, a moment in the air, then drifted away ou tne wind just as two other white jets spurted out ol : tlie water near the first. •■I moment later 1 saw ihree black bodies which revolved slowly and tnen disappeared in tne hollow of a great swell, instantly tne ship was all astir. The captain shouted an order to the man at the wheel, who jammed the telegraph nandlo tar over ami back into tho "fullspeed" notch, and the mate took tne bridge. The crew were rushing buck and forth along the deck. The little vessel leapt forward,' describing a long swing, ana headed for the whales. Captaiu Melsom and 1 ran forward towaru the gun platform, where the captain loosened the screw which fceid the hugo weapon fast ami swung gun iiwm side to sido to mako sure that it was working easily. Tho hundred-pound harpoon >witli its explosive point projected from tho heavy, black muzzle of the gun looked liko a medieval catapult instead of tho modern engine of destruction that it was. 1 stationed myself just behind the gun platform with one .arm about a. rope and my camera in my hands, open and ready ior instant use. In live minutes, the ship had reached the mirror-iike patches of water where the whales hftd gono down, and with her engines at "dead slow" was swinging in' a wide circle waiting for the animals to come up and blow. Suddenly three snow-white jets shot up about a quarter of a nlile away. The engine-room, i.ell clanged impatiently and the vessel leapt through the water at full speed. 'J he whales came up astern next time aud wc swung about to irtercept them, but they spouted only once, and slipped under water and headed toward tho beach. "I've got to keep them nway from shor?." Melsom shouted, "for I' can't go inside in this sea. We'll trv. to run across their bows, and head them off. - ' Tho wind had risen with the sun, and I.was deathly seasick, for even liie best of sailors lose tbeir sea-legs aboard one of these little eggshell boats after a long period ashore.

The Main was now tivisting and writhing about as though possessed of a demon. Every time she climbed a hugo wave, ricked uncertainly a moment, then plunged headlong down. the green slopo of a swell, I was certain she would never rise again. We circled about, eao'li time coming closer and® closer to the shore and presumably closer to the whales_. but Hie animals were still heading foi) the rocks not more than half a mile dway. Captain Melsom saw that he had not succeeded in turning tiliem away, so he steered his vessel straight toward shore. We were so close to the coast that the terrific battering of the surf sounded in a continuous roar, drowning completely tho voice of the wind. Around us tho green water was tinged wifi'i white foam swept out from the weedhung ledges of rocks. It seemed hopeless to nic to try to kill a whale in all that roar and rush, and I fervently hoped that Captain Melsom would give up the chase.

The Killers Arrive. Then something lir>miencd which made me forget my seasickness and the cold .and the wind. The man in the "barrel" with l>oth 'hands to his month was Ijollowing "Takaniatsii! Takamatsu!" ami pointed wildly out to sea. Melsom wheeled around, his face red with excitement, and shouted: "Killers! Now we'll fret 'ciu. The killers are coming. Stand by and you'll see fome fun." I jumped to the gun platform VrVlio eide of the captain, and when the sihip rose to tho crest of a huge billow we saw jialf a dozen scythelike black tins cutting the water in streaks of white foam,On they came, six abreast, their higili dorsals aloft like tho standards ovor a charging cavalry troop. They were tho dreaded killer whales, the savage seawolves, which hunt in packs, arid are, the terror of everything that swims. Just then ' the gray whales spouted two hundred fathoms away. The killers darted forward after the gray whales like bloodhounds. 'Jhcv seemed literally to ily through the water toward their victims, wlio were now blowing la/.ilv. Suddenly one of the gray whales spied the killers, and, hurling Ins gigantic body half out of the water, he turned lieaddr.wn in a long dive. Tho others followed, but by this time the racing killers had nearly ."cached them and all went down together.. The ship was running at full speed in tho wake of the v.-hales, but lay to with engines stopped at the spot where ihe animals had gone down, llelsom shouted in my ear: "The killers will bring I hem up in a minute am! there'll be >a fn'at fight. Get your camera ready, tor f. am going to shoot I lie first oiii' I see."

The camera was o[en in .my hand ami I. tried to protect it with the flap of mv coat, lint it had tjvice'been soaked when the ship dug her nesn into the heavy sea. The case was covered with ice like my boots nnd eou'-westcr. Pultinr; i.i a 6lido I tried the release. There was no result, and puali as I would tho sliut-

tni did not fall. Squatting on the gun platform, I removed the magazine-holder and found the curtain frozen solid. Tho camera was utterly useless. It was a bitter disappointment, for I might never again seo Killers in a battle, but there was nothing to lie (lone, AVe hovered for fifteen minutes ovei th« spot where the killers went down, the llain rolling dniukenly on the swell. I was watching tho man in the' "barrel," who seemed to hang half-way out of his precarious little nesti gazing at the water below, llclsom stood silently at the gun alert ami tense, ready to shoot at a moments notice. There was not a sound on tho ship, except for the retelling and groaning of a pump and the swish of lialtfiozen water in the scuppers. It seemed hours before I sow trie sailor in the "barrel" point to the starboard bow, and beard him shout: "They are coming! Look out. Look out!" A Devil Fish. About fifty fathoms off the water was "About fifty fathoms off the water was beginning to smooth itself into a glassy green patch within two circles described by tho animals swimming just beneath tho surface. A devil fish shot to the surface, followed by two ' killers. Tho huge black whale thrust itself half clear of the water, falling bock in a shower of spray aS the killers dashed for its head. The devil fish twisted about, thrashed the water with its ponderous flukes, tried to dive and escape, but the killers closed oil it. Instantly it rolled to the surface, this time almost under the bows of the ship. I saw the captain bend over the gun, the tip of the harpoon drop a little, and the next instant a blinding cloud of vapour shot into our faces. The blast of tho gun was deafening. Through the clearing cloud of smoke I saw black flukes hurtling out of the sen, and the dovil lish fell back with a tremendous, smashing blow upon tho water. Then 'the gigantio figure quivered, straightened out, and slowly sank. For the flash of a second there was not the slightest movement or any sound on the ship save the measured "flop, flop, flop" of the line on the deok as the deadweight of forty tons dragged it from the winch. Tho killers had disappeared at the flash of the gun, but before the winch brought the carcuss of the devil fish to the surface we saw all six of tlieni in full pursuit of the other two grey whales which were racing for the sliort'. I tried to follow them with my glasses, but they were lost in the 6iirf.