Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1851-08-28
The Whaleman's Adventures in
the Southern Ocean.
AS gathered by the Rev II. T. Cheever, on the home
ward cruise of the Commodore Prebe.

l
The adventures of clergyman, who adopt-
Led voyage in whaler as means of recruit
ing exhausted strength, present an abundance
OF material both for amusement and instruction
the naturalist will find great many new par
uculars respecting the mammoth of the ocean,
and the reader who delights in descriptions of
hair-breadth escapes and perilous incidents,
will be well pleased with the dish set before
him. There is, moreover spirit of cheerful
-piasy and truthfKiness pervading the narrative
that is very pleasing. Every branch Of, and
every circumstance connected with, the whale
fishery is glanced upon, and the habits of the
animal form by no means the least entertaining
portion of the book. What whale has the
power to do, when he takes it into his head to
turn upon his assailants may be gathered from
the following extract:
" But the most dreadful display Of the whales
strength and prowess, yet authenticity record
ed, was that made upon the American whale
ship Essex, Captain Pollard, which sailed from
Nantucket for the Pacific Ocean in August
1919. Late in the fall of the same year, when
in latitude 40 deg. of the South Pacific, large
school of sperm whales was discovered, and
three boats were manned and sent in pursuit.
The mates boat was struck by one of them, and
he was obliged to return to the ship in order to
repair the damage. While he was engaged in
that work, sperm whale, judgedto be about
eighty-fve feet long, broke water about twenty
rods from the ship, on her bow. He was going
at the rate of about three knots an hour, and
the ship at nearly the same rate, when he struck
the bows of the vessel just forward Of her chains.
At the shock produced by the collision of two
such mighty masses of matter in motion, the
ship shook like q leaf The seemingly mali
cious whale dived and passed under the ship,
grazing her keel, and then appeared at about
the distance of a ships length, lashing the sea
with fins and tail, as if suffering the most horri-
BILE agony. He was evidently hurt by the col
lision, and blindIy frantic with instructive rage
In a few minutes he seemed to recover himself
and started with great speed directly across the
hands on board discovered the ship to be gradu.
ally settling down at the bows, and the pumps
were ordered to be rugged. While working al
them one of the men cried out, "God Of mer
cy he comes againp The whale had turned
at ABOUT one hundred rods from tie ship AM
was making for her with double his forme
speed, his pathway white with foam. Rushing
headlong, he struck her again at the bow, an,
the tremendous blow stove her in. The whal
dived under again and disappeared and th
ship filled and fell over on her broadside, in tel
minutes after she was first struck. After in
credible hardships and sufferings in their ope
boats, on the Goth of Deceber the survivors O
this catastrophe reached the low Island calle
Ducies in latitude "a 40 south, longitude 70
60 west. 1t was mere sandbank, nearly bar
: rem, which supplied them only with water, and
very scantily sea fowl On this uninhabite
a island, dreary as it was three Of the men chos
: to remain, rather than again commit themselves
g to the uncertainties Of the sea. They hav
: never since been heard from, the island bein
e seldom visited. On the 9th of December, tn
r three boats, with the remainder of the men, pu
g away together for the Island of Juan Fernando
at distance of about two thousand miles,
: The mates boat was taken up by the Indian, {
# London, on the 10Th of February, ninety-thre
d days from the time of the catastrophe, with or
n ly three survivors The captains boat was fal
|, en- in with by the Dauphin, of Nantucket, o
v the 23d of the same month, having only tw
,r men living, whose lives had been eked out thr
o that last resort Of hunger in the wreched, whic
n words shudder TO relate! Out of crew
N twenty, five only survived to make the ear
= the world tiDgle at their strange and EVENT.
l. story.