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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Cruise of the Cachalot, by Frank T. Bullen
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: The Cruise of the Cachalot
+       Round the World After Sperm Whales
+
+Author: Frank T. Bullen
+
+Posting Date: August 15, 2008 [EBook #1356]
+Release Date: June, 1998
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE CRUISE OF THE CACHALOT ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by An Anonymous Volunteer
+
+
+
+
+
+THE CRUISE OF THE "CACHALOT"
+
+ROUND THE WORLD AFTER SPERM WHALES
+
+Frank T. Bullen, F.R.G.S.
+
+First Mate
+
+
+
+
+     To
+
+     Miss Emily Hensley
+
+     In grateful remembrance of thirty years' constant friendship and
+     practical help this work is affectionately dedicated by her
+     humble pupil.
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE
+
+In the following pages an attempt has been made--it is believed for the
+first time--to give an account of the cruise of a South Sea whaler from
+the seaman's standpoint. Two very useful books have been published--both
+of them over half a century ago--on the same subject; but, being written
+by the surgeons of whale-ships for scientific purposes, neither of them
+was interesting to the general reader. ["Narrative of a Whaling Voyage
+round the Globe," by F Debell Bennett, F.R.C.S. (2 vols). Bentley,
+London (1840). "The Sperm Whale Fishery," by Thomas Beale, M.R.C.S.
+London (1835).] They have both been long out of print; but their value
+to the student of natural history has been, and still is, very great,
+Dr. Beale's book, in particular, being still the authority on the sperm
+whale.
+
+This book does not pretend to compete with either of the above valuable
+works. Its aims is to present to the general reader a simple account of
+the methods employed, and the dangers met with, in a calling about
+which the great mass of the public knows absolutely nothing. Pending the
+advent of some great writer who shall see the wonderful possibilities
+for literature contained in the world-wide wanderings of the South Sea
+whale-fishers, the author has endeavoured to summarize his experiences
+so that they may be read without weariness, and, it is hoped, with
+profit.
+
+The manifold shortcomings of the work will not, it is trusted, be laid
+to the account of the subject, than which none more interesting could
+well be imagined, but to the limitations of the writer, whose long
+experience of sea life has done little to foster the literary faculty.
+
+One claim may be made with perfect confidence--that if the manner be
+not all that could be wished, the matter is entirely trustworthy, being
+compiled from actual observation and experience, and in no case at
+second-hand. An endeavour has also been made to exclude such matter
+as is easily obtainable elsewhere--matters of common knowledge and
+"padding" of any sort--the object not being simply the making of a book,
+but the record of little-known facts.
+
+Great care has been taken to use no names either of ships or persons,
+which could, by being identified, give annoyance or pain to any one, as
+in many cases strong language has been necessary for the expression of
+opinions.
+
+Finally, the author hopes that, although in no sense exclusively a
+book for boys, the coming generation may find this volume readable and
+interesting; and with that desire he offers it confidently, though in
+all humility, to that great impartial jury, the public.
+
+F.T.B. Dulwich, July, 1897.
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+CHAPTER I--OUTWARD BOUND Adrift in New Bedford--I get a ship--A
+motley crowd--"Built by the mile, and cut off as you want 'em"--Mistah
+Jones--Greenies--Off to sea.
+
+CHAPTER II--PREPARING FOR ACTION Primitive steering-gear--Strange
+drill--Misery below--Short commons--Goliath rigs the
+"crow's-nest"--Useful information--Preparing for war--Strange weapons--A
+boat-load.
+
+CHAPTER III--FISHING BEGINS The cleanliness of a whale-ship--No
+skulking--Porpoise-fishing--Cannibals--Cooking operations--Boat-drill--A
+good look-out--"Black-fishing"--Roguery in all trades--Plenty of fresh
+beef--The nursery of American whalemen.
+
+CHAPTER IV--BAD WEATHER Nautical routine--The first gale--Comfort
+versus speed--A grand sea-boat--The Sargasso Sea--Natural history
+pursuits--Dolphin--Unconventional fishing--Rumours of a visit to the
+Cape Verdes--Babel below--No allowance, but not "full and plenty"--Queer
+washing--Method of sharing rations--The "slop-shop" opened--Our
+prospects.
+
+
+CHAPTER V--ACTUAL WARFARE. OUR FIRST WHALE Premonitions--Discussion
+on whaling from unknown premisses--I wake in a fright--Sperm whales
+at last--The war begins--Warning--We get fast--and get loose--In
+trouble--an uncomfortable situation--No Pity-Only one whale--Rigging the
+"cutting-stage"--Securing the whale alongside.
+
+
+CHAPTER VI--"DIRTY WORK FOR CLEAN MONEY" Goliath in trouble--Commence
+"cutting-in"--A heavy head--A tank of spermaceti--Decks running
+with oil--A "Patent" mincing-machine--Extensive cooking--Dangerous
+work--Three tuns of oil--A horrible mess--A thin-skinned monster--A fine
+mouth of teeth.
+
+
+CHAPTER VII--GETTING SOUTHWARD Captain Slocum's
+amenities--Expensive beer--St. Paul's Rocks--"Bonito"--"Showery"
+weather--Waterspouts--Calms--A friendly finback--A disquisition on
+whales by Mistah Jones--Flying-fishing.
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII--ABNER'S WHALE Abner in luck--A big "fish" at last--A feat
+of endurance--A fighting whale--The sperm whale's food--Ambergris--A
+good reception--Hard labour--Abner's reward--"Scrimshaw".
+
+
+CHAPTER IX--OUR FIRST CALLING-PLACE A forced march--Tristan
+d'Acunha--Visitors--Fresh provisions--A warm welcome--Goliath's
+turn--a feathered host--Good gear--A rough time--Creeping
+north--Uncertainty--"Rule of thumb"--navigation--The Mozambique Channel.
+
+
+CHAPTER X--A VISIT TO SOME STRANGE PLACES Tropical thunderstorms--A
+"record" day's fishing--Cetacean frivolities--Mistah Jones moralizes--A
+snug harbour--Wooding and watering--Catching a turtle--Catching a
+"Tartar"--A violent death--A crooked jaw--Aldabra Island--Primeval
+inhabitants--A strange steed--"Pirate" birds--Good eggs--Green
+cocoa-nuts--More turtle--A school of "kogia".
+
+
+CHAPTER XI--ROUND THE COCOS AND SEYCHELLES We encounter a "cyclone"--A
+tremendous gust--a foundering ship--To anchor for repairs--The
+Cocos--Repairing damages--Around the Seychelles--A "milk" sea--A
+derelict prahu--A ghastly freight--A stagnant sea.
+
+
+CHAPTER XII--WHICH TREATS OF THE KRAKEN "Eyes and no eyes" at sea--Of
+big mollusca--The origin of sea-serpent stories--Rediscovery of the
+"Kraken"--A conflict of monsters--"The insatiable nightmares of the
+sea"--Spermaceti running to waste--The East Indian maze.
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII--OFF TO THE JAPAN GROUNDS A whale off Hong Kong--The
+skipper and his "'bomb-gun"--Injury to the captain--Unwelcome
+visitors--The heathen Chinee--We get safe off--"Death of Portagee
+Jim"--The Funeral--The Coast of Japan--Port Lloyd--Meeting of
+whale-ships.
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV--LIBERTY DAY--AND AFTER Liberty day--I foregather with
+a "beach-comber"--A big fight--Goliath on the war-path--A
+court-martial--Wholesale flogging--a miserable crowd--Quite a fleet of
+whale-ships--I "raise" a sperm whale--Severe competition--An unfortunate
+stroke--The skipper distinguishes himself.
+
+
+CHAPTER XV--WHICH COMES UNCOMFORTABLY NEAR BEING THE LAST I come
+to grief--Emulating Jonah--Sharing a flurry--A long spell of
+sick-leave--The whale's "sixth sense"--Off to the Kuriles--Prepare for
+"bowhead" fishing--The Sea of Okhotsk--Abundant salmon--The "daintiness"
+of seamen.
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI--"BOWHEAD" FISHING Difference between whales--Popular ideas
+exploded--The gentle mysticetus--Very tame work--Fond of tongue--Goliath
+confides in me--An awful affair--Captain Slocum's death--"Not Amurath an
+Amurath succeeds"--I am promoted.
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII--VISIT TO HONOLULU Towards Honolulu--Missionaries and their
+critics--The happy Kanaka--Honolulu--A pleasant holiday.
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII--ON THE "LINE" GROUNDS I get my opportunity--A
+new harpooner--Feats under the skipper's eye--Two whales on one
+line--Compliments Heavy towage--A grand haul.
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX--EDGING SOUTHWARD Monotony--A school of blackfish--A boat
+ripped in half--A multitude of sharks--A curious backbone--Christmas
+Day--A novel Christmas dinner--A find of ambergris.
+
+
+CHAPTER XX--"HUMPBACKING" AT VAU VAU "Gamming" again--a
+Whitechapel rover--arrive at Vau Vau--Valuable friends--a Sunday
+ashore--"Hollingside"--The natives at church--Full-dress--Very
+"mishnally"--Idyllic cruising--Wonderful mother-love--A mighty feast.
+
+
+CHAPTER XXI--PROGRESS OF THE "HUMPBACK" SEASON A fruitless chase--Placid
+times--a stirring adventure--a vast cave--Unforeseen company--A night
+of terror--We provide a feast for the sharks--the death of Abner--An
+impressive ceremony--an invitation to dinner--Kanaka cookery.
+
+
+CHAPTER XXII--FAREWELL TO VAU VAU Ignorance of the habits of whales--A
+terrific encounter--VAE VICTIS--Rewarding our "flems"--We leave Van
+Vau--The Outward bounder--Sailors' "homes"--A night of horror--Sudden
+death--Futuna.
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIII--AT FUTUNA, RECRUITING A fleet of nondescripts--"Tui
+Tongoa" otherwise Sam--Eager recruits--Devout Catholics--A visit to
+Sunday Island--A Crusoe family--Their eviction--Maori cabbage--Fine
+fishing--Away for New Zealand--Sight the "Three Kings"--The Bay of
+Islands.
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIV--THE BAY OF ISLANDS AND NEW ZEALAND COAST Sleepy
+hollow--Wood and water--liberty day--A plea for the sailors'
+recreation--Our picnic--A a whiff of "May"--A delightful excursion--To
+the southward again--Wintry weather--Enter Foveaux Straits.
+
+
+CHAPTER XXV--ON THE SOLANDER GROUNDS Firstfruits of the Solander--An
+easy catch--Delights of the Solander--Port William--The
+old CHANCE--"Paddy Gilroy"--Barbarians from the East
+End--Barracouta-Fishing--Wind-bound--An enormous school of
+cachalots--Misfortune--A bursting whale--Back on the Solander
+again--Cutting-in at Port William--Studying anatomy--Badly battered
+Yankees--Paddy in luck again.
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVI--PADDY'S LATEST EXPLOIT We try Preservation Inlet--An
+astounding feat of Paddy Gilroy's.
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVII--PORT PEGASUS Port Pegasus--Among old
+acquaintances--"Mutton birds"--Skilled auxiliaries--A gratifying
+catch--Leave port again--Back to the Solander--A grim escape--Our last
+whales--Into Port William again--Paddy's assistance--We part with our
+Kanakas--Sam's plans of conquest.
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVIII--TO THE BLUFF, AND HOME And last--In high-toned
+company--Another picnic--Depart from the Bluff--Hey for the Horn!--Among
+the icebergs--"Scudding"--Favouring trades--A narrow escape from
+collision--Home at last.
+
+
+
+
+INTRODUCTION
+
+Without attempting the ambitious task of presenting a comprehensive
+sketch of the origin, rise, and fall of whale-fishing as a whole, it
+seems necessary to give a brief outline of that portion of the subject
+bearing upon the theme of the present book before plunging into the
+first chapter.
+
+This preliminary is the more needed for the reason alluded to in
+the Preface--the want of knowledge of the subject that is apparent
+everywhere. The Greenland whale fishery has been so popularized that
+most people know something about it; the sperm whale fishery still
+awaits its Scoresby and a like train of imitators and borrowers.
+
+Cachalots, or sperm whales, must have been captured on the coasts of
+Europe in a desultory way from a very early date, by the incidental
+allusions to the prime products spermaceti and ambergris which are found
+in so many ancient writers, Shakespeare's reference--"The sovereign'st
+thing on earth was parmaceti for an inward bruise"--will be familiar to
+most people, as well as Milton's mention of the delicacies at Satan's
+feast--"Grisamber steamed"--not to carry quotation any further.
+
+But in the year 1690 the brave and hardy fishermen of the north-east
+coasts of North America established that systematic pursuit of the
+cachalot which has thriven so wonderfully ever since, although it must
+be confessed that the last few years have witnessed a serious decline in
+this great branch of trade.
+
+For many years the American colonists completely engrossed this branch
+of the whale fishery, contentedly leaving to Great Britain and the
+continental nations the monopoly of the northern or Arctic fisheries,
+while they cruised the stormy, if milder, seas around their own shores.
+
+For the resultant products, their best customer was the mother country,
+and a lucrative commerce steadily grew up between the two countries. But
+when the march of events brought the unfortunate and wholly unnecessary
+War of Independence, this flourishing trade was the first to suffer, and
+many of the daring fishermen became our fiercest foes on board their own
+men-of-war.
+
+The total stoppage of the importation of sperm oil and spermaceti was
+naturally severely felt in England, for time had not permitted the
+invention of substitutes. In consequence of this, ten ships were
+equipped and sent out to the sperm whale fishery from England in 1776,
+most of them owned by one London firm, the Messrs. Enderby. The next
+year, in order to encourage the infant enterprise, a Government bounty,
+graduated from L500 to L1000 per ship, was granted. Under this
+fostering care the number of ships engaged in the sperm whale fishery
+progressively increased until 1791, when it attained its maximum.
+
+This method of whaling being quite new to our whalemen, it was
+necessary, at great cost, to hire American officers and harpooners
+to instruct them in the ways of dealing with these highly active
+and dangerous cetacea. Naturally, it was by-and-by found possible
+to dispense with the services of these auxiliaries; but it must be
+confessed that the business never seems to have found such favour, or to
+have been prosecuted with such smartness, among our whalemen as it has
+by the Americans.
+
+Something of an exotic the trade always was among us, although it did
+attain considerable proportions at one time. At first the fishing was
+confined to the Atlantic Ocean; nor for many years was it necessary to
+go farther afield, as abundance of whales could easily be found.
+
+As, however, the number of ships engaged increased, it was inevitable
+that the known grounds should become exhausted, and in 1788 Messrs.
+Enderby's ship, the EMILIA, first ventured round Cape Horn, as the
+pioneer of a greater trade than ever. The way once pointed out, other
+ships were not slow to follow, until, in 1819, the British whale-ship
+SYREN opened up the till then unexplored tract of ocean in the western
+part of the North Pacific, afterwards familiarly known as the "Coast
+of Japan." From these teeming waters alone, for many years an average
+annual catch of 40,000 barrels of oil was taken, which, at the average
+price of L8 per barrel, will give some idea of the value of the trade
+generally.
+
+The Australian colonists, early in their career, found the sperm whale
+fishery easy of access from all their coasts, and especially lucrative.
+At one time they bade fair to establish a whale fishery that should
+rival the splendid trade of the Americans; but, like the mother country,
+they permitted the fishery to decline, so that even bounties could not
+keep it alive.
+
+Meanwhile, the Americans added to their fleet continually, prospering
+amazingly. But suddenly the advent of the civil war let loose among
+those peaceable cruisers the devastating ALABAMA, whose course was
+marked in some parts of the world by the fires of blazing whale-ships. A
+great part, of the Geneva award was on this account, although it must be
+acknowledged that many pseudo-owners were enriched who never owned aught
+but brazen impudence and influential friends to push their fictitious
+claims. The real sufferers, seamen especially, in most cases never
+received any redress whatever.
+
+From this crushing blow the American sperm whale fishery has never fully
+recovered. When the writer was in the trade, some twenty-two years ago,
+it was credited with a fleet of between three and four hundred sail; now
+it may be doubted whether the numbers reach an eighth of that amount. A
+rigid conservatism of method hinders any revival of the industry, which
+is practically conducted to-day as it was fifty, or even a hundred
+years ago; and it is probable that another decade will witness the
+final extinction of what was once one of the most important maritime
+industries in the world.
+
+
+
+
+THE CRUISE OF THE "CACHALOT"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I. OUTWARD BOUND
+
+At the age of eighteen, after a sea-experience of six years from the
+time when I dodged about London streets, a ragged Arab, with wits
+sharpened by the constant fight for food, I found myself roaming the
+streets of New Bedford, Massachusetts. How I came to be there, of all
+places in the world, does not concern this story at all, so I am not
+going to trouble my readers with it; enough to say that I WAS there, and
+mighty anxious to get away. Sailor Jack is always hankering for shore
+when he is at sea, but when he is "outward bound"--that is, when his
+money is all gone--he is like a cat in the rain there.
+
+So as MY money was all gone, I was hungry for a ship; and when a long,
+keen-looking man with a goat-like beard, and mouth stained with dry
+tobacco-juice, hailed me one afternoon at the street-corner, I answered
+very promptly, scenting a berth. "Lookin' fer a ship, stranger?" said
+he. "Yes; do you want a hand?" said I, anxiously. He made a funny little
+sound something like a pony's whinny, then answered, "Wall, I should
+surmise that I want between fifty and sixty hands, ef yew kin lay me
+onto 'em; but, kem along, every dreep's a drop, an' yew seem likely
+enough." With that he turned and led the way until we reached a building
+around which were gathered one of the most nondescript crowds I had ever
+seen. There certainly did not appear to be a sailor among them. Not
+so much by their rig, though that is not a great deal to go by, but
+by their actions and speech. One thing they all had in common, tobacco
+chewing but as nearly every male I met with in America did that, it was
+not much to be noticed. I had hardly done reckoning them up when two or
+three bustling men came out and shepherded us all energetically into a
+long, low room, where some form of agreement was read out to us. Sailors
+are naturally and usually careless about the nature of the "articles"
+they sign, their chief anxiety being to get to sea, and under somebody's
+charge. But had I been ever so anxious to know what I was going to sign
+this time, I could not, for the language might as well have been Chinese
+for all I understood of it. However, I signed and passed on, engaged to
+go I knew not where, in some ship I did not know even the name of, in
+which I was to receive I did not know how much, or how little, for my
+labour, nor how long I was going to be away. "What a young fool!" I hear
+somebody say. I quite agree, but there were a good many more in that
+ship, as in most ships that I have ever sailed in.
+
+From the time we signed the articles, we were never left to ourselves.
+Truculent-looking men accompanied us to our several boarding-houses,
+paid our debts for us, finally bringing us by boat to a ship lying out
+in the bay. As we passed under her stern, I read the name CACHALOT, of
+New Bedford; but as soon as we ranged alongside, I realized that I was
+booked for the sailor's horror--a cruise in a whaler. Badly as I wanted
+to get to sea, I had not bargained for this, and would have run some
+risks to get ashore again; but they took no chances, so we were all soon
+aboard. Before going forward, I took a comprehensive glance around, and
+saw that I was on board of a vessel belonging to a type which has almost
+disappeared off the face of the waters. A more perfect contrast to the
+trim-built English clipper-ships that I had been accustomed to I could
+hardly imagine. She was one of a class characterized by sailors as
+"built by the mile, and cut off in lengths as you want 'em," bow and
+stern almost alike, masts standing straight as broomsticks, and bowsprit
+soaring upwards at an angle of about forty-five degrees. She was as
+old-fashioned in her rig as in her hull; but I must not go into the
+technical differences between rigs, for fear of making myself tedious.
+Right in the centre of the deck, occupying a space of about ten feet by
+eight, was a square erection of brickwork, upon which my wondering gaze
+rested longest, for I had not the slightest idea what it could be. But
+I was rudely roused from my meditations by the harsh voice of one of the
+officers, who shouted, "Naow then, git below an' stow yer dunnage, 'n
+look lively up agin." I took the broad hint, and shouldering my traps,
+hurried forward to the fo'lk'sle, which was below deck. Tumbling down
+the steep ladder, I entered the gloomy den which was to be for so long
+my home, finding it fairly packed with my shipmates. A motley crowd
+they were. I had been used in English ships to considerable variety of
+nationality; but here were gathered, not only the representatives of
+five or six nations, but 'long-shoremen of all kinds, half of whom had
+hardly ever set eyes on a ship before! The whole space was undivided
+by partition, but I saw at once that black men and white had separated
+themselves, the blacks taking the port side and the whites the
+starboard. Finding a vacant bunk by the dim glimmer of the ancient
+teapot lamp that hung amidships, giving out as much smoke as light, I
+hurriedly shifted my coat for a "jumper" or blouse, put on an old cap,
+and climbed into the fresh air again. For a double reason, even MY
+seasoned head was feeling bad with the villainous reek of the place, and
+I did not want any of those hard-featured officers on deck to have
+any cause to complain of my "hanging back." On board ship, especially
+American ships, the first requisite for a sailor who wants to be treated
+properly is to "show willing," any suspicion of slackness being noted
+immediately, and the backward one marked accordingly. I had hardly
+reached the deck when I was confronted by a negro, the biggest I ever
+saw in, my life. He looked me up and down for a moment, then opening his
+ebony features in a wide smile, he said, "Great snakes! why, here's a
+sailor man for sure! Guess thet's so, ain't it, Johnny?" I said "yes"
+very curtly, for I hardly liked his patronizing air; but he snapped me
+up short with "yes, SIR, when yew speak to me, yew blank lime-juicer.
+I'se de fourf mate ob dis yar ship, en my name's Mistah Jones, 'n yew,
+jest freeze on to dat ar, ef yew want ter lib long'n die happy. See,
+sonny." I SAW, and answered promptly, "I beg your pardon, sir, I didn't
+know." "Ob cawse yew didn't know, dat's all right, little Britisher;
+naow jest skip aloft 'n loose dat fore-taupsle." "Aye, aye, sir," I
+answered cheerily, springing at once into the fore-rigging and up the
+ratlines like a monkey, but not too fast to hear him chuckle, "Dat's a
+smart kiddy, I bet." I had the big sail loose in double quick time, and
+sung out "All gone, the fore-taupsle," before any of the other sails
+were adrift. "Loose the to-gantsle and staysles" came up from below in a
+voice like thunder, and I bounded up higher to my task. On deck I could
+see a crowd at the windlass heaving up anchor. I said to myself, "They
+don't waste any time getting this packet away." Evidently they were not
+anxious to test any of the crew's swimming powers. They were wise, for
+had she remained at anchor that night I verily believe some of the poor
+wretches would have tried to escape.
+
+The anchor came aweigh, the sails were sheeted home, and I returned on
+deck to find the ship gathering way for the heads, fairly started on her
+long voyage.
+
+What a bear-garden the deck was, to be sure! The black portion of the
+crew--Portuguese natives from the Western and Canary Islands--were doing
+their work all right in a clumsy fashion; but the farmers, and bakers,
+and draymen were being driven about mercilessly amid a perfect hurricane
+of profanity and blows. And right here I must say that, accustomed as
+I had always been to bad language all my life, what I now heard was a
+revelation to me. I would not, if I could, attempt to give a sample
+of it, but it must be understood that it was incessant throughout
+the voyage. No order could be given without it, under the impression,
+apparently, that the more curses the more speed.
+
+Before nightfall we were fairly out to sea, and the ceremony of dividing
+the crew into watches was gone through. I found myself in the chief
+mate's or "port" watch (they called it "larboard," a term I had never
+heard used before, it having long been obsolete in merchant ships),
+though the huge negro fourth mate seemed none too well pleased that
+I was not under his command, his being the starboard watch under the
+second mate.
+
+As night fell, the condition of the "greenies," or non-sailor portion of
+the crew, was pitiable. Helpless from sea-sickness, not knowing where
+to go or what to do, bullied relentlessly by the ruthless petty
+officers--well, I never felt so sorry for a lot of men in my life. Glad
+enough I was to get below into the fo'lk'sle for supper, and a brief
+rest and respite from that cruelty on deck. A bit of salt junk and
+a piece of bread, i.e. biscuit, flinty as a pantile, with a pot of
+something sweetened with "longlick" (molasses), made an apology for a
+meal, and I turned in. In a very few minutes oblivion came, making me as
+happy as any man can be in this world.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II. PREPARING FOR ACTION
+
+The hideous noise always considered necessary in those ships when
+calling the watch, roused me effectively at midnight, "eight bells."
+I hurried on deck, fully aware that no leisurely ten minutes would be
+allowed here. "Lay aft the watch," saluted me as I emerged into the keen
+strong air, quickening my pace according to where the mate stood waiting
+to muster his men. As soon as he saw me, he said, "Can you steer?" in
+a mocking tone; but when I quietly answered, "Yes, sir," his look of
+astonishment was delightful to see. He choked it down, however, and
+merely telling me to take the wheel, turned forrard roaring frantically
+for his watch. I had no time to chuckle over what I knew was in store
+for him, getting those poor greenies collected from their several holes
+and corners, for on taking the wheel I found a machine under my hands
+such as I never even heard of before.
+
+The wheel was fixed upon the tiller in such a manner that the whole
+concern travelled backwards and forwards across the deck in the maddest
+kind of way. For the first quarter of an hour, in spite of the September
+chill, the sweat poured off me in streams. And the course--well, if was
+not steering, it was sculling; the old bumboat was wobbling all
+around like a drunken tailor with two left legs. I fairly shook with
+apprehension lest the mate should come and look in the compass. I had
+been accustomed to hard words if I did not steer within half a point
+each way; but here was a "gadget" that worked me to death, the result
+being a wake like a letter S. Gradually I got the hang of the thing,
+becoming easier in my mind on my own account. Even that was not an
+unmixed blessing, for I had now some leisure to listen to the goings-on
+around the deck.
+
+Such brutality I never witnessed before. On board of English ships
+(except men-of-war) there is practically no discipline, which is bad,
+but this sort of thing was maddening. I knew how desperately ill all
+those poor wretches were, how helpless and awkward they would be if
+quite hale and hearty; but there was absolutely no pity for them, the
+officers seemed to be incapable of any feelings of compassion whatever.
+My heart sank within me as I thought of what lay before me, although
+I did not fear that their treatment would also be mine, since I was
+at least able to do my duty, and willing to work hard to keep out of
+trouble. Then I began to wonder what sort of voyage I was in for, how
+long it would last, and what my earnings were likely to be, none of
+which things I had the faintest idea of.
+
+Fortunately, I was alone in the world. No one, as far as I knew, cared
+a straw what became of me; so that I was spared any worry on that head.
+And I had also a very definite and well-established trust in God, which
+I can now look back and see was as fully justified as I then believed
+it to be. So, as I could not shut my ears to the cruelties being carried
+on, nor banish thought by hard work, I looked up to the stately stars,
+thinking of things not to be talked about without being suspected of
+cant. So swiftly passed the time that when four bells struck: (two
+o'clock) I could hardly believe my ears.
+
+I was relieved by one of the Portuguese, and went forward to witness a
+curious scene. Seven stalwart men were being compelled to march up and
+down on that tumbling deck, men who had never before trodden anything
+less solid than the earth.
+
+The third mate, a waspish, spiteful little Yankee with a face like an
+angry cat, strolled about among them, a strand of rope-yarns in his
+hand, which he wielded constantly, regardless where he struck a man.
+They fell about, sometimes four or five at once, and his blows flew
+thick and fast, yet he never seemed to weary of his ill-doing. It made
+me quite sick, and I longed to be aft at the wheel again. Catching sight
+of me standing irresolute as to what I had better do, he ordered me on
+the "look-out," a tiny platform between the "knight heads," just where
+the bowsprit joins the ship. Gladly I obeyed him, and perched up there
+looking over the wide sea, the time passed quickly away until eight
+bells (four o'clock) terminated my watch. I must pass rapidly over the
+condition of things in the fo'lk'sle, where all the greenies that were
+allowed below, were groaning in misery from the stifling atmosphere
+which made their sickness so much worse, while even that dreadful
+place was preferable to what awaited them on deck. There was a
+rainbow-coloured halo round the flame of the lamp, showing how very bad
+the air was; but in spite of that I turned in and slept soundly till
+seven bells (7.20 a.m.) roused us to breakfast.
+
+American ships generally have an excellent name for the way they feed
+their crews, but the whalers are a notable exception to that good rule.
+The food was really worse than that on board any English ship I have
+ever sailed in, so scanty also in quantity that it kept all the foremast
+hands at starvation point. But grumbling was dangerous, so I gulped down
+the dirty mixture mis-named coffee, ate a few fragments of biscuit, and
+filled up (?) with a smoke, as many better men are doing this morning.
+As the bell struck I hurried on deck--not one moment too soon--for as
+I stepped out of the scuttle I saw the third mate coming forward with a
+glitter in his eye that boded no good to laggards.
+
+Before going any farther I must apologize for using so many capital I's,
+but up till the present I had been the only available white member of
+the crew forrard.
+
+The decks were scrubbed spotlessly clean, and everything was neat and
+tidy as on board a man-of-war, contrary to all usual notions of the
+condition of a whaler. The mate was in a state of high activity, so
+I soon found myself very busily engaged in getting up whale-lines,
+harpoons, and all the varied equipment for the pursuit of whales. The
+number of officers carried would have been a good crew for the ship, the
+complete afterguard comprising captain, four mates, four harpooners or
+boat-steerers, carpenter, cooper, steward and cook. All these worthies
+were on deck and working with might and main at the preparations, so
+that the incompetence of the crowd forrard was little hindrance. I was
+pounced upon by "Mistah" Jones, the fourth mate, whom I heard addressed
+familiarly as "Goliath" and "Anak" by his brother officers, and ordered
+to assist him in rigging the "crow's-nest" at the main royal-mast head.
+It was a simple affair. There were a pair of cross-trees fitted to the
+mast, upon which was secured a tiny platform about a foot wide on each
+side of the mast, while above this foothold a couple of padded hoops
+like a pair of giant spectacles were secured at a little higher than
+a man's waist. When all was fast one could creep up on the platform,
+through the hoop, and, resting his arms upon the latter, stand
+comfortably and gaze around, no matter how vigorously the old
+barky plunged and kicked beneath him. From that lofty eyrie I had
+a comprehensive view of the vessel. She was about 350 tons and full
+ship-rigged, that is to say, she carried square sails on all three
+masts. Her deck was flush fore and aft, the only obstructions being the
+brick-built "try-works" in the waist, the galley, and cabin skylight
+right aft by the taffrail. Her bulwarks were set thickly round with
+clumsy looking wooden cranes, from which depended five boats. Two more
+boats were secured bottom up upon a gallows aft, so she seemed to be
+well supplied in that direction. Mistah Jones, finding I did not presume
+upon his condescension, gradually unbent and furnished me with many
+interesting facts about the officers. Captain Slocum, he said, was "de
+debbil hisself, so jess yew keeps yer lamps trim' fer him, sonny, taint
+helthy ter rile him." The first officer, or the mate as he is always
+called PAR EXCELLENCE, was an older man than the captain, but a good
+seaman, a good whaleman, and a gentleman. Which combination I found to
+be a fact, although hard to believe possible at the time. The second
+mate was a Portuguese about forty years of age, with a face like one of
+Vandyke's cavaliers, but as I now learned, a perfect fiend when angered.
+He also was a first-class whaleman, but an indifferent seaman. The third
+mate was nothing much but bad temper--not much sailor, nor much whaler,
+generally in hot water with the skipper, who hated him because he was an
+"owner's man." "An de fourf mate," wound up the narrator, straightening
+his huge bulk, "am de bes' man in de ship, and de bigges'. Dey aint
+no whalemen in Noo Bedford caynt teach ME nuffin, en ef it comes ter
+man-handlin'; w'y I jes' pick 'em two't a time 'n crack 'em togerrer
+like so, see!" and he smote the palms of his great paws against each
+other, while I nodded complete assent.
+
+The weather being fine, with a steady N.E. wind blowing, so that the
+sails required no attention, work proceeded steadily all the morning.
+The oars were sorted, examined for flaws, and placed in the boats; the
+whale-line, manilla rope like yellow silk, 1 1/2 inch round, was brought
+on deck, stretched and coiled down with the greatest care into tubs,
+holding, some 200 fathoms, and others 100 fathoms each. New harpoons
+were fitted to poles of rough but heavy wood, without any attempt at
+neatness, but every attention to strength. The shape of these weapons
+was not, as is generally thought, that of an arrow, but rather like an
+arrow with one huge barb, the upper part of which curved out from the
+shaft. The whole of the barb turned on a stout pivot of steel, but was
+kept in line with the shaft by a tiny wooden peg which passed through
+barb and shaft, being then cut off smoothly on both sides. The point
+of the harpoon had at one side a wedge-shaped edge, ground to razor
+keenness, the other side was flat. The shaft, about thirty inches long,
+was of the best malleable iron, so soft that it would tie into a knot
+and straighten out again without fracture. Three harpoons, or "irons" as
+they were always called, were placed in each boat, fitted one above the
+other in the starboard bow, the first for use being always one unused
+before, Opposite to them in the boat were fitted three lances for the
+purpose of KILLING whales, the harpoons being only the means by which
+the boat was attached to a fish, and quite useless to inflict a fatal
+wound. These lances were slender spears of malleable iron about four
+feet long, with oval or heart-shaped points of fine steel about two
+inches broad, their edges kept keen as a surgeon's lancet. By means of
+a socket at the other end they were attached to neat handles, or
+"lance-poles," about as long again, the whole weapon being thus about
+eight feet in length, and furnished with a light line, or "lance-warp,"
+for the purpose of drawing it back again when it had been darted at a
+whale.
+
+Each boat was fitted with a centre-board, or sliding keel, which was
+drawn up, when not in use, into a case standing in the boat's middle,
+very much in the way. But the American whalemen regard these clumsy
+contrivances as indispensable, so there's an end on't. The other
+furniture of a boat comprised five oars of varying lengths from sixteen
+to nine feet, one great steering oar of nineteen feet, a mast and two
+sails of great area for so small a craft, spritsail shape; two tubs of
+whale-line containing together 1800 feet, a keg of drinking water, and
+another long narrow one with a few biscuits, a lantern, candles and
+matches therein; a bucket and "piggin" for baling, a small spade, a flag
+or "wheft," a shoulder bomb-gun and ammunition, two knives and two small
+axes. A rudder hung outside by the stern.
+
+With all this gear, although snugly stowed, a boat looked so loaded that
+I could not help wondering how six men would be able to work in her; but
+like most "deep-water" sailors, I knew very little about boating. I was
+going to learn.
+
+All this work and bustle of preparation was so rapidly carried on, and
+so interesting, that before supper-time everything was in readiness to
+commence operations, the time having gone so swiftly that I could hardly
+believe the bell when it sounded four times, six o'clock.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III. FISHING BEGINS
+
+During all the bustle of warlike preparation that had been going on,
+the greenhorns had not suffered from inattention on the part of those
+appointed to look after them. Happily for them, the wind blew steadily,
+and the weather, thanks to the balmy influence of the Gulf Stream, was
+quite mild and genial. The ship was undoubtedly lively, as all good
+sea-boats are, but her motions were by no means so detestable to a
+sea-sick man as those of a driving steamer. So, in spite of their
+treatment, perhaps because of it, some of the poor fellows were
+beginning to take hold of things "man-fashion," although of course sea
+legs they had none, their getting about being indeed a pilgrimage of
+pain. Some of them were beginning to try the dreadful "grub" (I cannot
+libel "food" by using it in such a connection), thereby showing that
+their interest in life, even such a life as was now before them, was
+returning. They had all been allotted places in the various boats,
+intermixed with the seasoned Portuguese in such a way that the officer
+and harpooner in charge would not be dependant upon them entirely in
+case of a sudden emergency. Every endeavour was undoubtedly made to
+instruct them in their duties, albeit the teachers were all too apt
+to beat their information in with anything that came to hand, and
+persuasion found no place in their methods.
+
+The reports I had always heard of the laziness prevailing on board
+whale-ships were now abundantly falsified. From dawn to dark work went
+on without cessation. Everything was rubbed and scrubbed and scoured
+until no speck or soil could be found; indeed, no gentleman's yacht or
+man-of-war is kept more spotlessly clean than was the CACHALOT.
+
+A regular and severe routine of labour was kept up; and, what was most
+galling to me, instead of a regular four hours' watch on and off, night
+and day, all hands were kept on deck the whole day long, doing quite
+unnecessary tasks, apparently with the object of preventing too much
+leisure and consequent brooding over their unhappy lot. One result of
+this continual drive and tear was that all these landsmen became rapidly
+imbued with the virtues of cleanliness, which was extended to the den in
+which we lived, or I verily believe sickness would have soon thinned us
+out.
+
+On the fourth day after leaving port we were all busy as usual except
+the four men in the "crow's-nests," when a sudden cry of "Porps! porps!"
+brought everything to a standstill. A large school of porpoises had just
+joined us, in their usual clownish fashion, rolling and tumbling around
+the bows as the old barky wallowed along, surrounded by a wide ellipse
+of snowy foam. All work was instantly suspended, and active preparations
+made for securing a few of these frolicsome fellows. A "block," or
+pulley, was hung out at the bowsprit end, a whale-line passed through
+it and "bent" (fastened) on to a harpoon. Another line with a running
+"bowline," or slip-noose, was also passed out to the bowsprit end, being
+held there by one man in readiness. Then one of the harpooners ran out
+along the backropes, which keep the jib-boom down, taking his stand
+beneath the bowsprit with the harpoon ready. Presently he raised his
+iron and followed the track of a rising porpoise with its point until
+the creature broke water. At the same instant the weapon left his grasp,
+apparently without any force behind it; but we on deck, holding the
+line, soon found that our excited hauling lifted a big vibrating body
+clean out of the smother beneath. "'Vast hauling!" shouted the mate,
+while as the porpoise hung dangling, the harpooner slipped the ready
+bowline over his body, gently closing its grip round the "small" by the
+broad tail. Then we hauled on the noose-line, slacking away the harpoon,
+and in a minute had our prize on deck. He was dragged away at once and
+the operation repeated. Again and again we hauled them in, until the
+fore part of the deck was alive with the kicking, writhing sea-pigs, at
+least twenty of them. I had seen an occasional porpoise caught at
+sea before, but never more than one at a time. Here, however, was a
+wholesale catch. At last one of the harpooned ones plunged so furiously
+while being hauled up that he literally tore himself off the iron,
+falling, streaming with blood, back into the sea.
+
+Away went all the school after him, tearing at him with their long
+well-toothed jaws, some of them leaping high in the air in their
+eagerness to get their due share of the cannibal feast. Our fishing was
+over for that time. Meanwhile one of the harpooners had brought out
+a number of knives, with which all hands were soon busy skinning the
+blubber from the bodies. Porpoises have no skin, that is hide, the
+blubber or coating of lard which encases them being covered by a black
+substance as thin as tissue paper. The porpoise hide of the boot maker
+is really leather, made from the skin of the BELUGA, or "white whale,"
+which is found only in the far north. The cover was removed from the
+"tryworks" amidships, revealing two gigantic pots set in a frame of
+brickwork side by side, capable of holding 200 gallons each. Such a
+cooking apparatus as might have graced a Brobdingnagian kitchen. Beneath
+the pots was the very simplest of furnaces, hardly as elaborate as the
+familiar copper-hole sacred to washing day. Square funnels of sheet-iron
+were loosely fitted to the flues, more as a protection against the oil
+boiling over into the fire than to carry away the smoke, of which from
+the peculiar nature of the fuel there was very little. At one side of
+the try-works was a large wooden vessel, or "hopper," to contain the raw
+blubber; at the other, a copper cistern or cooler of about 300 gallons
+capacity, into which the prepared oil was baled to cool off, preliminary
+to its being poured into the casks. Beneath the furnaces was a space as
+large as the whole area of the try-works, about a foot deep, which, when
+the fires were lighted, was filled with water to prevent the deck from
+burning.
+
+It may be imagined that the blubber from our twenty porpoises made but
+a poor show in one of the pots; nevertheless, we got a barrel of very
+excellent oil from them. The fires were fed with "scrap," or pieces
+of blubber from which the oil had been boiled, some of which had been
+reserved from the previous voyage. They burnt with a fierce and steady
+blaze, leaving but a trace of ash. I was then informed by one of the
+harpooners that no other fuel was ever used for boiling blubber at any
+time, there being always amply sufficient for the purpose.
+
+The most interesting part of the whole business, though, to us poor
+half-starved wretches, was the plentiful supply of fresh meat. Porpoise
+beef is, when decently cooked, fairly good eating to a landsman; judge,
+then, what it must have been to us. Of course the tit-bits, such as the
+liver, kidneys, brains, etc., could not possibly fall to our lot; but
+we did not complain, we were too thankful to get something eatable, and
+enough of it. Moreover, although few sailors in English ships know it,
+porpoise beef improves vastly by keeping, getting tenderer every day the
+longer it hangs, until at last it becomes as tasty a viand as one could
+wish to dine upon. It was a good job for us that this was the case,
+for while the porpoises lasted the "harness casks," or salt beef
+receptacles, were kept locked; so if any man had felt unable to eat
+porpoise--well, there was no compulsion, he could go hungry.
+
+We were now in the haunts of the Sperm Whale, or "Cachalot," a brilliant
+look-out being continually kept for any signs of their appearing. One
+officer and a foremast hand were continually on watch during the day
+in the main crow's-nest, one harpooner and a seaman in the fore one.
+A bounty of ten pounds of tobacco was offered to whoever should first
+report a whale, should it be secured, consequently there were no sleepy
+eyes up there. Of course none of those who were inexperienced stood much
+chance against the eagle-eyed Portuguese; but all tried their best,
+in the hope of perhaps winning some little favour from their hard
+taskmasters. Every evening at sunset it was "all hands shorten sail,"
+the constant drill rapidly teaching even these clumsy landsmen how to
+find their way aloft, and do something else besides hold on to anything
+like grim death when they got there.
+
+At last, one beautiful day, the boats were lowered and manned, and away
+went the greenies on their first practical lesson in the business of the
+voyage. As before noticed, there were two greenies in each boat, they
+being so arranged that whenever one of them "caught a crab," which of
+course was about every other stroke, his failure made little difference
+to the boat's progress. They learned very fast under the terrible
+imprecations and storm of blows from the iron-fisted and iron-hearted
+officers, so that before the day was out the skipper was satisfied of
+our ability to deal with a "fish" should he be lucky enough to "raise"
+one. I was, in virtue of my experience, placed at the after-oar in the
+mate's boat, where it was my duty to attend to the "main sheet" when the
+sail was set, where also I had the benefit of the lightest oar except
+the small one used by the harpooner in the bow.
+
+The very next day after our first exhaustive boat drill, a school of
+"Black Fish" was reported from aloft, with great glee the officers
+prepared for what they considered a rattling day's fun.
+
+The Black Fish (PHOCAENA SP.) is a small toothed whale, not at all
+unlike a miniature cachalot, except that its head is rounded at the
+front, while its jaw is not long and straight, but bowed. It is as
+frolicsome as the porpoise, gambolling about in schools of from twenty
+to fifty or more, as if really delighted to be alive. Its average size
+is from ten to twenty feet long, and seven or eight feet in girth,
+weight from one to three tons. Blubber about three inches thick, while
+the head is almost all oil, so that a good rich specimen will make
+between one and two barrels of oil of medium quality.
+
+The school we were now in sight of was of middling size and about
+average weight of individuals, and the officers esteemed it a fortunate
+circumstance that we should happen across them as a sort of preliminary
+to our tackling the monarchs of the deep.
+
+All the new harpoons were unshipped from the boats, and a couple of
+extra "second" irons, as those that have been used are called, were put
+into each boat for use if wanted. The sails were also left on board. We
+lowered and left the ship, pulling right towards the school, the noise
+they were making in their fun effectually preventing them from hearing
+our approach. It is etiquette to allow the mate's boat first place,
+unless his crew is so weak as to be unable to hold their own; but as the
+mate always has first pick of the men this seldom happens. So, as usual,
+we were first, and soon I heard the order given, "Stand up, Louey, and
+let 'em have it!" Sure enough, here we were right among them. Louis let
+drive, "fastening" a whopper about twenty feet long. The injured animal
+plunged madly forward, accompanied by his fellows, while Louis calmly
+bent another iron to a "short warp," or piece of whale-line, the loose
+end of which he made a bowline with around the main line which was fast
+to the "fish." Then he fastened another "fish," and the queer sight was
+seen of these two monsters each trying to flee in opposite directions,
+while the second one ranged about alarmingly as his "bridle" ran along
+the main line. Another one was secured in the same way, then the game
+was indeed great. The school had by this time taken the alarm and
+cleared out, but the other boats were all fast to fish, so that didn't
+matter. Now, at the rate our "game" were going it would evidently be
+a long while before they died, although, being so much smaller than a
+whale proper, a harpoon will often kill them at a stroke. Yet they were
+now so tangled or "snarled erp," as the mate said, that it was no easy
+matter to lance them without great danger of cutting the line. However,
+we hauled up as close to them as we dared, and the harpooner got a good
+blow in, which gave the biggest of the three "Jesse," as he said, though
+why "Jesse" was a stumper. Anyhow, it killed him promptly, while almost
+directly after another one saved further trouble by passing in his own
+checks. But he sank at the same time, drawing the first one down with
+him, so that we were in considerable danger of having to cut them adrift
+or be swamped. The "wheft" was waved thrice as an urgent signal to the
+ship to come to our assistance with all speed, but in the meantime our
+interest lay in the surviving Black Fish keeping alive. Should HE die,
+and, as was most probable, sink, we should certainly have to cut and
+lose the lot, tools included.
+
+We waited in grim silence while the ship came up, so slowly, apparently,
+that she hardly seemed to move, but really at a good pace of about four
+knots an hour, which for her was not at all bad. She got alongside of us
+at last, and we passed up the bight of our line, our fish all safe, very
+much pleased with ourselves, especially when we found that the other
+boats had only five between the three of them.
+
+The fish secured to the ship, all the boats were hoisted except one,
+which remained alongside to sling the bodies. During our absence the
+ship-keepers had been busy rigging one of the cutting falls, an immense
+fourfold tackle from the main lowermast-head, of four-inch rope through
+great double blocks, large as those used at dockyards for lifting ships'
+masts and boilers. Chain-slings were passed around the carcases, which
+gripped the animal at the "small," being prevented from slipping off by
+the broad spread of the tail. The end of the "fall," or tackle-rope,
+was then taken to the windlass, and we hove away cheerily, lifting the
+monsters right on deck. A mountainous pile they made. A short spell was
+allowed, when the whole eight were on board, for dinner; then all hands
+turned to again to "flench" the blubber, and prepare for trying-out.
+This was a heavy job, keeping all hands busy until it was quite
+dark, the latter part of the work being carried on by the light of
+a "cresset," the flames of which were fed with "scrap," which blazed
+brilliantly, throwing a big glare over all the ship. The last of the
+carcases was launched overboard by about eight o'clock that evening, but
+not before some vast junks of beef had been cut off and hung up in the
+rigging for our food supply.
+
+The try-works were started again, "trying-out" going on busily all
+night, watch and watch taking their turn at keeping the pots supplied
+with minced blubber. The work was heavy, while the energetic way in
+which it was carried on made us all glad to take what rest was allowed
+us, which was scanty enough, as usual.
+
+By nightfall the next day the ship had resumed her normal appearance,
+and we were a tun and a quarter of oil to the good. Black Fish oil is of
+medium quality, but I learned that, according to the rule of "roguery
+in all trades," it was the custom to mix quantities such as we had just
+obtained with better class whale-oil, and thus get a much higher price
+than it was really worth.
+
+Up till this time we had no sort of an idea as to where our first
+objective might be, but from scraps of conversation I had overheard
+among the harpooners, I gathered that we were making for the Cape
+Verde Islands or the Acores, in the vicinity of which a good number
+of moderate-sized sperm whales are often to be found. In fact, these
+islands have long been a nursery for whale-fishers, because the cachalot
+loves their steep-to shores, and the hardy natives, whenever and
+wherever they can muster a boat and a little gear, are always ready to
+sally forth and attack the unwary whale that ventures within their ken.
+Consequently more than half of the total crews of the American whaling
+fleet are composed of these islanders. Many of them have risen to the
+position of captain, and still more are officers and harpooners;
+but though undoubtedly brave and enterprising, they are cruel and
+treacherous, and in positions of authority over men of Teutonic or
+Anglo-Saxon origin, are apt to treat their subordinates with great
+cruelty.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV. BAD WEATHER
+
+Nautical routine in its essential details is much the same in all ships,
+whether naval, merchant, or whaling vessels. But while in the ordinary
+merchantman there are decidedly "no more cats than can catch mice,"
+hardly, indeed, sufficient for all the mousing that should be done, in
+men-of-war and whaleships the number of hands carried, being far more
+than are wanted for everyday work, must needs be kept at unnecessary
+duties in order that they may not grow lazy and discontented.
+
+For instance, in the CACHALOT we carried a crew of thirty-seven all
+told, of which twenty-four were men before the mast, or common seamen,
+our tonnage being under 400 tons. Many a splendid clipper-ship carrying
+an enormous spread of canvas on four masts, and not overloaded with 2500
+tons of cargo on board, carries twenty-eight or thirty all told, or even
+less than that. As far as we were concerned, the result of this was that
+our landsmen got so thoroughly drilled, that within a week of leaving
+port they hardly knew themselves for the clumsy clodhoppers they at
+first appeared to be.
+
+We had now been eight days out, and in our leisurely way were making
+fair progress across the Atlantic, having had nothing, so far, but
+steady breezes and fine weather. As it was late autumn the first week
+in October--I rather wondered at this, for even in my brief experience I
+had learned to dread a "fall" voyage across the "Western Ocean."
+
+Gradually the face of the sky changed, and the feel of the air, from
+balmy and genial, became raw and cheerless. The little wave tops broke
+short off and blew backwards, apparently against the wind, while the
+old vessel had an uneasy, unnatural motion, caused by a long, new swell
+rolling athwart the existing set of the sea. Then the wind became fitful
+and changeable, backing half round the compass, and veering forward
+again as much in an hour, until at last in one tremendous squall
+it settled in the N.W. for a business-like blow, Unlike the hurried
+merchantman who must needs "hang on" till the last minute, only
+shortening the sail when absolutely compelled to do so, and at the first
+sign of the gales relenting, piling it on again, we were all snug long
+before the storm burst upon us, and now rode comfortably under the
+tiniest of storm staysails.
+
+We were evidently in for a fair specimen of Western Ocean weather, but
+the clumsy-looking, old-fashioned CACHALOT made no more fuss over it
+than one of the long-winged sea-birds that floated around, intent only
+upon snapping up any stray scraps that might escape from us. Higher rose
+the wind, heavier rolled the sea, yet never a drop of water did we ship,
+nor did anything about the deck betoken what a heavy gale was blowing.
+During the worst of the weather, and just after the wind had shifted
+back into the N.E., making an uglier cross sea than ever get up,
+along comes an immense four-masted iron ship homeward bound. She was
+staggering under a veritable mountain of canvas, fairly burying her bows
+in the foam at every forward drive, and actually wetting the clews of
+the upper topsails in the smothering masses of spray, that every few
+minutes almost hid her hull from sight.
+
+It was a splendid picture; but--for the time--I felt glad I was not on
+board of her. In a very few minutes she was out of our ken, followed
+by the admiration of all. Then came, from the other direction, a huge
+steamship, taking no more notice of the gale than as if it were calm.
+Straight through the sea she rushed, dividing the mighty rollers to the
+heart, and often bestriding three seas at once, the centre one spreading
+its many tons of foaming water fore and aft, so that from every orifice
+spouted the seething brine. Compared with these greyhounds of the wave,
+we resembled nothing so much as some old lightship bobbing serenely
+around, as if part and parcel of the mid-Atlantic.
+
+Our greenies were getting so well seasoned by this time that even this
+rough weather did not knock any of them over, and from that time forward
+they had no more trouble from sea-sickness.
+
+The gale gradually blew itself out, leaving behind only a long and very
+heavy swell to denote the deep-reaching disturbance that the ocean had
+endured. And now we were within the range of the Sargasso Weed, that
+mysterious FUCUS that makes the ocean look. like some vast hayfield, and
+keeps the sea from rising, no matter how high the wind. It fell a dead
+calm, and the harpooners amused themselves by dredging up great masses
+of the weed, and turning out the many strange creatures abiding therein.
+What a world of wonderful life the weed is, to be sure! In it the
+flying fish spawn and the tiny cuttle-fish breed, both of them preparing
+bounteous provision for the larger denizens of the deep that have
+no other food. Myriads of tiny crabs and innumerable specimens of
+less-known shell-fish, small fish of species as yet unclassified in
+any work on natural history, with jelly-fish of every conceivable and
+inconceivable shape, form part of this great and populous country in the
+sea. At one haul there was brought on board a mass of flying-fish spawn,
+about ten pounds in weight, looking like nothing so much as a pile of
+ripe white currants, and clinging together in a very similar manner.
+
+Such masses of ova I had often seen cast up among the outlying rocks on
+the shores of the Caribbean Sea, when as a shipwrecked lad I wandered
+idly about unburying turtle eggs from their snug beds in the warm sand,
+and chasing the many-hued coral fish from one hiding-place to another.
+
+While loitering in these smooth waters, waiting for the laggard wind, up
+came a shoal of dolphin, ready as at all times to attach themselves for
+awhile to the ship. Nothing is more singular than the manner in
+which deep-sea fish will accompany a vessel that is not going too
+fast--sometimes for days at a time. Most convenient too, and providing
+hungry Jack with many a fresh mess he would otherwise have missed. Of
+all these friendly fish, none is better known than the "dolphin," as
+from long usage sailors persist in calling them, and will doubtless do
+so until the end of the chapter. For the true dolphin (DELPHINIDAE) is
+not a fish at all, but a mammal a warm-blooded creature that suckles
+its young, and in its most familiar form is known to most people as
+the porpoise. The sailor's "dolphin," on the other hand, is a veritable
+fish, with vertical tail fin instead of the horizontal one which
+distinguishes all the whale family, scales and gills.
+
+It is well known to literature, under its sea-name, for its marvellous
+brilliancy of colour, and there are few objects more dazzling than a
+dolphin leaping out of a calm sea into the sunshine. The beauty of
+a dying dolphin, however, though sanctioned by many generations of
+writers, is a delusion, all the glory of the fish departing as soon as
+he is withdrawn from his native element.
+
+But this habit of digression grows upon one, and I must do my best to
+check it, or I shall never get through my task.
+
+To resume then: when this school of dolphin (I can't for the life of me
+call them CORIPHAENA HIPPURIS) came alongside, a rush was made for the
+"granes"--a sort of five-pronged trident, if I may be allowed a baby
+bull. It was universally agreed among the fishermen that trying a hook
+and line was only waste of time and provocative of profanity! since
+every sailor knows that all the deep-water big fish require a living or
+apparently living bait. The fish, however, sheered off, and would not be
+tempted within reach of that deadly fork by any lure. Then did I cover
+myself with glory. For he who can fish cleverly and luckily may be sure
+of fairly good times in a whaler, although he may be no great things
+at any other work. I had a line of my own, and begging one of the small
+fish that had been hauled up in the Gulf weed, I got permission to go
+aft and fish over the taffrail. The little fish was carefully secured
+on the hook, the point of which just protruded near his tail. Then I
+lowered him into the calm blue waters beneath, and paid out line very
+gently, until my bait was a silvery spot about a hundred feet astern.
+Only a very short time, and my hopes rose as I saw one bright gleam
+after another glide past the keel, heading aft. Then came a gentle
+drawing at the line, which I suffered to slip slowly through my fingers
+until I judged it time to try whether I was right or wrong, A long hard
+pull, and my heart beat fast as I felt the thrill along the line that
+fishermen love. None of your high art here, but haul in hand over hand,
+the line being strong enough to land a 250 pound fish. Up he came, the
+beauty, all silver and scarlet and blue, five feet long if an inch, and
+weighing 35 pounds. Well, such a lot of astonished men I never saw. They
+could hardly believe their eyes. That such a daring innovation should
+be successful was hardly to be believed, even with the vigorous evidence
+before them. Even grim Captain Slocum came to look and turned upon me
+as I thought a less lowering brow than usual, while Mr. Count, the mate,
+fairly chuckled again at the thought of how the little Britisher had
+wiped the eyes of these veteran fishermen. The captive was cut open,
+and two recent flying-fish found in his maw, which were utilized for
+new bait, with the result that there was a cheerful noise of hissing and
+spluttering in the galley soon after, and a mess of fish for all hands.
+
+Shortly afterwards a fresh breeze sprang up, which proved to be the
+beginning of the N.E. trades, and fairly guaranteed us against any very
+bad weather for some time to come.
+
+Somehow or other it had leaked out that we were to cruise the Cape Verd
+Islands for a spell before working south, and the knowledge seemed to
+have quite an enlivening effect upon our Portuguese shipmates.
+
+Most of them belonged there, and although there was but the faintest
+prospect of their getting ashore upon any pretext whatever, the
+possibility of seeing their island homes again seemed to quite transform
+them. Hitherto they had been very moody and exclusive, never associating
+with us on the white side, or attempting to be at all familiar. A mutual
+atmosphere of suspicion, in fact, seemed to pervade our quarters, making
+things already uncomfortable enough, still more so. Now, however, they
+fraternized with us, and in a variety of uncouth ways made havoc of the
+English tongue, as they tried to impress us with the beauty, fertility
+and general incomparability of their beloved Cape Verds. Of the eleven
+white men besides myself in the forecastle, there were a middle-aged
+German baker, who had bolted from Buffalo; two Hungarians, who looked
+like noblemen disguised--in dirt; two slab-sided Yankees of about 22
+from farms in Vermont; a drayman from New York; a French Canadian
+from the neighbourhood of Quebec; two Italians from Genoa; and two
+nondescripts that I never found out the origin of. Imagine, then, the
+babel of sound, and think--but no, it is impossible to think, what sort
+of a jargon was compounded of all these varying elements of language.
+
+One fortunate thing, there was peace below. Indeed, the spirit seemed
+completely taken out of all of them, and by some devilish ingenuity
+the afterguard had been able to sow distrust between them all, while
+treating them like dogs, so that the miseries of their life were
+never openly discussed. My position among them gave me at times some
+uneasiness. Though I tried to be helpful to all, and was full of
+sympathy for their undeserved sufferings, I could not but feel that they
+would have been more than human had they not envied me my immunity from
+the kicks and blows they all shared so impartially. However, there was
+no help for it, so I went on as cheerily as I could.
+
+A peculiarity of all these vessels, as I afterwards learned, was that no
+stated allowance of anything was made. Even the water was not served out
+to us, but was kept in a great scuttle-butt by the cabin door, to which
+every one who needed a drink had to go, and from which none might be
+carried away. No water was allowed for washing except from the sea; and
+every one knows, or should know, that neither flesh nor clothes can be
+cleansed with that. But a cask with a perforated top was lashed by the
+bowsprit and kept filled with urine, which I was solemnly assured by
+Goliath was the finest dirt-extractor in the world for clothes. The
+officers did not avail themselves of its virtues though, but were
+content with lye, which was furnished in plenty by the ashes from the
+galley fire, where nothing but wood was used as fuel. Of course when
+rain fell we might have a good wash, if it was night and no other work
+was toward; but we were not allowed to store any for washing purposes.
+Another curious but absolutely necessary custom prevailed in consequence
+of the short commons under which we lived. When the portion of meat
+was brought down in its wooden kid, or tub, at dinner-time, it was duly
+divided as fairly as possible into as many parts as there were mouths.
+Then one man turned his back on the carver, who holding up each portion,
+called out, "Who's this for?" Whatever name was mentioned by the
+arbitrator, that man owning it received the piece, and had perforce to
+be satisfied therewith. Thus justice was done to all in the only way
+possible, and without any friction whatever.
+
+As some of us were without clothes except what we stood upright in, when
+we joined, the "slop chest" was opened, and every applicant received
+from the steward what Captain Slocum thought fit to let him have, being
+debited with the cost against such wages as he might afterwards earn.
+The clothes were certainly of fairly good quality, if the price was
+high, and exactly suited to our requirements. Soap, matches, and tobacco
+were likewise supplied on the same terms, but at higher prices than
+I had ever heard of before for these necessaries. After much careful
+inquiry I ascertained what, in the event of a successful voyage, we were
+likely to earn. Each of us were on the two hundredth "lay" or share
+at $200 per tun, which meant that for every two hundred barrels of oil
+taken on board, we were entitled to one, which we must sell to the ship
+at the rate of L40 per tun or L4 per barrel. Truly a magnificent outlook
+for young men bound to such a business for three or four years.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V. ACTUAL WARFARE. OUR FIRST WHALE
+
+Simultaneous ideas occurring to several people, or thought transference,
+whatever one likes to call the phenomenon is too frequent an occurrence
+in most of our experience to occasion much surprise. Yet on the occasion
+to which I am about to refer, the matter was so very marked that few of
+us who took part in the day's proceedings are ever likely to forget it.
+
+We were all gathered about the fo'lk'sle scuttle one evening, a few days
+after the gale referred to in the previous chapter, and the question of
+whale-fishing came up for discussion. Until that time, strange as it
+may seem, no word of this, the central idea of all our minds, had been
+mooted. Every man seemed to shun the subject, although we were in
+daily expectation of being called upon to take an active part in
+whale-fighting. Once the ice was broken, nearly all had something to say
+about it, and very nearly as many addle-headed opinions were ventilated
+as at a Colney Hatch debating society. For we none of us KNEW anything
+about it. I was appealed to continually to support this or that theory,
+but as far as whaling went I could only, like the rest of them, draw
+upon my imagination for details. How did a whale act, what were the
+first steps taken, what chance was there of being saved if your boat got
+smashed, and so on unto infinity. At last, getting very tired of this
+"Portugee Parliament" of all talkers and no listeners, I went aft to
+get a drink of water before turning in. The harpooners and other petty
+officers were grouped in the waist, earnestly discussing the pros and
+cons of attack upon whales. As I passed I heard the mate's harpooner
+say, "Feels like whale about. I bet a plug (of tobacco) we raise sperm
+whale to-morrow." Nobody took his bet, for it appeared that they were
+mostly of the same mind, and while I was drinking I heard the officers
+in dignified conclave talking over the same thing. It was Saturday
+evening, and while at home people were looking forward to a day's
+respite from work and care, I felt that the coming day, though never
+taken much notice of on board, was big with the probabilities of strife
+such as I at least had at present no idea of. So firmly was I possessed
+by the prevailing feeling.
+
+The night was very quiet. A gentle breeze was blowing, and the sky was
+of the usual "Trade" character, that is, a dome of dark blue fringed at
+the horizon with peaceful cumulus clouds, almost motionless. I turned
+in at four a.m. from the middle watch and, as usual, slept like a babe.
+Suddenly I started wide awake, a long mournful sound sending a thrill
+to my very heart. As I listened breathlessly other sounds of the same
+character but in different tones joined in, human voices monotonously
+intoning in long drawn-out expirations the single word "bl-o-o-o-o-w."
+Then came a hurricane of noise overhead, and adjurations in no gentle
+language to the sleepers to "tumble up lively there, no skulking, sperm
+whales." At last, then, fulfilling all the presentiments of yesterday,
+the long dreaded moment had arrived. Happily there was no time for
+hesitation, in less than two minutes we were all on deck, and hurrying
+to our respective boats. There was no flurry or confusion, and except
+that orders were given more quietly than usual, with a manifest air of
+suppressed excitement, there was nothing to show that we were not
+going for an ordinary course of boat drill. The skipper was in the main
+crow's-nest with his binoculars presently he shouted, "Naow then, Mr.
+Count, lower away soon's y'like. Small pod o'cows, an' one'r two bulls
+layin' off to west'ard of 'em." Down went the boats into the water
+quietly enough, we all scrambled in and shoved off. A stroke or two of
+the oars were given to get clear of the ship, and one another, then oars
+were shipped and up went the sails. As I took my allotted place at the
+main-sheet, and the beautiful craft started off like some big bird, Mr.
+Count leant forward, saying impressively to me, "Y'r a smart youngster,
+an' I've kinder took t'yer; but don't ye look ahead an' get gallied, 'r
+I'll knock ye stiff wi' th' tiller; y'hear me? N' don't ye dare to make
+thet sheet fast, 'r ye'll die so sudden y' won't know whar y'r hurted."
+I said as cheerfully as I could, "All right, sir," trying to look
+unconcerned, telling myself not to be a coward, and all sorts of things;
+but the cold truth is that I was scared almost to death because I
+didn't know what was coming. However, I did the best thing under the
+circumstances, obeyed orders and looked steadily astern, or up into the
+bronzed impassive face of my chief, who towered above me, scanning
+with eagle eyes the sea ahead. The other boats were coming flying along
+behind us, spreading wider apart as they came, while in the bows of each
+stood the harpooner with his right hand on his first iron, which
+lay ready, pointing over the bow in a raised fork of wood called the
+"crutch."
+
+All of a sudden, at a motion of the chief's hand, the peak of our
+mainsail was dropped, and the boat swung up into the wind, laying
+"hove to," almost stationary. The centre-board was lowered to stop her
+drifting to leeward, although I cannot say it made much difference that
+ever I saw. NOW what's the matter, I thought, when to my amazement the
+chief addressing me said, "Wonder why we've hauled up, don't ye?" "Yes,
+sir, I do," said I. "Wall," said he, "the fish hev sounded, an' 'ef we
+run over 'em, we've seen the last ov'em. So we wait awhile till they
+rise agin, 'n then we'll prob'ly git thar' 'r thareabonts before they
+sound agin." With this explanation I had to be content, although if
+it be no clearer to my readers than it then was to me, I shall have to
+explain myself more fully later on. Silently we lay, rocking lazily upon
+the gentle swell, no other word being spoken by any one. At last Louis,
+the harpooner, gently breathed "blo-o-o-w;" and there, sure enough,
+not half a mile away on the lee beam, was a little bushy cloud of steam
+apparently rising from the sea. At almost the same time as we kept away
+all the other boats did likewise, and just then, catching sight of the
+ship, the reason for this apparently concerted action was explained. At
+the main-mast head of the ship was a square blue flag, and the ensign
+at the peak was being dipped. These were signals well understood and
+promptly acted upon by those in charge of the boats, who were thus
+guided from a point of view at least one hundred feet above the sea.
+
+"Stand up, Louey," the mate murmured softly. I only just stopped myself
+in time from turning my head to see why the order was given. Suddenly
+there was a bump, at the same moment the mate yelled, "Give't to him,
+Louey, give't to him!" and to me, "Haul that main sheet, naow haul, why
+don't ye?" I hauled it flat aft, and the boat shot up into the wind,
+rubbing sides as she did so with what to my troubled sight seemed an
+enormous mass of black india-rubber floating. As we CRAWLED up into the
+wind, the whale went into convulsions befitting his size and energy.
+He raised a gigantic tail on high, threshing the water with deafening
+blows, rolling at the same time from side to side until the surrounding
+sea was white with froth. I felt in an agony lest we should be crushed
+under one of those fearful strokes, for Mr. Count appeared to be
+oblivious of possible danger, although we seemed to be now drifting back
+on to the writhing leviathan. In the agitated condition of the sea, it
+was a task of no ordinary difficulty to unship the tall mast, which was
+of course the first thing to be done. After a desperate struggle, and a
+narrow escape from falling overboard of one of the men, we got the lone
+"stick," with the sail bundled around it, down and "fleeted" aft, where
+it was secured by the simple means of sticking the "heel" under the
+after thwart, two-thirds of the mast extending out over the stern.
+Meanwhile, we had certainly been in a position of the greatest danger,
+our immunity from damage being unquestionably due to anything but
+precaution taken to avoid it.
+
+By the time the oars were handled, and the mate had exchanged places
+with the harpooner, our friend the enemy had "sounded," that is, he had
+gone below for a change of scene, marvelling no doubt what strange thing
+had befallen him. Agreeably to the accounts which I, like most boys, had
+read of the whale fishery, I looked for the rushing of the line round
+the logger-head (a stout wooden post built into the boat aft), to raise
+a cloud of smoke with occasional bursts of flame; so as it began to
+slowly surge round the post, I timidly asked the harpooner whether I
+should throw any water on it. "Wot for?" growled he, as he took a couple
+more turns with it. Not knowing "what for," and hardly liking to quote
+my authorities here, I said no more, but waited events. "Hold him up,
+Louey, bold him up, cain't ye?" shouted the mate, and to my horror, down
+went the nose of the boat almost under water, while at the mate's order
+everybody scrambled aft into the elevated stern sheets.
+
+The line sang quite a tune as it was grudgingly allowed to surge round
+the loggerhead, filling one with admiration at the strength shown by
+such a small rope. This sort of thing went on for about twenty minutes,
+in which time we quite emptied the large tub and began on the small one.
