San Marcos free press. [volume] (San Marcos, Tex.) 1877-1892, 1885-04-02
Striking Oil,

,1've been almost everywhere Mt one
time and another, but OF all tho places
[ don't want to be again on board, "a
sperm whaler takes the leal," said an
old salt rs he threw his larhoard leg
across his starboard knee, lifted the
cover of his tobacco box and transferred
q cube of navy TO his mouth.
al have supposed that everybody Is
DESTROYS 20 strike OIL said the reporter.
who once rot the first prize IN bad pun
contest, and thereby acquired bad habit
They'd kcci-haul you for less imam
that on board whn!cr! There's
mighty sight Of difference between
striking oil with drill in Pennsylvania
and striking oil with Il harpoon in the
South Atlantic, and don't You lose sight
of that fact. | know, for Two got a
few hundreds permanently invested in
the drcst well there is in or near ut
hole, We tried to salt it, but we
couldn't pour in enough crude during
the night to be able 20 pump show OF
oil in the morning. Tho South Atlantic
has one advantage over Pennsylvania,
however, When fellow bOrcs Tor Oil
with harpoon he has II sure thing OF
striking il, but it doesn't necessarily
follow that he will get tho oil--not by a
long shot" ,
'NNhcn were you whalerP"
SIN '46 and ~, Wowcrc out eighteen
months"
"Only ono cruiser"
"Only Que cruise Young man, the
fellow who goes on more than one cruise
is a hog who don't know when he has
haorI
Frenchmon who ate tho crOwP Well,
he'd banker after u second meal before
anybody would for second cruise ON
sperm whalcr. a.,
.Did YOU realize we'll from tho trip
"Not dollar! Didn't get enough tc
pay tho slop-chost for my clothes ano
tobacco, 1t was eighteen months thrown
away"
flow did that happen"
"The officers were all jealous Of one
another; and if one couldn't get wlal'
no would strive to keep the others from
settinr ono. Many's tho time j have
seen the Captain or First Mate stand ny
DIN the bow of his boat and swing hi
arms and shout to scare whale, jus
because the Second Mates boat wa!
leading, You see, / went out in ,
.plum-puddener Perhaps you don
know what n 'plum-puddener is?"
al confess it,"
"a 'plum-puddener' Is small vesSe
chat goes whaling in the South Atlantic
not bic enough to 90 around tho Horn
has capacity for one thousand or ont
thousand two hundred barrels OF oil
TO navigate them they only require
seven or eight men, but they carry from
twenty-four to twcnty-siX men, Tor tC
man three boats and leave enough on
board the vessel TO take care of it re
auires that number. The Captain anC
two mates go in command oil the boats
and each boat carries six men. The OF
ficers steers, and the other five men pul
the oars until they get alongside the
whale, the harpOoniersman, rs he /!
called, although that word isn't in the
dictionary, pulling the bow oar until tho
boat is close to the whale. Then the
Captain of the boat orders him TO stand
upr aud when the bow of the boat II
within three OF four feet Of the whale I
shoulders he hurls the harpoon into hin
with all his power
Then the fun commences. Gou cal
never tell what whale will do. H'
may rush right ut the boat, he may trl
10 smash il with his ilukes, he may star
of at the rate of twenty miles an hour
dragging the boat after him, or he ma.
take soundings. II he ruShcs for or at
tennis To smash the boat Il makes livcl
work 10 keep out Of hls way. If be goc
down, look out that lac doesn't come ~
under the boat ard send it flying int
the air.
In the bow of the boat there Il
shallow tub in which Is cooled the hal
poon line. and YOU may he sur, that th
line is cOilcd with the greatest care. ;
rapidly does il run out that the lea'
hitch, OF kink. even. sill capsize th
boat. The line is made fast 20 the boat
and Il the whale starts ~ On the SUI
face u the water be pulls the boat atts
him. Ifks roes down aud runs "ui th
fine. IL is cut 80 the Last moment. en-
nc: fnfrequently :, los. TIE moment N
whale j. struck fLe CAPTAIN q The I'D
changes places With .-., ilrT'1oil .ersHnz'
and attends % -le line u ths harppc
b. skilifu,ly -hG .ygn. TIE vs. iaie's -ifeuCi
u soon e. hzusi.-l. and a. -1uu ~ nav
TIE boa 8. pulled alongside aud q
Captain kills him with = iarce- "
whale dics upol fke surfa-e b. ulli r"l
buf II De dies under u-frr Pc wlll slu.
TIE 6rss whale I ever $40 sfrrrk we-
dg.u with . rusb. zui never cane
The surface, 50 We lJ-t v.sis, tsrFo-
md liDe