• “THERE SHE BLOWS!" THIS
IS A WHALE OF A STORY
(Seattle Times.♦
“There.she blows!” *;tng oat *
Norse .sailorman in -ith* crow’s nest
r, atop the .mainmast as jhe trained
powerful binoculars at ahuge dark
object over ..the istarboaod how.
“There she .blows!” is the efeho
ipgcry from half a dozen .men on the
< deck below.
Instantly all is. activity Aboard >lbe
little ship. Mon rush to the harpoon
. gun at the bow. The signal “Full
speed ahead” is given to the engin*
room. The .staunch little craft leaps
forward like a_a.hound in a fox chase.
Sonn.a sbo rings, out over the sea. .A
heavy steel .object .tipped like a sky
rocket speeds through the air. It
pierces the side, of a huge fiubaok
• Which .suddenly begins lashing the
waves into foam with its.gigantic tail,
then leaps clear of the water .and set
tles back in the trough of the sea.
which has. taken a reddish hue.
. Te ^Seattle. -whaling .steamer Aber
deen, unit o f the fleet of “killer
boats” of the American.Pacific Whab
...lUK Company, .has bagged another sea
mammal off Kodia .island, home of
. the world’s largest game.
Witlrher sister ships,.the Westport
. and Paterson, the Aberdeen has re
turned from her 1932 cruise on the
'.whalipg *,grounds . with .a .wealth of
stories of experiences ..with the gi
.ganic monsters of the deep. The
Moran, fourth .unit of the fleet, is due
at Bellevue on ithe east shore of Lake
Washington, today <or tomorrow.
“We have had one of our .most suc
cessful seasons,” said Captain Alfred
M. Pedersen, master and chief har
poon gunner of the Aberdeen. “And
a large .percentage of our catch con
sisted of valuable blue whaies.
‘“Is it an exciting game? I’ll s^y
it is. When you realize thai these
. big fellows can tear through the
water with the speed of an ocean
liner, you know what chances we take.
A .wounded whale often heads for the
ship. He is not charging in a spirit
of revenge, but is blind with pain and
darts here and there .carrying, his. tre
mendous bulk at the speed of an ex
press train. I have seen a wounded
whale, weighing a hundred tons, leap
clear of the seao after he had been
haipooned. Often they take the
whaling steamer with them on their
wild dash. During the past season
. we shot.a huge blue whale.at 3 o’clock
in the afternoon. He towed us about
at a speed of eight or ten miies an
. hour until 6 o’clock the next morning
before he gave up the fight. The 140
pound harpoon we use contains a
charge of powder:-which is set ..off by
a time.fuse after it is imbedded in the
whale. The explosion finishes the
whale.”
Captain Pedersen likes to tell of
. the sinking of his schooner in ibOSLby
. . a giant finback in Alaska- waters. The
big fellow, with a tremendous ..blow
with, his tail, tore oc the .stern of Cap
tain Pedersen’s.schooner and sent.the
, vessel to Davy Jones’, locker. It was
his most thrilling erperience during a
long career as. a whaler. All ha ads
.... took to the boats and rowed to -an
island where they .were ..rescued .Jjy
.... another whaling vessel.
The .North Pacific whaling industry
is recav.ering.from the depression,
v which has affected every business, ac
, cordirjgj.t-. William Schnapp, presi
dent of the American Pacific Whaling
Company of Seattle and the Consoli
dated Whaling Company of Vancou
ver, B. C.
“All vegetable fats :are higher .in
price, and iwhale oil -has adarancedjp*-*
portionatejy,” said. Mr. Schqpp. ‘"Ehis
year ).we sent .four of our seven .whal
ing steamships north and . operated
our Port Hohron ..station «on Kodiak
Island, giving employment t» -ISO
.nen.”
The American Pacific Whaling
Company also has a station at.Aku
tan, Alaska, and the ..Consolidated
Whaling Corporation.has seven whal
ing steamships .and stations at Bose
Harbor and .Narden Harbor, on Gia
ham Island. These ships and stations
did not operate this.year.
The principal .product of the .whal
ing industry is oil, but all other parts
of the big mammals .are marketed.
The dried .blood and meat, and ..the
ground bane are used as cattle ..and
chicken .feed .and..fertilizer. The oil
taken by the American Pacific Whal
ing Company this year will be shipped
in tank cars to the new plant, of Proc
tor & Gamble, soap manufacturers jsit
Long Beach. Cailf.
Some lubricating.fluids come .from
the mammals of the .sea, and .the oil
of the sperm whale is the base for
various kinds of face cream used in
beauty parlors all over the world.
This, species.alsospruduces ambergris
worth its weight in gold in the manu
facture of perfumery.
