58 HISTORY AND METHODS OF THF FISHERIES. 



was at Point Sur, farther south in Monterey County. There are many whales at Point Sur, but 

 the coast is very rugged and the sea runs very high, so that for much of the winter the boats had 

 to be hauled out of the water and the men dared not venture out. In 1878-'79 at Point Sur, one 

 humpback, three gray, and a right whale were taken, and in 1877-'78, at Point Sur, one gray and 

 one-sulphur bottom. One large man-eater shark (Carcharodon rondeleti) was taken by the whalers 

 at Oarmelo last year. 



MONTEREY WHALING COMPANY. Another whaling-camp is at Monterey. This consists of 

 twenty-three men all told, all Portuguese, and all but one from the Azores. This company 1ms 

 no captain, but their most efficient man, Mr. Verissimo, is made secretary, having charge of all 

 business and receiving no salary. The three boat-headers in the company receive a lay of one 

 twenty-third, the cook is hired outright, and the residue of receipts are divided equally among the 

 other nineteen who own the outfit. This company, with changing membership, has been in 

 Monterey since 1855. Verissimo has been here since 1807. This year fourteen whales have been 

 obtained from September to April seven gray whales (three down and four up whales), six hump- 

 back whales, and one right whale besides two basking sharks (Cctorhinus maximus); in all 500 

 barrels of whale-oil and 8 of shark-oil. 



The basking shark is rare here, sometimes not seen for twenty years. This year several were 

 seen in Monterey Bay. "When a man is on the lookout for whales he can't see sharks." The 

 sharks come to the surface at times, and remain quiet for a while, and their " flukes " and dorsal 

 fins may be seen by one who is watching. The shark-oil should be worth 60 to 75 cents a gallon, 

 each shark yielding 125 gallons. In 1878-'79 one humpback and three gray whales were taken, 

 making 185 barrels of oil, and in 1877-'78 eight whales, making 500 barrels. Years ago this busi- 

 ness paid better, for whales were more abundant, and higher prices were paid for the oil. 



This company own three good boats, New Bedford made, and four guns of each kind. Their 

 harpoons are mostly made by Merritt, a blacksmith in Monterey. They are thought superior to 

 Proctor's, in that they are less likely to slip out of the whale ; the posterior flange of the head is 

 wider. With one of them nineteen whales have been shot. They are made of Swiss iron, and 

 cost $10 each. 



The Monterey Democrat thus describes the dangers of shore- whaling in that vicinity : " On 

 Friday of last week the crew of one of our whale-boats narrowly escaped total destruction. They 

 had struck and made fast to a California gray, a species particularly vicious, and were approaching 

 him for a shot with the bomb-gun. There were a lot of porpoises around the creature, which sud- 

 denly appeared to be ' gallied' by them, and paused in his race. The boat under sail and running 

 swiftly, got, unawares, within the sweep of the leviathan's tail, and when the shot was delivered 

 a stroke in response from that tremendous creature crushed like an egg-shell the timbers of its bow. 

 The sea rushed in through the fracture, and the boat being weighted down with her crew, an 

 anchor, and two heavy guns, sank below the surface. The captain had been struck in the side by 

 a fragment of the broken timbers, and was almost paralyzed. In the confusion, for a moment or 

 two, no one thought to cut the rope by which the fish was fast, and it had resumed its fight. A 

 tragedy was imminent, but luckily the captain recovering himself, ordered the rope to be cut, and 

 the immediate and most pressing danger was escaped. The peril was, however, still considerable. 

 Two of the crew could not swim, and they were all immersed to their necks in ice-cold water. 

 Once or twice the boat rolled over, and they were in that perilous condition for half an hour before 

 their consort, which was at some distance, heard their cries, and came to their rescue." 



The following item about whaling at Monterey appeared in the Monterey Californian: 



