THE WHALE FISHEBY. 57 



a box, at $94 per box. These are shot at the whale from a short thick gun, held at the shoulder. 

 They explode in the flesh of the whale, " disgusting him," but not usually killing him. Of the 

 sixteen gray whales thus far taken at Cojo, there was but one which did not have scars from 

 bomb-lance wounds. The whales are becoming so shy, that these things can rarely be shot closely 

 enough to prove effectual. These bomb-lances are a little over a foot long. A much larger bomb- 

 lance, holding a pound of powder, invented by Anderson, and made for him in Norway, is used 

 by this camp. It is fired from the swivel-gun, and usually killsjfche whale. They cost $5 each. 



The harpoons are usually much more effectual. The sort used, differing somewhat from any in 

 use in the Atlantic, is manufactured in Cambria, in San Luis Obispo County. A rope is fastened 

 to this, and it is shot from the large swivel-gun at the whale. These harpoons fired from guns 

 have been in use on the coast since about 1868; the Cambria harpoon by Anderson since about 

 1872. The harpoons cost $9 each. Some of them have been used five times, but occasionally 

 one is hopelessly bent, or the rope holding it is broken. The swivel-gun is made in England. It 

 is placed in the bow of the boat; sometimes men are killed by the recoil. One man in Ander- 

 son's camp was kicked in the chest by it and died of hemorrhage. The harpoon weighs 7 to 9 

 pounds, the rope about 37 pounds. The gun will not shoot well more than 150 feet, the deflec- 

 tion of the projectile preventing it from striking squarely at a greater distance. At a distance of 

 more than 90 feet it is necessary to aim above the whale. Unless the whale is held by a line, it is 

 likely to sink when dead, and in rough weather it is hard to prevent them from sinking even 

 when so held. Harpoons are thrown by hand only when necessary to hold up dead whales. The 

 whale-lines are brought from New Bedford. 



The company arrived at Cojo from Pigeon Point April 25, 1879, and devoted the following 

 summer to getting ready for work. The following are the dates when whales were caught ; hump- 

 back whales, October 18 and 24, two on each day ; California gray whales, on December 14, 21. 24, 

 28, and 29, January 5, 9, 10, 12 (two whales), 14, 17, 21, 22, 25, February 1 ; making a total of 

 twenty whales up to February 14. A camp is considered to do well if obtaining fifteen whales 

 per year. The rent of the land, with privilege of garden, cow-pasture, and firewood, is usually 

 about $100 per year, but is only $1 at Cojo. 



The oil is barreled, and being rolled into the surf is taken on a lighter and transferred to a 

 San Francisco steamer and consigned to parties in San Francisco for sale. On January 23 there 

 were shipped 3,285 gallons; February 2, 13,534| gallons; now on hand, 315 gallons; total prod- 

 uct, April to February, 17,134 gallons, worth about 45 cents per gallon in San Francisco. The 

 bones of the whale are worth about $10 per ton for soap-making in San Francisco, but their 

 shipment from Cojo is not considered profitable. 



CAEMELO CAMP. At the south end of the Bay of Carmelo is a whaling-camp, consisting of 

 seventeen men all told ; all Portuguese, from Azores Islands, commanded by Captain Mariano. 

 The outfit is owned by a company of four, of whom Mariano is one, and the rest are outside 

 parties. The other sixteen are hired on different lays, averaging one-fiftieth. The captain receives 

 one-fifteenth. During the past year they have caught three humpback, one finback, and three 

 gray whales, one of the humpback whales in the spring, which is unusual. Two hundred barrels 

 of oil have been obtained, the finback yielding 30 barrels of a lighter oil, but selling for no more. 

 This company runs from October to March only, the men then disbanding and going elsewhere. 

 They have two whaling-boats only, and use the harpoons made by G. W. Proctor, at Cambria or 

 San Marcos, and also sometimes those made by Merritt, in Monterey. Carmelo is a very good 

 whaling-station, inferior to Monterey only, but there is not so good a chance for long chases of 

 whales. Three right whales were seen this year, but none caught. Last year Mariano's company 



