Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1883-03-06

for week.
"Well. at last we reached the Arctic.
You see, we were after the right whales,
and had to go there to find them. We
cruised for long time before we saw a
blow, and once or twice the old hooker
came very near getting ripped in the ice.
If this had happened she would have been
squashed as Fat as pancake.
Zone day, about this time, the look
out in the GRO nest sang out land hor
1.-The captain was surprised, for he
didn't expect to see land hereabouts.
He sent the mate aloft to see what he
could make out of it. He hadn't been
aloft long when he hailed the deck and
reported the land to be large floating
island.
ga what, sir? ?" replied the captain,
astonished
"'A big floating island, sir y replied
the mate.
You're crazy, SIR Who ever heard
of floating island in the Arctic Ocean I,
Take another look, sir, angrily said the
captain.
"'It's whale. sir = sang out the mate
in a scared kind of voice.
That's more like it, sir smell him
now, said the captain.
"Smel. him. :" inquired the Doctor.
Yes, smelled him." replied Chips.
Don't you know that these old whalers
can tell when a whale is around before
they can see him, Then how do they
do it if they don't smell him: The cap
tain called the mate down from aloft, and
the bark was steered for the big whale.
When we got within quarter of lile
IF him, the boats were lowered and wa
pulled toward him. tell you, he was a
Dig FISH His back loomed up like a
mountain, and he appeared to be mile
long,
"Fo' gwacious !" exclaimed the Doc
tor.
Didn't we feel scared when our boat
got near him - Chips continued. I'D
given three months pay to be back on
the bark. When the boats got up near
enough, the mate he says to the second
mate, Mr.. Toby, pull your boat ahead,
and throw the iron. What are you
holding back for = Then the second
mate he says to the mate, Mr.. Blum,
you just pull ahead and throw the
iron. What are you holding back for "
Then the mate he got red in the face,
and he says, Give way, boys-whos
afraid =
1--WE were all afraid, and he knew it,
but as he didn't dare return to the bark
before trying to harpoon the whale, we
mustered up courage to pull the boat
near enough for him TO dart the harpoon.
1t struck the whale squarely in the back.
"'Stern all = cried the mate, and |
tell you we weren't slow in backing the
boat ou, of his way. The whale was so
big that it was some time before he
knew anything had hit him. But when
he did, wasn't he mad He just gath
cred himself up and started and the
way he took that boat through the water
was awful
Now, about a mile ahead Of the
whale. there was a great iceberg drifting
along. The whale saw i. and he steered
for it. head on. You see, he was so mad
he didn't stop to think, and he just ran
his fgurehead right into it. He struck it
so hard that the berg was knocked into
little pieces, no bigger than good sized
pumpkin, and it was nine hundred feet
high, and thirty-six hundred feet under
water"
"Fo' gwacious :" exclaimed the Doc
| tor.
"He not only smashed the berg,
Doctor" continued Chips, but what
suited us better, he smashed his own
head, for which we felt very much OBJ
liged to him; for am certain if he had
not killed himself, we couldn'nt have
killed him. The bark had followed the
boats, and when the captain saw the
whale was dead, he just ran her right
alongside of his carcass, and made hei
fast.
"Well, Doctor, it took four months
to cut in that whale, and we got eight
hundred tons of blubber out of him J"
"Say, look hea now, Chips" said the
Doctor, show many tohs was dat bark
of yourn:: :"
-Four hundred tons, only" replied
Chips.
"Den how you put eigh. hundred ton,
in her."
"Why, you see, Doctor, that was
blubber. When the oil was tried Out
it shrank, and only left four hundred
tons. That's clear enough. Doa't you