The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1902-09-24

enough, but he had nerve and good
luck, both of which are everything
to whaler. This was destined to
be an unfortunate voyage for the
After Guards The whales were
plenty in the Okhotsk sea. and there
was hardly day but what we were
outing In or trying out blubber.
O9e afternoons the, cap'n lowered
away$ $orsg right whale. Our boat
wasi Close, alongside, but the skipper
sungyoutr
"Don't you meddle with him;
he's my f1shp So of course we
hung back, only standing by to lend
hand In case we were needed.
"Blue Fin made pretty dart.
He hurled his first iron about six
feet aft the bow hole, and the other
he planted in the belly us the fel-
low rolled. 1t was a deathblow,
but before the whale began to spout
blood be brought his fukes around,
caught the boat before the boys
could back out of the way and stove
her to pieces. We pulled in and
picked up the crew. I grabbed tho
old man. just as he was going down,
and when hauled him up I saw
that he was hurt badly and was un-
conscious. He was smashed up in
frightful manner and never recoy-
cred.
'Next morning at eight bells we
launched the dead body Of the
cap,n from the starb'd gangway,
while the fish that had killed him
was meored with chains to the port
side Of the ship. Poor Blue Fin
felt awful bad, and he kept mourn
ing as the mate read the burial serv-
ice, saying:
"sOh, if I hadn't struck the
whale that last blowl Twas the
second iron that touched his selife,"
and our cap'n's too.'
ssBut, shipmate," went on the
boat steerer, cit was to be, and it's
the way of the world, / suppose.
One man mounts to q position
through the death of another, just
as a new ship is built to take the
place OF craft that has found bed
on the rocks"
eyes, there's a great deal of
truth in what you say, Bill. But
how was it that your cap'n's loss
rated Blue Fin sldpper?'
s'He wasn't skipper in every
sense of the word, but twas th;s
way: The officers that were left
were the same as you and I-good
sailors and good whalers-but they
knew nothing Of navigation. Blue
Fin, of all our company, was the
only one who could handle a quad
rant or work up sight As I
said, the whales were plenty, and we
didn't want to leave the grounds
till the ice drove us out, for we were
making money, so we finished our
cruise, and when we reached Homo
lulu we were full to the matches with
oil and bone.
"There was some talk of shipping
another man to take the vessel
home, but the agent and the Ameri-
can consul said, IF that young man
knew enough to bring the craft
safely out of the Okhotsk sea, he
knows enough to find his way to
New Bedford They just engaged
another mate by the rum who was
navigator, and gave the boy
charge of the ship.
owe made aquick passage around
the Horn, and the owners were so
much pleased with Blue Fin that
they gave him command of the Race
Horse on the next voyage, and while
away on that cruise they built him
this one here, the Grampus, and
that's how the lad became skipper
SO young. 1t goes to prove thetruth
of what I said few moments ago,
that sit's not always gray heirs
which cover the wisest head a
boy is sometimes more fit to COM
mand than u man who has seen
twice or thrice his number Of
years"