Year: 1875

1 Ill tllc ucdlu hurry, Ouc VI tHt UOyS NdS
crushed by the blow and driven senseless
under water. When Chips came to the
surface he counted the heads and missed
one; and down in the bloody brine he
went among the sharks and tished up the
sinking body. He was a mighty swim
tmer, and, with only an oar to cling to, he
held the senseless man out of the water
from noon till sunset.


The events am going to relate occurred
on that voyage-a little more than five
years ago.


The Gazelle had been cruising for three
months few hundred miles off the coast
of Western Australia-the great penal
colony of England-and during that time
had not fallen in with single sperm
whale. One raw afternoon, with a harsh
breeze and rising sea, at last we heard
the long, sing-song cry, from the mast
owsr Four times, at regular intervals of
about forty seconds the cry was repeated !;
and then we knew it was a sperm whale.


1t was five in the evening when the first
cry was heard, and the sun went down at
halfpast six with scarcely five minutes of
twilight AS rule, on board American
whalers, when whales are seen late in the
evening, the boats are not sent down, un-
less circumstances, such as weather, moon
light, and so on, are very favorable. In
most cases the course of the whales and
the speed of their travel are carefully
noted. When ION a course" school of
sperm will move at the rate of about six
miles an hour when feeding" they keep
on the same ground" not moving more
than few miles day. When seen late
in the evening, the ship is steered during
the night according to the observations,
and often finds the school in sight in the
morning, when the boats are at once sent
down.


This course was not followed on the
evening in question. 1t was not a school
we saw, but clone whale" and one of
extraordinary size. The night promised
to be rough one, and the whales motions
were strangely irregular, as if he had lost
himself in an unknown sea.


There is something solemn and myste-
rioas in the sight of "lone whales" and
marvellous superstitions are current among
whalemen respecting them. Through
spending year after year on the great
waters, whalers become more impression
able to supernatural things than other sea-
men; aud long observation of the shoals
or schools of the vast creatures they pur-
sue tends to fill them with amazement and
awe when they meet with solitary levia-
than, who has abandoned all fellowship
with his kind, who lives by his own law
lonely, mighty and terrible.


Soon after the cry from aloft we saw the
whale from the deck, only a short dis
tance from the ship, and we might have
seen him long before had not his white,
bush-like spout been lost in the angry
whiteness that was fast spreading over the
sea.


For a moment all eyes were fastened on
the long body like great black tube over
which the waves washed. Every face was
wonder stricken at the immense size of
the whale. Capt. Clifford had been exam
ining him through glass, which he
handed in turn to each of his officers
"What do you say, Mr. Hussey?" he in
quired of the first mate, who glanced at
the setting sun and answered: go down
sir we Can do it,"


"Mr. Joseph :" and the Captain turned
to the second mate, an old Portuguese OF
extraordinary size, and perhaps the most
famous whaleman alive.


go down, sir, if we want to get that
fellow; we'll never see him again


The two other officers were younger
men, and of the same mind. There was
no time lost in further consultation.


"Swing the boatsn' shouted the old
man.


The lines and irons had already been
thrown in by the crews. A heave, ohn
and a straining sound, and in one minute
the four boats struck the water and the
men were settled on the thwarts with the
long oars out.


The sun was low and large and red, and
the whole western sea and sky were mag
nificent in crimson and gold and black
The picture was one of the finest l ever
saw The rising sea was jet black, except
where it was bloody; a broad road Of
crimson shimmered from the ship to the
sun; the long body of the whale, even
blacker than the sea, was plainly seen in
the ruddy glare; and slife was added to
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specks-the misunderstanding to 6
point as they drew near the motionless
monster.


1t was not until the boats had left the
ship that we realized how threatening was
the weather. Every moment the seas
came wilder and heavier against the yes
sci. Only now and again, as they were
lifted on sea, could we catch sight Of the
brave little boats. The breeze grew
stronger every minute and, before the tirs
boat neared the whale, was whistlinG
through the rigging in the wild way thai
tells of coming gale. The Captain re
GREETED the lowering of the boats and soor
signalled them to return. But the mer
|
Filled to the gunwale, the seas lashing
over them every moment, on they went
where only thing so nearly perfect as
whale-boat could keep afoat. As the frs
boat swung round to run down to wind
ward on the whale, the red sun stood fair
ly on the black field of ocean.


Talk about the bravery Of soldiers il
battle, or of men ashore in any enterprise
you please, what is it to the bravery o.
such deed as this? A thousand miles
from land, six men in a twenty-eight-foo
shell, coolly going down in stormy sea
to do battle with the mightiest created an
imal! 1t is the extreme of human cool
ness and courage, because it is the extreme
of danger. The soldier faces one peril
the bullet. The whaleman, in such case
as this, has three mighty enemies to fight
the sea, the gale, the whale.


We saw the harpooner of each boat
stand up as they came within hearing
distance and send in his two irons. AL
the boats were fast before the monster
seemed to feel the first blow. Then came
the fight-the cruel and unnatural figh
between vast power and cunning skill
The black water was churned white a!
the iukes struck out in rage and agony
The sun disappeared and the gall
screamed wilder in the rigging. W.
could no longer see the boats from tn
ship. The few men on board clewed VI
the light sail and took a reef in the top