Connecticut western news., 1886-03-31
STRUCK BY A WHALE.
A Little Schooner Gets in the
 Way of a Monster

Way of a Monster
 And is Overturned and Dragged Out of
 Sight by the Leviathan.
 ''What do I know about whales, sharks, squids, and other animals of the sea2' echoed Capt. Carter of the brig Mary Jane. "Wait till flight my pipe and I'll reel you off a yarn which can bring witnesses to swear to-"
 'In 1s79," he continued, after getting his pipe alight, 'I owned aasmall schoon ercalled the Fly, and had her in-the shell trade. used to gather them on Santa Rosa Island, and from thence along the coast clear around to Cape St. Bias. My crew was composed of a negro, who act ed as mate, and two boys. Being wee bit of craft, and dodging among the islands most of the time, we did not need much of crew nor any great amount of seamanship. It was in August of the year have named that one after noon we were about midway between Santa Rosa and the cape, and about fifteen miles of the land. We were headed for the cape, and mak- ing about three knots an hour, the wind being light and the weather fine. One of the boys was at the wheel, the other asleep, and the mate was splicing rope. I stood on the port bow looking at a broken spar floating few hundred feet of. There was no sea on, and the Fly was on an even keel. Suddenly, and without breath of warning, the schooner was lifted clear of the water with great crash and flung on her beam ends. It so happened that no one was thrown overheard, but before we could exactly understand what had happened the craft turned turtle.
 'The first thing knowed I was on her bottom, with one of the boys along side O me. I had a small keg O powder in the cabin, and my first thought was that we were blown up. I didn't cling to this idea more'n minute, however; for, as got the water out O my eyes, I caught sight of a great black mass along side, and in a second more made out the great square head of a whale. The water jist there was at least ninety feet deep, but it had been rolled up until it looked like mud hole for an acre or two around us. l got it through my wool pretty soon that we had been struck by whale, and that the old leviathan of ths@ @deep was still alongside. In fact, I could have touched his nose with twenty foot pole.
 'Now, one of the singular things is that we hadn't seen the spout of whale that afternoon. Indeed, it is rare for one to run in so nigh that coast. Of course, there might have been a whale sporting around and we not see him, but the chances are that that fellow had made run of several miles unde6 water. When he came up to blow he found the Fly in his way, and he threw her off his nose as bull would toss a gadfy. The blow must have dazed him, however, for it was good three minutes before he moved a fin. could look into one of his eyes, and by and by noticed it take on malicious twinkle, and he gave his fukes flirt and backed off about hun dred feet. He was mad. He thought he had been attacked by some enemy, and he wanted revenge.
 ''Well, sir, that consarned critter wa. coming for us. Being light, the Fly was high and dry out of water, and offered a pretty fair target. He uttered snort, swung his hukes about, and came head on, striking the schooner fair amid ships. He knocked the two of us twenty feet into the water; and he made hole in her side through which you could have dung water butt. The blow broke he, all up, but as the water poured in she only settled down until her bottom was g wash. When the boy and got our eyes clear we noticed that the yawl, nigh full of water, was floating little way off, and we made for it. While hung on tc the bow he climbed in and bailed her out and in about ten minutes we were af1oat again. Meanwhile the whale had his nose agin the upset schooner, as if smell ing of her. She was between us and him. and it was a lucky thing for us. w. hadn't so much as 8 splinter to paddle with, and the breeze seemed to have died away about the time the Fly went over
 "By and by old leviathan backed of for another round. This time he went further, and he came faster, but as the schooner had settled down he slid up or her bottom until his weight settled hel down and let him pass over As ht foundered over she rolled heavily to star board and his flukes were no sooner cleal of her than she righted herself. In SC doing both masts snapped off, and tan gle of cordage covered the water. The Fly hadn't ballast enough to sink her but she was down until her rail was Il most awash. The yawl was too sm, potatoes for the whale, or he reckonc, on finishing the schooner first. He la, quiet for short time and made another dash at her. He was kicking up such i. sea that we couldn't exactly make ou, how he got fast in the wreckage; but fas, he got. There was such tangle of frope' that he probably drew some of them int, his mouth. Then the fun came to eli max. We had drifted away until vel