, "" 1 i . 1111,1 . j i) r I ' " " I , , I , ,, 1,1 Si. oo a Year, In Advance. . , FOR GOD, FOR COUNTRY, AND FOR TRUTH Single Copy, 5 CeaU. " " " ' " ' " ' " ' - ' - v W. PLYMOUTH, N, C., FRIDAY, DKCEMBER 9. '1904. NO. 38. " "V I CAPT. JIM MCMILLAN'S TAME WHALeI AN UNUSUAL FISH STORY. Qj ID you ever Lear of Cap- taiu Jim McMillan's tamo o TYa whale?" asked one of the ft J J; old-tiniers recently In a QXf down east town, with a party of seamen discussing the particulars of the Chinese difli- Without waiting for an invitation, the speaker opened up with his story as follows: "Captain Jim McMillan was a retired sea captain who moved, j with his family, to a mall island; Mown the bay, near Deer Island, N. U and under, the. protection of the Canadian (lap;. The island had a . waiall harbor in which was a used-up weir .that in former years had gath ered up herring and other salt water j llsh sq common in Passainaquoddy r flay. With a few weeks of repairing , 4he htmh enclosure. Captain Jim had ihe weir in good condition again for the jfirsti-cattli xof fisb. ;IIe, arranged the gate for the high run of tides and went home to await returns. . "They were not long in coming, for the next day, : when the. veteran . Went fl fl! to investigate his. newly-repaired weir, he was very much surprised and delighted to find an immense school of fat-looking herring , leisurely swim ming around the insWte and evidently enjoying the place. . The fish were un able to get out as the gate was closed, and there was considerable satisfac tion in his .first catch; since the fish 3ad been rather scare in the different iweirs near and the herring were in -owners at the neighboring places. 'Here -was a lucky catch, indeed, as he could quicklyfind a ready market for these large-sized herring at East tort, where they would- later find a place iu one of the big smoke-houses or be used as, mustard sardines. . "The captaiu made a visit to East liort a few hours later, told of his upply of herring alive in the weir and soon was offered a fair price; in fact, looked upon the Jot of herring as tworth $100. "When Captain McMillan returned to 3his Canadian homo down the bay a ffliv Imiirs ln'tiM' li tvfls hnnnv unrl Jiis hopes ra high. I" 'We'll have plenty to eat when I t$cll this lot of herring,' said he to his wife, who met him on the beach, 'and Til buy you a new dress before I come 'fiack from Eastport, sure.' A short '. time later In the day ho got into his lioat anjj pulled into the weir, when liis half stood on ends as he saw a ery large and black-looking object rating on the water in the narrow en " . -closure. 1 Tt looked like the body or a big jjnake and the aged seaman thought it :might be the fiilned mythical sea ser pent be had so often read about.but had never seen before. Before he -' could leave the interior the big fish ibcgaji swimming around th enclosure io a circle and it did not" take Captain (1 Jim long to get oil the outside and V ; drop tlie IS gate in place. Ills weir A; : lull of herring a few hours before bad 4jpen eaten up or gone through the everal small breaks in the side of iJbe enclosure, made by the . fish, and this was enough to cause the captain to utter a few oaths,' since no one was near at the time. 'He, watched the big fellow a few minutes in silence, then said slowly, that critter cost m $100 sure, and ho may be worth that amount if I . can get him dead or alive, but the 'latter if possible.'. IIo was not long in find- ins out that the lish he had captured iwas a very yQuu whale, and since it . was one of unusual length and very -nY.m, might be taken for a b'g snake a distance as the parts of the body ,V?an:e into view. It was not an easy Mfcattor to capture the fish alive wit 11 Vuit assistance; a'nd determining to make thev best of his recent misior--ie, Captain McMillan-set out for his $ftne hi inform his wife of the whale's visit"? nnd v.'hat had become of their cnivliot Iia-ring. "Itr.v; a big disappointment,, but fclie clieered him up with the remark iliat evon a dead whale Avas- worth Bomethiu,;.' The skipper went across to n. neighboring island for help, later iv'tnrnins with two atmen and a long coil of rope with which they ex " ''ected to capture the whale alive. Re pcaied attempts were made to get the iope under ihe mammoth ;flsh as it jfwam around inside the ivelr, but it was impossible to get near enough and finally the men had to give up the at tempt. , . ; "'There is only one way to get the whale landed safely on the beach, that I know of,' said one of the men, 'and that's to build on to your weir.' A lit tle explanation followed, and it was decided to estend one corner of the weir like the two fences of a lane, up on the beach to high water mark, then drive the big fish on shore where it could be captured when aground and helpless. "Work on the extension began that day and continued for three days, then the lane was completed all but one thing. How to make an opening for the whale to find a false escape up the beach was a question for the fisher men to solve, and it looked like an impossibility. One of the boatmen finally hit on a plan of lowering down a gate at the end, after removing enough of the? brush weir at that place, and then to hoist it out of the water again. It required sev