The Daily times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1886-1889, 1888-06-19
OLD TINE NANTUCKET.
.,seN TIE TOWN WAS AT ITS
.,cHesT WHALING PROSPERITY.

The Ola Merchsus and His ways-Picture
an Old Fashioned ssiIor--IIis Cos
,,,,,c and C1saracter-Ashore for . Hoi-
lday Good Luck
rortv-ive wears ago Nantucket was at its
,icbe.t tide Of whaling prosperity. 1t sent
~, n feet Of 100 whalers It's returned ships
lee IN tiers two deep AZ those now ruined
criarves Then acres OF ground were COW
.,od with oil casks winter stored under
s..,c,.f. then fun oil casks obtruded them
..l,o. On the water edge sidewalks. and rem
ao-c3 "a ladys passage in silk dress a difi-
-.,, II not costly experiment; then acres Of
Ground now grass grown or turned to salt
s-e,33rvs. were covered with boat builders
.b,-s b.acksmiths shops rope walks, ship
,s-3s and coopers' shops. whose noisy hams
-,srs rafting around full or empty casks,
-sv.rhcratod through the entire town "a
c.orer with one hammer, one caSk and one
inn hoop 10 tighten on it can make more
no.sa than twenty men engaged in any other
yeor. then every other man Smelied Of oil,
.-i the talk on all sides was Of oil and the
rr.oe ror gallon Of oil, whale or sperm. and
10 names Of the far distant seas from whence
f,re gathered oil. or where Nantucket's ships
put .n for repairs or provisions, were on
sveIy TIP
the OLD WHALING MERCHANT.
Tie whaling merchant of Old Nantucket
was then with n bit Of good horse flesh driv-
in. hr.skly about from the ship under re1air
.8Ls Office. from yiice TO dwelling. and y -.
main. He was ever in consultation wit Il 5
,b.pcarpprtcr, his cooper, his blacksmith his
niger. or with his "stevedore," who bossed
~ entire ships repair. He wore black
.,o7eppe bat and a high standing collar
SID. boards we termed them, and his neck
va. crampei in a black ''stock, kept in its
place hy stout steel spring concealed within
II which suggested a Spanish garrote He
wore swallow tailed coat whether at bust.
mes, or not. and from bis waisthand there
dan-lci q hinge gold fob chain and n great
zeal attached
lie wrote with Quill pen and knew how
tomcrd IT, le sanded his letters 10 dry the
ink from O black or red sand pepper box on
bis dsss He so folded his letter that it would
make Us own envelope, for envelopes were
then not known or used, and he sealed it
with red wafer or sealing wax. He spliced
The manbrace al II O'clock regularly with a
horn of Jamaica rum, and kept q decanter of
the same always ready for action on his side
board 40 home.
The shore dress Of the Nantucket sailor of
forty wears ago was fancy rig as compared
Niib that %. the sailor Of today He wore a
round tarpaulin hat-a straw hat, hard
coated with tar, and about as comfortable on
ones head as an iron skillet. 1t was pictur-
sslue. but uainful-hke tight set Of corsets
aud would knock n mans front teeth out If
thrown hard enough at him-l mean the hat,
u9t the corsets. A half yard of black ribbon
auttered from the hat--his liberty day signal,
possibly. that bis 'coppers were hot" aud his
money burned in his pocket" In his ears
we're gold earrings. If the rings were not
there the hawse holes were. His hair some
times hung in rinslets to his shoulders, and
these he had curlod and oiled and perfuIned
even after they were gray; for man can be
as vain a. q woman. and has right to be.
POCKET FULL or DOLLARS
lie wore short jacket, sometimes Of green
taize, sometimes OF blue cloth, having many
buttons sewn closely together Arms, bosom
and sometimes whole body were tattoOed IL
red and blue India ink, with ships under full
sail and flags of various nationalities, a.
well as his name for purpose of identified
ton. IN case OF sudden death in foreign
lands On his feet were low slippers or
pumps, and in his hand Il light whalebone
cane. and inside his right or left cheek a
lump Of tobacco, and if there We're any Span
.sh dollars in his pocket he made them get
out as quickly as possible.
His business on shore was to enjoy himself
and spend his money, and in such pursuit he
hired teams and rip up carts and filed
them with girls and possibly fiddler, and
drove TO 'Sconsett or Madequet, and danced
all night and drove back 10 town, and drove
furiously for all the biggest stones or deepest
ruts IN the road, and If be capsized the cart
and all in it, so much the better; and IN
coming into town on occasions he veered,
and waved. and tackled and close hauled on
the wind, and often managed TO carry away
or smash up something of his own horse or
wagon or that OF somebody else.
That was a strange good luck which at
tended this fleet OF wbalerS for generations.
In those little ships, not nearly as large as
many Of our present coasting schooners, they
sailed year after year in far distant, un-
known. and then almost unmapped seas.
They sailed In the light aud in the darkness,
too. on seas beset with rocks and reefs above
and below water They were exposed to
currents setting them on dangerous shores.
They ran many risks from the savage and
treacherous natives of the South Sea
Islands. They cruisef in the far
north amid foes and icebergs. These
we're not short excursion trips. Their voy-
ages lasted two, three, four years, always
exposed 10 some one or other Of these dan
gers So voyaging they explored and dis
covered and were familiar with tribes and
cannibsI races long years before costly naval
and government expeditions retold the
whaleman's story in series Of ponderous
volumes So, wandering over ocean after
ocean for 50 many thousands Of miles and
during 50 many years, yet for over 200 years
fonrff;hs Of Nantucket's whaling feet re-
turned bone safe-rrentice Milford in New
York Star.
The Planter and His Mortgage.