Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1897-03-18
AN OLD WHALER'S SERMON.
JONAH AND THE WHALE; A REPLY
TO SKEPTICS.
An Able Seaman Tells of the Expert
ences That Convinced Him of the
Truth of the Bible Story.


ESPITE modern scientists re-
searches and learned treatises
of eminent divines, who have
Z sought eagerly to prove to
the world the unreesonableness OF the
assertion that whale can swallow
man, 1 desire to say, without fear OF
reasonable contradiction, that from
practical personal knowledge on the
subject I know they are all wrong.
Thirty years ago l sailed from Now
Bedford, Mass. on whale ship for
forty-four months cruise in the South
Seas with the veteran whaleman,
Captain Elisha Babcock, who is we'll
known to the whaling fraternity. We
had very successful voyage up to the
time 1 left the expedition, twenty
seven months afterward, Oft the coast
gest of all Gods living creatures on
sea or land, and what we call sperm
whale is the smallest of whales, varying
in length from 80 to 130 feet and
large in proportion, making from 40
to 140 barrels of OIL
One beautiful day in August, 1865,
on the Western Ocean whale was
sighted by the man at the masthead,
who sang out:
"Ah, she blows"
Those words had the effect of an
electric shock. Every man in the ship
from stem to stern was up and doing
in nm instant. Presently the Captain
shouted back:
"Where away!"
"About three points on the lee bow,
sir. :"
"How far OFF,"
"About three miles, sir" Then said
the Captain to the crew:
Back your main yards" "Lower
boats and away" was the next order
Our ship carried four boats, each
manned by crew OF five men and an
officer. The boat in which l was
reached the whale first. When we got
to him he was asleep. 1t was the most
dangerous time to strike him, because
nobody can tell what move a whale
suddenly aroused will make first. He
was the largest sperm think 1 ever
saw, and probably was good for 140
barrels of oil. That is n vast amount
to get from u sperm whale, although
from bowhead whale one sometimes
gets $50 barrels. When we struck
this fellow he raised his tail, which
measured about fifteen feet across, and
made the water seetne and boil q
moment or two; then he went down.
Being fast to him with irons, we paid
out the line very quickly to keep
from going down with him.
Presently the line grew slack,
which means that he had stopped
somewhere just beneath us. But the
water was SO thick with his blood that
we were unable to see how far down
he was. We knew he was near, but
how near we could not tell just then.
While we were eagerly looking over
the side of the boat, quick as flash
he struck the bottom of the boat and
we went flying. When recovered my
senses L was about fifteen feet below.
looking for fresh air. When reached
the top what should / meet hut the
whale, Just Us he was raising his tre-
mendous tail high above my head. l
darted to one side. Down came the
tail with an awful splash. If l had
been under it l should have been
smashed to smithereens. As l was
making desperate efforts to get away
from the whale, who should come up
right alongside me but the harpooner.
He could not swim. A few stokes
away there was buoy. secured it,
dragged it to him, and just as he was
about to give up in despair he grasped
it, and was saved. Then we both
clung to the buoy und took in the sit.
uation. The bow oarsman was thrown
over about twenty rods. The tub oars
man, stroke oarsman, and the second
mate were thrown in different direc.
tions. /, being midship oarsman, had
been picked up, as q pancake, and
Topped over and showed down. While
the harpooner and l hung to the buoy
we, were kept busy kicking away
sharks, pushing them first one way,
then another. Not sharks of the kind
one sees around the bays and rivers,
but big fellows, from fifteen to twenty
five feet long kind that can divide
fellow at one nip.
Our stroke oarsman could not swim,
but he got hold of a piece of the boat !;
that piece was fast to the line and the
line was fast to the whale. He passed
us like shot, reaching out his hands
and shouting, "Bi!ll Bill Save me
Save mep He had no sooner said it
than lie was gone. Presently the whale
went down, the piece of boat went
with him, and the stroke oarsman was
left at the mercy of the waves, u good
distance away. Meanwhile the other
three boats were coming up, and just
as he had exhausted himself, strug-
Cling to keep on top, the third mates
boat reached him. de was rescued,
and then the rest OF us were picked
up.
Allthis happened within ten minutes.
Nothing remained OF our small boat.
The 500 fathoms of line gone as we're
also the lances, harpoons, and the two
buoys. One OF the other boats, how
ever, put for the whale and captured
h,