The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1904-10-20


wart!ed by receiving newly caught
| cod or pollock of the hooks. One day
Captain Mcmillan started out on fish
| ing trip down the bay. and not Gar
from Grand ManaD. \. r.. 4 fierce gale
arose and clustering snowStorln set
in. which promised to last for several
days.
| Mrs. Mcmillan and her children
gathered on the beach near their home
and watched closely through the storm
for the husband and father. but moth
| ing could be seen in the distance eX-
cepting the high waves in which no
small boat could live.
"If Jim va: out on that storm. lie
had little chance t" escape. she
! thought. and as the day was nearly
gone and 10 signs OF her husband, she
began to feel a little uneasy.
The storm seemed to increase in
fury. pilinS the waves high up on the
beach. and it began 20 look rs if an
other seaman was to be reported
among the missing.
| But what was that long. low OBJ
| iect she saw coming up the bay like
4 fast moving steamboat half buried
in the water? The more She looked
at it the more she wondered. and as
the object came nearer she was able
to make out the form OF sEake-like
| fish of very large siIt, the head high
| up ont Of the water.
Gould It be her husbands tame
| whale back for its dinner at this late
hour. she thought. as she supposed the
| fish had gone away early in the day.
As il came close to tue point OF land
on which she stood she saw that there
was some object Or i5s back that re-
sambled human being. and rs the
whale came into the snail Earbor With
| the speed of steamboat under all
steam. the form Of ker husband could
be plainly seen. He lay across the
| whales back, near the neck, with his
arms over the side Of the fish, holding
on with a firm grip ard in another min
ute Capt. Jim's form arose from the
surf and wss quickly ciasped in his
wife's arms. He followed her into the
house and after a complete change Of
clothing followed by 4 warm drink, he
told her how he had been saved from
watery grave by his faithful whale,
which seemed to know considerable.
".When the storm broke this morn.
ing said lin, we were we'll down the
bay and before 1 could set prepared
for the storm my mast broke off by
the fierce wind. What followed 1 am
unable to say, excepting that struck
in the icy water and was sinking when
1 felt something soft like, coming up
under my hands, and you can bet I
grabbed it. When I came to the sur
face saw it was my tame whale, and
then felt safer than had minute
before, although I was at a loss to
know Just what the big fish world do
and where it would take me. talked
to the faithful whale as I would to
person, as I had done so often during
the meal hour, and promised him extra
rations if he landed me safely on our
beach.
"'You know the rest continued the
captain to his wife, and here am safe
and sound after a ride Of fully twenty
miles on the back Of a real whale, but
a good one, can assure YOU"
Captain Mcmillan turned the fish to
good use later, when he went out OH
his fishing trips, as he would fasten
a stout rope to the iron band in the
whales tail and would be towed home
faster than by sailing, or even steam,
as the fish always came into the little
cove. All went we'll for about a year
and many tempting offers were made
for the wonderful fish, but jim would
not part with his silent friend for any
amount, as to the fish he owed his life.
He was just beginning to teach the
whale to tow his boat to different
neighboring towns in Passamaquoddy
Eay, when the long fish took sick and
died.
"That was sad blow to Captain
Mcmillan, gentlemen, as we'll as his
family, and it was a long time before
they fully recovered from the shock
and the loss Of their pet.
Captain Mcmillan didn't know just
what to do with the body, but finally
decided to give it burial in the bay
near his home and mark the spot with
gravestone in the form of big buoy
above the dead whale.
''This he carried out to the letter ana
the unique funeral services were hello
on the beach the following day and
were attended by quite q large gather
ING of Canadian friends from the ISL
ands near.
THAT ended Captain Meal M'llan's
tame haze, gentleman" said th>
speaker, land I will now bid you ell
goodnight" saying which, lie gathered
up his bundles and start-l for MIL
| home.-Eewiston Journal.