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diff --git a/old/64161-0.txt b/old/64161-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index e954627..0000000 --- a/old/64161-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,6572 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of Idylls of the Sea, by Frank Thomas Bullen - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world 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. If you are not located in the United States, you -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - -Title: Idylls of the Sea - and Other Marine Sketches - -Author: Frank Thomas Bullen - John St. Loe Strachey - -Release Date: December 28, 2020 [eBook #64161] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -Image source(s): https://archive.org/details/idyllsofseaother00bull - -Produced by: MWS, Charlie Howard, and the Online Distributed Proofreading - Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from - images generously made available by The Internet - Archive/Canadian Libraries) - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK IDYLLS OF THE SEA *** - - - - -[Illustration: (cover)] - - - - -IDYLLS OF THE SEA - - - - - IDYLLS OF THE SEA - - AND - - Other Marine Sketches - - - BY - - FRANK T. BULLEN, F.R.G.S. - FIRST MATE - AUTHOR OF THE ‘CRUISE OF THE CACHALOT’ - - - WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY J. ST. LOE STRACHEY - - - London - GRANT RICHARDS - 9 HENRIETTA STREET, COVENT GARDEN, W.C. - 1900 - - - _First printed February 1899_ - _Reprinted April 1899; August 1899; December 1900_ - - - - - TO - - MY DEAR WIFE - - THIS LITTLE BOOK - - IS AFFECTIONATELY - - DEDICATED - - - - -Most of these sketches are, by the courtesy of the proprietors, -reprinted from the _Spectator_; the others have appeared in various -magazines--the _Cornhill_, _Good Words_, _Sunday Magazine_, _Chambers’s -Journal_, _Country Life_, _National Review_, and _Pall Mall Gazette_. -To the proprietors of all these journals my hearty thanks for their -kind permission to republish are hereby offered. - - FRANK T. BULLEN. - - - - -PREFACE - - -In these little sketches of a few out of the innumerable multitude of -ways in which the sea has spoken to me during my long acquaintance with -it, I have tried with ’prentice hand to reproduce for shore-dwellers -some of the things it has told me. If I were to stop and consider what -other men, freeholders upon the upper slopes of the literary Olympus, -have done in the same direction, I should not dare to put forth this -little book. - -Let my plea be that I have not seen with their eyes nor heard with -their ears, but with mine own. This may have some weight with my -judges--those who will buy the wares I have to sell. - - FRANK T. BULLEN. - -_Feb. 1899._ - - - - -INTRODUCTION - - -Mr. Bullen’s work in literature requires no introduction. If it ever -did, it has received one so complete from Mr. Kipling, that not another -word is needed. Mr. Kipling, in phrases as happy as they are generous, -has exactly described the character of Mr. Bullen’s writings. After -that, to commend him to the public is superfluous. However, in spite of -this, Mr. Bullen has asked me to write a few words to put in the front -of his book, and I obey. If my introduction does no good, it will at -least do no harm, and I shall at any rate have the pleasure of being in -very good company. His whales and sharks and other monsters of the deep -are creatures with whom one is proud to be associated. - -These Idylls--little pictures--strike me as some of the most vivid -things ever written about the sea. I take it that only a man who has -used the sea as a common sailor, and before the mast, really knows it -in all its humours,--has heard all those multitudinous voices that echo -along the vast waste spaces of the deep. The officer is either too busy -with his responsibilities of command, or else is off duty and so not at -close quarters with the winds and waves. As a rule the sailor,--the man -who heaves the lead, stands at the wheel, sits in the crow’s nest for -long hours together, and does the more wearisome and leisurely duties -of the ship, is not a person of sufficient imagination and education to -record the impressions that come to those who do battle with “a remote -and unhearing Ocean.” In Mr. Bullen, perhaps for the first time, we -have a man who has been a fo’c’s’le hand and yet has the power, first -to realise in a literary shape, and then to set down, the wonders of -the flood. It was a most happy combination that for once the man who -saw the tropic dawn from the crow’s nest of a whaler should be able to -communicate the full magic of the scene. - -It is not conventionally that I have called Mr. Bullen’s work “vivid.” -It is of writing such as his that we can say, and say truly: - - I watch no longer--I myself am there. - -He transports us to the very place he describes--does not merely hand -us a stereoscopic glass in which to observe a well-defined photograph. - -One other quality has always struck me in Mr. Bullen’s work. In spite -of the fact that he knows so much science, and makes so keen and -convincing a use of this knowledge, there is always an air of mystery -and enchantment about his writing. De Quincey’s brother told De Quincey -that all his arguments against the supernatural were perfectly sound -here in England, but that they did not hold “to the suth’ard of the -line.” In the Southern Seas were still to be found realms where pure -reason was not supreme. But Mr. Bullen’s experiences and Idylls are -“to the suth’ard of the line.” He deals as a rule with that region of -romance, and hence it is, I suppose, that a sense of something strange -and fateful, and so fascinating, haunts his pictures of the sea. - -But I am doing the readers of this book a very ill turn in keeping them -waiting at the door. Let them be assured that there is matter well -worth their marking within, and that if they are capable of taking -pleasure in the sea and its secrets, they cannot fail of entertainment -here. - - J. ST. LOE STRACHEY. - - - - -CONTENTS - - - IDYLLS OF THE SEA - PAGE - 1. THE PASSING OF PETER 1 - - 2. THE LOSS OF THE FIRST-BORN 9 - - 3. A TRUE SHARK-STORY 14 - - 4. THE SLAVER 18 - - 5. THE CRUISE OF THE ‘DAISY’ 25 - - 6. ‘RUNNING THE EASTING DOWN’ 32 - - 7. IN THE CROW’S NEST 39 - - 8. THE BIRTH OF AN ISLAND 47 - - 9. A SUBMARINE EARTHQUAKE 54 - - 10. THE SILENT WARFARE OF THE SUBMARINE WORLD 61 - - 11. AN EFFECT OF REFRACTION 67 - - 12. A WAKING NIGHTMARE 73 - - 13. THE DERELICT 79 - - - STUDIES IN MARINE NATURAL HISTORY - - 14. SOME OCEANIC BIRDS 91 - - 15. THE KRAKEN 99 - - 16. CONCERNING SHARKS 112 - - 17. FLYING-FISH CATCHING AT BARBADOS 131 - - 18. UNCONVENTIONAL FISHING 139 - - 19. DEVIL-FISH 146 - - 20. OF TURTLE 159 - - - OTHER SKETCHES - - 21. ‘HOVELLING’ 175 - - 22. THE LOSS OF THE ‘ST. GEORGE’ 187 - - 23. THE TRUTH ABOUT THE MERCHANT SERVICE 196 - - 24. CANCER CAY 212 - - 25. A NINETEENTH-CENTURY JONAH 219 - - 26. THE TRAGICAL TALE OF THE BOOMERANG PIG 230 - - 27. A DAY ON THE SOLANDER WHALING-GROUND 238 - - 28. SEA-ELEPHANTS AT HOME 245 - - 29. AN INTERVIEW 253 - - 30. UP A WATERSPOUT 261 - - - - -IDYLLS OF THE SEA - - - - -I - -THE PASSING OF PETER - - -For six weeks we had simmered in unwinking sunblaze by day, and by -night had stared with ever-fresh wonder at the blue-black immensity -above, bejewelled with stars as the sand on the sea-shore for -multitude. Among the glorious host of heaven the dazzling moon sailed -on her stately way, the radiant splendour of her rays almost unbearable -in their penetrating power. Beneath us the waveless ocean lay like -another sky, its levelled surface unruffled by the faintest zephyr. On -moonless nights it was often hard to divest oneself of the idea that we -were floating in mid-air, so little difference was there between below -and above. Our passage, already over long, seemed to have ended here, -a thousand miles from land, and far out of the track of other ships. -For some time this wondrous restfulness of all the elements fell upon -our souls like the soothing touch of a mother’s hand upon the fevered -head of her child. In the night watches voices were hushed, and -whispered converse came gently from lips unaccustomed to such topics, -upon subjects exalted and solemn. Even during the day, while engaged -in severe toil--for our careful captain was utilising this unwelcome -opportunity in a general refit--it seemed as if all hands were under -a deep impression of gravity, as though conscious of contact with the -eternities. But this feeling of awe, which was almost involuntary -worship, gradually gave place as the days passed in changeless -procession to an increasing sense of indefinite fear. Each man looked -askance at his fellow’s face, fearfully seeking sight of that shadow -he felt upon his own. One unspoken question trembled on every lip, one -overmastering idea blended with and tinctured all others. A change, -unusual as unwholesome, came over the bright blue of the sea. No longer -did it reflect, as in a limpid mirror, the splendour of the sun, -the sweet silvery glow of the moon, or the coruscating clusters of -countless stars. Like the ashen-grey hue that bedims the countenance -of the dying, a filmy greasy skin appeared to overspread the recent -loveliness of the ocean’s surface. The sea was sick, stagnant, and -foul. From its turbid waters arose a miasmatic vapour like a breath of -decay, which clung clammily to the palate and dulled all the senses. -Drawn by some strange force from the unfathomable depths below, -eerie shapes sought the surface, blinking glassily at the unfamiliar -glare they had exchanged for their native gloom,--uncouth creatures -bedight with tasselled fringes like weed-growths waving around them, -fathom-long medusæ with coloured spots like eyes clustering all over -their transparent substance, wriggling worm-like forms of such elusive -matter that the smallest exposure to the sun melted them, and they were -not. Lower down, vast pale shadows crept sluggishly along, happily -undistinguishable as yet, but adding a half-familiar flavour to the -strange, faint smell that hung about us. Of the ordinary fish which -attend a vessel under healthful conditions few were to be seen. Such -stragglers as occasionally came near were languid and purposeless in -their movements, as if infected by the universal _malaise_ that only -fostered foul and fermenting growths. The sole exceptions were the -sharks, who came and went as stealthily, but as eagerly as ever. - -Such a morbific, unwholesome condition of our environment as this -utter cessation of the revivifying motion of the aerial ocean, with -its beneficent reaction upon the watery world beneath, could not fail -sooner or later to affect the health of the crew. Doubtless the heavy -toil in which all hands were continually engaged during the day put off -the coming disaster longer than would otherwise have been the case. -But the ship was ill found, the meat was partially decayed, and the -bread honeycombed by various vermin. The water alone was comparatively -sweet, although somewhat flavoured with tar, for we had caught it as -it fell from the surcharged skies. There was no change of dietary, no -fresh provisions, except when, as a great banquet once in two months, -an allowance of soup and bouilli was served out, which only suggested -a change, hardly supplied it. Men grew listless and uncompanionable. -Each aloof from his fellows took to hanging moodily over the bulwarks -and staring steadfastly at the unpleasant surface of the once beautiful -sea. And the livid impalpabilities that, gigantic and gruesome, pursued -their shadowy, stealthy glidings beneath seemed to be daily growing -more definite and terrible. The watchers glared at them until their -overburdened imagination could support the sight no longer, and they -sought relief by hoarse cries from the undefinable terror. One by one -the seamen fell sick, apparently with scurvy, that most loathsome -ailment, that seems to combine in itself half a dozen other diseases -and reproduces old and long-forgotten wounds. It was accompanied, -too, by partial blindness, as of moon-stroke, rendering the sufferers -utterly unable to see anything at night, even though by day their -sight was still fairly good. Already short-handed, this new distress -added greatly to the physical sufferings of the patient mariners, who -endured with a fortitude seldom seen among merchant seamen the slowly -accumulating burden of their sorrows. The questioning look before noted -as visible in every man’s eyes now took another meaning. As a recent -and a most powerful writer, Joseph Conrad, has noticed, one of the -strongest superstitions current among seamen is the notion that such -an abnormal condition of the elements calls for a human victim. Life -must be paid that the majority may live. Whose would it be? No word was -spoken on the subject, but the sequel showed how deeply seated was the -idea. - -At last from among the brooding men one figure detached itself and -became prominent with an unearthly significance. He was an old and -feeble man named Peter Burn, unfitted in any case to endure much longer -the ordinary stress of a sailor’s life. But suddenly his frailty seemed -to obtrude itself persistently upon our notice until his worn-out -frame became almost transparent. Towards the close of this moribund -state of the elements Peter’s mind grew retrospective. His present -surroundings seemed to fade from his knowledge, becoming, as far as -he was concerned, non-existent. Hour after hour he would lie yarning -incessantly of bygone exploits in long-forgotten ships on many seas. In -the long, quiet evenings all hands that were able would gather round -with pipes aglow and listen silently to his babbling, flowing like a -placid stream of sound, contrasting curiously with the lurid language -in which he revived the scenes of riot, bloodshed, and license of his -distant youth. He still relished a pipe, although he hardly seemed -aware whether it was alight or not. But there was always some one -ready to catch it as it fell from his trembling jaws, or to support it -tenderly with one hand while a light was applied with the other. Day by -day his detachment from present things increased. He lived only in the -misty past, his immediate environment became a perfect blank, and he -called his shipmates by strange names. Of any want of the consolations -of religion he manifested no sign, and as there was none to offer them, -the pathos of that dreadful indifference passed unnoticed. - -At last, one evening, when a sticky haze rose sluggishly from the -fermenting sea, peopling the immediate vicinity of the ship with -fantastic shapes, Peter raised his voice in an astonishing volume -of sound, commanding his attendants to carry him on deck. They -instantly obeyed. Very tenderly and cautiously they bore him to the -top-gallant forecastle, whence a clear view could be obtained all -around. Through the hedge of mist the moon was rising, a vast blood-red -disc, across the face of which passed in weird procession formless -phantoms of indefinite and ever-varying suggestiveness. Overhead, the -lustreless stars looked down wearily out of a sky that had paled from -its deep azure to a neutral tint of green. From beneath, the foul -effluvia ascended like the air of a charnel-house. Even the gleaming -phosphorescence in the wake of the living things below glared pale -and slow. The heavy silence around was only broken at long intervals -by the melancholy wail of a weary sea-bird that feared to rest on -the glairy sea. On board the voice of our ancient shipmate prattled -on in tones scarcely human and in language unintelligible to any of -us. As the moon, rising clear of the steaming vapours, resumed her -normal appearance, she shot a pallid beam across us where, like a -group of ghosts, we crouched around Peter’s prone form. When the cold -ray touched his face it suddenly changed, and became beautiful, but -only for a moment. Then the withered, toothless jaw dropped, the dim -eyeballs settled in their sockets, and Peter passed from among us. Like -a voice from heaven came the command, breaking the heavy stillness, -“Square away the main-yard.” As men in a dream we obeyed. But the sweet -breeze aroused us as it swept away the fœtid mist in reluctant rolls -and eddies. A joyful sound like the musical murmur of a brooklet arose -from beneath the forefoot as the good ship resumed her long-hindered -journey through the reviving sea, and the long calm was over. - -Then when sail had been trimmed, and gear coiled up again, came the -sailmaker softly, a roll of worn canvas under his arm, and his palm and -needle ready. In ten minutes a long white bundle was borne reverently -aft and laid on a hatch, where a mass of sandstone was secured to its -smaller end. The skipper produced a worn Prayer-book, from which, like -one determined to do his duty at all cost, he doggedly read the Order -for the Burial of the Dead right through. All hands stood round in the -moonlight with bare heads and set faces until the skipper’s voice -ceased. Then at a sign from the mate four of us lifted the hatch to the -rail, slowly raised its inner end and held it steadily, while, with -a slow hiss, its burden slid into the sea and disappeared beneath a -shining column of emerald green. - - - - -II - -THE LOSS OF THE FIRST-BORN - - -She was his latest bride; the joy of his great heart as well as the -flower of his goodly flock. And as he swept proudly through the foaming -sea, with her graceful form gliding sinuously by his side, at the head -of the mighty school in all the exultation of his overlordship of those -Titans, he often sprang clear into the bright air in the fulness of -his gigantic life and measureless delight of living it. After having -in this way somewhat quieted his exuberant spirits, he swam sedately -enough by the side of his favourite again, and resumed the serious -conversation they had been having. He told her they would arrive at -the island to-morrow, and she would then see what a sweet spot he -had selected for the birthplace of their first-born. There was deep -water right up to the edge of the widespreading reef. Shallow winding -channels, that only sagacious whales, humpbacks like themselves, could -find or thread amid the incessant rolling of the enormous breakers, led -into a spacious lagoon behind, where there was no greater depth than -six fathoms. The floor of those quiet quarters was delightfully jagged, -so that she would be able easily to chafe off every last barnacle and -limpet from the lovely folds of her charming breast. As for food, the -place was alive with tender young squid and sea-slugs, all fat and -juicy. And as he spoke he caressed her lovingly with his fifteen-feet -fin that spread like a wing from the broad expanse of his side, while -she gazed up at him affectionately out of the corner of her tiny eye. - -When she instinctively expressed her fear of the ever-vigilant sharks, -who love nothing better than a tender young calf, he comforted her -by an assurance that there was little need to fear them there. If a -stray one should come prowling round she was to attack him at once, -as he would almost certainly be alone. Then his voice took a graver -tone as his wound reminded him of the greatest danger of all, and one -of which she had no experience. He told her how to some of the quiet -haunts of their people came occasionally white things, with long thin -legs, walking on top of the water. They were not nearly as big as a -whale, but there seemed to be smaller living things in them that were -terrible and dangerous. They bit with long sharp teeth, they had arms -hundreds of feet long, and they knew no pity even for languid mother -and new-born calf. They had killed vast numbers of the whale-folk, and -the thought of his escape from them made him ache with fright, though -it was so many years ago. But, happily, they could not come everywhere, -and he had chosen this shelter for her because it was barred against -them. - -Even as he spoke, the school swept into sight of a vast barrier of -coral, and, settling down many fathoms, they skirted its base rooted -in the eternal buttresses of the world. Grand and awful was the view, -but they heeded it not, being on business bent, with no admiration to -waste on the gorgeous scene or appreciation of the untellable marvels -of the deep,--matters of every day with them. Presently they rose near -enough to the surface to hear the solemn roar of the league-long line -of resistless breakers overhead, and, turning with them, followed their -lord and leader into one of the channels he had spoken of. It wound -its tortuous way for a couple of miles through the great reef, the -stillness of the placid shallows strangely disturbed by the thundering -return of the displaced water as the troop of leviathans paddled gently -through its intricacies. At length they emerged into a wide lagoon, -bounded on one side by towering masses of black rock rising tier upon -tier for over two thousand feet. In every other direction the sea -raised a rampart of dazzling foam, which seemed never to subside for -one moment, or reveal even a remote chance of entry. - -For the next two days they stayed with her, exploring every corner, -finding it truly, as the Master had said, a place of ten thousand for -a refuge from all enemies. At last, when the patient mother-to-be -had settled upon a shady pool beneath a huge overhanging crag as her -favourite spot, they all bade her farewell, formed into line and -departed, leaving her to the unfailing ministrations of the good Nurse -Nature, with a promise to return again in about ten days. - -On the second day of her loneliness a little son was born to her, a -pretty, frolicsome creature about eight feet long, his tender, shining, -dark skin elegantly mottled with splashes of grey, while the tiny -furrows of his belly were white as curd. And the proud mother lolled -in her cool corner feeding her babe from her bounteous breast, feeling -supremely happy. He was a very wellspring of joy to her, every move -of his lithe young body, every puff from his tiny spiracle, giving a -new pang of delight. Nor did anything harmful come near. But she never -relaxed her vigilant watch; not the faint splash of a gannet after a -fleeting flying-fish but sent a shudder of apprehensive energy through -her mighty frame. - -For one blissful week there was perfect peace. Then came a morning -when the glorious blue sky grew grey and greasy, then black as soot. -A deathlike silence fell. The harmless fish and other denizens of -the reef crept into crevices of the coral, and all the birds fled -wailing away. She was filled with an undefinable dread; a loneliness -unfelt before shrank every fibre with fear. Moving uneasily about -the restricted area of her shelter, her calf clutched closely under -her fin, she saw spear after spear of crimson flame cleave the swart -heavens, while immense boulders of red-hot rock fell in a hurtling -hail around her. A seething torrent of molten lava amid a dense fog of -steam fell with a deafening hiss into the sea. Desperately she sought -to descend, but forgetting the bottom so near, dealt herself a fearful -blow. Then in frantic fear for her youngling, she rushed, holding him -closer to her breast, around the barrier, seeking the passage through -which they had entered. Almost exhausted with her exertions, she found -it, fled along its windings with the rock heaving and groaning around -her, and at last plunged exultantly through the boiling breakers down, -down into peace. But unsatisfied, still she toiled on to leave that -accursed place far behind, nor rested except to breathe her offspring -until she was a hundred miles away. - -Then, secure from that terror, she took her ease, thinking poor mother, -that all danger was past. But alas for her hopes! A grim silent shadow -shot past as she lay basking on her side, her calf lazily sucking. -Startled into sudden activity, she sprang forward her full length, -swiftly sweeping her wide fins back and forth in search of her infant. -Again that dark form flew past her side, bearing away on the projecting -sword from its head the body of her first-born writhing in sudden -death. - - - - -III - -A TRUE SHARK-STORY - - -“How very hard it is to provide for a young, fast-growing family -nowadays,” said the mother shark, turning, for the hundredth time that -morning, upon her broad side in order to get a better view of what -might be stirring above. For nearly a week she had been fasting--in -fact ever since she came in hurriedly at the close of a great feast -upon the stripped carcase of a recent whale. There, by dint of the -energy of her massive shoulders, her fourteen feet of length, and -fivefold rows of triangular teeth, she had managed to secure a -respectable proportion of the spoil for the replenishing of her own -huge maw as well as for the upkeep of the fourteen sharklings that were -now restlessly darting in and out of their cosy cave at the far end of -her capacious throat. - -Within the immediate range of her glance a vast black shadow obscured -a wide, irregularly shaped area of the blazing sunshine. It was so -calm that the shadow seemed stationary. In the direction of this cool -penumbra her gaze lingered earnestly. For hereditary instinct as well -as long experience gave her the knowledge that from the substance of -such shadows came food dropping down, varied and toothsome, actually -alive upon rare occasions. Somewhat impatiently she wondered at the -long time that her little blue and gold attendant had been gone. He was -so seldom absent from his place between her eyes for a whole minute -that she got quite uneasy. But while she fidgeted fretfully, with many -twitchings of her flexible “gaff topsail,” back came the pilot-fish in -a tearing hurry. “Now then, partner, move along, do. There’s a lump of -fat pork almost as big as your head hanging over that ship’s stern. I -don’t quite understand why it doesn’t sink, but it _is_ good. I nibbled -just a crumb, and you can be sure this time that it’s no bagful of -cinders like that nasty mouthful that gave you the chest-ache so bad -this morning.” The latter part of this energetic exordium was lost upon -Mother Shark, being drowned in the wash set up by her great tail-fin, -which was going in grand style, starting her off at such a rate that -two or three stragglers of the family had to skip like shrimps to get -indoors before they were left behind and lost. - -Straight as an arrow to the mark went the tiny guide, keeping just in -front of his huge friend’s snout. Together they swept into the shadow, -where, sure enough, a mass of meat hung just below the sea surface, -though gently lifted almost out of water every now and then. “Oh, do -look, Mamma! _there’s_ a big fish. Is he going to eat up that pretty -little one, do you think?”--“Oh, no, my little man,” struck in the -mate, “but you watch him _now_.” As he spoke the great grey body took a -curve laterally, a dazzling glare of white appeared, and there, beneath -the speaker, was a crescentic gap in the smooth, livid underside, -fringed with innumerable points like _chevaux-de-frise_, and as big as -the gape of a coal-sack. Around it the small pilot circled excitedly at -top speed. Slowly it rose beneath the bait, which the mate as gently -slacked away, there was a gulp, and the big joint disappeared. There -was a flash, a splash, and an eddy. Then the rope attached to the -shark-hook concealed in that pork groaned over the rail as it felt the -strain. - -“Lay aft the watch,” roared the mate, and amid the trampling of many -feet, a babel of directions, and a tremendous tumult alongside, through -the writhings of the captive monster, she was transferred forward to -the lee gangway, where, by the aid of a stout watch-tackle, she was -hoisted out of water. - -“Don’t take him aboard,” cried the captain; “make such an infernal mess -if you do. Just spritsle yard him ’n let him go agen.” So a piece of -scantling was got from the carpenter, pointed at both ends, about four -feet long. This they drove through her jaws from side to side. Another -wedge-shaped piece was planted diagonally down through her broad snout, -the upper end pointing forrard. Then they cut off the wide pectoral -fins, letting the quivering carcase fall into the sea again by the -simple expedient of chopping the hook out. “What abominable cruelty,” -muttered a gentle-faced man among the crowding passengers, as he turned -away sick at heart. But the bustling seamen looked pityingly at him, -wondering doubtless at his lack of sporting instincts. Thus disabled, -the miserable monster plunged blindly in uncertain directions, unable -to steer herself, unheeding the frantic caresses of her faithful little -satellite, who had almost exhausted himself by leaping up at her as she -hung struggling against the vessel’s side. Neither did she notice the -puzzled, wavering movements of her wondering brood. So she disappeared -from the view of the laughing, happy crowd on deck. But whichever way -she rushed she always fetched up to the surface promptly, because of -the vane in her head. Thus for a day and a night she fought aimlessly -with all the forces of amazing vitality pent up in her huge body -against these torturing disablements, until mercifully she fell in with -a couple of ravenous congeners. Scenting fresh blood they made for her -straightway. Like mad things they fell upon her. Long and hard they -strove, tearing their way through the tough framework until assistance -came from all quarters, and a motley multitude of various hungry -ones cleaned up every shred of the welcome banquet, leaving only the -deserted pilot to seek another partner. - - - - -IV - -THE SLAVER - - -Ras Nungwe stood out boldly against the deep azure of the midnight -sky, its rugged outlines softened and etherealised by the flood of -molten light flowing from the rising moon. Within the velvety shadow -which extended far to the north-westward from that bold headland lay -our brig, a lonely, almost pathetic object, with sails all vertical in -the utter calm, and taut as boards with the drenching dew. The royals, -peering above the enwrapping dark, gleamed silvery-white where the -unintercepted moon-rays touched them, crowning the homely craft with a -radiant halo of silver sheen. I stood alone in the silent gloom of the -deck completely absorbed in the solemn beauty of the scene, and utterly -unmindful for the present of the severe stress of our encompassing -emergencies. After the fierce heat of the glowing day the caressing -coolness of the hour was a pure delight, for, although not a breath -lifted the down fringing the dog-vane suspended just above my head, -there was a freshness in the atmosphere which belied the thermometer. -A sound rippled along through the quiet, sending a responsive thrill -over my scalp, as of an attuned nerve. Mellow and sustained, the clear -call of the Muezzin from the minaret in Zanzibar Town had travelled -this great distance, bearing its tremendous challenge, “Allah ho -Akbar!” Dropping all consonants on its way, only the open vowels -persisted; but even so, none could mistake the words. Obedient even in -sleep to the call of his faith, Sa’adi, our Suahili steward, turned -upon his mat near the mainmast, and rising to his feet, with hands -outstretched before him, began in low gutturals the majestic ritual of -the Mussulmani, “Bismillahi ’Rahmanni ’Raheem.” - -Meanwhile, the swelling tide of moonlight had invaded the sombre area -wherein we lay until the whole of the vessel was shining in purest -light. Every rope, spar, and sail, shimmering in that wonderful -luminosity, looked unearthly, a phantom that the returning sun would -dissipate with his workaday beams. Here and there on the deck, wherever -a little shelter could be found from the soaking dew, lay figures in -many an uneasy attitude, brokenly slumbering and muttering through -the helpless delirium of fever; for all hands save the second mate, -myself, two Malagasy, and two Arabs, were desperately sick. The -poisonous malaria which crawls stealthily to the Zanzibar anchorage -out of the foulness of that most filthy town, aided by the treacherous -exhalations from the soil everywhere, had stricken them down, and -their only hope of recovery seemed to lie in escape from that dangerous -vicinity. Therefore, but principally because of our affection for our -suffering skipper, with his wife and child all tossing in delirium, we -had dared to get under weigh and proceed to sea in such a plight. But -now, relieved by my careful brother officer, I went below, knowing from -painful experience that, stifling as the air might be down in my berth, -it was far safer than on deck. - -I awoke streaming as if in the sudatorium of a Hammam, and after a -careful rub down and complete change of rig, returned on deck to -relieve my faithful partner. A small air from the African land was -just lifting the lighter sails, and making a pleasant little ripple -warble alongside. One of the Malagasy, a docile Betsimasaraka, came -to the wheel, necessitating a careful watch over his well-meant but -generally misdirected efforts on my part, since the duty was as yet -strange to him. Still, I had leisure to take my fill of admiring wonder -at the completely changed scene. We now sailed on a sea of silver, -the moon being almost vertical. Out of that radiant level rose the -dark battlements of the great island, its clear-cut outlines in sharp -contrast to the pellucid sky. Far ahead loomed the misty mass of Pemba, -and on the left a long, low streak of gloom, lit up here and there by -gleaming stretches of shining sand, showed the proximity of Africa, -ancient land of mystery. A subdued murmur, like that of a shell, but -with an occasional swell therein, was rather suggested than heard, so -unceasing was its deep monotone, the unresting roll of the Indian Ocean -upon those lonely shores. At no great distance from us a snowy feather -occasionally showed itself where the slumbering sea was momentarily -ruffled in its regular roll by an outlying spur of coral close to the -surface. - -In striking contrast to those bright gleams the black blotch made by -some toiling fisherman’s small canoe showed up against the bright -waters like a patch of rock. Presently, out of the misty environs of a -small island to leeward, came the faint but unmistakable sound of oars -strenuously worked. The night-glasses revealed the sinister shape of a -dhow heading towards us, a foam-wreath sparkling at her bows as if she -was going at a great rate. “More slaves,” I thought bitterly, for night -navigation is not favoured by Arabs except upon excursions that do -not bear the light well. Fervently I hoped that some of my countrymen -were lying hidden near enough to stop those incarnate devils on their -infernal errand. Forgetting all else, I strained my eyes through the -glasses at the swiftly approaching dhow. The course he was making would -bring him closely past us, and eventually land him at the extreme -northern end of Zanzibar Island. - -Hoping against hope, I swept the horizon earnestly with the glasses, -my gaze lingering for long in the direction where lay the guardship -with five hundred eager fellows on board ready to take any risk to -stop such a villainous craft as was now befouling the seascape, did -they but know of her presence. I had nearly given up all hope, when -to my intense delight I saw coming in our direction from Pemba a tiny -cloud of black smoke. Hardly knowing how to contain myself, I rushed -below, found a rocket, and leaning it against the rail, touched it -off. With a hiss like a bursting steampipe it soared aloft, scaring my -poor Malagasy helmsman almost into a fit, and bursting at a splendid -height into five blazing stars, an imperative call to any cruising -naval launch near. The flying slaver never swerved or halted. On the -contrary, she was evidently adding to her speed. But to my satisfaction -the small black thread of smoke ahead now showed a lurid glow running -through it. Doubtless they had grasped the intention of my signal, and -were making their little craft do her best to obey it. Within a cable’s -length the dhow passed our stern, her straining crew yelling curses at -us in mellifluous Suahili. Pitiful, indeed, would have been our case -could those merciless flesh-hunters then have had their will of us. But -with double-banked sweeps they strove to gain the shore, scenting the -pursuers they could not see. Nearer drew the trailing smoke-wreath, -until beneath it I could discern the slender shape of a steam-launch. -And then I rejoiced to see her change her course so as to cut off the -dhow ere she could reach the objective her crew were straining every -sinew to attain. Breathlessly I watched the manœuvre, disregarding the -unwelcome failure of the gentle breeze that again left us motionless. -At last there was a flash from the launch’s bow, followed by a sullen -boom, the sweetest sound imaginable to my hungry ears. Another flash, -and then the bright foam faded from the dhow’s sides, showing that they -had ceased their efforts to escape. A short silence ensued, followed by -a faint rattle of small-arm fire. - -Although the grey light of dawn was now displacing the almost -blue-black of the night sky, the two craft were so far away that I -could not see how my brethren were faring, but almost unconsciously I -breathed a prayer for their success. Then, in gorgeous array of green -and purple and gold, conquering daylight rushed across the sky, paling -the bright moon and quenching the sweet stars in the ineffable glory of -a new morn. All the beauties of the adjacent shores sprang into sight, -completing the splendid picture. But, best of all, over that devilish -dhow now floated the white-and-red folds of St. George’s Cross, -whose appearance anywhere always gives an Englishman an accelerated -heart-beat. How much more, then, when it is seen sheltering those who -were lost, helpless, and hopeless slaves. Before long the dhow was -taken in tow by the launch, which headed towards us. I ran up the old -Red Ensign, dipping it gaily in salute to the victors in so noble a -cause. As she passed close under our stern the officer in charge, -waving his cap, shouted: “Many thanks, sir, for your signal. We should -certainly have missed the prize without it. She has one hundred and -fifteen slaves on board, all ages and both sexes, packed like sardines -in a tin. It is a splendid haul. Good-bye, sir, and a most pleasant -passage to you.” I would have answered him in many words, but something -choked my utterance, and I could only wave my hand in hearty farewell. -I could not help a feeling of satisfaction as I noticed several prone -figures on the dhow’s deck with crimson stains on their dingy white -garments. There are times when the Mosaic law seems to all of us the -only satisfying adjustment of rewards. - -Of the long days that followed before we finally cleared those sultry -shores, days of anxiety and nights of constant care, much could be told -did space permit. One by one the haggard, quinine-saturated invalids -resumed their watch, wistfully seeking to help, but so weak that their -faltering steps failed them oftentimes. But gradually they gathered -strength, until by the time that Zanzibar had faded below the blue -horizon every one mustered at watch--changing, and our little company -remained complete. - - - - -V - -THE CRUISE OF THE ‘DAISY’ - - -Something, doubtless, akin to the contact of the naked soul with its -God is the feeling of conscious nothingness that enwraps a man who -finds himself alone in some tiny craft upon the unbroken circle of the -sea. Even more so, perhaps, when he has a vessel under his feet, than -when he survives upon some frail fabric of hastily gathered flotsam, -the lost company of his fellows. For in the former case he has leisure -for calm thought, need for skill and energy; none of which qualities -will avail him much in the latter, where it is but a question of a -little more or less firm hold upon fleeting life. To this conclusion I -am led from experience of both situations, about the former of which I -would fain speak now. - -As the result of a series of adventures while mate of an old Cumberland -brig under the nominal command of one of the most besotted drunkards -I have ever known, I found myself adrift in an Acadian coast village -early in December, friendless and penniless. Already the icy barrier -was rapidly forming which would effectually bar all navigation until -the ensuing spring, and the thought of being thus frozen up in helpless -idleness for months, coupled with the prospect of winter for my young -wife in England without my support, was almost more than I could -bear. Kismet threw in my way the commander, owner, and builder of a -tiny schooner, who, disgusted with his “bad luck,” had freighted his -cockleshell with the harvest of his farm, three hundred barrels of -potatoes, and purposed sailing for the West Indies in order to sell -vessel and cargo. Of ocean navigation he knew nothing, all his previous -nautical experience having been confined to the rugged coasts of Nova -Scotia, so that he was highly elated at the idea of engaging a mate -with a London certificate. Not that he would have hesitated to launch -out into the Atlantic without any other knowledge than he possessed, -without chronometer, sextant, or ephemeris. Like many of the old school -of sea-farers, now perhaps quite extinct, he would have reckoned upon -finding his way to port in time by asking from ship to ship sighted on -the passage, for he was in no hurry. I was in no mood for bargaining--a -way of escape was my urgent need--and in a few hours from our meeting -we were busily rowing the wee craft down the fast-emptying river. The -crew consisted of the skipper, his ten-year-old son, myself, and a -gawky, half-witted lad of sixteen, who strutted under the title of -cook. Bitter, grinding poverty was manifest in every detail of our -equipment, principally in the provisions, which consisted solely of a -barrel of flour, a small tub of evil-smelling meat (source unknown), -and a keg of salt flavoured with a few herrings. Of course, there was -the cargo, and the skipper concealed, moreover, under his pillow a few -ounces of tea, about 3 lb. of wet sugar in an oozing bag, and a bottle -of “square” gin. “Medical comforts,” he explained, with an air of -knowing what ought to be carried on a deep-water voyage. - -For the first five hundred miles we groped our way through fantastic -wreaths of frost-fog, its dense whiteness enclosing us like a wall, and -its pitiless embrace threatening to freeze the creeping blood in our -veins, while, invisible, the angry currents of the fiercest tideway -in the world bubbled beneath us like a witch’s cauldron, whose steam -was fluid ice, after whirling us top-wise in defiance of wind and -helm. Strange noises assailed our ears, and a feeling of uncertain -suspension as though sailing in the clouds possessed our benumbed -faculties. But as if guided by an instinctive sense of direction, -the skipper succeeded in fetching the New Brunswick shore, entering -Musquash Harbour without hesitation, and anchoring a scant bowshot -from the frozen strand. Wasting no time, very precious now, we landed, -restoring our feeble circulation by felling a large number of beautiful -young silver birches, which, like regular ranks of glittering ghosts, -stood thickly everywhere. Our sea-stock of fuel provided, we broke up -the armour-plated covering of ice over a swiftly-flowing streamlet and -filled our solitary water-cask, an irksome task, since the water froze -as we poured. With enormous difficulty we shipped these essentials, and -in all haste weighed again, and stole seaward into the gathering gloom. -Night brought a bitter gale, whose direction barely enabled us to creep -under a tiny triangle of canvas towards the narrow portals of the Bay -of Fundy. The flying spray clung to masts and rigging, clothing them -with many layers of ice, till each slender spar and rope gleamed huge -above our heads through the palpable dark. The scanty limits of the -deck became undistinguishable from the levels of an iceberg, to which -offspring of the sombre North our little craft was rapidly becoming -akin. Below, in the stuffy, square den, the “cook” continually fed the -ancient stove with crackling birchwood and made successive kettlesful -of boiling burnt-bread coffee, while the half-frozen skipper and his -mate relieved each other every half-hour for a brief thaw. In such -wise we reached a sheltered nook behind Cape Sable, anchoring in a -culminating blizzard of snow, and fleeing instantly to the steaming -shelter below. Outside our frail shell the tempest howled unceasingly -throughout the long, long night. When the bleak morning broke the -little ship was perched precariously, like some crippled sea-bird, upon -three pinnacles of rock. The sea had retreated from us for nearly a -mile, and all the grim secrets of its iron bed lay revealed under the -cold, grey dawn. Overhead hung gigantic icicles like sheaves of spears -from the massive white pillars that concealed our identity with man’s -handiwork, and at imminent risk we must needs break them down in order -to move the vessel when the inrushing flood should again set her free. -Presently it came, a roaring yellow mass of broken water, laden with -all the varied débris of that awful coast. But we were ready for it, -and by strenuous toil managed to get into a safe anchorage. - -Seven short days and long ghastly nights we lay there waiting a chance -to escape. Christmas came and went, bringing with it bitter thoughts of -home, but no word was spoken on the subject. The skipper’s little son -lay feverishly tossing in the delirium of measles, his father’s face -an impenetrable mask, but whether of stoicism or stolidity I could not -tell. At last the wind softened, changed its direction, and breaking -up the gloomy pall of cloud, allowed a few pale gleams of sun to peep -through, welcome as sight to the blind. Scrambling ashore, we cut -down a widespreading young spruce-tree, and after a struggle of two -hours succeeded in getting it on board with all its matted branches -intact. Then, tearing out the anchor