Connecticut western news., 1885-08-26
A TALE FOR THE MARINES
The Yarn that a Guileless Old
 Sea Captain Spins.
How a Big Whale Towed Boats Crew
 Many Miles to Land.

AoA BO OuAuAhS All SO"A, 5oJS |" ANesAA tucket (Mass.) letter to the New York SaIh The building is the Gus tom House. so called through tradition, for no vessel ever enters this port from foreign lands now, and there can be no customs to collect. It is conducted by a number of suLerannuated old sea captains, who smoke all day and weave tremendous sea yarns for the benefit of any city man who may chance along. One weatherbeaten old salt told prize story lately, and now the others are racking their brains for something to surpass him. He said:
 q left Nantucket on May 15, 1841, as second mate of the snug bark Anna Snowdon, Capt. Keziah Coffin, bound for the Pacific Ocean. Pm not going to tell you of our trip around the Horn, although that was rather lively and we did lose two men overheard, but will get right down to the bottom facts of what started in to tell. We had already killed two big whales, and were poking around about four hun dred miles north of the Sand wich Is- lands, when we sighted big fellow a-blowing not mile away. The first mate and myself put off in two boats, but I had the likeliest crew, and struck the whale frst-struck him hard, too, because he was spouting blood in five minutes. Just then we saw another whale and the first mate put out after that one. The bark tried to beat up in our direction, but a squall came on and we lost sight of her. The waves were so big that we should have been capsized if we had not kept to the leeward of the whale, which we had killed before the squall struck us. Its big carcass formed a sort of breakwater. Besides that the oil that oozed from it's wounds seemed to quiet the waves. We were afraid some big waves would throw the whale on top of us, but by keeping the oars going. we managed to stay at a safe distance. Be- ..=
 "When the storm passed over not a sign of the bark was to be seen. There we were anchored to a whale out in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, with not more than two days rations of bread and water for the seven men in that little boat. We waited all that day in hopes of seeing the ship, and at night we burned some blubber on the back of the whale, but no help came. When morning came and no sail could be seen, we knew that there was no hope of finding our vessel again, and there was nothing to do but to pull away in the direction of the Sandwich Is- lands, trusting to reach them before a violent storm should overwhelm us. We cut our harpoons out of the whale, because we didn't know when we might need them. There is one of them in the corner there now. Guid- ing the boat with compass which always carried with me, we pulled away for the Sandwich Islands. We made forty miles that day, and the men were terribly tired. We slept by watches, off and on, and by pulling now and then perhaps gained ten miles during the night. The next day the men were worn out, and the sun was so hot that they could not work their oars. Our chances of reaching land seemed very poor. Toward noon was standing on the bow of the boat looking around in hopes of seeing sail, when saw 8 fin-back whale come to the surface not more than 200 yards away. It was nc use to us now. but the whaleman instinct was too strong within me tc be resisted.
 "'Give way I cried. There she blows
 q picked up harpoon, and as the prow of the boat almost tonched tho whale drove the point deep into its side. It failed to reach vital point and away the big fellow went. Int line ran out so fast at first that it made the rail smoke, and raised the hatchet ready to cut it, for feared the whale would draw us under. But the strair slackened after little until there wa. only moderate pull, and giving tn, end twist around rowlock I let tht whale tow us along.
 "'This is better nor rowing sait one.
 "FYes, and he's going in the righ direction, said another.
 "They were quite right. The whal, was taking us in the right direction we wished to go at the rate of full, twenty miles an hour. We bowleC along merrily all that afternoon, anC about 6 o'clock we heard hail, anC
 saw, not far away, the mates boat.
 "'Hold on ? they cried.
 "'We can't. Throw us line,' I re l piled.
 eve caught their line as we swep by, and then the wha'e had two boat ' in tow. The men in the other boa
 were worse off than we had been, a : they had pulled longer. They ha, l given up hope when we came along
 side. You may not believe it, bu } that whale kept straight ahead all tha } night and the next day, and in the af
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