Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1884-12-23


wAlstsv wess smtebsd.
tesp rrspei,eo GALL
In the spring Of 1881 II: o. kooerts, .
wealthy shsp-o~ncr OF Boston, mnss..
having before his eyes The vision OF ,ne
yrofts 10 he gained IN the whaling ne'us
Of the North Pacific, outnfsed the Saunc.
AL bark Emma q. Hartman, ana piaceu
her urder the command OF Captain MAJ
tin. The Harriman's tonnage was ~
tons, and she carried crew al to'd Of tnir'
ty.six hands. Previous 70 her new de,
parture she had been In the sugar tfade, ana
carried the usual cargo Of sugar ana run.
Had the owner been ~ careful as our MN,
ING operators IN q Stockholm. ana c'caneu
Der up closely, the future OF the Hartman
might have been rs respectapie ~ eveu y
/. session puritan could desire, but-there al
ways Is bUt--part OF Der former csrgo
was left on hoard, aud this was thirty bar.
r,Is Of flne New England rum. II will be
wen 10 hear this in mind, rs all the disas.
fers arose from this fact. Well, the liarri.
man left Boston In good shape; the owner
went home TO dream OF enormous spei IN.
whales. with OCCASIONALLY ton or TWO OF
ambercrjs thrown In, all OF which were 10
be the pr,ze Of the Hartman.
Days rolled into months and months into
vears. but nothing was heard OF tbs vessel.
The owner was seriously considering the
cxpediency Of calling on the underwriters
for hrs insurance when rumors began 10
reach Boston that vessel resembling
his was having a grand picnic up
and down the Pacific ocean. She
was like the Flying Dutchman, al
WAYS spoken Of, but never spoken TO she
was described us entering a port aud leav.
ing between two days. This was not what
the owner sent her out for. Her Object
was whaling. and while she in some part
fulfilled her mission by causing Mr.. Roberts
much waiting, still such cruises did not
nav. and CAPTAIN Holmes was dispatched
with full powers 10 hunt her up aud get an
explanation from Captain Martin. Captain
Holmes went to every port frequented by
wbalers. and discovered that the Hartman
was still afloat, and could always be relied
on as being exactly where Captain Holmes
was not.
Captain Merlin, on overhauling his stores,
discover ed the New England rum bchanza.
and, samplIng 1t, found 1t to be Al quality.
Turning the matter over In his mind. he
consulted bis officers. and found them also
alive TO the good qualities OF the liquor.
and his proposal that they should leave
the sordid hunt after whales for wealth
for the owners alone, and turn the
business into pleasure trip, met the
approval OF all hands. A grand, high old
time was determined on, and another MP
Of rum served out. Every port OF pleas
ure note was visited. and between visits a
hunt after such whales as could be easily
caught, took place. Success seemed to
smile on their pIessure.trip: whales would
come alongside and beg to be harpoOned-
request easily granted by the Captain.
After each whale caught, move would be
made to some congenial port, the oil
sold. pro-rdtd distribution on the
principle Of everything for the crew
and nothing for the owners would
take place, and some South American
seaport would be painted red by the whole
outfit. This grand pleasure trip lasted Tor
three years. Captain Holmes followed on
the trail like "Old Sleuth, the whaling de-
tective," only to find she had Just left the
day previous. But he kept up the chase,
and at last ran her to ground. or to bay. in
the Bay OF ST. Thomas, early in the present
year. Captain Martin had nothing to show
for his cruise but the thirty empty barrels
and as fine n collection OF rum. blossoms as
ever was seen in on orchid-bouse.
Captain Holmes dispossessed Captain
Martin Of his command and discharged the
crew. Considering it cheaper not to pros
ecute Captain Martin, he left him at st
Thomas 10 ruminate on the evil influences
OF New England rum. In justice to Cap
tain Martin 1t must be said that he laid thl
blame on the rum being left on board, and
offered, il pardoned, to sign the pledge ant
wear a blue ribbon the rest OF his life.