+As there was nothing whatever for us to do while this was going on, I
+had ample leisure for observing the little game that was being played
+about a quarter of a mile away. Mr. Cruce, the second mate, had got a
+whale and was doing his best to kill it; but he was severely handicapped
+by his crew, or rather had been, for two of them were now temporarily
+incapable of either good or harm. They had gone quite "batchy" with
+fright, requiring a not too gentle application of the tiller to their
+heads in order to keep them quiet. The remedy, if rough, was effectual,
+for "the subsequent proceedings interested them no more." Consequently
+his manoeuvres were not so well or rapidly executed as he, doubtless,
+could have wished, although his energy in lancing that whale was
+something to admire and remember. Hatless, his shirt tail out of the
+waist of his trousers streaming behind him like a banner, he lunged and
+thrust at the whale alongside of him, as if possessed of a destroying
+devil, while his half articulate yells of rage and blasphemy were
+audible even to us.
+
+Suddenly our boat fell backward from her "slantindicular" position
+with a jerk, and the mate immediately shouted, "Haul line, there! look
+lively, now, you--so on, etcetera, etcetera" (he seemed to invent new
+epithets on every occasion). The line came in hand over hand, and was
+coiled in a wide heap in the stern sheets, for silky as it was, it could
+not be expected in its wet state to lie very close. As it came flying
+in the mate kept a close gaze upon the water immediately beneath us,
+apparently for the first glimpse of our antagonist. When the whale broke
+water, however, he was some distance off, and apparently as quiet as a
+lamb. Now, had Mr. Count been a prudent or less ambitious man, our task
+would doubtless have been an easy one, or comparatively so; but, being
+a little over-grasping, he got us all into serious trouble. We were
+hauling up to our whale in order to lance it, and the mate was standing,
+lance in hand, only waiting to get near enough, when up comes a large
+whale right alongside of our boat, so close, indeed, that I might have
+poked my finger in his little eye, if I had chosen. The sight of that
+whale at liberty, and calmly taking stock of us like that, was too much
+for the mate. He lifted his lance and hurled it at the visitor, in
+whose broad flank it sank, like a knife into butter, right up to the
+pole-hitches. The recipient disappeared like a flash, but before one had
+time to think, there was an awful crash beneath us, and the mate shot
+up into the air like a bomb from a mortar. He came down in a sitting
+posture on the mast-thwart; but as he fell, the whole framework of the
+boat collapsed like a derelict umbrella. Louis quietly chopped the line
+and severed our connection with the other whale, while in accordance
+with our instructions we drew each man his oar across the boat and
+lashed it firmly down with a piece of line spliced to each thwart for
+the purpose. This simple operation took but a minute, but before it was
+completed we were all up to our necks in the sea. Still in the boat,
+it is true, and therefore not in such danger of drowning as if we were
+quite adrift; but, considering that the boat was reduced to a mere
+bundle of loose planks, I, at any rate, was none too comfortable.
+Now, had he known it, was the whale's golden opportunity; but he, poor
+wretch, had had quite enough of our company, and cleared off without any
+delay, wondering, no doubt, what fortunate accident had rid him of our
+very unpleasant attentions.
+
+I was assured that we were all as safe as if we were on board the
+ship, to which I answered nothing; but, like Jack's parrot, I did some
+powerful thinking. Every little wave that came along swept clean over
+our heads, sometimes coming so suddenly as to cut a breath in half. If
+the wind should increase--but no--I wouldn't face the possibility of
+such a disagreeable thing. I was cool enough now in a double sense, for
+although we were in the tropics, we soon got thoroughly chilled.
+
+By the position of the sun it must have been between ten a.m. and noon,
+and we, of the crew, had eaten nothing since the previous day at supper,
+when, as usual, the meal was very light. Therefore, I suppose we felt
+the chill sooner than the better-nourished mate and harpooner, who
+looked rather scornfully at our blue faces and chattering teeth.
+
+In spite of all assurances to the contrary, I have not the least doubt
+in my own mind that a very little longer would have relieved us of ALL
+our burdens finally. Because the heave of the sea had so loosened the
+shattered planks upon which we stood that they were on the verge of
+falling all asunder. Had they done so we must have drowned, for we
+were cramped and stiff with cold and our constrained position. However,
+unknown to us, a bright look-out upon our movements had been kept
+from the crow's-nest the whole time. We should have been relieved long
+before, but that the whale killed by the second mate was being secured,
+and another boat, the fourth mate's, being picked up, having a hole in
+her bilge you could put you head through. With all these hindrances,
+especially securing the whale, we were fortunate to be rescued as
+soon as we were, since it is well known that whales are of much higher
+commercial value than men.
+
+However, help came at last, and we were hauled alongside. Long exposure
+had weakened us to such an extent that it was necessary to hoist us on
+board, especially the mate, whose "sudden stop," when he returned to
+us after his little aerial excursion, had shaken his sturdy frame
+considerably, a state of body which the subsequent soaking had by
+no means improved. In my innocence I imagined that we should be
+commiserated for our misfortunes by Captain Slocum, and certainly be
+relieved from further duties until we were a little recovered from
+the rough treatment we had just undergone. But I never made a greater
+mistake. The skipper cursed us all (except the mate, whose sole fault
+the accident undoubtedly was) with a fluency and vigour that was, to put
+it mildly, discouraging. Moreover, we were informed that he "wouldn't
+have no adjective skulking;" we must "turn to" and do something after
+wasting the ship's time and property in such a blanked manner. There was
+a limit, however, to our obedience, so although we could not move at all
+for awhile, his threats were not proceeded with farther than theory.
+
+A couple of slings were passed around the boat, by means of which she
+was carefully hoisted on board, a mere dilapidated bundle of sticks and
+raffle of gear. She was at once removed aft out of the way, the business
+of cutting in the whale claiming precedence over everything else just
+then. The preliminary proceedings consisted of rigging the "cutting
+stage." This was composed of two stout planks a foot wide and ten feet
+long, the inner ends of which were suspended by strong ropes over the
+ship's side about four feet from the water, while the outer extremities
+were upheld by tackles from the main rigging, and a small crane abreast
+the try-works.
+
+These planks were about thirty feet apart, their two outer ends being
+connected by a massive plank which was securely bolted to them. A
+handrail about as high as a man's waist, supported by light iron
+stanchions, ran the full length of this plank on the side nearest the
+ship, the whole fabric forming an admirable standing-place from whence
+the officers might, standing in comparative comfort, cut and carve at
+the great mass below to their hearts' content.
+
+So far the prize had been simply held alongside by the whale-line, which
+at death had been "rove" through a hole cut in the solid gristle of the
+tail; but now it became necessary to secure the carcase to the ship in
+some more permanent fashion. Therefore, a massive chain like a small
+ship's cable was brought forward, and in a very ingenious way, by means
+of a tiny buoy and a hand-lead, passed round the body, one end brought
+through a ring in the other, and hauled upon until it fitted tight round
+the "small" or part of the whale next the broad spread of the tail. The
+free end of the fluke-chain was then passed in through a mooring-pipe
+forward, firmly secured to a massive bitt at the heel of the bowsprit
+(the fluke-chain-bitt), and all was ready.
+
+But the subsequent proceedings were sufficiently complicated to demand a
+fresh chapter.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI. "DIRTY WORK FOR CLEAN MONEY"
+
+If in the preceding chapter too much stress has been laid upon the
+smashing of our own boat and consequent sufferings, while little or no
+notice was taken of the kindred disaster to Mistah Jones' vessel, my
+excuse must be that the experience "filled me right up to the chin," as
+the mate concisely, if inelegantly, put it. Poor Goliath was indeed to
+be pitied, for his well-known luck and capacity as a whaleman seemed
+on this occasion to have quite deserted him. Not only had his boat been
+stove upon first getting on to the whale, but he hadn't even had a run
+for his money. It appeared that upon striking his whale, a small, lively
+cow, she had at once "settled," allowing the boat to run over her; but
+just as they were passing, she rose, gently enough, her pointed hump
+piercing the thin skin of half-inch cedar as if it had been cardboard.
+She settled again immediately, leaving a hole behind her a foot long
+by six inches wide, which effectually put a stop to all further fishing
+operations on the part of Goliath and his merry men for that day, at any
+rate. It was all so quiet, and so tame and so stupid, no wonder Mistah
+Jones felt savage. When Captain Slocum's fluent profanity flickered
+around him, including vehemently all he might be supposed to have any
+respect for, he did not even LOOK as if he would like to talk back; he
+only looked sick and tired of being himself.
+
+The third mate, again, was of a different category altogether. He had
+distinguished himself by missing every opportunity of getting near a
+whale while there was a "loose" one about, and then "saving" the crew of
+Goliath's boat, who were really in no danger whatever. His iniquity was
+too great to be dealt with by mere bad language. He crept about like a
+homeless dog--much, I am afraid, to my secret glee, for I couldn't help
+remembering his untiring cruelty to the green hands on first leaving
+port.
+
+In consequence of these little drawbacks we were not a very jovial crowd
+forrard or aft. Not that hilarity was ever particularly noticeable among
+us, but just now there was a very decided sense of wrong-doing over us
+all, and a general fear that each of us was about to pay the penalty due
+to some other delinquent. But fortunately there was work to be done.
+Oh, blessed work! how many awkward situations you have extricated people
+from! How many distracted brains have you soothed and restored, by
+your steady irresistible pressure of duty to be done and brooking of no
+delay!
+
+The first thing to be done was to cut the whale's head off. This
+operation, involving the greatest amount of labour in the whole of the
+cutting in, was taken in hand by the first and second mates, who, armed
+with twelve-feet spades, took their station upon the stage, leaned over
+the handrail to steady themselves, and plunged their weapons vigorously
+down through the massive neck of the animal--if neck it could be said to
+have--following a well-defined crease in the blubber. At the same time
+the other officers passed a heavy chain sling around the long, narrow
+lower jaw, hooking one of the big cutting tackles into it, the "fall" of
+which was then taken to the windlass and hove tight, turning the whale
+on her back. A deep cut was then made on both sides of the rising jaw,
+the windlass was kept going, and gradually the whole of the throat was
+raised high enough for a hole to be cut through its mass, into which the
+strap of the second cutting tackle was inserted and secured by passing
+a huge toggle of oak through its eye. The second tackle was then hove
+taut, and the jaw, with a large piece of blubber attached, was cut off
+from the body with a boarding-knife, a tool not unlike a cutlass blade
+set into a three-foot-long wooden handle.
+
+Upon being severed the whole piece swung easily inboard and was lowered
+on deck. The fast tackle was now hove upon while the third mate on
+the stage cut down diagonally into the blubber on the body, which the
+purchase ripped off in a broad strip or "blanket" about five feet
+wide and a foot thick. Meanwhile the other two officers carved away
+vigorously at the head, varying their labours by cutting a hole right
+through the snout. This when completed received a heavy chain for the
+purpose of securing the head. When the blubber had been about half
+stripped off the body, a halt was called in order that the work of
+cutting off the head might be finished, for it was a task of incredible
+difficulty. It was accomplished at last, and the mass floated astern
+by a stout rope, after which the windlass pawls clattered merrily, the
+"blankets" rose in quick succession, and were cut off and lowered into
+the square of the main batch or "blubber-room." A short time sufficed to
+strip off the whole of the body-blubber, and when at last the tail was
+reached, the backbone was cut through, the huge mass of flesh floating
+away to feed the innumerable scavengers of the sea. No sooner was the
+last of the blubber lowered into the hold than the hatches were put on
+and the head hauled up alongside. Both tackles were secured to it and
+all hands took to the windlass levers. This was a small cow whale of
+about thirty barrels, that is, yielding that amount of oil, so it was
+just possible to lift the entire head on board; but as it weighed as
+much as three full-grown elephants, it was indeed a heavy lift for even
+our united forces, trying our tackle to the utmost. The weather was very
+fine, and the ship rolled but little; even then, the strain upon the
+mast was terrific, and right glad was I when at last the immense cube of
+fat, flesh, and bone was eased inboard and gently lowered on deck.
+
+As soon as it was secured the work of dividing it began. From the snout
+a triangular mass was cut, which was more than half pure spermaceti.
+This substance was contained in spongy cells held together by layers
+of dense white fibre, exceedingly tough and elastic, and called by the
+whalers "white-horse." The whole mass, or "junk" as it is called, was
+hauled away to the ship's side and firmly lashed to the bulwarks for the
+time being, so that it might not "take charge" of the deck during the
+rest of the operations.
+
+The upper part of the head was now slit open lengthwise, disclosing an
+oblong cistern or "case" full of liquid spermaceti, clear as water. This
+was baled out with buckets into a tank, concreting as it cooled into a
+wax-like substance, bland and tasteless. There being now nothing more
+remaining about the skull of any value, the lashings were loosed, and
+the first leeward roll sent the great mass plunging overboard with a
+mighty splash. It sank like a stone, eagerly followed by a few small
+sharks that were hovering near.
+
+As may be imagined, much oil was running about the deck, for so
+saturated was every part of the creature with it that it really gushed
+like water during the cutting-up process. None of it was allowed to run
+to waste, though, for the scupper-holes which drain the deck were all
+carefully plugged, and as soon as the "junk" had been dissected all the
+oil was carefully "squeegeed" up and poured into the try-pots.
+
+Two men were now told off as "blubber-room men," whose duty it became
+to go below, and squeezing themselves in as best they could between
+the greasy masses of fat, cut it up into "horse-pieces" about eighteen
+inches long and six inches square. Doing this they became perfectly
+saturated with oil, as if they had taken a bath in a tank of it; for
+as the vessel rolled it was impossible to maintain a footing, and
+every fall was upon blubber running with oil. A machine of wonderful
+construction had been erected on deck in a kind of shallow trough about
+six feet long by four feet wide and a foot deep. At some remote period
+of time it had no doubt been looked upon as a triumph of ingenuity,
+a patent mincing machine. Its action was somewhat like that of a
+chaff-cutter, except that the knife was not attached to the wheel, and
+only rose and fell, since it was not required to cut right through the
+"horse-pieces" with which it was fed. It will be readily understood
+that in order to get the oil quickly out of the blubber, it needs to be
+sliced as thin as possible, but for convenience in handling the refuse
+(which is the only fuel used) it is not chopped up in small pieces, but
+every "horse-piece" is very deeply scored as it were, leaving a thin
+strip to hold the slices together. This then was the order of work. Two
+harpooners attended the try-pots, replenishing them with minced blubber
+from the hopper at the port side, and baling out the sufficiently
+boiled oil into the great cooling tank on the starboard. One officer
+superintended the mincing, another exercised a general supervision over
+all. There was no man at the wheel and no look-out, for the vessel was
+"hove-to" under two close-reefed topsails and fore-topmast-staysail,
+with the wheel lashed hard down. A look-out man was unnecessary, since
+we could not run anybody down, and if anybody ran us down, it would only
+be because all hands were asleep, for the glare of our try-works fire,
+to say nothing of the blazing cresset before mentioned, could have been
+seen for many miles. So we toiled watch and watch, six hours on and six
+off, the work never ceasing for an instant night or day. Though the
+work was hard and dirty, and the discomfort of being so continually wet
+through with oil great, there was only one thing dangerous about the
+whole business. That was the job of filling and shifting the huge casks
+of oil. Some of these were of enormous size, containing 350 gallons when
+full, and the work of moving them about the greasy deck of a rolling
+ship was attended with a terrible amount of risk. For only four men at
+most could get fair hold of a cask, and when she took it into her silly
+old hull to start rolling, just as we had got one half-way across
+the deck, with nothing to grip your feet, and the knowledge that one
+stumbling man would mean a sudden slide of the ton and a half weight,
+and a little heap of mangled corpses somewhere in the lee scuppers--well
+one always wanted to be very thankful when the lashings were safely
+passed.
+
+The whale being a small one, as before noted, the whole business was
+over within three days, and the decks scrubbed and re-scrubbed until
+they had quite regained their normal whiteness. The oil was poured by
+means of a funnel and long canvas hose into the casks stowed in the
+ground tier at the bottom of the ship, and the gear, all carefully
+cleaned and neatly "stopped up," stowed snugly away below again.
+
+This long and elaborate process is quite different from that followed
+on board the Arctic whaleships, whose voyages are of short duration,
+and who content themselves with merely cutting the blubber up small and
+bringing it home to have the oil expressed. But the awful putrid mass
+discharged from a Greenlander's hold is of very different quality and
+value, apart from the nature of the substance, to the clear and sweet
+oil, which after three years in cask is landed from a south-seaman as
+inoffensive in smell and flavour as the day it was shipped. No attempt
+is made to separate the oil and spermaceti beyond boiling the "head
+matter," as it is called, by itself first, and putting it into casks
+which are not filled up with the body oil. Spermaceti exists in all
+the oil, especially that from the dorsal hump; but it is left for
+the refiners ashore to extract and leave the oil quite free from any
+admixture of the wax-like substance, which causes it to become solid at
+temperatures considerably above the freezing-point.
+
+Uninteresting as the preceding description may be, it is impossible to
+understand anything of the economy of a south-sea whaler without giving
+it, and I have felt it the more necessary because of the scanty notice
+given to it in the only two works published on the subject, both of them
+highly technical, and written for scientific purposes by medical men.
+Therefore I hope to be forgiven if I have tried the patience of my
+readers by any prolixity.
+
+It will not, of course, have escaped the reader's notice that I have not
+hitherto attempted to give any details concerning the structure of the
+whale just dealt with. The omission is intentional. During this, our
+first attempt at real whaling, my mind was far too disturbed by the
+novelty and danger of the position in which I found myself for the first
+time, for me to pay any intelligent attention to the party of the second
+part.
+
+But I may safely promise that from the workman's point of view, the
+habits, manners, and build of the whales shall be faithfully described
+as I saw them during my long acquaintance with them, earnestly hoping
+that if my story be not as technical or scientific as that of Drs.
+Bennett and Beale, it may be found fully as accurate and reliable; and
+perhaps the reader, being like myself a mere layman, so to speak, may be
+better able to appreciate description free from scientific formula and
+nine-jointed words.
+
+Two things I did notice on this occasion which I will briefly allude to
+before closing this chapter. One was the peculiar skin of the whale. It
+was a bluish-black, and as thin as gold-beater's skin. So thin, indeed,
+and tender, that it was easily scraped off with the finger-nail.
+Immediately beneath it, upon the surface of the blubber, was a layer or
+coating of what for want of a better simile I must call fine short fur,
+although unlike fur it had no roots or apparently any hold upon the
+blubber. Neither was it attached to the skin which covered it; in fact,
+it seemed merely a sort of packing between the skin and the surface of
+the thick layer of solid fat which covered the whole area of the whale's
+body. The other matter which impressed me was the peculiarity of the
+teeth. For up till that time I had held, in common with most seamen, and
+landsmen, too, for that matter, the prevailing idea that a "whale" lived
+by "suction" (although I did not at all know what that meant), and that
+it was impossible for him to swallow a herring. Yet here was a mouth
+manifestly intended for greater things in the way of gastronomy than
+herrings; nor did it require more than the most casual glances to
+satisfy one of so obvious a fact. Then the teeth were heroic in size,
+protruding some four or five inches from the gum, and solidly set more
+than that into its firm and compact substance. They were certainly not
+intended for mastication, being, where thickest, three inches apart, and
+tapering to a short point, curving slightly backwards. In this specimen,
+a female, and therefore small as I have said, there were twenty of
+them on each side, the last three or four near the gullet being barely
+visible above the gum.
+
+Another most convincing reason why no mastication could have been
+possible was that there were no teeth visible in the upper jaw. Opposed
+to each of the teeth was a socket where a tooth should apparently have
+been, and this was conclusive evidence of the soft and yielding nature
+of the great creature's food. But there were signs that at some period
+of the development of the whale it had possessed a double row of teeth,
+because at the bottom of these upper sockets we found in a few cases
+what seemed to be an abortive tooth, not one that was growing, because
+they had no roots, but a survival of teeth that had once been perfect
+and useful, but from disuse, or lack of necessity for them, had
+gradually ceased to come to maturity. The interior of the mouth and
+throat was of a livid white, and the tongue was quite small for so large
+an animal. It was almost incapable of movement, being somewhat like a
+fowl's. Certainly it could not have been protruded even from the angle
+of the mouth, much less have extended along the parapet of that lower
+mandible, which reminded one of the beak of some mighty albatross or
+stork.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII. GETTING SOUTHWARD
+
+Whether our recent experience had altered the captain's plans or not
+I do not know, but much to the dismay of the Portuguese portion of the
+crew, we did but sight, dimly and afar off, the outline of the Cape
+Verde Islands before our course was altered, and we bore away for the
+southward like any other outward-bounder. That is, as far as our course
+went; but as to the speed, we still retained the leisurely tactics
+hitherto pursued, shortening sail every night, and, if the weather was
+very fine, setting it all again at daybreak.
+
+The morose and sullen temper of the captain had been, if anything, made
+worse by recent events, and we were worked as hard as if the success of
+the voyage depended upon our ceaseless toil of scrubbing, scraping,
+and polishing. Discipline was indeed maintained at a high pitch of
+perfection, no man daring to look awry, much less complain of any
+hardship, however great. Even this humble submissiveness did not satisfy
+our tyrant, and at last his cruelty took a more active shape. One of
+the long Yankee farmers from Vermont, Abner Cushing by name, with the
+ingenuity which seems inbred in his 'cute countrymen, must needs try
+his hand at making a villainous decoction which he called "beer," the
+principal ingredients in which were potatoes and molasses. Now potatoes
+formed no part of our dietary, so Abner set his wits to work to steal
+sufficient for his purpose, and succeeded so far that he obtained half
+a dozen. I have very little doubt that one of the Portuguese in the
+forecastle conveyed the information aft for some reason best known to
+himself, any more than we white men all had that in a similar manner
+all our sayings and doings, however trivial, became at once known to the
+officers. However, the fact that the theft was discovered soon became
+painfully evident, for we had a visit from the afterguard in force one
+afternoon, and Abner with his brewage was haled to the quarter-deck.
+There, in the presence of all hands, he was arraigned, found guilty of
+stealing the ship's stores, and sentence passed upon him. By means of
+two small pieces of fishing line he was suspended by his thumbs in the
+weather rigging, in such a manner that when the ship was upright his
+toes touched the deck, but when she rolled his whole weight hung from
+his thumbs. This of itself one would have thought sufficient torture for
+almost any offence, but in addition to it he received two dozen lashes
+with an improvised cat-o'-nine-tails, laid on by the brawny arm of
+one of the harpooners. We were all compelled to witness this, and our
+feelings may be imagined. When, after what seemed a terribly long
+time to me (Heaven knows what it must have been to him!), he fainted,
+although no chicken I nearly fainted too, from conflicting emotions of
+sympathy and impotent rage.
+
+He was then released in leisurely fashion, and we were permitted to take
+him forward and revive him. As soon as he was able to stand on his feet,
+he was called on deck again, and not allowed to go below till his watch
+was over. Meanwhile Captain Slocum improved the occasion by giving us a
+short harangue, the burden of which was that we had now seen a LITTLE of
+what any of us might expect if we played any "dog's tricks" on him. But
+you can get used to anything, I suppose: so after the first shock of the
+atrocity was over, things went on again pretty much as usual.
+
+For the first and only time in my experience, we sighted St. Paul's
+Rocks, a tiny group of jagged peaks protruding from the Atlantic nearly
+on the Equator. Stupendous mountains they must be, rising almost sheer
+for about four and a half miles from the ocean bed. Although they appear
+quite insignificant specks upon the vast expanse of water, one could not
+help thinking how sublime their appearance would be were they visible
+from the plateau whence they spring. Their chief interest to us at the
+time arose from the fact that, when within about three miles of them,
+we were suddenly surrounded by a vast school of bonito, These fish,
+so-named by the Spaniards from their handsome appearance, are a species
+of mackerel, a branch of the SCOMBRIDAE family, and attain a size
+of about two feet long and forty pounds weight, though their average
+dimensions are somewhat less than half that. They feed entirely upon
+flying-fish and the small leaping squid or cuttle-fish, but love to
+follow a ship, playing around her, if her pace be not too great, for
+days together. Their flesh resembles beef in appearance, and they are
+warm-blooded; but, from their habitat being mid-ocean, nothing is known
+with any certainty of their habits of breeding.
+
+The orthodox method of catching them on board ship is to cover a
+suitable hook with a piece of white rag a couple of inches long, and
+attach it to a stout line. The fisherman then takes his seat upon the
+jibboom end, having first, if he is prudent, secured a sack to the
+jibstay in such a manner that its mouth gapes wide. Then he unrolls his
+line, and as the ship forges ahead the line, blowing out, describes a
+curve, at the end of which the bait, dipping to--the water occasionally,
+roughly represents a flying-fish. Of course, the faster the ship is
+going, the better the chance of deceiving the fish, since they have less
+time to study the appearance of the bait. It is really an exaggerated
+and clumsy form of fly-fishing, and, as with that elegant pastime, much
+is due to the skill of the fisherman.
+
+As the bait leaps from crest to crest of the wavelets thrust aside by
+the advancing ship, a fish more adventurous or hungrier than the rest
+will leap at it, and in an instant there is a dead, dangling weight of
+from ten to forty pounds hanging at the end of your line thirty feet
+below. You haul frantically, for he may be poorly hooked, and you cannot
+play him. In a minute or two, if all goes well, he is plunged in the
+sack, and safe. But woe unto you if you have allowed the jeers of your
+shipmates to dissuade you from taking a sack out with you.
+
+The struggles of these fish are marvellous, and a man runs great risk of
+being shaken off the boom, unless his legs are firmly locked in between
+the guys. Such is the tremendous vibration that a twenty-pound bonito
+makes in a man's grip, that it can be felt in the cabin at the other and
+of the ship; and I have often come in triumphantly with one, having lost
+all feeling in my arms and a goodly portion of skin off my breast and
+side, where I have embraced the prize in a grim determination to hold
+him at all hazards, besides being literally drenched with his blood.
+
+Like all our fishing operations on board the CACHALOT, this day's
+fishing was conducted on scientific principles, and resulted in
+twenty-five fine fish being shipped, which were a welcome addition to
+our scanty allowance. Happily for us, they would not take the salt in
+that sultry latitude soon enough to preserve them; for, when they can be
+salted, they become like brine itself, and are quite unfit for food.
+Yet we should have been compelled to eat salt bonito, or go without meat
+altogether, if it had been possible to cure them.
+
+We were now fairly in the "horse latitudes," and, much to our relief,
+the rain came down in occasional deluges, permitting us to wash well
+and often. I suppose the rains of the tropics have been often enough
+described to need no meagre attempts of mine to convey an idea of them;
+yet I have often wished I could make home-keeping friends understand how
+far short what they often speak of as a "tropical shower" falls of the
+genuine article. The nearest I can get to it is the idea of an ocean
+suspended overhead, out, of which the bottom occasionally falls. Nothing
+is visible or audible but the glare and roar of falling water, and a
+ship's deck, despite the many outlets, is full enough to swim about in
+in a very few minutes. At such times the whole celestial machinery
+of rain-making may be seen in full working order. Five or six mighty
+waterspouts in various stages of development were often within easy
+distance of us; once, indeed, we watched the birth, growth, and death
+of one less than a mile away. First, a big, black cloud, even among that
+great assemblage of NIMBI, began to belly downward, until the centre
+of it tapered into a stem, and the whole mass looked like a vast,
+irregularly-moulded funnel. Lower and lower it reached, as if feeling
+for a soil in which to grow, until the sea beneath was agitated
+sympathetically, rising at last in a sort of pointed mound to meet the
+descending column. Our nearness enabled us to see that both descending
+and rising parts were whirling violently in obedience to some invisible
+force, and when they had joined each other, although the spiral motion
+did not appear to continue, the upward rush of the water through what
+was now a long elastic tube was very plainly to be seen. The cloud
+overhead grew blacker and bigger, until its gloom was terrible. The
+pipe, or stem, got thinner gradually, until it became a mere thread;
+nor, although watching closely, could we determine when the connection
+between sea and sky ceased--one could not call it severed. The point
+rising from the sea settled almost immediately amidst a small commotion,
+as of a whirlpool. The tail depending from the cloud slowly shortened,
+and the mighty reservoir lost the vast bulge which had hung so
+threateningly above. Just before the final disappearance of the last
+portion of the tube, a fragment of cloud appeared to break off. It fell
+near enough to show by its thundering roar what a body of water it must
+have been, although it looked like a saturated piece of dirty rag in its
+descent.
+
+For whole days and nights together we sometimes lay almost "as idle as
+a painted ship upon a painted ocean," when the deep blue dome above
+matched the deep blue plain below, and never a fleck of white appeared
+in sky or sea. This perfect stop to our progress troubled none, although
+it aggravates a merchant skipper terribly. As for the objects of our
+search, they had apparently all migrated other-whither, for never a sign
+of them did we see. Finbacks, a species of rorqual, were always pretty
+numerous, and as if they knew how useless they were to us, came and
+played around like exaggerated porpoises. One in particular kept us
+company for several days and nights. We knew him well, from a great
+triangular scar on his right side, near the dorsal fin. Sometimes he
+would remain motionless by the side of the ship, a few feet below the
+surface, as distinctly in our sight as a gold-fish in a parlour globe;
+or he would go under the keel, and gently chafe his broad back to and
+fro along it, making queer tremors run through the vessel, as if she
+were scraping over a reef. Whether from superstition or not I cannot
+tell, but I never saw any creature injured out of pure wantonness,
+except sharks, while I was on board the CACHALOT. Of course, injuries to
+men do not count. Had that finback attempted to play about a passenger
+ship in such a fashion, all the loungers on board would have been
+popping at him with their revolvers and rifles without ever a thought
+of compunction; yet here, in a vessel whose errand was whale-fishing,
+a whale enjoyed perfect immunity. It was very puzzling. At last my
+curiosity became too great to hear any longer, and I sought my friend
+Mistah Jones at what I considered a favourable opportunity. I found him
+very gracious and communicative, and I got such a lecture on the natural
+history of the cetacea as I have never forgotten--the outcome of a
+quarter-century's experience of them, and afterwards proved by me to be
+correct in every detail, which latter is a great deal more than can be
+said of any written natural history that ever I came across. But I will
+not go into that now. Leaning over the rail, with the great rorqual
+laying perfectly still a few feet below, I was told to mark how slender
+and elegant were his proportions. "Clipper-built," my Mentor termed him.
+He was full seventy feet long, but his greatest diameter would not reach
+ten feet. His snout was long and pointed, while both top and bottom of
+his head were nearly flat. When he came up to breathe, which he did out
+of the top of his head, he showed us that, instead of teeth, he had a
+narrow fringe of baleen (whalebone) all around his upper jaws, although
+"I kaint see whyfor, kase he lib on all sort er fish, s'long's dey
+ain't too big. I serpose w'en he kaint get nary fish he do de same ez
+de 'bowhead'--go er siftin eout dem little tings we calls whale-feed wiv
+dat ar' rangement he carry in his mouf." "But why don't we harpoon him?"
+I asked. Goliath turned on me a pitying look, as he replied, "Sonny,
+ef yew wuz ter go on stick iron inter dat ar fish, yew'd fink de hole
+bottom fell eout kerblunk. W'en I uz young 'n foolish, a finback range
+'longside me one day, off de Seychelles. I just done gone miss' a spam
+whale, and I was kiender mad,--muss ha' bin. Wall, I let him hab it blam
+'tween de ribs. If I lib ten tousan year, ain't gwine ter fergit dat ar.
+Wa'nt no time ter spit, tell ye; eberybody hang ober de side ob de boat.
+Wiz--poof!--de line all gone. Clar to glory, I neber see it go. Ef it
+hab ketch anywhar, nobody eber see US too. Fus, I t'ought I jump ober
+de side--neber face de skipper any mo'. But he uz er good ole man, en
+he only say, 'Don't be sech blame jackass any more.' En I don't." From
+which lucid narration I gathered that the finback had himself to thank
+for his immunity from pursuit. "'Sides," persisted Goliath, "wa' yew
+gwine do wiv' him? Ain't six inch uv blubber anywhere 'bout his long
+ugly carkiss; en dat, dirty lill' rag 'er whalebone he got in his mouf,
+'taint worf fifty cents. En mor'n dat, we pick up, a dead one when I
+uz in de ole RAINBOW--done choke hisself, I spec, en we cut him in. He
+stink fit ter pison de debbil, en, after all, we get eighteen bar'l ob
+dirty oil out ob him. Wa'nt worf de clean sparm scrap we use ter bile
+him. G' 'way!" Which emphatic adjuration, addressed not to me, but to
+the unconscious monster below, closed the lesson for the time.
+
+The calm still persisted, and, as usual, fish began to abound,
+especially flying-fish. At times, disturbed by some hungry bonito or
+dolphin, a shoal of them would rise--a great wave of silver--and skim
+through the air, rising and falling for perhaps a couple of hundred
+yards before they again took to the water; or a solitary one of larger
+size than usual would suddenly soar into the air, a heavy splash behind
+him showing by how few inches he had missed the jaws of his pursuer.
+Away he would go in a long, long curve, and, meeting the ship in his
+flight, would rise in the air, turn off at right angles to his former
+direction, and spin away again, the whir of his wing-fins distinctly
+visible as well as audible. At last he would incline to the water, but
+just as he was about to enter it there would be an eddy--the enemy
+was there waiting--and he would rise twenty, thirty feet, almost
+perpendicularly, and dart away fully a hundred yards on a fresh course
+before the drying of his wing membranes compelled him to drop. In the
+face of such a sight as this, which is of everyday occurrence in these
+latitudes, how trivial and misleading the statements made by the natural
+history books seem.
+
+They tell their readers that the EXOCETUS VOLITANS "does not fly; does
+not flutter its wings; can only take a prolonged leap," and so on. The
+misfortune attendant upon such books seems, to an unlearned sailor like
+myself, to be that, although posing as authorities, most of the authors
+are content to take their facts not simply at second-hand, but even unto
+twenty-second-hand. So the old fables get repeated, and brought up to
+date, and it is nobody's business to take the trouble to correct them.
+
+The weather continued calm and clear, and as the flying-fish were about
+in such immense numbers, I ventured to suggest to Goliath that we might
+have a try for some of them. I verily believe he thought I was mad. He
+stared at me for a minute, and then, with an indescribable intonation,
+said, "How de ol' Satan yew fink yew gwain ter get'm, hey? Ef yew spects
+ter fool dis chile wiv any dem lime-juice yarns, 'bout lanterns 'n boats
+at night-time, yew's 'way off." I guessed he meant the fable current
+among English sailors, that if you hoist a sail on a calm night in a
+boat where flying-fish abound, and hang a lantern in the middle of it,
+the fish will fly in shoals at the lantern, strike against the sail, and
+fall in heaps in the boat. It MAY be true, but I never spoke to anybody
+who has seen it done, nor is it the method practised in the only place
+in the world where flying-fishing is followed for a living. So I told
+Mr. Jones that if we had some circular nets of small mesh made and
+stretched on wooden hoops, I was sure we should be able to catch some.
+He caught at the idea, and mentioned it to the mate, who readily gave
+his permission to use a boat. A couple of "Guineamen" (a very large
+kind of flying-fish, having four wings) flew on board that night, as if
+purposely to provide us with the necessary bait.
+
+Next morning, about four bells, the sea being like a mirror, unruffled
+by a breath of wind, we lowered and paddled off from the ship about a
+mile. When far enough away, we commenced operations by squeezing in the
+water some pieces of fish that had been kept for the purpose until they
+were rather high-flavoured. The exuding oil from this fish spread a
+thin film for some distance around the boat, through which, as through a
+sheet of glass, we could see a long way down. Minute specks of the bait
+sank slowly through the limpid blue, but for at least an hour there
+was no sign of life. I was beginning to fear that I should be called
+to account for misleading all hands, when, to my unbounded delight,
+an immense shoal of flying-fish came swimming round the boat, eagerly
+picking up the savoury morsels. We grasped our nets, and, leaning over
+the gunwale, placed them silently in the water, pressing them downward
+and in towards the boat at the same time. Our success was great
+and immediate. We lifted the wanderers by scores, while I whispered
+imploringly, "Be careful not to scare them; don't make a sound." All
+hands entered into the spirit of the thing with great eagerness. As for
+Mistah Jones, his delight was almost more than he could bear. Suddenly
+one of the men, in lifting his net, slipped on the smooth bottom of the
+boat, jolting one of the oars. There was a gleam of light below as the
+school turned--they had all disappeared instanter. We had been so busy
+that we had not noticed the dimensions of our catch; but now, to our
+great joy, we found that we had at least eight hundred fish nearly as
+large as herrings. We at once returned to the ship, having been absent
+only two hours, during which we had caught sufficient to provide all
+hands with three good meals. Not one of the crew had ever seen or heard
+of such fishing before, so my pride and pleasure may be imagined. A
+little learning may be a dangerous thing at times, but it certainly
+is often handy to have about you. The habit of taking notice
+and remembering has often been the means of saving many lives in
+suddenly-met situations of emergency, at sea perhaps more than anywhere
+else, and nothing can be more useful to a sailor than the practice of
+keeping his weather-eye open.
+
+In Barbadoes there is established the only regular flying-fishery in the
+world, and in just the manner I have described, except that the boats
+are considerably larger, is the whole town supplied with delicious fish
+at so trifling a cost as to make it a staple food among all classes.
+
+But I find that I am letting this chapter run to an unconscionable
+length, and it does not appear as if we were getting at the southward
+very fast either. Truth to tell, our progress was mighty slow; but
+we gradually crept across the belt of calms, and a week after our
+never-to-be-forgotten haul of flying-fish we got the first of the
+south-east trades, and went away south at a good pace--for us. We made
+the Island of Trinidada with its strange conical-topped pillar, the
+Ninepin Rock, but did not make a call, as the skipper was beginning to
+get fidgety at not seeing any whales, and anxious to get down to where
+he felt reasonably certain of falling in with them. Life had been
+very monotonous of late, and much as we dreaded still the prospect of
+whale-fighting (by "we," of course, I mean the chaps forward), it began
+to lose much of its terror for us, so greatly did we long for a little
+change. Keeping, as we did, out of the ordinary track of ships, we
+hardly ever saw a sail. We had no recreations; fun was out of the
+question; and had it not been for a Bible, a copy of Shakespeare, and a
+couple of cheap copies of "David Copperfield" and "Bleak House," all of
+which were mine, we should have had no books.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII. ABNER'S WHALE
+
+In a previous chapter I have referred to the fact of a bounty being
+offered to whoever should first sight a useful whale, payable only in
+the event of the prize being secured by the ship. In consequence of our
+ill-success, and to stimulate the watchfulness of all, that bounty was
+now increased from ten pounds of tobacco to twenty, or fifteen dollars,
+whichever the winner chose to have. Most of us whites regarded this
+as quite out of the question for us, whose untrained vision was as the
+naked eye to a telescope when pitted against the eagle-like sight of the
+Portuguese. Nevertheless, we all did our little best, and I know, for
+one, that when I descended from my lofty perch, after a two hours'
+vigil, my eyes often ached and burned for an hour afterwards from the
+intensity of my gaze across the shining waste of waters.
+
+Judge, then, of the surprise of everybody, when one forenoon watch,
+three days after we had lost sight of Trinidada, a most extraordinary
+sound was heard from the fore crow's-nest. I was, at the time, up at the
+main, in company with Louis, the mate's harpooner, and we stared across
+to see whatever was the matter, The watchman was unfortunate Abner
+Cushing, whose trivial offence had been so severely punished a short
+time before, and he was gesticulating and howling like a madman. Up from
+below came the deep growl of the skipper, "Foremast head, there, what
+d'ye say?" "B-b-b-blow, s-s-sir," stammered Abner; "a big whale right in
+the way of the sun, sir." "See anythin', Louey?" roared the skipper to
+my companion, just as we had both "raised" the spout almost in the glare
+cast by the sun. "Yessir," answered Louis; "but I kaint make him eout
+yet, sir." "All right; keep yer eye on him, and lemme know sharp;" and
+away he went aft for his glasses.
+
+The course was slightly altered, so that we headed direct for the whale,
+and in less than a minute afterwards we saw distinctly the great black
+column of a sperm whale's head rise well above the sea, scattering a
+circuit of foam before it, and emitting a bushy, tufted burst of vapour
+into the clear air. "There she white-waters! Ah bl-o-o-o-o-o-w, blow,
+blow!" sang Louis; and then, in another tone, "Sperm whale, sir; big,
+'lone fish, headin' 'beout east-by-nothe." "All right. 'Way down
+from aloft," answered the skipper, who was already half-way up the
+main-rigging; and like squirrels we slipped out of our hoops and down
+the backstays, passing the skipper like a flash as he toiled upwards,
+bellowing orders as he went. Short as our journey down had been, when we
+arrived on deck we found all ready for a start. But as the whale was
+at least seven miles away, and we had a fair wind for him, there was no
+hurry to lower, so we all stood at attention by our respective boats,
+waiting for the signal. I found, to my surprise, that, although I was
+conscious of a much more rapid heart-beat than usual, I was not half so
+scared as I expected to be--that the excitement was rather pleasant
+than otherwise. There were a few traces of funk about some of the others
+still; but as for Abner, he was fairly transformed; I hardly knew the
+man. He was one of Goliath's boat's crew, and the big darkey was quite
+proud of him. His eyes sparkled, and he chuckled and smiled constantly,
+as one who is conscious of having done a grand stroke of business, not
+only for himself, but for all hands. "Lower away boats!" came pealing
+down from the skipper's lofty perch, succeeded instantly by the rattle
+of the patent blocks as the falls flew through them, while the four
+beautiful craft took the water with an almost simultaneous splash.
+The ship-keepers had trimmed the yards to the wind and hauled up the
+courses, so that simply putting the helm down deadened our way, and
+allowed the boats to run clear without danger of fouling one another. To
+shove off and hoist sail was the work of a few moments, and with a fine
+working breeze away we went. As before, our boat, being the chief's,
+had the post of honour; but there was now only one whale, and I rather
+wondered why we had all left the ship. According to expectations, down
+he went when we were within a couple of miles of him, but quietly and
+with great dignity, elevating his tail perpendicularly in the air, and
+sinking slowly from our view. Again I found Mr. Count talkative.
+
+"Thet whale 'll stay down fifty minutes, I guess," said he, "fer he's
+every gill ov a hundred en twenty bar'l; and don't yew fergit it." "Do
+the big whales give much more trouble than the little ones?" I asked,
+seeing him thus chatty. "Wall, it's jest ez it happens, boy--just ez
+it happens. I've seen a fifty-bar'l bull make the purtiest fight I ever
+hearn tell ov--a fight thet lasted twenty hours, stove three boats, 'n
+killed two men. Then, again, I've seen a hundred 'n fifty bar'l whale
+lay 'n take his grooel 'thout hardly wunkin 'n eyelid--never moved ten
+fathom from fust iron till fin eout. So yew may say, boy, that they're
+like peepul--got thair iudividooal pekyewlyarities, an' thars no
+countin' on 'em for sartin nary time." I was in great hopes of getting
+some useful information while his mood lasted; but it was over, and
+silence reigned. Nor did I dare to ask any more questions; he looked so
+stern and fierce. The scene was very striking. Overhead, a bright blue
+sky just fringed with fleecy little clouds; beneath, a deep blue sea
+with innumerable tiny wavelets dancing and glittering in the blaze of
+the sun; but all swayed in one direction by a great, solemn swell that
+slowly rolled from east to west, like the measured breathing of some
+world-supporting monster. Four little craft in a group, with twenty-four
+men in them, silently waiting for battle with one of the mightiest of
+God's creatures--one that was indeed a terrible foe to encounter were he
+but wise enough to make the best use of his opportunities. Against
+him we came with our puny weapons, of which I could not help reminding
+myself that "he laugheth at the shaking of a spear." But when the man's
+brain was thrown into the scale against the instinct of the brute, the
+contest looked less unequal than at first sight, for THERE is the secret
+of success. My musings were very suddenly interrupted. Whether we had
+overrun our distance, or the whale, who was not "making a passage," but
+feeding, had changed his course, I do not know; but, anyhow, he broke
+water close ahead, coming straight for our boat. His great black head,
+like the broad bow of a dumb barge, driving the waves before it, loomed
+high and menacing to me, for I was not forbidden to look ahead now.
+But coolly, as if coming alongside the ship, the mate bent to the
+big steer-oar, and swung the boat off at right angles to her course,
+bringing her back again with another broad sheer as the whale passed
+foaming. This manoeuvre brought us side by side with him before he
+had time to realize that we were there. Up till that instant he had
+evidently not seen us, and his surprise was correspondingly great. To
+see Louis raise his harpoon high above his head, and with a hoarse grunt
+of satisfaction plunge it into the black, shining mass beside him up to
+the hitches, was indeed a sight to be remembered. Quick as thought he
+snatched up a second harpoon, and as the whale rolled from us it flew
+from his hands, burying itself like the former one, but lower down the
+body. The great impetus we had when we reached the whale carried us a
+long way past him, out of all danger from his struggles. No hindrance
+was experienced from the line by which we were connected with the whale,
+for it was loosely coiled in a space for the purpose in the boat's bow
+to the extent of two hundred feet, and this was cast overboard by the
+harpooner as soon as the fish was fast. He made a fearful to-do over it,
+rolling completely over several times backward and forward, at the same
+time smiting the sea with his mighty tail, making an almost deafening
+noise and pother. But we were comfortable enough, while we unshipped the
+mast and made ready for action, being sufficiently far away from him
+to escape the full effect of his gambols. It was impossible to avoid
+reflecting, however, upon what WOULD happen if, in our unprepared and
+so far helpless state, he were, instead of simply tumbling about in an
+aimless, blind sort of fury, to rush at the boat and try to destroy it.
+Very few indeed would survive such an attack, unless the tactics were
+radically altered. No doubt they would be, for practices grow up in
+consequence of the circumstances with which they have to deal.
+
+After the usual time spent in furious attempts to free himself from our
+annoyance, he betook himself below, leaving us to await his return, and
+hasten it as much as possible by keeping a severe strain upon the line.
+Our efforts in this direction, however, did not seem to have any effect
+upon him at all. Flake after flake ran out of the tubs, until we were
+compelled to hand the end of our line to the second mate to splice his
+own on to. Still it slipped away, and at last it was handed to the third
+mate, whose two tubs met the same fate. It was now Mistah Jones' turn to
+"bend on," which he did with many chuckles as of a man who was the last
+resource of the unfortunate. But his face grew longer and longer as the
+never-resting line continued to disappear. Soon he signalled us that he
+was nearly out of line, and two or three minutes after he bent on his
+"drogue" (a square piece of plank with a rope tail spliced into its
+centre, and considered to hinder a whale's progress at least as much as
+four boats), and let go the end. We had each bent on our drogues in the
+same way, when we passed our ends to one another. So now our friend was
+getting along somewhere below with 7200 feet of 1 1/2-inch rope, and
+weight additional equal to the drag of sixteen 30-feet boats.
+
+Of course we knew that, unless he were dead and sinking, he could not
+possibly remain much longer beneath the surface. The exhibition of
+endurance we had just been favoured with was a very unusual one, I was
+told, it being a rare thing for a cachalot to take out two boats' lines
+before returning to the surface to spout.
+
+Therefore, we separated as widely as was thought necessary, in order
+to be near him on his arrival. It was, as might be imagined, some time
+before we saw the light of his countenance; but when we did, we had no
+difficulty in getting alongside of him again. My friend Goliath, much
+to my delight, got there first, and succeeded in picking up the bight of
+the line. But having done so, his chance of distinguishing himself was
+gone. Hampered by the immense quantity of sunken line which was attached
+to the whale, he could do nothing, and soon received orders to cut the
+bight of the line and pass the whale's end to us. He had hardly obeyed,
+with a very bad grace, when the whale started off to windward with us at
+a tremendous rate. The other boats, having no line, could do nothing to
+help, so away we went alone, with barely a hundred fathoms of line, in
+case he should take it into his head to sound again. The speed at which
+he went made it appear as if a gale of wind was blowing and we flew
+along the sea surface, leaping from crest to crest of the waves with
+an incessant succession of cracks like pistol-shots. The flying spray
+drenched us and prevented us from seeing him, but I fully realized
+that it was nothing to what we should have to put up with if the wind
+freshened much. One hand was kept bailing the water out which came so
+freely over the bows, but all the rest hauled with all their might upon
+the line, hoping to get a little closer to the flying monster. Inch
+by inch we gained on him, encouraged by the hoarse objurgations of the
+mate, whose excitement was intense. After what seemed a terribly long
+chase, we found his speed slackening, and we redoubled our efforts. Now
+we were close upon him; now, in obedience to the steersman, the boat
+sheered out a bit, and we were abreast of his labouring flukes; now the
+mate hurls his quivering lance with such hearty good-will that every
+inch of its slender shaft disappears within the huge body. "Layoff! Off
+with her, Louey!" screamed the mate; and she gave a wide sheer away from
+the whale, not a second too soon. Up flew that awful tail, descending
+with a crash upon the water not two feet from us. "Out oars! Pull, two!
+starn, three!" shouted the mate; and as we obeyed our foe turned to
+fight. Then might one see how courage and skill were such mighty factors
+in the apparently unequal contest. The whale's great length made it no
+easy job for him to turn, while our boat, with two oars a-side, and
+the great leverage at the stern supplied by the nineteen-foot steer-oar
+circled, backed, and darted ahead like a living thing animated by the
+mind of our commander. When the leviathan settled, we gave a wide berth
+to his probable place of ascent; when he rushed at us, we dodged him;
+when he paused, if only momentarily, in we flew, and got home a fearful
+thrust of the deadly lance.
+
+All fear was forgotten now--I panted, thirsted for his life. Once,
+indeed, in a sort of frenzy, when for an instant we lay side by side
+with him, I drew my sheath-knife, and plunged it repeatedly into the
+blubber, as if I were assisting is his destruction. Suddenly the mate
+gave a howl: "Starn all--starn all! oh, starn!" and the oars bent like
+canes as we obeyed. There was an upheaval of the sea just ahead; then
+slowly, majestically, the vast body of our foe rose into the air. Up,
+up it went, while my heart stood still, until the whole of that immense
+creature hung on high, apparently motionless, and then fell--a
+hundred tons of solid flesh--back into the sea. On either side of that
+mountainous mass the waters rose in shining towers of snowy foam, which
+fell in their turn, whirling and eddying around us as we tossed and fell
+like a chip in a whirlpool. Blinded by the flying spray, baling for very
+life to free the boat from the water with which she was nearly full,
+it was some minutes before I was able to decide whether we were still
+uninjured or not. Then I saw, at a little distance, the whale lying
+quietly. As I looked he spouted, and the vapour was red with his blood.
+"Starn all!" again cried our chief, and we retreated to a considerable
+distance. The old warrior's practised eye had detected the coming climax
+of our efforts, the dying agony or "furry" of the great mammal. Turning
+upon his side, he began to move in a circular direction, slowly at
+first, then faster and faster, until he was rushing round at tremendous
+speed, his great head raised quite out of water at times, clashing his
+enormous jaws. Torrents of blood poured from his spout-hole, accompanied
+by hoarse bellowings, as of some gigantic bull, but really caused by the
+labouring breath trying to pass through the clogged air passages. The
+utmost caution and rapidity of manipulation of the boat was necessary to
+avoid his maddened rush, but this gigantic energy was short-lived. In a
+few minutes he subsided slowly in death, his mighty body reclined on one
+side, the fin uppermost waving limply as he rolled to the swell, while
+the small waves broke gently over the carcass in a low, monotonous surf,
+intensifying the profound silence that had succeeded the tumult of
+our conflict with the late monarch of the deep. Hardly had the flurry
+ceased, when we hauled up alongside of our hard-won prize, in order to
+secure a line to him in a better manner than at present for hauling
+him to the ship. This was effected by cutting a hole through the tough,
+gristly substance of the flukes with the short "boat-spade," carried for
+the purpose. The end of the line, cut off from the faithful harpoon that
+had held it so long, was then passed through this hole and made fast.
+This done, it was "Smoke-oh!" The luxury of that rest and refreshment
+was something to be grateful for, coming, as it did, in such complete
+contrast to our recent violent exertions.
+
+The ship was some three or four miles off to leeward, so we reckoned she
+would take at least an hour and a half to work up to us. Meanwhile, our
+part of the performance being over, and well over, we thoroughly enjoyed
+ourselves, lazily rocking on the gentle swell by the side of a catch
+worth at least L800. During the conflict I had not noticed
+what now claimed attention--several great masses of white,
+semi-transparent-looking substance floating about, of huge size and
+irregular shape. But one of these curious lumps came floating by as we
+lay, tugged at by several fish, and I immediately asked the mate if he
+could tell me what it was and where it came from. He told me that, when
+dying, the cachalot always ejected the contents of his stomach, which
+were invariably composed of such masses as we saw before us; that he
+believed the stuff to be portions of big cuttle-fish, bitten off by the
+whale for the purpose of swallowing, but he wasn't sure. Anyhow, I could
+haul this piece alongside now, if I liked, and see. Secretly wondering
+at the indifference shown by this officer of forty years' whaling
+experience to such a wonderful fact as appeared to be here presented,
+I thanked him, and, sticking the boat-hook into the lump, drew it
+alongside. It was at once evident that it was a massive fragment of
+cuttle-fish--tentacle or arm--as thick as a stout man's body, and with
+six or seven sucking-discs or ACETABULA on it. These were about as large
+as a saucer, and on their inner edge were thickly set with hooks or
+claws all round the rim, sharp as needles, and almost the shape and size
+of a tiger's.
+
+To what manner of awful monster this portion of limb belonged, I could
+only faintly imagine; but of course I remembered, as any sailor would,
+that from my earliest sea-going I had been told that the cuttle-fish was
+the biggest in the sea, although I never even began to think it might be
+true until now. I asked the mate if he had ever seen such creatures as
+this piece belonged to alive and kicking. He answered, languidly, "Wall,
+I guess so; but I don't take any stock in fish, 'cept for provisions
+er ile--en that's a fact." It will be readily believed that I vividly
+recalled this conversation when, many years after, I read an account by
+the Prince of Monaco of HIS discovery of a gigantic squid, to which
+his naturalist gave the name of LEPIDOTEUTHIS GRIMALDII! Truly the
+indifference and apathy manifested by whalers generally to everything
+except commercial matters is wonderful--hardly to be credited. However,
+this was a mighty revelation to me. For the first time, it was possible
+to understand that, contrary to the usual notion of a whale's being
+unable to swallow a herring, here was a kind of whale that could
+swallow--well, a block four or five feet square apparently; who lived
+upon creatures as large as himself, if one might judge of their bulk by
+the sample to hand; but being unable, from only possessing teeth in one
+jaw, to masticate his food, was compelled to tear it in sizable pieces,
+bolt it whole, and leave his commissariat department to do the rest.
+
+While thus ruminating, the mate and Louis began a desultory conversation
+concerning what they termed "ambergrease." I had never even heard
+the word before, although I had a notion that Milton, in "Paradise
+Regained," describing the Satanic banquet, had spoken of something
+being "grisamber steamed." They could by no means agree as to what this
+mysterious substance was, how it was produced, or under what conditions.
+They knew that it was sometimes found floating near the dead body of a
+sperm whale--the mate, in fact, stated that he had taken it once from
+the rectum of a cachalot--and they were certain that it was of great
+value--from one to three guineas per ounce. When I got to know more of
+the natural history of the sperm whale, and had studied the literature
+of the subject, I was so longer surprised at their want of agreement,
+since the learned doctors who have written upon the subject do not seem
+to have come to definite conclusions either.
+
+By some it is supposed to be the product of a diseased condition of the
+creature; others consider that it is merely the excreta, which, normally
+fluid, has by some means become concreted. It is nearly always found
+with cuttle-fish beaks imbedded in its substance, showing that these
+indigestible portions of the sperm whale's food have in some manner
+become mixed with it during its formation in the bowel. Chemists have
+analyzed it with scanty results. Its great value is due to its property
+of intensifying the power of perfumes, although, strange to say, it
+has little or no odour of its own, a faint trace of musk being perhaps
+detectable in some cases. The Turks are said to use it for a truly
+Turkish purpose, which need not be explained here, while the Moors are
+credited with a taste for it in their cookery. About both these latter
+statements there is considerable doubt; I only give them for what they
+are worth, without, committing myself to any definite belief in them.
+
+The ship now neared us fast, and as soon as she rounded-to, we left
+the whale and pulled towards her, paying out line as we went. Arriving
+alongside, the line was handed on board, and in a short time the prize
+was hauled to the gangway. We met with a very different reception this
+time. The skipper's grim face actually looked almost pleasant as he
+contemplated the colossal proportions of the latest addition to our
+stock. He was indeed a fine catch, being at least seventy feet long,
+and in splendid condition. As soon as he was secured alongside in the
+orthodox fashion, all hands were sent to dinner, with an intimation to
+look sharp over it. Judging from our slight previous experience, there
+was some heavy labour before us, for this whale was nearly four times as
+large as the one caught off the Cape Verds. And it was so. Verily those
+officers toiled like Titans to get that tremendous head off even the
+skipper taking a hand. In spite of their efforts, it was dark before the
+heavy job was done. As we were in no danger of bad weather, the head
+was dropped astern by a hawser until morning, when it would be safer
+to dissect it. All that night we worked incessantly, ready to drop with
+fatigue, but not daring to suggest, the possibility of such a thing.
+Several of the officers and harpooners were allowed a few hours off,
+as their special duty of dealing with the head at daylight would be so
+arduous as to need all their energies. When day dawned we were allowed a
+short rest, while the work of cutting up the head was undertaken by the
+rested men. At seven bells (7.30) it was "turn to" all hands again. The
+"junk" was hooked on to both cutting tackles, and the windlass manned by
+everybody who could get hold. Slowly the enormous mass rose, canting the
+ship heavily as it came, while every stick and rope aloft complained of
+the great strain upon them. When at last it was safely shipped, and
+the tackles cast off, the size of this small portion of a full-grown
+cachalot's body could be realized, not before.
+
+It was hauled from the gangway by tackles, and securely lashed to the
+rail running round beneath the top of the bulwarks for that purpose--the
+"lash-rail"--where the top of it towered up as high as the third ratline
+of the main-rigging. Then there was another spell, while the "case" was
+separated from the skull. This was too large to get on board, so it was
+lifted half-way out of water by the tackles, one hooked on each side;
+then they were made fast, and a spar rigged across them at a good
+height above the top of the case. A small block was lashed to this spar,
+through which a line was rove. A long, narrow bucket was attached to
+one end of this rope; the other end on deck was attended by two men. One
+unfortunate beggar was perched aloft on the above-mentioned spar, where
+his position, like the main-yard of Marryatt's verbose carpenter was
+"precarious and not at all permanent." He was provided with a pole, with
+which he pushed the bucket down through a hole cut in the upper end
+of the "case," whence it was drawn out by the chaps on deck full of
+spermaceti. It was a weary, unsatisfactory process, wasting a great
+deal of the substance being baled out; but no other way was apparently
+possible. The grease blew about, drenching most of us engaged in an
+altogether unpleasant fashion, while, to mend matters, the old barky
+began to roll and tumble about in an aimless, drunken sort of way, the
+result of a new cross swell rolling up from the south-westward. As the
+stuff was gained, it was poured into large tanks in the blubber-room,
+the quantity being too great to be held by the try-pots at once.
+Twenty-five barrels of this clear, wax-like substance were baled from
+that case; and when at last it was lowered a little, and cut away from
+its supports, it was impossible to help thinking that much was still
+remaining within which we, with such rude means, were unable to save.
+Then came the task of cutting up the junk. Layer after layer, eight to
+ten inches thick, was sliced off, cut into suitable pieces, and passed
+into the tanks. So full was the matter of spermaceti that one could
+take a piece as large as one's head in the hands, and squeeze it like a
+sponge, expressing the spermaceti in showers, until nothing remained
+but a tiny ball of fibre. All this soft, pulpy mass was held together by
+walls of exceedingly tough, gristly integrument ("white horse"), which
+was as difficult to cut as gutta-percha, and, but for the peculiar
+texture, not at all unlike it.
+
+When we had finished separating the junk, there was nearly a foot of oil
+on deck in the waist, and uproarious was the laughter when some hapless
+individual, losing his balance, slid across the deck and sat down with a
+loud splash in the deepest part of the accumulation.
+
+The lower jaw of this whale measured exactly nineteen feet in length
+from the opening of the mouth, or, say the last of the teeth, to the
+point, and carried twenty-eight teeth on each side. For the time, it was
+hauled aft out of the way, and secured to the lash-rail. The subsequent
+proceedings were just the same as before described, only more so. For a
+whole week our labours continued, and when they were over we had stowed
+below a hundred and forty-six barrels of mingled oil and spermaceti, or
+fourteen and a half tuns.
+
+It was really a pleasant sight to see Abner receiving as if being
+invested with an order of merit, the twenty pounds of tobacco to which
+he was entitled. Poor fellow! he felt as if at last he were going to be
+thought a little of, and treated a little better. He brought his bounty
+forrard, and shared it out as far as it would go with the greatest
+delight and good nature possible. Whatever he might have been thought of
+aft, certainly, for the time, he was a very important personage forrard;
+even the Portuguese, who were inclined to be jealous of what they
+considered an infringement of their rights, were mollified by the
+generosity shown.
+
+After every sign of the operations had been cleared away, the jaw was
+brought out, and the teeth extracted with a small tackle. They were set
+solidly into a hard white gum, which had to be cut away all around them
+before they would come out. When cleaned of the gum, they were headed up
+in a small barrel of brine. The great jaw-pans were sawn off, and placed
+at the disposal of anybody who wanted pieces of bone for "scrimshaw," or
+carved work. This is a very favourite pastime on board whalers, though,
+in ships such as ours, the crew have little opportunity for doing
+anything, hardly any leisure during daylight being allowed. But our
+carpenter was a famous workman at "scrimshaw," and he started half a
+dozen walking-sticks forthwith. A favourite design is to carve the bone
+into the similitude of a rope, with "worming" of smaller line along its
+lays. A handle is carved out of a whale's tooth, and insets of baleen,
+silver, cocoa-tree, or ebony, give variety and finish. The tools used
+are of the roughest. Some old files, softened in the fire, and filed
+into grooves something like saw-teeth, are most used; but old knives,
+sail-needles, and chisels are pressed into service. The work turned
+out would, in many cases, take a very high place in an exhibition of
+turnery, though never a lathe was near it. Of course, a long time is
+taken over it, especially the polishing, which is done with oil and
+whiting, if it can be got--powdered pumice if it cannot. I once had
+an elaborate pastry-cutter carved out of six whale's teeth, which I
+purchased for a pound of tobacco from a seaman of the CORAL whaler,
+and afterwards sold in Dunedin, New Zealand, for L2 10s., the purchaser
+being decidedly of opinion that he had a bargain.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX. OUR FIRST CALLING-PLACE
+
+Perhaps it may hastily be assumed, from the large space already devoted
+to fishing operations of various kinds, that the subject will not bear
+much more dealing with, if my story is to avoid being monotonous. But I
+beg to assure you, dear reader, that while of course I have most to say
+in connection with the business of the voyage, nothing is farther from
+my plan than to neglect the very interesting portion of our cruise
+which relates to visiting strange, out-of-the-way corners of the world.
+If--which I earnestly deprecate--the description hitherto given of sperm
+whale-fishing and its adjuncts be found not so interesting as could be
+wished, I cry you mercy. I have been induced to give more space to
+it because it has been systematically avoided in the works upon
+whale-fishing before mentioned, which, as I have said, were not intended
+for popular reading. True, neither may my humble tome become popular
+either; but, if it does not, no one will be so disappointed as the
+author.
+
+We had made but little progress during the week of oil manufacture, very
+little attention being paid to the sails while that work was about; but,
+as the south-east trades blew steadily, we did not remain stationary
+altogether. So that the following week saw us on the south side of the
+tropic of Capricorn, the south-east trade done, and the dirty weather
+and variable squalls, which nearly always precede the "westerlies,"
+making our lives a burden to us. Here, however, we were better off than
+in an ordinary merchantman, where doldrums are enough to drive you
+mad. The one object being to get along, it is incessant "pully-hauly,"
+setting and taking in sail, in order, on the one hand, to lose no time,
+and, on the other, to lose no sails. Now, with us, whenever the weather
+was doubtful or squally-looking, we shortened sail, and kept it fast
+till better weather came along, being quite careless whether we made one
+mile a day or one hundred. But just because nobody took any notice of
+our progress as the days passed, we were occasionally startled to find
+how far we had really got. This was certainly the case with all of us
+forward, even to me who had some experience, so well used had I now
+become to the leisurely way of getting along. To the laziest of ships,
+however, there comes occasionally a time when the bustling, hurrying
+wind will take no denial, and you've got to "git up an' git," as the
+Yanks put it. Such a time succeeded our "batterfanging" about, after
+losing the trades. We got hold of a westerly wind that, commencing
+quietly, gently, steadily, taking two or three days before it gathered
+force and volume, strengthened at last into a stern, settled gale that
+would brook no denial, to face which would have been misery indeed. To
+vessels bound east it came as a boon and blessing, for it would be a
+crawler that could not reel off her two hundred and fifty miles a day
+before the push of such a breeze. Even the CACHALOT did her one hundred
+and fifty, pounding and bruising the ill-used sea in her path, and
+spreading before her broad bows a far-reaching area of snowy foam, while
+her wake was as wide as any two ordinary ships ought to make. Five or
+six times a day the flying East India or colonial-bound English ships,
+under every stitch of square sail, would appear as tiny specks on the
+horizon astern, come up with us, pass like a flash, and fade away ahead,
+going at least two knots to our one. I could not help feeling a bit
+home-sick and tired of my present surroundings, in spite of their
+interest, when I saw those beautiful ocean-flyers devouring the distance
+which lay before them, and reflected that in little more than one month
+most of them would be discharging in Melbourne, Sydney, Calcutta, or
+some other equally distant port, while we should probably be dodging
+about in our present latitude a little farther east.
+
+After a few days of our present furious rate of speed, I came on deck
+one morning, and instantly recognized an old acquaintance. Right ahead,
+looking nearer than I had ever seen it before, rose the towering mass of
+Tristan d'Acunha, while farther away, but still visible, lay Nightingale
+and Inaccessible Islands. Their aspect was familiar, for I had sighted
+them on nearly every voyage I had made round the Cape, but I had never
+seen them so near as this. There was a good deal of excitement among
+us, and no wonder. Such a break in the monotony of our lives as we were
+about to have was enough to turn our heads. Afterwards, we learned to
+view these matters in a more philosophic light; but now, being new and
+galled by the yoke, it was a different thing. Near as the island seemed,
+it was six hours before we got near enough to distinguish objects on
+shore. I have seen the top of Tristan peeping through a cloud nearly
+a hundred miles away, for its height is tremendous. St. Helena looks
+a towering, scowling mass when you approach it closely but Tristan
+d'Acunha is far more imposing, its savage-looking cliffs seeming to
+sternly forbid the venturesome voyager any nearer familiarity with their
+frowning fastnesses. Long before we came within working distance of the
+settlement, we were continually passing broad patches of kelp (FUCUS
+GIGANTEA), whose great leaves and cable-laid stems made quite reef-like
+breaks in the heaving waste of restless sea. Very different indeed were
+these patches of marine growth from the elegant wreaths of the Gulf-weed
+with which parts of the North Atlantic are so thickly covered. Their
+colour was deep brown, almost black is some cases, and the size of many
+of the leaves amazing, being four to five feet long, by a foot wide,
+with stalks as thick as one's arm. They have their origin around these
+storm-beaten rocks, which lie scattered thinly over the immense area of
+the Southern Ocean, whence they are torn, in masses like those we saw,
+by every gale, and sent wandering round the world.
+
+When we arrived within about three miles of the landing-place, we saw
+a boat coming off, so we immediately hove-to and awaited her arrival.
+There was no question of anchoring; indeed, there seldom is in these
+vessels, unless they are going to make a long stay, for they are past
+masters in the art of "standing off and on." The boat came alongside--a
+big, substantially-built craft of the whale-boat type, but twice the
+size--manned by ten sturdy-looking fellows, as unkempt and wild-looking
+as any pirates. They were evidently put to great straits for clothes,
+many curious makeshifts being noticeable in their rig, while it was so
+patched with every conceivable kind of material that it was impossible
+to say which was the original or "standing part." They brought with them
+potatoes, onions, a few stunted cabbages, some fowls, and a couple of
+good-sized pigs, at the sight of which good things our eyes glistened
+and our mouths watered. Alas! none of the cargo of that boat ever
+reached OUR hungry stomachs. We were not surprised, having anticipated
+that every bit of provision would be monopolized by our masters; but of
+course we had no means of altering such a state of things.
