Butte record., 1855-09-08
Aboard a Sperm-WhaIer.

familiar with the many -times-told story
of the Greenland whale-fshery, but we
may be permitted to doubt whether he
knows much about the sperm> hale land
its capture in the far-off South Seas
We therefore invite him to accompany
US on board a whaler, ON its cruising
station-and to do this he need not quit
mis- cushioned armchair by the parlor
fre-and we will show him the whole
art and mystery of capturing the sperm
or cachalot whale.
But before stepping on board, it may
be as well to say few words about the
South-sea whalers and their equipment
These vessels are not old double-sid d
tubs like the Greenlandmcn, but smart,
well-formed thoroughly rigged ships and
barques of 800 to 400 tons, manned by
crew of which at least three fourths
are prime A. Bs. These ships mike
voyages which frequently occupy three
years, and which call into exercise the
utmost degree Of nautical skill, both
scientific and practical. During this pro.
longcd voyage, the mariners generally
make the acqu+ intance of foreign people
of all colors and all degrees of civiliza-
ton, in the South Sea Lies, the coast of
South America the Indian Archipelago.
&c, and find abundant cxercise for every
manly virtue courage, endurance, pa
tence, and energy, all being absolutely
requisite, together with no small amount
of real talent on the part of the com
manding officers. The South seaman
surpasses all merchant vessels in the very
romantic nature of its service. Il roves
round the g'obe and in the vast Pacific
Ocean sails to and fro, and from island
to island, for years at a spell. The crew
employed IN such service, If they only
possess the ordinary Intelligence of sea-
men, can not fail to have their powers
of observation sharpencd, their reason.
ing faculties called into active exc. else, !,
and their whole mental development
simulated. Accordingly, whalers
are remarkably shrewd intelli ent men :;
close observers of the phenomena of ma.
ture so literally exhibited in their ocean
pathways; and altogether noble speci-
mems of seamen.
On the deck of a sperm whaler, there
is platform to receive the portions of
the whale taken on board, and at the
mainmast head are strong pulleys, called
the cutting blocks and falls, which are
used to hoist the blubber, &c, on loard
by aid of the windlass. There is also
on deck a square brick erection, little
abaft the foremast, made to support
couple of great iron caldrons, called
trypots, in which the blubber is boiled
Adjoining them is copper cooler; and
every possible precaution is adopted to
guard against accidents from fire The
number of casks carried by South sea-
man is very great, and the sizes vary up
to nearly $50 gallons. The crew gen
orally have abundance of fresh water
till the cargo is nearly full and besides
the casks, there are four large iron tanks
Indeed, We have been Informed that
recently the South seamen have been
entirely fitted with iron tanks for the oil,
and carry no more barrels than are re-
4uisite for the supply of fresh water,
which in some instances is also kept in
aron tanks.
On somewhat similar system to that
in the Greenland trade, the off
fcers and crew of South-seamen are paid
dor their services, not in fixed wages, but
~ aeertain per centage on the cargo
thus, stimulating them to obtain as large
freight'in as short period as possible,
and insuring the best cxertion of their
energies for mutual advantage The lay,
,or share of the captain. is, on fhe gTer-
age, about thirteenth of the value OF
the cargo; and an able seaman gets
about the one-hundred- and d-sixtieth part
for his portion The entire crew, in
'eiudlng master, mat, 5, surgeon, harpoon-
''rs, &c., amount to from thirty to forty
M H. A supply of provisions for three
years and upward is taken out ; and the
arrangements now made for the preser-
vation of health are so iudicious. that
seurvey is Of very rare occurrence
Sonth-seamen are remarkably eli an ships
the reverse of the popular no ion con-
rnng whalers within a f.-w hours
after the capture Of whale, the vessel
and crew exhibit 10 sigus Of til tenn