The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1869-08-05

ca 50 ulu llc Dcdi, anu us lne skipper Ndlhcu
50 did the bear, until Jams men relieved him
by Il sorte from the ship.
The seal itself is generally harmless
enough but il will sometimes cndanger the
sealel'S peace of mind and ''continuity Of It's
sue" The bllddel-nose will boldly meet his
opponcnt, and even the quiet sober saddle
back. in the fury Of maternal affection, will
sometimes when the sealcr is faving its
pup. stretch her head out Of water, and seize
him by the calf of the leg, iniicting, with its
powerful tusks, very severe wounds.
A score of such yarns you will hear while
the good ship Spoutin' Whale is filling up with
seals in the Greenland sea of the Dutch as
Mr. Norriss old chart, which hangs up in the
. cabin styles it, This is about the end OF
April, and now the great fields Of ice are
broken into fragments, and the carcasses OF
lhe seals covering il are either left to the Polar
bear on sunk to the bottom of the sea, where
they must now. with those of whales, form
-uch Il bed that | would like to hear the theory
which gcolooiStS. say couple OF million years
hence. will form regarding this deposit, when
The bed of the Spitzhergen sea forms fields OF
yellow grain, and England, perhaps is trop-
cal forest.
The scalers care nothing tor the flesh, but
the liyer- are sometimes eaten. The Esqui-
inauN. however, look upon the flesh in quite
u different light, and, indeed, when cooked it
i tan from contemplate as the piece de resist
:tnrr Of m Arctic dinner. and very much SUI
prlior 10 a burGomaster gull. The sealer,
however. thinks it is unwholesome, for now
and then he secs the Young affected by a dis
cl~r NOT unlike the scrotula; an Inflammation
ol thc Glands OF the neck; and curiously
,u"u@h this gotre-likc disease induces dwarf
l~hnc~~ in the seals ~ it does in the Cretins
Of the Alps and elsewhere. Some Of the seal
rr~. IL thry intend to pursue the Spitzbergen
Nhalin" in the ensuing summer, follow the
llocks of seals, which have now taken to the
WATER noltlWard. and in the month of May
often fall in with considerable numbers.
This is called the ''old sealing" but as the
seals are upt to sink when shot late in the
YEAR. though early in the spring they are so
iat rs 10 float, this kind of business is not
popular with The spalerS, and most of them
return home to depose their cargo, and to
relit for The ''Stras fishing, Davis Strait and
l}ttiin@ Bay. As they steam gaily southwark
The men oct mp the seals and pare the layer
Of blHbbcr Oft the skins. If the voyage is
likely 10 be a long or a warm one, 4 little salt
Is sometimes thrown over the skins, but gen
r'ally the weather is cold enough for their
preservation in perfectly good condition until
lhty are unshipped The old skipper is in
-
arog tells all sorts Of traditions Of the trade
For instance. lie relates how i'll the year II,
Whn he was prentice on board the Nancy
Dawson, a square old bluii-bowcl snuff-boX
OF Hull Whaler. we were 1T war with France.
and French cruisers liked nothing better than
"a take a run up the. North Sea and cut out an
odd Whalpr. There wasn't much in her, 10
doubt, bat still ,hc was Il prize, and ifnothing
better She made a good blaze when burnt
They didn't dare, however, to venture in
among the ice. as their vessels were not for
}ilird for such work, and accordingly, when
one summer day the Nancy Dawson had Just
unlocked from the foe, and Il French-man-
"'-War bore down upon her, she ran immedi-
atrly in among the ice where pursuit was out
oI fhc question: There She remained until
The l'rrnchnan was ont of sight, but the
Whalcr hadn't we'll got out before the cruiser
hrAyed IN sight again but with the same re-
suit, her intended victim running in among
ti'r ice. In those days convoy used to ac-
company the Whalers north, but the skipper
of the Nancy Dawson was Of an indepen-
l,nl tuln of mind. and not believing much in
The Judgment OF the whaler's admiral, he used
20 20 oil where hr chose and run his risk, and
H,'W hc was running it with Il vengeance. 1t
seemed ~ if the Frcnchman would cage him.
Al last She cleared of for good. as he thought,
and. after remaining for more than a week
among the ice, ship hcaying in sight, made
AN sail towards The Nancy Dawson to hear
the news. The vessel certainly looked like a
Whaler There was her ''croW' nest there
were her guys; there was her-but stop. the
Old skipper was At the masthead. shouting in
voice of thunder" Port Your helm there .
rs the l'rcnehman again. He's got his blocks
ioi-te(l the wrong way. Bout Ship SO back
to thc jec they stccrcd. The cruisers dis
%ri,e was not complete. In his attempt to
initiate "A whaler, hc had erred in few tech
nipll points, and finding his victim was not
I" BE ontrarpe1- he Sleered of for a more
promising" chase. Then he tells of the old
-,.alrr who was chased by Il French sloop-of-
war oil Shetland, and how they kept up a
running chase. First the whaler fired all his
hlll. then h2 fired broken harpoons, then half
ehrrScS, until at last, in despair he fired the
poker and longs, cutting through the French
mans rigging. He could hear the men on
hoard the cruiser shouting, 'hc has chain shot
an board" and The cruiser dropped pursuit.
In those days nearly all the better class Of
"la)ri~ were fitted out as privateers orletters
OF maryue. and the skipper tells with many
-l@e mods, how it is generally supposed that
"a certain wealthy family of whaling owners
tnadc their money more by the capture of a
FrnCl merchantmen. which was driven DN
storms into their course to Davis Strait one
summer day. than by their legitimate trade.
The Whal.r9 in those times had another
enemy to dread nearer home, and that was
oar war vessels These men-o'-war used to
lie in the Pentland Firth and OFF the Shetlands,
watching for the return Of the Whalers, when
they would press every man on board except
ihe apprentices and the officers, who were
exempt. Knowing this, when they arrived
OF the coast, the men liable to be pressed
would take to the boats and work their way
1rcretlydoWn the coast, sleeping in quiet coves
or secreted by the fishing folk during the day,
and owing by night until they arrived home,
when they would conceal themselves until
ihcit vessel was ready to sail again In the
meantime their ship would be brought into
port by their apprentices and officers.
All this time we steam south with our car
90, past the dreary island of Jan Mayen, with
lis now extent volcano, and near Iceland,
until we can see the north isles of Shetland,
like clouds on the horizon. At Lerwicl1 we
present the collector with a bottle of frozen
beer, and discharge our Shetland men, to-
wards whom her Majesty's officials have
kindly feeling. and whom they do not search
over strictly. These islemen have y knack,
when on board q Scaler, of living on oatmeal
almost entirely Gas they have the run of it,
and saving their provisions for winter use
Even Che medicines are not safe. The doctor