Zurich Herald, 1957-04-04, Page 6There ,Really Was
A "Moby Dick"
Herman Melville's savage
white sperm whale "Moby
Dick," from which the film
takes its title, was no myth. He
actually existed arfd his real
name was "Mocker Dick."
He was first reported off the
West of Peru in 1837, when he
attacked an American whaling
ship with such appalling ferocity
that it sank almost immediately.
Not long after this the Mocker
turned up a thousand miles
from the scene of his first as-
sault and sank an English brig.
The terrible white whale's at
tacks •seldom varied. Thunder-
ing up from unimaginable
depths, he leaped from the wa-
ter as agiley as a salmon, deal-
ing his victim shocking blows
with his monstrous head until
even the stoutest timbers shat-
tered like egg -shells and the
ship plunged to the bottom.
Histhird attack occurred off
the China coast where he
wrecked an American timber -
carrying schooner. The crew
took to the boats and signalled
to three whaling ships.
The three whalers lowered
all their available boat: and the
chase was on. But little did the
whalemen know of the capabili-
ties of the deadly monster
whose name -was soon to be-
come legend, causing the tough-
est harpooners afloat to shud-
der with superstitutious awe.
The Mocker dived when the
fleet of whale -boats approached,
then he hurteld to the surface
like a thunderbolt directly be-
neath the nearest boat. So
dreadful was the blow that the
boat exploded into a mass of
splintered timbers.
Dealing with each boat in a
similar mariner, Mocker Dick
then turned on the swimming
survivors and crunched them to
death, one by one, in his great
jaws, a report said. Seeing their
boats destroyed and crews
slaughtered in such a fearful
manner, the three whaling ves-
eels fled from the scene in ter-
ror.
Whales are said to be second
only in intelligence to man, and
in his next attack the white
whale indicated this. Three
months after defeating the
three whaling ships the Mocker
was attacked by the boats of an
American whaler in mid -Pacific.
SPECS APPEAL — One gall with
glasses who's likely to draw
passes is comely Marilyn Meyer,
National College Queen of
1937". She is a law student at
Baylor University.
This time the great brute did
not attack the boats; he turned
on the mother -ship at full speed
and dealt it a shattering blow
with his mighty head so that
spars fell and block came crash-
ing from aloft.
A sperm whale's head is well
adapted to absorb punishment,
for inside it is a huge spongy
mass of oily cells which acts as
a buffer. But so terrible as
the head-on collision that the
Mocker withdrew for a moment,
' dazed but far from defeated.
Then, summoning his mighty
strength he swept in again, the
stout timber caved in like card-
board and the vessel sank
swiftly.
The boats' crews were left to
face a ghastly ordeal, for the
nearest land was several thous-
and miles away. Mocker Dick,
so aptly named, watched them
go, and then vanished — and
there is no record that he was
ever caught.
The intelligence of whales is
an astonishing thing. At a shore -
based whaling "factory" in New
Zealand the dreaded Orcas, or
killer whales,which kill the
largest whales by seizing their
tongues and dragging them
down, used to swim close in to
the shore regularly to queue up
for the whale offal discraded.
Soon the whalemen were aston-
ished to find that they no long-
er needed to go to sea to hunt
their prey.
The intelligent killers were
deliberately herding their vic-
tims to the factory, knowing
that they would be killed and
a good feed would be the result.
Yet in spite of their• intelli-
gence and fury when roused,
whales are good parents and
faithful, even in death, to their
mates, which makes whaling,
though necessary to world eco-
nomy, a very sad business.
The grey whale which inhab-
its the North Pacific and the
strange humped -back whale,
which swims the remote waters
of both arctic' and antarctic re-
gions, will travel incredible dis-
tances in response to 'the cry of
a wounded comrade — the
humped -back whale's cry of dis-
tress resembling the shrill pip-
ing whistle of a small gauge
locomotive. And they will not
desert a wounded mate even
though fired at by harpoon
guns, staying faithfully by its
side until killed themselves.
Not only are whales devoted
to each other but to their off-
spring as well. On one occasion .
the captain of a fast mail steam-
er of a famous steamship line
stopped his vessel in order that.
<> the passengers might see a
titanic struggle. A pair of sperm
whales were defending their
"calf" against a pack of killer
sharks.
The whales crushed the
ravenous sea -wolves to pulp
with their mighty tails, which
can beat a stout boat to kindl-
ing. They ripped the life but
of them with their terrible
jaws, tossing them aloft like
rats from the muzzles of ter-
riers. Finally, unable to face
such a monstrous fury, the kill-
er pack fled.
