Springfield globe-republic. (Springfield, Ohio) 1884-1887, 1886-11-21

ling on the pursuers and cropping About undsr-
meath until its wicked Iittle eve catches
sight Of the boat. when it rises from the
depths, the craft is iudely lifted on the pol
ished ebony back and the crow tumble into
the waves
/ But in this chase the EraybaCk continues
lis flight. The Jets Of white foam from the
nostrlls, after repeated thrusts, give place to
streams Of darker hue Miles away the "oId
man" watching the chase through his glass
from the Henry's deck sees the fatal sign
and mutters, "Spouting thick blood The
great fountain Of life has been tapped, and
its crimson flow dyes the sea for yards
around. The graybaCk stops and beats the
water irrcSoutely with its fins Its vast
strength Is going, the mistS are gathering
the blindness and wildneSS Of death /. COM
ing on. The boat is hacked TO a safe dis
tance. The crew is silent. They have fin
iShed their bloody work, and are awed into
something like respect rs they behold the
whale die. There is blind rushing in great
circleS-then sudden ceasings and great
shivers. After many minutes the grayback's
black back slowly rolls over, the white belly
comes uppermuSt, all danger from the death
fury Is gOne-it Is dead
The social gatherings of Marguerite bay
constituted what was known as the gam
A gam" indicates a call made by the crew
of one vessel ON that of another. No intro
ductions were necessary. The men went at
once TO the fOreCastle, the captains, mates
and boat at-steerers to the cabin Pipes were
lit, perhaps a bottle Of brandy produced, and
amid dense cloud Of smoke the gam" went
on There was abundance of material for talk
The whalemen have a world exclusively their
own. No matter from what port they sailed
the freemaSOnry of a common sympathy and
experience existed between them. Though per
sOnally unknown to each other, it was scarce
ly possible but that they had in time past
vOyagcd with mutual acquaintances or met
in Honolulu. For Honolulu was the axis on
which the whaling world turned Thither
every six months the entire fleet put in for
repairs and provisions Honolulu with its
mild climate, its fresh meats and tropical
fruits, after months Of hard tack and salt
junk, its duSky rsaidenS and relaxation after
excessive toll in the cold northern seas was
quite as dear 10 the whaiCman as home itself
y gam involved talk Of the arctic" the
coast Of kamSrhatka, the Sea of japan. the
Brazil banks, the Falkland isles, Rio do ia
neiro, Valparaiso and Faval II was carried
on in confusion and variety of tongues
Portuguese, English, tho Sandwich Islander
and the Yankee drawl 1t spoke Of caIes
hurricanes, typho0nS. icchergs, foes tropiC
airs, trOpiC fruits, smashed boats and smashed
ribs. Old acquaintances who had last met
near the north pole ETaSped hands wonder.
lnSiy and gladly on the equator. The gam
forward Erumhied at the odd man" for not
taking on board more potatoes and at the De
nurious owners for the tainted beef, pork.
stale bread and wormy beans The "-amr
aft growled at the owners for shipping such
a miserable crew, one-half Of whom NAV be
couldn't box the compass, pull an oar or tie
a square knot. The captains and mates lived
over their frOIics together at the islands, and
winkei at each other and inquired after each
others wives and families at home, and then
winked again and laughed long and loud at
some mysterious joke And may be tho
cabin boy present, who placed before them
glasses and water for the grog, had a light
olive complexion, bright black eyes. clearly
cut features, neither American nor savage.
About 10 o'clock one of the boat steerers
went forward and called out "All handsIr
The boats crew came ~tumbliug up" from
the foreCastle, the craft was manned, the
oars splashed in the water after whaler's
fashion, slovenly yet full OF careless ease ard
skill; then they pull off with long. sweep
ing stroke, the boat speedily becomes a shape
less dot on the long sheet OF silver, cast by
the round, bright moon on the smooth sur
face of the lagoon The regular grating Of
the oars gradually dies away, and now the
silence remains unbroken, save by the long
drawn puff of some night wandering whale,
the shorter snort of the porpoise, or howl Of
coyotes around the chapparal thickets lining
the distant shores
HAwLEY BEAUMONT