Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1882-12-08
4 STORY FROM a WHALER.

4 STORY FROM h WHALER.
Chips" whom knew for months by no
other name, was ships carpenter of the whal-
er Gazelle, of New Bedford He was twenty
three years old, six feet high, and strong as
an oak tree.
He was the favorite Of the ship-and no
wonder. He was tender and gentle, perhaps
because he was strong he was peaceful be-
! cause he was powerful. And the soft word
that turneth away wrath, with the gentle
| hand TO soothe "A sufferer, is often needed in
the whale fisheries. Most of the foremast-
hands of the Gazelle were rough Portuguese
lads from the Western Islands, on their first
| voyage. They were treated with coarse con
tempt by the few American seamen, and by
the officers. The only white man'-as the
Yankee sailor loves to call hmself-who was
kind and patient with the rude boys was
| Chipps and he was never tired Of showing
or teaching them something of what he knew.
| lie was one of those unseltish fellows who do
not believe in keeping knowledge to them
| selves. He had never been to sea before (;
but, during the first two years of this voyage
he had attended to so many things besides
his own easy work that he was looked on as
| one of the best and coolest whalemen aboard
Although exempted from standing watch, he
ltl luhlhltu bL hOluk bO lIOLu lut uIhL uhl
out. At night, if the weather was good, he
would sit on the main hatch, in the centre of
ring Of the Portuguese lads, and with won
! derful patience teach them to make splices
and knots, and to speak English. He never
tired of doing this or any other kindly thing
for them. In the daytime, if there were
work for him at his trade he still had them
round him, explaining every thing as sawed
or planed just as il he wished to make them
as good carpenters as he was himself.
On Sunday, when every one brought his
letters and pictures on deck, Chips showed
the only signs Of isolation he ever gave He
was the only one on board-except myself
who had neither pictures nor letters--neither
face nor word to remind him of home When
the ship touched at some port with a post
Office, and every one else ran for his letters
Chips remained aboard-he knew there was
none for him. In one Of the boys albums he
found n picture Of an old, white. haired wo-
mau-the lads mother-aud every Sunday af-
ter he asked for that album, and always gave
it back when he had turned to that picture.
The ship had been two years out when
first saw Chipps. Through strange and unhappy
circumstances, l was ahoat on the Indian
Ocean in a small boat when this New Bedford
whaler hove in sight, aud ran down toward
me. 1t WAS day of exquisite pain and Joy
when the white. sailed ship came slowly in the
light breeze to save an Outcast from death,
and worse than death 1t was late in the eve
ming when the blessed cooluess Of the shad-
ow of the sails fell on my boat. Another
minute, and the frah shell struck the side of
the whaler and the first man to spring out
in the mizZen chains, TO help me aboard, was
strong banded Chipps, with tears of sympa-
thy in his eyes. On deck the captain met
me with Au open hand and heart and for
eight months 1 sailed with the whalemen and
took part in the good and i'll that befell them.
Chips and we're friends from the instant
our hands struck. Shaking hands is one of
my natural tests Of character. Some people
shake your hand SO politely that you feel they
would care mighty little about shaking your
acquaintance some men slip their hands in.
to yours and make you feel as if you were
squet zing fish; some peoples hands are so
thick, and Fat, and cold, that you might as
well grasp the fingers of leather dummy (;
most people, aud nice people shake hands AZ
| a preliminary to conversation but now and
then ones hand strikes into a sympathetic
palm, the fingers take full hold, the thumbs
interock and close-and when that friendly
grasp is over, there is not a word TO be said
it spoke all friendly greeting in its own good
language. just such kindly and grim grip
did Chips give me the first time we met.
When picked up, l was in bad way for
SAOtItb All Allht btlOuEtu ~ lIc III tue hOIlNl
were the few branded rags that had worn in
the boat. Sailors are used to such things
and they know the remedy. Every one cam e
forward with his little offering. One brought /
hat, another jacket, another pair Of sea-
boots, jack knife, a cake of tobacco, and SO
on, until had a bunk full of marine neces-
saries. Chips had least to give of all, for
he had shipped without regular outfit. But
when he saw all that had been gven-smi-
ing at the rough boys as each one handed his
| offering-he drew me OFF to his own cubby-
hole, and hauled round his chest. Out on his
bed came the contents; and in a minute there
was fair division of all it contained-aan-
nels, shirts, stockings, and everything to a
| handkerchief.
"These are yours and these are mine" "
said Chips; 'and I'll make you chest to-
morrow
That's the sort of man he was in every
| thing. No wonder the boys loved him, and
that the one word spoken in the best tones of
the ship was the name of kind hearted manly
| Chips.
He was brave as he was kind. When
whales were chased, Chips went down in a
boat and there was no cooler head among
them when the fragile thing was to be laid
| broadside to q monster nearly Ms long as the
| ship. Once, when the boat was stove by "A
sweep of the awful hukes in the death. furry,
| one of the boys was crushed by the blow and
driven senseless under 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 ished up the
sinking body. He was q mighty swimmer,
and, with only an oar to cling to, he held the
senseless man out of the water from noon till
sunset.
The events l am going to relate occurred
| on that yoyage-a little more than five years
ago.
The Gazelle had been cruising for three
months few hundred miles OFF the coast of
Western Australia-the great penal colony OF
Engand-and during all that time had not
fallen in with single sperm whale. One raw
afternoon, with a harsh breeze and a rising
sea, at last we heard the long sng-song cry,
from the masthead "He blows ther-ee-
blo-o-ows!" Four times, at regular intervals
of about forty seconds, the cry was repeated
and then we knew 1t was a sperm-whale.
1t was five in the evening when the first cry
was heard, and the sun went down at half
past six with scarcely five minutes of twilight
As a rule, ON board American whalers wher
whales are seen late in the evening, the boatl
are not sent down unless circumstances, sucf
as weather, moonlight, and SO on, are very
| favorable. In most cases the course OF the
whales and the speed of their travel are care
fully noted. When ION a course, school o.
sperm will move at the rate of about six miles
an hour when feeding" they keep on thu
same ground" not moving more than few
miles day. When seen late in the evening
the ship is steered during the night according
to the observations, aud often finds the schOo
in sight in the morning, when the boats ar,
at once sent down.
This course was not followed on the eve
ming in question. 1t was not school VI
binary size. The night promised to be
rough one, aud the whales motions wer