MEDFOKD MAIL TRIBUNE, MEDFOKD. OREGON
THURSDAY. SEPTEMBER 12. 1S63
Mimioircaini Catches Porpoise
(Editor's note: A familiar
figure around our coasts but
one seldom seen In captivity
is the porpoise, an intelligent
creature fascinating to both
scientist and schoolchild. The
art of catching the wily
dolphin alive for exhibition
and study purposes is known
to few among them a Florida
Minorcan with a unique mcth
of fishing. In the following
dispatch a UPI staffer de
scribes the capture of a com
paratively rare spotted por
poise . . . literally by the tail.)
By PATRICK HARDEN
United Press International
ST. AUGUSTINE (UPI) -Ronnie
Capo hung perilously
wer the bows of the speeding
ioat, gripping a long, harpoon
ike pole with iron pincers on
me end poised for the strike.
Four feet below him, just be
neath the swirling waters of
he Atlantic, skimmed the sleek,
iark shadow of a spotted por
poise, one of six which had
played tag with the boat for
30 minutes.
Lazily the dolphin broke the
surface and rolled over the
crest of a wave, its broad tail
slapping the whitecaps cut by
the vessel.
"C'mon, papa, c'mon," Capo
breathed as the cigarshaped
mammal drifted closer and
closer to the bow. "C'mon!"
Then he struck, a swift down
ward jerk of his right arm
which clamped the pincers
around the porpoise and fast-
By
The Taiil
ened a tape-bound rope about
its thrashing tail.
The water boiled. The wooden
pole spun in one direction and
Capo grabbed the rigging and
leaped clear as the 300-pound
mammal coursed out to sea
dragging hundreds of feet of
heavy rope from the boat.
When the snorting dolphin re
turned to the surface to breathe
some 250 feet from the boat,
Capo grabbed the rope and be
gan to slow it down. Then he
and mate Joe LeBlanc began
the 20-minute task of "landing"
the porpoise, a job almost as
difficult as snaring its tail.
Capo, a bronzed, bearded
Minorcan with a rare knowledge
of the sea, has been catching
the black-and-white spotted
dolphin by the tail for years.
His unique "tail snare" meth
od is both humane and prac
tical, but exacting. When stalk
ing a porpoise at 10 knots with
a 50-foot boat . . . "You only
have one chance; miss your
shot and the porpoise will scare
away all the others in the
school," Capo said.
"The spotted dolphin is hard
to find and the chances are 25-1
against catching one . . . they've
been clocked at better than 30
knots."
Capo is head of the collecting
crew for Marineland of Florida,
the oceanarium located on the
coast about 18 miles south of
St. Augustine. His boat, the
Porpoise III is an unusual ves
sela sort of cross between a
shrimper and a freighter with
a ll-by-14 foot steel tank in her
belly and a 4-foot wide door
to the outside sea cut in the
hull.
The door, built with the base
about one foot under water, al
lows larger catches such as
shark, grouper and porpoise to
be hauled from the sea directly
into the live tank rather than
over the side,
prevents injury
Capo said
Capo, a slight figure who j a pair of spring-loaded blunt
looks more like a jazz musician ) pincers on the business end.
than an expert fisherman, and
LeBlanc, a burly Cajun and one
time shrimper, had sighted the
small group of spotted dolphin
playing about 10 miles off the
coast.
Tolstoy Invention
LeBlanc took the wheel and
steered for the school while
This method Capo prepared his "tail snar"
to the catch, an invention of Ilia Tolstoy,
grandson of the famous Russian
It was through this door the i writer.
thrashing, squeaking female As improved by Capo, the
porpoise came aboard. I tail snare is a 12-foot pole with
The pincers hold a noose-rope
which is snapped around the
mammal's tail. The pole falls
free after the strike, leaving the
uninjured porpoise free to swim
until hauled in.
For 30 minutes the boat, with
Capo poised on the bow, had
chased the six playful porpoises.
