This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1909 Excerpt: ...by whalers "brit" and "bait," forms a major part of their food, these little crustaceans, which are found swimming close to the surface in good weather and sinking deeper when big seas are running, swarming in such quantities as to give the sea in their vicinity a decided pinkish tint. The humpback, however, has a ...
Read More
This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1909 Excerpt: ...by whalers "brit" and "bait," forms a major part of their food, these little crustaceans, which are found swimming close to the surface in good weather and sinking deeper when big seas are running, swarming in such quantities as to give the sea in their vicinity a decided pinkish tint. The humpback, however, has a fondness for herring and other small fish, and will chase schools of these close to shore, often going miles up the sounds and straits in southeast Alaska. In feeding upon the "bait" the whale swims round in a huge circle several times among them, causing them to huddle even closer together, then changing his course he charges with wide-open jaws through the school he has thus rounded up, and feasts. In many ways the operation of a shore whaling station, as this style of plant is called, is quite different from deep-sea whaling as practiced by the whaling fleets for several hundred years past. In the latter, after the whalebone and blubber has been taken from a. captured whale the carcass is discarded, the vessels having no facilities for handling any other part of it. At the whaling stations, on the contrary, every portion of the animal is utilized in some way or another. The station of the Tyee Company is favorably situated for whaling in the waters of Chatham Straits, Frederick Sound, and Stephens Passage, in which large schools of whales congregate at times, while the open ocean is distant but a few hours' steaming. The company's steamer, Tyee, jr., has the lines of a yacht, is 97.9 feet in length, and 17.7 feet beam. In the extreme bow of the steamer is one of the Svend-Foyn harpoon guns. This gun is heavily constructed throughout and has a bore of 3 inches. The harpoon is a very heavy missile, weighing several h...
Read Less
