The morning call., 1893-12-03

tunes in whalebone and whale oil. By a
conn parison of the Mars and the Navarch,
the marine scientist can trace the evolu-
tlon of the whaling ship.
= To-day the Mars is tied alongside the
wharf, a curiosity to landlubbers and q
sea home avoided by all well-regulated and
progre essively inclined seafaring men.
~ The recent northwest blow PLAYED more
havoc with the ancient bark IN a night
than have the bleak gales of the north or
the vicious crushings OF the ice foes in
years. The bowsprit was broken off close
t9>ihe martingale aud her tough sides of
heart OF oak ehafed by the unfriendly pill
Ing of the wharf.
But &ne Mars is undergoing repairs and
may make one more voyage to the Arctic.
There are men who will sign TO sail in her
and who will forget when sight of land is
lost that they live in The nineteenth GEN.
tury. They will man her toy-like yards
and pace her oaken decks with little
thought of the chance they missed of ship
ping in the modern and well-eQuipped
Navafch.
!. Time has wrought great changes in the
Mars. Once upon time, as the story
goes, she carried flgurehead at her PROV
whi ich was much admired by her crew and
looked upon as a mascot which brought
luck to those who sailed behind ii. Her
square-looking stern, which is now viewed
with con tempt by the seamen of the steam
whaler, was once considered marvel of
marine beauty aud a 10 model worthy of the
study eff nautical artist. Black paint
and oakum have done much toward effacing
the original attractions OF the Mars once
admired hulk and covering over multi
tude of scars and wounds acc3m ulated
during years of strife with bergs of the
:: frozen seas during many decades of win
:. ters in~the Arctic.
More noticeable by contrast than any
other portion of the vessel are the quarters
'i'of an ancient and modern whaler.
:. Only the sailor who ships on an old-time
:: whaling bark can tell with the charm of
:>truth the details of life in the Arctic circle
!: in the forecastle. Landsmen have sur
feit Of forecastle in simply taking Whit
'ofthe NdOrs that arise therefrom.
: .F0rty.t5 men constitute the latter's
crew, and at least thirty of them must live
between decks in a space scarcely large
g, en- ough TO accommodate well-developed
quartet of seamen and a diminutive stove.
An III smelling oil lamp, or rather torch,
.sheds~a few detected rays of lig. over the
, compartment and gives forth smell
eQualed only by the greasy con tents of
:: the ships salt pork barrel.
:When compared with the quarters on
:: steam haler, the forecastle of the ancient
: wind -jammer" is cast into an unenyia BILE
shade, nor are the quarters on even the
IN odern Navarch a paradise though they
:. tend to prove that whale e-huntiDg vessels
are lulpIOflDR FdsIiy III tue Indltor OF
.:cIea anliness and comfort II this recently
:: built craft is any criterion of the evolution
:Of a VIII hae-chaser.
=: ! Stanch and comfortable looking is this
:. same Navarch as she poses gracefully on
the drydock. She marks an epoch of the
march of marine improvement and is a
fair sample of what an American ship
yard can produce.
-; Kelly, Spear & Co., shpbuilders of
: Bath. Me-, completed her one year ago.
Her managing owner. Captain Lewis of