The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, May 29, 1898, Page 23

THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL, SUNDAY, MAY 29, 1898. “THERE SHE BLOWS!" IN MONTEREY BAY | y Shooting Whales With Bombs at California’s SEEmr——_ Fashionable Resort. : HALING to most people is ‘one of those things you read about.” They fancy that it is an occupation in- cident to certain adventur- ers who skirt the frozen brine of the on the broad bay, they can contem- plate the curious performance. The manager of the hotel is serene. He no longer yearns for a sea serpent or a “low rakish craft displaying something on her mainsail which was believed to be a skull and crossbones’; FIRING - THE BOMB. and I had for some hours been sitting in the warm sunshine, smoking idly and gazing out on the deep blue wat- ers. The whole crowd of eight of us had almost fallen asleep under the se- ductive influence of the dreamy sky and the soothing breeze from the T ey \ 72, far north and find there the cetacean in his native habitat. They picture the whaler roaming those wild w es, en- compassed by danger, verily “in the m t of alarms the scene about him white with the t field of enduring i that other whaler, the polar enting a dead monster for fifty nd swimming to the spot to find him half under the ice sheet be- neath which he died during the closed bear, miles season. To a survey of the reality of such things few people can hope to be transported. They are content to per- use the narrative of them and to leave the rest to their imaginations. But it has remained for California, among the States of the temperate zone, to add to her many other fea- # tures that of whaling upon its coast, and those tourists now in the State who wish to witness the novel sight of capturing and killing a whale need not now repair to -Alaska, but they may look out of their windows at the Hotel del Monte at Monterey, and there, he has in the whale fisherles an at- traction which, like Katisha's elbow in the opera of “The Mikado,” people come miles to see. For whaling has become an industry at Monterey. All day long there a lookout sta- tioned upon the bluffy headland above the beach spying out over the seaward horizon for a *“ . “there-s sees many of them, too, north or south far out n the ocean; and then all hands are called, and a gang of eight or a dozen men below stand anxiously watching the course of the nt mammal. - Generally he pe on, frequently to supplement the jons on the Cliff House rocks in affording entertainment to the vis- itors at that resort. But sometimes, and to the number of four or five a month, a spouter will navigate into the great bight of the ocean which forms Monterey Bay, and employ him- self while he is swimming along in feeding upon the small fish with which the waters of that place teem. A few days ago I took a hand in Kkilling one of the largest whales ever taken in Monterey Bay. The whalers south that swept over the pine-clad sandhills of Point Pinos. Suddenly the lookout yelled: “There she blows.” Of course the whale in question did not “blow” at all, because it was not a blowing kind, but different men took up the cry, and soon it reached our ears. And we well understood what it meant. The captain of the boat's crew Jumped to his feet and made a dash for the boat, the silver dollars I had paid for the privilege of going along merrily jingling in his pocket. He called to me to “jump.” Of course I jumped, scarcely realizing which end was up in the excitement that took possession of all hands. Then there was a sudden clatter and skurry ons the beach. People seemed to come up out of the ground and rush for a point of vantage to see the chase. ‘While our boat was shoving off another boat was doing the same and by the time we were through the tiny line of breakers the other boat was almost be- side us. Both crews were bending to thelr oars with full strength. We cut through the water with the greatest ease and sent the spray flying over us in a cloud. When we reached a position where we could see the whale—about a mile from shore—the two boats separated and pulled in opposite directions, each describing a half circle. By this man- ner we got the whale between us and the shore. At a signal from the captain in my boat both crews began to pull together again, and we had our whale where we wanted him. He did not like our ap- pearance, evidently, for he retreated, but in doing so only got nearer to shore. This was just what the captain wanted, and we kept on until he be- came frightened, and in shifting about to make his escape he began to dive. But he had unwittingly beer going in- shore all the time. On the first dive he bumped his nose and came to the sur- face more flustered than ever. He was cleverly cornered, and I guess he knew it. Now was our chance and the gun in the bow of the boat was made ready for firing a bomb into him. This instrument looked very much like a short barreled musket of about an inch and a half bore. ivot much of a charge of powder was used to fire the bomb, as the distance was not great. The bomb is much like a small shell, such as is used in the army, but loaded with fulminate of mercury iastead of powder, and having a long tube attach- ed to it. ‘When the captain was all ready to fire he signaled to the rowers to cease pulling. In an instant the boat lay still and a hush seemed to fall over us. Then came a report like a small can- non. Instantly the whale realized that something was wrong. At first he straightened out and then began to lash the water into foam, showing plainly that the shot had struck a vital spot. We pulled away from the scene, but had hardly gone more than a hundred feet before the time fuse on the bomb reached the fulminate and there was another explosion. This fairly ripped the whale open and filled the air with fragments of flesh and reddened the