The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1886-03-25
STRUCK BY A WHALE.
A Little Schooner Gets In the
Way OF a Monster
And is Overturned and Dragged Out o.
Sight by the Lsviathan.

echoed Capt. Carter of the brig Mary
Jane. "Wait till light my pipe and
I'll reel you off a yarn which ! can bring
witnesses to swear to"
''In 1879" he continued, after getting
his pipe alight, 81 owned small schoon-
crcalled the Fly, and had her in the shell
trade. l 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 lodging among the
need much of crew nor any great
amount of seamanship. 1t 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 off the land. We
were headed for the cape, and max
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.
stood on the port bow looking at
broken spar floating few hundred feet
off. There was no sea on, and the Fly
was on an even keel. Suddenly, and
without a breath of warning, the
schooner was lifted clear of the water
with a great crash and flung on her beam
ends. 1t 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 l was on
her bottom, with one of the boys along
side O me. had small keg o powder
in the cabin, and my first thought was
that we were blown up. l didn't cling
to this idea more'n a minute, however;
for, as | got the water out O. my eyes,
caught sight of great black mass along
side, and in a second more made out the
great square head of 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 stuck by whale
and that the old leviathan of the deep
was still alongside. In fact, 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
ono to run in so nigh that coast. OF
course, there might have been whale
sporting around and we not see him, but
the chances are that that fellow had made
run of several miles under 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 gadhy. The
blow must have dazed him, however, for
it was good three minutes before he
moved fin. could look into one of his
eyes, and by and by noticed it take on
a malicious twinkle, and he gave his
flukcs frt and backed off about hun
he had been attacked by some enemy,
and he wanted revenge.
"Wcll, sir, that consarncd crittcr was
coming for us. Being light, the Fly
was high and dry out of water, and
offered pretty fair target. lie uttered
a snort, swung his hukcs 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
} flung a water butt. The blow broke hcl
all up, but as the water poured in she
: only settled down until her bottom was
wash. When the boy and got our eyes
clear VIC 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 baicd 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. We
hadn't so much as a 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 on
her bottom until his weight settled hel
down and let him pass over As he
foundered over she rolled heavily to star
board and his flukcs were no sooner clcal
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 al
| Iioot uNuoi' ihS s"Ni Ndc wv
potatoes for the whale, or he reckoued
on finishing the schooner first. He lay
quiet for short time and made another
dash at her. He was kicking up such a
sea that we couldn't exactly make out
how he got fast in the wrcckage; but fast
nc got. There was such tangle of ropes
that he probably drew some of them into
his mouth. Then the fun came to eli
max. We had drifted away until well
clear of him, and apprehending no i'm
mediate danger. What a commotion
that old chap kicked up when he found
himself togsledl He raped the water
with his fukes until the sound could bc
heard mile away, and he rolled his huge
bulk to starboard and poit until he raised
a sea heavy enough for ten knot breeze.
BY and by he seemed to get ratified, and
off he went, towing wreckagc, schooner,