The daily phoenix. [volume] (Columbia, S.C.) 1865-1878, 1872-01-28
AIN Interview with a Whaleman.

master, relates in the Commercial Buhe-
q" the following interview With al
ancient mnriner:
o. but these old whalemen Gun tell
horrible stories. when they find crcdu-
ious hearer.
Walking one dny on the pier at Homo
Lulu. spied an ancient mariner. Know
lug we'll the natural proclivities of that
GLASS toward u landsman, remembering
prospect Of ''stuf1iug" conceited igno-
ramus. resolved to impersonate such for
tue fun of the thing.
A whaling bark lay opposite us with
her rigging bristling with bone, drying
in the tropical sun. put on q very
''stagy" air, and exclaimed:
''Heave to. my hearty! what's that
brig got in her rope-lrdders?"
"Whale's jaw" laconically replied
Jack.
! ''How do they get it2" I continued.
s'Did you never hear the command
Hold your jaw?'"
:Yes, many times"
II thought SO; we'll, you see when
we're whaling whenever whale is
killed, he spits out his jaw bones as he
dies. The greenest lubber aboard is
always set at holding OF 'em in, and
that's where the phrase Hold your jaw
came from. He has to keep quiet aud
hold on, YOU know, until we get ready to
pull 'erD out"
.'IrdeedE"
''Yes; but my uncle, who was mate
Of the bark Gulliner, found them very
useful"
t,I"Ahl"
'!'HThe boat was upset, and everybody
but him drowned; my uncle got on the
back OF the whale, and, using these jnws
for paddles, he"
"Rowed back to the bark" I sug-
gested.
ri ''Not at. all; he was at swords points
. with the old man, and he padded direct
~ away from her,
"Of to seaq"
Certainly; why not? He could live
! on the whales blubber, and, as for
drinks. why, every bit of tho water 8
whale spoute is fresh; that's how Jonah
kept alive; that ancient yarn isn't no.
thing :of q miracle to an old whaleman.
"NoP"
''Of course not; the steam boiler takes
in salt water, but the steam is fresh. A
whale is just the came; he swallows q
few barrels and pumps it out through his
spout-holes fresh"
J
claimed I, thinking had caught him at
last. .l''
"Havn't you never seen drowning per-
sons brought to? o, you have. oh? Well,
my tlncIe served the. whale in the same
way, Lis lungs expanded naturally in
time. then my uncle jumped on him, hit
him kick in the ribs, which brought the
water out his spout.hole. However, he
didn't have to navigate long. He sold
him pretty soon"
''Sold him?"
''To be sure; you didn't suppose he'd
9ire him away, did you. A two hundred
barreler, OF that; not much. He spoke
one vessel. who only offered him half
price. thinking he'd be glad to get off;
but it was no go. My uncle said that
death was better than trade which he
would always be ashamed Of; 80 he kept
on, until he met Frenchmnn, just out
Of Tahiti, clean, with advices that oil was
rising in Havre to boot"
''And he bought Lim?"
''Yes; and johnny Crapeau had TO pay
my uncle rousing price. That whale
any Northern lights for year, if he'd
reachod the North pole"
whats q whale got to do with the
aurora?"
Eyes, roare,; that's just what I said
he was. You see we old whalemen know
everything. Now, here's the earth goes
spinning round on its axis; of course,
there's u mighty site of friction at the
North pole. and it makes the sparks fly
off lively. That's what we call the North
ern lights"
"Bnt they stop now and then2''
"Of course. they do. When whale
like my unole's comes smack against the
pole, it caves his head in. and the oil
runs down tho axis, lubricating the
thing, and ali runs easy and smooth for
awhile. They make such fuss about
these things; if they'd only consult a
few practical men. like whalemen, now,
it would all be plain smiling enough"
MY informant upon matters scientific
and nautical went through the whole
course OF this dialogue without smile,
or an air tinged by the least shade ol
bombast. When he finished his yarn, I
hesitated q moment. Should allow him
to think he had been talking to green.
horn, who did not know the difference
between bark and brig, or should ]
astonish him by mass of genuine nau
tical tarno wbich would olo -, :