The Republican journal., 1869-06-24

iIN, tt9 tliC W IlijtS utlhtS IL tC
and came down with slap like the report of
a siNty-eight FOUNDER, sending the water over
Us like mad ''Peal your oars, lads quiet
ly said old Jael, when we had backed some
twenty yards astern; and then, going for
ward he sent the boat-steerer att to the steer
ing-oar. The whale after one or two more
slaps with his tiukcs, started ahead, towing
us so rapidly that the water foamcd again,
and making the line surge and crack round
the '.logger-headn in the staln sheets, where
the boat-steerer was holding on to it with all
his might and main. Presently the line be-
gan to slack, and we TO haul in upon it, the
boat-steerer coiling it away carefully III atub
in the stefnsheets purposeiy to receive. 1t.
ANY one can understand how important 1t Is
that this part of the duty should be well per
formed, since bights of the line running ont
of boat towed bv Il whale would prove so
many snarcs for the crews legs. For this
reason, should it be necessary to cut for a
whale, an axe is always applied near the bows
Our whale continued sculling away nearly
to windward for pretty close upon two hours,
by which time the bark was courses down,
and the mates boat entirely out of sight
Fortunately, ii was about noon, so we had no
fear of darkness. At tirst--that is to say, be-
fore the ''irons' We're in--we had not spoken
above whisper; but directly we were ''fast,' y
whispers We're changed into loud calls, and
orders were shouted. The highest excitement
prevailed among the men, and sporting bets
were freely offered and taken as to the amount
of ''barrels'' our prize would yield. Sudden
ly he stopped short, and it was only by in
stantly backing hard and paying out line, that
we prevented the boat from running stem on
him. II don't like that" said the skipper
and scarcely had the words left his lips before
lifting his enormous tail high into the air, it
struck five OF six blows on the surface of the
water that made a noise that might have been
heard half league off, filling the atmosphere
Immediately around him with spray. Sud
denly he entirely disappeared, sounding
straight down at a rate which made the score
in the bows, through which the line runs, and
the loggerhead smoke again, although both
were kept we'll wetted. Presently he ceased,
and for some moments all was stationary !;
and then he started off in a direction nearly
opposite to that Of his previous course.
s'By Je-hosiphat, boys, he'll tow us along
side,'' said Jael, with a laugh and it really
seemed as if such would be pretty nearly the
case, for after an almost uninterrupted tow Of
an hour, we could see the mates boat. A
signal was made to her by hosting a frocE on
an oar-blade and we soon saw her head turn
ed towards US.
Little did we think that she would be the
means of saving our lives, but, as my read
ers will see, she was.
Another half-hour passed, and the whale
was about fifty or sixty fathonls ahead OF us,
moving more slowly than before, and the
mates boat was about half mile from us.
coming down uuder sail and oars.
The captain had prepared his lances, and
we had begun what we had hoped would be
our final haul up, when suddenly, with bel
low like a hundred bulls the inturiated mon
ster headed straight for the boat
'Iook out, for Heavens sake look out =
cried the captain, but it was too late; half Of
us backed, the rest / imagined, pulled-the
consequence was the boat turned broadside
on and in less time than it takes to write,
with an awful smash the boat was Knocked
into the water. How far / was thrown, or
how far under water | went, | know not
but when | at last found myself on the SUI
face, surrounded with oars and debris of the
boat | saw the old man and three Otthe crew
floating near me The other two hands must,
e,,>os- ha,-.. '.nnn et,,nnnA w. ''"Ter H"r'-
| them AGAIN.
.What do YOU think of that 2 I'm ,larned if
I was ever served such a trick aforo'
Il hope" quoth 'he won't pay us another
visit But there's part of the boat had we
not better oct to it, and hang on till the mate
picks us up?"
II guess you're about right replied Jael,
so we at once swan to what proved to be the
remains Of the stern-sheets. The mates boat
soon picked us up, and as they had seen that
something was the matter, they made sail on
board the bark, and we We're soon on board.
This was my first and last attempt at whal-
ing, and think my readers will allow that
one such attempt is enough for any one who
has not to follow it for q living.
What became of our whale l know not, but
if Captain Jeal Whites prayers were heard,
| he will never serve another boats crew so
scurvy trick as he served Us. [Cassell's
| Magazine