Carolina watchman. [volume] (Salisbury, N.C.) 1871-1937, 1905-04-19

NoE~ " 1dA0 AlIbOlulIlulS hdA
arus. seldom, however, after killing
their whale, are they obliged to wrest
their booty from a troop of ravenouS
Polar bears, angrily disputing posses
sion of their prize. The thrilling story
of such an unparalleled encounter IA
narrated to me under the following
circumstances:
1t was a lovely evening in June when
we swung clear of Port-aux-Basques
Harbor, and. catching q light land
breeze, Steered northWards towards
the coasts of Labrador. Our craft was
a smart Nova Scotia-built schooner of
about a hundred and fifty tons. and
Il crew were picked from a settle
ment of the nearest modern representa-
tives of the old Norsemen-the sturdy
fishing folk of the iron-bound coasts
of Newfoundland. | was peculiarly
attracted by the first mate. Harry
JeWer, a man still in the prime of life,
with hard-bitten, weather-roughened
features, yet with a merry twinkle in
his eye that bespoke a happy Hiber-
MAN temperament and a capacity for
facing with equal cheerfulness the
sunshine and the storm of an adven-
turous career. His face was tanned
like leather with being so often set
against the binding glare of sunshine
from illimitable glistening fields of
drifting ice, and deeply SCARED and
scanned by repeated scourgings of
fjlrrn winds arn,Ya1 with c+i,ri,o ;,o
fragments, which smite like the knot
ted cords Of cruel whips.
Notwithstanding this hard and per-
1lOus 100 of life his character had
been fashioned into a hearty admira-
ton of this awful beauty, grandeur
and terror of the great Arctic solitude.
Like many others of his class, he was
captivated by the fascinating glamor
Which the Arctic casts like a spell upon
1hose VINO have once penetrated it's
mysteries. An opportunity came to
listen to the tale of his varied exploits
Wnen suddenly one afternoon the wind
grew light, and we ran into a heavy
smoke-like bank of grey fog which OBJ
scured all around us. When at length
we emerged there was no breath of
wind. The sun beat down on a sea
motionless and becalmed.
At this moment, to my great de-
light, Harry, pulling at his %blackened
clay pipe, tainting the baImy sea air
with pungent odors, seated himself at
my side and told me the following
tale of a strange adventure that befeIl
him in the Far North:
1t was in Lancaster Sound. on board
the good ship Aurora. hat | found my
self in the summer of 1896. We were
after right whales, and had already
taken five on this voyage. While near
ly all our casks We're full t. bursting
with oil, we had room to stow away
the blubber of yet another carcass.
This the crew were anxious to accom-
plish as speedily as possible, for after
a nightless period. the sun was now
beginning to dip each day below the
horizon for 4 few hours at a stretch.
and cool ftful northwesters were Civ
ing warning of the approach of winter.
If only we could secure our booty and
turn u curse to the south, with
the Newfoundland girls pulling at the
toW-rope," as the saying is in the
fo'csle. everyone would be happy.
For although the seafarer, wherever
you Il him, cannot remain content
ashore for long, one of the greatest
of all the pleasures of his calling is
the return home with a pocket full of
coin after a successful voyage.
A good Greenland or Arctic Fright"
whale is worth a lot Of money. Right"
whales are those producing %whalebone,
and a good specimen is worth at least
six hundred to seven hundred pounds.
There are other large whales which
we let alOne-the timers or %rorquals,
and even the giant "blue whales" as
the biggest of them are not worth one
tenth part of the value of the right
whale. Of late these valuable prizes,
as we'll as the sperm" whale, are
getting scarce, but in those days they
were abundant. Each man was sure
to come home with a snug little sum
to his credit, what with wages and his
ouuIe VI Tic UoulilS, DIS TIC meu .
narrow percentage of interest in the
net profits is termed.
There she bloWS!'' All hearts fairly
throbbed for joy as the lookout from
the "crow's nest" cheerily shouted the
glad news of an enormous right
whale sighted against the sun in the
ofing. Blithely the ropes sang out
through the ~tackle-blocks while the
men took their places, and as the little
fotilla of boats darted away with
alacrity from the black sides of the
great ship, like so many arrows shot
from q bow. a strange CLEAN came
into the mems eyes, and their bronzed
faces relaxed in a smile as if they al,
ready anticipated their triumph.
They made towards a spot where
at intervals of from ten to fifteen min
utes a white column of spray was seen
to shoot high in the air from the ex-
tremity Of a black rolling mass which
glittered in the suns rays like wet
indiarubber. My boat led, and all
hands gave me a cheer when l threw
the harpoon, which with a heavy thud
embedded itself deeply behind the huge