IN THE WAKE OF A WHALE

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 190, 6 May 1908, Page 8

IN THE WAKE OF A WHALE

A HUGE CREATURE:. ' TRIP TO SOUTH WESTLAND.' (BT TELEGRAPH. —SPECIAL. CORRESPONDENT.) Chrlaiohurch, May 5. In two most interesting articles contributed to the " Press," . Mr.. Edgar W.-iite, curator of the Museum, describes under the title of. "In the wake of a whale" his experiences when trying to securo the big whale recently cast ashore at .Okarito, in Southern Westland. Tho journey thither and back was full of incident. Of Okarito itself Mr. Waits says:— "To-day it contains nine inhabited houses, of which t\vo are hotels. In the seventies there were no less than thirty hotels, a Custom house, many stores, and altogether it was a thriving town. There was then no road from Hokitika, and all traffic was conducted along the beach. It was told there was a constant stream of pack horses to and from tho diggings,. and the two punts each carrying fifteen horses wero'kept busy. Almost' every house of the hundred or so which formerly existed has, . been . removed,, and though not now meriting even the namo of village it is still spoken of. as the town. To one man, met across tho lagoon I said, 'Do you live on this side?' 'Oh, no,' he replied, 'I live in town.' , There ■ arcs two great influences retarding tho growth of tho place. One is the bad approach by land, the other by sea. The good effect of tho bridges over some of. the rivers is lost owing to a break in the'chain, and the rising' of the 'big Wangaiiui- may suspend , tra'ffic for days; " A bridge is greatly needed.. "The, shifting bar is the. other, .trouble, and perhaps .the main one,.for all, stores;:.etc., are normally carricd by .wator'. ,y'lt, is now four .moilth3 since tlio, vessel wis able tc enter,, and stores are at ruinous, prices. 1 was informed that very shortly;,the price ol sugar ..would bo. £1 per,.;561b.-. bag..- At present there are 300 bales 'of --flax fibre .anc 40 bales of wool in tho , sheds awaiting .tlu boat.- ■Immense .'flocks, .bf ,black- 'swam people the lagoon, and, .daily we- saw thai rare bird, the .white crane. - One. resideni told me that he'had seen eightf sitting together on a rock,'.and:!'was ..'yery. pleasec to. find that tho residents- have the great'esi regard for these birds, and ; 1. fancy thai anyone destroying one. would':'harp a"-vbrj rough time , indeed. . Here,-'too,, we saw.tht only bats.l have met witli-in.New Zealand.' • The whalo was , a specimen; of ; the ; : bluc whale,'.resembling .the hull'.'of a large . vessel ".No '.words.' of mine;" says-the .writer, "car 'convey, the'slightest idea of the enormous mass, spread before us., You may step oui 87ft;,-.but you cannot realise" the bull:;,of th< crdatjire.'-. It.proved to be-a epv? whale; anc is '-lying; on its back. Its'.lower jaw\.n:easures 22-Jft. in length, iand ■is across The tail,, is .lying .flat on the .sand,. and tb. 'fluk?s measure. 21ft. across;', It .had:,-be'ei dead -for., some' ; -weeks, iahd..-.could be, detected' by 'more ' than' one. sense'. ; Severa days and;* much, labour, were:..spent in-.try ing 1.-t'o reduce v the . bulk -of . the creature Attention, was especially, dircctod -to;Cuttin{ away the; flesh oil the lower jaw, " and>:thi beach was;, strewn with, masses', etch' as largi as an ox, and-then;but half or-less liad.bepi removed;.-It.' isr a whalebone--whale,: bui wo ascertained that the, '~bone'.'had-gone My, opinion .is • that tho' wh'alp had ;been. de.a'c Edmo time' .before' it', was c'Ast' on ' tlio • beach and that, as tho flesh rotted'away thd.balepi a-.sad; loss'to the men; for'thftj! had'aii offe ■ of £100 -for the', whalebone alone.'l,'sYiouli imagine, . however,. that .the, whalebone wa lost , after . death. -~ Our object , was to, se'eur the-, skeleton, for the-museum; but this'.prove'. to.be impossible.. ..Whale's flosh.is, exceeding!; tough',.... and ' absolutely '.no,' to.ols .were-, to - b obtained,-'excepting an bld ; hay>knife, which however, did-'remarkably. good ; service; I could bey'used .by but 'at: a; time and' .several would hn .'required, for carncs work. Then thcie .w'as .the labour, question Very ; few ; men wore; available, and as ' -.the; • M;erb oarning good wagefijit.'tho; flax and.tim ber mills, there was .evident, disinclination-,t leave such work,to cut up a whale, notwitb standing an offer,of inoreased,remuneration It appeared,, however, to-be merely a ques tion of money, and.aftpr our.return to Christ 1 church negotiations were renewed,/and Iha high hopes of. recovering: the. specimen, -bu : the; project, lias been perforce abandoned." . Mr., Waite adds th"at his efforts'to;seeur . examples-of:the New Zealand grayling, prove unavailing, though at one; time these, fis '. werb.. abundant , in .all the. districts ho-..t0 -" versed. , Tlierb. is! little, 'doubt that '.the :gra'j ling is being exterminated by-.the ,introduce ; trout. .Hejsuggests'th'at'an attem'pt be mad to preserve our -native .fishes.. Tlio- graylin . is one of the most' interesting of our fishes i and is a near, relative of;.,the.- trout itsell i The family 'the; grayling belong I has a southern distribution. 'The types c i frcsh-watpr fishes, the distribution, of whic ;' support;'tne'/theory,.of a former .Antarctic lan ' connection,. are..cPmparatiybly ,fsw. , ...No' ■ Zealand;.-types are the .torrent-fish',' tho'dan [ prey, and the grayling.-''