Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1889-01-10
AN AMPBIBIoUs OLD sa1y.
The wonderful sailor who c.,,
Swim Qf Sees, 81, 80. ........ I -

swim at Sea Three Days aI N Tins
anu whom Sharks Woutdu,t Isit..
New York Sun. @ses
at O'Clock in the afternoon of lima
2lst, 1859, was In the oroy's nent az
lockout on board the New england
whaler Yankee Land, and we ware baer.
ing up for Valparaiso from the Juan Fer
nandes Islands when caught sjpht Of a
floating human body on the lee bow and
hail niie away. We had only light
breeze and the hea was scarcely disturbed
ana from my perch aloft could soe even
the iinh as they played about US.
had scarcely hailed the deck when
the hohter raised his head, kicked Ma
ieet under the surface, and, after waving
nus arm as signal, he began swimming
down to no. The sight of man out AZ
yea, provided with nothing whatever to
hoat him, was queer enough, but there
was something much more queer Ia store
Tor us. havo seen the natives OF elmost
every country Ia the water, but / never
saw anything like tho speed this floater
made as he came down to us. He iuqt
smoked through the water liks yayl
with her sail not to stir breeze. All
the men mustered forward TO get sight at
him, and US he came alongside he checked
MS way, took a long survey Of our craft,
aud coolly called cut
What ship is that ?"
The American whaler Yankee Land, y
answered the mate.
WANT any hands ~
Yes, we'll ship you,n replied the cap.
tain.
Very we'll, bir-pll come abeard.n
They throw him a rope aud he nopn
stood on dock, the only unnonoerned
person on the chip. He asked for chew
of tobacco, wr1ng the water ont OF hia
clothes, ana when the cook brought hin
some grub 10 did not appear ever hun
cry. He refused dry clothes, saying Ii at
he felt better when damp, and when he
had finished eating, he explained
My name 10 Tom Finch. | Quit the
English brig Saxon two days ago. 1 can
steer q boat or fasten to whale with the
beat Of you. Give me . lay and lot NO
turn to.n
you quit the Saxon two days ago ~
queIied tho captain.
"Yes, sir"
Where was she ?"
"a matter OF 50 miles TO tho north.
west, SIR"
''At sea Pn
.Yes, sir"
How old you qult.p
Said good,by to my watch and
Jumped overheard, and have been float
ing over sinee.n
There wasn't mau in the ship who be.
heyed his story. Indeed, what intelli-
gent man would believe IL And yet it
was gospel truth, as We discovered when
we reichnd Valparaiso. The Saxon was
there and half dozen Of her crew had
seen him 90 overheard, az stated.
4 man fish had ocme aboard of us.
There mover was mermaid, but he oar-
tainly was norman lie was next to
amphibious. He YVES with us for is
months, and Curing that time was the
wonder OF our Grow and OF every Oth5r
crew we met. He ives stalwart, good.
| looking chap of So, hut his interior may
have been Quilt on the fab ptiuciple. He
swan ~ swiftly as s0me kiAds Of Ash,
and that without seeming 10 tire him. Re
could not pe drowned, and no shark
would bite him. said he was queer
man. The reader probably agrees with
me. give my word and honor tina.
every statement shall mako is true, and
can be proved true.
Our carpenter was laid up with a
broken leg, and when Finch announced
that he could use tools he became ohrpen-
ter temporarily. After we left Yalpa.
raise, no longer doubling the story Of Ills
two days hoat, he gave us o marvellous
exhibition Of his akill as o swimmer. La
running back TO the south we struck the
fag end of cyclone, and got terrible
sea. Our big ship was pitched about
like o PEA, and the waves walled up Oh
us now and then until their crests seemed
to tower so feet above the rail. Every
thing was dashed aud double-lashed, and
the cook could not make us even cup of
coffee for 20 hours. While we were
lying to and hanging on for life Finch
stripped to his shirt and pants and went
overheard for lark. The best man
among us would have been drowned in
i've minutes. He was in the water two
hours, and when he came out he did not
| puff as heavily as o man who had run
across the street. A hundred times in
those two hours we thought he was lost,
but he had no more fear for himself than
as II he wRa on dry land. In the l6
months saw him 20 overheard as many
az 80 times, in all sorts Of weather, and
by day and by night, and yet he never
met with All accident.
stated that no shark would bite him.
He proved this fact thousand times
over. HaEbor sharks, for reasons best
known to themselves, will sometimes
pass a swimmer by, but they nre small
fry compared to TIE big hammer heads
and white sharks OF mid ocean. This
true man eater is not shore fish, except
in tropical waters. When whalsr 10 on
gagged in cutting in and trying out, and
is drifting off before the wind, your real
inan. eater appears. have seen them 20
feet long, barnaoled up and moss grown
like ancient whales, aud evidently 100
yeRrs old. These are the demons of the
deep, who will rush upon raft and
upset it or tear it to pieces, and who
seem to feel no pain from tho prick Of q
| lance. We got whale to the southwest
OF Conception, 1D0 miles off shore, and
Finch gave us his first exhibition. We
had an SO.bArral FISH lsshed head and
tail TO our stnrboard side, and were Just
hooking on to ths first BLANKET piece to
hoist away, whsn three or four monster
sharks appeared. ,rhe one who came up
as.ern was Of such size that the men
called out in amazement. He lay with
his dcrsal lin above water, end we could
see every inch OF him. L was enough to
give YOU chill 60 note his wicked eyes
and his awful mouth.
When Finch saw this shark he said lie
would drive Kim away. Che captain o.
dered him to go about hta business, not
wishing to lose q man, but Fiuch waited
until tie oiEi1ors were OF their guard md
then went overheard of the lee bow with
d great splash. There was wild cry
from the crew aud rush with Sopss, but
Ton looked up and laughed and swan
around the STEM of the snip. The big
man. eater had backed of about 20 feet at