Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1899-04-26
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5 A FIGHT WITH A WHALE,
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How Mate Bullen's Life Was Saved.

The author Of 1.-THE Cruise of the
CachalOt" relates the following cpl
sode, as dramatic as any that ever be-
fell the knights Of the harpoon:
We sped along Mt n good rate toward
our prospective victim, who was. in
bis leisurely enjoyment of life, calm
ly lolling on the surface, occasionally
lifting his enormous tail out of the
water and letting 1t fall fiat upon the
surface with boom audible for miles.
We were, as usual, first boat; but,
much to the mates annoyance, when
we We're short half-mile from the
whale our mainsheet parted. 1t be-
came Immediately necessary to roll
the sail up, lest Its Tapping should
alarm the watchful monster, and this
delaped us sufficiently to allow the
other boats to shoot ahead of us. Thus
the second mate got fast some seconds
before we arrived on the scene, seeing
which we furled sail, unshipped the
mast, and went in on him with the
oars only. At first the proceedings
were quite of the usual character, our
chief welding his lance in most brill
liant fashion, while not being fast to
the animal allowed lis much greater
freedom in our evolutions; but that
fatal habit Of the mate's--of allowing
his boat to take care of herself so long
as he was getting in some good home
thrusts-once more asserted itself. AL
though the whale was exceedingly Wig
Orous, churning the sea into yeasty
foam over an enormous area, there we
wallowed close to him, right in the
middle Of the turmoil, actually court
ing disaster. He had just settled
down for moment when, CHANGING
over the gunwhale, saw his tail, like
q vast shadow, sweeping away from
US toward the second mate, who was
lying Off the other side of him. Before
l had time to think the mighty mass
Of grlstle leaped into the sunshine,
curved back from us like n huge bow.
Then with a roar it came Mt us, re-
leased from its tension of heaven
knows how many tons. Full on the
broadside 1t struck us, sending every
soul but me flying out of the wreckage
as If fired from catapults. 1 did not
60 because my foot was jammed
somehow In the well of the boat, but
the wrench nearly pulled my thigh
bone out of its socket. l had hardly
released my foot when, towering
above me, came the colossal head of
the great creature, as he ploughed
through the bundle of debris that had
just been boat. There was an ap-
palling roar of water in my ears, and
darkness that might be felt all around.
Yet in the midst of 1t all, one thought
predominated as clearly us if l had
been turning 1t over in my mind in the
quiet of my bunk aboard, "What IL
he should swallow me?" Nor to this
day can l understand how l escaped
the portals Of his gullet which, of
course, gaped wide as church door.
But the agony of holding my breath
soon overpowered every other feeling
and thought, till just rs something
was going to snap inside my head 1
rose to the surface. was surrounded
by a welter of bloody froth, which
made 1t impossible for me to see; but
Oh the air was sweet!
I struck out blindly, instinctively, al
though I could feel so strong an eddy
that voluntary progress was out of the
question. My hand touched and chung
to rope, which Immediately lowed
me in some direction-I neither knew
nor cared whittier. Soon the motion
ceased, and, with n seaman's instinct,
began to haul myself along by the
rope grasped, although no definite
idea was in my mind as to where it
was attached. Presently 1 came butt
up against something solid, the feel of
which gathered all my scattered wits
into q compact knub Of dread. 1t
was the whale! "Any port in Storm"
I murmured, beginning to haul away
again upon my friendly line. BY dint
of hard work pulled myself right up
the sloping, slippery bank of blubber,
until reached the iron, which, as luck
would have it, was planted in that
side of the carcass now uppermost.
Carcass ] said-well. certainly had