But to -day, when up against
man, whales can no longer hold
their own as they did in the
days of Mocker Dick. Huge
factory ships with their attend-
ant fleets of powerful "catch-
ers," electric harpoons, radar,
and helicopter "spotters" have
made it a one-sided struggle.
International whaling com-
panies are already concerned
about the depletion in the whale
population. And if man does
restrain his ruthless hunting
the whale will soon be extinct.
When measuring a room for
carpeting, multiply the number
of feet in the length of the floor
by the number of feet in the
width and divide by nine. This
will give the square yardage ne-
cessary.
SANCTUARY IN A STABLE—Stable into garage into church Is
She story of the Fairmont Church of God church in Cincinnati.
In 1955, the church had only: 86 members, but the congresga-
tlop grew fast. It then occupied one floor over an aban-
doned grocery store, which soon became too cramped for comm
fort. The members bought the old barn, filled with old junk
and dirt. They cleaned it up, put in new floors, walls, ceilings,
electrical fixtures and heating equipment. A piano was bought
and an inter -corn :system installed. Photo shows how the church
looks today.
BOXER REBELLION—The cap being worn at a jaunty angle by
the big Boxer belongs to 14 -month-old Bobby Stell, And Bobby
wants it back since he "hasn't^,very much hair ,to protect his
scalp against the chill. The dog, left in charge of his young
master at the back of a downtown department store while
Bobby's parents were shopping, wants no questions as to
who's in charge.
j. T K1BLE
edndtews.
Bread puddings are dessert;
favorites with many fainilresk'
and I'm sure yours would kilo.
this one, made with almost anyt
kind of cooked berries. Somei
times, to make this pudding•
especially delightful, plain left.
over cake is used instead of
buttered' bread.
BERRY BREAD PUDDING
4 slices of yesterday's bread
Soft butter
1 pint berries
IA cup sugar
Cook berries and sugar = to
gether over low heat until don
(If you use canned Berrie
reduce sugar about 1A)an
cook only until sugar dissolve
If you use bread, cut crusts o
and discard. Spread bread wit
butter and cut into . bite -sine
pieces. Place a layer of
tered bread in bottom of ca
aleand pour some of,1
berries orf bread;` repeaa'
layers until bread and barn`
are used. Chill at least 5 hou
in refrigerator. Serve wi
whipped cream.
* * *
Here's another fine dessert:
that can be made in the morri~
ing and chilled until serving
time. Other fruits, of course,
may be substituted for the pine;-
apple.
RICE -PINEAPPLE CREAM
3/ cup heavy cream
1 cup diced fresh or canned
pineapple, well drained
IA cup sugar
11/2 cups cold, cooked rice
sea teaspoon vanilla
Whip cream until stiff. Coni-
bine with pineapple, sugar, rice
and vanilla. Chill tharoughlY.
Serves 6.
* * *
Another dessert to be chilled .
is applesauce whip. Spoon this
In sherbet glassess before put-
ting in the refrigerator, if you
like. For a spicy taste, sprinkle
with a little nutmeg or cinna-
mon.
FLUFFY APPLESAUCE
WHIP
cup chilled evaporated milk
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon
Iemon juice
1 cup chilled, sweetened
applesauce
Beat chilled evaporated milk
DON'T TOUCH From the pre•
dafory look the Persian cat is
giving the two parakeets, it
would seenlfhat the'birds are
about to breathe their last. But
there's no need for worry as ,
the three Paris, France, resin
dents all five together in har.
tnony. The owner of the feline,•
Which, by the way, Is a prize
winner, says it has a passion
for fennel, 'a plant of the care
rot family..
until it holds a peak; add lemon
juice and whip just to blend
thoroughly. Fold in chilled ap-
plesauce lightly but thoroughly.
• * * *
Packaged puddings — choco-
late, coconut, caramel, straw-
berry, and many others are a
real help to the busy housewife.
They can be served plain some-
times with whipped cream,
sometimes on cookies.
FLJFFY LIME PUDDING
1 grapefruit
2 oranges
13/ cups fruit juices and water
1 package lemon pudding and
pie filling
3/ cup sugar
2 egg yolks
3 tablespoons lime juice
Dash of salt
2 teapsoons grated lime rind
Few drops green food coloring
Z egg whites
r4 cup sugar
Peel grapefruit and oranges,
section, remove membrane and
set aside. Save any juice from
fruits and add water to make
13/4 cups. Combine pudding mix,
3/4 cup sugar, 1/4 cup of the
liquid and egg yolks in sauce-
pan. Blend well. Add remain-
ing 11/2 cups liquid, lime juice,
and salt. Cook and stir over me-
dium heat until mixture comes
to a full boil and is thickened
-- about 5 minutes.
Add grated rind and food
coloring. Beat egg white until
foamy. Add the I/4 of cup sugar,
2 tablespoons at a time, beat-
ing well after each addition.
