The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-11-25
THE DANGERS OF WHALING.
4 Veteran WhnIer Recalls the Days
When Fortunes Were Made in
Cruises


FROM the ERilaNelruta Times.
Il am 50. and although my name
'Shantz. is Dutch both my father and me
are born Nantucketers. My grandfather
was Dutch. but he sailed from New Bed
ford on a whaler in 1911. and was gone
four years" The old sailor lives on Long
Island. and for - years sailed out of san
Francisco as first mate on a whaler. cross
ing the continent by rail about once every
two years to visit his home. ~ made my
last " sc TWO years ago. i want 10 lay
my Old bones I'm Christian ground, which
neither my father nor grandfather was
permitted to DO. Both were lost al sea,
cruising for the right whale, which gives
the Whalehone of commerce. Is very DIFF
tefent work from gOin for the sperm
whale. III is a born fighter and there was
no calling on land or sea so dangerous as
this was. Look In the old churches and
graVeyards at New Bedford. and YOU will
see monuments 10 hundreds of stalwart
4 men who are buried in the ocean 5000
miles away. But 1t was mighty profitable.
Here is an old harpoon, all bent and ell
bowed. James Macy, first officer of the
New Bedford SHY Try Potts. on the
3d OF Jane, 1875. did between sunrise and
set, with that old iron. kin five sperm
whales en- the Brazil banks, and these
gave rs barrels of OH, worth 1882. oil he
ing then $L52 per gallon. and after being
Out nine months the Try Potts sailed for
home with over 100000 worth Of oil IN
her. This was the famous Plum Pudding
voyage that made the Hetty Green for
tune, her grandfather Chase making his
money cut Of oil. Again. the Trident, in
1919 was gone two years and II months.
ana came home empty. Ihey had TO eaten
porpoises TO get oil for their lamps. The
captain (AnstelD cut his throat before
landing.
My first voyage was out Of Nantucket
on the Gladiator, Capt. Chase. We We're
out seven weeks before we raised whale
off the Brazil banks, Two Of the boats
We're manned / was with the first
mate, Mr.. Folger. Just then a second
whale was seen. and the boats separated.
We went for the first FISH. He was a
big sperm and was preaching, rising
half his length out of the water, and
then falling with smack heard hair a
mile away.
MIR Folger was an excitable man in
a boat. and he yelled, Raise the white
ash breeze, boys, the gals in Nantucket
are watching us We put all our strength
into the oars. and when within ten feet
of him Folger darted the iron in up TO the
socket. The whale gave a squirm, and
sank. and In three minutes rose under
the boat and with one smack OF his tail
cut her in two. knocking the crew of
seven men ten feet mp in the air. The
mate and two men in the bow were f0uled
in the line which fioated out Of the tub,
and were taken under, and the rest
caught up the cars and wreck OF the
stern and HOated. The whale cru.Sed
around. smashing everything that came
within reach of his tail and then swan
away. For three weary hours we held
ON, and were finally taken UP by the
other boat, ana then II was iOunQ lNAt
one Of us had been cut by the spare
harpoon in the sOmersault, and this poor
fellow bled to death before we reached
the ship. so that out of seven only three
men survived, and l knew what sperm
whaling meant.
las the remains of the bow were fast
to the whale il would swim slowly and
early next morning the lookout on the
masthead sang out; Thar she breaches
the same whale and now the boats
were manned and the ship left in charge
of fNa 4 h.qn "a headed hfol
and the mate the other The captain was
a desperate man, and he swore he'd have
that whale or sleep in he'll that night;
we pulled about a mile and the whale
swan slowly toward as and suddenly
made a rush, but he was hampered by
the towing wreck, and the mate drove
his harpoon ia and the captain yelled.
Beach me on his back, men and threw
his iron with a fiery curse. In a second
our boat was upset, but not stove in, and
just in time the mate used his lance. The
whale sounded or sank, and In five min
utes came up blowing and spouting blood
and soon gave a roll and died. We got
into our boat and at last got the water
out and pulled for the ship. When the
fish was made fast the lines were raised
and Mr.. Folgers body came up. The
whale line had fouled around his neck
and strangled him The other two Were
gone. This is very common in whaling,
getting caught in the line.
THE Gladiator went around the Horn,
eruised on the line In the Pacific, then
went around Java into the Indian ocean
and came home by the Cape of Good
Hope. We were so full of oil that our
barrels gave out and all the boats were
filled and fitted with covers. Our voyage
lasted two years and nine months.
Scientific men have a good bit to learn.
The sea sailors call the devil fish the
squid, and on these the sperm whale
feeds. / have seen pieces Of the arms OF
the squid taken out OF the whales belly
that must have been thirty feet long when
alive. Such monster would hold a small
vessel
I'm 1856 I saw the great white squid
said to be very unlucky for a whaler to
meet II was off the coast OF New Hol-
land 1t must have been fifty feet across
and had thousand arms, wrigling like
"a mass of serpents. our attention was
first directed to II by the swarmins sharks,
which We're thick about II.
Goal oil has saved the sperm from ex-
tinction and they are now plenty In the
northern seas but the right whale is more
profitable to hunt and for the last twenty
years / have been officer Of steamer
that cruises in Bafln's bay We paddle
close to the fish, and use bomb lance
shot from a heavy gun and this makes a
hole as big as a bushel measure, but there
is very little danger
Some of the old right whalers made
money fifty years ago. In l847 Capt.
James Walker bought an old condemned
vessel called the Envoy and sailed from
New Bedford. She cost 5000. He was
away thirteen months and brought in
bone and oil to the amount Of $l32,450, and
old his old tub for 5000 at San Francisco.
3
Davis straits and in fifteen months took
,39l barrels of oil and $50 pound OF
bone-in value $50 go. Y GU can't we'll
hunt sperm with bomb gun, as the fish
sink when shot Indeed, when harpooned,
they often sink alongside and there Is no
reason for this, as their blubber should
make them buOyant.
Sperm whales are wonderful travellers.
There is the shank of a harpoon which
was driven into a fish in the Pacific IN
1852 and the same whale was killed off
the coast of Greenland by Capt. Folsom s
nephew in 1854, who found his uncle s
barpoon on cutting up the fish There Is
his mark on the iron-three crescents and
j. G. ESQ that whale must have sailed
around the world in two years.
steel at So a ton is taking the place
ing will give out, but it has lasted my
time and / can't complain.
Fancy billiard shots.
From the Chicago Chronicle.
ip4oraeffYle feat or 4rfatf NJ