Alpena weekly argus. [volume] (Alpena, Mich.) 1871-1893, 1891-05-06
Yarns About Whales.

days was to have become past master
of the art of spinning yarns. There
was great deal of time on the voyages
writes a correspondent, where there
was practically nothing to do or
think of, and the Nantucket mind
being very active and original the
mariners no doubt used the opportun-
ity in winding up the wonderful yarns
that they subsequently, reeled off in the
captains room in Nantucket town.
When they were gathered there it
was a point of honor, of course. with
each veteran not to let anyone tell a
bigger yarn than his own. They
were all, moreover, very exact and
circumstantial in their nautical de-
tails. Every story had the flavor of
tar and truth.
One day in the captains room the
conversation turned upon the swift
ness with which a boat could be
drawn through the water by whale
which had been harpooned. By and
by the talk began to verge upon the
wonderful, and then Capt. A was
the first of the yarn spinners to be
stirred up.
"Ahem p said he, "there was a
whale that we tackled off the Galapa-
gos Islands that'd ask no odds, l
reckon, of your Flyin's Dude nor any
other railroad train. We was in lati-
tude % TO- south. longitude $40 81
west, with a calm sea, when we see
her blow. We lowered; l 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." "a
The assembly nodded appreciation.
There was little silence, and Capt.
B, takinga 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 43o
north, 1882 16' west, on hazy day
in September, somethin' the same as
this one we're havin'. 1t was just siA
bells when we had chance to fasten
on to one of the biggest whales ever
see. She was a bowhead and about
eighty feet long. OF she started like
ball from rife. 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
l see but that the hair was a ffyin'
right off o my head That's what it
was a-doin', boys; and before that
whale went down there wasn't man
in the boat that had hair ON his
head nor bristle on his face"
"Blowed 'em off, eh ?" said Capt.
c..
"Slick and clean, john" said Capt.
B.
"The speed took every hair ofSn
our heads and left us as bald as a
marlinspike."
That's tolerably fast" said Capt.
c., "but it don't come up with
the experience / had with a vicious
inback in '39, off the South Shetlands.
He was in 500 49, south, go Q west,
when we lowered and fastened to the
beast I speak of. He was gamey
critter, long and slim, like a race
horse. Away he went. and away we
went. We hung on to our hair and
our whale at the same time. and we
kept our breath in spite of it; but the
fust thing we knew we heard the nails
begin to fly out of our boat"
The company Strengthened up and
looked at one another.
ION we went,' Capt. C. continu-
ed, "clingin' for dear life; but we
was goin' so fast, gentlemen, that-an
1 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. the
boat, so's't she fell to pieces and left
us sprawlin' in the water. And if
there hadn't a'be'n fair wind, so's't
the ship overhauled US couple of
hours afterward, while we was a-hangin
on to the loose timbers that the boat
was made of, we never'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 Capt. D, who
had sailed In all known seas, and in
every manner of whaling and mer-
chant craft. On Nantucket or off
island, there was never his rival at
yarn,