Continue beating until peaks
form,
Very gradually fold the hot
pudding into the meringue.
Next, • fold in fruit sections.
Spoon into individual glass
serving dishes. Chill. Top with
sweetened whipped cream or
garnish with twisted lime slices.
Serves 6 to 8.
* * 4i
As spring brings fresh rhu-
barb, cherries and apples re-
member the fruit crisps that
are simple to make and good
for the family dessert. Try
these two on your Own family.
RHUBARB CRISP
4 cups diced rhubarb
% cup sugar
1 cup flour
1,4 cup butter
1 cup sugar
Mix rhubarb and 1/4 cup sugar
and place in greased baking
dish. Mix flour and 1/.s cup sugar
and cut in the butter for the
topping. Sprinkle topping mix
ture over frut. Bake at 350° for
35 minutes. Serve hot. Serves 4.
* * *
APPLE - CRISP
1• quart sliced cooking apples
1 teapsoon, cinnamon
?✓i can white sugar
1 cup water
x cup flour
eun brown snr'ar
3 tables"oors shortening
Core and' slice apples; place
in buttered baking dish. Mix
white sugar and cinnamon and
sprinkle over apples, Add, water.
Blend flour, brown sugar and
shortening together until. Crum-
bly, and sprinkle over top of
apples. Bake at 250° F. until
brown (about 50 minutes).. If
apples . are not tart,. add 1 tea-
spoon lemon juice.
Broadloom is a term for width,
not style Or quality. Tt means
seamless Carpet for any width
produced on broad looms trent
.stc to I$ beet wide. '
care of Carpets
The frequency with which car-
pets need to be cleaned depends,
of course, on the amount of
family traffic they receive and
also the amount of dust and dirt
in your neighborhood.
Carpet cleaning means three
kinds of care, daily, weekly and
special cleaning, Daily cleaning
helps prevent dirt and grime
from working down into the tufts
of a carpet. It is advisable -to
clean areas that receive off -
the -street traffic, every day.
Your carpet sweeper will not
wear out your carpet but dirt
will.
At least once a week, a carpet
should be thoroughly vacuumed,
behind and under all big pieces
of furniture and in all corners.
Don't use a broom on a pile car-
pet. It scratches the tiziy fila-
ments from the carpet yarns.
For the occasional special
cleaning, consult the best carpet
cleaner in your locality. He will
recommend the type of cleaning
best for your carpet and will tell
you whether it can be cleaned on
the floor. •
Never attempt to shampoo a
carpet yourself, for carpets must
be thoroughly ,rinsed and care-
fully dried and it is very dif-
ficult to do this at home.
Never use ammonia on spots
or stains. It is "liable to damage
both colour and carpet fibres. It
also sets many stains. Alkaline
detergents are also liable to
damage colour and carpet fibres.
Remove spots on your carpets
before they have a chance to set.
Liquids can be taken up with an
absorbent cloth and solid matter
should be scraped off with a dull
knife or spatula.
Flush out the spot with clean
warm water. If necessary use a
commercial cleaner with a car-
bon tetrachloride base to remove
a stubborn spot. Dry the carpet
thoroughly and as quickly as
possible using a fan or blower to
speed the action.
Good protection against wear
for any carpet is provided by a
carpet under -padding. A pad
smooths out slight irregularities
in the floor and prevents grind-
ing the carpet backing against
the floor boards. A good cushion
contributes to the luxuriousness
and comfort as well as the long
life of your carpets. For best
results use a good felt or hair -
padding or a sponge rubber un-
derlay.
Modern
Etiquette .
By Anne Ashley
Q. Some of my girl friends,
who have become engaged - re-
cently, have given their fiances
engagement presents. Is this a
new custom — and proper?
A. This is neither a new cus-
tom nor necessary. There is
nothing improper about it, how-
ever, if the girl wishes to do so.
Q. How should one remove
cherry pits from the mouth at
the table, by droppingtheme
into a spoon or into the cupped
hand?
A. Either is proper, although`
it would seem that , dropping
them into the hand' is better,
since it is less conspicuous.
Q. I have been invited to
spend two weeks with a good
friend and her husband who
live in another town. Would it
be proper for me to offer there
some money to cover any extra
expenses my visit might entail?
A. It would be much better if
you did not offer them any
money. A nice useful gift of
some kind would be much more
in order.
Q. Is it all right for a left-
handed person to hold his knife
in his left hand at the dinner
table?
A. He can just as easily learn
to use his knife in his right
hand. Using it in his left hand
could prove awkward, especial-
ly to the person seated at his
left.
"This is what happened to your
last week's pay check, darling."
FASHION HINT