Waterbury evening Democrat., 1895-04-05
KING OF THE SEA.
After Wre ing n Vessel He Is Satisfied
 1 Gracefully Rctires.

q 1 Gracefully Rctires.
 We had our boats out for the school of whales \ hiCh wcrc slowly making their way to " ndward, and the three or four of us left tu mind the ship werc beating slow ly against tho lazy breeze, when tho car pontcr suddenly uttered shout of alarm md pointed to the north Tho sight we saw made every man hold his breath. A great bull whale, fully 9u feet long and of enormous girth, was preaching. Ilo shot out of tho water until it seemed {" Us that ho rested un his tail alone, and being not over a quarter of a milo away it was as if great pillar of stone had been shot Ip from the hntiOm of the sea by some mighty power, The hug" body held it's pOiso whi!2 you could have counted 30. Then lt leaned to tho south and tupplcd over likc a giant trcr undrr tho blows of the nX and the crash was like tho collapse of brick build ing There Was no on when he ap pcarcd but directly after his fall thrro great waves CaiIc rushing down upon us and the ship Was tossed and hutfutCd for tho mnmrnt as if facing howlIng gale
 It. Wis not that the munstrr had preached so near Us that turned every faCo white with [. ar d. En full, but il was what we had sUru dnrIUE the half minute his gray black body WaS rXpuSrd There wuru two har ponuS sticking into him, with their lines cuilrd many times about his bulk, and just back of his right eye WAS great spl Htrr ImhCd,:d in hlS flesh tn prove that Inc had attarkvti a boat pr ship. That the whale was alone Was proof enough that he was in ugly muud and HS he rolled to and fro I'n the surface and beat tho Wa ter into foam wr realized that he must be in pain as well He was tail un to Us and wo hoped h" would not catch sight of tho ship No man moved hand nor foot for flvo minutes, but the crraking uf th" yards and the slatting of the sails betrayed us. With single sweep of his llukV' the whale slowed himself around untIl he Was head on, and as we stared at him it Was liko looking upon a great bowldCr lying upon the fUaming surface of the sca. IlO seemed to bc dClibCrating for two or three minutes on Il plan of attack and then slowly swan to wintlward as if hU had de Cidcd to attack the boats At the distance | of half milo, and just as wo had began to feel relieved, tho monster slowed about | and CamU for tho ship under full hcadway, Every man cried out in terror and sprang | into the mizzon shrouds, but before any one was 30 feet high the whalo had passed | us astern. Tho wheel having been desert | ed, the ship had broached to, and this ac- ton had upset the plans of the whale. It | was such a close shave, however, that he carried the rudder away as ho passed and rolled n sea over her quarter which Hooded 1 the decks two feet deep.
 "Tho boat, tho boat-hel como backl' | shouted the carpenter as the ship tossed | about like a cork and We clun% to the rig l Ring with iron grip.
 Thero was no timo to lauHch tho yawl hanging to the stern davits. Not ono of 1 us had set foot on deck when the whale, 1 which had run mile or moro to lCeward, ] turned for another rush. lIo camo with | greater speed this time, and ho had tho | ship broadside on and could not miss her. | We had him full under our eyes, but wcre helpless to avoid the danger. Wo saw tho wave in front of him grow larger and larger, the great head loom up higher and higher, and he must have had a speed of 80 miles an hour as ho struck us on tho port side and fairly amidship. Let rock l weighing thrco or four tons roll down a hillside for a mile or more and strike n | farmhouse, and the crash could not equal | that which we felt and heard as the whale | struck the vessel. She was a stout built craft, but the blow shivercd plank and rib and timber and opened cavern, into l which the water rushed with such volume that she lurched and staggered and settled away right under our feet We went over board as we felt her sinking, and all were drawn into the vortex and cast up again with the wreckage Each man seized on something to support him, and when we could see about us the whale was lying quietly on the surface, and we were rub ping along his side with the run of tho sea. With one sweep of his fukes he could have killed us all, but fortune was with us. He made no move until we were well clear of him, and then he settled away into the sea so slowly and quietly that scarcely a ripple was raised over the spot No one saw him after that Man had hunted him down and sought his life, and he had revenged himself by sending a noble craft to rest on the bottom of the sea and leave her crew in open boats 2,UoO miles from land Anything less would have been unworthy of king of the sea,
 NJ. QUAD.