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Title: Four years aboard the whaleship

Author: William B. Whitecar

Release date: September 11, 2022 [eBook #68958]

Language: English

Original publication: United States: J. B. Lippincott, 1860

Credits: MWS and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.)


*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK FOUR YEARS ABOARD THE WHALESHIP ***





  FOUR YEARS

  ABOARD THE

  WHALESHIP.

  EMBRACING

  CRUISES IN THE PACIFIC, ATLANTIC, INDIAN,
  AND ANTARCTIC OCEANS,

  IN THE YEARS

  1855,’6,’7,’8,’9.

  BY

  WILLIAM B. WHITECAR, JR.


  PHILADELPHIA:

  J. B. LIPPINCOTT & CO.

  LONDON: TRÜBNER & CO.

  1860.




  Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1859, by

  J. B. LIPPINCOTT & CO.,

  in the Clerk’s Office of the District Court of the United States for the Eastern District
  of Pennsylvania.




  TO

  MY FATHER,

  WHO HAS EVER ENCOURAGED MY LITERARY EFFORTS,

  AND

  THE FIRST TO DIRECT THEM IN A PROPER CHANNEL,

  THIS VOLUME

  Is Respectfully Dedicated by

  THE AUTHOR.




PREFACE.


Having been one of the crew of an American whaleship, I cruised on the
ocean for the four years of my life that have just elapsed. During
this long period it frequently occurred to me, and excited my wonder,
how little knowledge of the whaling-service in its practical features
was possessed by the people ashore, excepting a small portion of
those residing in cities whose maritime trade is represented almost
exclusively by whaleships.

My convictions as to the utility of an exposition of one’s daily
experience in this service--of the good, bad, and indifferent fortune,
as well as the perils of a pursuit which engages so many of our
American youth--were so forcible, that I was led, at the moment of
embarking on my voyage, to keep a log-book or journal, in which, at
the expiration of each nautical day, I noted the different employments
of the crew, manner of sailing the vessel, incidents arising in the
capturing of whales, general personal treatment, amount and quality of
provisions, and the phases of the weather in different latitudes.

Thus a description of life at sea alone came within my original
intention; but as I progressed, and became more interested in my
self-imposed task, (which, by the way, enabled me to occupy pleasantly
what would otherwise have been weary and unprofitable hours,) it seemed
to me, that my journal would not be complete, unless I should also
describe the seaman’s bearing when ashore, at liberty, and unrestrained
by discipline; and, as such a description involved adventures in
various localities of the globe, I at first was unconsciously betrayed
into a still farther enlargement of my task: namely, to incorporate
the most striking (or, rather, those in which I was most interested)
features and characteristics of the countries and people we visited.

My object, however, was merely to complete a narrative which might
be read to my relatives and friends, in the family circle, by the
homestead fireside: fancying, indeed, that it would really interest and
amuse those, whose knowledge of such incidents in a whaleman’s cruise,
both on the sea and land, was limited.

Publishing a book was not, therefore, within the object aimed at; but
through the advice of many kind (possibly, too partial) friends, I have
been induced to submit the manuscript to my generous and enterprising
publishers, who, despite its imperfections, have determined to present
it to the public.

Such being the ground upon which I have now come forward as an author,
I trust that due allowance will be made for the literary imperfections
of my book, when I further state, that the entire matter comprised in
my journal was written at sea, on a sailor’s chest, amongst seamen, by
night and by day, amid storm and calm, in localities situate between
the latitudes 41° 30´ north and 45° south, and longitudes 71° west and
170° east--embracing a wide field for observation: and comprehends
bird’s eye views in Australia, New Zealand, and other British
possessions in the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian oceans, also in the
Malay, Mascarenha, Azore, and Abrolhas’ islands.

Throughout the recital, I have confined myself entirely to facts,
without drawing on my imagination for coloring; but I have been forced,
from a fear of being too voluminous in this, my first effort, to omit
much that came under my observation during the voyage, which at some
future period I may find time to lay before the public.

Before taking leave of the subject, I would, if it were in my power,
press upon the notice of the Federal government the necessity of
cherishing and encouraging this important branch of our commerce.

If good seamen are to be formed anywhere, it is in the whaling-service
of this country. Here it is, on a three or four years’ voyage, that a
man becomes acquainted with the minutiæ of a seaman’s duty; and from
the great proportion of the time spent at sea in vessels cruising for
whales, the crew become perfectly familiar with, and wholly at home
upon, the sea.

The class of men, too, who sail from home in our whaling-vessels, being
generally well-informed men, and having home-connections, understand
and appreciate our free institutions; but it is too often the case
that, in the absence of any special inducement to remain true to
their engagement, a large proportion of the original crew desert from
the vessel. To obviate this, the government should attach a bounty
to the earnings of every sailor who remains in this service, in the
same vessel, for three years or more; and by this means foster a
class of citizens accustomed to danger and emergencies, not only in
their everyday occupation of battling with the elements, but by their
familiarization with peril in their conflicts with the Leviathan of
the deep--citizens, who would at all times be prepared to take charge
of our Navy, and defend the nation’s honor and privileges against the
world!

With these brief prefatory observations, I respectfully throw myself
upon the generosity of the reading community, and plead my novitiate in
the world of letters to secure me from too rigid a criticism.

  WILLIAM B. WHITECAR, JR.

  PHILADELPHIA, July 26th, 1859.




FOUR YEARS

ABOARD THE

WHALESHIP.




CHAPTER I.


In June, 1855, having decided upon embarking on a whaling voyage, I
took the steamboat from Philadelphia to Tacony, thence by railway to
New York, where, after a delay of a few hours, I boarded the steamer
Metropolis, and after a fine run of twelve hours, landed in Fall River;
there I entered the cars, and at five o’clock of the morning of June
20, I took up my quarters in the city of New Bedford.

I immediately instituted inquiries as to the preliminaries attendant on
the preparation for such a voyage. I soon acquired this information,
and was consigned to the tender mercies of one of that class known by
seafaring men as Land-sharks, a description of whom I shall attempt
hereafter.

This person treated me with much urbanity, desiring me to leave my
hotel to reside at a hoarding-house of his selection, stating to me at
the same time that numbers of whalemen, outward and homeward bound,
were located there. My suspicions were slightly aroused regarding the
accommodations of this boarding-house, by the earnestness with which
he urged my locating in it; but no other inducement was requisite
for me to coincide with his wishes than the one he last named; I
being desirous, before going afloat, to mingle and converse with the
initiated, to learn, if possible, something concerning the profession
in which I was about to embark. So, without more ado, I proceeded to
this domicile, which was located on South Water Street. It was kept
by a widow lady, who, for the moderate sum of four dollars per week,
for each, furnished just such edibles as you do not get at the Girard,
in Philadelphia, or the Metropolitan, in New York. The meat was, in
nine cases out of ten, salted; she wishing, in the abundance of her
forethought, to render the salt junk, which she knew would form the
principal article of our diet when at sea, agreeable to our palates;
or, on the other hand, desiring to give us a predisposition to scurvy
ere yet we were aboard ship. These motives were variously assigned by
we tyros as the cause for the over-proportion of the saline in our
food; as for those who had been at sea before, they appeared to relish
the old lady’s corned pork and beef, and if we made any remark to them
in reference to its profusion, they would answer us pertinently, “You
will eat worse grub than that, old fellow, before you have done with
whaling;” and these prophetic words ofttimes recurred to my memory
months, ay, years, afterward. Do not think, kind reader, that I was
rendered fastidious by former indulgence; far from it. I had made up
my mind to a change of diet, but not to so great a one; for in the
four weeks that I remained in this house, we never had but one meal
of fresh meat--it was fried beefsteak; and even that the cook and a
supernumerary, who had been engaged to assist him, with the aid of a
jug of New England rum, managed to burn to a cinder, so that we were
compelled to resort to our old provender.

As soon as my companion and myself had become members of this
household, we, with our assiduous friend the Shark, proceeded to the
agent’s, with whom he wished us to engage, and after being approved
by the Captain, and having made inquiries as to the character of the
vessel and her commander, we enrolled our names upon the articles of
the Barque Pacific, of New Bedford, Captain John W. Sherman, bound to
the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans, to cruise for sperm and right
whales. The vessel was of three hundred and eighty tons burthen,
capable of carrying three thousand barrels of oil, and fitted out for
forty months; she was then undergoing thorough repairs, having but two
months previously returned from a voyage of thirty months’ duration,
in which she had been very successful; and this, with several previous
very remunerative voyages, had given her the name of a lucky ship,
which insured her a good crew; seamen, as a class, being superstitious,
are always eager to sail in a ship with which some favorable omen is,
or has been, connected, auguring from such data her subsequent success.

As she would not be ready for sea for about three weeks after I
had joined her, I had plenty of leisure time to look around me.
The principal objects in my eyes were, of course, the wharves and
shipping; and, indeed, the scene there presented was one of interest
to any observer; bustle and activity was everywhere apparent; ships
loading, discharging, repairing, &c., in every direction. Here one
might be seen hove on her beam-ends, receiving a new copper jacket;
another totally dismantled, preparatory to receiving new spars; on
another the riggers were aloft at work, with their merry song; below,
still another might be seen weather-beaten and shabby, her copper
covered with moss and barnacles, she having returned but a few hours
before from a long voyage, and the casks being hoisted from her hold
contain part of her cargo of oil, gleaned, during her four years of
cruising, from the monsters of the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, Arctic,
and Antarctic Oceans. Alongside this weatherworn ship, and in strong
contrast with her whole appearance, lies a smart, trim-looking vessel,
such a one as makes Jack Tar’s heart bound to look at; her hull is
perfect in model, her spars all rake jauntily aft, her yards are
squared by the lifts and braces, whilst the fresh appearance of her
paint gives her a coquettish look and bespeaks her ready for sea.
They are now putting aboard of her the remnant of her provisions not
yet stowed; and as we pass up the gangway we come in contact with a
sailor’s chest being conveyed aboard under the Argus eyes of its hardy
owner, who forms one of her crew.

On the wharves hundreds of coopers are employed coopering oil casks.
Their continual strokes of hammer upon driver, united with the heavy
rolling of the oil trucks, creating a Babel-like confusion from which a
stranger is glad to escape.

Whichever way we cast an eye we see oil casks or whalebone, harpoons
or lances, or some one or other of the various et ceteras belonging to
the whaleman’s pursuit; in fact, the yield of the whale supports New
Bedford, and is the nucleus around which clusters all the manufactures
of the city; and its vitality as a community must ever depend upon the
number of vessels it sends out in pursuit of the whale. After gazing
again and again at these objects, to me so interesting, I diverted
myself by walking through the town, with no other object but to kill
time--hours seeming days, and days months, that intervened between
this time and the day fixed for our departure; in fact, I had become
so infatuated with the idea of going to sea, that I viewed everything
through a glass whose tint was blue--blue water always dancing and
rippling before my mind’s eye. In my perambulations through this
city of whalemen I found that it was laid out with something like
care--the streets, like those of Philadelphia, at right angles; many
of the houses neat and well built, and, with the exception of a part
of one street near the river, wear a quiet and respectable aspect.
One street is an exception to the rule, it being occupied by houses
of ill-fame, where many a dollar, earned by exposure to the storm on
a long voyage, has been filched from the hardy mariner by the harpies
who occupy its tenements; and after what I had always read and heard of
the puritanical exactness of our New England brethren, I confess that
I was astonished that such a sink was permitted by the citizens of the
Bay State to remain in existence for the unsophisticated seaman to be
entrapped by. A liquor law had been passed by the legislature of the
State of Massachusetts, and whilst I was in New Bedford was professedly
in operation--but only professedly, as numbers of houses existed
wherein liquor was sold, which, from their public location, must have
been known to the authorities.

At my boarding-house, arrivals were continually occurring of young
men, from various parts of the Union, to embark on board whale-ships.
I viewed with regret the extreme youth of many of them. There is a
systematized mode of procedure carried on in our larger Atlantic and
Lake cities, for the purpose of recruiting this service. Shipping
agents engage young men, taking advantage of their inexperience or
necessities, paint whaling and its appurtenances in vivid colors,
induce them to sign their names, and then convey them to New Bedford;
and when they come to review their outfit bills, they will find a
charge of from ten to fourteen dollars for the agent’s services. Among
the arrivals at our house was one from Western Pennsylvania, who talked
sailor, walked sailor, and dressed sailor, rolling when he walked so as
almost to take in a pocketful of sand on each side, and wore an immense
kedge anchor on his neckerchief; he was looked at by the inexperienced
as a prodigy, but by old sailors with a contemptuous expression, always
accompanied by the remark, “Too much salt water there.” This individual
was afterward the most miserable poltroon in our ship, and despite his
vauntings of personal qualifications as a seaman, lashed himself with
a yard arm gasket to the main topgallant rigging whilst engaged in
furling the main topgallant sail. Such is generally the case--men who
talk loudly of their ability ashore are apt to be inefficient at sea.

And now, after remaining until wearied out, our ship is ready to sail
to-morrow. As is customary on the day before sailing, each man proceeds
to his outfitter and procures his clothing; the owners usually allow
to the foremast hands an advance of seventy-five dollars, for which
the foremast hand gives the outfitter an order, and receives his
clothing. The Shark, or outfitter, charges double the price of good,
for worthless articles, which must be taken at his prices, as there is
no redress. By the time the foremast hands’ board-bill and pocket-money
are deducted from his advance, the wardrobe he is able to procure is
slender and insufficient, so that in the course of a few months he will
be compelled to resort to the slop-chest, where, if the ship has been
successful, he will be eagerly welcomed--the more so, as the Captain is
often interested in the profits of the slop-chest; if unsuccessful, and
he has a liberal Captain, his necessities will be supplied; if, on the
other hand, he should be parsimonious, scowling looks will be all the
relief he gets, and he will be forced to beg from his shipmates, who
will not allow him to suffer, although the prudent are cautious, as in
a three years’ voyage every man must be careful of his effects, as they
constitute his capital.

Having procured our outfits about three o’clock in the afternoon of
Monday, July 23d, we went aboard, desiring to pass one night on the
vessel before she sailed. Soon after we hauled out into the stream,
and were towed by a steamboat down to Clarke’s Point, where we let go
our larboard anchor. During the afternoon others of the crew arrived,
amongst them a fine-looking old tar who knew the ropes, and had a
three gallon jug of New England rum stowed away in his chest, which,
as soon as carried into the forecastle, he produced and passed around
time after time, until all those who would imbibe were more than half
seas over, making night hideous with their discordant clang. At noon
the next day the Captain and others came aboard in the pilot boat. The
sails were loosed, windlass manned, anchor hove up to the inspiriting
chant. We are bound to the Western Ocean, and soon the old Pacific was
aweigh and off to sea again, leaving the land of her flag far in the
distance.

All was bustle and confusion aboard the ship, we having no less than
fourteen green hands, and the few foremast hands who had before
followed the sea were so overcome by the ardent that they were useless;
so that the officers were obliged in almost every case to execute their
own orders. We were blessed with a head wind, and were obliged to beat
out of the bay, and, with the consequent hurry and excitement attendant
on tacking ship, little leisure was left to us for reflection; but
as the sun sank low in the horizon, and the blue hills of the land
of my birth, and love, and veneration--the home of me and mine--were
gradually becoming more and more indistinct--as I looked around me on
the expanse of water, extending on every side, I felt alone; and then,
and not till then, did I feel the momentous character of what I had
undertaken; then I bethought me of the thousand little comforts of
home, the many kindnesses I had received from relatives and friends,
and I leaned my head on the bulwarks, and felt as if I knew what
desolation and heart-sickness were for the first time. This state of
affairs could not last long, so I rallied and attempted to look brave
and careless; but the effort was vain, for if any person had taken the
trouble to look at my lugubrious countenance, they could have seen,
that under an attempted careless exterior I carried an aching breast;
but all hands were too fully occupied by their personal feelings to
notice me, and so it passed unremarked.

Towards evening, that most annoying and distressing of all petty
maladies--viz., sea-sickness, made its appearance amongst our green
hands; having experienced it before, I escaped with but little
annoyance; not so with some other poor fellows, and amongst those I
noticed the person I mentioned before, who claimed so intimate an
acquaintance with the sea, utterly prostrated; a few hours previous he
was the blithest of the party, and was singing with great zest--

  “A life on the ocean wave,
  And a home on the rolling deep.”

but now, alas! he was tuneless, and almost breathless; but I imagined
that had he been able to sing, the burden of his lay would have been--

  “The sea, the sea, the horrid sea.”

This individual, from a circumstance which I have before alluded to,
had received the appellation of Kedge Anchor, or Cage Anchor, or it was
sometimes abbreviated to Cage; and as he will figure repeatedly as I
proceed, I may as well at the outset give him the cognomen by which he
was known during his stay aboard with us. His sickness, and ludicrous
exclamations of “I wish I was on the steam-wagon again” (he had
formerly been brakeman on the New York and Erie Railroad), and pathetic
entreaties to be allowed to die in peace, when desired to do anything,
excited the mirth of all, no sympathy being tendered to him except in
one instance, when one of the seamen offered him a pint of salt water,
assuring him it was a cordial; a mouthful was sufficient to undeceive
him, he spat out the nauseating draught, and the queer expression he
wore on his phiz, and no less queer entreaty to take the darned thing
away, were so humorous as to shock his auditors into merriment, and
secured him against farther molestation.

The reason that so many green hands are shipped in vessels engaged in
this trade, is, that they are to be engaged for a trifling proportion
of the vessel’s earnings, and the great difficulty of procuring those
who have before been to sea, to go before the mast a second time; no
man whomsoever, if he can make any pretensions to mediocrity, being
obliged a second time to go before the mast; he is always qualified for
the post of boat-steerer, and can attain it without any trouble; and
those who are not disgusted with their first voyage and have a particle
of energy or ambition in their composition, invariably do so; and from
boatsteerer gradually ascend to be captains. Whaling is, in fact, a
progressive service, and although the probation comprises the best
part of a man’s life, yet the pinnacle of their fame is an honorable
one; and as the boys who are educated in New Bedford are brought up
with the idea that to be a whaling skipper is the _ne plus ultra_ of
all stations in life, so they consider it as the acme of all their
ambitious hopes.

At dusk the captain called the ship’s company aft, and addressed them
to the effect, that we were all together bound on a long voyage, in
all probability to last for years, and he considered it as necessary
that we should at the outset fully understand each other. He then
went on to say that all hands should receive a sufficient supply of
such provision as was in the ship, so long as it was not wasted. He
stated that none of the crew forward should be misused or imposed
upon by the officers. He then told us, that if there were any rascals
in the crew he should detect them; and concluded by stating that as
long as we used him well, he should return the compliment, and vice
versa. This was plane sailing, and all understood him. Immediately
afterward the watches, chosen from the boatsteerers and crew by the
chief mate and second mate, were set; the chief mate had the first
choice; the second mate, who heads the captain’s watch, succeeded him:
at the same time the boats’ crews were chosen by the officers, as
before, the chief mate having the first choice, and so in succession
according to rank, until the fourth mate had chosen. In many ships
that carry four boats the captain heads his own; but most, like us,
have a fourth mate, who supplies his place. But to return to setting
the watches, which took place at seven o’clock, P.M.; the starboard,
or captain’s watch, headed by the second, assisted by the fourth
mate, comprising half the foremast hands and two boatsteerers, had the
first turn in. On being ushered into the steerage or forecastle, those
who had been in the habit of having soft beds and comfortable bedding
provided for them by the hands of affectionate mothers, although
somewhat prepared for a difference, were surprised at their sleeping
accommodations--rude boxes, or rather berths, built to the sides of the
ship, about five feet long, and two and a half in width, furnished with
a pair of blankets, a quilt, and a bed, which, according to the amount
of attention paid to the outfit of the occupant, varied from a hair
mattress in one case, to the common corn husk or straw tick. However,
this was no time to soliloquize over past comforts, so all bundled in
without ceremony; and in a short time, from the unusual exercise of
the day, to judge from the nasal organism floating through the air,
profound slumber reigned throughout the between-decks of the ship. And
now, that one half the ship’s company are enclosed in the embraces
of Morpheus, we will glance round and take a peep at our vessel and
crew. The vessel, as I before mentioned, is an old fashioned barque,
built to ply as a packet between New York and Liverpool, which duty
she performed with faithfulness and satisfaction to her owners; and in
her palmiest days bore the reputation of being the fastest ship out
of New York; but the improvements in ship-building necessitated her
owners to dispose of an old and faithful servant, and replace her with
a modern modelled craft--safer could not be. She was bought by a New
Bedford merchant, who, after altering her for the purpose, put her into
the whaling trade, where for years she maintained her reputation as
a swift sailer, until clippers were introduced to compete with her,
when, of course, she was obliged to succumb. From this port she made
many successful voyages, enriching her owners and increasing her good
name, until 1855, at which time she was fifty-three years old, and
with the exception of being new topped and coppered, the latter at the
completion of each voyage, she had undergone no repairs. Her great age
attests to her staunchness and seaworthiness, and by all who had sailed
in her the greatest confidence was ever expressed.

On board of her was every article for the maintenance of men whose
principal resources for forty months lay in her cargo. There was, in
the iron implement line, everything that is used at sea, from a needle
to an anchor; clothing of all kinds and sizes; provisions, muskets,
ammunition; tawdry articles to trade with the semi-civilized natives of
the East India and Madagascar Isles; tin ware, soap, shoes, tobacco,
and saddles for the inhabitants of Australia; also sails, rigging,
spare boats, and all other necessaries to equip and enable her to
sustain herself for three years. Whalers, unless some serious accident
befalls, do not usually enter ports where their necessities can be
supplied at other than exorbitant prices, except the last one, where
they always calculate to dispose of surplus provisions, boats, and
rigging: being in a hurry to get home, they make some port of note so
as to be detained as short a time as possible in getting rid of them.
The reason for touching at obscure places, is the great danger of
losing men by desertion, which always occurs in commercial ports.

Besides all these she carried outboard four boats pendant from davits,
resting on cranes; one on the starboard quarter, which gives it its
name; one on the port quarter, called the larboard boat, is the chief
mate’s; directly forward of it, on the larboard side, are the waist
and bow boats--the former headed by the second, the latter by the
third mate; the starboard boat is headed by the Captain or fourth
mate, as the case may be. Each boat has a crew of four men, beside
the boatsteerer and officer, and carries two tubs of line, harpoons,
lances, boat spade, hatchet, knives, keg with water, keg containing
lantern, matches, candles, tobacco, pipes, bread, and a drug. Having
now pretty closely analyzed our vessel and her cargo, we will glance
over the inmates. The Captain, a large, powerful man, with a face
apparently expressive of frankness and good nature. The chief mate,
J. B. H., a young man of twenty-six, rather below the medium height,
with an eye like a hawk, quick to think and quick to act--a first-rate
officer. D. E., the second mate, a corpulent man, below the average
height, with an excellent mind and noble heart. The third mate, J.
D., formerly boatsteerer in this ship on her preceding voyage, and
the fourth mate, C. A., both powerful, hearty fellows, energetic and
pushing, putting their shoulders to the wheel on all occasions where
strong hands and brave hearts are wanted; these, with the steward,
inhabited the cabin or after part of the between decks of the ship. All
were Massachusetts men; none of them had ever learned trades, or been
employed in business ashore, but had pursued their perilous profession
from boyhood up, in every ocean and in every clime, from the frozen
north to the frozen south, and, hitherto, had always been successful.

The boatsteerers were four in number, two of whom had before steered
boats and made voyages in that position; the remaining two had each
sailed one voyage before the mast--one of them in this same good old
barque, to the frozen realms of the Ice king, in the Arctic Ocean,
whence the vessel returned, in the course of thirty months, with four
thousand five hundred barrels of oil; these four, with the cooper,
occupied the steerage, an apartment directly forward of the cabin.

The foremast hands, eighteen in number, of whom but four had ever
been to sea before, were a youthful, reckless, merry set, from all
over the Union. We had but two foreigners, Germans, in the ship--the
cook, and one of the crew. Many of the youngsters were New Bedford
boys, performing this voyage as apprentices. With the exception of
the Captain and old Jack Miller, as hardy an old tar as ever stepped
a ratline, and who could spin a yarn to order that would put Baron
Munchausen to the blush, there was not a married man, or one who was
over twenty-six years of age aboard the ship. To attempt, with the
exception of the Massachusetts men, to assign a reason for any of our
shipmates’ choosing whaling as a profession, would be mere conjecture.
Any one could see at a glance they were neither poverty-stricken
nor indolent; but on examining their features, a roving unsettled
expression might be detected by a close observer, on the lineaments of
each--a certain love of change, so all-absorbing with most young men;
nor were they on the whole ignorant, as I found by conversation--all
being thoroughly conversant with the leading topics of the day, and
each, like every true American, had his individual opinion of the
merits of newspaper notorieties, politics, and other matters that
engross the American mind; but we left them fast asleep, and as I, in
the interim, have spun a long yarn, it is time to conclude, as the
helmsman sings out “Eight bells.” A hoarse call is now heard at the
forecastle of “Starbowlines, ahoy!” and as the breeze has freshened
and the vessel is gently pitching, we will step into the forecastle
and criticise the appearance of our green hands. Part of them are
out of their bunks indulging in the most lachrymose expressions,
scarce able to dress, for fear the vessel’s motion will destroy their
equilibrium--and “I wish I was at home,” is the general cry; some
cannot muster resolution enough to get out of their berths, others have
thus far succeeded, but only to resume a recumbent position on their
chests, whilst a few with set teeth and praiseworthy resolution, manage
to get upon deck, and grasp the rigging on the fife rail enclosing
the foremast; there they stand, incapable of altering their position,
hanging on with a pertinacity worthy of a better cause, staring in
stupid vacancy at all around them, and when receiving an officer’s
order, acknowledging it by a sickly, unmeaning grin, to express their
willingness, but inability to perform. Officers are required to
exercise the utmost patience and forbearance in the management of such
a crew; instead of an active, able ship’s company, such as they have
been accustomed to sail with, here they have an assortment of men,
ignorant of a single rope in the ship, who are just as much acquainted
with the rigging as with Greek and Hebrew, knowing as much about the
cook’s leg as the cook’s nose, and more about the boy than the buoy,
and as like as not when ordered to heave the buoy overboard to heave
the boy. I have seen many laughable mistakes occur amongst our boys
when first out; do not think I take a sailor’s privilege and draw a
long bow, as I am at the same time included with these worthies--I
being, at the time of leaving home, as verdant as any of the rest. I
have seen them when ordered to haul down the flying jib, grasp the
spanker halyards, and spend any quantity of pulling and hauling upon
it, wondering at the same time why the darned thing did not come down;
their only mistake in this case was hoisting the aftermost sail in the
ship instead of lowering the foremost. With our officers, as a general
thing, these errors passed off good humoredly; but, as I said before,
they were required to use all their forbearance to repress their anger
at our lubberly mistakes; nor would it have been surprising, all things
taken into consideration, had they let out at us occasionally, and
I doubt much if Job, who, by the Book of books, is spoken of as the
most patient man of antiquity, were he afloat with a green crew, who
misunderstood all he said to them, and who in the multiplicity of their
ideas would attempt to haul up the mainsail with the spanker vang, or
clew down a topsail with the slab line--I say, I doubt whether even
he, the said Job, would not find his stock of patience, noted as he
was for that virtue, oozing out at his fingers ends, and be tempted to
anathematize their lubberly eyes in a heartfelt and seamanlike manner.
In a short time, however, things began to wear a totally different
aspect; improvement was the order of the day--each tried to excel the
other. This spirit of emulation was productive of the most beneficial
results to everybody, and in a short time we had an efficient crew,
perfectly competent to battle with the combined forces of Boreas and
Neptune.

When three days out, we spoke the ship Monmouth, of Bath; she was a
fine-looking ship, running free, with the wind on her quarter, and
everything alow and aloft drawing, presenting a beautiful sight.

On the fourth day out, whilst crossing the Gulf Stream, we were struck
by a squall, prevalent in that latitude. All hands were called, and
as this was our first trip aloft, we ascended the rigging with fear
and trembling--holding on to the shrouds as if it was our intention to
squeeze all the tar out of the rigging. When on the yards we were of
little use, carrying out the landlubbers’ motto to the letter, of both
hands for yourself and the rest for the owners. We all hung on like
good fellows, and if it had depended upon us to reef the sail it would
not have been done till now.

The first Sunday intervening after our departure from home, proved
a bright, beautiful day, the sun rising in gorgeous splendor. After
breakfast the chief mate went throughout the crew, and gave to all
who were not already provided, a Bible or Testament, also tracts and
religious papers. These books, I believe, were supplied by a Tract
Society, in New Bedford, who customarily place the word of God aboard
every ship that leaves the harbor. The books were all received with
thankfulness; and I will here take occasion to state that I never
heard a sailor speak irreverently of the Bible. Men aboard ship I have
heard do so, but only in three instances, and in those cases they
were neither sailors nor landsmen--incapable of filling a respectable
position on either element; therefore their opinions were of little
weight.

Directly after we got outside, the peculiarity of the great Yankee
nation began to manifest itself, and divers trades and speculations
were set afloat; the ship’s company having been transformed into an
Israelite assemblage worthy of South Street, Philadelphia, or Chatham
Street, New York, bartering for and exchanging old and new clothes.
Money is not a medium aboard a whale-ship, and the possessor of it
usually stows it away in the corner of his chest as so much dross,
of no value to him. Tobacco takes its place and is the currency; an
article being valued, not at so many dollars, but at so many pounds
and plugs of tobacco--thus substituting a vegetable for a metallic
currency; and as most men coming to sea, whether they use the weed or
not, provide themselves with a considerable quantity of it, some of the
old hands accumulated quite a stock; several of them numbering their
acquisitions by the hundred pounds. As they did not assign a motive
for hoarding it, I wondered at the propensity, but was not enlightened
until we made an Australian port, where, on account of the inferior
article imported, and the high duty, making the price per pound treble
of the best tobacco in the States, theirs, by smuggling it ashore, was
readily disposable at a good return.

Gambling, too, soon developed itself, and after a hard day’s work, or
when the gale was piping through the ringing, and the waves surging and
hissing in ocean’s cauldron, rendering the vessel’s motion unsteady, so
that the participators in the game could scarce retain their seats, I
have seen a half-dozen seated around a chest (or, in sailor’s parlance,
donkey), a pile of tobacco in the centre, shuffling a pack of dirty,
greasy cards, playing bluff or all-fours, and watching the game as if
their very existence depended on the winning or losing a few pounds
of tobacco. By this operation the green hands were the losers, of
course; those who had been to sea before working together, and always
making the game profitable to themselves; therefore, those who had not
strength of mind to refrain, were soon stripped of all their tobacco;
and I remember, one evening, seeing a man, after losing all his stock,
pull his shirt off his back and sell it for tobacco to continue the
game. This being speedily dissipated, his under-shirt was disposed
of in the same way. We, who did not take part in the game, stood it
as long as we could, as the usual attendants to a game of chance,
high words and quarrelling were rife; we finally began to complain,
when the captain, to avoid disturbance, offered a pound of tobacco
for every pack of cards that should be brought to him. This had the
desired effect, and we had the satisfaction of seeing the cards hove
overboard and lightly floating astern. We congratulated ourselves on
this amelioration of discomfort; but an inventive genius from New
Jersey, becoming, as he said, oppressed with ennui, manufactured a set
of dominoes from a sperm whale’s jaw; another contrived dice; whilst
a third made a checker-board; a fourth originated a sweat-table; and
thus we were attended by this evil throughout the voyage--the only
intermission being Sundays and the time occupied in capturing and
taking care of whales.

When a week out from home a false alarm was raised of “There she
blows! There she blows!” continued for some twenty or thirty times in
succession, at intervals of about thirty seconds. The boatsteerer on
the maintopgallant crosstrees, on being asked “Where away,” by the
captain, answered, “Two points on the lee bow, about two miles off.”
All hands were called, the lines put into the boats; they were then
hoisted, swung and lowered, the crew following the boats down the
sides of the ship, and leaping in the moment they touched the water;
then shoving off and pulling in the direction of the fish. Soon the
boatsteerer was ordered to stand up, then to give it to him, then to
give him the other iron; and then we found that there had been no
whales seen, but that the whole affair was arranged to familiarize
us with boat duty, so that we might be acquainted with the rigmarole
when occasion required. At first but little order or regulation was
observed, each one pulling on his own hook; but after some little
instruction we managed to make the boat go ahead without describing
half a dozen circles before starting. As we became warm with the
exercise, the old hands grew excited, and gave their short, quick
orders of “Give it to him! Stern, stern all--hard! Stern, men, for your
lives!” with as much enthusiasm as if a sperm whale was in reality
spouting under the head of the boat. The day being fine all hands were
delighted with the sport, particularly so our New Bedford boys; and
after coming aboard and hoisting our boats to a merry song, no doubt
more than one aspirant to the heading of a boat, went to his pillow to
dream of future successes, and turn up whales in imagination by scores.
Their ambition is pardonable, too, as, in the section of country in
which they reside, a successful whaling skipper is looked upon as a
much more important personage in the community than is a member of
Congress; and I do not doubt that if the choice of the appellations
Honorable and Captain were tendered to the youths of New Bedford and
its vicinity, nine-tenths of them would prefer the latter; nor does he,
in thus devoting himself to whaling as a profession, embrace an easy
mode of gaining a livelihood. He must be no mere carpet knight, but
must stand prepared to give and receive hard knocks; and combat, not
only with the winds and waves (the task of ordinary sailors), but with
the monarch of the seas--the great sperm whale; nor must he betray, no
matter how perilous his position may hap to be during an encounter with
leviathan, the slightest evidence of fear, as such a symptom would make
him a butt for rude personal jokes, which would drive him, by their
pointedness and sarcasm, out of the service; but he must view every
position into which he is thrown, and every peril to which he may be
subjected, with as much indifference as if it were of no importance to
him, and he will acquire a reputation for fearlessness and coolness,
which invariably, no matter what his faults may be, will gain him
respect both from officers and crew; sailors, as a class, admiring
reckless courage, and although they will always follow where an officer
in whom they have confidence leads, the slightest suspicion of their
leader’s capability or courage is sufficient to damp their ardor,
and cause them to act with lukewarm efforts. I do not mean to cast a
stigma on the well-won reputation of seamen for courage, but from the
discipline of a well-regulated ship, the seaman is taught to look up to
his officers, who, in his eyes, bear all the responsibility, and thus
in a measure he regulates all his motions by that of his superior, and
if anything goes wrong, imputes the error to its proper source. They
possess an old and familiar proverb--viz., “Obey orders if you break
owners,” and nine-tenths of seafaring men adopt it to the letter, and
thus avoid blame.

Two weeks after leaving home we were startled at about six o’clock
A. M., by the look-outs at the fore and maintopgallant cross-trees
singing out, “There blows! there blows! there blows!” continuously, at
intervals of about thirty seconds. After about ten minutes of vocal
execution, they cried out, “There goes flukes,” emphasizing with great
force the second word in the sentence. This was confirmatory of the
presence of sperm whales, and as their yield is by far greater in value
than that obtained from any other fish, we of course were anxious to
capture one or more of them. After considerable manœuvring on our part,
attended by excitement and bustle, three boats were lowered away.
Several hours were fruitlessly spent in pulling and sailing, when the
chase was given up as hopeless, the whales going faster to windward
than we could pursue them. The weather was threatening, the sea
boisterous, and therefore our seats in the boat were neither pleasant
nor dry; consequently, at the expiration of three and a half hours,
we returned to the ship. As I stepped aboard of her I felt that I had
reached home, and ever after that, as long as I belonged to her, home
and the old barkey were to me synonymous terms.

Whilst in the boats I saw a whale breach or leap bodily into the air,
his vast bulk appearing in bas relief, suspended for a moment in mid
air--the sky above, the sea beneath--and although it was not so perfect
a display of the creature’s immensity and power as I often afterwards
witnessed, still I was struck with the greatness of the Creator’s works
in this, to us, almost unknown element.

Soon after our incursion on the sperm whale territory we lowered for
blackfish, but were unsuccessful. This is not our legitimate pursuit,
but is always done in good weather when a ship has a green crew; and in
many instances the captain makes it a point to lower for and capture
them whenever the opportunity presents itself. This is a beautiful
fish, from twelve to twenty-five feet in length; always seen in immense
numbers herding together, as if for mutual protection; they have a jet
black, smooth, and shining skin, unmarred by a wrinkle, which in the
sun presents a beautiful appearance, and from it they derive their
name. The shape of their head reminds me of a pug-nosed dog. Unlike
the sperm whale they have both jaws furnished with teeth. A full grown
fish yields from two to five barrels of oil. Their meat is palatable
to my taste, although I could not recommend it to an epicure ashore;
nor would I, I think, partake of it anywhere but on board ship, when
long deprivation from fresh food makes anything, not saturated by salt,
a luxury. It is in appearance somewhat like beef, but coarser; it is
minced with pork and fried in balls about the size of the sausage
exposed for sale in our markets, and in this state its advent is hailed
by all aboard with great gusto.

Their oil is very little inferior to that of the sperm whale; indeed,
although I have never analyzed it, and speak merely from observation,
I think if the same care and attention were paid to trying out the
blackfish oil as is accorded to the preparation of sperm oil, it would
be found that the oil of the former possesses all the good qualities of
the latter. At least the experiment is worthy a trial.

On the 12th of August, 1855, we novices saw for the first time a
foreign shore. Its appearance was detected by an experienced hand
long before our eyes could discern it, and when, finally, they were
pointed out to us, it was with no little difficulty that we could
be led to believe the two islands other than clouds. They proved to
be Corvo and Flores, of the Azore group, or as they are familiarly
known, the Western Islands. They belong to Portugal, which rules them
with an iron hand, carrying away the flower of the youth born here to
support the throne in Europe. The next day we made land, and signaled
the barque Henry Taber, that left New Bedford on the same day as
ourselves. We passed her and stood close in to the Island of Flores.
When within about ten miles of the land, a boat containing a dozen
swarthy, grinning, chattering Portuguese, boarded us, who, immediately
on touching deck, made for the forecastle, and dove into the bread
barge, devouring all it contained and greedily inquiring for more. This
modest demand not being complied with, they offered for sale fruits,
comprising apples, oranges, lemons, limes, figs, melons, grapes and
tomatoes; also straw hats, milk, and aguardiente. They brought us,
amongst other edibles, an anomaly known to sailors as jackass cheese;
it is in round cakes, about three inches in diameter, and of the color
of cheese made from cow’s milk, although totally dissimilar in taste to
any other cheese I have eaten. As regards its origin, whether produced
from John Horse, goat, or cow’s milk, I cannot aver, neither do I care;
but its general good taste and appetizing qualities I can vouch for
from having partaken of it. After a short time another boat appeared,
bringing us eggs and fowls (and knowing a sailor’s preference for
potables), aguardiente and sour wine. These additions to our usual sea
fare, made us an excellent meal. For all these dainties these people
were willing to receive tobacco, which, on account of the monopoly of
the trade in that article by the government, commands a high price.
They are obliged to smuggle it ashore, but from the careless manner in
which they stowed it away I should think that little surveillance is
exercised towards the inhabitants by the excise officers; whilst an
American or European is pretty thoroughly searched on landing, to see
that he does not carry the contraband article.

At about ten A. M. the captain went ashore with a boat’s crew, for
the purpose of purchasing stores for the ship, excellent potatoes and
onions being produced in this genial climate, and from the little
intercourse these people hold with the rest of mankind, can be obtained
at a mere nominal price. On nearing the shore we found the coast rocky
and precipitous, covered with herbage of the richest green; a heavy
surf was beating on the rocks, but we landed by the assistance of the
Portuguese, who fearlessly plunged into the water and hauled our boat
ashore. We found on the beach a concourse of dark and light, young and
old, male and female, assembled to meet us; all shoeless, and many of
them hatless; all making a noise and bounding from cliff to cliff with
little less agility than the goats, of which great numbers are kept
for the sake of their milk and skins. On proceeding to the town, the
name of which I never could discover, not having seen an American who
knew, or a Portuguese who could tell me what it was, although I have
asked the question frequently, always with the same result, we found
that it was built without regard to order or regularity--the buildings
of stone. Many plats of ground were surrounded by immense stone walls;
some of these plats are not more than sixteen feet square, but are
enclosed by walls two feet thick, reminding one of the masonry in the
German castles of romance. At the town we saw little to attract except
the merry appearance of the female, and scowling expression of the male
inhabitants; the men looking upon us, it seemed, as intruders, and
desiring but little intercourse with us; the women, although barefooted
and with hair unkempt, their negligent dress exposing rather more of
their persons than accordant with modesty, were more than affable;
every article of our apparel that was exposed to their view being made
by them a price for which they were willing to prostitute themselves;
and so pertinacious were they, that it was with difficulty a sheath
knife was wrested from one of them by a blushing boy of our party to
whom their immodest offers (having but three weeks previously left
the bosom of a virtuous family of mother and sisters), sounded like
sacrilege, and, as he afterwards expressed himself, absolutely appalled
him. We saw little evidence of cultivation in the town; but upon
inquiry were informed, as well as their broken English could enlighten
us, that the produce grew higher up--in the mountains. To scale these
we were not adventurous enough; so we sat down, and, after some
bargaining, procured boiled eggs, fruit, bread, and sour wine, on which
we made a hearty repast. I observed about the town cows, pigs, and
dogs, but neither jackass nor donkey; so I do not think the aforesaid
long-eared gentleman possesses the right or title to claim the
paternity of the world-renowned jackass cheese; although seamen, in a
spirit of vagary, have given to it the appellation of that intellectual
animal.

In the afternoon we went off to the ship, got our onions and potatoes
aboard, and carried with us two Portuguese boys, about seventeen years
of age--one of whom goes into the forecastle to do duty as a foremast
hand, the other, into the steerage as steerage boy. Great numbers of
young men are carried off from these islands annually, by American
whaleships, the government demanding of each young man, born in the
islands, a certain amount of military duty in Europe. To emancipate
themselves from this irksome service they join whalers, as after an
absence on the part of one, during which he has acquired the English
language, he is exempted from military duty. Whether the government
does this to encourage the development of knowledge, or that, after a
tarry on his part amongst the republican Americans, they think him too
liberal in sentiment to mingle with other servants of their despotic
rule, I cannot say. When these people first come aboard the ship they
are indifferently dressed, and invariably barefooted; when those we
shipped were supplied with an outfit of sea clothes, they were greatly
astonished and delighted. They are a very economical people, and by
dint of washing for others, patching, at which in a short time they
become adepts, and other little jobs, they soon become possessed of
a large amount of clothing, which they hoard up and gloat over as a
miser would his gold. They are shipped for little or nothing as regards
remuneration, scarcely anything being said about a lay on either
side; but the captain, if generous, will always make them a liberal
allowance on the ship’s arriving at New Bedford. They are generally
strong and able-bodied, and make good working-hands to pull and haul,
but, except in rare instances, do not rise in position above steering
a boat; although there are several ships at present sailing out of New
Bedford whose masters are Portuguese by birth, yet in each instance,
I am informed by good authority, they were taken from the islands at
a very early age, and sent to school in America between voyages. When
they first come aboard they look thin and cadaverous, probably from
their almost entire diet being vegetable; but in a short time, from
prodigious indulgence of their appetites for flesh, they become round
and sleek. Their attenuated appearance has led to the standing joke
amongst sailors, that if you want a Portuguese crew, all you have to do
is to run close in to one of the Western Islands, heave a hook and line
overboard baited with fat pork, and in a few minutes you will catch as
many as you want. To tell the Portuguese this is considered by them as
a bitter affront, they always magnifying their position ashore, I do
not know how many times, making everything _grand_, as they express
it. To illustrate their passion for meat, I shall not go into figures
as regards the consumption, as few, if any, would credit my bare
assertion; but I will state that one of the boys gained sixty pounds in
weight during the first five months he was with us.

If there be only one or two of this race aboard, and they are separated
in different parts of the ship, and not allowed too frequently to
converse with each other, they soon acquire English and become useful;
but if there are half a dozen together in the forecastle, they jabber
and chatter their unmusical jargon from morning until night, and will
go a three years’ voyage, knowing at the end of it little more English
than is embraced in the technical terms of the service, which, being
impressed on their memory with a kick or blow by way of injunction,
they are apt to retain.

These people are, or profess to be, devoted to their padres or fathers
in the church, and from my light observation of them and their
peculiarities, I should be inclined to give it as my opinion that they
are totally under the sway of their Jesuitical advisers; but I must
about ship and resume the thread of my narrative.

Whilst lying here off and on shore we gammoned the ship E. L.
Jones, of New Bedford; the barque Sea Flower, of same port,
and schooner Antarctic, of Provincetown. This is an excellent
whaling-ground--numbers of large and small craft are continually
cruising here, and in the course of a voyage generally do well.
Gammoning at sea is the term for an interchange of civilities between
two or more ships, and is much in vogue amongst whalemen, who have so
much time that hangs heavy on their hands, and are glad to vary the
monotony by the sight of a stranger, or, if a later arrival, receiving
intelligence from home. When a ship wishes to gammon another, or, as it
is pronounced at sea, gam’, the second syllable being dispensed with,
the _lee_ ship hauls aback her mainyard, or sets a signal signifying
her wish, the _weather_ craft squares her yards, puts her helm up,
runs across the other’s stern and speaks her. Then the captain of one
lowers away and boards the other, the mate returns in the boat with a
fresh crew, the officers resort to the cabin, the boatsteerers to the
steerage, and the crew to the forecastle. As soon as breathing time is
allowed to the visitors they are beset by a dozen querists, who, all at
once, want to know how long they are from home, what success they have
had, and the birth-place, or place of residence of each. For instance,
here one steps up and inquires, “Any New Yorkers here,” or “Any
Philadelphia, New Bedford, or Boston chaps,” whichever place to him is
best known; and if, perchance, he finds a townsman, in a few minutes
they are as thick as lovers, and as far advanced in friendship as an
acquaintance of twenty years ashore would warrant; and ere they part
chests are thrown open, with the injunction to help yourself added,
and do not be backward about it either. Soon after some one calls for
a song, and in a short time, after some pressing and coaxing, which is
as necessary here as in more select circles, the time-worn, but sweet
melodies of the sea are sung, if not with artistic correctness, with
spirit--all hands joining in the chorus, till the old ship rings again.
Meantime, the officers in the cabin are rehearsing old memories of
whaling, telling of the largest, wickedest and quietest whales which
they have borne a hand at taking; dire and wonderful are the _fish_
stories that in this manner receive birth. These relations, assisted
by the genial influence of the bottle and the pipe, soon while away
the time, and ere one would have thought it, the signal is up for
returning. The boatsteerers are killing time in much the same manner,
lacking only the ardent; whilst the crew, if a merry set of fellows,
have, ere this, got the fiddle or accordeon player, if one is aboard,
on deck (providing that it is good weather, and the ship on an even
keel), and are breaking down in the waist at a rate that would set
a French dancing-master crazy; but it is all the same to them--they
enjoy, and are bound to make sport of it. The signal for returning
being set, books are exchanged, tobacco, pipes, and in cases of need,
articles of clothing are freely presented, and the visitors go over the
rail into their boats, with “God bless you. _Greasy_ luck to you. Take
care of yourself, my hearties,” or some other equally expressive and
kindly wish following them; and the two ships resume their courses in
different directions to different quarters of the globe.




CHAPTER II.


The next day after leaving Flores we passed within sight of Fayal.
This island presented a gorgeous appearance; the many vineyards on
the sloping side of the mountains, looking to us like so many squares
in a quilt of the most luxurious green, forming a patchwork of Dame
Nature’s handiwork, in inimitable colors. An hour after, we saw the
Peak of Pico, rearing its cone-shaped pinnacle high in the clouds. At
its extreme summit, I noticed an appearance resembling a chimney, into
which, I was informed, steps were hewn for the convenience of those
whom curiosity led to ascend or descend the acclivity.

About this time, I recollect, we had our first experience of bending
on to a sleeper. It is customary in good weather (particularly whilst
running down the trades, when, from the regularity of the winds, there
is scarce any working ship to be done) for the members of the watch,
with the exception of the man at the wheel and another on the look-out,
to come on deck, provided with two or three coats, for the purpose of
indulging in a caulk or sleep on deck. As soon as the watch is all
out, and the officer has had a look to assure himself of the fact,
a soft plank in the deck is selected on which one spreads himself,
covering up snug with the coats; an example religiously followed by
the others. Soon they are as soundly asleep as if in a comfortable
bed at home, unmindful of the noise made by the creaking of the yards
and rigging, or the hissing of the sea. This practice is winked at
by the officer of the deck, so long as all are at hand on a call;
but on the night to which I now have reference, all the comfortable
places under the lee of the weather rail being occupied, the unlucky
wight whose dilatoriness in turning out when the watch was called,
had excluded him from forming one of the caulkers, attracted by the
inviting appearance of the forecastle, and thinking himself unnoticed,
slipped down, deposited himself on the chests, and was soon fast
asleep. The man on the look-out having seen him descend the ladder,
waited in vain for his exit, and after allowing him sufficient time
to get into a deep slumber, went down, assured himself of the fact,
and then woke up two or three of the sleepers who were noted for their
indulgence in practical jokes, and who at any time would forego a good
nap to enjoy a hearty laugh. Having informed them of his intentions,
the mischievous trio lashed a tail-block to a barricade of spars over
the forecastle, rove a spare piece of rope through it, and attached
one end to the sleeper’s leg. When all was in readiness they awoke the
remainder of the watch, and having manned the fall strong, with a long
pull, a strong pull, and a pull altogether, the poor fellow was jerked
half way up the companion-way before he was fully awake. Discovering
his position, he grasped the ladder to retard his ascent, and, like the
Knight of Snowdon, bade them--

  “Come one, come all, this rock shall fly
  From its firm base as soon as I.”