Much of the success of the .whaling
fleet depends on the success of the
harpoon gunners, nearly .all of whom
come from Norway. They are paid a
regular salary and. a bonus of $7.50 to
SI5 for each whale bagged, according
to the species
The gunners .now .make .about #1,
200 each .for ifive . months*’ work. In
former years the season netted from
S2.400 to S3,500,for each harpoon ex
pert, but that (Was ,before the blight
of business depression caused declines
in all whale products.
William St. Louis, picturesque
French Canadian and longtime resi
dent of the Northland, lost his life in
a fire which edstoryed the Niue-Mile
roadhouse cm the Richar is on high
way, a few .weeks ago. H s body was
cremated .only a few oe.u-s. te. sKuil
and pieces .of elothlngiwerc taumLhy
officers who investigated the tragedy,
rie was trapped in a small cabin back
of the roadhouse in which he lived.
His remains were found at the foot
of the bed. it is believed he Jay down
to rest .and when awakened by the u:e
I was unable to Ind his way to the door.
The cabin and roadhouse were burned
to the ground. It .was learned that
St. Louis went to Fairbanks the way
of the fire and eetunned .home .at-10
p. m. At that 1 ime-he .started -a fit**
in the roadhouse, stove, saying he
would warm up .a howl of soqp. -He
had lived at the Ninedlfile .for many
years, but had never operated it as a
roadhouse. He had been , in Fairbanks
since the taiyy days, ..working .as a
woodhauier and freighter. .Before
that time he was in-the .Klondike,
where hcop-ra-ed a.stage.from Daw
son to Bower Dominion. He .washorn
in Eastern Canada, (if) years.ago.
Friend— The house .goes back .to the
Tudors, doesn’t .It?
Host—Not a bit. I paMifoi-.it..and
mine it remains!—Ruittta
STObUi^ii immm pm
ALASKA
Groceries Clothig^
UKHDIlUNti PROM A NEEDLE TO ASS’ AASMMt*
Except a Few Missing Links
■ Come and Look Things Over.
W. T. VANDERPGOL
OUR INTERESTS AT
THE NATION'S CAPITAL
ICont itrued from Page i li)
Alaska, with headquarters in Jnnanu.
This vessel .has bean idle since being
succeeded by the new motor vessel
North ,Star, but .next, month it is ex
pected .to agaunbe in commission. ,in
the meantime its machinery will rie
overhauled and variouajmproyements
made, -and the vessel painted white,
with large red crosses , on either .aide.
It will .be u.s<-d principally, to„ c^rry
physicians, nurses rand teachers * be
tween ,-various gpqiBhs in the First .di
vision, .and be .at t.the. seryioe of .the
Governor and other Interior .Depart
ment officials.
J'VHhen . Commissioner of .Fisheries
O’Malley decided last December . -to
recommend that * commercial fishing
be allowed in the waters 500 ..yards
outside ..the . mouth of the Yukon river
from -June 15 to June 3Q, and the take
not to exceed 50,000..fish, there jaas
some, apprehension lest the order .in- j
terfere vwith the run on the Yukonj
.river. The season.’s. report indicates ,
that but 4,707 king fish were caught
at the mouth of the river by Alaskans
and that they were mild cured -and
shipped;' to Seattle. The bureau, has
j received a further report indicating
; that .the catch of salmon on the Yu
1 kon and Tan ana rivers the, past.jma
: son was .the best ever known. It is’
stated that residests.,along, the river
j have been ..able to,, buy dried fish for
4 to -5 cents a pound, and in. some in
stances .the .ysold.for.less.^than, J
; cents. While th eorder. was experi
1 mental, it is said that there is ju>w
no objection to its continuance.
The Geological. Euryey. has. j.us.t- is
! sued .a bulletin entitled “The Talon
| duk-Nation District, Alaska,” by J, B.
1 Mertie, Jr.„ which is an, initial step
[toward the future mapping _ of . this
.Yukon-Porcupine region. As yet many
geological problems thaUJiave. a. di
rect hearing upon the mineral de
posits of the Yukon-Tanana region
remain unsolved, because the country
; rock in.that region is so freatly meta
! movphoseu .as .to obscure .or destroy
rhe.necessai^v evidence.
ALASKA SEAJ.S JOIN IN
MATES OF NATIONAL 55Q»
The other day there was consider
able interest at the-National Zoolog
ical Park in Washington, D. C., war
■ thp unloading..of two for seals that
; had just made the trip fro mAiaska.
And their first act was to take, baths.
