00:00:02.940 - 00:00:29.960

What? Yeah, The first sign was a broad shaft of spray rising from the whitecaps some two miles ahead. That was 15 minutes ago. Now the ship has come up to within a quarter mile. There is no sign of alarm in the moving back. The distance closes.

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Yeah, Okay. The herd swerves but doesn't sound. Yeah, the ship comes on. Still no alarm? Uh huh. At 150 ft, Gunner will shoot. Yeah. Assignment for ah Weekly report to the West. Produced in the community Interest by the news and documentary department of K r O

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N T v. Tonight, A chronicle of America's last whaling fleet the men ships on the hunt with In the 18 twenties, New Bedford Whalers laid claim to the vast Pacific whaling grounds. For the next three decades, they were to dominate the ocean, cruising from Arctic to

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Antarctic on voyages that lasted as long as five years. In the early fifties, there were as many as 275 vessels and 8000 hands searching the Pacific for whales. Most of them were New Bedford man. Then, in 18 51 8 members of the Pacific Whaling Fleet listed

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San Francisco is home port. They returned from the year long hunt with 275 barrels of sperm oil on 3300 barrels of whale oil worth more than $100,000. Following year, 10 whalers sailed from the bay and the number continued to grow. It took 60 years to challenge

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and displaced that distant Atlantic Court. But by the 18 eighties, the Great Pacific whale, herbs and the transcontinental railroad had combined. San Francisco was now the world's richest whaling port. Cities. Whaling companies even had their own refineries and sperm oil candle works for a decade. Around

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the turn of the century, there were half 100 ships in the Pacific Whaling fleet. They had a million dollar kill each year. But the 20th century brought an end to those halcyon days. Prices were down, costs were up and the great animals the ship's hunted had

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been killed off some almost to the point of extinction. American whaling almost disappeared. From 1921 to 1929 only 114 men found a livelihood as whalers in California 1931 there was no record of a California whaler making any killed in 1936 California whaling company took less than

00:03:39.090 - 00:03:55.950

100 whales the next year, only 37. That same year, the United States entered into an international conservation agreement forbidding factory ships off the California coast. Any whales killed in these waters would have to be killed sufficiently close to shore that they might be towed in and

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butchered at the land based whaling stations. In 1938 there was a one man shore station of Drakes Bay. Then, in the year before the Second World War, American whaling died. But in 1947 someone decided there was still money to be made in whaling off the coast

00:04:12.330 - 00:04:29.860

of California. In that year, the Lynn and joined the venture. She is a converted, 136 ft submarine patrol craft, like half 100 others that poured out of Pacific shipyards during the Second World War. In 1947 the Navy sold her. Her new owners added winches so they

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could go after toying contracts on the harpoon gun so she could go after whales. There's less money in whaling, but more competition and toying. So for six months a year, from April to October Linen works for one of the two whaling companies of Point Richmond in

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San Francisco Bay, the last whaling port in the United States. But Newton has been captain of the linen since she first started wailing 17 years ago. We're all green. They didn't know a thing about it. Any any one of us. Everything we learned. We learned the

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hard way, child. If it didn't try something else. Mhm. When we started out, our harpoons were makeshift. From the thing is very easy to bend. Bend them up. However constantly spoken in the flu. Yeah, sometimes you shoot him and they pulled up and hit the world

00:05:29.220 - 00:05:52.600

like a big budgets crop. I our time fuses and the bombs we have. Thio found the powder in them and and use the kids capital caps for detonators. Way would wind a little springs that go in and out of Qatar strings. I wanted to wait e

00:05:53.240 - 00:06:24.990

on. Sometimes they go on, sometimes they didn't way usedto have to pound Oh, come and, uh, rags, paper and everything in the harpoon cannon for wadding Time went on with that better No, you learn. You learn new tricks and stuff year after year. Help now the

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important harpoons made in Norway way get time uses actually made in Norway. Mhm shooting Smith was powder that is far superior. The loads wade out into the graham, but not everything got better. The Lynn and joined the first Postwar whaling station, then located at Eureka. Well,

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I will plant to burn down a couple of times and you wake up. We're at the beginning of each season. Would rebuild it, burned down again on the local citizens. Lived close by the whole plant. Didn't appreciate this. That's not too much. It is that a