in a fury of energy and desire to -be gone, we stood to the southward with our strange deck-load. A few -short hours, and what a change! As if under the breath of some kindly -angel, the ice and snow melted from around us, the pleasant thrill -of expanding life returned. It was no new miracle, only the sweet -influence of that mild but mighty ocean river, the Gulf Stream, into -whose beneficent bosom we had crept like a strayed and perishing child. -How we revelled in the genial warmth. With what delight we bathed our -stiffened limbs in those tepid waters, feeling life and comfort surge -back to us as if from their very source. - -Just a little while for recovery, and then round swung the wind again. -The dismal curtains of the sky were drawn, and the melancholy monotone -of the advancing storm wailed through our scanty rigging. Right across -the path of the great stream it blew, catching the waves in their -stately march, and tearing their crests furiously backward. Fiercer -and louder howled the gale, while the bewildered sea, irresistibly -borne north-eastward by the current and scourged southward by the -ever-increasing storm, rose in pyramidal heaps which fell all ways, -only their blinding spray flying steadfastly to leeward. In that welter -of conflicting elements, whence even the birds had fled, we were tossed -like any other bubble of the myriads bursting around. Sail was useless -to steady her, for the towering billows becalmed it; neither dared -we risk our only canvas blowing away. So when it appeared that there -was a little more truth in the trend of the sea, we moored the cable -to the trunk of our tree and cast it overboard. And to that strangely -transformed plant we rode as to a floating anchor, held up head to -sea, save when the persistent swell rose astern in a knoll of advancing -water and hurled us three hundred fathoms forward in a breath. Nine -weary watches of four hours each did I stand by the useless wheel, -breathlessly eyeing the tigerish leap of each monstrous wave until it -swept by leaving us still alive. Yet while the skipper stood his watch -I slept, serenely oblivious of the fearful strife without. So bravely, -loyally did the little _Daisy_ behave that hope rose steadily, until -just as the parting clouds permitted a ray of moonlight to irradiate -the tormented sea, there was a sudden change in her motion. As if -worn out by the unequal strife, she fell off into the sea-trough, a -mountain of black water towered above her, and in one unbearable uproar -she disappeared. Blinded and battered out of all sense, I knew no -more until I found myself clinging to the wheel with a grip that left -indented bruises all over my arms. She had survived, and, as if in -admiration for her valiant fight, the sea fell and left her safe. The -tree-trunk had been sawn right through, but its work was done. - - * * * * * - -Beneath pleasant skies we plodded southward to our destined port, -arriving uneventfully at Antigua after a passage of thirty-five days. - - - - -VI - -‘RUNNING THE EASTING DOWN’ - - -Despite the inroads made upon sail by steam, a goodly fleet of sailing -ships still survive, many of them magnificent specimens not only of -marine architecture, but also of the cunning handiwork of the modern -“rigger.” The enormous sail-area shown by some of these ships and the -immense spread of their yards would have staggered the daring skippers -of forty years ago, when the China tea-clippers were the greyhounds of -the seas, and the Yankee flyers were wiping the eyes of their sturdy -British compeers. But in order to see these majestic vessels at their -best it is necessary to be on board one of them on a voyage to or -from the Far East. Their troubles are often many and their hindrances -great until they reach those Southern parallels where, after a spell -of “doldrums” varying with the season, they pick up those brave west -winds that, unhindered, sweep in almost constant procession around the -landless Southern slopes of the world. This is no place for weaklings -either among ships or men. If a passage is to be made and a vessel’s -reputation for swiftness, apart from steam-power, to be either -sustained or acquired, here is the field. There is none like unto -it. Not only should canvas, hemp, and steel be of the best, but the -skipper must be stout of heart, not to be daunted by threatening skies, -mountainous seas, or wandering islands of ice. More than all these, -he must to-day be prepared to face the probability of his scanty crew -being quite unable to handle the gigantic pinions of his vessel should -the favouring breeze rise, as it often does, to such a plenitude of -power as to make it most dangerous for them to be longer spread. - -To take a typical instance: the 5000 ton four-masted sailing ship -_Coryphæna_, laden with general merchandise for Melbourne, reached the -latitude of Cape Frio on the thirty-fifth day from London. Like all of -her class, she was but weakly manned, but as if to provide against any -possible emergencies of sail-carrying, her enormous masts of mild steel -were quadruply stayed with steel cables, until they were almost like an -integral part of the massive fabric herself. From truck to mast-coat -not a shaking of hemp was used for cordage where steel wire rope or -chain could be made available. Neither were any old-time lashings, -lanyards, or seizings to be seen. Their places were filled by screws -and levers, whereby one man could exert more power on a shroud or a guy -than was formerly possible to a dozen, aided by a complicated web of -tackles. And the sails, those vast breadths of canvas that, when set, -made the mighty hull appear but a trivial thing beneath their superb -spread, were of the heaviest quality woven, their seams, leaches, and -roaches fortified by all the devices known to the sailmaker. - -The skipper paced the poop with uncertain steps, hardly able to conceal -his impatience at the dallying of the light airs that only made the -great squares of canvas slam sullenly against the masts, and wear -themselves thin. Longingly his eyes lingered on the western horizon, -hungering for sign of the “Westerlies.” His eager gaze was at last -rewarded by the vision of a sombre arch of lowering cloud, which -slowly upreared its grim segment above the setting sun. The fitful -south-easterly airs, dregs of the “Trades,” which in their feeble -variableness had so sorely tried his patience, gradually sank like the -last few breaths of some expiring monster, leaving the sea glassy and -restful under the dark violet of the evening sky. Only a long, regular -swell came rolling eastward in rhythmical march, its placid undulations -swaying the huge vessel gently as the drowsy rocking of an infant’s -cradle. But its indications were sufficiently precise to satisfy the -skipper, who, after a peaceful pipe, retired early to rest, leaving -orders to call him in the event of any sudden change. His manner, -however, indicated that he expected nothing of the kind. After his -departure the chief officer prowled restlessly about the quarterdeck, -being a man to whom the stagnation of a calm was an unmitigated -calamity. At present his only satisfaction lay in noting how steadily -the celestial bridge astern grew in breadth and altitude, while at the -same time the swell became deeper, longer, and more definite in its -direction. - -By four bells the summits of the climbing cumuli forming the -immeasurable arch in the west were right overhead, while the sky within -its radius was now overspread with a filmy veil that hid the stars from -view. Suddenly a chill breath touched his ear, sensitive as a hound’s, -and immediately his fretful lassitude was gone. He stood erect, alert, -every nerve tense, ready for action. “Stand by, the watch!” he roared, -and in response a few dark figures slouched into sight from the shadowy -corners where they had been dozing away the leaden-footed hours. Then -a cool stream of air came steadily flowing from the mysterious centre -of the gloom abaft. “Square the main-yard!” shouted the mate again; -and with eerie, wailing cries the great steel tubes were trimmed to -the coming breeze. The order was hardly executed before, with a rush -and a scream, out leapt the west wind from its lair, while with many -a sharp report and grinding of gear being drawn into its grooves the -huge fabric obeyed the compelling impulse and began her three thousand -league stretch to the eastward. By midnight it blew a gale, to which -the same vessel, had she been bound in the opposite direction, must -needs have shown but a scanty spread of sail. Now, nothing was further -from the intention of the gleeful mate than the starting of a single -thread. - -At the relieving of the watch the skipper was called and informed -of the change, so that upon him should rest the responsibility for -“carrying on.” For the driving fragments of storm-rent cloud were low, -and by their meteor speed foretold that this was but a foretaste of -the tempest to follow. Planting himself in his favourite attitude on -the extreme weather-quarter, the captain fixed his eyes on the upper -sails with a look of supreme content, though to an inexperienced gaze -they would have seemed on the point of bursting into shreds, their -very stitch-holes strained to gaping a quarter-inch long. Every one -of her thirty-four wings were spread and drawing, for the wind being -well on the quarter, allowed of the yards being canted forward, while -the ship went “steady as a church,” with a ten-degree list to port. -Still the wind increased and faster drove the ship, until by daylight -she was going a full sixteen knots, which, in spite of the Yankee -yarns anent the _James Baines_, her main skysail, and her twenty-one -knots, is about the maximum possible under sail. The first cheerless -gleams of the new day revealed an awe-inspiring view. Far as could -be seen the ocean surface was torn into snowy foam by the raging -wind, for the sea had not yet time to get into the gigantic stride it -would presently take in sympathy with the irresistible march of the -all-compelling storm. “Fine breeze, sir,” chuckled the mate, rubbing -his hands with delight. “Only hope it’ll hold,” replied the skipper, -peering keenly aft into the eye of the wind. There, to a landsman, the -sight was ominous, almost appalling. Dense masses of distorted nimbus -came hurtling out of the deep gloom, which seemed to grow blacker and -more menacing every hour. So through the howling day the big ship fled -onward like a frightened thing, steady and straight as an ice-yacht -over Lake Michigan, although at times an incipient sea smote her -broadside, and, baffled, cast its crest aloft, where the shrieking -blast caught it and whirled it in needle-like particles as high as the -upper topsails. - -When night drew in the sea had fairly risen, and came bellowing along -in mountainous masses many miles in length at a speed that bade fair -to overtake the fleeing ship. Strange it was to note how, as the waves -grew, the ship seemed to dwindle until her huge bulk appeared quite -insignificant. And now, at frequent intervals, enormous bodies of -broken water hurled themselves on board, often filling the spacious -decks flush fore and aft with a seething flood. And still the “old -man,” hung on, his courage and faith in the powers of his ship being -justly rewarded by a week’s run of over two thousand miles without -the loss of a rope-yarn. Then the breeze gradually faltered, swerved -from its steadfast direction, and worked round by the south, until -at south-east it dropped lifeless for an hour or so. Then out from -the north-east it rushed like a raving genie, almost catching the -ship aback, and giving the scanty band of toilers a tremendous task -to handle the immense squares of canvas that thundered like infuriate -monsters against their restraining bonds. But in a short time the gale -had veered round into the westward again, and the _Coryphæna_ resumed -her headlong race to the east. Running upon the arc of a great circle, -she gradually worsened the weather as she reached higher latitudes. -Stinging snow squalls came yelling after her, hiding everything behind -a bitter veil. Past gigantic table-topped icebergs, floating mountains -against whose gaunt sides the awful billows broke with deafening -clangour, flinging their hissing fragments hundreds of feet into the -gloomy sky. At last so fierce grew the following storm that the task of -reducing sail became absolutely necessary. All hands were called and -sped aloft to the unequal conflict. Scourged by the merciless blast, -battered by the threshing sails, they strove for dear life through two -terrible hours of that stern night. A feeble cry was heard,--a faint -splash. Only a man dropped from the main top-gallant yard,--through one -hundred and twenty feet of darkness into the yeasty smother beneath, -and ere the news reached the deck, calm and peaceful below the tumult, -more than a mile astern, swallowed by the ever-unsatisfied maw of the -ravening sea. And onward like a meteor sped the flying ship, “running -her Easting down.” - - - - -VII - -IN THE CROW’S NEST - - -Swinging through the clear sky, one hundred feet above the little -stretch of white deck that looks so strangely narrow and circumscribed, -the period of two hours assigned for a spell is often spent in strange -meditations. For all the circumstances are favourable to absolute -detachment from ordinary affairs. A man feels there cut off from the -world, a temporary visitor to a higher sphere, from whose serene -altitude the petty environment of daily life appears separated by a -vast gulf. Rising to that calm plane in the shimmering pearly twilight -of a tropical dawn, he is enabled to view, as from no other standpoint, -the daily mystery and miracle of the sunrise. For he forgets the -tiny microcosm below, involuntarily looking upward into the infinite -azure until his mind becomes consciously akin to eternal verities, -and sheds for a brief space the gross hamperings of fleshly needs and -longings. At such a time, especially if the heavens be one stainless -concave of blue, the advent of the new day is so overwhelming in -its glory that the soul is flooded with a sense of celestial beauty -unutterable. Beautiful and glorious indeed are the changing tints and -varying hues of early dawn upon the fleecy fields of cloud, but the -very changeableness of the wondrous scene is unfavourable to the simple -settlement of wondering, worshipping thought induced by the birth of -unclouded light. At first there appears upon the eastern edge of the -vast, sharply-defined circle of the horizon, that by a familiar optical -illusion seems to bound a sapphire concavity of which the spectator is -the centre, a tremulous, silky paling of the tender blue belonging to -the tropical night. The glowing stars grow fainter, dimmer, ceasing -to coruscate like celestial jewels studding the soft, dark canopy -of the sky. Unlingering, the palpitating sheen spreads zenithwards, -presently sending before it as heralds wide bars of radiance tinted -with blends of colour not to be reproduced by the utmost skill of the -painter. Before their triumphal advent the great cone of the zodiacal -light, which, like a stupendous obelisk rising from the mere shadow -of some ineffable central glow, to which the gigantic sun itself is -but a pale star, has dominated the moonless hours, fades and vanishes. -Far reaching, these heavenly messengers gild the western horizon, but -when the eye returns to their source it has become “a sea of glass -mingled with fire,”--a fire which consumes not, and, while glowing -with unfathomable splendour, has yet a mildness that permits the eye -to search its innermost glories unfalteringly and with inexpressible -delight. - -But while the satisfied sight dwells upon this transcendent scene, -forgetting that it is not the only morning in earth’s history when it -is to be lavished upon a favoured world, there is a sudden quickening -of the throbbing light, along the sharp blue edge of the ocean runs a -blazing rim of molten gold, and in a perfect silence, beneath which -may be felt the majestic music of the spheres, the sun has come. Turn -away the head; the trembling eyes cannot for an instant dwell upon -that flaming fervent globe that at one mighty stride is already far -above the horizon. The sweet face of the sea wears a million sparkling -smiles of welcome--everywhere the advent of the Day-bringer has decked -it with countless flashing gems. As if ecstatic in their appreciation -of the banishment of night, a school of porpoises five thousand strong -indulge in riotous gambols. Leaping high into the bright air, their -shining, lithe bodies all a-quiver with pure joy of abundant life, they -churn the kindly sea into foam, leaving in their mad, frolicsome rush a -wide track of white on the smoothness behind them. So flawless is the -calm that even the tiny argosy of the nautilus is tempted to rise and -spread its silken sail, a lovely gauzy curve just a shade or so lighter -in hue than the sapphire of the sea, and so discernible from that -height to the practised eye. In quick succession more and more appear, -until a fairy fleet of hundreds is sailing as if bearing Titania and -her train to some enchanted isles, where never wind blows loudly. But -lo! as if at a signal from a pigmy Admiral, the squadron has vanished -bubble-wise. From where they lately rode in mimic pageant rises, -ghost-like, a vast flock of flying-fish, the hum of whose vibrant -wing-fins ascends to the ear. Many thousands in number, glistening in -the sunblaze like burnished silver, they glide through the air with -incredible speed, the whole shoal rising and falling in wave-like -undulations as if in the performance of preconcerted evolutions. They -have been flying upon a plane of perhaps twenty feet above the sea for -some five hundred yards, and are just about to re-enter the water, when -beneath them appear the iridescent beauties of a school of dolphin (not -the dull-hued mammal, but the poet-beloved fish). At that dread sight -the solid phalanx breaks up, hurled back upon itself in the disorder of -deadly panic. In little groups, in single fugitives, they scatter to -every point of the compass, a hopelessly disorganised mob, whereof the -weaker fall to swift oblivion in the gaping jaws of their brilliant, -vigorous foes beneath. The main body sheer off, sadly thinned, in a -fresh direction, long quivering raiders launching themselves in hot -pursuit upon their rear, devouring as they rush, until eaters and -eaten disappear, and the battlefield lies in placid beauty as if never -disturbed. One hovering bird, a “bo’sun,” with long slender tail -and feathers of purest white, circles around on unmoving, outspread -pinions, slowly turning his pretty head, with dark incurious eyes, upon -the strange biped so awkwardly perched in his dominions of upper air. -Whence and when did he come? A moment since and he was not. Did the -vacant ether produce him? Yet another moment and he is gone as he came, -leaving behind him a palpable sense of loss. - -But now all attention is concentrated upon the horizon, where the -trained eye has caught a glimpse of something of greater interest than -either bird or fish. A series of tiny puffs, apparently of steam, -rises from the shining surface, but so evanescent that nothing but -long-practised vision would discern them at so great a distance. -Irregularly, both as to time and position, they appear, a shadowy -procession of faintest indefinite outlines, a band of brief shadows. -Yet upon them eager eyes are bent in keenest attention, for they -represent possibilities of substantial gain, and bring the mind back -from the realms of pure romance with the swiftness of a diving sea-bird -down to the hard necessities of everyday life. They are the breathings -of marine mammalia, mightiest of ocean’s citizens, and strangest of -links between the inhabitants of land and sea. A little keen scrutiny, -however, reveals the disappointing fact that those feathery phantoms -mark the presence of that special species of whales who enjoy complete -immunity from attack either from above or below. Their marvellous -agility, no less than the exiguous covering of fat to which they have -reduced the usually massive blubber borne by their congeners, gives -abundant reason why they should be thus unmolested. So they roam the -teeming seas in the enviable, as well as almost unique, position among -the marine fauna of exemption from death, except by sickness or old -age, as much as any sedate, law-abiding citizen of London. They seem -to be well aware of their privileges, for they draw near the ship -with perfect confidence, heeding her huge shadow no more than if she -were a mass of rock rising sheer from the ocean-bed, and incapable -of harm to any of the sea-folk. From our lofty eyrie we watch with -keenest interest the antics of these great creatures, their amatory -gambols, parental care, elegant ease, and keen sportiveness. Yonder -piebald monster, who seems the patriarch of the school, after basking -placidly in the scorching rays of the sun, now high in the heavens, -gravely turns a semi-somersault, elevating the rear half of his body -(some forty feet or so) out of the water. Then with steady, tremendous -strokes he beats the water, the hundred square feet of his tail falling -flatly with a reverberation like the sound of a distant bombardment. -The others leap out of water, sedately as becomes their bulk, or roll -over and over each other upon the surface, occasionally settling down -until they look like fish of a foot or so in length. They even dare to -chafe their barnacle-studded sides against the vessel’s keel, sending -a strange tremor through her from stem to stern, which is even felt in -the “crow’s nest.” But no one molests them in any way; in fact, it must -be placed to the whaler’s credit that he rarely takes life for “sport,” -though callous as iron where profit of any kind may be secured. - -Oh, the heat; as if one’s head were a focus for the sun himself, since -there is little else for many leagues exposed for him to assail except -the mirror-like ocean. Thence, too, the heat rises as if to place us -between two fires, until we feel like the fakirs of India undergoing -their self-imposed penance of the swing. How fervently thankful we -are when at last the glorious orb descends so low that his slanting -rays lose their power in great measure, and permit us again to take -a reviving interest in our surroundings. Yon floating tree, for -instance; we have long been wondering in a vague sort of dream what -it might be. And indeed its appearance is strange enough to warrant -considerable speculation. It has been adrift for months, and except -upon the side which floats uppermost, is covered with barnacles, whose -adhering feet have extended in some instances to a fathom in length, -the tiny shells being almost invisible at the free ends. This wealth -of living covering, waving gently as the log is rocked by the unseen -swell, gives the whole thing an uncanny look, as of some strange -unclassified monster “begotten of the elder slime.” Around it are -playing in shoals fish of many kinds seen only in deep waters--fish -of every luminous tint that can be imagined, and ranging in size from -the lordly albacore, weighing a quarter of a ton, to the tiny caranx -of a couple of inches long. But hush! there is a priceless freshness -in the air. The weary day is shaking off the fervent embrace of her -exhaustless bridegroom. Gentle, lovely shades of colour are replacing -the intense glow. A little, little breeze creeps cautiously along, -ruffling the grateful sea in patches of purple shadow. A more subdued -glory gathers in the west than heralded the sun’s ascending--a tenderer -range of tints, like the afterglow of autumn as compared with the -flaming blossoms of spring. For a few brief moments the gorgeous golden -disc swims upon the edge of the lambent sea, and he is gone. Swiftly -following him, the brilliant hues fade from the sky, shyly the stars -peep out, and it is night. - - - - -VIII - -THE BIRTH OF AN ISLAND - - -For many years Pacific mariners, both of white and dusky races, had -known and dreaded the dangers of the Marae Reef. It lay right in the -track of vessels between Opolu and Nieuwe, only visible to the seaman’s -eye from the mast-head on calm days as a slight discoloration of the -brilliant blue sea that everywhere else bared its unstained depths -of single colour. With a fresh Trade blowing there was no difficulty -in locating it, for it made its menace heard as well as seen. The -long, indolent Pacific swell, sweeping majestically from continent to -continent across half the world, met this mushroom growth in its mighty -path and immediately raised its awful voice in thunderous protest -against such an addition to the already innumerable dangers of that -perilous region. Not only so, but as if it would uproot the intruder -from its massy foundations that broadened down into the matrix of the -world, the wrathful wave arose in gigantic billows of foaming white, -in the midst of which momentarily appeared the defiant summits of -living rock, steadfast and secure, while the ageless ocean vainly -sought to uproot it from its eternal base. But such scenes were of the -most infrequent occurrence. The normal conditions of those waters were -peaceful, and the swell scarcely heavy enough to raise even a solitary -breaker once a day. And as the scanty trade between the islands grew -less and less, the danger of the reef, nay, almost its very existence, -passed out of men’s minds. - -Still, heedless of either elemental strife or serenest calm, the -microscopic masons toiled on, each in its tiny cell content to fulfil -the conditions of its being and to add its infinitesimal quota to -the world-fragment; then, having justified its existence, to pass -into other forms of usefulness by means of the ever-active alchemy of -Nature. But for those of the builders whose lot it was to reach the -summit of the fabric which their united efforts had reared there was -another ending, or rather transmutation. A swift oblivion awaited them, -a sudden severance from their life-work, as the reef, now awash, was -left temporarily dry by the ebbing tide. Yet all around them uncounted -myriads of their co-workers toiled eagerly upward to the same personal -fate, the same collective achievement, each adding some essential -to form the perfect whole. Thus from generation to generation the -fabric grew, so slowly by man’s reckoning, so swiftly according to the -hasteless chronology of creation, until there came a day when, after -a more placid period even than usual, the bared surface of the reef -became covered with a dazzling floor of minutest fragments, ground from -the countless pinnacles below by the unceasing attrition of the waves. -Tide after tide lapped the infant beach, with kindliest murmur as of -tender welcome, ever bringing fresh store of shining sand, until at -low water of the spring tides there was a new spot of earth’s surface -gleaming white in that expanse of blue, like a snowflake new-fallen -upon a vast sapphire. - -A little bird, grey of feather and with long, slender legs, drifted -softly out of the surrounding void, and alighted daintily upon this -glistening earth-bud with a sweet, low chirp of content that also -sounded like a note of welcome. With delicate, mincing steps the -graceful visitor pattered over the crisp sand, prying with keen black -eyes and fine, nervous beak into every cranny and worm-hole, and -finding apparently many a tasty morsel to reward her visit. Evening -brought another guest on family cares intent,--a huge turtle, whose -broad, buckler-like carapace rose shining out of the limpid wave -like the dome of some naiad’s pearly palace under the silvern glow -of the broad moon. But instinct, that infallible guide to the lesser -intelligences of animate creation, warned the expectant parent that -here, for some time at any rate, no safe _cache_ might be found for the -deposit of those precious round eggs of hers. So, after a leisurely -survey of the scanty circlet, she dragged her huge bulk lingeringly -into the clear waters again, and was immediately transformed from a -crawling reptile into a swift and graceful creature that cleft the -waves like an arrow. Thenceforward many visitants came and went, -birds, crustacea, and fish, most of them exchanging benefits with the -new land, although any nascent germs of vegetation lay biding their -appointed time until the sea should finally refrain from flinging an -occasional lustration across the smiling face of the new-born islet. In -due process of the suns, however, a wandering coco-nut came with many a -backward sweep and much dallying upon the outskirts of the surrounding -reef among the bewildering eddies, until at last a friendly wavelet -caught it and spun it up high and dry, where it lay at rest, kept from -rolling seaward again by a little ridge left in the sand, the impress -of a more than usually vigorous breaker. In that soft scene of mild -delight day succeeded day like the passing of a sunny afternoon dream, -undisturbed by any clamorous voice of wind or hoarse note of ravin from -the sea. Balmy airs, like the sweet breath of love, scarcely dimpled -the serene face of the blue ocean around. In a beneficent flood the -golden sunshine lavished its treasures upon the lonely ocean beneath by -day, and by night the unaging glory of the silver stars, among whose -countless hosts the quiet beauty of the lovely moon pursued her stately -way, was perfectly reproduced in the same limitless mirror. - -Beneath these gentle, yet irresistible, influences that solitary -coco-nut felt its dim interior ferment with life. And out from the -dead dryness of its husk sprang two slender arms; tender, beseeching -things of a living green in almost startling contrast to the withered, -storm-tossed envelope from whence they had emerged. In obedience to -some hidden impulse one of them bent downwards and by slow persistence -wrought its way into the sand, while the other lifted itself erect and -presently unfolded a delicate green fan. Unwatched, unadmired, save by -that Infinite Intelligence that fills the remotest corners of earth and -sea with loveliness for Its own delight, the tiny tree strengthened -daily, mooring itself ever deeper by spreading rootlets that reached -down through the interstices of the reef beneath, and raising higher -and higher in perfect beauty its feathery fronds of palest green, the -earliest pioneer of the vegetable kingdom in this youthful patch of -Mother Earth. After a while, as the coast-line extended and more of -the dry land held its own against the engirdling deep, other plants of -lower stature, but equal charm, managed to find a congenial root-hold -in this seemingly barren patch of sand. Humble as they were, they gave -to the islet the friendly tint that all eyes love, and made it more -complete. Several migrant sea-birds halted here, and, finding the spot -exactly suited to their needs, made it their home, laying their large -eggs barely upon the smooth sand, and rearing in happy aloofness from -all enemies their voracious broods. Turtles no longer disdained the -scanty beach as a safe hatching place for their plentiful stores of -eggs, and strange waifs from far-away lands were arrested in their -weary oscillations about the never-resting ocean and peacefully brought -here to a final abiding-place. - -So fared the uneventful, unnoted procession of days, months, and years, -until one morning the now abundant, happy life of the island awoke, -as was its wont, at the first warm breath of a new day. A soft blush -of indescribable colour-blends replaced the dark violet of the night -sky, whose shadows retreated before that conquering dawn as if in haste -to allow the advent of its coming glory. Soon, heralded by spears, -streamers, and sheaves of shining gold, the majestic silence of his -entry smiting the waiting hemisphere like the trump of an archangel, -the great sun rose. His first level rays glided across the glowing sea -and fell upon the wan, upturned face of a man, flung like any other -fragment of jetsam up from the heaving bosom of the Pacific, and left -apparently lifeless on the sand near the trunk of the now sturdy tree. -Under that loving touch of reviving warmth the pale, set features -relaxed, a shudder as if of re-entering vitality shook the gaunt limbs, -and presently the eyes unclosed. The first human visitor to the island -sat up and stared vacantly around. His upturned eyes caught sight of -the great green bunches of delicious young fruit hanging some twenty -feet above his head, and the sight was tantalising beyond measure -to his leathery, cracking tongue and throat. He was far too weak to -attempt such a task as climbing the tree would have been; but a few of -the eggs that lay near soon supplied him with fresh vigour, although -the outraged birds protested all they knew against this strange -experience, unlike anything hitherto troubling their peaceful life. -But as the man grew stronger his proceedings troubled the original -freeholders more and more. For he collected a great heap of driftwood, -including the mast of his own vessel, upon which he had been borne -hither, and presently from out of the midst of the heap arose a heavy -black pillar of smoke. Then through the smoke burst flashes of fire, -before which all but those birds with young, whom no terrors would -have driven them from, fled shrieking away. As the man grew stronger -he climbed the tree, and drank greedily from the sweet liquid filling -the young nuts; but while he sat there among the far-spreading leaves, -he saw a sight that touched him deeper than would the most beautiful -Nature picture in the world,--a schooner making for the island. They -had seen his smoke-pillar at a great distance and altered their course -to his rescue. So he went away, leaving behind him a terrible memory -as of the ravages of some unthinkable monster whose visit had changed, -not only the face of Nature, but all the habits and customs of the -island-folk. - - - - -IX - -A SUBMARINE EARTHQUAKE - - -There was a delicate tint of green over all the sky instead of its -usual deep, steadfast blue. All around the horizon the almost constant -concomitants of the Trade winds, fleecy masses of cumuli, were lying -peacefully, their shape unaltered from hour to hour. Their usual snowy -whiteness, however, was curiously besmirched by a shading of dirty -brown which clung around their billowy outlines, giving them a stale -appearance greatly at variance with the normal purity of these lovely -cloud-forms. The afternoon sun, gliding swiftly down the shining slope -of heaven toward the western edge of that placid sea, had an air of -mystery about his usually glorious disc, a wondrous glow of unnameable -tints that, streaming away from him into the clear firmament, encircled -him with a halo of marvellous shades, all lacking the palpitating -brightness usually inseparable from solar displays near the Equator. -And over the sea-surface also was spread, as upon a vast palette, great -splashes of colour, untraceable to any definite source, mysterious -in their strange beauty. At irregular intervals, across that silent -expanse of peaceful limpidity, came, in stately onset, an undulating -throb of ocean’s heart,--a shining knoll of water one hundred leagues -in length, but so mobile, so gentle in its gliding incidence, that -it was beautiful as the heaving bosom of a sleeping naiad. The very -silence, deep and solemn as that of the stellar spaces, was sweet,--a -peaceful sweetness that fell upon the soul like the most exquisite -music, and soothed as does a dreamless sleep. - -And yet, in spite of the indescribable charm of that divine day, there -was on board the solitary ship that gave the needed touch of human -interest to that ocean Elysium a general air of expectancy, a sense -of impending change which as yet could not be called uneasiness, and -still was indefinably at variance with the more manifest influences -that made for rest of mind and body. The animals on board, pigs and -cats and fowls, were evidently ill at ease. Their finer perceptions, -unbiassed by reasoning appreciation of Nature’s beauties, were -palpably disturbed, and they roamed restlessly about, often composing -themselves as if to sleep, only to resume their agitated prowling -almost immediately. Lower sank the sun, stranger and more varied grew -the colour-schemes in sky and sea. Up from the Eastern horizon crept -gradually a pale glow as of a premature dawn, the breaking of an -interpolated day shed by some visitant sun from another system. The -moon was not yet due for six hours, so that none could attribute this -unearthly radiance to her rising. Busy each with the eager questionings -of his own perturbed mind, none spoke a word as the sun disappeared, -but watched in suspense that was almost pain the brightening of this -spectral glare. Suddenly, as if reflected from some unimaginable -furnace, the zenith was all aflame. That fiery glow above turned the -sea into the semblance of a lake of blood, and horror distorted every -face. The still persisting silence now lay like the paralysis of a -trance upon all, and an almost frantic desire for sound racked them to -the core. - -At last, when it seemed as if the tension of their nerves had almost -reached the snapping point, there was an overwhelming sulphurous -stench, followed by a muttering as of thunder beneath the sea. A -tremendous concussion below the keel made the stout hull vibrate -through every beam, and the tall masts quivered like willow twigs -in a squall. The air was full of glancing lights, as if legions of -fire-flies disported themselves. Slowly the vessel began to heave -and roll, but with an uncertain staggering motion, unlike even the -broken sea of a cyclone centre. Gradually that dreadful light faded -from the lurid sky, and was replaced by a smoky darkness, alien to -the overshadowing gloom of any ordinary tempest. Strange noises arose -from the deep, not to be compared with any of the manifold voices of -the ocean so well known to those who do business in great waters. -And the myriad brightnesses which make oceans’ depths so incomparably -lovely throughout the tropical nights were all gone. All was dark -beneath as above. Not only so, but those anxious mariners could feel, -though they could not see, that while the atmospheric ocean was calm -almost to stagnation, the hidden deeps under them were being rent -and disintegrated by such an unthinkable storm as the air had never -witnessed. The fountains of the great deep were broken up, but the -floods issuing therefrom were of cosmic flame, able to resolve even -that immensity of superincumbent ocean into its original gases and -change the unchangeable. - -Tossing helplessly upon that tortured sea, face to face with those -elemental forces that only to think of makes the flesh shrink on -the bones like a withered leaf, the men suffered the passage of the -hours. What was happening or was about to happen they could only dimly -imagine. They could but endure in helplessness and hope for the day. -Yet their thoughts would wander to those they loved, wondering dimly -whether the catastrophe apparently impending was to be universal and -the whole race of man about to be blotted out,--whether the world were -dying. What _they_ suffered could not be told, but the animals died. -Perhaps the scorching heat-waves which continually arose, making mouths -and nostrils crack like burnt leather, and cauterising taste and smell -as if with the fumes of molten sulphur, had slain the beasts. The -discovery of this ghastly detail of the night’s terrors did not add -much to their fears. It could not; for the mind of man can only contain -a limited amount of terror, as the body can only feel a limited amount -of pain, which is something to be deeply thankful for. - -Shortly after midnight there was a deafening uproar, a hissing as of -the Apocalyptic Star being quenched, and immediately the gloom became -filled with steam, an almost scalding fog, through which as through a -veil came a red sheen. At the same time a mighty swell swept toward -them from east to west, striking the ship full in the stem. Gallantly -she rose to the advancing wall of water until she seemed upreared -upon her stern, but in spite of her wonderful buoyancy a massive sea -broke on board, clearing the decks like a besom of destruction. Down -the receding slope of this gigantic billow she fled, as if plunging -headlong to the sea-bed, and before she had time to recover herself -was met by another almost as huge. Clinging for life to such fragments -as still held on the clean-swept decks, the crew felt that at last -all was over. But the good ship survived the third wave, being then -granted a brief respite before another series appeared. This allowed -all hands a breathing space, and an opportunity to notice that there -was a healthier smell in the air, and that the terror-striking noises -were fast dying away. When the next set of rollers came thundering -along they were far less dangerous than before, nor, although they -made a clean breach over the much-enduring ship, were they nearly as -trying to the almost worn-out crew. And now, breaking through the -appalling drapery that had hidden the bright face of the sky, suddenly -shone the broad smile of the silver moon. Like the comforting face of -a dear friend, that pleasant sight brought renewed hope and vigour -to all. Again the cheery voices of the officers were heard, and all -wrought manfully to repair the damage done by the terrible sea. One -by one the glittering stars peeped out as the gloomy canopy melted -away, revealing again the beautiful blue of the sky. A gentle breeze -sprang up, but for awhile it was only possible to lay the ship’s head -approximately on her course, because the compasses were useless. The -needles had temporarily lost their polarity in the seismic disturbance -that had taken place beneath them. But that was a small matter. As long -as the celestial guides were available, the navigators could afford to -wait until, with the rest of Nature’s forces, magnetism regained its -normal conditions. So, during the energetic labours of the men, the -morning quickly came, hailed by them as a sight they had never again -expected to see. And what a dawn it was. Surely never had the abundant -day been so delightful, the heaven so stainless, the air so pure. All -the more because of the extraordinary contrast between sky and sea; for -old ocean was utterly unlike any sea they had ever before sailed upon. -As far as the eye could reach the surface was covered with floating -pumice, so that the vessel grated through it as if ploughing over a -pebbly beach. Wherever the water could be seen it was actually muddy, -befouled like any ditch. Dead fish, floating and distorted, added to -the ugliness of what overnight was so beautiful. Most pathetic of all, -perhaps, upon that dead sea was the sight of an occasional spot of -white, a tiny patch of ruffled feathers floating, that had been one -of the fearless winged wanderers who add so much to the beauty of the -sea, its joyous life quenched by the poisonous fumes of the submarine -earthquake. - - - - -X - -THE SILENT WARFARE OF THE SUBMARINE WORLD - - -All imaginative minds are inevitably impressed by the solemn grandeur -of the sea. Some shudder at its awful loneliness, its apparent -illimitability, its air of brooding, ageless mystery in calm. Others -are most affected by its unchainable energy, the terror of its gigantic -billows, its immeasurable destructiveness in storms. Yet others, a -less numerous class, ponder over its profundities of rayless gloom and -uniform cold, where incalculable pressures bear upon all bodies, so -that cylinders of massive steel are flattened into discs, and water -percolates through masses of metal as though they were of muslin. -But there is yet another aspect of the oceanic wonders that engages -the meditations of comparatively few, and this is perhaps the most -marvellous of them all. - -Placid and reposeful, tempest-tossed or current-whirled, the -unchangeable yet unresting surface of the ocean reveals to the voyager -no inkling of what is going on below its mobile mask, and even when -furrowed deepest by the mighty but invisible ploughshare of the storm, -how slight is the effect felt twenty feet deep. Yet in those soundless -abysses of shade beneath the waves a war is being incessantly waged -which knows no truce, ruthless, unending, and universal. On earth the -struggle for existence is a terrible one, exciting all our sympathies -when we witness its pitilessness, being ourselves by some happy -accident outside the area. Nature, “red in tooth and claw,” weeding -out the unfit by the operation of her inexorable laws, raises many a -doubting question in gentle souls as to why all this suffering should -be necessary. They see but a portion of the reversed pattern woven -by the eternal looms. But the fauna of the land are by an enormous -majority herbivorous, mild in their habits, and terrified at the -sight of blood. Even the carnivora, fierce and ravenous as are their -instincts, do not devour one another except in a few insignificant and -abnormal cases, such as wolves driven mad by starvation. Much less do -they eat their own offspring, although there are many instances of this -hideous appetite among the herbivores, which are familiar to most of us. - -In striking contrast to these conditions, the tribes of ocean are all -devourers of each other, and, with the exception of the mammalia and -the sharks, make no distinction in favour of their own fruit. One -single instance among the inhabitants of the sea furnishes us with a -variation. The halicore, dugong, or manatee (_Sirenia_), now nearly -extinct, are, without doubt, eaters of herbage only. This they gather -along the shores whose waters are their habitat, or cull from the -shallow sea bottoms. For all the rest, they are mutually dependent upon -each other’s flesh for life, unscrupulous, unsatisfied, and vigorous -beyond belief. “Væ Victis” is their motto, and the absence of all -other food their sole and sufficient excuse. Viewed dispassionately, -this law of interdependence direct