Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1873-08-28
CHILDREN'S CORNER.
Life On BOA lvl II NVhnlcr.

IL
Twenty-Five years is not a very long
time, after it has been lived; but
twenty five years ago I thought if 1
should live till this time l should be
an old man. But here 1 am, alive and
not old. 10 be sure, I have changed
in these last twenty five years, and
l don't think my looks have improved.
Of course, man with no hair on his
head doesn't look so we'll as one with
hair, as a general tling-and then,
there arc other things that affect a
mans looks. Time has been at work
upon ME, to be sure, but am not old.
There is something that does not APP
pear outwardly, that has still the fresh
ness of youth and that say it mod.
estly-I think has improved. Twenty
five years ago I did not think there was
so much to learn. I have been learning
all the time-not very fast, but learn
lng-and, as yet, 1 have only learned
enough to know that have but just
begun. have come to the conclusion
that, if I live twenty-five years more,
1 shall not be old. I do not think shall
ever be old-though the body NAV
wither and turn to dust, and be scat.
tered over the earth. That's the belief
that keeps me young, and always will.
Twenty-Five years ago was wild
youth. I could not bear to stay at
home and drudge on the farm. II
thought it was drudgery, but. after all,
I did not have to work very hard.) I
thought would go to sea; I must 20
to sea and to sea I went. A whaler
carried me around the Cape of Good
Hope, across the Indian Ocean and the
Pacific to the Sandwich Islands, and
thence to the northwest coast. In one
year after leaving home I had arrived
on the northwest coast, having re-
Pented OF my going to sea a good many
times on the way. I had even asked
my captain to discharge me and send
me home. But for several reasons that
he thought better of than did, he re-
fused ; and so it has happened that
have q story to relate.
We cruised far to the northward,
over on the Kamschatka side, and clear
up to the Straits, aud then through
them. so that we were fairly in the Arc.
tic Ocean. I never shall 60 there again
of my own accord; for / did not
like the weather, nor the whales. 1
never liked the smell of whales; and,
when / finally got well clear of the
northwest, I determined to keep clear
OF it.
The weather was cold, foggy, drizzly
too much daylight for the night, too,
though no great matter of sunshine,
on account OF the fogs and clouds. We
had an uncomfortable time every way.
Once in while we had clear weather
for few hours, and bright sunshine :;
and then, il we had only had the time,
We should have enjoyed it at great
rate. But we hadn't the time: for as
soon as the fog lifted or the weather
cleared, the lookouts aloft would sing
, cut, 9TH ere she blows! There
~she blow !" and down would 20 the
boats. and we would have to chase the
whales.
:. We had just about clear weathe,
enough to keep us at work ali the time.
Whales were plenty, and if we lost the
one we lowered for, very often another
or others, would be raised before We
got back to the ship. We were very
successful; and that means, amons
other things, that we worked hard. WI
had eXcitement-plenty of it; fun
we'll, that depends upon which end o.
the line you are at; il; is fun to reai
about it, perhaps, but if you do it, it,.
something else. Sometimes we work
ed day and night-what night ther.
Was-tlll we got very tired, and sleep,
too. 1t was heavy work heaving in til,
whales-the blubber, I mean, for W,
never attempted to hoist in a Who'll,
whalc-and all who were not otherw1s,
engaged then worked at the windlas
brakes. Forty:eight hours, sometimes
without sleep, made us shut our eve
and open our mouths while we ciun,
to the brakes, rising and falling witt
this movement, wholly unconseiou
that We were helping bit. Some O
rs boys couldn't help heaving ant
sleeping in that way sometimes
though the sleep we got never did ~
much good. What made it worse wa
that we were generally wet through
and getting wetter all the time. Ii i
cleared off in the night, it was cold
and our clothes froze stiff, and ON
fingers ached. There's where the fu,
was. Everybody would get sleepy
even the officers; and once the sccon,
mates drowsiness caused him to fal
into tho hold through the main hatch
as he was leaning over it. The bluh
Der below saved him from being hurt
5rt he wac laughed at all the same
'"' never fell through the hatch bu
once.
We had taken some twenty whales
large and small-all of them large
than the Boston whales-and had trie,
out more oil, the officers said, than an,
whaler had tried out before in the sam
length of time. The try-pots were full
the flames and smoke streaming VI
through the brick fues behind, Will
the boat -steerers with their forks an,
SWIMMERS were busy as demons i,
front, and the ship all over, inside ant
out, was as smutty and nasty as SIN
could be. 1t was Sunday, the day O
est, and, because it had been SO fogg,
a.! day that we could not see twent,
t4thoms from the ship, we were havini!
watch and watch below. I had beef
below, sleeping very fast all the after
noon-that is from one till four. which
is the length of an afternoon watcI
sbelow in whale ship. When / wen
-1n deck l had not slept enough but
had to be satisfied, for had no rich
to sleep any more till eleven o'c]W.l
that night. Our watch for the nioh
was set at seven o'clock, which som,
folks will tell you is not the rule: I'M
it was our rule.
When we went on deck ut fou,
O'Clock, -or sometime between that api
five, for we didn't hurry much.-tht
fog was very heavy, and it was per
fectly calm, 1t was dark, gloomy
silent, except for the falling of tn,
damp sails against the masts as tho
ship rose and fell on the swells of the
sea, and the noise made around thI
try works. Dreary, chcerless, gloomy
depressing,-it was all these, up be-.
You'd the Straits OF Behring at the clos.
OF that Sabbath day. The lurid flames
SHOT mp, and the black smoke could
hardly lift itself away. The fog was
aiound us. thi,k and heavy, damp and
call. There was nothing to show thai
there was anything pleasant in life any
. where, and the recollections we had o.
1t only served to increase the gloom
mess of our situation.
The three hours of the dog watch
had passed, and we had had supper
The 'larboard watch had gone below,
the weather being still the same. But
they had not long left the deck when We
who remained were startled by two ex
plosiors, quickly succeeding each 9th.
or, over the side, just off the starboartl
beam. We had all heard such explo.
SONS often enough to know what they
We're, but we had never before heard