eral, hours of hard work to construct a suitable gate and sink it into place before the weir could bo cut in the desired place, but this was finally done, and at the signal the false gate was arranged in position, then raised. Hardly had it reached the top of the water than the whale seeing what looked like a sure opening and escape in view darted up the narrow enclosure at a rapid rate of speed. "The big fish could not turn, and in less time than it takes to tell you the story was high and dry on the smooth beach. How that whale churned up tbe. water with; its, tail when the tide began turning for the ebb, but; in a few minutes the mammoth fish was as helpless as a baby. Captain McMil lan .measured the critfer on the beach and found it more than forty-five feet from nose to tail, but unusually thin for a whale. "He. did not want to kill his new found prize and was at a loss how to hold it when the tide came in again, but concluded to build, a small inclos ure around the whale on the beach and at a "future time expected to securely fasten a big hawser about the tail of the fish which would hold. He set to work and soon had the captive secure ly fenced in on all sides so that escape was almost impossible, and when the salt water of the Bay of Fundy again reached the young whalo there was some fun for a short time. Next day the captain came to Eastport and from a blacksmith secured a stout iron band to fit securely around the outer end of the whale's tail, just back of the outer fin. ' "In tha band was an 'eye' to fasten on a light, chain, and with his newly made collar he -soon returned home, and after some difficulty, at low tide, had the iron band fastened around bis victim 011 the beach. Wh-en the tide again came in part of the fence was removed, and the chain .was securely fastened on both euds, one being in the eye of the band, the sea monster was a prisoner, , "Captain. McMillan concluded to al low his captive into deeper water than his cove afforded, so that the fish might be able to look after its supply of food during the day when he was not around. For a few days the cap tive wbale made a lively time of it and tried to break away from the chain, but finally wras obliged to submit, and after a short time devoured O. quantity of food brought near tho weir by the owner. Many of the island residents came from the neighboring places to see the captive whale on the chain, and Captain McMillan was asked why he did not exhibit his prize at the large cities across tho border and along tho Maine coast. ' "That would.have been easily enough done bad the fish been, dead, or small enough to carry about 'in a boat, but how could I13 get a forty-five-foot whale out of the harbor in safety? "It was not 'long before the big fisli began to show signs of becoming tame, and on the approach of meal time was always found ready to devour the food provided. "In several weeks Jims baby whalo had Increased 'somewhat in length and also became quite tame, so that when the veteran seaman came near it in his boat his captive would jilay alongside. After two months had passed and the fish had increased ia size to be noticed, Jim thought he had better secure a stouter chain to hold his pet, and again made a visit to Eastport for a longer and heavier piece of chain. This he soon secured and returned to his Cana dian home to make the change when he was much surprised and disappoint ed when he was told, that the whale had broken the chain and disappeared into the deeper water of the Bay of Fundy. It was quite a shock to Cap tain Jim to find tho broken chain and lose hia whale after so much expense and trouble, but be returned to his house and talked over the loss with his wife. "'Never mind, Jim, perhaps the big fish will come back for his dinner as usual, as I've heard of such things, and, you know, that wasn't no ordi nary whale, neither. That whale was tame when it left these waters, and mark me when I . say that you'll see the fish back when it's time for the grub to be served.' "The husband allowed that the whale was certainly tame, but how was he to again capture the big fellow if he shouldn't return to the cove for the customary noon meal. " 'I'd better shoot the critter and be sure of the carcass this time; what do you say, wifey?' "'Don't you be too hasty, Jim, but wait for developments, as the whale will return often if it comes. back once, you can bet."' Only wait and see.' "At the appointed hour for feeding his former pet Captain McMillan went down to the ledge where he had stood so of ten on recent days and tossed the food into the bay to his friend, the whale "He threw the bucket of food to the water and watched it sink below the surfafce, btit before the las"t particle had disappeared the dark form of a long, -slender fish came to View, and when 4hetail was exposed 'there was the telltale- iron ring and hanging to it a.small piece of chain. "'That's my whale!' exclaimed Jim, as the big fish swam leisurely about the cove and did not seem to want to leave the small harbor when the food was gone. "The old seaman remained on tho rocks for a long time, and was then convinced that his wife was right about the fish which had come back to stay, evidently. Next day, and as fast as meal time came, there was the tame whale, and