The Lafayette gazette. [volume] (Lafayette, La.) 1893-1921, 1895-03-23

Yankee sailor first sow the light of
day In the ancient port of Nantucket,
he has met with q variety OF expert
ences worthy the pen of any novelist,
and unsurpassed In interest by the
flights Of the most fanciful imagina-
ton in fiction.
The rare old days when the life of
the seafaring man was one OF unend-
ing adventure have about passed away.
The remotest corners OF every ocean
have long since been explored, and
their secrets given to the geographers;
the gentle practice of NARROWING has
fnllen into q worthy disuse, and the
only pirates that now infest the seas
IRE the sl<ulling robbers of the Malay
peninsula. The black flag along with
the thousand other things dear to the
man with an imaginative mind has
been relegated into the limbo OF the
past; and no adventurous cook may
ever again hope to discover a second
group of Hawaiian isles and be hon
ored by queen and country for his
daring.
OF oil the once numerous classes of
sea adventures the whaling man
alone exists to-day. lie is the sole re-
manning link between the glorious
past and the material present, says the
st. Louis Republic. Sir Walter Raleigh,
stout-hearted Francis Drake, Capt
Kidd and Latte, the Gulf Tiger, live
only on the pagesof history; but Whale
Oil Gus, the bold mariner of Nantucket,
now u resident of st. Louis, still re-
mains to gladden. the hearts of red
blooded folk with his tales of stirring
times upon the Vastly deep. In
his life, Whale Oil Gus has crowd
ed enough experience. to fill
dozen volumes Of adventure. The
press of circumstance still keeps the
doughty whaler away from the sea he
loves so well, despite its cruel treat
ment of him, and he reluctantly con-
scented to tell a Republic young man
the following chapter of his life:
Among Il rare collection of harpoon
his collection Gus possesses a long
wooden handled, rusty bladcd knife,
which he counts among the dearest of
his treasures.
"Do you see this ugly weapon?'' he
asked, holding up the nurderous look
the rusty edge. well, che knife has a
history. It figured in one of the most
trying episodes of my career.
''It was in the IS, ring of '33 that we
sailed away from New Bedfordtown on
the good ship Marie, ;1ound for the
whaling grounds of the southern seas.
Counting the five officers, there were
ing composed of sailors of every ma
tionality, but principally of New Bed
ford men. It Is an old saying among
people who follow the ocean that out
Of every complement of officers on
board ship one Is sure to be villain.
The truth of this saying was proved In
the case Of the Marie before we had
been two days out Of port. When a lot
of men are huddled together in the
narrow compass of a whaling vessel 1t
doesn't take them long to find out one
another's characteristics, and before
\ too h.
sea we men in the forecastle had de-
cided that Tom johnson, the second
mate, was the one to be feared. Capt.
Edwards, although a mighty fine sailor
and a good whaleman, was a little bit
weak In matters Of discipline. and the
second mate seemed to take 1t upon
himself to run the whole ship.
''By the time we had got OFF the coast
of Brazil the men found his conduct SO
unbeara BILE that they went in a body
to the shipper and made complaint.
The captain said he'd look into the
matter, and advised the men to go on
about their business, and try to put
up with Johnson as long as possible.
This didn't satisfy us, OF course, but
there was nothing to be done except
go back ito work, which we did at once.
ssscs.Matters drifted on. for a few days,
Ehf1e I'VE forged southwark before q
stiff wind, and 1T looked like, things
were 8O1uB 10 w P1ctSSe1hC oRDAA' SNS
when we got down near the old
Spanish town OF Maranhao a little
seuan came up one afternoon which
seemed likely to develop into a storm,
and we were sent a1oft to reef the sails.
One of the men who was handling the
main ropsail was new in the business
and a little bit slow, and the second
-. e, watching from the deck, began
to curse him for an awkward lubber,
and ordered him tp come down. The
young fellow obeyed orders, though
could see his neck.swollen with rage as
he passed me In sliding down the rig
cling, and when he reached the deck
the mate kept on abusing him and
calling him every vile name he could
think of, until the young sailor mNtr
tered something under his breath
which the mate didn't hear:
Whats that, you dog? he shouted,
as he advanced on the fellow.
i -. L didn't say, anything, was the
reply
:t:You lie!' cried the mate, and pick
ing up an iron bar he struck the boy
such a cruel blow that IL shattered his
left nhoulder blade. He was about to
strike him again when the captain ap-
peared on deck and interfered, uoubt-
less saving the young mans life. Stu
holdirT tbs iron bar In hts hand tho
paats walked Ut, eufssaS = Ssue streak