Dodgeville chronicle. [volume] (Dodgeville, Wis.) 1862-current, 1867-06-27

" y yes, that's an AFFAIR Ol lTequeHb W
,currence, and ifayous areSeHgaged with a
whale towards the end Of the day, q source
of eztreme dangers For, Of course, there
is no twilight in those equincctial regions,
now, broad daylight; five minutes hence,
darkness. * on get stove IN just as the
sudden darkness sets in, and the chances
are you perish. For, by the morning, the
ship. quite ignorant of your whereabouts,
NAV have drifted miles out of sight. Now
T did see brave thing done once in an at
fair of this kind. YOU know, ladies, or
more probably you do not know, whaler's
boat-there are three OF four of them to a
ships some thirty feet long and as thin
as q lath-"
"Thin as a lath I" exclaimed Henry.
-"T Three cuts to the inch plank, in fact. "
"But / should have thought you could
not have had them too strong, 80 as to re-
sist the strokes Of the whale.
"The stoutest boat made to handle
wouldn't do that so these answer IN that
respect as well and they are much more
convenient for lowering from the ship and
for repairing Thirty feet long as they are,
you and l could carry one ON our two
shoulders with ease When boat is stove
we rightside it, lash the oars crossways SO
as to make wide aft-like surface, There
are ropes expressly affixed to the sides OF
the boats,--and all sit down to await assls-
tahoe. OF course we are stationary blt
thus sitting down, the weight OF our bodies
is not more than a pound or two on the
boat: the water nearly supports us II we
stand ND the boat sinks Immediately. L
once so sat-the water breast hlgn-fof
three hours. Bless you, it's luxurious
4. oil &c
comrades look like eventually coming to
YOUR assistance. Well, on the particular
occasion | have in mind, we fell in with a
large whale late in the day. We We're
working in an extended line,-the two
other boats some long way to the right
with the ship at least three miles to lee
ward. We are stove in, and, as Coleridge
has it, at one stride comes the dark
''" The ship is miles away, the other boats
far beyond hail, there does not appear a
hope of salvation Then one man gets UP
from amongst us and says he will swim for
it, He docs not propose trying for the
ship, that is quite out of the question. But
he points out how. in order themselves. to
reach the ship, the other boats must at
some one spot come within three quarters
of mile of us, andAheq hopes, In spite, of
the sharks, in spite Of the darkness, to hap
pen upon their path, when he will bring
them to our aid. Over the side the man
went, and we waited and waited, and lis
tened and listened, and in no very long
time we heard the grateful plash of the
oars, and they brought us all off safely.
do call that a brave fellow. Our passive
endurance was of a very different quality.
It was touch and-go both for him and for
us. never had 8. nearer,-except once,
perhaps, when whale, with clever back
stroke of his fin, took my left eyebrow
sheer off to the BONE" and the captain
pointed to a very visible scar. q A trifle
further, Miss Waven, and | should not be
here to tell you the tale; that should not,
as am man alive" 's,r.oc4 ..tt.t gf.a fe5
eyes" said my brother, there is some
thing very admirable about that mans act.
Mr. Kavanagh might have remained in
Lucknow with the other brave men and
women; but he went out and won the
Victoria Cross All! sailors are subject to
so much exposure, a little excess may be
forgiven them" .1j @l1 t-H
"Now I'll tell you. l am fifty five, and
| was thirty years at SEAL was never
screwed more than twice in my, life. Once
when | was boy, and somebody who
ought to have known better gave me some
doctored stuff; and again on the occasion
of my joining my, second ship. l had
something to remember that last by. AS /
went on board, a mate says, Harding, how
are you, old chap?' Right as trivet,
says L right as a trivet.' And it passed
into byword amongst DEMONSTRATING s
being as right as trivet 1t is Suffolk
saying, you know. had plan of my
own with my crews. found spirits in
that hot climate did not agree with me,
nor, indeed, any fermented liquors. So for
myself prepared a mixtureIot best Scotch
oatmeal and water,-the water simply
poured over the oatmeal, about a, pint to a
spoonful. / found it very nourishing as
well as thirst satisfying Now if / had
gone to my men, and in so many words
recommended it to them in the place of
grog, they would have turned up their
noses. But by putting pail Of it ON the
deck, and making point of helping my
self from it, in less than no time | had
them following my example; and soon,
like me, they would drink little else"
at is a strange life, said the captain,
passing his hand Immediately over his hair
"When you get into the seas where the
compass dips perpendicularly, you expect
strange things though. Now I'll tell you,"
his favorite preface" My brother Jack
went to sea year later than l conse-
quently, our spells at home timed differ
entity, and we lost all reckoning of each
other. | had not seen him for twelve years,
and did not even know in what ship he
was. was second mate, or chief mate, [
forget which, in the ship Eclipse, and it
was in the Australian Seas" There Is a
certain particularly in the form sailors
speak of their vessels. -" | was at the look
out. l reported sail, and the next minute
sighted whale. The captain would not
bear down on the latter lest the other ship
should observe it and, being nearer, fore
stall us. But, in spite of our caution, in
only lowering the boats, they perceived
our object and followed our example :;
reaching the whale first, of course it be-
came their lawful prey AS the boats
neared each other, i sung out, Halloa,
that's Jack; meaning the officer in charge
of the strangers boat. | had not seen him
for twelve years; but, bless you, l knew
his build in minute Just as 1 spoke the
whale INDUCED in few antics, and they
were all thrown into the water. We were
pulling to their assistance, when it hap
pened that another whale spouted to the
right BY, by, Jack I shouted, with
wave of my hand; the boats head was
brought round, and we were off after it in
a trice. We did not see one another again
for eleven months. Now if you had to tell
that in d book I doubt whether you'd get
believed. A pretty brother for you said
Jack, telling the tale few weeks ago to
lot of gentlemen. I'VE had not seen each
other for twelve years, and then he left me
struggling in the water to go after whale