soon the islanders heard of Jim's lucky find. When Jim went out to gather up his lobster traps or haul in his fishing lines and nets the whale accompanied him, and always was re warded by receiving a newly caught cod or pollock off the hooks. One day Captain McMillan started out on a fish ing trip down the baj and not far from Grand Manan, N. B., a fierce gale arose and a blustering snowstorm set in, wrhlch promised to last for several days. "Mrs. McMillan and her children gathered on the beach near their home and watched closely through the storm for the husband and father, but noth ing could bo soon in the distance ex cepting the high waves in which no small boat could live. "If Jim was out on that storm, he had little chance to escape," she thought, and as the day was nearly gone and no signs of her husband, she began to feel a little uneasy. "The storm seemed to increase in fury, piling the waves high up on the beach, and it began 10 look as if an other seaman was to be reported among tae missing. "But, what was that long, low ob ject she saw coming up the bay like a fast moving steamboat half buried in the water? The more she looked at it the more she woUdered, and as the object came nearer she was able to make out the form of a snake-like fish of a very large size, the head high up out of the. water. "Could it be her husband's tame whale back for its dinner at this late hour, she thought, as she supposed the lish had gone away early in the day. As it came close to the point of land on which she stood she saw that there was some object on its back that re sembled a luman being, and as the whale came into the small harbor with tho speed of a steamboat under all steam, the form of her husband could be plainly seen. He lay across the whale's back, near the neck, with his arms over the side of the fish, holding on with a firm grip and in another min ute Capt. -Tim's form arose from the surf and was quickly clasped in his wife's arms. He followed her into the house and after a complete change of clothing followed by a warm tlrink, he told her how he had been saved from a watery grave by his faithful whale, which seemed to know considerable. 'When tho storm broke this morn Ing, said .TIc we were well down the bay and before I could get prepared for the storu my mast broke off by the fierce wind. What followed I am unable to say, excepting that I struck in the icy water and was sinking when I felt something "soft like, coming up under my hands, and you can bet I grabbed it. When I came to the sur face I saw it was my tame whale, and then 1 felt safer than I had a minute before, although I was at a loss to know just what the big fish would do and where it would take me. I talked to the faithful whale as I would to a person, as I had done so often during the meal hour, and promised him extra rations if he landed me safely on our beach. 'You know the rest, continued the captain to his wife, 'and here I am safe and sound after a ride of fully twenty miles oh the back of a real whale, but a good one, I can assure you." "Captain McMillan turned the fish to good use later, when he went out on his fishing trips, as he would fasten a stout rope to the iron band in the whale's tail and would be towed home faster than by sailing, or even steam, as the fish always came into the little cove. All went well for about a year and many tempting offers were made for tho wonderful fish, but Jim would not part with his silent friend for any amount, as to the fish he owed his life. He was just beginning to teach the whale to tow his boat to different neighboring towns in Passamaquoddy Bay. when the long fish took sick and died. "That was a sad. blow' to Captain McMillan, geptlemen. 'as well as his family, and it was a long time before they ; fully recovered ifrom the shack .and the loss of their pet. ' "Captain McMillan didn't know just what' to do with the body, but finally decided to give it a burial In the bay near his home and mark the spot with a gravestone.in the form of a big buoy above the dead whale. "This he carried out to the letter and the unique funeral services were held on the beach the following dayaijd were attended by quite a iarge gather ing of Canadian friends from the isl ands near. . "That ended Captain McMillan's tame a bale, gentl?man," said the speaker, "and I will now bid you all good-night," saving which, he gathered up his bundli aud started for him home. Lewiston Jourral. Awed by SIsW of Wealth. 'A Southed i rlai.ler employed a m.tn to work some of hi3 land during ii:e past year on shares. On account of tho high price of cotton the employe's half of tho proceeds amounted to 1000. The planter knew that it would ruin any such man to get such a sum of money, and decided that half of it would bo enough. Upon further reflec tion the conviction grew upon hi in that $S00 would ruin any such man in the world, so he cut the sum in half again, and, piling up 400 shining silver dollars on his desk, sent for the negro and brothei, and said that he was ready to settle. The man came in and fairly gasped at the amount of wealth in sight. "Land, boss," he said, "is that money all ours?" "Yes." "Well, then, divide it in two piles and -you take your half aud I'll take mine' Minneapolis Tribune. A Brazen Booster, Into the presence of about 2001 peo ple stalked two roosters, a flock of chattering chickens and a few anxious mother ' birds yesterday afternoon at the City Fark during a concert by Brown's Tark Band, and in the course of a rendition of Meyerbeer's "Coro nation" march, one rooster had the temerity to crow exultantly. Perhaps he imagined that his clarion notes couTd drown those of the cornet sec tion, but after a few attempts he gave up the endeavor in despair. For the remainder of the afternoon, iike a sensible fowl, he contented himself with hanging around the children who had lunch baskets. Portland Oregon iau. Had 4000 Uod Fathers. Probably no person in the world Imd as many godfathers as did rrin.'r.