Papurau Newydd Cymru

Chwiliwch 15 miliwn o erthyglau papurau newydd Cymru

Cuddio Rhestr Erthyglau

24 erthygl ar y dudalen hon

jTALE OF THE APACHES. 1

,.-....... .t,sOP d'T'1 ^DITISS"…

j f0 KENTUCKY FI8K-STORY.

Advertising

._--DRILLING ALL NIGHT.

.HOW TO GET THIN.

I A CONTICT'S STATEMENT.

AUTOMATIC SI SO.

------'----------------'------"--""-----'"'"----_,-_.-,----------__-._-_---_-------------.-._-----------ROMANTIC…

A NEW RUSSIAN SHELL.

A NEW RUSSIAN SHELL.

JACK AND HIS "GROG."

Advertising

'--_--------STOBIES ABOUT…

Newyddion
Dyfynnu
Rhannu

STOBIES ABOUT IVIIA-LES. HOW THE GREENLANDERS HUNT THEM. Captain Seoresby relates, in the "Month," how one of his harpooners, having struck a young whale in order to secure the mother, saw her instantly rise, wrap her flippers round hei young one and descend, dragging about 600 feet of line out of the boat with marvellous force and velocity. Again she rose to the surface, darted furiously to and fro, frequently stopped short, or suddenly changed her direction, giving every possible intimation of agony. The boats continued to pursue her closely for a length of time, while she, poor creature, seemed utterly regardless of the dangers which sur- rounded her. At last one of the boats ap- proached so near that a harpoon was thrown at her, then a second harpoon and a third, still she did not attempt to escape, but allowed the other boats to approach, so that m re harpoons were attached, till in the course of an hour the poor animal was killed. Though there was something painful in the deliberate destruc- tion of a creature evincing such heroic affection for its offspring, yet this feeling of compassion quickly gave way to the object of the a.dventnre- the value of the prize and the exciting joy of the capture. The fidelity of the male and female whale to each other exceeds that of most animals. Anderson, in his History of Green- land," mentions that some fishermen, having struck one of two whales, a, male and female that were in company together, the wounded creature made a long and terrible resistance. With a single blow of its tail it upset a boat containing three men, by which they all went to the bottom. When another boat came up the other whale still re- mained by its companion, and lent it every assistance, till at last the vounded victim sunk under the number and severity of its wounds, while its faithful partner, unahld to survive its loss, stretched herself upen the dead body of her mate and calmly shared its fate. To the Greenlanders, as well as to the natives of southern climates, the whale is an animal of vast importance and these people devote much of their time to fishing for it. When they set out on their whale- catching expedition they dress themselves in their best apparel, imagining that if they a,re not cleanly and neatly clothed the whale, which detests a dirty, slovenly garb, would certainly avoid them. In this manner about 50 persons, men and women, set out together in one of their large boats. The women take with them their needles, thread, and other implements to mend their husbands' clothes in case they should be torn, and to repair the boat if it should happen to receive any damage. When the men discover a whale they strike it with their har- poons, to which are fastened tubes two or three fathoms long, made of seal-skin inflated with air. The huge animal, by means of this kind of bag, is in some degree compelled to keep near the surface of the water. When he is fatigued and rises the men attack him with their spears till he is killed. Then they put on their spring jackets, made all of one piece, of a dressed sealskin, with their boots, gloves, and caps, which are laced so tightly to each other that no water can penetrate them. Thus attired they plunge into the sea and begin to slice off the fat all around the animal's body, even from those parts that are under water, for their jackets being full of air, the men do not sink, and are able to keep themselves upright, standing as it were in the sea. At Vancouver's Island, the storms blowing directly from the North Pacific bring many whales which, getting out of their latitude and fatigued with fruitless struggles, are cast upon the coast. As the receding tide leaves the whales they lash their tails, unable to regain deep water, and make a low, guttural sound as they vainly try to spout. The native canoes, which are made of the trunk of a tree i ollowed out by fire, are instantly launched. The only weapon used is a barbed spear,to which is tied a sealskin bag filled with air, and te this a rope made of seaweed is attached, acting as an anchor to the bladder or rope. A. pole is fitted into a socket in the spear-head, and so arranged that it can be easily withdrawn, leaving the head imbedded in the body of the whale. Armed with these primitive weapons the natives set off in their fragile canoes and cast their spears, catching back the loose handles. In a short time the monster is covered with sealskin bag's. Whtn the tide begins to rise, the bladders prevent the whale from, sink- ing sufficiently to use his full strength, keeping him on the surface of the water. As the canoe men pull to the shore the lines are tightened, and gradually the poor animal moves slowly and steadily to the land. His struggles to free himself are tremendous, but all in vain struggling as a fish out of water he is hopelessly in the power of his liliputian foes. The inhabitants for miles around crowd to the shore, singing and beating drums made of the hollow bole of a tree, over which is stretched the skin of a sea lion. As soon as ihe whale is brovght beyond low-water mark the work is done, and they have only te wait till the tide leaves it high and dry.

LADY SENT TO PRISON.

AN EX-POLICEMAN'S CPaME.

KILLED WHILE GOING RABBIT…

Advertising

-------"--e__-! DRUGGED AND…

MAltRIED A CENTURY.

--------SOME CURIOUS EFFECTS…

----_--_-__----_.jFRENCH MURDERER…

i STEALING- A CHILD.

.DEATH OF VIE COUNTESS BATIING.