CAPTURE OF WHALES

New Zealand Times, Volume LXXI, Issue 4302, 11 March 1901, Page 5

CAPTURE OF WHALES

exciting incident AT TITAHI, BAY. J ' ■ 3 ‘ ■ - Yesterday morning two whales were 3 killed in the above locality,, under _ or- \ eumstances very, exhilarating - ,to ... .-‘ho party which performed the not usually easV feat. The party in question ■ coxu ; Sting of Messrs' Stuart. Menteath- . Charles Allen and two others, were about -* to set sail on a fishing expedition when they saw the two cetaceans enter the bay in sportive fashion. They were oi “bottle nosed’’ variety, cow and calf, and they were evidently b®t on businesssweeping in with a great air of deaerate • purposef In a very short tnM sto powerful strokes of their big . flukes brought them close to the beao% and presently it appeared as if they hod been stranded. mat had happened ap- , patently was that the creatures had come in to shoal water to rub tbeor off on the sand, got close .to the_ground, turned their heads to . on their barnacles with great demonstrativeness, tossing up huge volumes or water and spray m the P r °P°®?> r they, seemed to imnoy exoeedmadfr r tide was about half flood, and making fast, so that their berth was in water of increasing depth. As the water flew above them and the_ sand was churned up from below them it was speedily evident that if an attempt at capture was to be made no time was to he lost. The plan of attack was. therefore, , quickly formed- and developed.... ■•. Mr Allen, with a Winchester rifle,- made a flank movement round the hay along the beach, and Mr Menteath followed with a formidable set of “grains (harpoons) anp a rope, which ho procured while his pph league was moving into action, the boot, . with the other two, keeping out on the bay ready be bead off any attempt at & bolt to the blue. Very soon'the storming party opened,fire with his Winchester and for some timei maintained brisk fusillade. Tho. result .was a ■ ous display of waterworks, the fash making desperate efforts, tp get olf :f yne ground. At the third shot the calt gave what whalers call the flurry thafcusually follows a fatal, wound, and the effect-was as that of a whole’ submarine mine bred going off in prolonged explosions. After a few rounds more the big whale displayed the same symptoms, developing an energy truly tremendous, the great flutter of the tail being in very powerful evidence.' , ’At this' stage, . though .the water was dyed with blood for a rood or two, the, fish seemed still strong/and- • began to plunge, slowly seawards, Ine. grains ariving -at this opportune (moment the home in the water, the big whale being firmly fixed. The boat party arriving simultaneously did very useful work, turning their attention to the bigger fellow, which riookedi like dragging its captors, reinforced by a few residents attracted by the firing, who had been promptly‘commandeered-;-! for hauling purposes, slowly to sea in spite of the rifle fire judiciously poured itt - from the Winchester. The arrival of Hie boat across the course turned the much worried cetacean in a direction .where she speedily got deeper into the-tsand. The calf, having revived from its “flurry; ’ had in the meantime got afloat and-was making steadily seaward.hy the shortest line, that past'the northern- point, of Titahi Bay.'' A short, exciting race-en-sued; for a few moments it seemed, as if the fish would _gefc'away, but finding itself unable in its weakened state to pass the; boat, jit'' swerved 'towards , ; the beach, was qnickly sijranded; and speedily-. despatched with more rifle fire, a number of willing hands having by this time got into the hunt. : - , . ■ - . .: ' By this time the fate of the other fisn ■ had been decided, but it was a couple pf, hours before the work of: killing, .and' hauling up close to high water mark' was over. The. wholeVof..the population/-of ’ Titahi and! a portion- of that of the surrounding .district were in ,at, tha-ojeath. Several ladies witnessed the finish. There were,, some amusing accidents, incidental to the work—shower baths death out . liberally fay tha “flukes,’’ people tumbled,, backwards ito' the shoal'water by break-’ ing ropes,' men knocked about by un- ' expected contact with the big struggling.. bodv, and,at a later stage there was much photographing. The dimensions of- - the larger whale wdre found on measure- , mtent to bo—length 20feet, girth 9 feet 4 inches, sUoiit 2 feet; spread of tail 4. feet 4 inches ; and the calf proved to lie 11 feet 3 inches iii length, 6 feet. in,girth and 2 feet 7 inches between the points of the flukes. The fish have'been handed to a local resident, expert in.whaling, who possesses thd necessary “trying out plant,” and; will begin work on them today or to-morrow. . ■■ ■-'* >