-s Ireno of Prussia, wife of lrince Henry. When she was born her fath er requested the members of the Hes sian regiments forming a portion of his cavalry brigade to be sponsors for the baby. When she was christened about 4000 soldiers stood for her as sponsors. S.xAKcSTONE A MYlri. Supposed Medicinal Value as a Folsov Antidote is False. South Africans, as a rule, trouble Jhemselves but little about snakes, al thought iyis .well known that a few va rieties are partfcutaTly' deadly. Among the natives the properties of the "snakestone" have for many genera tions formed a centre of half super stitious credulity, and, even by people who might be expected to know better, have been supposed to effect the most surprising cures of snake bite. . Ad. investigation of. ..its properties by the government bacteriologists of Natal, who submitted an Indian snakestone to the test of applying it to animals infected with snake venom, has shown conclusively that its prppertie 9 are quite mythical and that it does nothing that Is claimed for it. According to tradition - the ' snakestone, which has absorbent qualities, and which there is some reason to believe is frequently artificially prepared, is placed on the wound inflicted by a snake bite. There I it is believed to suck out the poison, and it has been said that if afterward placed in a bowl of milk the venom will exude aud the milk turn btne. In certain experiments narrated in the British Medical Journal all these di rections wen? followed. To the two rabbits injected' respectively with the venom of a black mamba, a very dead ly South African cnlubimo. and with puff adder venom, the snakes ne was at once applied. The stone, by virtue of its absorbent nature, adhered to the wound, bufhere its adherence to tra dition ended! Both rabbits diedj and what, "was more disappointing. ' two other rabbits, used as. a ."control ex- , periment," which were,injceted with the same amount of venom, recovered. : Nor when the stone was placed in milk did the milk change .color, though .a small quantity of it was absorbed. The amount of absorption that the stone could possibly erect would be. no more in hours than ordinary suction by the lips could achieve in a few min utes; and its only possible usefulness might be that of improving the phys ical jjopdition of the patient, by, im pressing him with the belief tbar-'a valuable remedy was being applied. South Africa. A Chinese Lad's Views on It'ta Race. Seldom, indeed, are the political and sociological views of a seventeen-year-old schoolboy worth corsideration or even mention. Exceptional, if not unique, was the valedictory address delivered. June S. on his graduation" from the Atlantic City High School by Wu Chao-chu, the son of Wu Ting fang, long and favorably known as the Minister of ih.j Chinese Empire to the United States. Although th youth la bored under l he grave disability of ac quiring knowledge tbrorglt the medi um of a language radically different from his own, his averages, we are told, Wirre the highest in every depart nient; and bis address, which appropri ately had for its subject the conserva tism of the Far East, was marked by a rare maturity of thought. Young Wu began by admitting xhac the Jap anese are-relatively progressive, where as the Chinese are justly looked upon as typical of Oriental conservatism. He recognized that a people whose conservatism is not ingrained may change easily from its ancient customsr and manners to new. Ho pointed out, however, that what can be changed easily once may probably bo changed just as easily again. A volatile and mutable ration that flickers with 1 every wind may return to its old ways. ' and its very relish for. novelties .may, prove an arch enemy to progress. Ilariicr's Weekly. A Danish Gun. The Danes have a new field gun which can f.re 200 rounds a minute, wcigus loss thau fifteen pounds, and has great range. Every Danish cav alry regiment has a gun detachment now. One man carries the gun in a leather case attached to his saddle, an other carries ammunition and a horse is loaded with a reserve supply. - The Marriage Tartuership. Marriage is a partnership, and as one partner in a business bouse is not grateful to the otter partner for pay ing him his portion, so a wife should ot be expected to be grateful to her husband. And if she has a right to her money she has a right to her own life, which is the gift of God. Everybody's Magazine. ' J. Wessalay Hoffman, cotton expert for the King of England, ia making" a. tour of this country. j

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