Omaha daily bee., 1902-10-12

since October 10, 1901, and has taken 1900
barrels since leaving port.
A glorious old-time voyage has been that
of the fine old Canton, the oldest whaling
vessel in the world. 1t is lying at the Union
street wharf now, having discharged the
last 500 barrels of a net voyage that pro-
duced 200 barrels of sperm oil in sixteen
months-an exceptionally short cruise with
a result big enough to make even the old
whalers of New Bedford town admire.
Canton sailed the whale grounds Of all
the seven seas long before the garish days
of kerosene. 1t carried the American flag
around the world long before many Ameri-
can steamships were on the seas. 1t struck
whale in waters almost unknown to the rest
of the maritime world. And stout in every
timber, able as the day when it was
launched, with ribs so we'll preserved that
they chip fresh and bright under the ship
wright's adze, it promises to carry its white
and blue house flag, with the black letter
on the white and the red ball on the
blue field, the famous old pennant of tn
Wings of New Bedford, around the world
for many years to come.
They treat it lovingly. Scarcely were
the last barrels Of oil out of it before thu
ship carpenters were in Tripping up
planks and sheathing to investigate its
hidden timbers, replacing worn stuff with
new, overhauling it from stem to stern.
Since it was launched, it has been renewed
again and again from keelson to truck. But
never an inch of its old model has been al
tered. 1t swims today, as it swan more
than half a century ago, a typical whaler of
the faro f days when men built ships like
churches.
Its first whaling voyage was in 1871.
IL uvo1 Innur, - 49, ~
Bedford men owned a full-rigged ship also
named Canton. That ship was lost in 1852
of the Japan coast and only a few of it's
crew managed to reach shore, after weeks
of suffering in open boats.
The bark Canton is only 226 tons burden,
but 1t looks as big as a merchantmen, for
1t towers out of the water with bulky sides
and Its fat ~bowsprit is almost as big as a
mast. It's immense black timber davits are
as powerful and stout as the bent cranes
on a modern steel warship. Al 1t lies at
the wharf now, dismantled, to rest until
1t shall bow and courtesy to the ocean
rollers again, It needs little imagination
to people its high bulwarks with the dead
and gone whaling men Of a forgotten gen.
Grafton.
The log Of its voyage just ended is a
story book. 1t was kept by an American
sallorman or parts, It's first mate, Arthur
o. Gibbons, whose fist welded the lance
to search the life" of a whale in the day
time and at night welded the more gentle
pen with easeful simplicity.
He recounts how the bark cast off from
New Bedford wharf on Tuesday, April IS,
1901, and how on the next day nearly all
the crew became seasick. 80 ends this
day." he says. On the third day many
OF the crew still were in that unhappy
condition, not rare on whalers, where there
always are a number OF new hands and a
proportion of old ones who have become
stale with the land and need to get their
sea stomachs again.
The third day brought excitement enough
to cure them all for, though the ship was
still near the coast off New Jersey, It sailed
smack into a great school Of mighty sperm
whales that the water into white
ness as far as man could see. Tuesday,
April Fl, 1901" says the log, sighted a
large school of whale. Lowered larboard
and waist boats. Waist boat struck a forty
barrel whale and got carted out Of town
to windward. Turned whale up at p. m.
and started to tow to vessel, but weather be-
coming very squally, let go. So ends this
day"
The entry is silently, but eloquently en-
bellished with a picture OF a whales tail