The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1893-12-03

LOldi $1,000 d.O
Where the rest of the advance money
went | don't know. but none of il came to
me. Some of the poor wretches received
no clothes or bedding of any sort whatso-
their $50. \ few got o~veralls. bat nothing
else. One pair of blue dungarceS is q
rather light wardrobe for the frozen north,
but that was more than they could keep
clean for d period of eight months with
three cakes of soap.
After enduring one month of fearful
cold and hardship the slop chest was
opened and its treasure unfolded to the
eyes of the shivering lubbers. Each man
was given at deep-sea prices two suits Of
underclothes, one pair OF canvas pants
and a coat. a vest, four pairs of socks. two
thin cotton overhirts and a pair of cheap
San Quentin-built boots. | never inquired
the cost Of this layout, but one day at the
wheel the skipper informed me that. with
my advance money, j owed him $40.
And We only got one whale.
FED LIKE SLAVES.
The menu aboard of a whaler is enough
to make a man swear Off eating for the
rest OF his life. In fact. we did but little
eating on the cruise. For breakfast and
dinner during the first week or so each man
was given one loaf of bread about three
inches square and some cracker hash.
There was no meat. For supper the bill of
fare was plain cracker hash. The food was
insufficient. so we kicked" but the cap
tain told the cook he was giving us too
much rich. wholesome tOOd. anu the S1DDlN
was reduced 10 two SNAIL slices off the loaf
for each man. These sizes of bread and
cracker hash was all the food sent for
ward for the crew.
I'VE could have reveled i'm salt horse by
going aft to the galley. but the meat was
INIT to eat. That is probably why they
were so liberal with il. Once a week. on
Sundays, the cook dished up an alleged
plum duff, which was less palatable than
dry bread. with a few isolated dried apples
I'm il. This deep sea dainty we had for din
.tcr- For sumner the COOK. il he felt in thu
humOr. perpetrdted a culinary outrage
which he called ginger bread.
Bread and cracker hash was the fare
all the way ut. but in Alaska the skipper
laid In some potatoes, and on the way back
the menu was varied with spud hash.
the sealing schooner Sapphire, Of Victoria,
IN which a couple of men had been drifting
for two days; They had lost schoonel
three DAYS. when their vessel was sighted
and they went aboard.
"A few days later We encountered q calm
island. We lowered the boats and towed
for half n day on a diet of cracker hash
but f,s saved Ibt the h hip a Storm 43 Iun rem 10 T We b Sil1gT
we could reach the vessel ard our prize
went down in the sea. Tn only whale We
got was killed i'm Behring sea July s. II
! yielded 1919 pounds Of bone and sixty bar
rcls of oil.
About the middle of July We dropped
anchor off Port Clarence. Alaska, and
took i'm wood and water. The first morn,
ing we turned out at 2 o'clock. made 4
raft OF barrels. lowed them into a creek
filled them and got back 10 the ship at
| O'Clock. The cook passed out the cracker
hash. which we ate. and w were ther
ordered to make another trip for water
The men r%nutinied and refused to go unles:
given more TO eat.
'sThe captain said: Come on deck, men
and ! will see that you receive more food.
We came on deck and got less. That wa:
twice we shortened our rations by kicking
- we took the hint and stopped grumbling
At Point Barrow, on Aug. 3. we fOunt
twenty-siX whalerS at anchor. The I'd
wards dropped her hook and remained near
Iv a month. Three times we tried to make
the north. but put back on account of ice.
early in September we sailed away q
the westward in company with the Tri
dent. In q months cruise we saw on
spout. The captain grew weary, and OF
| oct. 8 the Edwards started for home. Oh
the night OF the 18th We encountered I
cale in Pering sea that almost sent us Il
the bottom. The seas carried away three