Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-05-08
CHAPTER VI.
A RUN ASHORE.

6dcn WdIcn SOllS dSllOIe OH dltcthdt0
days. OF course there was the usual rush
for the little public house, and as the Cali
fornia's men were given liberty at the same
time large majority of the men were soon
drunk and noisy. We were each allowed
six English shillings to spend as our tastes
might incline US, and, with two others, 1
paid the landlord four shillings of mine to
get up the best dinner the house afforded,
and we dined in royal style on wild game
including pheasant, squads, rabbit and duck
and topped off with a good cigar, an anti
quated copy of the London Ptach, and bot
tie of execrable claret There was piano
also available, and made out to bang out
an accompaniment, to the delight of the
host and his family, Toward night we
heard a terrible war of words in front of the
house, and upon rushing out to ascertain
the cause we found everyone half or wholly
drunk, and it appeared that one of the crew
of the California had struck Peter Lee,
whereupon an athletic half caste, who stood
near by, marched up to the aggressor, shout
ing:
Come out here on the green and strike Inep'
A ring was quickly formed, and when L
saw the Maori square himself for battle L
knew the sailor had no chance, but as he
was q quarrelsome maa 1 felt rather glad
than otherwise.
The sailor, whose name was Macan rushed
furiouslv at the Maori but no sooner was
he within reaching distance than a straight
left-hander sent him to the earth.
Three times was this repeated. until, mad
dened by the science he could not combat,
the sailor ran forward with his head down,
and, unmindful of stinging uppercut, sue
ceedcd in closing with his opponent. The
struggle now became more even, and how it
would have terminated is uncertain, but at
that instant the burly constable put in an
appearance and arrested the Maori for pick
ing a quarrel with the sailors, while the
other participant was not molested. We
were evidently expected to fight and get
drunk and must not be interfered with. So
the Maori paid Is shilIings for espousing
Peters cause, and the latter carried black
eye for week, never failing to remark that
if he had been sober he could have thrashed
dozen Ike his assaiIant
Having dispatched our letters by the
steamer and finished repairing ship and
taking water, we left Mongonui June 22 and
made straight course for French Rock,
which we reached in three DAYS. From
thence we proceeded to Sunday Island,
where we met the whaling bark Alaska of
New Bedford, and 1 found a townsman of
mine in the cooper, and enjoyed a pleasant
chat of home and mutual acquaintances.
The glorious Fourth was much like other
davs except that some one stole a piece of
tobacco which the Captain had carelessly
LETT OH deck, and we were informed that,
until the thief was found, our allowance of
tobacco would be stopped. 1t is needless to
say he was soon produced.
We cruised without seeing ''ins or f1ukes"
Of Loot ha oil +oI
not having taken a whale for five months,
and we shaped our course for.the Friendly
Islands, where we intended to. obtain fresh |
provisions and fruit The~&sather grew 4
warmer as we gradually rus. down toward I
the equator and l turned myself into ships |
barber and trimmed the hair of most of the |
white men, for which Ireceived stipulated !
amount of tobacco.
On August 90, one year from home, we |
raised an enormous school of whales, and |
three boats had excellent chances to |
strike, the boat steererS missed invariably, 4
and we saw the whales disappear to the wind |
ward, leaving us disconsolate. October II, |
nearly eight months since we had creased |
our irons" we killed six small whales, which |
yielded us about 80 barrels, and We began |
to take courage once more.
Again our course was changed, and now |
the report was we were bound for the Chat |
ham Islands in latitude 48O south, and |
about 600 miles southeast of New Zealand.
In few days the weather grew colder |
and we began to see numbers of albatroSs, |
Or ''goneys," as the whaler calls them. We |
caught one with hook and line, but he !
became seasick in few minutes and we set
him at liberty again. He measured over
ten feet from tip to tip, and was unable to
rise from the ships deck. So sailor |
he of yrip
''one, two, three" swung him up over the |
oulwarks into the wind, when he at once
regained control of his movements and sailed |
majestically away to tell, perhaps of
his miraculous escape, which was owing to
the Captains superstition or kindhearted-
ness, 1 never knew which.
A favorite amusement. with us was to tie
piece of pork to either end of a fathom of
manila rope yarn and throw it among a
flock of these monstrous birds. In an
instant each piece was swallowed by differ
ent birds and they would attempt to iy
away. OF course their flight was suddenly
and either one or the other would
nvoluntarily disgorge his share, which
would be almost instantly swallowed by
another ravenous ''goney," and the pieces
1f pork would be swallowed and resurrected
many times before the rope yarn finally
broke and allowed the lucky possessors of
he pork at that particular instant to retain
he choice morsel.
In November we again had ar oppor-
unity of striking a large whale, but the
mates boat steerer missed with both irons
md general gloom settled over all hands
1t our continued ill luck as for the. mate
himself, will not sullv nv pages with the
in which he INDUCED, but he
wound up by shaking his fist under the poor
ellow's nose and saying:
Look here, you clumsy lubber, if had
IN old grandmother, 90 years old, that
couldn't throw an iron better'n you, I'd tie
Ter heels to her head and drop her over the
tern."
The same i'll fortune attended us until at
asst we started for the land, and on the first
lay of January, 1873, we dropped anchor at
Big Chatham Island, large, dreary-look-
ng place, with no harbor or decent landing,
md began telling trees for fuel The wood
vas of a hard, yellow kind of which L could
lot ascertain the name. We cut the fslien
rees into cord-wood lengths and piled it to
eason, in order to have a supply when we
lext touched there. The native name of
he port is Owangi. When in the woods L
discovered field of wild
and We sat down and satisfied
Dur appetites to the utmost.
The natives of this place are an offshoot
rom the New Zealand Maoris, and there
re also half dozen white settlers here en-
aged in raising wool, which is shipped to
Sew Zealand in a trading schooner which
alls twice year, and is the only connect
ne link between them and civilization.
The next day we got under way and ran
'ver to Pitts Island in company with the
ark Alaska and dropped our anchor again.
We stayed here several days and became
familiar with the history of the
lardy old Englishman, whose life almost