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move that stuff up. Bud and his partner literally loaded the plant on board the linen and took it to Peru. They stayed 39 months and then came back to California, this time to San Francisco Bay. When we have a radius of about 100 miles from the

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Golden Gate, it takes in a point arena 100 miles offshore on down faras Monterey. It has been good willing on the south side, but it seems like the North aside of that basket on it was to come home with Mr Weathers way. Williams. Well, there's five

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boats between the two companies on our stays here now have every kind of a whale here that that has any commercial value way. Have some blue. Quite a number of things back. Come back, spun and fire. Well, now and then. And our killer, Well, uh, Battle

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knows well, but that quite rare this. Say, the linen is in the middle of the five ship fleet. All have returned from the hunt the night before. All had whales. Two boats, the Donna May and the linen sister ship the Sioux City are still at their

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station. Dropping the previous day is killed. Somewhere out front are the Alan Cody and the dentist, Gale. The Caroline Islands are the jumping off point. Wait, Booth. Pretty day, little my business. No C and so on and so

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forth. Okay, you got a lot more e Northwest burn. Hard to Fred on this club. You know, I wanted to look her south side. Well, I'm going to get these three or four wells we're gonna get today. I don't give a damn with blows for a

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day or two tools, and we're all a sprouting out here in it for the whole against all, five ships took their whales in one area. They're now heading back to that location in 24 hours. The whale, packed badly scattered by the attacking group of ships, has

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had time to regroup. It also has had time to move a considerable distance. And the question becomes in what direction? The ship spread out. Searching radio contact is maintained. Their now two hours beyond the Caroline let us scale in any way. Well, this all blows up

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ahead of this year. Way just turned to the Northwest. So, uh, let's see him into different positions here. Do different during. They haven't got close enough to see how many or what, But there's something here anyhow. Yeah, one is very smart. There he is. A lot.

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Yeah, Small is good tomorrow. There's a bigger one here. Yeah, many of the Yeah. Wow. Yeah. Mhm. Yeah. Mhm. Because thank you. And it one of the big ones. Yeah. Okay. On your left side. Good luck. The big one. Bottlenose whales. A

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good hit on the middle when they died. Immediately the harpoon cable rings through the blocks and then goes slack on the ground probably. Yeah, I know the broken line is quickly mended on the hunt goes on. It will continue

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until dark. Yeah, the word comes through by radio. The Alan Cody has hit another pack of sperm whales 1/35 feet large enough to take, but the fact was too far away for any of the other boats to come up on them. In time. All ships hold

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their course. The linen is heading south southwest. She's about 80 miles northwest of the Carolina. Then, late in the day comes the all important weather reports. BA BA forecast is favorable. Tomorrow should be another good day, but the wind is shifting back to the Northwest. This

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weather may not hold for long dinner time. The crew argues the next day's possibilities and envies the look of the Allen Cody. You'll have her whale into port by midnight early enough to allow time for ah, hot shower and to pick up a few supplies before

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heading back out. The linen hasn't allowed herself the luxury of a stopover for both two weeks now, she still has plenty of food, fuel and water. But the Alan Cody will rendezvous with her tomorrow morning and pass over some of the necessities. The crew of the

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linen is missing primarily cigarettes and beer. The Alan Cody is the only ship heading into port tonight with the days only whale. Others will shut down their engines on drift in the open sea until morning. Uh huh. The whales that were so successfully hunted yesterday have

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not been found. The pack of small sperm whales and the trio of bottlenose whales were both isolated small groups. So was the Alan Cody's kill. The large herd of humpbacks is still missing. It was a lot of wills. It was humpbacks all over in here. If

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you did not listen, Bound either worked out for you know it. We've been south. They're not. They're thought we would run out to about this bank. We'll work up a thirst way and then come back down. I'm on the way. E o Cigarettes and beer.