For a minute the jokers were non-plussed; their victim having the laugh
on his side; but this was soon remedied by the fastenings of the ladder
giving away, and the pendant caulker was whipped up on deck amid the
jeers of his companions. This remedy is generally effectual; but I have
seen a case of persistency in this, to a seaman, odious habit, which
after everything else had failed, was eradicated by tying the caulker’s
leg fast to a large pig, which, upon being roused up by the tormentors,
travelled fore and aft the deck with Kedge Anchor in tow. Previous to
this he had been repeatedly soused with water, bent on to, made fast
to the bell, getting a reprimand for the _peal_ he unwittingly rang,
and lashed to the studding-sails on the forecastle, where, at times,
he would remain the greater part of the night; but all to no purpose,
until a humorous genius one night, when nothing else was on the carpet,
proposed uniting Kedge to the porker, and, as I before stated, the
remedy was effectual.

Our cook, a German, who had been to sea before, having an eye to
creature comforts, purchased, whilst at Flores, a number of jackass
cheeses. These he had carefully saved, intending to make them last as
long as he possibly could, and for this purpose he locked them up in
his chest; but, unfortunately, during the night some person or persons
went clandestinely to his chest and feloniously appropriated the
cheeses therein to his or their benefit. The cook, on the whole, was a
good-natured fellow, but losing his cheeses soured his disposition, and
he swore vengeance. His Dutch oaths soon attracted attention, and old
Jack, as the oldest man in the forecastle, was appointed inquisitor,
to find out the perpetrator or perpetrators of the heinous crime;
sailors viewing theft from a shipmate, even of the slightest article,
as an offence second in enormity only to murder; and woe betide the
poor wretch who is detected in the act, as he can never recover an
intimate footing with his shipmates.

I said that old Jack was appointed inquisitor. He went about his task
very methodically. Taking a number of matches, he handed one to each
of the denizens of the forecastle, stating that he would call on them
to return them in half an hour, and that the one who should then have
possession of the longest one would be considered the culprit. On
calling the matches in, one was found to have been broken off by its
recipient, and information was immediately given to the captain by old
Jack, who had satisfied himself regarding the guilty party. The boy was
questioned, but denied the point so strenuously that we did not know
whether to think him guilty or not. The captain let it pass without
further remark, and some twelve months afterwards we discovered the
offender; then the boy who had previously been suspected, acknowledged
that he had broken off his match so that there should be no question
about his having the longest one; and in his endeavors to ward off
suspicion, took the readiest means of arousing it--old Jack saying that
his conscious guilt caused him to break his match.

When our North latitude had been almost run out we were struck by
a very heavy squall. By working smart we managed to get all snug
without being damaged. On the succeeding morning we saw three
merchant vessels, one of whom had lost her maintopmast; a second, her
foretopgallant mast; and the third a whole suite of sails. A fourth
vessel, that we saw to windward in distress, with several vessels
around her, appeared from her heavy rolling to be water-logged. During
the night she fired rockets and blue-lights. All these vessels,
as we ascertained, had met these casualties in the squall that we
experienced. It is customary with merchant vessels to hang on to
their canvass until the very last minute, and, as in nine cases out
of ten these ships go short-handed, the consequence is, that when
a heavy squall breaks upon them, something must go before they get
their sails stowed. If asked their reason for crowding sail in such a
manner, they will answer you with a shrug of the shoulders, that “Time
is money;” but it is not so with a whaleship, except when homeward
bound--then everything that a ship will drag or carry is packed on to
her to make her keep pace with the impatient spirits aboard. When on
the whaling-ground, however, the ship is allowed to glide along under
easy sail, royal yards, studding-sail booms, and, if in boisterous
latitudes, the foretopgallant mast is sent down, and the flying
jib-boom is sent in, so that if bad weather comes on suddenly, the
little canvass spread makes her easy to handle. Another advantage the
whaler possesses, she has thirty-four or five men to handle a vessel
of three or four hundred tons, whereas a merchant ship of the same
size would not have more than a dozen; hence the great proportionate
disparity between the accidents to whalemen and merchantmen. The whaler
is better manned, and is not drove under by a press of sail, whilst
the latter is groaning under her burden from the time she leaves dock
until the time she returns to it; providing there is breeze enough to
keep her going.

From this time until we reached the Cape of Good Hope, little of
interest transpired. Occasionally we were called to look over the rail
and see the fin-back whale sending his spout in a spiral column towards
the clouds; or the blackfish, grampus, or porpoise, gambolling amongst
the great waves. At times the scene was diversified by the appearance
of the shark, dolphin, benita, and flying-fish, each preying on the
other. The last three mentioned are easily caught, and are eagerly
angled for by seamen. The manner of catching the dolphin and skip-jack
is to bait the hook with a piece of white rag, and allow it to sway
with the vessel’s motion. The fish thinks it a flying-fish taking its
flight, rushes towards it and gulps it down. I had often heard stories
of the dolphin’s extraordinary change of color when dying, but must
confess myself so unromantic as to say, I think there is so little
change in his colors that none but the most acute observer could detect
it. His beauty is confined to the period when sporting in his native
element; then his motions are full of grace and vigor; but caught and
landed on deck, he is a flat fish with a round head, and great, goggle,
staring eyes. His flesh, however, is indifferent eating, as is that of
the benita. The latter, when caught, goes into spasms, shaking like a
man with an ague fit, sometimes disjointing the vertebra in its throes.
They are at times so violent, that if the fish is large a man cannot
hold one.

The flying-fish, the last that I mentioned, has been so often
described, that I shall not attempt it. It is preyed upon both by
larger fish and by the birds. I have seen the tropic birds and dolphin
acting so nearly in concert, as almost to convince one that they
understood each other’s mode of operation. The dolphin would chase the
little creatures until they would take to their wings, when the tropic
bird, or garnet (which is a beautiful white bird, about the size of
our common pigeon, with red legs and bill, and a tail resembling a
marling-spike, by which name they usually go amongst sailors), would
pounce upon them; and, tired with their serial flight, they would again
resort to the water, only to become a prey to their finny enemy.

With the usual variations of weather we wended our course through the
South Atlantic--at one time becalmed, at another struggling with a
heavy gale, until we arrived in the vicinity of the Islands of Tristan
D’Acunha, when one morning we were startled by our mastheadsman
shouting, “There blows! and a forked spout, _sir_.” This informed us of
the presence of right whales; their spout, unlike that of other whales,
being forked. Our boats were lowered; but we had no sooner got in their
neighborhood than they peaked their flukes and went to windward, eyes
out--which means as fast as the wind. It was useless to follow them,
and we returned aboard with fishermen’s luck--a wet skin, and hungry
stomach.

When down in the boats at this time I had a _near_ view of a whale. We
were not more than a boat’s length from a large one, when he sounded,
and, as he threw his tail in the air, I had an excellent sight of
his small and flukes. What I felt I cannot describe; but the shining
skin covering all, and the manifestation of power and bulk, in every
movement, made me think of some vast piece of iron machinery; and I
cannot imagine a more effective battering ram than a whale’s flukes
employed by himself.

In these latitudes we saw numbers of varied specimens of the
ornithological family. The albatross, monimoke, old horse, noddy, cape
pigeon, garnet, mutton bird, and Mother Carey’s chicken or petrel,
all existing here in great numbers. The albatross I have seen measure
fifteen feet from the extremity of one wing to the tip of the other.
It is a beautiful bird, and comes around a ship in great numbers when
a whale is alongside. They are ever on the alert for something to eat,
appear at all times hungry, and their voraciousness makes them an
easy prey. They are often caught. Their quills are not fit for pens,
but are used by sailors to splice their pipes; their feathers are
used in making beds and pillows; their feet are skinned and made into
tobacco-pouches; whilst the head and bill are cleaned and taken home
as a curiosity. As a general thing they are not eaten; but our cook
at one time agreed to cook them, if we would catch and dress them.
They were soon ready for him; and after being cooked they were very
palatable, although they had an oily flavor, somewhat resembling that
of the canvas-back duck. The mess having succeeded so well, it became a
favorite, but was indulged in so often that it soon fell into distaste,
and the practice was not again revived; the more so, as the captain
had a peculiar regard for the birds, and professed to place implicit
confidence in the assertion, that if they were misused by a ship’s
crew, those who maltreated them would assuredly meet with some evil
fortune.

The Cape pigeon is a beautiful bird, about the same size as our
domestic bird of the same name. They are uniform in color, alternate
stripes of black and white coursing their plumage.

The monimoke, and old horse, resemble in appearance the albatross, but
are not more than half its size. At times, from the similarity of their
appearance, I have been led to suppose them their young; and as regards
the monimoke, I am still at a loss to determine as to whether the goney
has a claim to its paternity or not: but the old horse or stinker, by
both of which names it is indiscriminately known, is a totally distinct
species; and when handled, it emits a most offensive odor, which clings
with tenacity to its feathers long after being separated from the bird.

The diver is about the size of the pigeon, and is only remarkable for
the great depth to which it descends in search of food. The spectator
may be watching the bird gracefully sailing on the surface of the
water, when suddenly it disappears from view, and if the water be
clear, he may be seen, with his pinions spread, pursuing his course
through it with as much facility as if he were in the air, for fathoms
below the surface. After a short time he gradually ascends, until,
emerging from the water, he takes wing and skims through the air,
unwearied by his immersion.

The petrel, or Mother Carey’s chicken, is a pretty bird, smaller than
the swallow, and quick as lightning in its movements; although so
small, it is found in company with the larger birds unmolested.

At sea not only do we see marine birds, but often, when near any point
or headland, we are visited by land birds, who, blown off from the
land, pursue their bewildered flight until exhausted, or, meeting a
vessel, they alight upon it to refresh their wearied forms. At first
they fly around and around the ship, as if fearful of molestation,
when, overcome by fatigue, they forget their natural dread of mankind,
and alight in the boats, or on deck, unable to move farther. Their
wants are supplied by the sailors, and fresh water, of which they
appear most in need, given them. After a stoppage of twelve or
twenty-four hours they renew their flight, always in the direction of
land.

After doubling the Cape of Good Hope, which we effected without
experiencing extraordinarily heavy weather, we spent several weeks in
beating up towards Port Dauphin, in the Island of Madagascar, off which
is a noted locality for the sperm whale fishery. Finding that we made
but little headway, we kept away for the off-shore, St. Paul’s ground,
and after a fine run found ourselves among the right whales. Here we
saw several vessels--the Pioneer and Catharine, of New Bedford, and
the Monmouth, of Cold Springs. These vessels had been absent from the
United States twelve months each, and had aboard from one hundred to
five hundred barrels of oil. The Monmouth reported having lost a boat
and a boat’s crew, a few weeks previous, at the Island of St. Paul’s.
The boat was headed by her second mate, who had remained fast to a
whale until drawn into the breakers, which left not a vestige of the
boat or crew in their pitiless destruction.

On this ground, after numerous lowerings away and coming aboard--after
seeing whales almost daily, although we found it impossible to get
within gun-shot of them, they appearing shy and not at home--one Sunday
afternoon the mate and fourth mate lowered away, the other boats being
retained aboard the ship. No sooner were we down than, encouraged by
the regular movements of the fish, we were convinced we should make
a capture, and therefore the chase was conducted with an eagerness
not displayed in our former lowerings away. No sooner had we touched
the water in the larboard boat, than the mate, after glancing at the
spout, gave us orders to shove the boat clear of the ship; then “Out
with your oars, my hearties;” and to make us the more eager, he offered
us a dollar apiece should we make a capture. As we neared the whale,
sinking his voice to a whisper, he urged us to greater exertions, by
continually speaking of the whale. “There she lays, my boys; an old
soaker, with a back as broad as the deck of our ship. Pull, lads, pull
with a will! Give way! every man, fore and aft. Do pull! The boat
scarcely moves. Now one more try. She is only two seas off. What do
you say now. Put the boat right on top of her. Pull hard, do pull!”
Now we draw nearer and nearer, and his enthusiasm is at a boiling heat
for fear that we will yet lose the whale; and determined to give vent
to his excitement, he offers all his clothes, all his tobacco, and all
his money, if we will only get the boat alongside the fish, which by
this time is done. Just as the mate heaves his hat over in despair,
the boat glides against the monster’s unwieldy carcass at a portion of
his body which secures us from the sweep of his immense flukes, and
the boatsteerer springs to his feet, and, with nervous arm, drives his
harpoon to the socket in the yielding blubber. The mate now loses his
excited manner, and, throwing the boat from the whale to escape the
mighty effort he makes for our destruction, again becomes the cool and
steady whaleman; but our work is not yet done. No sooner is the fish
struck, than off he goes, like a charger with the bit in his teeth,
perfectly unmanageable, and for an hour we dash through the water at
locomotive speed, until the whale exhausts himself with the violence of
the effort. Now comes the order to haul line, and the boat is gradually
drawn into the whale’s neighborhood, when a bomb lance is discharged,
and, fortunately, is lodged on the line of the vertebra, disabling his
whaleship from farther flight. They were cognizant of our operations
aboard the ship, where the mastheadsman sung out, “There he gives it
to him,” the moment we fastened; and immediately after, “The larboard
boat’s fast.” The two boats on the cranes were lowered away, manned,
and pulled for the scene of action. They arrived in about fifteen
minutes after the whale was struck. The waist boat was the second
fast. The fish was bleeding at every pore, hand-lances having been
darted into him. He attempted to descend, but his debility from loss
of blood prevented him going but a few feet below the surface; he lay
and rolled, opening wide his huge jaws, displaying his flabby tongue,
lashing the water with his gigantic flukes, and bellowing like a whole
bevy of mad bulls, from the intense pain he suffered in dying. The
other boats, on coming up, fastened, and soon the bloody discharge from
his spout holes became thicker, until it had obtained the consistency
of tar, when the suffering brute, moderating its bellowing to gasps and
sobs, slowly described a circle, throwing its head toward the sun, and
after a brief but terrific struggle, rolled fin out, without life or
motion. We then cut a hole through the flukes and towed him in triumph
to the ship.

I will now, before going farther, describe the demeanor of a boat’s
crew when fast to a whale. In the first place the officer goes close
enough to the whale to give the boatsteerer a good opportunity to
strike him. As soon as the irons leave his hand the head of the boat
is thrown from the whale, to avoid the sweep of his tremendous tail,
which he invariably exercises the moment he is struck. The officer
and boatsteerer now exchange positions, the boatsteerer assuming the
management of the boat, whilst the officer takes his position in the
bows, and, by the assistance of the bow oarsman, clears away a lance,
preparatory to striking the fatal blow. The whale, on being struck,
either sounds, or rushes with great rapidity over the surface of the
water. In either case the line runs out with marvellous rapidity, and
water is continually poured upon it to prevent the wood from igniting
by friction. Shortly afterwards, if the whale has moderated his speed,
the line is manned by all the crew of the boat, with the exception of
the boatsteerer and after-oarsman, who are busily occupied coiling it
away in the stern sheets of the boat, so as to prevent its entangling,
if again run out by the whale, and the boat is hauled close to him,
so as to give the officer an opportunity to lance and despatch him.
If he shows a good chance, this is the work of but a few minutes,
and the monster is turned up with little or no trouble; but it often
happens that hours intervene, before you have an opportunity to kill
the whale, and oftentimes are obliged to cut, from the near approach of
nightfall. But to return to our whale. We got him alongside, and made
him fast by a strong chain, encircling his flukes, passed through the
hawse-hole, and secured to the bitts on the forecastle; then a hole
was cut close to the whale’s eye, the tackles attached, the cutting
fall taken to the windlass, and with a merry song we bowsed his jacket
in, stripping the blubber from the carcass, and allowing the latter,
with the flukes, to go adrift. Next the head was hove in and lashed
on the quarter-deck, then several men with axes split the bone from
the jaw, to which it was attached by an adhesive substance known as
the gum; it was then scraped, in preparation for the home market,
and, after scraping, stowed away in the hold, where no moisture could
reach it. The appearance of this bone in the jaw, before separation,
is beautiful; its regular arrangement, and long, fringe-like edging,
giving it the appearance of an artificial grotto. After disposing of
the head and heaving in all the blubber, this, as fast as stripped, is
deposited between decks in the main hold--which apartment is designated
as the “blubber-room.” The try works being started, two men go into the
blubber-room, and, with sharp spades and knives, cut off the lean from
the blubber, and divide the fat into pieces about six inches wide by
eighteen in length, suitable for the mincing-machine. They then, with
pikes, pitch it into a tub placed on deck for its reception, whence it
is carried to the machine, where it is minced into pieces half an inch
in thickness, and consigned to the pot. After all the oil is separated
from it, the scraps are taken from the pot and the oil poured into
a copper cooler, whence it runs into a cool try pot, and thence is
bailed into casks, which are rolled on to the quarter-deck, where it
is allowed to cool preparatory to stowing below in the hold. Meantime
the pots are again filled up, and the scraps from the preceding pot
are used in heating the works--these scraps forming an excellent and
remarkably economical fuel; for if the whale did not furnish material
for rendering its own oil, the fuel which would have to be substituted
would be a costly item. From the embers, united with fresh water,
an excellent lye is made, which is useful in extracting grease from
clothes, washing the paint work and so forth. The oil is usually
allowed to stand for twenty-four hours before stowing below, and when
ready a trap is removed, which is cut through the deck, a tub lashed
under it between decks, and a hose with a cock attached; a cask is now
rolled on to this trap, the bung extracted, a vent pipe introduced, and
soon the whole produce of the fish is in the hold, never to be removed,
except in case of leakage, during the remainder of the voyage. This
whale made us ninety barrels of oil. After capturing him, we remained
on this ground for several weeks, without farther success in increasing
our cargo; in two instances the boatsteerer missing whales, and in a
third striking one with the irons, causing him to spout blood; but most
of the chief mate’s line being run out, he bent to his that belonging
to the bow boat. On its passage from the tub, it brought with it a
formidable array of harpoons and lances, with which it had become
entangled. “Foul line,” was sung out, the line severed, and the whale
allowed to go adrift. We saw him for some time afterward, and bending
to our oars, we pulled to windward with a will, in pursuit of him, but
to no purpose. Whilst chasing him to windward, the bomb-lance gun, in
the mate’s boat, went off without leave, and pierced a hole through the
head of the boat, so disabling her, that she had to return aboard; as
we all did at noon. Afterward the whale came close to the ship, and,
peaking his flukes, gave us a view of our line, wound in a thousand
contortions around his small and tail. We again lowered for him, but
without success.

On the 12th of November, a merchant barque ran across our stern,
which, on speaking, we discovered to be the Eliza Carrew, of Boston.
So far, all was very well; but on crossing our stern, she luffed up
under our lee, and, our sails taking the wind from hers, she became
unmanageable. The next moment she was aboard of us, crushing the lee
boats to pieces, carrying away cranes and davits, snapping off the
spanker-boom, and carrying away the entire larboard mizzen rigging.
After a short interval she got clear from us, when we found that she
had not escaped scot free. We saw that her maintopsail yard was snapped
off outside the head ear-ring, her foreyard carried away in the slings,
and about twenty feet of her bow rail, on the starboard side, stoven
to atoms. After the two vessels had swung clear from each other, the
third mate and his boatsteerer jumped into the bow boat, which had
broken down and lay floating alongside, for the purpose of saving
the craft. Almost as soon as they got into her, she became detached
from the ship, drifted astern, and capsized; so that we were obliged
to lower away our only whole boat, that on the starboard quarter, to
rescue the two adventurers, who were taking it very coolly, seated on
the bottom of the wreck. In a short time we had them aboard the ship;
but in the operation, the bow of the starboard boat came in contact
with the stoven one, and had a hole knocked into it. So here we were on
a whaling-ground, in the height of the season, with plenty of whales
around us, without a single whole boat on the cranes; and were it not
that we had spare boats, the damage would have been irreparable; as on
this side the Good Hope, whale-boats cannot be procured at any port
nearer than Hobartown, and this, involving a long run, loss of time,
and port expenses, to compass it, would have caused a total forfeiture
of the whole season’s work. The broken boat was hoisted aboard, and
then the Carrew ran close to and spoke us, asking if all was right with
our vessel and men. Our captain answered quickly and curtly, and in an
undertone desired him to take his departure, for, should he repeat his
manœuver, he would give him occasion to regret it. During the whole of
this time, and for weeks subsequent to the accident, we were under the
impression, as she had shown no colors, that she was a Johnny Crapeau,
and sailed under the tri-color; but we learned afterward that she was
a Boston ship. Different reasons were assigned by different individuals
as to the cause of the unseamanlike conduct in managing the Carrew;
some stating that they distinctly heard her captain ask ours for a
porpoise iron, and supposed that he came close to us in order to have
it handed aboard without the bother of lowering a boat; whilst others,
less charitable, stated that she was loaded with liquor from the
Mauritius: that the captain had broken bulk, and imbibed so much that
it had set his wits wool-gathering. As to the first reason assigned,
having heard nothing regarding the iron, I can give no opinion; as to
the second, not having data sufficient to draw so sweeping a charge
from, I will not advance so gross an accusation, but allow the matter
to rest: the public, of course, having heard from the master of the
Carrew his version of the matter, as we saw by the papers that he had
reported the collision on his arriving at port. On the whole, both
vessels were extremely fortunate in escaping with so little injury; as
two vessels seldom come into contact, even in port, where they are in
smooth water, without the result being much more disastrous than in our
case.

It is said that misfortunes seldom come singly; and, indeed, in the
experience of a lifetime, circumstances seem to justify the correctness
of the adage. So it was in our case. A short time previous to our
last misfortune, the larboard watch was sent aloft to double reef
the foretopsail. It was about half an hour after eight bells, in
the first watch at night--the watch below had turned in, but were
not as yet sleeping--when, directly after the watch had manned the
foretopsail yard, the men in the forecastle were startled by the fall
of a heavy body on deck, directly over their heads. A rush was made
for the ladder, and on getting on deck, a youngster, who belonged to
New Bedford, was found prostrate, without sense or motion. By the
orders of the first officer, who thought him dead, he was immediately
carried into the cabin. The watch on the yard were instructed to lay
down from aloft. On carrying the sufferer into the cabin, it was found
that his heart beat; he was bled, and in the course of a few hours
he regained consciousness, and continued gradually to mend, until,
after the lapse of a few weeks, he was perfectly recovered, without,
apparently, any serious effect from his fall, except the increase of
an already craving appetite, and corresponding augmentation in length
and breadth of person. His fall may be attributed to a superabundance
of heavy clothing, beside a coarse, heavy pair of boots, united making
him clumsy and unwieldy aloft. Although, from his account, it would
appear that, at the time of the accident, he was very nearly, or quite,
asleep, as he retained no remembrance of their having occasion to reef
the topsail, and no recollection of having been on the yard, or any
other circumstance connected with his fall, the only reason that we
can assign for the slight injuries he sustained, is the supposition
that in his descent his fall was broken by his striking against the
foretop, the mainstay, and a barricade of spars that were lashed
forward. I think you will agree with me that he required some easing
down, when I state that he fell from the weather yard-arm, close by the
bunt, at least forty-five feet from deck. A few weeks after this we
had another specimen of lofty tumbling whilst we were gammoning with
the barque Pioneer, of New Bedford. The watch had gone aloft to furl
the foretopsail, and had so far progressed as to be ready to pass the
yard-arm gaskets. Jose, a Portuguese, was at the end of the starboard
yard-arm coiling the outside gasket, preparatory to encircling the
sail with it, when his feet slipped from the horse; keeping firm hold
of the gasket, which reached about half way to the water, he slid to
its extreme end. The weather was light, and the ship pretty steady. He
remained suspended for a moment, when, watching for the weather roll,
he let go, descended into the water, rose, and struck out like a good
fellow. The second mate ran on to the house, caught up a boat’s fall,
made a bowling in the end of it, and hove it to him; he slipped it over
his head and under his arms, and was soon hauled aboard, without other
damage than a good wetting, of which he made very little account.

Having recorded several instances of a serious character, I shall take
occasion to speak of the numerous practical jokes that are enacted
aboard ship. The monotony of the life at sea renders a hearty laugh
somewhat of a relief, and assists in passing away the time; and this
end is desirable on the whaling-ground on account of the many hours of
inactivity. At night, in the vicinity of a place of known resort for
the fish, sail is shortened, and all hands, except one boat’s crew and
its boatsteerer, go below; the officers remaining all day on deck, and
standing no watch at night. In a four-boat ship, the night is divided
into four watches. The night watch, therefore, is so short as to be
anything but onerous; hence the early part of the night is devoted to
singing, yarning, &c. But I set out with the intention of telling a
joke, and as I have digressed a little I hope the reader will pardon
me. One fine Sunday morning Kedge Anchor expressed a desire to have his
hair cut. Here was an opening--and a conspiracy was immediately formed
against his cranial adornment. One went to work and cut his hair. When
finished, a dozen voices exclaimed against the barbarian who had put
so _outre_ a cut on his poor head; others recommended a little more
off behind. The victim acquiesced, and submitted to the operation. A
second, third, fourth, and fifth, lent their aid in denuding his skull,
and by the time the last had finished he was a picture for a painter.
The poor fellow had not a hair on his head more than a quarter of an
inch in length, and, as his forehead was receding, his appearance can
be better imagined than described. Suffice it to say, that for weeks
after the shearing his appearance was greeted with hearty laughter;
and, as with him laughter was contagious, he always joined in the
shout. For a long time he did not discover that he was the butt, but
when he did discover his loss he was rather pleased than otherwise at
the singularity of his appearance. This is but one of the many tricks
of this kind that I have witnessed. I remember seeing a green hand
sent to tell the steward to overhaul the captain’s chronometer box for
a swab to clean up the forecastle. Another sent to the masthead to
ask the man stationed there the time of day, or to see if the sun had
risen. Another to the officer of the deck to advise him to secure the
barometer, or to tell him that the masts were working. And I remember
one poor fellow, who prided himself much on his agility, giving us
a specimen of the movements of the kangaroo, sweating and exerting
himself for a whole afternoon, delighting us, as he supposed, with his
farcical antics, until he discovered on his back a large paper figure
in imitation of himself. He said not a word at the time, and sat down
totally abashed; but ere long a paper Punch figured on the back of the
supposed instigator.




CHAPTER III.


Finding but little could be done amongst the whales on this ground,
early in December we resumed sea watches, and steered a course for the
coast of New Holland, intending to cruise off its southwesternmost
point for sperm whales. On the fifth of the same month, whilst pursuing
our course to the eastward, we sighted the Island of Amsterdam, in 40°
South latitude, 77° East longitude. At daylight the ensuing morning,
we lowered away three boats, each member of their respective crews
provided with fishing-tackle, for the capture of much smaller members
of the finny tribe than our usual game. Before arriving at the island,
we saw, and gave chase to an otter, but he eluded our pursuit. This was
the first animal of the kind I had ever seen; it absorbed my attention,
whilst in sight, to the exclusion of all other novelties. His face, in
expression, reminded me of that of a pug dog, in which opinion all my
companions united. I also saw here the first of those peculiarities,
viz. penguins, or waugans, as they are called by seamen--their hoarse
cry and long immersion in water excited my wonder and attention. Here
also were the osprey, sea hen, albatross, monimoke, right and sperm
whale birds, and numerous minor specimens of the family, flying in and
out of their eyries in the cliff, carrying food to their young, and
occasionally disputing for the possession of the finny prey, which
they capture with much dexterity. Sometimes they wheeled in circles
around our boat, apparently viewing us as intruders on their domain.

On approaching the island, we found it a rock-bound precipice, almost
inaccessible, with a scanty vegetation dispersed over its summit. It
has a desolate appearance, is uninhabited, and only visited by whalemen
and those unfortunates whom Neptune, in his furious mood, casts upon
its desolate shore. On the cliffs a few goats were to be seen, set
ashore some time since by the humane captain of a whaler, who opined
that they would increase, and afford sustenance to any shipwrecked
mariners who might be cast away here.

We went close to the rocks, over which huge breakers gambolled, and
made our boats fast to the kelp. Then out lines, and on the instant
were busily engaged in hauling in noble fish, varying in weight from
five to twenty pounds, of all varieties and colors: cod, trumpeter, and
many species unknown to us, white, black, blue, yellow, and red. In the
course of a few hours we had secured as many as we wanted; the other
boats experiencing like success, the fish biting with the greatest
avidity; it only being necessary to bait, heave the line overboard,
and haul up, and, ten chances to one, before it reached the surface, a
fish was attached to it. On an eminence on the island, a royal mast is
erected, it having been the signal pole of the crew of the whale-ship
Tuscany, of Sag Harbor, which went ashore on this island.

It appears that the English ship Meridian, returning from Australia,
was cast away here. The principal part of the passengers and crew
reached the island, and scaled the cliff; here they remained for
several days, existing on a wild cabbage that is indigenous to the
island. They were much depressed, until one morning they descried a
ship beating up for the island. She proved to be the whaling barque
Monmouth, of Cold Springs; her captain, all honor to him, and no less
to his faithful messenger, sent one of his crew across the island to
communicate with the distressed ones. He directed them to cross the
island, as at the side they then were it would be impossible to land
a boat. This, although comparatively a short distance, they were all
one day and part of the next accomplishing--the rugged, steep way,
their enfeebled condition, and the presence of ladies and children,
delaying them. The Monmouth’s boats, as soon as possible, conveyed
them aboard their vessel, where they received every attention their
condition required, and were conveyed to the Mauritius, where they
were disembarked. Now for the romantic part of the story. It appears
that in the general confusion, several bags of English sovereigns,
that were carried from the wrecked ship ashore, were deposited, as
it was supposed, in a secure place, and left on the island. This was
communicated to the captain of the Tuscany, and, as the report goes,
he had run close in with his ship, landed, and found the money; but at
the moment of his grasping it, he discovered his ship in a perilous
position. The second officer, who was left in charge, from incapacity
or ignorance, had run her ashore. Circumstances occurred, during his
stay on the island, that rendered it impossible to bring away the gold,
the existence of which, whether chimerical or otherwise, is still a
favorite theme amongst the whalemen who frequent this latitude; and in
January, 1856, a whale-ship that then lay at the Vasse, had engaged one
of the Tuscany’s former crew, and anticipated having a search for it.

Our second mate went ashore, near the spot where the Tuscany was
stranded, captured a right whale bird, and procured a number of eggs.
On examining the bird, we found that the substance composing its jaws
exactly resembled right whalebone, and its tongue was precisely similar
in shape to that of the right whale. These peculiarities I had often
heard attributed to the bird, but considered them fabulous, as did
most of our ship’s company; although many of them had been engaged in
whaling for years, but never previously had an opportunity of making an
examination. Having procured as many fish as we could take care of for
the nonce, at eleven o’clock we returned to the barque and commenced
cleaning and salting them. In the afternoon we sent another boat in,
and when all were taken care of we found that we had seven barrels, and
visions of good fare rose before us; but alas, for the uncertainty of
human expectations--three months afterward the whole of them spoiled,
and we were forced to consign them to Davy Jones’ locker.

The next morning after our fishing excursion we saw right whales and
the Island of St. Paul’s. The whales we lowered away for and chased,
without success. The Island of St. Paul’s lies in the same longitude as
Amsterdam, but is a degree farther north. Like Amsterdam, it is barren,
but is occupied by a French company, whose agents reside here for
the purpose of fishing. They cure their catchings, and at periodical
seasons a vessel visits them, bringing them supplies and carrying away
their accumulations of fish. From the quantity and quality of their
prey in the vicinity, I should think the business must be lucrative,
and, indeed, it ought to be, to compensate for the isolation men must
feel in this out of the way spot. This island being only sixty miles
distant from Amsterdam, is easily distinguished on a clear day.

Nothing occurred from this time until Christmas day, when, of course,
we who were brought up to the southward of the New England States,
expected some observance of the time-honored customs of the day; but
what was our surprise to see the work going on as usual; no difference
being made, except breaking out a cheese, and distributing it amongst
the crew, fore and aft. This humble fare, being so long deprived of,
we hailed with acclamation, and partook of with avidity. This method
of observing Christmas was persisted in during the voyage; on one,
however, nothing either in the fare, or relaxation of discipline,
served to mark the anniversary; on another we were agreeably surprised
by the steward’s making mince pies for the whole ship’s company. New
England men pay very little heed to the coming of Christmas day,
they having been accustomed from childhood to regard Thanksgiving as
a much more important holiday; and as they cannot tell at sea when
Thanksgiving day comes, the only holiday left is the Fourth of July;
and two out of the three recurrences of this glorious day, whilst I
was aboard the ship, were unmarked by a single circumstance to note
it; I well remember the mate’s answer to one of the crew, who in reply
to his order to get up the spun yarn machine, laughingly said that it
was Fourth of July. The curt answer was, “Yes! it is Fourth of July
at home, but not here.” In the evening, after the quarter watch was
set, the accordeon, drum, fife, tamborine, fiddle, and triangle, were
pressed into service, and all the national airs performed thereon with
great glee.

The New Year found us on the coast of New Holland in sight of Cape
Leuwin. This portion of Australia presents rather an indifferent
appearance, viewed from the ocean; it being barren, apparently, over
a great part of its extent, and where vegetation does appear, it is
low and scanty. Off this cape is a great resort for sperm whales, and
at almost all seasons of the year American whalers are to be seen,
standing off and on, patiently awaiting the appearance of the cachalot.
At the time that we reached this ground, the ships were just resorting
here from the coast of Africa and Island of Madagascar, we spoke and
gammoned a number, varying from eight to thirty months from home, and
having from one hundred to two thousand barrels of oil aboard. On the
fifth, a gale of wind having but just abated, leaving a heavy swell on
the surface of the ocean, we saw sperm whales. We lowered for them at
7¹⁄₂ o’clock A. M.; at 8 the starboard boat fastened to a large one,
and a moment afterward we followed with the waist boat. The larboard
boat, in trying to imitate us, was struck by the whale’s flukes and
stove. She filled, and her crew were obliged to swim for their lives
to the bow boat, in which they were conveyed to the ship. They had
managed to get one iron into the whale before being stoven; but the
boatsteerer, undaunted, when up to his waist in water, darted his
second iron at the animated target, striking his mark, but not with
sufficient force to fasten solid. Their line entwining around ours,
prevented us hauling on to and despatching him; and whilst we were
dallying, away he went to windward, towing us faster than a steamboat,
the water breaking completely over us. Our boat was one-third full all
the time, and it was only by unremitting bailing, by two of our number,
that we kept her afloat. This continued for hours, until the ship was
only seen as a speck in the horizon. The whales were darting here,
there, and everywhere--ahead, astern, and under us--and the officer
only prevented their getting afoul of us by repeated lancings; whilst
our boats were tossed to and fro. The boatsteerer of the starboard
boat was pitched out, but he caught the gunwale and soon recovered his
position. Immediately after the line ran foul, our boat capsized and
was taken down. I jumped, as soon as I found that she was going over,
kicked off my shoes, and swam for the other boat, the line of which
had been cut as soon as they discovered our mishap. On getting into
the boat, I found that three others were all right, and directly our
second mate made his appearance and was assisted in. He stated that
the line had become twisted around his ankle, but, fortunately, he had
the sheath-knife in his hand when he went down, and cut himself loose.
The tub oarsman got in with his hand seriously cut, evidently by a
lance which he must have come in contact with under water. As soon as
we counted those in the boat, the amidship oarsman was found to be
missing, and as we knew that he could not swim, we were apprehensive
that he was drowned; but on the instant his head made its appearance,
and I shoved him an oar, with which he supported himself until picked
up. After finding all safe, we laughed at the accident, and looking
around for the whale, discovered him apparently taking a view of
us--his profuse bleeding rendering it impossible for him to sound.
On our approach he gradually receded from us stern foremost. We were
twelve in a boat, almost out of sight of the ship, and had anything
happened to our boat at this stage of the operation, some, if not
all of us, would have lost the numbers of our mess; but Providence
protected us, and we came off harmless. On going on to the whale to
lance him, the monster would roll on his side, display his enormous
jaw, and attempt to seize the boat with it. This was repeated a number
of times, when those in the ship, which had been gradually nearing us,
discovering only one boat, and that full of men, they lowered away two
boats. One went in pursuit of the capsized boat, while the other came
to our assistance, and fastened to the whale, discharging three-bomb
lances into him. These caused him to roll and groan, but not producing
a fatal effect, our boat returned to the ship for more, which were
likewise deposited in his carcass; but it was not until sundown that
he rolled fin out, and was brought alongside. We secured him for the
night, and the next morning proceeded to cut him in. This is a very
different operation from cutting-in a right whale; the two species
being totally dissimilar. The first move with the sperm whale is to
separate the head from the body, and when the jaw is loose, heave it
in. Cutting off the head consumes, if a large whale is the subject,
from two to four hours, according to the dexterity of the manipulator;
if a proficient handles the spade, it is a work of but little trouble,
but if a bungler, he wearies everybody’s patience out beside his own.
The head, when completely clear, is made fast to the ship’s quarter
by a strong chain, and the body then hove in. When the small is
cleared away, the head is hooked on to and hove out of the water, then
separated into two portions, known as the case and junk, and separately
hove in. If the whale is very large the case is bailed overboard, so
as not to endanger the ship’s spars by so heavy a heave--in this case
we hove it in. Whilst heaving in our last body piece, to which the
flukes were attached, they swung around and knocked the second mate and
a boatsteerer overboard, with spades in their hands. They soon were
recovered and on deck safe again.

We now had him all aboard. The jaw was dragged forward and secured,
and several employed in cutting the blubber from the pans; it measured
twenty feet in length and had in it forty-eight ivory teeth, many
of them weighing a pound or more. The case was then opened, and a
boatsteerer jumped into and prepared to dip out the unctuous matter,
which in this part of the head is fluid; for what purpose designed I
know not, but no doubt it is a provision of Providence that has its
uses, although we cannot discern them. From this vast receptacle for
oil we bailed some twelve barrels of the pure spermaceti. The junk
was then cut into horse pieces, and these, with the other blubber
from around the head and jaw, were rendered out and stowed in casks
marked “head;” it being by far the most valuable portion of the whale,
and commanding a better price. The head of the sperm whale generally
yields about two-fifths of the oil procured from the entire fish. After
finishing with the head matter, we proceeded with the residue the
same as with the right whale formerly mentioned. On boiling the body
blubber, we found it exceedingly poor, and were not at all surprised at
the whole yield being only seventy-two barrels--his size auguring at
least a hundred. He was seventy-five feet long.

In appearance, this whale does not bear the slightest resemblance to
the right whale--its massive head differing from the latter; neither
has it the bonnet, as the right whale, infested by barnacles and
vermin; its body is not so thick; it is longer, and on the back, near
the small, a ridge rises which is known as the bump; the flukes, too,
are smaller; and the skin, instead of being black as ebony, is of a
slate color, frequently mottled with white--around the head presenting
an appearance like marbling; beneath the skin, on the head, is found
short, stiff, hair, and between the hair and skin an alkaline substance
which is a solvent for oil--it is used for washing clothing and the
paint work.

After our whale was stowed below and finished with, we remained off
the Leuwin for a few weeks, seeing whales but once, and then just at
nightfall. So the captain said, one fine morning, that he thought he
had waited long enough for the whales, and that now they might wait
for him. He ordered the helm hard up, and we went bowling away before
a ten knot breeze toward Vasse--a settlement situated in Geographe
Bay, a short distance to the northward of Cape Leuwin. Soon we could
see the breakers dashing and surging over the inhospitable coast, and
at 7 o’clock P. M. let go our port anchor in three and a half fathoms
of water, about three miles distant from the shore. We found several
other whalers at anchor, and two more came in the same evening. From
the ship the country looked low, sandy, and bushy. The next day we went
ashore for the purpose of procuring fresh water, and found that we had
an onerous task; as the casks were towed ashore and rolled about a
quarter of a mile to the wells, over a sandy, uneven road, into which
the pedestrian sank knee deep at every step. On arriving at the wells,
the water had to be dipped up by bucketsful from a depth of twelve
feet; nor was the water very good, it being produced from the sea by
filtration through the sand, which deprived it of its saline matter.
On filling our casks, finding it impossible to roll them through the
sand, we took our raft rope and laid it in a continuous line, rolled
a cask upon it, brought the end of the rope over it, and thus, all
hands taking hold, we succeeded in parbuckling them, one by one, to the
beach. I had often heard it sung that Jordan was a hard road to travel,
and whilst engaged in this occupation, beneath a burning sun and over
the scorching sand, I thought that it would not have been inappropriate
to substitute Geographe for Jordan; as a harder road to travel I defy
any one to point out. Thus we toiled, day after day, until we had four
hundred barrels of water in our ship’s hold, when liberty commenced.
This is always a season of rejoicing amongst sailors, but it would be
impossible to give a perfect description of the manner in which they
enjoy themselves, and the mad pranks they cut whilst their liberty
lasts. Imagine, if you can, a school of the most mischievous urchins
let loose, with perfect freedom to enact all the mischief they are
capable of, and you can form a faint idea of Jack ashore in a foreign
port. Some have hired horses and are riding double, one facing forward,
the other in the opposite direction, kicking, spurring, and urging the
nag onward, occasionally getting a fall which is productive of nothing
but a hearty laugh, the loose sand protecting the dismounted cavalier
from injury; and ten chances to one, after recovering his feet, the
unseated one would grasp the animal’s tail to mount again. I remember
a case of one of our crew, who, burning to distinguish himself, went
ashore, hired a horse, and rode off into the bush at full speed. The
beast, being better accustomed to bush ranging than his rider, in the
course of an hour made his appearance alone; and, on search being
instituted, the gay horseman was discovered hanging in the forked
branch of a tree, in such a position that he could not extricate
himself without assistance, and even then his garments were rather the
worse for wear.

The oldsters, when ashore, of course, resorted to the grog shop and
got merry; the younger ones, burning to emulate them, were soon half
seas over, and rolling around in too heavy a style even for a sailor.
The first day, however, settled the affair, as on the following one
the youngsters discovered that the way of the transgressor is hard;
for they had to pay the penalty of a disordered stomach and severe
headache. On the next liberty-day Bacchus had but few votaries.

I will now endeavor to give a slight description of the town of
Vasse. The town and bay take their name from a French vessel and her
master--the town from the captain, and the bay from the vessel. She
was cast away here years ago, and remnants of her timbers are still
to be seen. After half a mile’s wading through the sand, we came
to the outskirts of the town; the first house was a grog-shop, the
second a smithery, the third a grog-shop, and, half a mile farther on,
another groggery; so that it was easily to be seen that the Maine Law
had not yet gone into operation in this vicinity. Three grogshops,
in a village of about one hundred inhabitants, are rather more than
one would suppose were needed; but all seemed to be doing a thriving
business, everybody, men, women, and children, indiscriminately
going to the bars and drinking miserable spirits, for which they pay
six-pence sterling, equivalent to twelve cents of our money, per glass.
Then again, within a compass of a few miles, numerous sawyers are
employed, who, after laboring hard for two, three, or six months, and
accumulating a sum of money, resort to the village, and, to use their
own expression, proceed to knock their earnings down. This they soon
effect, and return to their old employment, when forced to, for want
of funds to continue their carousal. The ticket of leave men, too, who
are mostly employed in this section by the government, in repairing
roads and public works at certain seasons of the year, are allowed a
short time for recreation; and recreation to this people is only known
in intoxication, and hence they too are amongst the publican’s best
customers.

The aborigines are a slender made people, with faces and bodies as
dark as a negro’s, but with straight hair. Their features, to me, are
unpleasing, and they heighten the disgusting expression by besmearing
the cheeks, forehead, and the fore part of the hair with a reddish
clay, resembling Spanish brown, mixed with oil. They are very filthy,
being alive with vermin. Their only clothing consists of a kangaroo
skin, with the hairy side turned in, thrown over the shoulder; this
they call a bouka. The paint they put on their faces they call
willagee. Their weapons consist of a hard piece of wood, shaped like
a half moon, called a boomerang, which they send whizzing through the
air, striking any object they aim at with the most unerring precision.
The spear, too, they dart with exceeding accuracy from a diamond-shaped
piece of wood which they call a womara; they also dart it from the
hand. One morning I had half a dozen children darting for small pieces
of tobacco, which they invariably struck. They have a passion, like all
uncivilized nations, for rum and tobacco. The former they are debarred
from using, from the fact that the government inflicts heavy penalties
on any person who supplies them with the smallest quantity of alcoholic
stimulant. Our fellows, in several cases, got a bottle and carried it
into the bush, and gave them small quantities for the fun of seeing
and hearing them dance and sing; and, indeed, a very small portion of
spirits causes them to act more like demons than members of the human
family.

One afternoon I witnessed a sham battle between about a score of them,
equally divided. Twigs were substituted for their spears; the latter
being pointed, and armed with glass attached by means of a red gum,
are rather dangerous weapons to play with. They charged each other,
rallying and retreating, and, when opportunities presented, darting
their weapons, all the time making a hoarse guttural sound, and
becoming much excited. The sport continued for some time, and, after
they had finished, tobacco was given to them. One of them demurring
at the quantity in rather an outrageous style, was cooly knocked head
over heels, and this arousing a combatant spirit amongst our crew, the
whole of the natives, in a few moments, were flying as if for dear life
from the vicinity. From observation on different occasions, I should
say that the men are possessed of no courage; the women fight brutal
battles with each other, armed with sticks, and never succumb until
powerless from exertion or injury. But few, if any, of the females whom
I have seen, were not covered with welts, thicker than one’s finger, on
the back and breast, the result, no doubt, in many instances, of these
encounters: but they have a custom, I am told, of abrading their flesh
on the death of a relative, and to this cause is assigned most of the
scars they are covered with. They, like the men, are dressed with the
bouka or kangaroo skin, and are squalid, dirty, lewd, and ignorant.
Anything, a chew of tobacco, or a mouthful of biscuit, will cause
these libels on the name of women to forget the allegiance due to their
lords.

In the summer these people sleep in the open air, making, towards
sundown, a fire in the bush, and sleeping with their feet to the fire.
In winter they build rude huts of twigs and reeds, about four feet
high, and large enough for two or three individuals, and here they,
having in their hunting season collected provisions enough to subsist
on, huddle together and sleep away the rainy season, which usually
lasts about five months. Their food comprises almost everything that
is endowed with life--kangaroos, snakes, iguanas, and grubs being
their dainties; and if in the neighborhood where a bullock is killed,
they greedily flock to the spot, secure the entrails, and devour them
without cleansing. They are also very fond of the flesh of the whale;
and if by accident one comes ashore on the coast, or they take one at
either of the fisheries in the bay, they resort to the spot in great
numbers and devour the meat, fresh or putrid, without cooking. The
women back all the burdens, beside carrying the children; the child,
perfectly naked, sits astride on the mother’s shoulder, with the hands
firmly clasped in her hair, and in this manner they travel miles with
them. Some of the children carried in this way are of so light a
complexion, as to excite strong suspicion of amalgamation with some
of the whites in the neighborhood. The women, beside the child, carry
a bag, into which all the surplus provision is stored. Impelled by
curiosity, I one day bargained for a sight into one of these mysterious
receptacles, and for a plug of tobacco had revealed to my sight half a
dozen grubs, several snails, part of a toad, a snake, roots and herbs.
The snakes they will not eat without they have been present at the
time they were killed, being fearful that the snake, on being wounded,
should have bitten himself. These people are remarkable for accuracy
of vision and keen scent. For the former quality they are occasionally
carried out by whaleships, for the purpose of looking out from the
masthead; and I have been told by those who were shipmates with them,
that they could discern a spout or sail at as great a distance with the
naked eye, as a practised hand could with the glass. The last mentioned
quality causes them to be employed by the government in tracking
convicts who have taken to the bush, by captains of whaleships to
recover deserters, and by the settlers to track up their stray cattle.
In all these pursuits they are said to be infallible; although when
they arrive at the runaway, if he present a bold face to them, they
will not molest him; and unless they have a white man with them to urge
them on, they will retreat empty-handed. They have a wholesome dread of
fire-arms, and some of their race having seen a revolving pistol, has
impressed on most of them the supernatural character of the weapon; and
the “little fellow,” as they call it, is to them a great bug-a-boo.

