A Runaway Whale.
D jugging a Boat at the Rate of'a Mile a Minute.
(fkom the new haven union.)
Wandering around on the wharves a day or two ago, among the remnants ot what was once the scene of bustle and activity in the good old days of whaling, a Übion reporter encountered an old sea captain who had a K°°d story to tell. Near by was moored a whaling vessel and casks of. oil were ranged about, so that the old tar seemed at home. The conversation turned on the recent boat races and the time made for two miles by the Jiarrard and Columbia freshmen crews The ohl sailor thought that the boys rowed well and went pretty fast j but he had gone faster, and probably faster than many men erer went in a rowboat. The scribe urged the mariner to tell the story, which he did substantially as follows*: It is about thirty-fire years * ago since I went out from New London as a boat steerer. That is a pretty, lireiy berth, as any whaleman can tell you, especially -when a whale is tackled. The steerer has virtually the control of the boat and the safety of the men in it, and when the whalo begins to lash the water with his tail, look out, there's danger in being near the big fluke. Kouietimes you can put an iron into a whale and he won't splash on the surface, but will start off like a rocket, or perhaps will go right down, «nd yo« have to cut loose and lose your line and irons. Still a whaleman gets used to these things and when a boat is store by a whale, or when the crew get into any difficulty, they generally know what to do, and take matters philosophically. They are tough fellows, and cun row for hours (and without training) and with heavy oar 3 resting on the " gunnel" (guuwale) of the boat. In those days a different class of men went whaling from what go now. Previous to the war—that is, some years previous—there was money in both oil • and bone, though just before the war they sold for less than you could get them for. But when THESE WAS MONET IN WHALING, Captains could get a passably good pick of men for their crews. Stout young; - fellows, who couldn't make more than their salt on the farm, came down to New London to go to sea. They had heard of the big chances for a good voyage, .which, if realised, would give them in a few months more money than they ever saw. If the owners got the lion's share of the money, there was still a good lot left to be doled out iv "lays" (proportionate shares) to the men. In fact, fortuneswere made in one voyage, or what would pass for an acceptable competency for the man who was contented to live modestly. Well, on the ship on which I was boatsteerer, this time there was as fine a set of men, pluck and endurance considered, aa you ever saw.- In my boat's crew there were some particularly good men. But what happened to us one day tried the' mettle of several of them. We were laying becalmed one day off the Cape of Good Hope. It was as smooth as a mill pond for, miles ; you couldn't see a ripple on'the water, for not a breath of wind stirred. There were several whalers lying off the bind, close in, waiting fora wind or some* thing to give them occupation. By and by we saw two or three whales coming up to blow, about two miles away. The captain called the watch up and a.couple of boats started for the whales, which were sunning themselves. In my boat was a big negro, black as the ace' of spades. Every time he rowed a stroke the boat would shoot ahead, and he would open his mouth and grin, showing a wonderful display of ivory. We raced -with the other boat and got ahead, for my men were lithe and tough, and by and by we got alsoDgside of one of the big fellows. The steering oar was pulled in; the oars were packed—that is pulled in so.that they couldn't strike the water; then an iron was thrown into the floating island. The whale lay still for a minute, as if
STBUCK WITH AMAZEMENT That any one should dare to touch him. The rope which was coiled up in the tub in the bottom of the boat didn't seem to be of any use for a moment. la the meantime the other boat had come up. Suddenly the whale made up his mind what to do. He started off like a locomotive, the rope whizzing around in a way to astonish a landlubber. When the rope was out we were rushing by the Captain's boat like mad. The captain took off his hat and waved it at me, shouting, "Groit, young man; you're going out of town.faster than you'll ever go. again." All we could do in that double-ended boat was to sit still and see her go through the water. I candidly believe that we' went at the rate of a mile a minute, and the, water was a very wonderful sight. It reminds me, now that I think of it, of Poe's description of the interior of the maelstrom, where the water went round so fast and was so black that it must have seemed like a wall of polished ebony. The pressure downward piled the water up on both sides of us so that it seemed to be at least 3ft. higher than the edge of the boat, but it couldn't run, for we were going so fast it hadn't.time. Every one's eyes were blurred with the wind, which seemed to be blowing a hurricane against us. The line hitched to the iron in the whale was rushing through the water as rigid as an iron rod, and there must have been a line of foam a mile long behind us. This thing couldn't go on for ever. The negro had got a little scared, for it looked as if the whale would never get tired out, and we were going to sea at an amazing rate. The ship went away as if by magic, and. we had lost sight of the other boat. The negro stopped grinning, and the other men expected at least to have a row all night in the dark unless the ship should follow us. Finally the line all at once slackened, The whale hadn't stopped, and, for all I know, is going ahead at the rate of a mile a minute still, but the iron had come out. We rowed back to the ship, and as we came along the Captain called over the rail: ". Where's the. whale ?" " Oh?" said I, " the iron melted out, he went so fast." "Just what I thought," said the Captain; and that night we had " plum duff" and grog.
Permanent link to this item
Hononga pūmau ki tēnei tūemi
https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/THS18800923.2.14
Bibliographic details
Ngā taipitopito pukapuka
Thames Star, Volume XI, Issue 3664, 23 September 1880, Page 2
Word count
Tapeke kupu
1,181A Runaway Whale. Thames Star, Volume XI, Issue 3664, 23 September 1880, Page 2
Using this item
Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi
No known copyright (New Zealand)
To the best of the National Library of New Zealand’s knowledge, under New Zealand law, there is no copyright in this item in New Zealand.
You can copy this item, share it, and post it on a blog or website. It can be modified, remixed and built upon. It can be used commercially. If reproducing this item, it is helpful to include the source.
For further information please refer to the Copyright guide.