Weekly Calaveras chronicle., 1867-02-09

IN answer to the cheers of those wht
were pulling after them.
Zadik and the Captain changed plac
es, and the "old lion," as we CALLED
Boom, soon had his lance ready. Th,
whale came up quarter of an hour la
ter, and "Haul line p was the order
When within darting distance the skip
per sent his long weapon quivering int
the monsters body Enraged beyonc
all bounds she came booming toward us
in cloud of whirling spray tossed by
her busy hukes
"Starn !. starn !" from the old lion
and every time he spoke he was either
darting his lance into the whale or pull
ing it back. Thicker and faster flew the
spray, almost hiding the animal from u:
until suddenly its great head, bursting
from the wl.ite foam cloud, We saw the
bristling jaw within six inches of the
skipper.
Had the nerves of Zadik failed him,
the old man must have perished the next
minute. But the voice OF the half breed
rang like the clang Of a hammer, as
with ready steering-oar he whirled the
boats broadside toward the monster,
and then gave the order to 'stern p
Snap went the monsters closing
jaw, just missing the boats bow, and
whiz-z! went the old liou's lance again
into her body alongside the hump.
Now, as she dashed fnriously toward
US, our shipmates arrived to take part
in the combat.
The ong-limbed first mate, who had
left the calf to be towed by an extra
boats crew from the ship, attacked the
monster on one flank, while the Captain
and his second and third mates battled
desperately on tho other. The cheers
of the men, the crashing of the whales
fukes, mingling with such wild cries as
clay me onP' "Keep off little P'
"Now and then-steady as you areH'
"Starn starn starn p "Pull ahead p'
"Hoo, hoo! take that, old queen ''
"Mind yourself at that oar p ''Now,
then, Mr. Spooner-there's a good
sight !" "Whang! whang! whang
three lances into her that time p "Hoo-
ray hooray?' etc., etc., were heard ON
all sides, while so thick was the spray
that no man could see his neighbor dis
tinctly. ..
Vigorously pressed-with lance after
lance piercing her body-her jaws and
fukes avoided by the vigilant harpoon-
ers-the whale soon acknowledged the
power of her assailants by sending up
into the spray cloud light red fountain
of blood With exultant screams the
lancers, still attacking, buried their
weapons in her writhing body, from
which the spout rose darker and lower
every moment.
Suddenly with one tremendous whirl
of her hukes, she struck the first mates
boat, shivering it to atoms Then slow
ly round and round she swan, the dark
blood-spout now ascending scarcely six
inches.
The Captain and his third and second
officers churned her with their lances,
when, turning over, fin out, and half
lifting her fukes and head in one last
spasm of agony, she expired.
The first mates crew being good
swimmers, had not yet been picked up !;
in fact the Captain had been too busy
to notice aohich vessel had been stoven.
Now, as the poor fellows were helped
into his boat, he looked 10 vain for his
son. A
The sad story was soon told poor
little Tom was far down under the sea,
whittier his frame crushed by the whale
fukes, had been dragged by sharks.
The Captain groaned and bowed his
head He did not lift it until we were
alongside the ship. While we were cut
ting in the whale we looked in vain for
him.
ale is down in the cabin" said the
mate, "weeping and sobbing like child
He will never be happy man again.
Gay, ay," said Zadik, gloomily. 81
felt as if no good would come of our
striking that whale We killed her off
spring, and she killed the Captain S
son"
A WAC in Detroit has been taking
liberties with the reputation of the
Pontiac railroad He was asked wheth-
er he knew of any accident on that road
and he replied
Never-but once middle aged gen.
tleman left Pontiac for Detroit, and died
of old age at Binghampton-half way!
Great road, that
THE town of Dunbarton, New Hamp-
shire, wit population of over one
thousand, has no pauper, no lawyer, no
doctor, no hotel or liquor store, no man
ufactory of any description; its town
debt is paid, and, with the exception of
minister and two women, its inhabit-
ants are all farmers.