is a beneficent one in spite of its -apparent cruelty. Vast as is the sea, the fecundity of most of its -denizens is well known to be so great that without effective checks -always in operation it must rapidly become putrid and pestilential from -the immense accumulation of decaying animal matter. As things are, the -life of a herring, for instance, from first to last is a series of -miraculous escapes. As ova, their enemies are so numerous, even their -own parents greedily devouring the quickening spawn, that it is hard -to understand how any are overlooked and allowed to become fish. Yet -as fry, after providing food for countless hordes of hungry foes, they -are still sufficiently numerous to impress the imagination as being -in number like the sands of the sea. And so, always being devoured -by millions, they progress towards maturity, at which perhaps one -billionth of those deposited as ova arrive. This infinitesimal remnant -is a mighty host requiring such supplies of living organisms for its -daily food as would make an astronomer dizzy to enumerate. And every -one is fat and vigorous; must be, since none but the fittest can have -survived. Their glittering myriads move in mysteriously ordered march -along regular routes, still furnishing food for an escort of insatiable -monsters such as whales, sharks, etc.; while legions of sea-fowl above -descend and clamorously take their tiny toll. In due season they arrive -within the range of man. He spreads his nets and loads his vessels, -but all his spoils, however great they may appear to him, are but the -crumbs of the feast, the skimmings of the pot. - -This marvellous system of supply and demand is, of course, seen in its -highest development near land, or at any rate where the bed of the sea -is comparatively near the surface, as on the Banks of Newfoundland, -the Agulhas Banks, and many others. But in the deepest waters of -the ocean, far from any shore, there are immense numbers of swift -predatory fish, such as the bonito, the dolphin (_coryphæna_), and -the albacore. Mammalia also, like the porpoise, grampus, and rorqual, -require enormous supplies of fish for their sustenance, and never fail -to find them. As we ascend the scale of size the struggle becomes -majestic--a war of Titans, such as no arena on earth has seen since the -Deluge. The imagination recoils dismayed before the thought of such a -spectacle as is afforded by the gigantic cachalot descending to the -murky depths where in awful state the hideous Kraken broods. No other -name befits this inexpressible monster as well as the old Norse epithet -bestowed in bygone days upon the greatest of the mollusca by terrified -fisher-folk of Scandinavia. Vast, formless, and insatiable, he crouches -in those fathomless silences like the living embodiment of sin, an -ever-craving abysmal mouth surrounded by a Medusa-like web of unresting -arms. His enormous flaccid bulk needs a continual holocaust to supply -its flood of digestive juices, and that need is abundantly supplied. -Then comes the doughty leviathan from above, and in noiseless majesty -of power, disdaining subterfuge, rushes straight to the attack, every -inch of his great frame mutely testifying to the enormous pressure of -the superincumbent sea. Sometimes, stifling for air, the whale rises to -the surface dragging upward his writhing prey, though almost as bulky -as himself. In his train follow the lesser monsters eager for their -share, and none of the fragments are lost. - -But see the grampus hurl himself like some flying elephant into the -“brown” of a school of scared porpoises. In vain do they flee at -headlong speed anywhither. The enemy pursues, he overtakes, he swallows -at a gulp, even as do his victims the lesser creatures upon which they -fatten in their turn. So with the huge mackerel, which seamen call the -albacore, although as far as one can see there is no difference between -him and the tunny of the Mediterranean but in size. What havoc he makes -among a school of his congeners the bonito! A hungry lion leaping into -the midst of a flock of deer will seize one, and retire to devour it -quietly. But this monster clashes his jaws continually as he rushes to -and fro among the panic-stricken hosts, scattering their palpitating -fragments around him in showers. In like manner do his victims play -the destroyers’ part in their turn. Yonder flight of silvery creatures -whose myriads cast a dense shade over the bright sea are fleeing for -life, for beneath them, agape for their inevitable return, are the -serried ranks of their ravenous pursuers. Birds intercept the aerial -course of the fugitives, who are in evil case indeed whithersoever they -flee. But descending the scale, we shall find the persecuted _Exoceta_ -also on the warpath in their thousands after still smaller prey. - -Time would fail to tell of the ravages of the swordfish, also a -mackerel of great size and ferocity, who launches himself torpedo-like -at the bulky whale, the scavenger-shark, or a comrade, with strict -impartiality. And of the “killer” whale, eater of the tongue only of -the mysticetus; the thresher-shark, aider and abettor of the killer; or -the saw-fish, who disembowels his prey that his feeble teeth may have -tender food. Their warfare knows no armistice; they live but to eat and -be eaten in their turn, and as to eat they must fight, the battle rages -evermore. The dark places of the earth are full of the habitations of -cruelty, but they are peaceful compared with the sombre depths of the -sea. - - - - -XI - -AN EFFECT OF REFRACTION - - -All hands were asleep. The conduct of the watch on deck, though -undoubtedly culpable, had just this excuse, that the ship was far out -of the track of other vessels, and lying lapped in a profound calm, -still as a ship can ever be upon the ocean’s never-resting bosom. It -was my trick at the wheel, and although I had certainly been asleep -like the rest of my shipmates, I presently found myself wide awake, as -if an unfelt breath had in an instant swept my brain clear of those -bewildering mist-wreaths that usually hinder the mind on its return -to tangible things from its wanderings in the realms of the unknown. -Instinctively I glanced aloft, where the sails hung flatly motionless, -except for an occasional rippling flap, soft-sounding as the wing of a -mousing owl, as the vessel swayed dreamily over the caressing swell. -Overhead, the bright eye of Aldebaran looked down with a friendly gaze, -but not an air even of the faintest was there to stir the slumbering -keel. On the companion, a few feet away, the shapeless form of the -mate was dimly discernible, as in some incomprehensible tangle of limbs -he lay oblivious of his surroundings. Through the open after-leaf of -the cabin skylight came the close, greasy-smelling reek of the little -den below. The useless compass answered my inquiring peep with a vacant -stolidity, as if it were glued to the bottom of its bowl. Only the -clock seemed alive and watchful, telling me that for still another hour -I must remain at my post, although my presence there was the merest -formality. - -So I turned my thoughts listlessly in the direction of the sailor’s -usual solace during long spells of lonely watch--the building of airy -visions of shore delights, when, the long voyage over, I should be free -once more for a short time with a little handful of fast-disappearing -gold wherewith to buy such pleasures as I could compass. As I thus -dreamed, the heavy minutes crawled away on leaden-shod feet, while -the palpable silence enwrapped me, almost making audible the regular -rhythm of my heart. But gradually out of this serene outward and inward -quiet there stole over me a nameless sense of fear, why or of what I -had no idea. Nay, I hardly recognised this benumbing stealthy change -in the calm normal flow of my being _as_ fear. It was an indefinite -alteration of all my faculties from healthy restful regularity to a -creeping stagnation, as of some subtle poison disintegrating my blood -and turning it into chilly dust. All the moisture of my body seemed -evaporating, my skin grew tighter, and my breath came in burning gasps -that scorched my nostrils and throat. Yet, while this disabling of -all my physical constituents was progressing, my mind was actively -rebelling against the mysterious paralysis of its usually willing -co-operators. Eagerly, fiercely, it demanded a reason, urged to instant -action of some kind. Then, still in the same fateful, hasteless manner, -my terror took a more definite shape. It, whatever was thus sapping my -most vital forces, was behind me, I felt it; I realised it; but what or -who or how it was I could not or dared not imagine. Dimly I dwelt upon -what I felt ought to be certain, that only about six feet of clear deck -separated me from the vacant plane of the sea, but that certainty would -not appear sure, as it ought to have done. - -At last, by what seemed to me a superhuman effort of will, I summoned -all my resources and turned my body round. There lay the sleeping sea, -besprinkled all over with reflections of innumerable stars that shone -scarcely less brilliant on the smooth face of the deep than they did -in the inscrutable dome above. But among those simulated coruscations -lay what looked like the long straight folds of a shroud. Broadening -as it neared me, it faded away before its skirts reached the ship. My -dry, aching eyeballs followed its pallid outlines horizonwards until -at that indefinable limit where sea and sky seem to meet my fear took -shape. There in the blue-black heaven, its chin resting on the sea -margin, glared a gigantic skull, perfect in all its ghastly details, -and glowing with that unearthly light that only emanates from things -dead. Yet the cavernous openings of that awful visage, deep within -their darkness, showed a lurid suggestion of red that burned and faded -as if fed from some hidden furnace beyond. This horrible apparition, -so utterly at variance with the placid loveliness of its setting, -completed my undoing. I actually felt thankful for its appalling -hideousness as the sense that my endurance limit was reached came upon -me. With a feeling of unspeakable gratitude and relief, I felt my -parched-up bones melt, my whole framework collapsed, and I sank slowly -to the deck, all knowledge fading like the last flicker of an exhausted -lamp. But with the last gleam of sight I saw the Thing, elongated out -of all proportion, suddenly snap the unseen ligament that bound it to -the horizon. And immediately, some distance above, the sweet cool face -of the lovely moon shone full-orbed, to commence her triumphal march -across the sky. Then for an age I died. - -By slow, painful stages life returned to me, as if the bewildered -spirit must creep and grovel through obscene tunnels and tortuous -grooves of interminable length before it could again reanimate the -helpless tabernacle awaiting it. But so great had been the shock, so -complete the disorganisation of all my powers, that for what seemed -hours after I became fully conscious again, I was unable to raise an -eyelash. The same profound peace still reigned, not a sound, hardly -a movement of the vessel. Slowly my eyes unclosed. I lay in a lake -of moonlight streaming from the radiant globe sailing up the blue, -now well advanced in her stately progress among the paling stars. As -I looked up at the splendid satellite I wondered vaguely how I could -ever have connected such a well-beloved object with the brain-withering -terror of the immediate past. The problem was beyond me, never an acute -reasoner at the best of times, but now mentally palsied by what I had -undergone. While I still lay in sentient inability to move I heard the -mate rise to his feet with a resounding yawn. The familiar noise broke -the spell that held me. I rose to my feet involuntarily and peered in -at the clock, which was on the stroke of four. “Eight bells, sir,” I -said, but in a voice so harsh and strange that the officer could not -believe his ears. “What’s that?” he queried wonderingly. I repeated -the words. He rose and struck the bell, but came aft immediately he -had done so and peered into my face as if to see who it was. “Ain’t ye -well?” he asked. “Y’ look like a cawpse.” I made some incoherent reply, -upon which he said quickly, “Here, go for’ard ’n turn in, ’relse I’m -damned if ye won’t be sick.” Listlessly I answered “Ay, ay, sir,” and -shambled forward to my stuffy bunk. My shipmates, heavy with sleep, -took no notice of me, and I turned in, to lie tossing feverishly, -every sinew in my body vibrating with pain so as to be almost -unbearable. A long spell of what I suppose was brain fever followed, -during which the terrible vision of that middle watch was re-enacted a -thousand times with innumerable fantastic additions. Out of that weary -waste of life I emerged transformed from a ruddy, full-faced youth into -a haggard, prematurely old man, while nothing but my stalwart physique -enabled me to survive. For the rest of the voyage my shipmates looked -upon me with awe, as upon one who had made a fearsome voyage into the -unseen world lying all around us, and been permitted to return wise -beyond the power of mortal speech to express. But my silence upon the -subject was only because I really had nothing to tell. Whence came -that marrow-freezing fear I shall never know, or why. What I _saw_ -was simply such a grotesque distortion of the moon’s disc as is often -witnessed in low latitudes, when either sun or moon rising appears -to have the lower limb glued to the horizon for quite an appreciable -time, while fragments of mist or cloud passing over the luminous and -elongated face cause strange patterns to appear upon it. And when -suddenly the connection seems to break, the luminary apparently springs -several degrees at a bound into the clear sky above. Just an effect of -refraction--nothing more. - - - - -XII - -A WAKING NIGHTMARE - - -Curious indeed was the freak of fortune which, before I was thirteen -years old, threw me like a frond of drifting seaweed upon one of the -scattered cays of the Mexican Gulf. About the manner of my arrival I -propose to say nothing here; sufficient for present purposes to note -that I was entirely alone upon that desolate patch of sand, hardly -worthy of the name of islet, its very existence as a fragment of dry -land dependent upon a bristling barrier of black boulders that bared -their ravening fangs at every ebb. When the tide was up their position -was solely marked by long lines of snowy breakers whose magnitude, -accumulated by a protracted struggle shorewards over the vast outlying -coral banks, was enormous,--so huge, in fact, that it was seldom -possible, even when standing upon the apex of the islet, to see the -horizon line, which stretched its perfect circle all around. - -The defending fringe of jagged rocks formed by no means a continuous -barrier. In fact it was more properly a series of parallels -sufficiently separated to have admitted small vessels between them, -should the turbulent swell ever be quiet enough to permit such daring -navigation. At one point a sort of causeway ran seaward some hundreds -of feet at right angles to the beach. The crags of which this was -composed were bared at half ebb, but from their tops one could in -places look down into blue hollows where no bottom could be seen. -Except when the wind was high, this ridge, though exceedingly difficult -to traverse, from its broken character, was protected from battering -seas. Lying, as it did, so much nearer the land, and in a different -direction to the other barriers, it was sheltered by them to such an -extent that only upon rare occasions was it swept from end to end by a -lingering, lolloping swell that did not break. - -Driven by that same pitiless necessity that had compelled me to ferret -out the means of existence somehow since I reached my tenth year, it -was no long time before I discovered that this rugged spur was the -best place for fishing, especially with regard to Crustacea, because a -multitude of fish inhabited the irregular cavities of the reef beneath. -And since I had water in abundance, a 400-gallon tank full having -washed ashore from the wreck, while of biscuit and fishing-tackle there -was also some store, I spent a good deal of my time upon the uneven -pathway formed by this natural pier. Contenting myself with small bait -cut from some luckless baby octopus I always waylaid at starting. I -was untroubled by fish too large for my immature strength, though on -several occasions I only just succeeded in tearing half the palpitating -body of my catch out of the eager jaws of some monster that rushed at -him as he made his involuntary journey upwards. - -Although so young, I was fairly seasoned to alarms and not at all -nervous, which was as well, for if I had been I should probably have -died of fright during the first night of my stay on the islet. But -there was one inexplicable noise that always made me feel as if I had -swallowed a lump of ice accidentally when I heard it. Even while on -board the ship I never felt easy about it, the less so because I could -never find an explanation of its origin. It sounded as if some giant -had smitten the sea flatly with a huge paddle, or, still more, as if -an extra large whale were “lob-tailing”--_i.e._ poised in the water -head downwards, and striking deliberate blows upon its surface with -his mighty flukes. This is a favourite habit with the larger cetacea, -but only in the daytime, although I did not then know of it. The noise -which scared me, however, was only heard at night, when, with a calm -sea and not a breath of wind stirring, it assailed my ears like a -summons from the unseen world. For this cause alone I was always glad -to see the blessed daylight flooding the sky again. - -Several days wore away uneventfully enough, and I was getting quite -inured to silence and solitude, when it befell that the ebb came -late in the afternoon. By the slant of the sun I judged it must be -somewhere about five o’clock when I climbed out along the slippery -causeway to my favourite spot--a smooth hollow in the crest of a great -boulder, from which comfortable perch I could look down on either -side into deep, blue water. Here I seated myself cosily, and soon -hauled up a dozen or so of sizable fish. Then, having ample provision, -I rolled up my line, and lounged at ease, sleepily surveying the -unspeakable glories of the sunset. Whether in the body or out of the -body I cannot tell, but the time slipped away unnoticed by me, till -suddenly I started up, every nerve tingling with fear at the sound I -so much dreaded somewhere very close at hand. I trembled so violently -that I could not go back just yet; indeed, I could not stand, but sank -into my stony seat. At that moment I turned my head to the right, and -saw rising out of the water apparently quite slowly a hideous shape, -if shape it could be said to possess any. In the gathering gloom it -appeared almost like a gigantic bat as far as its general outline could -be seen, but I never heard of a water-bat. For quite an appreciable -space it hung in the quiet air, changing all the placid beauty of the -evening into brain-benumbing horror for me; then with an unfolding -movement it fell upon the glassy surface, producing the awe-inspiring -sound I had so often shuddered at, its volume augmented tenfold by its -nearness. Like some fascinated bird, I remained motionless, staring -at the rapidly smoothing spot where the awful thing had disappeared. -Then suddenly the sea at my feet became all black, and out of its -depths there arose close at my side a monster that was the embodied -realisation of my most terrified imaginings. Its total area must have -been about 200 square feet. It was somewhat of a diamond shape, with a -tapering, sinewy tail about as long again as its body. Where I judged -its head to be was a convex hollow, which opened widely as it rose, -disclosing rows of shining teeth, set like those of a human being. At -each side of this gulf rose a spiral horn about two feet long, looking -like twisted whalebone, and guarding the eyes which lay between them. -Oh, those eyes! Though not much more than twice as large as a horse’s, -as they glared through the wide slits within which they festered the -ruddy sheen of the sunset caught them, making them glow bloodily with -a plenitude of ghastly ferocity that haunts me yet. And on either side -of the thing undulated gigantic triangular wings, raising its mass into -the air with noiseless ease. - -All this and more I saw in the breathless space of its ascent; then it -hung between me and heaven, the livid corrupt-looking corrugations of -its underside all awork, as it seemed, to enfold my shrinking flesh. -Those fractions of a second, stretched into hours, during which my -starting pupils photographed every detail of the loathsome beast, -passed away at last, and it descended slantingly over me. Then amidst a -roar of water in my ears the darkness swallowed me up, and I knew no -more. I am inclined to think that I owe my life to the trancelike state -into which I had fallen, for although it appeared a frightfully long -time before I saw the sweet evening light again, I was not nearly so -exhausted as I have been on other occasions, when compelled to take a -long dive. But after I had scrambled up on to the rock again, wondering -to find myself still alive, such a recurrence of overmastering fear -seized me that it was all I could do to crawl crab-wise over the stony -pinnacles back to the sand again. My strength only held out until I had -reached a spot above high-water mark. There I subsided into blissful -unconsciousness of all things, and knew no more until a new day was -far advanced, and the terror of the previous night only a distressing -memory apparently of some previous stage of existence. Years afterwards -I learned that the hideous thing which had thus scared me almost to -death was one of the _raiidæ_, or skate tribe. Locally it is known -as the alligator guard, or devil fish, and, truly, its appearance -justifies such an epithet. It is apparently harmless to man, but why, -alone among the Cephalopteridæ, it should have the curious habit of -taking these nocturnal leaps out of water is a mystery. - - - - -XIII - -THE DERELICT - - -She had been a staunch, well-found wooden barque of about 800 tons, -English built, but, like so many more of our sturdy old sailing -ships, in the evening of her days she had been bought by the thrifty -Norwegians. She bore on her ample stern the faded legend, _Olaf -Trygvasson, Trondhjem_. Backwards and forwards across the North -Atlantic to Quebec in summer, and to the Gulf Ports in winter, she had -been faithfully drogueing timber for them for several seasons, her -windmill-pump steadily going and the owners’ profits accumulating. - -This last voyage, however, had been unfortunate from its commencement. -To the serious annoyance of Trygvasson and Company, no outward freight -was obtainable, while the passage was half as long again as it should -have been. A cargo was secured at last in Pensacola, with which not -only was her capacious hold crammed, but the whole deck fore and aft -as high as the shearpoles was piled with the balks, so that from the -forecastle-head to the taffrail she was flush--a windswept stretch -of slippery uneven planks with just a hole left here and there for -the hard-bitten mariners to creep down to their darksome dens below. -They were hardly clear of the harbour when one of those hurricane-like -squalls so common to the Florida Gulf burst upon her, tearing a whole -suit of sails from the yards and stays and sending them fleeting -to leeward like fluttering clouds of spindrift. Then gale after -gale buffeted her with unrelenting severity, treating the stolid, -long-suffering crew with persistent cruelty as they crept wearily -about the bitter eminence of the deck-load or clung half-frozen to -the yards wrestling with the crackling ice-laden canvas. There were -no complaints, for Scandinavian seamen endure the bitterest hardships -with wonderful patience, growling--that well-used privilege of British -seamen--being almost unknown among them. - -At last there came a day when the wind grew more savage than they had -yet borne,--wind with a wrathful tearing edge to it, as well as a force -against which none of their canvas would stand for a moment. As a last -resource they hove her to under a tarpaulin cut from the lazarette -hatch, only two feet square, which they lashed in the mizen rigging. -This steadied her for some hours, keeping her head to the wind fairly -well, until a sea came howling down out of the grey hopelessness to -windward and caught her on the weather quarter. It twisted her up into -the wind, wrenching off the rudder-head as you would behead a shrimp. -Helpless, she fell off on the other tack just in time for a black -mountain of solid water to hurl itself upon the bluff of her bow and -sweep aft, tearing away with it boats, men, and all else that stood or -lay in its way. When that great flood had subsided she was a silent -ship. The only member of the crew left on deck was he who had been the -helmsman, but was now only a heap of broken bones lying in a confused -tangle just in the little space behind the wheel. - -And then, being entirely at the mercy of the howling wind and scourging -sea, the doomed ship was gradually stripped of her various furniture. -Yards, released from position by the carrying away of the braces, -battered and banged about until they and their supporting spars fell -in ruin on the deckload and thundered alongside at the sturdy hull. -While this dismantling was in progress, a small boy of about thirteen -cowered in the murky cabin as far out of reach of the invading flood of -salt water as he could get, wondering wearily when the clamour overhead -would subside and somebody come below again. He was a London waif, -who, unwanted and forlorn, had been for several years drifting about -the world, the sport of every cross current of mischance until he had -landed at Pensacola, where Captain Neilsen, of the _Olaf Trygvasson_, -had in pity for his youthful loneliness given him a passage to London -in exchange for his services as cabin-boy. Although fairly well versed -in seafaring--for he had been nearly two years at the poor business--he -marvelled mightily at the uproar above and how it was he heard no -voices. The noise of falling spars, the dull crashing blows of the sea, -and the melancholy wailing of the wind were still so deafening that he -was able as yet to console himself with the thought that puny human -cries would be inaudible. But at last his suspense grew unbearable, and -dropping into the water, which was well above his waist, he struggled -on deck, to find himself sole representative of the crew, and the -vessel derelict. - -A horror of great loneliness fell upon him. Long experience of hardness -had made him dry-eyed upon most occasions where tears would seem to be -indicated in one so young, but something clutched his throat now that -made him burst into a passionate fit of crying. In the full tide of -it he suddenly stopped and screamed frantically, “Larsen! Petersen! -Jansen!” but there was no voice nor any that answered. - -The wind died away and the sea went down. There was a break in the -pall of gloomy clouds, through which the afternoon sun gleamed warmly, -even hopefully. But the brave and much-enduring old vessel was now -water-logged, kept afloat solely by her buoyant cargo. She lay over at -an angle of about 45°, the waves lap-lapping the edge of the deckload -on the lee-side. Without motive-power or guidance, the sport of the -elements, she drifted helplessly, hopelessly anywhither, a danger to -all navigation during the hours of darkness because almost invisible. -And since she moved not except with the natural oscillation of the -ocean, the rank parasitic life with which the sea teems fastened upon -her hungrily wherever the water reached, so that in a short time she -began to smell ancient and fish-like as Caliban. - -Amidst that rapidly increasing growth of weed and shell, the lonely -lad moved ghost-like, his sanity preserved as yet by the natural -hopefulness of youth. But a fixed melancholy settled and strengthened -upon him. He ate barely sufficient to support his frail life, although -there was a sufficiency of coarse food and water for many days. At -intervals he held long rambling conversations with himself aloud, -peopling the solemn silence around him with a multitude of the -creatures of his fancy. But mostly he crouched close down to the lee -edge of the deckload, gazing for hours at a stretch into the fathomless -blue depths beneath him; for the weather had completely changed, the -drift of the derelict having been southward into a region of well-nigh -perpetual calm, apparently unvisited by storms or tenanted ships. - -Day after day crawled by--how many the solitary child never knew, for -he kept no reckoning. Longer and longer grew the dark festoons of dank -weed around the battered hulk, while the barnacles, limpets, and other -parasites flourished amazingly. In those calm waters whither she had -drifted fish of all shapes and sizes, usually unseen by mortal eyes, -abounded. They swarmed around the weed-bedraped hull as they do about -a half-tide rock in some quiet cove unvisited by man. As the calm -persisted these marine visitants grew quainter and more goblin-like -of shape, fresh accessions to their numbers continually reaching the -surface. Pale eyes unfamiliar with the naked sunlight blinked glassily -at the garish day out of hideous heads, and the motion of these -denizens of the cold darkness below was sluggish and bewildered. The -water became thick with greasy scum and the usually invigorating air -took on a taint of decay, the stench of a stagnant sea. To the boy’s -disordered vision these gruesome companions grew more uncanny than the -dreams of a madman, but still, though they daily multiplied until the -water seemed alive with them, the strange fascination they exerted -over him conquered his natural repugnance to slimy things all legs and -eyes, that crawled horribly near. He could hardly spare sufficient time -for such scanty meals as he needed, and must fetch from his hoard in -an upper bunk on the weather-side of the cabin well out of reach of -the encroaching, restless flood that invaded almost every other nook. -Far into the night, too, under the stately stars, when the glazing -sea was all aglow with living fires brightening and fading in long -lines running in a multitude of directions and of a rich variety of -colours, he remained, as if chained to the rail, staring steadfastly -down at the phantasmagoria below with eyes that scarcely blinked, -though they ached and burned with the unreasoning intensity of his -gaze. His babbling ceased. He spoke no word now, only brooded over the -unhealthful waters like some paralysed old man. Voices came whispering -strange matters in his ears, tales without beginning or end, incoherent -fragments of mystery that wandered through the twilight of his mind and -left no track of sense. - -At last one night he crept wearily into his bunk for a morsel of food, -meaning to bring it on deck and resume his unmeaning watching of the -sea. But when he had put a biscuit in the breast of his jumper and -tried to clamber back over the black flood that with sullen noise swept -to and fro in the darkened cuddy, he found himself unable to move, much -less to creep monkey-wise from point to point to the scuttle. So he -lay back and slept, never heeding the weakness and want of feeling in -his wasted limbs. When he awoke it was day, a long shaft of sunlight -piercing an opening in the deck over his head and irradiating the -gloomy den in which he lay. Suddenly there was a sound of voices, a -cheery, hearty hail of “Anybody aboard this hooker? Hullo, derelict, -ahoy!” He heard and smiled feebly. Such voices had been his constant -companions for days, and although he felt dimly that they sounded -different now, he was only too certain that they would change into -malignant mockeries again directly. Then all was still once more, save -for the ceaseless wash of the waves against the weed-hung bulkheads of -the cabin. - -Outside upon the shining sea rode that most beautiful of all craft, a -whale-boat, whose trim crew lay on their oars gazing curiously and with -a certain solemnity upon the melancholy ruin before them. The officer -in charge, a young lieutenant in the smart uniform of the American -navy, stood in the stern-sheets pondering irresolutely, the undertones -of his men falling unmeaningly upon his ears. At last he appeared to -have made up his mind, and saying, “Pull two, starn three,” put the -tiller hard over to sheer the boat off to seaward, where the graceful -shape of his ship showed in strong relief against the blue sky. But -the sturdy arms had barely taken twenty strokes when, as if by some -irresistible impulse, the officer again pressed the tiller to port, -the boat taking a wide sheer, while the crew glanced furtively at his -thoughtful face and wondered whatever he was about. Not until the boat -headed direct for the wreck again did he steady the helm. “In bow, -stand by to hook on!” he cried sharply, and as the boat shot along -the lee-side, “unrow.” “Jemmy,” to his after-oarsman, “jump aboard -and see if you can get below, forrard or aft. If she isn’t bung full -you might find something alive.” “Ay, ay, sir,” said Jemmy, a sturdy -little Aberdonian, and in ten seconds he was scrambling over the -slippery timbers towards the cuddy scuttle. Plump! and he disappeared -down the dark hole. Two minutes’ breathless suspense followed, a -solid block of silence, then a perfect yell of delight startled all -the watchers nearly out of their wits. The dripping head of the daring -Scot reappeared at the scuttle ejaculating in choicest Aberdeen: “Sen’s -anither han’ here gin ye wull, sir. Ah’ve fun’ a laddie leevin, an’ -thet’s a’.” In a moment another man was by his side, and the frail -little bundle of humanity was passed into the boat with a tender -solicitude beautiful to see in those bronzed and bearded men. - -The lieutenant, in a voice choked with emotion, said, “Poor little -chap! Somehow I felt as if I _couldn’t_ leave that ship. Give way, men; -he’s so nearly gone that we must get him aboard sharp if we’re going to -save him after all.” The crew needed no spur, they fairly made the boat -fly towards the ship, while the officer, with a touch almost as gentle -as a mother’s, held the boy in his arms. When she arrived alongside the -_Essex_ everything was in readiness, the fact of a life being at stake -having been noted a long way off. He was gently lifted on board and -handed over to the doctor’s care, while the crew were piped to gunnery -practice and the dangerous obstruction of the derelict smashed into a -mass of harmless fragments. - -A few days of such unceasing care as a king might desire in vain, and -the boy took firm hold on life again. But his youthful elasticity of -spirit has never returned to him. A settled gravity has taken its -place, remaining from the time when he kept his long and lonely vigil -on the _Olaf Trygvasson_, derelict. - - - - -STUDIES IN - -MARINE NATURAL HISTORY - - - - -XIV - -SOME OCEANIC BIRDS - - -It is surely a matter for congratulation that the sentiment of mankind -toward what we are pleased to call the lower animals is certainly, -if slowly, tending in the direction of kinder and more merciful -appreciation of them in nearly all their varieties as knowledge of them -grows from more to more. As perhaps is but natural, this benevolent -feeling is most strongly marked for birds, those feathered Zingari -of the air whose blithe evolutions above are more envied by man than -any other power possessed by the vastly varied members of the animal -kingdom. In obedience to the growing demand for more intimate knowledge -of birds and their habits whole libraries have been written, and -still this literature increases; but while in this there is nothing -to cavil at, one cannot help feeling that the marvellous life of the -sea-birds has received far from adequate attention. Like so many -other denizens of that vast and densely populated world of waters, -their inaccessibility has hindered that close observation by trained -naturalists necessary in order to describe them as they deserve, while -as yet no marine Richard Jefferies or White of Selborne has arisen. And -this want is really to be wondered at, seeing how fascinating is the -study of oceanic fauna, and remembering what a wealth of leisure is -enjoyed by masters of sailing ships, which alone afford opportunities -for observing the life of the sea-people. - -Easily first in point of interest, as well as size, comes the lordly -albatross, whose home is far south of the Line, and whose empire is -that illimitable area of turbulent waves which sweep resistless round -the world. Compared with his power of vision (sailors give all things -except a ship the epicene gender “he”), the piercing gaze of the -eagle or condor becomes myopic, unless, as indeed may be the case, he -possesses other senses unknown to us by means of which he is made aware -of passing events interesting to him occurring at incredible distances. -Out of the blue void he comes unhasting on motionless pinions, yet at -such speed that, one moment a speck hardly discernible, turn but your -eyes away, and ere you can again look round he is gliding majestically -overhead. Nothing in Nature conveys to the mind so wonderful an idea of -effortless velocity as does his calm appearance from vacancy. Like most -of the true pelagic birds, he is a devourer of offal, the successful -pursuit of fish being impossible to his majestic evolutions. His -appetite is enormous, but his powers of abstinence are equally great, -and often for days he goes without other nourishment than a drink of -the bitter sea. At the Gargantuan banquet provided by the carcass of a -dead whale, he will gorge himself until incapable of rising from the -sea, yet still his angry scream may be heard as if protesting against -his inability to find room for more provision against hungry days -soon to follow. Despite his incomparable grace of flight when gliding -through mid-air with his mighty wings outspread, when ashore or on deck -he is clumsy and ill at ease. Even seated upon the sea his proportions -appear somewhat ungainly, while his huge hooked beak seems too heavy to -be upheld. On land he can hardly balance himself, and the broad silky -webs of his feet soon become lacerated. Thus his visits to the lone -and generally inaccessible rocks which are his breeding places are as -brief as may be, since even conjugal delights are dearly purchased with -hunger and painful restraint. A true child of the air, land is hateful -to him, and only on the wing does he appear to be really at home and -easeful. - -The other members of the albatross family, who, with their chief -(_Diomedea exulans_), are all classed by whalers under the ugly name -of “gooneys,” bear few of the majestic characteristics of their great -head. The “mallymoke,” which comes nearest to the albatross in size and -beauty, is actually found north of the Line, a fact which severs this -bird very widely from the albatross in geographical range. Also, he -is much livelier and more given to bustle fussily about. It costs him -far less exertion to rise from the sea for flight than the unwieldy -paddling run along the surface necessary to give sufficient impetus -for raising the huge albatross, and consequently his alightings are -much more frequent. But he is undoubtedly a beautiful bird, suffering -only by comparison with the most splendid of all sea-fowl. A brown -kind of albatross, with a dirty white beak, is very much in evidence -south of 20° S., dropping continually into the turbulence of a ship’s -wake, and diving to considerable depths after scraps. Sailors call them -Cape hens, for some misty reason which is never given. Among Southern -birds they occupy much the same place in the esteem of those who are -acquainted with them as does the sparrow at home. - -A general favourite among seamen is the Cape pigeon, a pretty, busy -little sea-bird about the size of a dove, but plumper, with a black -head and an elaborate pattern in black and grey upon the white of its -open wings. Around the stern of any passing ship large numbers of -these fluttering visitors hover continually, their shrill cries and -unwearying manœuvres contrasting pleasantly with the deep monotone -made by the driving keel through the foaming sea. In common with most -Southern sea-birds having hooked beaks, they are easily caught with -hook and line, but will not live in captivity. Thoughtless passengers, -wearied with what they call the tedium of the voyage, often amuse -themselves by shooting these graceful wanderers, although what -satisfaction may be found in reducing a beautiful living thing to a -useless morsel of draggled carrion is not easy to see. Occasionally a -passing ship finds herself accompanied for a very short time by large -flocks of small dove-coloured birds, who, however, do not seem to care -much for the association with vessels so characteristic of sea-birds -generally. These are known as whale-birds, probably because in the -_mêlée_ that goes on round the carcass of a dead whale they are never -seen. Indeed they would stand but little chance of a meal among the -hordes of larger and more voracious feasters. Mention must also be made -of a peculiar and unprepossessing member of the petrel family, which -looks much like a disreputable albatross, but is somewhat scarce. Known -indifferently among whalemen as the “Nelly” or the “stinker,” it seems -probable that this bird is the Southern representative of the Arctic -fulmar, which is abundant in the North. His chief peculiarity is his -forwardness. No sooner does a whale give up the ghost than the Nelly -boldly alights upon the black island-like mass and calmly commences -to peck away at the firm blubber, while thousands upon thousands of -other birds wait impatiently around, not daring to do likewise. Hence -the terrible threat current in whaleships, “I’ll ’light on ye like a -stinker on a carcass.” - -At the bottom of the size scale, but in point of affectionate interest -second to none, comes the stormy petrel, or Mother Carey’s chicken, a -darling wee wanderer common to both hemispheres, and beloved by all -sailors. With its delicate glossy black-and-brown plumage just flecked -with white on the open wings, and its long slender legs reaching out -first on one side and then on the other as if to feel the sea, it -nestles under the very curl of the most mighty billows or skims the -sides of their reverberating green abysses content as hovers the lark -over a lush meadow. Howling hurricane or searching snow-blasts pass -unheeded over that velvety black head. The brave bright eye dims not, -nor does the cheery little note falter even if the tiny traveller must -needs cuddle up close under the lee of some big ship for an occasional -crumb. Only once have I known an individual cruel or senseless enough -to harm a stormy petrel, and then the execrations of his shipmates -fairly scared him into repentance. They seem to have solved the secret -of perpetual motion, and often at night a careful listener may hear -their low cry, even if he be not keen-sighted enough to see them flit -beneath him. - -Quite apart from these true oceanic nomads are the large class of -sea-birds who, while gathering their food exclusively from the sea, -never go to any great distance from land. This difference between them -and the birds before mentioned is so strongly marked, that unobservant -as sailors are generally, there are few who do not recognise the -vicinity of land upon catching sight of a man-o’-war bird, booby, -gannet, or bo’sun. All these birds, whose trivial designations seem -somehow more appropriate than the nine-jointed nomenclature of the -schools, frequent for preference more accessible shores than the craggy -pinnacles generally chosen by the bolder outfliers. Of the first-named, -the “man-o’-war” or “frigate” bird, very little can be said to his -credit. Michelet has rhapsodised about him in a curious effusion, of -which one can only say that he seems to have confused three distinct -birds under one head. Were this bird to receive an entirely appropriate -title, it would be “pirate” or “buccaneer,” since it is only upon the -rarest occasions that he condescends to fish for himself, choosing -rather to rob humbler birds of their well-earned prey. No sea-bird -mounts so high as he, rising into the clear blue until only a black -speck to the unassisted eye. Usually, however, he contents himself -with a circling poise at an altitude of about 200 feet, whence he -keeps steadfast watch upon all that transpires beneath. With his long -tail dividing and closing like the halves of a pair of shears, and the -brilliant scarlet pouch at his neck occasionally inflated, he waits, -waits, until some fussy booby, like an overladen housewife hurrying -home from market, comes flapping along towards her nest. Then the broad -pinions suddenly close, and down like a meteor comes the marauder. With -a wild shriek of terror booby disgorges her fish, but ere it reaches -the water out hash the black wings again, and with a grand swoop the -assailant has passed beneath his frightened victim, caught the plunder, -and soared skyward. In like manner these birds may sometimes be seen -to catch a flying fish on the wing, a truly marvellous feat. It is, -nevertheless, a pathetic sight to see them, when old age or sickness -overtakes them, sitting in lonely dignity among the rocks where they -breed, helplessly awaiting with glazing eyes and dropping plumage the -tardy coming of deliverance. - -As for the booby, whose contemptuous name is surely a libel, space is -now far too brief to do anything like justice to its many virtues. In -a number of ways it corresponds very closely with the manners of our -domestic fowls, notably in its care of its brood, and utter change in -its habits when the young ones are dependent upon it. Of stupidity the -only evidences really noticeable are its indifference to the approach -of generally dreaded