+
+The visitors had the same tale to tell that seems universal--bad trade,
+hard times, nothing doing. How very familiar it seemed, to be
+sure. Nevertheless, it could not be denied that their sole means of
+communication with the outer world, as well as market for their goods,
+the calling whale-ships, were getting fewer and fewer every year; so
+that their outlook was not, it must be confessed, particularly bright.
+But their wants are few, beyond such as they can themselves supply.
+Groceries and clothes, the latter especially, as the winters are very
+severe, are almost the only needs they require to be supplied with from
+without. They spoke of the "Cape" as if it were only across the way, the
+distance separating them from that wonderful place being over thirteen
+hundred miles in reality. Very occasionally a schooner from Capetown
+does visit them; but, as the seals are almost exterminated, there is
+less and less inducement to make the voyage.
+
+Like almost all the southern islets, this group has been in its time the
+scene of a wonderfully productive seal-fishery. It used to be customary
+for whaling and sealing vessels to land a portion of their crews, and
+leave them to accumulate a store of seal-skins and oil, while the
+ships cruised the surrounding seas for whales, which were exceedingly
+numerous, both "right" and sperm varieties. In those days there was no
+monotony of existence in these islands, ships were continually coming
+and going, and the islanders prospered exceedingly. When they increased
+beyond the capacity of the islands to entertain them, a portion migrated
+to the Cape, while many of the men took service in the whale-ships, for
+which they were eminently suited.
+
+They are, as might be expected, a hybrid lot, the women all mulattoes,
+but intensely English in their views and loyalty. Since the visit of
+H.M.S. GALATEA, in August, 1867, with the Duke of Edinburgh on board,
+this sentiment had been intensified, and the little collection of
+thatched cottages, nameless till then, was called Edinburgh, in honour
+of the illustrious voyager. They breed cattle, a few sheep, and pigs,
+although the sheep thrive but indifferently for some reason or another.
+Poultry they have in large numbers, so that, could they commend a
+market, they would do very well.
+
+The steep cliffs, rising from the sea for nearly a thousand feet, often
+keep their vicinity in absolute calm, although a heavy gale may be
+raging on the other side of the island, and it would be highly dangerous
+for any navigator not accustomed to such a neighbourhood to get too
+near them. The immense rollers setting inshore, and the absence of wind
+combined, would soon carry a vessel up against the beetling crags,
+and letting go an anchor would not be of the slightest use, since the
+bottom, being of massive boulders, affords no holding ground at all. All
+round the island the kelp grows thickly, so thickly indeed as to make a
+boat's progress through it difficult. This, however, is very useful in
+one way here, as we found. Wanting more supplies, which were to be had
+cheap, we lowered a couple of boats, and went ashore after them. On
+approaching the black, pebbly beach which formed the only landing-place,
+it appeared as if getting ashore would be a task of no ordinary danger
+and difficulty. The swell seemed to culminate as we neared the beach,
+lifting the boats at one moment high in air, and at the next lowering
+them into a green valley, from whence nothing could be seen but the
+surrounding watery summits. Suddenly we entered the belt of kelp,
+which extended for perhaps a quarter of a mile seaward, and, lo! a
+transformation indeed. Those loose, waving fronds of flexible weed,
+though swayed hither and thither by every ripple, were able to arrest
+the devastating rush of the gigantic swell, so that the task of landing,
+which had looked so terrible, was one of the easiest. Once in among the
+kelp, although we could hardly use the oars, the water was quite smooth
+and tranquil. The islanders collected on the beach, and guided us to the
+best spot for landing, the huge boulders, heaped in many places, being
+ugly impediments to a boat.
+
+We were as warmly welcomed as if we had been old friends, and hospitable
+attentions were showered upon us from every side. The people were
+noticeably well-behaved, and, although there was something Crusoe-like
+in their way of living, their manners and conversation were distinctly
+good. A rude plenty was evident, there being no lack of good food--fish,
+fowl, and vegetables. The grassy plateau on which the village stands is
+a sort of shelf jutting out from the mountain-side, the mountain being
+really the whole island. Steep roads were hewn out of the solid rock,
+leading, as we were told, to the cultivated terraces above. These
+reached an elevation of about a thousand feet. Above all towered the
+great, dominating peak, the summit lost in the clouds eight or nine
+thousand feet above. The rock-hewn roads and cultivated land certainly
+gave the settlement an old-established appearance, which was not
+surprising seeing that it has been inhabited for more than a hundred
+years. I shall always bear a grateful recollection of the place,
+because my host gave me what I had long been a stranger to--a good,
+old-fashioned English dinner of roast beef and baked potatoes. He
+apologized for having no plum-pudding to crown the feast. "But, you
+see," he said, "we kaint grow no corn hyar, and we'm clean run out
+ov flour; hev ter make out on taters 's best we kin." I sincerely
+sympathized with him on the lack of bread-stuff among them, and wondered
+no longer at the avidity with which they had munched our flinty biscuits
+on first coming aboard. His wife, a buxom, motherly woman of about
+fifty, of dark, olive complexion, but good features, was kindness
+itself; and their three youngest children, who were at home, could not,
+in spite of repeated warnings and threats, keep their eyes off me, as
+if I had been some strange animal dropped from the moon. I felt very
+unwilling to leave them so soon, but time was pressing, the stores we
+had come for were all ready to ship, and I had to tear myself away from
+these kindly entertainers. I declare, it seemed like parting with old
+friends; yet our acquaintance might have been measured by minutes, so
+brief it had been. The mate had purchased a fine bullock, which had been
+slaughtered and cut up for us with great celerity, four or five dozen
+fowls (alive), four or five sacks of potatoes, eggs, etc., so that we
+were heavily laden for the return journey to the ship. My friend had
+kindly given me a large piece of splendid cheese, for which I was
+unable to make him any return, being simply clad in a shirt and pair of
+trousers, neither of which necessary garments could be spared.
+
+With hearty cheers from the whole population, we shoved off and ploughed
+through the kelp seaweed again. When we got clear of it, we found the
+swell heavier than when we had come, and a rough journey back to the
+ship was the result. But, to such boatmen as we were, that was a trifle
+hardly worth mentioning, and after an hour's hard pull we got
+alongside again, and transhipped our precious cargo. The weather being
+threatening, we at once hauled off the land and out to sea, as night was
+falling and we did not wish to be in so dangerous a vicinity any longer
+than could be helped in stormy weather. Altogether, a most enjoyable
+day, and one that I have ever since had a pleasant recollection of.
+
+By daybreak next morning the islands were out of sight, for the wind had
+risen to a gale, which, although we carried little sail, drove us along
+before it some seven or eight knots an hour.
+
+Two days afterwards we caught another whale of medium size, making us
+fifty-four barrels of oil. As nothing out of the ordinary course marked
+the capture, it is unnecessary to do more than allude to it in passing,
+except to note that the honours were all with Goliath. He happened to be
+close to the whale when it rose, and immediately got fast. So dexterous
+and swift were his actions that before any of the other boats could
+"chip in" he had his fish "fin out," the whole affair from start to
+finish only occupying a couple of hours. We were now in the chosen
+haunts of the great albatross, Cape pigeons, and Cape hens, but never in
+my life had I imagined such a concourse of them as now gathered around
+us. When we lowered there might have been perhaps a couple of dozen
+birds in sight, but no sooner was the whale dead than from out of the
+great void around they began to drift towards us. Before we had got him
+fast alongside, the numbers of that feathered host were incalculable.
+They surrounded us until the sea surface was like a plain of snow,
+and their discordant cries were deafening. With the exception of one
+peculiar-looking bird, which has received from whalemen the inelegant
+name of "stinker," none of them attempted to alight upon the body of the
+dead monster. This bird, however, somewhat like a small albatross,
+but of dirty-grey colour, and with a peculiar excrescence on his beak,
+boldly took his precarious place upon the carcase, and at once began to
+dig into the blubber. He did not seem to make much impression, but he
+certainly tried hard.
+
+It was dark before we got our prize secured by the fluke-chain, so that
+we could not commence operations before morning. That night it blew
+hard, and we got an idea of the strain these vessels are sometimes
+subjected to. Sometimes the ship rolled one way and the whale another,
+being divided by a big sea, the wrench at the fluke-chain, as the two
+masses fell apart down different hollows, making the vessel quiver from
+truck to keelson as if she was being torn asunder. Then we would come
+together again with a crash and a shock that almost threw everybody
+out of their bunks. Many an earnest prayer did I breathe that the chain
+would prove staunch, for what sort of a job it would be to go after
+that whale during the night, should he break loose, I could only
+faintly imagine. But all our gear was of the very best; no thieving
+ship-chandler had any hand in supplying our outfit with shoddy rope and
+faulty chain, only made to sell, and ready at the first call made upon
+it to carry away and destroy half a dozen valuable lives. There was one
+coil of rope on board which the skipper had bought for cordage on the
+previous voyage from a homeward-bound English ship, and it was the butt
+of all the officers' scurrilous remarks about Britishers and their
+gear. It was never used but for rope-yarns, being cut up in lengths, and
+untwisted for the ignominious purpose of tying things up--"hardly good
+enough for that," was the verdict upon it.
+
+Tired as we all were, very little sleep came to us that night--we were
+barely seasoned yet to the exigencies of a whaler's life--but afterwards
+I believe nothing short of dismasting or running the ship ashore would
+wake us, once we got to sleep. In the morning we commenced operations
+in a howling gale of wind, which placed the lives of the officers on the
+"cutting in" stage in great danger. The wonderful seaworthy qualities
+of our old ship shone brilliantly now. When an ordinary modern-built
+sailing-ship would have been making such weather of it as not only to
+drown anybody about the deck, but making it impossible to keep your
+footing anywhere without holding on, we were enabled to cut in this
+whale. True, the work was terribly exhausting and decidedly dangerous,
+but it was not impossible, for it was done. By great care and constant
+attention, the whole work of cutting in and trying out was got through
+without a single accident; but had another whale turned up to continue
+the trying time, I am fully persuaded that some of us would have gone
+under from sheer fatigue. For there was no mercy shown. All that I have
+ever read of "putting the slaves through for all they were worth" on the
+plantations was fully realized here, and our worthy skipper must have
+been a lineal descendent of the doughty Simon Legree.
+
+The men were afraid to go on to the sick-list. Nothing short of total
+inability to continue would have prevented them from working, such was
+the terror with which that man had inspired us all. It may be said that
+we were a pack of cowards, who, without the courage to demand better
+treatment, deserved all we got. While admitting that such a conclusion
+is quite a natural one at which to arrive, I must deny its truth. There
+were men in that forecastle as good citizens and as brave fellows as you
+would wish to meet--men who in their own sphere would have commanded and
+obtained respect. But under the painful and abnormal circumstances in
+which they found themselves--beaten and driven like dogs while in the
+throes of sea-sickness, half starved and hopeless, their spirit had been
+so broken, and they were so kept down to that sad level by the display
+of force, aided by deadly weapons aft, that no other condition could
+be expected for them but that of broken-hearted slaves. My own case
+was many degrees better than that of the other whites, as I have before
+noted; but I was perfectly well aware that the slightest attempt on my
+part to show that I resented our common treatment would meet with the
+most brutal repression, and, in addition, I might look for a dreadful
+time of it for the rest of the voyage.
+
+The memory of that week of misery is so strong upon me even now that my
+hand trembles almost to preventing me from writing about it. Weak and
+feeble do the words seem as I look at them, making me wish for the fire
+and force of Carlyle or Macaulay to portray our unnecessary sufferings.
+
+Like all other earthly ills, however, they came to an end, at least
+for a time, and I was delighted to note that we were getting to the
+northward again. In making the outward passage round the Cape, it is
+necessary to go well south, in order to avoid the great westerly set of
+the Agulhas current, which for ever sweeps steadily round the southern
+extremity of the African continent at an average rate of three or four
+miles an hour. To homeward-bound ships this is a great boon. No matter
+what the weather may be--a stark calm or a gale of wind right on end in
+your teeth--that vast, silent river in the sea steadily bears you on at
+the same rate in the direction of home. It is perfectly true that with
+a gale blowing across the set of this great current, one of the very
+ugliest combinations of broken waves is raised; but who cares for that,
+when he knows that, as long as the ship holds together, some seventy or
+eighty miles per day nearer home must be placed to her credit? In like
+manner, it is of the deepest comfort to know that, storm or calm, fair
+or foul, the current of time, unhasting, unresting, bears us on to the
+goal that we shall surely reach--the haven of unbroken rest.
+
+Not the least of the minor troubles on board the CACHALOT was the
+uncertainty of our destination; we never knew where we were going.
+It may seem a small point, but it is really not so unimportant as a
+landsman might imagine. On an ordinary passage, certain well-known signs
+are as easily read by the seaman as if the ship's position were given
+out to him every day. Every alteration of the course signifies some
+point of the journey reached, some well-known track entered upon, and
+every landfall made becomes a new departure from whence to base one's
+calculations, which, rough as they are, rarely err more than a few days.
+
+Say, for instance, you are bound for Calcutta. The first of the
+north-east trades will give a fair idea of your latitude being about the
+edge of the tropics somewhere, or say from 20deg. to 25deg. N., whether
+you have sighted any of the islands or not. Then away you go before the
+wind down towards the Equator, the approach to which is notified by the
+loss of the trade and the dirty, changeable weather of the "doldrums."
+That weary bit of work over, along come the south-east trades, making
+you brace "sharp up," and sometimes driving you uncomfortably near the
+Brazilian coast. Presently more "doldrums," with a good deal more
+wind in them than in the "wariables" of the line latitude. The brave
+"westerly" will come along by-and-by and release you, and, with a
+staggering press of sail carried to the reliable gale, away you go for
+the long stretch of a hundred degrees or so eastward. You will very
+likely sight Tristan d'Acunha or Gough Island; but, if not, the course
+will keep you fairly well informed of your longitude, since most ships
+make more or less of a great circle track. Instead of steering due East
+for the whole distance, they make for some southerly latitude by running
+along the arc of a great circle, THEN run due east for a thousand miles
+or so before gradually working north again. These alterations in the
+courses tell the foremast hand nearly all he wants to know, slight as
+they are. You will most probably sight Amsterdam Island or St. Paul's in
+about 77deg. E.; but whether you do or not, the big change made in the
+course, to say nothing of the difference in the weather and temperature,
+say loudly that your long easterly run is over, and you are bound to
+the northward again. Soon the south-east trades will take you gently
+in hand, and waft you pleasurably upward to the line again, unless you
+should be so unfortunate as to meet one of the devastating meteors known
+as "cyclones" in its gyration across the Indian Ocean. After losing the
+trade, which signals your approach to the line once more, your guides
+fluctuate muchly with the time of year. But it may be broadly put
+that the change of the monsoon in the Bay of Bengal is beastliness
+unadulterated, and the south-west monsoon itself, though a fair wind for
+getting to your destination, is worse, if possible. Still, having got
+that far, you are able to judge pretty nearly when, in the ordinary
+course of events, you will arrive at Saugor, and get a tug for the rest
+of the journey.
+
+But on this strange voyage I was quite as much in the dark concerning
+our approximate position as any of the chaps who had never seen salt
+water before they viewed it from the bad eminence of the CACHALOT's
+deck. Of course, it was evident that we were bound eastward, but whether
+to the Indian seas or to the South Pacific, none knew but the skipper,
+and perhaps the mate. I say "perhaps" advisedly. In any well-regulated
+merchant ship there is an invariable routine of observations performed
+by both captain and chief officer, except in very big vessels, where the
+second mate is appointed navigating officer. The two men work out their
+reckoning independently of each other, and compare the result, so that
+an excellent check upon the accuracy of the positions found is
+thereby afforded. Here, however, there might not have been, as far as
+appearances went, a navigator in the ship except the captain, if it be
+not a misuse of terms to call him a navigator. If the test be ability
+to take a ship round the world, poking into every undescribed,
+out-of-the-way corner you can think of, and return home again without
+damage to the ship of any kind except by the unavoidable perils of
+the sea, then doubtless he WAS a navigator, and a ripe, good one. But
+anything cruder than the "rule-of-thumb" way in which he found his
+positions, or more out of date than his "hog-yoke," or quadrant, I have
+never seen. I suppose we carried a chronometer, though I never saw it or
+heard the cry of "stop," which usually accompanies a.m. or p.m. "sights"
+taken for longitude. He used sometimes to make a deliberate sort of
+haste below after taking a sight, when he may have been looking at a
+chronometer perhaps. What I do know about his procedure is, that he
+always used a very rough method of equal altitudes, which would make a
+mathematician stare and gasp; that his nautical almanac was a ten-cent
+one published by some speculative optician is New York; that he never
+worked up a "dead reckoning;" and that the extreme limit of time that
+he took to work out his observations was ten minutes. In fact, all
+our operations in seamanship or navigation were run on the same
+happy-go-lucky principle. If it was required to "tack" ship, there was
+no formal parade and preparation for the manoeuvre, not even as much as
+would be made in a Goole billy-boy. Without any previous intimation,
+the helm would be put down, and round she would come, the yards being
+trimmed by whoever happened to be nearest to the braces. The old tub
+seemed to like it that way, for she never missed stays or exhibited
+any of that unwillingness to do what she was required that is such a
+frequent characteristic of merchantmen. Even getting under way or coming
+to an anchor was unattended by any of the fuss and bother from which
+those important evolutions ordinarily appear inseparable.
+
+To my great relief we saw no more whales of the kind we were after
+during our passage round the Cape. The weather we were having was
+splendid for making a passage, but to be dodging about among those
+immense rollers, or towed athwart them by a wounded whale in so small
+a craft as one of our whale-boats, did not have any attractions for me.
+There was little doubt in any of our minds that, if whales were seen,
+off we must go while daylight lasted, let the weather be what it might.
+So when one morning I went to the wheel, to find the course N.N.E.
+instead of E. by N., it may be taken for granted that the change was
+a considerable relief to me. It was now manifest that we were bound up
+into the Indian Ocean, although of course I knew nothing of the position
+of the districts where whales were to be looked for. Gradually we crept
+northward, the weather improving every day as we left the "roaring
+forties" astern. While thus making northing we had several fine catches
+of porpoises, and saw many rorquals, but sperm whales appeared to have
+left the locality. However, the "old man" evidently knew what he was
+about, as we were not now cruising, but making a direct passage for some
+definite place.
+
+At last we sighted land, which, from the course which we had been
+steering, might have been somewhere on the east coast of Africa, but
+for the fact that it was right ahead, while we were pointing at the
+time about N.N.W. By-and-by I came to the conclusion that it must be
+the southern extremity of Madagascar, Cape St. Mary, and, by dint of the
+closest, attention to every word I heard uttered while at the wheel by
+the officers, found that my surmise was correct. We skirted this point
+pretty closely, heading to the westward, and, when well clear of it,
+bore up to the northward, again for the Mozambique Channel. Another
+surprise. The very idea of WHALING in the Mozambique Channel seemed
+too ridiculous to mention; yet here we were, guided by a commander
+who, whatever his faults, was certainly most keen in his attention to
+business, and the unlikeliest man imaginable to take the ship anywhere
+unless he anticipated a profitable return for his visit.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X. A VISIT TO SOME STRANGE PLACES
+
+We had now entered upon what promised to be the most interesting part of
+our voyage. As a commercial speculation, I have to admit that the voyage
+was to me a matter of absolute indifference. Never, from the first week
+of my being on board, had I cherished any illusions upon that score, for
+it was most forcibly impressed on my mind that, whatever might be the
+measure of success attending our operations, no one of the crew forward
+could hope to benefit by it. The share of profits was so small, and the
+time taken to earn it so long, such a number of clothes were worn out
+and destroyed by us, only to be replaced from the ship's slop-chest at
+high prices, that I had quite resigned myself to the prospect of leaving
+the vessel in debt, whenever that desirable event might happen. Since,
+therefore, I had never made it a practice to repine at the inevitable,
+and make myself unhappy by the contemplation of misfortunes I was
+powerless to prevent, I tried to interest myself as far as was possible
+in gathering information, although at that time I had no idea, beyond a
+general thirst for knowledge, that what I was now learning would ever
+be of any service to me. Yet I had been dull indeed not to have seen how
+unique were the opportunities I was now enjoying for observation of some
+of the least known and understood aspects of the ocean world and its
+wonderful inhabitants, to say nothing of visits to places unvisited,
+except by such free lances as we were, and about which so little is
+really known.
+
+The weather of the Mozambique Channel was fairly good, although subject
+to electric storms of the most terrible aspect, but perfectly harmless.
+On the second evening after rounding Cape St. Mary, we were proceeding,
+as usual, under very scanty sail, rather enjoying the mild, balmy
+air, scent-laden, from Madagascar. The moon was shining in tropical
+splendour, paling the lustre of the attendant stars, and making the
+glorious Milky Way but a faint shadow of its usual resplendent road.
+Gradually from the westward there arose a murky mass of cloud, fringed
+at its upper edges with curious tinted tufts of violet, orange, and
+crimson. These colours were not brilliant, but plainly visible against
+the deep blue sky. Slowly and solemnly the intruding gloom overspread
+the sweet splendour of the shining sky, creeping like a death-shadow
+over a dear face, and making the most talkative feel strangely quiet and
+ill at ease. As the pall of thick darkness blotted out the cool light,
+it seemed to descend until at last we were completely over-canopied by
+a dome of velvety black, seemingly low enough to touch the mast-heads.
+A belated sea-bird's shrill scream but emphasized the deep silence
+which lent itself befittingly to the solemnity of nature. Presently thin
+suggestions of light, variously tinted, began to thread the inky
+mass. These grew brighter and more vivid, until at last, in fantastic
+contortions, they appeared to rend the swart concave asunder, revealing
+through the jagged clefts a lurid waste of the most intensely glowing
+fire. The coming and going of these amazing brightnesses, combined with
+the Egyptian dark between, was completely blinding. So loaded was the
+still air with electricity that from every point aloft pale flames
+streamed upward, giving the ship the appearance of a huge candelabrum
+with innumerable branches. One of the hands, who had been ordered aloft
+on some errand of securing a loose end, presented a curious sight.
+He was bareheaded, and from his hair the all pervading fluid arose,
+lighting up his features, which were ghastly beyond description. When he
+lifted his hand, each separate finger became at once an additional point
+from which light streamed. There was no thunder, but a low hissing and a
+crackling which did not amount to noise, although distinctly audible to
+all. Sensations most unpleasant of pricking and general irritation were
+felt by every one, according to their degree of susceptibility.
+
+After about an hour of this state of things, a low moaning of thunder
+was heard, immediately followed by a few drops of rain large as dollars.
+The mutterings and grumblings increased until, with one peal that made
+the ship tremble as though she had just struck a rock at full speed,
+down came the rain. The windows of heaven were opened, and no man might
+stand against the steaming flood that descended by thousands of tons
+per minute. How long it continued, I cannot say; probably, in its utmost
+fierceness, not more than half an hour. Then it slowly abated, clearing
+away as it did so the accumulation of gloom overhead, until, before
+midnight had struck, all the heavenly host were shedding their beautiful
+brilliancy upon us again with apparently increased glory, while the
+freshness and invigorating feel of the air was inexpressibly delightful.
+
+We did not court danger by hugging too closely any of the ugly reefs and
+banks that abound in this notably difficult strait, but gave them all a
+respectfully wide berth. It was a feature of our navigation that, unless
+we had occasion to go near any island or reef for fishing or landing
+purposes, we always kept a safe margin of distance away, which probably
+accounts for our continued immunity from accident while in tortuous
+waters. Our anchors and cables were, however, always kept ready for use
+now, in case of an unsuspected current or sudden storm; but beyond that
+precaution, I could see little or no difference in the manner of our
+primitive navigation.
+
+We met with no "luck" for some time, and the faces of the harpooners
+grew daily longer, the great heat of those sultry waters trying all
+tempers sorely. But Captain Slocum knew his business, and his scowling,
+impassive face showed no signs of disappointment, or indeed any other
+emotion, as day by day we crept farther north. At last we sighted the
+stupendous peak of Comoro mountain, which towers to nearly nine thousand
+feet from the little island which gives its name to the Comoro group
+of four. On that same day a school of medium-sized sperm whales were
+sighted, which appeared to be almost of a different race to those with
+which we had hitherto had dealings. They were exceedingly fat and lazy,
+moving with the greatest deliberation, and, when we rushed in among
+them, appeared utterly bewildered and panic-stricken, knowing not which
+way to flee. Like a flock of frightened sheep they huddled together,
+aimlessly wallowing in each other's way, while we harpooned them with
+the greatest ease and impunity. Even the "old man" himself lowered
+the fifth boat, leaving the ship to the carpenter, cooper, cook, and
+steward, and coming on the scene as if determined to make a field-day of
+the occasion. He was no "slouch" at the business either. Not that there
+was much occasion or opportunity to exhibit any prowess. The record of
+the day's proceedings would be as tame as to read of a day's work in a
+slaughter-house. Suffice it to say, that we actually killed six whales,
+none of whom were less than fifty barrels, no boat ran out more than
+one hundred fathoms of line, neither was a bomb-lance used. Not the
+slightest casualty occurred to any of the boats, and the whole work of
+destruction was over in less than four hours.
+
+Then came the trouble. The fish were, of course somewhat widely
+separated when they died, and the task of collecting all those immense
+carcasses was one of no ordinary magnitude. Had it not been for the
+wonderfully skilful handling of the ship, the task would, I should
+think, have been impossible, but the way in which she was worked
+compelled the admiration of anybody who knew what handling a ship meant.
+Still, with all the ability manifested, it was five hours after the last
+whale died before we had gathered them all alongside, bringing us to
+four o'clock in the afternoon.
+
+A complete day under that fierce blaze of the tropical sun, without
+other refreshment than an occasional furtive drink of tepid water, had
+reduced us to a pitiable condition of weakness, so much so that the
+skipper judged it prudent, as soon as the fluke-chains were passed, to
+give us a couple of hours' rest. As soon as the sun had set we were all
+turned to again, three cressets were prepared, and by their blaze we
+toiled the whole night through. Truth compels me to state, though, that
+none of us foremast hands had nearly such heavy work as the officers on
+the stage. What they had to do demanded special knowledge and skill; but
+it was also terribly hard work, constant and unremitting, while we at
+the windlass had many a short spell between the lifting of the pieces.
+Even the skipper took a hand, for the first time, and right manfully did
+he do his share.
+
+By the first streak of dawn, three of the whales had been stripped of
+their blubber, and five heads were bobbing astern at the ends of as many
+hawsers. The sea all round presented a wonderful sight. There must have
+been thousands of sharks gathered to the feast, and their incessant
+incursions through the phosphorescent water wove a dazzling network of
+brilliant tracks which made the eyes ache to look upon. A short halt was
+called for breakfast, which was greatly needed, and, thanks to the cook,
+was a thoroughly good one. He--blessings on him!--had been busy fishing,
+as we drifted slowly, with savoury pieces of whale-beef for bait, and
+the result was a mess of fish which would have gladdened the heart of an
+epicure. Our hunger appeased, it was "turn to" again, for there was now
+no time to be lost. The fierce heat soon acts upon the carcass of a
+dead whale, generating an immense volume of gas within it, which, in a
+wonderfully short space of time, turns the flesh putrid and renders the
+blubber so rotten that it cannot be lifted, nor, if it could, would it
+be of any value. So it was no wonder that our haste was great, or that
+the august arbiter of our destinies himself condescended to take his
+place among the toilers. By nightfall the whole of our catch was on
+board, excepting such toll as the hungry hordes of sharks had levied
+upon it in transit. A goodly number of them had paid the penalty of
+their rapacity with their lives, for often one would wriggle his way
+right up on to the reeking carcass, and, seizing a huge fragment of
+blubber, strive with might and main to tear it away. Then the lethal
+spade would drop upon his soft crown, cleaving it to the jaws, and with
+one flap of his big tail he would loose his grip, roll over and over,
+and sink, surrounded by a writhing crowd of his fellows, by whom he was
+speedily reduced into digestible fragments.
+
+The condition of the CACHALOT's deck was now somewhat akin to chaos.
+From the cabin door to the tryworks there was hardly an inch of
+available space, and the oozing oil kept some of us continually baling
+it up, lest it should leak out through the interstices in the bulwarks.
+In order to avoid a breakdown, it became necessary to divide the crew
+into six-hour watches, as although the work was exceedingly urgent on
+account of the weather, there were evident signs that some of the crew
+were perilously near giving in. So we got rest none too soon, and the
+good effects of it were soon apparent. The work went on with much more
+celerity than one would have thought possible, and soon the lumbered-up
+decks began to resume their normal appearance.
+
+As if to exasperate the "old man" beyond measure on the third day of
+our operations a great school of sperm whales appeared, disporting all
+around the ship, apparently conscious of our helplessness to interfere
+with them. Notwithstanding our extraordinary haul, Captain Slocum went
+black with impotent rage, and, after glowering at the sportive monsters,
+beat a retreat below, unable to bear the sight any longer. During his
+absence we had a rare treat. The whole school surrounded the ship, and
+performed some of the strangest evolutions imaginable. As if instigated
+by one common impulse, they all elevated their massive heads above
+the surface of the sea, and remained for some time in that position,
+solemnly bobbing up and down amid the glittering wavelets like movable
+boulders of black rock. Then, all suddenly reversed themselves, and,
+elevating their broad flukes in the air, commenced to beat them slowly
+and rhythmically upon the water, like so many machines. Being almost a
+perfect calm, every movement of the great mammals could be plainly seen;
+some of them even passed so near to us that we could see how the lower
+jaw hung down, while the animal was swimming in a normal position.
+
+For over an hour they thus paraded around us, and then, as if startled
+by some hidden danger, suddenly headed off to the westward, and in a few
+minutes were out of our sight.
+
+We cruised in the vicinity of the Comoro Islands for two months, never
+quite out of sight of the mountain while the weather was clear. During
+the whole of that time we were never clear of oil on deck, one catch
+always succeeding another before there had been time to get cleared
+up. Eight hundred barrels of oil were added to our cargo, making the
+undisciplined hearts of all to whom whaling was a novel employment beat
+high with hopes of a speedy completion of the cargo, and consequent
+return. Poor innocents that we were! How could we know any better?
+According to Goliath, with whom I often had a friendly chat, this was
+quite out of the ordinary run to have such luck in the "Channel."
+
+"'Way back in de dark ages, w'en de whaleships war de pi'neers
+ob commerce, 'n day wan't no worryin', poofity-plukity steamboats
+a-poundin' along, 'nough ter galley ebery whale clean eout ob dere skin,
+dey war plenty whaleships fill up in twelve, fifteen, twenty monf' after
+leabin' home. 'N er man bed his pick er places, too--didn' hab ter go
+moseyin erroun' like some ol' hobo lookin' fer day's work, 'n prayin'
+de good Lord not ter let um fine it. No, sah; roun yer China Sea, coas'
+Japan, on de line, off shore, Vasquez, 'mong de islan's, ohmos' anywhar,
+you couldn' hardly git way from 'em. Neow, I clar ter glory I kaint
+imagine WAR dey all gone ter, dough we bin eout only six seven monf' 'n
+got over tousan bar'l below. But I bin two year on er voy'ge and
+doan hardly SEE a sparm while, much less catch one. But"--and here he
+whispered mysteriously--"dish yer ole man's de bery debbil's own chile,
+'n his farder lookin' after him well--dat's my 'pinion. Only yew keep
+yer head tight shut, an' nebber say er word, but keep er lookin', 'n
+sure's death you'll see." This conversation made a deep and lasting
+impression upon me, for I had not before heard even so much as a
+murmur from an officer against the tyranny of the skipper. Some of the
+harpooners were fluent enough, too.
+
+Yet I had often thought that his treatment of them, considering the
+strenuous nature of their toil, and the willingness with which they
+worked as long as they had an ounce of energy left, was worth at least a
+little kindness and courtesy on his part.
+
+What the period may have been during which whales were plentiful here,
+I do not know, but it was now May, and for the last few days we had not
+seen a solitary spout of any kind. Preparations, very slight it is
+true, were made for departure; but before we left those parts we made
+an interesting call for water at Mohilla, one of the Comoro group,
+which brought out, in unmistakable fashion, the wonderful fund of local
+knowledge possessed by these men. At the larger ports of Johanna and
+Mayotte there is a regular tariff of port charges, which are somewhat
+heavy, and no whaleman would be so reckless as to incur these unless
+driven thereto by the necessity of obtaining provisions; otherwise, the
+islands offer great inducements to whaling captains to call, since none
+but men hopelessly mad would venture to desert in such places. That
+qualification is the chief one for any port to possess in the eyes of a
+whaling captain.
+
+Our skipper, however, saw no necessity for entering any port. Running up
+under the lee of Mohilla, we followed the land along until we came to
+a tiny bight on the western side of the island, an insignificant inlet
+which no mariner in charge of a vessel like ours could be expected even
+to notice, unless he were surveying. The approaches to this tiny harbour
+(save the mark) were very forbidding. Ugly-looking rocks showed up here
+and there, the surf over them frequently blinding the whole entry.
+But we came along, in our usual leisurely fashion, under two topsails,
+spanker, and fore-topmast staysail, and took that ugly passage like a
+sailing barge entering the Medway. There was barely room to turn round
+when we got inside, but all sail had been taken off her except the
+spanker, so that her way was almost stopped by the time she was fairly
+within the harbour. Down went the anchor, and she was fast--anchored for
+the first time since leaving New Bedford seven months before. Here we
+were shut out entirely from the outer world, for I doubt greatly whether
+even a passing dhow could have seen us from seaward. We were not here
+for rest, however, but wood and water; so while one party was supplied
+with well-sharpened axes, and sent on shore to cut down such small trees
+as would serve our turn, another party was busily employed getting out
+a number of big casks for the serious business of watering. The cooper
+knocked off the second or quarter hoops from each of these casks, and
+drove them on again with two "beckets" or loops of rope firmly jammed
+under each of them in such a manner that the loops were in line
+with each other on each side of the bunghole. They were then lowered
+overboard, and a long rope rove through all the beckets. When this was
+done, the whole number of casks floated end to end, upright and secure.
+We towed them ashore to where, by the skipper's directions, at about
+fifty yards from high-water mark, a spring of beautiful water bubbled
+out of the side of a mass of rock, losing itself in a deep crevice
+below. Lovely ferns, rare orchids, and trailing plants of many kinds
+surrounded this fairy-like spot in the wildest profusion, making a
+tangle of greenery that we had considerable trouble to clear away.
+Having done so, we led a long canvas hose from the spot whence the water
+flowed down to the shore where the casks floated. The chief officer,
+with great ingenuity, rigged up an arrangement whereby the hose, which
+had a square month about a foot wide, was held up to the rock, saving us
+the labour of bailing and filling by hand. So we were able to rest and
+admire at our ease the wonderful variety of beautiful plants which grew
+here so lavishly, unseen by mortal eye from one year's end to another.
+I have somewhere read that the Creator has delight in the beautiful work
+of His will, wherever it may be; and that while our egotism wonders at
+the waste of beauty, as we call it, there is no waste at all, since the
+Infinite Intelligence can dwell with complacency upon the glories of His
+handiwork, perfectly fulfilling their appointed ends.
+
+All too soon the pleasant occupation came to an end. The long row of
+casks, filled to the brim and tightly bunged, were towed off by us to
+the ship, and ranged alongside. A tackle and pair of "can-hooks" was
+overhauled to the water and hooked to a cask. "Hoist away!" And as the
+cask rose, the beckets that had held it to the mother-rope were cut,
+setting it quite free to come on board, but leaving all the others still
+secure. In this way we took in several thousand gallons of water in a
+few hours, with a small expenditure of labour, free of cost; whereas,
+had we gone into Mayotte or Johanna, the water would have been bad, the
+price high, the labour great, with the chances of a bad visitation of
+fever in the bargain.
+
+The woodmen had a much more arduous task. The only wood they could find,
+without cutting down big trees, which would have involved far too much
+labour in cutting up, was a kind of iron-wood, which, besides being very
+heavy, was so hard as to take pieces clean out of their axe-edges,
+when a blow was struck directly across the grain. As none of them were
+experts, the condition of their tools soon made their work very hard.
+But that they had taken several axes in reserve, it is doubtful whether
+they would have been able to get sufficient fuel for our purpose.
+When they pitched the wood off the rocks into the harbour, it sank
+immediately, giving them a great deal of trouble to fish it up again.
+Neither could they raft it as intended, but were compelled to load it
+into the boats and make several journeys to and fro before all they had
+cut was shipped. Altogether, I was glad that the wooding had not fallen
+to my share. On board the ship fishing had been going on steadily most
+of the day by a few hands told off for the purpose. The result of their
+sport was splendid, over two hundred-weight of fine fish of various
+sorts, but all eatable, having been gathered in.
+
+We lay snugly anchored all night, keeping a bright look-out for any
+unwelcome visitors either from land or sea, for the natives are not to
+be trusted, neither do the Arab mongrels who cruise about those waters
+in their dhows bear any too good a reputation. We saw none, however,
+and at daylight we weighed and towed the ship out to sea with the boats,
+there being no wind. While busy at this uninteresting pastime, one of
+the boats slipped away, returning presently with a fine turtle, which
+they had surprised during his morning's nap. One of the amphibious
+Portuguese slipped over the boat's side as she neared the sleeping
+SPHARGA, and, diving deep, came up underneath him, seizing with crossed
+hands the two hind flippers, and, with a sudden, dexterous twist, turned
+the astonished creature over on his back. Thus rendered helpless, the
+turtle lay on the surface feebly waving his flippers, while his captor,
+gently treading water, held him in that position till the boat reached
+the pair and took them on board. It was a clever feat, neatly executed,
+as unlike the clumsy efforts I had before seen made with the same object
+as anything could possibly be.
+
+After an hour's tow, we had got a good offing, and a light air springing
+up, we returned on board, hoisted the boats, and made sail to the
+northward again.
+
+With the exception of the numerous native dhows that crept lazily about,
+we saw no vessels as we gradually drew out of the Mozambique Channel and
+stood away towards the Line. The part of the Indian Ocean in which we
+now found ourselves is much dreaded by merchantmen, who give it a wide
+berth on account of the numerous banks, islets, and dangerous currents
+with which it abounds. We, however, seemed quite at home here, pursuing
+the even tenor of our usual way without any special precautions being
+taken. A bright look-out, we always kept, of course--none of your drowsy
+lolling about such as is all too common on the "fo'lk'sle head" of many
+a fine ship, when, with lights half trimmed or not shown at all, she is
+ploughing along blindly at twelve knots or so an hour. No; while we were
+under way during daylight, four pairs of keen eyes kept incessant vigil
+a hundred feet above the deck, noting everything, even to a shoal
+of small fish, that crossed within the range of vision. At night we
+scarcely moved, but still a vigilant lookout was always kept both fore
+and aft, so that it would have been difficult for us to drift upon a
+reef unknowingly.
+
+Creeping steadily northward, we passed the Cosmoledo group of atolls
+without paying them a visit, which was strange, as, from their
+appearance, no better fishing-ground would be likely to come in our way.
+They are little known, except to the wandering fishermen from Reunion
+and Rodriguez, who roam about these islets and reefs, seeking anything
+that may be turned into coin, from wrecks to turtle, and in nowise
+particular as to rights of ownership. When between the Cosmoledos
+and Astove, the next island to the northward, we sighted a "solitary"
+cachalot one morning just as the day dawned. It was the first for some
+time--nearly three weeks--and being all well seasoned to the work now,
+we obeyed the call to arms with great alacrity. Our friend was making a
+passage, turning neither to the right hand nor the left as he went. His
+risings and number of spouts while up, as well as the time he remained
+below, were as regular as the progress of a clock, and could be counted
+upon with quite as much certainty.
+
+Bearing in mind, I suppose, the general character of the whales we had
+recently met with, only two boats were lowered to attack the new-comer,
+who, all unconscious of our coming, pursued his leisurely course
+unheeding.
+
+We got a good weather gage of him, and came flying on as usual getting
+two irons planted in fine style. But a surprise awaited us. As we
+sheered up into the wind away from him, Louis shouted, "Fightin' whale,
+sir; look out for de rush!" Look out, indeed? Small use in looking out
+when, hampered as we always were at first with the unshipping of the
+mast, we could do next to nothing to avoid him. Without any of the
+desperate flounderings generally indulged in on first feeling the iron,
+he turned upon us, and had it not been that he caught sight of the
+second mate's boat, which had just arrived, and turned his attentions
+to her, there would have been scant chance of any escape for us. Leaping
+half out of water, he made direct for our comrades with a vigour and
+ferocity marvellous to see, making it a no easy matter for them to avoid
+his tremendous rush. Our actions, at no time slow, were considerably
+hastened by this display of valour, so that before he could turn his
+attentions in our direction we were ready for him. Then ensued a really
+big fight, the first, in fact, of my experience, for none of the other
+whales had shown any serious determination to do us an injury, but had
+devoted all their energies to attempts at escape. So quick were the
+evolutions, and so savage the appearance of this fellow, that even
+our veteran mate looked anxious as to the possible result. Without
+attempting to "sound," the furious monster kept mostly below the
+surface; but whenever he rose, it was either to deliver a fearful blow
+with his tail, or, with jaws widespread, to try and bite one of our
+boats in half. Well was it for us that he was severely handicapped by
+a malformation of the lower jaw. At a short distance from the throat
+it turned off nearly at right angles to his body, the part that thus
+protruded sideways being deeply fringed with barnacles, and plated with
+big limpets.
+
+Had it not been for this impediment, I verily believe he would have
+beaten us altogether. As it was, he worked us nearly to death with his
+ugly rushes. Once he delivered a sidelong blow with his tail, which, as
+we spun round, shore off the two oars on that side as if they had been
+carrots. At last the second mate got fast to him, and then the character
+of the game changed again. Apparently unwearied by his previous
+exertions, he now started off to windward at top speed, with the
+two boats sheering broadly out upon either side of his foaming wake.
+Doubtless because he himself was much fatigued, the mate allowed him to
+run at his will, without for the time attempting to haul any closer to
+him, and very grateful the short rest was to us. But he had not gone
+a couple of miles before he turned a complete somersault in the water,
+coming up BEHIND us to rush off again in the opposite direction at
+undiminished speed. This move was a startler. For the moment it seemed
+as if both boats would be smashed like egg-shells against each other,
+or else that some of us would be impaled upon the long lances with which
+each boat's bow bristled. By what looked like a handbreadth, we cleared
+each other, and the race continued. Up till now we had not succeeded
+in getting home a single lance, the foe was becoming warier, while the
+strain was certainly telling upon our nerves. So Mr. Count got out his
+bomb-gun, shouting at the same time to Mr. Cruce to do the same. They
+both hated these weapons, nor ever used them if they could help it; but
+what was to be done?
+
+Our chief had hardly got his gun ready, before we came to almost a
+dead stop. All was silent for just a moment; then, with a roar like a
+cataract, up sprang the huge creature, head out, jaw wide open, coming
+direct for us. As coolly as if on the quarter-deck, the mate raised his
+gun, firing the bomb directly down the great livid cavern of a throat
+fronting him. Down went that mountainous head not six inches from us,
+but with a perfectly indescribable motion, a tremendous writhe, in fact;
+up flew the broad tail in air, and a blow which might have sufficed
+to stave in the side of the ship struck the second mate's boat fairly
+amidships. It was right before my eyes, not sixty feet away, and the
+sight will haunt me to my death. The tub oarsman was the poor German
+baker, about whom I have hitherto said nothing, except to note that he
+was one of the crew. That awful blow put an end summarily to all his
+earthly anxieties. As it shore obliquely through the centre of the boat,
+it drove his poor body right through her timbers--an undistinguishable
+bundle of what was an instant before a human being. The other members of
+the crew escaped the blow, and the harpooner managed to cut the line, so
+that for the present they were safe enough, clinging to the remains of
+their boat, unless the whale should choose to rush across them.
+
+Happily, his rushing was almost over. The bomb fired by Mr. Count, with
+such fatal result to poor Bamberger, must have exploded right in the
+whale's throat. Whether his previous titanic efforts had completely
+exhausted him, or whether the bomb had broken his massive backbone, I do
+not know, of course, but he went into no flurry, dying as peacefully as
+his course had been furious. For the first time in my life, I had been
+face to face with a violent death, and I was quite stunned with the
+awfulness of the experience. Mechanically, as it seemed to me, we
+obeyed such orders as were given, but every man's thoughts were with the
+shipmate so suddenly dashed from amongst us. We never saw sign of him
+again.
+
+While the ship was running down to us, another boat had gone to rescue
+the clinging crew of the shattered boat, for the whole drama had been
+witnessed from the ship, although they were not aware of the death of
+the poor German. When the sad news was told on board, there was a deep
+silence, all work being carried on so quietly that we seemed like a crew
+of dumb men. With a sentiment for which I should not have given our grim
+skipper credit, the stars and stripes were hoisted half-mast, telling
+the silent sky and moaning sea, sole witnesses besides ourselves, of the
+sudden departure from among us of our poor shipmate. We got the whale
+cut in as usual without any incident worth mentioning, except that the
+peculiar shape of the jaw made it an object of great curiosity to all
+of us who were new to the whale-fishing. Such malformations are not very
+rare. They are generally thought to occur when the animal is young, and
+its bones soft; but whether done in fighting with one another, or
+in some more mysterious way, nobody knows. Cases have been known, I
+believe, where the deformed whale does not appear to have suffered from
+lack of food in consequence of his disability; but in each of the three
+instances which have come under my own notice, such was certainly not
+the case. These whales were what is termed by the whalers "dry-skins;"
+that is, they were in poor condition, the blubber yielding less than
+half the usual quantity of oil. The absence of oil makes it very hard
+to cut up, and there is more work in one whale of this kind than in two
+whose blubber is rich and soft. Another thing which I have also noticed
+is, that these whales were much more difficult to tackle than others,
+for each of them gave us something special to remember them by. But I
+must not get ahead of my yarn.
+
+The end of the week brought us up to the Aldabra Islands, one of
+the puzzles of the world. For here, in these tiny pieces of earth,
+surrounded by thousands of miles of sea, the nearest land a group of
+islets like unto them, is found the gigantic tortoise, and in only one
+other place in the wide world, the Galapagos group of islands in the
+South Pacific. How, or by what strange freak of Dame Nature these
+curious reptiles, sole survivals of another age, should come to be
+found in this lonely spot, is a deep mystery, and one not likely to be
+unfolded now. At any rate, there they are, looking as if some of them
+might be coeval with Noah, so venerable and storm-beaten do they appear.
+
+We made the island early on a Sunday morning, and, with the usual
+celerity, worked the vessel into the fine harbour, called, from one
+of the exploring ships, Euphrates Bay or Harbour. The anchor down, and
+everything made snug below and aloft, we were actually allowed a run
+ashore free from restraint. I could hardly believe my ears. We had got
+so accustomed to our slavery that liberty was become a mere name; we
+hardly knew what to do with it when we got it. However, we soon got used
+(in a very limited sense) to being our own masters, and, each following
+the bent of his inclinations, set out for a ramble. My companion and I
+had not gone far, when we thought we saw one of the boulders, with which
+the island was liberally besprinkled, on the move. Running up to examine
+it with all the eagerness of children let out of school, we found it to
+be one of the inhabitants, a monstrous tortoise. I had some big turtle
+around the cays of the Gulf of Mexico, but this creature dwarfed them
+all. We had no means of actually measuring him, and had to keep clear
+of his formidable-looking jaws, but roughly, and within the mark, he was
+four feet long by two feet six inches wide. Of course he was much more
+dome-shaped than the turtle are, and consequently looked a great deal
+bigger than a turtle of the same measurement would, besides being much
+thicker through. As he was loth to stay with us, we made up our minds to
+go with him, for he was evidently making for some definite spot, by the
+tracks he was following, which showed plainly how many years that same
+road had been used. Well, I mounted on his back, keeping well astern,
+out of the reach of that serious-looking head, which having rather a
+long neck, looked as if it might be able to reach round and take a
+piece out of a fellow without any trouble. He was perfectly amicable,
+continuing his journey as if nothing had happened, and really getting
+over the ground at a good rate, considering the bulk and shape of him.
+Except for the novelty of the thing, this sort of ride had nothing to
+recommend it; so I soon tired of it, and let him waddle along in peace.
+By following the tracks aforesaid, we arrived at a fine stream of water
+sparkling out of a hillside, and running down a little ravine. The sides
+of this gully were worn quite smooth by the innumerable feet of the
+tortoises, about a dozen of which were now quietly crouching at the
+water's edge, filling themselves up with the cooling fluid. I did not
+see the patriarch upon whom a sailor once reported that he had read the
+legend carved, "The Ark, Captain Noah, Ararat for orders"; perhaps he
+had at last closed his peaceful career. But strange, and quaint as this
+exhibition of ancient reptiles was, we had other and better employment
+for the limited time at our disposal. There were innumerable curious
+things to see, and, unless we were to run the risk of going on board
+again and stopping there, dinner must be obtained. Eggs of various
+kinds were exceedingly plentiful; in many places the flats were almost
+impassable for sitting birds, mostly "boobies."
+
+But previous experience of boobies' eggs in other places had not
+disposed me to seek them where others were to be obtained, and as I had
+seen many of the well-known frigate or man-o'-war birds hovering
+about, we set out to the other side of the island in search of the
+breeding-place.
+
+These peculiar birds are, I think, misnamed. They should be called
+pirate or buccaneer birds, from their marauding habits. Seldom or never
+do they condescend to fish for themselves, preferring to hover high in
+the blue, their tails opening and closing like a pair of scissors
+as they hang poised above the sea. Presently booby--like some honest
+housewife who has been a-marketing--comes flapping noisily home, her maw
+laden with fish for the chicks. Down comes the black watcher from above
+with a swoop like an eagle. Booby puts all she knows into her flight,
+but vainly; escape is impossible, so with a despairing shriek she
+drops her load. Before it has touched the water the graceful thief has
+intercepted it, and soared slowly aloft again, to repeat the performance
+as occasion serves.
+
+When we arrived on the outer shore of the island, we found a large
+breeding-place of these birds, but totally different to the haunt of
+the boobies. The nests, if they might be so called, being at best a few
+twigs, were mostly in the hollows of the rocks, the number of eggs
+being two to a nest, on an average. The eggs were nearly as large as a
+turkey's. But I am reminded of the range of size among turkeys' eggs,
+so I must say they were considerably larger than a small turkey's egg.
+Their flavour was most delicate, as much so as the eggs of a moor-fed
+fowl. We saw no birds sitting, but here and there the gaunt skeleton
+forms of birds, who by reason of sickness or old age were unable to
+provide for themselves, and so sat waiting for death, appealed most
+mournfully to us. We went up to some of these poor creatures, and ended
+their long agony; but there were many of them that we were obliged to
+leave to Nature.
+
+We saw no animals larger than a rat, but there were a great many
+of those eerie-looking land-crabs, that seemed as if almost humanly
+intelligent as they scampered about over the sand or through the
+undergrowth, busy about goodness knows what. The beautiful cocoa-nut
+palm was plentiful, so much so that I wondered why there were no
+settlers to collect "copra," or dried cocoa-nut, for oil. My West Indian
+experience came in handy now, for I was able to climb a lofty tree in
+native fashion, and cut down a grand bunch of green nuts, which form one
+of the most refreshing and nutritious of foods, as well as a cool and
+delicious drink. We had no line with us, so we took off our belts,
+which, securely joined together, answered my purpose very well. With
+them I made a loop round the tree and myself; then as I climbed I pushed
+the loop up with me, so that whenever I wanted a rest, I had only to
+lean back in it, keeping my knees against the trunk, and I was almost as
+comfortable as if on the ground.
+
+After getting the nuts, we made a fire and roasted some of our eggs,
+which, with a biscuit or two, made a delightful meal. Then we fell
+asleep under a shady tree, upon some soft moss; nor did we wake again
+until nearly time to go on board. A most enjoyable swim terminated our
+day's outing, and we returned to the beach abreast of the ship very
+pleased with the excursion.
+
+We had no adventures, found no hidden treasure or ferocious animals, but
+none the less we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. While we sat waiting for
+the boat to come and fetch us off, we saw a couple of good-sized turtle
+come ashore quite close to us. We kept perfectly still until we were
+sure of being able to intercept them. As soon as they had got far enough
+away from their native element, we rushed upon them, and captured them
+both, so that when the boat arrived we were not empty-handed. We had
+also a "jumper," or blouse, full of eggs, and a couple of immense
+bunches of cocoa-nuts. When we got on board we felt quite happy, and,
+for the first time since leaving America, we had a little singing. Shall
+I be laughed at when I confess that our musical efforts were confined
+to Sankey's hymns? Maybe, but I do not care. Cheap and clap-trap as the
+music may be, it tasted "real good," as Abner said, and I am quite sure
+that that Sunday night was the best that any of us had spent for a very
+long time.
+
+A long, sound sleep was terminated at dawn, when we weighed and stood
+out through a narrow passage by East Island, which was quite covered
+with fine trees--of what kind I do not know, but they presented a
+beautiful sight. Myriads of birds hovered about, busy fishing from the
+countless schools that rippled the placid sea. Beneath us, at twenty
+fathoms, the wonderful architecture of the coral was plainly visible
+through the brilliantly-clear sea, while, wherever the tiny builders had
+raised their fairy domain near the surface, an occasional roller would
+crown it with a snowy garland of foam--a dazzling patch of white against
+the sapphire sea. Altogether, such a panorama was spread out at our
+feet, as we stood gazing from the lofty crow's-nest, as was worth a year
+or two of city life to witness. I could not help pitying my companion,
+one of the Portuguese harpooners, who stolidly munched his quid with no
+eyes for any of these glorious pictures, no thought of anything but a
+possible whale in sight.
+
+My silent rhapsodies were rudely interrupted by something far away on
+the horizon. Hardly daring to breathe, I strained my eyes, and--yes,
+it was--"Ah blow-w-w-w!" I bellowed at the top of my lung-power, never
+before had I had the opportunity of thus distinguishing myself, and I
+felt a bit sore about it.
+
+There was a little obliquity about the direction of the spout that made
+me hopeful, for the cachalot alone sends his spout diagonally upward,
+all the others spout vertically. It was but a school of kogia, or
+"short-headed" cachalots; but as we secured five of them, averaging
+seven barrels each, with scarcely any trouble, I felt quite pleased with
+myself. We had quite an exciting bit of sport with them, they were so
+lively; but as for danger--well, they only seemed like big "black fish"
+to us now, and we quite enjoyed the fun. They were, in all respects,
+miniature sperm whales, except that the head was much shorter and
+smaller in proportion to the body than their big relations.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI. ROUND THE COCOS AND SEYCHELLES
+
+Hitherto, with the exception of a couple of gales in the North and
+South Atlantic, we had been singularly fortunate in our weather. It does
+happen so sometimes.
+
+I remember once making a round voyage from Cardiff to Hong Kong and the
+Philippines, back to London, in ten months, and during the whole of that
+time we did not have a downright gale. The worst weather we encountered
+was between Beachy Head and Portland, going round from London to
+Cardiff.
+
+And I once spoke the barque LUTTERWORTH, a companion ship to us from
+Portland, Oregon to Falmouth, whose mate informed me that they carried
+their royals from port to port without ever furling them once, except
+to shift the suit of sails. But now a change was evidently imminent. Of
+course, we forward had no access to the barometer; not that we should
+have understood its indications if we had seen it, but we all knew that
+something was going to be radically wrong with the weather. For instead
+of the lovely blue of the sky we had been so long accustomed to by
+day and night, a nasty, greasy shade had come over the heavens,
+which, reflected in the sea, made that look dirty and stale also. That
+well-known appearance of the waves before a storm was also very marked,
+which consists of an undecided sort of break in their tops. Instead of
+running regularly, they seemed to hunch themselves up in little heaps,
+and throw off a tiny flutter of spray, which generally fell in the
+opposite direction to what little wind there was. The pigs and fowls
+felt the approaching change keenly, and manifested the greatest
+uneasiness, leaving their food and acting strangely. We were making
+scarcely any headway, so that the storm was longer making its appearance
+than it would have been had we been a swift clipper ship running down
+the Indian Ocean. For two days we were kept in suspense; but on the
+second night the gloom began to deepen, the wind to moan, and a very
+uncomfortable "jobble" of a sea got up. Extra "gaskets" were put upon
+the sails, and everything movable about the decks was made as secure as
+it could be. Only the two close-reefed topsails and two storm stay-sails
+were carried, so that we were in excellent trim for fighting the bad
+weather when it did come. The sky gradually darkened and assumed a livid
+green tint, the effect of which was most peculiar.
+
+The wind blew fitfully in short, gusts, veering continually back and
+forth over about a quarter of the compass. Although it was still light,
+it kept up an incessant mournful moan not to be accounted for in
+any way. Darker and darker grew the heavens, although no clouds were
+visible, only a general pall of darkness. Glimmering lightnings played
+continually about the eastern horizon, but not brilliant enough to show
+us the approaching storm-cloud. And so came the morning of the third
+day from the beginning of the change. But for the clock we should hardly
+have known that day had broken, so gloomy and dark was the sky. At last
+light came in the east, but such a light as no one would wish to see. It
+was a lurid glare, such as may be seen playing over a cupola of Bessemer
+steel when the speigeleisen is added, only on such an extensive scale
+that its brilliancy was dulled into horror. Then, beneath it we saw the
+mountainous clouds fringed with dull violet and with jagged sabres of
+lightning darting from their solid black bosoms. The wind began to rise
+steadily but rapidly, so that by eight a.m. it was blowing a furious
+gale from E.N.E. In direction it was still unsteady, the ship coming up
+and falling off to it several points. Now, great masses of torn,
+ragged cloud hurtled past us above, so low down as almost to touch the
+mastheads. Still the wind increased, still the sea rose, till at last
+the skipper judged it well to haul down the tiny triangle of storm
+stay-sail still set (the topsail and fore stay-sail had been furled long
+before), and let her drift under bare poles, except for three square
+feet of stout canvas in the weather mizen-rigging. The roar of the
+wind now dominated every sound, so that it might have been thundering
+furiously, but we should not have heard it. The ship still maintained
+her splendid character as a sea-boat, hardly shipping a drop of water;
+but she lay over at a most distressing angle, her deck sloping off fully
+thirty-five to forty degrees. Fortunately she did not roll to windward.
+It may have been raining in perfect torrents, but the tempest tore off
+the surface of the sea, and sent it in massive sheets continually flying
+over us, so that we could not possibly have distinguished between fresh
+water and salt.
+
+The chief anxiety was for the safety of the boats. Early on the second
+day of warning they had been hoisted to the topmost notch of the cranes,
+and secured as thoroughly as experience could suggest; but at every lee
+lurch we gave it seemed as if we must dip them under water, while the
+wind threatened to stave the weather ones in by its actual solid weight.
+It was now blowing a furious cyclone, the force of which has never been
+accurately gauged (even by the present elaborate instruments of various
+kinds in use). That force is, however, not to be imagined by any one who
+has not witnessed it, except that one notable instance is on record by
+which mathematicians may get an approximate estimate.
+
+Captain Toynbee, the late highly respected and admired Marine
+Superintendent of the British Meteorological Office, has told us how,
+during a cyclone which he rode out in the HOTSPUR at Sandheads, the
+mouth of the Hooghly, the three naked topgallant-masts of his ship,
+though of well-tested timber a foot in diameter, and supported by all
+the usual network of stays, and without the yards, were snapped off and
+carried away solely by the violence of the wind. It must, of course,
+have been an extreme gust, which did not last many seconds, for no cable
+that was ever forged would have held the ship against such a cataclysm
+as that. This gentleman's integrity is above suspicion, so that no
+exaggeration could be charged against him, and he had the additional
+testimony of his officers and men to this otherwise incredible fact.
+
+The terrible day wore on, without any lightening of the tempest, till
+noon, when the wind suddenly fell to a calm. Until that time, the sea,
+although heavy, was not vicious or irregular, and we had not shipped
+any heavy water at all. But when the force of the wind was suddenly
+withdrawn, such a sea arose as I have never seen before or since. Inky
+mountains of water raised their savage heads in wildest confusion,
+smashing one another in whirlpools of foam. It was like a picture of the
+primeval deep out of which arose the new-born world. Suddenly out of
+the whirling blackness overhead the moon appeared, nearly in the zenith,
+sending down through the apex of a dome of torn and madly gyrating cloud
+a flood of brilliant light. Illumined by that startling radiance, our
+staunch and seaworthy ship was tossed and twirled in the hideous vortex
+of mad sea until her motion was distracting. It was quite impossible to
+loose one's hold and attempt to do anything without running the imminent
+risk of being dashed to pieces. Our decks were full of water now, for
+it tumbled on board at all points; but as yet no serious weight of a sea
+had fallen upon us, nor had any damage been done. Such a miracle as that
+could not be expected to continue for long. Suddenly a warning shout
+rang out from somewhere--"Hold on all, for your lives!" Out of the
+hideous turmoil around arose, like some black, fantastic ruin, an awful
+heap of water. Higher and higher it towered, until it was level with our
+lower yards, then it broke and fell upon us. All was blank. Beneath that
+mass every thought, every feeling, fled but one--"How long shall I
+be able to hold my breath?" After what seemed a never-ending time, we
+emerged from the wave more dead than alive, but with the good ship still
+staunch underneath us, and Hope's lamp burning brightly. The moon
+had been momentarily obscured, but now shone out again, lighting up
+brilliantly our bravely-battling ship. But, alas for others!--men,
+like ourselves, whose hopes were gone. Quite near us was the battered
+remainder of what had been a splendid ship. Her masts were gone, not
+even the stumps being visible, and it seemed to our eager eyes as if she
+was settling down. It was even so, for as we looked, unmindful of our
+own danger, she quietly disappeared--swallowed up with her human freight
+in a moment, like a pebble dropped into a pond.
+
+While we looked with hardly beating hearts at the place where she had
+sunk, all was blotted out in thick darkness again. With a roar, as of
+a thousand thunders, the tempest came once more, but from the opposite
+direction now. As we were under no sail, we ran little risk of being
+caught aback; but, even had we, nothing could have been done, the vessel
+being utterly out of control, besides the impossibility of getting
+about. It so happened, however, that when the storm burst upon us again,
+we were stern on to it, and we drove steadily for a few moments until we
+had time to haul to the wind again. Great heavens! how it blew! Surely,
+I thought, this cannot last long--just as we sometimes say of the
+rain when it is extra heavy. It did last, however, for what seemed an
+interminable time, although any one could see that the sky was getting
+kindlier. Gradually, imperceptibly, it took off, the sky cleared, and
+the tumult ceased, until a new day broke in untellable beauty over a
+revivified world.
+
+Years afterwards I read, in one of the hand-books treating of hurricanes
+and cyclones, that "in the centre of these revolving storms the sea is
+so violent that few ships can pass through it and live." That is true
+talk. I have been there, and bear witness that but for the build and
+sea-kindliness of the CACHALOT, she could not have come out of that
+horrible cauldron again, but would have joined that nameless unfortunate
+whom we saw succumb, "never again heard of." As it was, we found two
+of the boats stove in, whether by breaking sea or crushing wind nobody
+knows. Most of the planking of the bulwarks was also gone, burst outward
+by the weight of the water on deck. Only the normal quantity of water
+was found in the well on sounding, and not even a rope-yarn was gone
+from aloft. Altogether, we came out of the ordeal triumphantly, where
+many a gallant vessel met her fate, and the behaviour of the grand old
+tub gave me a positive affection for her, such as I have never felt for
+a ship before or since.
+
+There was now a big heap of work for the carpenter, so the skipper
+decided to run in for the Cocos or Keeling islands, in order to lay
+quietly and refit. We had now only three boats sound, the one smashed
+when poor Bamberger died being still unfinished--of course, the repairs
+had practically amounted to rebuilding. Therefore we kept away for this
+strange assemblage of reefs and islets, arriving off them early the next
+day.
+
+They consist of a true "atoll," or basin, whose rim is of coral
+reefs, culminating occasionally in sandy islands or cays formed by the
+accumulated debris washed up from the reef below, and then clothed upon
+with all sorts of plants by the agency of birds and waves.
+
+These islands have lately been so fully described in many different
+journals, that I shall not burden the reader with any twice-told tales
+about them, but merely chronicle the fact that for a week we lay at
+anchor off one of the outlying cays, toiling continuously to get the
+vessel again in fighting trim.
+
+At last the overworked carpenter and his crew got through their heavy
+task, and the order was given to "man the windlass." Up came the anchor,
+and away we went again towards what used to be a noted haunt of the
+sperm whale, the Seychelle Archipelego. Before the French, whose flag
+flies over these islands, had with their usual short-sighted policy,
+clapped on prohibitive port charges, Mahe was a specially favoured place
+of call for the whalers. But when whale-ships find that it does not pay
+to visit a place, being under no compulsion as regards time, they soon
+find other harbours that serve their turn. We, of course, had no need to
+visit any port for some time to come, having made such good use of our
+opportunities at the Cocos.
+
+We found whales scarce and small, so, although we cruised in this
+vicinity for nearly two months, six small cow cachalots were all we were
+able to add to our stock, representing less then two hundred barrels
+of oil. This was hardly good enough for Captain Slocum. Therefore, we
+gradually drew away from this beautiful cluster of islands, and crept
+across the Indian Ocean towards the Straits of Malacca. On the way, we
+one night encountered that strange phenomenon, a "milk" sea. It was a
+lovely night, with scarcely any wind, the stars trying to make up for
+the absence of the moon by shining with intense brightness. The water
+had been more phosphorescent than usual, so that every little fish left
+a track of light behind him, greatly disproportionate to his size. As
+the night wore on, the sea grew brighter and brighter, until by midnight
+we appeared to be sailing on an ocean of lambent flames. Every little
+wave that broke against the ship's side sent up a shower of diamond-like
+spray, wonderfully beautiful to see, while a passing school of porpoises
+fairly set the sea blazing as they leaped and gambolled in its glowing
+waters. Looking up from sea to sky, the latter seemed quite black
+instead of blue, and the lustre of the stars was diminished till they
+only looked like points of polished steel, having quite lost for the
+time their radiant sparkle. In that shining flood the blackness of the
+ship stood out in startling contrast, and when we looked over the side
+our faces were strangely lit up by the brilliant glow.
+
+For several hours this beautiful appearance persisted, fading away
+at last as gradually as it came. No satisfactory explanation of this
+curious phenomenon has ever been given, nor does it appear to portend
+any change of weather. It cannot be called a rare occurrence, although
+I have only seen it thrice myself--once in the Bay of Cavite, in the
+Philippine Islands; once in the Pacific, near the Solomon Islands; and
+on this occasion of which I now write. But no one who had ever witnessed
+it could forget so wonderful a sight.
+
+One morning, a week after are had taken our departure from the
+Seychelles, the officer at the main crow's-nest reported a vessel of
+some sort about five miles to the windward. Something strange in her
+appearance made the skipper haul up to intercept her. As we drew nearer,
+we made her out to be a Malay "prahu;" but, by the look of her, she
+was deserted. The big three-cornered sail that had been set, hung in
+tattered festoons from the long, slender yard, which, without any gear
+to steady it, swung heavily to and fro as the vessel rolled to the long
+swell. We drew closer and closer, but no sign of life was visible on
+board, so the captain ordered a boat to go and investigate.
+
+In two minutes we were speeding away towards her, and, making a sweep
+round her stern, prepared to board her. But we were met by a stench
+so awful that Mr. Count would not proceed, and at once returned to the
+ship. The boat was quickly hoisted again, and the ship manoeuvred to
+pass close to windward of the derelict. Then, from our mast-head, a
+horrible sight became visible. Lying about the weather-beaten deck,
+in various postures, were thirteen corpses, all far advanced in decay,
+which horrible fact fully accounted for the intolerable stench that had
+driven us away. It is, perhaps, hardly necessary to say that we promptly
+hauled our wind, and placed a good distance between us and that awful
+load of death as soon as possible. Poor wretches! What terrible calamity
+had befallen them, we could not guess; whatever it was, it had been
+complete; nor would any sane man falling across them run the risk of
+closer examination into details than we had done. It was a great pity
+that we were not able to sink the prahu with her ghastly cargo, and so
+free the air from that poisonous foetor that was a deadly danger to any
+vessel getting under her lee.
+
+Next day, and for a whole week after, we had a stark calm such a calm as
+one realizes who reads sympathetically that magical piece of work, the
+"Ancient Mariner." What an amazing instance of the triumph of the human
+imagination! For Coleridge certainly never witnessed such a scene as he
+there describes with an accuracy of detail that is astounding. Very
+few sailors have noticed the sickening condition of the ocean when the
+life-giving breeze totally fails for any length of time, or, if they
+have, they have said but little about it. Of course, some parts of the
+sea show the evil effects of stagnation much sooner than others; but,
+generally speaking, want of wind at sea, if long continued, produces
+a condition of things dangerous to the health of any land near by.
