http://dailynews.yahoo.com/headlines/ts/story.html?s=v/nm/19990517/ts/environment_whale_3.html In the tiny town of Neah Bay, there was a festive atmosphere as tribal members closed their businesses and waited in a downpour of rain for the whale to be brought to shore. ``I didn't think we had it in us, but the canoers proved us wrong,'' said tribe member Dan Cook, who was sitting on a lawn chair under a makeshift shelter. ``They are carrying out the tradition of our heritage and our tribe.'' Tribal council Chairman Ben Johnson said in a statement: ''May 17 will go down in history as one of the greatest days for the Makah.'' http://www.accesswaco.com/shared-cgi/stories/show.cgi?id=aponline-menus-data/National.AP.V0108.AP-Makah-Whaling.story&menu=National.html ``The strike went in and everybody roared in applause, rejoicing of their voices all in unity,'' said Joddie Johnson, owner of the restaurant. Paddling rapidly, the seven-man Makah crew stalked the whale under gray and misty skies about an eighth of a mile off shore, steering the canoe's long, narrow bow directly above the animal. About an hour after dawn, blood stained the choppy waters of the Pacific as the hunters repeatedly harpooned the huge mammal. The whale, which appeared to be at least as long as the 32-foot canoe, thrashed once and dived, dragging the boat in a wide circle. The whale resurfaced minutes later. Support crews in motorized boats moved in with rifles and shot the whale point-blank at least twice. Whalers aboard the canoe and a support boat struck it twice more with harpoons, all within 10 minutes of the initial hit. [There are many whale watching tours in the area and whales are used to people on boats and therefore do not fear them. That may change now. ---T] http://www.vancouversun.com/cgi-bin/newsite.pl?adcode=w-mm&modulename=world%20news&template=international&nkey=vs&filetype=fullstory&file=/cpfs/world/990517/w051704.html The U.S. Coast Guard seized four protest boats Saturday for investigation of alleged unsafe operation, said Cmdr. John Schott in Seattle. But the anti-whaling activists vowed to remain. "Boats are replaceable," Jonathan Paul, head of the Oregon-based Sea Defence Alliance, said in a cell phone interview from the 29-metre Sirenian, the flagship of the protest fleet. "People are calling in and offering their boats. http://www.vancouversun.com/cgi-bin/newsite.pl?adcode=n-mm&modulename=national%20news&template=national&nkey=vs&filetype=fullstory&file=/cpfs/national/990517/n051760.html VICTORIA (CP) - The killing of a grey whale by Makah natives in neighbouring Washington could lead to a resumption of worldwide whale hunts, a whale-watching guide said Monday. Chris Hall said the killing sends chills down his spine. "I�m devastated," he said. "It�s a cruel act. It�s awful. It�s just brutal. It�s not necessary in these times." ------------------------------------------------------- RecOzNet2 has a page @ http://www.green.net.au/recoznet2 and is archived at http://www.mail-archive.com/ To unsubscribe from this list, mail [EMAIL PROTECTED], and in the body of the message, include the words: unsubscribe announce or click here mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20announce This posting is provided to the individual members of this group without permission from the copyright owner for purposes of criticism, comment, scholarship and research under the "fair use" provisions of the Federal copyright laws and it may not be distributed further without permission of the copyright owner, except for "fair use." RecOzNet2 is archived for members @ http://www.mail-archive.com/