"These fellas like to ride the
waves cut by the bow," Capo
explained. "You can often see
them catching a free ride just
ahead of ocean liners or shrimp
boats."
Three times a calf swum
within striking distance, but
each time his mother chased
him away and the small school
moved further out to sea.
"They won't run t o d a y,"
groaned Capo disgustedly. "All
except the little fella . . . and
his momma won't let him. They
just aren't in the mood."
But minutes later another
large porpoise came to ride the
waves, drifted into range . . .
and Capo struck with perfect
aim.
Haul To Boat
Working the rope hand-over
hand, Capo and LeBlanc stead-1 hitting her nose or dorsal fin
ily hauled the porpoise to the on the steel sides.
boat. Then the Cajun dropped
into the deep 'live lank,' opened
the sea-door and dragged the
porpoise in with his bare hands.
"It isn't so difficult as it
looks," Capo said. "After all,
we have control of the tail and
the tail is the dolphin's source
of power."
Gently, like a father handling
a child, LeBlanc settled the
seven-foot long dolphin com
fortably in the tank, blocked in
on either side by boards to
keep her from twisting and
"She's very nervous," said
LeBlanc, his clothing dripping
on the deck. "But she's in
fine shape ... not a mark on
her. But we should get her
home quickly anyway."
Porpoise Splashes
The porpoise splashed quietly
in the tank as the Porpoise III
sped into harbor where attend
ants waited to haul the catch
on a special, stretcher-like ap
paratus from the 'live tank' on
to a mattress-covered truck for
the trip to Marineland.
"Finding and catching the
spotted dolphin is only half the
battle," Capo said. "Keeping
them alive and happy until they
get in the exhibition tank is
almost as difficult. , . ."
At the oceanarium the por
poise was placed in a special
tank until she had got over her
nerves and adapted to captiv
ity; given a careful inspection
for injury; offered a fat meal
of butterfish, then loosed into
the massive exhibition tank to
join her cousins.
Capo, nursing a sore right
arm, settled for a beer.
INJURED GIRL AIDED A policeman and a friend reach down
to aid an unconscious girl on the ground at West End High school
in Birmingham, Ala. The girl was knocked down when she was
caught between an unruly demonstrator and police. She was not
seriously hurt. (UPI)
The Family Council
Editor's note: The Famtlr Council consists
phyohJatrist, three clergymen, three editors ana
of a Judge.
women's editor.
bach article Is a sumrvary of a family disagreement presented to the
Council Ihe Council dials with problems, major and minor,
ncountfid by guidance counselor! and lucial workers. Edited by
Joan L. My sister is head-
L
1
THE NEW
POPE'S AIDE-
Who Grew Up in America!
Here is the little-known
story of the New York
schoolboy, Msgr. Ignio
Cardinale, who has reached
the inner circle of the Vati
can hierarchy.
Barrett McGurn, farmer
president of the Vatican
foreign correspondents'
association, writes the fas
cinating story of the most
Americanized prelate ever
to reach the highest levels
of the Catholic Church in
the feature-packed
SEPTEMBER 1STH
Weekend litue of
Family
Weekly
with your copy of the
MEDFORD
MAIL TRIBUNE
ed for a broken heart.
Martha L. I understand
Tom's problems. She doesn't.
Joan L. I'm afraid Martha
is leading with her chin and
will get hurt. She acts as though
Tom is the only man she'll ever
get to look at her and she be
lieves all his excuses for not
proposing. When he blows the
whistle, she runs whether
it's expensive, far, inconveni
ent. He won't go out of his way
at all.
Martha L. My sister is old
er but she's never been really
in love like me. That's why she's
so hard on Tom and tells me
he's only out for his own inter
ests, not mine. I know his job
comes first right now so I don't
expect him to knock himself
out traveling to see me. Money
is the big obstacle to our mar
riage for he must support his
parents.
The Council: Many people
who fall in "love" are just emo
tional kids who call it love.
