The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1900-08-03
Then all was lost in roar and rush, a,

of the heart Of some mighty cataract
during which was sometimes above
sometimes beneath, the water, but al
! ways clinging, with every ounce Of en-
] ergy left, to the line. Now. one though
was uppermost--"What If he shoult
breach?" had seen them do so whe,
In furry. leaping full twenty feet i,
air. Then I prayed.
| Quickly as all the preceding change
had passed came perfect peace. Their
| I lay. still alive, but 30 weak that. al
though I could feel the turns slippin;
off my arms, and knew that SHOULD
slide off the slope Of the whales sid
into the sea II they did, could make NJ
effort to secure myself. Everythin.
then passed away from me, just as !,
I mad gone to sleep.
! dc not at all understand how KEEP
my position, nor how long, but I awok'
to the blessed sound of voices and saw
the second mates boat alongside. Yer,
gently and tenderly they lifted me int
the boat, although I could hardly helI
! screaming with agony when they touch
ed me. so bruised and broken up did
| feel.
| My arms must have been nearly TORI
from their sockets. for the strands Of
the whale line had cut deep into theil
flesh with the strains upon 1t. while my
thigh was swollen enormously from the
blow had received at the outset. Mr.
Cruce was the most surprised man
think ever saw. For full ten minutes
he stared at me with wide-open eyes
When at last he spoke 1t was with diff.
Guilty, as If wanting words to express
his establishment.
At last he blurted ut: "Whar you bin
all de time. ennyhow? 'Cawse eff you
bin hangin' on to dat ar vale ev' sence
you boat smash, wy de debbil you
haln't all to bits, hey?' l smiled fee.
bly,, but was too weak to talk, and
presently went off again into dead
faint.
When I recovered ! was snug in my
bunk aboard, but aching in every joint,
and as sore as If had been pounded
with club until was bruised all over.
During the day Mr.. Count was good
enough to pay me visit. With his
usual luck he had escaped without the
slightest injury; neither was any other
member of the boats crew the worse
for the ducking but myself. He told
me that the whale was one Of the larg.
est he had ever seen and as fat as but
ter.
The boat was an entire loss. SO COM
pletely smashed to pieces that nothing
of her or her gear had been recovered.
After spending about a quarter Of an
hour with me. he left me considerably
cheered up. promising to look after me
In the way of food. and also to send
me some books. He told me that need
not worry myself about my inability
to be at work. because the old man
was not unfavorably disposed toward
me, which piece Of news. gave me
great deal Of comfort.
ANOTHER ADVENTURE.
AS we ran quite closely past the ship,
calling on the crew to haul up for all
they were worth, we managed actually
to squeeze past the COW whale and l
got in a deadly blow. The point Of the
lance entered just between the I'm and
the eye. but higher up. missing the
broad plate OF the shoulder blade. and
sinking its whole four feet over the
bitches right down into the animals
vitals. Then. for the first time. he
threw up his fukes. thrashing them
from side to side almost round to his
head. and raising such a turmoil that
we were half full Of water in mo-
ment.
After few moments of this tremen-
dous exertion. our victim settled down,
leaving the water deeply stained with
'lis gushing blood. With him disap-
peared his constant companion. the
faithful COW. who had never left his
side for minute since we first got
fast. Down. down they went. until
my line began to look very low. and
l was compelled to make signals to
the ship for more. We had hardly ele-
waited the oars. when down dropped
the last boat with four men In her. ar
irving by my side in few minutes
with two fresh tubs Of tow-line. We
took them on board. and the boat re-
turned again.
Our amazement may be imagined
when suddenly we were compelled to
slack away again. the sudden weight
on the line suggesting that the fish was
again sounding. II ever a young hand
was perplexed, It was I. Never before
had heard Of such unseemly behavior,
nor was my anxiety lessened when
saw. short distance away. the huge
body OF my prize at the surface spout
ing blood. AT the same time was
paying out line at q good rate. as II
i had fast ash on which was sound
ing briskly.
The skipper had been watching m e
very closely from his seat on the taff-
rail, and had kept the ship within easy
distance. Now, suspecting something
out OF the common, he sent the boat
again to my assistance. in charge OF
the cooper When that worthy ar
rived. he said: 9TH OF man reckens
yew've got snRrled erp 18th tibet ar
looae keow. N y'r irons hey draw'c
from tn other. Tn gwine ter walt,
en- him, n get him 'longside 'soon'e
mes outer his hurry. Ole man SEE
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