Connecticut western news., 1892-07-14
THE YOUNG SKIPPER.

''Is that the chap we shipped under? Why, he hasn't grown beard yet?'
 Nevertheless he is the skipper of this craft, and right smart one, too, as you'll find out if you cruise many months aboard of her." .....
 "That may be, but I'd rather see man on the quarter deck than a boy"
 What's the difference, if the boy has a mans head on his shoulders? It isn't always those who have lived the longest in this world that know the most, as I have found out. Now here are you and I; we have been following the sea these twenty years, and I'm not afraid to say that we could handle a vessel in any weather, but if we were asked to take ship from New Bedford to Cape Horn, do you suppose we could do it? I tell you, Tom, no. That's be- cause when we were young we wasted our time in skylarking instead of study. 1t was different with our skipper, as 1 know well, for he and I were ship mates together on the voyage that he jumped from before the mast to the quarter deck"
 Don't see how he could do it," grum- bled the one addressed as Tom.
 "Wen, I'll tell you, mate, when we get below" replied Bill Beckett, one of the boat steerers of the whaling ship Grampus, which had just left her home port for three years cruise in the Pa cific.
 ''It was this way" began Bill that same evening in the ''dog watch" when he and his companion Tom, who was also boat steerer, were leaning idly over the weather rail, gazing out on the vast expanse of waters over which their vessel was bounding before fair wind.
 ''It's little over four years now since joined the Race Horse down in one of the Kanaka islands. 1 had run away from another ship and had beach combed' it (nautical parlance for tramp, until got chance in the Race Horse. We were going north to cruise in the Ochotsk sea. The skipper was before the mast then; he was a chap that didn't have to see 8 thing done more than twice before he could do it himself.
 ''I handled the harpoons in the mates boat, and little Blue Fin, as we called our cap'n that is now, pulled the bow oar in the same craft. One morning, just little after daylight, the lookout in the crosstrees raised school of sperm whales. We had pretty stiff breeze the night before and the sea was still running high. We lowered away, how ever, our three boats-mate's, second mates and thirds"
 I'll take that fellow up to wind ard, , called our officer, as he pointed to big whale that was playing around on the outside of the school, as though he was placed there to protect the cows and calves that were huddled together in the middle from any danger.
 "'Look out, Bill, says the mate to me as he stood grasping the steering oar. Look out, man, and don't miss him. There's good hundred barrels there
 "'Ay, ay, sir said, 1. Lay me on close enough and I'll drive both ''irons' into him clear to the beckets.'
 ''There was no danger but what he'd do it, for the fellow didn't know what it was to be afraid of whale. I warn't going to take any chances, so I waited till the boat almost touched the big brute, then let fly both harpoons, one after another, and sung out, Stern all. When the boys were backing so as to give the whale room to play, I went aft to change places with the mate, and he walked forward to his station in the bow to kill the fish with lance.
 "Now this whale was one of those kind of fellows that takes his medicine easy at first, but fights like fury before he h'ists his red flag. He didn't sound, two, then began to swing round so as to get sight of us.
 "'He's going to give us tussel,' call ed the mate.
 "'Ay, ay, he's fighter says I. "Then I caught sight of Blue Fins face. All the other chaps were glancing over their shoulders and beginning to get little shaky, but he sat on his thwart with his hand yrasping the oar, just as quiet and unconcerned as if he were in skif on mill pond, and not within half a cables length of mad | bull sperm that threatened to send him | and his shipmates to Davy Jones' locker at any minute.
 "'Stand by to jump called the mate. He's coming for us.'
 "Now you know there's no boat quick enough to get out of the way of whale when he makes rush, so the only thing to do is to leave her. The other men sprang to their feet, but the boy still sat | there and 1 began to think he was para | lyzed with fright.
 "'Stand up to jump, Blue Fin,' called. And when you go leap straight for the beggar, and not from him. | "The lad smiled and nodded his head and standing up, unshipped his oar from the thole pin, held it ready and faced | about.
 "Then the whale started.
 "'Jumpr yelled the mate.
 "The next instant we were all houn
 lering around in the water, while the
 pull caught the boat in his mouth crushed it to pieces and sounded.
 s'The third mate, who had just killed one small chap, was not far away, so ht came and picked us up-all but tn, mate; we never saw him afterward. Fl, must have been fouled in the lines an( gone down.
 'We got two out of the school, but al
 hands felt sad at the loss of the officer.
 couldn't help telling our skipper how COG
 Blue Fin was through the whole thing
 and when he showed the officers ahea
 he rated his own boat steerer third mat
 and ordarad Rlua Fin tO take charge q