The Manitowoc tribune. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1866-1878, 1873-10-23
LIFE ON BOARD A WHALER.
BY F. II. WOODBURY..

twenty-five years is not a long time
after it has been lived; but twenty-five
years ago thought if | should live til
this time | should be an old man. Bui
here ] am. alive and not old. To be
sure. have changed in these last TWEEN
ty-6ve years. and don't think my looks
have improved. OF course, man with
no hair ON his head doesn't look as well
as one with hair, as a general thing
and then, there are other things that
effect mans looks. Time has been at
work upon me, to be sure, but l am not
old. There is something that does not
appear outwardly, that has still the
freshness of youth; and that say it
modestly-1 think has improved. TWEEN
:y-hve years ago l did not think there
was 30 much to learn. have been learn
ing all the time-not very fast. but learn
ing, and, as yet, have only learned
enough to know that have just begun.
| have come to the conclusion that, if
live twenty-five years more l shall not
be old. do not think l shall be old
though the body may wither and turn to
dust, and be scattered over the earth.
That's the belief that keeps me young,
and always will.
Twenty five years ago l vas a wild
youth. l could not bear to stay at home
and drudge on the farm. Il thought it
was drudgery, but, after all, | did not
have to work very hard.) I thought |
would go to sea; / must go to sea and
to sea 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 leav-
ing home | had arrived on the north.
west coast, having repented of my going
to sea good many times on the way.
had even asked my captain to discharge
and send me home. But for several
reasons that he thought better of than
did. he refused. and so it has happened
that | have story to relate.
We CURSED far to the northward, Oh
the Kamschatka side, and clear ND to
tho Straits, and then through them, so
that we were fairly in the Arctic Ocean
l shall never go there again of nv own
accord for | did not like the weather
nor the whales. never liked the smell
of whales, and when I finally got we'll
clear of the northwest, l deter mined to
keep GEAR of it.
The weather was cold, foggy, drizzly
too much daylight for the night, too.
though no great matter of sunshine
and then, If 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
iookouts aloft would sing out, 1T h ere
she b-'-o-w.sl and down would 20 the
boat. and We would have to chase the
VII ales.
We had just about clear weather
enough to keep US at work at the time.
Whales were p,enty, and if We lost tie
one We lowered for, very often another,
or others, would lie raised before we oct
back to the ship. We were very sue
cessful, and that means, among other
things, that We worked bard. We had
excitement-plenty of it; fun-wel, that
depends upon which end of the line you
are at; it is fua to read about it, per
haps. but if you do it, it's something
else. Somstimes we worked day and
nlght-what night there was-till we got
very tired, and sleepy too. 1t was heavy
work heaviug in the whales-the blub.
Der, l mean. for we never attempted to
hoist In a whole whale-and all who
were nos otherwise engaged then worked
q the w'pdass brakes FotE-eight