What they "fall" in is more like
a daze, a self - hypnosis. Real
love and this is the definition
The Council swears by is an
irresistible urge to give wonder
ful things to the beloved, things
like comfort, freedom, self-expression.
There's hardly a
thought of receiving . . . Does
Tome love Martha? The test
come by changing the first 2
letters of the word. Make it
"give." Will he aim to give her
as much as possible and. ex
tending the same word, will he
give in. will he forgive? Evi
dently Martha hasn't had much
opportunity to put Tom's "love"
for her to this test, but has
passed her side of the test with
flying colors. Joan fears that
her sister is in one-sided love
which is as fanciful as a three
cornered moon and just as elu
sive. It's up to Martha to probe
Tom s relationship toward her.
Is he merely "taking" what she
so loyally offers? Or Is he also
dedicated to giving her peace of
mind, security? If the former,
he loves only himself. If the
latter, he loves her and a for
mal engagement is in the offing.
You Can Count on Us . . . Quality Costs No More at Sears
ft 7? A
nnmsai
4 HONE
Open Monday and Friday Evenings Till 9
Brand New For 1964.. SAVE OVER $40
TV RECLINERS
Regular Price 159.95
Sears
Low Sale
Price
nia
88
Deluxe tall biscuit tuffted
back. Extra heavy expanded
plastic covering will hold in
any position. Beautifully tail-
Extra strong and dur
Many colors to choose
Save Over $20
Bunk Beds
Regular 119.95
Sears
Low Sale
Price
&hi!88
Complete
Bunk bed of hardwood Salem Maple fin
ish. Includes the beds, ladder, guard
rail, metal bunk bed rails. Bunkie unit
includes 2 innerspring mattresses with
bunkie pads.
AR3NYH?j ored.
Custom Mural Panels
Wf
Sale Priced 3 Days Only
"Flying Geese'
Floor Length Draperies
88
Single
Width
Unltned
Pair
A flight of geese pictures a pleasant
scene of solitude and natural design.
Printed on antique rayon satin in 4
colorations. Save on all sizes.
Flying Geese"
Miniature
in
For short, small-scaled
windows. 48x63-in.
H3
Other Mural Panels as low as $4.00 per panel-includes con
temporary, traditional, floral Modern. Big savings on Solid
Colored PaWics, featuring popular linens, jacquard weaves,
antiqa satiis. Save up to 30.
Shop at Scars and Save
Satisfaction Guaranteed or Your Money Back
Free Decorator
Consultant in
Your Home
Relax in comfort of your home. Our
decorator consultant, Mr. Ralph King
man will bring decorating magic to
you, give you professional advice on
the use of pattern and color to blend
in with the rest of your furnishings.
Complete estimates on slipcovers,
draperies, reupholstery. No obliga
tion. No charge.
rx , I i i r
Wh .
EJnVJ M M
Save Over $30.00 Now!...
9x12 Ft. Axminster Rugs
IPLIUS MEIE
9x12 Ft. Rug Cushion
Sale Priced!
Hurry In. .While
Quantities
LAST !
H T7N qq
A I I V- (IP (IP
Special $1,000,000.00 purchase of 5 exceptional modern textured pat
terns in good quality Axminister rugs . . . ideal for living rooms, bed
rooms, and family areas, Choose now from tweeds . . . textures and
multi-colored patterns in beige floral, brown swirl, beige swirl, brown
textured, beige textured plus a bonus offer. A FREE deluxe rubber
coated 9x12 rug cushion.
No Money Down! Now
ON SEARS EASY PAYMENT PLAN
FOR CARPET AND
HOME CLEANING
Call 773-0001
Cleaning of carpets, rugs, furniture,
floors, walls, static proofing and more.
Ma
SEARS
501 MEDFORD
SHOPPING CENTER
Phone 773-6661
FREE PARKING
STORE HOURS:
Tue., Wed., Thurs., Sat., Mon Fri.,
9:30 a.m. to S:30 p.m. 9:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.