The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1891-03-31
STURIES OF. WHALES.
NANTUCKET SEA CAPTAINS Re-
HEARSE EARLY EXPERIENCES.

Very Rapid Sailing in Midocean-Fol-
lowing Some Fast Swimming Fish-A
Collection of Yarns, Each One Better
Thaa the Preceding Truth.
Generally speaking, to have been Nan
tfcket captain in the whaling days was to
| have become past master of the art OF
spinning yarns. There was good deal Of
| time on the voyages when there was prac-
tically nothing to do or think of, and the
| Nantucket mind being very active and
| original the mariners no doubt used the
opportunity in winding up the wonderful
yarns that they subsequently reeled off in
| the captains room in Nantucket town.
WhAn they were gathered there it was a
point of honor, of course, with each vet
eran Lot to let any one tell bigger yarn
| than his own. They were all. moreover,
very exact and circumstantial in their
nautical details. Every story Lad the fla
vor of tar and truth.
One day in the captains room the con-
| versation turned upon the swiftness with
| which boat could be drawn through the
water by whale which had been har-
| pooned By and by the talk began to verge
upon the wonderful, and then Captain
A. was the first of the yarn spinners to
be stirred up.
"Ahemp' said he, "there was whale
that we tackled off the Galapagos islands
that'd ask no odds, l reckon, of your FLYNN
Dude nor any other railroad train. We
was ia latitude 9 degs. 10 min. south, lon
gitude "a dogs 8 min. west, with a calm
sea, when we see her blow. We lowered; I
went out with the boat, and we throwed
in three irons. Away she went! An if
you'll believe me. gentlemen, we went
through the water so fast that presently
we had to cut the line and wait for our
breath to come and catch up with u.s.
The assembly nodded appreciation. There
was little silence, and Captain B., tax
ing fresh quid, which gave his voice
sort of cottony thickness, proceeded to tell
his story.
"In the year 1872" he said, "we'd about
done with the seasons catch, and were
lookin' about little in 43 deg. north, 1873
deg. Ii min. west, on hazy day in Sep
TENDER, somethin' the same as this one
we're a-havin'. 1t was just six bells when
we had chance to fasten on to one Of the
biggest whales I ever see. She was a bow
started, like ball from rifle. BREATH
why, we weren't a-breathin'; we didn't
stop to think about breathin', boys If we
could keep together without breathin' we
considered we were dom well. Somethin'
queer seemed to be jerkin' all the time at
the top of my head and the sides of my
face; and what should see but that the
hair was a-fyin' right off o. my headl
hoff, hot oil b,
fore that whale went down there wasn't
man in the boat that had a hair on HIS
head nor a bristle on his face"
"Blowed 'em off, eh?" said Captain c..
"Slick and clean, john" said Captain
B.. ''The speed took every hair off'n
our heads and left ts as bald as a marlin
spike"
That's tol'able fast" said Captain
c., "but it don't come up with the ex-
perience I had with vicious finback in
'39, OF the South Shetlands. We was in
SO dogs. 48 min. south, 62 dogs. min. west,
when we lowered and fastened to the beast
l speak Of He was a gamey critter, long
and slim, like race horse. Away he went,
and away we went. We hung on to our
hair and our whale at the same time, and
we KEEP our breath in spite of it; but the
IuSG bulng we knew we QedEU Inc Qa1lS De-
gin to fly out of our boat"
The company Strengthened up and looked
at one another.
ION we went" Captain c. continued,
'clingin' for dear life; but we was goin' SO
fast, gentlemen, that-an' l don't never
expect my word to be took in Nantucket
agin if you don't believe me-the friction
of the water drawed every nail and bolt
out O. that boat, so's't she fell to pieces and
left us sprawlin' in the water And if
there hadn't a'be'n a fair wind, so's't the
ship overhauled us couple Of hours after
ward, while we was a-hangin' on to the
loose timbers that the boat was made of,
we neyer'd "a sighted Sankaty Head agin."
The company was now thoroughly
aroused The emergency called for really
distinguished and original liar, and happily
the company possessed one in the venerable
Captain D., who had sailed in all known
seas and in every manner of whaling and
merchant craft. On Nantucket or off isl
and, there was never his rival at yarn
Him." said he calmly, and waited mo-
ment, chewing with bis front teeth reflect
lively. "Yes, / guess it was 45-or, no,
twas 49, for l remember the night before
we see the reflection of the great fire in
Nantucket"
"The-rehection-o't he-great-fre"
There was a general gasp around the |
circle
And you was in what part O. the world,
cap'n?" asked one.
ION the northerly edge of the Pacific |
Sagasso, in about 10 north, $50 west" said /
Captain D. without finching. 1--WE |
were on our way back from Behring. We |
had sighted the seaweed drift to the south
'ard, when we see, little to the west'ard. |
a monster the like of which | never see |
before nor since. She looked about a half |
q mile long, and she bumped her back up |
along the water once in about a ships !
length. Yes, boys, it was sea serpent. |
an no mistake. But in those days want |
afraid of nothing. / ordered boat low
cred, and went off in her myself. The |
serpent never made sign of noticin' Us |
until we was pretty close alongside. and |
then, like flash, and Joe Folger put Q
couple of irons into her.
Il tell you, no mortal man never see any
thing like the speed that that sea serpent
went Oft to the north ard 1t makes me
ketch my breath TO think on I. Lightpin'
would compare with it about the way the |
Sconset train compares with lightnin'
But We hung on, gentlemen, and then the
thing occurred that I'm a-tellin' We about.
Happenin' TO look back, / see what was
seemingly our own boat-which was an
extra large green painted whaleboat-fol-
ERIN along behind US. / looked again
down to the boat that we wus a-sectin, in