dangers when it is drowsy. At night one may -collect as many from their resting-places as can be desired, for they -make no effort to escape, but look at their enemy with a full, steady -eye wherein there is no speculation whatever. Numberless instances -might be collected where the tameness, as well as the abundance, of -boobies have been the means of preserving human life after shipwreck, -while their flesh and eggs are by no means unpalatable. Of several -other interesting members of the great family of oceanic birds we have -now no room to speak, but hope to return to the subject later on. - - - - -XV - -THE KRAKEN - - -Never, within the history of mankind, does there appear to have been -a time when dwellers by the sea did not believe in some awful and -gigantic monsters inhabiting that unknown and vague immensity. - -Whether we turn to Genesis to find great sea-monsters first of -created sentient beings, or ransack the voluminous records of ancient -civilisations, the result is the same. What a picture is that of the -Hindu sage in the Fish Avatar of Krishna, finding himself and his eight -companions alone in their ark upon the infinite sea, being visited by -the god as an indescribably huge serpent extending a million leagues, -shining like the sun, and with one stupendous horn, sky-piercing. - -In the brief compass of this chapter I do not propose to _réchauffer_ -any sea-serpent stories, ancient or modern. More especially because my -subject is the Kraken, and while I hold most firmly that the gigantic -mollusc which can alone be given that title is the _fons et origo_ of -all true sea-serpent stories, it is with facts relating to the former -that I have alone to deal. As might have been expected, all stories of -sea-monsters have a strong family likeness, showing pretty conclusively -their common derivation, with such differences as the locality and -personality of the narrative must be held accountable for. But among -sea-folk, as among all people leading lives in close contact with the -elemental forces of Nature, legends persist with marvellous vitality, -and so the story of the Kraken is to be found wherever men go down to -the sea in ships, and do business in great waters. - -Substantially the story is: that long low-lying banks have been -discovered by vessels, which have moored thereto, only to find the -supposed land developing wondrous peculiarities. Amid tremendous -turmoil of seething waters, arms innumerable, like a nest of mighty -serpents, arose from the deep, followed at last by a horrible head, of -a bigness and diabolical appearance unspeakably appalling. Fascinated -by the terrible eyes that, large as shields, glared upon them, the -awe-stricken seamen beheld some of the far-reaching tentacles, covered -with multitudes of mouths, embracing their vessel, while others -searched her alow and aloft, culling the trembling men from the rigging -like ripe fruit, and conveying them forthwith into an abysmal mouth -where they vanished for ever. - -Such a story, especially when embellished by professional -story-tellers, has of course met with well-merited scepticism, but -sight has been largely lost of the fact that from very early times -much independent testimony has been borne to the existence of immense -molluscæ in many waters, sufficiently huge and horrific to have -furnished a substantial basis for any number of hair-raising yarns. And -having myself for some years been engaged in the sperm whale fishery, -all over the globe, I now venture to bear the testimony of another -eyewitness to the truth of many Kraken legends, however much they may -have been, and are now, doubted. - -To eager students of marine natural history, nothing can well be -stranger than the manner in which, with two or three honourable -exceptions, the sperm whale fishers of the world have “sinned their -mercies.” To them as to no other class of sea-farers have been -vouchsafed not glimpses merely, but consecutive months and years of the -closest intimacy with the secret things of old ocean, embracing almost -the whole navigable globe. And when, unpressed for time, they have -leisurely entered those slumbrous latitudes so anxiously avoided by the -hurried, worried merchantman, how utterly have they neglected their -marvellous opportunities of observation of the wonders there revealed. -It may not be generally known that during long-persisting calms the -sea surface changes its character. From limpid blue it becomes greasy -and pale, from that health-laden odour to which the gratified nostrils -dilate, and the satisfied lungs expand, there is a gruesome change to -an unwholesome stench of stagnation and decaying things, such as the -genius of Coleridge depicted when he sang: - - The very deep did rot; O Christ! - That ever this should be! - Yea, slimy things did crawl with legs - Upon the slimy sea. - -Strangest of all the strange visitors to the upper world at such times -is the gigantic squid, or cuttle-fish. Of all the Myriad species -of mollusca this monster may fairly claim chief place, and neither -in ancient or modern times have any excited more interest than he. -Gazing with childlike fear upon his awe-inspiring and uncanny bulk, -the ancients have done their best to transmit their impressions to -posterity. Aristotle writes voluminously upon the subject, as he did -about most things, but his cuttles are such as are known to most of us. -Pliny leaves on record much concerning the Sepiadæ which is evidently -accurate in the main, mentioning especially (lib. ix. caps. iv. and -xxx.) one monster slain on the coast of Spain which was in the habit -of robbing the salt-fish warehouses. Pliny caused the great head to -be sent to Lucullus, and states that it filled a cask of fifteen -amphoræ. Its arms were thirty feet long, so thick that a man could -hardly embrace them at their bases, and provided with suckers, or -acetabula, as large as basins holding four or five gallons. But those -who have leisure and inclination may pursue the subject in the works -of Ælian, Paulinus (who describes the monster as a gigantic crab), -Bartholinus, Athanasius Kircher, Athenæus, Olaus Magnus, and others. -Pontoppidan, Bishop of Bergen, in his _Natural History of Norway_, has -done more than any other ancient or modern writer to discredit reports, -essentially truthful, by the outrageous fabrications he tells by way of -embellishment of the facts which he received. Least trustworthy of all, -he has been in this connection most quoted of all, but here he shall be -mentioned only to hold his inventions up to the scorn they so richly -deserve. - -The gigantic squid is, unlike most of the cephalopoda, a decapod, not -an octopod, since it possesses, in addition to the eight branchiæ -with which all the family are provided, two tentacula of double their -length, having acetabula only in a small cluster at their ends. This -fact was noticed by Athanasius Kircher, who describes a large animal -seen in the Sicilian seas which had _ten_ rays, or branches, and a -body equal in size to that of a whale; which, seeing how wide is the -range in size among whales, is certainly not over-definite. Coming down -to much later days, we find Denys de Montfort _facile princeps_ in -his descriptions of the Kraken (_Hist. Nat. de Molluscs_, tome ii. p. -284). Unfortunately, his reputation for truthfulness is but so-so, and -he is reported to have expressed great delight at the ease with which -he could gull credulous people. Still the best of his stories may be -quoted, remembering that, as far as his description of the monster is -concerned, he does not appear to have exaggerated at all. - -He records how he became acquainted with a master mariner of excellent -repute, who had made many voyages to the Indies for the Gothenburg -Company, by name Jean Magnus Dens. To this worthy, sailing his ship -along the African coast, there fell a stark calm, the which he, even -as do prudent shipmasters to-day, turned to good account by having his -men scrape and cleanse the outside of the vessel, they being suspended -near the water by stages for that purpose. While thus engaged, suddenly -there arose from the blue placidity beneath a most “awful monstrous,” -cuttle-fish, which threw its arms over the stage, and seizing two of -the men, drew them below the surface. Another man, who was climbing -on board, was also seized, but after a fearful struggle his shipmates -succeeded in rescuing him. That same night he died in raving madness. -The mollusc’s arms were stated to be at the base of the bigness of a -fore-yard (_vergue d’un mât de misaine_), while the suckers were as -large as ladles (_cueillier à pot_). - -One who should have done better--Dr. Shaw, in his lectures--calmly -makes of that “fore-yard” a “mizen-mast,” and of the “ladles” -“pot-lids,” which may have been loose translation, even as the scraping -“_gratter_” is funnily rendered “raking,” as if the ship’s bottom were -a hayfield, but looks uncommonly like editorial expansion, which the -story really does not require. - -Another story narrated by Denys de Montfort relates how a vessel was -attacked by a huge “poulp,” which endeavoured to drag down vessel and -all; but the crew, assisted by their patron, St. Thomas, succeeded in -severing so many of the monster’s arms from his body that he was fain -to depart, and leave them in peace. In gratitude for their marvellous -deliverance they caused an _ex voto_ picture to be painted of the -terrible scene, and hung in their parish church, for a testimony to the -mighty power of the saint. - -In the _Phil. Trans._ of the Royal Society (lxviii. p. 226), Dr. -Schewediawer tells of a sperm whale being hooked (_sic_) which had in -its mouth a tentaculum of the Sepia Octopodia, twenty-seven feet long. -This was not its entire length, for one end was partly digested, so -that when _in situ_ it must have been a great deal longer. When we -consider, says the learned doctor, the enormous bulk of the animal to -which the tentaculum here spoken of belonged, we shall cease to wonder -at the common saying of sailors that the cuttle-fish is the largest in -the ocean. - -In Figuier’s _Ocean World_ he quotes largely from Michelet, that -great authority on the Mollusca, giving at length the latter’s highly -poetical description of the vast family of “murderous suckers,” as he -terms the cephalopoda. - -In the same work, too, will be found a most matter-of-fact description -and illustration of the meeting of the French corvette _Alecton_ with -an immense calamary between Teneriffe and Madeira. This account -was furnished by Lieutenant Bayer to the Académie des Sciences, and -is evidently a sober record of fact. The monster’s body was hauled -alongside, and an attempt was made to secure it by means of a hawser -passed round it, but of course, as soon as any strain was put upon the -rope, it drew completely through the soft gelatinous carcass, severing -it in two. The length of this creature’s body was fifty feet. But M. -Figuier is not satisfied; he says that even this account must be taken -_cum grano salis_, so unwilling is he to believe in a monster that -would evidently settle the great Kraken and sea-serpent question once -for all. - -Even Dr. Solander and Mr. Banks, after finding a cuttle six feet long -floating upon the sea near Cape Horn, which was quite beyond all their -previous experience, could not bring themselves to believe in the -existence of any larger. So at the beginning of this century, while -people had largely consented to accept the sea-serpent, they would -have none of the Kraken or anything which might reasonably explain the -persistence of evidence about him. But had these scientific sceptics -only taken the trouble to interview the crews of the South Sea whalers, -that sailed in such a goodly fleet from our ports during the first -half of the century, they must have been convinced that, so far from -the Kraken being a myth, he is one of the most substantial of facts, -unless, indeed, they believed that all whalemen were in a conspiracy -to deceive them on that point. - -Any thoughtful observer who has ever seen a school of sperm whales, -numbering several hundreds, and understood, from the configuration of -their jaws, that they must of necessity feed upon large creatures, -can never after feel difficulty in believing that, in order to supply -the enormous demand for food made by these whales, their prey must be -imposing in size and abundant in quantity. - -On my first meeting with the cachalot, on terms of mutual destruction, -I knew nothing of his habits, and cared less. But seeing him, when -wounded, vomiting huge masses of white substance, my curiosity was -aroused, and when I saw that these masses were parts of a mighty -creature almost identical in structure with the small squid so often -picked up on deck, where it falls in its frantic efforts to escape from -dolphins (_Coryphæna_), albacore, or bonito, my amazement was great. -Some of these fragments were truly heroic in size. - -Surgeon Beale, in his book on the sperm whale, only credits the -cachalot with being able to swallow a man, but with all the respect due -to so great a writer, I am bound to say that such masses as I have seen -ejected from the stomach of the dying whale could only have entered a -throat to which a man was as a pill is to us. We can, however, only -speak of what we have seen, and perhaps Dr. Beale had never seen such -large pieces ejected. - -In an article in _Nature_ of June 4, 1896, I have described an -encounter which I witnessed between a gigantic squid and a sperm -whale, in the Straits of Malacca, which, as far as I am concerned, has -settled conclusively the Kraken and sea-serpent question for me. This -terrific combat took place under the full glare of a tropical moon, -upon the surface of a perfectly calm sea, within a mile of the ship. -Every detail of the struggle was clearly visible through a splendid -glass, and is indelibly graven upon my mind. It was indeed a battle -of giants--perhaps all the more solemnly impressive from being waged -in perfect silence. The contrast between the livid whiteness of the -mollusc’s body and the massive blackness of the whale,--the convulsive -writhing of the tremendous arms, as, like a Medusa’s head magnified -a thousand times, they wound and gripped about the columnar head of -the great mammal,--made a picture unequalled in all the animal world -for intense interest. The immense eyes, at least a foot in diameter, -glared out of the dead white of the head, inky black, appalling in -their fixity of gaze. Could we have seen more nearly, and in daylight, -we should have also found that the sea was turned from its normal -blue into a dusky brown by the discharge of the great cephalopod’s -reservoir of sepia, which in such a creature must have been a tank of -considerable capacity. Each of those far-reaching arms were of course -furnished with innumerable sucking discs, most of them a foot in -diameter, and, in addition to the adhering apparatus, provided with -a series of claws set round the inner edges of the suckers, large as -those of a grizzly bear. Besides the eight arms, there were the two -tentacula, double the length of the arms, or over sixty feet long--in -fact, about the length of the animal’s body, and quite worthy of -being taken for a pair of sea-serpents by themselves. But the whale -apparently took no heed of the Titanic struggles of this enormous -mollusc. He was busy wielding his mighty jaws, not in mastication, -but in tearing asunder the soft flesh into convenient lumps for being -swallowed. All around were numerous smaller whales or sharks, joining -in the plentiful feast, like jackals round a lion. Every fisherman -worth his salt knows how well all fish that swim in the sea love the -sapid flesh of the cephalopoda, making it the finest bait known, and -in truth it is, and always has been, a succulent dainty, where known, -for mankind as well. But it is evident from the scanty number of times -that the gigantic cuttle-fish has been reported, that his habitat -is well beneath the surface, yet not so far down but that he may be -easily reached by the whale, and also find food for his own vast bulk. -Probably they prey upon one another. From what we know of the habits -of those members of the family who live in accessible waters, it is -evident that nothing comes amiss to them in the way of fish or flesh, -dead or alive. - -The Prince of Monaco, who is a devotee of marine natural history, was -fortunate enough to witness some bay whalers at Terceira early this -year catching a sperm whale. He and his scientific assistants were -alike amazed at seeing the contents of the whale’s stomach ejected -before death, but their amazement became hysterical delight when they -found that the ejecta consisted of portions of huge cuttle-fish, as yet -unknown to scientific classification. The species was promptly named -after the Prince, _Lepidoteuthis Grimaldii_, and a paper prepared and -read before the Académie des Sciences at Paris. So profoundly impressed -was the Prince with what he had seen, that he at once determined to -convert his yacht into a whaler, in order to become better acquainted -with these wonderful creatures, so long known to the obtuse and -careless whale-fishers. One interesting circumstance noted by the -Prince was the number of circular impressions made upon the tough and -stubborn substance of the whale’s head, hard as hippopotamus hide, -showing the tremendous power exerted by the mollusc as well as his -inability to do the whale any harm. - -But were I to describe in detail the numerous occasions upon which I -have seen, not certainly the entire mollusc, but such enormous portions -of their bodies as would justify estimating them as fully as large as -the whales feeding upon them, it would become merely tedious repetition. - -As I write, comes the news that an immense squid has just been found -stranded on the west coast of Ireland, having arms thirty feet in -length, a formidable monster indeed. - -In conclusion, it may be interesting to know that these molluscs -progress, while undisturbed, literally on their heads, with all the -eight arms which surround the head acting as feet as well as hands to -convey food to the ever-gaping mouth; but when moving quickly, as in -flight, or to attack, they eject a stream of water from an aperture -in the neck, which drives them backwards at great speed, all the arms -being close together. Close to this aperture is the intestinal opening, -a strange position truly. Strangest, perhaps, of all is the manner in -which some species grow, at certain seasons, an additional tentacle, -which, when complete, becomes detached and floats away. In process -of time it finds a female, to which it clings, and which it at once -impregnates. It then falls off, and perishes. It is probable that the -animal kingdom, in all its vast range, presents no stranger method than -this of the propagation of species. - - - - -XVI - -CONCERNING SHARKS - - -Among the most fascinating of natural history studies, but withal one -of the most difficult, is that of the _Squalidæ_, or shark family. The -plodding perseverance of German professors has furnished students with -an elaborate classification of these singular creatures in all their -known genera, but of their habits little is really known. A mass of -fable has clustered round them, much of it surviving from very remote -times, and added to periodically by people who might, if they would, -know better. The reiteration of shark stories has in consequence -resulted in more ignorant prejudice against the really useful _squalus_ -than has perhaps fallen to the lot of any other animal, although most -observant people know how absurd are many of the popular beliefs about -much better known creatures. Strangely enough, the detestation in which -the shark is generally held is largely the fault of sea-farers. It -never seems to occur to shore-going folk how few are the opportunities -obtained by the ordinary sailor-man of studying the manners and -customs of the marine fauna. Merchant ships, even sailing vessels, must -“make a passage” in order to pay, and, except when unfortunate enough -to get becalmed for a long spell, are rarely in a position favourable -to close observation of deep-sea fishes and their ways. Men-of-war, -especially surveying ships, who spend much time in unfrequented waters, -and are often stationary for weeks at a time, are in a much better -plight, and give the eager student of marine natural history great -facilities for closely watching the sea-folk. Yet those are seldom -taken advantage of as they might be for the rectification of the -abundant errors that are to be found in books that deal in a popular -way with the life-histories of sea-monsters. The only class of mariners -who have had, so to speak, the home life of the sea-people completely -open to them, who for periods of time extending to three or four years -were in daily contact with the usually hidden sources of oceanic lore, -were the South Sea whalers, whose calling is now almost a thing of the -past. But even they wasted their invaluable privileges most recklessly, -the contributions which they have made to science being exceedingly -trivial. - -Thus it comes about that the very men who should have either verified -or disproved the really stupid stories current concerning sharks -have chosen instead to adopt them blindly, and have, therefore, for -centuries been guilty of the most revolting cruelty towards these -strange fish. In this connection it is interesting to note the remote -times in which shark legends arose. Aristotle, whose multifarious -researches extended into so many fields of knowledge, furnishes us with -almost the first recorded mention of the shark, and his designation -of them is perpetuated in the scientific nomenclature of a very -numerous species to-day, the _Lamiæ_. From another name for the same -creature πρίστις, we get _Pristiophoridæ_, or saw-fish, a curious -shark confounded by an enormous number of otherwise well-read people -with swordfish (_Xiphias_), which is really a huge mackerel with a -keen bony elongation of the upper jaw. Lycophron has recorded that -Hercules, in the course of his superhuman adventures, was swallowed -by a shark (Κάρχαρος), in whose maw he remained for three nights (why -not days as well?), thence being surnamed Trinox, or Trihesperides. -Theophrastus, pupil of Aristotle and Plato, observes that the Red Sea -abounds with sharks, a remark which is as true in our day as it was in -his. The Hercules myth was doubtless founded upon the reports of some -actual witnesses of the voracious habits of these insatiable monsters, -magnified and distorted, as most natural events were in those days, -by superstitious terror. Even down to the present year of grace most -people believe that quite a moderate-sized _squalus_ is capable of -swallowing a man entire, in spite of the abundant ocular evidence to -the contrary afforded them by the specimens in museums, whose jaws, -generally denuded of flesh, give a greater idea of their capacity -than is warranted by the living creature. It is refreshing to find, -however, that even in those dark ages for all kinds of animals such a -judicial writer as Plutarch speaks a good word for this universally -feared and detested fish. He says that in parental fondness, in suavity -and amiability of disposition, the shark is not excelled by any other -creature. Keen as is my desire to see tardy justice awarded to the -shark, I should hesitate to endorse the eminent Greek’s statement -as far as the last two qualities are concerned. My long and close -acquaintance with the _Squalidæ_ does not furnish me with any evidence -in their favour on either of these heads. But in parental affection -they are only equalled by the _Cetacea_, no other fish having, as far -as I am aware, any reluctance to devour its own offspring. Plutarch’s -testimony, however, speaks volumes for his powers of observation and -courage of his opinions, for verily in it he is _contra mundum_. -Oppian, having seen the body of a huge shark in the museum at Naples, -voices in his fifth _Halieutic_ the general feeling in his day by the -following remarkable outburst: “May the earth which I now feel under -me, and which has hitherto supplied my daily wants, receive, when I -yield it, my latest breath. Preserve me, O Jupiter! from such perils -as this, and be pleased to accept my offerings to thee from dry land. -May no thin plank interpose an uncertain protection between me and the -boisterous deep. Preserve me, O Neptune! from the terrors of the rising -storm, and may I not, as the surge dashes over the deck, be ever cast -out amidst the unseen perils that people the abyss. ’Twere punishment -enough for a mortal to be tossed about unsepulchred on the waves, but -to become the pasture of a fish, and to fill the foul maw of such a -ravenous monster as I now behold, would add tenfold to the horrors of -such a lot.” - -Olaus Magnus, upon whom we may always depend for something startling -and original both in prose and picture, exhibits to our wondering gaze -an agonised swimmer rising half out of the sea with three ravenous -dog-fish hanging to him as hounds to a stag. In the distance is a huge -ray or skate (one of the same family, by the by) with a human face, -intended probably for a kind of sea angel, towards which wondrous -apparition the despairing wretch stretches forth his appealing arms. -Coming down to mediæval times, Rondolet babbles of a shark, taken -at Marseilles, in whose stomach was discovered the body of a man in -complete armour, a tough morsel to swallow in more senses than one. -He also tells of a shark accidentally stranded near the same port -and lying upon the shore with mouth wide gaping. Into this inviting -portal there entered a man accompanied by a dog. The venturesome -pair roamed about the darksome cavern making all sorts of strange -discoveries, finally emerging into the outer air swelling with -importance at having accomplished so curious a feat. Enlarging upon -this most obvious “yarn,” the learned Dr. Badham gravely remarks that -it greatly strengthens the probability that the fish which swallowed -Jonah was a shark (_Piscis anthropophagus_), but that he is quite -certain it could not have been a whale, from the well-known smallness -of the latter’s gullet. Without commenting upon the Old Testament -story, there can be no doubt whatever that in the cachalot, or sperm -whale, we have a marine monster capable of swallowing Jonah and his -companions of Tarshish at a gulp--I had almost said ship and all, -such is the capacity of that vast cetacean’s throat. But Dr. Badham, -while posing as an eminent authority, further exposes his bountiful -want of acquaintance with his subject by observing that the liver of a -medium-sized shark will yield two tons and a half of oil! As it is a -huge shark that will scale that much altogether, he must have imagined -them to be even better supplied with liver than Mulvaney’s hepatic -Colonel--in fact, all liver and some over. - -A very favourite shark fable is to the effect that these fish prefer -negroes to Europeans as food. The inventor of this was probably Père -Labat, a mediæval French li--, I mean historian. After enlarging upon -it for awhile he proceeds to embellish it with the addition that -the shark prefers Englishmen to Frenchmen, because their flesh is -more sapid and juicy from being better nourished. That was probably -before the French acquired their reputation for cookery. Numberless -variants of this fantastic fable are extant, all, without exception, as -baseless as the original yarn from which they have lineally descended. -The annals of the slave-trade have, as might be expected, produced a -plentiful crop of shark stories, of which apparently only the untrue -ones survive. It may perhaps be true that the fiendish flesh dealers -on the “West Coast” really did surround themselves with a cordon of -slaves when they went bathing in the sea, having relays ready to supply -the places of those occasionally snatched away by the sharks. Highly -improbable though, since it would have been so expensive. Little doubt -can attach to the supposition that, with their instinct for offal so -marvellously developed as it is, great numbers of sharks followed -the slave-ships across the seas, from whose pestilential holds the -festering corpses were daily flung. But when Pennant tells us that -the slaving captains used to hang the body of a slave from yard-arm -or bowsprit-end that they might be amused by the spectacle of sharks -leaping twenty feet out of the sea and tearing the bodies to fragments, -he is stating that which is not only grotesquely untrue, but manifestly -absurd. Sharks do not leap out of water. In making this statement I am -liable to be contradicted, as I have been before in the columns of the -_Spectator_, but never, _nota bene_, except upon hearsay, or personal -evidence that had grave elements of doubt about it. Sharks can of -course raise their bodies _partly_ out of water by an upward rush, a -supreme effort rarely made by a naturally and habitually sluggish fish; -but, after an experience among many thousands of sharks under the most -varied conditions in all parts of the world where they abound, I repeat -emphatically that it is impossible for a shark to raise his entire body -out of water and seize anything suspended in the air. And anyone who -has carefully watched one shark seizing anything in the water or on the -surface will find it difficult to disagree with me. - -One more “authority” and we will get to firsthand facts. Sir Hans -Sloane, in a very particular account of the shark, remarkable in many -respects for its accuracy, perpetrates the following:--“It has several -ducts on the head filled with a sort of gelly, from which, being -pressed by the water, issues an unctuous, _viscid_, slippery, and -mucilaginous matter, very proper to make the fish very glib to sail the -readier through the water. Most fish have something analagous to this.” -That any fish should secrete a lubricant, at once unctuous and viscid, -for the purpose of accelerating its progress through the limpid element -in which it lives, would be curious indeed were such a contradictory -fact possible, but that Sir Hans Sloane should say so, when the -most cursory acquaintance with his subject would have shown him the -absurdity of such a statement, would be far stranger were it not for -the evidence afforded by the _Phil. Trans._ of the wildest flights of -imagination on the part of savants even down to comparatively recent -times. But probably enough space has been given to ancient fables about -the shark. - -The whole family of the _Squalidæ_, with the doubtful exceptions of -the saw-fish (_Pristiophoridæ_) and the _Raiidæ_, or skates, are -scavengers, eaters of offal. As such their functions, though humble, -are exceedingly useful and important; for although the myriads of -_Crustacea_ are scavengers pure and simple, their united efforts would -be ineffectual to keep the ocean breadths free from the pollution of -putrefying matter, since the vast majority of them dwell upon the -bottom of comparatively shallow waters. Now when the body of some -immense sea-monster, such as a whale, is bereft of life and rapidly -rots, it usually floats. Then the office of the sharks is at once -apparent. The only large fish that feeds upon garbage, they are -possessed of an enormous appetite, as well as a digestive apparatus -that would put to shame that of the ostrich, who is popularly credited -with a liking for such dainties as nails and broken glass for _hors -d’œuvres_. The shark is ever hungry, and nothing, living or dead, comes -amiss to his maw; but owing to the peculiar shape and position of his -mouth it is only in rare instances that he is able to catch living -prey, as, for instance, when the dog-fish of our coasts, a common -species of shark hated by fishermen, gets among the nets enclosing a -fine catch of herring or mackerel. Then the gluttonous rascal is in -for a good time. Heedless of the flimsy barrier of twine, he gorges -to bursting-point upon the impounded school, and usually concludes -his banquet by tearing great gaps in the net, incidentally allowing -the rest of the prisoners to escape. It is therefore hardly a matter -for surprise that the despoiled and exasperated toilers of the sea, -when they do succeed in capturing a dog-fish, should wreak summary -vengeance upon him by such fantastic mutilation as their heated fancy -suggests. They have also some curious ideas that the erratic antics -performed by a blind, finless, and broken-jawed dog-fish will frighten -away his congeners; and, as the shark is almost universally disdained -as food, this practice of dismembering them and returning them alive -to the sea, _pour encourager les autres_, seems to the fishermen an -eminently satisfactory one. Unfortunately for their theory, the fact -is, that supposing a sound and vigorous shark to meet with one of -his kind incapable of flight or fight, the hapless flounderer would -be promptly devoured by his relative, doubtless with the liveliest -gratification. The shark has no scruples or preferences. Whatever he -can get eatable (from his liberal point of view) he eats: of necessity, -since he bears within him so fierce a craving for food that he will -continue to devour even when disembowelled, until even his tremendous -vitality yields to such a wound as that. Hence his bad name as a -devourer of human flesh. An ordinary man in the water is, as a rule, -the most defenceless of animals; and even a strong swimmer is apt to -become paralysed with fear at the mere rumour of a shark being in his -vicinity. If there be no shelter near, his nerveless limbs refuse their -office, he floats or sinks with hardly a struggle, and the ravenous -_squalus_ finds in him not only an easy prey, but no doubt a most -savoury morsel. This is no reason for suggesting that the shark prefers -the flesh of _homo sapiens_ to all other provender. As I have already -said, his tastes are eclectic. Nay, it is highly doubtful whether he -has any sense of taste at all. All experiences point to the contrary, -for it is common knowledge that sharks will gobble up anything thrown -overboard from a ship, from a corpse swathed in canvas to a lump of -coal. This omnivorousness has been noticed in an able article published -in _Chambers’s Journal_ many years ago, the writer putting forward -as a plausible reason for it the number of parasites that infest -the stomachs of these fish. In this, however, they are by no means -singular, all fish harbouring a goodly number of these self-invited -boarders, the shark certainly entertaining no more than the average. - -The presence of any large quantity of easily obtainable food is always -sufficient to secure the undivided attention of the shark tribe. -When “cutting in,” whales at sea I have often been amazed at the -incredible numbers of these creatures that gather in a short space of -time, attracted by some mysterious means from heaven only knows what -remote distances. It has often occurred to us, when whaling in the -neighbourhood of New Zealand, to get a sperm whale alongside without a -sign of a shark below or a bird above. Within an hour from the time of -our securing the vast mass of flesh to the ship the whole area within -at least an acre has been alive with a seething multitude of sharks, -while from every airt came drifting silently an incalculable host of -sea-birds, converting the blue surface of the sea into the semblance of -a plain of new-fallen snow. The body of a whale before an incision is -made in the blubber presents a smooth rounded surface, almost as hard -as india-rubber, with apparently no spot where any daring eater could -find tooth-hold. But, oblivious of all else save that internal anguish -of desire, the ravening sea-wolves silently writhed in the density -of their hordes for a place at the bounteous feast. Occasionally one -pre-eminent among his fellows for enterprise would actually set his -lower jaw against the black roundness of the mighty carcass, and, -with a steady sinuous thrust of his lithe tail, gouge out therefrom a -mass of a hundredweight or so. If he managed to get away with it, the -space left presented a curious corrugated hollow, where the serrated -triangular teeth had worried their way through the tenacious substance, -telling plainly what vigorous force must have been behind them. But -it was seldom that we permitted such premature toll to be taken of -our spoil. The harpooners and officers from their lofty position on -the cutting stage slew scores upon scores by simply dropping their -keen-edged blubber spades upon the soft crowns of the struggling fish, -the only place where a shark is vulnerable to instant death. The weapon -sinks into the creature’s brain, he gives a convulsive writhe or two, -releases his hold and slowly sinks, followed in his descent by a knot -of his immediate neighbours, all anxious to provide him with prompt -sepulture within their own yearning maws. - -At such a time as this the presence of a man in the water, right in -the midst of the hungry host, passes unnoticed by them as long as he -is upon the surface and in motion. Among the islands, while engaged in -the “humpbacked” whale fishery, the natives were continually in and -out of the water alongside where the sharks swarmed innumerable, but -we never saw or heard of one being bitten. And some of _those_ sharks -were of the most enormous dimensions--approaching a length of thirty -feet and of a bulk almost equal to one of our whale-boats. With that -unerring instinct for spoil characteristic of the sharks, they begin to -congregate in these seas almost contemporaneously with an attack upon -a whale by whale-fishers. Now, one of the most frequent experiences -in this perilous trade is that of a “stove” boat, necessitating a -subsequent sojourn in the sea unprotected--sometimes for hours. Under -such circumstances--and they have many times fallen to my share--I -am free to confess that I have always had a curious feeling about my -legs as if they were much too long, and whenever anything touched -them a sympathetic thrill of apprehension would run up my spine; but -my legs are still of the usual length. Nor did I ever hear of a man -being attacked in the water at such times. In fact, it is an article of -faith with whalemen that sharks have sufficient intelligence to know -that the human hunters of the whale are busily providing a feast for -them, and that therefore a truce is then rigidly observed between them; -for, although the ravenous creatures cannot refrain from attempting -to sample the blubber _in situ_, their opportunity arrives when the -mountainous mass of reeking meat, stripped of its external coating of -fat, is cut adrift from the ship’s side and allowed to float away. -Then do they attack it in their thousands, and in an incredibly short -time reduce it to a cleanly picked skeleton, for even their prowess -is not equal to devouring the enormous framework of bone. But what -they are capable of in the way of feeding may be judged from the fact -that a humpbacked whale of about eighty tons in weight, which sank, -after we had killed him, in about ten fathoms of water and which we -were unable to raise for six hours for want of suitable gear, was so -reduced in size by the time we lifted him to the surface again as not -to be worth towing to the ship. In those latitudes, _i.e._ among the -South Pacific Islands, are, I believe, to be found the largest sharks -in the world, certainly the largest of those voracious kinds that so -ably fill the office of sea-scavengers. Very large specimens of the -basking shark, some nearly thirty feet long and of much greater girth -than the ordinary ones, have been found in our own seas, but these -unwieldy creatures are as harmless as whales, and quite as timid. There -is a very circumstantial account in _Nature_ of several years ago of a -curious shark caught at Taboga Island, Gulf of Panama, by the crew of -the Royal Italian corvette _Vettor Pisani_. When accurately measured -it was found to be 8.9 metres long, and its greatest girth 6.5 metres. -The mouth of this monster was at the point of its snout instead of -beneath it, but the teeth were rudimentary and covered with membrane. -So harmless was it that it afforded harbourage within its mouth to -several _Remora_, a curious hanger-on of the shark family, of whom more -presently. Dr. Günther classifies this very queer fish as _Rhinodon -typicus_. Sharks of the size I have mentioned as abounding in the South -Pacific have often seven rows of teeth ranked behind each other. Only -the first row were erect, the others lay flat as if ready to replace a -sudden loss of those in use. But, after watching their operations upon -pieces of “kreng,” I am bound to say that swallowing a man whole, even -by the largest of them, appears to me an utterly impossible feat. - -Another peculiarity of the shark is that their colossal bodies are -built upon a framework of cartilage, not bone. This may possibly -account for their complete recovery from the most fundamental -injuries. I once caught an eight-feet-long shark in the North Atlantic -whose appearance suggested nothing out of the common. But, having -a desire to make one of those useless articles dear to sailors, -a walking-stick of a shark’s backbone, I went to the trouble of -extracting the spine. I found to my amazement that in the middle of it -there was not only a solid mass of bone of over a foot long, but it was -at this place quite double the normal thickness. Further investigation -revealed the fact that at some period of his career this creature had -been transfixed by a harpoon which had torn out, nearly severing his -body in two halves. Several of the ribs were re-knit and thickened in -the same way. This splendid recuperative power renders the shark almost -invulnerable, except, as before noticed, to a direct severing of the -brain, or such a radical dismemberment as lopping off the tail. - -Slothfulness is a distinctive feature of all the sharks. They are able -to put on a spurt at times, but want of energy characterises them all. -This habit reaches its climax in the _Remora_, to which allusion has -already been made. As if in pursuance of a widely held opinion that -lazy people are the most prolific inventors, this small _squalus_ has -evolved an arrangement on the top of his head whereby he can attach -himself to any floating body and be carried along without effort on -his part. All the functions are easily performed during attachment, -and nothing short of doing damage to the fish will dislodge him. -It is fairly well known that the Chinese and East African folk have -utilised the _Remora_ for catching turtle in a most ingenious way. -More energetic than any other sharks are the saw-fish, whose snouts -are prolonged into a broad blade of cartilage, which is horizontal -when the fish is swimming in a normal position, and has both its edges -set with slightly curved teeth about an inch apart. The end of this -formidable-looking weapon is blunt and comparatively soft, so that it -is quite incapable of the feats popularly attributed to it of piercing -whales’ bodies, ships’ timbers, etc. It attacks other fish by a swift -lateral thrust of the saw beneath them, the keen edge disembowelling -them. Then it feeds upon the soft entrails, which are apparently the -only food it can eat, from the peculiar shape of its mouth. It has an -enormous number of small teeth, sometimes as many as fifty rows in one -individual, but they are evidently unfit for the rough duties required -of teeth by the garbage-eating members of the family. - -Another peculiarity which differentiates the _Squalidæ_ from all other -fish, and would seem to link them with the mammalia, is the way in -which they produce their young. But here arise such diversities as to -puzzle the student greatly; for some sharks are viviparous, bearing -fifteen sharklets at once, that play about the mother in the liveliest -manner, and are cared for by her with the utmost solicitude. At the -approach of danger they all rush to the parent and hurry down her -throat, hiding in some snug chamber till their alarm has subsided, -when they emerge again and immediately recommence their gambols. The -pretty little blue and gold _Caranx_ (pilot-fish) that is so faithful -a friend and companion to the shark also hides at times in the same -capacious retreat. That this is a fact cannot be disputed, since sharks -have often been caught and cut open, and the lively prisoners taken -from within. Upon several occasions I have witnessed this, and I once -kept a family of a dozen for over a week in a tub of water, feeding -them on scraps, until some busybody gave them to the cat and made -her very unwell. I have also seen the young ones and the pilot left -behind when a shark has been caught, their frantic leapings upward at -their departing protector being quite a moving sight. Other sharks are -ovoviviparous, laying eggs over the hatching of which they watch and -afterwards care for the young as tenderly as do the others. Another -species pack their eggs in a sort of pouch as the skates do. This -envelope contains all the nourishment necessary to the well-being of -the young until they are able to provide for themselves, but the parent -has no further concern with them. As instances of the intelligence -of the shark many well-authenticated stories might be told did space -permit, but two must suffice. While lying in the harbour of Tamatave -every device we could conceive was put in practice in order to catch -some of the sharks with which those waters abounded, but none were -successful, for they carefully avoided all bait attached to lines -strong enough to hold them. And the well-known habit of the “thresher” -shark (_Alopecias vulpes_), of hunting with the killer-whale (_Orca -gladiator_), assisting these furies to destroy a whale and afterwards -amicably dividing the spoil with them, has been enlarged upon many -times. Its absolute certainty does not admit of a doubt. - - - - -XVII - -FLYING-FISH CATCHING AT BARBADOS - - -Among the many divers methods of garnering the harvest of the sea, -one of the most interesting and peculiar is the _Exocetus_ fishery -of Barbados. Notwithstanding the incredible numbers of Flying-fish -(_Exocetus volitans_) that crowd every tropical sea, Barbados is the -only place where a systematic fishery of them has ever been established -for commercial purposes. This is the more strange when the ease with -which they may be taken, and the pleasant conditions under which the -fishery is carried on, is considered, while the succulent delicacy of -the fish is certainly a thing to remember. Familiar as the appearance -of these wonderful little creatures is to ocean travellers, very -little is generally known with regard to their habits, haunts, and -mode of life. They are usually the recipients of much misspent pity. -Relentlessly pursued by the albacore, bonito, and dolphin, they seek -the air in shoals, only to be gaily annexed by hovering birds, or to -fall gasping upon the deck of some passing ship. Their fate seems -a hard one; but who pities their prey? They in their turn pursue as -relentlessly and persecute as ruthlessly the smaller fish; and so the -balance is held as truly as nature ever holds it where man does not -interfere. - -The most common and widely distributed variety of the flying-fish is -_E. volitans_, whose range is world-wide between the limits of about -thirty-five degrees north and thirty degrees south, though they are -most plentifully found within the tropics. They are usually from six to -twelve inches in length, body nearly quadrangular, colour of the head -and back blue, abdomen silvery, lower lobe of the tail one-half longer -than the upper. Some have no teeth, while others are well furnished; -and naturalists are unable to agree as to whether they are different -varieties, as they are in all other respects identical. The pectoral -fins, or wings as they might well be called, are nearly as long as the -fish, folding neatly and compactly into the sides of the body while the -fish is in the water. The ventral fins are small in this species, and -do not appear to be used as wings, merely serving to balance and guide -the fish in the air. A very common error made in natural histories -where this fish is mentioned is in the statement that it does not fly. -“Its supposed flight is nothing more than a prolonged leap; it cannot -deviate from a straight line, and cannot rise a second time without -entering the water.” This, briefly, is the sort of thing one meets -with in text-books where reference is made to this fish. - -The simplest way of dealing with it is the Professor’s method of -answering the query of the French Academy whether their definition of -a crab was correct. The story is so well known that it does not need -repetition. As the result of personal observation extending over a -good many years, I assert that the Exocetus _does fly_. I have often -seen a flying-fish rise two hundred yards off, describe a semicircle, -and meeting the ship, rise twenty feet in the air, perpendicularly, -at the same time darting off at right angles to its previous course. -Then, after another long flight, when just about to enter the water, -the gaping jaws of a dolphin emerging from the sea gave it pause, and -it rose again, returning almost directly upon its former course. This -procedure is so common, that it is a marvel it has not been more widely -noticed. A flying-fish of mature size can fly a thousand yards. It does -not flap its fins as a bird, but they vibrate, like the wings of an -insect, with a distinct hum. The only thing which terminates its flight -involuntarily is the drying of its fin membranes, and their consequent -stiffening. - -A marvellous provision of nature is apparent in the economy of this -fish. Its swim-bladder can be inflated so as to occupy the whole cavity -of the abdomen. Another membrane in the mouth is inflated through -the gills. These two reservoirs of air form an excellent substitute -for the air-cells within the bones of birds, and have the additional -advantage of being voluntary in their action. - -The only other species of flying-fish which is sufficiently distinct -to call for notice is _E. nigricans_, locally known as ‘Guineamen.’ -They often exceed eighteen inches in length, and weigh two or three -pounds. In these the ventral fins are also very large, giving the fish -the appearance of a huge dragon-fly as it darts through the lucent air. -The markings of the body are black instead of blue, while the fins are -black with a transverse band of silver. - -Another strange thing about the natural histories that I have been -able to consult is that no idea seems to be formed of where and how -these fish spawn. Being met with all over the ocean, where its profound -depth precludes all idea of their visiting the bottom, the locality of -their breeding-places has puzzled the savants. There can, however, be -no doubt that they deposit their ova in the massive banks of _Sargasso -bacciferum_, or Gulf-weed, which is met with in such vast quantities -as to impede a vessel’s progress through it. Through the pleasant -groves and avenues of these floating forests, the young fry in millions -disport in comparative security, while finding abundant food among the -myriad lower forms of life that abound there. Of course, this remark -can only apply to the Atlantic. Not having had opportunities enough of -observation, I am unable to say where they spawn in the other oceans -they frequent. On the coral reefs of the Leeward Islands and the sandy -cays of the Caribbean Sea, I have often amused myself by catching the -young fry thrown up with piles of Gulf-weed on the beach, and seen -masses of the spawn, like huge bunches of white currants, entangled -among its close-knit fronds. - -Barbados, situated in the heart of the north-east Trades, is one of -the favourite haunts of the flying-fish. Its steep shore-lines afford -the blue depths which the flying-fish loves, and permit it to range -very near to land. Thus the fishermen rarely go more than ten or -twelve miles from home. When this industry was first commenced by the -Barbadians, or what led to its establishment, I have been unable to -discover; but it certainly has been for many years the mainstay of a -large part of the population, and the source whence the most popular -food known on the island is derived. There are (or were) about two -hundred boats engaged in the fishery. Nowise notable for grace of form -or elegance of rig, they are substantial undecked vessels, of from five -to fifteen tons capacity, built in the roughest manner, and furnished -in the most primitive way. The motive power is a gaff-mainsail and -jib, and a couple of sweeps for calms. They are painted a light blue, -as nearly approaching the hue of the sea as may be, and every care is -taken to make them noiseless. - -The fleet leaves the “canash” (harbour) before daybreak, each skipper -taking his own bearings, and making for the spot which he thinks -will furnish the best results. As the gorgeous tropical dawn awakes, -the boats’ peaks are drooped, luffs of sails are hauled up, and the -fishermen get to business. The tackle used is of the simplest kind. A -wooden hoop three feet in diameter, to which is attached a shallow net -with inch meshes; a bucketful of--well, not to put too fine a point on -it--stinking fish; a few good lines and hooks, and a set of granes, -form the complete lay-out. The fishermen are of all shades, from a deep -rich ebony upwards, by fine gradations, to the cadaverous white so -common in the island. Their simple fishing costume is usually one sole -garment--the humble flour or potato sack of commerce, with holes cut in -the bottom and sides, through which to thrust head and arms. - -As soon as the boat is hove-to and her way stopped, the usual exuberant -spirits and hilarious laughter are put and kept under strong restraint, -for a single sound will often scare away all fish in the vicinity, -and no more be seen that day. The fisherman leans far over the boat’s -side, holding the hoop diagonally in one hand. The other hand, holding -one of the malodorous fish before mentioned, is dipped into the sea, -and the bait squeezed into minute fragments. This answers a double -purpose--it attracts the fish; and the exuding oil forms a “sleek” or -glassy surface all around, through which one can see to a great depth. -Presently, sundry black specks appear far down; they grow larger and -more numerous, and the motionless black man hanging over the gunwale -scarcely breathes. As soon as a sufficient number are gathered, he -gently sweeps the net downwards and towards the boat withal, bringing -it to the surface by drawing it up against the side. Often it will -contain as many fish as a man can lift; but so quietly and swiftly -is the operation performed, that the school is not startled, and it -very often happens that a boat is filled (that is, seven or eight -thousand fish) from one school. More frequently, however, the slightest -noise, even a passing shadow, will alarm the school; there is a flash -of silvery light, and the water is clear, not a speck to be seen. -Sometimes the fleet will return with not one thousand fish among them, -when prices will range very high, until next day, when, with fifty or -sixty boats bringing five or six thousand each, a penny will purchase a -dozen. - -Occasionally, in the midst of a good spell of fishing, the school -will vanish, and a crowd of dolphin, albacore, or bonito make their -appearance. Then the sport changes its character. Lines are hastily -unrolled, a living flying-fish is impaled on the hook and trolled -astern, seldom failing to allure an albacore or some other large fish, -varying perhaps from twenty to two hundred pounds weight. On one -occasion, when I had the pleasure of a cruise in one of the boats, -we had very poor sport with the flying-fish, only taking about five -hundred by noon. Suddenly the few that had been feeding quietly -around us fled in all directions, breaking the water with a sound -like a sudden rain-storm, and we were aware of the presence of a huge -albacore. The skipper shouted gleefully: “By king, sah, him de bigges’ -albacore in de whol’ worl’.” He certainly was a monster; but there was -little time to admire his proportions. He promptly seized our bait; -and the fun commenced. For over an hour this giant mackerel towed us -where he would; and when for a moment the pace slackened and we touched -the line, he was off again as hard as ever. Right through the fleet he -towed us, and finally yielded to our united efforts in the middle of -Carlisle Bay, amongst the shipping. We could not hoist him on board, -and so had recourse to the expedient of passing a double bight of the -line round his tail and towing him into the harbour. Great was the -excitement on the quay, and willing hands not a few worked the crane -wherewith we lifted him. He scaled four hundred and seventy pounds, -the heaviest albacore on record in Barbados. Peddled around the town, -he realised a much larger sum than a boat-load of flying-fish would -have done; and so the sable skipper was well content with his morning’s -work. - - - - -XVIII - -UNCONVENTIONAL FISHING - - -Enthusiastic anglers have, I believe, been heard to declare with -emphasis that they would rather catch no fish at all than return with -a full creel inveigled in an “unsportsmanlike” way. Of course, ideas -of what constitutes sport vary almost with the individual, since like -the rubric--(with red edges, please)--sporting canons are susceptible -of private interpretation. But if the ultimate object of fishing be -the gratification of catching fish, my stupidity baulks at the notion -of an angler, enthusiastic or stolid, preferring to be unsuccessful -rather than to succeed by the exercise of a little personal ingenuity, -whether it be unconventional or canonical. What can be more pathetic, -for instance, than to see a perfectly-equipped sportsman, whose outfit -has made a terrible hole in a £20 note, watching with simulated -indifference outwardly, but black envy clawing his liver, some grimy -urchin with string and stick grassing fish after fish, while he is -unable to get a rise? Perhaps, however, my point of view is unfair, -because one-sided. For while it has many hundreds of times been my -lot to either catch some fish or go without a meal, which certainly -quickened my interest in the sport, I have seldom had the pleasure of -fishing merely for amusement. Although never a professional fisherman, -and therefore a hater of nets as reducing the joy or success to the -level of scavenging, I have from a very early age, and in nearly every -part of the world washed by the sea, taken a hand at fishing from deep -personal motives, and always on unconventional lines. - -My first introduction to the stern delights of sea-fishing was in a -Jamaican harbour when I was thirteen years old. Having been shipwrecked -I was for the time by way of being a juvenile beachcomber, but I had -plenty of good-natured darky chums. Four of them took me out one day -in their canoe barracouta-fishing. Now this fish is a sort of sea-pike -which sometimes reaches four feet in length, and for his fierceness -is more dreaded in the West Indies by bathers than the much maligned -shark. His principal food is small fish, although he is not dainty. -In order to imitate as nearly as possible the flight of his usual -prey, it is customary for four darkies to man a canoe, get well out -to sea during the early morning calm, and then paddle furiously for a -few hundred yards at a time, towing a small mackerel at the end of a -stout line. On this occasion I held the line. I thought it glorious -fun; but suddenly I saw a bar of silver leap into the air, followed -instanter by my sudden exit from the canoe. I had a turn of the line -round my hand, a trick of inexperience. There was a good deal of noise -and excitement, during which the dugout capsized and spilled her crew -around, while the big fish did his best to tow the light craft away -from us; but in some mysterious scrambling fashion we all embarked -again. By this time the ’couter was very tired, allowing us to haul -him up alongside and take him aboard quite peaceably. Then hey for the -beach, borrow a truck, and peddle the prize around town at so much a -pound. But they wouldn’t take me any more. - -A good deal of promiscuous fishing of an unsatisfactory kind was added -to my youthful experiences before I reached home, some of it only to be -recalled with many pangs. After a long, weary pull in the sweltering, -tropical evenings, to drop upon some ghoulish reef-spur and break hook -after hook in the rugged coral branches until no more remained, and we -must needs return hungry and dispirited--these are not pleasant things -to remember. But the following year I made my first long voyage, and -on the passage out got an experience that makes my finger-tips tingle -to-day. With envious eyes I had watched the mate, as from the end of -the flying jibboom he had vainly tried to cozen some bonito (a sort of -exaggerated mackerel) that were accompanying the ship into the belief -that a shred of white rag with which he was flicking the water was a -flying-fish. Naturally, I burned to show that I could succeed, and no -sooner had he come in to take the sun than I was out along the boom -like a rat to take his place. There was a fresh breeze blowing, and -as the ship heeled and plunged the line blew far away to leeward in -a graceful curve which only permitted the rag to touch the wave-tops -occasionally. I trembled so with excitement that I could not have kept -my perch, but that my legs were jammed in between the jib guys and the -boom. I had not been there more than five minutes when a splendid fish -sprang twenty feet into the air and swallowed my bait on the wing. I -hauled for dear life, scarcely daring to look below where my prize -hung dangling, a weight I could only just manage to pull up. But I -succeeded at last, and grabbed him to my panting breast. There wasn’t -time to get scared at the contract I had on my hands; I just hung on -while his tremendous vibrations benumbed my body so that I could not -even feel that he was actually chafing all the skin off my ribs. At -last, feeling my strength almost gone, I plunged him into the folds -of the flying-jib, which was furled on the boom, and laid on him. In -this way I succeeded in overcoming his reluctance to stay with me, -and eventually I bore him on board in triumph, not even dashed by the -effective ropes-ending I got for soaking the jib in blood from head to -tack. After that memorable capture I was simply crazed with fishing. -Even in calms, when predatory fish such as dolphin, barracouta, bonito, -or albacore hang around listlessly and are considered quite uncatchable -by seamen generally, I have managed to deceive them and obtain that -great desideratum, a fresh mess for all hands. But coming home round -the Cape, when in the strength of the Agulhas current, the wind failed, -and the mate got out the deep-sea lead-line. In orthodox fashion we -passed it forrard and dropped the long plummet into the dark depths, -with two or three stout hooks, baited with lumps of fat pork, fastened -to it. When we hauled it in each hook was burdened with a magnificent -cod, and a scene of wild excitement ensued. All the watch improvised -tackle of some kind--a piece of hambro’ line, a marlinespike for -sinker, and one hook was the usual outfit--and in a couple of hours the -deck was like Billingsgate. All sorts and conditions of fish apparently -lived down there, and all most accommodating in their appetite. - -In Manila Bay the natives taught me how to catch a delicious fish like -a more symmetrical John Dory, with a most delicate line of twisted -grass and a tiny hook. The bait was rice, boiled to a paste; and so -successful was I that all hands enjoyed a hearty supper of fish every -evening, being the only crew in the harbour where such a thing was -known. On that passage home, however, I caught a Tartar. I was fishing -off the boom for bonito, when suddenly the school closed up into -a compact body and fled. I thought it strange, but went on playing -my bait. Suddenly out of the cool shade beneath the ship rushed an -albacore, grabbing my bait before I had time to lift it out of his -way. He wasn’t very large for his kind, but my gracious, he was all I -wanted. I actually tried to haul him up at first, but I couldn’t begin -to lift him; so I was fain to play him until we were both exhausted. He -was eventually secured at last by the simple expedient of lowering a -man overside who slipped a bowline round him, by which he was hoisted -on board. He weighed 120 lb., but seemed as strong as a buffalo. Some -years after, when out flying-fishing in Barbados one morning, we hooked -an albacore that towed our boat, a 5-tonner, for over six miles before -he gave in. We towed him alongside into the carenage and had him -hoisted on to the wharf by a crane. He weighed 470 lb. The albacore is -almost, if not quite, identical with the tunny of the Mediterranean and -the tuna of California, and anybody who thirsts for greater sport than -the noblest salmon can give, or even the magnificent tarpon, should try -what the tuna can do for them. - -But of all the queer fish I ever caught, one that I came across in -Tonala River, Mexico, was the strangest. It was just inside the bar, -and I had been sailing the boat smartly to and fro, catching a kind of -caranx that loves a fleeting silvery bait. Sport becoming quiet, and -wind falling, I packed about a pound of fish on my largest hook and -let it trail while I smoked the cigarito of laziness. I hoped to get -a good-sized fish in this way before returning on board. Suddenly my -line tautened out, zip, zip--this was no ordinary fish. After about -twenty minutes of thoroughly exhausting work I caught sight of a dirty, -brownish mass away down under water. Redoubling my efforts, up came my -fish--an alligator ten feet long. He looked perfectly devilish, and for -the moment I was really scared. Hooks were scarce, however, so calling -upon the darky with me to stand by with a running bowline, I hauled -away till I got his hideous snout up out of the water, which I doubt -whether I should have done but that he came for me with a rush at the -last. Joe dropped the noose over his upper jaw most neatly, getting -it tightened between his ugly yellow teeth so that he couldn’t bite -it. Just then a breeze sprang up, and making the rope fast to a thwart -we kept away for the ship, the great saurian’s jaws banging against -the boat’s planks and ripping large splinters out of them. We got him -aboard safely, to find “he” was a female, with over a bushel of eggs in -her body and a strange collection of rubbish in her stomach. - - - - -XIX - -DEVIL-FISH - - -Among such primitive peoples as still survive, not the least curious -or notable trait which universally obtains is the manner in which all -things uncanny, or which they are unable to comprehend, are by common -consent ascribed to the Devil. Not to _a_ devil as one of a host, -but _the_ Devil _par excellence_, as though they understood him to -be definable only as the master and originator of whatsoever things -are terrifying, incomprehensible, or cruel. Many eminent writers -have copiously enriched our literature by their researches into this -all-prevailing peculiarity, so that the subject has, on the whole, been -well threshed out, and it is merely alluded to _en passant_ as one of -the chief reasons for the epithet which forms the title of this chapter. - -Now it will doubtless be readily admitted that sea-folk retain, even -among highly civilised nations, their old-world habits of thought -and expression longer than any other branch of the population. This -can scarcely be wondered at, since to all of us, even the least -imaginative, the eternal mystery of the ocean appeals with thrilling -and ever-fresh effect every time that we come into close personal -relations with it. - -But when those whose daily bread depends upon their constant struggle -with the mighty marine forces, who are familiar with so many of its -marvels, and saturated with the awe-inspiring solemnity which is the -chief characteristic of the sea, are in the course of their avocations -brought suddenly in contact with some seldom-seen visitor of horrent -aspect arising from the gloomy unknown depths, with one accord they -speak of the monster as a “devil-fish,” and the name never fails to -adhere. - -So that there is, not one species of devil-fish, but several, each -peculiar to some different part of the world, and inspiring its own -special terror in the hearts of mariners of many nations. Of the -Devil-fish that we in this country hear most about, and have indelibly -portrayed for us by Victor Hugo, the octopus, so much has been written -and said that it is not necessary now to do much more than make -passing allusion to the family. But the Cephalopoda embrace so vast -a variety that it seems hardly fair to single out of them all the -comparatively harmless octopus for opprobrium, while leaving severely -unmentioned the gigantic _onychoteuthis_ of the deep sea, to say -nothing of many intermediate cuttle-fish. From the enormous mollusc -just mentioned--which is, not unreasonably, credited by seamen with -being the largest fish in the ocean--to the tiny loligo, upon which -nearly all deep-water fish feed, hideousness is their prevailing -feature, and truly appalling of aspect some of the larger ones are, -while their omnivorous voracity makes them veritable sea-scavengers, to -whom nothing comes amiss, alive or dead. And while having no intention -to underrate the claims of the octopus to his diabolical prænomen -on account of his slimy ugliness and unquenchable ferocity, I feel -constrained to put in a word for that little-known horror of the deep, -the ten-armed cuttle-fish, which, like some fearful creation of a -diseased brain, broods over the dark and silent profundities of ocean, -extending his far-reaching tentacles through an immense area, touching -nothing living to which they do not cling with an embrace that never -relaxes until the victim is safely deposited within the crushing clutch -of the great parrot-like mandibles guarding the entrance to that vast -and never-to-be satisfied stomach. Nothing that the morbid imagination -of man has ever pictured can surpass in awful appearance the reality of -this dire chimæra, which, notwithstanding, has undoubtedly an important -part to play in the mysterious economy of the sea. “He dwelleth in the -thick darkness”; for, not content with the natural gloom of his abode, -he diffuses around him a cloud of sepia, which bewilders and blinds his -victims, rendering them an easy prey to the never-resting tentacles -which writhe through the mirk, ready at a touch to hold whatever is -there, be it small or great. - -But the strangest fact connected with this mighty mollusc is, that -while from the earliest dawn of literature numberless allusions more or -less tinged with imagination have been made to it, modern science has -only very recently made up its mind to accept as a fact its existence -at all. So many indisputable proofs have, however, been forthcoming -of late years, both as to the size and structure of the gigantic -cuttle-fish, that it has now taken its place among the verities of -natural history as indisputably as the elephant or the tiger. It -has also been firmly established that the sperm whale or cachalot -(_Physeter macrocephalus_) finds his principal, if not his only, food -in these huge gelatinous masses while ranging the middle depths of the -ocean, and that their appearance on the sea surface is generally due to -this whale’s aggression. - -To pass on, however, to a much less known “devil-fish.” In the long -fish gallery at the splendid Natural History Museum at South Kensington -there is a small specimen, some eighteen inches across, of a fish whose -habitat is the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea. - -There it attains enormous proportions, and is, not without reason, -known to all the frequenters of those waters as the “devil-fish.” -When a youngster I was homeward bound from Sant’ Ana with a cargo of -mahogany, and when off Cape Campèche was one calm afternoon leaning -over the taffrail, looking down into the blue profound, on the watch -for fish. A gloomy shade came over the bright water, and up rose a -fearsome monster some eighteen feet across, and in general outline more -like a skate or ray than anything else, all except the head. There, -what appeared to be two curling horns about three feet apart rose one -on each side of the most horrible pair of eyes imaginable. A shark’s -eyes as he turns sideways under your vessel’s counter and looks up -to see if any one is coming are ghastly, green, and cruel; but this -thing’s eyes were all these and much more. I felt that the Book of -Revelation was incomplete without him, and his gaze haunts me yet. -Although quite sick and giddy at the sight of such a bogey, I could not -move until the awful thing, suddenly waving what seemed like mighty -wings, soared up out of the water soundlessly to a height of about six -feet, falling again with a thunderous splash that might have been heard -for miles. I must have fainted with fright, for the next thing I was -conscious of was awakening under the rough doctoring of my shipmates. -Since then I have never seen one leap upward in the daytime. At night, -when there is no wind, the sonorous splash is constantly to be heard, -although why they make that bat-like leap out of their proper element -is not easy to understand. It does not seem possible to believe such -awe-inspiring horrors capable of playful gambolling. - -At another time, while mate of a barque loading in the Tonala River, -one of the Mexican mahogany ports, I was fishing one evening from the -vessel’s deck with a very stout line and hook for large fish. - -A prowling devil-fish picked up my bait, and feeling the hook, as I -suppose, sprang out of water with it. I am almost ashamed to say that -I made no attempt to secure the thing, which was a comparatively small -specimen, but allowed it to amuse itself, until, to my great relief, -the hook broke, and I recovered the use of my line, my evening’s sport -quite spoiled. - -These ugly monsters have as yet no commercial value, although from -their vast extent of flat surface they might be found worthy of -attention for their skins, which should make very excellent shagreen. A -closer acquaintance with them would also most probably divest them of -much of the terror in which they are held at present. - -Another widely known and feared devil-fish has its headquarters in the -Northern Pacific, mostly along the American coast, especially affecting -the Gulf of California. This huge creature is a mammal, one of the -great whale family, really a rorqual of medium size and moderate yield -of oil. Like the rest of this much-detested and shunned (by whalers) -branch of the Cetacea, it carries but a tiny fringe of valueless -whalebone, and therefore, as compared with the sperm and “right” -whales, its value is small. Yet at certain seasons of the year the -American whaleships often think it worth their while to spend a month -or so bay-whaling in some quiet inlet unknown to, and uncared for by, -the bustling merchantman. - -In these secluded spots the California devil-fish, mussel-digger, -grey-back, and several other aliases not fit for publication, but all -showing how the object of them is esteemed by his neighbours, may -sometimes be taken at a disadvantage, the cows languid just before or -after parturition, and the bulls who escort them too intent upon their -loves to be as wily as is their wont. - -But only the _élite_ of the Yankee whalemen, dexterous and daring as -are all the tribe, can hope to get “to windward,” of the diabolically -cunning giants whom they abuse with such fluent and frequent flow of -picturesque profanity. It is a peculiar characteristic of this animal -that it seems ever on the alert, scarcely exposing for one moment its -broad back above the sea-surface when rising to spout, and generally -travelling, unlike all its congeners, not upon, but a few feet below, -the water. For this reason, and in this fishery alone, the whalers arm -themselves with iron-shafted harpoons, in order to strike with greater -force and certainty of direction a whale some distance beneath the -surface. A standing order, too, among them is never by any chance to -injure a calf while the mother lives, since such an act exposes all and -sundry near the spot to imminent and violent death. - -Neglect of this most necessary precaution, or more probably accident, -once brought about a calamity that befell a fleet of thirteen American -whaleships which had been engaged in the “bowhead” fishery among the -ice-floes of the Arctic Pacific. In order to waste no time, they -came south when winter set in, and by common consent rendezvoused in -Margharita Bay, Lower California, for a month or two’s “devil-fishing.” - -The whales were exceedingly abundant that season, and all the ships -were soon busy with as much blubber as they could manage. The ease with -which the whales were being obtained, however, led to considerable -carelessness and forgetfulness of the fact that the whale never -changes its habits. One bright morning, about three weeks after the -opening of the season, the whole flotilla of fifty-two boats, four -from each ship, had been lowered and were making their way as rapidly -as possible to the outlying parts of the great bay, keeping a bright -look-out for “fish.” Spreading out fan-wise, they were getting more and -more scattered, when about the centre of the fleet some one suddenly -“struck” and got fast to a fish. But hardly had the intimation been -given when something very like panic seized upon the crowd. In a moment -or two the reason was apparent. From some cause, never definitely -known, a harpooner had in striking at a large cow whale transfixed her -calf at her side with his harpoon, killing it immediately. The mother, -having quietly satisfied herself that her offspring was really dead, -turned upon her aggressors like a veritable demon of destruction, and, -while carefully avoiding exposure of her body to attack, simply spread -devastation among the flotilla. Whenever she rose to the surface, it -was but for a second, to emit an expiration like the hiss of a lifting -safety-valve, and almost always to destroy a boat or complete the -destruction of one already hopelessly damaged. - -Every blow was dealt with an accuracy and appearance of premeditation -that filled the superstitious Portuguese, who formed a good half of -the crews, with dismay--the more so that many of them could only guess -at the original cause of what was really going on. The speed of the -monster was so great, that her almost simultaneous appearance at points -widely separated made her seem ubiquitous; and as she gave no chance -whatever for a blow, it certainly looked as if all the boats would be -destroyed _seriatim_. Not content with dealing one tremendous blow at a -boat and reducing it at once to a bundle of loose boards, she renewed -her attentions again and again to the wreckage, as if determined that -the destruction should be complete. - -Utter demoralisation had seized even the veterans, and escape was the -only thought governing all action. But the distance to shore was great, -and the persistence and vigour of the furious leviathan, so far from -diminishing, seemed to increase as the terrible work went on. At last -two boats did succeed in reaching the beach at a point where it sloped -very gradually. The crews had hardly leaped overboard, to run their -craft up high and dry, when close behind them in the shallows foamed -and rolled their relentless enemy, just too late to reach them. Out -of the large number of well-equipped boats that left the ships that -morning, only these two escaped undamaged, and the loss of the season’s -work was irremediable. Over fifty men were badly injured, and six, -one of whom was the unhappy origin of the whole trouble, were killed -outright. The triumphant avenger of her slain offspring disappeared as -silently as she had carried on her deadly warfare, as far as could be -known unhurt, and with an accumulated hoard of experience that would, -if possible, render her more of a “devil” to any unsuspecting whalemen -who should hereafter have the misfortune to meet with and attack her -than she had proved herself to be already. - -Dejected and crippled, the fleet lost no time in getting away from the -spot and fleeing north to San Francisco, there to refit for other and -more profitable fishing grounds. - -There are a great many “ower-true” tales told of the prowess of this -wily creature, but the selection that I have made will doubtless -suffice for a fair specimen of what the California “devil-fish” is -capable of when opportunity arises. - -The volatile and tuneful negroes of the West India islands have their -own peculiar “devil-fish,” but in this case there is nothing diabolical -in the appearance or vast in the size of the creature. It is, indeed, -a very well-known fish in most tropical waters, and must from its -habits and appearance be closely allied to the hake and pike. Among -seamen generally it is well known as the barracouta, and is especially -plentiful around the New Zealand coast, where a few hours of the -peculiar fishing practised by the Maories will generally reward the -fisherman with a gross or so of fish averaging 10 to 12 lb. each. - -It is among the Leeward Islands, however, that the barracouta attains -his largest dimensions, and has inspired the fishermen and boatmen with -such dread of him that, while they hold the universally feared shark in -supreme contempt, the mere rumour of a “devil-fish” anywhere in their -vicinity will bring every nigger within hail scrambling out of the -water in double-quick time. - -Whether rightly or wrongly, I have never been able to ascertain by -personal observation, but undoubtedly the fact is that the barracouta -is credited with an infernal propensity for inflicting a nameless -mutilation upon any human being unfortunate enough to get within reach -of him. He is long and narrow, blue-black above, with a silvery-grey -belly, and swift as an arrow. His lower jaw is considerably longer than -the upper, and both are armed with teeth, almost exactly like those -of a dog. From this configuration of the jaws it is unnecessary for -the barracouta to turn on its back, like the shark, when he comes for -you. Silent, straight, swift, and almost invisible in those dark-blue -waters, the first intimation of his presence is often the fatal snap -of those lethal jaws, which leaves the hapless victim beyond hope of -recovery. - -Before quitting this portion of the subject a passing reference may -be permitted to a very disheartening occurrence due to the predatory -habits of these fish. At great cost some public-spirited individuals -had stocked the upper reaches of the pretty river Clutha in Otago, -New Zealand, with salmon-fry from ova imported from England. The -incipient salmon flourished until in the course of natural development -they reached the “parr” stage of their career. Then in an evil hour -they journeyed seawards until they reached the estuary of the river. -A school of barracouta had just previously crossed the bar from the -sea, and in their search for living food happened upon the toothsome -innocents from the secure spawning-beds above. Long did the patient -watchers up-country wait, but never more did one of those youthful -salmon return to them. All the money spent was wasted, and all the high -hopes of a plentiful supply of indigenous salmon were frustrated for -years. - -There are, of course, many other marine monstrosities to which with -more or less show of reason the satanic epithet has been applied; but -they are very little known or noticed, except within certain narrow -limits. Probably enough has been said to justify simple savages and -almost equally simple-minded seamen in bestowing upon the creatures of -their dread a name which to them embodies all they are able to conceive -of pitiless cruelty, unquenchable ferocity, and unmatchable cunning. - - - - -XX - -OF TURTLE - - -By popular consent the rash act of the daring man who first devoured -an oyster has been greatly extolled, but what meed of praise should be -awarded to that dim and distant discoverer who first essayed to break -into and devour the flesh of the armour-clad tortoise or turtle? All -unarmed as he doubtless must have been, except for spear of chipped -flint or charred stick, the mere entry within the _domus_ of the -reptile, even by way of the leathery neck or flank, must have been no -easy feat. - -But, once having tasted such good meat, how rapidly the news must have -been spread by our friend! Here was a banquet indeed, ready to hand, -for the acquisition of which none of the ordinary attributes of the -chase were needed. Speed, courage, endurance, cunning, all could be -dispensed with, while even the most unenlightened “salvage-man” would -hardly need the information that it were wise to avoid the front end of -the sluggish creature, with its terrible jaws of keen-edged shell. - -Since those far-off days mankind has been faithful in its love for -the genus _Testudo_, whether terrestrial or marine, wherever edible -members of it could be obtained; but when and why the consumption of -turtle-soup became with us a synonym for the highest luxury in the way -of food, and indissolubly associated with the royal hospitality of the -Lord Mayor, is indeed a question to be answered. One may be permitted -to suppose that, during the reign of some more than usually gifted -_cordon bleu_, the grand discovery was made that the peculiar flesh -of this succulent reptile lent itself most amicably and gelatinously -to the wonderful disguise with which it is invested ere it becomes -the dream of the epicure. The pages of ancient Latin writers abound -with descriptions, not only of strange foods, but stranger modes of -preparing them for the table, the mere recital of which to-day is often -sufficient to effectually banish appetite. Among these early recipes -are many for dealing with the flesh of both land and sea tortoises. -According to their light those ancient cooks excelled in curious ways -of dressing turtle, or rather disguising it, for it must be confessed -that turtle-steak _au naturel_ is not of that exquisite flavour to -appeal to the palate like a plain beefsteak or mutton-chop. Good, -wholesome, and tender as it undoubtedly is, it tastes more like veal -with a nuance of fish than anything else in the best kinds; while many -turtles, from feeding upon cuttle-fish, have a decidedly unpleasant, -musky flavour. Few flesh foods pall quicker upon the palate. In most -West Indian coast towns an abundant meal of turtle can be obtained for -the equivalent of sixpence whenever required, but except by those whose -object is to fill up cheaply and quickly, it is little appreciated. - -I was once mate of a barque gathering a cargo of mahogany along the -Mexican coast, and while lying at Tonala the supply of fresh beef ran -short. The skipper bought a fine large turtle for a mere trifle from -some fishermen, and rather chuckled at the prospect of getting two -days’ meat for less than the usual price of one. He gave orders to the -worn-out seaman whom, in common with vessels of that class, we carried -as cook, etc., to apportion the joints. At eight bells a procession -of weary-looking men slouched aft, the foremost one bearing a kid of -something. He came to the break of the poop, and as spokesman inquired -for the captain. That gentleman stepped briskly forward, saying, “Well, -what’s up now?” “What d’ye call _that_, sir?” said the man. “_That_,” -said the skipper, giving just a glance at the queer-looking mess in the -kid; “why yer so-and-so idiot, that’s what the Lord Mayor gives about -a guinea a hounce for. Why, only the haristocracy gets a charnce at -’ome to eat the likes o’ that.” “Oh, very well,” said the man; “p’r’aps -you’ll eat it yourself then, sir, since its _so_ ---- good, and give us -what we signed for. We aint crockeydiles to eat shell-fish, shells an’ -all.” With that he planted his little tub, with its strange contents, -down on the poop and stalked forward again, followed by his scowling -shipmates. I am bound to admit that there was little room for wonder -that Jack on this occasion preferred _salt horse_ to boiled turtle. - -But this is by the way. Of terrestrial Chelones there is an immense -variety distributed over almost the whole land surface of the globe -where the mean annual temperature does not fall below 60°. The flesh of -these reptiles is, with few exceptions, notably that of the American -Terrapin, very lightly esteemed by civilised peoples, and in some -species highly poisonous. A very strange fact concerning land tortoises -is the presence of the largest members of the family upon such widely -separated and inhospitable spots as Aldabra and Agalegas Islands in -the Indian Ocean, and the Galapagos group in the South Pacific. In -these lonely islets--for they are hardly more--enormous specimens of -these strange reptiles crawl sluggishly about, grazing upon the scanty -herbage, secure from all enemies except man, and apparently gifted with -incredible longevity. As far as natural decay is concerned, they would -certainly appear to be unaffected by the flight of time, although one -need not believe unless he wants to the story of the sailor of one upon -whose shell he saw carved the legend, ‘The Ark--Captain Noah; Ararat, -for orders.’ The Galapagans eat them during scarcity of other food, but -do not hanker after them as regular diet. They do, however, prize the -fat oil which some of these reptiles possess in great abundance, and -whenever they catch one and do not need its flesh, they cut a slit in -the leathery skin between the upper and lower shells near the tail and -take a peep within. If the victim be not fat enough for their purpose -they release him, and he shuffles off apparently quite unaffected by -this rough surgery. Indeed, such is the incredible vitality of these -reptiles that they have been known to live for six months after having -their brains entirely removed, and one existed for twenty-three days -after its head had been cut off. - -Redi, the well-known Italian surgeon, who made these apparently useless -experiments, states that, upon opening the body of the last-mentioned -tortoise, on the twenty-third day he saw the triple heart beating, and -the blood entering and leaving it. What he hoped to establish by such -cruel doings is not stated by him. - -Varieties of land tortoises are exceedingly numerous, and embrace some -very peculiar forms, notably the _Emysaura serpentina_, which is a kind -of compromise between a lizard and a tortoise, lives in and around -Oriental lakes and rivers, and feeds indiscriminately upon small fish, -reptiles, and birds. The _Chelodina Novæ Hollandiæ_ of Australia, with -its long snake-like neck and wide gaping jaws; the _Chelys matamata_, -loving stagnant pools, and adorned about the head and neck with -sprouting fringes like bunches of rootlets, giving it a most uncanny -appearance; and the _Gymnopus_ of African rivers, which feeds upon -young crocodiles, and whose flesh is nevertheless most delicate and -highly prized, and many others, furnish a most interesting study, but -not strictly germane to our subject, which is turtle--the _Thalassians_ -or oceanic tortoises, from which alone our supplies are drawn. - -Among marine tortoises or turtles there is vastly less variety than -among their congeners of the land. Sir Richard Owen decided that only -five well-defined species are known to exist at the present day, -although the fossil remains of true turtles show that a much greater -range of these varieties existed in prehistoric times. The principal -difference between tortoise and turtle is the shape of the paws, -which in the land varieties are always armed with claws, and have a -strong likeness to the legs of a lizard. In the turtles these clawed -feet become flippers, almost fins, wonderfully adapted for swimming -purposes, but rendering the turtle when on land more helpless and -clumsy in his locomotion than even a seal. - -Turtles are true amphibians, although, owing to the extent and -volume of their arbitrary lungs, and perhaps also to their general -sluggishness of habit, they can and do remain under water for a longer -time than any other amphibian, with the exception, perhaps, of the -crocodile. But, like the saurian just mentioned, it is imperative -that they leave the sea periodically for the purpose of laying their -eggs, which they do in loose sand, leaving them to be hatched by the -heat of the sun. It has been authoritatively stated that when the -young turtle first emerges from the egg his shell is not formed, and -that he is white in colour. Perhaps different species may account for -a discrepancy here; but I can only say, that having, for many hours, -along the shores of islets in the Caribbean Sea and around the Gulf -of Mexico, amused myself by digging up turtles’ and crocodiles’ eggs, -breaking them, and sending the lively occupants afloat, I have never -seen either a white or a shell-less one. Of course the shell was not -of the substance one would expect in a full-grown individual, but it -was hard and perfectly formed, while the tiny creature was wonderfully -swift in its movements. Innumerable enemies await the infant turtle, -extending even to his own kind, and but a small percentage of those -hatched are privileged to arrive at maturity. Nevertheless, such is the -fecundity of these reptiles, that their numbers are exceedingly large, -and even where old-established stations for turtle-catching exist, no -diminution of their numbers is ever seen. - -Having reached a weight of about twenty-five pounds, they are -thenceforth safe from all enemies except man, and even he gets but -scant opportunity to molest them save when they visit their favourite -beaches for family purposes. - -When a lad of thirteen I had the misfortune to be cast away upon one of -the reef-fringed islets in the Bay of Campêche. The vessel became a -total wreck, and we escaped to the islet, finding it bare of everything -but an immense number of boobies and frigate-birds, the beach being -covered with the eggs of the former, and the rocks plentifully -besprinkled with the eggs of the latter. The first night of our stay I -was taking a lonely stroll along the beach--the whole circuit of the -isle could be made under an hour--when I saw a light cloud of sand -rising from the smooth white plain just ahead of me. At first the idea -of an inrush of the sea occurred to me; but going carefully nearer, -I saw an immense black centre to the misty spot, apparently digging -furiously. Hurrying back to camp, I gave the alarm, and three of the -men accompanied me back. Without any difficulty they managed to secure -the creature, which was an enormous turtle weighing not less than 1800 -lb. It was rather a tough job turning her over, but once on her broad -back she was helpless, and was speedily towed to camp. Next morning -at daybreak she was butchered, and more than eight hundred eggs, of -which only thirteen were with shells, were taken from her ovary. The -carapace was so large that it made me a good bath. The meat was all -removed and hung up, only the head and tail being left attached to -the shell. Late that afternoon a young Dane, in some foolish freak or -another, must needs go and introduce two of his fingers into the open -mouth of the apparently dead head. Like the action of an iron-shearing -press the jaws closed, taking off the two fingers as clean as possible. -Then another man essayed to cut off the tail, but as soon as the knife -entered the skin the tail curled up and gripped the blade, and it was -nearly an hour before he could withdraw it. So that their vitality must -be little, if any, inferior to that of the land tortoise. - -One of the most favoured spots frequented by turtle is, or used to -be, the desolate island of Ascension in the South Atlantic, a barren -volcanic patch belonging to Britain, and, because used exclusively as -a naval depot, entered upon the books of the Admiralty as one of Her -Majesty’s ships. An enormous number of turtle were annually “turned” -there, and preserved in a small lagoon from shipment to shipment. It -was my pleasant privilege to assist at one of these turnings, and I -bear a very vivid recollection of the game. Crouched low behind an -immense boulder one evening about eight o’clock, we could hear a hollow -reverberating murmur of the mighty surf outside, suggesting sleepily -irresistible force. A dazzling wreath of snowy foam, gleaming like -burnished silver, fringed the quiet stretch of glittering sand, which, -gently sloping upward and landward, was bounded by gloomy bastions of -black lava. Beyond that shining semicircle of glowing white lay the -sombre blue-black bosom of the quiet little bay, now heaving gently as -that of a sleeping child. Hither and thither, threading its mysterious -depths, glided spectrally broad tracks of greenish light, vivid, yet -ever brightening and fading, as if of living flame. Presently there -emerged from the retreating smother of spume a creeping something of -no very definite shape, under the glamour of the molten moonlight, but -making an odd shuffling progress inland, and becoming more recognisable -as it rose. Another, and yet another, and still more arrived as the -shining tracks converged shorewards. At last the dark shapes came near -enough for a novice to know them for turtle. Soon the first-comers -reached their limit, and began the work for which they were here. Each -massive reptile, by an indescribable motion of its fore-flippers, -delved into the yielding grit, throwing the spoil behind it and upward -withal until it was enveloped in a misty halo of shining sand. Then -the whole beach was alive with the toiling Chelones and their male -attendants, who shuffled about, emitting curious noises, but whether of -encouragement or affection this deponent sayeth not. - -Divers of them came from far--so far that none who have not witnessed -the swift cleaving of their true element by these ungainly monsters -could believe how the wide sweep of those eager flippers devours the -fleeting leagues. In a short time many of the delving turtles had sunk -below the level of the surrounding sand, while some had ceased their -digging and commenced to deposit their eggs. Suddenly we rushed upon -them, and for some minutes the swarming beach was apparently a scene -of wild confusion. Really, the plan of attack was well ordered; and -when the first scurry was over nearly all the visitors were to be seen -wrong side up, waving their flippers deprecatingly. In less than half -an hour the loneliness was again regnant, the victims having been towed -off through a gap in the rocks to a spacious spoilarium in the lagoon -behind, there to await their transit to the goal of most good things, -London town. - -While the capture of turtle upon a sandy shore necessarily admits -of but few variations, the pursuit of these reptiles in their -proper element lends itself to many peculiarities. How often does -the ever-hungry sailor, striving wearily to forget his plentiful -lack of tasty eatables while on the look-out of some calm-bound -“wind-jammer,” get a delightful thrill upon seeing the broad shining -back of a sleeping _Spharga_ calmly floating upon the sunlit surface -of the silent sea! Visions of “a fresh mess for all hands” nerve the -watch to desperate efforts in order to quickly free the gig from its -long-disused trammels. Once afloat, there are several ways of securing -the prize. Roughly, the orthodox method is for one hand to “scull” the -boat with one oar over the stern _à la Chinoise_, while one stationed -in the bow may, when near enough, drive a harpoon through the carapace -of the slumberer. Or one may not. And candour compels the statement -that the percentage of successes is not high. If the performer be not -very expert with the weapon--and very few sailors are--the result is -usually a burst of angry jeers from disappointed shipmates, and a few -eddying swirls on the surface whence the awakened turtle has fled in -amazement. - -Another way practised most successfully by the amphibious Kanakas of -Polynesia is to slip noiselessly into the water, and, diving beneath -the turtle, grasp the hind flippers with crossed hands. One swift -and dexterous twist places the prize on his back, in which helpless -position he is kept with ease upon the surface until the canoe arrives -and he is transferred to it. Among the coral reefs of the Friendly -Islands turtle-fishing is a highly favoured form of sport, and when the -reptiles are surprised among the tortuous shallow channels between the -reefs or in the almost land-locked lagoons, they rarely escape. Here -it is usual for the fisherman to spring upon the turtle’s back, and, -clutching the fore edge of the shell with both hands, to hang on until -his prize is exhausted and speedily brought to the surface.[1] - -But of all the fashions of securing this much-hunted creature, that -followed by the ingenious fisher-folk of the Chinese littoral bears -away the palm. Most voyagers in tropical seas are acquainted with a -peculiar fish, _E. remora_, known generally by the trivial name of -“sucker.” The distinguishing characteristic of this fish is laziness. -Unwilling to exert itself overmuch in the pursuit of food, it has -developed an arrangement on the back of its head exactly like the -corrugated sole of a tennis shoe, and as artificial in appearance -as if made and fitted by the hand of man. When the sucker finds -itself in the vicinity of any large floating body, such as a ship, a -shark, or a piece of flotsam, whose neighbourhood seems to promise an -abundance of food, it attaches itself firmly thereto by means of this -curious contrivance, which permits it to eat, breathe, and perform all -necessary functions while being carried about without any exertion on -its part. It can attach and detach itself instantaneously, and holds so -firmly that a direct backward pull cannot dislodge it without injury -to the fish. The Chinese, who have successfully trained the cormorant -and the otter to fish for them, have taken the remora in hand with the -happiest results. Several good-sized specimens having been caught, -small iron rings are fitted to their tails, to which are attached long, -slender, but very strong lines. Thus equipped, the fishermen set out, -and when a basking turtle is seen, two or three of the suckers are -slipped overboard. Should they turn and stick to the bottom of the -sampan, they are carefully detached by being pushed forward with the -inevitable bamboo, and started on the search again. At last they attach -themselves to the supine turtle. Then the fishermen haul in the lines, -against which gentle suasion the hapless Chelone struggles in vain. -Once on board the lugger, the useful remora is detached, and is at once -ready for use again. - - [1] But the turtle can by no means be kept on the surface until - it _is_ exhausted. The first act of a hunted turtle is to - seek the depths. - -The same mode of catching turtle is followed by the fishermen of the -East African coast, from Mozambique northward. The coast of Africa has -long been famous for its turtle, and Pliny tells of the Chelonophagi -of the Red Sea, a race of turtle-eaters, who were able to obtain these -creatures of so gigantic a size that they could utilise the carapaces -for roofs to their dwellings and boats for their feeble voyages. Strabo -also alludes to these people; but without accusing either of these -venerable authorities of exaggeration, it is pretty certain that no -such enormous specimens of Chelonia are ever met with in these days. - -Tortoise-shell is well known to be furnished by the turtle, the best -by the Hawk’s Bill variety, which supplies the worst flesh, being -exceedingly musky (_Chelone imbricata_). The green turtle (_Chelonée -franche_) is most valuable for food, and attains, with another -well-marked variety (_Spharga Coriacea_), the largest size of all -turtles known. This latter has been sometimes taken on the coast of -Britain, several of large size (700 to 800 lb. weight) having been -recorded as caught in our seas. - - - - -OTHER SKETCHES - - - - -XXI - -‘HOVELLING’[2] - - -What particular law of etymology has been evoked to produce the queer -word standing at the head of this paper I am unable to imagine. Like -Topsy, I “’spects it growed,” but my own private opinion is that it is -the Kentish coast way of pronouncing the word “hovering,” since the -hovellers are certainly more often occupied in hovering than in doing -anything more satisfactory to themselves. - -However strange the word may sound in a landsman’s ears, it is one of -the most familiar to British seamen, especially among our coasters, -although the particular form of bread-winning that it is used to -designate is practically confined to the Kent and Sussex shores of the -English Channel, having its headquarters at Deal. Briefly, a “hoveller” -is a boatman who follows none of the steady orthodox lines of -boatmanship, such as fishing, plying for passengers, etc., but hovers -around the Channel, a snapper-up of unconsidered trifles, a pilot, a -wrecker, or if a ghost of a chance presents itself, a smuggler. - - [2] Whilst this reprint was in the press the writer received - an ingenious explanation of the word from Mr. Charles - Fleet, an old resident on the Sussex coast. He derives it - from “Hoviler,” a sort of mounted militia raised during - the Commonwealth, and so named from the “hovils” (leathern - jackets) they wore. - -Naturally, the poor hoveller does not bear the best of characters. -The easy unconventional fit of his calling settles that for him as -conclusively as the cryptic term “general dealer,” so often seen in -police-court reports, does a man’s status ashore, but with far less -reason. It must be admitted that he is not over-scrupulous or prone to -regard too rigidly the laws of _meum_ and _tuum_. The portable property -which occasionally finds its way into his boat is, however, usually -ownerless except for the lien held by the Crown upon all flotsam, -jetsam, and ligan; which rights, all unjust as he in common with most -seafarers consider them to be, he can hardly be blamed for ignoring. - -But when the worst that can be alleged against the character of the -hoveller has been said, a very large margin of good remains to his -credit, good of which the general public never hears, or hearing of it, -bestows the praise elsewhere. - -They are the finest boatmen in the world. Doubtless this seems a large -claim to make on their behalf, but it is one that will be heartily -endorsed by all who know anything of the condition of the English -Channel in winter, and are at the same time in a position to make -comparisons. And it must also be remembered that the harvest of the -hoveller is gathered when the wintry weather is at its worst, when -the long, hungry snare of the Goodwins is snarling and howling for -more and more of man’s handiwork to fill its for ever unsatisfied -maw, when the whole width of the strait is like a seething cauldron, -and the atmosphere is one weltering whirl of hissing spindrift; while -the hooting syrens, shrieking whistles, and clanging bells from the -benighted and groping crowd of unseen vessels blend their discord -with the tigerish roar of the storm in one bewildering chaos of -indescribable tumult. - -Then, when the fishermen have all run for shelter, and even the hardy -tugboats hug some sheltering spit or seaward-stretching point, the -hoveller in his undecked clinker-built lugger, some thirty-five feet -long and ten feet beam, square-sterned and sturdy-looking like himself, -may be seen through the writhing drifts of fog and spray climbing from -steep to steep of the foaming billows like a bat hawking along some -jagged cliff. - -She shows just a tiny patch of brown sail, a mere shred, but sufficient -to keep her manageable with her head within five or six points of the -wind and her stub-bow steadily pointed to the onrush of the toppling -seas. Every other wave sends a solid sheet of spray right over her, -hiding her momentarily from view, but the row of squat figures sitting -motionless along the weather gunwale heed it no more than as if they -were graven images. And thus they cruise, hungry and thirsty, their -eyeballs burning with sleeplessness, throughout the weary hours of -night and day, with every sense acutely strained and every moment -balanced upon the very scythe-edge of death. Long practice makes them -keen of sight as the wailing gulls overhead, and small indeed must be -the floating object that escapes their unremitting scrutiny. - -Homeward-bound sailing ships from oversea ports are what they -principally lust after. The skippers of these vessels after their long -absence from home usually feel more or less anxious as they near the -narrows. The Trinity pilots in their trim cutters have their cruising -ground definitely fixed for them by authority, extending no further -west than Dungeness. But long before that well-known point, with its -dazzling spear of electric radiance reflected from the gloomy pall of -cloud above, is reached, the homeward-bound skipper’s anxiety becomes -almost unbearable if the weather be thick and he has as yet made no -landfall to verify his position. Then the sudden appearance of a -hoveller emerging from the mirk around, and his cheery hail, “D’ye -want a pilot, sir?” is heavenly in its relief. For these men, although -regarded with no small contempt and disfavour by the aristocracy of -pilotage licensed by the Trinity Brethren, know the Channel as a man -knows the house he has lived in for years, know it at all times, -whether in calm or storm, the blackness of winter midnight, the -brilliance of summer noon, or the horrible uncertainty of enshrouding -fog. - -The hoveller can hardly be blamed if he take full advantage of the -foulness of the weather to drive as hard a bargain as he can with the -skipper of a hesitating homeward-bounder for the hire of his invaluable -local knowledge. Full well he knows that when the skies are serene and -the wind is favourable he may tender his services in vain, even at the -lowest price. No master, in these days of fierce competition, dare make -an entry of a hoveller’s fee in his bill of expenses, except under -pressure of bad weather, on pain of being considered unfit for his -post, and finding himself compelled to pay the charge out of his own -scanty salary. - -So that fine weather to the hoveller spells empty pocket and hungry -belly. The long, bright days of summer bring to him no joy, though -thoughtless passengers lounging at their ease upon the promenade deck -of some palatial steamship may think his lot a lazy, lotus-eating way -of drowsing through the sunny hours. Neither would they imagine from -his wooden immobility of pose and the unbending appearance of his rig -what fiery energy he is capable of displaying when opportunity arises. - -On one occasion, when I was a lad of eighteen, we were homeward bound -from Luzon to London. We sighted Corvo dimly through the driving mist -of a fierce westerly gale, before which we bowled along at the rate of -300 miles a day. For nearly five days we fled thus for home, seeing -nothing except an occasional dim shape of some vessel flitting silently -past. Not a glimpse of the heavenly bodies was vouchsafed us whereby to -fix our position, nor did we haul up once for a cast of the deep-sea -lead. At last by “dead reckoning,” we were well up Channel, but the -steady thrust of the gale never wavered in force or direction. The -mist grew denser, the darkness more profound. By the various sounds of -foghorns and whistles we knew that many vessels surrounded us, and that -it was scarcely less dangerous to heave-to than to run. Presently, by -the narrowest of shaves, we missed running down a light outward-bound -barque, the incident leaving us with yards swinging every way and a -general feeling of uncertainty as to what would happen next. Suddenly -out of the gloom to leeward came the hoarse cry, “Want a pilot, sir?” -It was the sweetest music imaginable. All eyes were strained in the -direction of the voice. In a minute or two the well-known shape of a -hovelling lugger became visible, under a double reefed lug, rushing -towards us. He rounded to by our lee quarter, and in reply to our -skipper’s query, “How much will you take me up to the Ness for?” came -the prompt answer; “Ten pounds.” “Ten devils!” yelled our skipper; -“why, you adjective hovelling pirate, it’s only about ten minutes’ -walk.” “Better get out ’n walk it then, cap’n,” said the boatman; -“can’t take you up for no less to-night.” The usual haggling began, but -was cut short by the hoveller, who shouted, “So long, cap’n, time’s -precious,” giving at the same time a pull at his tiller which sent the -boat striding a cable’s length to leeward. “All right,” roared the old -man, “come aboard, and be dam’d t’you,” and at the word the lugger was -back alongside again. Launching his dinghy was out of the question in -such a sea, for at one moment the boat was level with our shearpoles, -the next she seemed groping under our keel. “Heave us a line, cap’n,” -shouted he, and the mate hurled a coil of the lee main-brace at him. -Quick as a wink he had cast a bowline round his waist with the end. -“Haul away aboard,” he cried, and as his boat rose on the crest of a -big sea he sprang at the ship and missed her. But he had hardly time -to disappear in the smother of foam, before he was being dragged up -the side like a bale of rags, and almost instantly tumbled on deck. -Springing to his feet, he dashed the water out of his eyes, and as -calmly as if nothing unusual had happened, said to the man at the -wheel, “Put your hellum up, m’lad, square away the main-yard, haul aft -the mainsheet,” and as if by magic the weather seemed to fine down and -a great peace reigned. “Steady as she goes, m’lad,” said he to the -helmsman, with a peep at the compass; and then turning to the skipper, -in a wheedling voice, “You couldn’t spare my mates a bit o’ grub, I -s’pose, sir, and a plug of terbacker?” “Oh yes,” replied the captain -with alacrity. “Stooard! get a couple o’ pieces of beef out o’ the -harness cask, and some bread in a bag, for the boatmen. I’ll go down -and get them some tobacco.” Already the lugger was closing in on us -again, and by the time the longed-for provisions were at hand, she was -near enough for them to be hove on board. A further plea for a drop of -rum could not be entertained, as we had none, but well pleased with -the result of their visit the rovers sheered off and were swallowed up -in the encircling darkness. Exactly three-quarters of an hour later we -rounded the Ness and hove-to for the pilot, the lugger popping up under -our lee again as if she had been towing astern, and receiving back the -lucky hoveller with his fat fee in his pocket. - -Years after, in a much larger ship, of which I was second mate, we -were bound right round the coast to Dundee, and got befogged somewhere -off Beachy Head. As on the previous occasion, the wind was strong, and -blowing right up Channel. A hoveller came alongside and made a bargain -to take us up to Dungeness for ten pounds. By the time he had scrambled -on board, our captain began to wonder whether he might be available to -pilot us right round to Dundee, not feeling very confident in his own -knowledge of the navigation of the East coast. So he put the question -to our visitor, who replied that he himself was not qualified, and -indeed would not be allowed to take us if he were. But he could arrange -to have a North Sea pilot out in Deal Roads awaiting us on our arrival -there. This was too much for our skipper’s power of belief. That -cockle-shell of a lugger able to outstrip his 1400-ton ship, with this -breeze behind her, so much in forty miles! It couldn’t be done. “Never -mind, sir,” said the hoveller, “you make my money thirteen pound for -the whole job, and if you have to wait in the Downs for your pilot, you -needn’t pay me more than ten.” “It’s a go,” answered the captain, fully -satisfied. - -Hailing his boat, the Dealman gave his instructions. Crowding on all -sail, away she went, sheering in for the shore, and soon was lost to -sight in the mist. Meanwhile we also set all the sail she could carry, -and made a fairly rapid run to the Downs. Sure enough, there was a -galley punt awaiting us, the men lying on their oars, and the pilot -with his bag lounging in the stern. The skipper said not a word as he -handed our hoveller his full money, but he looked like a man who had -been badly beaten in a contest of wits. - -But if one would see the hoveller at his best, it is when some hapless -vessel has met her fate on the Goodwins during a gale. The silent -suck of those never-resting sands makes the time of her remaining -above water very short, without the certainty of her rapid breaking -up under the terrible battering of the mighty seas. Gathering around -the doomed fabric, like jackals round a carcass, the hardy beachmen -perform prodigies of labour. The work which they will do, wrenching out -cargo and fittings, and transferring them to their boats, while the -straining, groaning hull threatens every moment to collapse beneath -their eager feet, and the bitter tempest fills the air with salt -spray, to say nothing of an occasional breaker which buries wreck and -wreckers alike beneath its incalculable mass of foaming water, cannot -be adequately described--it must be seen to be realised. As if mad -with desire, they tear and strain and heave like Titans, apparently -insensible to fatigue. For they know that at any moment their prize may -vanish from beneath them, and with her all their hopes of gain. Weather -has for them no terrors. Let but the cry of “wreck” go up, and though -even the lifeboat be beaten back, the hoveller will get there somehow, -not under any pretence of philanthropy, but in the hope of earning -something, though it may be gratefully recorded that they never shirk -the most terrible risks when there is a hope of saving life. - -Such sudden and violent transitions from utter idleness to the most -tremendous exertion as they continually experience do not seem to harm -these toughened amphibia. Plenty of them do of course “go under,” in -more or less distressing circumstances, but though their own tiny -circle laments their loss, their tragic fate makes no more disturbance -than the drop of a pebble outside of it. There are plenty to take -their place. For even in so precarious a calling as hovelling there -are grades. The poor possessors of only a four-oared galley hope to -rise to the dignity of a lugger, so that they may quit scrabbling along -the shores and get out to where, if the dangers are indefinitely -increased, the chances of a good haul now and then are proportionately -greater. - -Another phase of their calling is the rescue of vessels who from -various causes are drifting to destruction. Many a craft reaches port -in safety with a couple of Dealmen on board, that but for their timely -help would never have been heard of again. I know of one case where a -large French _chasse-marée_, with a cargo of wine, lost her foremast -off the Varne shoal. In its fall it crippled the skipper and one of -the crew. Another one was frost-bitten, and the remaining two, both -boys, were so paralysed with fright that they were quite useless. So -in the grey of the New Year’s dawn, with a pitiless snowstorm raging -from the N.W., she was drifting helplessly along the edge of the sand. -Two hovellers saw her plight at the same time, and each strained -every nerve to get up to her first, for she was a prize well worth -the winning. At last they drew so near to her that it was anybody’s -race. But the head man of the foremost lugger tore off his oilskins, -sea-boots, and fear-nought jacket, and plunging into the boiling sea -actually battled his way to her side, climbing on board triumphantly, -and so making good his claim. It is satisfactory to be able to add that -the dauntless rascal was completely successful in bringing the _Trois -Frères_ into Dover, and shared with his four mates £120 for salvage -services. Not a bad twenty-four hours’ work, but for nearly two months -before they had earned less than five shillings per man per week, and -they all had wives and families dependent upon them. - -Yet with all their hardships, they are free. No man is their master, -for they always sail on shares, varied a little according to each -individual’s monetary stake in the boat. And doubtless the wild life -has a certain charm of its own, which goes far to counterbalance its -severity and danger. “An’ anyhow,” as one of them said to me not long -ago, “ourn’s a bizness the bloomin’ Germans ain’t likely to do us out -of. There ain’t many left like that, is ther?” - - - - -XXII - -THE LOSS OF THE ‘ST. GEORGE’ - -AN INCIDENT OF THE ANGLO-GERMAN WAR OF 19-- - - -“Things is lookin’ pretty bad for the British sailor, Bill, don’t ye -think?” - -“Well, fur’s I c’n see, they can’t look much wuss, Joe. I know one -thing: ’f I c’d a only got a billet ashore--even a bloomin’ dus’man’s -job--I’d a never even smelt salt water agen. W’y, there ain’t no -Henglish ships now ’ceptin’ fur the flag. But I will say this much; I -never seen it quite so bad’s this afore.” - -The speakers were the only two British seamen before the mast on -board the four-masted steel sailing ship _St. George_, of Liverpool, -bound from London to Melbourne with a general cargo of immense value, -and nearly five thousand tons measurement. In the square of the main -hatch was carefully stowed forty tons of blasting and rifle powder -received at the “red buoy,” Gravesend, and earning a very high freight. -The master was a German of Rostock, Friedrich Schwartz by name, -who for the wage of £10 per month was filling this onerous position -to the exclusion of an Englishman, who thought such a post deserved -better pay. The chief officer, unfortunately for him, was a Liverpool -man, with a little money of his own, who could therefore afford to -cut rates as well as the Germans. Every other member of the ship’s -company, except the two worthies above-mentioned and a couple of -_Warspite_ lads, was a “ja-for-yes man” as Jack impartially denominates -Scandinavians and Teutons alike. - -When the _St. George_ left the East India Docks, the managing director -(she belonged to a single-ship company whereof none of the shareholders -knew anything of the shipping business) chuckled to himself to think -how cheaply she was manned, and hurried back to Billiter Street to -calculate his commission on the outward passage. The political outlook -was very gloomy. Germany was growing more insolently aggressive every -day, and the omniscient Kaiser smiled grimly as he read the latest -report of the British Registrar-General of Seamen. He was naturally -delighted to see how completely the British nation was handing over -the control of its vast mercantile marine to foreign officers and -seamen, all of whom were trained naval men, and capable of immediately -utilising any sudden opportunity of dealing Britain a deadly blow. - -At the time alluded to at the opening of this story, the _St. George_, -under a towering mountain of canvas, was bowling rapidly through the -north-east Trades towards the Line. Needless, perhaps, to say that the -Britons on board were having an uncomfortable time of it. The mate was -made to feel at every turn that he was an interloper. Although his -country’s flag sheltered him, Captain Schwartz’s contempt for England -and all that belonged to her was freely vented in his hearing. And all -conversation on board, as well as most of the orders, being in German, -Mr. Brown and his four compatriots felt that they were indeed aliens -on sufferance. Like the majority of their countrymen, they knew no -language but their own, which in the present instance was as well for -their small remainder of mental peace. The two A.B.s had at least one -advantage over the mate, they could talk to each other, though every -“workup” job was sorted out to them, their treatment being just the -same as the two boys. - -So the days dragged wearily on until one morning a streak of smoke -on the northern horizon gradually resolved itself into a splendid -armoured cruiser that overhauled the _St. George_ as if she were at -anchor instead of logging twelve knots easy. With a bird-like swoop the -flyer sheered up under her quarter, showing the white ensign at her -standard. Up went the good old “blood and guts,” of Old England at the -_St. George’s_ peak in reply, and to the incisive sea-queries from the -cruiser’s bridge, Mr. Brown shouted back the information required as to -port of destination, length of passage, etc. Then came ringing across -the startling message, “War is declared between England and Germany. -But you’re all right, I hope. There is little danger to be apprehended -from German warships. Still, be careful, and crack on all you know if -you do see a suspicious-looking craft. Good-bye,” and the majestic -vessel sheered off at top speed for the westward. - -“Ha, mein verdammt Englischer schweinhund, dot ju are, hou ju feel -yoost now, hein? Gott bewahr; ju haf komm to ein ent mit yourselluf, -aind id? Ve schou ju somedings now, und tond ju forkedd id.” Thus the -triumphant skipper, accompanying his jeers at the mate with a horrible -grimace at the brilliant flag floating proudly overhead, and an -emphatic expectoration on the white deck. Then, excited beyond measure, -he rushed to the break of the poop and yelled a summons in German for -all hands. Aft they came, tumbling over one another in their eagerness, -and ranged themselves before the saloon doors. On his lofty platform -above their heads the rampant skipper raved, stamped, gesticulated, -and finally burst sonorously into song, “Deutschland, Deutschland, -über alles,” all hands, with the miserable exception of the handful of -English, joining vociferously in his pæan of triumph. - -Thenceforward, a further development of scurvy treatment took place. -The mate was no longer allowed access to the chronometer, or permitted -to “take the sun,” or work up the ship’s position. The log-book was -also taken from him, the young third mate given charge of his watch, -and he was made to take his meals alone in his berth. Neither he nor -the two English A.B.s were allowed to come on the poop any more, so -that they were completely in the dark as to the position of the ship -within hundreds of miles, as from never seeing the compass they could -only guess generally how she was steering. Spiritlessly the luckless -islanders wearily worried on from day to day, the butt of all their -exulting shipmates. When the Kaiser’s birthday came round, and the ship -was put _en fête_, they were bidden sarcastically to rejoice over the -change of affairs. But with the hoisting of an immense German flag at -the peak they lost all control of themselves, bursting into a fury of -passionate tears, mingled with curses upon their enemies. They were -immediately set upon by the whole crowd, and after a few minutes of -desperate fighting were overpowered, heavily ironed, and flung into -the forepeak on the coals, bruised from head to heel. Many and bitter -were their regrets as they lay on their easeless couch. Scarcely less -venomous were their curses on the fatuous folly of the rulers who had -suffered such an event as this to become possible than on their brutal -gaolers. For as Joe muttered scornfully, “Tain’t ’sif they hain’t been -told of it. It’s been drummed into their yeers long ’nough, God knows, -’n all they ever sed wuz, ‘Oh, yore ezaggeratin’. The pussentidge uv -furriners in the British mercantile marine ain’t anythin’ like so high -az you say.” - -“’Seems ’bout’s high’s we want, anyway,” said Bill dreamily, while the -poor mate ground his teeth but never said a word. - -What puzzled them all greatly was the length of time the ship seemed -to be getting into cold weather. From the time the cruiser spoke them, -when they were in about 15 degrees N., was now more than a month, and -with the winds they had carried they should have been running their -easting down in about 40 degrees S. But they were still in tropical -weather. At last the mate broke a long silence by saying: “I believe -he’s making for Walvisch Bay. ’Shouldn’t wonder if there’s some German -warships there or thereabouts. I only hope he _is_ trying to get there, -an’ one of our cruisers sights him. It’s about our only chance.” - -Several days passed and still they were kept close prisoners in the -black, stifling hole, starving on a trifle of hard tack and water, and -sinking deeper every day into a very gulf of despair. At last, to the -practised senses of the captives, it was evident that something was -afoot. She had hove to. On deck the Deutschers were in trouble. As the -mate had surmised, they were bound for Walvisch Bay, carrying every rag -they could crowd on her, seeing that every hour they were out of port -now on this unusual course was brimful of danger. The skipper scarcely -ever left the deck, and his eyes were bleared and burning with -constant glaring through his glasses for a possible pursuer. - -H.M.S. _Scourge_, 22-knot cruiser, was on her passage to Simon’s Town -with urgent stores for the squadron off that station. Her orders -were--“All possible dispatch,” yet, when the look-out one afternoon -reported a heavily-rigged four-master standing to the eastward in -latitude twenty-three degrees south, her commander felt justified -in altering her course sufficiently to bring him in touch with this -phenomenon. The stranger was making grand headway under all canvas -to a heavy south-east Trade, but the speed of the cruiser was fully -two knots to her one. In about an hour, therefore, from sighting her, -the _Scourge_ ranged sufficiently near to inquire by signal for the -usual information. But the merchantman was so slow with his answers -that before two sets had been hoisted the vessels were within hail -of each other. “Where are you bound to?” roared the commander of the -cruiser. A dramatic pause succeeded, in which all eyes on board both -ships were centred upon the skipper of the _St. George_. At last the -reluctant answer came, “Walvisch Bay.” “The devil you are,” said -the naval captain; “I must have a closer look at you.” A couple of -abrupt orders, and a well-manned cutter, with the first-lieutenant in -charge, was bounding across the few fathoms of sea towards the _St. -George_, with instructions to ascertain the bottom facts of this -mystery. Arriving alongside, the officer sprang on board, and, quickly -mounting the poop, confronted Captain Schwartz, whose face was a -study of conflicting emotions. Already the lieutenant had noticed the -Teutonic appearance of everybody on deck, and the captain’s working -face deepened the suspicions aroused. “I wish to examine your papers, -sir,” said he quietly to the scowling skipper. “Vat for, sir?” was the -almost expected reply. For all answer the lieutenant strode to the -side and blew a small whistle, which brought six of his boat’s crew -bounding on board in an instant. “Now, sir,” he said, turning again to -the skipper, “my time is precious, and my orders precise. Kindly lead -the way into your cabin, and produce your documents, or I must search -for them without you.” The baffled Teuton still hesitating, the naval -officer, with a slight gesture of impatience, beckoned his men aft. -They came on the jump, but one of them stepping forward in advance of -his fellows, saluted, and said, “Beg pardon, sir, but we just heard -some voices forrard a-cryin’ ‘Help!’ and it sounded’s if they wus -cooped up somewheres.” A dark frown settled upon the officer’s face as -he replied, sternly, “Three of you go forrard and search; the others -come below here with me.” But before he stepped into the companion-way -he blew two sharp notes on his whistle, a signal which was immediately -answered by the cruiser sending another cutter alongside with a -fully-armed crew. - -In the meantime the search aft had revealed the ship’s papers, which -showed of course that the _St. George_ had cleared from London for -Melbourne. The skipper’s private journal in German was also impounded. -With the documents under his arm the lieutenant returned on deck, just -as the search party forward emerged from the fore-peak bringing their -hapless countrymen to light. Orders were immediately issued to place -all the foreigners under arrest, but the skipper was nowhere to be -seen. A search for him was ordered at once, but the words had hardly -been spoken when, with an awful roar, the whole beautiful fabric was -rent into a myriad fragments; an immense volume of dense smoke rose -sullenly into the clear air, and the sparkling sea was bestrewn with -the mangled remains of friend and foe alike. - -The desperate skipper had chosen, rather than give up his ill-gotten -prize, to fire the great store of powder under the main-hatch, -involving himself and his captors in one awful fate. A great wave -raised by the gigantic explosion made even the stately cruiser roll and -stagger as if in a heavy gale, but all her boats were in the water in a -trice making search for any trace of life among the wreckage. - -Not one was saved, and with a company of heavy-hearted men she resumed -her passage bearing the terrible news of the loss of the _St. George_. - - - - -XXIII - -THE TRUTH ABOUT THE MERCHANT SERVICE - - -At intervals, ever since the issue of the last report of the -Registrar-General of Shipping and Seamen, there have been appearing -in the press items of comment upon the significant tables set forth -in that most interesting document. But one feature has been painfully -evident in all of them--the inability to appreciate, from a merchant -seaman’s point of view, the underlying lessons that report contained. - -This, though much to be regretted, can scarcely be wondered at when we -remember the limitations, the inarticulateness, of the class referred -to. Here it may be as well to state that in what follows the terms -“ship,” “officer,” and “seaman,” are to be understood as referring -solely to the Mercantile Marine, unless otherwise stated--a necessary -warning, since eight out of every ten landsmen always confound the two -services, mercantile and naval. - -First in importance, as well as in interest, to seamen is the question -of personnel. It is much to the credit of the Navy League that it -is wide awake to the dangers besetting this country through the -increasing numbers of foreign seamen manning our ships. But it does not -appear as if even the Navy League fully realises to what extent our -cargo-carriers have been handed over to the foreigner. A very extended -acquaintance with the various trades is absolutely necessary in order -to understand the reason why the percentages shown in the Board of -Trade return do not reveal the true state of affairs. As they stand, -the percentage of foreign able-seamen to British (excluding Lascars) -in foreign-going sailing ships is shown to be as high as 48.6. Taking -steam and sailing ships together, the percentage falls to 35.5, for -reasons which will presently appear. Now, one would naturally expect -(what proves indeed to be the case) that our coasters and fishermen -would be almost entirely British. And we may go a step further, and -declare that these hardy fellows are the fine flower of our seamen, -as stalwart and capable as ever British seamen were. With them may -be classed the fishermen, hovellers, and beachmen generally of our -coasts, who, though not classed as seamen, may fearlessly challenge -comparison with any seafarers in the wide world. Among all these the -foreigner finds little or no room wherein to thrust himself, nor is -there apparently much danger that he ever will. Next to these in order -of immunity from foreign interference come the great steamship lines, -other than those trading to the Far East, whose crews are almost -exclusively composed of Lascars and Chinese, with British officers. -To the former belong such great undertakings as the “Cunard,” the -“Union,” the “Castle,” and the “Pacific” Companies. In these splendid -vessels the Britisher tenaciously holds his own, in whatever part of -the ship you seek him. The food is good, pay is fair, accommodation -is comfortable, and a high state of discipline is maintained. -Consequently, these ships are eagerly sought after by the better class -of seamen, who will be found making voyage after voyage in the same -vessel, or at least in the same line. - -But having thus briefly dismissed the almost exclusively British-manned -branches of the Mercantile Marine, we are met by a vastly different -state of affairs at once. - - -OCEAN TRAMPS - -Go to one of the shipping offices when a sailing ship is “signing on,” -and watch the skipper’s contemptuous look as he scrutinises a steamboat -man’s discharge just handed to him. “I want sailors, not navvies,” he -shouts, as he scornfully flings it back. Therefore a “sailor man,” -gives them a wide berth if he can. And then the conditions of life on -board these tanks effectually bar decent Britons out of them. The few -that are found in them generally belong to that unhappy class of men -who get drunk at every opportunity, and must go when their money is -done in whatever presents itself. They would sail in a sieve with the -devil for a skipper. The rule is, however, for these vessels to be -manned by a motley crowd of what Jack calls “dagoes,”--Latins of all -kinds, the scum of the Levant, with a sprinkling of Scandinavians, -but not many. It speaks volumes for the skill and pluck of the -officers unfortunate enough to be responsible for such ships, that so -few casualties occur in comparison with their number; for it is no -uncommon thing for a tramp of a thousand tons or so to be wallowing -along through a pitch-black night, the whole watch on deck consisting -of the officer in charge and three men, no one of whom is able to -understand the other. One is at the wheel, one is on the look-out, and -the other “stands by to never mind.” The kennel below is filthy,--a -parti-coloured halo round the reeking grease-pot that serves for a lamp -eloquently testifying to the condition of the atmosphere. The food is -in keeping with the rest, where provided by the ship; but in a large -number of cases these are “weekly boats,”; that is, the men are paid -by the week and “find” themselves,--an arrangement that lends itself -to some extraordinary developments of mixed messes and semi-starvation -among such a strange medley of races. I knew a weekly boat once that -signed in London for a Mediterranean voyage, but was chartered in -Smyrna to take pilgrims to Jeddah. The fellows cut their purchases very -fine, as it was for the trip, but owing to their stores being stolen -by the starving pilgrims, they were in such a plight when they left -Suez that it was a miracle they did not share the fate of fifty-five -of their passengers, who resigned their pilgrimage on the passage, and -found rest among the sharks. Other things happened, too, more true than -tellable, which would almost serve as an appendix to the _Inferno_. -These vessels are mostly owned by single-ship companies, a dozen or -so of which will be managed by some enterprising broker, who makes a -fortune, although the shareholders rarely see dividends. Under such -conditions of ownership there is no room for wonder that these tramps -are what they are. - - -MUCH CANVAS AND FEW MEN - -Many intelligent people are possessed by the idea that steam is rapidly -driving the sailing-ship from the sea. If they would only take a stroll -round the docks they would alter their views. For certain trades and -some kinds of cargo the steamer, let her be built, found, and manned -as cheaply as the ’cutest single-ship manager can contrive, cannot -possibly compete with the sailing-ship. And of late years it has been -found possible to add enormously to the size of sailing-ships without -increasing the cost of their working to any extent. Four-masted ships -have become plentiful, carrying an area of canvas which would have -seemed incredible to the seamen of fifty years ago, accustomed as -they were to the flying clippers of Britain and America. These vessels -are as handsome as the tramp steamer is hideous, their graceful lines, -taut spars, and spidery rigging all lending themselves to beauty. But -in these, as in the tramps, the foreigner is paramount. The ghastly -farce (to a sailor) of labour-saving appliances has enabled the owners -to reduce the crew lists to such an extent that in the majority of -these ships all hands are barely enough for an efficient watch. The -only change which has been found workable in the management of the -larger sails above the courses is an American invention. It consists -of splitting a sail in half horizontally, and was long applied to the -topsails only, their unwieldy depth having always made them exceedingly -difficult to handle. With the growth in size of ships and sails the -top-gallant-sails have been also halved, and this alteration is now -very general. But the comparative ease with which these sails can be -handled, as compared with what used to be the case, has naturally -tempted officers anxious to make a passage to “hang on,” longer than -they used to, depending upon their ability to get sail in quickly -at the last moment. That was all very well when a crew was carried -sufficient in numbers to do what was required of them. But when eight -such struggling monsters as a 3000-ton ship’s to’gallant-s’ls are have -to be furled at once in a gale of wind by eighteen men (supposing all -hands are called), it is quite another matter. Few experiences are -more awful than those gained by being on a yard with a handful of men -trying to master two or three thousand yards of No. 1 canvas in what -sailors call a “breeze of wind,”--off the Horn, for instance, in a -blinding snowstorm, with the canvas like a plank for stiffness, and -rising far above your head in a solid round of white, into which you -vainly try to force your half-frozen fingers. - - -THE DUTCHMAN - -There is a great temptation to enlarge upon this theme, but it must be -sternly suppressed, my object being solely to show how a scanty crew -list adds to the miseries of the sailor. Not only so, but the food is -so uniformly, unpardonably bad that British seamen will not put up -with it a day longer than they can help. They get out of it the first -opportunity that presents itself, and the Dutchman, as Jack impartially -designates Germans and Scandinavians alike, comes in. In such vessels -as I have been describing he is found in a proportion of at least 85 -per cent. And not only as common seamen, but as officers, masters, -mates, and tradesmen. In these ships are to be found the 180 captains, -512 mates, 637 boatswains, 1304 carpenters, 277 sailmakers, and 2321 -cooks and stewards of foreign birth admittedly sailing in British -vessels, according to the Registrar-General. A very potent reason -for this is to be found in the peculiar conditions of discipline, or -rather want of discipline, obtaining on board these ships. Bad food, -short-handedness, and miserable quarters make British Jack, never too -amenable to discipline, kick over the traces. When he does, which is -not infrequently, what remedy has his superior officer? Practically -none. Handcuffs are carried, but with an all too scanty crew already -that coercive measure is barred. American methods of “booting” and -“belaying-pin soup” are also out of the question, for Jack knows enough -of the Merchant Shipping Act to make him a dangerous customer to -assault. Personal violence towards a seaman on the high seas renders -an officer liable to lose his certificate, even if he gets a present -advantage in the sudden civility of the person assaulted. Again, the -scanty number of officers carried in proportion to the crew is a -powerful argument against the use of physical force. So dangerous a -weapon ought never to be used at sea unless it is sure to be effectual. -And yet, failing personal violence, there are no means by which an -officer can enforce obedience to his orders. Refusal to obey orders, -often accompanied by the foulest abuse, is one of the commonest of -experiences at sea in British sailing ships, for which gross outrage -the master’s only legal remedy is to note the offence in the official -log, and on the ship’s arrival in port get a magistrate to sanction -fining the offender a portion of his pay varying from two days’ to a -month’s wages. - -Between British seamen anxious to leave the sea and captains eager -to ship Dutchmen, the miserable remnant of our countrymen manning -“deep-water” ships steadily dwindles. Those that remain are mostly like -Sterne’s starling, or else they are hopeful youngsters who, having -served their time in some singly-owned hooker, and passed for second -mate, sail before the mast in hope of picking up a berth abroad. They -cannot live at home in idleness wearing away the dock roads looking -for berths which are all filled up by those possessing influence of -some kind with the owners, so they put in their time as A.B.s and live -in hope. This, however, is not all. Not content with supplying our -forecastles, the Dutchmen kindly furnish us with officers as well. -I have been before the mast in a ship, the _Orpheus_ of Greenock, -where the chief mate was a Liverpool man, who, with a Welsh A.B. and -myself, represented the entire British element on board. Her crew -numbered twenty-four all told. Doubtless I shall hear that this was -a marvellously exceptional case, but I beg to differ--it is all too -common. - - -THE “BOY” - -Another curious feature of the manning of our ships is especially -noticed by the Registrar-General--the way in which young British seamen -leave the sea-life at the earliest opportunity. His unemotional remark, -that “as ‘sailors’ do not ordinarily enter the sea-service after they -are twenty-five years of age, this falling off in the number of its -young British sailors affects the source of supply of our future petty -officers and able seamen,” is full of the gravest warning, which has, -however, apparently passed unheeded. Out of the various training -ships[3] there pass every year a very large number of lads into the -mercantile marine, who have received at least an insight into the -conditions of a sailor’s life as it should be. They are taught habits -of obedience, cleanliness, and regularity, and in some cases have -actual acquaintance with the working of small vessels under way. When -they are considered to be fairly competent to do all that is likely -to be required of them, they are taken in hand by an official whose -duty it is to find ships for them. In due time they sign as “boys,” -generally in sailing ships, and away they go to sea. To their utter -amazement they find the life has scarcely anything in common with -that which they have been used to. In the first place, they miss most -painfully the abundance of good plain food. Then they have been used to -cleanliness of the strictest kind, both in body and clothes. Now they -are fortunate if they can obtain the eighth share of a bucket of fresh -water once a week, unless rain falls. Their duties have been regular, -their periods of rest unbroken; now they have as many masters as there -are hands on board, and they never know what to do next. They have -been under a regular system of tuition; now, if they learn anything, -it is because they are determined to do so in spite of difficulties -which are only to be overcome by such indomitable perseverance as one -can hardly expect from a boy. And lastly, they are thrown into the -intimate society of a group of men who, generally speaking, have but -one topic of conversation, one mode of speech--the worst possible. They -are continually being told that nobody but a fool goes to sea, that it -is the life of a convict, with worse food and lodging, and that they -had better sweep a crossing ashore. Consequently they are ever on the -look-out for a way of escape, and the great majority succeed in finding -one before very long. - - [3] This does not apply to cadet ships, such as the _Worcester_ - and _Conway_. - - -THE NAVAL RESERVE - -This brings me to a most important part of the subject, the question of -merchant seamen as a reserve for the Navy. There can be no doubt that -the institution of the Royal Naval Reserve was a grand idea, but there -are grave doubts as to the way in which it is being carried out. As -far as its officers are concerned, its success can hardly be disputed, -though there may be more truth than is palatable in the assertion -that Naval officers look down with much contempt upon the gallant -merchantmen who become R.N.R. lieutenants. Whether that be so or not, I -am sure that Naval officers would be the first to recognise the value -of R.N.R lieutenants if ever their services were needed, and any -lingering feeling of superiority would soon give place to admiration. -But the men, the rank and file, who are each paid a substantial -retaining fee yearly, besides a guinea a week for six weeks’ annual -drill? I speak under correction as trenching upon a matter with which I -have had small acquaintance, but I believe that drill is usually put in -on board of an ancient hulk, with obsolete weapons, and that very few -of the men have any acquaintance whatever with the actual conditions -of service on board a sea-going vessel of war. If I am right in this -contention, then this most valuable body of men are running to waste, -and would be no more fit to take their places on board a man-o’-war -than they would be to start cabinet-making. And if this be so in the -case of Royal Naval Reserve men, what can be said of those outside -that experimental force? Except that he would be hardly likely to get -seasick, the merchant seaman suddenly transferred to (let us say) a -first-class battleship would feel as much out of his element as any -landsman, more so than an engine-fitter or a man accustomed to some of -our big machine-shops. To use the same words, but in a very different -sense, that I used about the tramp-steamer crews, a man-of-warsman -(blue-jacket) is not a sailor at all now. He is a marine artilleryman -with a fine knowledge of boat handling, but a spanner is fitter for -his fist than a marlinspike. He lives in the heart of a bewildering -complication of engineering contrivances, to which the mazy web of -a sailing-ship’s top hamper is as simple as a child’s box of bricks. -He is accustomed to the manipulation of masses of metal so huge as to -excite the awe-stricken wonder of the ordinary citizen who is not an -engineer. And familiarity with packages of death-dealing explosives -renders him as contemptuously indifferent to their potentialities -of destruction as if they were sand or sawdust. And, most important -of all, long and rigid training has made him one of the smartest -men in the world, able to act at the word of command like a pinion -in a machine, at the right moment, in the right way, yet with that -intelligence no machine can ever possess. - - -THE INTELLIGENT FOREIGNER - -Talk about the average merchant seamen filling up gaps in the ranks of -men like these is almost too much for one’s patience on the part of -those whose business it is to know; it is criminal stupidity. Now in -France every merchant seaman must perforce spend a large proportion -of his time in the Navy, so that their reserve is always available. -And that is one reason why France strives so eagerly to foster her -Mercantile Marine even at such crushing cost to her long-suffering -taxpayers. In the event of war with us, however, she would be in a -far different position, because she could exist without a merchant -ship at sea, and all their crews would be ready for service in the -Navy. What should we do? Even supposing that all our merchant seamen -were capable of taking their places on board of men-of-war if called -upon, who would man the fleets of food-carriers? Accepting as rigidly -correct the proportions shown by the official document already quoted, -the percentage of foreign seamen in all foreign-going vessels was two -years ago 35.5, and admittedly increasing rapidly. Would it be wise to -withdraw from the merchant ships the stiffening of British subjects -they now carry and replace them by aliens? I firmly believe that the -danger limit has long been passed in the exclusively cargo-carrying -trades, which, after all, are our very backbone. What this great army -of aliens will do in the event of our going to war with one or two -European Powers is a problem of undeniable gravity. But given a fine -ship with a valuable cargo, with officers and crew nearly all German, -what might they reasonably be expected to do? Failing an answer, I -submit that the temptation to transfer the ship to their own flag -would be very great. And it is a needless risk. Let it be granted -that the alien officer or skipper is a good man, better educated most -likely, a good seaman, and that he is cheap. All these qualities except -the educational one (which is, after all, not so important to our -officers as it is to the foreigner) our officers possess in just as -great measure, while as for the price--well, I have seen half-a-dozen -chief mates tumbling over one another for the chance of shipping in a -1200-ton Baltic tramp steamer at £5 : 10s. a month. They could not be -much cheaper than that, unless they got the same wages as the crew. And -I know of English skippers of sea-going steamers out of London who are -getting £10 a month. Poor men, they are cheap enough! - -To sum up as briefly as possible all the foregoing remarks: It seems -clear to me, as it has done to all intelligent seamen that I have -ever met, that very little legislation is needed to make the British -Mercantile Marine popular again among our own countrymen. Legislation -has hitherto done little for the sailor, while it has exasperated -the shipowner, already handicapped as none of his foreign rivals -have ever been. The Mercantile Marine should more nearly approximate -to the Navy in many of its details, which need not entail extra -expense or annoyance to the shipowner. It should be made possible -for a shipmaster to ensure better discipline, but he should be able -to give his men better food and better housing. The Board of Trade -scale of provisions is a hateful abomination; it ought to be blotted -out and a sensible dietary substituted, which need not exceed it in -cost, while it would act like a charm upon seamen, for whom it has an -importance undreamed of by those ashore, who even on the slenderest -incomes can fare every day in a manner luxurious by comparison with -our sailors. More attention should be paid to the men’s quarters. -Here, again, expenses need not be raised; a little attention to detail -in drawing up specifications would make a vast difference. _And -none but a naturalised British subject should be permitted to sign -articles in a British ship._ This plan is pursued with advantage in -American vessels, which, like our own, carry an enormous percentage of -foreigners of all nations. Of undermanning I need say nothing more, -because the question is being dealt with, and will, I earnestly hope, -be settled with as much satisfaction to everybody concerned as the -splendid “Midge” scheme, the only piece of marine legislation that I -can remember that has been completely successful. Unfortunately, under -present conditions it is responsible for the still further depletion -of our Mercantile Marine of British seamen, since numbers of them by -its beneficent operations reach their homes with their hard-earned pay -intact. This enables them to look about for a job ashore where they are -known, whereas under the bad old conditions they would have been in a -few days again “outward bound with a stocking round their necks,” as -Jack tersely sums up the situation of a man who has squandered all his -money, been robbed of, or has sold, all his clothes, and is off to sea -again in the first craft that he can get, going he neither knows nor -cares whither. - - - - -XXIV - -CANCER CAY - - -There is a tiny islet on the outskirts of the Solomon Archipelago that -to all such casual wanderers as stray so far presents not a single -feature of interest. Like scores of others in those latitudes, it has -not yet attained to the dignity of a single coco-nut tree, although -many derelict nuts have found a lodgment upon it, and begun to grow, -only to be wiped out of existence at the next spring-tide. Viewed from -a balloon it would look like a silly-season mushroom, but with a fringe -of snowy foam around it marking the protecting barrier to which it owes -its existence, to say nothing of its growth. Yet of all places in the -world which I have been privileged to visit, this barren little mound -of sand clings most tenaciously to my memory, for reasons which will -presently appear. - -One of those devastating cyclones that at long intervals sweep across -the Pacific, leaving a long swath of destruction in their wake, had -overtaken the pearling schooner of which I was mate. For twenty-four -hours we fled before it, we knew not whither, not daring to heave-to. -The only compass we possessed had been destroyed by the first sea -that broke on board. Whether it was night or day we had no notion, -except by watch, and even then we were doubtful, so appalling was the -darkness. Hope was beginning to revive that, as the _Papalangi_ had -proved herself so staunch, she might yet “run it out,” unless she -hit something. But the tiny rag rigged forrard to keep her before it -suddenly flew into threads; the curl of the sea caught her under the -counter and spun her up into the wind like a teetotum. The next vast -comber took her broadside-on, rolled her over, and swallowed her up. We -went “down quick into the pit.” - -Although always reckoned a powerful swimmer, even among such amphibia -as the Kanakas, I don’t remember making a stroke. But after a -horrible, choking struggle in the black uproar I got my breath again, -finding myself clinging, as a drowning man will, to something big and -seaworthy. It was an ordinary ship’s hencoop that the skipper had -bought cheap from a passenger vessel in Auckland. As good a raft as -one could wish, it bore me on over the mad sea, half dead as I was, -until I felt it rise high as if climbing a cataract and descend amidst -a furious boiling of surf into calm, smooth water. A few minutes later -I touched a sandy beach. Utterly done up, I slept where I lay, at the -water’s edge, though the shrieking hurricane raged overhead as if it -would tear the land up by the roots. - -When I awoke it was fine weather, though to leeward the infernal -reek of the departing meteor still disfigured a huge segment of the -sky. I looked around, and my jaw dropped. Often I had wondered what -a poor devil _would_ do who happened to be cast away on such a spot -as this. Apparently I was about to learn. A painful pinch at my bare -foot startled me, and I saw an ugly beast of a crab going for me. He -was nearly a foot across, his blue back covered with long spikes, and -his wicked little eyes seemed to have an expression of diabolical -malignity. I snatched at a handful of his legs and swung him round my -head, dashing him against the side of my coop with such vigour that his -armour flew to flinders around me. I never have liked crab, even when -dressed, but I found the raw flesh of that one tasty enough--it quite -smartened me up. Having eaten heartily, I took a saunter up the smooth -knoll of sand, aimlessly, I suppose, for it was as bare as a plate, -without a stone or a shell. From its highest point, about ten feet -above high-water mark, I looked around, but my horizon was completely -bounded by the ring of breakers aforesaid. I felt like the scorpion -within the fiery circle, and almost as disposed to sting myself to -death had I possessed the proper weapon. As I stood gazing vacantly at -the foaming barrier and solemn enclosing dome of fleckless blue, I was -again surprised by a vicious nip at my foot. There was another huge -crab boldly attacking me--me, a vigorous man, and not a sodden corpse, -as yet. I felt a grue of horror run all down my back, but I grabbed at -the vile thing and hurled it from me half across the island. Then I -became aware of others arriving, converging upon me from all around, -and I was panic-stricken. For one mad moment I thought of plunging -into the sea again; but reason reasserted itself in time, reminding me -that, while I had certain advantages on my side where I was, in the -water I should fall a helpless victim at once, if, as might naturally -be expected, these ghouls were swarming there. Not a weapon of any kind -could I see, neither stick nor stone. My feelings of disgust deepened -into despair. But I got little time for thought. Such a multitude of -the eerie things were about me that I was kept most actively employed -seizing them and flinging them from me. They got bolder, feinting and -dodging around me, but happily without any definite plan of campaign -among them. Once I staggered forward, having trodden unaware upon a -spiky back as I sprung aside, wounding my foot badly. I fell into a -group of at least twenty, crushing some of them, but after a painful -struggle among those needle-like spines regained my feet with several -clinging to my body. A kind of frenzy seized me, and, regardless of -pain, I clutched at them right and left, dashing them to fragments one -against the other, until quite a pile of writhing, dismembered enemies -lay around me, while my hands and arms were streaming from numberless -wounds. Very soon I became exhausted by my violent exertions and the -intense heat, but, to my unfathomable thankfulness, the heap of broken -crabs afforded me a long respite, the sound ones finding congenial -occupation in devouring them. While I watched the busy cannibals -swarming over the yet writhing heap, I became violently ill, for -imagination vividly depicted them rioting in my viscera. Vertigo seized -me, I reeled and fell prone, oblivious to all things for a time. - -When sense returned it was night. The broad moon was commencing her -triumphal march among the stars, which glowed in the blue-black concave -like globules of incandescent steel. My body was drenched with dew, -a blessed relief, for my tongue was leathery and my lips were split -with drouth. I tore off my shirt and sucked it eagerly, the moisture -it held, though brackish, mitigating my tortures of thirst. Suddenly I -bethought me of my foes, and looked fearfully around. There was not one -to be seen, nothing near but the heap of clean-picked shells of those -devoured. As the moon rose higher, I saw a cluster of white objects -at a little distance, soon recognisable as boobies. They permitted me -to snatch a couple of them easily, and wringing off their heads I got -such a draught as put new life into me. Hope returned, even quelling -the cruel thought of daylight bringing again those ravening hordes of -crawling crustacea. Yet my position was almost as hopeless as one could -imagine. Unless, as I much doubted, this was a known spot for _bêche de -mer_ or pearl-shell fishers, there was but the remotest chance of my -rescue, while, without anything floatable but my poor little hencoop, -passing that barrier of breakers was impossible. Fortunately I have -always tried to avoid meeting trouble half-way, and with a thankful -feeling of present wants supplied, I actually went to sleep again, -though stiff and sore from head to heel. - -At daybreak I awoke again to a repetition of the agonies of the -previous day, which, although I was better fortified to meet them, were -greater than before. The numbers of my hideous assailants were more -than doubled as far I could judge. The whole patch of sand seemed alive -with the voracious vermin. So much so that when I saw the approach of -those horrible hosts my heart sank, my flesh shrank on my bones, and -I clutched at my throat. But I could not strangle myself, though had -I possessed a knife I should certainly have chosen a swift exit from -the unutterable horror of my position, fiercely as I clung to life. To -be devoured piecemeal, retaining every faculty till the last--I could -not bear the thought. There was no time for reflection, however; the -struggle began at once and continued with a pertinacity on the part of -the crabs that promised a speedy end to it for me. How long it lasted -I have no idea--to my tortured mind it was an eternity. At last, -overborne, exhausted, surrounded by mounds of those I had destroyed, -over which fresh legions poured in ever-increasing numbers, earth and -sky whirled around me, and I fell backward. As I went, with many of -the vile things already clinging to me, I heard a yell--a human voice -that revived my dulling senses like a galvanic shock. With one last -flash of vigour I sprang to my feet, seeing as I did so a canoe with -four Kanakas in it, not fifty yards away, in the smooth water between -the beach and the barrier. Bounding like a buck, heedless of the pain -as my wounded feet clashed among the innumerable spiky carapaces of my -enemies, I reached the water, and hurled myself headlong towards that -ark of safety. How I reached it I do not know, nor anything further -until I returned to life again on board the _Warrigal_ of Sydney, as -weak as a babe and feeling a century older. - - - - -XXV - -A NINETEENTH-CENTURY JONAH - - -We were gathered together in a compact group under the weather -bulwarks of the old _Rainbow_, South Sea-man, presently cruising on -the Line grounds; officers and harpooners of three ships engaged in -the pleasant occupation of “gamming,” as ship-visiting is termed among -Southern-going whalemen. Song and dance were finished, and with pipes -aglow, stretched at our ease, the time-honoured “cuffer” or yarn was -going its soothing round. - -The fourth officer of the _Rainbow_, a taciturn Englishman, whose -speech and manner excited wonder as to how he came in that galley, -was called upon in his turn to contribute. Without hesitation, as if -professional story-telling was his _métier_, he began: - -“‘’Ere she white water-r-rs! Ah blo-o-ow!’ came ringing down from -the main crow’s nest of the _Megantic_, South Sea whaler of Martha’s -Vineyard, as she heeled solemnly to the steady trade on the -‘off-shore’ ground one lovely morning. - -“‘Where away? Haow fer off?’ roared the skipper, while, slinging his -glasses, he prepared to elevate his sixteen stone painfully to the -giddy height above him. - -“‘Two p’ints on the starb’rd baouw, sir, ’baout five mile off. Looks -like sparm whale, sir,’ was the prompt reply. - -“‘All right, keep her az she goes, Mr. Slocum, ’n’ clar away boats,’ -said the ‘old man,’ as with many a grunt he began his pilgrimage of -pain. - -“There was no need to call all hands. The first cry had startled them -into sudden activity. Before its echoes died away, they were on deck, -with no trace of drowsiness among them. Being in a high state of -discipline, each man went straight to his boat, standing ready, at the -word, to lower and be off after the gambolling leviathan ahead. Silence -reigned profound, except for the soothing murmur of the displaced sea -as the lumbering old barky forged slowly ahead, or the soft flap of -a hardly-drawing staysail as she rolled to windward. Seated upon the -upper topsail yard, the ‘old man’ soliloquised grumblingly, ‘What in -the ’tarnal blazes ’s he doin’ of? Gaul bust my gol-dern skin ef ever -_I_ see sech a ninseck ’n _my_ life. I be everlastin’ly frazzled ef -’taint mos’ ’s bad ez snakes in yer boots. Mr. Slocum, jes’ shin up -hyar a minit, won’t ye?’ - -“As if unable to trust his own senses any longer, he thus called upon -the mate to help him out. More agile than the skipper in his movements, -it was but a few seconds before Mr. Slocum was by his chief’s side, -peering with growing bewilderment through the binoculars at the strange -object ahead. What had at first sight seemed an ordinary full-sized -bull cachalot leisurely playing upon the surface of the sea, had now -resolved itself into an indescribable, ever-shifting mass of matter, -from the dark centre of which writhing arms continually protruded and -retreated. The golden glare lavished along the glittering sea by the -ascending sun added to the mystery surrounding the moving monster or -monsters, for it or they lay right in the centre of that dazzling path. - -“‘Wall--whatjer mek ov it, Mr. Slocum?’ queried the skipper -sarcastically. - -“Slowly, as if spelling his words, the mate replied, ‘Thutty-nine year -hev I ben a-fishin’, but ef ever I see ennythin’ like _that_ befo’, may -I never pump sparm whale ag’in. Kaint fine no sorter name fer it, sir.’ - -“‘Lemme see them glasses agen,’ said the ‘old man’ wearily. ‘’Pears -like ’s if she’s a-risin’ it, whatever ’tes, consider’ble sudden;’ and, -readjusting the focus, he glued his eyes to the tubes again for another -long searching look at the uncanny sight. His scrutiny was evidently -more satisfying than at first, for without removing the glasses from -his eyes, he yapped, ‘’Way down frum aloft! Heave to, ’n low’r away, -Mr. Slocum. Guess yew’ll fine a “fish” thar, er tharabout.’ - -“‘Ay, ay, sir,’ promptly returned the mate, departing with great -alacrity, issuing orders the while, so that by the time he reached the -deck there was a whirring rattle of patent sheaves, and a succession -of subdued splashes, as boat after boat took the water. In almost as -short a time as it takes to say it, the boats’ masts were stepped, the -big sails bellied out, and away sped the handsome craft, in striking -contrast to the unlovely old hulk that had borne them. - -“We were no ‘greenies’; long practice had so familiarised us with the -wiles and ferocity of the cachalot, that we had none of the tremors at -approaching one that so sorely afflict beginners. Nevertheless there -was an air of mystery about the present proceedings which affected all -of us more or less, though no one knew precisely why. Absolute silence -is the invariable rule, as you know, in boats going on a ‘fish,’ -because of that exquisite sense of sound possessed by the sperm whale, -which is something more than hearing; so we were slightly startled -to hear our harpooner say in a clear undertone, ‘Dern funny-lookin’ -fish that, Mr. Slocum, don’t ye think?’ But for all answer our chief -growled, ‘Stand up, José!’ - -“Instantly the big fellow sprang to his feet in attitude to strike, -balancing his weapon, a heroic figure sharply outlined against the -clear blue. - -“Good Lord! what was that? A horrible medley of blue-black and -livid white, an inextricable tangle of writhing, clutching, tearing, -serpent-like arms, that lashed the sea into a curious dusky foam, -evil-smelling and greasy. Out of its midst rose an immense globular -mass, bearing two eyes larger than barrel-heads, dead black, yet with a -Satanic expression that confused one’s heart-beats. - -“‘Giv’t to him! giv’t to him!’ roared the mate, and instantly the iron -flew into the midst of the wallowing entanglement, followed immediately -by another from José’s eager, nervous arms. Willing hands clutched -the flapping sail to roll it up, but a shriek of agony paralysed them -all. A long livid thing rose on the off side of the boat, and twining -itself around the wretched harpooner’s tall figure, tore him from our -midst, his heartbroken death-yell curdling our blood. Quick as thought, -another of those awful arms came gliding over us, this time encircling -the boat amidships. Though tapering to the slenderest of points, it was -of the circumference of a man’s body at its thickest, and armed with -saucer-like mouths all along its inferior surface. One of these clung -to my bare breast as the slimy horror tightened round us, a ring of -great curved claws which protruded from it tearing at my flesh as if to -strip it from the bones. But we had hardly realised what was happening, -when she was going over, parbuckled as you might turn a hand-bowl. In a -moment all was darkness and struggle for breath amidst a very maelström -of slime and stench, in the depths of which I felt myself freed from -that frightful grip. It seemed like hours before, with a bound, I -reached the surface again, clutching at something hard and floating -as I rose. In spite of the excruciating agony of my wounds, and the -rushing of the air into my collapsed lungs, there was a sense of relief -beyond expression, as of resurrection from the dead. - -“Although counted a good swimmer even among such amphibia as our crew, -I lay there supine, stretched at length upon the sea--a still, white -figure grasping numbly at the fragment of bottom-board. Suddenly I -became aware of a whirling in the water again, but I was in a sort of -stupor of the physical faculties, though mentally alert enough. - -“Then up reared above my head an object I recognised with a long wail -of terror; the tremendous lower jaw of the sperm whale, bristling with -its double row of gleaming teeth. Before I could gasp a prayer, or -even think what was happening, I was gliding down the vast grey cavern -of his throat, with but one thought left--‘the descent into Hell is -easy.’ Down, down I went into utter darkness, among a squirming, fetid -heap of snaky coils, that enveloped me, and seemed to gnaw and tear -at my shuddering body as if devouring me at second hand. Then came an -explosion--a dull, rending report that sent an earthquake shock through -me and my unutterable surroundings. Immediately following this there -was a convulsive upheaval, in which all the contents of that awful -place took a rising motion, growing faster and faster, until, with a -roaring rush, came the dear daylight again. - -“What ensued then for some time I do not know. A sensation of -heavenly peace and calm possessed me, when, as if released from some -unimaginable nightmare, I found myself floating placidly as a Medusa -upon a calm sea. There I felt content to lie, without effort, conscious -only of life--life so sweet that I wondered dreamily whether I was -still in the body, or had passed into that blissful state imagined by -speculative psychologists as awaiting man after death. Gradually my -mind became clearer, my limbs felt willing to obey the impulse of my -brain. I began to swim, feebly at first, almost automatically, but with -increasing vigour as the significance of my position became clearer to -me. - -“I had swum but a short distance when the blessed sound of my -shipmates’ voices greeted my ears, but from my lowly position I was -unable to see them, until one of them gripped me by the arms, dragging -me into the boat among them. - -“Then I learned without surprise that I was the only survivor of -my boat’s crew. Every one of my fellows had disappeared before the -horror-stricken gaze of the men in the other boats, who, being but -a short distance astern of us, had witnessed the whole tragedy. It -appeared that we had attacked a cachalot in the act of devouring one -of the gigantic cuttle-fish, or ‘squid,’ upon which these cetaceans -feed, and of which it is most probable no mortal eye has yet beheld -a full-sized specimen. For they inhabit the middle depths of oceans, -never coming to the surface voluntarily. - -“This monster’s arms, or tentacles, enlaced the whole colossal body -of the whale, so that they must have been fully 60 feet or 70 feet -in length. At their junction with the head they were about 5 feet in -girth, as a huge fragment lying at the bottom of the boat conclusively -proved. At the time we so rashly attacked the whale the mighty mollusc -must have been in his death-throes, for immediately after our boat’s -disappearance the whale ‘sounded.’ When, a minute or two later, he rose -again to the surface, the other boats’ crews saw him busily turning -over and over, as if collecting the scattered fragments of his late -victim. At that time they had not noticed me among the various flotsam, -but it must have been then that I vanished down the capacious gullet -of the voracious cetacean. Fortunately for me they were furiously bent -upon attacking the whale, and so in some degree avenging their slain -shipmates. - -“The second mate had loaded his bomb-gun with an extra heavy charge, -and at the same moment that the harpooner darted his weapon the bomb -was discharged also. It penetrated the cachalot’s lungs, inflicting a -mortal wound by its explosion therein, the noise of which was the shock -that I felt while in that horrible tomb. As is usual, in his dying -agony the whale ejected the whole contents of his stomach, by means -of which cataclysm I was expelled therefrom and restored to the upper -world once more. But had it not been for long and severe practice in -diving, taken while pearl-fishing in Polynesia, enabling me to compete -successfully with Kanakas, who almost live in the water, and even to -outdo them at times, I must have been suffocated. The only time I was -ever before so distressed for breath was in Levuka, when mate of a -schooner. Our anchor fouled a rock in eight fathoms of water, and we -could by no means persuade any of our natives to attempt its release. -Rather than lose the fair chance of sailing that day I tried the -dangerous task, succeeding after a desperate struggle, but regaining -the surface with blood streaming from mouth, nose, and ears. - -“I lay back in the stern-sheets of the boat feeling cruelly exhausted, -the pain of my ghastly wound becoming continually more severe. But, -even pre-occupied as I was, I could hardly fail to notice a want of -cordiality towards me among my shipmates. An uncomfortable silence -prevailed, depressing and unusual. It was not due to the natural -solemnity following upon the sudden loss of five of our number, cut off -in the prime of their health and strength, for, until I had told the -wonderful story of my going down into Sheol, their demeanour had been -very different. I looked appealingly and wonderingly from one to the -other, but could not meet any eye. They were all furtively averted with -intent to avoid my gaze. - -“To my relief we reached the ship speedily. I was assisted on board -gently enough, and led aft to where the skipper was roaming restlessly -athwart the quarter-deck, like a caged animal. I was allowed to -sit down while he examined me keenly as to the occurrences of the -day. The gloom deepened on his face as I recounted all that I could -remember of the fate of my unfortunate shipmates, until, my tale being -told, he began, in curt, half-angry fashion, to question me about my -antecedents. Not liking his manner, besides feeling faint and ill, I -gave him but little information on that head. - -“Then he burst out into petulant disconnected sentences, in bitter -regrets for the lost men, blame of everybody generally, and at last, as -if his predominant thought could no longer be restrained, shouted, ‘I -wish ter God A’mighty I’d never seen y’r face aboard my ship. Man an’ -boy I b’en spoutin’ fer over forty year, an’ never see, no, ner hearn -tell ov, sech a hell-fire turn out. Yew’r a Jonah, thet’s wut yew air, -an’ the sooner we get shet ov ye the better it’ll be fer all han’s, an’ -the more likely we sh’l be to hev _some_ luck.’ - -“This was such a crusher that I did not attempt to reply, nor, owing -to my condition, did I quite realise the full brutality and injustice -of the man as I might otherwise have done. I crept forward to my bunk, -to find myself shunned by all my shipmates as if I was a leper, which -treatment, as I had hitherto been a prime favourite, was very hard -to bear. But in the face of ignorant superstition like this I was -powerless. So I held my peace and sat solitary, my recovery being much -hindered by the miserable state of my mind. The rest of the passage to -Valparaiso was a time of such misery as I never experienced before or -since, and I wonder that they did not land a hopeless lunatic. - -“However, I fought against _that_ successfully, determined to live if -I was allowed to, and at last, to my intense relief, I shook off the -dust of my feet against that detestable ship and her barbarous crew, -thankful that their cruelty had stopped short of heaving me overboard -as a sacrifice to the _manes_ of my lost shipmates.” - -There was a silence of some minutes’ duration after he had finished his -yarn, then from one and the other came scraps of personalia confirming -the general outlines of his experiences as to the existence of those -nightmares of the sea of incredible size, as attested by the _ejecta_ -of every dying cachalot. All gave it as their firm belief that it must -have been a sperm whale that swallowed Jonah in the long ago, but it -was the general opinion that as a rule a man was perfectly safe in the -water from a sperm whale except under such circumstances as had been -detailed, and that our friend had been the victim of a mistake on the -part of the hungry leviathan. - - - - -XXVI - -THE TRAGICAL TALE OF THE BOOMERANG PIG - - -He was born under a baleful star. I know, because I was there at the -time. But at the outset of this veracious history, to prevent probable -misunderstanding, allow me to assert that what follows in all its -details is literally and absolutely true. Naturally deficient in -imagination, I would not attempt to embellish so curious a narrative -as this, which, were I gifted beyond all literary romancists, I should -only mar by adding fiction thereunto. - -Well then, for the _locus in quo_, a lumbering old Yankee-built ship of -some 2000 tons burden, bound from Liverpool to Bombay with coal, and -at the inauspicious opening of my subject’s erratic career wallowing -in the storm-torn sea off the Cape of Good Hope. His mother was a -middle-aged lady pig, with a bitter grievance against mankind in -general, and her present owners in particular. Brought on board during -the vessel’s stay in Madras the previous year, she had never forgotten -or ceased to lament her native jungle, nor had the long course of -gentle treatment and good food modified by a single vengeful gasp her -virulent hatred of all and sundry. Insult was added to injury when, in -Liverpool, she was mated with an alien spouse, the chubby pink-flushed -whiteness of whose skin made no greater contrast to her inky hue than -did the calm placidity of his temper to her furious, unappeasable, and -continual rage. Many tokens of her regard were scored deeply along his -fat sides; indeed, but for the manifest impossibility of getting a -fair bite at him, it is only reasonable to suppose that she would have -devoured him alive. - -Now it befell upon a certain evening, when a bitter north-east gale was -brewing under the lowering leaden sky, and the weird whistling of the -coming tempest made melancholy music through the complaining shrouds, -that an interesting event in her history drew near its fulfilment. In -anticipation of this occurrence, our carpenter had rigged up a rude -sort of fold under the top-gallant forecastle, and within its narrow -limits she was ranging tiger-like, champing her foam-flecked jaws, and -occasionally tobogganing from side to side in various unhappy attitudes -as the ship tumbled every way in the bewildered sea. When the watch to -which I (a small urchin of fourteen) belonged came on deck at midnight -I was immediately told off by my inveterate foe, the second mate, to -attend to the requirements of the “lady in the straw.” Inverted commas -are necessary, because the “straw” did not exist, nor any substitute -for it; nothing but the bare deck polished to a glossy slipperiness by -the incessant friction of the sliding sow. There was a fresh hand at -the bellows before we had been on deck many minutes, and all the watch -were soon perched aloft, struggling short-handedly with the acreage of -thundering canvas, while the ship plunged so violently that I could -only remain under the forecastle by clinging, bat-like, to the side of -the pen that confined the miserable mother-elect. During that vigil of -terror and darkness (for I had only one of those ancient teapot-shaped -lamps, that yield more smoking stench than light) eleven wretched -parti-coloured morsels of pork came into being, the advent of each -one exacerbating the feelings of the already frantic parent to such -a degree that she became a veritable fury, and to my terrified eyes -seemed to dilate with potentialities of destruction. Out of the whole -family I succeeded, at the imminent risk of my own life, in saving two -from the jaws of their maniacal mother, and one of those sagaciously -succumbed before eight bells. I received small thanks for my pains, and -narrowly escaped a colting at my tyrant’s hands, who saw his visions of -abundant sucking-pig rudely dispelled by what he was pleased to call my -“dam’ pig-headed foolishness.” - -It boots not now to tell of the wealth of ingenuity I lavished -upon that ill-starred piglet, to whom I stood perforce _in loco -parentis_--how I must needs lasso the snorting, shrieking mother, and, -having entangled her legs fore and aft, drag her to the side of the pen -and lash her securely down, while I held my _protégé_ to one streaming -teat after another. Enough that the care of that solitary remnant of a -family embittered my days and rendered my nights sleepless interregnums -of weariness. Unto all things their appointed end, saith the sage, and -so at last I was freed from this porcine incubus by my charge having -grown able and wily enough to dodge his unnatural parent, and snatch -his sustenance from her in a variety of ingenious ways. But still he -might not trust himself to sleep near her, and so he discovered a nest -beneath the heel of the bowsprit, whereby her insatiable desire for his -destruction was completely frustrated, since she could by no possible -artifice get at him. After a while it was noticed that Sûsti (as for -some hidden reason he had come to be called) invariably wore at the end -of his tail a crimson ornament, which, upon closer examination, was -found to be where something amused itself, or themselves, by nibbling -during the night. The carpenter, who is always called upon to repair -everything on board ship except ropes and sails, turned to and bound up -the lessening terminal with a piece of tarred canvas, and plentifully -besmeared the outside of the bandage with tar also. And this he did -many days, because tar, and dressing, and a little more of Sûsti had -always disappeared in the morning. So the outrage continued, and the -tail became more and more abbreviated until it was entirely _non est_, -and the midnight marauders had actually excavated a socket in the -_corpus delicti_ nearly half an inch deep. - -By this time we had reached Bombay, and were busy, with the aid of a -swarming host of coolies, in getting rid of our grimy cargo. But some -one found time to suggest that a place of safety for Sûsti should -be found during the night, fearing that, unless something was done -soon, we should seek him one morning and find only a disembodied -squeal. Consequently Sûsti was captured every evening, and, protesting -discordantly, was confined in a coal-basket, which was carefully -enclosed in the after hatch house. The plan succeeded admirably, so far -that the diminution in our stock of pork ceased. But one morning, when -the after hold was empty, the hatch house was lifted off as usual and -placed by the side of the gaping hatchway, its door open, and Sûsti -lying, forgotten, in his basket. All hands went to breakfast, while the -coolies below, as was their wont, stopped work, and, squatting in the -after-hold, held a conversazione. In the middle of our meal there was a -hideous uproar, and an eruption of the heathen from all the hatchways, -greenish-grey with fright, and swarming madly in every possible -direction--overboard, aloft, anywhere. When at last we were able to -elicit from the demented crowd the reason for their panic, we learned -that as they were all toiling strenuously to prepare the coal for a -renewal of our operations, down into their midst came flying a demon of -Jehannum in the guise of a gigantic pig, with vast bat-like wings, and -eyes of the bigness of a man’s fists glaring like red-hot coals. What -wonder that they had fled, Hindoo and Mussulman alike, at the sight of -their abomination in such an avatar of dread hurtling down upon their -shaven crowns. The story sent us all seeking below, little dreaming -that the luckless Sûsti was to blame. Presently we found him lying by -the side of the keelson, badly hurt, but cheerful as ever. And with -that indomitable pluck that had endeared him to us all, he not only -survived, but made a complete recovery within a week. - -Now, however, his rotund body had taken a curve, by reason of which -he always appeared to be in the act of reaching around to look for -the tail that had been. This peculiar bent of his figure had the -strangest results whenever he took exercise. Wherever his goal might -be, and in spite of his most energetic efforts to reach it, he only -succeeded in describing what I am obliged to call a lateral parabola, -along which he would eventually arrive at some unforeseen spot near -his starting-point. Nor were the co-efficients of his curves at -all regular. Sometimes, owing to the energetic efforts he made to -counteract this inevitable curvilinear bias, a series of maxima and -minima were produced which, when traced upon the deck, afforded some -very interesting problems in the parallelograms of forces. - -But I regret to record that the principal result of his errata was a -decided increase in the local consumption of Scotch whisky. For our -jovial skipper became so inordinately vain of his boomerang pig that -he issued invitations to his fellow-captains in the harbour, in quite -a reckless fashion, to come and see what an unprecedented curio he had -gotten. They came multitudinously, came to scoff, but remained to grow -purple with laughter and lose all their loose change in bets upon the -probable points of arrival made by Sûsti in his gyratory gallops after -sweet biscuits. And they returned to their several ships in a charming -variety of unconventional attitudes, vocal but not harmonious, at -irregular intervals during the night. Meanwhile Sûsti, pampered beyond -even swinish dreams of avarice, waxed fat and almost uncontrollable. -_Joie de vivre_ filled him from end to end--from snout to socket. -It seized him suddenly at all sorts of times, causing him to squeal -hysterically, waggle his incipient hams momentarily, and then launch -himself into space along the line of some marvellously complicated -curve terminating in the most unexpected places. - -As long as Europeans were about him he was safe, except for an -occasional belabouring when he chanced to upset some luckless -passer-by. But we were ordered round the coast to Cocanada in ballast, -and, to expedite our loading there, took a number of coolies with us. -On the day of our arrival, and shortly after anchoring, all hands -were seated peacefully at dinner on the forecastle head. Below, on -the shady side of the forward house, the “bundaree” had prepared the -coolies’ meal, an immense flat dish of rice piled into a cone, with a -number of tiny wells of curry round the rim, and a larger reservoir of -the same fiery compound at the apex in a sort of crater. Around this -the placid Hindoos crouched on their hams in orthodox fashion, and each -right hand had just begun to manipulate a bolus of curry-moistened -rice for conveyance to the expectant mouths, when with a meteoric -rush Sûsti came round the corner of the house in a grand ellipse, and -landed in the centre of the rice-pan. This was too much for even those -mild coolies. With yells and imprecations they sprang for handspikes, -belaying-pins, etc., and rushed upon the unclean beast, perfectly mad -with rage. Our big retriever, who hated all black men impartially, and -was therefore rigidly limited to the poop as a rule, saw the melée, -and, judging doubtless that it was high time for his interference, -came flying from his eminence, all shining teeth and savage snarl, -into the centre of the struggling mass. For a brief moment nothing -could be clearly distinguished; then suddenly there was a break up and -a stampede. Every coolie sprang overboard like the demon-possessed -swine of Gadara, leaving Neptune sadly sniffing at the lifeless body of -Sûsti, which lay embedded in a heap of the befouled and scattered rice. - - - - -XXVII - -A DAY ON THE SOLANDER WHALING-GROUND - - -A bright sunny morning; the gentle north-easterly breeze just keeping -the sails full as the lumbering whaling-barque _Splendid_ dips jerkily -to the old southerly swell. Astern, the blue hills around Preservation -Inlet lie shimmering in the soft spring sunlight, and on the port beam -the mighty pillar of the Solander Rock, lying off the south-western -extremity of New Zealand, is sharply outlined against the steel-blue -sky. Far beyond that stern sentinel, the converging shores of Foveaux -Strait are just discernible in dim outline through a low haze. Ahead, -the jagged and formidable rocks of Stewart Island, bathed in a mellow -golden glow, give no hint of their terrible appearance what time the -Storm-fiend of the south-west cries havoc and urges on his chariot of -war. - -The keen-eyed Kanaka in the fore crow’s nest shades his eyes with his -hand, peering earnestly out on the weather bow at something which has -attracted his attention. A tiny plume of vapour rises from the blue -hollows about ten miles away, but so faint and indefinable that it may -be only a breaking wavelet’s crest caught by the cross wind. Again that -little bushy jet breaks the monotony of the sea; but this time there -is no mistaking it. Emerging diagonally from the water, not high and -thin, but low and spreading, it is an infallible indication to those -piercing eyes of the presence of a sperm-whale. The watcher utters -a long, low musical cry, “Blo-o-o-o-w,” which penetrates the gloomy -recesses of fo’ksle and cuddy, where the slumberers immediately engage -in fierce conflict with whales of a size never seen by waking eyes. The -officer and white seamen at the main now take up the cry, and in a few -seconds all hands are swiftly yet silently preparing to leave the ship. -She is put about, making a course which shortly brings her a mile or -two to windward of the slowly-moving cachalot. Now it is evident that -no solitary whale is in sight, but a great school, gambolling in the -bright spray. One occasionally, in pure exuberance of its tremendous -vitality, springs twenty feet into the clear air, and falls, a hundred -tons of massive flesh, with earthquake-like commotion, back into the -sea. - -Having got the weather-gage, the boats are lowered; sail is immediately -set, and, like swift huge-winged birds, they swoop down upon the prey. -Driving right upon the back of the nearest monster, two harpoons are -plunged into his body up to the “hitches.” The sheet is at once hauled -aft, and the boat flies up into the wind; while the terrified cetacean -vainly tries, by tremendous writhing and plunging, to rid himself of -the barbed weapon. The mast is unshipped, and snugly stowed away; oars -are handled, and preparation made to deliver the _coup de grâce_. But -finding his efforts futile, the whale has sounded, and his reappearance -must be awaited. Two boats’ lines are taken out before the slackening -comes, and he slowly rises again. Faster and faster the line comes -in; the blue depths turn a creamy white, and it is “Stern all,” for -dear life. Up he comes, with jaws gaping twenty feet wide, gleaming -teeth and livid, cavernous throat glittering in the brilliant light. -But the boat’s crew are seasoned hands, to whom this dread sight is -familiar, and orders are quietly obeyed, the boat backing, circling and -darting ahead like a sentient thing under their united efforts. So the -infuriated mammal is baffled and dodged, while thrust after thrust of -the long lances are got home, and streamlets of blood trickling over -the edges of his spout-hole give warning that the end is near. A few -wild circlings at tremendous speed, jaws clashing and blood foaming -in torrents from the spiracle, one mighty leap into the air, and the -ocean monarch is dead. He lies just awash, gently undulated by the -long, low swell, one pectoral fin slowly waving like some great stray -leaf of _Fucus gigantea_. A hole is cut through the fluke and the line -secured to it. The ship, which has been working to windward during the -conflict, runs down and receives the line; and in a short time the -great inert mass is hauled alongside and secured by the fluke chain. - -The other two boats have succeeded in killing a large fish also, but -are at least four miles off. They may as well try to move the Solander -itself as tow their unwieldy prize to the ship. The shapeless bulk -of the cachalot makes it a difficult tow at all times, but, with a -rising wind and sea, utterly impossible to whale-boats. The barometer -is falling; great masses of purple-edged cumuli are piling high on -the southern horizon, and no weather prophet is needed to foretell -the imminent approach of a heavy gale. The captain looks wistfully -to windward at Preservation Inlet, only twenty-five miles off, and -thinks, with fierce discontent, of the prize, worth eight or nine -hundred pounds, which lies but four or five miles away, and must be -abandoned solely for want of steam-power. And that is not all. Around, -far as the eye can reach, the bushy spouts are rising. Hundreds of -gigantic cetaceans are disporting, apparently not at all “gallied” by -the conflict which has been going on. Some are near enough to the fast -boat to be touched by hand. “Potentialities of wealth beyond the dreams -of avarice” are here; but acquisition is impossible for want of steam. -The vessel, bound to that immense body, can only crawl tortoise-like -before the wind--lucky, indeed, to have a harbour ahead where the -whale may be cut in, even though it be forty miles away. Without that -refuge available, she could not hope to keep the sea and hold her prize -through the wild weather, now so near. So, with a heavy heart, the -captain orders the fast boat to abandon her whale and return with all -possible speed. The breeze is freshening fast, and all sail is made for -Port William. So slow is the progress, that it is past midnight before -that snug shelter is reached, although for the last four hours the old -ship is terribly tried and strained by the press of sail carried to -such a gale. - -In four days the work of getting the oil is finished, and three or four -Maoris ashore have made a tun and a half of good clear oil from the -abandoned carcass. This, added to the ship’s quantity, makes twelve -and a half tuns of oil and spermaceti mingled from the one fish. None -smaller has been noticed out of the hundreds seen on the same day. It -is eighteen days from the time of anchoring before the harbour can -again be quitted, owing to adverse winds and gales. Who can estimate -the number of opportunities lost in that time? On the second day after -reaching the grounds, another school is seen with the same result--one -fish, and another fortnight’s enforced idleness. - -This is no imaginary sketch, but a faithful record of actual facts, -which, with slight variations, has been repeated many times within -the writer’s experience. On one occasion there were four of us on the -ground in company--three Americans, and one colonial. Each secured a -whale before dusk. We kept away at once for Port William, fearing the -shifting of the wind, which would bring us on a ragged, lee shore. The -Americans, being strangers to the coast, hauled off to the westward. -Five days afterwards, as we were cleaning ship after trying out, -those three ships came creeping in to the harbour through the eastern -end of Foveaux Strait, all sadly damaged, and of course whaleless. -They had been battered by the furious gale all that time, and barely -escaped destruction on the Snares. Two of them left the grounds a -few days after, having had their fill of the Solander. Thus, it is -obvious that nothing but steam is needed to make this most prolific of -whaling-grounds a veritable treasure-field. Cutting in and trying out -at sea could be entirely dispensed with. The magnificent land-locked -harbour of Preservation Inlet, to say nothing of others easily -available, affords complete facilities for a shore station. The water -is in many cases forty or fifty fathoms deep alongside the rocks, while -sheltered nooks abound, “where never wind blows loudly.” - -Working by the share, no finer or more skilful whalemen exist than the -half-breed Maoris who people Stewart Island, and they would joyfully -welcome such a grand opportunity of making their pile. - -Long before the Antarctic Expedition from Dundee left our shores, the -merits of this grand field for whaling operations were discussed at -length by the writer in the columns of a Dundee paper, and strongly -advocated; but those responsible for the management of that venture -were evidently so wedded to Greenland methods that the advice was -unheeded. Perhaps the unprofitable issue of the enterprise as far as -whales were concerned may dispose the adventurers to take advice, and -try sperm-whaling in the temperate zone, in place of right-whaling in -the far south. Should they do so, there is every reason to hope and -believe that the palmy days of the sperm-whale fishery may be renewed. -Dundee firms of to-day may then, like Messrs. Enderby of London in -1820–30, gladly welcome home ship after ship, full to the hatches with -the valuable spoil of the Southern Seas. - - - NOTE.--Since the above was written it has been the writer’s - melancholy duty to chronicle the final disappearance of the - British Whale Fishery. - - - - -XXVIII - -SEA-ELEPHANTS AT HOME - - -Judging by the popularity of the seals at the Zoological Gardens, these -wonderful amphibia have a firm hold upon the affections of ordinary -people. It probably occurs to but few as they gaze delightedly upon -the unapproachable grace of the seals in their favourite element, how -brutal and debasing is the pursuit of them for commercial purposes. -This is a theme that has exercised the powers of many able writers, -but has probably never been set forth in such awful realism as Mr. -Burn-Murdoch has presented us with in his book, _From Edinburgh to -the Antarctic_. For the seal is such a gentle, kindly creature, so -perfectly harmless, except perhaps during the courting season, when the -males fight fiercely, but never _à l’outrance_. The seal’s one mistake -in life is that he has not exerted the intelligence that he undoubtedly -possesses in the direction of clothing himself with some substitute, -worthless to man, for the inimitable covering which is so ardently -craved by shivering man and womankind. - -There are, however, some seals that, from their bulk and ferocious -appearance, actually invite attack from those ardent sportsmen who -only long for sight of game worthy of hunting. The sea-elephant -(_Macrorhinus proboscideus_), upon first acquaintance, seems, as our -transatlantic friends concisely express it, “to fill the bill,” in -these respects. In size he is little inferior to the huge quadruped -after which he has been named, although, owing to the absence of -legs, he will not look so bulky as the elephant. The possession of a -rudimentary trunk of a foot or so in length has probably had little -to do with the trivial appellation given to this great Phoca, his -enormous size as compared with the ordinary seal being warrant enough -for the name. Since the sea-elephant’s hide is almost hairless, only -the massive coating of blubber he carries can excite the cupidity of -the hunter, and then only in the absence of anything that may be easier -obtained. - -During the course of a whaling voyage “down South” it was the writer’s -misfortune to visit the Auckland Islands in search of sea-elephants, -owing to the unaccountable absence of whales from the vicinity for -an extraordinarily long time. No one of the ship’s company had ever -seen one of the creatures before, although most were well acquainted -with ordinary seal-hunting. When, therefore, it was decided to visit -the lonely, storm-tormented isles usually frequented by them there -was an utter absence of enthusiasm. Indeed, many openly expressed a -strong desire to be well out of the business. But when once a course -has been decided upon at sea it needs stronger measures and greater -unanimity among the crew than is often possessed to alter it, and -consequently, after a truly miserable time of contention with the -inhospitality of the Southern Ocean, we found ourselves anchored in a -fairly well-sheltered bay at the Aucklands. The time of our visit was -the antipodean spring, a season which, in those latitudes, is rigorous -beyond belief. Gales of wind, accompanied by hard snowflakes and hail, -raged almost incessantly, enwrapping the entire land surface in a bleak -haze of spray from the sea, mingled with the congealed moisture from -above. Notwithstanding these drawbacks, the object of the expedition -had to be pursued without delay, parties were landed, armed with -clubs of iron-wood, short but massive, and long, keen knives. General -instructions were given as to procedure, based upon insufficient -data, as the recipients well knew, and therefore not at all reliable. -Everybody understood in a hazy sort of way that a seal’s vulnerable -point was his nose: a tap on that was as paralysing as a bullet through -the heart. Of course. And the subsequent proceedings were merely a -matter of practice and stamina. _Very_ good--oh, very good indeed! -Thus equipped the explorers went blundering over boulders, wading -through morasses, over fallen tree-trunks and glassy ice-slopes, until -suddenly through the mist loomed up a massy shape. Possibly it was -exaggerated by the haze, but it looked truly terrific when it was seen -to be alive. It was surprising how little any one coveted the honour -of being first to attack the big seal in front of them. But for very -shame’s sake there could be no halting on the sealers’ part. - -An appalling roar, quite in keeping with his appearance, burst from the -monster, at which a most sympathetic thrill ran through the attacking -party, accompanied by an earnest desire to be somewhere else. Again -that indefinite desire to stand well in each other’s opinion came to -their rescue, impelling the foremost man to fling his fears to the -winds and rush in upon the formidable beast crouching before him. A -badly-aimed blow at the animal’s snout made no more impression than a -snow-flake, but the unwieldy creature, thoroughly alarmed, dropped from -his semi-rampant altitude, almost burying his daring assailant beneath -him as he did so. Then, like some legless hippopotamus, he waddled -seawards, rolling from side to side in a manner so utterly ludicrous -that fear was totally quenched in an uproarious burst of laughter. -Recovering from that revulsionary paroxysm, all hands rushed upon the -retreating mass, each eager to be the first to attack what we now saw -to be a thoroughly demoralised foe. - -Out of the many harmless blows aimed at the great seal’s head one -struck the root of his proboscis, and like some vast bladder -suddenly deflated he sank to the ground. Into the subsequent details -it is not edifying to enter, their crude brutality being only -excusable on the ground of nervous ignorance. But as foolhardiness -succeeded timorousness, so did tragedy wait upon comedy. Out of the -mist-enwrapped morass to shoreward of us came in elephantine haste a -perfect host of the huge creatures we were seeking. And, as if they -could not see us or were so terror-stricken that nothing could hinder -them in their extraordinary career seawards, they came floundering, -bellowing right amongst our little party. For one short minute it -seemed as if we should be overwhelmed, crushed under this mountainous -charge of massive flesh. Then there was “sauve qui peut.” In various -directions we fled from the path of the advancing hosts, but hung upon -their flanks, getting a straggler now and then. The chase grew frantic, -“thorough bog, thorough briar,” over rocks and through streams; panting -with fierce desire to slay, and forgetful of all else. What a crowd of -savages we were! - -At the last moment, on the very edge of the beach, one of our number, -anxious to get just another victim, missed his blow, and stumbled -right upon the huge beast. Putting out his arms to save himself, -he thrust one of them right into the mouth of the gaping behemoth. -An ear-splitting yell of agony followed, bringing every man to his -assistance on the gallop. At first it was difficult to see what -had happened, the great bulk of the seal as it swayed from side to -side effectually hiding the puny form of the suffering enemy by its -side. He, poor wretch, was in evil case; for the sea-elephant has -the alarming habit of crushing solid pebbles of basalt or granite -as large as oranges between his jaws in much the same fashion as a -healthy youngster does lollypops. Probably this strange exercise of the -gigantic jaw power he possesses is rendered necessary for digestive -purposes, since no seal masticates its food. - -Poor Sandy, who in such headlong fashion had thrust his arm into that -awful mill, now found to his bitter cost what use might be made of -the generally harmless stonebreakers. After the first blood-curdling -scream we had heard there was an utter silence as far as our shipmate -was concerned, only the soft floundering of the immense mass of -sliding flesh and the snorting breath being audible. The mate was -the first to realise what had happened, and with a howl of anger he -leaped forward, bringing down his club with all his might just as the -creature stooped low for another launching movement seaward. The blow -fell just at the junction of the proboscis with the skull, and with -a shudder which convulsed the whole mass of his body the huge animal -collapsed, burying our unhappy shipmate beneath him. With one impulse -we all sprang upon the heap of flesh, tearing with desperate energy to -roll it from off the body, but it really seemed at first impossible -to move it. Slipping, sliding, gasping for breath, we all pushed and -strove--wasting, I doubt not, more than half our strength for want of -preconcerted action. Oh, joy; we moved him at last, and there lay Sandy -to all appearance a corpse. - -Without any further delay we placed him in the boat, hoping that he -was still alive, but by no means sure, and with all possible speed he -was taken on board. This sudden calamity seemed to paralyse the rest -of us for the time, and we all stood about watching the departing -boat, as if we could not make up our minds to resume operations. But -suddenly a dull, thunderous roar startled us from our lethargy, and -looking landwards through the driving sleet we saw the shapeless -forms of another immense herd of the ungainly monsters floundering -toward us. Manifestly we were in an unhealthy predicament, and without -waiting for orders we fled in all directions but towards the advancing -herd. Through swampy patches of green, over frozen rocks, torn by -thorny shrubs, and incessantly dodging the blind onset of groups of -the wallowing monsters, we scrambled unreasoningly until--panting, -breathless, and demoralized--we halted from sheer inability to go -farther. When we had recovered it was some time before we got together -again, and when we did we were a sorry crowd, as unfit as could well be -imagined for the tremendous labour that awaited us of skinning the huge -carcasses that lay dotted about the foreshore. However, we commenced -the task, and by nightfall had completed the flenching. A gun from -the ship recalled us on board almost too weary to launch the boats, -and plastered thickly with mud, blood, and grease. When we arrived on -board we were too exhausted to eat, hardly able to feel any interest in -the news that Sandy was alive and doing as well as could be expected. -But one conviction was burnt deep into the perceptions of all--that -the hardest whaling ever done was a pleasant pastime compared with -sea-elephant hunting at the Aucklands. - - - - -XXIX - -AN INTERVIEW - - -Difficulties, which, could I have foreseen then, would have appeared -insurmountable, attended the interview hereinafter recorded. First -of all, His Majesty King Cachalot the MMCC was not in the best of -humours--which was hardly to be wondered at, since, with all the -ability we could muster, five boats’ crews of us from the spouter -_Finback_ had been harassing him since daylight, eager to add his -fourteen-ton overcoat to our greasy cargo. It was a blazing day on the -Line, Pacific side, with hardly a ripple on the water, so that what -advantage there was weighed on our side. Yet so wary and skilful had -his Majesty proved, that one by one the boats had retired hurt from -the field, while the object of their attentions was as fresh as paint, -and, as he afterwards expressed it, “going very strong.” Nevertheless -the scrum had been warm in a double sense, and his Majesty bore many -palpable evidences of our efforts all over his huge black body. - -Being in command of the only surviving boat, sole representative of -our available force, and with a reputation yet to win, I must confess -to a little lack of care, a nervous desire to distinguish myself; but I -still think it was hard to have my boat knocked into a litter of barrel -staves by the unanticipated somersault of my expected prize just as I -reckoned upon delivering a _coup de lance_ in final settlement of our -little account. - -After the surprise of our meeting had somewhat subsided, I found -myself reclining in a richly carved and upholstered chair in my genial -host’s splendidly furnished reception room, puffing with appreciative -enjoyment at one of his unapproachable Rothschilds--’beg pardon I’m -sure--I mean that I found myself clinging with no uncertain clutch to -a capsized line-tub, into which I succeeded in getting after a series -of involuntary evolutions, after having managed to swallow the majority -of a barrel of salt water. While settling myself in my ark like a faded -Moses, our late antagonist drew near and watched me closely. As soon as -I appeared to be _compos mentis_, he thus addressed me: - -“What you settin’ there fur a-gappin’ at _me_ ’sif y’didn’t know who I -wuz.” - -“I humbly beg your Majesty’s pardon; I meant no offence, I assure you. -But I perceive you are an American citizen.” - -“Perseev’ nothin’, y’abbrevyated galoot,” growled he. “Hain’t enny -persepshun ’baout ye, ’r y’ewd see I’m waitin’ ter be interviewed, -same’s all th’ other sellebritiz.” - -Now, although I _do_ believe that the journalist is _nascitur, non -fit_, my nascent journalism if existent was decidedly latent, and at -present I was indubitably unfit for anything but a rescue or two. But -here was a unique chance of becoming famous, and though modest and -retiring to the last degree, I rose to the occasion. A few fragmentary -recollections marshalled themselves, and I asked insinuatingly: - -“How old is your Majesty?” - -“One thousan’ four hunderd seasons,” he replied promptly. - -As soon as I recovered my breath, I answered politely, “Indeed! Your -Majesty wears well. I should hardly have thought it. Are your Majesty’s -parents living?” - -“How’d I know,” he grumbled, peeping fiercely at me out of the corner -of his starboard eye. “Don’t go much on parients ermong our peepul. -Next please!” - -“Where did your venerability do us the honour to be born, if the -question be allowable?” I queried timidly. - -“Here,” he roared, with a resounding crash of his enormous tail on the -surface; “where’d ye think I’d be born but at sea?” - -Deficient in locality evidently, I thought, being a bit of a -phrenologist myself, though it would have required a theodolite to -survey the bumps upon _his_ capacious cranium. But as he showed signs -of irritability, I added quickly, “Are you married, your Majesty, or -how?” - -“Well; I should cackle,” he said--“married, hay! Why one of your (an -awful reverberation suggested a powerful adjective) slush-tubs hez jest -broke up one uv the purtiest little harems I ever collected, twelve -ravishin’ beauties sech ez any monark’d be proud of. Well thar, hurry -up; I’m jest reminded ov an ole schoolmate uv mine ’s got mose ’s good -erwun. He’s usin’ roun’ the Bonins ’baout now, ’n’ I mus’ git over -thar ’n’ b’reave him. Royal rights, y’know,” and his Majesty shed a -ponderous wink. - -“What does your Majesty do for a living?” I ventured to inquire. - -“Eat!” he roared. “Harpoons en bomb-guns, what dz ennybody du fr a -livin’? _I_ never heerd sech a barnacle-headed grampus ’n all my -fishin’.” With that he lifted up his tremendous caput out of water and -exposed his Blackwall tunnel of a mouth, as who should remark, “Not -much room for other occupation in a whale’s life when a gulf like this -needs attention.” - -I suppose I looked a bit preoccupied, for he hastily added, “But I -never eat sech insecks ez you be.” - -“What, never?” I ventured to murmur. - -“No, never,” he replied; “at least, that is,”--but seeing his -hesitation, I said I fancied I’d heard a story about a passenger by -the name of Jonah down on the Syrian coast a while back. “Oh, well -y’know,” he muttered apologetically, “’f course accidents will happen, -’s the shark said to his brother when he took him in, but I don’t -reckon thar wuz anythin’ to mek a noise erbout. ’Tany-rate the can’date -left considerable sudden. Yew needn’t be ’fraid ennyhow.” - -But I was unprepared with any more questions at the moment, the -outlook, or inlook rather, being so disconcerting. So I said, “Would -your Majesty object to outlining a few of your wonderful experiences -for the benefit of landsmen generally. Any information you may choose -to give will be regarded as strictly confidential, of course.” - -“Oh, sartinly,” he replied with an alarming area of smile. “Mos’ ov ’em -hev ben with your dod-gasted tribe. Why yew’re tarnally prowlin’ erbout -tryin’ ter get ter wind’ard ov peac’ble fokes I kaint surmise. Still, -up till now I’ve ben equal ter holdin’ me own,--keepin’ me eend up, -ez yew may say. To-day f’rinstance, hey?” I winced under the sarcasm. -“But I mind onst daown on the Noo Seelan’ coas’ towin’ five boat-load -ov Mowries frum the Solander ’way down eenamost ter the Cambells. They -wuz a plucky crowd, f’r they helt on ter me through a blizzard ov hail -an’ snow lasting twyst az long as I kin stay soundin’. When it gin -over they wuz all fruz stiffer’n a lance-pole. My, but gettin’ cleer -ov em wuz a pull. I hed to soun’ at top-gait ’sif I wuz boun’ f’r two -thousan’ fathoms, ’n’ suthin’ hed ter give. I wuz pretty fat in those -days, so their all-fired irons drew. They galled me like sixty, but I -was free. - -“Then a left-handed-on-both-feet crowd eout ov a French right-whaler -tackled me offn the Cape. Mighty big mistake _they_ struck--thought I -wuz pore ole say-nothin’-ter-nobody Mr. Cetus, they did. ’N’, when I -milled roun’ ’n’ cum f’r ’em eend on ’ith er twenty foot smile on me -hed! airthqueeks ’n’ volcanose! y’ sh’d jest er seen ’em flew. Didn’ -wait to say howdy, jest cut line ’n’ vamoosed like ’sif ole Jemmy -Smallback wuz after ’em. I wuz thet mad, I’d liketer hev busted up -their ole hooker ’n’ all, but thet thar _Essex_ affair gin me sech er -swell’d hed I ’lowed it warn’t bad reck’nin’ ter let her go et that. - -“Say, djever see er big squid, big’s me?” he queried sharply. - -“Yes, your Majesty, I did once. Only once. B-b-b-ay of B-b-bengal,” for -I was almost moribund. - -“Ah, you _hev_ seen suthin’ then. F’r yew insecks wut live on top don’t -offen git a chance ter see them critters ’less we bring ’em up f’r the -sun ter see haow gaul-darned ugly they air. Wall, one like yew say yew -seen tangled erp my fav’rit’ wife off Futuna one afternoon. Me an’ my -harem wuz feedin’ at ’bout a thousan’ fathom, an’ Polly jest sidled up -ter ole Jellybelly ’n’ got hole ov a mouthful ov him. He, bein’ kinder -s’prised, gripped her all over ter onst; ’n’, stranger,” he added -impressively, “I’ll be weather-bound ef he didn’t frap her hole head up -so’s she couldn’t bite er breathe. We’d ben down ’bout long ernough -too, but I sailed right in ’n’ bit his great carkiss in half az well az -I c’d see f’r his ink-cloud. Hows’ever I wuz too late, f’r he’d locked -his tangle ov arms roun’ an’ roun’ her hed, ’n’ though his body wuz all -chawed erp they couldn’ come adrift. So she drowned, ’n we all hed ter -make tracks upstairs quicker ’n winkin’ er we sh’d a ben drowned tu. As -’twuz we wuz fair beat out when we arrove up top. - -“Did I ever have enny fights with me own people? Well I--but there, -how’d yew know, poor thing. Millyuns ov ’em. Look at me,” and he swept -proudly past exhibiting his grooved and ribbed flanks bearing indelible -traces of many a furious battle, some of the foot-wide scars being -twenty feet long. - -“Enny more informashun I c’n supply yew with at short notice? bekuz -this session’ll hev ter adjurn _siny die_ in about tew minnits. I’m -gittin’ mos’ amazin’ peckish.” - -Happy thought, “What do you live on mostly, your Majesty?” - -“Squid. Fust ’n las’ ’n’ between meals gen’ly. They aint nothin’ better -tew eat in the hull worl’ ’z far’s I know. We dew ’casionally git a -bellyful ov fish ov sorts by layin’ quiet when the shoals air swarmin’. -They run down a feller’s gullet in hunderds ’n never know whar they’re -goin. But they’re cussid indigestible----” - -I was alone. There was nothing in sight, but my interviewee was gone. -So stiff and sore was I that I could hardly turn my head to see if -help was coming. There was no help in sight that I could discover, but -presently a boat came along from the ship and picked me up--none too -soon. Gloomily we returned on board to moralise mournfully over our -ill-luck and the perfidy of sperm whales generally. - - - - -XXX - -UP A WATERSPOUT - - -Of course no one is under any obligation to believe this most reliable -relation. At the same time I may be allowed to remind the sceptical -that in the present case their credibility is subjected to no such -strain as half the respectable advertisements of the day place upon -it. However, I won’t press the point; here is the story, _fay ce que -vouldras_. - -Doubtless you have all heard of waterspouts, many of you have seen them -in full spin, and not a few, amateurs of meteorology, have got their -pet theories as to the genesis, evolution, and dissolution of these -mysterious meteors. With just a touch of perhaps pardonable vanity I -may say that, for an important section of society, my theory holds -the field--is, in fact, unassailable. But I refrain from exposing it -publicly at present, principally because such exposition involves a -large use of the higher mathematics, in which I am, to be candid, -somewhat shaky; and secondly, because the editor would see me farther -before he would let me do it. But an ounce of experience is worth a -ton of theory, even such gilt-edged theory as mine--at least most of us -work on the lines of this well-worn proverb. So my experience, which is -herein set forth, must necessarily be considered as the most valuable -contribution to our knowledge of waterspoutery or trombe-oonery that -has ever yet appeared. I might claim more for it than this, but modesty -was ever a failing of mine. - -On 23rd August last, then, I was leaning over the taffrail of an -ancient barque, of which I was “only” mate, homeward bound from Iquique -to Falmouth for orders. We had reached the horse latitudes, those -detestable regions embracing the debatable area between the limits of -the north-east and south-east trade winds. Here you may have such an -exhibition of what the skies are capable of in the matter of rain as -nowhere else in the world. For days together the weather will consist -of squalls--not much wind in them as a rule--from all points of the -compass, but rain--well, one might almost as well be living beneath an -ocean of which the bottom is given to falling out occasionally. And -as all this tremendous rainfall comes from the sea, the replenishment -of the supply upstairs keeps the pumping machinery going constantly. -It is no uncommon sight to see forty or fifty waterspouts in various -stages of their career at one time. On this particular afternoon there -was quite a forest of them about, but as yet none of them had come -within less than two or three miles of the ship. It was my watch -below, and the air being stifling down in the murky little cabin, I -was enjoying a pipe and a little cool breeze that had been blowing -for about twenty minutes in the right direction. The old hooker was -wriggling along about two or three knots--sufficiently fast to induce -me to try whether some members of a sociable school of dolphins that -were playing about us could be gulled into biting at a bit of white rag -I was trailing, which concealed a formidable hook. The “old man” was -below, seated at the cabin table, wrestling with his day’s reckoning -not over-successfully, for his grumbling expletives were now and then -audible through the wide-open skylight, the man at the wheel gazing -skyward with a comical expression of innocence whenever he met my -eye after an extra heavy blast from below. The antics of the fish -beneath me so fully occupied my attention that the near approach of a -waterspout along the starboard beam did not attract my notice. In any -case, the weather was no affair of mine, the bo’sun being in charge, -though, as usual in these undermanned vessels, up to his elbows in -tar, away forward somewhere. But suddenly the gloom became so heavy -and the chill in the air so evident, that I looked up wondering whence -the squall had arrived at such short notice. At that moment a big -dolphin who had been tantalising me for a long time seized my hook. I -had only two or three fathoms of line out, and being balanced upon -the taffrail, the jerk was sufficiently forceful to make me turn a -back somersault overboard. The last thing I saw was the helmsman’s -face blank with utter amazement at my sudden exit. I struck the -water end-on, going pretty deep, but on returning to the surface was -horrified to find myself the centre of a whirling, seething commotion, -as if some unseen giant was stirring the sea with a mighty spoon. The -gyrations I was compelled to perform made me quite giddy and sick, -although my head kept so well above water that I was in no danger of -drowning. Faster and faster yet I was whirled around, while a dense fog -seemed to rise all round, shutting out everything from view behind an -impenetrable white curtain. - -I have often noticed that if you tuck a chicken’s head under its -wing and give it a gentle circular motion it will “stay put,” in any -position you like for an indefinite length of time, although the -brightness of its eyes and its regular respiration shows that it is -“all there.” Thus it was with me. I was certainly all there, but -the spinning business had reduced me to a hypnotised or mesmerised -condition, in which I was incapable of independent volition, while -keenly conscious of all that was going on. I became aware of an upward -movement, a sort of spiral ascension, as if I was attached to one of -the threads of a gigantic vertical screw that was being withdrawn by a -steady left-handed revolution. Also, it was very wet, though not with -a solid wetness as of the sea--more like one of the usual tremendous -showers we had lately been having, and in no sense was I conscious of -floating. I began to get somewhat used to the spiral movement, the -sensation being almost pleasant, since the nausea that troubled me -was gone, but I wondered vaguely whither I was bound. It was getting -very cold, and a muffled persistent roar, as of some infuriated bull -uttering his grievances through a vast speaking-trumpet, worried me -greatly, for I could imagine no reason for such a sound. However, in my -passive condition I could only endure whatever came along, this being -no time for protest or struggle. - -Suddenly I felt myself emerge as if from a pipe up into an immense -reservoir of the heaviest mist I ever felt. At that instant a terrible -sensation of instability took possession of me, very like that one -experiences in wandering over deep new-fallen snow, concealing Heaven -knows what crevasses beneath, only more so. My heart worked like a -pulsometer, and every nerve in my quivering corpus said as plain as -print, “You’ll come an awful cropper directly.” And it was even so. -All my lost power of independent movement came back to me at once, -and frantically clutching at the fog wreaths around me I began to -fall. Most of us know that ugly old dream where the bed plays see-saw -over some unfathomable abyss, higher at every swing, till suddenly we -wake snatching at the bed-clothes and bathed in sweat. In my case, -unfortunately, the fall came too. It seemed to occupy hours. While I -came hurtling from the heavens I remembered with satisfaction that the -wife would get her half-pay right up to the end of the voyage, and I -fervently hoped she had kept my insurance premiums paid up. Then the -great solemn sea sprang up to meet me. There was a Number One splash, -a rush of salt water in my ears, and the blessed daylight once more. -Right close to me was the ship, all hands gaping over the side at me -as if I was a spook and never a one offering to heave me a line. The -manner of my reappearance seemed to have knocked them all silly. All -except the old man, that is. He stooped deliberately, picked up the -coil of the main topsail brace, and hove it at me. It fell all about -me in a tangle, but I managed to get hold of the standing part, which -I froze to tight, while the skipper hauled me alongside. Feeling numb -and stupid, I yet managed to haul myself on board, and with all the -chaps gaping at me with protruding eyes, staggered up on to the poop. -The skipper met me with a scowl, saying grimly, “Looky here, Mr. Brown, -the next time you quit this ship, with my leave or without, you’ll stay -there.” I felt hurt, but disinclined to talk back, so I went below to -change my dunnage and enter up my log-book. - - -_Printed by_ R. & R. CLARK, LIMITED, _Edinburgh_. - - - - -Transcriber’s Notes - - -Punctuation, hyphenation, and spelling variations were made consistent -when a predominant preference was found in the original book; otherwise -they were not changed. - -Simple typographical errors were corrected; unbalanced quotation -marks were remedied when the change was obvious, and otherwise left -unbalanced. - -Page 189: “was bowling rapidly” was printed that way. - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK IDYLLS OF THE SEA *** - -***** This file should be named 64161-0.txt or 64161-0.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - https://www.gutenberg.org/6/4/1/6/64161/ - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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