On the strictest inquiry I could not discover that they had any
religion. The only inkling that I received of their ideas of hereafter,
was the fear they expressed of jing-ge, a word synonymous to the
English word devil; whether they have gleaned this idea from their
intercourse with the whites, or that it is traditionary with them, I
have no means of ascertaining.

These people are in the extremest degree indolent, and are only induced
to do even the slightest job or errand, by promising them a meal upon
its performance. If the employer good naturedly bestows the recompense
when they are partly through, or the black fellow has had anything to
eat previously, all efforts to induce him to return to the work are
futile--words and blows being equally useless. On the appearance of
whaleships in the bay, they resort to the town, and every member of
said ships on going ashore is importuned for hard bread and tobacco, or
an old jack-knife; and if the donor gives to all who ask him, he soon
finds his stock of edibles and patience entirely exhausted.

There are no musical instruments among them; their vocal music is
monotonous, and sounds harshly to the ear. At certain seasons of the
year they meet for the purpose of having a “corroborie” as they call
it, to which every member wears his best bouka; and when assembled they
vie with each other in grotesque grimaces and contortions, both of form
and feature.

These people are protected by the laws equally with the whites in
this section. Some few hundred miles to the northward, at a locality
known as Port Gregory, it is but a word and a blow; the blow, which is
generally fatal, coming first. In the latter neighborhood, depredations
committed on the settlers are the causes of their harsh treatment.
Some few of them, when young, have been taken, educated and clothed
in the European fashion, but in vain; they always prefer life in the
bush, with their own people, to all the advantages of civilization, and
only return to their benefactors when forced by hunger to do so. This
often happens, as they are exceedingly improvident. Their mode is, on
obtaining food, to gorge themselves to repletion, and then to sleep
or hulk about until Providence sends them another supply, or hunger
compels them to seek it.

These Australians contrast very unfavorably with our aborigines (the
North American Indians), being possessed of all their bad qualities,
without a single one of their redeeming traits; the same love of rum
and tobacco, and a mean habit of pilfering, without their perseverance
in the chase and bravery in conflict. I shall now, for the present,
bid them farewell, though, as my narrative proceeds, I will again have
occasion to revert to them.

As this settlement is part of a penal colony to which Great Britain
consigns her malefactors, for from five years to the duration of their
lives, to atone for offences against the laws of their country, the
society is not, consequently, what we at home would call select; but,
such as it is, it has its aristocracy. Although the majority of the
inhabitants are convicts, some of whom have served out their term of
punishment, the word convict amongst themselves is never used--it being
apparently banished, by common consent, from their conversation. The
convicts here form three grades--the members of the first, comprising
those whose sentences have not been ameliorated, are under the strict
surveillance of the government, and employed on government work. The
second class are known as “ticket of relief holders;” these, for
uniform good conduct, receive this ticket, which entitles them to
choose their own employers and place of residence; but at the same
time they are expected to give information as to where they reside to
the police, and to be within doors at 8 o’clock in the evening. If
these ticket holders continue to conduct themselves in a praiseworthy
manner, they then receive a conditional pardon, which entitles them
to leave the country, but at the same time debars them from returning
to Great Britain or Ireland; or, if condemned in the colonies, from
returning to the place of conviction; permission is, however, accorded
to them to take up their residence in any other part of this colony,
or in any colony under the control of the English government--England,
by this precaution, guarding against the return of her prison
population to her own shore. Hence these men, knowing that the stigma
of conviction will cling to their skirts as long as they remain in
this country, anxiously desire to embark in whalers--the United States
being, in their eyes, the land of promise--and in this way numbers
of emigrants of very doubtful character land on our shores. It is
customary for whale-ships to engage some of these men; occasionally
discharging their entire original crew, and shipping these in their
places. We had a number of them during the voyage, and in this port we
shipped two. I cannot but deprecate the practice of introducing men
of such vicious antecedents, into a forecastle in which are American
youths, who, by intercourse with such people, begin quickly to have
very crude ideas of morality; and, unless there is some strong-minded
person, with a clear, cool head, to rebut their specious arguments,
they exercise an injurious influence on the minds of the young.

During the remainder of our stay in this port, we were engaged in
giving liberty, boating ashore goods that had been sold or exchanged
for potatoes--other vegetables not being procurable. Beef was furnished
sparingly, it being alleged that a sufficient supply of it could not
be procured; but as I then was, and since have been informed, that
thousands of cattle were within a short distance of the town, the story
requires confirmation to make it credible.

The articles chiefly disposed of here were Yankee notions--fancy shoes,
soap, calicos, saddles, and other such stores. Formerly the whalers
that resorted to these ports for provisions found a market for all
their surplus articles; but, at the present time, over-importation has
caused a total stoppage of their trade, except at ruinous prices. Every
whale-ship that comes into this vicinity brings tons of tobacco in her
outfit, and very little, if any, duty is paid upon it--it being mostly
smuggled ashore. On the starting of a ship for port, the foremast hands
always resort to the slop-chest for tobacco, which they carry ashore
and dispose of at three times its original price; thus eking out their
liberty-money to a respectable sum, and, much or little, expending it
quickly.

The excise is guarded by the police, who, as a matter of form, look
into every boat that comes in; but I have never seen any difficulty in
carrying ashore, anywhere in the colony, twenty or thirty pounds of the
weed about the person; and, once ashore, purchasers are readily found.

A few Americans are to be found here, in every case deserters from
whaleships; who invariably, if at all attentive to business, in the
course of a few years, accumulate an independence; but, unfortunately,
they are too apt to imbibe a taste for that curse of this country, rum,
and live from hand to mouth, until, becoming unsettled and weary, they
embark aboard another whaler, and in time get home, having little or
nothing due them, after a voluntary exile of eight or ten years from
home and friends.

On the second liberty-day, given to the larboard watch, Kedge Anchor
took French leave and fled to the bush for concealment. For some
days we saw nothing of him; but, after a week’s absence, he was at
the beach, very anxious to get aboard on any conditions. He returned
miserably filthy and covered with vermin; his clothing almost gone, and
what he had left was all of one color, from wallowing in his various
sleeping places. Whilst ashore, he was under the guidance of a fellow,
who, by flaming accounts of the condition of the country, induced him
to desert, intending to apply to our captain for his berth. On Kedge’s
return, he was greeted with laughter, in which he heartily joined; and,
as it was impossible to get angry at him, he escaped with a reprimand;
the captain at the same time assuring him, that if, at any future time,
he repeated the attempt, he would not allow him to return aboard. What
effect this had we shall discover as we proceed.

At 10¹⁄₂ A. M. on the morning of February 12th, the ship James Allen,
and barque Henry M. Crapo, hove up their ground tackle and stood out
to sea. The captain of the James Allen had been vaunting of the speed
of his ship, and confidently asserting that she would outsail any
ship or barque in the harbor, he issued a challenge. We hove up at 11
o’clock, half an hour later than he, and in the course of two hours
had both the Crapo and James Allen on our lee quarter. As we passed the
latter, our captain facetiously desired them to let go that _hawser_.
They were too badly beaten to answer without displaying their chagrin;
they therefore were discreet, and said not a word. As this ship was our
consort from this time until July, 1857, I shall describe her and her
appointments. Like us, she was built from an old fashioned model, but
was a much younger ship. Her captain was of a diminutive person, and
strove to atone for his small size by blustering; his first officer,
who, from all accounts, governed the ship, delighted in a display
of pugilistic powers, and kicked, cuffed, and boxed the men on the
slightest provocation. She was two months longer from home than we, and
up to this time had taken no oil. One circumstance that I omitted, in
my remarks on Vasse, was the fact of a collation and a ball, held on
board this ship whilst we lay there. Invitations were issued, and the
elite of the vicinity, for miles around, accepted them, and at about
3 o’clock P. M. were conveyed aboard the Allen by the boats of the
vessels in the harbor. All the vessels had their colors hoisted; the
captains and chief mates were the only guests from the vessels. When
the boats with their freight arrived alongside, a chair that had a whip
attached to it was lowered, the ladies, singly, placed in it, and,
reposing on the American flag, hoisted aboard. Here a canvass screen
was extended across the quarter-deck, just abaft the mainmast, and,
after a hearty repast, a negro fiddler, who is an American by birth,
and the principal headsman at the bay whale-fishery, was called into
requisition, and, with the assistance of a triangle player, discoursed
music for the dancers. Soon the whole assembly were tripping the light
fantastic toe, on the well-worn decks that had faced many a gale. The
scene was pleasing. The coils of rigging, the shrouds, and lower masts
dimly lit up by the globe lanterns, reflecting a striking picture,
and reminding one of the smugglers’ jubilees, after a successful run;
hardy, weather-beaten men, leading in the dance; fair maidens, I was
about to say--but the scathing sun of Australia allows very few females
to boast a fair complexion, although their nut-brown cheeks glow with
health. The respectability of these people I know nothing about, except
from hearsay; but that they were a motley collection I was assured of
the following day, by hearing an old resident, a female, describe their
efforts, or rather the efforts of some of the party, to appear covered
with finery--devoting days to scouring the country and collecting
it. My fair countrywomen must not think me embittered against their
sex, or that I am anxious to do them injustice--God forbid; as a man
and a sailor, I would scorn to do so; but as an American, I feel the
superiority of my countrywomen over all of the sex in other countries
that it has been my privilege to see; and to favorably compare these
females with those of my native country, would, in my eyes, be an
insult to the latter.

I must advert to another circumstance before taking final leave of the
Vasse for “fifty-six”--that is the existence of the whale-fisheries in
this bay; there being one here, and one thirty miles to the north-east,
at a town known as Bunbry. At certain seasons the right and humpback
whales resort to the various bays on this coast for the purpose of
producing their young. A look-out is stationed on an eminence ashore,
and several boat’s crews being near at hand, at the appearance of a
whale the alarm is given, and they start in pursuit. At times their
work is very easy, but if the whale should run out to sea, after being
struck, they are obliged to tow him to the shears, and frequently a
day and night are consumed in this arduous employment. If the whale is
attended by a calf, they always fasten to the latter first, knowing
that the mother, in her solicitude for her offspring, is very careful
not to use her tremendous flukes; or if a humpback, her sweeping fins:
but woe betide the boat, unless an experienced boat-header directs it,
that is in the vicinity when she discovers that her calf is dead. She
then remains close to the lifeless body, striking right and left with
flukes and fins, to avenge her loss; and as the slightest tap from
these formidable weapons would cause destruction, it requires all the
boat-header’s adroitness to avoid them. The officers, boatsteerers,
and, if they can by any means be procured, two-thirds of the crews are
Americans: we having a world-wide reputation for skill in this pursuit.




CHAPTER IV.


And now we will return to our old barque, that we left beating out of
Geographe bay, having distanced both her competitors, and established
her reputation as a fast ship. At night we shortened sail and stood
quarter watches, and from this time until the middle of the succeeding
month, little occurred to vary the sameness of our life. We were
aroused from inaction by the appearance of sperm whales. The boats were
lowered, and the waist boat fastening, both irons drew. A few minutes
after, the starboard boat fastened to another. These irons holding,
after a two hours’ conflict we had a fine sperm whale alongside the
ship without accident, except the voluntary discharge of the bomb-lance
gun, which, fortunately, was productive of no injury. We had good
weather, and soon he was disposed of in our lower hold. The following
morning after his capture, we saw three other New Bedford ships
employed in cutting in whales, making four of us successful in the
war of extermination against the old squareheaders. The sperm whale,
swimming in immense schools, and always pursuing a direct route, all
ships that lay in their course have a chance at them. I have heard it
asserted that at night these whales heave to, resuming their course
at daybreak; but, although my informants were men who had been in the
service for years, I consider this a mistaken opinion, as during the
whole of our voyage I saw nothing to corroborate it. I have seen sperm
whales at dusk, and in the night, and they were always on the move, and
could not be discerned the following morning from the masthead.

During this month we gammoned the barque Lexington, of New Bedford.
This vessel was in a wretched state, and apprehensions were expressed
by her crew that some misfortune would befall her: she leaked
immoderately, was strained and very weak, and her rigging was so
shattered that they were unable to carry sail, except in moderate
weather. Whilst in company with us she could not hold her position, and
drifted broadside off to leeward. Subsequently her captain carried her
into Mauritius, where she was condemned, and sold, only to be refitted
as a colonial whaler.

One day, while most of the crew were listlessly reclining on the decks,
the extreme heat rendering exertion fatiguing, we were startled by old
Jack singing out from aloft, “The sea-serpent, the sea-serpent!” On
leaping into the rigging, we saw close to us a long, slender object,
in form resembling a snake. It was of a bright scarlet color, and,
although it moved, I think its motion was produced by the undulation
of the waves, and although Jack assured us that he had often seen them
much larger, and was willing to take his Bible oath that this was
the identical sea-serpent about which so many newspaper articles are
written, I am still inclined to think that it was some marine vegetable
production. It was about twenty feet long, and as thick as a man’s
arm; and as the season advanced we saw many of them.

At another time we were startled from inactivity to see a strange
monster, which the boatsteerer on the main topgallant cross-trees,
on being questioned, could give no explanation of; and it certainly
did present an appearance different from anything I had previously
seen. I was prepared to log the advent of a hitherto undescribed, and,
at present, indescribable inhabitant of the deep, when my romance
was knocked in the head by the captain, who, at the height of the
excitement, stepped to the rail, saw it, and immediately decided that
it was a young fin-back whale scooping up its food, which it did by
swimming along with extended jaws.

We had now gradually worked up to the northward, until we had arrived
on our cruising ground for the season. This ground is off Shark’s bay,
and extends between twenty and twenty-three degrees of South latitude,
and from one hundred and seven to one hundred and ten degrees of East
longitude. It bears the reputation of a profitable locality for whalers
to cruise in. The bay derives its name from the presence of myriads of
enormous sharks, and all over the ground, when a whale is alongside,
thousands may be seen surrounding the ship, tearing off pieces of
blubber from the whale, and revelling in his blood. They will bite
at anything. I have seen them pursue our wooden buoy, which is used
for attaching the hawser to the whale’s flukes, as it gradually arose
to the surface of the water, and attempt to crush it between their
hideous jaws; and after finding they could make no impression upon
it, following it up, occasionally nipping at it as if they did not
understand the consistency of an object that resisted their incisors.

On Sunday, April 27th, we lowered away for, and captured a fine
sperm whale. The James Allen’s boats lowered at the same time with
ours; they arrived first to the whale, ran on, and darted; but their
boatsteerer missed, and our waist boat, seizing the opportunity, ran on
and fastened. On the following Sunday we again saw sperm whales, and
captured another; on the succeeding day the weather was boisterous,
but we proceeded, in the face of numerous difficulties, to cut him in:
just as we had got him in a good position for hooking on, the fluke
chain parted, and away he went. We lowered away, and a second time
secured him. In attempting to veer, the whale got under the ship, and
it was only by strenuous tugging and hauling that we raised him. At
length we began to cut, and towards noon had the head severed from
the body; but, after various attempts, we gave up all hopes of saving
it; it was then allowed to tow from the quarter; we then went to work
at the body, and at 5 o’clock in the afternoon had it all aboard. The
weather having moderated, we renewed our efforts to save the head, and
succeeded so far as to get it in tow forward, when the hawser parted;
we next attached a studdingsail tack to it; but, although the rope was
large and new, it parted like packthread. A tub of line was then bent
on, and the head allowed to float astern; but in a short time the strap
attached to the head chain parted, and away it went, a total loss,
leaving us with nothing to console us, except the reflection that we
had done all that men could do, to save it. I noticed throughout this
arduous day’s work, the general alacrity of the crew in striving to do
their utmost, and could not but comment on the advantages of giving
each man a proportion of the vessel’s earnings, instead of monthly
wages; in our case all felt themselves personally interested, and
conducted themselves accordingly.

It will be noticed that three-fifths of our whaling up to this time,
has been on Sunday, and, subsequently, this day of days proved equally
fortunate for us. I do not wish to defend the practice of Sunday
whaling, and think that if a man makes it an invariable rule to
whale only on week days, that Providence would so dispose it that he
should not be a loser. We saw several of these Sunday ships, as they
are called, and in each instance they had quite as much oil as their
neighbors; at the same time, it takes a strong religious bias to induce
a man who depends upon the capture of whales for an early return to
home and friends, after being separated from all that he holds dear,
perhaps for years, to forego attempting their capture on a Sunday. In
fact, the temptation is strong; and, strange to say, most whalers see
greater numbers of whales on the Sabbath than on any other day.

Soon afterwards we met the James Allen. Since we last saw her she
had captured a whale, her first--whose lower jaw was snapped short
off--probably in conflict with another of his species. These creatures
are often terribly scarred, and their teeth indented and broken, as if
another whale had locked jaws with them; in which case something must
start.

In the month of May we gammoned the barque Massasoit, of Mattapoisett,
and from her got several terrapins which she procured in Madagascar.
These creatures had lived in her lower hold for twelve months, we kept
them three more; still, when we killed them we found them quite fat,
and had a delicious meal off them. From this ship we also received a
quantity of Madagascar beans, which were most excellent--surpassing, in
richness and flavor, the best of our beans at home. They are about the
size of the Lima bean, the skin being covered with black spots.

On the 23d of May we spoke the barque Ann, of Sag Harbor, and from her
received papers five and a half months old; they were treasures to us,
and were read with intense interest, advertisements and all coming
in for a share of attention; these papers were full of anticipated
troubles with England, and, of course, this prospect of a war was the
favorite topic. Like all Americans, we felt the superiority of the
universal Yankee nation, and had no fears as to the result in case of
a war with John Bull; and, from the general tenor of the conversation,
I should infer that, in case of emergency, the whalemen would be found
amongst the most strenuous supporters of both army and navy. Another
light also was cast on the subject by some one hoping that we should be
ordered home; and as a war would raise the price of oil, and induce an
earlier return home, both topics of intense interest to us, it cannot
be wondered that we were so much engrossed by them.

As I before said, we shipped two new men in the Vasse; one of these
was, according to his own account, a renowned pugilist, and had fought
and conquered in a dozen fights in the English ring. He was allowed
to vapor for a long time, but one pleasant evening, he went so far as
to offer to fight any man in the forecastle for an English sovereign.
His offer was instantly accepted, and a mere boy was chosen as his
antagonist. In less time than is occupied in the narration, the bully
was describing some queer figures on the forecastle deck--tumbling in
and out of bunks, over chests and kegs, all the time begging piteously
to be let go. After a few minutes of this violent exercise, he was
allowed to get up, thoroughly convinced that a Yankee hug was at any
time a puzzle for an English pugilist. The following morning he went
to the captain to complain of his ill usage, but the “old skipper”
had already been informed of the merits and demerits of the case, and
received the complainant with an order to clear out and not bother
him; but he was too anxious to make himself heard, and, persisting
in his cock and bull story until the captain was out of patience, he
was rewarded for his pains by an application of the old man’s heavy
boot to his posterior, and a box alongside the ear from his powerful
hand, that sent him forward lamenting, with more alacrity than he had
before displayed aboard the ship. Previous to this occurrence he had
quarrelled with almost every man in the ship, had refused to obey the
mate and was mastheaded for it, and evidently appeared to think that,
because he was an English subject, he was not bound to conform to the
rules of our vessel.

On the 8th of June, we took our departure from this ground, intending
to touch at the town of Balli, on the island of Lombock, an island a
few degrees to the eastward from Java, about a thousand miles from
our present locality--a long journey in the eyes of a landsman, but to
us, who for months had been tossed and banged about at the caprice of
the wind and wave, it was but a part of our customary life; the trip
presenting no more perils than our ordinary daily occupation. And then
again, the sea watches, which are always stood when sail is carried,
afford a pleasant variation, the long-continued quarter watches having
become extremely tiresome. Many slung their hammocks on deck, the
excessive heat of the weather and the bed-bugs combined--the latter
being always in great numbers in old ships--driving them from their
usual sleeping apartments. I remember seeing our Portuguese appear
on deck one night nearly nude, rubbing himself most vigorously, and
swearing volubly in his own language. On my inquiring of him as to what
was the matter, he answered, that “The darned bread boxes would not let
him sleep.” A dozen remedies were proposed with the utmost apparent
seriousness. One advising him to catch them and drown them; another to
pull their teeth out; whilst a third advised him to smear his bed and
bed-clothes with tar, for then they would stick fast and be unable to
get at him. Jeering and pestering the poor fellow until glad to be rid
of his tormentors on deck, he returned to his uncomfortable couch, and
resigned himself to the tender mercies of his tormentors below.

On our passage up to Balli, which climate has the reputation of
being very unhealthy, the captain advised a thorough cleansing and
whitewashing of the forecastle. No sooner said than done. The try
works were pressed into the service, a fire made, the pots filled with
salt water, and, whilst it was heating, the chests, berth furniture,
bed-clothes, and every other movable article, were removed on deck, and
buckets of boiling hot water dashed all over it. Then the whitewash was
mixed, and with a piece of canvass, the ship not being able to boast
the possession of a whitewash brush, a thorough coat was daubed over
everything, and things made to wear a clean and cheerful appearance.

The old duds assembled on deck formed a curious collection, and as I
noticed them I fancied that I could read the character of the owner by
the appearance of each, and the circumstances under which he left home.
The neatly painted chest, comfortable mattrass and quilt, prepared by
the careful hands of some fond mother or sister, fully proved that
their owner was a New Bedford boy, whose friends knew precisely what
would conduce to his comfort when separated from them by thousands
of miles of ocean waste; whilst the common straw bed, rude pine
box, outfit quilt, with the padding run into one corner, and coarse
blankets, testified that their owner was a reckless, careless fellow,
who, at the time he shipped, cared little for outfit or anything else,
except getting to sea, and, having fallen into the hands of the sharks,
had been shoved aboard and sent afloat with the merest necessaries.

In the pile, too, may be noticed an assemblage of hats and caps that
would make a hatter stare. During the first six months, all the hats
and caps brought from home, without, perhaps one may have been saved
to wear ashore, were blown overboard, for when a man goes up to reef
topsails in a gale, he has as much as he can do to attend to himself
without taking notice of his hat, and, unless it fit him perfectly
tight, he is sure to lose it. Hence, in this collection may be seen
head coverings of kangaroo skin, canvass, dungaree, cloth, and other
materials, in every conceivable shape and make; also straw hats,
made by the native of the Spice Islands, the Arab of the coast of
Africa, the Madagascar negro, the swarthy Portuguese, and the Malay;
all fabricated of different materials, and in different styles; all
answering, equally well, the purpose for which they are designed--that
of protecting the wearer from the seething sun, which has such power in
the native countries of their fabricators.

After beating about two weeks--the variability of the winds delaying
our passage thus long, while, with a favorable wind and plenty of
it, we would have accomplished it in ninety-six hours--we hove in
sight of the island of Sumbawa--the James Allen accompanying us.
After running for some distance along its coast, delighted with the
scenery--every rock and crevice being covered with vegetation of the
richest green, clusters of cocoa-nut trees rising in every direction,
and all the beauties of tropical verdure opening to our delighted
visions--a mountain, said to be volcanic, came in for a due share of
our attention. Soon we entered the Straits of Allas, and saw Balli
Peak, a mountain of considerable altitude, covered with vegetation.
Whilst at the mouth of the straits, we were greeted with a sight of a
water-spout--a phenomena so often described that for me to attempt it
would be superfluous. I will only state that sailors have a belief
that the water of which they are composed, although coming from the
ocean, undergoes, through the sun’s rays, a distillation that deprives
it of its salt. After we entered the straits, we alternately had a
succession of calms and light breezes which detained us for some time;
but, finally, we came to anchor about a mile from the town, in ten
fathoms of water--the James Allen being within a stone’s throw of us.
Near us was a coral reef, which prevents craft, except of light draught
of water, from approaching closer to the town. A number of the native
vessels lay inside of us loading with rice. These vessels are known
as proas--some of them are good sized; they are flat-bottomed, draw
but very little water, and are painted in rude, barbaric style. All
that I saw of any size were rigged as barques, their sails being mats,
manufactured from leaves neatly connected so as to present the surface
to the wind.




CHAPTER V.


Soon after our sails were stowed, a canoe from the town came alongside.
In it were two Malays, who had a cargo of green and ripe cocoa-nuts,
bananas, sugar-cane, tamarinds, pine apples, chickens, and cockatoos.
They were desirous of bartering these articles, not for money, but
sperm whale’s teeth, which they term “gee gees,” and use for handles
to their creeses, after having neatly carved and ornamented them. They
have a perfect passion for these teeth, and having at one time exposed
to their view a very handsome one, I was beset and pestered by these
people, ashore and aboard, to sell it. Having no desire to dispose of
it, I at first only laughed at their offers, but when one plucked me
by the sleeve and offered me a dozen chickens for it, and another his
whole stock in trade to become its possessor, I wavered and let it go.

The cocks, of which half a dozen were purchased, displaying
considerable game, two were pitted against each other, and, as quickly
as one was beaten, another was backed against the victor, until they
were tired of fighting, when their heads were cut off, and we supped
upon the belligerents.

The captain went ashore and found that no American or European ship had
been here for several years.

In the evening great numbers of the natives came down and waded
into the water; at first I thought they were bathing, but afterward
discovered that they were engaged in fishing for a diminutive fish,
which I think, from their appearance, must have been sardines. On
the ensuing morning, the captain having learned that we lay in a
bad position, we hove up our anchor and ran a short distance to the
northward, and again came to in the same depth of water. During this
day we were occupied in getting off water, and reeving new lanyards
to our lower rigging; and this laborious work in latitude 8°, was
rather warm. We were visited by many boats from the shore, and at
noon had a comfortable dinner of sweet potatoes, rice, chickens, &c.
On the succeeding day the starboard watch went ashore on liberty,
each member of it provided with half a dozen yards of gaudy-colored,
large-figured calico. We walked about half a mile from the landing,
and came to anchor at the market, where we found a concourse of
men, women, and children, with their wares exposed to view, busily
soliciting purchasers. This market was situated in the open air, near
by a cocoa-nut grove. They had for sale monkeys, parrots, cockatoos,
cooked and uncooked rice, poultry, limes, lemons, oranges, and figs,
besides the fruits before mentioned. These last were to be bought
for a song, and as we had been so long without these luxuries,
they were freely indulged in; but what suited my palate best was
the banana fried in cocoa-nut oil, which an old woman was busily
engaged preparing--plucking the fruit from the tree and cooking it.
Our appearance set these merchants agog, but they were not at all
obtrusive, and waited until we directed our attention to them before
they approached us; then they surrounded us, a dozen at a time asking,
how much this was, all their English; but we were not anxious to part
with our goods before discovering the state of the market. Soon a
man joined us whose complexion presented a queer appearance, being
formed of half a dozen different shades, arranged in spots, differing
in size as in color, from the size of a five cent piece to that of
a silver dollar, and in shade from a light yellow to a deep copper
tint; he was well made, and had the appearance and manners of one
of the better class; he conversed in intelligible sailor English,
mixed with French and Spanish, and evidently considered himself a
great linguist. From his account of himself I suppose that he was the
rajah’s clerk. He seemed anxious for me to describe, on the sand, some
English speaking, as he termed it; and after I had complied with his
request, he, in return, took the stick and drew several characters to
me unintelligible. He stated that his name was Woreka, and, as this was
difficult of remembrance, he was, by common consent, christened John,
and seemed quite proud of his title. He assumed the office of chaperone
to us, and through his instrumentality quite a number disposed of their
calico. I was importuned for some time, by a native, for mine, and
finally agreed to let him have it for four hundred pice. After some
demurrage, he agreed to purchase it, but did not possess sufficient
current funds about him. He desired me, by signs, to accompany him to
his house, where, he said, he had plenty; and on my reiterating the
price, he repeated, “I sabe, I sabe,” with much emphasis. On arriving
at his house he handed the calico to his wife, who was as much pleased
with it as an American child would be with a toy. Her spouse proceeded
up stairs to procure the money, and whilst he was gone I had leisure to
observe the inmates of the room. The wife, a young woman, apparently
about twenty years of age, had the most perfect set of features I ever
beheld, and hair, which, if loosed, would flow almost to the ground,
of the glossiest black; her complexion was about as dark as that of
our Indian squaws; her eyes, black and piercing--lips red as a cherry;
her form full of grace, and straight as an arrow. She reminded me of
the pictures I had seen of oriental princesses; and, certainly, a more
graceful or prettier queen never wielded sceptre. The other occupants
were an old woman and several children. By the time I had finished
my scrutiny mine host returned, and presented me with a quantity of
Chinese coin, which I found fell one hundred pice short of the price
agreed upon. I informed him of his mistake, but as all I received for
answer was “I sabe,” I demanded the restitution of the calico. For
this purpose he advanced to his wife to obtain it, and when she, who
had been watching us closely, discovered my intention of depriving her
of her prize, her pretty features contracted into a malignant frown,
her eyes shone like diamonds, so fierce were their expression, whilst
she stamped her little bare foot indignantly at the affront she deemed
imposed upon her. In consideration of the lady’s disappointment, and
from the fact of my being separated some half a mile from my comrades,
in the midst of a village containing hundreds of Malays, I was on the
point of yielding; but the lady’s rage found vent in words, which,
although I did not understand, from her glances and gestures I knew
were directed at me; and I have no doubt that, if I were able to
translate it, it would rival the Billingsgate vocabulary. I in turn
became warm at finding myself the object of vituperation, even from
such rosy lips; and then reflecting how my story would sound when told
to my shipmates--betraying how I, one of the oldest amongst them, was
overreached by a Malay, I remained firm; and getting possession of my
calico, left the house and the dusky lady--the latter to continue her
vituperations to her heart’s content, now that I was out of ear-shot.
Some who read this may think me foolish in allowing it to nettle me;
but I know of nothing more vexing, even to a patient man, than to be
made the subject of abuse, when he cannot understand his villifier’s
language, and is compelled to submit without being able to say a word
in justification of himself. I walked off with my goods, and, to
avoid a recurrence of such a scene disposed of it to the first who
offered, receiving in exchange four strings of pice, small Chinese
coin, composed of a mixture of brass and copper, impressed with Chinese
characters, each having a square hole in the centre. I met several
others of my shipmates furnished in the same way. They being too bulky
to carry in our pockets we were forced to carry them in our hands; one
of our number had his strung on a stick and slung over his shoulder;
the Malays carry them at their girdles. After having expended a few of
them for fruit, and one hundred and fifty each for our dinners, the
balance were thrown by handsful amongst the children, for the fun of
seeing the naked little urchins scrambling for them. Our dinner we
procured from our friend John, who furnished us with a very palatable
repast of bread fruit, cocoa-nuts, yams, sweet potatoes, pumpkins,
chickens, eggs, and rice. The chickens were stewed and seasoned to a
high degree with Cayenne pepper, of which condiment these people are
excessively fond, and, of course, think strangers are, or should be.
After dinner a drum and a couple of gongs were produced, and several
natives beat them for some time, making nothing like music to my ears.
When their performance had ceased, one of our fellows seized the drum,
and another, having his accordeon ashore, they began to play Yankee
Doodle; this was home music to us, and was received with a burst of
enthusiasm. One of our number, who had served in the Mexican war,
formed the men in line, with bamboo poles in the stead of muskets,
with which as many manœuvres were performed as would have excited the
awkward squad to emulation. The natives looked on with great glee. Our
friend John had purchased, from one of the party, a blue coat with
brass buttons, and a double-barreled pistol without a lock; the coat
he wore, whilst the pistol was displayed in a prominent position; and
with these additions to his usual accoutrements he strutted around, the
beheld of all beholders. Feeling his dignity much increased by them, a
razor was shown him, to which he took a great fancy, and insisted on
being shaved with it, after which he purchased it. Edge tools, such
as sheath and jack knives, scissors, &c., are eagerly sought for by
these people; even a piece of iron hoop is of value, and a foot of
it will procure for the possessor a day’s regalement. Their creeses,
one of which each male carries, are short swords, from eighteen inches
to two feet in length, irregularly shaped, and made of an unpolished
soft metal; they are carried in neat wooden sheaths; the handles are
of ivory, beautifully carved and ornamented. This is not the work of
the Malay, but of the Chinese; and the fact explains the eagerness with
which they purchase whale’s teeth--their hardness, and the superior
whiteness of the ivory, rendering them peculiarly applicable for this
purpose. These weapons are used by them in their encounters with wild
beasts, more particularly the tiger, which infests these islands.
Usually, when the tiger seizes his prey, they told us, he catches his
victim by the calico which encircles the waist, thus leaving his arms
free; then the Malay, feeling for the shoulder-blade, inserts his
creese, and, piercing the beast’s heart, relieves himself from his
cruel enemy. Their descriptions of their encounters with the tiger I am
inclined to think are, to a great extent, bombast; as from observation,
I have little faith in their confidence in themselves or weapons--one
of the boatsteerers belonging to the James Allen, when under the
influence of their abominable toddy, driving a score of them before
him with a good sized cudgel. Beside their creeses, each carries in
his girdle a box containing the beetle-nut, of which he takes a large
piece enveloped in a green leaf, belonging to I know not what plant,
and swallows it with great gusto. This practice, which is to them as
much of a necessity as tobacco is to a sailor, blackens their teeth
to an ebon tinge, and, I should judge, ruined them; as few, even of
the youngest of those who have arrived at maturity, have anything but
stumps of teeth. They also use the tobacco which grows on the island,
known to seamen as “shag tobacco.” It has little taste, and when
smoked, exhales an unpleasant odor; grows in threads and looks like
saffron.

Here, as in all barbaric countries, the women are obliged to do the
principal part of the work, and they may be seen walking in Indian file
from the rice fields to the granary, each carrying on her head a large
basket; the whole being under the guidance of a strapping Malay, who,
from appearance, is anything but an easy taskmaster. We saw but very
little of the unmarried females, except at a distance; they were, for
the most part, engaged in weaving a cloth of alternate gaudy colors.
On our approach the weavers would drop their work and run like deer.
We examined their looms, and one who, at home, had been a weaver, said
that they were on the same principle as our hand-looms. The reason
ascribed for the timidity of the females was, that some years ago
a Spanish vessel of war visited the town, and the crew, on getting
ashore, indulging in anise until drunk, indiscriminately violated
and otherwise maltreated the women. We could occasionally detect
them peeping out, to have a look at us, from some secure retreat. No
liberties could be taken, for the first two days, with any of them,
when an acute fellow, moved by a spirit, not unlike Yankee speculation,
procured prostitutes from an adjacent town; but he overshot his mark,
as the liberty was then stopped, and those ashore on duty were not
provided with available funds. There is a system of slavery here; and
John showed me a woman, whom he said would die--indeed, she appeared
in the last stages of disease--informing me at the same time that she
had cost him eight dollars, but that he would sell her to me for three.
Having no desire to be possessed of a human chattel in this part of
the world, I declined his accommodating offer. I could not detect any
difference in the races; both master and slave were, apparently, of one
family.

There are two Chinese merchants located here, who appear to monopolize
the whole trade of the town; they had a mart filled with china ware,
vermilion, cards, and various articles of Chinese manufacture; amongst
which they displayed, as very desirable articles, some disgusting
licentious paintings on glass--the workmanship and coloring displaying
no mean artistic skill. They were eager to display their possessions,
and showed us a large camphor-wood chest, filled with pice; but,
although the natives were continually passing in and out, the merchants
manifested no apprehension of theft; they seemed systematic in their
business, and, like all Celestials, considered themselves the only
civilized nation on the face of the globe.

The houses the Malays inhabit are built of bamboo; the first floor is
raised some six or eight feet from the ground, and the second about ten
feet above the first; the floors are of split bamboo. These houses are
airy and commodious; in the rainy season the inmates thatch the roof
and cover the sides with mats, to protect themselves from the weather.

The canoes, generally, are built of tamarind-wood, having outriggers
on each side to prevent capsizing; they are propelled by a paddle in
the bow, and one on the quarter, and when the occupants are hurried
they skim along with great velocity. One man will go out in his
canoe, drop anchor, and smoke and fish all day long. Seeming to think
the straits belong to them, they will neither move nor turn out for
anybody. One day when we were towing a raft of water aboard, one of
these canoes lay directly in our course. Finding gestures and the
king’s English ineffectual in clearing the way, we merely sheered our
boats so as to pass; but the raft continuing its course, caught in the
outrigger of the canoe, and, despite the exertions of its owner, it
was dragged for some distance before he was able to extricate it. All
the time he was spluttering away in Malay, until, finally, he mustered
enough English to sing out, “Let go;” but, as the current was strong,
we had as much as we could do to hold our own, without helping him.

Their cattle, which they call buffalo, do not, either in size, shape,
or appearance, resemble the rovers on our Western prairies; they are
small, formed like our ox, with slender legs, and hair the color of
that of the deer. I at once pronounced them a variety of the musk ox,
and when, a few days after, I partook of the flesh, my opinion was
strengthened. The flesh was white and tender, but had so strong an odor
and taste as to be unpalatable to us. I do not know whether the Malays
eat them or not. The cows give a rich milk, which, like the flesh,
tastes strong.

Their horses are undersized, but appear active, hardy, and intelligent.

Every family has numbers of poultry, and it is a favorite amusement to
pit them against each other--houses for the purpose existing in several
parts of the town.

The ducks are the most peculiar that I ever saw; they stand erect,
with their heads high in air, and are facetiously nicknamed “Balli
soldiers:” they are excellent eating.

The principal provisions we obtained here were sweet potatoes and
pumpkins; the former were smaller and not near so good as ours at home,
but formed a pleasant variety. We soon disposed of them; sixty bushels
lasting only six weeks. The pumpkins, in shape and taste, resemble our
squashes. We also managed to get a few yucas, which is an esculent
resembling the potato, and, I think, a small variety of the yam.

Beside these, we carried out large quantities of cocoa-nuts, bananas,
and tamarinds--the bananas, being brought aboard in an unripe state,
after a few days were fit to eat; our cook attempted to boil some, but
the attempt proved a failure--we preferring them raw. The tamarinds
were preserved in molasses and stowed away; they are valuable for their
anti-scorbutic properties, and were kept aboard for years after leaving
Balli.

One day, whilst lying here, after I had pretty well satiated my
curiosity in the town, I strolled into the country, and came across
a cemetery filled with hecatombs--a slab being placed at the head,
another at the foot of the grave, and the space between filled with
stones. Near this cemetery was a spot enclosed by a high, solid, stone
wall, but I could not ascertain for what purpose it was designed.
Pursuing my way, I found a number of trees covered with the names of
ships that had visited Balli, with date and country attached: amongst
them I noticed that of the Spanish ship before mentioned, and those of
several whalers, with the quantity of oil they had aboard specified. I
found some one had been here before me and carved our old barque’s name
in large characters. Beyond this spot I discovered that a very populous
country existed; but why we had not been told of it at the lower town,
I cannot divine. The natives clustered around us in great numbers, and
the women, after the first sight, were not afraid to approach us. In
the centre of the town was a cockpit, where fowls, with steel gaffs,
were plunging at each other, whilst their owners and backers were
freely betting as to the result, so intensely bent on the contest,
that they had neither eyes nor ears for us. Some of the men here were
rather officious, and we scarcely knew what their intentions might be;
probably it was only curiosity; but it induced us to beat as speedy a
retreat as we could, without exciting notice.

These people are very temperate, and I did not see them indulge in any
of their intoxicating liquors, which consist of two varieties; one,
a scarlet-colored spirit, which they call “toddie,” is made from the
fermented juice of the unripe cocoa-nut. At first taste it does not
appear strong, but over-indulgence in it produces either stupefaction
or a species of insanity, resembling no effect I have ever seen from
any other spirit. In the first case the subject is reduced to perfect
helplessness and insensibility, which does not leave him altogether
for several days; if the latter effect is produced, all the symptoms
of violent insanity appear, and the madman does not rest until he has
had a quarrel. Hence it was called “fighting toddie;” and one who has
once indulged in it shuns it afterwards, on the principle that a burned
child dreads the fire.

The Anise is a colorless liquid, with a smoky, fiery taste, and has the
same effect as other spirituous drinks. Neither of these liquors could
be procured in the town when we first came ashore, whereupon some of
us congratulated ourselves on the prospect of a temperate and sociable
day; but part of our crew, determined to have a spree, by the offer of
half a dozen whale’s teeth, induced a native to cross the country in
quest of it. The hesitation of the people in furnishing it, evidently
proceeded from a perfect knowledge of its effect upon seamen when
ashore, and indulging in it _ad libitum_.

The rajah of the town and his clerk visited the ship one morning.
The rajah’s dress and air were anything but kingly. He was a man of
advanced age, and at home would have passed muster as a respectable
looking mulatto; but he had little to say, not understanding our
language--his clerk, Tonga, interpreting for our captain and he. The
harbor duties were paid in powder, with the addition of an old musket,
and the provisions in whale’s teeth.

The coast is considered unhealthy by the natives themselves; the
rajah’s clerk expressing himself anxious to get away into the interior,
saying that he was fearful of being sick. The utmost care was taken
by us to prevent sickness. None of our crew were necessitated to
drink the water--a cask of beer being continually on draught on the
quarter-deck. No sleeping on deck was allowed, and no staying ashore
at night. Even with all these precautions, our second and third mates
were very ill--the latter severely so--and also one of the crew, with
a debilitating fever peculiar to the climate. Several belonging to the
James Allen also had reason to remember Balli for a long time after
they left it--a distressing dysentery continuing to affect them for
months. At Angiers, in Java, in nearly the same latitude as Balli,
scarce an American whaler goes out, after a short stay, without leaving
one or more of her crew to repose in death on its lovely shores: and
we cannot but feel thankful for the protecting care of Providence,
in guarding us from such a misfortune. This is the only objection to
these East Indian ports, as I know of none where a crew of young men,
if so disposed, can pass a few days more rationally and pleasantly,
gleaning at the same time useful information. The climate appears to
agree with the natives, as I saw numbers of the most attenuated human
beings, who had attained a great age, so reduced that the student
might, by procuring one of them, readily study anatomy from a living
subject. I was at a loss for a long time to divine the occupation of
these emaciated creatures, but soon found that they were mendicants.
They never solicited alms, but seemed to make a good thing of it--the
countrymen and women bestowing pice freely amongst them. Although so
old and reduced, their vanity still remained, as was shown by their
eagerness to purchase our gaudy calico.

These people profess the religion of Mahomet, and their creed seems to
enjoin cleanliness upon them, as they are neat and cleanly to an almost
painful degree--performing their ablutions frequently and thoroughly,
like all others of the same faith. Pork is their abomination, as much
as it is to the children of Judea.

Parrots and cockatoos exist here in great numbers, and may be seen in
the lofty cocoa-nut trees. The cockatoo is a beautiful bird, about the
size of our pigeon; it is perfectly white in its body plumage; on the
head is a crest consisting of three or four feathers of a beautiful
yellow, which it elevates at pleasure; it has a formidable beak, is
easily tamed, and can be taught to articulate. Ashore I saw several
domesticated, that jabbered Malay with great fluency, and traversed the
house on a perfect equality with the cats and children. Monkeys also,
may be seen in these groves; they are small, but active, mischievous,
and intelligent. Cockatoos and monkeys had attracted the attention of
more than one of us; and half a dozen of the former, and two of the
latter, were transferred to our ship, where they soon made themselves
at home. The birds lived for some time, but were finally lost
overboard. The monkeys not agreeing well together, one was given away,
and the other committed suicide by eating putty.

On the last liberty day Kedge Anchor, from our vessel, and no less
than seven from the James Allen, deserted; but their departure was
soon reported, and natives despatched in search of them on the same
day. After a tiresome walk of ten miles, during which they represented
themselves as having been treated by the natives with the utmost
hospitality, they found themselves surrounded by a score of the
rajah’s body guard, armed with drawn creeses; and, with some demurrage,
the deserters, having no arms, were compelled to submit. No indignities
were offered to them. Horses were provided for each, and thus mounted
they were conducted back to the coast--their attendants easily keeping
pace with them on foot. They arrived at night, and were comfortably
provided with lodgings and an excellent supper, and next morning were
delivered over to their respective captains, on the payment of a piece
of blue cotton cloth, as a ransom for each. There was very little said
to our shipmate, but aboard the Allen her deserters were handcuffed and
put between decks; though after a short time they were liberated. This
freak hastened our departure from the port, and on Sunday morning, at 3
o’clock, all hands were called to “Up anchor, ahoy!” With a merry song
the windlass was manned, and soon the old barque was on her way out. We
had several hundred chickens aboard, one hundred ducks, six cockatoos,
two monkeys, and a Malay puppy. These creatures, all excited by the
unusual position they found themselves in, were respectively venting
their dissatisfaction in the most vociferous manner. The cackling
of the chickens, quacking of the ducks, chattering of cockatoos and
monkeys, the yelping of the puppy, and the merry “Yeo, heave, ho!”
of the sailors, blended, formed a chaos of noises, indescribable and
deafening. Our bananas were hung under the tops, over the stern, and on
the stays and rigging--giving our floating home a lively appearance.

On the last day of our stay in port, the Englishman who had made
himself so disagreeable to all hands, on expressing a wish to be left
ashore, was discharged by our captain. He had seven or eight pounds
sterling; the captain gave him several more, as also a piece of cotton
stuff for which he could readily procure sale, and then provided him
a guide across the country. A large, powerful man, belonging to Troy,
New York, having effected his escape from the Allen, on the last day,
eluding the natives sent in pursuit of him, was supposed to have
accompanied him, and both took their way to Anfernande, a seaport some
thirty miles distant.

In the evening of the day that we took our departure from this pleasant
spot, we were favored with a strong breeze, and the crew became
themselves again in the execution of their multifarious duties about
the ship; lying in port always giving to Jack Tar a sluggish carriage;
but the moment the sea breeze strikes the vessel, he livens up and
feels himself called upon for exertion.

In the course of the ensuing week, the cocoa-nuts, tamarinds, and
bananas were proportionately distributed amongst the crew, fore and
aft, and these, with fowl additions to our usual sea fare, enabled
us to live high for some time; and our monkeys affording a source of
amusement, time passed speedily and pleasantly. These little creatures
soon became expert in running about the rigging; a suit of sailor’s
clothes was made for them, and their antics in this attire were most
ludicrous. They became much attached to one of the boatsteerers, and
followed him, in fine weather, to the masthead. One day he observed
them run in company to the extreme end of the maintopgallant yard-arm,
when one, with a mischievous grin, pushed the other off; but though the
poor fellow fell on deck, he escaped with slight injury.

With a fine breeze, we steered a southerly course, along the West
coast of New Holland, until we arrived on our old cruising-ground.
The weather here, although a few weeks previously we had found it
uncomfortably warm, after our visit to so much lower latitudes, felt
quite chilly, and woolen shirts, stockings, and underclothes--articles
of apparel to which we had long been strangers--were hunted up from out
of the way nooks and corners of chests, and donned. We here saw the
ship Stephania, of New Bedford, making a passage for Angiers, whence
her course went homeward. She was leaking badly, and her crew grumbled
at the oppressive labor of pumping in the existing hot weather. She
had considerable right whale oil, taken off the Island of Desolation,
which island was described by her crew as a miserable place for
cruising--cold weather, with heavy gales, prevailing there almost all
the time. A few days previous to our meeting her, they had been fast to
a large sperm whale, which crushed a boat in its huge jaws, seriously
injuring the captain’s hand at the time.




CHAPTER VI.


Finding, after a short stay, that the ground was deserted both by
ships and whales, we pursued our course to the southward, intending to
double Cape Leuwin, thence to the eastward, and cruise in the Great
Australian Bight. Anticipating heavy weather in those latitudes, our
foretopgallant mast was sent down, and the mizzen topmast housed; and
no sooner were we thus far prepared than we caught a heavy gale that
exceeded in violence anything of the kind we had experienced during
the preceding part of the voyage. It lasted eight or nine days, and
as there was an ugly sea running, the ship was almost continually
drenched the whole extent of her decks. One night whilst lying-to in
the gale, when its violence was at its height, a heavy sea broke over
the vessel, carrying away part of the starboard bulwarks, and filling
the bow boat on the larboard side. The davits of the boat were crushed
by the weight of the water, and the boat broke down amidships. The
decks were deluged, and it was necessary to knock out a part of the lee
bulwarks to allow the water to escape. The third officer, who headed
the watch, called the first mate, who, on coming on deck, hurriedly
ran over the members of the watch, when missing one, whose look-out he
heard it was, and supposing him to have been on the forecastle at the
time the sea was shipped, he gave him up for lost. To ascertain, he
cried aloud his name at the top of his voice, but the gale prevented it
from being heard a short distance from the speaker. He then despatched
a person into each top, who sang out for him without result. After
all had decided that he was overboard, without hope of relief, he was
found snugly ensconced in the starboard boat, totally unaware of the
apprehensions entertained for his safety.