+Whale-ships, penetrating as they do to parts carefully avoided by
+ordinary trading vessels, often afford their crews an opportunity of
+seeing things mostly hidden from the sight of man, when, actuated by
+some mysterious impulse, the uncanny denizens of the middle depths of
+the ocean rise to higher levels, and show their weird shapes to the sun.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII. WHICH TREATS OF THE KRAKEN
+
+It has often been a matter for considerable surprise to me, that while
+the urban population of Great Britain is periodically agitated over the
+great sea-serpent question, sailors, as a class, have very little to say
+on the subject. During a considerable sea experience in all classes of
+vessels, except men-of-war, and in most positions, I have heard a fairly
+comprehensive catalogue of subjects brought under dog-watch discussion;
+but the sea-serpent has never, within my recollection, been one of them.
+
+The reasons for this abstinence may vary a great deal, but chief among
+them is--sailors, as a class, "don't believe in no such a pusson." More
+than that, they do believe that the mythical sea-serpent is "boomed"
+at certain periods, in the lack of other subjects, which may not be
+far from the fact. But there is also another reason, involving a
+disagreeable, although strictly accurate, statement. Sailors are, again
+taken as a class, the least observant of men. They will talk by the
+hour of trivialities about which they know nothing; they will spin
+interminable "cuffers" of debaucheries ashore all over the world; pick
+to pieces the reputation of all the officers with whom they have ever
+sailed; but of the glories, marvels, and mysteries of the mighty deep
+you will hear not a word. I can never forget when on my first voyage to
+the West Indies, at the age of twelve, I was one night smitten with awe
+and wonder at the sight of a vast halo round the moon, some thirty or
+forty degrees in diameter. Turning to the man at the wheel, I asked him
+earnestly "what THAT was." He looked up with an uninterested eye for
+an instant in the direction of my finger, then listlessly informed me,
+"That's what they call a sarcle." For a long time I wondered what he
+could mean, but it gradually dawned upon me that it was his Norfolk
+pronunciation of the word "circle." The definition was a typical one, no
+worse than would be given by the great majority of seamen of most of the
+natural phenomena they witness daily. Very few seamen could distinguish
+between one whale and another of a different species, or give an
+intelligible account of the most ordinary and often-seen denizens of the
+sea. Whalers are especially to be blamed for their blindness. "Eyes and
+no Eyes; or the Art of Seeing" has evidently been little heard of among
+them. To this day I can conceive of no more delightful journey for a
+naturalist to take than a voyage in a southern whaler, especially if he
+were allowed to examine at his leisure such creatures as were caught.
+But on board the CACHALOT I could get no information at all upon the
+habits of the strange creatures we met with, except whales, and very
+little about them.
+
+I have before referred to the great molluscs upon which the sperm whale
+feeds, portions of which I so frequently saw ejected from the stomach of
+dying whales. Great as my curiosity naturally was to know more of these
+immense organisms, all my inquiries on the subject were fruitless. These
+veterans of the whale-fishery knew that the sperm whale lived on big
+cuttlefish; but they neither knew, nor cared to know, anything more
+about these marvellous molluscs. Yet, from the earliest dawn of history,
+observant men have been striving to learn something definite about the
+marine monsters of which all old legends of the sea have something to
+say.
+
+As I mentioned in the last chapter, we were gradually edging across the
+Indian Ocean towards Sumatra, but had been checked in our course by a
+calm lasting a whole week. A light breeze then sprang up, aided by which
+we crept around Achin Head, the northern point of the great island of
+Sumatra. Like some gigantic beacon, the enormous mass of the Golden
+Mountain dominated the peaceful scene. Pulo Way, or Water Island, looked
+very inviting, and I should have been glad to visit a place so well
+known to seamen by sight, but so little known by actual touching at.
+Our recent stay at the Cocos, however, had settled the question of our
+calling anywhere else for some time decidedly in the negative, unless we
+might be compelled by accident; moreover, even in these days of law
+and order, it is not wise to go poking about among the islands of the
+Malayan seas unless you are prepared to fight. Our mission being to
+fight whales, we were averse to running any risks, except in the lawful
+and necessary exercise of our calling.
+
+It would at first sight appear strange that, in view of the enormous
+traffic of steamships through the Malacca Straits, so easily "gallied"
+a creature as the cachalot should care to frequent its waters; indeed,
+I should certainly think that a great reduction in the numbers of whales
+found there must have taken place. But it must also be remembered, that
+in modern steam navigation certain well-defined courses are laid down,
+which vessels follow from point to point with hardly any deviation
+therefrom, and that consequently little disturbance of the sea by their
+panting propellers takes place, except upon these marine pathways; as,
+for instance, in the Red Sea, where the examination of thousands of
+log-books proved conclusively that, except upon straight lines drawn
+from point to point between Suez to Perim, the sea is practically unused
+to-day.
+
+The few Arab dhows and loitering surveying ships hardly count in this
+connection, of course. At any rate, we had not entered the straits, but
+were cruising between Car Nicobar and Junkseylon, when we "met up" with
+a full-grown cachalot, as ugly a customer as one could wish. From nine
+a.m. till dusk the battle raged--for I have often noticed that unless
+you kill your whale pretty soon, he gets so wary, as well as fierce,
+that you stand a gaudy chance of being worn down yourselves before you
+settle accounts with your adversary. This affair certainly looked at one
+time as if such would be the case with us; but along about five p.m.,
+to our great joy, we got him killed. The ejected food was in masses of
+enormous size, larger than any we had yet seen on the voyage, some of
+them being estimated to be of the size of our hatch-house, viz. 8 feet x
+6 feet x 6 feet. The whale having been secured alongside, all hands were
+sent below, as they were worn out with the day's work. The third mate
+being ill, I had been invested with the questionable honour of standing
+his watch, on account of my sea experience and growing favour with the
+chief. Very bitterly did I resent the privilege at the time, I remember,
+being so tired and sleepy that I knew not how to keep awake. I did
+not imagine that anything would happen to make me prize that night's
+experience for the rest of my life, or I should have taken matters with
+a far better grace.
+
+At about eleven p.m. I was leaning over the lee rail, grazing steadily
+at the bright surface of the sea, where the intense radiance of the
+tropical moon made a broad path like a pavement of burnished silver.
+Eyes that saw not, mind only confusedly conscious of my surroundings,
+were mine; but suddenly I started to my feet with an exclamation, and
+stared with all my might at the strangest sight I ever saw. There was
+a violent commotion in the sea right where the moon's rays were
+concentrated, so great that, remembering our position, I was at first
+inclined to alarm all hands; for I had often heard of volcanic islands
+suddenly lifting their heads from the depths below, or disappearing in
+a moment, and, with Sumatra's chain of active volcanoes so near, I felt
+doubtful indeed of what was now happening. Getting the night-glasses
+out of the cabin scuttle, where they were always hung in readiness,
+I focussed them on the troubled spot, perfectly satisfied by a short
+examination that neither volcano nor earthquake had anything to do with
+what was going on; yet so vast were the forces engaged that I might well
+have been excused for my first supposition. A very large sperm whale was
+locked in deadly conflict with a cuttle-fish or squid, almost as large
+as himself, whose interminable tentacles seemed to enlace the whole
+of his great body. The head of the whale especially seemed a perfect
+net-work of writhing arms--naturally I suppose, for it appeared as
+if the whale had the tail part of the mollusc in his jaws, and, in a
+business-like, methodical way, was sawing through it. By the side of the
+black columnar head of the whale appeared the head of the great squid,
+as awful an object as one could well imagine even in a fevered dream.
+Judging as carefully as possible, I estimated it to be at least as large
+as one of our pipes, which contained three hundred and fifty gallons;
+but it may have been, and probably was, a good deal larger. The eyes
+were very remarkable from their size and blackness, which, contrasted
+with the livid whiteness of the head, made their appearance all the more
+striking. They were, at least, a foot in diameter, and, seen under such
+conditions, looked decidedly eerie and hobgoblin-like. All around the
+combatants were numerous sharks, like jackals round a lion, ready to
+share the feast, and apparently assisting in the destruction of the huge
+cephalopod. So the titanic struggle went on, in perfect silence as
+far as we were concerned, because, even had there been any noise, our
+distance from the scene of conflict would not have permitted us to hear
+it.
+
+Thinking that such a sight ought not to be missed by the captain, I
+overcame my dread of him sufficiently to call him, and tell him of what
+was taking place. He met my remarks with such a furious burst of anger
+at my daring to disturb him for such a cause, that I fled precipitately
+on deck again, having the remainder of the vision to myself, for none
+of the others cared sufficiently for such things to lose five minutes'
+sleep in witnessing them. The conflict ceased, the sea resumed its
+placid calm, and nothing remained to tell of the fight but a strong
+odour of fish, as of a bank of seaweed left by the tide in the blazing
+sun. Eight bells struck, and I went below to a troubled sleep, wherein
+all the awful monsters that an over-excited brain could conjure up
+pursued me through the gloomy caves of ocean, or mocked my pigmy efforts
+to escape.
+
+The occasions upon which these gigantic cuttle-fish appear at the sea
+surface must, I think, be very rare. From their construction, they
+appear fitted only to grope among the rocks at the bottom of the ocean.
+Their mode of progression is backward, by the forcible ejection of a
+jet of water from an orifice in the neck, beside the rectum or cloaca.
+Consequently their normal position is head-downward, and with tentacles
+spread out like the ribs of an umbrella--eight of them at least; the
+two long ones, like the antennae of an insect, rove unceasingly around,
+seeking prey.
+
+The imagination can hardly picture a more terrible object than one
+of these huge monsters brooding in the ocean depths, the gloom of his
+surroundings increased by the inky fluid (sepia) which he secretes in
+copious quantities, every cup-shaped disc, of the hundreds with which
+the restless tentacles are furnished, ready at the slightest touch to
+grip whatever is near, not only by suction, but by the great claws
+set all round within its circle. And in the centre of this net-work of
+living traps is the chasm-like mouth, with its enormous parrot-beak,
+ready to rend piecemeal whatever is held by the tentaculae. The very
+thought of it makes one's flesh crawl. Well did Michelet term them "the
+insatiable nightmares of the sea."
+
+Yet, but for them, how would such great creatures as the sperm whale be
+fed? Unable, from their bulk, to capture small fish except by accident,
+and, by the absence of a sieve of baleen, precluded from subsisting upon
+the tiny crustacea, which support the MYSTICETAE, the cachalots seem
+to be confined for their diet to cuttle-fish, and, from their point of
+view, the bigger the latter are the better. How big they may become in
+the depths of the sea, no man knoweth; but it is unlikely that even the
+vast specimens seen are full-sized, since they have only come to the
+surface under abnormal conditions, like the one I have attempted to
+describe, who had evidently been dragged up by his relentless foe.
+
+Creatures like these, who inhabit deep waters, and do not need to come
+to the surface by the exigencies of their existence, necessarily present
+many obstacles to accurate investigation of their structure and habits;
+but, from the few specimens that have been obtained of late years,
+fairly comprehensive details have been compiled, and may be studied in
+various French and German works, of which the Natural History Museum at
+South Kensington possesses copies. These, through the courtesy of the
+authorities in charge, are easily accessible to students who wish to
+prosecute the study of this wonderful branch of the great mollusca
+family.
+
+When we commenced to cut in our whale next morning, the sea was fairly
+alive with fish of innumerable kinds, while a vast host of sea-birds, as
+usual, waited impatiently for the breaking-up of the huge carcass, which
+they knew would afford them no end of a feast. An untoward accident,
+which happened soon after the work was started, gave the waiting myriads
+immense satisfaction, although the unfortunate second mate, whose slip
+of the spade was responsible, came in for a hurricane of vituperation
+from the enraged skipper. It was in detaching the case from the
+head--always a work of difficulty, and requiring great precision of aim.
+Just as Mr. Cruce made a powerful thrust with his keen tool, the vessel
+rolled, and the blow, missing the score in which he was cutting, fell
+upon the case instead, piercing its side. For a few minutes the result
+was unnoticed amidst the wash of the ragged edges of the cut, but
+presently a long streak of white, wax-like pieces floating astern, and
+a tremendous commotion among the birds, told the story. The liquid
+spermaceti was leaking rapidly from the case, turning solid as it got
+into the cool water. Nothing could be done to stop the waste, which,
+as it was a large whale, was not less than twenty barrels, or about two
+tuns of pure spermaceti. An accident of this kind never failed to make
+our skipper almost unbearable in his temper for some days afterwards;
+and, to do him justice, he did not discriminate very carefully as to who
+felt his resentment besides its immediate cause.
+
+Therefore we had all a rough time of it while his angry fit lasted,
+which was a whole week, or until all was shipshape again. Meanwhile we
+were edging gradually through the Malacca Straits and around the big
+island of Borneo, never going very near the land on account of the great
+and numerous dangers attendant upon coasting in those localities to any
+but those continually engaged in such a business.
+
+Indeed, all navigation in those seas to sailing vessels is dangerous,
+and requires the greatest care. Often we were obliged at a minute's
+notice to let go the anchor, although out of sight of land, some rapid
+current being found carrying us swiftly towards a shoal or race,
+where we might come to grief. Yet there was no fuss or hurry, the same
+leisurely old system was continued, and worked as well as ever. But it
+was not apparent why we were threading the tortuous and difficult waters
+of the Indian Archipelago. No whales of any kind were seen for at least
+a month, although, from our leisurely mode of sailing, it was evident
+that they were looked for.
+
+An occasional native craft came alongside, desirous of bartering fish,
+which we did not want, being able to catch all we needed as readily
+almost as they were. Fruit and vegetables we could not get at such
+distances from land, for the small canoes that lie in wait for passing
+ships do not of course venture far from home.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII. OFF TO THE JAPAN GROUNDS
+
+Very tedious and trying was our passage northward, although every effort
+was made by the skipper to expedite it. Nothing of advantage to our
+cargo was seen for a long time, which, although apparently what was
+to be expected, did not improve Captain Slocum's temper. But, to the
+surprise of all, when we had arrived off the beautiful island of Hong
+Kong, to which we approached closely, we "raised" a grand sperm whale.
+
+Many fishing-junks were in sight, busily plying their trade, and at any
+other time we should have been much interested in the quaint and cunning
+devices by which the patient, wily Chinaman succeeds so admirably as
+a fisherman. Our own fishing, for the time being, absorbed all our
+attention--the more, perhaps, that we had for so long been unable to do
+anything in that line. After the usual preliminaries, we were successful
+in getting fast to the great creature, who immediately showed fight. So
+skilful and wary did he prove that Captain Slocum, growing impatient at
+our manoeuvring with no result, himself took the field, arriving on
+the scene with the air of one who comes to see and conquer without more
+delay. He brought with him a weapon which I have not hitherto mentioned,
+because none of the harpooners could be induced to use it, and
+consequently it had not been much in evidence. Theoretically, it was as
+ideal tool for such work, its chief drawback being its cumbrousness. It
+was known as "Pierce's darting gun," being a combination of bomb-gun and
+harpoon, capable of being darted at the whale like a plain harpoon. Its
+construction was simple; indeed, the patent was a very old one. A tube
+of brass, thickening towards the butt, at which was a square chamber
+firmly welded to a socket for receiving the pole, formed the gun itself.
+Within the chamber aforesaid a nipple protruded from the base of the
+tube, and in line with it. The trigger was simply a flat bit of steel,
+like a piece of clock spring, which was held down by the hooked end of a
+steel rod long enough to stick out beyond the muzzle of the gun three or
+four inches, and held in position by two flanges at the butt and muzzle
+of the barrel. On the opposite side of the tube were two more flanges,
+close together, into the holes of which was inserted the end of a
+specially made harpoon, having an eye twisted in its shank through which
+the whale line was spliced. The whole machine was fitted to a neat pole,
+and strongly secured to it by means of a "gun warp," or short piece of
+thin line, by which it could be hauled back into the boat after being
+darted at a whale. To prepare this weapon for use, the barrel was
+loaded with a charge of powder and a bomb similar to those used in the
+shoulder-guns, the point of which just protruded from the muzzle. An
+ordinary percussion cap was placed upon the nipple, and the trigger
+cocked by placing the trigger-rod in position. The harpoon, with the
+line attached, was firmly set into the socketed flanges prepared for it,
+and the whole arrangement was then ready to be darted at the whale in
+the usual way.
+
+Supposing the aim to be good and the force sufficient, the harpoon
+would penetrate the blubber until the end of the trigger-rod was driven
+backwards by striking the blubber, releasing the trigger and firing the
+gun. Thus the whale would be harpooned and bomb-lanced at the same time,
+and, supposing everything to work satisfactorily, very little more could
+be needed to finish him. But the weapon was so cumbersome and awkward,
+and the harpooners stood in such awe of it, that in the majority of
+cases the whale was either missed altogether or the harpoon got such
+slight hold that the gun did not go off, the result being generally
+disastrous.
+
+In the present case, however, the "Pierce" gun was in the hands of a man
+by no means nervous, and above criticism or blame in case of failure. So
+when he sailed in to the attack, and delivered his "swashing blow," the
+report of the gun was immediately heard, proving conclusively that a
+successful stroke had been made.
+
+It had an instantaneous and astonishing effect. The sorely wounded
+monster, with one tremendous expiration, rolled over and over swift as
+thought towards his aggressor, literally burying the boat beneath his
+vast bulk. Now, one would have thought surely, upon seeing this, that
+none of that boat's crew would ever have been seen again. Nevertheless,
+strange as it may appear, out of that seething lather of foam, all six
+heads emerged again in an instant, but on the OTHER side of the great
+creature. How any of them escaped instant violent death was, and from
+the nature of the case must, ever remain, an unravelled mystery, for
+the boat was crumbled into innumerable fragments, and the three hundred
+fathoms of line, in a perfect maze of entanglement, appeared to be
+wrapped about the writhing trunk of the whale. Happily, there were two
+boats disengaged, so that they were able very promptly to rescue the
+sufferers from their perilous position in the boiling vortex of foam by
+which they were surrounded. Meanwhile, the remaining boat had an easy
+task. The shot delivered by the captain had taken deadly effect, the
+bomb having entered the creature's side low down, directly abaft the
+pectoral fin. It must have exploded within the cavity of the bowels,
+from its position, causing such extensive injuries as to make even that
+vast animal's death but a matter of a few moments. Therefore, we did not
+run any unnecessary risks, but hauled off to a safe distance and quietly
+watched the death-throes. They were so brief, that in less than ten
+minutes from the time of the accident we were busy securing the line
+through the flukes of our prize.
+
+The vessel was an unusually long time working up to us, so slow, in
+fact, that Mr Count remarked, critically, "Shouldn't wonder if th' ole
+man ain't hurt; they're taking things so all-fired easy." By the time
+she had reached us, we had a good few visitors around us from the
+fishing fleet, who caused us no little anxiety, The Chinese have no
+prejudices; they would just as soon steal a whale as a herring, if the
+conveyance could be effected without, more trouble or risk to their own
+yellow skins. If it involved the killing of a few foreign devils--well,
+so much to the good. The ship, however, arrived before the fishermen had
+decided upon any active steps, and we got our catch alongside without
+any delay. The truth of Mr. Count's forecast was verified to the hilt,
+for we found that the captain was so badly bruised about the body that
+he was unable to move, while one of the hands, a Portuguese, was injured
+internally, and seemed very bad indeed. Had any one told us that morning
+that we should be sorry to see Captain Slocum with sore bones, we should
+have scoffed at the notion, and some of us would probably have said that
+we should like to have the opportunity of making him smart. But under
+the present circumstances, with some hundreds of perfectly ruthless
+wretches hovering around us, looking with longing eyes at the treasure
+we had alongside, we could not help remembering the courage and resource
+so often shown by the skipper, and wished with all our hearts that we
+could have the benefit of them now. As soon as dinner was over, we all
+"turned to" with a will to get the whale cut in. None of us required
+to be told that to lay all night with that whale alongside would be
+extremely unhealthy for us, great doubt existing as to whether any of
+us would see morning dawn again. There was, too, just a possibility
+that when the carcass, stripped of its blubber, was cut adrift, those
+ravenous crowds would fasten upon it, and let us go in peace.
+
+All hands, therefore, worked like Trojans. There was no need to drive
+us, nor was a single harsh word spoken. Nothing was heard but the almost
+incessant clatter of the windlass pawls, abrupt monosyllabic orders, and
+the occasional melancholy wail of a gannet overhead. No word had been
+spoken on the subject among us, yet somehow we all realized that we were
+working for a large stake no less than our lives. What! says somebody,
+within a few miles of Hong Kong? Oh yes; and even within Hong Kong
+harbour itself, if opportunity offers. Let any man go down the wharf at
+Hong Kong after sunset, and hail a sampan from the hundreds there that
+are waiting to be hired. Hardly will the summons have left his lips
+before a white policeman will be at his side, note-book in hand,
+inquiring his name and ship, and taking a note of the sampan's number,
+with the time of his leaving the wharf. Nothing perfunctory about the
+job either. Let but these precautions be omitted, and the chances that
+the passenger (if he have aught of value about him) will ever arrive at
+his destination are almost nil.
+
+So good was the progress made that by five p.m. we were busy at the
+head, while the last few turns of the windlass were being taken to
+complete the skinning of the body. With a long pent-up shout that last
+piece was severed and swung inboard, as the huge mass of reeking flesh
+floated slowly astern. As it drifted away we saw the patient watchers
+who had been waiting converging upon it from all quarters, and our hopes
+rose high. But there was no slackening of our efforts to get in the
+head. By the time it was dark we managed to get the junk on board, and
+by the most extraordinary efforts lifted the whole remainder of the
+head high enough to make sail and stand off to sea. The wind was off the
+land, the water smooth, and no swell on, so we took no damage from that
+tremendous weight surging by our side, though, had the worst come to the
+worst, we could have cut it adrift.
+
+When morning dawned we hove-to, the land being only dimly visible
+astern, and finished taking on board our "head matter" without further
+incident. The danger past, we were all well pleased that the captain was
+below, for the work proceeded quite pleasantly under the genial rule of
+the mate. Since leaving port we had not felt so comfortable, the work,
+with all its disagreeables, seeming as nothing now that we could do it
+without fear and trembling. Alas for poor Jemmy!--as we always persisted
+in calling him from inability to pronounce his proper name--his case
+was evidently hopeless. His fellows did their poor best to comfort his
+fast-fleeting hours, one after another murmuring to him the prayers of
+the Church, which, although they did not understand them, they evidently
+believed most firmly to have some marvellous power to open the gates
+of paradise and cleanse the sinner. Notwithstanding the grim fact
+that their worship was almost pure superstition, it was far more in
+accordance with the fitness of things for a dying man's surroundings
+than such scenes as I have witnessed in the forecastles of merchant
+ships when poor sailors lay a-dying. I remember well once, when I was
+second officer of a large passenger ship, going in the forecastle as
+she lay at anchor at St. Helena, to see a sick man. Half the crew were
+drunk, and the beastly kennel in which they lived was in a thick fog of
+tobacco-smoke and the stale stench of rum. Ribald songs, quarrelling,
+and blasphemy made a veritable pandemonium of the place. I passed
+quietly through it to the sick man's bunk, and found him--dead! He had
+passed away in the midst of that, but the horror of it did not seem to
+impress his bemused shipmates much.
+
+Here, at any rate, there was quiet and decorum, while all that could
+be done for the poor sufferer (not much, from ignorance of how he was
+injured) was done. He was released from his pain in the afternoon of the
+second day after the accident, the end coming suddenly and peacefully.
+The same evening, at sunset, the body, neatly sewn up in canvas, with a
+big lump of sandstone secured to the feet, was brought on deck, laid
+on a hatch at the gangway, and covered with the blue, star-spangled
+American Jack. Then all hands were mustered in the waist, the ship's
+bell was tolled, and the ensign run up halfway.
+
+The captain was still too ill to be moved, so the mate stepped forward
+with a rusty old Common Prayer-book in his hands, whereon my vagrant
+fancy immediately fastened in frantic endeavour to imagine how it came
+to be there. The silence of death was over all. True, the man was but
+a unit of no special note among us, but death had conferred upon him a
+brevet rank, in virtue of which be dominated every thought. It seemed
+strange to me that we who faced death so often and variously, until
+natural fear had become deadened by custom, should, now that one of
+our number lay a rapidly-corrupting husk before us, be so tremendously
+impressed by the simple, inevitable fact. I suppose it was because
+none of us were able to realize the immanence of Death until we saw
+his handiwork. Mr. Count opened the book, fumbling nervously among the
+unfamiliar leaves. Then he suddenly looked up, his weather-scarred face
+glowing a dull brick-red, and said, in a low voice, "This thing's too
+many fer me; kin any of ye do it? Ef not, I guess we'll hev ter take it
+as read." There was no response for a moment; then I stepped forward,
+reaching out my hand for the book. Its contents were familiar enough to
+me, for in happy pre-arab days I had been a chorister in the old Lock
+Chapel, Harrow Road, and had borne my part in the service so often that
+I think even now I could repeat the greater part of it MEMORITER. Mr.
+Count gave it me without a word, and, trembling like a leaf, I turned
+to the "Burial Service," and began the majestic sentences, "I am the
+Resurrection and the Life, saith the Lord." I did not know my own voice
+as the wonderful words sounded clearly in the still air; but if ever a
+small body of soul-hardened men FELT the power of God, it was then. At
+the words, "We therefore commit his body to the deep," I paused, and,
+the mate making a sign, two of the harpooners tilted the hatch, from
+which the remains slid off into the unknown depths with a dull splash.
+Several of the dead man's compatriots covered their faces, and murmured
+prayers for the repose of his soul, while the tears trickled through
+their horny fingers. But matters soon resumed their normal course; the
+tension over, back came the strings of life into position again, to play
+the same old tunes and discords once more.
+
+The captured whale made an addition to our cargo of one hundred and ten
+barrels--a very fair haul indeed. The harpooners were disposed to regard
+this capture as auspicious upon opening the North Pacific, where, in
+spite of the time we had spent, and the fair luck we had experienced in
+the Indian Ocean, we expected to make the chief portion of our cargo.
+
+Our next cruising-ground is known to whalemen as the "Coast of Japan"
+ground, and has certainly proved in the past the most prolific fishery
+of sperm whales in the whole world. I am inclined now to believe
+that there are more and larger cachalots to be found in the Southern
+Hemisphere, between the parallels of 33deg. and 50deg. South; but there
+the drawback of heavy weather and mountainous seas severely handicaps
+the fishermen.
+
+It is somewhat of a misnomer to call the Coast of Japan ground by that
+name, since to be successful you should not sight Japan at all, but keep
+out of range of the cold current that sweeps right across the Pacific,
+skirting the Philippines, along the coasts of the Japanese islands
+as far as the Kuriles, and then returns to the eastward again to the
+southward of the Aleutian Archipelago. The greatest number of whales are
+always found in the vicinity of the Bonin and Volcano groups of islands,
+which lie in the eddy formed by the northward bend of the mighty current
+before mentioned. This wonderful ground was first cruised by a London
+whale-ship, the SYREN, in 1819, when the English branch of the sperm
+whale-fishery was in its prime, and London skippers were proud of the
+fact that one of their number, in the EMILIA, had thirty-one years
+before first ventured around Cape Horn in pursuit of the cachalot.
+
+After the advent of the SYREN, the Bonins became the favourite
+fishing-ground for both Americans and British, and for many years the
+catch of oil taken from these teeming waters averaged four thousand
+tuns annually. That the value of the fishery was maintained at so high a
+level for over a quarter of a century was doubtless due to the fact that
+there was a long, self-imposed close season, during which the whales
+were quite unmolested. Nothing in the migratory habits of this whale, so
+far as has ever been observed, would have prevented a profitable fishing
+all the year round; but custom, stronger even than profit, ordained that
+whale-ships should never stay too long upon one fishing-ground, but move
+on farther until the usual round had been made, unless the vessel were
+filled in the mean time.
+
+Of course, there are whales whose habits lead them at certain seasons,
+for breeding purposes, to frequent various groups of islands, but the
+cachalot seems to be quite impartial in his preferences; if he "uses"
+around certain waters, he is just as likely to be found there in July as
+January.
+
+The Bonins, too, form an ideal calling-place, from the whaling captain's
+point of view. Peel Island, the principal one of the cluster, has
+a perfect harbour in Port Lloyd, where a vessel can not only lie
+in comfort, sheltered from almost every wind that blows, but where
+provisions, wood, and water are plentiful. There is no inducement, or
+indeed room, for desertion, and the place is healthy. It is colonized
+by Japs from the kingdom so easily reached to the westward, and the busy
+little people, after their manner, make a short stay very agreeable.
+
+Once clear of the southern end of Formosa we had quite a rapid run to
+the Bonins, carrying a press of sail day and night, as the skipper was
+anxious to arrive there on account of his recent injuries. He was still
+very lame, and he feared that some damage might have been done to him
+of which he was ignorant. Besides, it was easy to see that he did not
+altogether like anybody else being in charge of his ship, no matter how
+good they were. Such was the expedition we made that we arrived at
+Port Lloyd twelve days after clearing up our last whale. Very beautiful
+indeed the islands, appeared, with their bold, steep sides clad in
+richest green, or, where no vegetation appeared, worn into a thousand
+fantastic shapes by the sea, or the mountain torrents carving away the
+lava of which they were all composed. For the whole of the islands were
+volcanic, and Port Lloyd itself is nothing more than the crater of a
+vast volcano, which in some tremendous convulsion of nature has sunk
+from its former high estate low enough to become a haven for ships.
+
+I have said that it was a perfect harbour, but there is no doubt that
+getting in or out requires plenty of nerve as well as seamanship. There
+was so little room, and the eddying flows of wind under the high
+land were so baffling, that at various times during our passage in it
+appeared as if nothing could prevent us from getting stuck upon some of
+the adjacent hungry-looking coral reefs. Nothing of the kind happened,
+however, and we came comfortably to an anchor near three other
+whale-ships which were already there. They were the DIEGO RAMIREZ, of
+Nantucket; the CORONEL, of Providence, Rhode Island; and the GRAMPUS,
+of New Bedford. These were the first whale-ships we had yet seen, and
+it may be imagined how anxious we felt to meet men with whom we could
+compare notes and exchange yarns. It might be, too, that we should get
+some news of that world which, as far as we were concerned, might as
+well have been at the other extremity of the solar system for the last
+year, so completely isolated had we been.
+
+The sails were hardly fast before a boat from each of the ships was
+alongside with their respective skippers on board. The extra exertion
+necessary to pilot the ship in had knocked the old man up, in his
+present weak state, and he had gone below for a short rest; so the three
+visitors dived down into the stuffy cabin, all anxious to interview
+the latest comer. Considerate always, Mr. Count allowed us to have the
+remainder of the day to ourselves, so we set about entertaining our
+company. It was no joke twelve of them coming upon us all at once, and
+babel ensued for a short time. They knew the system too well to expect
+refreshments, so we had not to apologize for having nothing to set
+before them. They had not come, however, for meat and drink, but for
+talk. And talk we did, sometimes altogether, sometimes rationally; but I
+doubt whether any of us had ever enjoyed talking so much before.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV. LIBERTY DAY--AND AFTER
+
+There is generally current among seamen a notion that all masters of
+ships are bound by law to give their crews twenty-four hours' liberty
+and a portion of their wages to spend every three months, if they are in
+port. I have never heard any authority quoted for this, and do not know
+what foundation there is for such a belief, although the practice is
+usually adhered to in English ships. But American whale-ships apparently
+know no law, except the will of their commanders, whose convenience is
+always the first consideration. Thus, we had now been afloat for well
+over a year, during which time, except for our foraging excursions at
+the Cocos and Aldabra, we had certainly known no liberty for a whole
+day.
+
+Our present port being one where it was impossible to desert without
+the certainty of prompt recapture, with subsequent suffering altogether
+disproportionate to the offence, we were told that one watch at a time
+would be allowed their liberty for a day. So we of the port watch made
+our simple preparations, received twenty-five cents each, and were
+turned adrift on the beach to enjoy ourselves. We had our liberty, but
+we didn't know what to do with it. There was a native town and a couple
+of low groggeries kept by Chinamen, where some of my shipmates promptly
+invested a portion of their wealth in some horrible liquor, the smell of
+which was enough to make an ordinary individual sick. There was no place
+apparently where one could get a meal, so that the prospect of our stay
+ashore lasting a day did not seem very great. I was fortunate enough,
+however, to foregather with a Scotchman who was a beach-comber,
+and consequently "knew the ropes." I dare say he was an unmitigated
+blackguard whenever he got the chance, but he was certainly on his best
+behaviour with me. He took me into the country a bit to see the sights,
+which were such as most of the Pacific islands afford. Wonderful indeed
+were the fantastic rocks, twisted into innumerable grotesque shapes,
+and, along the shores, hollowed out into caverns of all sizes, some
+large enough to shelter an army. He was quite familiar with the natives,
+understanding enough of their queer lingo to get along. By his friendly
+aid we got some food--yams, and fish cooked in native fashion, i.e. in
+heated holes in the ground, for which the friendly Kanakas would take no
+payment, although they looked murderous enough to be cannibals. It does
+not do to go by looks always.
+
+Well, after a long ramble, the Scotchman and I laid our weary bodies
+down in the shade of a big rock, and had a grand sleep, waking up again
+a little before sunset. We hastened down to the beach off the town,
+where all my watchmates were sitting in a row, like lost sheep, waiting
+to be taken on board again. They had had enough of liberty; indeed, such
+liberty as that was hardly worth having. It seems hardly credible, but
+we were actually glad to get on board again, it was so miserable ashore,
+The natives were most unsociable at the port, and we could not make
+ourselves understood, so there was not much fun to be had. Even those
+who were inclined to drink had too little for a spree, which I was
+not sorry for, since doubtless a very unpleasant reception would have
+awaited them had they come on board drunk.
+
+Next day the starboard watch went on liberty, while we who had received
+our share were told off to spend the day wooding and watering. In this
+most pleasant of occupations (when the weather is fine) I passed a much
+more satisfactory time than when wandering about with no objective, an
+empty pocket, and a hungry belly. No foremast hand has ever enjoyed his
+opportunities of making the acquaintance of his various visiting places
+more than I have; but the circumstances attendant upon one's leave must
+be a little favourable, or I would much rather stay aboard and fish.
+Our task was over for the day, a goodly store of wood and casks of water
+having been shipped. We were sitting down to supper, when, in answer to
+a hail from the beach, we were ordered to fetch the liberty men. When
+we got to them, there was a pretty how-d'ye-do. All of them were more or
+less drunk, some exceedingly quarrelsome. Now, Mistah Jones was steering
+our boat, looking as little like a man to take sauce from a drunken
+sailor as you could imagine. Most of the transformed crowd ya-hooing
+on the beach had felt the weight of his shoulder-of-mutton fist, yet so
+utterly had prudence forsaken them that, before we came near them, they
+were abusing him through all the varied gamut of filthy language they
+possessed. My democratic sentiments are deeply seated, but I do believe
+in authority, and respect for it being rigidly enforced, so this
+uncalled-for scene upset me, making me feel anxious that the gibbering
+fools might get a lesson. They got one.
+
+Goliath stood like a tower, his eyes alone betraying the fierce anger
+boiling within. When we touched the beach, his voice was mild end gentle
+as a child's, his movements calm and deliberate. As soon as we had
+beached the boat he stepped ashore, and in two strides was in the middle
+of the snarling group. Further parley ceased at once. Snatching the
+loudest of them by the breast of his shirt with his right hand, another
+one by the collar with his left, he flung himself backwards towards the
+boat, knocking the interveners right and left. But a protruding fragment
+of rock caught his heel, bringing him with his captives to the ground
+in a writhing mass. The rest, maddened beyond restraint of fear,
+flung themselves upon the prostrate man, the glimmer of more than one
+knife-blade appearing. Two of us from the boat--one with the tiller, the
+other brandishing a paddle--rushed to the rescue; but before we arrived
+the giant had heaved off his assailants, and, with no other weapons than
+his bare hands, was doing terrific execution among them. Not knowing,
+I suppose, whether we were friendly to him or not, he shouted to us to
+keep away, nor dare to interfere. There was no need. Disregarding such
+trifles as a few superficial cuts--not feeling them perhaps--he so
+unmercifully mauled that crowd that they howled again for mercy. The
+battle was brief and bloody. Before hostilities had lasted five minutes,
+six of the aggressors were stretched insensible; the rest, comprising
+as many more, were pleading for mercy, completely sober. Such prowess on
+the part of one man against twelve seems hardly credible; but it must be
+remembered that Goliath fought, with all the moral force of the ship's
+officers behind him, against a disorganized crowd without backbone, who
+would never have dared to face him but for the temporary mania induced
+by the stuff they had drunk. It was a conflict between a lion and a
+troop of jackals, whereof the issue was never in doubt as long as lethal
+weapons were wanting.
+
+Standing erect among the cowering creatures, the great negro looked
+every inch a mediaeval hero. In a stern voice he bade his subjugated
+enemies to get into the boat, assisting those to do so who were too
+badly hurt to rise. Then we shoved off for the ship--a sorrowful gang
+indeed.
+
+As I bent to my oar, I felt very sorry for what had happened. Here
+were half the crew guilty of an act of violence upon an officer, which,
+according to the severe code under which we lived, merited punishment as
+painful as could be inflicted, and lasting for the rest of the voyage.
+Whatever form that punishment might take, those of us who were innocent
+would be almost equal sufferers with the others, because discrimination
+in the treatment between watch and watch is always difficult, and in our
+case it was certain that it would not be attempted. Except as regarded
+physical violence, we might all expect to share alike. Undoubtedly
+things looked very unpleasant. My gloomy cogitations were abruptly
+terminated by the order to "unrow"--we were alongside. Somehow or other
+all hands managed to scramble on board, and assist in hoisting the boat
+up.
+
+As soon as she was secured we slunk away forward, but we had hardly got
+below before a tremendous summons from Goliath brought us all aft again
+at the double quick. Most of the fracas had been witnessed from the
+ship, so that but a minute or two was needed to explain how or why it
+begun. Directly that explanation had been supplied by Mistah Jones, the
+order was issued for the culprits to appear.
+
+I have before noticed how little love was lost between the skipper and
+his officers, Goliath having even once gone so far as to give me a
+very emphatic opinion of his about the "old man" of a most unflattering
+nature. And had such a state of things existed on board an English ship,
+the crew would simply have taken charge, for they would have seen the
+junior officers flouted, snubbed, and jeered at; and, of course, what
+they saw the captain do, they would not be slow to improve on. Many a
+promising young officer's career has been blighted in this way by the
+feminine spite of a foolish man unable to see that if the captain shows
+no respect to his officers, neither will the crew, nor obedience either.
+
+But in an American ship, so long as an officer remains an officer, he
+must be treated as such by every man, under pain of prompt punishment.
+Yankee skippers have far too much NOUS to allow their hands to grow
+saucy in consequence of division among the after-guard. So now a sort
+of court-martial was held upon the unfortunates who had dared to attack
+Goliath, at which that sable hero might have been the apple of Captain
+Slocum's eye, so solicitous was he of Mistah Jones' honour and the
+reparation to be made.
+
+This sort of thing was right in his line. Naturally cruel, he seemed to
+thoroughly enjoy himself in the prospect of making human beings twist
+and writhe in pain. Nor would he be baulked of a jot of his pleasure.
+
+Goliath approached him, and muttered a few words, meant, I felt sure, to
+appease him by letting him know how much they had suffered at his strong
+hands; but he turned upon the negro with a savage curse, bidding him be
+silent. Then every one of the culprits was stripped, and secured to the
+lash-rail by the wrists; scourges were made of cotton fish-line, knotted
+at intervals, and secured to a stout handle; the harpooners were told
+off as executioners, and the flogging began. Perhaps it was necessary
+for the maintenance of discipline--certainly it was trivial compared
+with the practice, till recently, in our own army and navy; but I am
+glad to say that, compelled to witness it, I felt quite sick--physically
+sick--trembling so in every limb that my legs would not support me. It
+was not fear, for I had nothing to fear had I been ever such a coward.
+Whatever it was, I am not sorry either to have felt it or to own it,
+even while I fully admit that for some forms of wickedness nothing but
+the lash seems adequate punishment.
+
+Some of the victims fainted, not being in the best condition at the
+outset for undergoing so severe a trial; but all were treated alike,
+buckets of salt water being flung over them. This drastic reviver,
+while adding to their pain, brought them all into a state of sufficient
+activity to get forward when they were released. Smarting and degraded,
+all their temporary bravado effectually banished, they were indeed
+pitiable objects, their deplorable state all the harder to bear from its
+contrast to our recent pleasure when we entertained the visiting crews.
+
+Having completed our quantum of wood, water, and fresh provisions for
+the officers, we got under way again for the fishing grounds. I did
+not see how we could hope for a successful season, knowing the utterly
+despondent state of the crew, which even affected the officers, who, not
+so callous or cruel as the skipper, seemed to be getting rather tired
+of the constant drive and kick, now the normal condition of affairs.
+But the skipper's vigilance was great. Whether he noted any sign of
+slackness or indifference on the part of his coadjutors or not, of
+course I cannot say, but he certainly seemed to put more vigour into his
+attentions than had been his wont, and so kept everybody up to the mark.
+
+Hitherto we had always had our fishing to ourselves; we were now to
+see something of the ways of other men employed in the same manner. For
+though the general idea or plan of campaign against the whales is the
+same in all American whalers, every ship has some individual peculiarity
+of tactics, which, needless to say, are always far superior to those of
+any other ship. When we commenced our cruise on this new ground,
+there were seven whalers in sight, all quite as keen on the chase as
+ourselves, so that I anticipated considerable sport of the liveliest
+kind should we "raise" whales with such a fleet close at hand.
+
+But for a whole week we saw nothing but a grampus or so, a few loitering
+finbacks, and an occasional lean humpback bull certainly not worth
+chasing. On the seventh afternoon, however, I was in the main
+crow's-nest with the chief, when I noticed a ship to windward of us
+alter her course, keeping away three or four points on an angle that
+would presently bring her across our bows a good way ahead. I was
+getting pretty well versed in the tricks of the trade now, so I kept
+mum, but strained my eyes in the direction for which the other ship was
+steering. The chief was looking astern at some finbacks, the look-out
+men forward were both staring to leeward, thus for a minute or so I
+had a small arc of the horizon to myself. The time was short, but it
+sufficed, and for the first time that voyage I had the privilege of
+"raising" a sperm whale. My voice quivered with excitement as I uttered
+the war-whoop, "Ah blo-o-o-o-w!" Round spun the mate on his heel,
+while the hands clustered like bees roused from their hive. "Where
+away--where?" gasped the mate. And I pointed to a spot about half a
+point on the lee bow, at the same time calling his attention to the
+fact that the stranger to windward was keeping away. In answer to the
+skipper's hurried queries from below, Mr. Count gave him the general
+outline of affairs, to which he replied by crowding every stitch of
+canvas on the vessel that was available.
+
+The spout I had seen was a good ten miles off, and, for the present,
+seemed to belong to a "lone" whale, as it was the only one visible.
+There was a good breeze blowing, as much, in fact, as we could carry all
+sail to, the old barky making a tremendous commotion as she blundered
+along under the unusual press of canvas. In the excitement of the race
+all our woes were forgotten; we only thought of the possibility of the
+ship getting there first. We drew gradually nearer to the stranger, who,
+like us, was carrying all the sail he had got, but, being able to go a
+point or two free, was outsailing us.
+
+It was anybody's race as yet, though, when we heard the skipper's hail,
+"'Way down from aloft!" as he came up to take our place, The whale had
+sounded, apparently heading to leeward, so that the weather-gage held by
+our rival was not much advantage to him now. We ran on for another two
+miles, then shortened sail, and stood by to lower away the moment he
+should re-appear, Meanwhile another ship was working up from to leeward,
+having evidently noted our movements, or else, like the albatross,
+"smelt whale," no great distance to windward of him. Waiting for that
+whale to rise was one of the most exciting experiences we had gone
+through as yet, with two other ships so near. Everybody's nerves seemed
+strung up to concert pitch, and it was quite a relief when from half
+a dozen throats at once burst the cry, "There she white-waters! Ah
+blo-o-o-o-w!" Not a mile away, dead to leeward of us, quietly beating
+the water with the flat of his flukes, as if there was no such thing in
+the watery world as a whale-ship. Splash! almost simultaneously went the
+four boats. Out we shot from the ship, all on our mettle; for was not
+the skipper's eye upon us from his lofty eyrie, as well as the crew of
+the other ship, now not more than a mile away! We seemed a terrible time
+getting the sails up, but the officers dared not risk our willingness to
+pull while they could be independent of us.
+
+By the time we were fairly off, the other ship's boats were coming like
+the wind, so that eight boats were now converging upon the unconscious
+monster. We fairly flew over the short, choppy sea, getting drenched
+with the flying spray, but looking out far more keenly at the other
+boats than at the whale. Up we came to him, Mr. Count's boat to the
+left, the other mate's boat to the right. Almost at the same moment the
+irons flew from the hands of the rival harpooners; but while ours was
+buried to the hitches in the whale's side, the other man's just ploughed
+up the skin on the animal's back, as it passed over him and pierced our
+boat close behind the harpooner's leg. Not seeing what had happened to
+his iron, or knowing that we were fast, the other harpooner promptly
+hurled his second iron, which struck solidly. It was a very pretty
+tangle, but our position was rather bad. The whale between us was
+tearing the bowels of the deep up in his rage and fear; we were
+struggling frantically to get our sail down; and at any moment that
+wretched iron through our upper strake might tear a plank out of us.
+Our chief, foaming at the mouth with rage and excitement, was screeching
+inarticulate blasphemy at the other mate, who, not knowing what was the
+matter, was yelling back all his copious vocabulary of abuse. I felt
+very glad the whale was between us, or there would surely have been
+murder done. At last, out drops the iron, leaving a jagged hole you
+could put your arm through. Wasn't Mr. Count mad? I really thought he
+would split with rage, for it was impossible for us to go on with that
+hole in our bilge. The second mate came alongside and took our line as
+the whale was just commencing to sound, thus setting us free. We made at
+once for the other ship's "fast" boat, and the compliments that had
+gone before were just casual conversation to what filled the air with
+dislocated language now. Presently both the champions cooled down a bit
+from want of breath, and we got our case stated. It was received with
+a yell of derision from the other side as a splendid effort of lying on
+our part; because the first ship fast claims the whale, and such a prize
+as this one we were quarrelling about was not to be tamely yielded.
+
+However, as reason asserted her sway over Mr. Count, he quieted down,
+knowing full well that the state of the line belonging to his rival
+would reveal the truth when the whale rose again. Therefore we returned
+to the ship, leaving our three boats busy waiting the whale's pleasure
+to rise again. When the skipper heard what had happened, he had his own
+boat manned, proceeding himself to the battle-field in expectation of
+complications presently. By the time he arrived upon the scene there
+were two more boats lying by, which had come up from the third ship,
+mentioned as working up from to leeward. "Pretty fine ground this's got
+ter be!" growled the old man. "Caint strike whale 'thout bein' crowded
+eout uv yer own propputty by a gang bunco steerers like this. Shall hev
+ter quit it, en keep a pawnshop."
+
+And still the whale kept going steadily down, down, down. Already he was
+on the second boat's lines, and taking them out faster than ever. Had
+we been alone, this persistence on his part, though annoying, would
+not have mattered much; but, with so many others in company, the
+possibilities of complication, should we need to slip our end, were
+numerous. The ship kept near, and Mr. Count, seeing how matters were
+going, had hastily patched his boat, returning at once with another tub
+of line. He was but just in time to bend on, when to our great delight
+we saw the end slip from our rival's boat. This in no wise terminated
+his lien on the whale, supposing he could prove that he struck first,
+but it got him out of the way for the time.
+
+Meanwhile we were running line faster than ever. There was an enormous
+length attached to the animal now--some twelve thousand feet--the
+weight of which was very great, to say nothing of the many "drogues" or
+"stopwaters" attached to it at intervals. Judge, then, of my surprise
+when a shout of "Blo-o-o-w!" called my attention to the whale
+himself just breaking water about half a mile away. It was an awkward
+predicament; for if we let go our end, the others would be on the whale
+immediately; if we held on, we should certainly be dragged below in a
+twinkling; and our disengaged boats could do nothing, for they had no
+line. But the difficulty soon settled itself. Out ran our end, leaving
+us bare of line as pleasure skiffs. The newcomer, who had been prowling
+near, keeping a close watch upon us, saw our boat jump up when released
+from the weight. Off he flew like an arrow to the labouring leviathan,
+now a "free fish," except for such claims as the two first-comers had
+upon it, which claims are legally assessed, where no dispute arises. In
+its disabled condition, dragging so enormous a weight of line, it was
+but a few minutes before the fresh boat was fast, while we looked on
+helplessly, boiling with impotent rage. All that we could now hope
+for was the salvage of some of our line, a mile and a half of which,
+inextricably mixed up with about the same length of our rival's, was
+towing astern of the fast-expiring cachalot.
+
+So great had been the strain upon that hardly-used animal that he did
+not go into his usual "flurry," but calmly expired without the faintest
+struggle. In the mean time two of our boats had been sent on board again
+to work the ship, while the skipper proceeded to try his luck in the
+recovery of his gear. On arriving at the dead whale, however, we found
+that he had rolled over and over beneath the water so many times that
+the line was fairly frapped round him, and the present possessors were
+in no mood to allow us the privilege of unrolling it.
+
+During the conversation we had drawn very near the carcass, so near, in
+fact, that one hand was holding the boat alongside the whale's "small"
+by a bight of the line. I suppose the skipper's eagle eye must have
+caught sight of the trailing part of the line streaming beneath, for
+suddenly he plunged overboard, reappearing almost immediately with the
+line in his hand. He scrambled into the boat with it, cutting it from
+the whale at once, and starting his boat's crew hauling in.
+
+Then there was a hubbub again. The captain of the NARRAGANSETT, our
+first rival, protested vigorously against our monopoly of the line; but
+in grim silence our skipper kept on, taking no notice of him, while we
+steadily hauled. Unless he of the NARRAGANSETT choose to fight for
+what he considered his rights, there was no help for him. And there was
+something in our old man's appearance eminently calculated to discourage
+aggression of any kind.
+
+At last, disgusted apparently with the hopeless turn affairs had taken,
+the NARRAGANSETT's boats drew off, and returned on board their ship.
+Two of our boats had by this time accumulated a mountainous coil of line
+each, with which we returned to our own vessel, leaving the skipper to
+visit the present holder of the whale, the skipper of the JOHN HAMPDEN.
+
+What arrangements they made, or how they settled the NARRAGANSETT's
+claim between them, I never knew, but I dare say there was a costly
+law-suit about it in New Bedford years after.
+
+This was not very encouraging for a start, nor did the next week see us
+do any better. Several times we saw other ships with whales alongside,
+but we got no show at all. Now, I had hoped a great deal from our cruise
+on these grounds, because I had heard whispers of a visit to the icy Sea
+of Okhotsk, and the prospect was to me a horrible one. I never did take
+any stock in Arctic work. But if we made a good season on the Japan
+grounds, we should not go north, but gradually work down the Pacific
+again, on the other side, cruising as we went.
+
+Day after day went by without any fresh capture or even sight of fish,
+until I began to believe that the stories I had heard of the wonderful
+fecundity of the Coast of Japan waters were fables without foundation,
+in fact. Had I known what sort of fishing our next bout would be, I
+should not have been so eager to sight whales again. If this be not a
+platitude of the worst kind, I don't know the meaning of the word; but,
+after all, platitudes have their uses, especially when you want to state
+a fact baldly.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV. WHICH COMES UNCOMFORTABLY NEAR BEING THE LAST
+
+All unversed as I am in the finer shades of literary craftsmanship,
+there is great uncertainty in my mind whether it is good or bad "art" to
+anticipate your next chapter by foreshadowing its contents; but whether
+good or bad art, the remembrance of my miseries on the eventful occasion
+I wish to describe was so strong upon me as I wrote the last few lines
+of the previous chapter that I just had to let those few words leak out.
+
+Through all the vicissitudes of this strange voyage I had hitherto felt
+pretty safe, and as the last thing a man anticipates (if his digestion
+is all right) is the possibility of coming to grief himself while fully
+prepared to see everybody else go under, so I had got to think that
+whoever got killed I was not to be--a very pleasing sentiment, and one
+that carries a man far, enabling him to face dangers with a light heart
+which otherwise would make a nerveless animal of him.
+
+In this optimistic mood, then, I gaily flung myself into my place in the
+mate's boat one morning, as we were departing in chase of a magnificent
+cachalot that had been raised just after breakfast. There were no other
+vessels in sight--much to our satisfaction--the wind was light, with a
+cloudless sky, and the whale was dead to leeward of us. We sped along
+at a good rate towards our prospective victim, who was, in his leisurely
+enjoyment of life, calmly lolling on the surface, occasionally lifting
+his enormous tail out of water and letting it fall flat upon the surface
+with a boom audible for miles.
+
+We were as usual, first boat; but, much to the mate's annoyance, when we
+were a short half-mile from the whale, our main-sheet parted. It became
+immediately necessary to roll the sail up, lest its flapping should
+alarm the watchful monster, and this delayed us sufficiently to allow
+the other boats to shoot ahead of us. Thus the second mate got fast some
+seconds before we arrived on the scene, seeing which we furled sail,
+unshipped the mast, and went in on him with the oars only. At first the
+proceedings were quite of the usual character, our chief wielding his
+lance in most brilliant fashion, while not being fast to the animal
+allowed us much greater freedom in our evolutions; but that fatal habit
+of the mate's--of allowing his boat to take care of herself so long as
+he was getting in some good home-thrusts--once more asserted itself.
+Although the whale was exceedingly vigorous, churning the sea into
+yeasty foam over an enormous area, there we wallowed close to him, right
+in the middle of the turmoil, actually courting disaster.
+
+He had just settled down for a moment, when, glancing over the gunwale,
+I saw his tail, like a vast shadow, sweeping away from us towards the
+second mate, who was laying off the other side of him. Before I had time
+to think, the mighty mass of gristle leapt into the sunshine, curved
+back from us like a huge bow. Then with a roar it came at us, released
+from its tension of Heaven knows how many tons. Full on the broadside
+it struck us, sending every soul but me flying out of the wreckage as if
+fired from catapults. I did not go because my foot was jammed somehow in
+the well of the boat, but the wrench nearly pulled my thigh-bone out of
+its socket. I had hardly released my foot, when, towering above me,
+came the colossal head of the great creature, as he ploughed through the
+bundle of debris that had just been a boat. There was an appalling roar
+of water in my ears, and darkness that might be felt all around. Yet,
+in the midst of it all, one thought predominated as clearly as if I had
+been turning it over in my mind in the quiet of my bunk aboard--"What
+if he should swallow me?" Nor to this day can I understand how I escaped
+the portals of his gullet, which of course gaped wide as a church door.
+But the agony of holding my breath soon overpowered every other feeling
+and thought, till just as something was going to snap inside my head I
+rose to the surface. I was surrounded by a welter of bloody froth, which
+made it impossible for me to see; but oh, the air was sweet!
+
+I struck out blindly, instinctively, although I could feel so strong an
+eddy that voluntary progress was out of the question. My hand touched
+and clung to a rope, which immediately towed me in some direction--I
+neither knew nor cared whither. Soon the motion ceased, and, with a
+seaman's instinct, I began to haul myself along by the rope I grasped,
+although no definite idea was in my mind as to where it was attached.
+Presently I came butt up against something solid, the feel of which
+gathered all my scattered wits into a compact knub of dread. It was the
+whale! "Any port in a storm," I murmured, beginning to haul away again
+on my friendly line. By dint of hard work I pulled myself right up the
+sloping, slippery bank of blubber, until I reached the iron, which,
+as luck would have it, was planted in that side of the carcass now
+uppermost. Carcass I said--well, certainly I had no idea of there being
+any life remaining within the vast mass beneath me, yet I had
+hardly time to take a couple of turns round myself with the rope (or
+whale-line, as I had proved it to be), when I felt the great animal
+quiver all over, and begin to forge ahead. I was now composed enough to
+remember that help could not be far away, and that my rescue, providing
+that I could keep above water, was but a question of a few minutes. But
+I was hardly prepared for the whale's next move. Being very near his
+end, the boat, or boats, had drawn off a bit, I supposed, for I could
+see nothing of them. Then I remembered the flurry. Almost at the same
+moment it began; and there was I, who with fearful admiration had so
+often watched the titanic convulsions of a dying cachalot, actually
+involved in them. The turns were off my body, but I was able to twist a
+couple of turns round my arms, which, in case of his sounding, I could
+readily let go.
+
+Then all was lost in roar and rush, as of the heart of some mighty
+cataract, during which I was sometimes above, sometimes beneath, the
+water, but always clinging with every ounce of energy still left, to the
+line. Now, one thought was uppermost--"What if he should breach?" I had
+seen them do so when in flurry, leaping full twenty feet in the air.
+Then I prayed.
+
+Quickly as all the preceding changes had passed came perfect peace.
+There I lay, still alive, but so weak that, although I could feel the
+turns slipping off my arms, and knew that I should slide off the slope
+of the whale's side into the sea if they did, I could make no effort
+to secure myself. Everything then passed away from me, just as if I had
+gone to sleep.
+
+I do not at all understand how I kept my position, nor how long, but
+I awoke to the blessed sound of voices, and saw the second mate's
+boat alongside, Very gently and tenderly they lifted me into the boat,
+although I could hardly help screaming with agony when they touched me,
+so bruised and broken up did I feel. My arms must have been nearly torn
+from their sockets, for the strands of the whale-line had cut deep
+into their flesh with the strain upon it, while my thigh was swollen
+enormously from the blow I received at the onset. Mr. Cruce was the most
+surprised man I think I ever saw. For full ten minutes he stared at me
+with wide-open eyes. When at last he spoke, it was with difficulty, as
+if wanting words to express his astonishment. At last he blurted out,
+"Whar you bin all de time, ennyhaow? 'Cawse ef you bin hangin' on to dat
+ar wale ev'sence you boat smash, w'y de debbil you hain't all ter bits,
+hey?" I smiled feebly, but was too weak to talk, and presently went off
+again into a dead faint.
+
+When I recovered, I was snug in my bunk aboard, but aching in every
+joint, and as sore as if I had been pounded with a club until I was
+bruised all over. During the day Mr. Count was kind enough to pay me a
+visit. With his usual luck, he had escaped without the slightest injury;
+neither was any other member of the boat's crew the worse for the
+ducking but myself. He told me that the whale was one of the largest
+he had ever seen, and as fat as butter. The boat was an entire loss, so
+completely smashed to pieces that nothing of her or her gear had been
+recovered. After spending about a quarter of an hour with me, he left me
+considerably cheered up, promising to look after me in the way of food,
+and also to send me some books. He told me that I need not worry
+myself about my inability to be at work, because the old man was not
+unfavourably disposed towards me, which piece of news gave me a great
+deal of comfort.
+
+When my poor, weary shipmates came below from their heavy toil of
+cutting in, they were almost inclined to be envious of my comfort--small
+blame to them--though I would gladly have taken my place among them
+again, could I have got rid of my hurts. But I was condemned to lie
+there for nearly three weeks before I was able to get about once more.
+In my sleep I would undergo the horrible anticipation of sliding down
+that awful, cavernous mouth over again, often waking with a shriek and
+drenched with sweat.
+
+While I lay there, three whales were caught, all small cows, and I was
+informed that the skipper was getting quite disgusted with the luck. At
+last I managed to get on deck, quite a different-looking man to when I
+went below, and feeling about ten years older. I found the same sullen
+quiet reigning that I had noticed several times before when we were
+unfortunate. I fancied that the skipper looked more morose and savage
+than ever, though of me, to my great relief, he took not the slightest
+notice.
+
+The third day after my return to duty we sighted whales again. We
+lowered three boats as promptly as usual; but when within about half a
+mile of the "pod" some slight noise in one of the boats gallied them,
+and away they went in the wind's eye, it blowing a stiffish breeze at
+the time, It was from the first evidently a hopeless task to chase them,
+but we persevered until recalled to the ship, dead beat with fatigue.
+I was not sorry, for my recent adventure seemed to have made quite a
+coward of me, so much so that an unpleasant gnawing at the pit of my
+stomach as we neared them almost made me sick. I earnestly hoped that
+so inconvenient a feeling would speedily leave me, or I should be but a
+poor creature in a boat.
+
+In passing, I would like to refer to the wonderful way in which these
+whales realize at a great distance, if the slightest sound be made, the
+presence of danger. I do not use the word "hear" because so abnormally
+small are their organs of hearing, the external opening being quite
+difficult to find, that I do not believe they can hear at all well. But
+I firmly believe they possess another sense by means of which they are
+able to detect any unusual vibration of the waves of either air or sea
+at a far greater distance than it would be possible for them to hear,
+Whatever this power may be which they possess, all whalemen are well
+acquainted with their exercise of it, and always take most elaborate
+precautions to render their approach to a whale noiseless.
+
+Our extraordinary want of success at last so annoyed the skipper that
+he determined to quit the ground and go north. The near approach of
+the open season in those regions probably hastened his decision, but I
+learned from Goliath that he had always been known as a most fortunate
+man among the "bowheads," as the great MYSTICETAE of that part of
+the Arctic seas are called by the Americans. Not that there is any
+difference, as far as I have been able to ascertain, between them
+and the "right" whale of the Greenland seas, but from some caprice of
+nomenclature for which there is no accounting.
+
+So in leisurely fashion we worked north, keeping, of course, a bright
+look-out all the way for straggling cachalots, but not seeing any. From
+scraps of information that in some mysterious fashion leaked out, we
+learned that we were bound to the Okhotsk Sea, it being no part of
+the skipper's intentions to go prowling around Behrings Sea, where he
+believed the whales to be few and far between.
+
+It may be imagined that we of the crew were not at all pleased with
+this intelligence, our life being, we considered, sufficiently miserable
+without the addition of extreme cold, for we did not realize that in the
+Arctic regions during summer the cold is by no means unbearable, and our
+imagination pictured a horrible waste of perpetual ice and snow, in the
+midst of which we should be compelled to freeze while dodging whales
+through the crevices of the floes. But whether our pictures of the
+prospects that awaited us were caricatures or no made not the slightest
+difference. "Growl you may, but go you must" is an old sea-jingle of the
+truest ring; but, while our going was inevitable, growling was a luxury
+none of us dare indulge in.
+
+We had by no means a bad passage to the Kuriles, which form a natural
+barrier enclosing the immense area of the Okhotsk Sea from the
+vast stretch of the Pacific. Around this great chain of islands the
+navigation is exceedingly difficult, and dangerous as well, from the
+ever-varying currents as from the frequent fogs and sudden storms. But
+these impediments to swift and safe navigation are made light of by
+the whalemen, who, as I feel never weary of remarking, are the finest
+navigators in the world where speed is not the first consideration.
+
+The most peculiar features of these inhospitable shores to a seaman are
+the vast fields of seaweed surrounding them all, which certainly helps
+to keep the sea down during gales, but renders navigation most difficult
+on account of its concealment of hidden dangers. These islands are aptly
+named, the word "Kurile" being Kamschatkan for smoke; and whether it be
+regarded as given in consequence of the numerous volcanoes which pour
+their fumes into the air, or the all-prevailing fog fostered by the Kuro
+Siwo, or Japanese counterpart of the Gulf stream, the designation is
+equally appropriate.
+
+We entered the Okhotsk Sea by the Nadeshda Channel, so-named after
+Admiral Krusenstern's ship, which was the first civilized vessel that
+passed through its turbulent waters. It separates the islands Rashau and
+Mantaua by about twenty miles, yet so conflicting and violent are the
+currents which eddy and swirl in all parts of it, that without a
+steady, strong, fair wind it is most dangerous to a sailing vessel.
+Thenceforward the navigation was free from difficulty, or at least none
+that we could recognize as such, so we gave all our attention to the
+business which brought us there.
+
+Scarcely any change was needed in our equipment, except the substitution
+of longer harpoons for those we had been using, and the putting away
+of the bomb-guns. These changes were made because the blubber of the
+bowhead is so thick that ordinary harpoons will not penetrate beyond it
+to the muscle, which, unless they do, renders them liable to draw, upon
+a heavy strain. As for the bombs, Yankees hold the mysticetae in such
+supreme contempt that none of them would dream of wasting so expensive
+a weapon as a bomb upon them. I was given to understand by my constant
+crony, Mistah Jones, that there was no more trouble in killing a bowhead
+than in slaughtering a sheep; and that while it was quite true that
+accidents DID occur, they were entirely due to the carelessness or
+clumsiness of the whalemen, and not in any way traceable to a desire on
+the victim's part to do any one harm.
+
+The sea was little encumbered with ice, it being now late in June, so
+that our progress was not at all impeded by the few soft, brashy floes
+that we encountered, none of them hard enough to do a ship's hull any
+damage. In most places the sea was sufficiently shallow to permit of our
+anchoring. For this purpose we used a large kedge, with stout hawser for
+cable, never furling all the sails in case of a strong breeze suddenly
+springing up, which would cause us to drag. This anchoring was very
+comfortable. Besides allowing us to get much more rest than when on
+other cruising-grounds, we were able to catch enormous quantities
+of fish, mostly salmon, of which there were no less than fourteen
+varieties. So plentiful were these splendid fish that we got quite
+critical in our appreciation of them, very soon finding that one kind,
+known as the "nerker," was far better flavoured than any of the others.
+But as the daintiest food palls the quickest, it was not long before we
+got tired of salmon, and wished most heartily for beef.
+
+Much fun has been made of the discontent of sailors. With food which is
+considered a luxury ashore, and wonder expressed that if, as we assert,
+the ordinary dietary of the seaman be so bad, he should be so ready to
+rebel when fed with delicacies. But in justice to the sailor, it ought
+to be remembered that the daintiest food may be rendered disgusting by
+bad cookery, such as is the rule on board merchant ships. "God sends
+meat, but the devil sends cooks" is a proverb which originated on board
+ship, and no one who has ever served any time in a ship's forecastle
+would deny that it is abundantly justified. Besides which, even good
+food well cooked of one kind only, served many times in succession,
+becomes very trying, only the plainest foods, such as bread, rice,
+potatoes, etc., retaining their command of the appetite continually.
+
+I remember once, when upon the Coromandel coast in a big Greenock ship,
+we found fowls very cheap. At Bimliapatam the captain bought two or
+three hundred, which, as we had no coops, were turned loose on deck. We
+had also at the same time prowling about the decks three goats, twenty
+pigs, and two big dogs.
+
+Consequently the state of the ship was filthy, nor could all our efforts
+keep her clean. This farmyard condition of things was permitted to
+continue for about a week, when the officers got so tired of it, and
+the captain so annoyed at the frequent loss of fowls by their flying
+overboard, that the edict went forth to feed the foremast hands on
+poultry till further orders. Great was our delight at the news. Fowl for
+dinner represented to our imagination almost the apex of high living,
+only indulged in by such pampered children of fortune as the officers of
+ships or well-to-do people ashore.
+
+When dinner-time arrived, we boys made haste to the galley with watering
+mouths, joyfully anticipating that rare delight of the sailor--a good
+"feed." The cook uncovered his coppers, plunged his tormentors therein,
+and produced such a succession of ugly corpses of fowls as I had never
+seen before. To each man a whole one was allotted, and we bore the
+steaming hecatomb into the forecastle. The boisterous merriment became
+hushed at our approach, and faces grew lengthy when the unwholesome
+aspect of the "treat" was revealed. Each man secured his bird, and
+commenced operations. But oh, the disappointment, and the bad words!
+What little flesh there was upon the framework of those unhappy fowls
+was like leather itself, and utterly flavourless. It could not well
+have been otherwise. The feathers had been simply scalded off, the heads
+chopped off, and bodies split open to facilitate drawing (I am sure I
+wonder the cook took the trouble to do that much), and thus prepared
+they were cast into a cauldron of boiling salt water. There, with the
+water fiercely bubbling, they were kept for an hour and a half, then
+pitchforked out into the mess kid and set before us. We simply could not
+eat them; no one but a Noumean Kanaka could, for his teeth are equal to
+husking a cocoa-nut, or chopping off a piece of sugar-cane as thick as
+your wrist.
