Port Tobacco times, and Charles County advertiser. (Port Tobacco, Md.) 1845-1898, 1858-03-18

l and animation Poor Tom was forgotte
in the excitement of the moment. 1t wa
t not until the captains boat had dropped a
| stern that he recalled to mind the fate {
t his boat-steerer by his absence from the DO,
3 Of his boat; but seeing the cabin boy look
: ing over the taffrail he sung out
r Jump overheard, Bill, and III pick yo1
, up. [ want you to pull the after oar"
Without moments hesitation, Bill wa
overheard fathom deep, but rose to tn
surface life a cork, and was dragged OF
board. -,.-' =
"Now," said the captain. who was 10
val young fellow, and delighted to identify
himself with the humors Of the crew, s.you
Parson, pull the harpooner oar; I'll give
you chance to fasten, if we have the luck
to get upon the whale; but mind, if you
miss III drive lance through you
The young man whom he addressed as
parson, had obtained the title by trying to
teach a compile of New Zealanders to read
the Bible. All the men had by-names,
such as Long Boy, Broadsword, Jack Ketch,
Liver Complaint, Rheumatism, Lazarus,
those on the articles
This was the Parsons first voyage whal-
ing, and the voyage was yet young, as
there were only 800 barrels of oil on board,
and the ship could stow $500 barrels
The death of Tom had given him lift,
which of ght belonged to some experience
ed spouter, Of whom there were several a.
mong the crew; and he felt determined to
show himself worthy of the place the cap
tain had assigned him.
'.Pull, my boys-spring to your oars
bend your backs" said the captain, grind
ing his teeth, and pushing at the after oar
with all his might; pull and head the mate
that's you, another stroke like that, my
hearties; there, there she goes, now she
flies, hurrah the mate drops-now we lead
off she goes"
1.-The whales up, sir" said the Parson,
interrupting the captain, ION the larboard
bow"
$50 he is, and it's our chance. Peak
your oars, boys, and take to the paddles"
The order was promptly obeyed, and we
were seated along the gunwales, padding
a4iav- s'ss'a'.y-.~ nj -l--i -l---- .s-
off, going at the rate of three knots an hour,
and blowing as leisurely as a blacksmith S
bellows
"Don't make noise, my lads, Whisper
ed the captain; keep your paddles clear
of the sides of the boat. What noble fell
low he is-grey headed, irregular patriarch
Now, Parson, if you miss him, I'll kill you;
mind, he's good for eighty-fve barrels, yes,
ninety, perhaps hundred, and to miss him
deserves death-two deaths, eh, boys p
Hush take your paddles outof the water
he smells oakum-no he doesn't; paddle a.
way"
We were following in his wake, and as
the sun was shining on his starboard side,
the captain concluded the glare would half
blind him, and enable us to approach with
out being seen, and steered the boat accord
ingly. It was really grand to see the no.
bic fellow ploughing along so gently, the
water curling over his back, as if he were
bathing for the benefit Of his health, and
enjoying the pleasure.
c.'Stand up, Parson," said the captain
firmly, though in whisper, his eyes glar-
ing as though they would leap from their
sockets.
The boats bow was square with the
whales hump not more than eight feet off !;
the Parson held the iron (harpoon) by the
middle carelessly in his left hand the men
still padded, just keeping way with the
whale. while the captain was gradually edg-
ing the boat head on and stern off.
Dart" whispered the captain but the
Parson whispered back, Lay on:.'' Dart,
[ tell you, you're near enough" "Lay
on!' was still the response of the Parson.
''There, blast you, there's lay on. and
have your head knocked OFF, giving the
boat sweep on with the steering oar
This time there was no order to dart, nor
was it necessary; for the Parson, in order
to give increased velocity to the harpoon,
sprang into the box of the boat, and sent
one iron after the other socket up into the
whale, just abaft the fin /; then jumping
down into his proper place, seized lance,
but before he could bring it to bear, the
whale fairly sprang out of the water at least
six feet, and came down with splash that
shrouded the boat with foam as if she had
been immersed in the ruins ola water spout.
"Stern hard" shouted the captain
''stern for your lives" and the men bent
to their oars amid the whirlpool created by
the emotion of the whale But the Parson.
true to his original purpose, regardless of
the consequences, while the boat lay almost
against the whales hump, sent the lance
into his vitals, and churned it round and
round. the captain swearing like maniac
for him to sit down to his oar, and lend a
hand to back the boat clear of the whale.
He spouts thick blood" said the. Par
son, composedly, as he exchanged places
with the captain, Il did not miss him.
The whale then went down about fifty
fathams, but was too much used up to re-