The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1880-09-23

W no ihii plouusluc W u illouotcl HeuiiJ
as long as the ship. Once when the
boat was stove in by sweep of the awful
fukes in the death-fury, one of the
boys was crushed by the blow and driven
senseless under the water. When Chips
came to the surface he counted the heads
and missed one, and down in the bloody
brine he went among the sharks and
fished up the sinking body. He was q
mighty swimmer, and, with only an oar
to cling to, he held the senseless man out
of water from noon till sunset.
But, to the story The Gnzelle had
been cruising for three months few
hundred miles off the coast of Western
Australia-the great penal colony of Eng
land-and during that time had not
fallen in with single sperm whale.
One raw afternoon, with harsh
breeze and rising sea, at last we heard
the long sing song cry, from the mast
head, "He blows! ther-re-blo-o-ws"
-Four times, at regular intervals of about
forty seconds, the cry was repeated; and
then he knew it was sperm whale.
1t was about o'clock in the evening
when the first cry was heard, and the
sun went down at $50, with scarcely five
minutes Of twilight. AS rule, on board
of American whalers, when whales are
seen late in the evening, the boats are
not sent down, unless circumstances,
such as weather, moonlight, and SO on,
are very favorable In most cases the
course Of the whales and the speed of
their travel are carefully noted. When
con course" q school of sperm whales
will move at the rate of about six miles
an hour; when feeding" they keep on
the same "ground" not moving more
than few miles day. When seen late
in the evening, the ship is steered dur
ing the night according to the observa-
tons and often finds the school in sight
in the morning, when the boats are at
once sent down.
This course was not followed on the
evening in question. 1t was not school
we saw, but clone whale" and one of
extraordinary size. The night promised
to be a rough one, and the whales mo-
tons were strangely irregular, as if he
had lost himself in an unknown SEQ.
There is something solemn and mys-
FERROUS in the sight of clone whales"
and marvellous superstitions are current
among whalemen respecting them.
Though spending year after year ON the
great waters, whalers become more i'm
questionable to supernatural things than
other seamen, and long observation of
the shoals or schools of the vast creatures
they pursue, tends to fill them with
amazement and awe when they meet
with solitary leviathan who has aban-
doned all fellowship with his kind, who
lives by his own law---lonely, mighty and
terrible.
Soon after the cry from aloft, we saw the
whale from the deck, only short dis
lance from the ship, and we might have
seen him long before had not his white,
bush-like spout been lost in the angry
wilderness that was fast spreading over
the sea-
For moment all eyes were fastened
on the long body, like great, black
tube, over which the waves washed
Every face was wonder-stricken at the
immense size of the whale.
Captain Clifford had been examining
him through glass, which he handed
in turn to each Of his officers
"What do you say, Mr.. Hussey?" he
inquired Of the first mate, who glanced
at the sun and answered:
500 down, sir; we can doit. v
"Mr. Joseph" and the captain turned
to the second mate, an old Portuguese of
extraordinary size, and perhaps the most
famous whalcman alive.
600 down, sir, if we want to get the
fellow; well never see him again.
The two other officers were younger
men, and of the same mind. There
was no time lost in further consultation.
Swing the boats" shouted the cold
man..
The lines and irons had already been
thrown in by the crews. A "heave, OH
and straining sound, and in one min
ute the four boats struck the water, and
the men were settled ON the thwarts with
the long oars out.
The sun was low and large and red,
aid the whole western sea and sky were
magnificent III crimson and gold and
black. The picture was one OF the finest
] ever saw The rising sea was Jet black,
except where it was bloody; n broad
road of crimson shimmcred from the
ship to the sun; the long body OF the
whale, even blacker than the sea, was
plainly seen in the ruddy glare; and life
was added to the immense scene by the
four white specks-the whaleboats-
closing to point as they drew near the
motiOnless monster.
II was not until the boats had left the
ship that we realized how threatening
was the weather. Every moment the
seas came wilder and heavier against the
vessel. Only now and again, as they
were lifted on n sea, could we catch sight
of the brave little boats. The breeze
grew stronger every minute, and before
the first boat neared the whale, was
whistling through the rigging in the wild
way that tells of coming gale. The
captain regretted the lowering of the
boats, and soon sgnaled them to return.
But the men were excited, and refused 10
see the signal. Filled to the gunwale,
the seas lashing over them every mo-
ment, on they went where only thing
SO nearly perfect as whaleboat could
keep ahoat. As the first boat swung
round to run down to leeward of the
whale, the red sun stood fairly on the
black field Of ocean.
Talk about the bravery of soldiers il
battle, or Of men ashore in any enter
prise you please; what is it to the bravery
of such deed as this? A thousand miles
from land, six men in little twenty
eight-foot shell, coolly going down in {
stormy sea to do battle with the mighties
created ANIMAL 1t is the extreme o
human GOODNESS and courage, because il
is the extreme of danger The soldier
faces one peril-the bullet. The whale
man. in such case as this, has three
mighty enemies to fght-the sea, thu
gale and the whale.
We saw the harpooner of each boa