The Somerset reporter., 1897-06-17
A PESkY WHALE.

| PS9hS oiit''ia an SulDe AIN so peSRy.
Smoke went up in clouds and there
was silence.
Reckon you've got something on
your mind, cap" said the doctor.
"Oh, nothin very particular" eaid
the captain, but when whales was in
troduced it reminded me. | had old Liz
up Bering sea way two years ago-old
Liz was my ship, her full name bein
Elizabeth J. Barker-an we'd had a
pretty good season. September we put
around the Horn, an as things happen.
ed didn't see another whale till VIC
struck into the forties. Then, sir, long
II O'Clock one fine mornin, we doin
about six knots, we raised a whale that
was whale. .
Big, bet, " said the doctor
mo, not so terril lie big" said the
captain, "but pesky. | was standin
about 'midships when one of the men
sings out, Hi, cap, look at i'm blow.
Sure 'nough, half a mile off an dead
abeam to starboard he was BLOWN. He
sent up a good spout an then seemed
to kinder settle himself, like he was
/ II.
hove old Liz to, an we put over o
couple of boats. Rowin in the small
boat was "a Dutchman named Frank.
mention him, cause he comes into the
yarn pretty prominent. Frank was a
good sailor, but one of them fellers that
has dreadful little to say. He tended
right to business an kept his hatch
battened close. Well, as it turned out.
! the little boat licked the big one an
got the first whack at the whale. They
put harpoon into him just over his
port fin, an down he went
| stood a-watching things through a
! glass. | waited an waited for the boat
! to start off III tow but she didn't dc
nothin but set still, which was puzzlin.
In about five minutes somethin big al
black broke water tween us an the
boat, an there was old blower not
more'n 200 yards from the place he
went down. He warn't up long, but
enough to get his bearin S, / guess fol
down he went again, an | could see the
bow man gettin ready to give him all
the rope he'd take. Then the boat start.
ed, slowed a bit an come dead for the
ship at 40 mile clip. | never see a
boat travel so. We watched 'em, al
when she got within quarter of mile
/ thinks to myself This is gittin
| blamed interestin. / wonder is that
whale goin to sheer off, or is he goin
to give us "A ram?' That boat, sir, tray
| eled for us as true as hair, an | could
ste the men in her gettin excited. On
she came, tnrowin spray like liner,
and l calkilated if she held her course
she hit us so near midship it wouldn' I
be worth measurin the difference. Then
see the man in the bow make a pass
for the rope with the Ratchet. but he
was nervous like an missed it, for the
Ratchet went overheard, an he, losin his
balance, along with it. The rest of the
men warn't long decidin what they d
do. 1t was go overheard or git smashed
to flinders, an when they got within 90
yards of us they all went over but
Frank.
4" Jump, you idiotp yells I. Do you
want to git stove?' Mebbe he didn t
hear, but | reckon it wouldn t made nc
difference, for as I'm Twin, doc, that
Dutchman lay himself out on his stom-
ach i'll the bottom of the boat, grabbed
foot cleat with both hands an hung
on for dear life. Well, old whale kept
steam ON. / could see the boat go down
little by the head as she got close to
us, an | knew the rope was scrapin the
ships keel. We was all holding breath
an waitin to see Frank splatter his
brains against the ships side, when the
boat went nose down, starn up an un-
der water with kerchug. She missed
reachin us by about five yard.
"All hands aboard ship leant oven
to see Frank an the splinters come up,
for the boat would sure fetch again the
keel an go to kindlin wood. We wait
ed an waited an waited, but, by gum,
there warn't no splinters an there
warn't no Frank. All of Sudden one
of the men sings out, By the holy po-
ker, lookl Whipped round an there,
20 fathom off our port, was the little
whale boat, full of water to the gun
mel, an Frank standin up i'll her, waist
deep, holding onto a rowlock for dean
life. So help me, doc, that boat was
towed clean under old Liz, the Dutch
man in her, an come up sound ON the
other side.
Yes, sir, under the ship slick as a
whistle, an the Dutchman in her That
whale was a scientist, sir. He calki-
lated right to lose the boat, but, bless
you, it's bigger job than any one
wanted to tackle to staye that craft, an
as for foatin, she was boxed at each
end an couldn't sink But that ain the
end of the story. We remembered the
fellers that jumped, an we seen the big
boat would pick 'em up before we could
put another over, so we turned to look
at Frank again. There warn't anything
left in the boat to bail with, an he
couldn't do nothin but wait on the
pleasure of that whale. He travelled
away from the ship as fast as he come
at it, an he must a gone third of a
mile before the boat Stacked Then we
seen her slow down an come to dead
stop. Line bu'sted, says /. Man a
boat an fetch in the Dutchman /
hadn't no more'n spoke the words when
big wave seemed to rise up near the
boat an OLD whale bowed 80 feet high.
Then he got old Liz in range. Up his
tail goes an he under water again. l
could zee Frank wade forrard in the
boat an try to pay out line, but it was