A real whale was caught in the Raritan Bay, near Monmouth. The carcass of the enormous fish was anchored near an old fish-oil factory, where the lucky fishermen who struck a bonanza in the capture of a sperm whale melted the blubber in large iron pots.
The whale was first seen about sunrise by a fisherman named Ludlow, on Port Comfort Shoals, about nine miles from Sandy Hook. He saw the large black object in the water, but thought it was a wreck of some vessel, and did not go near it. George Pope, also a fisherman, went out in a small boat for the purpose of catching some oysters, and on nearing the shoals noted the large dark body in the water. On approaching it, he found that it was a large, live fish of some kind, and having no other weapon, he commenced sticking his oyster knife into the side of the whale, but, seeing that it had no effect, he went to the shore and procurred the assistance of a fellow fisherman with an axe.
They returned to where the whale was still lying; the boat was then backed up to the whale’s head, when one of the men commenced chopping it in the head with the axe. Fortunately for the boatmen, the whale did not struggle much until they were some distance away, when it commenced to flounder, and roll, and in a short time succeeded in getting off the shoal and started toward Sandy Hook. The fisherman not knowing the danger they were in, started after it and tried to catch or drive it toward the shore by throwing their anchor into its spout, and at one time, while thus endeavoring to catch the enormous fish, it passed under their boat, almost lifting it out of the water. The whale was followed down the bay several miles, and with the aid of other fishermen who were in boats, it was driven ashore. With a scythe borrowed from the farmer, the whale was finally killed by stabbing in the side. A schooner then took the carcass in tow and brought it to Brays landing.
Captain Bilson, who is an old whaler, and has been in the South Indian seas, stated that this was a very large cow whale, it being thirty-five feet long and about nine in diameter, and yielding over thirty barrels of sperm oil.
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