The Bedford gazette. [volume] (Bedford, Pa.) 1805-current, 1867-01-04

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AS he spoke a sudden change came
over the whale, which now, half turn
ing, saw the boat.
Wrathful and wild for revenge, she
preached, the whole length of herenor-
nous body, out of water then falling
back with the din of hundred thun-
der-bolts, she made straight for the
boat, her bristling jaw wide open, her
broad fiukes beating the sea!
"Starn! starn! gritted old Boom, and
every man of his crew except Zadik
turned pale.
The harpooner had changed with the
leviathan. The flush of fight was now
on his cheek, and there was fire in his
eye. His dark brow was wrinkled; the
ends of his straight black hair bristled
like spear points. He motioned to the
Captain to keep off a little, and, being
obeyed, sent both irons whizzing into
the side of the monsters hump!
Maddened with pain, fiercer than
ever, the whale made swift dash to-
ward the boat, which she must have
grappled had not the Captain, byadex
trous movement, whirled the ght YES
sci to one side. Thus baffied, the mons
ter dive, shakinga a savage warning with
her fukes as she disappeared. Away
went the boat, swift as whirlwind,
the line humming around the logger
head, and the crew cheering like wild
demons in answer to the cheers of those
who were pulling after them.
Zadik and the Captain changed places,
and the ''old lion," as we called Boom,
soon had his lance ready. The whale
came up quarter of an hour later, and
"iiaul line" was the order. When
within darting distance the skippersent
his long weapon quivering into the
monsters body. Enraged beyond all
bounds, she came booming towards us
in a cloud of Whirling spray tossed by
her busy t1ukes.
'tStarn 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 US, until suddenly its great head,
bursting from the white 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 mon
ster, and then gave the order to "stern!"
Snap! went the monsters closing
gaw, just missing the boats bow; and
whiz-z-z-! went the old lions lance again
into her body alongside the hump!
Now as she dashed furiously toward
us, our shipmates arrived to take part
III lue COIupdl.
The long-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 Cap
tain and his second and third mates
battled desperately upon theother. The
cheers of the men, the crashing Of the
whale'5fuke's mingling with such wild
cries as Lay me on ~ keep off lit
tler' "Now then-steady as you areW
"Starn! starn! starn!" Pull aheadw
"Hoo, hoo! take that, old queenw
"Mind yourselfa at that oar!" "Now
then, Mr.. Spooner-there's a good
sightu" "Whang! whang! whang!
three Iances into her that time !" "Hoo-
ray! hooray!" ETC., ETC., were heard
on all sides, while so thick was the
spray that no man could see his neigh
Dor distinctly.
Vigorously pressed-with lance after
lance piercing her body her jaws and
fiukes avoided by the vigilant harpoon-
ers-the whale soon acknowledged the
power of her assailants by sending up
into the spray-cloud light red foun-
tain 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 tremendousWhirl
OF her flukes, she struck the first mates
boat, shivering it to atoms 3! 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 flukes 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 aChich vessel was stove.
Now, as the poor fellows were helped
into his boat, he looked in vain for his
son!
The sad story was soon told; poor
little Tom was far down under the sea,
whittier his frame, crushed by the
whales fukes, had been dragged by
sharks.
The Captain groaned and bowed his
hood He did not lift it until we were