The Manitowoc tribune. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1866-1878, 1873-10-23

" nile we chung TO the brakes, rlSlDg anu
falling with this movement, wholly un-
| conscious that We were helping bit.
Some of US boys couldn't help heaving
and sleeping in that way sometimes
though the sleep we got never did US
much good. What made it worse was
| that We we're generally wet through, and
getting wetter all the time. IF it cleared
off In the night, it was cold and our
/ clothes froze striff, and our fingers ached.
There's where the fun was. Everybody
would get sleepy, and even the officers !;
and one the second mates drowsiness
caused him to fall into the hold through
| the main hatch, as be was leaning over
it. The blubber below saved him from
being hurt; but he was laughed at all
| the same, and never fell through the
| hatch but once.
We had taken some twenty whales,
large and small--all of them larger than
the Boston whales-and had tried out
more oil, the officers said, than any whaler
had tried out before in the same length
of time. The try-pots were full, the
flames and steaming up through the
brick fiues behind, while the boat steerers
with their forks ard skimmers were busy
as demons in front, and the ship all
over, inside and out, was as smutty and
nasty as she could De.
1t was Sunday, the day of rest and,
because it had been so foggy all day that
we could not see twenty fathoms from
the ship, we were having watch and
watch below. | had been below, sleeping
very fast ali the afternoon-that is from
one till four. which is the length of an
afternoon watch below in whale ship.
When | went on deck [ had not slept
enough, but had to be satisfied, for
had no right to sleep any more till eleven
o'clock that night. Our watch for the
| night was set at seven o'clock, which
| some folks will tell you is not the rule !;
but it was our rule.
When we went on deck at four O. clock
! or sometime between that time and five,
for we didn't hurry much, the fog was
very heavy, and it was perfectly calm.
1t was dark, gloomy, silent, except for
the falling of the damp sails against the
masts as the ship rose aud fell on the
| swells Of the sea, and the noise made
around the tfy-works. Dreary, cheer
less, gloomy, depressing-it was all these,
up beyond the Straits of BehriDg at the
close of that Sabbath day. The lurid
flames shot up. and the black smoke
could hardly lit itself away. The fog
was around US, thick and heavy, damp
and chill. There was nothing to show
there was anything pleasant in life any
where, and thee recollections we had of
it only served to increase the gloominess
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 whu
remained were startled by two explosions
quickly succeeding each other, over the
side, just off the starboard beam. We
lad all heard such explosions often
enough to know what they were, but we
had never before heard them while on
board the ship. Every one sprang to
the rail; and there, right alongside,
within the wall of fog. were two mon
strous old grey-backed whales They
were as long as our ship, and so near
that we could see a crook in the back OF
one of them, as though it had been
| broken. They were moving very slowly,
ard, fortunately, leading the same way
the ship headed, or there might have
been collision. It was Sunday to be
sure, and bad time to lower the boats
on account of the fog i; but the tenn ta-
ton was great, and the captain gave the
word in low voice to call the other
watch on deck and lower the waist and
bow boats. The boats were quickly IN
the water; but by the time they were
under way the whales had disappeared
in the fog, though moving so slowly that
it seemed as if they would be surely
overfakeu. 1t was only moment after
the boats were fairly under way. when
they, too, were lost sight of; and then
we who remained on board waited and
listened.
They were out of hearing as well as
out Of sight, and when they had been
gone half an hour we thought it time to
make some signal that would show thsm
the way back. The bell on the forecas-
tie was first ruDg. at intervals of a few
minutes, and another half hour went by
without our seeing or hearing anything
of the boats. 1t was growing darker,
and we began to feel uneusy on account
of those who were away. Besides ring
ing the bell, all hands gathered on the
forecassle, and joined in loud hurrahs,-
waiting after each for any answering
shout. None came; and then some tin
trumpets-so big that none but very
windy men could blow them, were
brought out of the cabin, and made such
dolorous sounds that one hearing them,
and not knowing what they were, would
certainly never lave ventured towards
them.
But there was T response, and no one
came. To make it worse, watts oe wind
began to be felt. They rippled the water
and the ship began to move ahead. But
the fog still chung. though it grew thin
ner and we could see little farther from
the ship. We could see no boats, how
ever. and the captain was evidently
alarmed. There were muskets in the
cabin and they came next, successive vol
leys being dist harged. but bringing no
sound in reply. nor any boats.
II was growing dark, and the wind was
increasing. The boats had been pulled
ahead. and the captain headed the ship
the way they had gone, and we ran ON,
masking all the noise we could, till the