+
+After much heated discussion, it was unanimously resolved to protest at
+once against the substitution of such a fraud as this poultry for our
+legitimate rations of "salt horse." so, bearing the DISJECTA MEMBRA of
+our meal, the whole crowd marched aft, and requested an interview with
+the skipper. He came out of the cabin at once, saying, "Well, boys,
+what's the matter?" The spokesman, a bald-headed Yankee, who had been
+bo'sun's mate of an American man-of-war, stepped forward and said,
+offering his kid, "Jest have a look at that sir." The skipper looked,
+saying, inquiringly, "Well?" "D'yew think, sir," said Nat, "THET'S
+proper grub for men?" "Proper grub! Why, you old sinner, you don't mean
+to say you're goin' to growl about havin' chicken for dinner?" "Well,
+sir, it depends muchly upon the chicken. All I know is, that I've et
+some dam queer tack in my time, but sence I ben fishin' I never had no
+such bundles of sticks parcelled with leather served out to me. I HEV et
+boot--leastways gnawed it; when I was cast away in a open boat for three
+weeks--but it wa'n't bad boot, as boots go. Now, if yew say that these
+things is boots, en thet it's necessary we should eat'em, or starve,
+w'y, we'll think about it. But if yew call'em chickens,'n say you're
+doin' us a kindness by stoppin' our'lowance of meat wile we're wrastlin'
+with 'em, then we say we don't feel obliged to yew, 'n 'll thank yew
+kindly to keep such lugsuries for yerself, 'n give us wot we signed
+for." A murmur of assent confirmed this burst of eloquence, which we all
+considered a very fine effort indeed. A moment's silence ensued; then
+the skipper burst out, "I've often heard of such things, but hang me if
+I ever believed 'em till now! You ungrateful beggars! I'll see you get
+your whack, and no more, from this out. When you get any little extras
+aboard this ship agen, you'll be thankful for 'em; now I tell you." "All
+right, sir," said Nat; "so long as we don't hev to chaw any more of yer
+biled Bimly crows, I dessay we shall worry along as usual." And, as the
+Parliamentary reports say, the proceedings then terminated.
+
+Now, suppose the skipper had told the story to some of his shore
+friends, how very funny the sailors' conduct would have been made to
+appear.
+
+On another occasion long after, when I was mate of a barque loading
+mahogany in Tonala, Mexico, the skipper thought he would practise
+economy by buying a turtle instead of beef. A large turtle was obtained
+for twenty-five cents, and handed over to the cook to be dealt with,
+particular instructions being given him as to the apportionment of the
+meat.
+
+At eight bells there was a gathering of the men in front of the poop,
+and a summons for the captain. When he appeared, the usual stereotyped
+invitation to "have a look at THAT, if you please, sir," was uttered.
+The skipper was, I think, prepared for a protest, for he began to
+bluster immediately. "Look here!" he bawled, "I ain't goin' to 'ave any
+of your dam nonsense. You WANT somethin' to growl about, you do." "Well,
+Cap'n George," said one of the men, "you shorely don't think we k'n eat
+shells, do yer?" Just then I caught sight of the kid's contents, and
+could hardly restrain my indignation. For in a dirty heap, the sight
+of which might have pleased an Esquimaux, but was certainly enough
+to disgust any civilized man, lay the calipee, or under-shell of the
+turtle, hacked into irregular blocks. It had been simply boiled, and
+flung into the kid, an unclean, disgusting heap of shell, with pieces
+of dirty flesh attached in ragged lumps. But the skipper, red-faced and
+angry, answered, "W'y, yer so-and-so ijits, that's wot the Lord Mayor of
+London gives about a guinea a hounce for w'en 'e feeds lords n' dooks.
+Only the haristocracy at 'ome get a charnce to stick their teeth in
+such grub as that. An' 'ere are you lot a-growlin' at 'avin' it for a
+change!" "That's all right, cap'n," said the man; "bein' brort up ter
+such lugsuries, of corse you kin appreshyate it. So if yer keep it fer
+yer own eatin', an' giv us wot we signed for, we shall be werry much
+obliged." "Now, I ain't a-goin' to 'ave none o' YOUR cheek, so you'd
+better git forrard. You can betcher life you won't get no more fresh
+messes this voy'ge." So, with grumbling and ill-will on both sides, the
+conference came to an end. But I thought, and still think, that the
+mess set before those men, who had been working hard since six a.m., was
+unfit for the food of a good dog.
+
+Out of my own experience I might give many other instances of the kind,
+but I hope these will suffice to show that Jack's growling is often
+justified, when both sides of the story are heard.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI. "BOWHEAD" FISHING
+
+Day and night being now only distinguishable by the aid of the clock,
+a constant look-out aloft was kept all through the twenty-four hours,
+watch and watch, but whales were apparently very scarce. We did a good
+deal of "pelagic" sealing; that is, catching seals swimming. But the
+total number obtained was not great, for these creatures are only
+gregarious when at their rocky haunts during the breeding season, or
+among the ice just before that season begins. Our sealing, therefore,
+was only a way of passing the time in the absence of nobler game, to be
+abandoned at once with whales in sight.
+
+It was on the ninth or tenth morning after our arrival on the grounds
+that a bowhead was raised, And two boats sent after him. It was my
+first sight of the great MYSTICETUS, and I must confess to being much
+impressed by his gigantic bulk. From the difference in shape, he looked
+much larger than the largest sperm whale we had yet seen, although we
+had come across some of the very biggest specimens of cachalot.
+
+The contrast between the two animals is most marked, so much so, in
+fact, that one would hardly credit them with belonging to the same
+order. Popular ideas of the whale are almost invariably taken from the
+MYSTICETUS, so that the average individual generally defines a whale
+as a big fish which spouts water out of the top of his head, and cannot
+swallow a herring. Indeed, so lately as last year a popular M.P.,
+writing to one of the religious papers, allowed himself to say that
+"science will not hear of a whale with a gullet capable of admitting
+anything larger than a man's fist"--a piece of crass ignorance, which is
+also perpetrated in the appendix to a very widely-distributed edition of
+the Authorized Version of the Bible. This opinion, strangely enough, is
+almost universally held, although I trust that the admirable models now
+being shown in our splendid Natural History Museum at South Kensington
+will do much to remove it. Not so many people, perhaps, believe that a
+whale is a fish, instead of a mammal, but few indeed are the individuals
+who do not still think that a cetacean possesses a sort of natural
+fountain on the top of its head, whence, for some recondite reason, it
+ejects at regular intervals streams of water into the air.
+
+But a whale can no more force water through its spiracle or blow-hole
+than you or I through our nostrils. It inhales, when at the surface,
+atmospheric air, and exhales breath like ours, which, coming warm into a
+cooler medium, becomes visible, as does our breath on a frosty morning.
+
+Now, the MYSTICETUS carries his nostrils on the summit of his head, or
+crown, the orifice being closed by a beautifully arranged valve when the
+animal is beneath the water. Consequently, upon coming to the surface
+to breathe, he sends up a jet of visible breath into the air some ten
+or twelve feet. The cachalot, on the other hand, has the orifice at the
+point of his square snout, the internal channel running in a slightly
+diagonal direction downwards, and back through the skull to the lungs.
+So when he spouts, the breath is projected forward diagonally, and, from
+some peculiarity which I do not pretend to explain, expends itself in a
+short, bushy tuft of vapour, very distinct from the tall vertical spout
+of the bowhead or right whale.
+
+There was little or no wind when we sighted the individual I am now
+speaking of, so we did not attempt to set sail, but pulled straight
+for him "head and head." Strange as it may appear, the MYSTICETUS'
+best point of view is right behind, or "in his wake," as we say; it is
+therefore part of the code to approach him from right ahead, in which
+direction he cannot see at all. Some time before we reached him he
+became aware of our presence, showing by his uneasy actions that he had
+his doubts about his personal security. But before he had made up his
+mind what to do we were upon him, with our harpoons buried in his back.
+The difference in his behaviour to what we had so long been accustomed
+to was amazing. He did certainly give a lumbering splash or two with his
+immense flukes, but no one could possibly have been endangered by them.
+The water was so shallow that when he sounded it was but for a very few
+minutes; there was no escape for him that way. As soon as he returned
+to the surface he set off at his best gait, but that was so slow that
+we easily hauled up close alongside of him, holding the boats in that
+position without the slightest attempt to guard ourselves from reprisals
+on his part, while the officers searched his vitals with the lances as
+if they were probing a haystack.
+
+Really, the whole affair was so tame that it was impossible to get up
+any fighting enthusiasm over it; the poor, unwieldy creature died meekly
+and quietly as an overgrown seal. In less than an hour from the time of
+leaving the ship we were ready to bring our prize alongside.
+
+Upon coming up to the whale, sail was shortened, and as soon as the
+fluke-chain was passed we anchored. It was, I heard, our skipper's boast
+that he could "skin a bowhead in forty minutes;" and although we were
+certainly longer than that, the celerity with which what seemed a
+gigantic task was accomplished was marvellous. Of course, it was all
+plain-sailing, very unlike the complicated and herculean task inevitable
+at the commencement of cutting-in a sperm whale.
+
+Except for the head work, removing the blubber was effected in precisely
+the same way as in the case of the cachalot. There was a marked
+difference between the quantity of lard enveloping this whale and those
+we had hitherto dealt with. It was nearly double the thickness, besides
+being much richer in oil, which fairly dripped from it as we hoisted
+in the blanket-pieces. The upper jaw was removed for its long plates of
+whalebone or baleen--that valuable substance which alone makes it worth
+while nowadays to go after the MYSTICETUS, the price obtained for the
+oil being so low as to make it not worth while to fit out ships to go in
+search of it alone. "Trying-out" the blubber, with its accompaniments,
+is carried on precisely as with the sperm whale. The resultant oil, when
+recent, is of a clear white, unlike the golden-tinted fluid obtained
+from the cachalot. As it grows stale it developes a nauseous smell,
+which sperm does not, although the odour of the oil is otto of roses
+compared with the horrible mass of putridity landed from the tanks of a
+Greenland whaler at the termination of a cruise. For in those vessels,
+the fishing-time at their disposal being so brief, they do not wait to
+boil down the blubber, but, chopping it into small pieces, pass it below
+as it is into tanks, to be rendered down by the oil-mills ashore on the
+ship's return.
+
+This first bowhead yielded us eighteen tuns of oil and a ton of baleen,
+which made the catch about equal in value to that of a seven-tun
+cachalot. But the amount of labour and care necessary in order to
+thoroughly dry and cleanse the baleen was enormous; in fact, for months
+after we began the bowhead fishery there was almost always something
+being done with the wretched stuff--drying, scraping, etc.--which, as it
+was kept below, also necessitated hoisting it up on deck and getting it
+down again.
+
+After this beginning, it was again a considerable time before we sighted
+any more; but when we did, there were quite a number of them--enough
+to employ all the boats with one each. I was out of the fun this time,
+being almost incapable of moving by reason of several boils on my
+legs--the result, I suppose, of a long abstinence from fresh vegetables,
+or anything to supply their place.
+
+As it happened, however, I lost no excitement by remaining on board;
+for while all the boats were away a large bowhead rose near the ship,
+evidently being harassed in some way by enemies, which I could not at
+first see. He seemed quite unconscious of his proximity to the ship,
+though, and at last came so near that the whole performance was as
+visible as if it had been got up for my benefit. Three "killers" were
+attacking him at once, like wolves worrying a bull, except that his
+motions were far less lively than those of any bull would have been.
+
+The "killer," or ORCA GLADIATOR, is a true whale, but, like the
+cachalot, has teeth. He differs from that great cetacean, though, in a
+most important particular; i.e. by having a complete set in both upper
+and lower jaws, like any other carnivore. For a carnivore indeed is he,
+the very wolf of the ocean, and enjoying, by reason of his extraordinary
+agility as well as comparative worthlessness commercially, complete
+immunity from attack by man. By some authorities he is thought to be
+identical with the grampus, but whalers all consider the animals quite
+distinct. Not having had very long acquaintance with them both, I cannot
+speak emphatically upon this difference of opinion; so far as personal
+observation goes, I agree with the whalers in believing that there is
+much variation both of habits and shape between them.
+
+But to return to the fight. The first inkling I got of what was really
+going on was the leaping of a killer high into the air by the side of
+the whale, and descending upon the victim's broad, smooth back with a
+resounding crash. I saw that the killer was provided with a pair of
+huge fins--one on his back, the other on his belly--which at first sight
+looked as if they were also weapons of offence. A little observation
+convinced me that they were fins only. Again and again the aggressor
+leaped into the air, falling each time on the whale's back, as if to
+beat him into submission.
+
+The sea around foamed and boiled like a cauldron, so that it was only
+occasional glimpses I was able to catch of the two killers, until
+presently the worried whale lifted his head clear out of the surrounding
+smother, revealing the two furies hanging--one on either side--to his
+lips, as if endeavouring to drag his mouth open--which I afterwards saw
+was their principal object, as whenever during the tumult I caught sight
+of them, they were still in the same position. At last the tremendous
+and incessant blows, dealt by the most active member of the trio, seemed
+actually to have exhausted the immense vitality of the great bowhead,
+for he lay supine upon the surface. Then the three joined their forces,
+and succeeded in dragging open his cavernous mouth, into which they
+freely entered, devouring his tongue. This, then, had been their sole
+object, for as soon as they had finished their barbarous feast they
+departed, leaving him helpless and dying to fall an easy prey to our
+returning boats.
+
+Thus, although the four whales captured by the boats had been but small,
+the day's take, augmented by so great a find, was a large one, and it
+was a long time before we got clear of the work it entailed.
+
+From that time forward we saw no whales for six weeks, and, from the
+reports we received from two whalers we "gammed," it appeared that we
+might consider ourselves most fortunate in our catch, since they, who
+had been longer on the ground than ourselves, had only one whale apiece.
+
+In consequence of this information, Captain Slocum decided to go south
+again, and resume the sperm whaling in the North Pacific, near the
+line--at least so the rumour ran; but as we never heard anything
+definitely, we could not feel at all certain of our next destination.
+
+Ever since the fracas at the Bonins between Goliath and his watch,
+the relations between Captain Slocum and the big negro had been
+very strained. Even before the outbreak, as I have remarked upon one
+occasion, it was noticeable that little love was lost between them. Why
+this was so, without anything definite to guide one's reasoning, was
+difficult to understand, for a better seaman or a smarter whaleman than
+Mistah Jones did not live--of that every one was quite sure. Still,
+there was no gainsaying the fact that, churlish and morose as our
+skipper's normal temper always was, he was never so much so as in
+his behaviour towards his able fourth mate, who, being a man of fine,
+sensitive temper, chafed under his unmerited treatment so much as to
+lose flesh, becoming daily more silent, nervous, and depressed. Still,
+there had never been an open rupture, nor did it appear as if there
+would be, so great was the power Captain Slocum possessed over the will
+of everybody on board.
+
+One night, however, as we were nearing the Kuriles again, on our way
+south, leaving the Sea of Okhotsk, I was sitting on the fore side of the
+try-works alone, meditating upon what I would do when once I got
+clear of this miserable business. Futile and foolish, no doubt, my
+speculations were, but only in this way could I forget for a while my
+surroundings, since the inestimable comfort of reading was denied me.
+I had been sitting thus absorbed in thought for nearly an hour, when
+Goliath came and seated himself by my side. We had always been great
+friends, although, owing to the strict discipline maintained on board,
+it was not often we got a chance for a "wee bit crack," as the Scotch
+say. Besides, I was not in his watch, and even now he should rightly
+have been below. He sat for a minute or two silent; then, as if
+compelled to speak, he began in low, fierce whispers to tell me of his
+miserable state of mind. At last, after recapitulating many slights
+and insults he had received silently from the captain, of which I had
+previously known nothing, he became strangely calm. In tones quite
+unlike his usual voice, he said that he was not an American-born negro,
+but a pure African, who had been enslaved in his infancy, with his
+mother, somewhere in the "Hinterland" of Guinea. While still a child,
+his mother escaped with him into Liberia, a where he had remained till
+her death, She was, according to him, an Obeah woman of great power,
+venerated exceedingly by her own people for her prophetic abilities.
+Before her death, she had told him that he would die suddenly,
+violently, in a struggle with a white man in a far-off country, but that
+the white man would die too by his hand. She had also told him that he
+would be a great traveller and hunter upon the sea. As he went on, his
+speech became almost unintelligible, being mingled with fragments of a
+language I had never heard before; moreover, he spoke as a man who is
+only half awake. A strange terror got hold of me, for I began to think
+he was going mad, and perhaps about to run a-mok, as the Malays do when
+driven frantic by the infliction of real or fancied wrongs.
+
+But he gradually returned to his old self, to my great relief, and I
+ventured somewhat timidly to remind him of the esteem in which he was
+held by all hands; even the skipper, I ventured to say, respected him,
+although, from some detestable form of ill-humour, he had chosen to
+be so sneering and insulting towards him. He shook his head sadly, and
+said, "My dear boy, youse de only man aboard dis ship--wite man, dat
+is--dat don't hate an' despise me becawse ob my colour, wich I cain't
+he'p; an' de God you beliebe in bless you fer dat. As fer me, w'at I
+done tole you's true,'n befo' bery little w'ile you see it COME true.
+'N w'en DAT happens w'at's gwine ter happen, I'se real glad to tink it
+gwine ter be better fer you--gwine ter be better fer eberybody 'bord de
+CACH'LOT; but I doan keer nuffin 'bout anybody else. So long." He held
+out his great black hand, and shook mine heartily, while a big tear
+rolled down his face and fell on the deck. And with that he left me a
+prey to a very whirlpool of conflicting thoughts and fears.
+
+The night was a long and weary one--longer and drearier perhaps because
+of the absence of the darkness, which always made it harder to sleep.
+An incessant day soon becomes, to those accustomed to the relief of the
+night, a burden grievous to be borne; and although use can reconcile
+us to most things, and does make even the persistent light bearable,
+in times of mental distress or great physical weariness one feels
+irresistibly moved to cry earnestly, "Come, gentle night."
+
+When I came on deck at eight bells, it was a stark calm. The watch,
+under Mistah Jones' direction, were busy scrubbing decks with the usual
+thoroughness, while the captain, bare-footed, with trouser-legs and
+shirt-sleeves rolled up, his hands on his hips and a portentous frown on
+his brow, was closely looking on. As it was my spell at the crow's-nest,
+I made at once for the main-rigging, and had got halfway to the top,
+when some unusual sounds below arrested me.
+
+All hands were gathered in the waist, a not unusual thing at the
+changing of the watch. In the midst of them, as I looked down, two men
+came together in a fierce struggle. They were Goliath and the skipper.
+Captain Slocum's right hand went naturally to his hip pocket, where he
+always carried a revolver; but before he could draw it, the long, black
+arms of his adversary wrapped around him, making him helpless as a babe.
+Then, with a rush that sent every one flying out of his way, Goliath
+hurled himself at the bulwarks, which were low, the top of the rail
+about thirty-three inches from the deck. The two bodies struck the rail
+with a heavy thud, instantly toppling overboard. That broke the spell
+that bound everybody, so that there was an instantaneous rush to the
+side. Only a hardly noticeable ripple remained on the surface of the
+placid sea.
+
+But, from my lofty perch, the whole of the ghastly struggle had been
+visible to the least detail. The two men had struck the water locked in
+closest embrace, which relaxed not even when far below the surface. When
+the sea is perfectly smooth, objects are visible from aloft at several
+feet depth, though apparently diminished in size. The last thing I saw
+was Captain Slocum's white face, with its starting black eyes looking
+their last upon the huge, indefinite hull of the ship whose occupants he
+had ruled so long and rigidly.
+
+The whole tragedy occupied such a brief moment of time that it was
+almost impossible to realize that it was actual. Reason, however, soon
+regained her position among the officers, who ordered the closest watch
+to be kept from aloft, in case of the rising of either or both of the
+men. A couple of boats were swung, ready to drop on the instant. But,
+as if to crown the tragedy with completeness, a heavy squall, which
+had risen unnoticed, suddenly burst upon the ship with great fury, the
+lashing hail and rain utterly obscuring vision even for a few yards.
+So unexpected was the onset of this squall that, for the only time that
+voyage, we lost some canvas through not being able to get it in quick
+enough. The topgallant halyards were let go; but while the sails were
+being clewed up, the fierce wind following the rain caught them from
+their confining gear, rending them into a thousand shreds. For an hour
+the squall raged--a tempest in brief--then swept away to the south-east
+on its furious journey, leaving peace again. Needless perhaps to say,
+that after such a squall it was hopeless to look for our missing ones.
+The sudden storm had certainly driven us several miles away front the
+spot where they disappeared, and, although we carefully made what haste
+was possible back along the line we were supposed to have come, not
+a vestige of hope was in any one's mind that we should ever see them
+again.
+
+Nor did we. Whether that madness, which I had feared was coming upon
+Goliath during our previous night's conversation, suddenly overpowered
+him and impelled him to commit the horrible deed, what more had
+passed between him and the skipper to even faintly justify so awful a
+retaliation--these things were now matters of purest speculation. As if
+they had never been, the two men were blotted out--gone before God in
+full-blown heat of murder and revengeful fury.
+
+On the same evening Mr. Count mustered all hands on the quarter-deck,
+and addressed us thus: "Men, Captain Slocum is dead, and, as a
+consequence, I command the ship. Behave yourself like men, not presuming
+upon kindness or imagining that I am a weak, vacillating old man with
+whom you can do as you like, and you will find in me a skipper who will
+do his duty by you as far as lies in his power, nor expect more from you
+than you ought to render. If, however, you DO try any tricks, remember
+that I am an old hand, equal to most of the games that men get up to.
+I do want--if you will help me--to make this a comfortable as well as a
+successful ship. I hope with all my heart we shall succeed."
+
+In answer to this manly and affecting little speech, which confirmed
+my previous estimate of Captain Count's character, were he but free to
+follow the bent of his natural, kindly inclinations, and which I have
+endeavoured to translate out of his usual dialect, a hearty cheer
+was raised by all hands, the first ebullition of general good feeling
+manifested throughout the voyage. Hearts rose joyfully at the prospect
+of comfort to be gained by thoughtfulness on the part of the commander;
+nor from that time forward did any sign of weariness of the ship or
+voyage show itself among us, either on deck or below.
+
+The news soon spread among us that, in consequence of the various losses
+of boats and gear, the captain deemed it necessary to make for Honolulu,
+where fresh supplies could readily be obtained. We had heard many
+glowing accounts from visitors, when "gamming," of the delights of this
+well-known port of call for whalers, and under our new commander we had
+little doubt that we should be allowed considerable liberty during our
+stay. So we were quite impatient to get along fretting considerably at
+the persistent fogs which prevented our making much progress while in
+the vicinity of the Kuriles. But we saw no more bowheads, for which none
+of us forward were at all sorry. We had got very tired of the stink
+of their blubber, and the never-ending worry connected with the
+preservation of the baleen; besides, we had not yet accumulated any
+fund of enthusiasm about getting a full ship, except as a reason for
+shortening the voyage, and we quite understood that what black oil we
+had got would be landed at Hawaii, so that our visit to the Okhotsk Sea,
+with its resultant store of oil, had not really brought our return home
+any nearer, as we at first hoped it would.
+
+A great surprise was in store for me. I knew that Captain Count was
+favourably inclined towards me, for he had himself told me so, but
+nothing was further from my thoughts than promotion. However, one Sunday
+afternoon, when we were all peacefully enjoying the unusual rest (we
+had no Sundays in Captain Slocum's time), the captain sent for me. He
+informed me that, after mature consideration, he had chosen me to fill
+the vacancy made by the death of Mistah Jones. Mr. Cruce was now mate;
+the waspish little third had become second; Louis Silva, the captain's
+favourite harpooner was third; and I was to be fourth. Not feeling at
+all sure of how the other harpooners would take my stepping over their
+heads, I respectfully demurred to the compliment offered me, stating
+my reasons. But the captain said he had fully made up his mind,
+after consultation with the other officers, and that I need have no
+apprehension on the score of the harpooners' jealousy; that they
+had been spoken to on the subject, and they were all agreed that the
+captain's choice was the best, especially as none of them knew anything
+of navigation, or could write their own names.
+
+In consequence of there being none of the crew fit to take a harpooner's
+place, I was now really harpooner of the captain's boat, which he
+would continue to work, when necessary, until we were able to ship a
+harpooner, which he hoped to do at Hawaii.
+
+The news of my promotion was received in grim silence by the Portuguese
+forward, but the white men all seemed pleased. This was highly
+gratifying to me, for I had tried my best to be helpful to all, as far
+as my limited abilities would let me; nor do I think I had an enemy
+in the ship. Behold me, then, a full-blown "mister," with a definite
+substantial increase in my prospects of pay of nearly one-third,
+in addition to many other advantages, which, under the new captain,
+promised exceedingly well.
+
+More than half the voyage lay behind us, looking like the fast-settling
+bank of storm-clouds hovering above the tempest-tossed sea so lately
+passed, while ahead the bright horizon was full of promise of fine
+weather for the remainder of the journey.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII. VISIT TO HONOLULU
+
+Right glad were we all when, after much fumbling and box-hauling about,
+we once more felt the long, familiar roll of the Pacific swell, and saw
+the dim fastnesses of the smoky islands fading into the lowering gloom
+astern. Most deep-water sailors are familiar, by report if not by actual
+contact, with the beauties of the Pacific islands, and I had often
+longed to visit them to see for myself whether the half that had been
+told me was true. Of course, to a great number of seafaring men, the
+loveliness of those regions counts for nothing, their desirability
+being founded upon the frequent opportunities of unlimited indulgence in
+debauchery. To such men, a "missionary" island is a howling wilderness,
+and the missionaries themselves the subjects of the vilest abuse as well
+as the most boundless lying.
+
+No one who has travelled with his eyes open would assert that all
+missionaries were wise, prudent, or even godly men; while it is a great
+deal to be regretted that so much is made of hardships which in a
+large proportion of cases do not exist, the men who are supposed to be
+enduring them being immensely better off and more comfortable than they
+would ever have been at home. Undoubtedly the pioneers of missionary
+enterprise had, almost without exception, to face dangers and miseries
+past telling, but that is the portion of pioneers in general. In these
+days, however, the missionary's lot in Polynesia is not often a hard
+one, and in many cases it is infinitely to be preferred to a life among
+the very poor of our great cities.
+
+But when all has been said that can be said against the missionaries,
+the solid bastion of fact remains that, in consequence of their labours,
+the whole vile character of the populations of the Pacific has been
+changed, and where wickedness runs riot to-day, it is due largely to the
+hindrances placed in the way of the noble efforts of the missionaries
+by the unmitigated scoundrels who vilify them. The task of spreading
+Christianity would not, after all, be so difficult were it not for the
+efforts of those apostles of the devil to keep the islands as they would
+like them to be--places where lust runs riot day and night, murder may
+be done with impunity, slavery flourishes, and all evil may be indulged
+in free from law, order, or restraint.
+
+It speaks volumes for the inherent might of the Gospel that, in spite of
+the object-lessons continually provided for the natives by white men of
+the negation of all good, that it has stricken its roots so deeply into
+the soil of the Pacific islands. Just as the best proof of the reality
+of the Gospel here in England is that it survives the incessant assaults
+upon it from within by its professors, by those who are paid, and highly
+paid, to propagate it, by the side of whose deadly doings the efforts
+of so-called infidels are but as the battery of a summer breeze; so
+in Polynesia, were not the principles of Christianity vital with an
+immortal and divine life, missionary efforts might long ago have ceased
+in utter despair at the fruitlessness of the field.
+
+We were enjoying a most uneventful passage, free from any serious
+changes either of wind or weather which quiet time was utilised to
+the utmost in making many much-needed additions to the running-gear,
+repairing rigging, etc. Any work involving the use of new material had
+been put off from time to time during the previous part of the voyage
+till the ship aloft was really in a dangerous condition. This was
+due entirely to the peculiar parsimony of our late skipper, who could
+scarcely bring himself to broach a coil of rope, except for whaling
+purposes. The same false economy had prevailed with regard to paint
+and varnish, so that the vessel, while spotlessly clean, presented a
+worn-out weather-beaten appearance. Now, while the condition of life on
+board was totally different to what it had been, as regards comfort and
+peace, discipline and order were maintained at the same high level as
+always, though by a different method--in fact, I believe that a great
+deal more work was actually done, certainly much more that was useful
+and productive; for Captain Count hated, as much as any foremast hand
+among us, the constant, remorseless grind of iron-work polishing,
+paint-work scrubbing, and holystoning, all of which, though necessary
+in a certain degree, when kept up continually for the sole purpose
+of making work--a sort of elaborated tread-mill, in fact--becomes the
+refinement of cruelty to underfed, unpaid, and hopeless men.
+
+So, while the CACHALOT could have fearlessly challenged comparison with
+any ship afloat for cleanliness and neatness of appearance, the hands no
+longer felt that they were continually being "worked up" or "hazed" for
+the sole, diabolical satisfaction of keeping them "at it." Of course,
+the incidence of the work was divided, since so many of the crew
+were quite unable to do any sailorizing, as we term work in sails and
+rigging. Upon them, then, fell all the common labour, which can be done
+by any unskilled man or woman afloat or ashore.
+
+Of this work a sailor's duties are largely made up, but when good people
+ashore wonder "whatever sailors do with their time," it would be useful
+for them to remember that a ship is a huge and complicated machine,
+needing constant repairs, which can only be efficiently performed by
+skilled workmen. An "A.B." or able seaman's duties are legally supposed
+to be defined by the three expressions, "hand, reef, and steer." If
+he can do those three things, which mean furling or making fast sails,
+reefing them, and steering the ship, his wages cannot be reduced for
+incompetency. Yet these things are the A B C of seamanship only. A
+good SEAMAN is able to make all the various knots, splices, and other
+arrangements in hempen or wire rope, without which a ship cannot be
+rigged; he can make a sail, send up or down yards and masts, and do
+many other things, the sum total of which need several years of steady
+application to learn, although a good seaman is ever learning.
+
+Such seamen are fast becoming extinct. They are almost totally
+unnecessary in steamships, except when the engines break down in a gale
+of wind, and the crowd of navvies forming the crew stand looking at one
+another when called upon to set sail or do any other job aloft. THEN the
+want of seamen is rather severely felt. But even in sailing ships--the
+great, overgrown tanks of two thousand tons and upwards--mechanical
+genius has utilized iron to such an extent in their rigging that
+sailor-work has become very largely a matter of blacksmithing. I make no
+complaint of this, not believing that the "old was better;" but, since
+the strongest fabric of man's invention comes to grief sometimes in
+conflict with the irresistible sea, some provision should be made
+for having a sufficiency of seamen who could exercise their skill in
+refitting a dismasted ship, or temporarily replacing broken blacksmith
+work by old-fashioned rope and wood.
+
+But, as the sailing ship is doomed inevitably to disappear before steam,
+perhaps it does not matter much. The economic march of the world's
+progress will never be stayed by sentimental considerations, nor will
+all the romance and poetry in the world save the seaman from extinction,
+if his place can be more profitably filled by the engineer. From all
+appearances, it soon will be, for even now marine superintendents of
+big lines are sometimes engineers, and in their hands lie the duty of
+engaging the officers. It would really seem as if the ship of the near
+future would be governed by the chief engineer, under whose direction a
+pilot or sailing-master would do the necessary navigation, without power
+to interfere in any matter of the ship's economy. Changes as great have
+taken place in other professions; seafaring cannot hope to be the sole
+exception.
+
+So, edging comfortably along, we gradually neared the Sandwich Islands
+without having seen a single spout worth watching since the tragedy.
+At last the lofty summits of the island mountains hove in sight,
+and presently we came to an anchor in that paradise of whalers,
+missionaries, and amateur statesmen--Honolulu. As it is as well known
+to most reading people as our own ports--better perhaps--I shall not
+attempt to describe it, or pit myself against the able writers who have
+made it so familiar. Yet to me it was a new world. All things were
+so strange, so delightful, especially the lovable, lazy, fascinating
+Kanakas, who could be so limply happy over a dish of poi, or a green
+cocoa-nut, or even a lounge in the sun, that it seemed an outrage to
+expect them to work. In their sports they could be energetic enough. I
+do not know of any more delightful sight than to watch them bathing
+in the tremendous surf, simply intoxicated with the joy of living,
+as unconscious of danger as if swinging in a hammock while riding
+triumphantly upon the foaming summit of an incoming breaker twenty feet
+high, or plunging with a cataract over the dizzy edge of its cliff,
+swallowed up in the hissing vortex below, only to reappear with a scream
+of riotous laughter in the quiet eddy beyond.
+
+As far as I could judge, they were the happiest of people, literally
+taking no thought for the morrow, and content with the barest
+necessaries of life, so long as they were free and the sun shone
+brightly. We had many opportunities of cultivating their acquaintance,
+for the captain allowed us much liberty, quite one-half of the crew and
+officers being ashore most of the time. Of course, the majority spent
+all their spare time in the purlieus of the town, which, like all such
+places anywhere, were foul and filthy enough; but that was their own
+faults. I have often wondered much to see men, who on board ship were
+the pink of cleanliness and neatness, fastidious to a fault in all they
+did, come ashore and huddle in the most horrible of kennels, among the
+very dregs and greaves of the 'long-shore district. It certainly wants a
+great deal of explanation; but I suppose the most potent reason is, that
+sailors, as a class, never learn to enjoy themselves rationally. They
+are also morbidly suspicions of being taken in hand by anybody who
+would show them anything worth seeing, preferring to be led by the human
+sharks that infest all seaports into ways of strange nastiness, and so
+expensive withal that one night of such wallowing often costs them more
+than a month's sane recreation and good food would. All honour to the
+devoted men and women who labour in our seaports for the moral and
+material benefit of the sailor, passing their lives amidst sights and
+sounds shocking and sickening to the last degree, reviled, unthanked,
+unpaid. Few are the missionaries abroad whose lot is so hard as theirs.
+
+We spent ten happy days in Honolulu, marred only by one or two drunken
+rows among the chaps forward, which, however, resulted in their getting
+a severe dressing down in the forecastle, where good order was now kept.
+There had been no need for interference on the part of the officers,
+which I was glad to see, remembering what would have happened under such
+circumstances not long ago. Being short-handed, the captain engaged a
+number of friendly islanders for a limited period, on the understanding
+that they were to be discharged at their native place, Vau Vau. There
+were ten of them, fine stalwart fellows, able bodied and willing as
+possible. They were cleanly in their habits, and devout members of the
+Wesleyan body, so that their behaviour was quite a reproach to some of
+our half-civilized crew. Berths were found for them in the forecastle,
+and they took their places among us quite naturally, being fairly well
+used to a whale-ship.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII. ON THE "LINE" GROUNDS
+
+We weighed at last, one morning, with a beautiful breeze, and, bidding
+a long farewell to the lovely isles and their amiable inhabitants, stood
+at sea, bound for the "line" or equatorial grounds on our legitimate
+business of sperm whaling. It was now a long while since we had been in
+contact with a cachalot, the last one having been killed by us on the
+Coast of Japan some six months before. But we all looked forward to the
+coming campaign with considerable joy, for we were now a happy family,
+interested in the work, and, best of all, even if the time was still
+distant, we were, in a sense, homeward bound. At any rate, we all chose
+so to think, from the circumstance that we were now working to the
+southward, towards Cape Horn, the rounding of which dreaded point would
+mark the final stage of our globe-encircling voyage.
+
+We had, during our stay at Honolulu, obtained a couple of grand boats in
+addition to our stock, and were now in a position to man and lower five
+at once, if occasion should arise, still leaving sufficient crew on
+board to work the vessel. The captain had also engaged an elderly seaman
+of his acquaintance--out of pure philanthropy, as we all thought,
+since he was in a state of semi-starvation ashore--to act as a kind of
+sailing-master, so as to relieve the captain of ship duty at whaling
+time, allowing him still to head his boat. This was not altogether
+welcome news to me, for, much as I liked the old man and admired his
+pluck, I could not help dreading his utter recklessness when on a
+whale, which had so often led to a smash-up that might have been easily
+avoided. Moreover, I reasoned that if he had been foolhardy before, he
+was likely to be much more so now, having no superior to look black
+or use language when a disaster occurred. For now I was his harpooner,
+bound to take as many risks as he chose to incur, and anxious also
+to earn a reputation among the more seasoned whalemen for smartness
+sufficient to justify my promotion.
+
+The Kanakas shipped at Honolulu were distributed among the boats, two
+to each, being already trained whalemen, and a fine lot of fellows they
+were. My two--Samuela and Polly--were not very big men, but sturdy,
+nimble as cats, as much at home in the water as on deck, and simply
+bubbling over with fun and good-humour. From my earliest sea-going,
+I have always had a strong liking for natives of tropical countries,
+finding them affectionate and amenable to kindness. Why, I think, white
+men do not get on with darkies well, as a rule, is, that they seldom
+make an appeal to the MAN, in them. It is very degrading to find one's
+self looked down upon as a sort of animal without reason or feelings;
+and if you degrade a man, you deprive him of any incentive to make
+himself useful, except the brute one you may feel bound to apply
+yourself. My experience has been limited to Africans (of sorts),
+Kanakas, natives of Hindostan, Malagasy, and Chinese; but with all these
+I have found a little COMARADERIE answer excellently. True, they are
+lazy; but what inducement have they to work? The complicated needs
+of our civilized existence compel US to work, or be run over by the
+unresting machine; but I take leave to doubt whether any of us with a
+primitive environment would not be as lazy as any Kanaka that ever dozed
+under a banana tree through daylight hours. Why, then, make an exalted
+virtue of the necessity which drives us, and objurgate the poor black
+man because he prefers present ease to a doubtful prospective retirement
+on a competency? Australian blackfellows and Malays are said to be
+impervious to kind treatment by a great number of witnesses, the former
+appearing incapable of gratitude, and the latter unable to resist the
+frequent temptation to kill somebody. Not knowing anything personally of
+either of these races, I can say nothing for or against them.
+
+All the coloured individuals that I have had to do with have amply
+repaid any little kindness shown them with fidelity and affection, but
+especially has this been the case with Kanakas, The soft and melodious
+language spoken by them is easy to acquire, and is so pleasant to speak
+that it is well worth learning, to say nothing of the convenience to
+yourself, although the Kanaka speedily picks up the mutilated jargon
+which does duty for English on board ship.
+
+What I specially longed for now was a harpooner, or even two, so that
+I might have my boat to myself, the captain taking his own boat with
+a settled harpooner. Samuela, the biggest of my two Kanakas, very
+earnestly informed me that he was no end of a "number one" whale
+slaughterer; but I judged it best to see how things went before asking
+to have him promoted. My chance, and his, came very promptly; so nicely
+arranged, too, that I could not have wished for anything better. The
+skipper had got a fine, healthy boil on one knee-cap, and another on
+his wrist, so that he was, as you may say, HORS DE COMBAT. While he was
+impatiently waiting to get about once more, sperm whales were raised.
+Although nearly frantic with annoyance, he was compelled to leave the
+direction of things to Mr. Cruce, who was quite puffed up with the
+importance of his opportunity.
+
+Such a nice little school of cow-whales, a lovely breeze, clear sky,
+warm weather--I felt as gay as a lark at the prospect. As we were
+reaching to windward, with all boats ready for lowering, the skipper
+called me aft and said, "Naow, Mr. Bullen, I cain't lower, because of
+this condemned leg'n arm of mine; but how'r yew goin' ter manage 'thout
+a harpooneer?" I suggested that if he would allow me to try Samuela, who
+was suffering for a chance to distinguish himself, we would "come out on
+top." "All right," he said; "but let the other boats get fast first,
+'n doan be in too much of a hurry to tie yerself up till ya see what's
+doin'. If everythin's goin' bizness-fashion', 'n yew git a chance, sail
+right in; yew got ter begin some time. But ef thet Kanaka looks
+skeered goin' on, take the iron frum him ter onct." I promised, and the
+interview ended.
+
+When I told Samuela, of his chance, he was beside himself with joy. As
+to his being scared, the idea was manifestly absurd. He was as pleased
+with the prospect as it was possible for a man to be, and hardly able
+to contain himself for impatience to be off. I almost envied him his
+exuberant delight, for a sense of responsibility began to weigh upon me
+with somewhat depressing effect.
+
+We gained a good weather-gage, rounded to, and lowered four boats.
+Getting away in good style, we had barely got the sails up, when
+something gallied the school. We saw or heard nothing to account for it,
+but undoubtedly the "fish" were off at top speed dead to windward, so
+that our sails were of no use. We had them in with as little delay as
+possible, and lay to our oars for all we were worth, being fresh and
+strong, as well as anxious to get amongst them. But I fancy all our
+efforts would have availed us little had it not been for the experience
+of Mr. Cruce, whose eager eye detected the fact that the fish were
+running on a great curve, and shaped our course to cut them off along a
+chord of the arc.
+
+Two and a half hours of energetic work was required of us before we got
+on terms with the fleeing monsters; but at last, to our great joy,
+they broke water from sounding right among us. It was a considerable
+surprise, but we were all ready, and before they had spouted twice,
+three boats were fast, only myself keeping out, in accordance with my
+instructions. Samuela was almost distraught with rage and grief at the
+condition of things. I quite pitied him, although I was anything but
+pleased myself. However, when I ranged up alongside the mate's fish, to
+render what assistance was needed, he shouted to me, "We's all right;
+go'n git fas', if yew kin." That was enough, and away we flew after a
+retreating spout to leeward. Before we got there, though, there was an
+upheaval in the water just ahead, and up came a back like a keelless
+ship bottom up. Out came the head belonging to it, and a spout like
+an explosion burst forth, denoting the presence of an enormous
+bull-cachalot. Close by his side was a cow of about one-third his size,
+the favoured sultana of his harem, I suppose. Prudence whispered,
+"Go for the cow;" ambition hissed, "All or none--the bull, the bull."
+Fortunately emergencies of this kind leave one but a second or two to
+decide, as a rule; in this case, as it happened, I was spared even
+that mental conflict, for as we ran up between the two vast creatures,
+Samuela, never even looking at the cow, hurled his harpoon, with all
+the energy that he had been bursting with so long, at the mighty bull.
+I watched its flight--saw it enter the black mass and disappear to the
+shaft, and almost immediately came the second iron, within a foot of the
+first, burying itself in the same solid fashion.
+
+"Starn--starn all!" I shouted; and we backed slowly away, considerably
+hampered by the persistent attentions of the cow, who hung round
+us closely. The temptation to lance her was certainly great, but I
+remembered the fate that had overtaken the skipper on the first occasion
+we struck whales, and did not meddle with her ladyship. Our prey was not
+apparently disposed to kick up much fuss at first, so, anxious to settle
+matters, I changed ends with Samuela, and pulled in on the whale. A
+good, steady lance-thrust--the first I had ever delivered--was obtained,
+sending a thrill of triumph through my whole body. The recipient,
+thoroughly roused by this, started off at a great lick, accompanied,
+somewhat to my surprise, by the cow. Thenceforward for another hour,
+in spite of all our efforts, we could not get within striking distance,
+mainly because of the close attention of the cow, which stuck to her
+lord like a calf to its mother. I was getting so impatient of this
+hindrance, that it was all I could do to restrain myself from lancing
+the cow, though I felt convinced that, if I did, I should spoil a good
+job. Suddenly I caught sight of the ship right ahead. We were still
+flying along, so that in a short time we were comparatively close to
+her. My heart beat high and I burned to distinguish myself under the
+friendly and appreciative eye of the skipper.
+
+None of the other boats were in sight, from our level at least, so that
+I had a reasonable hope of being able to finish my game, with all the
+glory thereunto attaching, unshared by any other of my fellow-officers.
+As we ran quite closely past the ship, calling on the crew to haul up
+for all they were worth, we managed actually to squeeze past the cow,
+and I got in a really deadly blow. The point of the lance entered just
+between the fin and the eye, but higher up, missing the broad plate of
+the shoulder-blade, and sinking its whole four feet over the hitches
+right down into the animal's vitals. Then, for the first time, he threw
+up his flukes, thrashing them from side to side almost round to his
+head, and raising such a turmoil that we were half full of water in
+a moment. But Samuela was so quick at the steer-oar, so lithe and
+forceful, and withal appeared so to anticipate every move of mine, that
+there seemed hardly any danger.
+
+After a few moments of this tremendous exertion, our victim settled
+down, leaving the water deeply stained with his gushing blood. With him
+disappeared his constant companion, the faithful cow, who had never left
+his side a minute since we first got fast. Down, down they went, until
+my line began to look very low, and I was compelled to make signals to
+the ship for more. We had hardly elevated the oars, when down dropped
+the last boat with four men in her, arriving by my side in a few minutes
+with two fresh tubs of tow-line. We took them on board, and the boat
+returned again. By the time the slack came we had about four hundred and
+fifty fathoms out--a goodly heap to pile up loose in our stern-sheets. I
+felt sure, however, that we should have but little more trouble with our
+fish; in fact, I was half afraid that he would die before getting to
+the surface, in which case he might sink and be lost. We hauled steadily
+away, the line not coming in very easily, until I judged there was only
+about another hundred fathoms out. Our amazement may be imagined, when
+suddenly we were compelled to sleek away again, the sudden weight on the
+line suggesting that the fish was again sounding. If ever a young hand
+was perplexed, it was I. Never before had I heard of such unseemly
+behaviour, nor was my anxiety lessened when I saw, a short distance
+away, the huge body of my prize at the surface spouting blood. At the
+same time, I was paying out line at a good rate, as if I had a fast fish
+on which was sounding briskly.
+
+The skipper had been watching me very closely from his seat on the
+taffrail, and had kept the ship within easy distance. Now, suspecting
+something out of the common, he sent the boat again to my assistance,
+in charge of the cooper. When that worthy arrived, he said, "Th' ol' man
+reckens yew've got snarled erp'ith thet ar' loose keow, 'n y'r irons hev
+draw'd from th' other. I'm gwine ter wait on him,'n get him 'longside
+'soon's he's out'er his flurry. Ole man sez yew'd best wait on what's
+fast t' yer an' nev' mine th' other." Away he went, reaching my prize
+just as the last feeble spout exhaled, leaving the dregs of that great
+flood of life trickling lazily down from the widely expanded spiracle.
+To drive a harpoon into the carcass, and run the line on board, was the
+simplest of jobs, for, as the captain had foreseen, my irons were drawn
+clean. I had no leisure to take any notice of them now, though, for
+whatever was on my line was coming up hand-over-fist.
+
+With a bound it reached the surface--the identical cow so long attendant
+upon the dead whale. Having been so long below for such a small whale,
+she was quite exhausted, and before she had recovered we had got
+alongside of her and lanced her, so thoroughly that she died without
+a struggle. The ship was so close that we had her alongside in a
+wonderfully short time, and with scarcely any trouble.
+
+When I reached the deck, the skipper called me, and said several things
+that made me feel about six inches taller. He was, as may be thought,
+exceedingly pleased, saying that only once in his long career had he
+seen a similar case; for I forgot to mention that the line was entangled
+around the cow's down-hanging jaw, as if she had actually tried to bite
+in two the rope that held her consort, and only succeeded in sharing
+his fate. I would not like to say that whales do not try to thus sever a
+line, but, their teeth being several inches apart, conical, and fitting
+into sockets in the upper jaw instead of meeting the opposed surfaces
+of other teeth, the accomplishment of such a feat must, I think, be
+impossible.
+
+The ship being now as good as anchored by the vast mass of flesh hanging
+to her, there was a tremendous task awaiting us to get the other fish
+alongside. Of course they were all to windward; they nearly always are,
+unless the ship is persistently "turned to windward" while the fishing
+is going on. Whalers believe that they always work up into the wind
+while fast, and, when dead, it is certain that they drift at a pretty
+good rate right in the "wind's eye." This is accounted for by the play
+of the body, which naturally lies head to wind; and the wash of the
+flukes, which, acting somewhat like the "sculling" of an oar at the
+stern of a boat, propel the carcass in the direction it is pointing,
+Consequently we had a cruel amount of towing to do before we got the
+three cows alongside. Many a time we blessed ourselves that they were no
+bigger, for of all the clumsy things to tow with boats, a sperm whale
+is about the worst. Owing to the great square mass of the head, they can
+hardly be towed head-on at all, the practice being to cut off the tips
+of the flukes, and tow them tail first. But even then it is slavery. To
+dip your oar about three times in the same hole from whence you withdrew
+it, to tug at it with all your might, apparently making as much progress
+as though you were fast to a dock-wall, and to continue this fun for
+four or five hours at a stretch, is to wonder indeed whether you have
+not mistaken your vocation.
+
+However, "it's dogged as does it," so by dint of sheer sticking to the
+oar, we eventually succeeded in getting all our prizes alongside before
+eight bells that evening, securing them around us by hawsers to the
+cows, but giving the big bull the post of honour alongside on the best
+fluke-chain.
+
+We were a busy company for a fortnight thence, until the last of the oil
+was run below--two hundred and fifty barrels, or twenty-five tuns,
+of the valuable fluid having rewarded our exertions. During these
+operations we had drifted night and day, apparently without anybody
+taking the slightest account of the direction we were taking; when,
+therefore, on the day after clearing up the last traces of our fishing,
+the cry of "Land ho!" came ringing down from the crow's-nest, no one was
+surprised, although the part of the Pacific in which we were cruising
+has but few patches of TERRA FIRMA scattered about over its immense area
+when compared with the crowded archipelagoes lying farther south and
+east.
+
+We could not see the reported land from the deck for two hours after
+it was first seen from aloft, although the odd spectacle of a scattered
+group of cocoa-nut trees apparently growing out of the sea was for some
+time presented to us before the island itself came into view. It
+was Christmas Island, where the indefatigable Captain Cook landed on
+December 24, 1777, for the purpose of making accurate observations of an
+eclipse of the sun. He it was who gave to this lonely atoll the name it
+has ever since borne, with characteristic modesty giving his own great
+name to a tiny patch of coral which almost blocks the entrance to the
+central lagoon. Here we lay "off and on" for a couple of days, while
+foraging parties went ashore, returning at intervals with abundance
+of turtle and sea-fowls' eggs. But any detailed account of their
+proceedings must be ruthlessly curtailed, owing to the scanty limits of
+space remaining.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX. EDGING SOUTHWARD
+
+The line whaling grounds embrace an exceedingly extensive area, over the
+whole of which sperm whales may be found, generally of medium size. No
+means of estimating the probable plenty or scarcity of them in any given
+part of the grounds exist, so that falling in with them is purely a
+matter of coincidence. To me it seems a conclusive proof of the enormous
+numbers of sperm whales frequenting certain large breadths of ocean,
+that they should be so often fallen in with, remembering what a little
+spot is represented by a day's cruise, and that the signs which denote
+almost infallibly the vicinity of right whales are entirely absent in
+the case of the cachalot. In the narrow waters of the Greenland seas,
+with quite a small number of vessels seeking, it is hardly possible for
+a whale of any size to escape being seen; but in the open ocean a goodly
+fleet may cruise over a space of a hundred thousand square miles without
+meeting any of the whales that may yet be there in large numbers. So
+that when one hears talk of the extinction of the cachalot, it is well
+to bear in mind that such a thing would take a long series of years to
+effect, even were the whaling business waxing instead of waning, While,
+however, South Sea whaling is conducted on such old-world methods
+as still obtain; while steam, with all the power it gives of rapidly
+dealing with a catch, is not made use of, the art and mystery of the
+whale-fisher must continually decrease. No such valuable lubricant has
+ever been found as sperm oil; but the cost of its production, added to
+the precarious nature of the supply, so handicaps it in the competition
+with substitutes that it has been practically eliminated from the
+English markets, except in such greatly adulterated forms as to render
+it a lie to speak of the mixture as sperm oil at all.
+
+Except to a few whose minds to them are kingdoms, and others who
+can hardly be said to have any minds at all, the long monotony of
+unsuccessful seeking for whales is very wearying. The ceaseless motion
+of the vessel rocking at the centre of a circular space of blue, with a
+perfectly symmetrical dome of azure enclosing her above, unflecked by
+a single cloud, becomes at last almost unbearable from its changeless
+sameness of environment. Were it not for the trivial round and common
+task of everyday ship duty, some of the crew must become idiotic, or, in
+sheer rage at the want of interest in their lives, commit mutiny.
+
+Such a weary time was ours for full four weeks after sighting Christmas
+Island. The fine haul we had obtained just previous to that day seemed
+to have exhausted our luck for the time being, for never a spout did we
+see. And it was with no ordinary delight that we hailed the advent of
+an immense school of black-fish, the first we had run across for a long
+time. Determined to have a big catch, if possible, we lowered all five
+boats, as it was a beautifully calm day, and the ship might almost
+safely have been left to look after herself. After what we had recently
+been accustomed to, the game seemed trifling to get up much excitement
+over; but still, for a good day's sport, commend me to a few lively
+black-fish.
+
+In less than ten minutes we were in the thick of the crowd, with
+harpoons flying right and left. Such a scene of wild confusion and
+uproarious merriment ensued as I never saw before in my life. The
+skipper, true to his traditions, got fast to four, all running different
+ways at once, and making the calm sea boil again with their frantic
+gyrations. Each of the other boats got hold of three; but, the mate
+getting too near me, our fish got so inextricably tangled up that it was
+hopeless to try and distinguish between each other's prizes. However,
+when we got the lances to work among them, the hubbub calmed down
+greatly, and the big bodies one by one ceased their gambols, floating
+supine.
+
+So far, all had been gay; but the unlucky second mate must needs go and
+do a thing that spoiled a day's fun entirely. The line runs through a
+deep groove in the boat's stem, over a brass roller so fitted that
+when the line is running out it remains fixed, but when hauling in it
+revolves freely, assisting the work a great deal. The second mate had
+three fish fast, like the rest of us--the first one on the end of the
+main line, the other two on "short warps," or pieces of whale-line some
+eight or ten fathoms long fastened to harpoons, with the other ends
+running on the main line by means of bowlines round it. By some mistake
+or other he had allowed the two lines to be hauled together through the
+groove in his boat's stem, and before the error was noticed two fish
+spurted off in opposite directions, ripping the boat in two halves
+lengthways, like a Dutchman splitting a salt herring.
+
+Away went the fish with the whole of the line, nobody being able to get
+at it to cut; and, but for the presence of mind shown by the crew
+in striking out and away from the tangle, a most ghastly misfortune,
+involving the loss of several lives, must have occurred. As it was, the
+loss was considerable, almost outweighing the gain on the day's fishing,
+besides the inconvenience of having a boat useless on a whaling grounds.
+
+The accident was the fruit of gross carelessness, and should never have
+occurred; but then, strange to say, disasters to whale-boats are nearly
+always due to want of care, the percentage of unavoidable casualties
+being very small as compared with those like the one just related. When
+the highly dangerous nature of the work is remembered, this statement
+may seem somewhat overdrawn; but it has been so frequently corroborated
+by others, whose experience far outweighs my own, that I do not hesitate
+to make it with the fullest confidence in its truth.
+
+Happily no lives were lost on this occasion, for it would have indeed
+been grievous to have seen our shipmates sacrificed to the MANES of a
+mere black-fish, after successfully encountering so many mighty whales.
+The episode gave us a great deal of unnecessary work getting the two
+halves of the boat saved, in addition to securing our fish, so that by
+the time we got the twelve remaining carcasses hove on deck we were all
+quite fagged out. But under the new regime we were sure of a good rest,
+so that did not trouble us; it rather made the lounge on deck in the
+balmy evening air and the well-filled pipe of peace doubly sweet.
+
+Our next day's work completed the skinning of the haul we had made, the
+last of the carcasses going overboard with a thunderous splash at
+four in the afternoon. The assemblage of sharks round the ship on
+this occasion was incredible for its number and the great size of the
+creatures. Certainly no mariners see so many or such huge sharks as
+whalemen; but, in spite of all our previous experience, this day touched
+high-water mark. Many of these fish were of a size undreamed of by the
+ordinary seafarer, some of them full thirty feet in length, more like
+whales than sharks. Most of them were striped diagonally with bands
+of yellow, contrasting curiously with the dingy grey of their normal
+colour. From this marking is derived their popular name--"tiger sharks,"
+not, as might be supposed, from their ferocity. That attribute cannot
+properly be applied to the SQUALUS at all, which is one of the
+most timid fish afloat, and whose ill name, as far as regards
+blood-thirstiness, is quite undeserved. Rapacious the shark certainly
+is; but what sea-fish is not? He is not at all particular as to his
+diet; but what sea-fish is? With such a great bulk of body, such
+enormous vitality and vigour to support, he must needs be ever eating;
+and since he is not constructed on swift enough lines to enable him
+to prey upon living fish, like most of his neighbours, he is perforce
+compelled to play the humble but useful part of a sea-scavenger.
+
+He eats man, as he eats anything else eatable because in the water man
+is easily caught, and not from natural depravity or an acquired taste
+begetting a decided preference for human flesh. All natives of shores
+infested by sharks despise him and his alleged man-eating propensities,
+knowing that a very feeble splashing will suffice to frighten him away
+even if ever so hungry. Demerara River literally swarms with sharks, yet
+I have often seen a negro, clad only in a beaming smile, slip into its
+muddy waters, and, after a few sharp blows with his open hand upon the
+surface, calmly swim down to the bottom, clear a ship's anchor, or
+do whatever job was required, coming up again as leisurely as if in a
+swimming-bath. A similar disregard of the dangerous attributes awarded
+by popular consent to the shark may be witnessed everywhere among the
+people who know him best. The cruelties perpetrated upon sharks by
+seamen generally are the result of ignorance and superstition combined,
+the most infernal forces known to humanity. What would be said at home
+of such an act, if it could be witnessed among us, as the disembowelling
+of a tiger, say, and then letting him run in that horrible condition
+somewhere remote from the possibility of retaliating upon his torturers?
+Yet that is hardly comparable with a similar atrocity performed upon
+a shark, because he will live hours to the tiger's minutes in such a
+condition.
+
+I once caught a shark nine feet long, which we hauled on board and
+killed by cutting off its head and tail. It died very speedily--for a
+shark--all muscular motion ceasing in less than fifteen minutes. It was
+my intention to prepare that useless and unornamental article so dear to
+sailors--a walking-stick made of a shark's backbone. But when I came to
+cut out the vertebra, I noticed a large scar, extending from one side to
+the other, right across the centre of the back. Beneath it the backbone
+was thickened to treble its normal size, and perfectly rigid; in fact,
+it had become a mass of solid bone. At some time or other this shark had
+been harpooned so severely that, in wrenching himself free, he must
+have nearly torn his body in two halves, severing the spinal column
+completely. Yet such a wound as that had been healed by natural process,
+the bone knit together again with many times the strength it had
+before--minus, of course, its flexibility--and I can testify from the
+experience of securing him that he could not possibly have been more
+vigorous than he was.
+
+A favourite practice used to be--I trust it is so no longer--to catch a
+shark, and, after driving a sharpened stake down through his upper jaw
+and out underneath the lower one, so that its upper portion pointed
+diagonally forward, to let him go again. The consequence of this cruelty
+would be that the fish was unable to open his mouth, or go in any
+direction without immediately coming to the surface. How long he might
+linger in such torture, one can only guess; but unless his fellows,
+finding him thus helpless, came along and kindly devoured him, no doubt
+he would exist in extreme agony for a very long time.
+
+Two more small cows were all that rewarded our search during the next
+fortnight, and we began to feel serious doubts as to the success of our
+season upon the line grounds, after all. Still, on the whole, our voyage
+up to the present had not been what might fairly be called unsuccessful,
+for we were not yet two years away from New Bedford, while we had
+considerably more than two thousand barrels of oil on board--more, in
+fact, than two-thirds of a full cargo. But if a whale were caught every
+other day for six months, and then a month elapsed without any being
+seen, grumbling would be loud and frequent, all the previous success
+being forgotten in the present stagnation. Perhaps it is not so
+different in other professions nearer home?
+
+Christmas Day drew near, beloved of Englishmen all the world over,
+though thought little of by Americans. The two previous ones spent on
+board the CACHALOT have been passed over without mention, absolutely no
+notice being taken of the season by any one on board, to all appearance.
+In English ships some attempt is always made to give the day somewhat
+of a festive character, and to maintain the national tradition of
+good-cheer and goodwill in whatever part of the world you may happen to
+be. For some reason or other, perhaps because of the great increase in
+comfort; we had all experienced lately, I felt the approach of the great
+Christian anniversary very strongly; although, had I been in London, I
+should probably have spent it in lonely gloom, having no relatives or
+friends whom I might visit. But what of that? Christmas is Christmas;
+and, if we have no home, we think of the place where our home should be;
+and whether, as cynics sneer, Dickens invented the English Christmas or
+not, its observance has taken deep root among us. May its shadow never
+be less!
+
+On Christmas morning I mounted to the crow's-nest at daybreak, and stood
+looking with never-failing awe at the daily marvel of the sunrise.
+Often and often have I felt choking for words to express the tumult of
+thoughts aroused by this sublime spectacle. Hanging there in cloudland,
+the tiny microcosm at one's feet forgotten, the grandeur of the
+celestial outlook is overwhelming. Many and many a time I have bowed
+my head and wept in pure reverence at the majesty manifested around
+me while the glory of the dawn increased and brightened, till with one
+exultant bound the sun appeared.
+
+For some time I stood gazing straight ahead of me with eyes that
+saw not, filled with wonder and admiration. I must have been looking
+directly at the same spot for quite a quarter of an hour, when suddenly,
+as if I had but just opened my eyes, I saw the well-known bushy spout of
+a sperm whale. I raised the usual yell, which rang through the stillness
+discordantly, startling all hands out of their lethargy like bees out
+of a hive. After the usual preliminaries, we were all afloat with
+sails set, gliding slowly over the sleeping sea towards the unconscious
+objects of our attention. The captain did not lower this time, as there
+only appeared to be three fish, none of them seeming large. Though at
+any distance it is extremely difficult to assess the size of whales, the
+spout being very misleading. Sometimes a full-sized whale will show a
+small spout, while a twenty-barrel cow will exhale a volume of vapour
+extensive enough for two or three at once.
+
+Now although, according to etiquette, I kept my position in the rear
+of my superior officers, I had fully determined in my own mind, being
+puffed up with previous success, to play second fiddle to no one, if
+I could help it, this time. Samuela was decidedly of the same opinion;
+indeed, I believe he would have been delighted to tackle a whole school
+single-handed, while my crew were all willing and eager for the fight.
+We had a long, tedious journey before we came up with them, the wind
+being so light that even with the occasional assistance of the paddles
+our progress was wretchedly slow. When at last we did get into their
+water, and the mate's harpooner stood up to dart, his foot slipped,
+and down he came with a clatter enough to scare a cachalot twenty
+miles away. It gallied our friends effectually, sending them flying in
+different directions at the top of their speed. But being some distance
+astern of the other boats, one of the fish, in his headlong retreat,
+rose for a final blow some six or seven fathoms away, passing us in
+the opposite direction. His appearance was only momentary, yet in that
+moment Samuela hurled his harpoon into the air, where it described a
+beautiful parabola, coming down upon the disappearing monster's back
+just as the sea was closing over it. Oh, it was a splendid dart,
+worthy of the finest harpooner that ever lived! There was no time for
+congratulations, however, for we spun round as on a pivot, and away we
+went in the wake of that fellow at a great rate. I cast one look astern
+to see whether the others had struck, but could see nothing of them; we
+seemed to have sprung out of their ken in an instant.
+
+The speed of our friend was marvellous, but I comforted myself with the
+knowledge that these animals usually run in circles--sometimes, it
+is true, of enormous diameter, but seldom getting far away from their
+starting-point. But as the time went on, and we seemed to fly over the
+waves at undiminished speed, I began to think this whale might be the
+exception necessary to prove the rule, so I got out the compass and
+watched his course. Due east, not a degree to north or south of it,
+straight as a bee to its hive. The ship was now far out of sight astern,
+but I knew that keen eyes had been watching our movements from the
+masthead, and that every effort possible would be made to keep the run
+of us. The speed of our whale was not only great, but unflagging. He was
+more like a machine than an animal capable of tiring; and though we did
+our level best, at the faintest symptom of slackening, to get up closer
+and lance him, it was for some time impossible. After, at a rough
+estimate, running in a direct easterly course for over two hours, he
+suddenly sounded, without having given us the ghost of a chance to "land
+him one where he lived." Judging from his previous exertions, though,
+it was hardly possible he would be able to stay down long, or get
+very deep, as the strain upon these vast creatures at any depth is
+astonishingly exhausting. After a longer stay below than usual, when
+they have gone extra deep, they often arrive at the surface manifestly
+"done up" for a time. Then, if the whaleman be active and daring, a
+few well-directed strokes may be got in which will promptly settle the
+business out of hand.
+
+Now, when my whale sounded he was to all appearance as frightened a
+beast as one could wish--one who had run himself out endeavouring to
+get away from his enemies, and as a last resource had dived into the
+quietness below in the vain hope to get away. So I regarded him, making
+up my mind to wait on him with diligence upon his arrival, and not allow
+him to get breath before I had settled him. But when he did return,
+there was a mighty difference in him. He seemed as if he had been
+getting some tips on the subject from some school below where whales are
+trained to hunt men; for his first move was to come straight for me
+with a furious rush, carrying the war into the enemy's country with
+a vengeance. It must be remembered that I was but young, and a
+comparatively new hand at this sort of thing; so when I confess that I
+felt more than a little scared at this sudden change in the tactics of
+my opponent, I hope I shall be excused. Remembering, however, that all
+our lives depended on keeping cool, I told myself that even if I was
+frightened I must not go all to pieces, but compel myself to think and
+act calmly, since I was responsible for others. If the animal had
+not been in so blind a fury, I am afraid my task would have been much
+harder; but he was mad, and his savage rushes were, though disquieting,
+unsystematic and clumsy. It was essential, however, that he should not
+be allowed to persist too long in his evil courses; for a whale learns
+with amazing rapidity, developing such cunning in an hour or two that
+all a man's smartness may be unable to cope with his newly acquired
+experience. Happily, Samuela was perfectly unmoved. Like a machine, he
+obeyed every gesture, every look even, swinging the boat "off" or "on"
+the whale with such sweeping strokes of his mighty oar that she revolved
+as if on a pivot, and encouraging the other chaps with his cheerful
+cries and odd grimaces, so that the danger was hardly felt. During a
+momentary lull in the storm, I took the opportunity to load my bomb-gun,
+much as I disliked handling the thing, keeping my eye all the time
+on the water around where I expected to see mine enemy popping up
+murderously at any minute. Just as I had expected, when he rose, it was
+very close, and on his back, with his jaw in the first biting position,
+looking ugly as a vision of death. Finding us a little out of reach,
+he rolled right over towards us, presenting as he did so the great
+rotundity of his belly. We were not twenty feet away, and I snatched up
+the gun, levelled it, and fired the bomb point-blank into his bowels.
+Then all was blank. I do not even remember the next moment. A rush of
+roaring waters, a fighting with fearful, desperate energy for air and
+life, all in a hurried, flurried phantasmagoria about which there was
+nothing clear except the primitive desire for life, life, life! Nor do
+I know how long this struggle lasted, except that, in the nature of
+things, it could not have been very long.
+
+When I returned to a consciousness of external things, I was for some
+time perfectly still, looking at the sky, totally unable to realize what
+had happened or where I was. Presently the smiling, pleasant face of
+Samuela bent over me. Meeting my gratified look of recognition, he set up
+a perfect yell of delight. "So glad, so glad you blonga life! No go Davy
+Jonesy dis time, hay?" I put my hand out to help myself to a sitting
+posture, and touched blubber. That startled me so that I sprung up as if
+shot. Then I took in the situation at a glance. There were all my poor
+fellows with me, stranded upon the top of our late antagonist, but
+no sign of the boat to be seen. Bewildered at the state of affairs, I
+looked appealingly from one to the other for an explanation. I got it
+from Abner, who said, laconically, "When yew fired thet ole gun, I guess
+it mus' have bin loaded fer bear, fer ye jest tumbled clar head over
+heels backwards outen the boat. Et that very same moment I suspicion the
+bomb busted in his belly, fer he went clean rampageous loony. He rolled
+right over an' over to'rds us, n' befo' we c'd rightly see wat wuz
+comin', we cu'dnt see anythin' 'tall; we wuz all grabbin' at nothin',
+some'rs underneath the whale. When I come to the top, I lit eout fer the
+fust thing I c'd see to lay holt of, which wuz old squarhead himself,
+deader 'n pork. I guess thet ar bomb o' yourn kinder upset his
+commissary department. Anyway, I climed up onto him, 'n bime-by the rest
+ov us histed themselves alongside ov me. Sam Weller here; he cum last,
+towin' you 'long with him. I don'no whar he foun' ye, but ye was very
+near a goner, 'n's full o' pickle as ye c'd hold." I turned a grateful
+eye upon my dusky harpooner, who had saved my life, but was now
+apparently blissfully unconscious of having done anything meritorious.
