The weekly messenger. [volume] (St. Martinsville [i.e. St. Martinville] La.) 1886-1948, 1890-09-20
AN OLD WHALER
,raNTIC CAREER OF A LONG
So ISLAND SKIPPER.

.v Which Recalls the Time
STh.n Oil Was Struck With Har-
'.on and Cold Spring HarbOr Was
whaling Port
+, the Office of the Cold Spring House,
- an the north shore of Long Island,
" S;splayed two fine specimens of wal
=. tusks which the proprietor, George
r., Austall. values highly, says a cor
,'nondent of the Brooklyn Standard
E.on On the faces of the tusks are
a. Sgure of woman and little child,
W. in by sailor with a penknife, the
lines being brought out by blackening
.ssm with India ink, which is called
.r;mshawning by the men of the sea.
The figures are graceful. and in one hand
ss lady holds scroll, upon which is
..uoyed. "Ship Java, Capt. Enos,"
.nS thereon hangs "A tale.
In the fiftics Cold Spring Harbor was
,haling port and dozen or more vessels
.snt out from there to pursue the festive
-, monster up into the Arctic and down
.r,in to New Zealand and the South
Sss Many ship came back to port
Laded with oil and bone, which was
r,lucd at Sl2j, 900 to $50. 600, which
,nriched their owners and gave u good
take to the officers and men. Sailors
rould be shipped at several ports, where
vessel called. so that when she arrived
home the crew would be likely to consist
a natives of various lands, New Zel-
huders, Portuguese, Malays and kanakas.
Al about Cold Spring might have been
seen at this period. notices nailed upon
trees and posted in stores and public
nlaces. which called for "mcn to 90 on
Whaling VOYAGES" Thus attracted came
Manuel Enos, Il Portuguese sailor, who
had shipped originally on vessel from
SEQ IIarbor. l.. l., which had called at
Fayal in the Azores.
lie became one of the crew of the
Sheffield, which was the banner ship of
the Cold Spring fleet. Enos was a
,plendid- looking man physically, weighed
.bout 225 pounds. and was called Big
Manuel" in his sailor days. He did not
remain long in the ranks. however, but
vas soon made boot steerer, which is a
very important position in whaling,
The boat stccrer is the man who takes
bis place in the bow OF the boat while
pursuing the whale, and hurls the har-
boon. He then cries "stern all, and
The crew tacks the boat as the whale
plunges beneath the surface, and often
dives with such velocity, that it becomes
necessary to put water on the rope, to
prevent it from setting the boat on fire
BY its friction.
The rope, which is often 100 fathoms
IN length, is soon exhausted. and it fire.
quently becomes necessary to attach a
second one and sometimes third.
After the boat stcerer strikes the whale
with the harpoon he goes to the stern,
takes the ruddcr, and then much depends
upon his skill and judgment in directing
the course of the boat and escaping
destruction by the whale.
The ships used to ride at anchor in
Cold Spring IIarbor during the summer,
nftting, taking in supplies, etc, and
would get away in the early fall. and
Usually 90 to the port of Honolulu in
the Sandwich Islands, and from thence
proceed to the Arctic and remain there
during June, July and August, retuI ming
to Honolulu about September! 1t was
while at the last-named port that Enos
left the Sheffield and shipped aboard the
Philip l., of GrecnpOrt, Capt. Sisson.
When in mid-ocean the Philip I. sighted
Japanese junk in distress. which was
itfrst regarded with trepidation, because
were frequented by Chinese pirates.
Enos volunteered to board her, however,
and rowed away with a boats crew under
bis command He found scvcnty-tive
men, women and children on board who
we're removed to the ships, as were also a
goodly portion of the cargo, which con-
sisted of silks and ether costly stuffs.
The persons saved from the wreck were
landed at japanese port, and the res
cueB were feted by the Governor OF the
atv. The latter tested the various dishes
before passing them to the guests, SC
mat they could see that they were not
poisoned. Enos went back to Honolulu
md there met the Sheffield and Ieshipped
90 board of her and returned to Cold
Sprng, bringing with him his share OF
ue salvage from the junk. "He had a
salt of clothes made from some of the
NIX, said Mr.. Van. Ausdall, who told
me story: sit was a blue and white
sneck, and l thought it looked quite
Enos had accumulated little money,
She opened store in Cold Spring, but
@e love of the sea was too much fol
%n' and, after years experience behind
Ie counter, he made up his mind to try
whale fishing again. This was in the
'Pring Of 1859. The business was de-
eunlng at Cold Spring Harbor, and the
proud ship Sheffield and a number of her
.s had been broken up, to get the
VIZ metal but Now Ralford Mass was