The Brattleboro reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1907-1912, 1908-02-07
ADVENTURES ON A
WHALING VESSEL
EAs, Norihheld Man Recalls Early
Days Of This Industry Many STIR
ring Adventures Eneoani.
cred IN the Search.

Hubert II. fmg, a Ncll preserved oo'
iogenaTian, = rounding out a well spent
and adiyo lie al his hume IN Easi North.
ilsll. lie has ssen mote Of the World
and gained a Nsdvr eKIsnencc IN both
hemisphere. than falls 20 the loi ii most
men, says the FRANKLIN county oofrcs
l,andeni IL thu Springfield Republican,
| horn in Mhstrly ~ years ago, the son Of
Asa FTaD, ! desire b. - the world lcd
him ia hts le,h year 90 ship with Capt,
Hiram iiodsr. 81 the Josephine from Sas
lIaIl,or. L. l.. ia October $50. for The
north Pacific IN scarch for whales. lie
encountered many stirring adventure
aud Jaw many cliincs lsciofc his desire 10
travel was satisfied, lie i one u th. lev
men that followed whaling now living IN
this vicinity SAG llarbor was hut one
Ut numerous ports IRON which whaieships
werc lifted out IN the last century. The
industry j. now revived IN a measure,
but has not begun TO reach the proper
tions Il assumed many years agu before
the object Of pursuit became scarcc and
the ne Of coal oil for Illuminating pur'
poses superseded the product Of the
whale. With a pr0iigalily characteristics
81 the new world the American whaling
fleets well nigh destroyed the industry
which was highly profitable, by pursuing
Il with such zeal that it, sourre was ~
moved The methods II capturing whales
have been radically changed since Mr.,
Frary followed the sea. In his time the
whale was struck with the harpoon, now
bombs arc exploded 60 do the work
which was formerly hazardous. Sperm
whales are mostly sought now instead OF
the right whale which was the object
Of pursuit by the men Of the older time.
The Greenland. or Arctic right whale,
was most valuable, surprising a. i did
other species in oil, and length and quail.
ity OF bone. large animal yielding 2l5
barrels vi oil and over a ton and a bali /
OF bone. The southern right whale, in.
habiting the temperate seas OF both hem.
spheres, j. similar 90 his northern cou'
sin but smaller.
Mr.. Fnry was in business in South |
America before finally settling down to
the life OF manufacturer of wooden
ware In lss6 he invented an automatic
lathe and went into the spool business.
lie built mill at Berlin, \. Y, and at
each being in charge OF a
son with whom he is associated in busi'
ness. lie makes his home with his
Mrs. Charles T.. Whittle, widow
Of a son Of Major White, another daugh'
ter is the wife OF Prof, Charles Epson
Clark OF Yale, a son OF Mrs. Kate Epson
Clark, well known at Charlemont. His
two sons are George II. at Charlemont
and Edward ). of Berlin, n. y.
Being advised by friend TO go on a
voyage ii he wished to see the
world. he set ont from Sag Harbor, as is
recorded above, on the good ship jose
phinc, Capt Hiram Hedges, The ship
was full rugged and OF 396 tons. The yoy.
lge TO the north Pacific was not eventful.
After touching at Pernambuco for fruit
when 80 days out, the Josephine rounded
APE Horn in the usually rough weather
which prevails there One day single
light whale was sighted and chased, as
,lr. Frary says the captains boat be-
anne fast at once. but the line becoming ,
ouled over the bow, the boat capsized
md the whale escaped with harpoons and
ines. Capt. Hedges, who could not swim,
lung to the gunwale and was the hrst
nan on the bottom Of the boat All hands !
we're soon picked up. The whaleship car
led from three to five boats on cranes /,
eady for lowering when whales were ,
ighted Each had a permanent crew OF
i've men including the harpooner or boat :
teerer. After leaving Cape Horn stop /
vas made at Talcahuano, Chill. From /
here letters were sent home by the Silas :
EDWARDS of Sag Harbor. Too late for !
he whaling season in the Okhotsk sea, a
top was made at Honolulu. The first :
lhale captured was outside the kurlle h
stands. Whales being scarce outside the i
)khotsk, the sea was entered the ship =
rusing as far north as the 60th degree q
{ latitude Eventually enough whales !,
ere captured to bring the catch up to h
900 barrels of OIL At the close of the 6
nason the ship rounded the southern !,
ONT OF Kamschatka and put into the :
.ussian port of Petropaulovski, where
Top of nearly four weeks was made. Re- =
lrning to Honolulu such rough weather i
as encountered that the Josephine car +
ed Just enough canvas to give her good !,
,eerage. S. s. Hill, an English traveller {,
no had made sledge journey through =
iberia, was a passenger. After his re. q
I'm to England he wrote an account OF :,
is travels, including his sufferings dur u
g the terrible passage in the Josephine. II
Ir. Frary about % years later came -
ross Mr.. Hills book. When the ship G.
rived at the island of Maui all were in GO
retty sorry condition. Going to Homo =, -,
lu the ship was reftted The men had \,
berty on shore and at horse race MIR. ~
rary saw King Kamehameha III. y
The ship in trim once more start was 7,
ade for the sperm whaling ground near y,
lie Kings Mill group of islands on the i,
uator, in company with the ships r.
,uth America and the Eliza Adams. "