+
+Behold us, then, a half-drowned row of scarecrows perched, like some new
+species of dilapidated birds, upon the side of our late foe. The sun
+was not so furiously hot as usual, for masses of rain-laden NIMBI were
+filling the sky, so that we were comparatively free from the awful
+roasting we might have expected: nor was our position as precarious for
+a while as would be thought. True, we had only one harpoon, with its
+still fast line, to hold on by; but the side of the whale was somehow
+hollowed, so that, in spite of the incessant movement imparted to the
+carcass by the swell, we sat fairly safe, with our feet in the said
+hollow. We discussed the situation in all its bearings, unable to
+extract more than the faintest gleam of hope from any aspect of the
+case. The only reasonable chance we had was, that the skipper had almost
+certainly taken our bearings, and would, we were sure, be anxiously
+seeking us on the course thus indicated. Meanwhile, we were ravenously
+hungry and thirsty. Samuela and Polly set to work with their
+sheath-knives, and soon excavated a space in the blubber to enable them
+to reach the meat. Then they cut off some good-sized junks, and divided
+it up. It was not half bad; and as we chewed on the tough black fibre,
+I could hardly help smiling as I thought how queer a Christmas dinner
+we were having. But eating soon heightened our thirst, and our real
+sufferings then began. We could eat very little once the want of drink
+made itself felt. Hardly two hours had elapsed, though, before one
+of the big-bellied clouds which bad been keeping the sun off us most
+considerately emptied out upon us a perfect torrent of rain. It filled
+the cavity in the whale's side in a twinkling; and though the water was
+greasy, stained with blood, and vilely flavoured, it was as welcome a
+drink as I have ever tasted. Thus fed, and with our thirst slaked, we
+were able to take a more hopeful view of things while the prospect of
+our being found seemed much more probable than it had done before the
+rain fell.
+
+Still, we had to endure our pillory for a long while yet. The sharks and
+birds began to worry us, especially the former, who in their eagerness
+to get a portion of the blubber, fought, writhed and tore at the carcass
+with tireless energy. Once, one of the smaller ones actually came
+sliding up right into our hollow; but Samuela and Polly promptly
+dispatched him with a cut throat, sending him back to encourage the
+others. The present relieved us of most of their attentions for a short
+time at least, as they eagerly divided the remains of their late comrade
+among them.
+
+To while away the time we spun yarns--without much point, I am afraid;
+and sung songs, albeit we did not feel much like singing--till after a
+while our poor attempts at gaiety fizzled out like a damp match, leaving
+us silent and depressed. The sun, which had been hidden for some time,
+now came out again, his slanting beams revealing to us ominously the
+flight of time and the near approach of night. Should darkness overtake
+us in our present position, we all felt that saving us would need
+the performance of a miracle; for in addition to the chances of the
+accumulated gases within the carcass bursting it asunder, the unceasing
+assault of the sharks made it highly doubtful whether they would not in
+a few hours more have devoured it piecemeal. Already they had scooped
+out some deep furrows in the solid blubber, making it easier to get hold
+and tear off more, and their numbers were increasing so fast that the
+surrounding sea was fairly alive with them. Lower and lower sank the
+sun, deeper and darker grew the gloom upon our faces, till suddenly
+Samuela leaped to his feet in our midst, and emitted a yell so
+ear-piercing as to nearly deafen us. He saw the ship! Before two minutes
+had passed we all saw her--God bless her!--coming down upon us like
+some angelic messenger. There were no fears among us that we should be
+overlooked. We knew full well how anxiously and keenly many pairs
+of eyes had been peering over the sea in search of us, and we felt
+perfectly sure they had sighted us long ago. On she came, gilded by the
+evening glow, till she seemed glorified, moving in a halo of celestial
+light, all her homeliness and clumsy build forgotten in what she then
+represented to us.
+
+Never before or since has a ship looked like that, to me, nor can I ever
+forget the thankfulness, the delight, the reverence, with which I once
+more saw her approaching. Straight down upon us she bore, rounding to
+within a cable's length, and dropping a boat simultaneously with her
+windward sweep. They had no whale--well for us they had not. In five
+minutes we were on board, while our late resting-place was being hauled
+alongside with great glee.
+
+The captain shook hands with me cordially, pooh-poohing the loss of
+the boat as an unavoidable incident of the trade, but expressing his
+heart-felt delight at getting us all back safe. The whale we had killed
+was ample compensation for the loss of several boats, though such was
+the vigour with which the sharks were going for him, that it was deemed
+advisable to cut in at once, working all night. We who had been rescued,
+however, were summarily ordered below by the skipper, and forbidden, on
+pain of his severe displeasure, to reappear until the following morning.
+This great privilege we gladly availed ourselves of, awaking at daylight
+quite well and fit, not a bit the worse for our queer experience of the
+previous day.
+
+The whale proved a great acquisition, for although not nearly so large
+as many we had caught, he was so amazingly rich in blubber that he
+actually yielded twelve and a half tuns of oil, in spite of the heavy
+toll taken of him by the hungry multitudes of sharks. In addition to the
+oil, we were fortunate enough to secure a lump of ambergris, dislodged
+perhaps by the explosion of my bomb in the animal's bowels. It was
+nearly black, wax-like to the touch, and weighed seven pounds and a
+half. At the current price, it would be worth about L200, so that, taken
+altogether, the whale very nearly approached in value the largest one we
+had yet caught. I had almost omitted to state that incorporated with the
+substance of the ambergris were several of the horny cuttle-fish beaks,
+which, incapable of being digested, had become in some manner part of
+this peculiar product.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XX. "HUMPBACKING" AT VAU VAU
+
+Another three weeks' cruising brought us to the end of the season on the
+line, which had certainly not answered all our expectations, although
+we had perceptibly increased the old barky's draught during our stay.
+Whether from love of change or belief in the possibilities of a good
+haul, I can hardly say, but Captain Count decided to make the best of
+his way south, to the middle group of the "Friendly" Archipelago,
+known as Vau Vau, the other portions being called Hapai and Tongataboo
+respectively, for a season's "humpbacking." From all I could gather, we
+were likely to have a good time there, so I looked forward to the visit
+with a great deal of pleasurable anticipation.
+
+We were bound to make a call at Vau Vau, in any case, to discharge our
+Kanakas shipped at Honolulu, although I fervently hoped to be able to
+keep my brave harpooner Samuela. So when I heard of our destination,
+I sounded him cautiously as to his wishes in the matter, finding that,
+while he was both pleased with and proud of his position on board,
+he was longing greatly for his own orange grove and the embraces of a
+certain tender "fafine" that he averred was there awaiting him. With
+such excellent reasons for his leaving us, I could but forbear to
+persuade him, sympathizing with him too deeply to wish him away from
+such joys as he described to me.
+
+So we bade farewell to the line grounds, and commenced another stretch
+to the south, another milestone, as it were, on the long road home.
+Prosaic and uneventful to the last degree was our passage, the only
+incident worth recording being our "gamming" of the PASSAMAQUODDY,
+of Martha's Vineyard, South Sea whaler; eighteen months out, with one
+thousand barrels of sperm oil on board. We felt quite veterans alongside
+of her crew, and our yarns laid over theirs to such an extent that they
+were quite disgusted at their lack of experience. Some of them had known
+our late skipper, but none of them had a good word for him, the old
+maxim, "Speak nothing but good of the dead," being most flagrantly set
+at nought. One of her crew was a Whitechapelian, who had been roving
+about the world for a good many years.
+
+Amongst other experiences, he had, after "jumping the bounty" two
+or three times, found himself a sergeant in the Federal Army before
+Gettysburg. During that most bloody battle, he informed me that a "Reb"
+drew a bead on him at about a dozen yards' distance, and fired, He said
+he felt just as if somebody had punched him in the chest, and knocked
+him flat on his back on top of a sharp stone--no pain at all, nor any
+further recollection of what had happened, until he found himself at the
+base, in hospital. When the surgeons came to examine him for the bullet,
+they found that it had struck the broad brass plate of his cross-belt
+fairly in the middle, penetrating it and shattering his breast bone. But
+after torturing him vilely with the probe, they were about to give up
+the search in despair, when he told them he felt a pain in his back.
+Examining the spot indicated by him, they found a bullet just beneath
+the skin, which a touch with the knife allowed to tumble out. Further
+examination revealed the strange fact that the bullet, after striking
+his breast-bone, had glanced aside and travelled round his body just
+beneath the skin, without doing him any further harm. In proof of his
+story, he showed me the two scars and the perforated buckle-plate.
+
+At another time, being in charge of a picket of Germans, he and his
+command were captured by a party of Confederates, who haled him before
+their colonel, a southern gentleman of the old school. In the course of
+his interrogation by the southern officer, he was asked where he hailed
+from. He replied, "London, England." "Then," said the colonel, "how is
+it you find yourself fighting for these accursed Yankees?" The cockney
+faltered out some feeble excuse or another, which his captor cut short
+by saying, "I've a great respect for the English, and consequently I'll
+let you go this time. But if ever I catch you again, you're gone up.
+As for those d-----d Dutchmen, they'll be strung up inside of five
+minutes." And they were.
+
+So with yarn, song, and dance, the evening passed pleasantly away;
+while the two old hookers jogged amicably along side by side, like two
+market-horses whose drivers are having a friendly crack. Along about
+midnight we exchanged crews again, and parted with many expressions of
+good-will--we to the southward, she to the eastward, for some particular
+preserve believed in by her commander.
+
+In process of time we made the land of Vau Vau, a picturesque, densely
+wooded, and in many places precipitous, group of islands, the approach
+being singularly free from dangers in the shape of partly hidden reefs.
+Long and intricate were the passages we threaded, until we finally came
+to anchor in a lovely little bay perfectly sheltered from all winds. We
+moored, within a mile of a dazzling white beach, in twelve fathoms. A
+few native houses embowered in orange and cocoa-nut trees showed here
+and there, while the two horns of the bay were steep-to, and covered
+with verdure almost down to the water's edge. The anchor was hardly down
+before a perfect fleet of canoes flocked around us, all carrying the
+familiar balancing outrigger, without which those narrow dugouts cannot
+possibly keep upright. Their occupants swarmed on board, laughing and
+playing like so many children, and with all sorts of winning gestures
+and tones besought our friendship. "You my flem?" was the one question
+which all asked; but what its import might be we could not guess for
+some time. By-and-by it appeared that when once you had agreed to accept
+a native for your "flem," or friend, he from henceforward felt in duty
+bound to attend to all your wants which it lay within his power to
+supply. This important preliminary settled, fruit and provisions of
+various kinds appeared as if by magic. Huge baskets of luscious oranges,
+massive bunches of gold and green bananas, clusters of green cocoa-nuts,
+conch-shells full of chillies, fowls loudly protesting against their
+hard fate, gourds full of eggs, and a few vociferous swine--all came
+tumbling on board in richest profusion, and, strangest thing of all,
+not a copper was asked in return. I might have as truly said nothing
+was asked, since money must have been useless here. Many women came
+alongside, but none climbed on board. Surprised at this, I asked Samuela
+the reason, as soon as I could disengage him for a few moments from the
+caresses of his friends. He informed me that the ladies' reluctance to
+favour us with their society was owing to their being in native dress,
+which it is punishable to appear in among white men, the punishment
+consisting of a rather heavy fine. Even the men and boys, I noticed,
+before they ventured to climb on board, stayed a while to put on
+trousers, or what did duty for those useful articles of dress. At any
+rate, they were all clothed, not merely enwrapped with a fold or two of
+"tapa," the native bark-cloth, but made awkward and ugly by dilapidated
+shirts and pants.
+
+She was a busy ship for the rest of that day. The anchor down, sails
+furled and decks swept, the rest of the time was our own, and high jinks
+were the result. The islanders were amiability personified, merry as
+children, nor did I see or hear one quarrelsome individual among them.
+While we were greedily devouring the delicious fruit, which was piled on
+deck in mountainous quantities, they encouraged us, telling us that the
+trees ashore were breaking down under their loads, and what a pity it
+was that there were so few to eat such bountiful supplies.
+
+We were, it appeared, the first whale-ship that had anchored there that
+year, and, in that particular bay where we lay, no vessel had moored for
+over two years. An occasional schooner from Sydney called at the "town"
+about ten miles away, where the viceroy's house was, and at the present
+time of speaking one of Godeffroi's Hamburg ships was at anchor there,
+taking in an accumulation of copra from her agent's store. But the
+natives all spoke of her with a shrug--"No like Tashman. Tashman no
+good." Why, I could not ascertain.
+
+Our Kanakas had promised to remain with us till our departure for
+the south, so, hard as it seemed to them, they were not allowed to go
+ashore, in case they might not come back, and leave us short-handed.
+But as their relatives and friends could visit them whenever they felt
+inclined, the restriction did not hurt them much. The next day, being
+Sunday, all hands were allowed liberty to go ashore by turns (except the
+Kanakas), with strict injunctions to molest no one, but to behave as if
+in a big town guarded by policemen. As no money could be spent, none was
+given, and, best of all, it was impossible to procure any intoxicating
+liquor.
+
+Our party got ashore about 9.30, but not a soul was visible either on
+the beach or in the sun-lit paths which led through the forest inland.
+Here and there a house, with doors wide open, stood in its little
+cleared space, silent and deserted. It was like a country without
+inhabitants. Presently, however, a burst of melody arrested us, and
+borne upon the scented breeze came oh, so sweetly!--the well-remembered
+notes of "Hollingside." Hurriedly getting behind a tree, I let myself
+go, and had a perfectly lovely, soul-refreshing cry. Reads funny,
+doesn't it? Sign of weakness perhaps. But when childish memories come
+back upon one torrent-like in the swell of a hymn or the scent of the
+hawthorn, it seems to me that the flood-gates open without you having
+anything to do with it. When I was a little chap in the Lock Chapel
+choir, before the evil days came, that tune was my favourite; and when
+I heard it suddenly come welling up out of the depths of the forest,
+my heart just stood still for a moment, and then the tears came. Queer
+idea, perhaps, to some people; but I do not know when I enjoyed myself
+so much as I did just then, except when a boy of sixteen home from a
+voyage, and strolling along the Knightsbridge Road, I "happened" into
+the Albert Hall. I did not in the least know what was coming; the
+notices on the bills did not mean anything to me; but I paid my
+shilling, and went up into the gallery. I had hardly edged myself into
+a corner by the refreshment-stall, when a great breaker of sound
+caught me, hurled me out of time, thought, and sense in one intolerable
+ecstasy--"For unto us a Child is born; unto us a Son is given"--again
+and again--billows and billows of glory. I gasped for breath, shook like
+one in an ague fit; the tears ran down in a continuous stream; while
+people stared amazed at me, thinking, I suppose, that I was another
+drunken sailor. Well, I was drunk, helplessly intoxicated, but not
+with drink, with something Divine, untellable, which, coming upon me
+unprepared, simply swept me away with it into a heaven of delight, to
+which only tears could testify.
+
+But I am in the bush, whimpering over the tones of "Hollingside." As
+soon as I had pulled myself together a bit, we went on again in the
+direction of the sound, Presently we came to a large clearing, in the
+middle of which stood a neat wooden, pandanus-thatched church. There
+were no doors or windows to it, just a roof supported upon posts, but a
+wide verandah ran all round, upon the edge of which we seated ourselves;
+for the place was full--full to suffocation, every soul within miles,
+I should think, being there. No white man was present, but the service,
+which was a sort of prayer-meeting, went with a swing and go that
+was wonderful to see. There was no perfunctory worship here; no one
+languidly enduring it because it was "the right sort of thing to show up
+at, you know;" but all were in earnest, terribly in earnest. When they
+sang, it behoved us to get away to a little distance, for the vigour of
+the voices, unless mellowed by distance, made the music decidedly harsh.
+Every one was dressed in European clothing--the women in neat calico
+gowns; but the men, nearly all of them, in woollen shirts, pilot-coats,
+and trousers to match, and sea-boots! Whew! it nearly stifled me to look
+at them. The temperature was about ninety degrees in the shade, with
+hardly a breath of air stirring, yet those poor people, from some
+mistaken notion of propriety, were sweating in torrents under that
+Arctic rig. However they could worship, I do not know! At last the
+meeting broke up. The men rushed out, tore off their coats, trousers,
+and shirts, and flung themselves panting upon the grass, mother-naked,
+except for a chaplet of cocoanut leaves, formed by threading them on a
+vine-tendril, and hanging round the waist.
+
+Squatting by the side of my "flem," whom I had recognized, I asked
+him why ever he outraged all reason by putting on such clothes in
+this boiling weather. He looked at me pityingly for a moment before he
+replied, "You go chapella Belitani? No put bes' close on top?" "Yes,"
+I said; "but in hot weather put on thin clothes; cold weather, put on
+thick ones." "S'pose no got more?" he said, meaning, I presumed, more
+than the one suit. "Well," I said, "more better stop 'way than look
+like big fool, boil all away, same like duff in pot. You savvy duff?" He
+smiled a wide comprehensive smile, but looked very solemn again,
+saying directly, "You no go chapella; you no mishnally. No mishnally
+[missionary=godly]; very bad. Me no close; no go chapella; vely bad.
+Evelly tangata, evelly fafine, got close all same papalang [every man
+and woman has clothes like a white man]; go chapella all day Sunday."
+That this was no figure of speech I proved fully that day, for I declare
+that the recess between any of the services never lasted more than an
+hour. Meanwhile the worshippers did not return to their homes, for in
+many cases they had journeyed twenty or thirty miles, but lay about
+in the verdure, refreshing themselves with fruit, principally the
+delightful green cocoa-nuts, which furnish meat and drink both--cool and
+refreshing in the extreme, as well as nourishing.
+
+We were all heartily welcome to whatever was going, but there was
+a general air of restraint, a fear of breaking the Sabbath, which
+prevented us from trespassing too much upon the hospitality of these
+devout children of the sun. So we contented ourselves with strolling
+through the beautiful glades and woods, lying down, whenever we felt
+weary, under the shade of some spreading orange tree loaded with golden
+fruit, and eating our fill, or rather eating until the smarting of our
+lips warned us to desist. Here was a land where, apparently, all people
+were honest, for we saw a great many houses whose owners were absent,
+not one of which was closed, although many had a goodly store of such
+things as a native might be supposed to covet. At last, not being able
+to rid ourselves of the feeling that we were doing something wrong, the
+solemn silence and Sundayfied air of the whole region seeming to forbid
+any levity even in the most innocent manner, we returned on board again,
+wonderfully impressed with what we had seen, but wondering what would
+have happened if some of the ruffianly crowds composing the crews of
+many ships had been let loose upon this fair island.
+
+In the evening we lowered a stage over the bows to the water's edge, and
+had a swimming-match, the water being perfectly delightful, after the
+great heat of the day, in its delicious freshness; and so to bunk, well
+pleased indeed with our first Sunday in Vau Vau.
+
+I have no doubt whatever that some of the gentry who swear at large
+about the evils of missionaries would have been loud in their disgust at
+the entire absence of drink and debauchery, and the prevalence of what
+they would doubtless characterize as adjective hypocrisy on the part of
+the natives; but no decent man could help rejoicing at the peace, the
+security, and friendliness manifested on every hand, nor help awarding
+unstinted praise to whoever had been the means of bringing about so
+desirable a state of things. I felt that their Sabbatarianism was
+carried to excess; that they would have been better, not worse, for a
+little less church, and a little more innocent fun; but ten thousand
+times better thus than such scenes of lust let loose and abandoned
+animalism as we witnessed at Honolulu. What pleased me mightily was
+the absence of the white man with his air of superiority and sleek
+overlordship. All the worship, all the management of affairs, was
+entirely in the hands of the natives themselves, and excellently well
+did they manage everything.
+
+I shall never forget once going ashore in a somewhat similar place, but
+very far distant, one Sunday morning, to visit the mission station. It
+was a Church mission, and a very handsome building the church was. By
+the side of it stood the parsonage, a beautiful bungalow, nestling in a
+perfect paradise of tropical flowers. The somewhat intricate service was
+conducted, and the sermon preached, entirely by natives--very creditably
+too. After service I strolled into the parsonage to see the reverend
+gentleman in charge, whom I found supporting his burden in a long chair,
+with a tall glass of brandy and soda within easy reach, a fine cigar
+between his lips, and a late volume of Ouida's in his hand. All very
+pleasant and harmless, no doubt, but hardly reconcilable with the ideal
+held up in missionary magazines. Yet I have no doubt whatever that this
+gentleman would have been heartily commended by the very men who can
+hardly find words harsh enough to express their opinion of missionaries
+of the stamp of Paton, Williams, Moffat, and Mackenzie.
+
+Well, it is highly probable--nay, almost certain, that I shall be
+accused of drawing an idyllic picture of native life from first
+impressions, which, if I had only had sufficient subsequent experience
+among the people, I should have entirely altered. All I can say is, that
+although I did not live among them ashore, we had a number of them on
+board; we lay in the island harbour five months, during which I was
+ashore nearly every day, and from habit I observed them very closely;
+yet I cannot conscientiously alter one syllable of what I have written
+concerning them. Bad men and women there were, of course, to be
+found--as where not?--but the badness, in whatever form, was not allowed
+to flaunt itself, and was so sternly discountenanced by public (entirely
+native) opinion, that it required a good deal of interested seeking to
+find.
+
+But after all this chatter about my amiable friends, I find myself
+in danger of forgetting the purpose of our visit. We lost no time in
+preparation, since whaling of whatever sort is conducted in these ships
+on precisely similar lines, but on Monday morning, at daybreak, after a
+hurried breakfast, lowered all boats and commenced the campaign. We were
+provided with boxes--one for each boat--containing a light luncheon, but
+no ordered meal, because it was not considered advisable to in any way
+hamper the boat's freedom to chase. Still, in consideration of its being
+promptly dumped overboard on attacking a whale, a goodly quantity of
+fruit was permitted in the boats.
+
+In the calm beauty of the pearly dawn, with a gentle hush over all
+nature, the lofty, tree-clad hills reflected with startling fidelity in
+the glassy, many-coloured waters, the only sound audible the occasional
+cra-a-ake of the advance-guard of a flight of fruit-bats (PECA) homeward
+from their nocturnal depredations, we shipped our oars and started,
+pulling to a certain position whence we could see over an immense area.
+Immediately upon rounding the horn of our sheltered bay, the fresh
+breeze of the south-east trades met us right on end with a vigour that
+made a ten-mile steady pull against it somewhat of a breather. Arriving
+at the station indicated by the chief, we set sail, and, separating as
+far as possible without losing sight of each other, settled down for
+the day's steady cruise. Anything more delightful than that excursion
+to those who love seashore scenery combined with boat-sailing would be
+difficult to name. Every variety of landscape, every shape of strait,
+bay, or estuary, reefs awash, reefs over which we could sail, ablaze
+with loveliness inexpressible; a steady, gentle, caressing breeze, and
+overhead one unvarying canopy of deepest blue. Sometimes, when skirting
+the base of some tremendous cliffs, great caution was necessary, for at
+one moment there would obtain a calm, death-like in its stillness; the
+next, down through a canyon cleaving the mountain to the water's edge
+would come rushing with a shrill howl, a blast fierce enough to almost
+lift us out of the water. Away we would scud with flying sheets dead
+before it, in a smother of spray, but would hardly get full way on her
+before it was gone, leaving us in the same hush as before, only a dark
+patch on the water far to leeward marking its swift rush. These little
+diversions gave us no uneasiness, for it was an unknown thing to make a
+sheet fast in one of our boats, so that a puff of wind never caught us
+unprepared.
+
+On that first day we seemed to explore such a variety of stretches
+of water that one would hardly have expected there could be any more
+discoveries to make in that direction. Nevertheless, each day's cruise
+subsequently revealed to us some new nook or other, some quiet haven or
+pretty passage between islands that, until closely approached, looked
+like one. When, at sunset, we returned to the ship, not having seen
+anything like a spout, I felt like one who had been in a dream, the
+day's cruise having surpassed all my previous experience. Yet it was but
+the precursor of many such. Oftentimes I think of those halcyon days,
+with a sigh of regret that they can never more be renewed to me; but I
+rejoice to think that nothing can rob me of the memory of them.
+
+Much to the discomfort of the skipper, it was four days before a
+solitary spout was seen, and then it was so nearly dark that before the
+fish could be reached it was impossible to distinguish her whereabouts.
+A careful bearing was taken of the spot, in the hope that she might be
+lingering in the vicinity next morning, and we hastened on board.
+
+Before it was fairly light we lowered, and paddled as swiftly as
+possible to the bay where we had last seen the spout overnight. When
+near the spot we rested on our paddles a while, all hands looking out
+with intense eagerness for the first sign of the whale's appearance.
+There was a strange feeling among us of unlawfulness and stealth, as
+of ambushed pirates waiting to attack some unwary merchantman, or
+highwaymen waylaying a fat alderman on a country road. We spoke
+in whispers, for the morning was so still that a voice raised but
+ordinarily would have reverberated among the rocks which almost overhung
+us, multiplied indefinitely. A turtle rose ghost-like to the surface
+at my side, lifting his queer head, and, surveying us with stony gaze,
+vanished as silently as he came.
+
+What a sigh! One looked at the other inquiringly, but the repetition of
+that long expiration satisfied us all that it was the placid breathing
+of the whale we sought somewhere close at hand, The light grew rapidly
+better, and we strained our eyes in every direction to discover the
+whereabouts of our friend, but, for some minutes without result. There
+was a ripple just audible, and away glided the mate's boat right for the
+near shore. Following him with our eyes, we almost immediately beheld a
+pale, shadowy column of white, shimmering against the dark mass of the
+cliff not a quarter of a mile away. Dipping our paddles with the utmost
+care, we made after the chief, almost holding our breath. His harpooner
+rose, darted once, twice, then gave a yell of triumph that ran
+re-echoing all around in a thousand eerie vibrations, startling the
+drowsy PECA in myriads from where they hung in inverted clusters on the
+trees above. But, for all the notice taken by the whale, she might never
+have been touched. Close nestled to her side was a youngling of not
+more, certainly, than five days old, which sent up its baby-spout
+every now and then about two feet into the air. One long, wing-like fin
+embraced its small body, holding it close to the massive breast of
+the tender mother, whose only care seemed to be to protect her young,
+utterly regardless of her own pain and danger. If sentiment were ever
+permitted to interfere with such operations as ours, it might well have
+done so now; for while the calf continually sought to escape from the
+enfolding fin, making all sorts of puny struggles in the attempt, the
+mother scarcely moved from her position, although streaming with blood
+from a score of wounds. Once, indeed, as a deep-searching thrust
+entered her very vitals, she raised her massy flukes high in air with
+an apparently involuntary movement of agony; but even in that dire
+throe she remembered the possible danger to her young one, and laid the
+tremendous weapon as softly down upon the water as if it were a feather
+fan.
+
+So in the most perfect quiet, with scarcely a writhe, nor any sign of
+flurry, she died, holding the calf to her side until her last
+vital spark had fled, and left it to a swift despatch with a single
+lance-thrust. No slaughter of a lamb ever looked more like murder. Nor,
+when the vast bulk and strength of the animal was considered, could a
+mightier example have been given of the force and quality of maternal
+love.
+
+The whole business was completed in half an hour from the first sight
+of her, and by the mate's hand alone, none of the other boats needing
+to use their gear. As soon as she was dead, a hole was bored through the
+lips, into which a tow-line was secured, the two long fins were lashed
+close into the sides of the animal by an encircling line, the tips of
+the flukes were cut off, and away we started for the ship. We had an
+eight-mile tow in the blazing sun, which we accomplished in a little
+over eight, hours, arriving at the vessel just before two p.m. News of
+our coming had preceded us, and the whole native population appeared to
+be afloat to make us welcome. The air rang again with their shouts of
+rejoicing, for our catch represented to them a gorgeous feast, such as
+they had not indulged in for many a day. The flesh of the humpbacked
+whale is not at all bad, being but little inferior to that of the
+porpoise; so that, as these people do not despise even the coarse rank
+flesh of the cachalot, their enthusiasm was natural. Their offers of
+help were rather embarrassing to us, as we could find little room for
+any of them in the boats, and the canoes only got in our way. Unable to
+assist us, they vented their superfluous energies on the whale in the
+most astounding aquatic antics imaginable--diving under it; climbing
+on to it; pushing and rolling each other headlong over its broad back;
+shrieking all the while with the frantic, uncontrollable laughter of
+happy children freed from all restraint. Men, women, and children all
+mixed in this wild, watery spree; and as to any of them getting drowned,
+the idea was utterly absurd.
+
+When we got it alongside, and prepared to cut in, all the chaps were
+able to have a rest, there were so many eager volunteers to man the
+windlass, not only willing but, under the able direction of their
+compatriots belonging to our crew, quite equal to the work of heaving
+in blubber. All their habitual indolence was cast aside. Toiling like
+Trojans, they made the old windlass rattle again as they spun the brakes
+up and down, every blanket-piece being hailed with a fresh volley of
+eldritch shrieks, enough to alarm a deaf and dumb asylum.
+
+With such ample aid, it was, as may be supposed a brief task to skin our
+prize, although the strange arrangement of the belly blubber caused
+us to lift some disappointing lengths. This whale has the blubber
+underneath the body lying in longitudinal corrugations, which, when
+hauled off the carcass at right angles to their direction, stretch
+out flat to four or five times their normal area. Thus, when the
+cutting-blocks had reached their highest limit, and the piece was
+severed from the body, the folds flew together again leaving dangling
+aloft but a miserable square of some four or five feet, instead of
+a fine "blanket" of blubber twenty by five. Along the edges of these
+RUGAE, as also upon the rim of the lower jaw, abundance of limpets and
+barnacles had attached themselves, some of the former large as a horse's
+hoof, and causing prodigious annoyance to the toiling carpenter, whose
+duty it was to keep the spades ground. It was no unusual thing for a
+spade to be handed in with two or three gaps in its edge half an inch
+deep, where they had accidentally come across one of those big pieces
+of flinty shell, undistinguishable from the grey substance of the belly
+blubber.
+
+But, in spite of these drawbacks, in less than ninety minutes the last
+cut was reached, the vertebra severed, and away went the great mass of
+meat, in tow of countless canoes, to an adjacent point, where, in eager
+anticipation, fires were already blazing for the coming cookery. An
+enormous number of natives had gathered from far and near, late arrivals
+continually dropping in from all points of the compass with breathless
+haste. No danger of going short need have troubled them, for, large as
+were their numbers, the supply was evidently fully equal to all demands.
+All night long the feast proceeded, and, even when morning dawned, busy
+figures were still discernible coming and going between the reduced
+carcass and the fires, as if determined to make an end of it before
+their operations ceased.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXI. PROGRESS OF THE "HUMPBACK" SEASON
+
+It will probably be inferred from the foregoing paragraph that we were
+little troubled with visits from the natives next day; but it would be
+doing them an injustice if I omitted to state that our various "flems"
+put in an appearance as usual with their daily offerings of fruit,
+vegetables, etc. They all presented a somewhat jaded and haggard look,
+as of men who had dined not wisely but too well, nor did the odour of
+stale whale-meat that clung to them add to their attractions. Repentance
+for excesses or gluttony did not seem to trouble them, for they
+evidently considered it would have been a sin not to take with both
+hands the gifts the gods had so bountifully provided. Still, they did
+not stay long, feeling, no doubt, sore need of a prolonged rest after
+their late arduous exertions; so, after affectionate farewells, they
+left us again to our greasy task of trying-out.
+
+The cow proved exceedingly fat, making us, though by no means a large
+specimen, fully fifty barrels of oil. The whalebone (baleen) was so
+short as to be not worth the trouble of curing, so, with the exception
+of such pieces as were useful to the "scrimshoners" for ornamenting
+their nicknacks, it was not preserved. On the evening of the third
+day the work was so far finished that we were able to go ashore for
+clothes-washing, which necessary process was accompanied with a good
+deal of fun and hilarity. In the morning cruising was resumed again.
+
+For a couple of days we met with no success, although we had a very
+aggravating chase after some smart bulls we fell in with, to our mutual
+astonishment, just as we rounded a point of the outermost island. They
+were lazily sunning themselves close under the lee of the cliffs, which
+at that point were steep-to, having a depth of about twenty fathoms
+close alongside. A fresh breeze was blowing, so we came round the point
+at a great pace, being almost among them before they had time to escape.
+They went away gaily along the land, not attempting to get seaward,
+we straining every nerve to get alongside of them. Whether they were
+tantalizing us or not, I cannot say, but certainly it looked like it. In
+spite of their well-known speed, we were several times so close in their
+wake that the harpooners loosed the tacks of the jibs to get a clear
+shot; but as they did so the nimble monsters shot ahead a length or
+two, leaving us just out of reach. It was a fine chase while it lasted,
+though annoying; yet one could hardly help feeling amused at the way
+they wallowed along--just like a school of exaggerated porpoises. At
+last, after nearly two hours of the fun, they seemed to have had enough
+of it, and with one accord headed seaward at a greatly accelerated pace,
+as who should say, "Well, s' long, boys; company's very pleasant and
+all that, but we've got important business over at Fiji, and can't stay
+fooling around here any longer." In a quarter of an hour they were out
+of sight, leaving us disgusted and outclassed pursuers sneaking back
+again to shelter, feeling very small. Not that we could have had much
+hope of success under the circumstances, knowing the peculiar habits of
+the humpback and the almost impossibility of competing with him in the
+open sea; but they had lured us on to forget all these things in the
+ardour of the chase, and then exposed our folly.
+
+Then ensued a week or two of uneventful cruising, broken only by
+the capture of a couple of cows--one just after the fruitless chase
+mentioned above, and one several days later. These events, though
+interesting enough to us, were marked by no such deviation from the
+ordinary course as to make them worthy of special attention; nor do I
+think that the cold-blooded killing of a cow-whale, who dies patiently
+endeavouring to protect her young, is a subject that lends itself to
+eulogium.
+
+However, just when the delightful days were beginning to pall upon us,
+a real adventure befell us, which, had we been attending strictly to
+business, we should not have encountered. For a week previous we had
+been cruising constantly without ever seeing a spout, except those
+belonging to whales out at sea, whither we knew it was folly to
+follow them. We tried all sorts of games to while away the time, which
+certainly did hang heavy, the most popular of which was for the whole
+crew of the boat to strip, and, getting overboard, be towed along at the
+ends of short warps, while I sailed her. It was quite mythological--a
+sort of rude reproduction of Neptune and his attendant Tritons. At last,
+one afternoon as we were listlessly lolling (half asleep, except the
+look-out man) across the thwarts, we suddenly came upon a gorge between
+two cliffs that we must have passed before several times unnoticed. At
+a certain angle it opened, disclosing a wide sheet of water, extending a
+long distance ahead. I put the helm up, and we ran through the passage,
+finding it about a boat's length in width and several fathoms deep,
+though overhead the cliffs nearly came together in places. Within, the
+scene was very beautiful, but not more so than many similar ones we had
+previously witnessed. Still, as the place was new to us, our languor was
+temporarily dispelled, and we paddled along, taking in every feature of
+the shores with keen eyes that let nothing escape. After we had gone
+on in this placid manner for maybe an hour, we suddenly came to a
+stupendous cliff--that is, for those parts--rising almost sheer from the
+water for about a thousand feet. Of itself it would not have arrested
+our attention, but at its base was a semicircular opening, like the
+mouth of a small tunnel. This looked alluring, so I headed the boat for
+it, passing through a deep channel between two reefs which led straight
+to the opening. There was ample room for us to enter, as we had lowered
+the mast; but just as we were passing through, a heave of the unnoticed
+swell lifted us unpleasantly near the crown of this natural arch.
+Beneath us, at a great depth, the bottom could be dimly discerned, the
+water being of the richest blue conceivable, which the sun, striking
+down through, resolved into some most marvellous colour-schemes in the
+path of its rays. A delicious sense of coolness, after the fierce heat
+outside, saluted us as we entered a vast hall, whose roof rose to a
+minimum height of forty feet, but in places could not be seen at all.
+A sort of diffused light, weak, but sufficient to reveal the general
+contour of the place, existed, let in, I supposed, through some unseen
+crevices in the roof or walls. At first, of course, to our eyes fresh
+from the fierce glare outside, the place seemed wrapped in impenetrable
+gloom, and we dared not stir lest we should run into some hidden
+danger. Before many minutes, however, the gloom lightened as our pupils
+enlarged, so that, although the light was faint, we could find our way
+about with ease. We spoke in low tones, for the echoes were so numerous
+and resonant that even a whisper gave back from those massy walls in a
+series of recurring hisses, as if a colony of snakes had been disturbed.
+
+We paddled on into the interior of this vast cave, finding everywhere
+the walls rising sheer from the silent, dark waters, not a ledge or a
+crevice where one might gain foothold. Indeed, in some places there was
+a considerable overhang from above, as if a great dome whose top was
+invisible sprang from some level below the water. We pushed ahead until
+the tiny semicircle of light through which we had entered was only
+faintly visible; and then, finding there was nothing to be seen except
+what we were already witnessing, unless we cared to go on into the thick
+darkness, which extended apparently into the bowels of the mountain, we
+turned and started to go back. Do what we would, we could not venture to
+break the solemn hush that surrounded us as if we were shut within the
+dome of some vast cathedral in the twilight, So we paddled noiselessly
+along for the exit, till suddenly an awful, inexplicable roar set all
+our hearts thumping fit to break our bosoms. Really, the sensation was
+most painful, especially as we had not the faintest idea whence the
+noise came or what had produced it. Again it filled that immense cave
+with its thunderous reverberations; but this time all the sting
+was taken out of it, as we caught sight of its author. A goodly
+bull-humpback had found his way in after us, and the sound of his spout,
+exaggerated a thousand times in the confinement of that mighty cavern,
+had frightened us all so that we nearly lost our breath. So far, so
+good; but, unlike the old nigger, though we were "doin' blame well," we
+did not "let blame well alone." The next spout that intruder gave,
+he was right alongside of us. This was too much for the semi-savage
+instincts of my gallant harpooner, and before I had time to shout a
+caution he had plunged his weapon deep into old Blowhard's broad back.
+
+I should like to describe what followed, but, in the first place, I
+hardly know; and, in the next, even had I been cool and collected, my
+recollections would sound like the ravings of a fevered dream. For of
+all the hideous uproars conceivable, that was, I should think, about the
+worst. The big mammal seemed to have gone frantic with the pain of his
+wound, the surprise of the attack, and the hampering confinement in
+which he found himself. His tremendous struggles caused such a commotion
+that our position could only be compared to that of men shooting Niagara
+in a cylinder at night. How we kept afloat, I do not know. Some one
+had the gumption to cut the line, so that by the radiation of the
+disturbance we presently found ourselves close to the wall, and trying
+to hold the boat in to it with our finger-tips. Would he never be quiet?
+we thought, as the thrashing, banging, and splashing still went on with
+unfailing vigour. At last, in, I suppose, one supreme effort to escape,
+he leaped clear of the water like a salmon. There was a perceptible
+hush, during which we shrank together like unfledged chickens on a
+frosty night; then, in a never-to-be-forgotten crash that ought to
+have brought down the massy roof, that mountainous carcass fell. The
+consequent violent upheaval of the water should have smashed the boat
+against the rocky walls, but that final catastrophe was mercifully
+spared us. I suppose the rebound was sufficient to keep us a safe
+distance off.
+
+A perfect silence succeeded, during which we sat speechless, awaiting
+a resumption of the clamour. At last Abner broke the heavy silence by
+saying, "I doan' see the do'way any mo' at all, sir." He was right. The
+tide had risen, and that half-moon of light had disappeared, so that we
+were now prisoners for many hours, it not being at all probable that we
+should be able to find our way out during the night ebb. Well, we
+were not exactly children, to be afraid of the dark, although there is
+considerable difference between the velvety darkness of a dungeon and
+the clear, fresh night of the open air. Still, as long as that beggar of
+a whale would only keep quiet or leave the premises, we should be fairly
+comfortable. We waited and waited until an hour had passed, and then
+came to the conclusion that our friend was either dead or gone out, as
+he gave no sign of his presence.
+
+That being settled, we anchored the boat, and lit pipes, preparatory to
+passing as comfortable a night as might be under the circumstances, the
+only thing troubling me being the anxiety of the skipper on our behalf.
+Presently the blackness beneath was lit up by a wide band of phosphoric
+light, shed in the wake of no ordinary-sized fish, probably an immense
+shark. Another and another followed in rapid succession, until the
+depths beneath were all ablaze with brilliant foot-wide ribands of green
+glare, dazzling to the eye and bewildering to the brain. Occasionally,
+a gentle splash or ripple alongside, or a smart tap on the bottom of
+the boat, warned us how thick the concourse was that had gathered below.
+Until that weariness which no terror is proof against set in, sleep was
+impossible, nor could we keep our anxious gaze from that glowing inferno
+beneath, where one would have thought all the population of Tartarus
+were holding high revel. Mercifully, at last we sank into a fitful
+slumber, though fully aware of the great danger of our position. One
+upward rush of any of those ravening monsters, happening to strike the
+frail shell of our boat, and a few fleeting seconds would have sufficed
+for our obliteration as if we had never been.
+
+But the terrible night passed away, and once more we saw the tender,
+irridescent light stream into that abode of dread. As the day
+strengthened, we were able to see what was going on below, and a grim
+vision it presented. The water was literally alive with sharks of
+enormous size, tearing with never ceasing energy at the huge carcass of
+the whale lying on the bottom, who had met his fate in a singular but
+not unheard-of way. At that last titanic effort of his he had rushed
+downward with such terrific force that, striking his head on the bottom,
+he had broken his neck. I felt very grieved that we had lost the chance
+of securing him; but it was perfectly certain that before we could get
+help to raise him, all that would be left of his skeleton would be quite
+valueless to us. So with such patience as we could command we waited
+near the entrance until the receding ebb made it possible for us to
+emerge once more into the blessed light of day. I was horrified at the
+haggard, careworn appearance of my crew, who had all, excepting the two
+Kanakas, aged perceptibly during that night of torment. But we lost
+no time in getting back to the ship, where I fully expected a severe
+wigging for the scrape my luckless curiosity had led me into. The
+captain, however, was very kind, expressing his pleasure at seeing us
+all safe back again, although he warned me solemnly against similar
+investigations in future. A hearty meal and a good rest did wonders in
+removing the severe effects of our adventure, so that by next morning we
+were all fit and ready for the days work again.
+
+It certainly seemed as if I was in for a regular series of troubles.
+After cruising till nearly two p.m., we fell in with the mate's boat,
+and were sailing quietly along side by side, when we suddenly rounded a
+point and ran almost on top of a bull-humpback that was basking in the
+beautiful sunshine. The mate's harpooner, a wonderfully smart fellow,
+was not so startled as to lose his chance, getting an iron well home
+before the animal realized what had befallen him. We had a lovely fight,
+lasting over an hour, in which all the marvellous agility with which
+this whale is gifted was exerted to the full in order to make his
+escape. But with the bottom not twenty fathoms away, we were sure of
+him. With all his supple smartness, he had none of the dogged savagery
+of the cachalot about him, nor did we feel any occasion to beware of
+his rushes, rather courting them, so as to finish the game as quickly as
+possible.
+
+He was no sooner dead than we hurried to secure him, and had actually
+succeeded in passing the tow-line through his lips, when, in the
+trifling interval that passed while we were taking the line aft to begin
+towing, he started to sink. Of course it was, "let go all!" If you
+can only get the slightest way on a whale of this kind, you are almost
+certain to be able to keep him afloat, but once he begins to sink you
+cannot stop him. Down he went, till full twenty fathoms beneath us he
+lay comfortably on the reef, while we looked ruefully at one another.
+We had no gear with us fit to raise him, and we were ten miles from the
+ship; evening was at hand, so our prospects of doing anything that night
+were faint.
+
+However, the mate decided to start off for home at once, leaving us
+there, but promising to send back a boat as speedily as possible with
+provisions and gear for the morning. There was a stiff breeze blowing,
+and he was soon out of sight; but we were very uncomfortable. The boat,
+of course, rode like a duck, but we were fully exposed to the open sea;
+and the mighty swell of the Pacific, rolling in over those comparatively
+shallow grounds, sometimes looked dangerously like breaking. Still, it
+was better than the cave, and there was a good prospect of supper. Long
+before we expected her, back came the boat, bringing bountiful provision
+of yams, cold pork and fruit--a regular banquet to men who were fasting
+since daylight. A square meal, a comforting pipe, and the night's vigil,
+which had looked so formidable, no longer troubled us, although, to tell
+the truth, we were heartily glad when the dawn began to tint the east
+with pale emerald and gold. We set to work at once, getting the huge
+carcass to the surface without as much labour as I had anticipated. Of
+course all hands came to the rescue.
+
+But, alas for the fruit of our labours! Those hungry monsters had
+collected in thousands, and, to judge from what we were able to see of
+the body, they had reduced its value alarmingly. However, we commenced
+towing, and were getting along fairly well, when a long spur of reef to
+leeward of us, over which the sea was breaking frightfully, seemed to be
+stretching farther out to intercept us before we could get into smooth
+water. The fact soon faced us that we were in the remorseless grip of a
+current that set right over that reef, and against its steady stream all
+our efforts were the merest triviality. Still, we hung on, struggling
+desperately to keep what we had earned, until so close to the roaring,
+foaming line of broken water, that one wave breaking farther out than
+the rest very nearly swamped us all. One blow of an axe, one twirl of
+the steer-oars, and with all the force we could muster we were pulling
+away from the very jaws of death, leaving our whale to the hungry
+crowds, who would make short work of him. Downcast indeed, at our bad
+luck, we returned on board, disappointing the skipper very much with our
+report. Like the true gentleman he was, though, recognizing that we had
+done our best, he did not add to the trouble by cursing us all for a set
+of useless trash, as his predecessor would have done; on the contrary, a
+few minutes after the receipt of the bad news his face was as bright as
+ever, his laugh as hearty as if there was no such thing as a misfortune
+in the world.
+
+And now I must come to what has been on my mind so long--a tragedy that,
+in spite of all that had gone before, and of what came after, is the
+most indelible of all the memories which cling round me of that eventful
+time. Abner Cushing, the Vermonter had declared at different times that
+he should never see his native Green Mountain again. Since the change
+in our commander, however, he had been another man--always silent and
+reserved, but brighter, happier, and with a manner so improved as to
+make it hard to recognize him for the same awkward, ungainly slab of a
+fellow that had bungled everything he put his hand to. Taking stock of
+him quietly during our day-long leisurely cruises in the boat, I often
+wondered whether his mind still kept its gloomy forebodings, and brooded
+over his tragical life-history. I never dared to speak to him on the
+subject, for fear of arousing what I hoped was growing too faint for
+remembrance. But at times I saw him in the moonlit evenings sitting on
+the rail alone, steadfastly gazing down into the star-besprent waters
+beneath him, as if coveting their unruffled peace.
+
+Two-thirds of our stay in the islands had passed away, when, for a
+wonder, the captain took it into his head to go up to the chief village
+one morning. So he retained me on board, while the other three boats
+left for the day's cruise as usual. One of the mate's crew was sick, and
+to replace him he took Abner out of my boat. Away they went; and shortly
+after breakfast-time I lowered, received the captain on board, and
+we started for the capital. Upon our arrival there we interviewed the
+chief, a stout, pleasant-looking man of about fifty, who was evidently
+held in great respect by the natives, and had a chat with the white
+Wesleyan missionary in charge of the station. About two p.m., after
+the captain's business was over, we were returning under sail, when we
+suddenly caught sight of two of our boats heading in towards one of the
+islands. We helped her with the paddles to get up to them, seeing as we
+neared them the two long fins of a whale close ahead of one of them.
+As we gazed breathlessly at the exciting scene, we saw the boat rush in
+between the two flippers, the harpooner at the same time darting an iron
+straight down. There was a whirl in the waters, and quick as thought
+the vast flukes of the whale rose in the air, recurving with a sidelong
+sweep as of some gigantic scythe. The blow shore off the bow of the
+attacking boat as if it had been an egg-shell.
+
+At the same moment the mate stooped, picked up the tow-line from its
+turn round the logger-head, and threw it forward from him. He must have
+unconsciously given a twist to his hand, for the line fell in a kink
+round Abner's neck just as the whale went down with a rush. Struggling,
+clutching at the fatal noose, the hapless man went flying out through
+the incoming sea, and in one second was lost to sight for ever. Too
+late, the harpooner cut the line which attached the wreck to the
+retreating animal, leaving the boat free, but gunwale under. We
+instantly hauled alongside of the wreck and transferred her crew, all
+dazed and horror-stricken at the awful death of their late comrade.
+
+I saw the tears trickle down the rugged, mahogany-coloured face of the
+captain, and honoured him for it, but there was little time to waste in
+vain regrets. It was necessary to save the boat, if possible, as we were
+getting short of boat-repairing material; certainly we should not have
+been able to build a new one. So, drawing the two sound boats together,
+one on either side of the wreck, we placed the heavy steering oars
+across them from side to side. We then lifted the battered fore part
+upon the first oar, and with a big effort actually succeeded in lifting
+the whole of the boat out of water upon this primitive pontoon. Then,
+taking the jib, we "frapped" it round the opening where the bows had
+been, lashing it securely in that position. Several hands were told off
+to jump into her stern on the word, and all being ready we launched her
+again. The weight of the chaps in her stern-sheets cocked her bows
+right out of water, and in that position we towed her back to the ship,
+arriving safely before dusk.
+
+That evening we held a burial service, at which hundreds of natives
+attended with a solemnity of demeanour and expressions of sorrow that
+would not have been out of place at the most elaborate funeral in
+England or America. It was a memorable scene. The big cressets were
+lighted, shedding their wild glare over the dark sea, and outlining
+the spars against the moonless sky with startling effect. When we
+had finished the beautiful service, the natives, as if swayed by an
+irresistible impulse, broke into the splendid tune St. Ann's; and
+I afterwards learned that the words they sang were Dr. Watts'
+unsurpassable rendering of Moses' pean of praise, "O God, our help in
+ages past." No elaborate ceremonial in towering cathedral could begin to
+compare with the massive simplicity of poor Abner's funeral honours, the
+stately hills for many miles reiterating the sweet sounds, and carrying
+them to the furthest confines of the group.
+
+Next day was Sunday, and, in pursuance of a promise given some time
+before, I went ashore to my "flem's" to dinner, he being confined to the
+house with a hurt leg. It was not by any means a festive gathering, for
+he was more than commonly taciturn; his daughter Irene, a buxom lassie
+of fourteen, who waited on us, appeared to be dumb; and his wife was "in
+the straw." These trifling drawbacks, however, in nowise detracted from
+the hospitality offered. The dining-room was a large apartment furnished
+with leaves, the uprights of cocoa-nut tree, the walls and roof of
+pandanus leaf. Beneath the heaps of leaves, fresh and sweet-scented, was
+the earth. The inner apartment, or chamber of state, had a flooring of
+highly-polished planks, and contained, I presume, the household gods;
+but as it was in possession of my host's secluded spouse, I did not
+enter.
+
+A couch upon a pile of leaves was hastily arranged, upon which I was
+bidden to seat myself, while a freshly cut cocoa-nut of enormous size
+was handed to me, the soft top sliced off so that I might drink its
+deliciously cool contents. These nuts must grow elsewhere, but I have
+never before or since seen any so large. When green--that is, before
+the meat has hardened into indigestible matter--they contain from three
+pints to two quarts of liquid, at once nourishing, refreshing, and
+palatable. The natives appeared to drink nothing else, and I never saw a
+drop of fresh water ashore during our stay.
+
+Taking a huge knife from some hiding-place, Irene handed it to her
+father, who at once commenced to dig in the ground by his side, while
+I looked on wondering and amused. Presently he fished up a bundle of
+leaves bound with a vine-tendril, which he laid carefully aside. More
+digging brought to light a fine yam about three pounds in weight, which,
+after carefully wiping the knife on some leaves, he proceeded to peel.
+It was immediately evident that the yam was perfectly cooked, for it
+steamed as he removed the skin, revealing the inside as white as milk.
+Some large, round leaves were laid in front of me, and the yam placed
+upon them. Then mine host turned his attention to the bundle first
+unearthed, which concealed a chicken, so perfectly done that, although
+the bones drew out of the meat as if it had been jelly, it was full of
+juice and flavour; and except for a slight foreign twang, referrible,
+doubtless, to the leaves in which it had been enwrapped, I do not think
+it could have been possible to cook anything in a better way, or one
+more calculated to retain all the natural juices of the meat. The fowl
+was laid beside the yam, another nut broached; then, handing me the big
+knife, my "flem" bade me welcome, informing me that I saw my dinner.
+As nothing would induce him to join me, the idea being contrary to
+his notions of respect due to a guest, I was fain to fall to, and an
+excellent meal I made. For dessert, a basketful of such oranges freshly
+plucked as cannot be tasted under any other conditions, and crimson
+bananas, which upon being peeled, looked like curved truncheons of
+golden jelly, after tasting which I refused to touch anything else.
+
+A corn-cob cigarette closed the banquet, After expressing my thanks,
+I noticed that the pain of his leg was giving my friend considerable
+uneasiness, which he was stolidly enduring upon my account rather than
+appear discourteously anxious to get rid of me. So, with the excuse
+that I must needs be going, having another appointment, I left the good
+fellow and strolled around to the chapel, where I sat enjoying the sight
+of those simple-minded Kanakas at their devotions till it was time to
+return on board. Before closing this chapter, I would like, for the
+benefit of such of my readers who have not heard yet of Kanaka cookery,
+to say that it is simplicity itself. A hole is scooped in the earth, in
+which a fire is made (of wood), and kept burning until a fair-sized
+heap of glowing charcoal remains. Pebbles are then thrown in until the
+charcoal is covered. Whatever is to be cooked is enveloped in leaves,
+placed upon the pebbles, and more leaves heaped upon it. The earth is
+then thrown back into the cavity, and well stamped down. A long time is,
+of course, needed for the viands to get cooked through; but so subtle is
+the mode that overdoing anything is almost an impossibility. A couple of
+days may pass from the time of "putting down" the joint, yet when it
+is dug up it will be smoking hot, retaining all its juices, tender as
+jelly, but, withal, as full of flavour as it is possible for cooked meat
+to be. No matter how large the joint is, or how tough the meat, this
+gentle suasion will render it succulent and tasty; and no form of
+civilized cookery can in the least compare with it.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXII. FAREWELL TO VAU VAU
+
+Taking it all round, our visit to the Friendly Islands had not been
+particularly fortunate up till the time of which I spoke at the
+conclusion of the last chapter. Two-thirds of the period during which
+the season was supposed to last had expired, but our catch had not
+amounted to more than two hundred and fifty barrels of oil. Whales had
+been undoubtedly scarce, for our ill-success on tackling bulls was
+not at all in consequence of our clumsiness, these agile animals being
+always a handful, but due to the lack of cows, which drove us to take
+whatever we could get, which, as has been noted, was sometimes a severe
+drubbing. Energy and watchfulness had been manifested in a marked degree
+by everybody, and when the news circulated that our stay was drawing to
+a close, there was, if anything, an increase of zeal in the hope that we
+might yet make a favourable season.
+
+But none of these valuable qualities exhibited by us could make up for
+the lack of "fish" which was lamentably evident. It was not easy to
+understand why, because these islands were noted as a breeding-place for
+the humpbacked whale. Yet for years they had not been fished, so that a
+plausible explanation of the paucity of their numbers as a consequence
+of much harassing could not be reasonably offered. Still, after
+centuries of whale-fishing, little is known of the real habits of
+whales, Where there is abundance of "feed," in the case of MYSTICETA it
+may be reasonably inferred that whales may be found in proportionately
+greater numbers. With regard to the wider-spread classes of the
+great marine mammalia, beyond the fact, ascertained from continued
+observation, that certain parts of the ocean are more favoured by them
+than others, there is absolutely no data to go upon as to why at times
+they seem to desert their usual haunts and scatter themselves far and
+wide.
+
+The case of the cachalot is still more difficult. All the BALAENAE seem
+to be compelled, by laws which we can only guess at, to frequent the
+vicinity of land possessing shallows at their breeding times, so that
+they may with more or less certainty be looked for in such places at
+the seasons which have been accurately fixed. They may be driven to seek
+other haunts, as was undoubtedly the case at Vau Vau in a great measure,
+by some causes unknown, but to land they must come at those times. The
+sperm whale, however, needs no shelter at such periods, or, at any rate,
+does not avail herself of any. They may often be seen in the vicinity of
+land where the water is deep close to, but seldom with calves. Schools
+of cows with recently born young gambolling about them are met with
+at immense distances from land, showing no disposition to seek shelter
+either. For my part, I firmly believe that the cachalot is so terrible a
+foe, that the great sharks who hover round a gravid cow of the BALAENAE,
+driving her in terror to some shallow spot where she may hope to protect
+her young, never dare to approach a sperm cow on kidnapping errands, or
+any other if they can help it, until their unerring guides inform them
+that life is extinct. When a sperm whale is in health, nothing that
+inhabits the sea has any chance with him; neither does he scruple to
+carry the war into the enemy's country, since all is fish that comes
+to his net, and a shark fifteen feet in length has been found in the
+stomach of a cachalot.
+
+The only exception he seems to make is in the case of man. Instances
+have several--nay, many times occurred where men have been slain by the
+jaws of a cachalot crushing the boat in which they were; but their death
+was of course incidental to the destruction of the boat. Never, as far
+as I have been able to ascertain, has a cachalot attacked a man swimming
+or clinging to a piece of wreckage, although such opportunities occur
+innumerably. I have in another place told the story of how I once saw a
+combat between a bull-cachalot and so powerful a combination of enemies
+that even one knowing the fighting qualities of the sperm whale would
+have hesitated to back him to win, but the yarn will bear repetition.
+
+Two "killers" and a sword-fish, all of the largest size. Description of
+these warriors is superfluous, since they are so well known to museums
+and natural histories; but unless one has witnessed the charge of
+a XIPHIAS, he cannot realize what a fearful foe it is. Still, as a
+practice, these creatures leave the cachalot respectfully alone, knowing
+instinctively that he is not their game. Upon this memorable occasion,
+however I guess the two ORCAS were starving, and they had organized
+a sort of forlorn hope with the XIPHIAS as an auxiliary who might be
+relied upon to ensure success if it could be done. Anyhow, the syndicate
+led off with their main force first; for while the two killers hung on
+the cachalot's flanks, diverting his attention, the sword-fish, a giant
+some sixteen feet long, launched himself at the most vulnerable part of
+the whale, for all the world like a Whitehead torpedo. The wary eye
+of the whale saw the long, dark mass coming, and, like a practised
+pugilist, coolly swerved, taking for the nonce no notice of those
+worrying wolves astern. The shock came; but instead of the sword
+penetrating three, or maybe four feet just where the neck (if a whale
+has any neck) encloses the huge heart, it met the mighty, impenetrable
+mass of the head, solid as a block of thirty tons of india-rubber.
+
+So the blow glanced, revealing a white streak running diagonally across
+the eye, while the great XIPHIAS rolled helplessly over the top of that
+black bastion. With a motion so rapid that the eye could scarcely follow
+it, the whale turned, settling withal, and, catching the momentarily
+motionless aggressor in the lethal sweep of those awful shears, crunched
+him in two halves, which writhing sections he swallowed SERIATIM. And
+the allied forces aft--what of them? Well, they had been rash--they
+fully realized that fact, and would have fled, but one certainly found
+that he had lingered on the scene too long. The thoroughly-roused
+leviathan, with a reversal of his huge bulk that made the sea boil like
+a pot, brandished his tail aloft and brought it down upon the doomed
+"killer," making him at once the "killed." He was crushed like a shrimp
+under one's heel.
+
+The survivor fled--never faster--for an avalanche of living, furious
+flesh was behind him, and coming with enormous leaps half out of the sea
+every time. Thus they disappeared, but I have no doubts as to the issue.
+Of one thing I am certain--that, if any of the trio survived, they never
+afterwards attempted to rush a cachalot.
+
+Strange to say, the sperm whale does not appear to be a fond mother. At
+the advent of danger she often deserts her offspring and in such cases
+it is hardly conceivable that she ever finds it again. It is true that
+she is not gifted with such long "arms" as the BALAENAE wherewith to
+cuddle her young one to her capacious bosom while making tracks from
+her enemies; nor is she much "on the fight," not being so liberally
+furnished with jaw as the fierce and much larger bull--for this is
+the only species of whale in which there exists a great disproportion
+between the sexes in point of size. Such difference as may obtain
+between the MYSTICETA is slightly in favour of the female. I never heard
+of a cow-cachalot yielding more than fifty barrels of oil; but I have
+both heard of, and seen, bulls carrying one hundred and fifty. One
+individual taken by us down south was seventy feet long, and furnished
+us with more than the latter amount; but I shall come to him by-and-by.
+Just one more point before leaving this (to me) fascinating subject for
+the present.
+
+To any one studying the peculiar configuration of a cachalot's mouth, it
+would appear a difficult problem how the calf could suck. Certainly it
+puzzled me more than a little. But, when on the "line" grounds we got
+among a number of cows one calm day, I saw a little fellow about fifteen
+feet long, apparently only a few days old, in the very act. The mother
+lay on one side, with the breast nearly at the waters edge; while the
+calf, lying parallel to its parent, with its head in the same direction,
+held the teat sideways in the angle of its jaw, with its snout
+protruding from the surface. Although we caught several cow-humpbacks
+with newly born calves, I never had an opportunity of seeing THEM suck.
+
+Gradually our pleasant days at Vau Vau drew to a close. So quiet and
+idyllic had the life been, so full of simple joys, that most of us, if
+not all, felt a pang at the thought of our imminent departure from
+the beautiful place. Profitable, in a pecuniary sense, the season had
+certainly failed to be, but that was the merest trifle compared with
+the real happiness and peace enjoyed during our stay. Even the terrible
+tragedy which had taken one of our fellows from us could not spoil the
+actual enjoyment of our visit, sad and touching as the event undoubtedly
+was. There was always, too, a sufficiently arduous routine of necessary
+duties to perform, preventing us from degenerating into mere lotus
+eaters in that delicious afternoon-land. Nor even to me, friendless
+nomad as I was, did the thought ever occur, "I will return no more."
+
+But these lovely days spent in softly gliding over the calm, azure
+depths, bathed in golden sunlight, gazing dreamily down at the
+indescribable beauties of the living reefs, feasting daintily on
+abundance of never-cloying fruit, amid scenes of delight hardly to be
+imagined by the cramped mind of the town dweller; islands, air, and sea
+all shimmering in an enchanted haze, and silence scarcely broken by
+the tender ripple of the gently-parted waters before the boat's steady
+keel--though these joys have all been lost to me, and I in "populous
+city pent" endure the fading years, I would not barter the memory of
+them for more than I can say, so sweet it is to me. And, then, our
+relations with the natives had been so perfectly amicable, so free from
+anything to regret. Perhaps this simple statement will raise a cynical
+smile upon the lips of those who know Tahati, the New Hebrides, and
+kindred spots with all their savage, bestial orgies of alternate
+unbridled lust and unnamable cruelty. Let it be so. For my part, I
+rejoice that I have no tale of weeks of drunkenness, of brutal rape,
+treacherous murder, and almost unthinkable torture to tell.
+
+For of such is the paradise of the beach-comber, and the hell of the
+clean man. Not that I have been able to escape it altogether. When I say
+that I once shipped, unwittingly, as sailing-master of a little white
+schooner in Noumea, bound to Apia, finding when too late that she was a
+"blackbirder"--"labour vessel," the wise it call--nothing more will be
+needed to convince the initiated that I have moved in the "nine circles"
+of Polynesia.
+
+Some time before the day fixed for our departure, we were busy storing
+the gifts so liberally showered upon us by our eager friends. Hundreds
+of bunches of bananas, many thousands of oranges, yams, taro, chillies,
+fowls, and pigs were accumulated, until the ship looked like a huge
+market-boat. But we could not persuade any of the natives to ship with
+us to replace those whoso contract was now expiring. Samuela and Polly
+were, after much difficulty, prevailed upon by me to go with us to
+New Zealand, much to my gratification; but still we were woefully
+short-handed, At last, seeing that there was no help for it, the skipper
+decided to run over to Futuna, or Horn Island, where he felt certain of
+obtaining recruits without any trouble. He did so most unwillingly, as
+may well be believed, for the newcomers would need much training, while
+our present Kanaka auxiliaries were the smartest men in the ship.
+
+The slop-chest was largely drawn upon, to the credit of the crew,
+who wished in some tangible way to show their appreciation of the
+unremitting kindness shown them by their dusky friends. Not a whisper
+had been uttered by any native as to desire of remuneration for what
+he had given. If they expected a return, they certainly exercised great
+control over themselves in keeping their wishes quiet. But when they
+received the clothing, all utterly unsuited to their requirements as it
+was, their beaming faces eloquently proclaimed the reality of their joy.
+Heavy woollen shirts, thick cloth trousers and jackets, knitted socks;
+but acceptable beyond all was a pilot-suit--warm enough for the Channel
+in winter. Happy above all power of expression was he who secured
+it. With an eared cloth cap and a pair of half boots, to complete
+his preposterous rig, no Bond Street exquisite could feel more calmly
+conscious of being a well-dressed man than he. From henceforth he would
+be the observed of all observers at chapel on Sunday, exciting
+worldly desires and aspirations among his cooler but coveting
+fellow-worshippers.
+
+The ladies fared very badly, until the skipper, with a twinkling eye,
+announced that he had "dug up" some rolls of "cloth" (calico), which
+he was prepared to supply us with at reasonable rates. Being of rather
+pretty pattern, it went off like hot pies, and as the "fathoms" of
+gaudy, flimsy material were distributed to the delighted fafines, their
+shrill cries of gratitude were almost deafening.
+
+Inexorable time brought round the morning of our departure. Willing
+hands lifted our anchor, and hoisted the sails, so that we had nothing
+to do but look on. A scarcely perceptible breeze, stealing softly over
+the tree-tops, filled our upper canvas, sparing us the labour of towing
+her out of the little bay where we had lain so long, and gradually
+wafted us away from its lovely shores, amid the fast-flowing tears of
+the great crowd. With multitudinous cries of "Ofa, al-ofa, papalang"
+ringing in our ears ("Good-bye; good-bye, white man"), we rounded the
+point, and, with increasing pace, bore away through the outlying islands
+for the open sea. There was a strong trade blowing, making the old
+barky caper like a dancing-master, which long unfamiliar motion almost
+disagreed with some of us, after our long quiet. Under its hastening
+influence we made such good time that before dinner Vau Vau had faded
+into nothingness, mingling like the clouds with the soft haze on the
+horizon, from henceforth only a memory.
+
+We were not a very cheerful crowd that night, most of us being busy with
+his own reflections. I must confess that I felt far greater sorrow at
+leaving Vau Vau than ever I did at leaving England; because by the time
+I was able to secure a berth, I have usually drunk pretty deep of the
+bitter cup of the "outward bounder," than whom there is no more forlorn,
+miserable creature on earth. No one but the much abused boarding-master
+will have anything to do with him, and that worthy is generally careful
+to let him know that he is but a hanger-on, a dependant on sufferance
+for a meal, and that his presence on shore is an outrage. As for the
+sailors' homes, I have hardly patience to speak of them. I know the
+sailor is usually a big baby that wants protecting against himself, and
+that once within the four walls of the institution he is safe; but right
+there commendation must end. Why are good folks ashore systematically
+misled into the belief that the sailor is an object of charity, and that
+it is necessary to subscribe continually and liberally to provide him
+with food and shelter when ashore? Most of the contributors would be
+surprised to know that the cost of board and lodging at the "home" is
+precisely the same as it is outside, and much higher than a landsman of
+the same grade can live for in better style. With the exception of the
+sleeping accommodation, most men prefer the boarding-house, where, if
+they preserve the same commercial status which is a SINE QUA NON at the
+"home," they are treated like gentlemen; but in what follows lies
+the essential difference, and the reason for this outburst of mine,
+smothered in silence for years. An "outward bounder"--that is, a man
+whose money is exhausted and who is living upon the credit; of his
+prospective advance of pay--is unknown at the "home." No matter what the
+condition of things is in the shipping world; though the man may have
+fought with energy to get his discharge accepted among the crowd at
+the "chain-locker;" though he be footsore and weary with "looking for a
+ship," when his money is done, out into the street he must go, if haply
+he may find a speculative boarding-master to receive him. This act,
+although most unlikely in appearance, is often performed; and though the
+boarding-master, of course, expects to recoup himself out of the man's
+advance note, it is none the less as merciful as the action of the
+"home" authorities is merciless. Of course a man may go to the "straw
+house," or, as it is grandiloquently termed, the "destitute seaman's
+asylum," where for a season he will be fed on the refuse from the
+"home," and sheltered from the weather. But the ungrateful rascals do
+not like the "straw house," and use very bad language about it.
+
+The galling thing about the whole affair is that the "sailors' home"
+figures in certain official publications as a charity, which must be
+partially supported by outside contributions. It may be a charitable
+institution, but it certainly is not so to the sailor, who pays fully
+for everything he receives. The charity is bestowed upon a far different
+class of people to merchant Jack. Let it be granted that a man is sober
+and provident, always getting a ship before his money is all gone, he
+will probably be well content at the home, although very few seamen like
+to be reminded ashore of their sea routine, as the manner of the home
+is. If the institution does not pay a handsome dividend, with its
+clothing shops and refreshment bars, as well as the boarding-house
+lousiness on such a large scale, only one inference can be fairly
+drawn--there must be something radically wrong with the management.