On the 6th and 7th of August we fell in with the barques Aladdin
and Lady Emma, and the brig Jane, all of Hobartown, carrying the
English flag. These were the first whalers we had seen carrying other
than our own glorious banner. We gammoned them, and found them but
indifferent craft--their rigging poor, and scarce any discipline
existing aboard of them; their slouching arrangements contrasting
unfavorably with our own neat and tidy appearance. Their crews are
composed principally of convicts who have served out their terms of
sentence, and ticket-of-relief men: with such material it is scarcely
possible to form a good crew. Their officers and captains were, in many
cases, from the same class of society; and on board one of the barques
the master was so ignorant as to be compelled to carry a navigator,
who directed all the movements of the ship, except when they were
whaling. A few Yankees were amongst them--in every case deserters from
American whalers. The residue of their crews contained representatives
from all parts of the world--black, yellow and brown; Portuguese, New
Zealanders, Kanackas from all of the South Sea Islands, and Negroes.
Aboard some of these ships the forecastle is partitioned into two
apartments, in one of which the blacks, and in the other the whites
reside--neither party encroaching on the other. These ships usually
fit out for fifteen months, but generally return within the year;
their forecastles look desolate, from the fact that none of the crew
bring chests to sea with them; their stock of clothes consisting, in
many instances, only of the suit they wear upon their backs. Their
bedding, too, from lack of attention to their outfit, is very scant,
and is therefore insufficient in such cool weather as prevails in
the Bight at this season of the year. They were disposed to grumble,
and exceeded the usual modicum of growling accorded to the sailor.
They envied us our positions, and were very desirous of effecting an
exchange; some went so far as to ask to be concealed when their boat
left our ship. They represented that their ships were leaky, and the
officers ignorant; and inveighed in unmeasured terms against their
rations, describing them as scant and unwholesome. These must not be
considered as fair specimens of the Hobartown shipping, as afterward
we saw vessels in which, although their management could not compare
with ours, their crews were at least contented, and their vessels and
rigging presented a much better appearance to a seaman’s eye.

On board these ships grog is allowed; by some, daily; others, semi-and
tri-weekly; and when we informed them that we sailed on the total
abstinence principle, they expressed much astonishment at the fact, and
wondered how we got along without liquor.

Several New Zealanders in the respective crews of these vessels
attracted my attention, from the tattooing on their bodies. The figures
on the face and breast were not near so disgusting, as from previous
description I had imagined them to be.

Quite a pleasant incident occurred on board our vessel, during this
evening. One of the crew of the brig Jane came into our forecastle,
and inquired whether there were any natives of Patterson, New Jersey,
present. Two of our crew, belonging to that city, presented themselves;
and, after some inquiries, one of them proved to be the play- and
school-mate of the stranger. They had not met since their childhood,
and their meeting now caused much feeling on each side. Both had
followed the sea for years, and been self-exiled as it were from their
native land. When a stripling, the one aboard of us had joined the
volunteers in General Scott’s army, then in Mexico. After participating
in the struggle until peace was declared, he returned to the United
States, spent his pay, and then shipped aboard a whaler bound to the
Arctic ocean. Having been forty months at sea, he came back, and again
spent his earnings just as foolishly as he had done before; and, being
compelled by necessity to return to the ocean for support, he shipped
aboard a merchant vessel bound for Liverpool. He next made various
voyages to different parts of Europe and the West Indies, experiencing
perilous vicissitudes; when, finally, he embarked on board our old
craft. His schoolmate had joined a New Bedford whaler; which, after
being a year from home, touched at a port on the eastern coast of
New Zealand, where he deserted, and engaged for a time in the lumber
trade; in which, he told me, he would have done well, if he had left
liquor alone. From this he proceeded to trade with the natives, and
was finally adopted by them; but their mode of life being distasteful
to him, he engaged in the coasting-trade, was cast away, and carried
into Hobartown, where he at length joined the brig Jane. Both these men
possessed talents above mediocrity. They were good seamen, and their
qualifications would have rendered them good citizens also, had not a
roving, restless spirit of adventure led them to throw away their time
rambling over the world.

These ships pursue the blackfish with almost as much eagerness as they
do the whale, and their manœuverings for this small game often deceived
us. The crews receive a large proportion of the vessels’ earnings;
but they get only forty pounds sterling per ton for their oil, no
matter what price it brings in the market; so that, although the lays
are shorter, the actual remuneration is about equal to ours. The only
advantage they possess over us is in the shortness of the voyage:
during the whole continuance of it, however, they allow no liberty, and
only touch at insignificant ports for vegetables.

On the 22d we sighted sperm whales. Lowering away the waist boat, we
went on to the fish--the boatsteerer darted; but the irons struck the
head, and did not penetrate. The whales started to the windward, and we
saw no more of them--getting nothing but fisherman’s luck for our pains.

On the 25th we were informed of the probable loss of the ship Twilight,
of New Bedford: it being supposed that she had foundered at sea. The
report was originated by the captain of the barque Draco. It appears
that the two vessels sailed from King George’s Sound in company; and,
experiencing an exceedingly heavy gale, they agreed to lie by each
other during the night, either party, if desirous of running before
the gale, agreeing to fire a rocket or show a light. No such signal
was seen from the Draco; and next morning, on the Twilight’s not being
discernible, the conclusion was arrived at that she was lost. We were
agreeably surprised, a few weeks after, by a sight of the missing ship.
Her captain had before been informed of the report; and, on our running
across his stern, to our captain’s hail he replied, that his ship was
the Nonsuch of New Bedford.

About this time, I was much amused by an original method, which our
captain instituted, to stop pugilistic encounters between the boys.
On the evening previous, a Portuguese boy and a New Bedford youngster
engaged in a game of fisticuffs, resulting in black eyes and skinned
noses to both the participants. The captain, on making inquiry the
next morning, discovered enough to justify him in punishing them. For
this purpose he tied their left hands firmly together, and placed
reef-points in their right hands. (These points are manilla ropes,
three feet long, whipped at both ends, and about three-fourths of an
inch in diameter--a formidable weapon in a strong hand.) Then, after
getting them in position, he instructed them to lay their points on
each other’s backs. The Bedford boy refusing to do this, the captain
took the point in his own hand, and gave him a cut, which operated
like fire amidst dry wood. At it they went; and, both being game, they
continued the infliction of the points for half an hour, when they were
stopped by the old man. One of them was then sent to sit astride the
extreme end of the flying jib-boom, and the other to occupy a similar
position on the spanker-boom. The other ships’ officers said, merrily,
that old Sherman was trimming ship to beat them.

On the same day, by the ship Alexander, belonging to the same owners
as our own barque, I received letters from home; and although nine
months old, they were heartily welcome. None but the wanderer from
home and friends knows, or can imagine, the joy and comfort imparted
by good news from home. Such events are the oases in our desert.
Newspapers were also sent to me; and I read them completely through,
advertisements and all, with a degree of attention I had never before
bestowed on a printed sheet. Others were not so fortunate as myself,
and gave vent to their disappointment in bitter terms.

The Alexander had been whaling in higher latitudes than we were--she
having visited Desolation and New Zealand. Her present captain came
out as first officer; for, the original captain being taken sick, had
returned to the United States from one of the Cape De Verde Islands,
and his mate succeeded him in command. Her crew described their first
captain as having been a trump; relating, with great glee, that on the
cook’s serving them up beans badly cooked, they complained to him; and,
discovering their complaint to be well founded, he forced the cook
to eat the whole mess--giving him nothing else to eat until he had
completed the task. Ever afterwards, they said, their victuals were
nicely prepared. Off the western coast of New Zealand they had seen
sperm whales more than sixty times; but, for some reason or other, they
had not been very successful in capturing them--having taken but five
hundred barrels of oil from the time they left home. This ship then
purposed returning, and was anxious for us to accompany her.

Whilst we were in the Bight, the barque Australasian Packet captured
a sperm whale. The weather was boisterous, and they did not succeed
in getting him alongside until after dark. The boat that was running
the line to the ship was struck by the vessel, and stoven: two of her
crew clung to the boat, and escaped; the others were drowned. The whale
was allowed to go adrift, and was picked up on the following day by
the ship Hunter, of New Bedford. By this sad disaster the crew of the
Packet were intimidated, and refused to do any more whaling; therefore
the captain was forced to return with her to Hobartown.

On the 10th of October we gammoned the barque Rodman, of New Bedford,
twelve months out, with twelve hundred barrels of oil. She was by far
the most successful ship we encountered. Much of her oil was taken off
Desolation; and her crew, like that of the Stephania, represented that
whaling-ground as a perfect purgatory. They said that the weather was
so intensely cold, that it was necessary to envelop the person in three
or four thicknesses of warm woolen clothing when going in the boats.
This practice cost one of their crew his life; for the boat in which he
was being stoven, from the heaviness of his clothing when saturated he
was unable to swim, though he knew how, and he perished--his boatmates
having as much as they could do to save themselves. They had also been
into Shark’s Bay, in pursuit of humpbacks, and lost an anchor there;
the captain had also there rigged a bomb-gun, so as to discharge a
harpoon, but on putting it into operation shattered his hand.

Doing nothing in the Bight, and being assured of the scarcity of sperm
whales on its grounds, we took our departure for the westward. We had
counted largely on this season’s operations--forgetting the old maxim
of not reckoning chickens before they are hatched. We saw sperm whales
but once during the season, and then failed to make a capture. We were,
without palliation, skunked: our whole additions being a porpoise and
cowfish. The latter fish is of the same species as the porpoise, only
differing from it in size, it being considerably larger; its flesh is
coarser and not so good eating.

During our cruise we were continually in sight of some one or more
islands of the Récherché Archipelago. These islands are uninhabited and
almost barren--the only green appearance being a stunted brushwood.
Around these islands the seal is found in great numbers, and small
craft resort to them for the purpose of capturing these sea-dogs.
Several of the ships lowered their boats, which went in, and stated
that they caught numbers of fine fish.

Steering to the westward we sighted Bald Island and Baldhead, and
cruised in their neighborhood for several weeks, seeing sperm whales
once, but, after a hard day’s chase, giving up the pursuit as futile.
One Sunday, at daybreak, the order was passed forward to loose the
flying-jib. One of the hands laying out on the boom for the purpose,
the foot rope parted, and he was precipitated into the sea. We had had
blustering weather for a few days previous, and a heavy swell was on
at the time of the catastrophe. No one saw him fall; but one of the
crew, imagining, as he thought, that he heard a gurgling sound in the
water, looked over the bow, and saw at a glance what had happened. The
alarm being instantly given, the cry of “Man overboard,” resounded
throughout the ship; and, without waiting to dress, the whole crew,
fore and aft, made their appearance on deck. In a moment the wheel
was put hard down, and the mainyard hauled aback. The first officer
sprang into the larboard boat, in his nightdress, and cut the gripes;
the tackles were let go by the run, and the moment she touched the
water she was manned by a crew, who, with strong arms and brave hearts,
lustily pulled for their hapless companion. Fortunately, he was a
strong swimmer, and, although the weather was cold and he enveloped
in the heaviest of sea clothing, with his coat on, also, he found but
little difficulty in keeping afloat. In a short time the fourth mate,
who was in the head of the boat, grasped him and hauled him aboard. The
word was instantly given that he was saved. No cheers followed this
agreeable announcement; but a deep-drawn sigh of satisfaction expressed
the relief such intelligence afforded. In eight minutes from the time
the order was given to loose the sail, we had him safe and snug aboard
the ship. He was so weak as to be unable to clamber from the boat up
the side. On stepping from the rail to the deck, he was welcomed as
one restored from the dead, and, after many assurances that he was all
right, except a slight weakness, the excitement began to subside. None
but those who have experienced it, can imagine the effect produced by
the cry of “Man overboard,” on every hearer; and to us, who had lived
for more than a year together, seeing and conversing with each other
every hour in the day, all depending on the same fabric for shelter
against the storm and wave, it came with a ten-fold force--as none knew
whose turn it next might be. Nothing serious resulted from the ducking;
a slight cold, that soon yielded to simple treatment, being the only
affection.

On the 20th we stood in with a fair wind, passed Baldhead, entered
Frenchman’s Bay, and came to anchor at 7 o’clock in the evening; having
taken a pilot when opposite to Baldhead. A few hours after the James
Allen made her appearance. We found at anchor the barque Wavelett, of
New Bedford. The ensuing morning all three ships weighed their anchors
and passed through a narrow passage which connects the bay with the
sound. The Wavelett and our barque came to anchor in good shape, but
the James Allen, in trying to imitate us, ran aground. After a few
hours she floated clear. At anchor in King George’s Sound, we found
an old hulk, with only her lower masts standing, was moored stem and
stern, and used for the reception of coals for the steamships that
every month touch there. This harbor is beautiful and safe, it being
protected from almost all winds. About a mile from where we lay is
the town of Albany, a settlement containing about one hundred houses,
and five hundred inhabitants. The tenements are principally of frame,
with thatched roofs. Their occupants are of the same class as those of
Vasse. At times, it is said, this place presents quite a business-like
appearance; but when we visited it, everything like trade seemed
stagnant. This was represented to be caused by the non-arrival of the
steamers; the government having withdrawn them to use as transports for
troops to the Crimea.

For the first three or four days we were visited by heavy rain squalls,
which preventing much work being executed, we whiled away the time,
between squalls, in angling--the water being alive with fish--salmon,
herring, mackarel, and whitings, rewarding the fisherman’s toil.

We had little trouble here to procure water--a large tank being walled
in, from which we procured an abundant supply. The only difficulty we
experienced was from the extreme coldness of the water while rafting it.

On the 27th our liberty commenced. On going ashore and walking up the
beach, we found, on passing the custom-house, a notice, signed by the
captains of the different ships in the harbor, notifying all persons,
that in the event of trusting any of their men, it would be on their
own responsibility, as no debts of our contracting would be paid by
the said captains. This was unusual to us, as we had never before been
posted in port; but it may have been necessary, as the sailor, when
ashore, thinks of nothing but present enjoyment. When he is half seas
over, he will borrow money, or buy anything on credit from persons
foolish or roguish enough to trust him, and when he gets at sea, will
tell with great satisfaction how nicely he bilked the landlubbers; but
in ninety-nine cases out of the hundred the landsman has the best of
the bargain, seldom letting Jack Tar weather him.

The first move of our fellows was to take possession of an English
bar-room, strike up Yankee Doodle, and break down in a genuine
fore-and-after. There are five of these public houses in this
settlement; one, however, was chiefly patronized by the ships’ crews,
from the fact of a pretty bar-maid presiding over the spirits; and,
as she was the only creditable-looking specimen of marriageable
femininity in the place, she was surrounded by admirers. She met all
with a cheerful smile, and was ever pleasant to both officers and
sailors, always granting them a kiss of her fair cheek, when ready to
sail; while her character, from a certain dignity about the girl, was
unimpeachable.

Of course, the facilities for obtaining liquor being so abundant,
there was the usual quantity of drinking; but, without prejudice, I
feel justified in saying, that, of the three crews, ours conducted
themselves best, and at sun-down returned in a creditable manner. Old
Jack, however, got astray, and was not to be found at night when the
boat came off. The next day one of the crew found him, with a bottle of
grog, close by a small dam on the outskirts of the town. After being
thoroughly awakened by a hearty shaking he took up his line of march,
which, by the way, was a very crooked one, for the beach, singing, with
great energy--

  “The sailor loves his bottle, O!”

One morning, on going ashore, we found that the Wavelett’s crew were
not on liberty. News soon transpired that there had been trouble
aboard of her, and that part of her crew were in irons. Their captain
left the town and went aboard, and found that they refused to do duty
unless liberty was allowed to them. After some quibbling he consented,
and they came ashore. Five of her men deserted, three of them getting
clear; but the other two were traced by the natives, and apprehended by
the police. One also was caught who bolted from the Allen.

Whilst in this port we had very little, in fact, scarce any, fresh
meat. The reason assigned was its scarcity; but the Wavelett’s crew
were all the time well supplied, and I cannot reconcile the two
circumstances. _We_ certainly needed it, having been from home fifteen
months, and having had it in but one port. Few potatoes either were to
be had here, and in lieu of them we carried to sea ruta baga turnips,
which were mostly eaten by the pigs. To make amends for the absence of
fresh meat, a supply of fish was contracted for with an American--a
deserter from a whaler, years since, who has married and squatted down
here, where he sustains himself by fishing and boating. These fish,
in appearance and taste were very much like those known as porgies at
home; they were well enough occasionally, but a continual fish diet,
than which I know of nothing more tiresome, soon clogged our appetites,
and the supply, in consequence, far exceeded the demand. I well
remember our second mate’s remark on this occasion--that it would take
two men and a boy to haul off his shirt, as he had eaten so many fish
that the bones stuck through his skin.

From this time up to November the 5th, we were windbound in this dull
place--the entrance being so narrow that it is impossible to gain
egress without a fair wind. On the 3d, the hermaphrodite brig Louisa
came in from Adelaide. During these days of inaction, to kill time,
some would fish; others go ashore in search of clams, or raking for
oysters; some gunning, some sailing, and others in search of shells;
the latter generally returning wearied, and with but few of the
bivalves.

On the morning of November the 5th, Norman Kinwood, a native of
Manchester, New Hampshire, was discharged at his own request, from
inability to do duty; he having been sick and off duty almost the whole
time since we left home, with chronic rheumatism--at times confined
to his berth for weeks together. All were sorry to part with him, but
thought it better for him to be ashore when unwell, than to be confined
to the narrow limits of a forecastle. For a few days he was much
missed, although a very reserved man; still, it was one familiar face
gone, and we felt that our little circle had been broken in upon. We
afterwards learned that he remained at Albany several months, and then
took passage in a schooner for Melbourne, since which nothing has been
heard from him. We shipped a new man in his place, and at 9¹⁄₂ o’clock
on November the 5th, took the pilot aboard, hove up our anchors, and in
a heavy squall stood out of the sound, coming to anchor in Frenchman’s
Bay. The Allen and Wavelett soon after followed. At 5 o’clock we hove
up, a second time were under weigh, and with a stiff breeze stood out
to sea, steering to the southward until we were in latitude 40°, where
we expected to see plenty of right whales: and we did see them, too,
and that was all the good they done us, as we would sight them from the
ship, but the moment a boat was lowered they absquatulated in as secret
and effectual a manner as a defaulting bank clerk. Finding we could
do nothing with these shy gentlemen, we steered north-west for Cape
Leuwin, hoping to see sperm whales, to recompense us for six months’
time thrown away. On the passage we gammoned with the barque Lady
Macintosh, of London. She last sailed from Adelaide, having carried
railroad iron to that port for the purpose of constructing a railway
to Melbourne, which, when finished, will be the first work of the kind
on the island. She was then bound to the East Indies for a cargo of
teak-wood. It is not usual for merchant ships to lose time in visiting;
but in this case both ships were becalmed within a few miles of each
other, and she setting her signal our captain went aboard.

From the date of leaving King George’s Sound, until the 11th of
January, 1857, little transpired worthy of record, except the capture
of half-a-dozen blackfish, and the usual amount of gammoning with
other whaleships--some of which had done better, others worse, than
ourselves. During the whole of this time we could not catch a glimpse
of a sperm whale; and whilst ships in our immediate neighborhood could
see and capture them, we were doing nothing. We double-manned our
mastheads, made more sail, and passed over a greater space every day
than heretofore, but all to no purpose; the whales were still beyond
our vision. Meantime our crew began to get discouraged, almost a year
having elapsed since we had taken any oil, and, consequently, since a
single penny had been earned by any of us. Some took it very easily,
but they were those to whom whaling was distasteful; others chafed with
impatience; but, finally, all of us settled down into the belief that
we had about all the oil we should get this voyage. The captain kept
his spirits up, and was continually foretelling better luck. Our time,
during this interval, was got rid of in various ways. In warm weather,
the watches on deck, as well as those below, were for the most part
slept away; in cold weather, walking fore and aft the deck, with hands
thrust deep into breeches pockets, seemed the only occupation any of
us had. There was no work to be done, in fact, but to break out our
provender from the ship’s hold and consume it.

On the 11th, at 4 o’clock in the afternoon, we squared our yards and
steered for the land. At 9¹⁄₂ the following morning we let go our
anchor in Bunbury Bay, opposite to, and about a mile distant from, the
town of Bunbury. This little town is the neatest that I have seen on
the coast; and, although the class of population, to a great extent,
is similar to that in Vasse and the Sound, still there are many reside
in it who are worthy, respected, hospitable, and intelligent. Ours was
the first ship that had been in the harbor for years, and our captain
received the title of “the opener of the port.” At one time it was a
place of great resort for American whale-ships, but several having,
by some means, been driven ashore and lost, it became unpopular, and
was superseded by Vasse. The high price of provisions and generally
disobliging character of the inhabitants in the latter place, induced
our captain to visit Bunbury as an experiment, which proved successful
in the highest degree. We were eagerly welcomed on going ashore, and
cordially invited into the settlers’ houses. The schools were allowed
a holiday, that the children might visit the ship. These youngsters,
on seeing us, from the shore, engaged aloft (all the ship’s crew being
at work in the rigging), tarring down, &c., deemed us monkeys, and
could not be convinced to the contrary until they came aboard and
had a survey of us. This was rather disparaging to some thirty young
men, belonging to the smartest nation in the world, to be compared to
brutes; but our occupation originated the impression, and one of the
little fellows observed, on coming aboard, “If they aint monkeys, they
climb about just like them;” and being convinced that he had gained a
point, strutted off in triumph.

The country, hereabouts, presents a fertile appearance, contrasting
favorably with the sandy soil in other portions of the colony that
we have visited. Provisions were very plentiful here, too, and we
were enabled to procure a sufficiency of excellent onions, potatoes,
cabbages, and turnips. Part of the onions and cabbages were pickled
and stowed away until our fresh supply should be exhausted. Excellent
fruit was to be had ashore, comprising apples, peaches, melons, and
pears; some of the peaches were delicious, and could be purchased at a
moderate price.

Many of the natives here presented a better appearance than any I had
before seen, being clothed with European garments, and clean, they lost
half of their hideousness, and appeared immeasurably superior to their
brethren of the bush, with whom, however, they seemed to be on terms
of the utmost equality. I was informed by a resident, that several of
the females had been transformed into excellent house-servants; but
that they could not depend on retaining them, from their unconquerable
predilection for a bush life.

On the outskirts of the town is the barrack, where a company of
infantry is stationed, to whom, in a measure, the general good order
prevailing is due--their presence intimidating peace-breakers. These
red-coat gentry, stationed in a town in time of peace, and enforcing
the strictest discipline, appear rather strange to an American; but the
state of society renders them a necessary evil, and companies of them
are distributed throughout these colonies.

Within a circuit of a few miles there are a number of excellent farms,
on which neat buildings are erected for dwellings and dairy purposes.
The principal products of these farms are potatoes, onions, cabbages,
and the various garden vegetables, wheat, rye, and oats. Their wheat is
good and sweet, but dark. Their oats, as they acknowledge themselves,
scarcely deserve the name. They informed me that they raised three
crops of potatoes during the year. Indian corn, too, is cultivated, but
not to any extent. These farms are surrounded by the ordinary post and
rail fence, made of the native mahogany--as it never requires renewing
on account of decay. The raspberry-jam, a wood resembling in smell the
berry of that name, and susceptible of a beautiful polish, is found
abundantly in the neighborhood: this is a handsome wood, and when
recently fractured or sawn, the odor is delightful. Vessels arrive
and depart from here at stated intervals, carrying lumber to Adelaide;
they only take the mahogany, which is used for sleepers to the railway
in process of construction there. These crafts carry passengers,
whom, for the passage of about fifteen hundred miles, they charge the
extortionate price of ten pounds a head; but there is no competition,
and, therefore, they have it all their own way. The crafts are small,
mostly rigged as brigs of about one hundred and twenty-five tons
measurement.

As in all other settlements on this coast, the rum-sellers drive a
thriving trade, although here there are not so many of them, there
being but two depots for the sale of spirits in the town. One of them
holds forth in a neat brick building, which, they told me, cost two
thousand pounds sterling to erect. At home the same description of
building would have cost about one hundred pounds, or five hundred
dollars. As everybody here drinks, they think it hospitable to greet
the stranger with “What will you take?” and consequently our fellows,
many of whom never rejected such offers, were alive for fun--and I will
guarantee that the denizens of Bunbury will, for many a day, remember
the skylarking of the Pacific’s crew. One, after getting pretty well
elevated, took our two Portuguese up to the school, and insisted on the
preceptor’s entering their names on his list of pupils.

During my visit ashore I went through the town from beginning to end,
and by invitation entered most of the houses. In the garden of one I
was shown a young kangaroo, leaping and gambolling about in the most
graceful and easy manner. I also saw several collections of birds: the
cockatoo and whistling twenty-eight being the most noteworthy. The
cockatoo varies from the East India variety in the color of its crest,
which is white; and, after some tuition, they talk very fluently, as
I was assured by one who, with great facility asked what my name was.
Not seeing the bird at the time, I turned round to my companion to
answer his inquiry, as I thought, when a repetition of the question
from a different direction soon satisfied me as to its author. On my
hesitating to answer, the bird curtly informed me that he would tell
his mistress. As I did not wish to incur my fair hostess’ displeasure,
she having furnished me with a most excellent repast, I hastened to
satisfy him.

The twenty-eight is a beautiful bird, resembling the parrot. What it
derives its name from I cannot imagine, as there is, whether in a wild
or domestic state, nothing in its note that to my ear resembles the
sound of the words “twenty-eight.” The prevailing color of its plumage
is green, elegantly variegated about the head and tail with yellow,
red, and black feathers. These birds are easily taught to whistle a
tune. Their natural note is pleasing, and somewhat resembling that
of the cuckoo. They can be taught also to talk, and several in our
possession far exceeded in this respect any parrot I ever saw. When
taught they are highly valued by the settlers, and almost every family
has one or more of them. They exist in great numbers in the bush of the
vicinity, and are preferable to the cockatoo, because they are free
from his tricks--he being as mischievous as a monkey, when allowed to
traverse the house.

A river runs from the town up into the interior. On following its
windings, I found it too shallow for craft of the lightest draught.
Thousands of fowls skim over its surface: the shag, the swan, gulls,
and the monster pelican--all gathering their living from its waters. In
the rainy season it becomes a formidable stream, rushing violently over
its bed, and carrying away all loose objects that lie along its course.
In this river, too, I saw the natives spearing fish, an art in which
they displayed considerable skill. Wading in the water, and patiently
watching until the prey swam near them, they would expertly strike
in their spears and transfix it. I saw one of them thus encounter
a shark, piercing him through and through, until he despatched the
monster. During the whole conflict he displayed extreme adroitness and
activity in keeping out of the way of the infuriated creature, when
with gnashing jaws it turned upon its antagonist. Whenever they capture
a shark they eat it.

Small cutters are continually arriving and departing from and for
Freemantle, Vasse, King George’s Sound, and Adelaide. These cutters
are sloop-rigged, and vary in size from ten to twenty-five tons. They
are built of mahogany wood in the colony, and are represented as safe
and convenient crafts; but only the largest of them venture to cross
the Bight to Adelaide, and that, too at the favorable season of the
year. Their freight consists of produce and goods for the various
storekeepers in the settlements.

The people of these colonies generally profess the faith of the Church
of England; and in Vasse, the Sound, and Bunbury, Episcopalian chapels
are erected; but in none of these places do the inhabitants display a
church-going spirit. During the hours of divine service the publicans
close their dens, but always manage to supply their customers with
the ardent on the sly. They consider the closing of their houses very
unjust; and one of them, in inveighing against the tyranny of the
laws, gave this as an instance: He mentioned that the government had
prohibited card-playing, or any other game of chance or pleasure--even
going so far as to forbid bowling-saloons; and that they were led to
pass the act by a quarrel arising from a game of cards played for
pastime at a public house in Vasse, in which one of the players was
killed. Speaking of bowling-saloons, or skittles, as they are called
here, reminds me that we heard, previous to our visit to Vasse, that
there was a fine bowling-alley there. Congratulating ourselves on
this fact, we counted on a game at tenpins as not the least of our
anticipated pleasures; but, lo, and behold! when we visited it, we
found a floor of mahogany boards, some two feet wide and twelve long.
The pins were of the most outlandish shape, and could scarcely be made
to retain an upright position, even when held. The balls were nearer
oval than round, and as rough on their surface as a cocoa-nut with the
hull on. There were only two of these; and when you had discharged
them, you were constrained to walk to the farther end of the alley, and
carry them back for another trial. After vainly endeavoring for a few
minutes to make the balls roll in a straight line, we gave the attempt
up as hopeless, and left the skittle-ground, thoroughly convinced of
its demerits.

The first time we visited Bunbury there were no wells whence ships
could procure water; so we held Geographe Bay in abeyance, knowing that
we would have a hundred barrels to drag through its sandy road. After
a week’s stay we hove short, set our ensign, and were boarded by the
police, who here act as custom-house officials. They searched the ship
fore and aft, above and below, as they thought--although we might have
had a score of the prisoners stowed away, if we had been so disposed:
as it was, we had one forward, stowed in the forepeak, of whom they saw
no trace. We carried him to Vasse, and set him ashore. Their mode of
search was to get into the hatchway, and insert the native spears in
the interstices between the casks. They reviewed the ship’s company,
in order to satisfy themselves no interlopers were there, and then
delivered up the ship’s papers and departed. We then set sail, and,
after twelve hours’ beating against a light headwind, we let go our
anchor off the town of Vasse, where we procured water. Here we had
several quarters of fresh beef--in Bunbury we had one whole sheep.

On the 20th, the ship Twilight came in and informed us that the barque
Mars, with numerous letters for us, was on the eve of making this port.
The next morning she made her appearance, and her stock of letters
had not been over-stated, the majority of our crew, myself amongst
the number, receiving letters that had been written only six months
previous; and, as all of us had good news, and plenty of newspapers,
we were more pleasantly employed than we should have been had we just
captured a large whale.

On the same day our second officer, Mr. E----, left us, and went
ashore; the reason he assigned being his unwillingness to encounter
the cold weather on the coast of New Zealand, whither we were bound.
He was a man of a most amiable disposition, had a superior intellect,
and was thoroughly acquainted with his profession--both as sailor and
whaleman. He had gained the respect and confidence of every man aboard,
and never had had occasion all the time we were together to chide any
of the crew, and as his chest went over the side into the boat, all
felt that we had lost a friend. This was the second withdrawal of
members of our original crew from the ship. Mr. E.’s intention was to
remain ashore until some whaler should arrive in need of an officer;
in which case his well-known ability would easily procure him a berth.
When ready to sail, the captain brought an American aboard who had
been in these colonies for some years, and was slightly related to the
captain’s lady. He was taken into the cabin as fourth mate; the former
fourth officer receiving the position of third mate, and the former
third the second mate’s berth. All being in readiness, we hove up our
ground-tackle, and with a fresh breeze on our quarter we bade adieu to
Vasse.




CHAPTER VII.


Early on the morning of January 26th, we spoke and gammoned the barque
La Belle Anna, from Melbourne to Mauritius. Through the kindness of
her captain, who accommodatingly delayed until we had prepared them,
we sent letters home _via_ the Mauritius, which were duly received.
On the same day we captured a shark twelve feet long. The capture
of this fish is effected more in a spirit of mischief than from any
good resulting from it; the sailor deeming him his natural enemy, and
delighting in putting him to the severest torture. Their tenacity of
life is remarkable. I have seen a red-hot iron run directly through the
heart of one of the species, and still he turned and bit at the iron,
grasping its seething surface between his huge jaws and craunching it,
and, vexed at its non-impressibility, lashing his tail with rage. I
have also seen them flayed, and still practising as many contortions
as an eel; if you cut their heads half off, they swim away; and if you
should open the body and allow the entrails to drop out, the creature
seizes them in his jaws and tears them in his agony. The skin is
used as sandpaper, it being covered with prickles. The backbone is
articulated in very small divisions, which enables it to turn with so
much celerity through the water. These joints, which are about an inch
in diameter, and half an inch thick, are collected and strung on an
iron rod, and, when finished, make an odd, though not ill-looking,
cane. Few seamen eat shark; but some months after the capture of the
above-mentioned one, I saw a person who considered their flesh a
dainty. He was captain of a Colonial whaler, and took every possible
means of gratifying this strange appetite. I never saw its flesh cook,
but from those that have, I learn that no amount of cooking changes its
appearance; as, after a day’s boiling, it appears as raw as ever.

On the 28th we sent up studding-sails and began a passage for New
Zealand. The next morning, at daybreak, whilst carrying all sail, we
sighted sperm whales. After a short delay, we lowered for them. The
second mate fastened to a large one, fired a bomb-lance into him, and
had his boat capsized. The crew were picked up and brought to the ship,
also the boat, which was found uninjured. The first and third mates
continued in pursuit of the whales, and, after a short interval, the
latter fastened to the same whale. The fourth mate approached the fish,
and in giving him a lance, got his boat on to the whale’s flukes, and
stove. The boat was towed to the ship; whilst hoisting her aboard, she
broke in two amidships, was condemned as useless, and broken up for
firewood. In the evening we had the whale alongside. The following
morning we began to cut, being surrounded by thousands of sharks. The
boatsteerer, who went down on to the whale to hook on, was seized by a
shark, who caught him by the back of the heel. Fortunately, the man who
attended the monkey-rope attached to the boatsteerer, saw the movement
of the shark and dragged him on deck. The wound inflicted was severe
but not dangerous. Sharks around a whale, generally, are contented
with what they pick up from his carcass, and to the plenitude of this
kind of food for their ravenous appetites, the boatsteerer owes his
safety. In this case the sufferer was barefooted, and his flesh being
covered with spermaceti, probably the shark thought it a dainty piece
of blubber.

The barque Columbus also captured a large whale on this same day. In
1855, this barque visited Vasse and carried away a prisoner, agreeing
to place him aboard some merchant ship, on the first opportunity. This
was accordingly done, for which the captain received, it was said, a
large sum of money--the criminal being well-provided with funds. Whilst
we lay in Vasse, it leaked out, somehow or other, that the government
intended seizing the vessel on her next entry into a colonial port.
When we saw her we gave her the news, and it was timely, too, as they
were just going in to discharge men, whom they had engaged in Vasse the
preceding year.

The ground that we were now on is off Cape Chatham. There we remained
until the middle of February, when, with as much sail set as the old
ship would stagger under, and a westerly gale on the quarter, we
resumed our passage for New Zealand, which had been interrupted by the
appearance of sperm whales. The passage had but little to mark it,
except that we went in the course of it through the northern borders
of the Antarctic Ocean. On the 22d (Washington’s birthday) we entered
the South Pacific, and after a spanking run of fourteen days, we
sighted land and a sail at one and the same time. The sail we knew
to be a whaler, from her boats and davits, and a successful one, too,
by the smoke arising from her try-works--she being evidently engaged
in trying-out blubber. On running across her stern and speaking each
other, both captains answered to the question of “What ship is that?”
“The Pacific.” One, however, belonged to New Bedford, the other to
Hobartown. The preceding week she captured two whales. She reported
that she had been cruising to the southward on the Sullender ground,
in company with the ships James Allen and Alexander, and the barque
Wavelett--that all three of these vessels had been extremely successful
in capturing whales, but that the Wavelett, when last seen, was on a
lee shore, with a large whale in tow, which eventually she cast adrift.
Her position was such that the captain and officers of the Pacific
unite in thinking it impossible for her to have escaped from the peril,
and should she have gone ashore, the rugged and precipitous coast
in the vicinity of Mason’s Bay, where she was last seen, augurs the
destruction of vessel and crew. We made up our minds from this report
that the Wavelett and her crew, who but a short time before had been
enjoying themselves with us in King George’s Sound, had gone to Davy
Jones’s locker; but five months afterward we were agreeably surprised
on picking up a paper published in the Bay of Islands, to find her
reported as lying in port there with considerable increase in her stock
of oil.

One of those continued and heavy squalls common to the coast set
in on the next day. They are foretold by the rapid falling of the
mercury, and by the wind at first blowing from the south-west with
the greatest intensity from eight to twelve hours, and then, shifting
to the opposite point of the compass, we would have a second edition
of about the same duration; the north-easterly gusts being always
accompanied with torrents of rain, unequalled in violence by any I ever
saw elsewhere. This weather would sometimes last for weeks without an
interval of a pleasant day, and then be followed by a thick mist, which
enveloped everything for five or six days more; thus precluding the
possibility of whaling or the performance of other duties. Some idea
of this miserable weather may be formed, when I state that during the
four months we continued on the coast we were hove-to for fifty-eight
days, and at least half as many more we were prevented from whaling by
the density of the fog. Whenever our barometer foretold such weather,
we shortened sail, until we had nothing spread but a close-reefed main
topsail, main spencer, and foretopmast staysail: with this canvass
we generally managed to sweat it out; although on two occasions we
found even this sail too much, and were compelled to clew up the main
topsail, and heave the ship to under the main spencer. On another
occasion we heard a clap, like the discharge of a gun, and, hurrying
forward, we found our foretopmast staysail blown into shreds.

Of course, little was to be done whilst Boreas was giving vent to his
wrath in this turbulent manner. During the watches on deck it was
really as much as one could do to look out for himself. Then there was
the rigging to keep in repair, preventer-topsail braces to shift and
reeve, besides taking in and putting out the boats: with these, in
themselves trifling jobs, the watch on deck generally became thoroughly
soaked before it was their turn to go below; and then an anxious period
was spent in awaiting a gleam of sunshine to dry their clothes. The
weather being cold, to use their own expression, “water was wet”;
and being in the line of a sea coming aboard was neither safe nor
comfortable. We passed the time away, however, sleeping day after day
about sixteen hours out of twenty-four.

On the commencement of the gale above referred to, we saw a colonial
schooner, belonging to Jacob’s River, New Zealand, square her yards
and run for Mary’s Bay: her captain, on the approach of a gale,
usually running into one of the many safe and pleasant harbors on the
coast, remaining until its violence has ceased, and then popping out
and cruising during the continuance of good weather. This schooner,
Eliza, is manned by New Zealanders--her captain and mate are of the
half-caste. They are a manly people, without much intelligence, but
make excellent sailors and whalemen. The Otago, another schooner, whose
mode of conduct corresponds with that of the Eliza, and also belongs to
the same place, has a Maurii crew, with an English captain and mate.
Some months after this I had considerable intercourse with these very
pleasant people, and shall speak of them more fully as I progress with
my journal.

Some days subsequently we ran in towards the land, and found that
the same storm which had so liberally besprinkled us with rain had
whitened the mountain caps with snow. We ran close in: there being bold
water to the very base of the rocks, capable of floating the largest
line-of-battle ship. The coast is irregular and rocky, possessing no
beach, and only in the bays, which are numerous and safe, affording
facilities for boat landing. The whole face of the mountains, which in
some cases exceed a mile in height, is covered with tall trees. One
of these eminences, when seen from the sea, presents an appearance
precisely like a saddle, and hence was named Saddle Mount; and this was
our landmark for four months: cruising towards and from it--at times
going within a few miles, and seldom in clear weather being out of
sight of it. It can be seen from the masthead a distance of one hundred
and twenty miles, as we proved by experience.

On this ground, in company with us, there were about a dozen English
ships from Sydney and Hobartown. After the lapse of a few weeks, the
ships Alexander and James Allen made their appearance. Both these ships
had run into Stewart’s Island for vegetables, and whilst there they
had lost several men by desertion. From their description, there is
little or no settlement on the island, the country being covered with
the ordinary brush, and therefore presenting scarcely any invitation
to a sojourner. The men who left the ships were put to a hard shift to
sustain themselves. Several of them managed to reach Otago, a town in
the vicinity, where they obtained employment; several left in small
crafts for other ports on the coast; and one, (from whom I obtained
the knowledge of their adventures,) after in vain trying to get along
ashore, shipped in the colonial whaling schooner Otago, where I saw
him. He gave a ludicrous description of their ups and downs. In the
first place, he and another took to the bush for concealment; and, not
venturing to show themselves, they remained concealed till night. It
was intensely cold, and they were obliged to lie on each other to keep
warm. The under place being preferable, and each wanting to secure
it, almost a quarrel was occasioned thereby between them. As soon
as their ship had departed, they came out from their hiding place,
but could find no one to relieve their necessities, nor could they
get employment. They finally joined the natives, who fed and clothed
them. Becoming tired of this kind of life, they eagerly caught at the
offer of a berth aboard a whaler. This poor fellow, my informant,
was almost destitute, and had sent to us for clothing, of which a
bundle was collected for him. He was a German, with a very thick head,
and although the captain of the schooner was disposed to push him
forward, he found little ground for cultivation. He made him steward
of the craft; but he soon destroyed all the crockery ware, and was
so negligent that the captain and mate were compelled to carry their
knives and forks to bed with them, in order to find them when wanted.

One of the men belonging to the James Allen adopted a novel plan to get
away from the ship. He was a middle-aged man, who had participated in
numerous whaling-voyages. On the Allen he held a boatsteerer’s berth,
but from dislike on the part of his captain, he was broken, and sent
into the forecastle. In his many voyages, he had mastered the language
of the Sandwich Islanders, which is intelligible to the native New
Zealander, and _vice versa_. On the night that he determined to desert,
he procured the paunch of a blackfish, which is readily found on board
a whaler--it being well adapted for making drugs; in it he stowed his
clothes, and firmly securing the aperture, he had an air-tight bag,
with which he succeeded in reaching the shore in safety. Having a good
deal of Yankee shrewdness, and being able to tinker a little, as well
as to converse intelligibly, he managed to get into employment, and was
doing quite well when last heard from.

On the last day of March our mastheadsman sung out, that there were
boats whaling ahead. We stood towards them, and, in the course of an
hour, found that the James Allen’s boats were fast to a large sperm
whale. We kept on running, and sighted more whales. We lowered away
our boats at about 3 o’clock in the afternoon; but at 4¹⁄₂ o’clock
we called them aboard, and stood out to sea. The boats were again
lowered at 5 o’clock; and the third mate, after half an hour’s chase,
struck a noble whale, his boatsteerer giving him both irons clear to
the socket. Scarcely, however, had the second harpoon left his hand
when the boat was struck twice in succession by the whale’s flukes.
The blows were struck between the bow and amidship thwarts, knocking a
large hole completely through her. She soon filled, and capsized. The
crew swam to her, and got upon her bottom; but, there being a heavy
swell on, she continued to roll over and over, the crew following her
as best they could. Several times they regained their position on her;
but just as the other boats approached the scene of disaster, to give
them aid, they discovered that one of their number was missing. At
the same instant the third mate cried out, that some one had hold of
his legs, and urged haste on the part of the approaching boat. Being
a strong swimmer, he managed to keep himself afloat, notwithstanding
the drowning man’s clutch, until they had caught hold of him from
the boat; but then he instantly exclaimed, “He has let go!” The
boatsteerer of the larboard boat dove in, but could see nothing of
him; and his boatmates were forced to return aboard, leaving him at
rest in the sea, over which he had voyaged for years. Upon the boat’s
arriving at the ship, the captain hailed it; and, fearing the worst,
asked if any one was lost. On being answered that John was drowned,
he appeared much affected, and wept like a child. The lost man was a
German, named John Walter, belonging to Hamburg. He was of an amiable
disposition, and had endeared himself by his good qualities to all on
board. He was every inch a sailor, having spent a number of years in
the American merchant-service, wherein, strange to say, he had several
times narrowly escaped drowning. On our first visit to Vasse, he was
also barely saved from a similar fate. It is customary, just previous
to leaving port, to roll the boats over and over in the water, for the
purpose of cleansing them from the sand that is collected in them by
beaching; which is usually done, amid much merriment, by several men
stripping and going into the water for the purpose of conducting the
operation. On the day to which I have reference, John Walter was seated
in a boat, when orders were given to roll her. He remained in her; and
the officer, supposing that he could swim, but did not care to take off
his clothes, ordered the boat-plugs to be drawn out; whereupon she
filled, and rolled over. From his frantic struggles, we then discovered
his inability to support himself. The alarm was instantly given; and a
boat alongside, belonging to the barque Monmouth, of Cold Spring, was
cast loose, and soon had him aboard, totally exhausted. Now, however,
after these hairbreadth escapes, as if fate had such a death in store
for him, he met a watery grave in the broad South Pacific Ocean. Well
may his life be said to have been one of fearful vicissitudes. But he
had not always been alone in his imminent perils; for in one case,
whilst pursuing the hazardous duties of his arduous profession, he
found himself in the middle of the Atlantic, aboard a ship fearfully
leaking. The cargo, which was salt, having got into the pump-wells,
prevented their being used; and it was only by the most strenuous
exertions, that they were enabled to retrace their course, and run
their ship ashore in the harbor of Cadiz.

And now our little circle was broken into by the King of Terrors!
Sailing under the same flag--every day in contact with each
other--depending on the same planks for protection from the wind and
wave,--in the course of the two years that we had been upon the ocean,
warm friendships had sprung up, and “shipmate” was only another name
for “brother.” This accident--one to which we all felt ourselves
liable--excited expressions of feeling, that one would scarcely believe
could emanate from the speakers: men in our line of life seldom making
an undue display of emotion. Every good quality and trait inherent to
the deceased was rehearsed; and in conclusion, all hoped that poor John
was in a better home above; and, if any one on board our ship had a
prospect of a bright hereafter, surely he, the least offender of us all
against the Divine law, would be the one.

On the following morning we ran down and spoke the Allen. They were
cutting in their whale; and the cheerful note of their merry chaunt,
as they worked the windlass, contrasted strongly with our own bitter
feelings and heavy hearts.

The captain gave directions to have all the lost man’s property
gathered together, which was done; and, a few days after, the whole
ship’s company was mustered aft, on the quarter-deck, and all his
effects were disposed of by auction, the captain acting as auctioneer.
Every one bought something--each wishing to secure a memento of the
deceased; and as the bidding was spirited, much more than the intrinsic
value was realized for each article. This is a rule of the sea, but
whether a maritime law or not, I do not know: the money produced by
such sale being handed over to the friends of the deceased, if they can
be found; but if unable to do so, it is usually given to the Seamen’s
Friend Society.

After this event, we remained in the locality several weeks. Sometimes
a boat was lowered, and sent into one of the bays a fishing, which
always returned with a number of the finny tribe of different
varieties--cod, trumpeter, blue, white, and red fish. The last fish,
of a red color and covered with fins, was known to the whalemen on the
coast as the devil-fish, and another variety is known as the groper.
It often equals the porpoise in size. All these fish are excellent
eating, and are eagerly welcomed by a person who for months has had
no fresh provision. I one day caught a fish of a bright-red color. On
hauling him up, he extended three feelers from each side of the jaw,
and two beautiful wings from his sides; these wings were bordered with
alternate stripes of red and blue, that rivalled in color the tints of
the rainbow. They were said to be called the garnet by the natives.
The wings I preserved. They are unlike those of the flying-fish, being
circular, and much thicker and stronger. The fish was about five inches
long.

There are plenty of cray or craw fish, and several varieties of eels,
in these bays. The latter are the most disgusting creatures that I
ever saw. On being caught, they expel from their loathsome bodies a
substance resembling milk. The Mauriis eat them; and when we were in
Milford Haven Bay the schooner Eliza’s crew, who were then trying out a
sperm whale, considered them as a delicacy, with no other preparation
than immersing them in the boiling-hot oil. The crayfish belongs to
the lobster family--its claws are somewhat similar, only lacking
the pincer-like appendage. It is of a bright-red color, and is most
luxurious eating. It is plentiful, and easily caught with a net, or
hook and line.

Whilst in these bays fishing, the fresh green look of the vegetation,
and sweet singing of the birds, made us long for a return to a life
ashore. The sailor, if compelled to remain at sea, in all cases
prefers to be far from land, with nothing to meet his gaze but sky and
ocean--land in sight continually recalling home memories, long dwelling
upon which is painful. Another reason, too, why Jack hates land, when
he cannot enjoy a ramble upon it is, that he attributes to it, and
not without reason, either, a miasmatic influence; and, whilst in its
vicinity, every ache or pain is attributed to its vicinage, and he
consoles himself by saying, “I will soon be all right, when we leave
this infernal land and get outside.”

I cannot refrain from remarking on the character of the shipping on
this ground. At this time there were some fifteen vessels cruising
within an area of a hundred miles--three of us Yankees, nine from
Hobartown, two from Yew Zealand, and a brig from Sydney. At daylight
all might be seen busily engaged in hoisting their topsails and
spreading their canvass; during the day using their best endeavors to
get over as much ground as possible. At sundown, sail was shortened
aboard of each. The schooner Otago, at the sunset hour, in fair
weather, presented a strange appearance; always at such times and
in such cases, taking in every rag and laying under bare poles--the
captain assigning as a reason that it saved his sails. This craft
originally came out from New London, Connecticut, as a tender to a
whaler; here she was sold, and during six months of the year was
employed conveying cattle and wool to Sydney, and the balance in
whaling. The Eliza was a craft of much more aristocratic pretensions;
she was a neat and tidy little schooner, and had been originally
constructed as a yacht for Sir John Franklin, when he was governor
of Van Diemen’s Land. After the daring explorer of the frozen North
had removed from the Australian colonies, the Government employed her
as a revenue cutter; but now she had fallen from her high estate
and was employed as a blubber-hunter. But with far greater claims to
pretension, although possessing a much more homely exterior, the old
Prince Regent pursued her course in the same humble pursuit; she had
been built as a yacht for George IV., the profligate, who for years was
prince regent of the British empire. Unlike her royal master, she still
survives with sound timbers, and is a staunch sea-worthy ship, though
of a rather _outre_ model. Two of the Hobartown whalers were clippers,
built in Baltimore; on one of them, the Isabel, I saw the American
coat of arms in full emblazon. These clippers, if they were only built
stronger, would be excellent sperm whalers--being small, light, good
sailers, and easy to work.