water with blocd. It was not a pleasant sight and I felt a sinking feeling come over me. But this vanished a moment later when with a shout both boats’ crews pulled for our victim, which by this time had turned over on his back and lay quiet, with his giant spatula of a tail falling limply downward. It s when this moment comes that the whalers display the greafest ac- tivity. The great bulk of a carcas: like a dereli't at sea. lies there floatin: but the men g-t ropes around the fins and tail and they tow the monster toward the lanl. When he gets close into the beach he will ground in about knee-deep water and the. the rope ends are carried up on the land, where they are made fast to posts. Thus moored the work of denudation begins. The sharp bladed spades a. brought and long razor-edged knives seam the black and naked skin with white streaks as the blubber lips curl upward to the incision. The fat is a foot thick, and as it is peeled off it Icoks not unlike fractions of the flesh of some giant cocoanut. As the carcass Is stripped the blubber is floated ashore by men who drag it with hooks on the ends of long poles. On reaching shore it is quickly cut up and thrown into a boiling kettle, where it is reduced to oil. This is sent to San Francisco to be refined. This stripping usually requires a whole day, after which, if the site of the catch is r distant from the town, the remains are drawn up on the beach, where they are left to rot, in order that the bone of the skeleton may be se- cured. This is a valuable product, bringing several cents per pound and weighing sometimes several tens. But generally the flesh of the Mon- terey whales is not thrown to the birds in the literal se Although the meat is coarse in texture and not over deli- cate in flaver et it is meat for the Chinese fishermen who form a colony at Monterey. When the whale haul has been made they anxiously watch the operations of taking off the blubber, and when these are completed and the body abandoned by the Caucasians, the Mongolians fall upon it and industri- ously ply their knives in cutting away the flesh. The odor of whale steak ascends from many a Celestial frying-pan while the carcass is still fresh. Particular parts, such as the brains, sweetbreads and even the kidne like those of the por- poise, are esteemed as delicacies, while cutlets of the muscles are spread out on racks to dry for some mysterious purpose, not unconnected. perhaps, with shipments to China. The Japan- ese fishermen also engage a share of the whale refuse, but they use theirs for bait for other fish. And, lastly, the buzzards of the bay stand a cordon over the ultimate offal. Most of the whales that come into Monterey Bay are of the variety called sulphur bottoms, a name given them because of the yellow color of their bellies and of their habit of swimming deep in the sea. These are as large as any other of the genus, but they are of the species that is without baleen, or whale bone, and therefore are val- ued only for their blubber. Still, there have béen instances where the sperm whale, with their mouths full of bone slabs that aggregate a ton each, have got Into the shoal waters of the bay and have been captured. Such a whale is a mighty prize to the captors, for the bone is by far the most valuable part of the whale’s anatomy, being worth, ac« cording to quantity and state of mar- ket, sometimes as much as $7000. The bowheads and right whales do not venture cut of the Arctic seas, but the humpback and the black fish whale, the latter the smallest of the order, both distinguish the bay by their visits. These whales vary from ten to thirty tons in weight, and are worth to th-ir takers from four hundred to eight hun- dred dollars each. Of their entire bod- ies about two-fifths are blubber, and a ton of blubber yields néarly two hun- dred gallons of oil. This brings from thirty-five to forty cents per gallon. Whales enter the bay at all seasons, but are most plentiful in the winter time. It has only been within the past two years that the taking of whales has been regularly prosecuted as an in- dustry at Monterey. They were very plentiful there three vears ago, and in a desultory way they were captured from ti.ae to time, the presence of a baleen whale being suffi- cient to excite a stampede on the part of the whole fishing populace. But un- til lately no one thought enough of the toothed whales to bother with them for their blubber. There are now, how- ever, not less than a dozen men at Monterey who make their living by catching these whales. As yet only row boats are employed in the service; but soon small steam vessels will be used, and then it will be possible to pursue the cetacean as far as he can :Jgaf!gbhtteg. Thenllt may be expected attles royal will o coast of the ba.}". goTion the ORTUNATELY for the number- less candidates for forensic hon- ors, no special gift is needed for the attainment of reasonable success at the bar. It is true that a certain minimum of intelligence is required ¢ven for this, and it would, no doubt be held actionable to-day, as it was some centuries ago, charge a lawyer with being a fool, esp adds intensity to the slur. The reason given being as true to-day as it was | then, that, however unnecessary it might he for a parson (a point which was not directly ruled upon), it cer- tainly was necessary for an attorney to be endowed with some intellectual capltal. Herein the lawyer is more fortunate than the poet. Horace, no mean judge himself, insists that neither men nor gods nor booksellers will tolerate medi- ocrity in poets, but he generously dis- tinguisges in the lawyer's favor. In certain things a* medium is endurd ries Dessala’s eloquence in vain, otty point of law explain ellius, yet may justly claim, vice, some right to fame; ter'd post denies ing or ac 1 and man, at poets are adling size. For Messala and