10 
THE NEW YORK AQUARIUM JOURNAL. 
out -with special pumps, storage tanks, &e., 
and yet when obtained the water can only be 
brought on the steamer to the dock ; from 
ihence it is conveyed to the Aquarium reser- 
\ oir in portable tanks. At this point it may 
be stated that in spite of all these precau¬ 
tions the sea water has jet to be filtered and 
aerated before it lecomes perfectly clear. Lest 
an’inexperienced visitor might muimur at 
the lack of perfect clearness in this water, 
we we old state that no less an authority than 
Mr. Lloyd, in his correspondence with Mr. 
Coup, has dimonstratcd that this lack of 
clearness at first is a necessary evil which will 
soon be overci me by means of the system of 
aeration now actively going on. 
When it is remembered that the whale 
tank alone requires a boat load of water a 
day, some idea can be formed of the expense 
and difficulties attending this single effort. 
Then there was the fresh water. As this 
was drawn direct from Croton mains, and as 
New York claims to have the purest water 
in the world, our readei's may be surprised to 
learn that only after repeated filterings and 
purifications can this fresh water be made 
clear enough to display the contents of the 
tanks. Having now reviewed the Aquarium 
itself there remains to direct attention to the 
fish supply, and few of our readers are aware 
of tie expense, delays, and discouraging 
failures which have attended the obtaining 
of the thousands of strange and beautiful fish 
which now are on exhibition in the Aquarium 
tinks. 
As the whale is the “ biggest fish” we would 
direct, attention of the visitors to its capture, 
as xecord’ed elsewhere^ It may be added, 
however, that the summer just passed was 
the first, for many years in which one of these 
monsters has been captured alive. The two 
that died early in the summer, after having 
' reached the Aquarium, occasioned a pecuniary 
loss that would astonish those less familiar 
with the hazardous nature of this service, and 
as has been intimated, the one which is now 
on exhibition, requires a water supply so con¬ 
stant, that a steamer is continually engaged 
in meeting it. In the fresh water tanks are 
many interesting specimens of lake fish, but 
these too were obtained only after repeated 
failures. Three special expeditions have been 
engaged in this service alone, and not more 
than ten per cent, of the fish which leave the 
Western lakes and rivers reach the Aquarium 
alive. 
An even less happy fate has attended the 
efforts to bring fish from the tropics. Here 
also four expeditions have been dispatched 
and returned with absolutely nothing. In 
the first instance a storm encountered off 
Sandy Hock, killed all these fish, a second 
party lost their full cargo on crossing the Gulf 
stream, andthethirdand fourth having landed 
safely at the New York dock, yet failed to bring 
their rare treasure to the Aquarium. Anoth¬ 
er expedition to Wood’s Hole, Mass., started 
homew ard alter a month of hard labor with a 
rare and rich cargo, but again a storm de¬ 
luged the vessel, and not one of all the lot 
reached its city home in safety. Again an 
expedition has for a long time been out on 
the Pacific Ocean, and it is hoped that their 
efforts will result in the capture of Walrusses 
and a Sea Elephant, We would hesitate to 
announce these discouraging failures were it 
not that repeated trials have at last been 
crowned with success. In conclusion let it be 
remembered that, of all animals, fish are the 
most delicate and sensitive to change, hence 
there is no end to these efforts, and all the 
present organizations for the collection of fish 
must be kept up and be actively engaged. 
THE WHITE WHALE. 
HOW HE WAS BROUGHT TO THE CITY, PLACED IX HIS 
FUTURE HOME AND PROPERLY CHRISTENED. 
Almost before it was fairly light on Thursday 
morning, Oct 10th, a crowd had gathered in 
front of the Aquarium at Thirty-fifth street and 
Broadway, waiting for ihe coming of the whale. 
The matutinal milkman, the early laborer going 
to his woik, the cartman, newsboys and the all- 
night denizens of the streets had joined the gang 
of w'orkmen regularly employed in the building, 
and, anxiously looking for the arrival of his 
whaleship. Manager Coup and Prof. Butler 
stood at the door of the establishment. They 
had been up through all the long w'atches of the 
night, for. it was not knowm at just what hour 
the train bearing this curious freight would reach 
the city. 
It was about 5 o’clock lhat the heavy rumbling 
of some large vehicle was heard, and a shout of 
“ There she blows” from the crowd without gave 
token that the patient waiting and anxious expec¬ 
tation of the last four days was at an end. The 
monarch of the deep made his entry into the 
metropolis, boxed closely up, like the most ordi¬ 
nary of fish.. The sight of the huge wooden 
structure slung on a double set of mason’s wheels 
was followed by a series of comments from the 
crowd outside far from complimentary to the in¬ 
mate or to the management of the Aquarium, it 
having evidently been expected that after arriving 
in the city by the way of Newton’s Channel he 
would have been drawn in triumph through the 
streets to the music of a full brass band. 