Several of the barques on the ground were built in Hobartown, from the
Hobartown model; they had long heads on them, but their sterns, and run
aft, were of a fashion of fifty years since, and, although so recently
built, our old barkey would sail away from them as fast as they could
come on.

From this time, until the middle of May, we remained in the same
locality, experiencing a succession of tremendous gales, from the
north-east and south-west, attended by heavy squalls that made the old
ship ring again. In the interval between their recurrence, we saw sperm
whales two or three times; on one occasion getting to them just in time
to see the barque Runimede’s boats lying by the side of a dead whale.
On another, we lowered away and arrived at the scene of operation in
season to see the Sapphire’s boats capture four. Our mate fastened to
a whale some distance from any of her boats, but it proved to be one
that was already wounded by them; so nothing was left for us but to
cut our line. The irons that our boatsteerer hove into the whale were
recovered when they cut him in. With these irons they fastened to, and
saved, no less than four large whales--a fifth they struck, but he
sounded and carried off all their line. The irons were of the variety
known as the “toggel,” and are an American improvement: the captain
of the Sapphire was so thoroughly impressed with their value that he
repeatedly solicited our captain for more of them. Another improvement
that the American whaleman possesses, is the iron rowlock, in which the
oar works with little or no difficulty. Other nations use the primitive
thole-pin, consisting of pins of hard wood inserted in holes bored in
the boat’s gunwale--the least crabbing of the oar being destruction to
them.

These colonial gentlemen are fair whalemen, but do not possess the
energetic, go-ahead spirit of their American cotemporaries. They work
very carefully, and seldom expose their boats or themselves to much
danger; for instance, they never sail on to whales, always taking the
mast down when arriving in their vicinity. I remember hearing the
captain of the ship Pacific remark that he had been whaling, man and
boy, for thirty-five years, during which time he had never sailed on to
a whale, and never had the boat stove in which he was. On the contrary,
the Yankee whaleman, with or without sail, danger or no danger, is
bound to strike the whale, if possible, and for this reason they are
preferred, even in Hobartown, “because,” to use their own expression,
“they will risk more to capture whales.” Several of the captains and
officers of these ships were Americans; and great inducements are held
out by Hobartown owners in the whaling trade, to induce Americans to
embark in their employ.

On the 17th of May, the weather appearing threatening, we signalized
the schooner Eliza, and under the pilotage of her captain, who came
aboard of us, we kept off for Milford Haven Bay, intending to lay there
during the continuance of the gale, and in the meantime to supply
ourselves with wood and water, quantities of which can be had _ad
libitum_ in its vicinity. After beating about with light winds, and
considerable towing with the boats, we contrived to drop our anchor at
8 o’clock in the evening, in sixteen fathoms of water, about a ship’s
length from the shore. Lines were then run from the stern and secured
to the rocks, so that we soon had her snugly moored stem and stern.
The schooner Eliza was, latterly, very successful; having captured two
whales, one of which she lost through stress of weather--the other,
when tried out, furnished sufficient oil to till about sixty barrels,
and her captain informed me would reimburse the owners for all outlay
on the vessel--provisions being very cheap in this part of the world.
Never did I see better meat, or sweeter flour, than the specimens of
each this schooner had aboard; both were the produce of New Zealand,
and the meat, having been but a short time salted, was much better
than ours. As in port anybody is at liberty to board a whaler and get
his dinner, we often availed ourselves of the privilege, as did they
in boarding us; the molasses aboard of our ship being the center of
attraction to them; also the biscuit, which to them is a rarity--they
only using their flour baked into soft bread. All lived alike, fore
and aft. Little discipline prevailed; the captain was called Tom, and
the mate Bill. The shipkeeper and steward were men interested in the
vessel, both old English men-of-war’s men, who had early settled on
the island, and reared families--having married native women. From
these men I learned that a marriage between two of the half-caste was
always barren, never begetting offspring; but a half-caste man or
woman intermarrying with the whites or native New Zealanders, were
remarkable for their number of children. I was much pleased with these
Mauriis; they were intelligent, courageous, and sprightly. Their songs,
delivered with all the gusto of a half-civilized nature, possessed
great interest. In their war songs they become imbued with the spirit
of their music, and perform most curious antics, attended by horrid
contortions of features. Their love songs, too, were accompanied by
numerous gestures, one of them taking the lead, and the others joining
in the chorus. These love songs were said, by those acquainted with
their language, to consist of all that was licentious and disgusting;
but to us who did not understand a word of them, it made very
little difference. They also performed a pantomime, which, from its
ridiculousness, excited our risibilities to prolonged laughter, to
their great satisfaction.

The half-caste consider themselves a peg above the native, and take
good care to let strangers know the distinction. They are a large,
well-built race, and make excellent oarsmen; they are much addicted to
the use of spirits; they lament much their inability to read and write,
stating, in palliation of their ignorance, that when they were children
there were no schools where they could receive an education, but that
the rising generation, by the exertions of the missionaries, enjoyed
the privilege of attending schools.

From us these people obtained tobacco, and captain, mate, and crew
engaged in a game at all-fours for it. They played good humoredly, but
appeared to be wholly wrapt up in the game. I asked the captain how he
managed to preserve subordination where he allowed so much familiarity.
He was a powerful, brawny figure, and a smile passed over his features
at my question; extending his hared arm, corrugated with sinews, he
said, “I play this fellow right and left amongst them, whenever they
make too much noise.” The English part of the vessel’s crew professed
great contempt for these savages, as they called them; but a good
understanding appeared to exist between the parties.

On the morning subsequent to mooring our ship, all hands were called
at daylight, and we had an opportunity to discern the features and
characteristics of the harbor. It proved to be a snug, but not a large
bay, encased by mountains, whose caps were white with snow. The sides
of these cliffs were covered with noble trees of various descriptions;
principal among which is the famed iron-wood, remarkable for its weight
and durability. Several species of pine are also to be found. Scarce
any beach exists, the shores being covered with huge boulders of many
tons weight, evidently displaced by some great revulsion of nature. Few
shells of any beauty are found on the shore--the mutton fish, warrener,
and limpet, being the only conchological varieties that I saw.

Whilst here, half-a-dozen of our men were in the forest cutting
fire-wood, while others were engaged in procuring water. Nothing was
required in the latter case but to scoop a hole in the pebbles on the
beach, and allow the snow-water, as it descended from the mountains,
to run into it; then bail out with buckets and fill casks. Neither was
there any trouble in rafting or towing it; our contiguity to the shore
being such that it was only necessary to run a small tow-line from the
ship, attach it to the raft, and haul it alongside, hand over hand. We
also broke out our meat and coopered it, and then our hard work was
finished.

We experienced several continuous and heavy rain storms, accompanied
by violent squalls; as these would pass over, the rainbow, by which
they were always followed, reflecting on and illuminating the green
sides and white caps of the hills, presented to our admiring eyes, a
grand, imposing and beautiful sight. I know of nothing that I ever saw
that more fully impressed my mind with the omnipotence of the Creator
than did this splendid work; and I have found myself again and again
aroused from my admiration to answer the self-imposed question, “Could
any man, after gazing upon such an appearance, candidly feel himself
an atheist;” and, after arguing the matter pro and con, could find no
excuse for such unbelief.

It is usual in port, during the night, to stand what is called the
“anchor watch,” consisting of two men; the members of the crew, fore
and aft, participating in it. In this port, which was considered so
out of the way as to present no inducements for desertion, to allow
the officers the whole of the night undisturbed, the watches were all
imposed upon the boat-steerers and foremast hands. On the night of the
22d, the watches were set as usual. Everything was quiet until morning,
when the whole of us were aroused by the first officer awaking, and
finding nobody on deck, and the starboard boat gone, which had been
allowed to remain alongside. On mustering all hands, five of the
foremast men were discovered to be amongst the missing. Their names
were Joseph Riley, of Patterson, New Jersey; Charles W. Baylis, of
Rochester, New York; Harvey W. Miller, of Weymark, Weymouth County,
Pennsylvania; John Roberts, an Englishman, and David Jones, a Welshman.
The three former had sailed from the United States with us; the two
latter were British convicts--Roberts, whom we shipped in Vasse, and
Jones, who had joined the ship at King George’s Sound. They had taken
the boat, furnished with oars and sails, and all the other furniture
belonging to her; also a tub of tow-line and the ship’s spyglass; and
from the appearance of our bread and harness casks, had liberally
supplied themselves with provisions. The absence of any officer on deck
afforded them time to safely convey their clothes and bedding off;
and so equipped, they left us, in an obscure bay, hundreds of miles
from any settlement, on a stormy coast, in an open whale-boat. No one
ever expected to hear aught of them afterwards; but as my narrative
progresses, a recountal of their adventures will be elicited: for the
present we will leave them and return to our barque. On discovering
the loss of his men the captain stormed; but finding that the whole
procedure had been carried on with the utmost secresy, and that few,
if any, of those remaining, were cognizant of more than the mere
desertion of the men, he allowed it to drop, and little was said about
them thereafter, until circumstances obtruded them on his notice. It
will be observed that Kedge Anchor has at length managed to get away,
on this, his third attempt, having endeavored to get clear from us in
Vasse, and Balli, and now, in the most unpromising place of all, has
succeeded. He was the possessor of two or three English sovereigns;
and this circumstance must have caused the others to enlist him in the
enterprize, as they knew his uselessness too well to count on his being
of service to them.

On the afternoon of the 23d, the barques Isabella and Lady Emma
anchored in the bay, and, soon after, the schooner Otago--making, in
all, five of us moored in this shelter. The Otago reported having
spoken the James Allen. She had taken three hundred barrels of oil,
including the whale we saw her capture, during the present month. The
captain of the Otago also reported having fallen in with the lower
mast of a vessel of about three hundred tons, evidently carried away
in a gale from some ship. They managed to get it in tow, but the line
parting, they took no further trouble with it. This circumstance
elicited our fears of a terrible misfortune to one of the whalers on
the ground, and whether American or English we were unable to surmise.
We have never to this time been able to discover to whom it belonged,
though it certainly had not belonged to any one of the whale-ships we
had been in company with, as we saw them all afterward.

The Lady Emma, a few days since, put into Open Bay, where three of
her men deserted. In the vicinity of this bay there is a settlement
containing eight Mauriis. This is the only settlement on the coast,
from Jacob’s River to Cook’s Straits--Milford Haven being no exception
to the rule, as no white or civilized natives exist in its whereabouts.
Some of the wild natives have been seen here. During a former voyage,
part of the crew of the barque Runimede, whilst cutting wood, were
driven to the beach by these savages.

The next day, being Sunday and so stormy that we could not enjoy
ourselves ashore, a number of us spent it aboard the Eliza. We were
the more easily induced to do this from the fact of her having a
French cook, who left the Alexander at Stewart’s Island and joined the
Eliza. He was discharged from the Alexander, and the oil belonging to
him was rolled ashore. Here he professed to be very happy; and, as he
was thoroughly master of his business, he was much esteemed by those
whom he catered for. I was much surprised at the palatable, and even
luxurious, taste of the salt-beef, after having been manipulated by
him, compared to that which had undergone the same operation by the
hands of our own cook. Although I may have been prejudiced, or the
superiority of the viands had rendered my appetite fastidious on that
particular day, yet certainly, the fare was such as not to have been
laughed at, even at the table of a first-class hotel. There were wild
ducks, wild pigeons, wood-hens, noble fish from the bay, excellent
corned-beef, and, to crown all, a noble plum-duff; and we did good
justice to the repast. At supper we drank, as a beverage, a decoction
of a New Zealand plant, which is used throughout the island instead
of tea. It possesses an aromatic taste, and the little I partook of
enlisted me in its favor; but how a continued use of it would answer, I
am at a loss to say. The Frenchman said that he had used it for several
months, and preferred it, for his own consumption, to tea produced in
China. As he was a Parisian, and a restaurateur into the bargain, I do
not see that I could quote better individual authority.

On the 25th we lowered away two boats, and manned them with the
starboard watch, bound up the river, or sound, as the Mauriis call
it--bent on a day’s recreation. Guns, ammunition, and fishing-tackle,
were provided--also a good stock of eatables. After ten miles’ pulling,
we arrived at the head of the river, where we landed, and built a
fire. Previous to our trip to this locality, our curiosity had been
excited by the description of a falls, which, according to the account,
rivalled Niagara in magnitude. The Mauriis stated, that it fell from
a height of nine hundred feet, in an immense volume; and I fancied,
previous to having seen it, that I should have to chronicle in my
log-book the existence of the greatest falls in the world in this
out-of-the-way corner. I went, and saw it. Its height was about three
hundred feet--it first falling from the summit of a high mount into a
basin about a hundred feet below, and then descending into the river.
Its appearance was handsome; but, having been prepared from hearsay
to see something momentous, I must confess that I was disappointed,
and under the influence of chagrin did not appreciate it as fully as
it deserved. On our way up the river we saw numerous minor falls,
descending hundreds of feet from the summits of the cliffs. The river
was alive with porpoises and cowfish; whilst ducks, gulls, and pigeons,
skimmed over its surface. Those of the party who were provided with
fire-arms penetrated into the bush. Soon the crack of their pieces
announced their success in finding game. As the sun indicated the
hour of noon, one by one they straggled in to the fire, more or less
successful, according to their expertness in handling their guns. Their
game comprised ducks, pigeons, and woodhens, besides several varieties
we knew no name for. The ducks were about of the same size and
appearance as the wild ducks of the Northern States. The pigeons were
like our wild pigeons. The woodhens resemble in appearance a pullet
of the common barnyard breed. They do not fly, but run with excessive
swiftness, dodging here, there, and everywhere, in a manner to puzzle
any one. They are attracted by fire, and a number of them came around
ours. If not startled, they displayed little fear, approaching within a
short distance of us with the utmost indifference. These birds can be
easily domesticated; and aboard the schooner they had several running
about in their hold, in company with other fowls. All the birds
mentioned, when dressed and cooked, were palatable and appetizing.

Whilst on this island myself and another were left ashore, the rest
having gone to the main with the boats. Through an oversight, they
took the water-keg along with them, leaving us unprovided with water.
We immediately searched for a spring, or some other depository of the
priceless liquid, but it was in vain. As we had but a short time before
been freely eating of salt junk, our thirst became intolerable, so that
we even went so far as to drink of the water of the river, which was
salt and brackish. After we had thus suffered for several hours, one
of the boats returned, and supplied our want. Never before in my life
did I taste so grateful and sweet a draught as I imbibed at that time
from the most ordinary of boat-piggins. This was the nearest approach
to deprivation of water for any length of time that I ever experienced.
If any person should wish to be pestered with a gnawing, unquenched
thirst, let him follow our example by eating about a pound of salt
meat, and then sitting for hours on an island where no water is to be
found, except such as will have a tendency to aggravate his thirst.

After the arrival of the English ships, our nights were passed in
an excess of mirth. The rainy weather preventing any amount of work
being performed during daytime, their listlessly lolling about the
ship made the men feel prime for sport at night; and as none of our
ship’s company, since the desertion of our men, were allowed to leave
her after twilight, by common consent our barque became the rendezvous
for all; so that, about half an hour after supper, whole boats’ crews
would come aboard. One night I counted seventy men in our forecastle.
Each vessel contributed its singers, and the choral performances were
really a diverting medley. The cook of the schooner, being French, sang
the Marseillaise for us; a German sang the Fatherland; a Portuguese,
I know not what, but, like all the others, he was loudly applauded
for his performance; the Mauriis, Sandwich and Navigators’ Islanders,
all sang their respective songs; whilst English, Irish, Scotch, and
Americans, also gave vent to their national melodies--Rule Britannia,
Erin go Bragh, Scots wha hae wi’ Wallace bled, and the Star-spangled
Banner, or Hail Columbia, followed each other--one song being as good
as another, so that it had a tune to it. Amongst the Lady Emma’s crew
were four excellent singers, who had practised together, and performed
very creditably; so that we were not without good singers. Instead
of spirituous drink, we indulged in a beverage, known as switchell,
concocted of molasses, vinegar, and water, with the addition of a
little ground ginger. At a late hour we separated, without being
muddled, as is usual in many, in fact most, assemblages of the like
character amongst people who profess more morality than the sailor. On
these occasions all was mirth and jollification: discipline, for the
time-being, was set aside, and the utmost good-feeling pervaded the
company.

On the last Sunday we lay in the haven, all hands from each ship went
ashore, numbering about one hundred and thirty souls. We provided
ourselves from our ship with potatoes, biscuit, a piece of salt pork,
and a saucepan filled with molasses. We soon had a rousing fire
going; and the Mauriis were immediately on the _qui vive_ for the
collecting of mutton-fish, warreners, and limpets, which they quickly
detected, although to our unpractised eyes there was no appearance
of shellfish. These creatures they detached from the rocks, not
without exerting considerable force, as they adhere with tenacity. The
mutton-fish is quite large, weighing from four to eight ounces. The
warrener is smaller, and inhabits a cone-shaped shell. The shell of the
mutton-fish, which is similar in shape to that of the clam, is single,
having a number of holes in the anterior part, through which the
animal breathes; the lower part of its body presenting the appearance
of a large leathern sucker. The limpet has a three-sided shell, and
is much smaller than either of the others. All these shells are of an
inferior pearl; useless, on account of its frangible construction, for
manfacturing any of the various articles for which the true pearl shell
is used. These shellfish, after being captured, are torn by the natives
from their habitations, and eaten, alive and kicking, with apparent
epicurean relish. This practise of devouring the struggling animal, at
first, seemed revolting to me; but upon reflection I remembered the
cool indifference with which we dispose of the bivalves, which possess
feeling equally with the mutton-fish, but have not the same energetic
way of displaying it.

One of our party volunteering to act as cook, after sufficient of
these fish were procured and deprived of their shells, contrived to
make us an excellent dinner--we doing justice to a chowder prepared
from these creatures, beside having them raw, roasted, and in the
shell. The molasses was converted into candy and handed over to the
Mauriis, who, until they had disposed of it within their capacious
maws, had neither eyes nor ears for anything else. Our dinner ended,
we wended our way up the bay. This was a task of no little difficulty,
the beach being covered with huge masses of granite, worn smooth by
the percolation of water; these were to be ascended, descended, and
occasionally circumnavigated, so that several hours were devoted to
perambulating but a short distance. Our object was to collect specimens
of the green stone, which is washed down from the mountains, and, by
the continual friction of the water, assumes a circular and polished
shape. This stone is used for ornamental purposes, in the decoration of
their persons, by the Chinese and Mauriis--they using it for ear-rings,
necklaces, and nose pendants. Half way up to the summit of the mountain
that frowns above our barque, as she lies at anchor, there is a quarry
of this substance, which I should venture to call serpentine, but for
its extreme obtusity. I said that there was a quarry, but I have only
the authority of the Mauriis for my assertion; I went to the spot, and,
from observation, decided that if it had been worked, it must have
been at some time beyond the recollection of any of my informants.
This bay, twenty years ago, was the rendezvous of a sealing party,
who successfully operated in their business, living ashore until the
rainy season approached, when they boarded their crafts and sailed for
home. A whaling company, also, had a try-works ashore, where many a
fine jacket of blubber has been converted into oil; as these men might
have, occasionally, found time hanging heavy on their hands, to them
may be attributed the working of the mountain, carrying such specimens
as they pleased to their homes, for gifts or sale to the various
tribes along the coast. The seals becoming scarcer every year, and the
increase of whale-ships rendering the capture of the fish less a matter
of certainty than formerly, the bay fisheries were deserted, and ever
since it has been resigned to its original inhabitants, except when
some old and barnacled whale-ship touches at it, or the schooners of
the Maurii run in for protection from the weather. Nothing illustrated
to me the slight influence exerted by man here, more strongly, than the
fact of the smaller birds (those, from their size, too insignificant
for the attention of the gunner), viewing man without the slightest
fear, flying around and around one, and alighting on the person, as if
desirous of forming an acquaintance; having had no experience of the
refinement of cruelty inherent to man, they do not fear him. I do not
wonder at the sealers and whalemen deserting this vicinity when they
found that their game had left, as there is nothing either inviting or
enticing to induce a stay on these shores. The ground can never be made
serviceable for cultivation, as it is broken and uneven to an extreme
degree; scarcely a foot square can be found without a variation in the
grade of its surface.

We remained in this bay seventeen days, every succeeding twenty-four
hours seeing some new creature, or meeting with some novel adventure.
One day a gust of wind would come rushing down the mountains, and carry
away our stern moorings, from the intense strain thrown upon them by
the ship’s swinging. Another day all were interested by the capture
of a female shark, from whose body were taken seventeen small sharks.
These creatures were put in the deck tub, where they swam around with
surprising celerity. They were each about six inches long, without
teeth, but betraying their origin by snapping at anything they could
reach with their toothless gums.

I cannot take leave of Milford Haven Bay without stating my conviction
of its superiority to any port that I had previously visited, with the
exception of Balli. This was the opinion of all, and often afterwards,
when we were on the eve of making an insignificant port on the
Australian coast, have I heard it said, “I wish we were going ashore in
Milford Haven; because there you can see something.” You can procure no
liquor there, whilst here nothing new is to be seen, and rum stares you
in the face at every footstep.

On the 2d of June the Isabella hove up her anchor and stood out of the
bay. She soon lost the breeze, and was endangered by her proximity
to some reefs at the mouth; but a few hours subsequently she was
enabled to resume her course. We, and the rest of the shipping, taking
advantage of the same breeze, squared our yards, and were soon merrily
bowling out to sea, far from the abode of sand flies, and mosquitoes,
which had no mercy on us whilst in the bay.




CHAPTER VIII.


On the 7th, after having, during the preceding week, seen and lowered
for whales several times, our masthead’sman sung out that the James
Allen’s boats were whaling. She was some distance from us; but we
lowered away, and arrived in time to find they had turned up a large
whale. This was the fifth she had taken within the past eight weeks,
making her three hundred and seventy-five barrels of oil. Our boats
returned to the ship empty handed; and, as is usual when another
ship has been successful, we all indulged in a regular growl at the
hardness of our luck, complaining that we could capture nothing,
whilst others were filling their ships. But, to view the matter
impartially, we were having returned to us a Roland for the Oliver we
presented to them whilst on the Shark’s Bay Ground; in that vicinity
the success being all on our side. The next day, as if our bearishness
had been productive of good effect, at daylight we sighted sperm
whales. We lowered away three boats; the desertion of our men in the
bay, rendering it impossible for us to lower four boats and leave a
sufficient number aboard to work the ship in case of need. Directly
after lowering, the first and third mates struck large whales; after
remaining fast for a short time, the irons belonging to the larboard
boat drew--the boatsteerer had had a long dart, and struck the fish
in his small, where there was not sufficient blubber for the iron
to take firm hold. The other fish, to which the starboard boat was
attached, was going at the rate of I do not know how many knots an
hour, breaching, curvetting--now with his head out of water, and,
again, with his flukes reared high in the air, presenting all sorts of
resistance that characterize the right or sperm whale--snapping his
huge jaws together, and lashing the water, left and right, with his
flukes. For a time he kept running along at a rate that deterred the
other boats from approaching him; but, finally, the chief mate managed
to get a line from the bow boat, which was taken in tow. The whale
continued running for some time after; when he halted for a moment, the
mate, watching his opportunity, hauled his boat on to him, and, with a
well-aimed lance, stopped his running forever. We soon afterwards got
him alongside. He was a noble specimen of the cachalot, exceeding in
size any one we had previously taken. On account of the heavy weather
incident to this coast, we took time by the forelock, and cut him in
that same night. It was calm and the moon was at its full, whilst
scarcely a ripple disturbed the surface of the ocean, so that we had
an excellent time. At midnight nearly all was on deck. The following
morning we hove in the junk, and bailed the case--the immense weight of
the latter preventing us from hoisting it aboard. This whale yielded us
one hundred and ten barrels of oil.

It will be seen that whales are plenty off the coast of New Zealand,
and the query may be raised, why are not more captured? But seeing
whales is not taking them, and killing them is not securing them; as
may be exemplified by the case of the Prince Regent: whilst near us,
she captured two large whales, but lost them both from the severity
of the weather. The Flying Childers, too, lost the greater part of
another. The James Allen, however, was more fortunate. One day, after
having by the most strenuous exertions succeeded in getting in a
whale which they had taken the previous day, sperm whales came up
close to the ship. The mate wanted to lower; but the captain, deeming
the weather so boisterous as to make such a proceeding injudicious,
refused his consent. The mate then went below, charged his gun, and
fired a bomb-lance into the whale with such effect, that on rising
again he discharged blood from his spout-holes, appeared bewildered,
and attempted to grasp the sides of the ship with his jaws. By this
time all hands were thoroughly excited; and on the spur of the moment,
although the experiment was a hazardous one, a boat was lowered away,
which, though stoven by coming into contact with the fish, yet managed
to save him.

I will here take occasion to relate another fish-story, which emanated
from the James Allen. Her boats had been down for several hours, and
when lying still, awaiting the re-appearance of a school of sperm
whales that had sounded, a strange fish, in size between the grampus
and whale, rushed by them with open jaws. He kept on for a short
distance, then about-ship, and returned. Both jaws were furnished with
sharp, wicked-looking grinders. Deeming discretion the better part of
valor, they gave his fishship a wide berth. He did not, they said,
appear to be in pursuit of them, but kept on his way, unmolesting, and
unmolested.

On the 25th we lowered for blackfish, and captured six, which yielded
us ten barrels of oil. These fish, like the whales on this coast,
are fatter than they are elsewhere, and average larger. Two days
afterwards we gammoned with the barque Emily Downing, of Hobartown.
She reported, that on the day we were blackfishing she had sighted two
schools of sperm whales. Swinging only three boats, the captain and
second mate went in pursuit of one school, and the mate of the other.
The last seen of the mate’s boat he was close to the whales, and his
boatsteerer standing up, preparatory to darting, when a thick fog
enveloped everything. The two boats in company proceeded to regain the
ship, which they did with much difficulty; and had not those on board
kept up a continual ringing of their ship’s bell to guide them, the
probabilities are, that they would have fared no better than the mate
and his crew, who had neither been seen nor heard of since. Conjectures
were rife as to their probable fate: some surmising that the boat had
been stoven, and all hands lost; others thought that, as the mate
was a prudent man, of much experience, and well knew the locality of
the land, he would most likely direct his boat straightway to it,
and lose no time in searching for their ship. The latter were right,
as was proved on the 30th, when the Downing and we were in company,
lying under short sail,--a fresh breeze blowing, with a heavy sea in
attendance--our mastheadsman apprised us, that there were several
sails off our weather-beam, squared in, and standing directly for
us--coming down before the half gale like racehorses. We at first
thought that they were whaling; but as they neared us, and we saw that
they all had their colors flying, we at once suspected the true reason
for their manœuvring. In a short time, the barque Isabella ran across
our stern, spoke us, and informed us of the safety of the missing ones;
and that all, though weak and exhausted, were as well as circumstances
would permit. This was glorious news, and was received with hearty
cheers. Later in the afternoon we learned that the poor fellows had
been five days in their boat, with nothing to eat, except half-a-dozen
biscuits, an albatross that they had killed by darting a lance into
it, and a piece of squid that they managed to pick up. The latter,
they said, was not very recent; but, in their necessity, it was to
them tall eating, and they were disposed to grumble at the quantity,
rather than the quality of their food. They said that they had made
for the land immediately on finding that they had lost their ship, but
had not succeeded in reaching it until Sunday. As they approached it,
they fortunately discovered the ship James Allen close-to. They made
for her--told their story--were taken on board, and everything that
could be afforded for their comfort was plentifully supplied to them.
They were much emaciated by their long fast and exposure; but under the
genial influence of good victuals and their present position, they were
gradually recovering their wonted hardy condition. The James Allen,
being in the course of a few days bound off the ground to Hobartown,
handed over the missing ones to the barque Isabella, who placed them
aboard their own vessel. Their shipmates--as did all the members of
the fleet--expressed the greatest joy and satisfaction at the recovery
of these poor fellows; for we could all sympathize with them in their
forlorn situation, inasmuch as we were at any time liable to meet with
a like accident whilst engaged in our present pursuit.

Among the vessels that ran down to us was the ship Gœthe, of Bremen,
Captain Austin. This was the first German whaler that we had seen
during our voyage. She had been cruising for right whales off the
islands of St. Paul and Desolation, and had taken nine hundred
barrels of oil--two hundred of which she disposed of in Hobartown.
In that port, which she had recently left, she lost a number of her
men by desertion. Her captain, officers, and three-fourths of her
boatsteerers, were Americans; and, although most of her foremastmen
were Germans, all duty was carried on in English. She is a Bremen-built
ship, of about six hundred tons, and well-looking--originally a packet
between Bremen and New York, from which line of trade she was not
removed any too soon, for she is the dullest sailer I ever saw. She
carried (independent of her whaling-tackle, which was American,) an
assorted cargo of German fancy-goods--accordeons, flutinas, drums,
violins, flutes, &c.--also tobacco and schnapps; which she disposed of,
either in the various ports she touched at, or to the ships she met
with in want of such articles; and as there is no duty on the high seas
upon these goods, I have no doubt that a considerable amount will be
realized by her owners.

From this date until the 11th of July we experienced a succession
of heavy gales, with a very slight proportion of moderate weather;
and we observed that the squid was floating on the surface in great
quantities. The entire absence of whales and blackfish caused us to
conclude that some disease had affected the squid, causing it to die
and appear on the surface, and also rendering it unpalatable to the
fish. Deeming it of little use to remain longer, we bade adieu to New
Zealand; and, with square yards and a fair, though light wind, we stood
away from it. Its high cliffs were discernable the next day, when by
computation we were one hundred and twenty miles distant. And now, that
we had left its snow-capped mountains, its heavy gales, dense fogs,
and cold, inhospitable climate, behind us, we rejoiced in the prospect
of warmer and pleasanter cruising-grounds; leaving no regrets, but all
glad to get away: the four months we had passed off its shores being a
series of unpleasant days, that would have dissatisfied less mercurial
persons than sailors.

On account of the prevalent westerly winds, we were forced to run
several degrees to the northward. On our passage to Hobartown we
crossed the middle ground (which is midway between New Zealand and New
Holland). This is a famous ground for sperm whales, and did not, in
this case, belie its reputation--we seeing a school, whilst crossing
it. We lowered for, but scared them, much to our discontent. We made
no stay here, but steered directly for Van Dieman’s Land; and on the
21st were becalmed in sight of it. The next evening we took a pilot
aboard, and the following morning passed the Iron Pot light, and
entered the Derwent river. This is a noble stream, two and a half
miles wide, and navigable for one hundred. The country on both sides
of the river appeared fertile, and it being the proper season of the
year, in this latitude, for the husbandman to break the ground and
plant his seeds, the agriculturists of the section were to be seen
intent on such employment. Some of our crew, whilst closely watching
these busy laborers, thought of their earlier youth, when, like them,
they followed a kind father or elder brother in their occupations
around their farms at home, and on contrasting their present rough
and boisterous calling with the more peaceful and quiet one they were
formerly engaged in, they were rather disposed to think the farmer
had the best of it; and several expressed a willingness to exchange
conditions with them. They may have been sincere, but I doubt it; as
those who have been employed in agricultural pursuits, after once
becoming identified with whaling by the performance of a voyage,
although they may inveigh against its hardships and discomforts, rarely
fail to go again. Why this is, is easily deduced. In the first place,
in their old calling, there is too much work for them after leading
the lazy, rollicking sailor’s life aboard a whaleship, where the
regulations of the service allow him four or five hours sleep (without
whales are in sight) in the daytime. A man has little inclination to
labor from sun to sun. Again, in rural localities, there is a degree
of wonder and interest attaching to a sailor, that makes him feel
flattered by the special attention displayed towards him; and, after
spinning all his marvellous yarns to an admiring audience, he feels it
incumbent upon him to keep up the character by again embarking, with
the prospect of returning in the possession of new stories and songs.

Going up the Derwent we saw many fine farms, with neat and commodious
tenements upon them. The river itself was studded by small craft,
engaged in carrying produce to the city of Hobartown. A part of them
possess the curious cognomen of “she oakers;” these are a distinctive
class from the others, and are employed in the conveyance of the she
oak, prepared for fuel, to market. On nearing the town, we discovered
the James Allen at anchor, and found, beside her, twenty or thirty
vessels--all sailing under the English flag, except a Dutch brig, and
we two Yankees. At 8 o’clock P. M. we came to anchor within a short
distance of the town, or rather the city.

No sooner was our ground-tackle down than boats were alongside
containing prostitutes, who here, as elsewhere, claim Jack Tar as
their especial property. They boarded us, extended invitations to
all, when they came ashore, to call upon them; and with the most
unblushing assurance, indulged in libidinous promises of the advantages
possessed by their establishments over all others, and vaunting their
superiority over anything of the kind in the city. Some of these frail
ones delighted in most euphonious names, one was Double-Jointed Polly,
another, Slippery Liz, another, Polly, the Jumper, and other equally
select and high-sounding appellations, which they seemed proud enough
of.

Directly we were secure, the mate of the James Allen boarded us,
and informed us of the total loss of the barque Henry H. Crapo, of
Dartmouth, Massachusetts, with the destruction of all the crew, fore
and aft, excepting the captain and a Sandwich Islander, who were picked
up by an English steamship, after thirty-six hours immersion in the
ocean. It appears that whilst off the Cape of Good Hope, she was struck
aback by a heavy squall that tripped her up. The two persons saved
sprang to cut away the rigging, to save her and give her opportunity
to right again, when they were washed overboard. Coming in contact
with part of a whale-boat, and a cutting-stage with lanyards attached,
they constructed a raft, on which they were saved. At the time of
the accident one watch was aloft furling the foretopsail. This craft
previously bore the reputation of being tricky, having, according to
the account of those who had been in her, several times before been on
her beam ends. All her crew were known to us, and we had seen them, but
a few months previous, rejoicing in the prospect of a speedy arrival at
home.

On the 23d and 24th we were busily occupied in breaking out and getting
ashore our right whale oil. After getting it all in casks, we launched
it overboard, and, with four boats fully manned, the crews of all
joining in a rattling, heaving song, we towed the casks along before
the city front, attracting hundreds of the citizens to the wharves to
witness the method of the Yankees at work. They seemed to be satisfied
by their scrutiny, that we were the smartest nation in all creation. I
heard one of them say, “They are a bloody smart set of young fellows,
and no bloody mistake;” and, indeed, to judge from the appearance
of the specimens of the two races here exhibited, the denizens of
the city presented a worn, dissipated aspect, whilst our boys, fresh
from the sea, with cheerful countenances and sprightly motion, looked
capable of any amount of exertion. Directly opposite where we lay was
the Government barracks, and the presence of the red-coated sentries,
with their periodical cry of “All’s well” resounding through the
air, strangely jarred on an American ear. Speaking in terms easily
understood of monarchical governments and their hirelings, this town is
indeed little else but a collection of people under martial subjection;
the character of the inhabitants, and their antecedents, rendering them
subjects of peculiar care to the British government; and to ensure
their good behavior, a regiment of these scarlet-coated gentry, who
have seen actual service, are permanently stationed here. By their
presence, rather than any work they are called upon to perform, these
people are intimidated into decorum. Sentries are stationed before the
governor’s house and the various public buildings, and a nightly patrol
is placed near the water. They are continually to be seen walking about
the streets accompanied by the handsomest females in the place. This
seems a peculiar privilege of the soldier--no matter where you go, you
will always see him with a pretty girl; his continual presence on one
station giving him an immense advantage over the sailor; and then,
too, the color of his coat is so much more gay than the modest blue,
that, in the eyes of the lass that loves display, Jack stands no chance
against his hereditary rival.

Just above the town there is an eminence, mounted with heavy artillery,
which commands the harbor. It is laid out with taste; but, being little
versed in military science, I can neither vouch for, nor detract from
its effectiveness. It is a favorite resort for the citizens, and is
often the theatre of prize-fights, which take place, not only between
the male, but also the female part of creation. During our stay,
two courtezans fought for a pound a side, and battled away for some
fifteen or twenty rounds, when the police arrived at the scene of
combat, and conveyed the participators and a number of the spectators
to the lock-up. The police force is well organized and effective, and
patrol the streets night and day. In conjunction with the soldiers,
they are the guardians of the public peace; and one would think that,
being coadjutors, friendly relations existed between them; but, on
the contrary, many and bloody battles occur. The soldier hates the
policeman, and the policeman fears the soldier. If the policeman
detects the soldier in any little peccadillo, he without more ado
arrests him, if he be alone, and there is no prospect of falling in
with any of his captive’s comrades; but, woe betide him! if in an
unguarded moment he has counted without his host--they flock around him
with wondrous alacrity, take off their belts, and with these effective
weapons soon beat off the police with their staves, and decamp in
triumph.

During the three days we lay here, before going ashore on liberty,
numbers of young women visited both ships, professedly for the purpose
of obtaining washing; but, no matter how respectable or tidy they
looked, their vulgar breeding would display itself before they left.
Two of them got into a fracas on board the James Allen; and, after
indulging in every expletive in and out of the Billingsgate vocabulary,
were about settling their difficulty pugilistically, but were
restrained by the mate’s peremptorily ordering them into their boat.
On their showing some reluctance at starting, he threatened them that
they should never again come aboard, unless they obeyed. This had the
desired effect, and they went away, to settle the matter ashore.

A short time previous to our arrival, the water-police for the
suppression of smuggling had been abolished; and, scarcely was our
anchor down, when the watermen came aboard, to bargain for tobacco and
other contraband articles.

Hobartown, from the water, does not present a striking appearance.
Apart from the military and the public buildings, there are but few
objects of interest to the beholder, excepting several churches,
and a huge windmill, perched on a tower, where corn is ground. The
town is scattered, or rather the buildings are--which amounts to the
same thing,--over a considerable area. Its population is variously
estimated, from fifteen to sixty thousand; I having been assured by
at least a dozen respectable, intelligent citizens, that both these
numbers were correct. In the absence of a certified copy of the census,
I will establish a mean between the two, and estimate it at less
than forty thousand. Its streets are laid out at right-angles with
each other: the foot-path is paved with flags, and the carriage-way
macadamized. The city is lighted with gas, the works for which were
imported from England. Several of the streets present a business-like
and animated appearance; particularly Murray and Liverpool streets,
which contain the business-marts--the latter, like Chatham street, New
York, or South street, Philadelphia, (both of which thoroughfares I
have mentioned before,) being the place of business for pawnbrokers,
Jews, old-clothes-dealers, haberdashers, &c. At almost every step a
groggery stares you in the face, and a glance within will assure you
that they do not lack patronage. It is not unusual to see a husband
and his wife, whose dress and appearance betoken an acquaintance with
better circles, standing at the bar, and partaking from the hands of
the rumseller of the beverage that intoxicates. I know of nothing that
more disgusted me, during my whole absence from home, than witnessing
two females, each with an infant in her arms, settling some domestic
concerns, and ratifying the settlement with a nobbler.

But here I have been describing Hobartown, when as yet I have not been
ashore. The last date I gave was I believe the 25th, and the 26th
being Sunday, on the day succeeding it, which was liberty day, all
were busily employed in washing, barbarizing, and attempting to change
our semi-barbaric appearance into a more civilized one; so as to be
enabled to make some pretension to being ladies’ men, and enter the
lists for feminine favor with the landlubbers ashore. After beautifying
our persons as much as our means would permit, long togs and other
clothing, that had been stowed away in the corners of donkeys for many
months, were ferreted out; and, when we had donned them, we presented
a pretty creditable appearance. Thus unusually attired, and feeling
something like fish out of water, we jumped into the boat, and started
for the shore.

On once more arriving among houses, streets, and marts for business,
after a two-years’ exile from them, thoughts of my own happy home
rushed up in my memory, and bitterly did I deplore my foolishness
in having left it; but soon, in the contemplation of new objects,
I cheered up, and began my peregrinations through the city, with a
determination to criticize everything impartially, whether English or
colonial.

The most prominent objects, were the very conspicuous signs of the
different groggeries, among which I noticed one, on the corner of two
streets, with large letters, to the effect that it was the General
Washington House; and a few steps further on was the Virginia House:
fully attesting that some wandering Yankee, who still retained his
American bias, (and where is there a son of our native land--no
matter how long he has been absent--that does not retain it?) had
squatted here, and christened these two sinks. Amongst other names, I
also noticed, the Marquis of Waterford, the Garrick’s Head, Handsome
Bar-Maid, White Swan, Inkermann Arms, &c. Many of these were houses of
ill-fame or assignation.

Before going ashore, our captain, in a short, but pithy address,
strongly recommended to us the necessity of avoiding the allurements of
the various shipping-agents located here. Seamen were scarce, and these
harpies, ever on the look-out for American seamen--more particularly
whalemen, to whom, in order to secure them, they will at any time
give the post of boatsteerer--made many offers to induce our men to
desert. The captain mentioned the fact, that no American whaler had
ever made this port without losing a part of her crew, and urged us
to be an exception to the rule. He then stated, that there was not a
man or boy in his ship, whom he wanted to part with; and wound up his
address by warning us particularly against a worthy, whose sobriquet
was Peg-legged Johnson. What his real name was, I do not know. He
had a wooden leg, and a brilliant reputation, all over the Indian
and South Pacific oceans, for stowing away seamen who deserted from
their vessels; and then, on the offer of a reward by their captains,
returning them. The captain’s advice was well timed, and had a good
effect. It was otherwise with the James Allen’s crew, as will be
disclosed as I proceed.

Some six months previous a number of our ship’s company had instituted
a temperance pledge, which had ten signers, none of whom deviated from
it, and, indeed, I did not see a single case of inebriety amongst our
crew during our stay in Hobartown. I mention this as a sort of salvo to
the general intemperate reputation of seafaring men.

Going through the streets, I was much surprised at the number and
variety of the occupations of the hawkers crying their wares. Here one
was calling at the top of his voice “Long, strong, and three yards
long, all for a two-pence;” he had shoe-strings for sale. Another was
vending hot sevilloys, a compound resembling a sausage; whilst another,
with a bell in hand, was lauding the superiority of his establishment
for the purchase and sale of second-hand clothing; and a multitude
of others were striving to vociferate louder than their competitors
their claims to the attention of purchasers of oysters, oranges, nuts,
&c. Besides these notorieties, in every street there was an unusual
number of blind beggars. I for a time kept handing a small sum to each
of these mendicants; but soon gave up charity, as I found that it was
deleterious to the state of my exchequer; money being worth twenty-five
cents advance on the dollar here, and therefore a commodity not very
liberally forked over by our captain. On stating my suspicions that
some of these people were impostors, I was assured to the contrary;
my informant saying that the climate was hurtful to the eyes--a
film, somewhat resembling the cataract, covering and destroying the
sight--a disease easily remedied by the knife of a skilful optician.
The government supplies an asylum for these unfortunates, but many of
them prefer strolling about the streets, to confinement in such an
institution. Many of them are attended by dogs, who lead them about
with precision.

Soon after I went ashore I came in contact with a young American, who
had been located in the city for several years. Of course, our being
from the same State, betrayed us in a review of the place of our
birth, into a friendly intimacy. I asked him his opinion of Hobartown,
and shall never forget his answer; it was, that “lewdness filled the
streets, licentiousness the houses, and profanity the air.” Although
not prepared to endorse his sentiments in toto, I must confess that he
was not very wide of the mark; and, whilst I have him in remembrance, I
may as well review the opportunities offered by this part of Australia
to induce young men to emigrate to its shores. The state of society,
makes those engaged in business here, whenever they find a young
man coming to their neighborhood with the character of an honest
man, anxious to secure his services, and offer him a good recompense
for them. During my stay on the coast, I, in several cases, had such
offers tendered me; and, although in a pecuniary point of view they
were advantageous, I have never once regretted not accepting. In nine
cases out of ten, where young Americans have taken up their residence
here, they have, however repugnant the habit may have at first appeared
to them, contracted a taste for alcohol, and not having, like these
people, been accustomed to imbibe it from childhood, soon became sots.
Hence the reluctance of captains of whaleships to discharge on the
coast any of their crew in whom they take an interest; well knowing
that among such companions moral or intellectual improvement is out of
the question.

As the lower class of the population, more particularly the female
portion, consider the sailor fair game, our ship was continually the
scene of their visits. Although we were at first quite pleased, and
felt enlivened by the presence of the fairer part of creation aboard
our floating home, we shortly discovered that we were only favored with
their company from interested motives; and, therefore, after several
visits had passed, but little more attention was paid to them, except
by the idlers, who were glad to have any object to assist them in
whiling away their time.

Great attention was paid by these dames to the younger members of our
crew, whom they hoped, on account of their inexperience, easily to
dupe; but it was only on one occasion, (the eve of our sailing,) that
any encouragement was extended to induce them to prolong their visit
aboard our ship. On that evening--fancying that we had some stray
shillings in the corners of our pockets, and wishing to relieve us of
an article that would be of no use to us when at sea--they came off to
the number of a score; and as their blandishments could produce no ill
effect, (for none of us wanted to go ashore again at Hobartown,) our
accordeon-player was pressed into service, the quarter-deck cleared
away, and all hands indulged in dancing--officers, men, and visitors
taking a part. The presence of the officers, and respect for the old
ship, restrained those whose buoyancy of spirit would otherwise have
led them to run riot.

After being tired out with dancing, singing was substituted; and,
take it all in all, it was about as merry an evening as could well be
passed. All parties, before entering into these gayeties, had been
pledged to decorum; and, as there were no intoxicating liquors, by an
indulgence in which any one might be led to forget his or her sense of
propriety, nothing was said or done that could have called a blush to
the most modest cheek: a circumstance, the more remarkable, when the
motley character of the assemblage is remembered.

There are several establishments in the city, professedly theaters, but
really houses of questionable character, where dancing, in which all
the audience indulge, is by far the greatest part of the performance.

One of these houses my curiosity led me to enter. Having paid over my
shilling to the door-tender, I was ushered into a small amphitheater.
On its stage sat five performers, whose faces were blackened with
burned cork. They were attempting to give delineations of Ethiopian
characteristics; but, although the audience seemed delighted with the
performance, their brogue smacked more of the Paddy or Sandy than of
that of the Virginia Darkie.

It is to be deplored that such establishments so often entrap the
unwary sailor; who, on his liberty-day, bent upon amusement, his mind
unoccupied, and in possession of funds sufficient to make him an
object of attraction to the harpies who conduct them, is led to enter,
and, ere he is aware, (unless he has a spirit that is proof against
temptation,) they lead him from one folly to another, until he becomes
helplessly intoxicated, and then he is an easy prey to whoever wishes
to plunder him. Strange it is, that, with the victims of such sharks
continually before his eyes in every seaport he visits, he should still
persist in entering such places. He certainly does not do it blindly,
but with a culpable recklessness, that is almost inexcusable. He will
not stop to consider what may be the consequences of the first steps he
takes in the path of sin. He is never deterred from his evil course by
viewing the wreck of his fortune; for, when utterly impoverished by his
heedless career on land, he again returns to his favorite element, upon
whose broad expanse, or in whose mighty deeps, he sanguinely expects
to regain all his treasure. He scorns to reflect upon the vile arts by
which he has been debarred from the field of fair sailing ashore, nor
regards the foul atmosphere of the brothel as more to be shunned than
the spray. So, at sea, he thinks not of danger, when the storm king
in his wrath is sweeping over the surface of the ocean, but goes aloft
unfaltering, although surrounded by the elemental war.

The Hobartown market is abundantly furnished with most excellent
meat--the beef I never saw surpassed, and the mutton is excellent.
The principal part of the beeves consumed here are brought from Port
Phillip in small craft known as “bullockers,” and, despite their
uncomfortable passage across the straits, land in excellent condition.
We had plenty of such provender whilst we lay here--the cook, or
steward, having orders to get abundant supplies each morning, except
Sundays--and we did it justice. Although a seaman sighs for fresh
meat, after a long cruise, when he has enjoyed it for several days
his appetite becomes surfeited, and he gladly hunts up salt junk,
and partakes of it with a relish. The consumption for the first and
second days is treble that of the succeeding three. A vessel, several
years ago, touched at a port on the western coast of South America,
for a reason not assigned. There was no fresh meat furnished to the
crew, in lieu of it poultry was substituted, which, for a short time,
was partaken of with relish; but one day the captain was surprised at
seeing his men come aft and complain of their chicken diet, asserting
that they had had too much of it, and could not work upon it. Salt
junk was served out in its place, and the difficulty settled. This
is not an isolated case of the kind; I have read elsewhere, I think
in one of J. Fennimore Cooper’s works, that the Scotch garrisons
originally stationed on the various outposts of Great Britain, on the
lakes, were accustomed to complain when an over supply of venison or
salmon was meted out to them; these articles, to us luxuries, being so
plentiful near their abode, and so often partaken of as to lose their
novelty. At the present writing I have been but a few months without
fresh provisions, and so long a dissertation on the coveted food,
has conjured up to my imagination, visions of fresh and juicy meat,
vegetables in profusion, and amongst other delicacies, last, though
not least, a buckwheat or Johnny cake; neither would a piece of bread
and cheese he out of the way, or any other of the little et ceteras
grateful to the appetite, that the poorest person ashore can command at
will, but which the wanderer on the sea must deny himself when engaged
in a long voyage; the owners generally considering salt junk and hard
bread as the staffs of life at sea.

