The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1860-10-18
THE PACIFIC
Commercial Advertiser.
J.Ck STORY
q Nyasi- rsaIaS "a Brig Across the Atinniie'

The brig POcdbOHfGS-yOu all remember th'
old brig POce1iOBfas- Of Portsmouth =hIPinate-' q
dull sailing craft with bows Ike = bread-tray
and a stern like a Dutch gllliOt. Nell- the Old
BRIG Pocahotias was bound ON = voyage from
Boston 70 Cowes and a market, and l Wa
lucky enough make one % the crew We were
up with the eastern edge OF Georges bank IN
thirty-six hours, having made a glorious run OF
more than two hundred miles. with the WIND
blowing n stivering breeze from the "
was on the starbOard watch. Atdlyiight We
had lust got a sound in thirty-fye tatnOms OF wa
ter rocky bottom. and were beginning To wash
down the decks. when Bob Merriwether- WI was
standing between the knight-heads, working
awav at the head pump. called out IN a loud voice
that there was some strInge object ahead
We all rushed forward, and sure enough, about
a quarter of a mile OF, a couple OF points on the
lee bow, we saw a large, black looking object pro-
iecting out 81 the water OF resting upon the surface.
. j. q rock" -aid one Ii - a sn01I,
shouted another. '.Itisasunken wreck, Scream
ei a third. ,
shut YOUR cIamshelIs - cried the second
mate. who had sen such things before. having
been two whaling voyages out OF Proylncet1Wn 70
the Western Islands and the Brazil Banks " IL
il nothing but a Iubberly whale fast asleep;
And q whale IL was, - sure as I'm a sail0T-a
big fellow, tOo-stretehei At tuh length ~ the
regular track across the ocean. and INDUCING IN
i sound nap perhaps enjoying pleasant dreams
about his friends and young family, TAR away
frolicking and sporting among the sea Hons
around the North Pole.
I'll wake him up exclaimed Mr.. Griffin,
vho was fond of a froIic himself. .Iu make
him rouse a Bit what business has that over
grown fellow u stretch himself out like a spread
eagle on the top Of the water, as If to block up
the passage and make trouble y whale here
taxing G snoOze in broad daylight Who ever
heard Of such u thing? lie ought 70 be ashamed
of himself for setting such an example. Port
your helm. Tom ,' he sung ont % the man ut tue
wheel. 'I1l make him open his Teepers, There,
steady that will do. Ill rouse him out Of his
nap with a vengeance ~
The sea was toIerably smooth, and the ship.
with 4 good breeze, was ~plOdding lrisurely along,
about six knots through the water. Tom steered
directly for the whale. The stem OF the old Po-
0ahOHfGs struck the lazy rascal ON the starbOard
quarter. and gave him IN awful push that nearly
turned him over.
The brig, as well as the whale. received q terri
bic shock. Her wav was entirely stopped, and
~ she swung round, the slils were all taken
abaek. Captain Wellingford, with the chief
mate. cock, steward and all hands, came rushing
up on deck. clad in nothing but what they stood
in, thinking that every timber in the ship was
sliyered to flinders by striking against a rock.
As for Don WhiskerandO himself, as the skipper
afterwards called the whale, he must have been
dreadfully frightened, a. well Is hurt. And no
wonder To &c awakened in this rough Off
hand manner out Of 4 pleasant and refreshing
sleep. was enough to astOnish and provoke a man
as well as . monster. IL was taking an unfair
a6antage. as one might say
The whale by his actions showed his disgust at
such unhandsOme treatment, and evidently came
10 the conclusion that if such was his brutal re-
eeptiOn among civilized folks on the top of the
water, the sooner he could take French leave and
20 below without saying goodbye, and mingle
once more with better company, his old friends,
the big fishes and monsters of the deep, the bet
ter. But il j. sometimes easier to plan, than 10
execute, as the shark said, when, turning over ON
his back in order t. take = nip from the thigh Of
= sailor. q harpOOn was sent by a strong hand
through his yiGIls, which efectually checked his
operations.
The whale, after receiving Z blow which would
have demolished an iceberg. recovered mis- balance
with a cOnvulsiye shudder, and threw into the air
his huge tail. which looked for all the world like
Il half moon, only a great deal bigger-you know,
shipmat-s, Il whale always shows his iuke when
about To iye-bu unfortunately for him he
brought il down with tremendous force against
tho laTboard bow Of the ship, and raised a terri
bic rumpus, starting the cut-water, springing
the ~bOwsprit, carrying away the cat-head staying
In the pLank-shear,a and making destructive work
among che pl1uks and timber-heads. But what
was more strange and unfortunate for him than
al the rest, he struck his tail with such violence
against the bill of the small bower anchor. which
was dashed To the cat-head and gunwale, that tine
huke of the anchor passed through the blubber.
entered the hard and s,lid flesh, and fixed itself
firmly just in front Of one of the joints of his tall
And there ~ had HIM, ~shipmates, or he had rs
at any rate, We were fastened together, and
nothing bat cutting the cable, one end of which
was fast To the anchor. and the other clinched
around the foremast, could separate Us.
Thus fOil-d IN his attempt To dive below, Don
WhiskerandJ next started off on the surface Of
the water. and the way he carried out the small
bower cable was n caution TO windlasses and walk
ing sticks. lie tried once to throw up his tail
again that his head might 90 down, but he made
an awkward and unsuccessful job of it, on account
Of the weight ut the hemp and iron that hung
about his suIrn.
When the whole cable. after capsizing the
windlass. was run ont 10 the better end. tie old
fellow was brought up all standing This seemed
10 surprise him again, and made him uneasy. He
fiOundered about tor a time ut a great rate, plUng-
ing and rolling and pitching like 4 high mettled
horse when he knows he's got a sailor ON his
back, or = teep-laden bark in a head sea off the
Cape Of Good Hope. At length. finding he could
not shake of the harness which ne had so clever
" put on. be started off To the eastward, t0L-ing
He old Jrlg along after HIM at the rate Of some If
teen or hreHfg Knots!
Mr.. Baxter. the chief mate. was greatly terri
fed - well he might be, 1T seeing the clumsy old
craft travelling OF across the water at such mad
dening speed. lie bawled out with all the strength
Of MS lungs, /. Cut the cable where's the axe -
lie seized the sharp-edged instrument, which
was lying by the caboUse-hOuse. and in another
minute would have freed Don WhiskerandO from
the heavy body which hung upon his heels, If the
captain, = man Of undaunted courage and admira-
bic presence Of mind, had not shouted, Z. Hold
on - and seizing the mate by the arm, lac pre-
vented tlie threatened blow.
\ bright thought entered the noddle of Captain
Wellingford. The whale had fairly taken the
brig IN tow. He was - strong fellow, III good
condition. rather lazy withal, and it would DO
him good to exercise and amuse himself by tow
ing the bEiS for a spell. And if he could be per-
suaded 10 tow her in the right direction, and if
tine anchor had found good holding ground, the
passage over the Atlantic, thanks to the broad
shoulders of Don Whiskerando, might be shorten
ed amazingly.
Captain Wellingford took his measures accord
ingly. He was u real Yankee, and resources in
the most pulling emergency never failed him.
u..-I---l Ii .L...r-r L. fiji nn-..- .