Marshall County Republican. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1856-1878, 1870-12-22
The Hardships Of Whaling.

A letter from Capt. Pease, of the ship
Champion, of Edgartown, dated in 72
Passage, Oct. %, gives the following
account of the hardships ofwhaling:'
We made and entered the ice on the
18th day of May, about forty miles
south of Cape Navarin, weather thick
and showing; on the Goth the weather
cleared up, showing about a dozen
ships in the ice. The weather having
every appearance of a gale, I worked
out of the ice, and soon found myself
surrounded by fifty ships. Saw but
one whale in the ice. On the 23d,
weather pleasant, two or three ships
worked short way in the ice, the next
day the fleet commenced following, and
in few hours fifty ships were on race
to Cape Thaddeus. 1t was oak
against ice, and like all heavy moving
bodies which come in collision, ''the
weakest structure always give way" so
with the ships, they all came out more
or less damaged in copper and sheath
ing; the Champion four days ahead to
Cape Thaddeus, and in clear water. Un-
fortunately, for the first time since
whaling, there were no whales. On the
18th of June we lowered for a whale go
ing quick into the ice, Cape Agchen
bearing s. w. 90 miles, and before get
ting the boats clear the ice packed
around us.
From that time until the 26th, so
close and heavy was the ice packed
around us, that we found it impossible
to move the ship. With our sails furled,
we drifted with the ice about II miles
per day toward Cape Agchen, the ship
lying as quiet as in dock; but on the
odd, when close under the Cape, gale
set in from the southwark, producing a
heavy swell and causing the ship to
strike heavily against the ice. We saw
ed our rudder by hooking our blubber
hooks to it and heaving them well taut
with hawsers to our quarters. Had the
current not taken an easterly shore
course, the ship must have gone on
shore. The wind blowing on shore,
which was distant less than half mile,
five to six fathoms of water under us,
ship rolling and pounding heavily
against the ice, weather SO thick we
could not see fifty yards, made it rather
an anxious time. For thirty-six hours
I was expecting some sharp-pointed
rock would crash through her sides. On
the oath, finding only four and half faith
oms water, little current, with the larger
pieces of ice aground, we let go an
anchor and held her to large foe OF
ice. Here we broke our sampson post
off in the deck. On the morning of the
25th the weather cleared up, showing
our position to be at the head of a
small bay about fifteen miles east OF
Cape Agchen. Here for two days We
lay becalmed and ice-bound. On the
second day the ice loosened, when we
took our anchor, and by eighteen hours
hard work succeeded in hedging about
four miles seaward; a breeze then
springing up from off shore, we spread
sail and passed into clear water.
We spent snort time in the straits,
but saw nothing of the bowhead kind
Passed into the Arctic July :, and
found most of the feet catching walrus;
about a dozen ships (this one among
the number) went cruising along the
northern ice for bowheads. After pros
pccting from Icy Cape to near Herald
Isle, and seeing not a whale, returned
to the walrus fleet. The first ship /
saw was the Vineyard, with IT'S walrus.
/ Since then I have not seen or heard
from her. This walrusing is quite a
new business, and ships which have
engaged in it the previous season and
came up prepared were very successful.
While at it, we drove business as hard
as the best of them, but soon became
convinced that the ships company
(taken collectively we're much inferior
/ to many others; they could no!
endure the cold. and exposure ex-
pected of them. 1 have seen boats
crews that were properly rugged kill and
strip boat-load of walrus In the same
length of time another (not rugged,
would be in killing one and hauling him
ON the ice. We took some 400, making
about 230 barrels. About August 5tE
all the ships went in pursuit of bow
head (most of them to Point Barrows)
When off the Sea Horse Islands we saw
few whales working to the westward
just enough to detain us; we took two
making 200 barrels; the weather colo
and gale all the time. In Septembe
worked up about seventy miles from
Point Barrow; saw quite show of small
whales in the sea; took four which made
about 100 barrels. AS that was fai
sample, and not having the right boy
to whale in that ice, where the ther
mometer stood only 8above zero, went
back to the westward. Ships that had
from forty to fifty men (clad in sklns)
and officers accustomed to that particu
lar kind of whaling, did well. In going
back the fourth mate struck whale
- l. oLox,k IN ho yro1c
From the 28th of September to the
4th of October We saw good chanct
to get oil, had the weather been good
and well hardy crew. We could NO
cut and whale the same time. We tool
four large whales which would hav'
made 500 barrels of oil, had we ha(
good weather to have boiled in On
the 4th we put away for the Straits II
, company with the Seneca, John How
land and John Wells; a gale from nj
and showing. On the eve of the 7th
I blew almost hurricane; hove the shi
t. port south of Point Hope, with mai
topsail furled; lost starboard bow boat
with davits; ship covered with ice ant
oil. On the 10th entered the Straits /
heavy gale; when about eight mile
|, s. of the Diomedes, had to heave t
under bare poles, blowing furiously, an
the heaviest sea / ever saw; shi
! making bad weather of it; we had abor
. 125 bbls. of oil on deck, and all OF
fresh water; our blubber between deci
in horsepieces, and going from th
forecastle to the mainmast every tin
: she pitched, and impossible to stop j
u ship covered with ice and oil; coul
e only muster four men in a watch, decl
u flooded with water all the time, no I'll
. to cook with or to warm by, made 1t I'll
, most anxious and miserable time ev'
Y experienced in all my sea service. Du
: ing the night shipped a heavy Sc
:, which took off bow and waist boa
a davits, slide boards, and everything q
!. tached, ,Estaving about twenty bbis.
y oil.
"a AT daylight of the second day '
le found ourselves in seventeen fathor
of water, and about six miles from Il
ID centre Cape of st. Lawrence Islam
2, Fortunately the gale moderated a littl
- so that we got two close-reefed topsal
lQ op1 roofo1 oor1rsoa ON her and by 0u