Daily, whilst here, some one or more of the crew of the James Allen
would cut stick, and defy the most strenuous efforts of the authorities
to recapture them. Finally the crew was reduced to but a moiety of
her usual number. They were restricted to the day ashore, at night
being required to return aboard their ship; those who violated this
restriction were confined altogether to the vessel, and those allowed
to go ashore were put by their captain under the surveillance of the
police, and if found ashore at nightfall, were placed in the lock-up.
Our captain, to secure us from molestation, furnished us with passes to
the effect that, by his permission our liberty extended for twenty-four
hours; but as our men behaved themselves in the most decorous manner,
they were never interfered with; and I do not remember having heard of
a single instance where they were required to show their passes.

This passport system was a feature worthy of the worst despotism of
the Old World. Here were we, a body of Americans, visiting an English
harbor, after a long confinement aboard ship at sea, debarred from
enjoying our rambles on shore with perfect freedom, and feeling
ourselves liable at any moment to be stopped by the police, and have
our passports demanded. And why? Forsooth, was this done, because
several of the James Allen’s crew--disgusted either with whaling, the
sea, or the harshness of the discipline aboard that ship--chose to
remain ashore? To be sure, they had all signed the ship’s articles,
and agreed to remain as part of her crew during the continuance of
her voyage, and by leaving her here they violated the letter of their
agreement; but when it is remembered, that the greater proportion of
those now deserting, at the time of joining the vessel and registering
their names, were minors--totally ignorant of what their duties and
hardships might be--their offence appears to be merely venial. And,
again, the captain is also bound by these articles and by the maritime
laws of the United States; and, if he has observed those laws in letter
and spirit, he will be entitled to sympathy, should his men desert him.
But, unfortunately, as soon as a ship is outside of land, and away from
the jurisdiction of our courts, the captain is too apt to consider
himself as the law and all its officers. He is, emphatically, when on
the high seas, himself the judge and jury; from his decision there is
no appeal, and to his fiat the seamen under his command must submit.
Now, should he be guilty of gross personal abuse, or otherwise injure
any of his men, or by a system of petty annoyances, render a situation
under him unpleasant and uncomfortable, who will say that the party
so injured or offended may not withdraw from the ship? The captain,
however, will not let him go. What, then, shall he do? Life is a burden
to him whilst under the espionage of his tormentor. His remedy, the
superficial observer at once would say, would be to throw himself and
his complaints on the consideration of the American consul, and demand
justice. I will merely relate a case that happened at the American
Consular Agent’s Office in Hobartown, (the agent, by the way, was not
an American,) to wit:

At Flores we received aboard a Portuguese, without an agreement. He
remained with us, as one of the crew, up to the time of our arrival at
Hobartown, and had become a pretty good seaman. One liberty-day, as
he was going ashore, the captain said to him he wished that he would
accompany him to the consul’s office, and have his name put upon the
ship’s articles. The Portuguese assented; but, previous to this, the
shipping agents of the town had conferred with him, and, discovering
that he was not bound to the ship, had offered him a seaman’s wages
to sail in their employ; consequently, he imbibed a notion of the
real value of his services, and when taken to the consul’s office
and offered a landsman’s lay by the captain, he demanded a greater
proportion of the vessel’s earnings--one commensurate with his
services. His remonstrance was answered by a box on the ear; and he was
taken to the wharf, put in a boatman’s charge, and conveyed to our
vessel; from which time he was not allowed to go ashore again whilst we
remained in the harbor.

It may be seen, from the result in this instance, that men have
but little encouragement to apply to the consul. What, then, shall
they do? The English courts will not receive an American seaman’s
complaints--stating that they have no jurisdiction in such a case; but,
at the same time, they will grant to the captain of a vessel warrants
for the arrest and detention of any of his crew who may desert.

Thus, both these avenues to justice and right are in a measure closed
against the sailor; but, even were they open, I doubt whether Jack
would resort to them. Taught by experience, as well as from the
prejudice of ignorance, he cherishes a strong antipathy toward both the
law and its executors; for which reason, he does not care to prefer a
complaint in a court of justice, but would rather forswear its promised
shelter, and take the seemingly shorter and easier method offered by
desertion, to gain a release from tyranny or exemption from unbearable
wrongs. In adopting the latter course, however, it not unfrequently
happens, that, instead of having improved his condition, he finds, to
use a homely adage, that he has jumped out of the frying-pan into the
fire.

But I must resume my narrative, and speak of the colonists, among whom
there is a generation now rising who have been born on the island.
They are known as Van Diemanians or Tasmanians. The males are large,
fine-looking fellows, and the females generally possess some beauty and
intelligence.

This city having considerable whaling trade, there is a corresponding
interest taken in everything pertaining to that pursuit. For instance,
all the boats that ply about the city front, large or small, are in
the form of a whale-boat. Regattas are held, under the patronage of
the colonial government, at which various prizes are distributed to
the victorious crews of the successful boats: and now for a word about
these boats. During the voyage we had two of them, one of which was
purchased from the Flying Childers, when we were off the coast of New
Zealand, in exchange for tobacco--the other we procured in Hobartown.
The former had taken a prize at the regatta; and, therefore, I think we
maybe said to have had fair specimens of the manufacture. These boats
are longer, sharper, higher, and heavier than ours; they are built
of hard wood--there being no wood in this country comparable to our
cedar for the construction of whale-boats. Being heavier, they are of
course more difficult to pull, and, although higher and sharper, some
peculiarity in the model renders them so wet and uncomfortable, that,
to use the words of those who had often got wet jackets whilst in them,
“They do not ride a sea, but pass right through it.” One advantage they
possess in the polished smoothness of their surface, which enables them
to glide through the water with scarcely any perceptible noise, and
approach the whale before he has an inkling of its whereabouts. Many
of these Hobartown vessels totally discard boats manufactured by the
artizans of that town, whilst others vastly prefer them to the American
boat. From experience, I should say that the latter craft, viewed in
every light, is superior; and, again, it has the advantage of being
two-thirds cheaper--the Hobartown boat costing from thirty to fifty
pounds, and the American fifteen or twenty at the most.

We had but little trouble in procuring water, for, if so disposed, a
ship can have it brought alongside; but if not, all that is necessary
is, as we did, to tow a raft of casks to the dock, fill them from
a hose, and then convey them back to the ship. The water is of an
excellent quality, and keeps sweet a long time.

As liberty was given every day, and the watches were ashore
alternately, the privilege of remaining ashore during the night was
extended to each individual. For the convenience of those who were
disposed to return aboard, a boat was sent in at sundown; but it
seldom brought off any of the liberty-men. It was manned by the watch
on duty; so that three-fourths of the ship’s company might be ashore
every night. The boat generally returned before midnight; and it was
customary for the crew that manned it to sing a jolly heaving-song at
the top of their voices--all joining in the chorus; and the nights
being still and serene, the effect produced was rather startling
through the silent harbor.

On the 5th of August all hands were aboard--liberty having been
discontinued--all preparations made for sailing, and no intercourse
allowed with the shore. Many of our crew wished to provide themselves
with little articles for sea-use; but the captain, having all on board,
determined to keep them there, and took the execution of all their
little commissions upon himself. There was, however, no need of this
precaution, in order to confine us on board our ship; for, throughout
the entire day, we did not fail to have many opportunities to desert,
if any of us had felt so disposed, and had availed ourselves of the
watermen’s boats, which were continually arriving at, and departing
from the ship.

In referring to the account of what transpired aboard the ship on the
last night of our stay in the harbor of Hobartown, it may, perhaps, be
said by the strict moralist, that too much latitude of correct moral
principle was allowed by admitting female visitors, whose reputation,
at least, if not their real character, was that of the lowest grade;
inasmuch as by their participation in the gay hilarities of that
evening encouragement was given to the idea, that their guilty course
of life was no hindrance to the realization of lawful and innocent
pleasure. Now, considering the fact that so many youngsters were
comprised in our crew--“young bloods,” of keen susceptibilities for
sport, whom the license of an hour might probably transform into
“fast young men,”--we must acknowledge the apparent justness of this
objection. But, on the other hand, let us consider the relation in
which the captain of a ship stands to his men: it is not one which
authorizes or requires him to assume the care and rod of a parent,
or teacher of morals; but is one which demands a discipline that can
secure their willing, hearty, and effective service. Moreover, it is
impossible fully to control the inclinations of a boy, who likely has
always had his own way at home, and has been sent to sea on account
of a too free indulgence of self-will. I say that it is absolutely
impossible to govern such a stripling, (after his parents have failed,
while he was surrounded by the influences of home,) when separated
fifteen thousand miles from his native country, and after two years
of forecastle life, during which, being continually in the society of
sailors, boys grow to be men in opinion and ideas, and expect to be
treated as such when ashore. As to the expediency of somewhat relaxing
the rigid rules of moral discipline, we may be satisfied by a mere
contrast of the position of our own with the crew of the James Allen
at the same moment. On board the latter, the men had been hectored and
thwarted, and consequently more than one-half had deserted--leaving the
void to be filled up with green hands,--and those who remained were
sullen, dissatisfied, and discontented; whilst our own crew were all
aboard their ship, both cheery and ready to go to sea. The fact of all
the hands that were brought into this port again going out in the ship,
of their own accord, is unprecedented in the annals of the arrival and
departure of American whalers; for, commonly, such vessels lose a half
or two-thirds of their crews. A few months ago, the ship Hunter, of New
Bedford, touched here, and lost a number of her men--several of whom
are now acting as policemen. Our non-success in capturing whales gave
good cause for apprehending that we should meet with a like loss, and
our not doing so may be attributed to the general good treatment which
characterized our ship throughout her voyage. Although not a paradise,
still she was as good as the best of whalers. No overt act of cruelty
or brutality had been exercised on any one of our crew; and therefore
they were now all satisfied again to go afloat in her.

In the morning three new men came aboard: two of them were ordinary
seamen, or as such they represented themselves--one having steered a
boat, and the other having been a year before the mast in a colonial
vessel. If these were fair specimens of colonial seamen, the poorest
must indeed be very low; for none of them knew the compass, or the
rigging, or how to furl a square sail. The whole three were Irishmen,
of the class that are banished from their country for their country’s
good.




CHAPTER IX.


At 8 o’clock on the morning of the 6th we hove up our anchor, got under
weigh, and, with a fair wind, stood down the river--leaving Hobartown
in the distance--bound on another long cruise to the westward.

But before I take leave of Hobartown, I must acknowledge the general
welcome and hospitality with which we were greeted and treated by
its inhabitants, who seemed very desirous to add their contributions
to make our time whilst in their harbor pass pleasantly. The mere
fact of our being Americans was a passport to their good opinion.
Although, when we are absent, they jeer at our national peculiarities,
and lay great stress upon “guess” and “calculate,” yet they are all
suavity when in our company. Away from home the whole of our people
are known as Yankees, whether hailing from the northern, southern,
eastern, or western section of our Union. Being an American, as far
as my experience goes, is indeed a passport to civility amongst the
inhabitants of all these penal colonies. Though the greater part of
these people have been banished from Europe for their violation of
the laws of their native country, nevertheless, they still consider
themselves to be the injured party, and view England as a great
oppressor, by whose peculiar societary organization her subjects are
urged on to evil; and therefore they say, as such, they have neither
regard nor respect for her. I noticed that the military band were
continually playing, God save the Queen; but I saw nothing of that
affection for the sovereign, which the English papers are forever
rehearsing, as being an inherent principle in the British composition.
Respect for her virtues, as a woman, they readily yield; but these
people have a vague idea of republicanism, that will eventually cost
Great Britain her Australian colonies; although self-government among
such a people will undoubtedly be productive of little else than
anarchy and disorder. The discordant elements composing the population
need a thorough alternative, ere they can hope to form a government in
any way resembling our Union of the West; and from my own impressions,
drawn from an observation of both the higher and lower classes of
society, I should say that it would require all the abattoirs of
Paris,--which extend, I forget how many miles, and render it the most
thoroughly drained city in the world,--as an outlet for the moral
corruption of this country.

And now I must touch briefly on Van Dieman’s Land business-operations.
Yankee cuteness in bargaining has became a proverb, but I doubt whether
the sharpest of the speculators from the land of wooden nutmegs could
outdo the sharpers found here. Long before we passed the Iron Pot
light, a boat, containing a couple of speculators, came alongside, and
her passengers jumped aboard of us. (One of their names, by the way,
was Smart, and he sustained the aptitude of his cognomen to the best
of his ability.) We purchased a boat of them, which, after we were
outside, was found to be much worn, and the crevices filled with putty
and neatly painted, so as to defy detection. The potatoes, bought for
first-rate, were very ordinary; and the salt-meat, ten tierces of which
had been bought for corned beef--being represented as having been but
a short time out of pickle--was fairly white with an encrustation of
salt, which no amount of soaking would remove: being ten times more
saline than that which we had brought from home twenty-four months
previously. This meat, when opened, was not, like ours, of a rich red
and yellow hue, but of a sickly pink and white, which may have been
owing to the absence of saltpetre in the pickle. It was quite fat; but
the fat was like suet, and eatable only whilst warm; wanting the rich,
pleasant taste of the fat on our own meat. The epicure may laugh at my
expression of “rich taste,” applied to a piece of salt-junk; but let
him do, as I have done, after hours of fatiguing night-duty--when his
system is almost prostrated from exposure to wind and weather--go down
to his messpan, get a piece of fat beef, a cake of hard bread, and a
raw onion, (if he is fortunate enough to possess the latter,) and then
go on deck, and munch it, then, I think, he will find the taste of it
rich, grateful and pleasant.

Before I go farther, I must relate a New Zealand adventure, which
escaped my notice whilst writing of that delectable coast, and as it is
one of the few incidents of my voyage with which a woman is connected,
it would not be just for me to omit it: it was as follows. One night
whilst we lay in Milford Haven Bay, one of the owners of the schooner
Eliza approached me very mysteriously, and asked the privilege of a few
minutes conversation with me. Of course I acquiesced, wondering at the
motive for his request. I was soon enlightened. He stated that in the
settlement where he lived, at Jacob’s River Bluff, at the extremity
of the middle island, their former physician, who for many years
had practised in the vicinity, had died, and they, therefore, were
without medical attention. Having heard my shipmates call me Doctor,
and discovering, upon inquiry, that I had dabbled somewhat in physic
at home, he made up his mind that I was an expert practitioner, and
the idea entered his head to secure me as a resident at the Bluff. He
stated the matter to me, assuring me of a remunerative practice, and,
as a further inducement offered me one of his daughters as a wife.
He represented her as a beautiful half-caste girl--and I found, upon
inquiry, that he did her but justice. I was both amused and surprised
at the ardor with which he urged the matter, and did not give him a
final answer, wishing to draw him out. The old fellow thought that he
had me safe, when I deemed it time to put a stop to it, and informed
him that my engagements to the owners of our ship were of so urgent a
nature that I could not leave without the captain’s full consent. He
assured me that there would be no difficulty about that, if I would but
give _my_ consent to the matter; he would stow me away so that no one
would be able to find me, and at the end of their cruise carry me to
the Bluff. Of course I could not consent to this, although every time
he renewed his solicitations, he enjoined on me to remember the gal.
I certainly should have liked to have formed an acquaintance with her,
but I had too many ties at home to forget and forsake my country. This
old fellow was an English man-of-war’s man who had deserted from his
ship in the early days of the settlement of the island, and marrying a
native woman, had reared a family of handsome and interesting children.
His code of morals was not of the highest standard, neither was his
sense of duty as a parent, or he would not have wished to dispose of
his daughter so summarily without her consent; but then he may have
been fully acquainted with her wishes, and I was assured that these
girls consider it as a great honor to secure an American husband. In
proof of this I will relate the adventures of a townsman of mine. He
sailed from New Bedford in a whaler, deserted at Bravo, one of the
Cape De Verde Islands, contracted some sort of a marriage with one of
the Portuguese girls there, became tired of her, and shipped aboard
a second New Bedford ship bound to the South Seas. She cruised off
New Zealand, and then proceeded to the Australian Bight. Whilst in
these latitudes, this young man fell from the maintop into the waist
boat, and displaced his ribs. A few days after the accident we fell in
with her, and I went aboard and set them. We saw no more of the ship
or him for a long time, when one day, whilst we were gammoning with
the Colonial ship Pacific, I was surprised at seeing the self-same
individual step aboard from her boat, well and hearty, having perfectly
recovered from his injury. He told me that being weak for some time
after he was hurt, his captain had left him ashore at Stewart’s
Island, with sufficient for all his wants, promising to call at a
certain time. The ship not making her appearance at the stated period,
and being perfectly recovered, he became weary of inactivity, and on
the Pacific’s touching at the island, he joined her, throwing away
several hundred dollars which were his proportion of his former ships
(the Alexander) earnings. The Alexander touched at the island a few
weeks after, but found the bird flown, to the captain’s regret, as
the missing individual was one of his most useful men. He continued
in the Pacific for five or six months, and on her touching a second
time at the island, deserted from her and married the girl whom the
cooper was desirous that I should mate with. Thus this youngster,
scarce arrived at manhood, had, in the course of two years, left his
home, and been a member of three ships, married twice, and at the last
account of him was snugly anchored in an out of the way nook in the
South Pacific, thousands of miles from his kindred, who know nothing
of his whereabouts, neither are they likely to, without, amongst his
other freaks, he should attempt that of returning home. Thus it is,
a free life on the salt water certainly engenders this unsettled,
roving tendency. A sailor considering himself at home in every clime;
well-knowing that however little employment there may be for other
professions, the ways of commerce will always supply him with a berth
sufficient to provide for all his wants. The better the seaman,
generally, the more wild and reckless are his frolics; never learning
wisdom, or staying his rollicking career, until the blue waves of old
ocean close over his sinking form, or he is hove down in some foreign
hospital, a prey to disease brought on by his own imprudence. His life
ebbs out, amongst strangers, when, if at home, his sick couch would be
surrounded by kind friends, or, perhaps, a fond mother or sister, who,
at the dictates of affection, would minister to his dying wants, and
smooth his dreary passage with all the comforts procurable by affection.

But I must resume the legitimate course of my log, which was
interrupted, I believe, as we were making our way down the Derwent. By
night we were outside and beating up for the Southwest Cape. There,
on Sunday the 9th, we sighted sperm whales. We lowered away, and in
about an hour had one snugly moored alongside. The following day we
cut him in despite a gale of wind; fortunately, saving the whale. On
the following Wednesday we saw another school of whales, but, after
chasing all day, gave up the pursuit as hopeless. As soon as we were
done boiling, the James Allen hove in sight, having left Hobartown
several days after we sailed. They informed us that after we left, her
cooper, and one of her boatsteerers deserted, having been enticed away
by the smiles of some of Hobartown’s syrens. They also stated that the
Prince Regent had arrived, and brought news of our missing boat’s crew.
That, a few days after our leaving the coast of New Zealand, they came
alongside the Prince Regent and begged for provisions and some water,
saying that they had been lying in a bay a short distance South of
Milford Haven, waiting for our departure from the coast. Those who saw
them said that they were emaciated and woe-begone to a painful degree.
The captain of the Prince Regent, who, both with his own countrymen
and strangers, bears the unenviable notoriety of being a niggard,
refused to give them a single thing. They left him and went alongside
a Maurii schooner, where their wants were supplied--the semi-civilized
man, who is sneered at by his more polished cotemporary, displaying
the most humanity. Afterward they were seen to go into Open Bay, take
aboard several men who had deserted from the Lady Emma, and direct
their boat to the northward, where we will leave them, until, in the
due course of the narrative, their further exploits are developed.

On the 15th the sun arose amid a pretty fresh gale of wind. Directly
after breakfast we sighted sperm whales. The weather looked rather
dubious; but we wanted oil very bad--so down went our boats and after
them. They were slightly to windward of us, and it was impossible to
force our boats to the weather, in the teeth of both sea and wind, so,
at 10 o’clock, the boats returned aboard. At 11 we tried it again; at
12 again returned, ate dinner, and, not at all discouraged by the two
preceding failures, at two o’clock dropped our boats a third time,
after having beat up with the ship to windward of the school. The
third attempt proved successful, and, fortunately, the fish struck ran
but very little, and was easily disposed of. Some idea may be formed
of the hardships of the whaleman’s life, from a recountal of this
day’s work. During the whole time that the boats were down, the rain
descended in torrents, and the sea was so rugged that it was only by
incessant bailing that the boats were kept from swamping. Added to
this, the weather was quite cool, and the wind was at such a height
that double-reefed topsails were all the ship would hear; yet, despite
all this, the brave fellows, when they came aboard, although chilled
through and wet to the skin, made light of the difficulties, and stated
their willingness and even eagerness to encounter the same hardships
again for another whale. The wind continuing, we had a troublesome
job the next day in getting him aboard. The following Wednesday, as
if fortune was determined to make us some reparation for the former
sparsity of her favors, we again saw whales, captured one and got him
all aboard the same day--making over two hundred barrels of sperm
oil taken by us in ten days. The James Allen was in sight of us when
we captured the last two, and had the same chance; her miscarrying,
therefore, can be attributed only to the fact of her boats’ crews being
unaccustomed to boat duty, and unable to compete with ours--her old
crew being pretty nearly all gone, and her boats now manned by men who
never saw a whale before. I think that this should be a sufficient
inducement for whaling captains to treat their crews well, so as to
retain them, when, at the end of two years, they make a good port, they
may not have an inefficient, almost helpless crew, instead of able
hands to do their behests.

The next Sunday, unlike the two preceding ones, was a day of rest--on
one of the former being engaged in whaling, and on the next in
cutting-in. Being a line day we gammoned with the James Allen; whilst
so employed, we noticed a brig to leeward with her colors set at the
mizzen-peak. At first, little attention was paid to her; but the
colors continuing set, we squared our yards and ran off to her. She
proved to be the brig Julia, of Hobartown, five months out, with
twenty-eight tons of sperm oil. Her reason for showing her colors
was, that she had on board a boat’s crew, who, with two other boats’
crews, now ashore in the vicinity, belonging to the brig Maid of Erin,
of Hobartown, separated from their vessel, having lowered for whales
just at nightfall, and lost sight of the brig in their eagerness to
capture whales. There was no one aboard the Maid of Erin, except a few
inexperienced hands, and the boat’s crew expressed their apprehensions
of some casualty to her, should it come on to blow. What the result was
I never learned, as a short time afterward we left the cape, proceeding
northward to Kangaroo Island. Seeing no whales, we changed our course
to the westward, passing the Recherche Islands, and having a fine view
of Pollock’s Reef--a dangerous line of rocks, a long distance from the
main land, extending for several miles, over which the sea roars and
tumbles in huge broken masses, impressing the beholder with a sense
of danger as he gazes upon it. Just before reaching this locality we
saw right whales, but could get nowhere near them. Soon afterward
we gammoned the ship Lapwing, of New Bedford; she brought letters
from home for us, but gave them to the Alexander, supposing that we
still remained off New Zealand. Whilst gammoning with her, a line of
dangerous reefs was sighted close to us, and, during the night and
following day, we carried sail to get a wide berth from it, and ran the
old ship into a school of sperm whales. We lowered away our boats. The
second mate fastened, and the whale sounded, taking out most of his
line; the third mate ran down and attached his line to it, just in the
nick of time, and saved the whale. The whales in this vicinity plunge
and sound deeply, when first struck. Half an hour previous to the
second mate’s fastening, the first mate struck a fellow that carried
off all his line.

About this time a curious malady affected a number of our crew, the
seeds of which were sown by exposure to the rains and damp air of
the South Pacific. It resembled inflammatory rheumatism, causing
excruciating pains in the joints, and resisting all application of
medicine. I experienced the affection myself. Having heard of the
marvellous efficacy of the oil extracted from the liver of the sun
fish, I urged the necessity of procuring some of the article; the
captain, coinciding with me, lowered away a boat and captured a sun
fish. It was a most curious creature, almost without shape; in weight,
I think it would exceed five hundred pounds; it had no scales and no
flukes; the after portion of the body appearing as if unfinished; on
each side was a long narrow fin. The skin was of a brown color, and as
rough as sandpaper. The eye was most beautiful, and the largest and
clearest of any creature’s that I ever saw. The bones were soft, and on
being exposed to the sun gradually melted away. The flesh is prepared
with vinegar and makes excellent eating. The oil, extracted from the
liver by expression in the sun, is of a reddish color, and fœtid smell.
It proved of great service to me--an application to a stiff joint at
night rendering it pliant and free from pain in the morning. Long
yarns are spun by seafaring men of the wonderful properties of this
oil; they assuring me that a too free use of it was always attended
by salivation, and enjoining an application of but a small quantity. I
used it pretty freely, but experienced no bad effect from it.

On the 5th of October we picked up a spruce plank, about twelve feet in
length and three in breadth; it was copper-fastened, and was adjudged
to be part of the keel of a large ship.

On the 17th we ran in and anchored in Frenchman’s Bay, intending
to procure a supply of water. This bay is the introduction to King
George’s Sound, and is a safe and pleasant harbor. We lay within a mile
of the shore, and from a spring close to the beach, procured three
hundred barrels of most excellent water. There were no vessels in
the bay, but in the sound there was an English barque, the Prince of
Wales. She brought out to the sound materials for the erection of two
light-houses--one on Point Possession, at the entrance of the sound;
the other on Breaksea, at the mouth of Frenchman’s Bay. These have
long been needed on the coast, and their advent will be a matter of
congratulation to the navigator in these seas. The crew of this vessel
refused to proceed in her, alleging as a reason her immoderate leakage,
asserting that she was unsafe and unseaworthy. The crew, including the
second mate, on the complaint of the captain, were arrested by the
authorities, and kept in durance vile until such time as the vessel
should leave the port. This probation had now continued for months,
and as the crew were determined not to embark in her, a new crew was
shipped, and, on the arrival of orders from England, she sailed for
some port in the West Indies. At her departure her former hands were
released.

The next day after anchoring was Sunday, and all hands were bound
for a run ashore. The bay presented little attraction, but the green
appearance of the vegetation was enough to induce us to have a nearer
look at it. On landing we found the country covered with the prevailing
bush, and as it was in many places dry and inflammable as tinder, we
ignited it, and had a rousing fire coursing up the hills like a demon
in pursuit of prey. Having tired ourselves with this amusement, we ran
along the beach with the intention of shaking the scurvy out of our
bones; and as we progressed, saw numbers of mutton-fish, crabs, and
limpets. We gathered a sufficient quantity of these shell-fish, roasted
them, and had a fresh mess. Proceeding along the beach, over an uneven
ridge of boulders, after a walk of about eight miles, we came to the
whale fishery. Here we found about a dozen men, who were engaged in a
warfare against the humpback and right whales that resort to the bay.
They had taken, during the season, two of the former and one of the
latter species, yielding them one hundred and seventy barrels of oil;
they desired us to set no more bush afire, stating that the smoke or
glare of the flames intimidated the whales from entering the bay. From
these people we learned that the ships Alexander and James Allen had
touched here but a short time previous, and that whilst here both ships
had lost men by desertion, and that these men were now knocking about
the town, unable to procure employment. The James Allen also lost an
anchor here, in about the same spot in which she broke her windlass
whilst getting under weigh last year. From all accounts her Hobartown
crew had been anything but orderly and obedient, so that the captain
was glad to be rid of them. Amongst the men at the fishery there were
several Americans who had been in this section of the world for years;
they did not like the country, and, if we had wanted men, would gladly
have engaged and gone home with us.

It is the law of the English government, that no fishing shall be
carried on within three miles of the coast of colonies. This law is a
dead letter in the Indian Ocean, excepting where their fisheries exist;
and I am sure that, had whales made their appearance in this bay whilst
we were present, our boats would have been down amongst them. The men
at the fishery strongly urged their exclusive right to this privilege;
but, at the same time, they informed us that, a few weeks previous,
the ship Congress, of New Bedford, had taken a humpback whilst lying
where we now were; for, having no casks at the fishery, they were
necessitated to buy some from the ship, and because of this favor, they
had agreed not to interfere with their prize.

Returning from the fishery, we took a short cut through the bush, which
is lower here than any I have seen elsewhere in Australia--no tree or
shrub appearing that was over eight feet in height. Amidst the general
desolation, beautiful flowers of various descriptions and colors sprung
up; forming a strange contrast, and appearing as if Nature, to make
amends for the general loneliness and negligence displayed, had caused
these gay flowers to flourish here, and truly, as the poet says,

  “To waste their sweetness on the desert air.”

On our way down, we continually passed little mounds, shaped like
beehives, and constructed of dried grass and sand, arranged to a
nicety. At first I was at a loss to tell the true character of these
nests; but, on knocking the top off of one of them with my stick, I
saw myriads of ants--it being a granary for these insects. On being
disturbed, they rushed hither and thither in search of the violator of
their domicile, and on discovering him, they ran up his clothing, and
bestowed no very gentle bites upon his legs and body. They are much
larger than our ants; and, unlike ours, instead of excavating a place
of retreat, they build it upon the surface of the earth.

We also saw and destroyed (without knowing what we were killing)
several iguanas--little creatures of the lizard species, that abound
here in great numbers. They are said to be a fierce enemy of the
serpent tribe, and to engage in long and severe contests with his
snakeship, and always gain the victory--running, when bitten by him,
to a certain herb that acts as a specific. When we were at Hobartown,
I was told of a man, named Underwood, who possessed a sure and speedy
antidote for the bite of any snake. The government had offered him
a large price for his secret, but he refused to divulge it on any
terms. He was a convict of the lowest grade, and represented that he
first discovered the antidote by observing the iguana running to, and
eating it, after having been bitten by his foe. This remedy, which is
vegetable, he states to be very common. Its infallibility is implicitly
believed in by the residents; and, from their account, even a stranger
cannot refuse credence to its worth, after listening to a recital of
the many satisfactory tests it has been subjected to by the faculty.

Whilst we were engaged ashore, those who chose to remain on board the
ship passed the time in angling. Amongst other specimens of what had
been caught, was one known as the snapper, each weighing from twenty
to thirty-five pounds. They had scales, and were of a reddish color.
Another, known as the groper, from its swimming close to the bottom,
weighs from fifty to one hundred and fifty pounds. It has scales on
its body, and is black in color. Both these fish have ivory teeth,
from a quarter to three-quarters of an inch in length, and of the
same shape as those of the sperm whale. Both are good eating, salted
or fresh. They require a strong line and stout arm to secure them.
Beside these members of the finny tribe, there are also to be found
here others of less note: the mackerel, herring, benita, salmon, and
whitings--existing in great numbers. We caught and salted a barrel of
them; but, from an excess of salt, they were unpalatable, and we were
forced to heave them overboard when we got outside.

On returning to the beach to go aboard, we discovered that one of our
party was missing. It proved to be a New Bedford boy, who, although
his name was John, had been ’yclept Barney, from the first day of our
sailing. He was a good-natured fellow, who did not care what name
he answered to, and became more accustomed to his alias than to his
true cognomen. A call for John would pass unnoticed, when one for
Barney would secure his attention in double-quick time. Having no
taste for whaling, and being desirous of getting home speedily, he
had donned several suits of clothes, and determined to run for it. He
separated himself from the rest of the party soon after going ashore,
and started directly for the town of Albany, where he arrived at
midnight; but finding those who had left the ships before mentioned in
a sad predicament--destitute and wretched--he changed his mind, and
gave himself up to the captain, who was about instituting a search,
and offering a reward for his apprehension. Two days afterward he was
aboard the ship again.

On the 21st we had all our work done, but were unable to get to
sea, being wind-bound by a heavy easterly gale. The mouth of the
bay being narrow, precluded the possibility of our beating out. The
gale gradually increased; but our ground-tackle was good, and, with
both anchors down, we rode it out. On the afternoon of this day
the steamship Simla made her appearance. She is a noble vessel, of
twenty-five hundred tons burden--three hundred and sixty-five feet in
length. Just before approaching the sound she took the pilot aboard,
and under his guidance proceeded in. Here she came to anchor alongside
the Larkin, in order to receive her coal--this being, after leaving
Melbourne, the first station for fuel for the line of steamships to
which she belongs. They remain here for twenty-four hours, and bring
hither and convey hence the mail to and from the Swan River colony.
On the morning after the Simla’s arrival her mails were opened, and
hardly an idea can be formed of our surprise on seeing the following
announcement in a copy of the Melbourne Weekly Herald:--


 “Supposed Loss of the Whaling Barque Pacific, of New Bedford, U. S.

 “The following letter appeared in the Nelson Examiner of the 16th ult.:

  “‘_To the Editor of the Nelson Examiner._

 “‘SIR:--I regret to inform you, that there is too much reason to
 believe that the whaling barque Pacific, of New Bedford, U. S.,
 foundered on the western coast of this Island, on the night of the
 21st of May last. As the readiest means of communicating the news to
 those who are interested in the fate of the vessel and crew, I send
 you a copy of the deposition of one of the known survivors, which is
 fully corroborated by the statements of the rest. I have ascertained
 that the Pacific belonged to the firm of Swift & Perry, of New
 Bedford; that she had on board three hundred and fifty barrels of oil
 when she was supposed to have foundered. The names of her officers
 were: John W. Sherman, master; John Hood, chief mate; John Dexter,
 second mate; Clarke Allen, third mate. The names of the men who landed
 on the western coast were: Theodore Jerome, David Jones, William
 Charles Baylis, Joseph Riley, William Anderson, William Owen, Harvey
 William Miller, David Ling.

  “‘Yours, etc.

  “‘H. G. GOULAND, _Resident Magistrate_.
  “‘COLLINGWOOD, September 10th, 1857.

 “‘(_Deposition above referred to._)

 “‘Theodore Jerome, being sworn, said: I am a seaman, and belonged to
 barque Pacific, of New Bedford; Sherman, master. The barque Pacific
 belonged to Swift & Perry, of New Bedford. She was a whaler, of three
 hundred and fifty tons burden. She left New Bedford last June was a
 twelvemonth. The last port we left was Bunbury, in New Holland. We put
 in there for supplies, and left in January last. The vessel leaked
 considerably when we left New Bedford, but in Bunbury she was caulked.

 “‘We made the coast of New Zealand early in February last. We were
 whaling off the coast. Shortly after making the coast of New Zealand
 we experienced several gales of wind, which, according to the
 captain’s opinion, increased the leakage considerably.

 “‘On the night of the 21st of May the leakage increased considerably,
 and the pumps were kept constantly going till near midnight. The
 carpenter reported the condition of the vessel to be dangerous, and
 the captain thought it advisable to abandon her. He called all hands
 aft, and stated the condition of the vessel to them, and advised
 them to be orderly, and to get in their respective boats without
 confusion. He turned to Mr. Hood, the chief officer, and told him
 to put the vessel before the wind, to make it easier for the boats
 to get away from the ship’s side. The captain ordered Mr. Allen to
 clear away the bow-boat, and lower her; at the same time a heavy sea
 pooped the ship, and swept her fore and aft. The vessel was by this
 time settling by the stern. There was then an immediate rush for the
 boats--each man getting in the first that he could. I and others got
 into the bow-boat. I saw Mr. Allen, the third mate, standing on the
 rail, giving directions for the lowering of the boat. I never saw him
 afterwards. The boat that I was in escaped from the ship’s side, and
 we put her before the wind. It was about 11¹⁄₂ o’clock when we were
 called aft by the captain. It might have been half an hour between
 that and the time we got clear of the ship’s side. At the time we got
 into the boat there was another boat in the act of lowering--there may
 have been more, but that is all that I can say positively. We stood
 in towards the shore; and made the shore, as nearly as I could judge,
 about 3¹⁄₂ o’clock in the morning. The boat was stoven in landing. We
 landed between Milford Haven and Open Bay, on the Milford Haven side
 of Cascade Point. We had been cruising off and on the shore, and had
 seen land the previous day. We had been into Milford Haven about a
 fortnight before this, to get water. From cruising off and on, and
 repeatedly seeing the land, I was sufficiently acquainted with the
 coast to know where we landed. At break of day we ascended a hill
 to look for the ship, but saw nothing of her or of the boats. The
 weather was very hazy, and it rained heavily then and for several days
 afterwards; and we saw no wreck, either of vessel or boats. My opinion
 is, that the currents run outward from the shore, and would carry any
 wreck out to sea. It was blowing a double-reefed topsail breeze when
 we left the vessel. The vessel appeared to be water-logged, and was
 settling by the stern. I think that in all probability the vessel
 foundered. We remained where we were for one day, and then endeavored
 to go to the southward; but the bush was so thick, and obstacles so
 great, that we could not get on in that direction. We then shaped
 our course in the other direction, towards Open Bay; that is, to
 the northward of where we landed. We found natives at Open Bay, and
 remained with them about a fortnight. A native sealing-boat came into
 Open Bay while we were there, and from one of the crew, that could
 speak a little English, we got directions that enabled us to make our
 way along the coast. We left Open Bay, and made the best of our way
 along the coast to this place, where we arrived yesterday evening. The
 names of the persons who landed with me were, William Harvey Miller,
 David Ling, Joseph Riley, W. C. Baylis, William or John Owen, William
 Anderson, and David Jones. Miller and Ling have not yet arrived. We
 left Ling, who is a boy about eighteen years old, with the native
 sealers at Open Bay. The natives told us that the roads were so bad,
 that he would not be able to travel. Miller’s feet were too sore to
 walk, and he remained behind. We found the road very difficult. We
 crossed several rivers; among others, the Mewera and Kawatiri--the
 names we got from the natives. Whenever we met with any natives, they
 proved very kind to us: they fed us, and gave us food to take on with
 us--this, with fern, shellfish, and whatever we could get, enabled us
 to live on the journey. I cannot remember the names of all the persons
 aboard: but I can of a good many of them; and of the officers, the
 captain’s name was Sherman--I don’t know his Christian name; the
 chief mate’s name was Hood; the second mate’s, Dexter; and the third
 mate’s, Allen. There was also an acting fourth mate and boatsteerer,
 whose name I do not remember. The number of officers and crew was
 thirty-two. I am inclined to think, that if any of the other boats
 escaped, and had any of the officers aboard, they would shape their
 course to the nearest port--that is, Jacob’s River.

  “‘(Signed)
  “‘THEODORE JEROME.

 “‘Sworn before me, at Collingwood, the tenth day of September,
 eighteen hundred and fifty-seven.

  “‘(Signed)
  “‘H. G. GOULAND,
  “‘_Resident Magistrate_.’”

It is almost needless to append, in explanation, that the above is
a tissue of falsehoods, fabricated by the deserters from our ship,
whilst in the South Pacific. Their story is plausible; and, were a
person not aware to the contrary, it would obtain implicit credence.
It was concocted by the one named Joseph Riley. He is a native of New
Jersey--of Irish extraction. He has been for years in the merchant
service; and this, united with a previous voyage whaling, rendered
him well acquainted with maritime affairs: hence, he found little
difficulty in weaving a yarn that sounded plausible enough, although
there is not a particle of truth in the whole account--our old ship
never having leaked, during the continuance of the voyage thus far,
more than enough to keep her sweet; only requiring to be pumped once
a week, and then but for a few minutes. The carpenter is an imaginary
personage--we never having possessed one: one was shipped in New
Bedford, but ran away before we sailed. The person, who, under the
name of Theodore Jerome, made the deposition before the magistrate at
Collingwood, is supposed to have been in reality John Roberts, a London
cockney, who had been transported to Australia. He had been in the
Henry H. Crapo for twelve months, but left her in Vasse, and engaged
with us; thus escaping the fate of the crew of that vessel, to live
and play a rascal’s part in another clime. The true Theodore Jerome
is still on board our ship, and justly indignant at the liberties
taken with his name. The fact of their assuming it is attributable to
their having in their possession an American protection, bearing the
name of Theodore Jerome. Roberts is the only one of the party whose
description corresponds with that contained in it; and hence we suppose
him to be the person who made the affidavit. He is weak-minded, with
little intelligence, and totally incapable of giving such an account;
except at the instigation of a person like Riley, and afterwards being
well drilled, until he was perfected in his part. The other names were
real; or, rather, a part were those of our crew, whilst the rest, Owen,
Anderson, and Ling, were the names of the deserters from the barque
Lady Emma, of Hobartown, whom our fellows took aboard their boat at
Open Bay. From their own account, they had pretty rough travelling; but
the descriptive part, like the substance of their narrative, may be
more romance than reality. But, apart from this, let us candidly judge
their culpability. In the first place, no doubt, they were driven to
an extremity by hunger and suffering; and, knowing that, as deserters,
they would meet with no sympathy, in such emergency they concocted this
method to obtain relief for their necessities: but why did they not,
if such was their intention, substitute a fictitious name for that
of our ship, and avoid particularizing as they did? Secondly, should
any amount of personal suffering induce men to embitter for months
the whole tenor of the existence of many happy circles, who, on the
reception of such fatal news through relatives and friends, without
any rebutting information on the subject, would at once set us down as
irrecoverably lost?

Here was a pretty kettle of fish--some thirty-two of us consigned to
the tender mercies of David Jones, Esq., the hereditary enemy of our
profession, with as little remorse as if we were so many kittens; but,
fortunately, the same mail that conveyed the papers containing the
baleful news, gave us opportunity to send our own missives explanatory
of the proceedings; but then our letters from Hobartown, in July, were
sufficient evidence of our safety; so that, although it might create
some uneasiness, it would be but evanescent.

Some months before we touched at Frenchman’s Bay, one of our
boatsteerers received a letter from his family, in which was contained
the report of a vessel having been seen by a merchantman in the South
Atlantic, bottom up. She was evidently a whaler, a barque, and bore on
her stern the name of Pacific, New Bedford. This was thought to be us,
and thus our old ship was given up to the mercies of that ocean over
which she had so gallantly rode for more than half a century, and, as
far as I am able to judge, still rides as proudly as in her palmiest
days--carrying her spars as jauntily as any of the constructions of
shipwrights of the present day.

At 10 o’clock on the morning of the 26th, the gale having moderated
and the wind shifted to a favorable quarter, we took our departure
from Frenchman’s Bay. When directly opposite Baldhead we saw right
and humpback whales, bound up the bay. We lowered away, but could get
nowhere near them. They saw them from the fishery but met with like
success in their attempt to capture one.




CHAPTER X.


We now directed our ship’s head to the westward, and fell in with the
barques Cherokee and Pamelia. The former had sailed from home some
two years previous; but, mutiny breaking out amongst her crew, she
was run into Mauritius, and all the foremast hands discharged. The
captain shipped a new crew, and was scarce a whit more fortunate in his
selection; as a number of rough alleys, hearing of his reputation as
a harsh man, determined to ship with him, in order, as they said, to
work him up. At the time they shipped they were informed that they were
engaged, not as sailors, but as whalemen. Soon after they got outside,
an order was passed from the quarter-deck to make spun yarn, which they
refused to do, repeating the terms of their engagement. The captain was
forced to succumb, and, consequently, captain and crew were at variance
during the remainder of their stay together. A boat’s crew from her
came aboard our vessel. They were powerful, manly fellows--every one a
thorough seaman, competent to perform his duty anywhere. Some months
after we gammoned her she touched at Vasse, and set several of the
ringleaders ashore.

Aboard the Pamelia we found Mr. Edwards, our former second officer,
acting in the same capacity there. Her mate having left at Vasse, and
gone home in the Dolphin, her former second mate took his berth, and
Mr. Edwards the one left vacant by his promotion. Her crew seemed to
us like old friends, and were greeted as such. They had been cruising
on this coast ever since our departure, had been very successful, and
anticipated a speedy return home. Their third mate had been taken very
ill aboard the ship, and they had but a short time previously touched
at Vasse for the purpose of leaving him, supposing that he could
receive better attention ashore. Soon after they spoke the ship Canton,
and were informed of his death. How the report originated I know not;
for, in the following January, when we touched at that port, he was
alive and well, and had been amusing himself kangaroo hunting.

The Pamelia brought us letters that had been received by mail at Vasse.
As I was one of the fortunate ones, I was much gratified at receiving
good news from home, and had my mind set at rest regarding the welfare
of all my friends for another year.

On the 3d of November we lowered away for blackfish, of which the
waist-boat captured one. A breeze springing up, the boats set their
sails. The starboard-boat, by the carelessness of her manager, was
capsized whilst merrily gliding along in pursuit of the fish, and
her occupants, of whom I was one, got a ducking. When the boat went
over, I was caught by the backstay that secured the mast, and had some
difficulty in disentangling myself under water. The waist boat ran
down, picked us up, and put us aboard the ship, where the whole affair
was made a subject of laughter: this view always being taken of an
accident to a boat where no person is seriously injured.

On Sunday, November the 8th, we sighted sperm whales, and though the
weather was foggy and disagreeable, the boats were lowered; but, after
being down all the forenoon, we returned at 1 o’clock, and ate dinner.
At half past one we dropped boats again, when the waist-boat fastened
to an immense whale, which ran very rapidly; but he soon began to spout
thick blood, and we counted him as ours. On the appearance of blood,
the bow-boat cut her line, and came aboard. The captain, observing that
the whale continued on in his course, lowered away, and lanced him
also; but still he would not turn up, although incessantly discharging
blood from his spout-holes and the various lance-wounds in his body.
Night approached, and still the whale kept going ahead. The rain was
descending in torrents, whilst not the slightest vestige of a breeze
rippled the surface of the water; so the boats, together with their
locomotive attachment, were gradually widening their distance from the
ship. Directly after nightfall, the captain returned with his boat,
leaving directions for the others to keep up good lights in their
boat-lanterns; so that we might very easily know their whereabouts.
On arriving aboard, the bow-boat was dispatched with refreshments and
a couple of bottles of New England rum, to revive those who had been
sitting in their boats drenched to the skin; and, surely, if there ever
was a moment when men needed an alcoholic stimulus to enable them to
withstand exposure, it was on this occasion. Just after the bow-boat
left, we lost sight of the light of the boat-lantern in the distance,
and did not recover it again until midnight, when we discovered
the boats coming toward us, with the dead body of the whale, as we
believed, in tow; but were chagrined to find that they had cut from
him, which, unavoidable as it was, was far from being pleasant, after
the trouble and pains-taking he had caused us. They stated, that they
were out of sight of the ship’s light; that the whale showed no more
signs of exhaustion than at sunset; and, as the weather looked very
threatening, there appeared to be no other recourse left them but to
return: so, after a consultation, in which all hands were included, the
line, not however without many regrets, was severed, and the monster
allowed to go on his way, and die alone--his surviving more than a few
hours being out of the question.

The bow-boat, after leaving the ship’s side, pulled in the direction
where the boat-lights had last appeared; but it was not until after
they had cut from the fish, that they found the other boats, whose men,
from their fatiguing duty and benumbed members, were not just then
particularly delighted at the idea of pulling ten or twelve miles back
without refreshment: they therefore hailed the arrival of the bow-boat
with acclamation. They hove up; and, after having satisfied their
appetites, the bottle was passed around, and each indulged in a hearty
swig: then, with renewed vigor, they bent to their oars, and regained
the vessel.

This unfortunate result would not have occurred had we had the least
breeze, to keep anywhere in the neighborhood of the boats; nor, had
there been land anywhere within a reasonable distance, the mate,
who in no wise lacks energy, would not have cut; but, under the
circumstances, he acted with discrimination in withdrawing the boats
whilst there was a chance of their doing so with safety. No doubt, had
he remained attached to the whale, it would have been as difficult for
us to find our boats the succeeding day as it was to find the carcass
of the fish, which, despite our utmost endeavors--thoroughly going over
the ground--we never afterwards saw.

How it was that this whale sustained life so long, whilst the vital
current was swiftly escaping from his system, it is difficult to
account for. He was lanced in the same place as other whales we had
taken, and which expired in the course of several hours. It was done,
too, by men who were no novices, either in handling the lance, or
in combating the whale. Not a few shook their heads, mysteriously;
and one, in a spirit of confidence, broadly stated to me, that the
creature was not a whale, but Lucifer himself, who had assumed this
form to puzzle mankind; and hence he accounted for the tenacity of life
displayed. This opinion, of course, I could not subscribe to; but I
found it futile to attempt to satisfy my superstitious shipmate that
all might be produced by natural causes. My opinion being, that the
whale was of such a prodigious size, (every man who was in the boats
stating him to have been the largest of the cachelot species they
had ever seen,) and his vitals were covered with so thick a coat of
blubber, that the lances were of insufficient length to deal a mortal
wound. This view of the matter, after many arguments, _pro_ and _con_,
was finally adopted, as being the most probable of any advanced.