These .particular seals, of ..a species
very rare in captivity, were captured
off the Alaska coast and came to The
Zoo as gifts of the -Bureau of h.ish
• jjuries, 'they made the tong trip
across the continent in an express car.
i with an. attendant on hand to delpge
| Oiein wuh water once or twice a day.
ukj proDabJy gut somewhat dirjty un
the way, but, ii is explained by Ur.
WiJta mM. Mam., Zoo director, eren
such intelligent, animals as ->eais .do
not turn to such complicated. proc
, ceemre as scrubbing Oiemselves. as..a
response uo one emergency, they did
the job so gracefully and easily tnat
They must have known how from
| bn til.
, The seal, Dr. Mann said, still has
.many of the characteristics of the
] dog. it is about ar intelligent as the
domestic.animat, and, despite its lung
ihLstoyy in the.Mate., is easily tamed
■ and becomes a gentle pet. The VNasii
■ngton Zoo now has the only three
j tur seals in captivity in the country,
lhese two arrived in excellent. con
. ition. Usually these animals survive
well in captivity, but, Dr. luiinn says,
f in sp.ie of the fact that they live
most of t-he timc, storm-tossed water.
! they :.:c particularly prune to pnuu
j monia. ;
Not Much Difference.
“Have you bought a loud speakctT
j “No; my wife is back from ih. sen-;
|^j,de.”—Frankfurter lllustrixrte.
PLANE riypiES PRECIOUS
EABE ON TRIP TO OPHIR
.^Anchorage Timaik
OldJBart-Stork spread hHuwijxj^iin
a gleriowsyr-Bunlight sky .At Anchorage
this mornipg and sailed Away to. the
north withia precious wee -passenger—
Baby Betty I»o» Epejjack—just jene
month old.
The dainty .and 'dimpled .little 'trav
eler—*all trundled up in pink, .and silk
en cubes ..and,wraps—'took the direct
route . through the lieavens for Jkhe '
noted .did gold , camp of Ophir, and
with' her ayent J*er i proud .young
mother^Mrs. Frank. Spelgack,-and the
no lass i proud .^grandmother, Mrs. iC.
Reid.
IfcuoiAvndreiL and fifty miles direct,
skirthaKttbeAafty anowclad mountains !
that surround Anchorage, the little!
oneiand the fond .mothers beaded for
theirithome.amd te'.weloome. arms of
‘iOad” .^peiiacjc,uwgyciawer yyodder lun
te (heart of .the .great uKuakokwim.
country.
; .PinchdiittingAor MkelAig third .as
pilot is 'Oscar Winchel],,Iflycpy-a Jde- |
,Gce .Airways plane. .The little ^pas
senger-was .born in.Anchonuge .-aemt
four weeks Ago, shortly . after lira.,
■Spedjack Arrived .hpre hy plane from :
her home at Ophir. . She war met
toeee by har .mother, Mrs. C. Beid» who
came thousands of nviles'by ah ip AH d
rail from her home in iaz-awa*’ Cali
fornia to be with .her daughter and
greet, the little sourdough. .^She ex
presses hersel&aa delighted Ai th. An -
chorage.anA the hospitality of its peo
ple. Mrs. Sppljpck also was : delight
righted ( With thy .gracious, treatment
she received At the. hands, of the>peo
ple ot Anchorage.
At thCvSeachore.
“By tfap .way', did you know there is
a hotel thief hare?”
“Yes. I’m staying a the hotel he
runs.’l+rtluhUn. Opinion.
A-*« yauli Hmk(k.r£im#» u ah* sift it?
Why not joiittbc Jhhpuyethgpng ?
— Ill lirw——————an
B«fnr W^Mapir
"Lucille!"
■“J5*
"Look oulwMd ««ed»r«m> other lady
r» ustnyAba-ocaari. tf set, I may take
* rbaQi." An—to ^LaadonJ.
..Katie* <*-h*ert».«hr*a to F. W.
Carter,. Ai^B. Pjarynscry <a*cege a
Friead, iwl Hi? ©ohe 'Jfc. **ad their
heirs and* assigns, that theftr pdrtiaM
of .the MHMiMBt—ik te the year*
**U to mi, laetasit*. hu *n the
Bonanza Association pUc* mkkiqg
claim, *itu«(W an Flat <—V. tAe
tery of Otter creek, is the Otter Ba
oordinf Prectoet, Fueeth Dnitlt*
Xerrtta^y ctf Alesha, aeCt *he Hi
ad thin ninety <M) toys from SaU
heracff, or forfeit .all .-sight an! title
to said planer raining slabs.
PATSfeX. SAVACSL
Dated Plat, Alaska. Jaa. Wt, 1382.
First ipshhaartor. March A liWa.
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