Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-07-18

broad in the beam, bluff bowed, ana
square sterned. Over steep SIDES rose
stanch davits from which hung. when IN
use. the smaller graceful Whaleboats.
Almost amidships stood the try-Works;
iron caldrons encased In brick, now black,
smoky and begrimed with oil.
Out i'm the quiet harbor. craft or every
description Jagged at their anchor chains
loaded with beef and pork: oarreis OF
-four. and other food supplies, and the
various commodities. like hemp. tools
and implements. needed for use in this
enterprising town.
Motley Crowds.
Swarthy Portuguese from the Azores
rubbed the elbows Of swarthier hanakas
from the Sandwich group. Red-1aced IN
dams jostled negroes from the vr4inlas
and Carolinas, the Nantucket natlve ana
Capa Cod folk The jargon OF many
countries was on their lips as they talked
oil-sperm oil and spermacetti from the
massive head of fierce cachalots killed IN
the South Pacific; bone and wnaiepone
from great bow-heads OF the Icy "ateIs OF
Greenland The oily smell chung to their
picturesque attire; its presence was oe-
tected by the slightest touch. an lnoescrlo-
able pungent odor hung in the ar.
IN this oil-laden atmosphere CASKS ana
butt. of every size and shape were un-
loaded from the vessels moored at the
wharves; small casks, pointed al the enos
and unearthed from inconceivabie places
in ships hold: butts as large as hogs-
heads. hoped with iron or with hickory
motley crowd of workers rolled their Slip
perry freight. only to load it again on
low broad drays, to be hauled leaking
and dripping to other wharves, Tor trans
portation to foreign and domestic ports
for SALE
There were other things besides oil 10
be discharged. Rolls of precious silks and
chests of tea had been brought over by
some enterprising captain as an extra
venture while restocking at a Chfnese
pot during his whaling cruise; valuable
merchandise from cities Of India; spices
Of Madagascar. and bags of coffee must
be cared for.
The equipment of whaler for cruise
was no easy task. for 1t meant that the
whole ship must be overhauled and
strengthened. A wise shipowner did not
risk the loss of vessel by permitting
her to depart until the craftsman mao
done everything to make her capable OF
sustaining the crew of thirty or forty
| men for two years or more in any storm
or sea. guy-rope fastened to mast
and running to a ring In the wharf ca,
Yeenec a ship almost on beam end, ana
on the exposed side the shipwrights en-
gagged in every branch of their calling.
| Masts and yards had to be scraped, rig
gings must be tarred and tested. SAILS
should be stretched and tried.
Scattered along the water front were
shops of the trades; blacksmith SHOP
where the clnk and ring of a sledge and
fame or a fire only Wed with the noise OF
the coopers adze and buzz OF the ooat-
builders saw across the way. Harpoons
| unfortunately did sometimes break. and a
chain often parted in its weakest link.
The destruction of a whaleboat at sea was
an everyday occurrence; but these things
all meant employment for many people.
When it Is stated that a single ship often
carried as many as 400 casks and bar
rels on one voyage. besides innumerable
| shocks packed inside of them-the loose
slaves headings and hoops were called
shooks-tne Importance of the cooper can
| be understood
Hempen Sails.
| The sails of vessels in, those days were
| not made of the modern white duck, but