+
+After this burst of temper, perhaps I had better get back to the subject
+in hand. It was, I suppose, in the usual contrary nature of things that,
+while we were all in this nearly helpless condition, one evening just
+before sunset, along comes a sperm whale. Now, the commonest prudence
+would have suggested letting him severely alone, since we were not only
+short-handed, but several of our crew were completely crippled by large
+boils; but it would have been an unprecedented thing to do while there
+was any room left in the hold. Consequently we mustered the halt and the
+lame, and manned two boats--all we could do--leaving the almost useless
+cripples to handle the ship. Not to displace the rightful harpooner, I
+took an oar in one of them, headed by the captain.
+
+At first my hopes were high that we should not succeed in reaching the
+victim before dark, but I was grievously disappointed in this. Just as
+the whale was curving himself to sound, we got fairly close, and the
+harpooner made a "pitch-pole" dart; that is, he hurled his weapon into
+the air, where it described a fine curve, and fell point downward on
+the animal's back just as he was disappearing. He stopped his descent
+immediately, and turned savagely to see what had struck him so
+unexpectedly. At that moment the sun went down.
+
+After the first few minutes' "kick-up," he settled down for a steady
+run, but not before the mate got good and fast to him likewise. Away we
+went at a rare rate into the gathering gloom of the fast-coming night.
+Now, had it been about the time of full moon or thereabouts, we should
+doubtless have been able, by the flood of molten light she sends down in
+those latitudes, to give a good account of our enemy; but alas for us,
+it was not. The sky overhead was a deep blue-black, with steely sparkles
+of starlight scattered all over it, only serving to accentuate the
+darkness. After a short time our whale became totally invisible, except
+for the phosphoric glare of the water all around him as he steadily
+ploughed his way along. There was a good breeze blowing, which soon
+caused us all to be drenched with the spray, rendering the general
+effect of things cold as well as cheerless. Needless to say, we strove
+with all our might to get alongside of him, so that an end might be put
+to so unpleasant a state of affairs; but in our crippled condition it
+was not at all easy to do so.
+
+We persevered, however, and at last managed to get near enough for the
+skipper to hurl a lance into the brightness of which the whale formed
+the centre. It must have touched him, for he gave a bound forward and
+disappeared. We suddenly came to a standstill, but in a moment were
+whirled round as if on a pivot, and away we went in the opposite
+direction. He had turned a complete somersault in the water beneath us,
+giving us a "grue" as we reflected what would have happened had he then
+chosen to come bounding to the surface. This manoeuvre seemed to please
+him mightily, for he ran at top speed several minutes, and then repeated
+it. This time he was nearly successful in doing us some real harm, for
+it was now so dark that we could hardly see the other boat's form as
+she towed along parallel to us about three or four lengths away. The two
+boats swung round in a wide circle, rushing back at each other out of
+the surrounding darkness as if bent on mutual destruction. Only by the
+smartest manipulation was a collision avoided, which, as each boat's
+bows bristled with lances and harpoons, would have been a serious matter
+for some of us. However, the whale did not have it all his own way, for
+the skipper, having charged his bomb-gun, patiently laid for him, and
+fired. It was rather a long shot, but it reached him, as we afterwards
+ascertained, making an ugly wound in the small near his tail.
+
+Its effect upon him was startling and immediate. He rushed off at so
+furious a rate dead to windward that for a great while we had all our
+work cut out to keep her free by baling. The sea had risen a little, and
+as we leapt from one wave to another the spray flew over us in an almost
+continuous cloud. Clearly our situation was a parlous one. We could not
+get near him; we were becoming dangerously enfeebled, and he appeared to
+be gaining strength instead of losing it. Besides all this, none of us
+could have the least idea of how the ship now bore from us, our only
+comfort being that, by observation of the Cross, we were not making a
+direct course, but travelling on the circumference of an immense
+circle. Whatever damage we had done to him so far was evidently quite
+superficial, for, accustomed as we were to tremendous displays of vigour
+on the part of these creatures, this specimen fairly surprised us.
+
+The time could only be guessed at; but, judging from our feelings, it
+might have been two or three nights long. Still, to all things an end,
+so in the midst of our dogged endurance of all this misery we felt
+the pace give, and took heart of grace immediately. Calling up all our
+reserves, we hauled up on to him, regardless of pain or weariness.
+The skipper and mate lost no opportunities of lancing, once they
+were alongside, but worked like heroes, until a final plunging of
+the fast-dying leviathan warned us to retreat. Up he went out of the
+glittering foam into the upper darkness, while we held our breath at the
+unique sight of a whale breaching at night. But when he fell again the
+effect was marvellous. Green columns of water arose on either side
+of the descending mass as if from the bowels of the deep, while
+their ghostly glare lit up the encircling gloom with a strange, weird
+radiance, which reflected in our anxious faces, made us look like an
+expedition from the FLYING DUTCHMAN. A short spell of gradually quieting
+struggle succeeded as the great beast succumbed, until all was still
+again, except the strange, low surge made by the waves as they broke
+over the bank of flesh passively obstructing their free sweep.
+
+While the final touch was being given to our task--i.e. the hole-boring
+through the tail-fin--all hands lay around in various picturesque
+attitudes, enjoying a refreshing smoke, care forgetting. While thus
+pleasantly employed, sudden death, like a bolt from the blue, leapt into
+our midst in a terrible form. The skipper was labouring hard at his task
+of cutting the hole for the tow-line, when without warning the great fin
+swung back as if suddenly released from tremendous tension. Happily for
+us, the force of the blow was broken by its direction, as it struck the
+water before reaching the boat's side, but the upper lobe hurled the
+boat-spade from the captain's hands back into our midst, where it struck
+the tub oarsman, splitting his head in two halves. The horror of the
+tragedy, the enveloping darkness, the inexplicable revivifying of the
+monster, which we could not have doubted to be dead, all combined to
+stupefy and paralyze us for the time. Not a sound was heard in our boat,
+though the yells of inquiry from our companion craft arose in increasing
+volume. It was but a brief accession of energy, only lasting two or
+three minutes, when the whale collapsed finally. Having recovered from
+our surprise, we took no further chances with so dangerous an opponent,
+but bored him as full of holes as a colander.
+
+Mournful and miserable were the remaining hours of our vigil. We sat
+around poor Miguel's corpse with unutterable feelings, recalling all
+the tragical events of the voyage, until we reached the nadir of
+despondency. With the rosy light of morning came more cheerful feelings,
+heightened by the close proximity of the ship, from which it is probable
+we had never been more than ten miles distant during the whole night.
+She had sighted us with the first light, and made all sail down to us,
+all hands much relieved at our safety. We were so sorely exhausted that
+we could hardly climb on board; and how we hoisted the boats I hardly
+know. The whale was secured by the efforts of the cripples we had left
+on board, while we wayfarers, after a good meal, were allowed four
+hours' sound, sweet sleep.
+
+When we returned to our duties, the first thing that awaited us was
+the burial of the poor body. Very reverently were the last sad offices
+performed, the flag hoisted half-mast, the bell solemnly tolled. Then we
+gathered at the gangway while the eternal words of hope and consolation
+were falteringly read, and with a sudden plunge the long, straight
+parcel slid off the hatch into the vast tomb ever ready for the dead
+sailor.
+
+Our dead out of sight, work claimed all our attention and energy, wiping
+with its benificent influence all gloomy musings over the inevitable,
+and replacing them with the pressing needs of life. The whale was not
+a large one, but peculiar to look at. Like the specimen that fought so
+fiercely with us in the Indian Ocean, its jaw was twisted round in a
+sort of hook, the part that curved being so thickly covered with
+long barnacles as to give the monster a most eerie look. One of the
+Portuguese expressed his decided opinion that we had caught Davy Jones
+himself, and that, in consequence, we should have no more accidents.
+It was impossible not to sympathize with the conceit, for of all the
+queer-looking monstrosities ever seen, this latest acquisition of ours
+would have taken high honours. Such malformations of the lower mandible
+of the cachalot have often been met with, and variously explained; but
+the most plausible opinion seems to be that they have been acquired when
+the animal is very young and its bones not yet indurated, since it
+is impossible to believe that an adult could suffer such an accident
+without the broken jaw drooping instead of being turned on one side.
+
+The yield of oil was distressingly scanty, the whale being what is
+technically known as a "dry skin." The blubber was so hard and tough
+that we could hardly cut it up for boiling, and altogether it was one of
+the most disappointing affairs we had yet dealt with. This poorness of
+blubber was, to my mind, undoubtedly due to the difficulty the animal
+must have had in obtaining food with his disabling defect of jaw.
+Whatever it was, we were heartily glad to see the last of the beast,
+fervently hoping we should never meet with another like him.
+
+During the progress of these melancholy operations we had drifted a
+considerable distance out of our course, no attention being paid, as
+usual, to the direction of our drift until the greasy work was
+done. Once the mess was cleared away, we hauled up again for our
+objective--Futuna--which, as it was but a few hours' sail distant, we
+hoped to make the next day.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIII. AT FUTUNA, RECRUITING
+
+Sure enough, in accordance with our expectations, break of day revealed
+the twin masses of Futuna ahead, some ten or fifteen miles away. With
+the fine, steady breeze blowing, by breakfast-time we were off the
+entrance to a pretty bight, where sail was shortened and the ship
+hove-to. Captain Count did not intend to anchor, for reasons of his
+own, he being assured that there was no need to do so. Nor was there.
+Although the distance from the beach was considerable, we could see
+numbers of canoes putting off, and soon they began to arrive. Now, some
+of the South Sea Islands are famous for the elegance and seaworthiness
+of their canoes; nearly all of them have a distinctly definite style
+of canoe-building; but here at Futuna was a bewildering collection of
+almost every type of canoe in the wide world. Dugouts, with outriggers
+on one side, on both sides, with none at all; canoes built like boats,
+like prams, like irregular egg-boxes, many looking like the first boyish
+attempt to knock something together that would float; and--not to
+unduly prolong the list by attempted classification of these unclassed
+craft--CORACLES. Yes; in that lonely Pacific island, among that motley
+crowd of floating nondescripts, were specimens of the ancient coracle
+of our own islands, constructed in exactly the same way; that is, of
+wicker-work, covered with some waterproof substance, whether skin or
+tarpaulin. But the ingenious Kanaka, not content with his coracles,
+had gone one better, and copied them in dugouts of solid timber. The
+resultant vessel was a sort of cross between a butcher's tray and a
+wash-basin--
+
+"A thing beyond Conception: such a wretched wherry, Perhaps ne'er
+ventured on a pond, Or crossed a ferry."
+
+The proud possessors of the coracles, both wicker and wood, must have
+been poor indeed, for they did not even own a paddle, propelling their
+basins through the water with their hands. It may be imagined what a
+pace they put on! At a little distance they were very puzzling, looking
+more like a water-beetle grown fat and lazy than aught else.
+
+And so, in everything floatable, the whole male population of that part
+of the coast came to visit us. We were speedily the centre of a great
+crowd of canoes, some of which were continually capsizing and spilling
+their occupants, who took no more notice of such incidents than one
+would of a sneeze. Underneath a canoe, or on top, made but little
+difference to these amphibious creatures. They brought nothing with
+them to trade; in fact, few of their vessels were capable of carrying
+anything that could not swim and take care of itself. As they came
+on board, each crossed himself more or less devoutly, revealing the
+teaching of a Roman Catholic mission; and as they called to one another,
+it was not hard to recognize, even in their native garb, such names as
+Erreneo (Irenaeus), Al'seo (Aloysius), and other favourite cognomens of
+saints.
+
+A laughing chattering good-tempered crowd they were--just like a bevy of
+children breaking up, and apparently destitute of the slightest sense
+of responsibility. They spoke a totally different dialect, or maybe
+language, to that of Vau Vau, for it was only an isolated word here and
+there that Samuela could make out. But presently, going forward through
+the crowd that thronged every part of the deck, I saw a man leaning
+nonchalantly against the rail by the fore-rigging, who struck me at
+once as being an American negro. The most casual observer would not
+have mistaken him for a Kanaka of those latitudes, though he might
+have passed as a Papuan. He was dressed in all the dignity of a woollen
+shirt, with a piece of fine "tapa" for a waistcloth, feet and legs bare.
+Around his neck was a necklace composed of a number of strings of blue
+and white beads plaited up neatly, and carrying as a pendant a George
+shilling. Going up to him, I looked at the coin, and said, "Belitani
+money?" "Oh yes," he said, "that's a shilling of old Georgey Fourf,"
+in perfectly good English, but with an accent which quite confirmed my
+first idea. I at once invited him aft to see the skipper, who was very
+anxious to find an interpreter among the noisy crowd, besides being
+somewhat uneasy at having so large a number on board.
+
+To the captain's interrogations he replied that he was "Tui
+Tongoa"--that is, King of Tonga, an island a little distance away--but
+that he was at present under a cloud, owing to the success of a usurper,
+whom he would reckon with by-and-by.
+
+In the mean time he would have no objection to engaging himself with
+us as a harpooner, and would get us as many men as we wanted, selecting
+from among the crowd on board, fellows that would, he knew, be useful to
+us.
+
+A bargain was soon struck, and Tui entered upon his self-imposed task.
+It was immediately evident that he had a bigger contract on hand than he
+had imagined. The natives, who had previously held somewhat aloof from
+him in a kind of deferential respect, no sooner got wind of the fact
+that we needed some of them than they were seized with a perfect frenzy
+of excitement. There were, I should think, at least a hundred and fifty
+of them on board at the time. Of this crowd, every member wanted to be
+selected, pushing his candidature with voice and gesture as vigorously
+as he knew how. The din was frightful. Tui, centre of the frantic mob,
+strove vainly to make himself heard, to reduce the chaos to some sort
+of order, but for a great while it was a hopeless attempt. At last,
+extricating himself from his importunate friends, he gained the
+captain's side. Panting, almost breathless, with sweat streaming off
+him, he gasped out, "Oh, cap'n, dese yer darn niggers all gone mad!
+Dribe 'em oberbord; clar 'em out, 'n I'll stan' by to grab some o' der
+likely ones as de res' scatter." "But what about the wages?" said the
+skipper. "I'm not goin' ter give 'em whatever they like to ask." "You
+leab it ter me, cap'n. I bet you'll be satisfy. Anyhow, dishyers no
+time fer tradin'; de blame niggers all off dere coco-nuts. Anybody fink
+you'se payin' off 'stead o' shippin', an' deyse all afraid dey won't get
+'nough."
+
+Unpleasant as the job was to all of us, it had to be done; so we armed
+ourselves with ropes'-ends, which we flourished threateningly, avoiding
+where possible any actual blows. Many sprang overboard at once, finding
+their way ashore or to their canoes as best they could. The majority,
+however, had to swim, for we now noticed that, either in haste or from
+carelessness, they had in most cases omitted to fasten their canoes
+securely when coming alongside, so that many of them were now far out
+to sea. The distance to shore being under three miles, that mattered
+little, as far as their personal safety was concerned.
+
+This summary treatment was eminently successful, quiet being rapidly
+restored, so that Tui was able to select a dozen men, who he declared
+were the best in the islands for our purpose. Although it seems somewhat
+premature to say so, the general conduct of the successful candidates
+was so good as to justify Tui fully in his eulogium. Perhaps his
+presence had something to do with it?
+
+We now had all that we came for, so that we were anxious to be off. But
+it was a job to get rid of the visitors still remaining on board.
+They stowed themselves away in all manner of corners, in some cases
+ludicrously inadequate as hiding-places, and it was not until we were
+nearly five miles from the land that the last of them plunged into
+the sea and struck out for home. It was very queer. Ignorant of our
+destination, of what would be required of them; leaving a land of ease
+and plenty for a certainty of short commons and hard work, without
+preparation or farewells, I do not think I ever heard of such a strange
+thing before. Had their home been famine or plague-stricken, they could
+not have evinced greater eagerness to leave it, or to face the great
+unknown.
+
+As we drew farther off the island the wind freshened, until we had a
+good, whole-sail breeze blustering behind us, the old ship making, with
+her usual generous fuss, a tremendous rate of seven knots an hour. Our
+course was shaped for the southward, towards the Bay of Islands, New
+Zealand. In that favourite haunt of the South-seaman we were to wood and
+water, find letters from home (those who had one), and prepare for the
+stormy south.
+
+Obviously the first thing to be done for our new shipmates was to clothe
+them. When they arrived on board, all, with the single exception of Tui,
+were furnished only with a "maro" of "tapa," scanty in its proportions,
+but still enough to wrap round their loins. But when they were accepted
+for the vacant positions on board, they cast off even the slight apology
+for clothing which they had worn, flinging the poor rags to their
+retreating and rejected compatriots. Thus they were strutting about, in
+native majesty unclad, which, of course, could not be endured among even
+so unconventional a crowd as we were. So they were mustered aft, and,
+to their extravagant delight, a complete rig-out was handed to each of
+them, accompanied by graphic instructions how to dress themselves. Very
+queer they looked when dressed, but queerer still not long afterwards,
+when some of them, galled by the unaccustomed restraint of the trousers,
+were seen prowling about with shirts tied round their waists by the
+sleeves, and pants twisted turban-wise about their heads. Tui was
+called, and requested to inform them that they must dress properly,
+after the fashion of the white man, for that any impromptu improvements
+upon our method of clothes-wearing could not be permitted. As they were
+gentle, tractable fellows, they readily obeyed, and, though they must
+have suffered considerably, there were no further grounds for complaint
+on the score of dress.
+
+It has been already noticed that they were Roman Catholics--all except
+Tui, who from his superior mental elevation looked down upon their
+beliefs with calm contempt, although really a greater heathen than any
+of them had ever been. It was quite pathetic to see how earnestly they
+endeavoured to maintain the form of worship to which they had been
+accustomed, though how they managed without their priest, I could not
+find out. Every evening they had prayers together, accompanied by many
+crossings and genuflexions, and wound up by the singing of a hymn in
+such queer Latin that it was almost unrecognizable. After much wondering
+I did manage to make out "O Salutaris Hostia!" and "Tantum Ergo," but
+not until their queer pronunciation of consonants had become familiar.
+Some of the hymns were in their own tongue, only one of which I call now
+remember. Phonetically, it ran thus--
+
+"Mah-lee-ah, Kollyeea leekee; Obselloh mo mallamah. Alofah, keea ma toh;
+Fah na oh, Mah lah ee ah"--
+
+which I understood to be a native rendering of "O Stella Maris!" It was
+sung to the well-known "Processional" in good time, and on that account,
+I suppose, fixed itself in my memory.
+
+Whenever any of them were ordered aloft, they never failed to cross
+themselves before taking to the rigging, as if impressed with a sense
+of their chance of not returning again in safety. To me was given the
+congenial task of teaching them the duties required, and I am bound to
+admit that they were willing, biddable, and cheerful learners. Another
+amiable trait in their characters was especially noticeable: they always
+held everything in common. No matter how small the portion received by
+any one, it was scrupulously shared with the others who lacked, and this
+subdivision was often carried to ludicrous lengths.
+
+As there was so reason to hurry south, we, took a short cruise on the
+Vasquez ground, more, I think, for the purpose of training our recruits
+than anything else. As far as the results to our profit were concerned,
+we might almost as well have gone straight on, for we only took one
+small cow-cachalot. But the time spent thus cruising was by no means
+wasted. Before we left finally for New Zealand, every one of those
+Kanakas was as much at home in the whale-boats as he would have been in
+a canoe. Of course they were greatly helped by their entire familiarity
+with the water, which took from them all that dread of being drowned
+which hampers the white "greenie" so sorely, besides which, the absolute
+confidence they had in our prowess amongst the whales freed them from
+any fear on that head.
+
+Tui proved himself to be a smart harpooner, and was chosen for the
+captain's boat. During our conversations, I was secretly amused to hear
+him allude to himself as Sam, thinking how little it accorded with his
+SOI-DISANT Kanaka origin. He often regaled me with accounts of his royal
+struggles to maintain his rule, all of which narrations I received with
+a goodly amount of reserve, though confirmed in some particulars by
+the Kanakas, when I became able to converse with them. But I was hardly
+prepared to find, as I did many years after, upon looking up some detail
+in Findlay's "South Pacific Directory," this worthy alluded to as "the
+celebrated Sam," in a brief account of Futuna. There he was said to be
+king of the twin isles; so I suppose he found means to oust his rival,
+and resume his sovereignty; though, how an American negro, as Sam
+undoubtedly was, ever managed to gain such a position, remains to me
+an unfathomable mystery. Certainly he did not reveal any such masterful
+attributes as one would have expected in him, while he served as
+harpooner on board the CACHALOT.
+
+Gradually we crept south, until one morning we sighted the towering
+mass of Sunday Island, the principal member of the small Kermadec
+group, which lies nearly on the prime meridian of one hundred and eighty
+degrees, and but a short distance north of the extremity of New Zealand.
+We had long ago finished the last of our fresh provisions, fish had
+been very scarce, so the captain seized the opportunity to give us a
+run ashore, and at the same time instructed us to do such foraging as we
+could. It was rumoured that there were many wild pigs to be found,
+and certainly abundance of goats; but if both these sources of supply
+failed, we could fall back on fish, of which we were almost sure to get
+a good haul.
+
+The island is a stupendous mass of rock, rising sheer from the waves, in
+some places to a height of fifteen hundred feet. These towering cliffs
+are clothed with verdure, large trees clinging to their precipitous
+sides in a marvellous way. Except at one small bight, known as Denham
+Bay, the place is inaccessible, not only from the steepness of its
+cliffs, but because, owing to its position, the gigantic swell of the
+South Pacific assails those immense bastions with a force and volume
+that would destroy instantly any vessel that unfortunately ventured
+too near. Denham Bay, however, is in some measure protected by reefs
+of scattered boulders, which break the greatest volume of the oncoming
+rollers. Within those protecting barriers, with certain winds, it is
+possible to effect a landing with caution; but even then no tyro in
+boat-handling should venture to do so, as the experiment would almost
+certainly be fatal to boat and crew.
+
+We hove-to off the little bay, the waters of which looked placid enough
+for a pleasure-party, lowered two boats well furnished with fishing gear
+and such other equipment as we thought would be needed, and pulled away
+for the landing-place. As we drew near the beach, we found that, in
+spite of the hindrance to the ocean swell afforded by the reefs, it
+broke upon the beach in rollers of immense size. In order to avoid any
+mishap, then, we turned the boats' heads to seaward, and gently backed
+towards the beach, until a larger breaker than usual came thundering in.
+As it rushed towards us, we pulled lustily to meet it, the lovely craft
+rising to its foaming crest like sea-birds. Then, as soon as we were on
+its outer slope, we reversed the stroke again, coming in on its mighty
+shoulders at racing speed. The instant our keels touched the beach we
+all leapt out, and exerting every ounce of strength we possessed, ran
+the boats up high and dry before the next roller had time to do
+more than hiss harmlessly around our feet. It was a task of uncommon
+difficulty, for the shore was wholly composed of loose lava and
+pumice-stone grit, into which we sank ankle-deep at every step, besides
+being exceedingly steep.
+
+We managed, however, to escape without any mishap, for the drenching
+was a boon to our burnt-up skins. Off we started along the level land,
+which, as far as I could judge, extended inland for perhaps a mile and
+a half by about two miles wide. From this flat shelf the cliffs
+rose perpendicularly, as they did from the sea. Up their sides were
+innumerable goat-tracks, upon some of which we could descry a few
+of those agile creatures climbing almost like flies. The plateau was
+thickly wooded, many of the trees having been fruit-bearing once, but
+now, much to our disappointment, barren from neglect.
+
+A ruined house, surrounded by other vestiges of what had once been a
+homestead, stood in the middle of this piece of land. Feeling curious to
+know what the history of this isolated settlement might be, I asked
+the mate if he knew anything of it. He told me that an American named
+Halstead, with his family, lived here for years, visited only by an
+occasional whaler, to whom they sold such produce as they might have and
+be able to spare at the time. What their previous history had been, or
+why they thus chose to cut themselves off from the world, he did not
+know; but they seemed contented enough with their tiny kingdom, nor had
+any wish to leave it. But it came to pass that one night they felt
+the sure and firm-set earth trembling convulsively beneath their feet.
+Rushing out of their house, they saw the heavens bespread with an awful
+pall of smoke, the under-side of which was glowing with the reflected
+fires of some vast furnace. Their terror was increased by a smart shower
+of falling ashes and the reverberations of subterranean thunders. At
+first they thought of flight in their boat, not reckoning the wide
+stretch of sea which rolled between them and the nearest land, but
+the height and frequency of the breakers then prevailing made that
+impossible.
+
+Their situation was pitiable in the extreme. During the years of peace
+and serenity they had spent here, no thought of the insecurity of their
+tenure had troubled them. Though they had but been dwellers on the
+threshold of the mountain, as it were, and any extension of their
+territory impossible by reason of the insurmountable barrier around
+them, they had led an untroubled life, all unknowing of the fearful
+forces beneath their feet. But now they found the foundations of the
+rocks beneath breaking up; that withering, incessant shower of ashes
+and scoriae destroyed all their crops; the mild and delicate air changed
+into a heavy, sulphurous miasma; while overhead the beneficent face of
+the bright-blue sky had become a horrible canopy of deadly black, about
+which played lurid coruscations of infernal fires.
+
+What they endured throughout those days and nights of woe, could never
+be told. They fled from the home they had reared with such abundance of
+loving labour, taking refuge in a cave; for not even the knowledge that
+the mountain itself seemed to be in the throes of dissolution could
+entirely destroy their trust in those apparently eternal fastnesses.
+Here their eldest son died, worried to death by incessant terror. At
+last a passing whaler, remembering them and seeing the condition of
+things, had the humanity and courage to stand in near enough to see
+their agonized signals of distress. All of them, except the son buried
+but a day or two before, were safely received and carried away, leaving
+the terrible mountain to its solitude.
+
+As I listened, I almost involuntarily cast my eyes upwards; nor was I at
+all surprised to see far overhead a solitary patch of smoky cloud, which
+I believe to have been a sure indication that the volcano was still
+liable to commence operations at any time.
+
+So far, we had not happened upon any pigs, or goats either, although we
+saw many indications of the latter odoriferous animal. There were few
+sea-birds to be seen, but in and out among the dense undergrowth ran
+many short-legged brown birds, something like a partridge--the same, I
+believe, as we afterwards became familiar with in Stewart's Island by
+the name of "Maori hens." They were so tame and inquisitive that we had
+no difficulty in securing a few by the simple process of knocking
+them over with sticks. From the main branch of a large tree hung a big
+honey-comb, out of which the honey was draining upon the earth. Around
+it buzzed a busy concourse of bees, who appeared to us so formidable
+that we decided to leave them to the enjoyment of their sweet store, in
+case we should invite an attack.
+
+So far, our rambling had revealed nothing of any service to us; but just
+then, struck by the appearance of a plant which was growing profusely
+in a glade we were passing over, I made bold to taste one of the leaves.
+What the botanical name of the vegetable is, I do not know; but, under
+the designation of "Maori cabbage," it is well known in New Zealand. It
+looks like a lettuce, running to seed; but it tastes exactly like young
+turnip-tops, and is a splendid anti-scorbutic. What its discovery
+meant to us, I can hardly convey to any one who does not know what an
+insatiable craving for potatoes and green vegetables possesses seamen
+when they have for long been deprived of these humble but necessary
+articles of food. Under the circumstances, no "find" could have given us
+greater pleasure--that is, in the food line--than this did.
+
+Taking it all round, however, the place as a foraging ground was not a
+success. We chased a goat of very large size, and beard voluminous as
+a Rabbi's, into a cave, which may have been the one the Halsteads took
+shelter in, for we saw no other. One of the Kanakas volunteered to go in
+after him with a line, and did so. The resultant encounter was the
+best bit of fun we had had for many a day. After a period of darksome
+scuffling within, the entangled pair emerged, fiercely wrestling, Billy
+being to all appearance much the fresher of the two. Fair play seemed to
+demand that we should let them fight it out; but, sad to say, the
+other Kanakas could not see things in that light, and Billy was
+soon despatched. Rather needless killing, too; for no one, except at
+starvation-point, could have eaten the poor remains of leathery flesh
+that still decorated that weather-beaten frame.
+
+But this sort of thing was tiring and unprofitable. The interest of
+the place soon fizzled out, when it was found there was so little worth
+taking away; so, as the day was getting on, it was decided to launch off
+and start fishing. In a few minutes we were afloat again, and anchored,
+in about four fathoms, in as favourable a spot for our sport as ever
+I saw. Fish swarmed about us of many sorts, but principally of the
+"kauwhai," a kind of mullet very plentiful about Auckland, and averaging
+five or six pounds. Much to my annoyance, we had not been able to get
+any bait, except a bit of raw salt-pork, which hardly any fish but the
+shark tribe will look at. Had I known or thought of it, a bit of goat
+would have been far more attractive.
+
+However, as there was no help for it, we baited up and started. "Nary
+nibble ermong 'em!" growled Sam, as we sat impatiently waiting for a
+bite. When we hauled up to see what was wrong, fish followed the hook up
+in hundreds, letting us know plainly as possible that they only wanted
+something tasty. It was outrageous, exasperating beyond measure! At last
+Samuela grew so tired of it that he seized his harpoon, and hurled it
+into the middle of a company of kauwhai that were calmly nosing around
+the bows. By the merest chance he managed to impale one of them upon the
+broad point. It was hardly in the boat before I had seized it, scaled
+it, and cut it into neat little blocks. All hands rebaited with it, and
+flung out again. The change was astounding. Up they came, two at a
+time, dozens and dozens of them kauwhai, cavalle, yellow-tail,
+schnapper--lovely fish of delicious flavour and goodly size. Then one of
+us got a fish which made him yell, "Shark! shark!" with all his might.
+He had a small line of American cotton, staunch as copper wire,
+but dreadfully cutting to the hands. When he took a turn round the
+logger-head, the friction of the running line cut right into the white
+oak, but the wonderful cord and hook still held their own. At last the
+monster yielded, coming in at first inch by inch, then more rapidly,
+till raised in triumph above the gunwhale--a yellow-tail six feet long.
+I have caught this splendid fish (ELAGATIS BIPINNULATIS) many times
+before and since then, but never did I see such a grand specimen as this
+one--no, not by thirty or forty pounds. Then I got a giant cavalle. His
+broad, shield-like body blazed hither and thither as I struggled to ship
+him, but it was long ere he gave in to superior strength and excellence
+of line and hook.
+
+Meanwhile, the others had been steadily increasing our cargo, until,
+feeling that we had quite as much fish as would suffice us, besides
+being really a good load, I suggested a move towards the ship. We were
+laying within about half a mile of the shore, where the extremity of the
+level land reached the cliffs. Up one of the well-worn tracks a fine,
+fat goat was slowly creeping, stopping every now and then to browse upon
+the short herbage that clung to the crevices of the rock. Without saying
+a word, Polly the Kanaka slipped over the side, and struck out with
+swift overhead strokes for the foot of the cliff. As soon as I saw what,
+he was after, I shouted loudly for him to return, but he either could
+not or would not hear me. The fellow's seal-like ability as a swimmer
+was, of course, well known to me, but I must confess I trembled for
+his life in such a weltering whirl of rock-torn sea as boiled among the
+crags at the base of that precipice. He, however, evidently knew what
+he was going to do, and, though taking risks which would have certainly
+been fatal to an ordinary swimmer, was quite unafraid of the result.
+
+We all watched him breathlessly as he apparently headed straight for
+the biggest outlying rock--a square, black boulder about the size of an
+ordinary railway car. He came up to it on the summit of a foaming
+wave; but just as I looked for him to be dashed to pieces against its
+adamantine sides, he threw his legs into the air and disappeared. A
+stealthy, satisfied smile glowed upon Samuela's rugged visage, and, as
+he caught my eye, he said jauntily, "Polly savee too much. Lookee him
+come on top one time!" I looked, and sure enough there was the daring
+villain crawling up among the kelp far out of reach of the hungry
+rollers. It was a marvellous exhibition of coolness and skill.
+
+Without waiting an instant, he began to stalk the goat, dodging amongst
+the bushes with feet that clung to the steep sides of the cliff as well
+as the animal's. Before he could reach her, she had winded him, and was
+off up the track. He followed, without further attempt to hide himself;
+but, despite his vigour and ability, would, I fancy, have stood a
+microscopic chance of catching her had she not been heavy with kid. As
+it was, he had all his work cut out for him. When he did catch her, she
+made so fierce it struggle for life and liberty that, in the endeavour
+to hold her, he missed his insecure foothold, and the pair came tumbling
+over and over down the cliff in a miniature avalanche of stones and
+dust. At the bottom they both lay quiet for a time; while I anxiously
+waited, fearing the rash fool was seriously injured; but in a minute or
+two he was on his feet again.
+
+Lashing the goat to his body, and ignoring her struggles, he crawled
+out as far among the rocks as he could; then, at the approach of a big
+breaker, he dived to meet it, coming up outside its threatening top like
+a life-buoy. I pulled in, as near as I could venture, to pick him
+up, and in a few minutes had him safely on board again, but suffering
+fearfully. In his roll down the cliff he had been without his trousers,
+which would have been some protection to him. Consequently, his thighs
+were deeply cut and torn in many places, while the brine entering so
+many wounds, though a grand styptic, must have tortured him unspeakably.
+At any rate, though he was a regular stoic to bear pain, he fainted
+while I was "dressing him down" in the most vigorous language I could
+command for his foolhardy trick. Then we all realized what he must
+be going through, and felt that he was getting all the punishment he
+deserved, and more. The goat, poor thing! seemed none the worse for her
+rough handling.
+
+The mate gave the signal to get back on board just as Polly revived, so
+there were no inconvenient questions asked, and we returned alongside in
+triumph, with such a cargo of fish as would have given us a good month's
+pay all round could we have landed them at Billingsgate. Although
+the mate had not succeeded as well as we, the catch of the two boats
+aggregated half a ton, not a fish among the lot less than five pounds
+weight, and one of a hundred and twenty--the yellow-tail aforesaid. As
+soon as we reached the ship, the boats were run up, sails filled, and
+away we lumbered again towards New Zealand.
+
+As the great mass of that solitary mountain faded away in the gathering
+shades of evening, it was impossible to help remembering the sufferings
+of that afflicted family, confined to those trembling, sulphurous,
+ash-bestrewn rocks, amid gloom by day, and unnatural glare by night, for
+all that weary while. And while I admit that there is to some people a
+charm in being alone with nature, it is altogether another thing when
+your solitude becomes compulsory, your paradise a prison from which you
+cannot break away. There are many such nooks scattered about the ocean,
+where men have hidden themselves away from the busy world, and been
+forgotten by it; but few of them, I fancy, offer such potentialities of
+terror as Sunday Island.
+
+We had hardly lost sight of the land, when Polly's capture gave birth
+to a kid. This event was the most interesting thing that had happened
+on board for a great while, and the funny little visitor would have
+run great risk of being completely spoiled had he lived. But, to our
+universal sorrow, the mother's milk failed--from want of green food, I
+suppose--and we were obliged to kill the poor little chap to save him
+from being starved to death. He made a savoury mess for some
+whose appetite for flesh-meat was stronger than any sentimental
+considerations.
+
+To an ordinary trader, the distance between the Kermadecs and the Bay of
+Islands, New Zealand, roughly represents a couple of days' sail; but to
+us, who were apparently incapable of hurry under any circumstances, it
+meant a good week's bludgeoning the protesting waves before the grim
+outliers of the Three Kings came into view. Even then, although the
+distance was a mere bagatelle, it was another two days before we arrived
+off that magnificent harbour where reposes the oldest township in New
+Zealand--Russell, where rest the mortal remains of the first really
+Pakeha Maori, but which, for some unaccountable reason, is still left
+undeveloped and neglected, visited only by the wandering whalers (in
+ever-decreasing numbers) and an occasional trim, business-like, and
+gentlemanly man-o'-war, that, like a Guardsman strolling the West End in
+mufti, stalks the sea with never an item of her smart rig deviating by a
+shade from its proper set or sheer.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIV. THE BAY OF ISLANDS AND NEW ZEALAND COAST
+
+In a comparative new colony like New Zealand, where the marvellous
+growth of the young state can be traced within living memory, from
+the privations of the pioneer to the fully developed city with all
+the machinery of our latest luxurious civilization, it is exceedingly
+interesting to note how the principal towns have sprung up arbitrarily,
+and without any heed to the intentions of the ruling powers. The
+old-fashioned township of Kororarika, or Port Russell, is a case very
+much in point. As we sailed in between the many islets from which the
+magnificent bay takes its name, for all appearances to the contrary, we
+might have been the first, discoverers. Not a house, not a sail, not a
+boat, broke the loneliness and primeval look of the placid waters and
+the adjacent shores. Not until we drew near the anchorage, and saw
+upon opening up the little town the straight-standing masts of three
+whale-ships, did anything appear to dispel the intense air of solitude
+overhanging the whole. As we drew nearer, and rounded-to for mooring,
+I looked expectantly for some sign of enterprise on the part of the
+inhabitants--some tradesman's boat soliciting orders; some of the
+population on the beach (there was no sign of a pier), watching the
+visitor come to an anchor. Not a bit of it. The whole place seemed a
+maritime sleepy hollow, the dwellers in which had lost all interest in
+life, and had become far less energetic than the much-maligned Kanakas
+in their dreamy isles of summer.
+
+Yet this was once intended for the capital of New Zealand. When the
+large and splendidly-built city of Dunedin, Otago, was a barren bush,
+haunted only by the "morepork" and the apteryx, Russell was humming with
+vitality, her harbour busy with fleets of ships, principally whalers,
+who found it the most convenient calling-place in the southern temperate
+zone. Terrible scenes were enacted about its "blackguard beach," orgies
+of wild debauchery and bloodshed indulged in by the half-savage and
+utterly lawless crews of the whaleships. But it never attained to any
+real importance. As a port of call for whalers, it enjoyed a certain
+kind of prosperity; but when the South Sea fishery dwindled, Russell
+shrank in immediate sympathy. It never had any vitality of its own, no
+manufactures or products, unless the wretched coalmines adjacent, with
+their dirty output, which is scoffed at by the grimiest tug afloat,
+could be dignified by the name.
+
+Remembering, as I did, the beauty, the energy, and prosperity of the
+great New Zealand ports, some of them with not a tithe of the natural
+advantages of Russell, I felt amazed, almost indignant, at its
+dead-and-alive appearance.
+
+Our anchor was no sooner down than the captains of the JAMES ARNOLD,
+MATILDA SAYER, and CORAL lowered and came on board, eager to hear or to
+tell such news as was going. As we had now grown to expect, all work was
+over immediately the sails were fast and decks cleared up, so that we
+were free to entertain our visitors. And a high old time we had of it
+that afternoon! What with songs, dances, and yarns, the hours flew
+by with lightning speed. Our Kanakas, too, were overjoyed to find
+compatriots among the visitors, and settled down to a steady stream of
+talk which lasted, without intermission, the whole night through. It was
+a wonderful exhibition of tongue-wagging, though what it was all about
+puzzled me greatly.
+
+Life on board those three ships, though described in glowing terms by
+the visitors, was evidently not to be mentioned for comfort in the same
+breath as ours. But we found that our late captain's fame as a "hard
+citizen" was well known to all; so that it is only ordinary justice to
+suppose that such a life as he led us was exceptional for even a Yankee
+spouter. Our friends gave us a blood-curdling account of the Solander
+whaling ground, which we were about to visit, the JAMES ARNOLD and CORAL
+having spent a season there that cruise. I did not, however, pay much
+attention to their yarns, feeling sure that, even if they were fact,
+it would not help to brood over coming hardships, and inclined to give
+liberal discount to most of their statements. The incessant chatter,
+got wearisome at last, and I, for one, was not sorry when, at two in the
+morning, our visitors departed to their several ships, and left us to
+get what sleep still remained left to us.
+
+A pleasant expedition was planned for the next day. Our visit being
+principally for wooding and watering, both of which it was necessary
+for us to do ourselves, Captain Count showed his usual promptitude in
+commencing at once. Permission having been obtained and, I suppose,
+paid for, we set out with two boats and a plentiful supply of axes for a
+well-wooded promontory to prepare a store of wood. Wood chopping is not
+usually looked upon as a sailor's pastime; but we had had considerable
+experience during the voyage, as a result of which most of us could
+swing an axe in fine style. But the Kanakas beat us all hollow.
+Delighted to get ashore again, pleased with the fine axes as children
+with new toys, they laid about them in grand style, the young trees
+falling right and left in scores. Anybody would have judged that we were
+working piece-work, at so much a cord, the pile grew so fast. There
+was such a quantity collected that, instead of lightering it off in the
+boats, which is very rough and dirty usage for them, I constructed a
+sort of raft with four large spars arranged in the form of an oblong,
+placing an immense quantity of the smaller stuff in between. Upright
+sticks were rudely lashed here and there, to keep the pile from bobbing
+out underneath, and thus loaded we proceeded slowly to the ship with
+sufficient wood for our wants brought in one journey. It was immediately
+hoisted on board, sawn into convenient lengths, and stowed away, the
+whole operation being completed, of getting between eight and ten tons
+of firewood cut, ferried, and stowed, in less than eight hours.
+
+Next day was devoted to watering; but as I have elsewhere described that
+necessary if prosaic occupation, I will not repeat the story. Sufficient
+to say that the job was successfully "did" in the course of the day.
+
+All the work being accomplished for which we had come, it only remained
+to give the crew "liberty." So the port watch, in their best (?) rig,
+were mustered aft; each man received ten shillings, and away they went
+in glee for the first genuine day's liberty since leaving Honolulu. For
+although they had been much ashore in Vau Vau, that was not looked upon
+in the same light as a day's freedom in a town where liquor might
+be procured, and the questionable privilege of getting drunk taken
+advantage of. Envious eyes watched their progress from the other ships,
+but, much to my secret satisfaction, none of their crews were allowed
+ashore at the same time. There were quite sufficient possibilities of
+a row among our own crowd, without farther complications such as would
+almost certainly have occurred had the strangers been let loose at
+the same time. Unfortunately, to the ordinary sailor-man, the place
+presented no other forms of amusement besides drinking, and I was
+grieved to see almost the whole crowd, including the Kanakas, emerge
+from the grog-shop plentifully supplied with bottles, and, seating
+themselves on the beach, commence their carouse. The natives evinced the
+greatest eagerness to get drunk, swallowing down the horrible "square
+gin" as if it were water. They passed with the utmost rapidity through
+all the stages of drunkenness. Before they had been ashore an hour,
+most of them were lying like logs, in the full blaze of the sun, on the
+beach. Seeing this, the captain suggested the advisability of bringing
+them on board at once, as they were only exposed to robbery by the few
+prowling Maories that loafed about the beach--a curious contrast to the
+stately fellows met with in other parts of New Zealand.
+
+So we set to work, and brought them on board again, handing them over to
+their compatriots by way of warning against similar excesses, although,
+it must be confessed, that they were hardly to blame, with the example
+of their more civilized shipmates before their eyes. Sam was energetic
+in his condemnation of both the Kanakas for getting drunk, and the
+captain for giving them any money wherewith to do so. The remainder
+of the watch fortunately concluded their carouse without any serious
+disorder. A few bruises bestowed upon one another, more in clumsy
+horseplay than real fighting summed up the casualties among them. By ten
+o'clock that evening we had them all safely on board again, ready for
+sore heads and repentance in the morning.
+
+During the day I had evolved a scheme, which I had great hopes of
+carrying out when our watch should be let loose on the morrow. When
+morning came, and the liberty men received their money, I called them
+together and unfolded my plan. Briefly, I proposed a sort of picnic at a
+beautiful spot discovered during our wooding expedition. I was surprised
+and very pleased at the eager way in which all, with the sole exceptions
+of Tui and his fellow-harpooner, a Portuguese, fell in with my
+suggestions. Without any solicitation on my part, my Kanakas brought me
+their money, begging me to expend it for them, as they did not know how,
+and did not want to buy gin.
+
+Under such favourable auspices as these, we landed shortly after eight
+a.m., making a bee-line for the only provision shop the place boasted.
+Here we laid in a stock of such savouries as we had long been strangers
+to, both eatables and drinkables, although I vetoed fire-water
+altogether. Beer in bottle was substituted, at my suggestion, as being,
+if we must have drinks of that nature, much the least harmful to men
+in a hot country, besides, in the quantity that we were able to take,
+non-intoxicant. We also took tea, sugar, milk, and a kettle, Thus
+furnished, we struck for the country, merry as a group of schoolboys,
+making the quiet air ring again with song, shout, and laughter--all
+of which may seem puerile and trivial in the extreme; but having seen
+liberty men ashore in nearly every big port in the world, watched the
+helpless, dazed look with which they wander about, swinging hands, bent
+shoulders, and purposeless rolling gait, I have often fervently wished
+that some one would take a party of them for a ramble with a definite
+purpose, helping them to a little enjoyment, instead of them falling,
+from sheer lack of knowing what else to do, into some dirty, darksome
+gin-mill, to be besotted, befooled, and debased.
+
+I do earnestly wish that some of the good folk in London and Liverpool,
+who are wringing their hands for want of something to do among their
+fellow-men, would pay a visit to sailor-town for the purpose of getting
+up a personally-conducted party of sailors to see the sights worth
+seeing. It is a cheap form of pleasure, even if they paid all expenses,
+though that would not be likely. They would have an uphill job at first,
+for the sailor has been so long accustomed to being preyed upon by the
+class he knows, and neglected by everybody else except the few good
+people who want to preach to him, that he would probably, in a sheepish
+shame-faced sort of way, refuse to have any "truck" with you, as he
+calls it. If the "sailors' home" people were worth their salt, they
+would organize expeditions by carriage to such beautiful places as--in
+London, for instance--Hampton Court, Zoological Gardens, Crystal Palace,
+Epping Forest, and the like, with competent guides and good catering
+arrangements. But no; the sailor is allowed to step outside the door of
+the "home" into the grimy, dismal streets with nothing open to him
+but the dance-house and brothel on one side, and the mission hall or
+reading-room on the other. God forbid that I should even appear to sneer
+at missions to seamen; nothing is farther from my intention; but I do
+feel that sailors need a little healthy human interest to be taken in
+providing some pleasure for them, and that there are unorthodox ways of
+"missioning" which are well worth a trial.
+
+I once took a party (while I was an A.B.) from Wells-street Home to the
+South Kensington Museum. There were six of them--a Frenchman, a Dane,
+a Russian Finn, two Englishmen, and an Irishman. Though continually
+sailing from London for years, this was the first occasion they had ever
+been west of Aldgate. The only mistake I made was in going too deep
+at one step. The journey from Shadwell to South Kensington, under the
+guidance of one familiar, through the hardest personal experiences, with
+every corner of the vast network, was quite enough for one day. So that
+by the time we entered the Museum they were surfeited temporarily with
+sight-seeing, and not able to take in the wonders of the mighty place.
+Seeing this, I did not persist, but, after some rest and refreshment,
+led them across the road among the naval models. Ah! it was a rare treat
+to see them there. For if there is one thing more than another which
+interests a sailor, it is a well-made model of a ship. Sailors are
+model-makers almost by nature, turning out with the most meagre outfit
+of tools some wonderfully-finished replicas of the vessels is which they
+have sailed. And the collection of naval models at South Kensington is,
+I suppose, unsurpassed in the world for the number and finish of the
+miniature vessels there shown.
+
+Our day was a great success, never to be forgotten by those poor
+fellows, whose only recreation previously had been to stroll listlessly
+up and down the gloomy, stone-flagged hall of the great barracks until
+sheer weariness drove them out into the turbid current of the "Highway,"
+there to seek speedily some of the dirty haunts where the "runner" and
+the prostitute: awaited them.
+
+But I have wandered far from the Bay of Islands while thus chattering
+of the difficulties that beset the path of rational enjoyment for the
+sailor ashore. Returning to that happy day, I remember vividly how,
+just after we got clear of the town, we were turning down a lane
+between hedgerows wonderfully like one of our own country roads, when
+something--I could not tell what--gripped my heart and sent a lump into
+my throat. Tears sprang unbidden to my eyes, and I trembled from head
+to foot with emotion. Whatever could it be? Bewildered for the moment,
+I looked around, and saw a hedge laden with white hawthorn blossom, the
+sweet English "may." Every Londoner knows how strongly that beautiful
+scent appeals to him, even when wafted from draggled branches borne
+slumwards by tramping urchins who have been far afield despoiling the
+trees of their lovely blossoms, careless of the damage they have been
+doing. But to me, who had not seen a bit for years, the flood of feeling
+undammed by that odorous breath, was overwhelming. I could hardly
+tear myself away from the spot, and, when at last I did, found myself
+continually turning to try and catch another whiff of one of the most
+beautiful scents in the world.
+
+Presently we came to a cottage flooded from ground to roof-ridge with
+blossoms of scarlet geranium. There must have been thousands of them,
+all borne by one huge stem which was rooted by the door of the house. A
+little in front of it grew a fuchsia, twelve or fourteen feet high, with
+wide-spreading branches, likewise loaded with handsome blooms; while the
+ground beneath was carpeted with the flowers shaken from their places by
+the rude wind.
+
+So, through scenes of loveliness that appealed even to the dusky
+Kanakas, we trudged gaily along, arriving pretty well fagged at our
+destination--a great glade of tenderest green, surrounded by magnificent
+trees on three sides; the fourth opening on to a dazzling white beach
+sloping gently down to the sea. Looking seaward, amidst the dancing,
+sparkling wavelets, rose numerous tree-clothed islets, making a
+perfectly beautiful seascape. On either side of the stretch of beach
+fantastic masses of rock lay about, as if scattered by some tremendous
+explosion. Where the sea reached them, they were covered with untold
+myriads of oysters, ready to be eaten and of delicious flavour.
+
+What need to say more? With oyster-feeding, fishing, bathing,
+tree-climbing, tea-making, song-singing the hours fled with pitiless
+haste, so that, before we had half emptied the brimming cup of joys
+proffered us, the slanting rays of the setting sun warned us to return
+lest we should get "hushed" in the dark. We came on board rejoicing,
+laden with spoils of flowers and fish, with two-thirds of our money
+still in our pockets, and full of happy memories of one of the most
+delightful days in our whole lives.
+
+A long night's sound sleep was rudely broken into in the morning by the
+cry of "Man the windlass." Having got all we wanted, we were bound away
+to finish, if luck were with us, the lading of our good ship from the
+teeming waters of the Solander grounds. I know the skipper's hopes were
+high, for he never tired of telling how, when in command of a new ship,
+he once fished the whole of his cargo--six thousand barrels of sperm
+oil--from the neighbourhood to which we were now bound. He always
+admitted, though, that the weather he experienced was unprecedented.
+Still, nothing could shake his belief in the wonderful numbers of sperm
+whales to be found on the south coasts of New Zealand, which faith was
+well warranted, since he had there won from the waves, not only the
+value of his new ship, but a handsome profit in addition, all in one
+season.
+
+Hearing this kind of thing every day made me feel quite hungry to reach
+the battle-field; but, for reasons which doubtless were excellent,
+although I cannot pretend to explain them, we started north about, which
+not only added nearly one hundred miles to the distance we had to go,
+but involved us in a gale which effectually stopped our progress for
+a week. It was our first taste of the gentle zephyrs which waft their
+sweetness over New Zealand, after sweeping over the vast, bleak,
+iceberg-studded expanse of the Antarctic Ocean. Our poor Kanakas were
+terribly frightened, for the weather of their experience, except on the
+rare occasions when they are visited by the devastating hurricane, is
+always fine, steady, and warm. For the first time in their lives they
+saw hail, and their wonder was too great for words. But the cold was
+very trying, not only to them, but to us, who had been so long in the
+tropics that our blood was almost turned to water. The change was nearly
+as abrupt as that so often experienced by our seamen, who at the rate of
+sixteen knots an hour plunge from a temperature of eighty degrees to one
+of thirty degrees in about three days.
+
+We, with the ready adaptability of seamen, soon got accustomed to the
+bleak, bitter weather, but the Kanakas wilted like hothouse plants under
+its influence. They were well fed and well clothed, yet they seemed
+to shrivel up, looking thinner every day, several of them getting deep
+coughs strongly suggestive of a cemetery. It was no easy task to get
+them to work, or even move, never a one of them lumbering aloft but I
+expected him to come down by the run. This was by no means cheering,
+when it was remembered what kind of a campaign lay before us. Captain
+Count seemed to be quite easy in his mind, however, and as we had
+implicit confidence in his wisdom and judgment, we were somewhat
+reassured.
+
+The gale at last blew itself out, the wind veering to the northward
+again, with beautiful, spring-like weather, just cool enough to be
+pleasant, and, withal, favourable for getting to our destination. We
+soon made the land again about New Plymouth, jogging along near enough
+to the coast to admire the splendid rugged scenery of the Britain of
+the south. All hands were kept busily employed preparing for stormy
+weather--reeving new running-gear, bending the strongest suit of sails,
+and looking well to all the whaling gear.
+
+In this active exercise of real sailor-work, the time, though long for
+an ordinary passage, passed quickly and pleasantly away, so that when
+we hauled round the massive promontory guarding the western entrance
+to Foveaux Straits, we were almost surprised to find ourselves there so
+soon.
+
+This, then, was the famous and dreaded Solander whaling ground. Almost
+in the centre of the wide stretch of sea between Preservation Inlet,
+on the Middle Island, and the western end of the South, or Stewart's
+Island, rose a majestic mass of wave-beaten rock some two thousand
+feet high, like a grim sentinel guarding the Straits. The extent of the
+fishing grounds was not more than a hundred and fifty square miles, and
+it was rarely that the vessels cruised over the whole of it. The most
+likely area for finding whales was said to be well within sight of the
+Solander Rock itself, but keeping on the western side of it.
+
+It was a lovely day when we first entered upon our cruising ground, a
+gentle north-east wind blowing, the sky a deep, cloudless blue, so
+that the rugged outline of Stewart's Island was distinctly seen at its
+extreme distance from us. To the eastward the Straits narrowed rapidly,
+the passage at the other end being scarcely five miles wide between the
+well-known harbour of the Bluff, the port of Invercargill, and a long
+rocky island which almost blocked the strait. This passage, though
+cutting off a big corner, not only shortening the distance from the
+westward considerably, but oftentimes saving outward bounders a great
+deal of heavy weather off the Snares to the south of Stewart's Island,
+is rarely used by sailing-ships, except coasters; but steamers regularly
+avail themselves of it, being independent of its conflicting currents
+and baffling winds.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXV. ON THE SOLANDER GROUNDS
+
+Our opening day was an auspicious one. We had not been within the
+cruising radius more than four hours before the long-silent; cry of
+"Blo-o-o-w!" resounded from the mainmast head. It was a lone whale,
+apparently of large size, though spouting almost as feebly as a calf.
+But that, I was told by the skipper, was nothing to go by down here.
+He believed right firmly that there were no small whales to be found in
+these waters at all. He averred that in all his experience he had never
+seen a cow-cachalot anywhere around Stewart's Island, although, as
+usual, he did no theorizing as to the reason why.
+
+Eagerly we took to the boats and made for our first fish, setting
+alongside of him in less than half an hour from our first glimpse of his
+bushy breath. As the irons sank into his blubber, he raised himself
+a little, and exposed a back like a big ship bottom up. Verily, the
+skipper's words were justified, for we had seen nothing bigger of the
+whale-kind that voyage. His manner puzzled us not a little. He had not
+a kick in him. Complacently, as though only anxious to oblige, he
+laid quietly while we cleared for action, nor did he show any signs
+of resentment or pain while he was being lanced with all the vigour
+we possessed. He just took all our assaults with perfect quietude and
+exemplary patience, so that we could hardly help regarding him with
+great suspicion, suspecting some deep scheme of deviltry hidden by
+this abnormally sheep-like demeanour. But nothing happened. In the same
+peaceful way he died, without the slightest struggle sufficient to raise
+even an eddy on the almost smooth sea.
+
+Leaving the mate by the carcass, we returned on board, the skipper
+hailing us immediately on our arrival to know what was the matter with
+him. We, of course, did not know, neither did the question trouble us.
+All we were concerned about was the magnanimous way in which he, so to
+speak, made us a present of himself, giving us no more trouble to secure
+his treasure than as if he had been a lifeless thing. We soon had him
+alongside, finding, upon ranging him by the ship, that he was over
+seventy feet long, with a breadth of bulk quite in proportion to such a
+vast length.
+
+Cutting-in commenced at once, for fine weather there was by no means to
+be wasted, being of rare occurrence and liable at the shortest notice to
+be succeeded by a howling gale. Our latest acquisition, however, was of
+such gigantic proportions that the decapitation alone bade fair to take
+us all night. A nasty cross swell began to get up, too--a combination of
+north-westerly and south-westerly which, meeting at an angle where the
+Straits began, raised a curious "jobble," making the vessel behave in
+a drunken, uncertain manner. Sailors do not mind a ship rolling or
+pitching, any more than a rider minds the motion of his horse; but when
+she does both at once, with no approach to regularity in her movements,
+it makes them feel angry with her. What, then, must our feelings
+have been under such trying conditions, with that mountain of matter
+alongside to which so much sheer hard labour had to be done, while the
+sky was getting greasy and the wind beginning to whine in that doleful
+key which is the certain prelude to a gale?
+
+Everybody worked like Chinamen on a contract, as if there was no such
+feeling as fatigue. Little was said, but we all realized that unless
+this job was got over before what was brooding burst upon us, we should
+certainly lose some portion of our hard-won whale. Still, our utmost
+possible was all we could do; and when at daylight the head was hauled
+alongside for cutting up, the imminent possibility of losing it, though
+grievous to think of, worried nobody, for all had done their best. The
+gale had commenced in business-like fashion, but the sea was horrible.
+It was almost impossible to keep one's footing on the stage. At times
+the whole mass of the head would be sucked down by the lee roll of
+the ship, and go right under her keel, the fluke-chain which held it
+grinding and straining as if it would tear the bows out of her. Then
+when she rolled back again the head would rebound to the surface right
+away from the ship, where we could not reach it to cut. Once or twice it
+bounced up beneath our feet, striking the stage and lifting it with its
+living load several inches, letting it fall again with a jerk that made
+us all cling for dear life to our precarious perch.
+
+In spite of these capers, we managed to get the junk off the head. It
+was a tremendous lift for us; I hardly think we had ever raised such a
+weight before. The skipper himself estimated it at fifteen tons, which
+was no small load for the tackles in fine weather, but with the ship
+tumbling about in her present fashion, it threatened to rip the mainmast
+out by the roots--not, of course, the dead-weight strain; but when it
+was nearly aboard, her sudden lee wallow sometimes floated the whole
+mass, which the next instant, on the return roll, would be torn out of
+water, with all the force of the ship suddenly rolling the other way.
+Every splinter, every rope-yarn of her groaned again under this savage
+treatment; but so splendid was her construction that she never made a
+drop of water more than just sufficient to sweeten the limbers.
+
+It was with great and genuine satisfaction that we saw it at last safely
+lowered on deck and secured. But when we turned our attention to the
+case, which, still attached to the skull, battered alongside, any chance
+of saving it was at once seen to be hopeless. Indeed, as the old man
+said, it was time for us to "up stick" and run for shelter. We had been
+too fully occupied to notice the gradual increase of the wind; but when
+we did, there was no gainsaying the fact that it was blowing a very
+stiff breeze (ANGLICE, a violent gale). Fortunately for us, it was from
+the westward, fair for the harbour of Port William, on the Stewart's
+Island side of the Straits, so that we were free from the apprehension
+of being blown out to sea or on a jagged lee shore.
+
+While we were thus thinking during a brief pause to take breath, the old
+packet herself solved our last difficulty in emphatic fashion. She
+gave a tremendous lee lurch, which would inevitably have destroyed the
+cutting stage if we had not hoisted it, driving right over the head,
+which actually rose to the surface to windward, having passed under her
+bottom. The weather roll immediately following was swift and sudden.
+From the nature of things, it was evident that something must give way
+this time. It did. For the first and only time in my experience,
+the fluke-chain was actually torn through the piece to which it was
+fast--two feet of solid gristle ripped asunder. Away went the head with
+its L150 to L200 worth of pure spermaceti, disappearing from view almost
+immediately.
+
+It had no sooner gone than more sail was set, the yards were squared,
+and the vessel kept away up the Straits for shelter. It was a big
+improvement, for she certainly had begun to make dirty weather of
+it, and no wonder. Now, however, running almost dead before the gale,
+getting into smoother water at every fathom, she was steady as a rock,
+allowing us to pursue our greasy avocation in comparative comfort. The
+gale was still increasing, although now blowing with great fury; but, to
+our satisfaction, it was dry and not too cold. Running before it,
+too, lessened our appreciation of its force; besides which, we were
+exceedingly busy clearing away the enormous mass of the junk, which,
+draining continually, kept the decks running with oil.
+
+We started to run up the Straits at about ten a.m. At two p.m. we
+suddenly looked up from our toil, our attention called by a sudden lull
+in the wind. We had rounded Saddle Point, a prominent headland, which
+shut off from us temporarily the violence of the gale. Two hours later
+we found ourselves hauling up into the pretty little harbour of Port
+William, where, without taking more than a couple of hands off the work,
+the vessel was rounded-to and anchored with quite as little fuss as
+bringing a boat alongside a ship. It was the perfection of seamanship.
+
+Once inside the bay, a vessel was sheltered from all winds, the land
+being high and the entrance intricate. The water was smooth as a
+mill-pond, though the leaden masses of cloud flying overhead and the
+muffled roar of the gale told eloquently of the unpleasant state affairs
+prevailing outside. Two whale-ships lay here--the TAMERLANE, of New
+Bedford, and the CHANCE, of Bluff Harbour. I am bound to confess that
+there was a great difference is appearance between the Yankee and the
+colonial--very much in favour of the former. She was neat, smart, and
+seaworthy, looking as if just launched; but the CHANCE looked like some
+poor old relic of a bygone day, whose owners, unable to sell her, and
+too poor to keep her in repair, were just letting her go while keeping
+up the insurance, praying fervently each day that she might come to
+grief, and bring them a little profit at last.
+
+But although it is much safer to trust appearances in ships than in
+men, any one who summed up the CHANCE from her generally outworn and
+poverty-stricken looks would have been, as I was, "way off." Old she
+was, with an indefinite antiquity, carelessly rigged, and vilely unkempt
+as to her gear, while outside she did not seem to have had a coat
+of paint for a generation. She looked what she really was--the sole
+survivor of the once great whaling industry of New Zealand. For although
+struggling bay whaling stations did exist in a few sheltered places far
+away from the general run of traffic, the trade itself might truthfully
+be said to be practically extinct. The old CHANCE alone, like some
+shadow of the past, haunted Foveaux Straits, and made a better income
+for her fortunate owners than any of the showy, swift coasting steamers
+that rushed contemptuously past her on their eager way.
+
+In many of the preceding pages I have, though possessing all an
+Englishman's pride in the prowess of mine own people, been compelled
+to bear witness to the wonderful smartness and courage shown by the
+American whalemen, to whom their perilous calling seems to have become
+a second nature. And on other occasions I have lamented that our own
+whalers, either at home or in the colonies, never seemed to take so
+kindly to the sperm whale fishery as the hardy "down Easters," who first
+taught them the business; carried it on with increasing success,
+in spite of their competition and the depredations of the ALABAMA;
+flourished long after the English fishery was dead; and even now
+muster a fleet of ships engaged in the same bold and hazardous calling.
+Therefore, it is the more pleasant to me to be able to chronicle some of
+the doings of Captain Gilroy, familiarly known as "Paddy," the master
+of the CHANCE, who was unsurpassed as a whale-fisher or a seaman by any
+Yankee that ever sailed from Martha's Vineyard.
+
+He was a queer little figure of a man--short, tubby, with scanty red
+hair, and a brogue thick as pea-soup. Eccentric in most things, he was
+especially so in his dress, which he seemed to select on the principle
+of finding the most unfitting things to wear. Rumour credited him with a
+numerous half-breed progeny--certainly he was greatly mixed up with the
+Maories, half his crew being made up of his dusky friends and relations
+by MARRIAGE. Overflowing with kindliness and good temper, his ship was
+a veritable ark of refuge for any unfortunate who needed help, which
+accounted for the numerous deserters from Yankee whalers who were to be
+found among his crew. Such whaling skippers as our late commander hated
+him with ferocious intensity; and but for his Maori and half-breed
+bodyguard, I have little doubt he would have long before been killed.
+Living as he had for many years on that storm-beaten coast, he had
+become, like his Maories, familiar with every rock and tree in fog or
+clear, by night or day; he knew them, one might almost say, as the seal
+knows them, and feared them as little. His men adored him. They believed
+him capable of anything in the way of whaling, and would as soon have
+thought of questioning the reality of daylight as the wisdom of his
+decisions.
+
+I went on board the evening of, our arrival, hearing some rumours of the
+doings of the old CHANCE and her crew, also with the idea that perhaps
+I might find some countrymen among his very mixed crowd. The first man I
+spoke to was Whitechapel to the backbone, plainly to be spotted as such
+as if it had been tattooed on his forehead. Making myself at home with
+him, I desired to know what brought him so far from the "big smoke," and
+on board a whaler of all places in the world. He told me he had been a
+Pickford's van-driver, but had emigrated to New Zealand, finding that
+he did not at all like himself in the new country. Trying to pick and
+choose instead of manfully choosing a pick and shovel for a beginning,
+he got hard up. During one of Captain Gilroy's visits to the Bluff,
+he came across my ex-drayman, looking hungry and woebegone. Invited on
+board to have a feed, he begged to be allowed to remain; nor, although
+his assistance was not needed, was he refused. "An nar," he said, his
+face glowing with conscious pride, "y'ort ter see me in a bloomin'
+bowt. I ain't a-goain' ter say as I kin fling wun o' them 'ere bloomin'
+'arpoones like ar bowt-steerers kin; but I kin do my bit o' grawft wiv
+enny on 'em--don'tchu make no bloomin' herror." The glorious incongruity
+of the thing tickled me immensely; but I laughed more heartily still
+when on going below I was hailed as "Wot cher, chummy; 'ow yer hoppin'
+up?" by another barbarian from the wilds of Spitalfields, who, from the
+secure shelter of his cats'-meat round in 'Oxton, had got adrift, and,
+after being severely buffeted by tempestuous ill-fortune, had finally
+found himself in the comfortable old CHANCE, a haven of rest in the
+midst of storms. There were sixteen white men on board the CHANCE,
+including the skipper, drawn as usual from various European and American
+sources, the rest of her large crew of over forty all told being made up
+of Maories and half-breeds. One common interest united them, making them
+the jolliest crowd I ever saw--their devotion to their commander. There
+was here to be found no jealousy of the Maories being officers and
+harpooners, no black looks or discontented murmuring; all hands seemed
+particularly well satisfied with their lot in all its bearings; so that,
+although the old tub was malodorous enough to turn even a pretty strong
+stomach, it was a pleasure to visit her cheerful crowd for the sake of
+their enlivening society.
+
+Of course, under our present circumstances, with the debris of our
+late enormous catch filling every available space and loudly demanding
+attention, we had little time to spare for ship visiting. Some boat or
+other from the two ships was continually alongside of us, though, for
+until the gale abated they could not get out to the grounds again, and
+time hung heavy on their hands. The TAMERLANE's captain avoided Paddy as
+if he were a leper--hated the sight of him, in fact, as did most of his
+CONFRERES; but our genial skipper, whose crew were every whit as well
+treated and contented as the CHANCE's, and who therefore needed not to
+dread losing them, met the little philanthropist on the most friendly
+terms.
+
+The first fine weather, which came four days after our arrival, both
+our harbour mates cleared out. Characteristically, the CHANCE was away
+first, before daylight had quite asserted itself, and while the bases of
+the cliffs and tops of the rocks were as yet hidden in dense wreaths of
+white haze. Paddy lolled on the taff-rail near the wheel, which was held
+by an immense half-breed, who leant back and carried on a desultory,
+familiar conversation with his skipper; the rest of the crew were
+scattered about the decks, apparently doing what they liked in any
+manner they chose. The anchor was being catted, sails going up, and
+yards being trimmed; but, to observers like us, no guiding spirit was
+noticeable. It seemed to work all right, and the old ark herself looked
+as if she was as intelligent as any of them; but the sight was not an
+agreeable one to men accustomed to discipline. The contrast when the
+TAMERLANE came along an hour or so after was emphatic. Every man at
+his post; every order carried out with the precision of clockwork;
+the captain pacing the quarter-deck as if she were a line-of-battle
+ship--here the airs put on were almost ludicrous in the other direction.
