The Portland daily press., 1866-11-29
he passed the word 10 the beatsteerer-"peak
your mar Ned and nkand tn

he passed the word 70 the boatsteerer-"peak
| your oar, Ned, and stand tip"
Grasping the "iron" firmly in both hands
the boatsteerer stands with compressed lips and
dilated nostrils, while the boatheader With mo-
tons only encourages us to spring on, TILL sud
denly in a voice of thunder, he cries. give 1t TO
| him, Ned-stern all, give him another-stera
| all-hard, you wretches, If you value me-
| stern stern," and amidst white waters "
which our boat seemed fixed immova6ly, we
| gather up the back-hand stroke ana Skill oA
| out OF our first peril. .;.o1,.
| Upon being struck, the whale immealatey
sounded, making no show OF ada an o au
cononest Eacb man sat with his face towards
| the head of the boat, waiting for the animal to
| finish sounding, while the line with Its single
turn around the loggerheaaa run guy through
| check bringing a wreath of smoke from the
timber around which it spun. Our work soon
commenced, however, for slack line" quickly
proclaimed the whale to be tired of plumbing
It." and that he was now coming again to
the surface. Gath ,ring in the slack which
was coiled down loosely in the stern
sheets, we commenced to haul line the boat
steerer keeping sharp watch at the logger
mead, checking the line as the whale would go
anead, and again coiling down as We would
gain ground.
Another boats waif set-and another, three
boats fast to whales. Good bye company, for
us. The Captain and first mates had each
struck fish, having raised a school just after
the boats had left the ship Three hours had
passed and we had been unable as yet to get
near enough to throw a lance, and the whale
making straight wake for the windward. He
was now thoroughly aroused, and as our Off
Ger expressed himself, was going "eyes OUT
We had held him at short line, but through
repeated soundings and sudden darts he had
kept out of the reach of our lances The ship
was now but speck in the horizon, and the
whale still moving. Now prayed within my
self that those irons would "draw." but Ned
had buried them to the clutches" and with us
our "labor for our palms." To Kill our fish was
three thousand dollars worth of oil, and a sure
run into port.
"WeIl have that whale, even if we never see
our mothers again." exclaimed Mr.. Brown
so hold ON to him Ned, if he takes us to Tahi-
Slack line again; and we hauled with will
The whale was getting fatigued, and we were
shortening the distance between us.
Haul hard, my lads-two boats length more
and ~ nix his grave, saying which, with lance
on the bow of the boat, and with the strength
of despair hurled the weapon through the air
distance of fifty feet and buried it deep into
the vitals of the monster.
slack line-slew round and take your oars
every mothers son of yeu-ha,d' boys hard"
remember the flight of the lance through
the air-the orders Of the mate,-the boiling
and bubbling of the waves-the sight of the
monster as with open jaws he rushed upon us
and still hear shrieks and the crashing of
the cedar as the enraged whale in his agony
struck the stern of the boat, and see bruis-
ed and lifeless form floating near me as I
clutched the oars, from which had parted be-
fore being rescued by the waist boat. Poor
Ned and two others had persisted, three only
of us having been saved, by the most oppor-
tune arrival of the second mates boat, which
had worked up to windward during the latter
part of the contest.
One hundred and fifty barrels of oil, came
along side of the Champion before sun down,
and the skipper in the goodness of his heart
gave me double eagle, as 1 stepped aboard
the boat to spend on my "lberty-day" ashore at
TalcaEomo.