State

LAST WHALE II was April :{, 1898. at Capp Lookout. By GRAYDEN PAUL Ii was April 3. 1898. The sun came up over ihe Allantic Ocean with a burst of glory; the first thing to catch its early morning rays was Cape Lookout lighthouse which towers 165 feet above the sand dunes of Carteret County. As it cast its shadow westward it fell across a lovely strip of sand dotted with cedar, yaupon and sea myrtle. This was Shackleford Banks, stretching from Beaufort Inlet to Cape Lookout, a dis¬ tance of eight miles, the only beach on the Atlantic Coast that runs east and west. Here lived a sturdy race of peo¬ ple. The Gutherys, Moores, Davises. Lewises. Willises and Roses . . . with their bare hands they hacked a meager living from the surf, oyster rocks and clam beds . . . and with their bare hands they would attack and kill the world’s largest living creature, the Leviathan of the deep, the mighty whale. This is how they did it. as told by an eye witness, Stacy Guthery, whose father. Devin Guthery. built the boats and whose brother helped to kill the "Little Children." All whales were given names and the 65-foot Mother. Wright Whale, was named because some of the older men had grown weary of waiting for a whale to show and had gone off looking for clams and oysters. They had to use some shirttail boys to make up the crew. Lookouts were posted along the beach and when a whale was sighted, they came running up the beach shout¬ ing at the top of their voices, "Whale, whale, ’thar she blows’!" At that mo¬ ment pandemonium broke loose. Men. women and children came running from every direction shouting. "Whale, whale, man the boats." They grabbed hold of the three 18-foot whale boats, and literally carried them into the surf where 8 men scrambled aboard each boat ... 6 oarsmen, one helmsman in the stern, and harpoon man in the bow. ( These boats were made of wood lap streak siding, oak and cedar ribs and knees, sharp at both ends.) They were sturdy enough to stand severe pounding of the surf and an occasional slap of a whale's fluke. An old sea chanty describes the next few minutes: "The boats being launched and the crew got in The whale disappeared from view . . . Resolute, resolute, to tire whole boats crew And steer where the whaley fish blew Brave boys. Ami steer where the whaley fish blew Now the whale when undisturbed follows a set pattern. They blow (or come up to breathe) three times in a row at 15 minute intervals, then they submerge for one hour. Therefore Captain Guthery was surprised when he saw the whale three times in less than five minutes, and gave a warn¬ ing shout. "Look out. boys, thar's three whales out thar." and to everyone’s amazement they discovered there were a bull, a mother, and a calf. I he way of the sea is cruel in¬ deed. so they had to first attack the calf, knowing that the bull would run at the first sight of danger but that the mother would stay and protect her baby, though it cost her her life, so they thrust a harpoon in the fleshy part of the calf with no intent to kill as they have no cash value, but so they could get a better chance at the mother. (Capt. Stacy says that if you wound a calf so bad it can't rise for air. the mother will take it in her fluke and hold it above water so it can breathe. When she knows it is dead, then she will head for the briny deep.) In this case they did not kill the calf, but all three boats attacked the mother whale with the fury of des¬ perate men. knowing that food for their babies depended on the death of this monster. To kill a whale you have to hit its vital organs which the whalers refer to as "her life.” To do this you aim about two feet under the water just aft of her spout. When she goes down you follow by the whirlpools caused by her tail when she swims. A good boat crew' can usually row as fast as she swims, when she rises and blows they are there ready for another thrust of the harpoon and a shot from the gun which carries an explosive head. If the water is clear when she blows you know you have missed the mark ... if it is tinted with blood you are getting close . . . and if it is solid blood you have hit "her life" and you had better stay clear for she then goes in her death struggle, slap¬ ping with her tail so hard it would smash your boat like a match box, which brings to mind the second verse of the Sea Chanty: "The whale being struck, the line paid out t he fish gave a blow with his tail He capsized the boat and killed six men But neither did you kill that whale Brave boys. But neither did you kill that whale." This time, however, the men had done their work well. Slowly the great ( Continued on paw 27) THE STATE. July 22. 1961 9