Read Antarctic Whaling at Grytviken, South Georgia Island

Antarctic Whaling at Grytviken, South Georgia Island

Robert Cushman Murphy

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Description:Kindle version of vintage magazine article originally published in 1914. Contains 23 Kindle pages, with 8 pictures.Lots of great information on Antarctic whaling and sea elephant harvesting at Grytviken, South Georgia Island.Read excerpt -The whaling industry at South Georgia is, of course, of the modern Norwegian type, the whales being killed with bomb-harpoons shot from cannon. Through the kindness of Captain Larsen, whose courtesy and hospitality were unfailing, I spent twenty-four hours on board the Fortuna, the first whale steamer that ever hunted in South Georgia waters. When we arrived, about the middle of a bright December forenoon at the bank where the whales feed, some thirty-five miles off the coast, we saw an astonishing number of spouts in all directions, the thin, high spouts of finback whales being readily distinguishable from the bushy spouts of the fatter, more desirable humpbacks. Eleven other steamers were within sight of us when we began hunting, and often two or three would start in pursuit of the same spout. After much maneuvering Captain Lars Anderson succeeded in bringing the Fortuna's prow over a pair of rising humpbacks, and, tipping up the breech of the swivel-gun, he sent the eighty-pound, bomb-pointed harpoon crashing into the lungs of the larger animal. The hemp harpoon line, coiled on a plat-form in front of the cannon, unwound more quickly than the eye could follow, and almost as soon as the smoke had cleared away the whale lay dead upon the surface. The second whale, which had dived at the discharge, rose nearby and lingered near its mate for a few moments, but made off before the gun could be reloaded. For just such cases as this the newest steamers are equipped with two guns, one on either side of the bow. During the whole morning of this day on the Georgia banks the distant "bang! bang!" of harpoon-guns was unceasing, and we were continually crossing the bows of steamers lying-to, winching in struggling whales or making their catches fast alongside with fluke chains. We passed others of the bloodthirsty little vessels with two or three huge carcasses trailing on either side, and the point of a harpoon projecting ominously from the gun, ready for more. By day the Fortuna herself was towing three air-distended humpbacks, one of which had cost two harpoons. Sometimes even three or more shots are required to kill one whale, and the gunner always notches the dead whale's fluke stump once, twice, or thrice, to indicate the number of irons, in order that the flensers may subsequently recover them.From the Fortuna's bridge the view of South Georgia, lying forty miles to the southward in the full rays of the noon sun, was magnificent. The atmosphere was of rare clearness, and it seemed as if one could almost toss a stone to the steeps of those sparkling alps. But the vista was of short duration, for presently the sleety, chilly mist of the southern ocean rolled upon us, and for the remainder of the day we twisted in calm, ghostly grayness through the squadron of our dimly seen companion steamers, the cannon reports becoming less and less frequent, and, like Captain Cook's Resolution of old, we were encompassed by a vast number of "blue petrels," or whale-birds, whose food consists of the same " krill" (crustaceans) on which the various species of whalebone whales subsist. These petrels were about us in such incredible numbers, I venture to say millions that they resembled the flakes of a snow-storm, and several were knocked into the water by every discharge of a harpoon-gun. Tens of thousands of wandering albatrosses, molly-mokes, night petrels, Mother Carey's chickens, and Cape Horn pigeons were likewise in the murky air and on the water.We have made it easy for you to find a PDF Ebooks without any digging. And by having access to our ebooks online or by storing it on your computer, you have convenient answers with Antarctic Whaling at Grytviken, South Georgia Island. To get started finding Antarctic Whaling at Grytviken, South Georgia Island, you are right to find our website which has a comprehensive collection of manuals listed.
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Description: Kindle version of vintage magazine article originally published in 1914. Contains 23 Kindle pages, with 8 pictures.Lots of great information on Antarctic whaling and sea elephant harvesting at Grytviken, South Georgia Island.Read excerpt -The whaling industry at South Georgia is, of course, of the modern Norwegian type, the whales being killed with bomb-harpoons shot from cannon. Through the kindness of Captain Larsen, whose courtesy and hospitality were unfailing, I spent twenty-four hours on board the Fortuna, the first whale steamer that ever hunted in South Georgia waters. When we arrived, about the middle of a bright December forenoon at the bank where the whales feed, some thirty-five miles off the coast, we saw an astonishing number of spouts in all directions, the thin, high spouts of finback whales being readily distinguishable from the bushy spouts of the fatter, more desirable humpbacks. Eleven other steamers were within sight of us when we began hunting, and often two or three would start in pursuit of the same spout. After much maneuvering Captain Lars Anderson succeeded in bringing the Fortuna's prow over a pair of rising humpbacks, and, tipping up the breech of the swivel-gun, he sent the eighty-pound, bomb-pointed harpoon crashing into the lungs of the larger animal. The hemp harpoon line, coiled on a plat-form in front of the cannon, unwound more quickly than the eye could follow, and almost as soon as the smoke had cleared away the whale lay dead upon the surface. The second whale, which had dived at the discharge, rose nearby and lingered near its mate for a few moments, but made off before the gun could be reloaded. For just such cases as this the newest steamers are equipped with two guns, one on either side of the bow. During the whole morning of this day on the Georgia banks the distant "bang! bang!" of harpoon-guns was unceasing, and we were continually crossing the bows of steamers lying-to, winching in struggling whales or making their catches fast alongside with fluke chains. We passed others of the bloodthirsty little vessels with two or three huge carcasses trailing on either side, and the point of a harpoon projecting ominously from the gun, ready for more. By day the Fortuna herself was towing three air-distended humpbacks, one of which had cost two harpoons. Sometimes even three or more shots are required to kill one whale, and the gunner always notches the dead whale's fluke stump once, twice, or thrice, to indicate the number of irons, in order that the flensers may subsequently recover them.From the Fortuna's bridge the view of South Georgia, lying forty miles to the southward in the full rays of the noon sun, was magnificent. The atmosphere was of rare clearness, and it seemed as if one could almost toss a stone to the steeps of those sparkling alps. But the vista was of short duration, for presently the sleety, chilly mist of the southern ocean rolled upon us, and for the remainder of the day we twisted in calm, ghostly grayness through the squadron of our dimly seen companion steamers, the cannon reports becoming less and less frequent, and, like Captain Cook's Resolution of old, we were encompassed by a vast number of "blue petrels," or whale-birds, whose food consists of the same " krill" (crustaceans) on which the various species of whalebone whales subsist. These petrels were about us in such incredible numbers, I venture to say millions that they resembled the flakes of a snow-storm, and several were knocked into the water by every discharge of a harpoon-gun. Tens of thousands of wandering albatrosses, molly-mokes, night petrels, Mother Carey's chickens, and Cape Horn pigeons were likewise in the murky air and on the water.We have made it easy for you to find a PDF Ebooks without any digging. And by having access to our ebooks online or by storing it on your computer, you have convenient answers with Antarctic Whaling at Grytviken, South Georgia Island. To get started finding Antarctic Whaling at Grytviken, South Georgia Island, you are right to find our website which has a comprehensive collection of manuals listed.
Our library is the biggest of these that have literally hundreds of thousands of different products represented.

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Antarctic Whaling at Grytviken, South Georgia Island

Antarctic Whaling at Grytviken, South Georgia Island

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