After remaining on this ground a sufficient length of time to assure
ourselves of the improbability of picking up the wounded whale, we
proceeded to the northward, hoping to be more successful off the capes
Chatham and Leuwin. Our passage up was unmarked with incident, except
the capture of a large shark, and the picking up of a dead grampus of
the variety known as the bottle-nose. The shark’s capture is worthy of
mention merely for the method we adopted to kill him. He was struck and
hauled in, and beat over the head with a heavy handspike. The forge
being up, and a good fire burning in it, a bar of iron was heated, and
run directly through his heart, with but little apparent effect; for he
still continued to lash his flukes, and set his jaws upon a piece of
pine board, to which he held fast. His head was then cut off, and his
skin removed; yet every member of his body still retained the power of
motion.

The grampus is a most beautiful fish--the handsomest in form of the
many inhabitants of the deep that it has been my fortune to see. On
account of their shyness, there is great difficulty in approaching
these fish when alive, and consequently very few are taken: even in the
whaling career, seldom does a seaman have an opportunity of examining
one on deck. The one in our possession was about twenty-five feet
long, and as much around the bilge. His skin was smooth, of a shining
black color. His head gradually sloped, until it ended in a long
pointed jaw, resembling that of the porpoise, but which, unlike that
of most other fish in these waters, was not furnished with teeth. No
mark, accounting for his death, was found upon the body: doubtless,
he died from some disease peculiar to the species. The blubber was
several inches thick, which on being tried out yielded three barrels of
colorless, inodorous oil.

We remained off Cape Leuwin but a short time. Seeing a large lone sperm
whale, we lowered away for him, in company with the boats of the barque
Pamelia; but we did not succeed in capturing him. We then, accompanied
by said barque, again steered for our old ground to the southward.

On Sunday, December 6th, just as we had arrived in our latitude
for cruising, we sighted a large lone sperm whale, at 9¹⁄₂ o’clock
in the morning; and by ten--the hour when well-behaved folks in
civilized countries are wending their way to church--we were deep in
the encounter. He occasioned us but little trouble: the first mate
fastening to, and killing him before the other boats could reach the
scene of action, though all pulled with a will. At the moment of
darting the harpoon, the whale struck the boat with his head, knocking
a small hole through her bows, and pitching the boatsteerer, who was
standing up, over the prow of his boat upon the top of the whale’s
elevated huge head; but the imperilled man, with a nimble spring,
quickly regained his legitimate position in the boat, where he very
probably felt much more comfortable than mounted on such a Pegasus.
This was a noble fish, and yielded us over one hundred barrels of sperm
oil, valued, at the time we left home, at about sixty dollars a barrel;
making, in the aggregate, the snug sum of six thousand dollars. A very
creditable day’s work: but, then, it has to be divided into so many
shares, that those who undergo the peril and discomforts of making the
capture come in for the smallest portion of the gain. The shipowners,
sitting at ease in New Bedford, grasp thousands, whilst Jack and his
coadjutors can reckon their proportion without very largely intruding
on the scores. Thus it is throughout the world: he who does least, is
paid best. Intellect overbalances mere physical exertion; and thus it
ever will, and ever should do in the promotion of great enterprises.

On the 14th we again met whales, which were not seen until within the
ship’s length of us. Our boats were lowered away in haste. A moment
afterwards, those of the Pamelia, who was not more than a mile distant
from us, were also in the water. Our bow-boat fastened ten minutes
after striking the water, and in an incredibly short time the whale was
dead, and ours. The remaining boats continued in pursuit of the school,
and got near enough to enable the boatsteerers to dart, though at long
distances, and without producing any other effect than a pricking of
the prey, at which they raised up their huge bodies, and with their
flukes thrashed the sea all around them into a boisterous foam. Finding
it useless to continue the pursuit, the boats came aboard, and the
ship’s head was put in the direction of the whales. We then proceeded
to cut in. The Pamelia, meantime, ran down to us; when, with a
disinterestedness uncommon to rival whalemen, our captain informed hers
of the direction in which the whales had gone. Not being encumbered, as
we were, with a whale in tow, she soon passed us. An hour afterwards we
saw her lower away and capture a whale, which, as ours done for us,
yielded in the neighborhood of one hundred barrels of oil: the whales
of this ground all averaging about the same quantity. They are larger,
in general, than I have seen them in lower latitudes, besides being
always in better condition than when found in a warmer climate, and
their blubber on the application of heat almost wholly dissolving into
oil.

On the 19th we again saw the same school. At 5 o’clock in the afternoon
the waist-boat fastened, was stoven by the whale’s flukes, and her
crew obliged to swim for their lives, when they were picked up by the
starboard-boat, and carried to the ship. The other boat then went on
to the whale, and her boatsteerer darted at him half-a-dozen times in
succession, but without effect. Night approaching, we were compelled
to desist. Early the next morning we saw a large whale alone--lowered,
and the waist-boat fastened. She continued attached for some time,
when, her line being nearly run out, the larboard boat’s was bent on to
it. By mistake, a line that had been exposed to the weather, had been
put into the waist-boat, in lieu of her line that was carried off the
day before. The mate, finding that his own line was fast running out,
attached a drug to it--hoping that by its resistance in the water the
whale would be to some extent forced to moderate his soundings. The old
line, unable to endure the strain caused by the drug, parted; and away
the whale went to windward eyes out, with a speed that, to the chagrin
of all, defied pursuit. So, here was the third whale, this season,
lost by the one boat. Oil reviewing this journal, it will be seen in
the preceding pages, that a singular fatality has attended all the
operations of this boat since we left home. When under the management
of Mr. Edwards, (our former second officer, and as good a whaleman as
ever stepped into the head of a whaleboat,) she was capsized. Under her
present manager, she had her line taken by a whale, off Cape Chatham,
where she was also capsized. In the Bight, the whale was only saved
by the timely arrival of the bow-boat with its line. The large whale
that went off spouting blood, was fastened to from her; the whale of
yesterday, that capsized her; and that of to-day, that parted her
line--go to make up a catalogue of misfortunes that the annals of
whaling-voyages can scarcely equal. And all her disasters--capsizing,
losing her whale, losing her line, and being stoven--arose, not from
incapacity on the part of her officers, but from a combination of
unforeseen circumstances, which it would have been in vain for the most
experienced whaleman to guard against.

On the last day of December we experienced the initiation of a gale,
which lasted, in incessant violence, until the 6th of January, ’58, but
doing no injury to us, further than shipping a heavy sea that cleared
away our gangway, and deluged our decks, fore and aft, without so much
as saying, “By your leave.” We kept on one tack, heading constantly to
the north and westward.

On the 10th we sighted Baldhead but a short distance off. We stood in
for it; and in the evening the captain lowered away, and proceeded,
through Frenchman’s Bay and the Sound, to the town of Albany: the ship
standing off and on, with the cable bent on to the larboard anchor, so
us to be ready to let go in case of emergency. In the bay we found at
anchor the barque Margaret, of Liverpool, from Adelaide for Mauritius.
She had sprung her mizzenmast in the recent severe westerly gale, and,
the wind being directly in her teeth, she put in here for shelter.
On getting into the sound they found that the Prince of Wales had
sailed for Callao, and therefore her crew were at liberty. Most of the
hangers-on that had composed part of the population, when we last were
here, had departed in the American ship Kensington. This ship had as
passengers three hundred Chinamen, who intended landing at some port in
these colonies; but, on account of a legislative enactment forbidding
the ingress of these people into the country, she had already met with
great difficulty in getting rid of them.

A day or two before our arrival, the natives came into the town, with
portions of cotton canvass, and numbers of spermaceti candles. They
reported that fragments of casks and barrels were strewed around the
beach in every direction. The fact of her carrying cotton canvass
augurs that the wreck must have been an American vessel, as those
of other nations carry hemp almost exclusively. These evidences of
shipwreck were found on a part of the coast contiguous to the White Top
Rocks, which is justly accounted a most dangerous locality, and has in
more than one instance been the theater of similar disasters.

And now I shall touch on another subject, which reflects but little
credit on the parties concerned, either as Americans, or as honest men.
It is simply this:--At the sound our captain found a letter from the
consular agent at Freemantle, directed to the captain of any American
whaler who might first touch at the port. The purport of the missive
formed a caution to the barque Pamelia’s master not to enter any port
in the Australian colonies, as her smuggling tobacco on her last visit
to Vasse had been divulged, and vessel and cargo thereby forfeited to
the crown. The other party concerned, to whom the tobacco had been
delivered, and placed aboard the brig Champion, had had his brig
seized, and was heavily mulcted beside, for his part in the nefarious
transaction. He is a man well to do, and at the time of the smuggling
was fulfilling heavy contracts with the English government; supplying
them with timber for the construction of the railroad from Adelaide to
Melbourne.

This is no unusual method of turning a penny, amongst those who
visit this coast; and I have seen more than one instance of it. In
some cases, the authorities wink at the fraud committed against the
government; and, as the party who is fortunate enough to escape
conviction trebles or quadruples the amount of his outlay, the
temptation is strong to engage in the illicit traffic.

Beside this budget of shipping news, it was said by the inhabitants of
Albany, that gold in considerable quantities had been discovered by
shepherds, about one hundred and fifty miles distant in the interior,
and that a party was preparing to visit this El Dorado.

At 2 o’clock in the afternoon of the 11th the boat returned; and,
bracing forward, we stood to the westward, in hopes of seeing the
Pamelia before she went into port; for we knew that it was the
intention of her captain to touch at Vasse about the middle of the
present month. On our passage we fell in with the barque Eagle, of New
Bedford. She was employed in cutting a whale she had taken the day
previous, and, as the weather was anything but good, she was having a
dirty time. We afterwards learned that she had lost the greater part
of the head in the operation. After a short time spent in company with
her, and learning that the Pamelia had been seen a few days before, we
resumed our course, and the day succeeding spoke her, and communicated
the intelligence we had received at Albany. It was timely, too, as
they were now bound in, and twenty-four hours’ delay might have been
productive of serious consequences. On the 18th, her captain, knowing
full well that to enter a port in the vicinity would be madness, made
himself dependent upon the various ships on the ground to contribute
a quota in the supply of water, &c., to enable him to take a short
cruise, and reach the Mauritius. In pursuance of this idea, on the same
day a raft of casks, in tow of one of the Pamelia’s boats, was brought
alongside of our vessel, and made fast; then, according to orders,
they were hoisted in. Our crew had an inkling of the affair, but said
nothing, until they were ordered by the first officer to fill these
casks, belonging to another ship, with the water from our own casks,
which it had caused us so much labor and trouble to procure, and which
would have to be replaced from one of the wells on the coast, under a
burning sun, and through scorching sand. Under these circumstances, a
flat refusal was accorded to the order; because we did not deem that
our engagement obliged us to supply another ship with water, unless she
was in absolute distress. All hands aboard, except the first and second
officers, united in this view of the case. The mate expostulated, but
found it useless. A messenger or spokesman was then dispatched to the
captain, who acted with moderation; and the whole matter was amicably
adjusted by the captain of the Pamelia complying with our terms; which
were, that we should be paid for the trouble we would have in replacing
the water. As soon as this was understood, all hands turned to. The
casks were filled, rafted, and towed aboard the Pamelia in double-quick
time; and our boat returned with money and several boxes of soap as a
compensation.

It may seem, to a disinterested reader, that our thus refusing to
supply the wants of a countryman, in this far off sea, was niggardly in
the extreme. But the master of the Pamelia was unpopular over the whole
ocean, and our men were affected with the general opinion respecting
him. They alleged that he had came aboard our ship some months before,
and remonstrated with our captain against the quantity of provisions
he allowed to his crew; stating, at the same time, that he (meaning
himself) did not give his men all they wanted: which assertion one
would indeed find no difficulty to believe on hearing his crew talk,
who represented their fare to be extremely meagre.

This was the nearest approach to insubordination that had thus far
occurred amongst us; and which, if our captain and officers had been
bullying, threatening men, might have been lashed into a mutiny, that
in the eyes of justice they would have been held responsible for:
because it was certainly due to every man aboard, that the captain
should have stated his intention of furnishing another ship with water,
and his reasons for so doing--appealing at the same time to what would
be the sense of our own necessities, if placed in such a situation; and
then not a man aboard would have raised a dissenting voice, or spoken
of remuneration. It is, however, a mistake too often committed by
shipowners, shipmasters, and ship’s officers, to think that the sailor
has neither part nor parcel in the concerns of the ship or voyage, and
that the disposal of his time is altogether at the pleasure of his
superiors; and thus they conduct themselves toward him, treating him
with no more deference than they would accord to a dog aboard the ship;
and in this way are sown the first seeds of mutiny, which spring up,
bear fruit that come to maturity, and destroy the original causes of
their production.

On the 19th we gammoned with a barque belonging to Fairhaven. This
circumstance is only worthy of notice from its being the first
opportunity we had, since leaving home, of seeing that peculiar
creature known amongst seafaring men as the spread eagle; which
consists in a human being lashed to the rigging by his wrists, when,
as the case may be, he is punished with the lash, made to stand for
an immoderate length of time on one leg, or his arms seized at such
a height that he can but just rest on the tips of his toes. In the
present case the culprit was forced to stand on one leg, shifting at
periodical times; and was thus punished for thirty-six hours. He
was quite a lad, and his offence was said to be the participating in
a fracas in the forecastle. Whether just or unjust, the application
of this harsh and cruel punishment recoiled upon the captain, as a
few weeks afterward, when several of her crew deserted from her in
Bunbury, he could not replace them: notice of this circumstance having
got ashore--whether from our crew or hers, I cannot say; but it was
all-sufficient to deter any of the men ashore from engaging with her
captain, as they answered his proposals to them for that purpose with
scorn and insult.

On the 22d we saw sperm whales going off to windward at a tangent. We
lowered, but found it useless. Two days afterward we squared away for
Bunbury. In the afternoon we doubled Cape Naturaliste at a slashing
pace, knocking twelve knots an hour out of the old ship. That night
we came to, with our head-yards aback; and the following morning cast
anchor off the town. Our first job, after anchoring, was to heave our
maintopmast up, and substitute a new fid for the old one. This was but
little trouble. On extracting the old fid, we were at a loss to account
for the mast having so long remained upright, with such a miserable
support: the weight of the topmast having crushed the stout oak fid
almost completely through--but a few inches of solid wood remaining to
sustain it.

Almost as soon as the boat could convey them to us, fresh beef and
vegetables were brought aboard; proving that, when inclined to purchase
it, meat was no article of scarcity in this market.

After adjusting our topmast, we went ashore to fill our casks with
fresh water. A well had been constructed since we were here a year ago;
the captains of the different whaleships touching at the port having
subscribed to a fund for its erection. It was larger and much more
convenient than those at Vasse; and, as the distance to the beach was
not so great as at that place, we had little fault to find with it, and
soon conveyed on board over three hundred barrels of water.

On the 28th the brig Lochinvar arrived from Freemantle, in ballast, for
the purpose of loading lumber, and conveying passengers to Adelaide.
The lumber consisted altogether of the native mahogany, and was
intended for sleepers to the railway there. The passengers were charged
ten pounds sterling per head for their passage--a distance of fifteen
hundred miles. Rather a contrast to our own cheap steam-conveyances,
where comfort to the traveller can be procured at so moderate a rate.

On boarding the Lochinvar we found a former foremast hand, belonging
to the Pamelia, acting as her second mate. Her crew consisted of
several hands on wages of six pounds sterling per month; the balance
was composed of sailors and landsmen, the former of whom were on mere
nominal pay--their compensation being but one shilling per month--while
the latter were obliged to pay down seven pounds, and agree to assist
in loading the brig. These men were actuated in thus shipping, at such
a trifling rate, by a desire to get away from this section of the
country: they viewing Adelaide and its vicinity as a land of promise.

Soon after the Lochinvar came to anchor a derrick was rigged, a cart
conveyed ashore, and they at once proceeded to get off timber--engaging
all the unemployed ones in the place (and they were not a few) to
assist in the operation. Their plan was, to take one of their boats,
which was broad in the beam, and furnished with lockers, containing
air-tight cylinders; then they would lash around it, and over it,
as much mahogany as she would be buoyant under; and as this wood is
extremely heavy, and sinks like a stone, their load was not a large
one. Then they would pull off to the brig, where it was soon hove in
by the aid of the derricks. One stick escaped from its lashing when
alongside the brig, and a boy, who belonged ashore, dove down, and
attached a rope to it in four and a half fathoms of water, which is
equal to twenty-seven feet; hence this was somewhat of an exploit.

One day when the workmen employed on the beach had lashed the timber
to the boat, and had pushed her off--several of them wading a short
distance to give her an impetus--two of the men were observed
struggling, as if to keep themselves afloat. Both disappeared; but one
rose again in an instant, and grasped the boat. The other was not seen
for some minutes. On searching, his lifeless body was discovered. He
was a good swimmer, and a few strokes would have saved his life; but
he had been drinking to excess a short time before the accident, and
to this was attributed his inability to help himself. His body was
conveyed to the jail, cast into a rude mahogany box, and buried within
a few hours afterwards: the climate here forbidding the keeping of a
corpse more than twenty-four hours.

Two days’ liberty was allowed to each watch, and as, after we left the
year previous, two whale-ships, on the recommendation of our captain,
had visited the port, our advent created no surprise. Ships and sailors
had become familiar sights, and the inhabitants were not as ready to
spend their money, or listen to our yarns, as they were on our former
visit. In the town things had changed but little--no improvements,
no marriages, and no deaths during our absence. Therefore, as there
was little either to interest or divert us, a number of our crew who,
during the previous visit were enjoying themselves with rational
pleasures, in the absence of former novelties, flocked to the
groggeries and passed their time there. Apart from the general jokes
and antics of seamen, one circumstance only, worthy of note, occurred;
that was the mulcting of one of the publicans for allowing two of our
men to play cards in his house; their laws prohibiting card playing
even for amusement.

On the 1st of February the barque Iowa came in and gave liberty, so
that there was quite a number of us ashore for several days; but after
that we became tired of listlessly walking through the sand, and
preferred remaining aboard the ship.

On the 5th our men proceeded some ten miles up the river to the
village of Australind. On our way up we passed several grazing farms
stocked with noble cattle. Along the river thousands of birds were to
be seen, amongst which our pilot pointed out, as peculiarly worthy
of notice, the black and white swan. Arriving at Australind we found
ourselves in a beautiful country, excellently cultivated, appearing
as an oasis in the sandy district that surrounded it. We had received,
or understood that we had received (and certainly such was the gist
of the message conveyed to us), an invitation from the proprietor of
a handsome garden in the vicinity to visit him, and help him to eat
some of his abundant fruit, partake of dinner with him, and generally
enjoy ourselves at his expense; he wishing no other return than the
pleasure of playing the host to an assemblage of Neptune’s sons. This,
even to our unsophisticated ears, sounded almost too disinterested for
the inhabitants of Australia. Nevertheless, having little else to do,
we determined to face the music, providing ourselves with plenty of
biscuit in case of disappointment. We landed and went up to milord’s
house, which proved to be a neat and substantial brick edifice, and,
with the assurance of invited guests who had come ten miles to please
their host, we approached the door. We found that the individual who
was so liberal in his promises was absent, and in his stead his home
was garrisoned by a party of women, the young and pretty of whom were
kept in the background by the high shoulders and higher cap of an
old dame, whom I afterwards understood was a genuine specimen of the
English titled lady; but I doubt it--as I have always understood that
the matrons of England were distinguished for their hospitality, and
this lady certainly possessed no such quality; as, with a vinegar
aspect, she informed us of the absence of her spouse, looking at us
meanwhile as if she thought us a party of marauders come to storm
her vineyard. She indulged in remarks which, without misconstruing,
easily made known to us her desire for us to begone; but we were of
too turgid a composition to comply with her wishes. We had come for
a day’s pleasure, and we were bound to have it whether my lady was
desirous or not; and we did have it too, for the butler, and several
others, finding that we were in no hurry to decamp, to relieve the old
lady from the infliction of looking on such barbarians as we, made
a virtue of necessity and asked us down into the vineyard. Here the
gardener, as if to make amends for the churlishness of the others,
took considerable pains to show us over the grounds, and gave us full
permission to regale ourselves with as much fruit as we could eat. We
took him at his word, and soon were deep in the discussion of splendid
grapes, water and musk-melons, mulberries, bananas, and peaches. There
were acres of grape vines--the proprietor cultivating them for the
manufacture of wines. They were splendid specimens; and as they were a
novel dish to us, we were not the most moderate consumers of them, as
the skins that strewed our paths testified. The mulberries were larger,
but much tarter than ours at home. The bananas were not of so good
a flavor or such a size as those we had seen at Balli. The gardener
informed me that the banana plant bore the whole year round. The fruit
is preceded by a splendid flower resembling the dahlia in color, but
treble its size. Besides these fruits the usual garden vegetables were
growing, amongst which I noticed the tomato, and, strange to say, the
taste of its raw fruit was pleasanter and more refreshing than that of
the more valued kinds I had been eating. Deeming this a freak of my
palate, I mentioned it to my companions as singular: several of them
said that such was precisely the case with them, and they preferred it
to the other fruit. After several hours spent in rambling, we returned
to the house for the purpose of procuring a draught of water, which
was drawn from a well by means of a hydraulic pump, and which, by the
way, was the only spot where I procured a good, cool drink of water
in New Holland. We were again attacked by the old lady, who, to some
extent, apologizing for her brusqueness in the morning, very plainly
intimated that, for a suitable return, she could supply us with a
repast. Like most sailors, having receptacles capable of and requiring
more substantial food than fruit after our exercise, we closed with
her very liberal offer, and were soon seated at a table furnished with
excellent edibles, bread and butter, milk, jam, and other articles,
making together a first rate supper. On our taking leave we gave to
each of the underlings who had been attentive to us some tobacco. They
informed us that their master had been unavoidably called away from
home on business, and stated that had he been present we should have
passed a very pleasant day. Giving the gentleman the benefit of this
assertion, we took leave of his estate, embarked in our boat, and
directed her head towards Bunbury. We reached the ship at nightfall and
were pretty well wearied with our jaunt. Those of our shipmates who had
remained aboard, had prophesied in the morning the miscarriage of our
proposed pleasure; but as we kept our own counsel, they were none the
wiser of our experience of old English hospitality, and they expressed
some chagrin that they had not formed part of our expedition.

On the following day and night a collation was spread aboard the Iowa,
and to it flocked all the wit and beauty of the neighborhood. After
they had satisfied their appetites they resorted to our ship. Music
was in demand, and the quarter-deck was made a stage on which New
Holland’s damsels and Yankee whaling officers were vieing in displaying
their individual grace and activity as disciples of Terpsichore. The
ladies looked very well, and talked equally so, with the exception of
a remark one let slip; but then some allowance must be made, as she
did not know that any one was listening. Indeed, I hardly know whether
I am justified in betraying the failings of the fair sex. However, I
was never celebrated either for wisdom or prudence, and I shall not
in this case exercise a virtue to which I have no claim; so here it
is, and if any attach blame to the lady for it, I can only answer him
or her with the motto of the knights of the garter, “_Honi soit qui
mal y pense_,” or “Evil be to him who evil thinks.” But here is a
long dissertation without the conversation, which if any lady reads,
I know that her patience will be exhausted, so I needs must proceed
with my disclosure. Two ladies who had just sat down to rest themselves
after the dance, engaged in conversation, and, in the course of it,
one stated that she felt sea-sick. “I feel a little qualmish, too,”
returned the other, “and I have heard that brandy was good for it. I
wish that I had brought a bottle in my pocket. Indeed, I intended to,
but forgot it.” Remark is needless, and superfluous. The refreshments
at this entertainment were coffee and cake; unlike that at Vasse, where
spirituous liquors flowed as freely down male and female throats, as
whiskey down an Irishman’s gullet at a wake.

On the Thursday following was the anniversary of their annual races,
at which prizes are offered by the government to the victor. These
prizes are given for the purpose of inducing the settlers to pay
attention to the improvement of their stock. To avoid the confusion and
irregularity which generally prevailed among the inhabitants on these
occasions, and in which our men would be too apt readily to join, we
hastened our departure; and, accordingly, on Tuesday, after having had
our vessel searched by the government officials, we got under weigh,
and stood down the bay towards Vasse. Soon after the Iowa followed our
example; and, with a head wind, which forced both of us to beat, we
pursued the same direction. We soon weathered our companion, and left
her far in the distance. The following morning, at 11 o’clock, we let
go our anchor off the town of Vasse, where we found three barques and
two ships: all whalers--all carrying the star-spangled banner--all
belonging to New Bedford, and all, except one, clippers. Every year the
number of old-fashioned ships is decreasing, and wedge-shaped craft
taking their place: the whaling-service (a branch of commerce the last
to countenance innovation) fast yielding to the march of improvement,
and adopting the modern model--a long head, a clean run, and a round
stern.

The next day liberty was allowed; and, as there was a report of a
prize-fight to come off during the day, almost everybody that had
liberty went ashore. There were seven ships in the harbor, (the Iowa
having arrived the preceding evening), and therefore the number going
ashore formed quite an army--no less than one hundred and thirty. The
prize-fight, however, took place at so early an hour, and at such
a distance from the town, that our countrymen were prevented from
witnessing it. But the day passed off pleasantly, and with moderation,
as far as regarded the imbibition of spirits: no one of the whole
motley assemblage, comprising natives of almost every clime, having
gone beyond the proper bounds.

During the next week I saw one of the participators in the brutal
contest above alluded to. He presented appearances of severe
punishment. On stating my surprise that he was at large, when the fact
of the fight was so well known to the authorities, I was informed that
the law had no power over the combatant, unless he were caught in the
act.

Amongst the celebrities in this village are the post-master and
school-mistress. The former is as deaf as a post, and it is only by
raising the voice to a high pitch that the least intelligence can
be communicated to him. My patience was well-nigh exhausted in an
attempt to inform him of the miscarriage of several of my letters from
home; but he either could not, or would not, be made to understand my
complaint, and consequently I received no satisfaction.

The school-mistress, from her position, was of course a wonder of
learning and profundity. Being desirous of a conversation with her,
(the more so, because, apart from her implied erudition, she was a
pleasant-looking and blooming damsel,) an officer of one of the ships
scraped an acquaintance with her. She was in nowise loath to enter
into conversation, and in a few minutes both were deep in argument.
During the colloquy, the mate had occasion to mention Samson’s feat of
destroying the harvest of the Philistines by attaching firebrands to
the tails of foxes. This, to his surprise, was received as something
novel; and the fair questioner expressed a desire to know who Samson
was: wishing to be informed whether the scene of his exploits was the
United States, and whether he was a native of our country. I need not
say that D---- was taken all aback. At first he thought that the lady
was making game of him; but the look of childish wonder and simplicity
that she wore on her countenance forbade such a conclusion. He was so
surprised at her ignorance of Holy Writ, that he did not endeavor to
enlighten her, but allowed her fancy to roam free over the subject,
and, as soon as he could with credit, took his departure: fully
convinced that, whatever were the acquirements of the preceptors of
youth, who teach the young idea how to shoot, and wield the scholastic
birch in New Holland, they at least had not advanced so far as to make
the Bible one of their school-books.

I noticed this strange unacquaintance with Holy Writ in more than one
individual in the colony. I have no doubt they can manage to live
without it--as far as their idea of life comprehends “living”; but how
they can manage to die happily without it, I cannot conceive.

Another fact I must notice; that is, the great number of males and
females living together in couples as man and wife, but whose union
has not been sanctioned by a performance of the sacred marriage rite.
The men who come out here usually bring their wives along, if they
are voluntary emigrants; and if convicts their helpmates occasionally
follow them--preferring to share the exile of their husbands rather
than spend a lone life in their native home. In the latter case they
are allowed to consort together, provided the prisoner by a course
of good conduct has merited and received a “ticket of relief.” Not
unusually when any of these females are removed by death, they are
replaced by mistresses, who assume all the privileges of the departed,
as well as the maternal government of the children, if there should be
any; in which latter relation they in most cases act prudently: for
children are here an element of wealth as soon as they arrive at an
age at which they are qualified to help themselves--there being plenty
for them to do, if only these nominal mothers and their husbands are
disposed to teach them to labor.

This state of affairs does not appear to be looked upon by the
inhabitants as criminal, neither is it made a matter of scandal--both
parties being allowed to enter society without reserve. These are harsh
assertions, I am aware; but, ere they were written, their asperity
was well digested, both by myself and scores of others, who, not from
hearsay, but from observation and unrestricted intercourse among these
people, are confident they do not do them injustice. The climate is
blamed by them for their predisposition to sensuality; and the law is
anything but lenient to the offender in such cases: the violator of a
female, when brought before a court of justice, being always punished
by death.




CHAPTER XI.


On the 16th of February, after having added three new men to our crew,
(two of them Englishmen, the third a Swede,) we hove short, and at
3 P.M. stood out of the bay. On arriving off Cape Naturaliste, some
twenty miles from our place of anchorage, we sighted a sail that proved
to be the barque Pamelia, which was hovering off this locality, to
intercept the barque Eagle, which was to bring her third mate out, and
also provisions for her consumption. Esculents she needed very much, as
several of her people, the captain amongst the number, were affected
by scurvy. We supplied them temporarily, and thus kept off that
disease, which occasions so much terror to the seaman. She contemplated
returning home in a short time, and several of her crew, whose motives
I cannot fathom, not contented with a three-years’ sojourn in these
waters, exchanged into the ship Lapwing, that had some twenty months
more to remain. They must either have had an overweening desire to
acquire money, or else there were but few attractions at home to induce
them to return.

After leaving the bay, we steered to the southeast, in hopes of picking
up a whale or two; but we met only with strong gales of wind, which
put whaling out of the question. We then returned to the northward,
and had the like success: nothing occurring to vary the sameness, day
after day, but a series of heavy tempests, attended by terrific thunder
and lightning. One night (the 12th of March) the scene was absolutely
appalling--presenting a perfect war of the elements. In the words of an
old song (than which I know of no better description):

  “Now the dreadful thunder roaring,
    Peal on peal contending clash;
  On our heads fierce rain falls pouring,
    In our eyes blue lightnings flash.
  One wide water all around us,
    All above us one dark sky;
  Different deaths at once surround us--
    Hark! what means that dreadful cry.”

What the words “that dreadful cry” referred to in the song, the reader
must imagine; in our case it was that of a shark. A monster of that
species, attracted probably by his instinct, which led him to expect
prey on such a night as this, swam around and around the ship; the
intense darkness of the night and phosphorescent gleam of the ocean
made his huge bulk show out in relief, and appear treble his real size.
With a swab trailed astern, we soon got him within darting distance,
and hove an iron into his carcass, which stopped his marauding forever.
He was an enormous sized one, and required the united strength of half
a dozen of us, after he was mortally wounded, to drag him part way from
the water.

The storm did us no damage--the lightning ran over our yards and the
various ironwork of the ship in a manner to terrify the boldest. The
reason assigned for so few cases of injury to ships by lightning, is
the number of points presented in her structure for the dispersion of
the electricity. One precaution is invariably taken, that is, to remove
the pump-spears, and fill their place with swabs, to prevent the iron
rods acting as conductors for the electric fluid into the hold of the
ship.

There is something terrifying in such a scene, that carries with it a
sense of danger to the sturdiest: no matter how many such outbreaks
have before been viewed by the beholder, still an indefinable fear will
pervade his system. The gale is a feature to which, in his routine
of life upon the ocean, the seaman becomes accustomed, and only asks
for a short warning to battle with it; but there is something in the
lightning that makes one feel completely at its mercy, though we know
that in this as in all other perilous situations, we are under the
protection of the same wise Creator.

On these grounds we were continually meeting merchantmen bound to and
from the various Australian and East Indian ports, and it was a matter
of congratulation to us to see that all the swiftest and best of these
ships carried our own starry flag, maintaining the pre-eminence of our
ship-builders in this far-off sea.

We were now thirty months from home, and as our ship was fitted at
the outset to remain from home but forty, this was to be our last
cruise; and home was the all-engrossing topic on every tongue, from
the captain’s to the steerage boys’, all uniting in a sincere wish to
return, oil or no oil. Our return, which but a short time previous had
been commented upon as a vague and distant termination of a protracted
voyage, was now viewed as feasible and not very remote; and we felt
ourselves considerably elevated by the mere thought, when we gammoned
with ships but a short time from home, of the probation they, poor
fellows, would have to go through ere they arrived at the degree of
experience we had acquired on this coast. The wildest of those of our
crew, who had left home on the impulse of the moment, were the most
anxious to return, feeling that they had paid dear enough for their
whistles.

We were now the longest out of any ship on the coast. It is an old
adage, amongst whalemen, that when a year from home, on gammoning with
any ship that has sailed subsequent to your own departure, you have the
privilege of begging; when two years out, of stealing; and when three
years, of stealing and begging too; so that we now had the right of
exercising this privilege, in which there is more reality than romance.
Fresh provisions are seized upon by the old residenters without ruth,
as if they had the best right to them. This is seldom disputed by the
owners, who, in the abundance of their sympathy, do not wait to be
asked for such things, but press them for acceptance without thought of
remuneration; doing as they would be done by, and setting an example
worthy of imitation by more polished ones.

During the latter part of February and the month of March, we were
occupied in beating around the south-west coast of New Holland,
occasionally seeing land or sighting a ship to vary the monotony. Early
in April we steered to the northward, the strong south-east trades
being greatly in our favor. These winds prevail throughout the year in
this vicinity, only interrupted by fierce gales from the north-west,
which, though severe throughout their duration, seldom last more
than from twelve to sixteen hours. During our passage, as we emerged
into the warmer latitudes, shoals of flying-fish, bonita, albacore,
and dolphin were continually in sight, skipping hither and thither.
The bonita and albacore remaining in attendance upon our journey for
months, we occasionally caught them. Their prey being flying-fish, they
are easily hooked by cutting from solder or tin a shape resembling
the little creature, attaching a hook to the lower part of the solder
image, and a line to the upper; the angler then perches himself upon
the end of the flying jib-boom, and dangles his tackle to and fro,
imitating as nearly as possible the aerial flight of the tiny creature
it is intended to represent. The voracious skip-jack, or albacore, as
the case may be, ever on the alert for its prey, rushes to the bait,
seizes it, and is hooked for his pains. It is a pleasant sight to watch
these fish whilst about the ship; their agile movements in pursuit of
the flying-fish; their instinct teaching them that these are to be
found in the greatest number about the vessel’s prow, which, in her
onward course, disturbs them in their retreats, and forces them to
seek safety in the air, on their descent from which an ever watchful
enemy is prepared to meet and devour some of their number. At all times
these creatures, apparently with the utmost ease, keep in advance of
the ship, leaping from the water and varying their course with the
direction of the vessel. As I before said, they are often caught, but
are only serviceable for food when cooked with other articles, their
flesh being extremely dry and insipid. I have been assured by those
who have had experience of it, that long indulgence in eating them,
produces scurvy of the most violent type--more than one instance of
such a fact being on record.

At noon of April 20th we saw the Abrolhas’ Islands, and a reef in
their vicinity known as the Turtle Dove, which, from observation, we
found considerably out of the position laid down on the chart for it.
Immediately on closing with the land we lowered away two boats--one of
which went fishing, the other prospecting; at dark both returned, the
fishing boat with several barrels of snappers, jew-fish, and gropers;
the prospecting party landed on Long Island, and found it a long,
narrow strip of coral reef covered with broken shells and fragments
of coral cast up by the surf. A few mangroves and stunted bushes
comprised the vegetation. Large numbers of birds were present, and on
some portions of the island were extensive deposits of guano, though so
mixed with coral and fractured portions of shells as to be unfit for
the purposes of the agriculturist.

On the following day we again went in, and, carrying the boat across
a narrow part of the island, we launched her again in the so-called
bay, and proceeded to make soundings, by which we ascertained the
feasibility of anchoring here. We also visited Middle Island, where
a small mound and a head-board gave notice of the interment of a
poor remnant of mortality. The board bore the inscription, “Thomas
Williams, deceased April, 1851;” purporting to have been placed there
by the captain of a schooner. From a person who knew something of
the history of the vicinity, I learned that the deceased had been an
American seaman, a colored man, who had left an American whale-ship in
Freemantle, years previous; there he had married, joined the schooner
and set out as one of a whaling party to the Abrolhas’; but before he
had reached the scene of operations, he had fought his last battle, and
been conquered by death.

On Middle Island there is a rough house erected, which has remained for
many years; as also the ruins of a try works--memorials of a whaling
party. The tenement is built of stone, the roof of mahogany, and, no
doubt, was formerly quite a substantial building; but the north-westers
that howl through the islands have made sad havoc with its fair
proportions, and it is no longer tenantable.

At night we braced forward and stood out to the open ocean. On the 29th
we gammoned the clipper barque Sunlight, of New Bedford, a beautiful
craft, twenty-one months from home, with eight hundred and fifty
barrels of oil. Her captain, a namesake of the iron-handed protector of
England, was described by his crew as being a fiend incarnate--cursing,
beating, and abusing every one under his command; giving them scarcely
enough to eat. Poor fellows, they were glad to get hard bread, which
we, touched by their relation, gave to them: this they secreted on
their persons to carry aboard and make a meal of. The account of their
sufferings from this monster almost exceeded belief; but as it was the
same story from all grades of the members of the ship’s company, and
was afterwards corroborated by the crew of another vessel, we were
forced to yield credence to the tale.

On May 1st, a few minutes prior to sunset, we saw boats and a ship
whaling. On nearing the scene of operations we found it to be the
ship Abigail, of New Bedford, which proved to be unsuccessful. The
succeeding day we again saw her boats whaling. We lowered away our own,
but to no purpose. They, however, made an acquisition in the shape of
an eighty barrel whale.

On the 6th we gammoned the ship Congress; she brought from home a
budget of letters for us, but had delivered them over to the James
Allen, in October last, supposing that the latter would see us
first--they are now lost to us entirely. The Congress, it will be
remembered, returned to the States since we have been on this coast,
full of oil; and in the sixteen months, during which she has been from
home this voyage, she has taken sixteen hundred barrels of oil, or
nearly double what we have taken in three years. She is commanded by
the person who acted as her mate during the last voyage.

On the 9th we saw a barque to leeward, manœuvring for whales, and
evidently desirous, from her signals, of attracting our observation.
On running down to her we found that she had a whale alongside, and
that she was the John A. Robb, of Fair Haven, captain Baker, the
same who was cast away in the barque Henry H. Crapo; her whale was a
sulphur-bottom, and, as these are seldom captured, much curiosity was
manifested to get a sight at him. The head was shaped like an inverted
scoop; the fins and flukes resembled much those of the right whale. It
has on its ridge a very small fin or hump, which serves to distinguish
it from the fin-back; its jaws are furnished with black bone, but so
short as to render it of little value as an article of commerce. In
color its body is of a light grey, and is much longer, in proportion
to its bulk, than any other fish I have seen. The blubber was about
four inches thick, corrugated and arranged on the belly in great folds
or rolls; it was literally covered by wounds made by the remora or
sucking-fish. The whole length was eighty feet, and its yield fifty
barrels--the oil commanding the same price as that of the right whale.

It is seldom this variety of the whale is disturbed by the whaleman,
its extreme shyness rendering it almost an impossibility to strike it.
In this instance it was shot from the ship by a bomb-lance, which, by a
great chance, caused a fatal wound, disabling the fish so that he was
an easy capture.

The high price of whalebone at home renders the ships on this ground,
which have a large supply of it, anxious to get theirs to market ere
there is a depression in price, and we being the only ship anticipating
a speedy return, we are continually having it offered to us as freight.
Amongst these ships is the Richard Mitchell, which narrowly escaped
being driven ashore at Bunbury a few weeks ago. She had landed her
captain to bargain for provisions, whilst the vessel was standing off
and on, when a heavy southerly gale sprang up and stripped her of every
inch of canvas. By great exertions they bent new sails, but it was not
until after seventy-two hours beating that she was enabled to get an
offing that secured her safety.

From this time up to July 4th we saw little and done less, with the
single exception of lowering away for a sperm whale on June the 6th,
but seeing nothing of him after we had dropped our boats. On the 4th,
whilst in company with the Europa, making for the Abrolhas’ Islands,
we sighted sperm whales, lowered, struck, and killed one. Previous to
striking we had hoisted our ensign, which was imitated by the Europa.
This signal was a bond of copartnership between the two ships during
the day’s operations, each being entitled to half the proceeds of the
day’s capture. The Europa did not fasten, but chased the whales to
windward, in which pursuit we lost sight of her; meantime we tried out
our whale and stowed it between decks, so that we would have but little
trouble in giving her her half of it when we met. After some days we
fell in with her, when her captain, with a generosity unusual with his
profession, declined taking any part of it, assigning as a reason our
long-continued bad luck; saying, that after having taken but one whale
in six months, it would be too bad to deprive us of half of that.

The Europa had experienced a hard time of it since we had last seen
her, meeting with several of those accidents which the vicissitudes
of a seaman’s life render him ever liable to--having, in the first
place, shipped a sea that went completely over her, and stove the three
larboard boats almost beyond repair; then, again, having run close in
towards the land in hopes of seeing us, she had been jammed between the
Turtle Dove, Abrolhas’ and main land, in a gale of wind, when crowding
sail to madness was their only hope; but, fortunately, a timely shift
of wind enabled them to clear the main land by a hair’s breadth, and
dispelled all their gloomy fears.

On the 16th both vessels stood in for the Abrolhas’ Islands, and at 9
o’clock were snugly anchored amid the cluster, of which, by ascending
our tops, twenty-five different islands could be counted. As soon as
our ground-tackle was secured, we struck the topsail and topgallant
yards and the topgallantmasts, housed our mizzen topmast, and then
unbent all the sails, except the spensers: our object being to present
as little surface as possible to the action of the wind; thereby
rendering our anchorage more secure. The anchorage showed coarse white
sand, combined with pulverized coral and shell, which constitutes
excellent holding-ground.

Not expecting the humpbacks in before the first of August, we passed
the time in making excursions to the various islands of the group. We
soon found a novel and exciting sport in the destruction of seals,
which exist here in great numbers. These creatures bring forth their
young on the land; and, this being the season in which they breed, they
could at all times he seen basking in the sun, fast asleep, and quietly
enjoying themselves to the full. Our method of attack was to approach
as slyly as possible, and deal heavy blows on the tip of the nose,
which is the most sensitive portion of their organism. If well aimed,
the first blow despatches them; but, on the contrary, if you should
deliver it on the shoulders, back, or quarters, it seems to produce no
deleterious effect on the animal, which instantly rears upon his hind
flippers, and, with a sharp, querulous yelp, displays a set of ivories
little inferior to those of the lion; however, it requires hardly any
address on the part of the pursuer to avoid him. When the animal once
gets into water, no matter how shallow, farther chase becomes hopeless,
as it can then propel itself at a powerful rate; but while on land,
though its movements are by no means slow, it is no match for a good
runner.

A young seal, by the knowing ones said to be about six weeks old, was
captured alive, passed into the boat, and carried aboard the ship.
It seemed in no wise disconcerted, except at night when a light was
placed near its eyes, whereat it became much alarmed. It showed but
little timidity when caressed, and evidently considered our dog as one
of its own species, so solicitous was it to form an intimacy with him;
but puppy fought shy, and avoided companionship with the amphibious
creature. From its docility, we anticipated keeping it for a long
time; yet during the several days that it was retained, although
offered both small and large fish, it would partake of no sustenance,
but wandered fore and aft the decks, crying for its dam in a note not
unlike that the cow-calf uses on similar occasions. We were at last
reluctantly compelled to kill it--stuffing the skin for a memorial. The
skins of these, known as the hair-seal variety, are of little value
intrinsically; but, being easily tanned, they were very useful to us as
chafing-gear for the rigging.

Some of our savants, having either themselves eaten, or having heard
of other persons eating, the liver of the seal, assiduously extracted,
cleaned, and cooked one. It being a young seal, the dish proved very
palatable, in taste much resembling hog’s liver. All now became alert
to procure a fresh supply of them; but, as it happened, the next
seal pitched upon was a patriarch of the gang, whose destroyers were
overjoyed indeed at the quantity yielded by their prize, and brought it
aboard the ship with the air of conquerors. The cook dressed it; but,
lo, and behold! the following day, most of those who had partaken of it
were affected by nausea at the stomach and distressing headache--half
of the number being unable to leave their berths: consequences, I
opine, arising from the indigestibility of the liver, rendered tough by
the animal’s great age. Since then I have been assured that this is by
no means an isolated case of indisposition from the same cause.

In rambling, we found Long Island the most inviting of the group. It
was scantily furnished with several varieties of low shrubs; amongst
which were the native Australian gooseberry and a species of wild
oats. There are also on the island several thickets of the mangrove,
which, from the peculiar growth of the trees, though of only a moderate
height, are almost impenetrable. This tree affords excellent fuel,
and we took advantage of this by cutting and carrying away some eight
or ten cords of it for firewood. Its fracture is of a light yellowish
color, and the heart of it is decayed, but I cannot say whether this is
owing to the bad quality of the soil, or is a natural characteristic
of the wood. It is very heavy. The leaf is small, and eagerly sought
for by the rabbits, which abound on the island. Several pairs of these
little creatures were placed here years ago, and they have increased
until their number is legion. Had they a supply of fresh water, they
would in a short time become so much more numerous as to consume all
the herbage within their reach. We seldom visited the island without
bringing away half-a-dozen of them. Occasionally, in running our arms
into the burrows for rabbits, we would take hold of a disgusting
iguana, or get a handful of small eggs, deposited by a very diminutive
variety of gull, that burrows in the ground, and there hatches its
young. The whole island is excavated by these little diggers. Their
eggs, almost double the size of a pigeon-egg, have a white shell, and
are very excellent eating. The larger gulls lay an egg superior in
size to those of our domestic hens, which are mottled, and food fit
for an epicure. The shag, another variety, lays a pink egg, of goodly
size, which is also equally palatable. These birds would lay on the
bare ground; and, on our robbing their depositories, they would move
to another island, and repeat the process. This they did four or five
times, and at last either gave up in despair, or lit upon some place
secure from our depredations; for we were unable to procure a further
supply.

On Long Island we saw several osprey-nests, in one of which were eggs;
in another, the half-fledged young of the species. The eggs were about
the size of a goose-egg; but, as we had reason to think they were
addled, we had no opportunity of testing their fitness for the table.

During the whole of one day we observed immense flocks of birds flying
in the direction of this island, and on visiting it found the clumps
of mangroves literally swarming with small birds about the size of
a blackbird, busily engaged in building nests from the kelp which is
thrown up by the surf. They seemed to take but little notice of us.
We held a consultation, and finally decided that they were fit to be
eaten, and, in pursuance of this resolution, began bagging them. This
we found but little trouble; all that was necessary being to ascend one
of the mangrove trees, and, as the birds wheeled around in circles to
more nearly examine our, to them, strange appearance, knock them down
left and right. In this way but very few minutes elapsed before we
had sufficient for our purposes--two hundred and fifty of the little
feathered bipeds being a mess for the ship’s company; and all united
in deciding that they made an exceedingly savory stew. We repeated the
operation often after having been initiated into their good qualities.
Some idea may be formed of the number consumed, when I state that the
feathers, which were saved by old Jack, weighed twenty pounds; the old
salt in his green old age being determined to have a soft bed to repose
his weatherworn limbs upon. To this end he had been collecting feathers
during the greater part of the voyage--albatrosses, monimokes, ducks,
pigeons, hawks, and whale birds, contributing each their quota to his
store.

I cannot take leave of this subject without attempting to give some
idea of the immense numbers of the birds. I had read of the innumerable
flocks of wild pigeons which frequent our Western States, and I
had seen at sea immense flocks of various birds migrating to other
countries, but I had never formed an estimate that came within many
removes of the actual number I here saw. I can indeed liken them to
nothing else, as regards number, than a swarm of bees; their bodies
obscuring the sun’s light when they passed overhead, and a stone thrown
at random never failing to meet a mark.

The conchological specimens found on these islands are varied but
inelegant; they comprise both descriptions of the nautilus--the true
and paper varieties being found in abundance. These shells externally
possess but little beauty, but on being sawn apart in a lateral
direction, they present a handsome pearly arrangement contained in an
air-tight apartment in the base of the shell. A small variety of the
cowrie, too, is abundant. There are also periwinkles, scollops, and
oysters, all three of which are excellent eating, and, therefore, were
in great request with us.

Crabs are also found in great numbers, and can be had for the trouble
of picking up; so that we made shift to fare pretty well during our
stay here.