Cascellius read Car- ter or Choate or Parsons, and the lines are as true as when they were written. Of course, the youthful and ambitious aspirant feels quite confident that he will be a Cascellius or a Messalz, which is all the better; he will not strike high if he aims low. But he will admit that he moral applies to the other young »n who are to be his contemporaries not his rivals. It is a common and vulgar error to suppose that there are special rules of action for the attainment of success at the bar—a special drill, as it were, that fits the stu ‘and 1¢ e of 1 to | fally with an expletive prefix that | t for his chosen |oyn. RKRVRUQS 3 5 calling. If there be any such, they have escaped my observation. Whatever the dignity of the profes- sion, it does not stand in this respect upen a different plane from other pur- suits. The rules of morals, of arith- | metic, of common-sense, of expediency | are the same for the lawyer as for the | less fortunate and distinguished mem- | bers of the human family. He cannot add to or detract from the ten com- | mandments nor from the revised stat- | utes because of his exalted calling. | Diligence, sobriety, self-denial, char- acter must enter into his stock in trade or he will be a bankrupt, provided he has assets to justify the designation. | He must be patient and long-suffering, he must learn to see others who are, he is quite sure, his inferiors, rise rapidly to honor and preferment, while he waits, chafing in obscure neglect. All of us cannot have a bank presi- dent in the ascending line of our genea- logical tree; kindly uncles like those in the English plays, are not often on hand to pat the nephew on the back, to call him a sad dog and give him a huge leather pocket book filled with Bank of England notes. In other words only the very few have the paths cleared for them by kindly gentlemen who have a decent regard for the ties of blood. Most of us must do the clear- ing away for ourselves, and if we are what we ought to be may rejoice all the more in the triumph that is our Though_ the yeperable relatlvg. | RGN AN NN RN NN RN NRRNNRARRRRRAURURURURRBERRUREIRIRRRIIIRIRIRIRIERN 38982828388288838883885388893988898983898889828288883389338883? HOW TO SUCCEED AS A LAWYER. BY ATTORNEY FREDERICK COUDERT, of New York. who sends the early retainer and makes the payment of rent merely a perfunc- ‘| tory and easy operation, should not be mentioned lightly even by those who know him only through report. If there is one quality which more than any other commands respect and deserves success it is the faculty of self-denial, a Teal and genuine capacity to stifle inclination In small as well as great things, especially in small ones. No other ingredient enters so largely into success as this capacity to turn one’s back deliberately on the pleasant R A A A A R L R R L L R R R R L R R R R R things of life and to take up, gravely and cheerfully, its disagreeable duties. The upward steps are rough-hewn and hard to the feet. The siren’s lay is as | sweet to-day as when wise Ulysses | stuffed the ears of his comparions so that her music would not draw them | s s 8| s 8 s frem honor and duty and turn them | into swine. Nature abhors and frowns upon effort; she soothes the path of the | siuggard, the self-indulgent, the vain | ud the foolish with her sweet melo- | dies. Tt Is easier to sleep than to watch, | 10 glide with the easy current than to (N earth-holdings of Uncle Sam. Phillippine Islands. SESNOTSET s gAILS THE-PHIL o, - : (NTRE DAL S The old saying that “The sun never sets on the domin- fons of her Britannic Majesty,” may now be applied to the By a glimpse at the map it is read- 1ly seen that when the sun rises at Eastport, Me., it has not yet set at the And when it rises at the Philippines it has not set even on the coast of California. The possession of the great Asiatic group gives Uncle Sam his first equatorial territory and places him in a position to enjoy any kind of climate he may desire, and to dwell among the most diverse races. If the climate of Washington, Denver, San Franclsco or Alaska is not suitable to his state of health, he can sail for Manila, where the average native finds it comfortable to dwell the year round without clothes. ON-{j breast the waves and fight the tempest. Success, like the kingdom of heaven, can only be taken by storm. Easy go- ing disciples of Epicurus think that the game is not worth the candle, and that a result that costs so much Is too ex- pensive. They may be right, but they are not of those who desire to succeed In an arduous profession and who be- lieve that the honor and greatness of the reward are worth a hundred fold more than the cost. Perhaps this is the place to add that in the law, as in other callings, hon- esty is the best policy. I have heard this frequently asserted, but I am not quite convinced that it is true. I have known sorry knaves in every profession or trade to achleve what they and many others might call suc- cess, and it was success if by that word is meant the diversion of considerable sums from the pockets of others into their own, without any violation of the penal code. But perhaps ® success means some- thing more and implies, of necessity, the coerced and deserved respect of good men. Be this as it may, that honesty will always be frail and open to suspicion which is fed by the belief that it pays better than its opposite. If the younger men will look at the seniors who have achieved real success they will not need to be told that these men were loyal and true, whether ft was policy or not. end. If he is a real man he will succeed without set rules, If he be not, then, being only the image of a man, he may deceive himself and his friends with the belief that fortune has been a step- mother and frowned on him from his birth. Why disturb him and them if they are thus made happy? F. R. COUDERT.