Whales at Play Near Alcatraz -- October 24, 2010

From the 30-June-1896 San Francisco Call. WA Coulter did many maritime drawings for the newspaper.

Ferry Tiburon sailed for the San Francisco and North Pacific Railroad and later the California Northwestern and the Northwestern Pacific.

WHALES AT PLAY NEAR ALCATRAZ,

Kept the Steamer Tiburon Company for Over a Mile.

THREE OF THEM CAME IN

One Sprang Clear of the Water and Its Descent Shook the Tiburon.

Three whales made their way in through the Golden Gate yesterday and had a great time of it for two or three hours with the Sausalito and Tiburon ferry-boats as they came and went on their hourly trips. Two of the mammals were graybacks and one, Captain White of the Tiburon is confident, was a sperm. It was of enormous proportions and three times the size of either of the other leviathans. The graybacks spouted about the steamer
for over a mile of her course. One of them jumped almost clear of the water and then sounded. The last seen of him was his tail which waved for an instant in the air and then vanished. The sperm whale remained by the Tiburon for a time and then it also sank out of sight.

On the return trip they again put in an appearance, and Captain White came to the conclusion that they were feeding on the small fish with which the bay abounds at this time of the year. They did not seem to be a bit afraid of the steamer, and evidently took her and tbe noise she was making for one of their own kind at play. It would probably fare badly with any of the bay craft that should happen to strike one of these monsters on a dark night The last seen of the trio they were working their way slowly back to the Heads.