Morning journal and courier., 1881-08-04
Sharking at Nantucket. I'M. l.. S. in Waterbury American.

The boat which was to bear us to the shark ing ground lay rolling lazily on the long ocean swells, a hundred yards away. A heavy surf was beating on the shore, and to cross it safely in our ittls dory required care and skill I sat in the dory's bow, the pro- lessor in the stern, and the captain amid ships, with the oars in hand. Then the mate, in the interval between two breakers, pushed her off, wading knee.dee in the foam the captain pulled vigorously at the oars, and we
 were safely launched. Soon we were tossing
 beside the larger boat, to which we trans spirit sail, and we glided smoothly before the
 wind-so smoothly that it was hard to be- lieve we were moving. There was no wake
 behind, no splashing at the bow-only a slight hiss, like the sound of sharp knife cutting melon. No boat ever rode sea
 more gracefully. Ut is a whale boat, {" the captain says and has seen much service. See the loggerhead, how worn 1t is with the fric
 ton of the swift-running whale line. Here,
 in the bow, the tub of whale line used to
 stand, with the keen harpooner beside 1t. She
 has no rudder, but is steered by an oar,
 so that she can be whirled around
 instantly if safety requires. She'll float in
 any sea,'' said the captain, 'she's got to- You see we often get miles away from the ship-thirty miles, maybe chasing whales.
 And, like as not, night comes on, and gale to boot; and we don't get picked up for, 8 day or two. Dangerous trade, you say i? Bless you, no-no more dangerous than any other trade. I'd good deal rather go whal- ing than be brakeman on railroad Of course you've got to mind his fukes, for he slaps round pretty lively when he gets the iron in him. Faint that he means any harm, but he tries to run, and naturally has to slap around a good deal If his tail hits you good bye whale boat with six men in It, and half ton of line, is no more than pea nut shuck. Up you go, crack, smash and down you come, with shower of kindling wood after you. What then ? why then you get hold of an oar or something, and hang on till you're picked up. 'Taint much fun, of course, for whalings mostly done in the Arc tic seas in cold water" :"
 ''You say, captain, that he don't mean any l harm. I supposed whale attacked boat intentionally.''
 70 yes," replied the captain, sof course now and then one gets cunning, and goes to chawin' up the boats instead of running away"
 '.Hard chewing isn't it, Cap. ?''
 ''Well, no, the whale don't seem to mind it. You see he's got pretty strong jaw sixteen or seventeen feet long-and he opens l his mouth big enough to take in 8 load of bay and yoke of oxen. I've seen lem that meas | ured eighteen feet between jaws, when their mouth was open and @ load of hay ain t l more than eleven or twelve feet high gener- ally so you see there IS plenty Of room. l did see little blood on one's jaw once, but he'd just bit of the bow of our boat, and l chawed up three others for us. We always calculated to get ten barrels of oil out of @ whales tongue, so you see his mouths got to be big.''
 By this time we were anchored on the shoal ! in five or six fathoms of water. Our hooks = I baited with a double handful of perch-had | been cast overheard, and we were waiting fol
 bite. The cool sea breeze blew, the water sparkled in the sun, and the boat, on the big | sea rollers, pitched and tossed most exhilarat l ingly. The professor in the bow, and in | the stern, played see-saw with each other l Now the professor went up, up, up till his | portly form was defined against the sky | now down, down, down, till the advancing
 wave seemed ready to swallow him. dio
 likewise, and so we kept it up. A porpoise rolled up his shiny back few rods away. A
 sturgeon leaped high in air, shook himself
 and dropped on the water in a shower o1 | httering spray. A Mother Carey's chicker
 oated not far away-in form and attitude | just like black hen sitting on her nest I These and similar sights made the waiting
 far from tedious Presently came a yer! gentle tug at the line, too gentle, I thought for shark.
 stThere's bluefish or something nibblini my bait, captain. D
 tsNo, that's shark. Jerk him!" I I jerked and pulled in. The sensation wa
 like hauling up heavy stone, but when tn
 shark got to the surface and discovered tn
 situation the sensation was decidedly differ
 ent. He gave sudden dash and tumbled m
 over the thwart. rallied rapidly, brace myself, and, after long struggle. cbrough