With but little delay the wooden inclosure was 
transferred from the truck to the interior of the 
Aquarium, and the doors were closed on the 
crowd that thronged around the entrance. The 
perforated lid was removed, and there lay his 
marine majesty in admirable condition, and ap¬ 
parently perfectly aware that the quieter he kept 
the better it was for him. The box was rolled 
up to the huge tank which is to be his. future 
home, and bands were passed around the body 
at various points. These were joined together 
and made last to the hoisting apparatus, consist¬ 
ing of a series of pulleys and ropes dangling from 
the huge centre support of the roof. All was 
announced to be in readiness, and with a slow, 
steady movement, the great inert mass was raised 
in the air. By an ingenious arrangement the 
hoisting apparatus was shipped forward until it 
was just over the centre of the tank. The whale 
was then lowered, and advantage taken of his 
dormant state to slip the bands as soon as he 
touched the surface of the water. A shout arose 
from the employes as soon as the fact was suc¬ 
cessfully accomplished,-and an enthusiastic Can¬ 
adian who had accompanied the stranger on his 
travels baptised him with the exclamation : “By 
gar ! he sail be called £ Le Grand Coup !’ ” For 
a moment he' lay quiet, and then began a “smel¬ 
ling investigation” of his new home. After nos¬ 
ing around a little while he seemed to come to 
the conclusion that all was well, and devoured, 
with infinite relish his breakfast of eels. He 
made himself quickly at home, and during the 
day gave frolicsome tokens that everything was 
O. K. so far as. he was concerned. 
The present is the third whale that has been 
in the Aquarium since it was started. The first 
two where brought to the city in June last, but 
met with untimely death by sticking their flukes 
against a projecting pipe in the tank. The re¬ 
currence of a like accident has been avoided by 
protecting every exposed portion of iron with 
buffers of sponge. “ Le Grand Coup,” the 
present occupant, was captured about the latter 
part of July, at St. Paul’s Bay, on the lower St. 
Lawrence, by Mr. Z. Coup, brother of the man¬ 
ager, and a party of Canadian fishermen. After 
the death of the first two whales, Mr. Coup re¬ 
turned in June to the scene of his spring labors. 
An immense pit was dug at low tide, surrounded 
by stakes, with corral leading from it. About a 
month later, the whale, now in this city, made 
his way at high tide into the inclosure, and was 
captured when the tide fell. During this time 
the hunters had captured a calf whale, too young 
to feed, and a sp erm whale forty feet in length. 
The latter was so violent that he had to be har¬ 
pooned, and the call died from want of nourish¬ 
ment. During “ Le Grand Coup's” captivity he 
was fed on small cod and herring. About a 
week since he was taken to Quebec in a schooner. 
Here he was transferred to a special car, being 
placed in a large box for easier handlings 
Another car was provided with barrels of sea 
water, the contents of which were used to keep 
his flukes wet ; in this manner he was carried 
from Quebec to Montreal, where lie remained 
Saturday. On Sunday he again started by 
special train via the Grand Trunk and Vermont 
Central and Harlem to New York. His journey 
was heralded in advance, and at every station 
crowds of sightseers were gathered, and in con¬ 
junction with the local press grew enthusiastic 
over his progress. Le Grand Coup is about 
eighteen feet in length, of a grayish white and 
unknown weight. His present home is thirty 
feet in diameter, contains 30,000 gallons of sea 
water, and is emptied and filled every twenty- 
four hours. He seems to be sociable and to be 
willing to afford his numerous visitors perpetual 
recurring glimpses of his royal person. He is a 
good feeder, and, as he devours a bushel and a 
half of eels daily, threatens, in conjunction with 
the sea lions, to create a famine in the fish 
market. 
The interest excited by the arrival of this sea 
monster is more than local, and when the Ameri¬ 
can public, come to understand the true nature of 
the effort which has resulted in its capture, still 
greater praise will be awarded to the manager of 
the Aquarium for his achievement. So soon as 
the announcement of Le Grand Coup’s arrival 
had been sent over the wires, the following des¬ 
patch of congratulation was received by Mr. 
Coup, from John A Cockrell, editor of the Cin¬ 
cinnati Enquirer and other western journalists. 
Cincinnati, Oct. 13 th, 1876 . 
To W. C. Coui>, Manager of the New York Aquarium. 
Your western friends send congratulations on the suc¬ 
cess attending the opening of your Aquarium. Your 
pluck, enterprise, and devotion to the grand undertaking 
entitle you to heartfelt congratulation. A whale swal¬ 
lowed Jonah, but you are the only man who ever 
“ couped” a whale. Your success heretofore demon¬ 
strates that you are no Jonah in the business, and the 
whale and big fish understand it. 
John A. Cockrell. 
A. A. Stewart. 
W. W. Cole. 
L. McGleason. 
To this kindly greeting Mr. Coup returns the 
following reply : 
To Messrs. Cockrell, Stewart, Cole, McGleason, 
and Jones, Cincinnati Enquirer Office, Ohio. 
Thanks for your congratulations. Our Coup d'essai 
came near receiving a Coup de grace by the death of our 
first whales. The first receiving a Coup de soldi\ the 
other gave a Coup de peil , and expired broken hearted. 
This- was a serious injury to the Coup de theatre of our 
Aquarium. Only by a Coup de main, and a harvest of 
money could another be obtained. Having succeeded, 
could I justly call it a Coup de maim ? 
W. C. Coup. 
