Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-05-29

drew near each other we found it to be th'
English ship Splendid The weather wa
| fine, and no signs of whales near, so W,
| ''gsmmed" for two DAYS and nights. The,
were illfitted for killing whales, and th,
crew was as heterogeneous as their imple
ments. Among them, however, wer,
several young Eaglishmen from New
Zealand, and we enjoyed hearing an entirely
new collection of songs, for ours were get
ting very monotonous by this time. 1t wa
the fashion to select a singer from each crew
to uphold the honor of his shin, and the two
thus chosen sang in turn, each endeavorine
to secure the most applause. We had one
song which was invariably voted the gem Of
the evening, and can recall it distinctly,
as 1 was often called upon to represent the
ship in these matches
The Norman.
1t was in the month of JANUARY,
Way down in the Southern seas
Our ship lay at anchor to Il coral reef
Awaiting for a breeze.
The old man he was down below
And the crew were a-lving about,
When under our bows we heard splash
Which was followed by a general shout
Blow ye winds of the morning,
Blow We winds, hi, no,
Clear away the morning dews
And blow We winds, hi. ho.
"Man soverboardr' the watch did cry,
And for'ard we all OF us ran.
An a-hanglng on to our bowsprit chain
Was n jolly little bluff norman.
His cheeks were red, his eyes we're blue,
An his mouth was rs big as three
While big long tail that he sat upon
Was a-waddling down in the sea.
Chorus.
Then the mate cum for'ard as bold as brass
An he gazed on the waters SO blue,
Saying: Tell me, my man, as last as you can,
What favor can do for you.
For your f1gurehead looks like Jolly old tar
And you seem like an EnYlishman,
But where did You get that big long tail7
Now tell me that if you canr'
Chorus.
'Y ou have dropped your anchor in front of
my house,
And closed up my only door.
And my wife can go out to roam about,
Nor my chicks, one, two, three, four.
1t would break your heart to hear'em growl,
An the rows they've had with me,
For was out last night to n small tea fight
At the bottom of the deep blue sea-"
Chorus
"Our anchor shall be hove at once,
And your wives and chicks set free,
.
whale,
Before. that could an nswerme.
But your f1gurehead looks like a jolly old tar,
An you speak like an Englishman
But where did you get that big long tailf
Now tell me that, if you can"
Chorus.
"'Twas a long time ago, in the ship Hero,
l fell overheard in a gale,
An met at the BOTTOM where the seaweeds
mil y, Il;
She saved my life, so made her my wife,
And my legs changed instantly.
So I'm married to Il mermaid
At the bottom of the deep blue sea-"
Chorus.
We also told stories, traded clothing,
gambled for tobacco, danced, and managed
TO create considerable amusement on these
occasions which were our only holidays.
We cruised several days after canning"
the Splendid, and took one large whale
without accident, but as heavy gale struck
us while we were cutting hira in the head
the chain parted and the head was lost. The
body slowed down 7S barrels of OIL
Early one morning I was perched up
aloft, sweeping the horizon carefully with
nv glass for whales, while both the Alaska
and Splendid were in sight when 1 suddenly
saw large Spout" about midway between
the latter vessel and our own, and 1 hailed
the deck Immediately with the welcome cry:
carr blows"
At the same time the man at the mizzen
shouted:
"Splendid's go: her whale colors at the
main, sir"'
Our well-trained crew were quickly at
their stations, inspired with intense rivalry
to be ahead of the other vessels, and with a
celerity which would have done credit to a
the tubs were placed in the
boats, the main yard laid aback, and three
boats were soon speeding through the water
as fast as our sturdy chaps could send them.
The Splendid was not so quick in
lowering her boats, but being to
windward of the whale the boats were
able to set their sails, and In spite of our
efforts one boat succeeded in 'going on
had scarcely entered the whales side, how
ever, when with a sweep of his fukes he
stove the boat literally to pieces. The crew
were picked up by another of their boats,
while still another, commanded by their
second mate, took the line and began to pull
up to the whale.
The boat having a double crew aboard
returned to the ship to land the unfortunate
Victims and thus the second mate was left
alone to do battle with the monster. He
was grizzled old veteran, an ex-prize
hghter from Australia and had but one eve,
the other having been gouged out in the
ring. -.:..sf
At this time we arrived upon the scene
and proffered our assistance. 1t is Gus
tomary to offer help in such cases. and if it
is accepted the two ships share equally in
The oil which is obtained from the whale.
The old fellow refused our assistance with
IN oath, shouting: Chill kill the blooming
ish without henny 'elp!'
We were about to return to the ship
when we saw MIN pull up to the whale and
attempt to lance him, when again the
broad fukes shot into the air and pieces Of
broken oars, irons and lances few in all