Daily Post - 14.08.1941, Síða 2

2
DAILY *JOc:T
To the South of Iceland lie the Faroe Isles, where
Wtaale Hunting
is one of the traditional oecnpations of tbe
inhabitants
By Sgt. A. Scrutton
-----»..
On the journey homeward from Iceland it is often possible to catch a climpse of the F*r#e
Isles, the rugged, isolated islands some 300 miles to the south.
It is there that one of th'e oldest and primitive means of gaining a livelihood survives —
that of hunting whales. A distinctive method is used by the Faroese, for their rocky, mouataitt'
ous homeland with its numerous fjords constitute a trap for these animals from th*e higher lati-
tudes.
DAILY POST
is issued by S. Benediktsson.
Office: 12, Austurstræti, Tele- \
phone 3715. Reykjavík. Prin-
ted by Alþýðuprentsmiðjan.
Thursday, August 14. 1941
_______________________
Vichy In Its
True Colours
The main fact about the ap-
piointment by Hitler of Admiral
Darian as puppet dktator of
Franoe is that it is the logica!
sequel to what happened in that
unfortunate oountry after the
Vichy-Berlin armistioe. France
pasised them into the hands of a
few selfish men whose aim in
aqdeipting power was to prevent
for their own ends that nation-
wáde chao's with whioh the Frenc
people wou]d cgrtainly have im-
peded the German digestion of
oonquest. i
Hitler was aontent to let these
puppet figures establish their
personai fortunes, defeated
Frenchmen though they vere,
since firough them he thought
he could gain peaceful control of
all France and hamess her in-
dustries to the German war
machine. He thought wrongly.
The pretence that Vitíhy repres-
ented the true simple soul of
France wiiokedly betrayed by de-
mocratic imposters into war with
friendly Germany was too mon-
strous íor the French people to
believe, and Vichy could on.ly
have fl'ourished on their belief.
The people of France impeded
Vichy at! every turn. Hitler faiied
to subdue France by one method
so he tries another. Ahandonumg
the idea of a puppet democratíy
he selects the most dotfle puppet
and robes him openly as a dicta-
tor in' the mantle of German
authority. But he will fail by
this method as with the first.
branœ Is mcxwi at war ith us.
She is the very opposite. Her
people are more than ever our
allies. Hitler’s act is a fresh de-
claration of wiar on the Freruqh
peopleu an open adqeptanoe by
him of their öontinued and im-
plactable enmity.
JAPAN. (Contin. from Page 1).
that as soon as the Japanese feel
they are prepared foir at ooamter
attadi they will enter ThaiUand.
A misty day and driving rain
are the ideal conditions. The
islanders call it “whale rain”
and are glad to see the dark
rainclouds coming from the
north, for that mean's the ad-
vent of whales in hundreds —
or perhaps even a thousand.
Whale meat to the Faroese is a
delicacy and correspondingly
valuable, but more than that it
has saved many a village from
starvation. It is a wholesome
and necessary food.
WHALE RAIN.
At any time during the year
when the “whale rain” beats a
tattoo on mountain-side and
fjord everybody keeps an eager
look-out for the grey shapes on
the limited horizon.
Driven by some unknown
instinct these queer animals
flee towards the south; every
swiftly onward, as if with an
urgent mission to fulfil. The
first person to sight the
characteristic movements of the
herd as they plough doggedly
forward runs quickly to the
nearest telephone and soon the
glad news is known in every
one of the seventeen islands.
There is not a moment to
lose, for if the whales miss the
islands it means the loss of
and a chance of
prosperity for
TELEPHONING THE NEWS.
A telephone is now installed
in every village now, almost
expressly on account of the
whales. At one time beacons
,had to be lit and the news
passed round from point to
point as soon as the fires were
noticed.
Today, everyone learns in-
stantly of the approach of a
living food convoy.
As soon as the word passes
r-ound, everyday work ceases.
The school teacher leaves his
class and the children, under-
standing, troop off home. —
Shops are closed and the rest of
the people oome out of their
houses or leave the farms.
They hasten towards the sea
shore on the edge of the fjord,
bringing with them long sticks
or poles with sharp pointed
metal ends, daggers, old bay-
onets, and knives — anything
, which will serve to kill the sea
1 cattle.
t
KNIVES AND SPEARS.
Jumping into every available
boat, the men row for all they
are worth towards the unsu-
specting herd.
Meanwhile, the women and
children who remain on shore
fetch knives and spears for
killing those which flounder
ashore still alive; and every-
thing is made ready for extrac-
ting the valuable liver oil. As
soon as he first few boats reach
the whales oars are shipped
and from the bottom of their
boats the seamen fetch up
large stones tied on to separate
lengths of string so that they
may be let down into the water
and bobbed up and down, thus
scaring the whales towards
land and to their doom. It is
easier to kill the animals when
they are stranded helplessly on
shore.
Nevertheless good work is
done with the spears at sea and
many a boat is stove in or over-
turned by a wounded beast
seeking to escape the skilful
thrusts of the hunters. Practice
through the centuries has made
the Faroese wise to the pro-
bable movements of the whales,
so that in spite of occasional
death and injury from frenzied
animals maddened by the gen-
eral noise and confusion, there
is generally a happy ending to
the hunt.
FORCED ON TO THE BEACH-
Assailed on three sides, tho
floundering herd makes for the
shore. If they have to swim up
a long fjord, ashes are ofteu
strewn on the water so that
they are blinded and prevented
from perceiving the nearness of
land.
Together they are forced by
their concerted rate of travel,
and unpreparedness clear of the
water so that at low tide the
beach is strewn with dozen of
corpses.
It's a fine sight — for the
islanders — the sign of a good
day’s work and ease and plenty
in store. To us the blood and
slaughter and certainly the
smell would be repulsive!
CELEBRATIONS.
The natives however have
other views. Such a gift froit1
the gods must be duly celebra-
ted, and a successful whal®
hunt is made the occasion fot
a holiday.
For descendants of the old
Norse Vikings the Faroese are
unusually temperate and fin^
more pleasure in dancing, —
singing, and sport, than lifting
the modem equivalent of tho
intricately-carved drinking
horn. Folk dancing in eolourftd
national dress; and strenuoo5
rowing races, now provide
outlet for the joy over a suc'
cessful kill.
Many are the songs which
have been composed to extoli
the prowess of the whale
hunters and the wild nature
their prey. Heroic are the thod1
es and brave the chorus....
It seems a shame to hare t0
belie the fisherman’s trend
(Continued on page 3).
French nesistanoe may only sim-
»er mow! but one day it will boi!
up in a flood which will destnoy
the man whio has pnovoked it.
Let us avoid assuming, as Hit-
ler would have Us assume, that
subsistence
comparitive
several months.