The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1898-06-21

A Quaint Old Document FouI>A Among
tina E0eess Of = Captain Of
days Of y s.Down East's Whalers

Nantucket. Mass. June IL
Editor Messenger:
Dizziness now prevails on this beau
tiful Isle Of the Sea" The Goldfish
have steered to summer quarters, and
the bluefish have struc on" Next
the strangers" will come. They are
the ones that the natives" want to
appear. Hotel and boarding house
keepers. livery stable men. farmers
and tradesmen are looking forward
for their harvest But 1t Is all look at
| present. The reality will come later.
Now the men meet at the 'Sconse
Club house at night, talk Of the Span
ish gun boats that did not come, but
all the same frightened those who
have been accustomed to pass the
| summer at the seashore. They talk OF
| the island and it's glories departed, for
a hundred years ago Philadelphia and
Boston were the chief seaports OF
America and Nantucket was the third.
! Then the ambition Of every boy was To
begin his career as a sailor and soon
TO put an iron" into his first sperm
whale. work his way TO a captaincy
and after three of four voyages around
the Horn" to return home TO his
family.
A notable old whaling master was
| Captain Micaiah Colesworthy. who
died in this place some thirty odd
years ago. At his death there was in
| his garnet a little old hair trunk on
the top of which were brass nails driy-
| en- 10 represent the letters 20. c." the
| initials of Captain Obed Gardner. who
married Captain Colesworthy's sister.
In il were odds and ends OF age-stain-
ed papers, one of which was the will
| of Captain Gardner executed in 1Sil. 1t
was in the words following:
"-Siascanset, May the 30th. 1S41.
T Ola ,a-sA- -
now Twin at 'Sconset write down this
will.
Item. I have cruised with my wife.
| Hubby Jane since 1911. We signed ar
| ticles in town before the preacher on
Independence Day. I want her and
my oldest boy lothian to be Captain
and mate in bringin to port whatever
J leave and to see that every one OF
the crew gets the lay as writ down on
this paper. / put mother in COM
mand. I know sheel be captain any
way, for six months after we started
on our life cruise I found out that L
vas mate and she was master. I don't
mean that she ever mutinied, but |
no that whenever we didn't agree she
always manoovered to windward. May
be it is all right for she could sail
| closer to wind than 1 could and could
manage the crew of young ones that
she had as much to do with shippin as
L ulO. SQe always WdHIeu me % uo
the swearin when there was any
trouble. / no that when she and
lothian break bulk the cargo will be
got out as we'll as I could do it myself.
Item. In 1888 Captain Ichabod
Worth got tired of the old Nancy
Rotch and wanted to get rid of her
so he got me to take a piece of her.
When 1 last saw her she was lyin at
the wharf in Valparaiso, moren half
full Ct mean she was moren half full
of OLD. Mother never liker her. /
want lothian to hav that piece as
extra pay for what he does in settlin
up my affairs for heel have to steer
things while mother is takin observa-
ion watchin the weather and lookin
| over things below decks.
Item. I want mother to ave the
house on Union street until she goes
| aloft. Then l want it to go to. the
children in equal laws and if any
! child dies I wan the lay of the parent
to go to the parents young ones. but l
don't wan my daughter Belindy to
hav anything as long as her husband
is Twin. He is a lubber, but she has
been cruisin with him for years. I
haven't got anything partickler agin
him but he doesn't nc how to navi-
gate the sea of life. 1 do believe If he
wanted to stop a leak board ship it
would be just like him to go into the
hold with an auger and bore a hole
threw the plankin to let the bilge wa
| ter out into the sea. But Belindy likes
him. That's just like a If l
hould give the lay out and out to
her, I am afraid her husband would
hanover to get it. So I want mother
and lothian to put it out at interest,
and give what comes out of it TO her
until her ships for a corpse
below decks in the grave yard. Then
she can take the lay and do what she
wants to with it.
Item. I dont want my son Ezry to
have anything from what 1 leave. All
the children except him was good ones.
| They looked out for mother and me.
He dint take after either of us except
the time he took after me with a fd
and hit me over the ~starboard eye. He
new III was likely to come and was
smart enough to jump into Johnny
Gibbs catboat haul in the sheet and
steer for the continent. When
he got to Bedford She shipped
as boat steerer on the old Falcon. L
was glad he did. I don know where
he is now but herd he was master of
and Whampoa. I haven't got any use
of him and I guess he hasn't got any
for me. The black eye he gave me is
outlawed and I don't lay anything up
again him for that.
Item. 1 want mother and lothian
L " up tilbSS DIS soOH aS lncJ
can break bulk Int make a fair di-
vide between the children. But don't
forget what I have writ down about
mother and Belindy. I don't think Be-
lindy's husband will make any fuss
about the way I have taken care of
her unless she runs head on to the
shoals Of a lawyers office. Then look
| cut for squalls. I hope sheet stand
off il she sees a lawyer comm thort
her bows.
Item. I want mother to have half
of what comes from what is left Of my
property besides the house in Union
Street. She deserves it. Every time
I was around the Horn she did her
duty to the young ones and I want
her to have enough to live on until
she goes aloft- Then I want her lay
to go to the children in equal pieces
except that Belindy shall only have
what comes from it until her sba
dies. If mother van to marry agin
that's her business. I never did like
TO cruise without a mate. and I guess