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Yeah. Early the next morning, the linen meets the island. Cody, A quick throw of a line. A tight knot around the waterproof bag on the hunt is underway again. The ship is 40 miles offshore and heading on a bearing of 50 degrees for Point Arena the

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weather has not held. The wind is coming very hard for the Northwest. If the weather builds up much more, there'll be too many white caps to cite a blow and too rough A C To get a steady shot. The whaler is in and out of fog

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banks all through the morning. Finally, the winter clears a little. The fog lifts and becomes a steady high cover of gray. But the cold wind still comes out of the northwest but decides to continue the hunt anyway. The C continues to build. They're now off Point

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Arena, the linen turned south shell hunt down the Costa's Faras Drakes Bay. If they don't come on something by then, they'll put into the harbor there and wait out the weather by three o'clock. The linen is only 20 miles north of Point Reyes and six miles

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offshore. Talk about things like with buckshot, the location of the attack. Another harpoon is quickly loaded on. The gunner stands waiting on the bridge, but keeps the bow straight on the wounded animal in its run. After the shot, it took only 50 ft of cable, a

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good sign. It's now sounding and blowing less than 200 ft off. The bow came up behind up there, so nobody else just let them run well, leaving almost infection or something. After 10 minutes comes the sure sign the spout is bloody. Now the work begins. There's

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65 tons of dead weight on the end of that line, it's 200 ft down directly under the boat. Slowly, the winch starts rolling. Unless the harpoon struck, well, that could pull out. It will take 15 minutes to raise the body on deck. The crew gets ready.

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The ship has lost headway now and slides into the trough between waves. Now heavy chains Manila Line Steel cable. All must be wrestled into place on the pitching deck. As soon as the whale breaks, the surface of spear is plunged into its body and compressed air

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is blown in Onley. Then do they safely have their kill? Your Honor. Ah, light towline has passed around the floating body, and the top harpoon line is cut free. Then the whale is told alongside heavy chains. Air passed around the tail, and it's cinched tight near

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the bow. In this way, with $30 not a bad days pay? Uh huh. Okay. L h l Okay. LH San Francisco marine Operator. This'd w a 7455 The linen. Are you receiving me through ship to shore Radio telephone, but alerts the shore station and gives them

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an estimated time of arrival. He is now between the Farallones and home dragging. The whale has slowed his feed. Nine nuts. The winds air with him. The tides of the Golden Gate are ebbing. He'll be in around 7 30. The linen is the last of three

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ships returning with whales This early Saturday morning. Four hours earlier, her partner, the Sioux City, dropped a 37 ft sperm into 65 ft humpback and turned back out. Now the Alan Cody comes past with the 66 ft humpback she heads for the second whaling station. Ah,

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half hour behind her is the linen. The Sioux City's last whale comes up the ramp on now, perhaps for the first time, the size of the animal becomes apparent. Cutting crew must work quickly to clear the floor for the linens. Whale and the meat must be

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in the refrigeration tanks. No more than 18 hours after the kill, Federal inspectors are on hand to enforce these rules and to check the size of the kill to determine that it exceeds the minimum size limit. The cleansing knives quickly cut through skin and the layer

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of blubber trays of whale oil for lamps and whale bone. For course it stays. The meat will sell to a Los Angeles pet food company or 10.5 cents a pound. The skin, blubber and bones will be reduced for fertilizer. All told, an individual whale is worth

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some $5 right? Yeah, Now the linen is coming in at 7 30. She's right on time. Bud edges air up to the dock, where lines will be run down the ramp so the whale could be cut loose and transferred

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over. Even at this early hour, the cargo draws a crowd of curious Spectators, both afloat and ashore. Upwards of 60 ft in length, the animal is well over half the length of Lenin and weighs in at more than £130,000. The tail dwarfs the men who scrabble

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precariously around it, Sensing the transfer, cable's tight inside the plant to winches strained to move the huge body, even as the transfer is completed, the linen turns about in an hour. She'll be outside the gate, Theun, but we'll head for his bunk and some sleep after

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a 20 hour day. Four hours later, as they passed the barrel arms, he'll come up to the bridge. So look for that first blow assignment for is produced in the community. Interest by the News and Documentary department Off Koron. TV Way Wish to acknowledge the cooperation

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of the Free Public Library of New Bedford, Massachusetts, the old Dartmouth Historical Society and Whaling Museum of New Bedford. Goodspeed Bookshop in Boston. The New York City Public Library and the American Heritage Publishing Company. Join us again for another report to the West on assignment four.