+Although she was only "a good jump" long, as we say, whenever an order
+was given, it was thundered out as if the men were a mile away each
+officer appearing to vie with the others as to who could bellow the
+loudest. That was carrying things to the opposite extreme, and almost
+equally objectionable to merchant seamen.
+
+We were thus left alone to finish our trying-out except for such company
+as was afforded by the only resident's little schooner, in which he went
+oyster-dredging. It was exceedingly comfortable in the small harbour,
+and the fishing something to remember all one's life. That part of New
+Zealand is famous for a fish something like a bream, but with a longer
+snout, and striped longitudinally with black and yellow. I am ignorant
+of any polysyllabic prefix for it, only knowing it by its trivial and
+local appellation of the "trumpeter," from the peculiar sound it makes
+when out of water. But no other fish out of the innumerable varieties
+which I have sampled in all parts of the world could compare with the
+trumpeter for flavour and delicacy. These qualities are well known to
+the inhabitants of the large towns, who willingly pay high prices for
+the scanty supply of these delicious fish which they are able to obtain.
+Of other succulent fish there was a great variety, from the majestic
+"grouper," running up to over a hundredweight, down to the familiar
+flounder. Very little fishing could be done at night. Just as day was
+dawning was the ideal time for this enticing sport. As soon as the first
+few streaks of delicate light enlivened the dull horizon, a stray nibble
+or two gladdened the patient fishermen; then as the light strengthened
+the fun became general, and in about an hour enough fish would be caught
+to provide all hands with for the day.
+
+One morning, when a stark calm left, the surface of the bay as smooth
+as a mirror, I was watching a few stealthily-gliding barracouta sneaking
+about over the plainly visible bottom, though at a depth of seven or
+eight fathoms. Ordinarily, these fish must be taken with a live bait;
+but, remembering my experience with the dolphin, I determined to try a
+carefully arranged strip of fish from one recently caught. In precisely
+the same way as the dolphin, these long, snaky rascals carefully tested
+the bait, lying still for sometimes as long as two minutes with the bait
+in their mouths, ready to drop it out on the first intimation that it
+was not a detached morsel. After these periods of waiting the artful
+creature would turn to go, and a sudden jerk of the line then reminded
+him that he was no longer a free agent, but mounting at headlong speed
+to a strange bourne whence he never returned to tell the tale. My catch
+that lovely morning scaled over a hundredweight in less than an hour,
+none of the fish being less than ten pounds in weight.
+
+The Maories have quite an original way of catching barracouta. They
+prepare a piece of "rimu" (red pine) about three inches long, by an
+inch broad, and a quarter of an inch thick. Through one end of this they
+drive an inch nail bent upwards, and filed to a sharp point. The other
+end is fastened to about a fathom of stout fishing-line, which is in
+turn secured to the end of a five-foot pole. Seated in a boat with sail
+set, they slip along until a school of barracouta is happened upon. Then
+the peak of the sail is dropped, so as to deaden the boat's way, while
+the fishermen ply their poles with a sidelong sweep that threshes the
+bit of shining red through the water, making it irresistibly attractive
+to a struggling horde of ravenous fish. One by one, as swiftly as the
+rod can be wielded, the lithe forms drop off the barbless hook into the
+boat, till the vigorous arm can no longer respond to the will of the
+fisherman, or the vessel will hold no more.
+
+Such were the goodly proportions of this first Solander whale of ours
+that, in spite of the serious loss of the case, we made thirteen and a
+half tuns of oil. When the fifteen huge casks containing it were stowed
+in their final positions, they made an imposing show, inspiring all of
+us with visions of soon being homeward bound. For the present we were,
+perforce, idle; for the wind had set in to blow steadily and strongly
+right up the Straits, preventing any attempts to get out while it
+lasted. The time did not hang heavy on our hands, for the surrounding
+country offered many attractions, which we were allowed to take full
+advantage of. Spearing eels and flounders at night by means of a cresset
+hung out over the boat's bow, as she was slowly sculled up the long,
+shallow creeks, was a favourite form of amusement. Mr. Cross, the
+resident, kindly allowed us to raid his garden, where the ripe fruit was
+rotting by the bushel for want of consumers. We needed no pressing;
+for fruit, since we left Vau Vau, of any kind had not come in our
+way; besides, these were "homey"--currants, gooseberries,
+strawberries--delightful to see, smell, and taste. So it came to pass
+that we had a high old time, unmarred by a single regrettable incident,
+until, after an enforced detention of twenty days, we were able to get
+to sea again.
+
+Halfway down the Straits we sighted the CHANCE, all hands ripping
+the blubber off a sizeable whale in the same "anyhow" fashion as they
+handled their ship. They were in high glee, giving us a rousing cheer as
+we passed them on our westward course. Arriving on the ground, we found
+a goodly company of fine ships, which I could not help thinking too many
+for so small an area. During our absence, the TAMERLANE had been joined
+by the ELIZA ADAMS, the MATILDA SAYER, the CORAL, and the RAINBOW; and
+it was evident that no whale venturing within the radius of the Solander
+in the daytime would stand much chance of escaping such a battery of
+eager eyes. Only three days elapsed after our arrival when whales
+were seen. For the first time, I realized how numerous those gigantic
+denizens of the sea really are. As far as the eye could reach, extending
+all round one-half of the horizon, the sea appeared to be alive with
+spouts--all sperm whales, all bulls of great size. The value of this
+incredible school must have been incalculable. Subsequent experience
+satisfied me that such a sight was by no means uncommon here; in fact,
+"lone whales" or small "pods" were quite the exception.
+
+Well, we all "waded in," getting, some two, some one whale apiece,
+according to the ability of the crews or the fortune of war. Only one
+fell to our lot in the CACHALOT, but it was just as well. We had hardly,
+got him fast by the fluke alongside when it began to pipe up from the
+north-east. In less than one watch the sea was fairly smoking with the
+fierceness of the wind. We were unable to get in anywhere, being, with a
+whale alongside, about as handy as a barge loaded with a haystack; while
+those unfortunate beggars that had two whales fast to them were utterly
+helpless as far as independent locomotion went, unless they could run
+dead before the wind. Every ship made all snug aloft, and hoisted the
+boats to the top notch of the cranes, fully anticipating a long, hard
+struggle with the elements before they got back to the cruising ground
+again. Cutting-in was out of the question in such weather; the only
+thing possible was to hope for a shift of wind before she got too far
+out, or a break in the weather. Neither of these events was probable, as
+all frequenters of South New Zealand know, bad weather having there an
+unhappy knack of being as persistent as fine weather is brief.
+
+Night drew on as our forlorn and heavily handicapped little fleet bore
+steadily seaward with their burdens, the angry, ever-increasing sea,
+battering at us vengefully, while the huge carcasses alongside tore and
+strained at their fastenings as if they would rend the ships asunder.
+Slowly our companions faded from sight as the murky sky shut down on us,
+until in lonely helplessness we drifted on our weary way out into the
+vast, inhospitable Southern Ocean. Throughout the dark and stormy night
+our brave old ship held on her unwilling way right gallantly, making no
+water, in spite of the fearful strain to which she was subjected, nor
+taking any heavy sea over all. Morning broke cheerlessly enough. No
+abatement in the gale or change in its direction; indeed, it looked like
+lasting a month. Only one ship was visible far to leeward of us, and
+she was hull down. Our whale was beginning to swell rapidly, already
+floating at least three feet above the surface instead of just awash,
+as when newly killed. The skipper eyed it gloomily, seeing the near
+prospect of its entire loss, but he said nothing. In fact, very little
+was said; but the stories we had heard in the Bay of Islands came
+back to us with significant force now that their justification was so
+apparent.
+
+Hour after hour went by without any change whatever, except in the
+whale, which, like some gradually filling balloon, rose higher and
+higher, till at nightfall its bulk was appalling. All through the night
+those on deck did little else but stare at its increasing size, which
+when morning dawned again, was so great that the animal's bilge rode
+level with the ship's rail, while in her lee rolls it towered above
+the deck like a mountain. The final scene with it was now a question
+of minutes only, so most of us, fascinated by the strange spectacle,
+watched and waited. Suddenly, with a roar like the bursting of a dam,
+the pent-up gases tore their furious way out of the distended carcass,
+hurling the entrails in one horrible entanglement widespread over
+the sea. It was well for us that it was to leeward and a strong gale
+howling; for even then the unutterable foetor wrought its poisonous way
+back through that fierce, pure blast, permeating every nook of the ship
+with its filthy vapour till the stoutest stomach there protested in
+unmistakable terms against such vile treatment. Knowing too well that
+the blubber was now worthless, the skipper gave orders to cut the
+corrupt mass adrift. This was speedily effected by a few strokes of
+a spade through the small. Away went eight hundred pounds' worth of
+oil--another sacrifice to the exigencies of the Solander, such as had
+gained for it so evil a reputation.
+
+Doubtless a similar experience had befallen all the other ships, so that
+the aggregate loss must have run into thousands of pounds, every penny
+of which might have been saved had steam been available.
+
+That gale lasted, with a few short lulls, for five days longer. When at
+last it took off, and was succeeded by fine weather, we were so far
+to the southward that we might have fetched the Aucklands in another
+twenty-four hours. But, to our great relief, a strong southerly breeze
+set in, before which, under every rag of canvas, we sped north again.
+
+Steady and reliable as ever, that good south wind carried us back to
+our old cruising ground ere it blew itself out, and we resumed our usual
+tactics as if nothing had happened, being none the worse as regards
+equipment for our adventures. Not so fortunate our companions, who at
+the same time as ourselves were thrust out into the vast Southern Ocean,
+helplessly burdened and exposed defenceless to all the ferocity of that
+devouring gale, Two of them were here prowling about, showing evident
+signs of their conflict in the battered state of their hulls. The
+glaring whiteness of new planking in many places along the bulwarks told
+an eloquent story of seas bursting on board carrying all before them,
+while empty cranes testified to the loss of a boat in both of them. As
+soon as we came near enough, "gamming" commenced, for all of us were
+anxious to know how each other had fared.
+
+As we anticipated, every whale was lost that had been caught that day.
+The disappointment was in nowise lessened by the knowledge that, with
+his usual good fortune Captain Gilroy had not only escaped all the bad
+weather, but while we were being threshed within an inch of our lives
+down in the bitter south, he was calmly trying-out his whale (which we
+had seen him with on our outward journey) in the sheltered haven of
+Port William. Many and deep were the curses bestowed upon him by the
+infuriated crews of those two ships, although he had certainly done
+them no harm. But the sight of other people's good fortune is gall and
+wormwood to a vast number of people, who seem to take it as a personal
+injury done to themselves.
+
+Only two days elapsed, however, before we again saw an immense school
+of sperm whales, and each ship succeeded in securing one. We made no
+attempt to get more this time, nor do I think either of the others did;
+at any rate, one each was the result of the day's work. They were, as
+usual, of huge size and apparently very fat. At the time we secured our
+fish alongside, a fresh north-westerly wind was blowing, the weather
+being clear and beautiful as heart could wish. But instead of commencing
+at once to cut-in, Captain Count gave orders to pile on all sail and
+keep her away up the Straits. He was evidently determined to take no
+more chances, but, whenever opportunity offered, to follow the example
+set by the wily old skipper of the CHANCE. The other ships both started
+to cut-in at once, tempted, doubtless, by the settled appearance of the
+weather, and also perhaps from their hardly concealed dislike of going
+into port. We bowled along at a fine rate, towing our prize, that
+plunged and rolled by our side in eccentric style, almost as if still
+alive. Along about midnight we reached Saddle Point, where there was
+some shelter from the sea which rolled up the wide open strait, and
+there we anchored.
+
+Leaving me and a couple of Kanakas on watch, the captain, and all hands
+besides, went below for a little sleep. My instructions were to call the
+captain if the weather got at all ugly-looking, so that we might run
+in to Port William at once, but he did not wish to do so if our present
+position proved sufficiently sheltered. He had not been below an hour
+before there was a change for the worse. That greasy, filmy haze was
+again drawn over the clear blue of the sky, and the light scud began to
+fly overhead at an alarmingly rapid rate. So at four bells I called him
+again. He came on deck at once, and after one look round ordered
+the hands up to man the windlass. By eight bells (four a.m.) we were
+rounding the frowning rocks at the entrance of Port William, and
+threading our way between the closely-set, kelp-hidden dangers as if it
+were broadest, dearest daylight. At 4.30 we let go the anchor again,
+and all hands, except the regular "anchor-watch," bolted below to their
+bunks again like so many rabbits.
+
+It was very comfortable, cutting-in a sperm whale in harbour, after
+the dire difficulty of performing the same operation in a seaway. And,
+although it may seem strange, this was the first occasion that voyage
+that I had had a really good opportunity of closely studying the whale's
+anatomy. Consequently the work was exceedingly interesting, and, in
+spite of the labour involved, I was almost sorry when the job was done.
+Under the present favourable circumstances we were ready to cut the
+carcass adrift shortly after midday, the head, of course, having
+been taken off first. Just after we started to cut-in a boat appeared
+alongside with six Maories and half-breeds on board. Their leader came
+up and civilly asked the skipper whether he intended doing anything with
+the carcass. Upon being promptly answered in the negative, he said that
+he and his companions proposed hooking on to the great mass when we cut
+it adrift, towing it ashore, and getting out of it what oil we had been
+unable to extract, which at sea is always lost to the ship. He also
+suggested that he would be prepared to take reasonable terms for such
+oil, which we should be able to mingle with ours to our advantage. An
+arrangement was speedily arrived at to give him L20 per tun for whatever
+oil he made. They parted on the best of terms with each other, and as
+soon as we cut the carcass loose the Maories made fast, to it, speedily
+beaching it in a convenient spot near where they had previously erected
+a most primitive try-works.
+
+That afternoon, after the head was inboard, the skipper thought he would
+go ashore and see how they were getting on. I was so fortunate as to
+be able to accompany him. When we arrived at the spot, we found them
+working as I have never seen men work, except perhaps the small riggers
+that at home take a job--three or four of them--to bend or unbend a
+big ship's sails for a lump sum to be paid when the work is done. They
+attacked the carcass furiously, as if they had a personal enmity against
+it, chopping through the massive bones and rending off huge lumps of
+the flesh with marvellous speed. They had already laid open the enormous
+cavity of the abdomen, and were stripping the interminable intestines
+of their rich coating of fat. In the maw there were, besides a large
+quantity of dismembered squid of great size, a number of fish, such as
+rock-cod, barracouta, schnapper, and the like, whose presence there was
+a revelation to me. How in the name of wonder so huge and unwieldy a
+creature as the cachalot could manage to catch those nimble members
+of the finny tribe, I could not for the life of me divine! Unless--and
+after much cogitation it was the only feasible explanation that I could
+see--as the cachalot swims about with his lower jaw hanging down in its
+normal position, and his huge gullet gaping like some submarine cavern,
+the fish unwittingly glide down it, to find egress impossible. This may
+or may not be the case; but I, at any rate, can find no more reasonable
+theory, for it is manifestly absurd to suppose the whale capable of
+CATCHING fish in the ordinary sense, indicating pursuit.
+
+Every part of the animal yielded oil. Even the bones, broken up into
+pieces capable of entering the pot, were boiled; and by the time we had
+finished our trying-out, the result of the Maories' labour was ready for
+us. Less than a week had sufficed to yield them a net sum of six guineas
+each, even at the very low rate for which they sold us the oil. Except
+that it was a little darker in colour, a defect that would disappear
+when mixed with our store, there was no difference between the products
+that could be readily detected. And at the price we paid for it, there
+was a clear profit of cent. per cent., even had we kept it separate and
+sold it for what it was. But I suppose it was worth the Maories' while
+thus to dispose of it and quickly realize their hard earnings.
+
+So far, our last excursion had been entirely satisfactory. We had not
+suffered any loss or endured any hardship; and if only such comfortable
+proceedings were more frequent, the Solander ground would not have any
+terrors for us at least. But one afternoon there crept in around the
+eastern horn of the harbour three forlorn and half-dismantled vessels,
+whose weather-worn crews looked wistfully at us engaged in clearing up
+decks and putting away gear upon the finishing of our trying-out. Poor
+fellows! they had seen rough times since that unforgettable evening when
+we parted from them at the other end of the island, and watched them
+slowly fade into the night. Two of them were so badly damaged that
+no further fishing was possible for them until they had undergone a
+thorough refit, such as they could not manage there. One was leaking
+badly, the tremendous strain put upon her hull in the vain attempt to
+hold on to the two whales she had during the gale having racked her
+almost all to pieces. The third one was still capable of taking the
+ground again, with sundry repairs such as could be effected by her crew.
+But the general feeling among all three crews was that there was more
+loss than gain to be expected here, in spite of the multitude of whales
+visiting the place.
+
+As if to fill up their cup, in came the old CHANCE again, this time with
+a whale on each side. Captain Gilroy was on the house aft, his chubby
+red face in a ruddy glow of delight, and his crew exuberant. When he
+passed the American ships, as he was bound to do very closely, the
+sight of their scowling faces seemed to afford him the most exquisite
+amusement, and he laughed loud and long. His crew, on the impulse of the
+moment, sprang to the rail and cheered with might and main. No one could
+gainsay that they had good reason, but I really feared for a time that
+we should have "ructions," As Paddy said, it was not wise or dignified
+for those officers to be so angry with him on account of his success,
+which he frankly owned was due almost entirely to the local knowledge he
+possessed, gained in many years' study of the immediate neighbourhood.
+He declared that, as far as the technical duties of whale-fishing went,
+all the Americans could beat him hollow; but they ought to realize that
+something else was needed here which no man could hope to have unless
+he were content to remain on the coast altogether. With which words of
+wisdom our skipper cordially agreed, bearing in mind his own exploits in
+the bygone time around those rugged shores.
+
+The strong breeze which brought Paddy and his whales home died down
+that night, enabling us to start for the grounds again--a concession
+gratefully received, for not the least of the hindrances felt there was
+the liability to be "wind-bound" for a long time, while fine weather was
+prevailing at the fishing grounds.
+
+We made a fine passage down the Straits with a leading wind, finding our
+two late companions still cruising, having managed to get their whales
+aboard without mishap, and being somewhat inclined to chaff our old
+man for running in. He gave a wink full of wisdom, as he replied, "I'm
+pretty ole whale myself naouw; but I guess I ain't too old to learn; 'n
+wut I learn I'm goin' ter use. See?" Of course the fine weather did not
+last long--it never does; and seeing the gloomy masses of violet-edged
+cumuli piling up on the southern horizon, we hugged the Solander Rock
+itself pretty close, nor ventured far to seaward. Our two consorts,
+on the contrary, kept well out and on the northern verge, as if they
+intended the next gale that blew to get north, IF they could. The old
+man's object in thus keeping in was solely in order that he might
+be able to run for shelter; but, much to his delight and certainly
+surprise, as we passed about a mile to the southward of the lonely,
+towering crags of the great rock, there came from aloft the welcome cry
+of "Sperm whale!"
+
+There was only one, and he was uncomfortably near the rock; but such a
+splendid chance was not to be missed, if our previous training was of
+any avail. There was some speculation as to what he could be doing so
+close inshore, contrary to the habit of this animal, who seems to be
+only comfortable when in deep waters; but except a suggestion that
+perhaps he had come in to scrape off an extra accumulation of barnacles,
+nobody could arrive at any definite conclusion. When we reached him, we
+found a frightful blind swell rolling, and it needed all our seamanship
+to handle the boats so that they should not be capsized. Fortunately,
+the huge rollers did not break, or we should hardly have got back
+safely, whale or no whale.
+
+Two irons were planted in him, of which he took not the slightest
+notice. We had taken in sail before closing in to him on account of the
+swell, so that we had only to go in and finish him at once, if he would
+let us. Accordingly, we went in with a will, but for all sign of life
+he showed he might as well have been stuffed. There he lay, lazily
+spouting, the blood pouring, or rather spirting, from his numerous
+wounds, allowing us to add to their number at our pleasure, and never
+moving his vast body, which was gently swayed by the rolling sea. Seeing
+him thus quiescent, the mate sent the other two boats back to the ship
+with the good news, which the captain received with a grave smile
+of content, proceeding at once to bring the ship as near as might be
+consistent with her safety. We were now thoroughly sheltered from sight
+of the other ships by the enormous mass of the island, so that they had
+no idea of our proceedings.
+
+Finding that it was not wise to take the ship in any closer, while we
+were yet some distance from our prize, a boat was sent to Mr. Cruce with
+the instructions that he was to run his line from the whale back to the
+ship, if the creature was dead. He (the mate) replied that the whale
+died as quietly as he had taken his wounds, and immediately started for
+the ship. When he had paid out all his line, another boat bent on, until
+we got the end on board. Then we merrily walked him up alongside, while
+sufficient sail was kept drawing to prevent her being set in any nearer.
+When he was fast, we crowded on all canvas to get away; for although the
+sea was deep close up to the cliff, that swell was a very ugly feature,
+and one which has been responsible for the loss of a great number
+of ships in such places all over the world. Notwithstanding all our
+efforts, we did get so near that every detail of the rock was clearly
+visible to the naked eye, and we had some anxious minutes while the old
+ship, rolling tremendously, crawled inch after inch along the awful side
+of that sea-encircled pyramid.
+
+At one point there was quite a cave, the floor of which would be some
+twenty feet above high-water mark, and its roof about the same distance
+higher. It appeared to penetrate some distance into the bowels of the
+mountain, and was wide and roomy. Sea-birds in great numbers hovered
+around its entrance, finding it, no doubt, an ideal nesting-place. It
+appeared quite inaccessible, for even with a perfect calm the swell
+dashed against the perpendicular face of the cliff beneath with a force
+that would have instantly destroyed any vessel unfortunate enough to get
+within its influence.
+
+Slowly, slowly we forged past the danger; but the moment we opened out
+the extremity of the island, a fresh breeze, like a saving hand, swept
+across the bows, filling the head-sails and swinging the old vessel
+away from the island in grand style. Another minute, and the other sails
+filled also. We were safe, all hands breathing freely once more.
+
+Now the wind hung far round to the eastward--far enough to frustrate
+any design we might have had of going up the Straits again. The old
+man, however, was too deeply impressed with the paramount necessity
+of shelter to lightly give up the idea of getting in somewhere; so he
+pointed her for Preservation Inlet, which was only some thirty miles
+under her lee. We crowded all sail upon her in the endeavour to get in
+before nightfall, this unusual proceeding bringing our two friends up
+from to leeward with a run to see what we were after. Burdened as
+we were, they sailed nearly two knots to our one, and consequently
+intercepted us some while before we neared our port. Great was their
+surprise to find we had a whale, and very anxious their queries as to
+where the rest of the school had gone. Reassured that they had lost
+nothing by not being nearer, it being a "lone" whale, off they went
+again.
+
+With all our efforts, evening was fast closing in when we entered the
+majestic portals of Preservation Inlet, and gazed with deepest interest
+upon its heavily wooded shores.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVI. PADDY'S LATEST EXPLOIT
+
+New Zealand is pre-eminently a country of grand harbours; but I think
+those that are least used easily bear the palm for grandeur of scenery
+and facility of access. The wonderful harbour, or rather series of
+harbours, into which we were now entering for the first time, greatly
+resembled in appearance a Norwegian fjord, not only in the character of
+its scenery, but from the interesting, if disconcerting, fact that
+the cliffs were so steep-to that in some places no anchorage is found
+alongside the very land itself. There are, however, many places where
+the best possible anchorage can be obtained, so securely sheltered that
+a howling south-wester may be tearing the sea up by the roots outside,
+and you will know nothing of it within, except what may be surmised from
+the motion of the clouds overhead. It was an ideal place for a whaling
+station, being right on the Solander.
+
+We found it exceedingly convenient, and much nearer than Port William,
+but, from the prevailing winds, difficult of access in nine cases out of
+ten, especially when hampered with a whale. Upon cutting-in our
+latest catch, an easy explanation of his passive attitude was at once
+forthcoming. He had been attacked by some whale-ship, whose irons had
+drawn, leaving deep traces of their presence; but during the battle he
+had received SEVEN bombs, all of which had entered around his small,
+but had not exploded. Their general effect had been, I should think,
+to paralyze the great muscles of his flukes, rendering him unable to
+travel; yet this could not have taken place until some time after he
+had made good his escape from those aggressors. It was instructive, as
+demonstrating what amount of injury these colossi really can survive,
+and I have no doubt that, if he had been left alone, he would have
+recovered his normal energy, and been as well as ever. From our point of
+view, of course, what had happened was the best possible thing, for he
+came almost as a gift--the second capture we had made on these grounds
+of a like nature.
+
+At the close of our operations the welcome news was made public that
+four more fish like the present one would fill us bung-up, and that we
+should then, after a brief visit to the Bluff, start direct for home.
+This announcement, though expected for some time past, gave an amazing
+fillip to everybody's interest in the work. The strange spectacle was
+witnessed of all hands being anxious to quit a snug harbour for the sea,
+where stern, hard wrestling with the elements was the rule. The captain,
+well pleased with the eagerness manifested, had his boat manned for a
+trip to the entrance of the harbour, to see what the weather was like
+outside, since it was not possible to judge from where the ship lay. On
+his return, he reported the weather rough, but moderating, and announced
+his intention of weighing at daylight next morning. Satisfied that our
+days in the southern hemisphere were numbered, and all anxiety to point
+her head for home, this news was most pleasing, putting all of us in the
+best of humours, and provoking quite an entertainment of song and dance
+until nearly four bells.
+
+During the grey of dawn the anchor was weighed. There was no breath of
+wind from any quarter, so that it was necessary to lower boats and tow
+the old girl out to her field of duty. Before she was fairly clear of
+the harbour, though, there came a "snifter" from the hills that caught
+her unprepared, making her reel again, and giving us a desperate few
+minutes to scramble on board and hoist our boats up. As we drew out from
+the land, we found that a moderate gale was blowing, but the sky was
+clear, fathomless blue, the sun rose kindly, a heavenly dream of soft
+delicate colour preceding him; so that, in spite of the strong breeze,
+all looked promising for a good campaign. At first no sign could be seen
+of any of the other ships, though we looked long and eagerly for them.
+At last we saw them, four in all, nearly hull down to seaward, but
+evidently coming in under press of sail. So slow, however, was their
+approach that we had made one "leg" across the ground and halfway back
+before they were near enough for us to descry the reason of their want
+of speed. They had each got a whale alongside, and were carrying every
+rag of canvas they could spread, in order to get in with their prizes.
+
+Our old acquaintance, the CHANCE, was there, the three others being her
+former competitors, except those who were disabled, still lying in Port
+William. Slowly, painfully they laboured along, until well within the
+mouth of the Straits, when, without any warning, the wind which had been
+bringing them in suddenly flew round into the northward, putting them
+at once in a most perilous position. Too far within the Straits to "up
+helm" and run for it out to sea; not far enough to get anywhere that an
+anchor might hold; and there to leeward, within less than a dozen miles,
+loomed grim and gloomy one of the most terrific rock-bound coasts in the
+world. The shift of wind had placed the CHANCE farther to leeward than
+all the rest, a good mile and a half nearer the shore; and we could well
+imagine how anxiously her movements were being watched by the others,
+who, in spite of their jealousy of his good luck, knew well and
+appreciated fully Paddy's marvellous seamanship, as well as his
+unparalleled knowledge of the coast.
+
+Having no whale to hamper our movements, besides being well to windward
+of them all, we were perfectly comfortable as long as we kept to seaward
+of a certain line and the gale was not too fierce, so for the present
+all our attention was concentrated upon the labouring ships to leeward.
+The intervention of the land to windward kept the sea from rising to
+the awful height it attains under the pressure of a westerly, or a
+south-westerly gale, when, gathering momentum over an area extending
+right round the globe, it hurls itself upon those rugged shores. Still,
+it was bad enough. The fact of the gale striking across the regular set
+of the swell and current had the effect of making the sea irregular,
+short, and broken, which state of things is considered worse, as far as
+handling the ship goes, than a much heavier, longer, but more regular
+succession of waves.
+
+As the devoted craft drifted helplessly down upon that frowning barrier,
+our excitement grew intense. Their inability to do anything but drift
+was only too well known by experience to every one of us, nor would it
+be possible for them to escape at all if they persisted in holding on
+much longer. And it was easy to see why they did so. While Paddy held
+on so far to leeward of them, and consequently in so much more imminent
+danger than they were, it would be derogatory in the highest degree to
+their reputation for seamanship and courage were they to slip and run
+before he did. He, however, showed no sign of doing so, although
+they all neared, with an accelerated drift, that point from whence
+no seamanship could deliver them, and where death inevitable, cruel,
+awaited them without hope of escape. The part of the coast upon which
+they were apparently driving was about as dangerous and impracticable as
+any in the world. A gigantic barrier of black, naked rock, extending for
+several hundred yards, rose sheer from the sea beneath, like the side of
+an ironclad, up to a height of seven or eight hundred feet. No outlying
+spurs of submerged fragments broke the immeasurable landward rush of the
+majestic waves towards the frowning face of this world-fragment.
+Fresh from their source, with all the impetus accumulated in their
+thousand-mile journey, they came apparently irresistible. Against this
+perpendicular barrier they hurled themselves with a shock that vibrated
+far inland, and a roar that rose in a dominating diapason over the
+continuous thunder of the tempest-riven sea. High as was the summit
+of the cliff, the spray, hurled upwards by the tremendous impact, rose
+higher, so that the whole front of the great rock was veiled in filmy
+wreaths of foam, hiding its solidity from the seaward view. At either
+end of this vast, rampart nothing could be seen but a waste of breakers
+seething, hissing, like the foot of Niagara, and effectually concealing
+the CHEVAUX DE FRISE of rocks which produced such a vortex of tormented
+waters.
+
+Towards this dreadful spot, then, the four vessels were being
+resistlessly driven, every moment seeing their chances of escape
+lessening to vanishing-point. Suddenly, as if panic-stricken, the ship
+nearest to the CHANCE gave a great sweep round on to the other tack, a
+few fluttering gleams aloft showing that even in that storm they
+were daring to set some sail. What the manoeuvre meant we knew very
+well--they had cut adrift from their whale, terrified at last beyond
+endurance into the belief that Paddy was going to sacrifice himself and
+his crew in the attempt to lure them with him to inevitable destruction.
+The other two did not hesitate longer. The example once set, they
+immediately followed; but it was for some time doubtful in the
+extreme whether their resolve was not taken too late to save them from
+destruction. We watched them with breathless interest, unable for a long
+time to satisfy ourselves that they were out of danger. But at last
+we saw them shortening sail again--a sure sign that they considered
+themselves, while the wind held in the same quarter, safe from going
+ashore at any rate, although there was still before them the prospect of
+a long struggle with the unrelenting ferocity of the weather down south.
+
+Meanwhile, what of the daring Irishman and his old barrel of a ship?
+The fugitives once safe off the land, all our interest centred in the
+CHANCE. We watched her until she drew in so closely to the seething
+cauldron of breakers that it was only occasionally we could distinguish
+her outline; and the weather was becoming so thick and dirty, the
+light so bad, that we were reluctantly compelled to lose sight of
+her, although the skipper believed that he saw her in the midst of
+the turmoil of broken water at the western end of the mighty mass of
+perpendicular cliff before described. Happily for us, the wind veered to
+the westward, releasing us from the prospect of another enforced visit
+to the wild regions south of the island. It blew harder than ever; but
+being now a fair wind up the Straits, we fled before it, anchoring again
+in Port William before midnight. Here we were compelled to remain for
+a week; for after the gale blew itself out, the wind still hung in the
+same quarter, refusing to allow us to get back again to our cruising
+station.
+
+But on the second day of our enforced detention a ship poked her jibboom
+round the west end of the little bay. No words could describe our
+condition of spellbound astonishment when she rounded-to, cumbrously as
+befitting a ship towing a whale, and revealed to us the well-remembered
+outlines of the old CHANCE. It was like welcoming the first-fruits
+of the resurrection; for who among sailor men, having seen a vessel
+disappear from their sight, as we had, under such terrible conditions,
+would ever have expected to see her again? She was hardly anchored
+before our skipper was alongside, thirsting to satisfy his unbounded
+curiosity as to the unheard-of means whereby she had escaped such
+apparently inevitable destruction. I was fortunate enough to accompany
+him, and hear the story at first-hand.
+
+It appeared that none of the white men on board, except the redoubtable
+Paddy himself, had ever been placed in so seemingly hopeless and
+desperate a position before. Yet when they saw how calm and free from
+anxiety their commander was, how cool and business-like the attitude
+of all their dusky shipmates, their confidence in his ability and
+resourcefulness kept its usual high level. It must be admitted that the
+test such feelings were then subjected to was of the severest, for to
+their eyes no possible avenue of escape was open. Along that glaring
+line of raging, foaming water not a break occurred, not the faintest
+indication of an opening anywhere wherein even so experienced a pilot
+as Paddy might thrust a ship. The great black wall of rock loomed up
+by their side, grim and pitiless as doom--a very door of adamant closed
+against all hope. Nearer and nearer they drew, until the roar of the
+baffled Pacific was deafening, maddening, in its overwhelming volume of
+chaotic sound. All hands stood motionless, with eyes fixed in horrible
+fascination upon the indescribable vortex to which they were being
+irresistibly driven.
+
+At last, just as the fringes of the back-beaten billows hissed up to
+greet them, they felt her motion ease. Instinctively looking aft, they
+saw the skipper coolly wave his hand, signing to them to trim the yards.
+As they hauled on the weather braces, she plunged through the maelstrom
+of breakers, and before they had got the yards right round they were on
+the other side of that enormous barrier, the anchor was dropped, and all
+was still. The vessel rested, like a bird on her nest, in a deep, still
+tarn, shut in, to all appearance, on every side by huge rock barriers.
+Of the furious storm but a moment before howling and raging all around
+them, nothing remained but an all-pervading, thunderous hum, causing
+the deck to vibrate beneath them, and high overhead the jagged, leaden
+remnants of twisted, tortured cloud whirling past their tiny oblong of
+sky. Just a minute's suspension of all faculties but wonder, then, in
+one spontaneous, heartfelt note of genuine admiration, all hands burst
+into a cheer that even overtopped the mighty rumble of the baffled sea.
+
+Here they lay, perfectly secure, and cut in their whale as if in dock;
+then at the first opportunity they ran out, with fearful difficulty, a
+kedge with a whale-line attached, by which means they warped the vessel
+out of her hiding-place--a far more arduous operation than getting in
+had been. But even this did not exhaust the wonders of that occasion.
+They had hardly got way upon her, beginning to draw out from the land,
+when the eagle-eye of one of the Maories detected the carcass of a
+whale rolling among the breakers about half a mile to the westward.
+Immediately a boat was lowered, a double allowance of line put into
+her, and off they went to the valuable flotsam. Dangerous in the highest
+degree was the task of getting near enough to drive harpoons into the
+body; but it was successfully accomplished, the line run on board, and
+the prize hauled triumphantly alongside. This was the whale they had now
+brought in. We shrewdly suspected that it must have been one of those
+abandoned by the unfortunate vessels who had fled, but etiquette forbade
+us saying anything about it. Even had it been, another day would have
+seen it valueless to any one, for it was by no means otto of roses to
+sniff at now, while they had certainly salved it at the peril of their
+lives.
+
+When we returned on board and repeated the story, great was the
+amazement. Such a feat of seamanship was almost beyond belief; but we
+were shut up to believing, since in no other way could the vessel's
+miraculous escape be accounted for. The little, dumpy, red-faced figure,
+rigged like any scarecrow, that now stood on his cutting-stage, punching
+away vigorously at the fetid mass of blubber beneath him, bore no
+outward visible sign of a hero about him; but in our eyes he was
+transfigured--a being to be thought of reverently, as one who in all
+those dualities that go to the making of a man had proved himself of the
+seed royal, a king of men, all the more kingly because unconscious that
+his deeds were of so exalted an order.
+
+I am afraid that, to a landsman, my panegyric may smack strongly of
+gush, for no one but a seaman can rightly appraise such doings as these;
+but I may be permitted to say that, when I think of men whom I feel glad
+to have lived to know, foremost among them rises the queer little figure
+of Paddy Gilroy.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVII. PORT PEGASUS
+
+The wind still holding steadily in the old quarter, our skipper got very
+restless. He recalled his former exploits, and, firing at the thought,
+decided then and there to have a trip round to Port Pegasus, in the hope
+that he might meet with some of his former good luck in the vicinity of
+that magnificent bay. With the greatest alacrity we obeyed his summons,
+handling the old barky as if she were a small boat, and the same
+morning, for the first time, ran out of the Straits to the eastward
+past Ruapuke Island. Beautiful weather prevailed, making our trip a
+delightful one, the wonderful scenery of that coast appealing to even
+the most callous or indifferent among us. We hugged the land closely,
+the skipper being familiar with all of it in a general way, so that none
+of its beauties were lost to us. The breeze holding good, by nightfall
+we had reached our destination, anchoring in the north arm near a
+tumbling cascade of glittering water that looked like a long feather
+laid on the dark-green slope of the steep hill from which it gushed.
+
+We had not been long at anchor before we had visitors--half-breed
+Maories, who, like the Finns and Canadians, are farmers, fishermen,
+sailors, and shipwrights, as necessity arises. They brought us
+potatoes--most welcome of all fruit to the sailor--cabbages, onions, and
+"mutton birds." This latter delicacy is a great staple of their flesh
+food, but is one of the strangest dishes imaginable. When it is being
+cooked in the usual way, i.e. by grilling, it smells exactly like a
+piece of roasting mutton; but it tastes, to my mind, like nothing else
+in the world so much as a kippered herring. There is a gastronomical
+paradox, if you like. Only the young birds are taken for eating. They
+are found, when unfledged, in holes of the rocks, and weigh sometimes
+treble as much as their parents. They are exceedingly fat; but this
+substance is nearly all removed from their bodies before they are
+hung up in the smoke-houses. They are split open like a haddock, and
+carefully smoked, after being steeped in brine. Baskets, something like
+exaggerated strawberry pottles of the old conical shape, are prepared,
+to hold each about a dozen birds. They are lined with leaves, then
+packed with the birds, the melted fat being run into all the interstices
+until the basket is full. The top is then neatly tied up with more
+leaves, and, thus preserved, the contents will keep in cool weather an
+indefinite length of time.
+
+Captain Count was soon recognized by some of his old friends, who were
+delighted to welcome him again. Their faces fell, however, when he told
+them that his stay was to be very brief, and that he only required four
+good-sized fish to fill up. Inquiry as to the prevalence of sperm whales
+in the vicinity elicited the news that they were as plentiful as they
+had ever been--if anything, more so, since the visits of the whalers had
+become fewer. There were a couple of "bay" whaling stations existing;
+but, of course, their success could not be expected to be great among
+the cachalots, who usually keep a respectful distance from harbours,
+while they had driven the right whales away almost entirely.
+
+No one could help being struck by the manly bearing, splendid physique,
+and simple manners of the inhabitants. If ever it falls to the lot of
+any one, as I hope it will, to establish a sperm whale fishery in these
+regions, there need be no lack of workers while such grand specimens
+of manhood abound there as we saw--all, moreover, fishermen and whalers
+from their earliest days.
+
+We did not go far afield, but hovered within ten or fifteen miles of the
+various entrances, so as not to be blown off the land in case of sudden
+bad weather. Even with that timid offing, we were only there two days,
+when an enormous school of sperm whales hove in sight. I dare not say
+how many I believe there were, and my estimate really might be biassed;
+but this I know, that in no given direction could one look to seaward
+and not see many spouts.
+
+We got among them and had a good time, being more hampered by the
+curiosity of the unattached fish than by the pugnacity of those under
+our immediate attention. So we killed three, and by preconcerted signal
+warned the watchers on the lofty points ashore of our success. As
+speedily as possible off came four boats from the shore stations, and
+hooked on to two of our fish, while we were busy with the third. The
+wind being off shore, what there was of it, no time was to be lost, in
+view of the well-known untrustworthiness of the weather; so we started
+to cut-in at once, while the shore people worked like giants to tow
+the other two in. Considering the weakness of their forces, they made
+marvellous progress; but seeing how terribly exhausting the toil was,
+one could not help wishing them one of the small London tugs, familiarly
+known as "jackals," which would have snaked those monsters along at
+three or four knots an hour.
+
+However, all went well; the usual gale did blow but not till we had
+got the last piece aboard and a good "slant" to run in, arriving at our
+previous moorings at midnight. In the morning the skipper went down in
+his boat to visit the stations, and see how they had fared. Old hand as
+he was, I think he was astonished to see what progress those fellows had
+made with the fish. They did not reach the stations till after midnight,
+but already they had the whales half flenched, and, by the way they were
+working, it looked as if they would be through with their task as soon
+as we were with ours. Their agreement with the skipper was to yield us
+half the oil they made, and, if agreeable to them, we would take their
+moiety at L40 per tun. Consequently they had something to work for, even
+though there were twenty of them to share the spoil. They were a
+merry party, eminently good tempered, and working as though one spirit
+animated them all. If there was a leader of the band, he did his office
+with great subtilty, for all seemed equal, nor did any appear to need
+directing what to do. Fired by their example, we all worked our hardest;
+but they beat us by half a day, mainly, I think, by dint of working
+nearly all the time with scarce any interval for sleep. True, they were
+bound to take advantage of low water when their huge prize was high and
+dry--to get at him easily all round. Their method was of the simplest.
+With gaff-hooks to haul back the pieces, and short-handled spades for
+cutting, they worked in pairs, taking off square slabs of blubber about
+a hundredweight each. As soon as a piece was cut off, the pair tackled
+on to it, dragging it up to the pots, where the cooks hastily sliced it
+for boiling, interspersing their labours with attention to the simmering
+cauldrons.
+
+Their efforts realized twenty-four tuns of clear oil and spermaceti,
+of which, according to bargain, we took twelve, the captain buying the
+other twelve for L480, as previously arranged. This latter portion,
+however, was his private venture, and not on ship's account, as he
+proposed selling it at the Bluff, when we should call there on our way
+home. So that we were still two whales short of our quantity. What a
+little space it did seem to fill up! Our patience was sorely tested,
+when, during a whole week following our last haul, we were unable to put
+to sea. In vain we tried all the old amusements of fishing, rambling,
+bathing, etc.; they had lost their "bite;" we wanted to get home. At
+last the longed-for shift of wind came and set us free. We had hardly
+got well clear of the heads before we saw a school of cachalots away on
+the horizon, some twelve miles off the land to the southward. We made
+all possible sail in chase, but found, to our dismay, that they were
+"making a passage," going at such a rate that unless the wind freshened
+we could hardly hope to come up with them. Fortunately, we had all day
+before us, having quitted our moorings soon after daylight; and unless
+some unforeseen occurrence prevented us from keeping up our rate of
+speed, the chances were that some time before dark they would ease
+up and allow us to approach them. They were heading to the westward,
+perhaps somewhat to the northward withal, to all appearance making
+for the Solander. Hour after hour crawled by, while we still seemed to
+preserve our relative distance, until we had skirted the southern shore
+of the island and entered the area, of our old fishing ground. Two
+vessels were cruising thereon, well to the northward, and we thought
+with glee of the excitement that would seize them did they but gain an
+inkling of our chase.
+
+To our great delight, what we had hoped, but hardly dared expect, came
+to pass. The school, as if with one impulse, hauled up on their course
+four points, which made them head direct for the western verge of the
+Solander ground, and--what was more important to us--made our coming up
+with them a matter of a short time. We made the customary signals with
+the upper sails to our friends to the northward, who recognized them
+immediately, and bore down towards us. Not only had the school shifted
+their course, but they had slackened speed; so that by four o'clock we
+were able to lower for them at less than a mile distance.
+
+It was an ideal whaling day--smooth water, a brisk breeze, a brilliant
+sun, and plenty of whales. I was, as became my position, in the rear
+when we went into action, and hardly hoped for an opportunity of doing
+much but dance attendance upon my seniors. But fortune favoured me.
+Before I had any idea whether the chief was fast or not, all other
+considerations were driven clean out of my head by the unexpected
+apparition of a colossal head, not a ship's length away, coming straight
+for us, throwing up a swell in front of him like an ironclad. There was
+barely time to sheer to one side, when the giant surged past us in a
+roar of foaming sea, the flying flakes of which went right over us.
+Samuela was "all there," though, and as the great beast passed he
+plunged a harpoon into him with such force and vigour that the very
+socket entered the blubber it needed all the strength I could muster,
+even with such an aid as the nineteen-feet steer-oar, to swing the boat
+right round in his wake, and prevent her being capsized by his headlong
+rush.
+
+For, contrary to the usual practice, he paused not an instant, but
+rather quickened his pace, as if spurred. Heavens, how he went! The
+mast and sail had to come down--and they did, but I hardly know how.
+The spray was blinding, coming in sheets over the bows, so that I could
+hardly see how to steer in the monster's wake. He headed straight for
+the ship, which lay-to almost motionless, filling me with apprehension
+lest he should in his blind flight dash that immense mass of solid
+matter into her broadside, and so put an inglorious end to all our
+hopes. What their feelings on board must have been, I can only imagine,
+when they saw the undeviating rush of the gigantic creature straight for
+them. On he went, until I held my breath for the crash, when at the
+last moment, and within a few feet of the ship's side, he dived, passing
+beneath the vessel. We let go line immediately, as may be supposed; but
+although we had been towing with quite fifty fathoms drift, our speed
+had been so great that we came up against the old ship with a crash
+that very nearly finished us. He did not run any further just then, but
+sounded for about two hundred and fifty fathoms, rising to the surface
+in quite another mood. No more running away from him. I cannot say I
+felt any of the fierce joy of battle at the prospect before me. I had a
+profound respect for the fighting qualities of the sperm whale, and, to
+tell the truth, would much rather have run twenty miles behind him than
+have him turn to bay in his present parlous humour. It was, perhaps,
+fortunate for me that there was a crowd of witnesses, the other ships
+being now quite near enough to see all that was going on, since the
+feeling that my doings were full in view of many experts and veterans
+gave me a determination that I would not disgrace either myself or my
+ship; besides, I felt that this would probably be our last whale this
+voyage, if I did not fail, and that was no small thing to look forward
+to.
+
+All these things, so tedious in the telling, flashed through my mind,
+while, with my eyes glued to the huge bulk of my antagonist or the
+hissing vortices above him when he settled, I manoeuvred my pretty craft
+with all the skill I could summon. For what seemed a period of about
+twenty minutes we dodged him as he made the ugliest rushes at us. I
+had not yet changed ends with Samuela, as customary, for I felt it
+imperative to keep the helm while this game was being played. My trusty
+Kanaka, however, had a lance ready, and I knew, if he only got the ghost
+of a chance, no man living would or could make better use of it.
+
+The whole affair was growing monotonous as well as extremely wearying.
+Perhaps I was a little off my guard; at any rate, my heart almost leaped
+into my mouth when just after an ugly rush past us, which I thought had
+carried him to a safe distance, he stopped dead, lifted his flukes, and
+brought them down edgeways with a vicious sweep that only just missed
+the boat's gunwale and shore off the two oars on that side as if they
+had been carrots. This serious disablement would certainly have led to
+disaster but for Samuela. Prompt and vigorous, he seized the opportune
+moment when the whale's side was presented just after the blow, sending
+his lance quivering home all its length into the most vital part of
+the leviathan's anatomy. Turning his happy face to me, he shouted
+exultingly, "How's dat fer high?"--a bit of slang he had picked up, and
+his use of which never failed to make me smile. "High" it was indeed--a
+master-stroke. It must have pierced the creature's heart, for he
+immediately began to spout blood in masses, and without another wound
+went into his flurry and died.
+
+Then came the reaction. I must have exerted myself beyond what I had
+any idea of, for to Samuela I was obliged to delegate the task of
+fluke-boring, while I rested a little. The ship was soon alongside,
+though, and the whale secured. There was more yet to be done before
+we could rest, in spite of our fatigue. The other boats had been so
+successful that they had got two big fish, and what we were to do with
+them was a problem not easily solvable. By dint of great exertion, we
+managed to get another whale alongside, but were fain to come to
+some arrangement with the ELIZA ADAMS, one of the ships that had been
+unsuccessful, to take over our other whale on an agreement to render
+us one-third of the product either in Port William or at home, if she
+should not find us is the former place.
+
+Behold us, then, in the gathering dusk with a whale on either side,
+every stitch of canvas we could show set and drawing, straining every
+nerve to get into the little port again, with the pleasant thought that
+we were bringing with us all that was needed to complete our well-earned
+cargo. Nobody wanted to go below; all hands felt that it was rest enough
+to hang over the rail on either side and watch the black masses as they
+surged through the gleaming sea. They represented so much to us. Very
+little was said, but all hearts were filled with a deep content, a sense
+of a long season of toil fitly crowned with complete success; nor was
+any depression felt at the long, long stretch of stormy ocean between
+us and our home port far away in the United States. That would doubtless
+come by-and-by, when within less than a thousand miles of New Bedford;
+but at present all sense of distance from home was lost in the
+overmastering thought that soon it would be our only business to get
+there as quickly as possible, without any avoidable loitering on the
+road.
+
+We made an amazing disturbance in the darkness of the sea with our
+double burthen, so much so that one of the coasting steamers changed
+her course a bit to range up by our side in curiosity. We were scarcely
+going two and a half knots, in spite of the row we made, and there
+was hardly room for wonder at the steamboat captain's hail, "Want any
+assistance?" "No, thank you," was promptly returned, although there was
+little doubt that all hands would have subscribed towards a tow into
+port, in case the treacherous weather should, after all, play us a dirty
+trick. But it looked as if our troubles were over. No hitch occurred
+in our steady progress, slow though it necessarily was, and as morning
+lifted the heavy veil from the face of the land, we arrived at our
+pretty little haven, and quietly came to an anchor. The CHANCE was in
+port wind-bound, looking, like ourselves, pretty low in the water. No
+sooner did Paddy hear the news of our arrival in such fine trim than
+he lowered his boat and hurried on board of us, his face beaming with
+delight. Long and loud were his congratulations, especially when he
+heard that we should now be full. Moreover, he offered--nor would he
+take any denial--to come with the whole of his crew and help us finish.
+
+For the next four days and nights, during which the wind prevented the
+CHANCE from leaving us, our old ship was a scene of wild revelry, that
+ceased not through the twenty-four hours--revelry entirely unassisted
+by strong waters, too, the natural ebullient gaiety of men who were
+free from anxiety on any account whatever, rejoicing over the glad
+consummation of more than two years toil, on the one hand; on the other,
+a splendid sympathy in joy manifested by the satisfied crew under the
+genial command of Captain Gilroy. With their cheerful help we made
+wonderful progress; and when at last the wind hauled into a favourable
+quarter, and they were compelled to leave us, the back of our work was
+broken, only the tedious task of boiling being left to finish.
+
+Never, I am sure, did two ships' companies part with more hearty
+good-will than ours. As the ungainly old tub surged slowly out of the
+little harbour, her worn-out and generally used-up appearance would have
+given a Board of Trade Inspector the nightmare; the piratical looks of
+her crowd were enough to frighten a shipload of passengers into fits;
+but to us who had seen their performances in all weathers, and under all
+circumstances, accidental externals had no weight in biassing our high
+opinion of them all. Good-bye, old ship; farewell, jolly captain and
+sturdy crew; you will never be forgotten any more by us while
+life lasts, and in far other and more conventional scenes we shall
+regretfully remember the free-and-easy time we shared with you. So she
+slipped away round the point and out of our lives for ever.
+
+By dint of steady hard work we managed to get the last of our greasy
+work done in four days more, then faced with a will the job of stowing
+afresh the upper tiers of casks, in view of our long journey home. The
+oil bought by the skipper on private venture was left on deck, secured
+to the lash-rail, for discharging at the Bluff, while our stock of
+water-casks were carefully overhauled and recoopered prior to being
+stowed in their places below. Of course, we had plenty of room in the
+hold, since no ship would carry herself full of casks of oil; but I
+doubt whether, if we had borne a "Plimsoll's mark," it would not have
+been totally submerged, so deep did we lie. Wooding and watering came
+next--a different affair to our casual exercises in those directions
+before. Provision had to be made now for a possible four or five months'
+passage, during which we hoped to avoid any further calls, so that
+the accumulation of firewood alone was no small matter. We cleared the
+surrounding neighbourhood of potatoes at a good price, those useful
+tubers being all they could supply us with for sea-stock, much to their
+sorrow.
+
+Then came the most unpleasant part of the whole business--for me. It had
+been a part of the agreement made with the Kanakas that they were not to
+be taken home with us, but returned to their island upon the termination
+of the whaling. Now, the time had arrived when we were to part, and
+I must confess that I felt very sorry to leave them. They had proved
+docile, useful, and cheerful; while as for my harpooner and his mate
+Polly, no man could have wished for smarter, better, or more faithful
+helpers than they were. Strong as their desire was to return to their
+homes, they too felt keenly the parting with us; for although they
+had unavoidably suffered much from the inclemency of the weather--so
+different from anything they had ever previously experienced--they had
+been kindly treated, and had moved on precisely the same footing as the
+rest of the crew. They wept like little children when the time arrived
+for them to leave us, declaring that if ever we came to their island
+again they would use all their endeavours to compel us to remain,
+assuring us that we should want for nothing during the rest of our
+lives, if we would but take up our abode with them. The one exception
+to all this cordiality was Sam. His ideas were running in quite other
+channels. To regain his lost status as ruler of the island, with all
+the opportunities for indulging his animal propensities which such
+a position gave him, was the problem he had set himself, and to the
+realization of these wishes he had determinedly bent all his efforts.
+
+Thus he firmly declined the offer of a passage back in the ELIZA ADAMS,
+which our captain secured for all the Kanakas; preferring to be landed
+at the Bluff, with the goodly sum of money to which he was entitled,
+saying that he had important business to transact in Sydney before he
+returned. This business, he privately informed me, was the procuring of
+arms and ammunition wherewith to make war upon his rival. Of course we
+could not prevent him, although it did seem an abominable thing to let
+loose the spirit of slaughter among those light-hearted natives just
+to satisfy the ambition of an unscrupulous negro. But, as I have before
+noticed, from information received many years after I learned that he
+had been successful in his efforts, though at what cost to life I do not
+know.
+
+So our dusky friends left us, with a good word from every one, and went
+on board the ELIZA ADAMS, whose captain promised to land them at Futuna,
+within six months. How he carried out his promise, I do not know; but,
+for the poor fellows' sakes, I trust he kept his word.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVIII. TO THE BLUFF, AND HOME
+
+And now the cruise of the good old whaling barque CACHALOT, as far as
+whaling is concerned, comes to an end. For all practical purposes
+she becomes a humdrum merchantman in haste to reach her final port of
+discharge, and get rid of her cargo. No more will she loiter and pry
+around anything and everything, from an island to a balk of drift-wood,
+that comes in her way, knowing not the meaning of "waste of time." The
+"crow's-nests" are dismantled, taut topgallant-masts sent up, and royal
+yards crossed. As soon as we get to sea we shall turn-to and heave that
+ancient fabric of bricks and mortar--always a queer-looking erection to
+be cumbering a ship's deck--piecemeal over the side. It has long been
+shaky and weather-beaten; it will soon obstruct our movements no more.
+Our rigging has all been set up and tarred down; we have painted hull
+and spars, and scraped wherever the wood-work is kept bright. All gear
+belonging to whaling has been taken out of the boats, carefully cleaned,
+oiled, and stowed away for a "full due." Two of the boats have been
+taken inboard, and stowed bottom-up upon the gallows aft, as any
+other merchantman carries them. At last, our multifarious preparations
+completed, we ride ready for sea.
+
+It was quite in accordance with the fitness of things that, when all
+things were now ready for our departure, there should come a change of
+wind that threatened to hold us prisoners for some days longer. But our
+"old man" was hard to beat, and he reckoned that, if we could only get
+out of the "pond," he would work her across to the Bluff somehow or
+other. So we ran out a kedge with a couple of lines to it, and warped
+her out of the weather side of the harbour, finding, when at last we
+got her clear, that she would lay her course across the Straits to clear
+Ruapuke--nearly; but the current had to be reckoned with. Before we
+reached that obstructing island we were down at the eastern end of it,
+and obliged to anchor promptly to save ourselves from being swept down
+the coast many miles to leeward of our port.
+
+But the skipper was quite equal to the occasion. Ordering his boat,
+he sped away into Bluff harbour, only a matter of six or seven miles,
+returning soon with a tug, who for a pound or two placed us, without
+further trouble, alongside the wharf, amongst some magnificent clipper
+ships of Messrs. Henderson's and the New Zealand Shipping Co.'s, who
+seemed to turn up their splendid noses at the squat, dumpy, antiquated
+old serving-mallet that dared to mingle with so august a crowd. There
+had been a time, not so very far back, when I should have shared their
+apparent contempt for our homely old tub; but my voyage had taught me,
+among other things, that, as far as true comfort went at sea, not a
+"three-skysail-yarder" among them could compare with the CACHALOT. And
+I was extremely glad that my passage round the Horn was to be in my own
+ship, and not in a long, snaky tank that, in the language of the sailor,
+takes a header when she gets outside the harbour, and only comes up two
+or three times to blow before she gets home.
+
+Our only reason for visiting this place being to discharge Captain
+Count's oil, and procure a sea-stock of salt provisions and hard bread,
+these duties were taken in hand at once. The skipper sold his venture of
+oil to good advantage, being so pleased with his success that he gave us
+all a good feed on the strength of it.
+
+As soon as the stores were embarked and everything ready for sea,
+leave was given to all hands for twenty-four hours, upon the distinct
+understanding that the privilege was not to be abused, to the detriment
+of everybody, who, as might be supposed, were anxious to start for
+home. In order that there might be less temptation to go on the spree
+generally, a grand picnic was organized to a beautiful valley some
+distance from the town. Carriages were chartered, an enormous quantity
+of eatables and drinkables provided, and away we went, a regular
+wayzgoose or bean-feast party. It was such a huge success, that I have
+ever since wondered why such outings cannot become usual among sailors
+on liberty abroad, instead of the senseless, vicious waste of health,
+time, and hard-earned wages which is general. But I must not let myself
+loose upon this theme again, or we shall never get to sea.
+
+Liberty over without any trouble arising, and all hands comfortably on
+board again, the news ran round that we were to sail in the morning.
+So, after a good night's rest, we cast loose from the wharf, and, with
+a little assistance from the same useful tug that brought us in, got
+fairly out to sea. All sail was set to a strong, steady north-wester,
+and with yards canted the least bit in the world on the port tack, so
+that every stitch was drawing, we began our long easterly stretch to the
+Horn, homeward bound at last.
+
+Favoured by wind and weather, we made an average run of one hundred and
+eighty miles per day for many days, paying no attention to "great circle
+sailing," since in such a slow ship the net gain to be secured by going
+to a high latitude was very small, but dodging comfortably along on
+about the parallel of 48deg. S., until it became necessary to draw down
+towards "Cape Stiff," as that dreaded extremity of South America, Cape
+Horn, is familiarly called by seamen. As we did so, icebergs became
+numerous, at one time over seventy being in sight at once. Some of them
+were of immense size--one, indeed, that could hardly be fitly described
+as an iceberg, but more properly an ice-field, with many bergs rising
+out of it, being over sixty miles long, while some of its towering peaks
+were estimated at from five hundred to one thousand feet high. Happily,
+the weather kept clear; for icebergs and fog make a combination truly
+appalling to the sailor, especially if there be much wind blowing.
+
+Needless, perhaps, to say, our look-out was of the best, for all hands
+had a double interest in the safety of the ship. Perhaps it may be
+thought that any man would have so much regard for the safety of his
+life that he would not think of sleeping on his look-out; but I can
+assure my readers that, strange as it may seem, such is not the case, I
+have known men who could never be trusted not to go to sleep, no matter
+how great the danger. This is so well recognized in merchant ships that
+nearly every officer acts as if there was no look-out at all forward, in
+case his supposed watchman should be having a surreptitious doze.
+
+Stronger and stronger blew the brave west wind; dirtier, gloomier, and
+colder grew the weather, until, reduced to two topsails and a reefed
+foresail, we were scudding dead before the gale for all we were worth.
+This was a novel experience for us in the CACHALOT, and I was curious
+to see how she would behave. To my mind, the supreme test of a ship's
+sea-kindliness is the length of time she will scud before a gale without
+"pooping" a sea, or taking such heavy water on board over her sides
+as to do serious damage. Some ships are very dangerous to run at all.
+Endeavouring to make the best use of the gale which is blowing in the
+right direction, the captain "hangs on" to all the sail he can carry,
+until she ships a mighty mass of water over all, so that the decks
+are filled with wreckage, or, worse still, "poops" a sea. The latter
+experience is a terrible one, even to a trained seaman. You are running
+before the wind and waves, sometimes deep in the valley between two
+liquid mountains, sometimes high on the rolling ridge of one. You watch
+anxiously the speed of the sea, trying to decide whether it or you are
+going the faster, when suddenly there seems to be a hush, almost a
+lull, in the uproar. You look astern, and see a wall of water rising
+majestically higher and higher, at the same time drawing nearer and
+nearer. Instinctively you clutch at something firm, and hold your
+breath. Then that mighty green barrier leans forward, the ship's stern
+seems to settle at the same time, and, with a thundering noise as of
+an avalanche descending, it overwhelms you. Of course the ship's way is
+deadened; she seems like a living thing overburdened, yet struggling to
+be free; and well it is for all hands if the helmsman be able to keep
+his post and his wits about him. For if he be hurt, or have fled from
+the terrible wave, it is an even chance that she "broaches to;" that is
+to say, swings round broadside on to the next great wave that follows
+relentlessly its predecessor. Then, helpless and vulnerable, she will
+most probably be smashed up and founder. Many a good ship has gone with
+all hands to the bottom just as simply as that.
+
+In order to avoid such a catastrophe, the proper procedure is to
+"heave-to" before the sea has attained so dangerous a height; but even a
+landsman can understand how reluctant a shipmaster may be to lie like
+a log just drifting, while a more seaworthy ship is flying along at the
+rate of, perhaps, three hundred miles a day in the desired direction.
+Ships of the CACHALOT's bluff build are peculiarly liable to delays of
+this kind from their slowness, which, if allied to want of buoyancy,
+makes it necessary to heave-to in good time, if safety is at all cared
+for.
+
+To my great astonishment and delight, however, our grand old vessel
+nobly sustained her character, running on without shipping any heavy
+water, although sometimes hedged in on either side by gigantic waves
+that seemed to tower as high as her lowermast heads. Again and again
+we were caught up and passed by the splendid homeward-bound colonial
+packets, some of them carrying an appalling press of canvas, under
+which the long, snaky hulls, often overwhelmed by the foaming seas, were
+hardly visible, so insignificant did they appear by comparison with the
+snowy mountain of swelling sail above.
+
+So we fared eastward and ever southward, until in due time up rose the
+gloomy, storm-scarred crags of the Diego Ramirez rocks, grim outposts
+of the New World. To us, though, they bore no terrific aspect; for were
+they not the turning-point from which we could steer north, our head
+pointed for home? Immediately upon rounding them we hauled up four
+points, and, with daily improving weather climbed the southern slopes
+towards the line.
+
+Very humdrum and quiet the life appeared to all of us, and had it not
+been for the saving routine of work by day, and watch by night, kept up
+with all our old discipline, the tedium would have been insupportable
+after the incessant excitement of expectation to which we had so long
+been accustomed. Still, our passage was by no means a bad one for a slow
+ship, being favoured by more than ordinarily steadfast winds until we
+reached the zone of the south-east trades again, where the usual mild,
+settled wind and lovely weather awaited us. On and on, unhasting but
+unresting, we stolidly jogged, by great good fortune slipping across the
+"doldrums"--that hateful belt of calms about the line so much detested
+by all sailor-men--without losing the south-east wind.
+
+Not one day of calm delayed us, the north-east trades meeting us like a
+friend sent to extend a welcoming hand and lend us his assistance on our
+homeward way. They hung so far to the eastward, too--sometimes actually
+at east-by-north-that we were able to steer north on the starboard
+tack--a slice of luck not usually met with. This "slant" put all hands
+in the best of humours, and already the date of our arrival was settled
+by the more sanguine ones, as well as excellent plans made for spending
+the long voyage's earnings.
+
+For my part, having been, in spite of my youth, accustomed to so many
+cruel disappointments and slips between the cup and lip, I was afraid to
+dwell too hopefully upon the pleasures (?) of getting ashore. And after
+the incident which I have now to record occurred, I felt more nervous
+distrust than I had ever felt before at sea since first I began to
+experience the many vicissitudes of a sailor's life.
+
+We had reached the northern verge of the tropics in a very short time,
+owing to the favourable cant in the usual direction of the north-east
+trades before noted, and had been met with north-westerly winds and
+thick, dirty weather, which was somewhat unusual in so low a latitude.
+Our look-outs redoubled their vigilance, one being posted on each bow
+always at night, and relieved every hour, as we were so well manned. We
+were now on the port tack, of course, heading about north-east-by-north,
+and right in the track of outward-hound vessels from both the United
+Kingdom and the States. One morning, about three a.m.--that fateful
+time in the middle watch when more collisions occur than at any
+other--suddenly out of the darkness a huge ship seemed to leap right at
+us. She must have come up in a squall, of which there were many about,
+at the rate of some twelve knots an hour, having a fair wind, and every
+rag of sail set. Not a gleam of light was visible anywhere on board of
+her, and, to judge from all appearances, the only man awake on board was
+the helmsman.
+
+We, being "on the wind, close-hauled," were bound by the "rule of the
+road at sea" to keep our course when meeting a ship running free. The
+penalty for doing ANYTHING under such circumstances is a severe one.
+First of all, you do not KNOW that the other ship's crew are asleep or
+negligent, even though they carry no lights; for, by a truly infernal
+parsimony, many vessels actually do not carry oil enough to keep their
+lamps burning all the voyage, and must therefore economize in this
+unspeakably dangerous fashion. And it may be that just as you alter your
+course, daring no longer to hold on, and, as you have every reason to
+believe, be run down, the other man alters his. Then a few breathless
+moments ensue, an awful crash, and the two vessels tear each other to
+pieces, spilling the life that they contain over the hungry sea. Even if
+you escape, YOU are to blame for not keeping your course, unless it can
+be proved that you were not seen by the running ship.
+
+Well, we kept our course until, I verily believe, another plunge would
+have cut us sheer in two halves. At the last moment our helm was put
+hard down, bringing our vessel right up into the wind at the same
+moment as the helmsman on board the other vessel caught sight of us, and
+instinctively put his helm down too. The two vessels swung side by side
+amidst a thunderous roar of flapping canvas, crackling of fallen spars,
+and rending of wood as the shrouds tore away the bulwarks. All our
+davits were ripped from the starboard side, and most of our bulwarks
+too; but, strangely enough, we lost no spars nor any important gear.
+There seemed to be a good deal of damage done on board the stranger,
+where, in addition, all hands were at their wits' end. Well they might
+be, aroused from so criminal a sleep as theirs. Fortunately, the third
+mate had powerful bull's-eye lantern, which in his watch on deck he
+always kept lighted. Turning it on the stern of the delinquent vessel
+as she slowly forged clear of us, we easily read her name, which, for
+shame's sake as well as for prudential reasons, I withhold. She was a
+London ship, and a pretty fine time of it I had for the next day or
+two, listening to the jeers and sarcasms on the quality of British
+seamanship.
+
+Repairing damages kept us busy for a few days; but whatever of
+thankfulness we were capable of feeling was aroused by this hairbreadth
+escape from death through the wicked neglect of the most elementary duty
+of any man calling himself a seaman.
+
+Then a period of regular Western-ocean weather set in. It was early
+spring in the third year since our departure from this part of the
+world, and the north-easter blew with bitter severity, making even the
+seasoned old captain wince again; but, as he jovially said, "it smelt
+homey, n' HE warn't a-goin' ter growl at thet." Neither were any of
+us, although we could have done with less of a sharp edge to it all the
+same.
+
+Steadily we battled northward, until at last, with full hearts, we made
+Cape Navesink ("Ole Neversunk"), and on the next day took a tug and
+towed into New Bedford with every flag we could scare up flying, the
+centre of admiration--a full whale-ship safe back from her long, long
+fishing round the world.
+
+My pleasant talk is done. I wish from my heart it were better performed;
+but, having done my best, I must perforce be content. If in some small
+measure I have been able to make you, my friendly reader, acquainted
+with a little-known or appreciated side of life, and in any wise made
+that life a real matter to you, giving you a fresh interest in the
+toilers of the sea, my work has not been wholly in vain. And with that
+fond hope I give you the sailor's valedictory--
+
+SO LONG!
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's The Cruise of the Cachalot, by Frank T. Bullen
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