WHALE HUNTING WITH GUN AND CAMERA 



hard day's work with no results, the ship was headed 

 for Kamaishi, a good harbor some seventy miles 

 from Aikawa. 



At 9 130 the Rekkusu was in quiet water well within 

 the bay and when we came on deck for a look around 

 we could see by their lights two whale ships riding 

 smoothly at short anchor chains only a little dis- 

 tance away. One was Daito No. 2, Captain Larsen, 

 with whom I had hunted humpback whales off the 

 coast of Vancouver Island two years before when 

 he had the St. Lawrence; the other, the Airondo Maru, 

 Captain Reidar Jacobsen's ship. Both Olsen and 

 myself were tired so we did not go aboard but turned 

 in at ten o'clock and were soon asleep. 



The next morning I was awakened by the alter- 

 nate starting and stopping of the engines and knew 

 that already a whale had been sighted. It was seven 

 o'clock and dressing hurriedly I ran on deck to find 

 the ship rolling about in a heavy sea and a cold rain 

 falling. I got into a suit of oilskins and then climbed 

 to the bridge. My greeting of "O kayo" (good 

 morning) was answered by the man at the wheel, 

 who said they were hunting a shiro-nagasu (blue 

 whale), which had been found about six o'clock and 

 had almost given a shot. Captain Olsen was at the 

 gun and waved his hand in greeting just as we heard 

 the metallic whistle of the spout on the starboard 

 bow. 



I got the camera ready for use, protecting it as much 

 as possible with the flap of my oilskin jacket, but was 

 rather dubious as to how successful the pictures would 



130 



