WHITE WHALES IN CONFINEMENT. 365 



" Yes, sir, it's a white whale from the northern coast of Labrador, 

 the onlj one ever captured or ever seen by the oldest whaleman. It 

 was reported to have been seen near the entrance.to Hudson Bay, and 

 Mr. Coup fitted out an expedition and captured it at an expense of 

 over one hundred thousand dollars." He had evidently been read- 

 ing what the press agent had stuffed into the newspapers. 



The visitor took another look and remarked: "The papers said 

 it was twenty feet long; I should think it might be six feet, but no 

 more." 



" Well," answered the attendant, " water is mitey deceivin', an' 

 that whale is more'n three times as long as it looks. The fact is, 

 the papers did report it to be longer than it is, for when we drew 

 off the water to clean the tank yesterday we put a steel tape over 

 the whale and it measured just nineteen feet eleven inches and a half." 



Then a rural couple came, and she remarked : " Oh, I'm so glad 

 we came here, and can tell the folks that we've seen a real live 

 whale!" 



" Lucy," said he, " this city is full of all kinds of cheats, an' 

 I don't believe that thing is alive more'n Methuselah is; it's some 

 indy-rubber contraption with clockwork in it that makes it go 

 round and puff in that way." 



After the season for hatching trout and salmon was over, in 

 April, I was detailed to build a branch aquarium at Coney Island, 

 with instructions to construct a whale tank the first thing, in order 

 to be ready for the next arrivals. I employed a maker of beer vats, 

 and he brought three-inch planks for the bottom, staves eight feet 

 high, and iron for hoops. The tank was to be twenty-five feet in 

 diameter, with a " chime " nine inches below the bottom, making 

 the tank seven feet deep inside. It was to set with its top eighteen 

 inches above the soil, which was to be the water line, giving the 

 whales five feet and a half of water — little enough when we realize 

 that a ten-foot animal has a diameter of nearly three feet. Heavy 

 timbers were laid under the bottom of the tank, carefully leveled, for 

 no weight can be borne by the staves in a tank of that size. 



All this was planned, as well as the engine and pumps, and was 

 well under way, when I received an order from Mr. Coup to go to 

 Quebec and bring down two whales while Zach. went for more. 

 Then I learned the secrets of the live white whale trade. The first 

 whale had been kept back until it could be delivered at night, and 

 its transportation was a mystery intended to arouse the curiosity of 

 the public. 



At the railroad station at Quebec two boxes were turned over to 

 me. They were about fifteen feet long, four feet wide, and four 

 feet deep. They were upholstered with " bladder wrack," a most 



