Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1843-05-12
THE STOVEN BOAT.
FROM THE JOURNAL oF A SAILOR

IAN subsistence, there IS none that will compare
IN danger and hardshps with that of whalpmen
and yet how little people on the shore know of
this. II is IN order to let them have some insight
into lis business that have written the iolowin
narrative.
shall conine myself to The facts as thew oc
cured all OF which pnt down in my journal
soon after they TRANSFERRED.
On the lih of December 1887, the good
ship =. OF Newburgh, Captain C. was cruising
somewhere between the latitude of SO and 81 ).
nni longitude 60 T.. in search of right whale"
II was III the forenoon and the old ship was NOV.
ing along under her top gallant sails, with light
breeze M The rate OF about five knots the hour
Inc most hardened grnmbler could not find
fault with the day. At the fore and main top
gallant-trnss-trecs were two men on the look out
fur whales.
1t was now nearly four o'clock in the afternoon
when tho man at the, helm sung out, there she
blows" lie repeated the cry regularly five or
SIX times. All was now excitement among the
officers and men. Every one was anxious to know
if it was the kind of whale we wanted.
The mate hailed the man at the mast head:
Where away is that WHALE What do you
call her?"
Right whale, sir on the leo beam, two miles
off look out sharp for her"
Sing ont when the ship heads for her."
Gay, ny, n.y.
Keep her away !" said the captain to the man
n, the helm. Boy, hand me the spy glass!"
"Steady !" sung out the man Mt the mast head.
Steady it isl" answered the wheel
The captain then started to go aloft. "Mr. A."
10 the mate) 'ypu may square in the afterysrds,
aud then call all hands"
"Forward there" shouted tho mate; haul
The main sail up, and square the yards. Bill" TO
an old saor.)
"Sir?" "CalI all hands"
" All hands ahoy" shouted old Bill in n voice
like the tempest; "stand by the boats!" In less
than no time the deck was alive with men.
" Boat sleerer5! get your boats ready" I'm a
moment the boats were IN readiness the tubs ;,it
IN, and the lines bent on the harpoons, the crew
Standing by ready to follow the boats down TO
the water, when the word came to the captain to
lower away.
There she blows" sung out The man at the
fore Not halt Il niile off"
"Down helm :" shouted the captain. "Mr. A.,
brace the m,zeu topsaiI; hoist and swing the
boats and lower away !" Down went the boats
ani down followed the crews. As the bon,s
strucf the water, every man on his hwart with
his hands on The loom of his oar; and in less time
than have taken 10 write this, the three boats
were cutting their way through the water in the
direction OF the whale.
Ii was my duty To steer the mate $ boat, and she
happened TO be the fastest puller, that although
we all lett The ship together, and Tor a lew rails
Kept nearly head and head with each other, sill
we knew well enough that soon as the word
came from the mate TO "glve way we should
drop the others in n moment. So we did not
fret ourselves, but kept cool tor tight pull when
the whale should show himself on the surface of
the water ngan-whicl he did the moment af
ter
4" Here she is cried the mate and NOT over
ten rods down the boat Now, my dear fellows
lay back hard, spring hard | tell you! There she
blows only give way my boys, and she is ours'
Inc boat bounded forward, alike a thing of
life "Spring like tIgers,' says the mate, his
voice shaking almost 10 whisper. looked 10
see what kind OF "A chance was about 10 have !;
nj The same time pulling at the oar with all my
might. we were going on to her sar-board
quarter; Just the chance | liked to iasteu to IL
whale.
"Sland up," shouted The nate and in mo.
ment had Two harfoons TO The bitches into her.
"SIern! stern all" sung ont the mate as he
saw The irons in the whale. "Come here nv
boys" said he to me. We shifted ends; he to
the head and TO the Stern Of the boat. The
whale started of like lightning.
:" HoId OIL line saiu the mate (; aud away we
shot alter her, like al arrow from bow. The
mate Ivy this tiuie had his ance ready. "Haul me
on that whale !" he shouted; and all hands turned
TO hauling line, while coiled it away in the stern
sheets. We had got nearly up to the whale, when
she went TO sounding" taking the line right up
| and down pom the head of the boat | had two
turns OF the line around the loggerhead, aud was
! holding on as the boat would bear, when all M
once, another large whale that we knew nothing
about, shot up out OF the water nearly her whole
leugth IN s!antlng position hanging directly over
! the boat. threw oft the turns from the logger
! head, aud shouted TO the men TO "stern." But il
was OF no use; she tell the whole of her body on
the hoat. heard the crash, and as / went down,
ict IA pressure Of water directly over my head
caused, as then thought, by the whales fukes
as she struck. How long | under water
| know not; but remember that ali looked dark
above the, ant that Irled very hard to shove my
! head through, in order to breathe. At last sue
ceeded; but what sight was that on which
! gazed, when found myself on the surface OF the
water About rod from was the whale
! that we were fast to, thra'hing the water into a
| foam with his tlukes; the ocean red with blood,
! and HE crimson streams pouring from the wounds
the whale made by The harpoons. In another
direction, | could see pieces of the boat floating
around Al the distance Of TWO or three miles, |
could occasionally get glimpse OF the ship as
rode on the top OF n swell, and not human being
in sight. Most iorciby did The words of the poet
apply 10 my situation al this moment:
ooh, solitude, where the charms
! That sages have seen in thy face,
Better dwell IN the midst OF alarms,
Than reign in this horrible place.''
so thought as struck out for piece of our
once beautiful boat, few rods distance. The
crew came up, one after another, catching al any
thing they could see, 10 keep them afioa One
poor fellow came padding along with TWO or
three ours under HIM, crying out that his back
was broken. Another OF the crew ahd myself
got him on tho piece OF boat that we had hold
Of. His thigh broken aud he could not move
his legs ut all. The second mate soon after pick
ed us up with his hocl, aud so much had we been
engaged IN looking out tor ourselves that we did
not perceive that one of our number was missing.
But alasl it was too soon found out. He was
young man about IL Years old, aud did not be.
long to the boat but went in the place of the
midship Oarsman, who was sick at the time. The
whale fell directly OH him, and probably killed
| him in a unomant