One of the islands to which we made several excursions, was known as
Dead Man’s Island, from the fact that an encounter between the members
of the crew of a Spanish ship, which was wrecked on the reef in the
seventeenth century, resulted in the death of several of their number.
The circumstances are these: the crew, after their vessel was stranded,
made for this island, having saved provisions and other articles,
amongst which was a chest of treasure. A dispute arising regarding
the ownership of this treasure, from words they proceeded to blows
and bloodshed, and some of them were sacrificed to their avaricious
spirit. After the battle the defeated party were banished to another
island, and the cause of strife was deposited for greater security on
Square Island, where, tradition says, it still remains; and many have
been induced by the rumor, incited by love of gain or adventure, to
toil in hopes of its _éclaircissement_. To this day human bones are
to be seen on the surface, and had there been as good evidence of the
treasure as of the struggle, no doubt our Yankee inquisitiveness and
acquisitiveness would have induced some of us to have made search for
it.

I can imagine no more inhospitable locality for a ship’s company to be
cast away than amongst these islands. They would be unable to find any
material to erect a covering for protection from the weather, unless
some portions of their vessel were cast ashore--the islands themselves
supplying nothing of the kind. To be sure they might manage to eke out
a subsistence from the birds and fish which are so abundant at certain
periods of the year; but they would be unable to exist without water
in the summer season, when, for months, no rain falls. The only place
where we found any fresh water was on Middle Island; and it was a mere
deposit of rain, in a well dug by the whaling party who formerly made
it the scene of their fishing operations.

On the 27th of July we sent off two boats from each ship to erect a
look-out on an island several miles to seaward of the ship. Whilst the
boats were thus engaged the crews saw humpback whales, but forebore to
meddle with them, supposing them to be the pioneers of the school said
to frequent these islands, and wishing to do nothing at this early date
to scare them from the haunts. On their return to the ship with this
cheering intelligence, all was bustle and activity. The blubber-room
was cleared out, useless casks were sent ashore, and every preparation
was made to carry on whaling with the utmost spirit; but alas! for
the vanity and frailty of human expectations, these were the sole and
only representatives of their species that we had a sight at during
our five weeks’ sojourn amongst the Abrolhas’. Things thus remained in
_statu quo_ until the 14th, when, as we began to send up spars and make
preparations for our departure, the luminous idea struck somebody of
sending one or more boats over to Champion Bay, to ascertain whether
whales had been seen on the coast, and whether the Port Gregory
whaling company had accomplished anything during the present season.
In pursuance of this resolution a boat from each ship, provisioned for
a week, was despatched to the main, under the conduct of the mates of
the respective vessels. We started at 1 o’clock P.M. with a fair wind,
and at nine the same evening made the main land, in the vicinity of
a headland known as the Wizard’s Peak. In the opinion of our fourth
mate, who had been here previously, we were too far to the northward,
and, as the line of breakers presented no point where we could land,
in pursuance of his suggestion we kept off to the southward, and
continued running until midnight, when we anchored in fifteen fathoms
of water, and endeavored to get some sleep; one of our number standing
watch all through the night. At daybreak we resumed our course to
the southward until about 3 o’clock in the afternoon, when we became
convinced of the incapacity of our pilot, and thought it advisable to
retrace our course to the northward; the wind being ahead, we had to
pull in the teeth of wind and sea. At dark we again came to anchor in
fourteen fathoms of water, and passed the night in the same manner as
the preceding one. At daylight, seeing nothing of the entrance, the
feasibility of a return to the ship was mooted, but as our supply of
water had dwindled to a gallon in both boats, we were loath to adopt
this measure, except as a dernier resort; but the wind, fortunately for
us, having hauled during the night, we set sail, and at nine o’clock
in the morning discovered the wished for haven within a few miles of
the peak we had sighted the first night--a very fortunate conclusion
to our misadventure. On reflection, we could now see the dangers of
our late situation. Had a gale come on from the westward we could not
possibly have escaped being driven on shore; and if it had come from
the eastward, even provided our boats had not been swamped, we were
without a supply of water, and must have perished from thirst before we
could have reached the ship.

On our landing at Champion Bay we were met upon the beach by the
three magistrates of the settlement, and a large proportion of the
inhabitants, who anxiously inquired if we had been wrecked. On our
answering in the negative, they inquired where we were from. On our
again answering, the barques Pacific and Europa, at the Abrolhas’
Islands, they evidently regarded us with suspicion--thinking that we
were either mutineers or deserters, who had fabricated this story for
our own purposes; and I believe that, had they dared, or even had
they thought themselves the strongest party, they would have clapped
us all in limbo, until assured of the truth of the story we told. We
heard whisperings as to our physical ability. The boats’ crews being
picked men, they said, were a very rugged-looking set of fellows; and
the fact of each man being provided with his belt and sheath-knife
seemed a recommendation to their respect. Then, again, had there been
any difficulty, the penal population, who are largely in the majority,
would have readily joined the strangers, in hopes of being delivered by
them from their penal servitude.

Our first queries were, as to whether whales had been seen in any
numbers on the coast the present season. They stated, that, from some
unknown cause, the whales’ food was not so plenty as it is during most
years at this period. The meducæ, which exist in great quantities, or
rather numbers, generally by their volume gave to the water a yellowish
hue, but at present scarcely any indication of their existence was
perceptible; therefore, although the whales had appeared as usual, they
made but a short stay. The Port Gregory fishery had been fortunate
enough, during their brief visit, to capture five of them--making quite
a profitable season’s business. They took their last whale some weeks
since--about the same time that we saw whales at the Abrolhas’; and I
am persuaded that we were too late for the season.

On our informing them that there were no whales at the Abrolhas’
Islands, they professed much surprise, and would scarcely give credence
to our intelligence; stating that, for years, every vessel which had
passed these islands had borne testimony to the immense number of
whales that frequented the waters around them.

Having now progressed up towards the settlement, we found it neatly
situated, although the buildings, which number about sixty, were much
scattered. The herbage appears luxuriant, and the soil fertile. Many
of the settlers own immense flocks of sheep and herds of bullocks; but
they deprecate the system of raising stock with a view to a pecuniary
return: for in the immediate vicinity of the settlement there grew, I
was assured, no less than sixteen varieties of vegetable poisons, which
the cattle browse, and are soon afterwards affected by spasms that
result in death.

A short distance from the settlement there is an extensive copper-mine,
which is the means of affording employment to most of the inhabitants.
The ore is said to be very rich, and is exported to England, whence
several vessels were daily expected for freights of it. This article
affords their only means of commerce with foreign countries: their
supplies and wool coming through, and being shipped from, Freemantle,
to and from which city cutters continually ply.

The wind being unfavorable for us to return to the ship, we made up our
minds to enjoy life ashore, for a day or two, as well as circumstances
would allow. So, in accordance with the decree of the clerk of the
weather, we took up our quarters at the only public house in the place,
and were soon deep in the discussion of a dinner, consisting for the
most part of fresh mutton. We had brought with us several hams, which
the habitues of the house preferred to the fresh meat. We therefore
had them boiled, to their as well as our own satisfaction; for while
they were engaged with the bacon, we were enabled to appropriate to
our ourselves the lion’s share of the other edibles, which--as our
appetites had been sharpened by between sixty and seventy hours’
exposure to the bracing sea-breeze, with a spice of hard pulling--we
were fully competent to dispose of.

Not feeling in the mood to cruise around much during the afternoon,
the greater part of us remained about the house, wondering, from the
sparsity of the landlord’s visitors, how he managed to eke out a
living; but, as soon as night approached, we were convinced that he
lacked not for customers, who now one after another dropped in to have
a look at us, and imbibe the potations he had to dispense.

One thing is greatly in favor of this colony; that is, the government
has as yet refused to grant a license for the sale of spirits in less
quantities than a gallon; and, as a gallon costs two pounds sterling,
(equivalent to nine dollars and eighty-eight cents of our money,)
the ardent is not within the reach of everybody. During the time
we remained in the place, I did not see a glass of spirits drank.
Malt-liquors, comprising porter, ale, and beer, were however swallowed
without regard to quality or quantity.

Here, as well as everywhere else that I have visited in these colonies,
the males and females alike frequent the tap-room. They were all very
hospitable, and it may be imagined how it sounded to our ears, for
a matronly-looking woman, with a child held by the hand, to address
us with, “What will you have to drink, Jack?” while everybody about
seemed to regard it as a matter of propriety.

At night, as there were not beds sufficient for our accommodation, we
took a shake down in the dining-room, using kangaroo-skins as blankets.
We had scarcely got settled, before we were rolling, pitching, and
tossing, by way of a forced accompaniment to the flea-bites that were
being inflicted upon us: the numbers of these pests being myriads.
Although they are little heeded by those who are acclimated here and
inured to their tortures, yet to us thinner-skinned gentry these fleas
now proved objects of real terror. For hours, sleep was out of the
question. All of us had been accustomed to considerable blood-letting
aboard from the bed-bugs that always infest old ships in warm weather;
but we were by no means prepared for a wholesale depletion by these
vampires. At length, towards morning, we managed to gain some
intermission from their attacks, and the sun had made a great portion
of his daily journey ere we broke our slumbers.

After breakfast was over, we took a tramp, and found that we were not
deceived in our estimate of the country. Instead of the sandy surface
we had been accustomed to see in the southern sections of the colony,
there was here an excellent soil, and the appearance of the crops
promised an abundant harvest; while the live stock we saw were in a
good condition.

The trees here embrace all the varieties of the she-oak, bankshire,
mahogany, peppermint, blackberry and raspberry jam, and some little way
in the interior the precious sandal-wood is found.

The houses are of stone, and neatly fashioned: mahogany being applied
to all the various purposes of the architect--its great plentifulness
and durability rendering it preferable to any other wood they possess.

The following day, the wind still being unfavorable and precluding
our departure, the officers in charge of the expedition began to feel
alarmed as to the insufficiency of their funds--the whole amount of
money brought being ten pounds, or fifty dollars; this amount would
not go very far towards the support of thirteen men, for any length
of time, in a place where all the necessaries of life were held at an
exorbitant price. Now that their suspicions had worn off as to our true
character, I do not think that they would have allowed us to want;
still, we did not feel inclined to depend on their charity, so we asked
them if there was any work that we could perform. The only branches
of business open were wood-chopping and supplying the community with
fresh fish; they possessing no boats, and the snapper banks being
some distance from the settlement, it is only by chance that they are
enabled to indulge their appetites for them. We, on this information,
held a consultation, and one party, including the two officers,
shouldered axes and went into the woods, where they gave the colonials
a specimen of Yankee wood-chopping; the rest of us took the boats, and,
having been supplied with tackle, made their hearts glad by a display
of fish superior to any they had seen for a long time.

This was a pretty specimen of occupation for gentlemen’s sons to
engage in; but it only verifies our national peculiarities: and the
originator of the remark that a Yankee, with or without his jack-knife,
could make a living anywhere, was not far from the truth.

The natives here, as elsewhere, are the same miserable, debased race;
but are ruled by an iron hand--the early experience of the colonists
forcing them to adopt severe measures to secure them against the
depredations of these nomadic tribes. I was informed that little
account was taken of the death of one of them, by a white man’s agency,
if detected in any little peccadillo; but a few years since the whites
were still more severe, shooting the natives down like dogs whenever
they approached their habitations.

At nine o’clock on the morning of the 19th we bade farewell to Champion
Bay, under strict surveillance of the authorities--they being fearful
that we would convey away some of the prisoners. We were favored with
a fair wind, and at 4 o’clock the same afternoon boarded the ship,
perfectly satisfied with our jaunt. We found that during our absence
changes had taken place--a Portuguese boy, whom we shipped at Flores,
having exchanged, and gone aboard the Europa as steward; her former
steward, a native of New York city, having received his discharge
on account of inability, from sickness, to perform his duty. He is
suffering from spasmodic stricture of the urethra, and goes with us to
Mauritius in order to procure efficient medical aid. He lives in the
forecastle, and, as well as his health permits, agrees to perform duty
as a foremast hand; on arriving at Mauritius, it is optional with him
either to remain ashore or go with us to the United States.

During the whole time that we lay at anchor here, the most intimate
relations existed between all grades of the two ships’ companies; every
day and every night we held re-unions, in which, by merriment, we
strove to dispel the recollection of being so far separated from home.
A boat seldom left either ship on an excursion for pleasure, without
calling on the other party to see if any wished to go; and if either
ship was to be kedged ahead, or her anchorage shifted, the other crew
were ever ready to volunteer their assistance.

One favorite trip was to go with the boat to within a short distance of
the heavy surf that broke on the reef at low water, where live shells
were to be collected. These were then buried in sand, or immersed in
fresh water, until the death of the animal rendered dislodging him
from his shell an easy task. In this manner we cleaned them, without
impairing the enamel, which so greatly enhances their beauty.

One of our last moves previous to sailing, was to stow some two hundred
barrels of salt water in our after-hold, the ship being so light as
to render more weight in her hold necessary to make her sea-worthy;
we having put into her nothing like her carrying capacity of oil, and
having eaten the principal part of the provisions, there remained but
little in her to act as ballast.

Having now been from home almost our allotted period, we have exhausted
almost all the original supplies. Our meat is reduced to some forty
barrels, flour to ten or twelve, sugar none, molasses none, (the latter
we procured a supply of from the Europa,) and our tea is so near its
ultimatum that it is reserved for special occasions, and coffee takes
its place as a beverage for supper. Our boats are nearly all worthless,
and now only comprise the four on the cranes--two having been disposed
of to Captain Phinney, of the Europa; who likewise got all of the
spare oars. We have but one respectable set of topsails and courses
that can be depended upon in heavy weather, and are ill provided for a
much longer stay from home. Should we take another cruise or two, the
expenses of refitting would be great; and, should we then do nothing,
instead of a source of profit to the owners, we would prove a burden,
independent of the loss of time to ourselves. At the same time we feel
loath to return with so sorry a cargo; and there are a number amongst
us who are anxious and willing to risk the prospect of another six
months’ or a year’s work, so as to have something due them on their
return; forgetting that, although they were to land penniless, the
six or twelve months thus spent at sea, if steadily devoted to some
occupation ashore, would return a much larger sum.

At 11 o’clock on the morning of the 20th, we weighed our anchors with
the intention of going out; but no sooner were they tripped, than the
current set us down upon the Europa, which lay a cable’s length astern.
All hands jumped on the taffrail and quarters, and shoving with might
and main, prevented a collision. We then kedged her ahead, and, finding
it impossible for us to leave until the Europa sailed, we lowered our
boats and towed her into the channel. Then kedging ahead to clear the
shoal, after narrowly escaping planting her stern on it, off she went
in gallant style.

The Europa went out rigged as a barque. Her mizzenmast being
defective, carrying sail on it would be rather hazardous; so her
crossjack, mizzen topsail, and topgallant yards, were sent down, and
the leg-of-mutton-shaped gaff-topsail substituted in the stead of the
canvas pertaining to them.

These whaleships often undergo striking changes between the date
of their leaving home and the period of their return: the captain
possessing a discretionary power to pull down and build up any of his
ship’s arrangements. But, woe betide him! if he does anything that
results disastrously, unless he makes a good voyage (which last is
the New-Bedford apology for a multitude of sins). Some old-fashioned
skippers are content with leaving things as they find them; whilst
those of the more modern school want their quarter-deck made clear, so
that when in port a fore-and-after can be indulged in by the select
assemblages who then ordinarily rendezvous aboard whalers.

By the way, I recently heard a story about a party of such visitants,
who boarded the ship Twilight in King George’s Sound. Amongst them
were the daughters of one of the most aristocratic families in the
town. The steward of the vessel, supposing of course that they were
ladies, had gone to considerable pains in preparing a collation, which
the guests seemed much to enjoy. After concluding their repast, they
stuffed their pockets with the cakes they were unable to eat; indeed,
one went so far as to make her bosom a storehouse for provender. They
then adjourned to the quarter-deck for a dance; and, as they displayed
much activity during its progress, the hidden dainties were dropped:
an eclaircissement which much surprised the neophytes of the ship, who
were unaccustomed to such practices. The possessors were by no means
disconcerted; but, re-collecting their prizes, continued the dance.

This relation of New Holland manners may by some be deemed overwrought
and extravagant; but, as I have the story from most reliable authority,
I can vouch for its correctness. I have seen the participants, and
although, as I before said, they belonged to the first circles and
affected to be aristocratic, were they arrayed in jacket and trowsers,
they would make first-rate man-of-war’s men.

And now that the Abrolhas’ are dropping astern, we will contrast the
present state of our feelings with what they were when we entered
this channel, five weeks since. Then we were pregnant with hope:
no doubt existing in our minds as to the preconceived certainty
of taking several hundred barrels of oil--the only damper to our
ardent expectation being the forethought of our toil in towing. The
possibility of there being no whales never struck us; for we had from
various testimonies of their presence put this point so far beyond all
question, that if any one had started the least misgivings he would
have been treated with derision. At that time, too, we firmly expected
to leave directly for home on quitting the islands; having only to
make a short stoppage at the Island of St. Helena for water. But now
we had before us the unpleasant prospect of another cruise; and this
still more darkened with the thought of our putting into ports, where
the little we had due to us would most likely be foolishly spent.
Instead of the hundreds of barrels of oil that we had anticipated to
have stowed below, we had two hundred barrels of salt-water; and to
counterbalance our other disappointments we had--just nothing at all.
Yet, had we not made the attempt, none of us would have been satisfied;
and I think the captain perfectly justified, although the result was so
disastrous.

But there is no use in repining: for this was only one of the series of
maladventures we experienced throughout our voyage. The season in the
Bight and that on New Zealand (on both of which we had counted largely)
returned us almost nothing. We had, however, solaced ourselves with the
reflection that the Abrolhas’ season was yet to come; and, although we
preferred the sperm oil, still we had made up our minds to be satisfied
with a cargo of that of the humpback, which we were assured we could
get without trouble, except hard work. And now, when this too had
failed, our sheet-anchor was gone: for, if there were any who still had
an idea of making a good voyage, they were hoping against hope. For us,
certainly, the day had gone by; unless, indeed, when we returned, the
market for oil should by some strange revulsion have become so much
exhausted as to cause it to bring an almost fabulous price. Then, and
then only, would any of us make pin-money enough to repay us for more
than three years of a hard, wearisome life. However, as I said before,
there is no use in repining. We must grin and bear it, and at the same
time admit ourselves convinced of the aptness of that axiom which reads
“Blessed are they who expect nothing; for they are sure not to be
disappointed.”

And now, the general feeling that pervaded the ship’s company was a
wish for a speedy return home: all being convinced of the inutility of
a longer absence. But whether the captain would act in accordance with
it remained to be seen. His mind fluctuated, with the tide of time,
between these two points: to go, or not to go. This was the question
which he appeared to be continually debating in his own mind. One
moment, “going home” was in the ascendant; the next, all his sympathies
were enlisted in favor of staying out for another cruise: points which
were perhaps ultimately decided to our disadvantage.




CHAPTER XII.


After leaving the Abrolhas’, we had a strong westerly breeze, which
required us to carry sail pretty stiffly, to avoid the shore; in the
course of which process we sighted the Wollaby group and Wizzard’s Peak
on the main.

Our intention was to cruise here for four or six weeks; but having,
after the lapse of eight or nine days, seen sperm whales which were
going eyes out to the westward, (we lowered for them, but did not get
within miles of them,) on the morning of September 1st, we spoke the
Europa, sold to her captain another boat, and, with strong southeast
trades, took up our line of departure for the westward. Our ship’s
bottom, from long exposure, was very foul, and we tried to make amends
for her dullness by packing her spars full of canvass: main royal,
topmast, lower and topgallant studding sails, all assisting us on our
westerly course; and, although we were not bound directly home, we
were all well aware that space now crossed brought us thitherward, and
would not need to be retraced by us. Hence we entered into the spirit
of the passage with more alacrity than usual. There was, besides, this
other consideration, that we were bound to a port within the precincts
of civilization; which is always a matter of gratification to sailors,
after either a short or long cruise.

At the last farewell visit from the Europa’s crew, we were commissioned
to deliver many a message, both verbal and written, to near and dear
friends of theirs in the States; and they, poor fellows, doomed as they
are, for a year or eighteen months more, cruising off New Holland’s
coast, could not avoid announcing their wishes to be aboard with us.
They, however, bade us “God speed;” and we bade adieu to New Holland
and them both at the same time, hoping to meet the latter again in the
land of Washington, amid pleasanter scenes and under happier auspices
than can be found within the confines of an Indian Ocean whaler’s
timbers.

After bidding adieu to the Europa, we occupied ourselves in sending
aloft studding sails on the fore and main, from the topgallant yards to
the deck; the main royal was bent, a mizzen staysail manufactured and
bent, and under a cloud of canvass, impelled by the gentle trade-wind,
we kept her west-north-west, fully anticipating making Mauritius within
a fortnight; but, like most of our bright anticipations, this was
doomed to be dashed--the trade-winds, most unusually at this season
of the year, persisting in being light, so that it was not until the
21st that we saw the Isle of France. Previous to this, on the 19th, we
sighted and passed close by the Island of Rodrique. This small island
is seldom visited by whalers for supplies, as there is no accredited
American agent resident on it. It however is made famous amongst the
whaling fleet, from the fact of a captain of a New Bedford vessel
having selected a lady of the island, of French parentage, as his
lady love, marrying, and taking her with him to the United States,
to the dismay of the fair sex in his native neighborhood, who had
set their caps for him. This fact is so well known and widely spread,
that I never, whilst in the Indian Ocean, heard the name of the island
mentioned, without being compelled, from politeness, to listen to a
repetition of the love passage.

The following day, at five o’clock in the afternoon, we sighted a
school of sperm whales, consisting of cows and calves. After several
hours chasing, we were obliged to relinquish the pursuit as futile.

On the afternoon of the 23d we stood close in to the land composing the
Isle of France; it is rugged and mountainous, covered by immense fields
of nature’s own green, which we judged to be the different plantations
of coffee and sugar-cane, for which the island is celebrated. At
night we beat to windward, having to direct us the beacons of two
light-houses, which designate the entrance to the harbor. Next morning
we stood into the roadstead, which is easy of access, but only presents
a secure anchorage at certain seasons of the year, being entirely
unprotected from the winds. At 10¹⁄₂ A. M. on the 23d we let go our
anchor, amid some twenty vessels, most of which fly either the French
or English flag--these two nations carrying on the principal trade to
and from the port. These vessels were of the most ancient models, not a
clipper to be seen amongst them; all betrayed too plainly that Yankee
ingenuity had nothing to do with their construction, but that their
models, rig, and lumbering appearance were all owing to some clumsy
English shipwright, or French bungler in the same line.

The town, or rather that part of it which can be seen from the
roadstead, presents anything but a creditable appearance; only
the outskirts can be seen, built on the base of the far-famed and
world-renowned Peter Boite mountain, which rears its cone-shaped
summit aloft in the regions of upper air. Midway up the ascent is a
signal station, which informs those initiated into the mysteries of
the system of signals, of the appearance in the offing of inward bound
vessels; and when these are near enough, by the arrangement of Captain
Marryatt’s signals, consisting of four small flags, or rather three
flags and a whip, they ascertain the name of the vessel, whence from,
her cargo, and to whom consigned.

The entrance to the harbor, which, by the way, appears from the
roadstead tolerably full of shipping, is guarded by two elevated
fortifications and a mole; so that, from the number of fortifications,
I should judge that the harbor was pretty secure in case of assault.

It is very easy to remark the difference between the English and
American method of transacting harbor business. If we had anchored near
an American city, within the jurisdiction of the quarantine physician,
our anchor would have scarcely left the cat-head, ere he would have
boarded us and been satisfied as to our general healthiness; but here,
from half-past 10 until 3 o’clock, we were left in a blessed state
of uncertainty as to whether we should communicate with the shore or
remain stationary; when the dilatory physician boarded us, and, after
marshalling the crew aft and satisfying himself as to our general
sanitary condition, gave us a red flag to fly at our fore royal truck,
which was our certificate of health, and guaranteed to us permission
to transact business with the city. Those vessels that are condemned
by the port physician as unfit to enter into communication with the
inhabitants of the island, are removed to the quarantine ground, about
a mile below our anchorage, where, at present, some dozen vessels lie,
guarded by the police boat, that prevents any interchange of goods that
may lead to the introduction of infection into the port.

The port officer, who accompanied the physician, left with us a small
book containing the harbor laws and regulations, for the government of
vessels of all nations which anchor within its precincts. These laws
are printed both in French and English, and purport to emanate from
Sir John Higginson, lieutenant-governor; they are comprised mostly
of stringent quarantine restrictions, which led me to suppose that
at some earlier period they had suffered severely by the importation
of dreadful contagious diseases, which I can easily imagine would
find abundant food amid the miscellaneous population, assisted as it
naturally would be by the extreme heat of the climate.

Beside these, there are a series of signals for the preservation of
vessels in the roadstead during the months which are most liable to
typhoons or hurricanes. This period extends from the 1st of December to
the 1st of April; at the first signal the captains of all vessels lying
in the roadstead are compelled by law to resort to their respective
ships; other signals are for the increase of ground-tackle, shifting
of anchorage, and, finally, getting under weigh, when a longer stay in
the roadstead would prove dangerous.

At 8 o’clock in the evening we heard the report of the evening gun
which enjoins all keepers of public houses, and other places of
business, to close their doors; a heavy penalty being imposed upon
any person transacting business of whatever kind after gun fire. At 5
o’clock A. M. the morning gun is fired, when all are at liberty to open
their doors, and resume their respective avocations.

On the 25th we thoroughly washed our ship, sending ashore several
times during the day. When the first boat came off with provisions,
comprising meat and vegetables, a boy, who constituted one of the
crew, was exploding with suppressed laughter, which occasionally would
escape him notwithstanding his utmost efforts. On being questioned as
to the cause of his mirth, he proceeded in a very naive and humorous
vein to describe his trip to the market for meat. After selecting what
was wanted for the ship’s consumption, a Lascar backed it, which was
all very well; but no sooner had he started, than another of the same
race jumped up from his squatting posture, and, by a series of thumps
and rib ticklings, forced the one who acted as pack-horse into quite
a nimble pace for an indolent Asiatic. The thumps and rib ticklings,
which seemed a grave matter of business between the contracting
parties, excited the fancy of our Yankee boy, who had never seen or
heard of such a man-persuading operation; hence his violent merriment.

The meat which we procured is known by two sobriquets, being called
indifferently, “buffalo” and “cape beef.” The animals are procured
either from the Cape Colony, or the Island of Madagascar. I saw a
number of them yoked together, performing the heavy draughting to and
from the plantations and warehouses. With the exception of the hump, I
could perceive no difference in form between them and our own cattle.
This hump is situated on the spine directly over the fore shoulders;
in shape it resembles a mound, being conical as it approaches its
summit, and in a full grown animal attains a height of from eight to
twelve inches. The flesh of the hump is said to be esteemed a great
dainty, and I have no doubt of it from the fact that whilst lying here
not a particle of that portion of the animal came aboard our ship, it
commanding a higher price than the other portions, and, therefore, was
too expensive provender for sailors.

I have heard this meat reviled over and over again, as being tough and
anything but nutritious; but I disagree with its detractors, as I found
it sweet, tender and palatable, although it is very far from being fat.

Besides fresh meat we were enabled to obtain sweet potatoes--the
murphies not being raised here--and so we were fain to put up with
their yellow prototypes; they were much the same esculent as we
formerly procured in the Island of Lombock. Carrots, and the various
garden vegetables, too, were procurable, and the most original
turnips that it ever fell to my lot to behold. In form they resembled
a pine-apple, and were of a deep purple color. Attracted by their
savory look, I essayed to peel one with my pocket knife, but found
such a proceeding not to be accomplished with ordinary tools; with
the assistance of a sharp hatchet, I managed to remove the jacket,
and was rewarded for my pains by a mouthful of the hardest chewing
commodity that ever was put between my masticators; it reminded me of
the occasion, when a boy, I attempted to crack a hickory nut between my
teeth.

On Monday morning we arose with the intention of doing a great deal
of work--thinking to get off all our water in the course of the day.
In pursuance of this resolution two boats were manned, and we went
ashore with a raft of casks in tow, passing up the inner harbor. (But
as we were to go ashore in a few hours on liberty, and would then
have more leisure for inspection, we omit further description until
then.) There were several hundred ships lying here, independent of
the coasting-craft, and therefore on arriving at the watering-place,
which consisted of an aqueduct with a single nozzle, we found it
surrounded by seamen of every nation, hose in hand, patiently waiting
their turns, while being scorched by the burning rays of a tropical
sun. Finding that in all probability the greater part of the day would
be consumed ere we should have an opportunity to fill our casks, the
starboard-watch returned to the ship, in order to make preparations to
go ashore on liberty; which being soon completed, a boat was manned,
and away we went for a day’s enjoyment after eight months of sea-life.

On our way in we passed a series of parti-colored buoys, placed so as
clearly to define the entrance to the harbor. About two miles from the
landing there is a curious contrivance of wicker-work, with a bell in
it, familiarly known as the Bell Buoy; and a little further in, the
Powder Boat, into which all vessels entering the harbor are compelled
to deposit their powder. The entrance to the harbor is moderately wide,
but still no vessels enter without the aid of the steam tow-boat, which
they may however dispense with on leaving. Every vessel in the harbor
is compelled to anchor with two stream and two bower anchors.

And now we were amongst the shipping: for the most part, great,
lumbering, unsightly sugar-boxes. There, the aristocratic title, the
Earl of Derby, proclaimed the Briton; the Napoleon was undoubtedly
Monsieur’s craft; the Esperanza, the Don’s; and Peter of Hamburg,
Mynheer’s. But amid them all rose the lofty tapering spars of the
brigantine Penney, of New York; and, on a nearer approach, we could
examine the beautiful lines of her symmetrical hull, giving evidence
of the handicraft of a Baltimore shipbuilder--and such was her class:
a Baltimore clipper of the handsomest model. To-day she flew our
glorious ensign (the stars and stripes) for the last time; having been
sold to the British government, to be used as a revenue-cruiser. Her
purchasers, a few days before her delivery to them, having assiduously
substituted, for the Eagle on her stern, the British Lion, desired
to fly that ensign at her mizzen peak; but the crew in charge of her
(two full-blooded Americans) would not allow them to do so whilst they
remained on board, and persisted in flying the star-spangled banner
until the last day, when they left the vessel just before it was hauled
down.

Near the brigantine lay a three-masted schooner, also a creditable
specimen of American naval architecture, and which was likewise sold
during our stay in the port. Several other Americans came in: one,
the Spitfire, of Boston, last from Calcutta--in distress, leaking
badly--a noble clipper-ship, of two thousand tons; and the barque
Agnes, of and from New York, whence she had been seventy-six days on
her passage--also a handsome clipper. Besides these, several clippers
came in under the French flag, which, on inquiry, we were informed had
also been built in the United States of America. It was a matter of
congratulation to us, so far from home, to know and feel our national
superiority in the construction of that noblest of structures, viz., a
clipper-ship, and at the same time to feel the proud consciousness that
all the world admitted it.

Just above the harbor there is a dry dock, on which quite a number of
vessels were hauled up for repairs.

Our boat now glided up to the steps of the landing, which we mounted,
and once more trod upon terra firma. From the different languages that
fell on our ears we were at a loss to tell what countrymen we were
among. First, from the number of turbans and white robes, with the
faultlessly regular oriental features, we were induced to think that we
had landed amid an Arabian population; then, the vast number of gaudy
caps, surmounting shaven crowns, caused us to change our opinion, and
imagine the greater portion of the mass before us derived from farther
down the Malabar coast; but, again, we saw the barbaric ornaments,
dusky features, and scanty clothing of the Madagascar native, followed
by the various Hindoo tribes, representatives of the other East India
colonies belonging to Great Britain; and next the Chinese, the Malay,
the Creole (a production of the amalgamation of some one of these races
with the European); then, lastly, there were the French and English,
intermingled with people from every civilized country of the globe:
and hence it may well be imagined, from these incongruous features of
the populace, that the commingling of all their different languages
must produce a most Babel-like confusion. Then the donkeys, too, which
at all times of day are about the docks in great numbers, added their
harmonious voices to the confused din. At the moment of landing, I
was struck with the sparsity of the white population. It was only at
rare intervals, as I penetrated into the city, that an European face
could be seen; and I have walked for hours in utter ignorance of my
whereabouts; for, although I frequently inquired of whomsoever I met, I
was unable to find one who could speak English enough to direct me.

After a short walk through the macadamized streets, feeling that I was
utterly out of my element, (all sailors, who have been a long cruise at
sea, are poor walkers,) and inquiring for some time as to the direction
of Paul and Virginia’s grave, (the hero and heroine of the beautiful
French novel, which designates this island as Cypress,) we succeeded in
finding an English chaise-driver, who soon had us stowed away in his
vehicle, and bowling along over a good road into the country. Our ride
extended for seven miles, through a populous and fertile country: the
inhabitants being of the same class as in the city.

On arriving at our destination, we were sadly disappointed; as we had
formed the idea, that we should see a stately mausoleum erected over
the remains of two such renowned characters. A dilapidated sandstone
monument, enclosed by an iron railing, was, however, the only memorial
by which to distinguish their last resting-place. On this monument
there had once been a tablet, which either the ruthless hand of time,
or the eagerness and avidity of curiosity-hunters, had rendered
illegible. The latter class of persons, we were assured, had carried
the greater part of it away piecemeal, notwithstanding the notice,
printed in French and English, which forbids trespass.

Inquiring from our chaperon for the other “lions” of the port, we were
shown the Peter Boite Mountain, and were assured that a view from its
lofty summit was well worth the trouble of ascending; but, unaccustomed
as we were to the seething heat of the sun ashore, we were not at all
anxious to attempt such a task.

Close by the tomb there are beautiful botanical gardens, a visit to
which disclosed to us the beauties of tropical vegetation. Here the
pine-apple, bananas, clove, nutmeg, allspice, coffee, and other plants,
bloomed in luxurious profusion. There were, too, many of the products
of the temperate climes: presenting to an American’s eyes the aspect
of a great hot-house. The walks and drives through these splendidly
arranged grounds are of the most beautiful description.

Having satiated our appetites for seeing and tasting, we retraced our
way to the city; and I sat down in the coziest corner I could find, to
make some observations on the general aspect of the city, and character
of the inhabitants.

The part of the city adjoining the wharves is laid out with little
attention to regularity--the streets describing most tortuous courses.
At the outskirts the avenues are at right angles, and that part of the
city presents a better appearance. All the streets are macadamized; but
few of them are named, or rather they have no names at the corners to
direct the stranger. I remember seeing but a single signboard, and that
was in French, having on it Rue de Rivoli. On the other avenues the
signboards only displayed the number and the first and last letters of
the name.

The tenements and business-places are generally two stories in height,
and built of stone, bricks, or wood. On the wharves are iron-framed
warehouses, built in the most substantial manner, so as to withstand
the violence of the typhoon. They are not enclosed, but resemble our
market-sheds. The market-house, situated in the centre of the town, is
built in the same manner, and divided into four departments, one of
which is the meat-market, where I saw nothing but beef and fish exposed
for sale; the latter not of the description admitted to our tables,
as on the shambles of one victualler I saw two monstrous sharks, from
twelve to sixteen feet in length, which he was cutting up, and selling
to the dusky portion of the inhabitants. Another department is devoted
to the coffee venders, where any person can get a cup of excellent hot
coffee for a penny; and to judge from the number of their customers,
these petty merchants are driving a lucrative business. The third
department is occupied by the sellers of vegetables, birds, &c. The
fourth, known as the bazaar, is apportioned into stalls, each under the
supervision of a brown clerk, who uses his utmost endeavors to attract
customers. These stalls are furnished with fancy articles, perfumery,
cutlery, hosiery, cambrics, and a variety of Eastern articles quite
unknown on our shores. Each of the merchants is adorned by a streak
of India ink, running from the center of the scalp-lock to the bridge
of the nose, which is said to be a mark of distinguished caste--the
wearers of it being known as Parsees. They display considerable acumen
in conducting business, and offer inducements to purchasers scarcely
inferior to those presented by salesmen in our clothing establishments
on Market street. One miserable practice prevails, which is general
amongst all classes of merchants throughout the city; that is, the
abominable custom of asking three prices for an article, with the
expectation of being beat down to a reasonable one: doctors, lawyers,
merchants (wholesale and retail), druggists, and other dealers, all
persisting in it. I had occasion to go to a first-class drug-store
to purchase some articles for the ship’s medicine-chest. Here I
confidently expected to see a rational method of doing business; but,
to my utter surprise, I was asked twenty-one dollars for a package
that I could purchase at home for five. After considerable chaffering,
I succeeded in obtaining it for twelve dollars. Under this phase of
bargaining, it was a matter of time to make the most trifling purchase;
and, whenever at a loss for occupation, it was customary with us to
resort to the bazaar, and inquire for an article which they, from
their inadequate knowledge of English, could not comprehend, and then
watch their anxiety in displaying every article they had for sale, in
hopes of hitting upon the right one. No sooner had you been given up
in despair by the occupant of one stall than you were seized on by
his neighbor; and if, attracted by the quaintness of any particular
article, you should make a purchase, however small, your former
attendant would show his chagrin in a garrulous and amusing manner.

One day whilst thus perambulating in Yankee fashion, with our hands
deep in our pockets, as a protection from the wonderful sleight-of-hand
possessed by this people, one of these merchants, attracted by a
whalebone stick our steward carried, offered a pound sterling for it.
The steward agreed to take it, but then the native would not purchase,
without a bill and receipt. Being penman and amanuensis for all hands,
I was desired to make out the necessary document. After writing it, I
was requested by the steward to sign his name; but it was no go. The
native, albeit he could not read a single word of English, knew that
this was not the proper mode of doing business, and obliged the steward
to sign his name himself; when, after calling an English policeman, and
submitting it to his inspection, he was satisfied of its validity, and
paid down the dust.

The Governor’s House has no pretensions to beauty. It looks like an
old-fashioned farmer’s homestead, and no one would think it had a
claim to aristocracy, were it not for the presence of the red-coated
sentry, who continually paces in front of it. The only building which
I saw that presented any real pretension to beauty was a mosque, built
in the Egyptian style, with mimic towers. Strangers were not admitted
within it on the days when I was ashore; so I had to be satisfied with
a glance, that revealed to me the handsome decorations of a very small
part of it, and a massive chandelier, pendant from the dome which
formed the roof.

The Hospital is a large, commodious, well-ventilated building,
surrounded by verandas, healthily situated, and close by the water’s
side. It comprises three separate departments. One building is devoted
to the military, and is known as the Military Hospital. A second
building is known as the Civil Hospital, where the citizens are
admitted at a charge of a shilling, and seamen of other nations at two
shillings, per diem. The ground-floor of this building is set apart for
the use of the black Asiatic population--French, English, and American
negroes being admitted to the same apartment as the whites. At the time
we were there the dysentery was so prevalent amongst the Asiatics, that
it was found necessary to extend their apartments, and for this purpose
a part of the upper portion of the building was devoted to their use.

Having sent two of our men to this hospital for treatment for
stricture of the urethra, I visited it, and found it clean, orderly,
and well conducted. The resident and visiting physicians are all
Englishmen, and, from their mode of operation, I should judge them to
be scientific and skilful surgeons. The Malabars are attended to by
creole physicians, who have received thorough medical educations;
two-thirds of the patients were under treatment for dysentery, which,
from the symptoms and treatment, I am certain is nothing more nor less
than Asiatic cholera; the remaining varieties are mostly venereal
affections, which, in this hot climate, assume their most violent and
disgusting forms.

There are a number of Americans here; some resident ashore, and others
from the American vessels in the harbor; those from the vessels being
discharged sick on the consul’s hands, who provides for them at the
hospital until recovered; he then finds them ships and sends them to
the United States.

Neither of the men who were sent from our ship to the hospital
recovered so as to be able to go out with us. One of them, a New
Yorker, the former steward of the Europa, anticipates remaining on
the island some time; the other, John Cunningham, of New Bedford, one
of our original crew, is left in charge of the consul, to be sent
home as soon as the state of his health will permit. Our captain was
very desirous to take this young man home with him for the sake of
his widowed mother; but as the invalid objected to going before he
was perfectly recovered, and the doctor’s authority was paramount to
the captain’s, we were forced to leave him in a foreign land, in a
foreign hospital, amongst strangers, to look out for himself, with
the assistance of the consul: a fearful responsibility for a boy of
eighteen, unacquainted with the world.

There is also another institution for the reception and relief of
destitute seamen, known as the Sailor’s Home: its accommodations
are said to be excellent. At this house were part of the crew of
the whaleship Nauticon, of Nantucket, which ship was lost a few
months previous at, or near, the Seychelle Islands. All seamen’s
boarding-houses in Port Louis are bound by law to afford a seaman two
weeks’ board, at the expiration of which time they can expel him from
the house, if they feel so inclined; but it generally happens that they
ship before the fortnight expires, and pay their board with part of the
advance money they receive from their new employers. The usual charge
for board is a guinea a week.

Connected with the Home is a floating bethel, moored close by the
landing stair.

Another feature of the city is the park. Some of our boys from the
rural districts having visited it, and found several fountains on
its grounds, gave so animated a description of its beauties as made
me eager to visit it. I went, saw, and was neither overwhelmed by
astonishment nor pleasure; the walks were well enough, so were the
fountains, but the trees appeared uncared for; and the grass, what
little there was, was parched by the heat of the sun to a straw color.
This park was about two hundred feet in width, and several hundred
yards in length. The peculiar attraction of this place is that it is
the resort of the children of the European residents, and from their
presence one argues the existence of white women in the neighborhood;
but where they seclude themselves I cannot perceive, for if the very
small number of white ladies whom I saw in Mauritius were the maternal
relatives of all the children I saw in the park, verily the climate of
Port Louis must conduce greatly to the fecundity of our race.

Occasionally, in the park, may be seen a Miss who has discarded
pantalettes, and, when seen, her rosy cheeks and white transparent
skin contrast so favorably with the universal yellow and brown hues
of the East Indian dames, that one could almost and without any great
expansion of the imagination, think her an angel from the ethereal
regions sent to illuminate the dusky scene.

A few miles from the landing is a cemetery, which I visited. The road
to it embraces a beautiful walk or drive through a long shaded avenue
formed by rows of cypress trees; the cemetery is laid out in the
form of a square, and is well filled with monuments, the styles and
workmanship of which would do no discredit to Laurel Hill or Greenwood.
Most of them bore inscriptions in French, several were devoted to the
last remains of English naval commanders who had died whilst on this
station. Over the remains of one of these, a comparatively young man,
was erected the base of a column, a few feet above which the column
was fractured, signifying that the deceased was cut down by the fell
destroyer in the spring tide of life, and ere he had arrived at the
goal to which his talents would have conducted him.

One beautiful tribute to the memory of the departed prevails--on each
tomb is a vase containing flowers, which, from their fragrance and
freshness, were apparently renewed by no niggard hand. This beautiful
custom reminded me of the oft-repeated wish of the old man in the best
of Dickens’ Christmas Stories, “Lord, keep my memory green.” On my way
back from the cemetery, I came in contact with a crowd of Malabars,
whom an old woman was haranguing from a rostrum consisting of a large
stone, in the most approved manner of stump speaking. She was in a
state of semi-intoxication, yet her auditory yielded her implicit
attention. Not understanding a single word that she uttered, and being
unable to obtain an explanation of the scene, I was on the point of
withdrawing, when her change of manner, from a state of ecstacy to
that of frantic despair, led me to approach the house to which she
was continually pointing during her oratorical effort. In the house I
saw a rude pine coffin, around which the relatives and friends were
collected, all half-drunk and pugilistically inclined, arguing some
point with much vehemence. Disgusted with the affair I withdrew,
thinking I had witnessed as serio-comic a scene as the wake of Teddy
the Tiler.

In my walk up to the residence of the American consul, I saw the
barracks of the soldiery, and heard the performance of their excellent
brass band. The consul’s residence is about a mile and a half from the
landing. It, with the other buildings in its neighborhood, are built in
cottage style, and present the best appearance of any in the port. The
consul is a New Yorker named Fairfield.

The few white inhabitants engaged in business are mostly in the
wholesale branches of trade; the other positions which the whites
fill are the police bodies, and the plying of boats to and from the
wharves and shipping. This police body is the richest farce, in regard
to the preservation of law and order, that ever was endorsed by the
city fathers of any municipality under the sun. The force consists
of two bodies--the Government and municipal police--the former body,
or at least that part of it on duty in Port Louis, contains three
hundred men, two-thirds of them being whites; this proportion is made
up entirely of seamen, French, English, American, and German--the
Government, eager to have a white police force, accepts all who offer
to enlist for a term of from one to three years, providing they possess
a certified discharge from the vessels in which they have last served.

It may be better imagined than described how a body of men, composed
of such reckless material, would conduct themselves; they create more
disturbance by far than those under their surveillance; and it is not
unusual for them, at the close of the month, to be mulcted in the
greater part of their wages--retained by the authorities as fines for
disorderly conduct.

They receive four pounds sterling per month, and live in barracks
resembling those of the soldiery; those who are married are allowed
to live where they please. Their uniform is duck trowsers, a jacket
of blue cloth reaching to the hips, and closing tightly with brass
buttons, each displaying the crown, and a blue cap, the top of which
is of white glazed oil skin--this cap is also surmounted with a crown;
in the hand, day and night, is carried a baton, beautifully ornamented
with Chinese characters.

We were much surprised to find in the police force a number of
Americans who had deserted from whalers, and whom we had seen before in
the eastern ports of the Indian Ocean; amongst these were several of
the Elisha Dunbar’s crew. One of them, a Bostonian, had been promoted
to be sergeant, and was living with a great, greasy, disgusting-looking
squaw, as black as the ace of spades, thereby carrying out the doctrine
of amalgamation to its fullest extent.

None of the members of either of these bodies are allowed to go beyond
the precincts of the city without a pass--the authorities being
extremely fearful of desertion; and with reason, too, as, although
these men are induced to enter by the prospect of easy times, (and they
are easy, indeed, duty only being required of them for four hours out
of the twenty-four, after which time they are at liberty to dress and
act as citizens, only they are not permitted to engage in any other
business,) yet their very inactivity disgusts them with their billets.
Men, like sailors, who have been accustomed to a stirring, active
life, ever on the alert to anticipate the storm king’s movements,
cannot at once divest themselves of their sea-going habits; hence their
uneasiness and determination to desert. When we left Mauritius, two of
them, who had been part of the force for several months, were snugly
stowed away aboard our ship, preferring life in a whaler’s forecastle,
to ease and comfort ashore.

The boatmen comprise two distinct classes: the white and the native.
The whites are generally seamen, and in this avocation I saw manual
labor performed by them only. The principal and most business-like of
these aquatic carriers was a man who had fled the city of New Bedford
for no less a crime than manslaughter, and thereby escaped punishment
by the laws of his country; but being now doomed to perpetual exile
from home and kindred, he could feelingly say, “Verily, the way of the
transgressor is hard!”

And now that we have pretty thoroughly analyzed the city and its
suburbs, it is quite time that we should speak of the tawny inhabitants
of Port Louis. Having mentioned the whites, we will first glance at
those who most nearly resemble them in color and form: the Arabs--a
fine-looking, large and symmetrically built race of men, who wear
the turban, a white robe, and sandals, of the same form as did their
ancestors in time immemorial. They are a very intelligent-looking
people, with perfectly regular features, grave in deportment,
respected, and reputed wealthy. Most of them are merchants.

The next class we will notice is, the Chinese. These, without being in
great numbers, wield considerable influence. Their strict attention
to business, and speedy method of amassing money, by sobriety and
regularity in living, soon render them independent through their
own exertions. They are mostly engaged in the grocery and dry-goods
businesses. They adhere to their native costume, sporting their
pigtails, wide trowsers, conical hats, and satin slippers, alongside
the turban and sandals of the Arab.

Next comes the Malay, with his dusky features. They are few in number,
and partake in some degree of the peculiarities of both the former
nations. Like the Arabs, they are strict Mahometans, turning their
faces towards Mecca whilst at their devotions. These people are
employed both in humble avocations and in the higher walks of life.

Next, we notice the people known as Malabars. Under this patronymic,
not only the natives of the Malabar coast, but those from the shores of
the Bay of Bengal, are known; and consequently, coming from so extended
a line of country, there is a vast difference in their appearance:
those from one part of the country being small in person, with scarcely
any muscular strength; whilst those from the Ghaut mountains are a
tall, muscular race, capable, for Asiatics, of great bodily exertion.
All are subdued, and appeared to me as the most abject of any servile
people. They are, emphatically, “hewers of wood and drawers of
water.” Few of them are employed in trade, except as segar makers and
sellers. All the manual labor peculiar to shipping is performed by
them--caulking, loading, and discharging; and the way they work is a
source of pain to an enterprising spirit. For instance, four or six of
them will arrange themselves around a bag of guano, or other package of
merchandise, and at a signal from their overseer (who wields a bamboo,
with which he very often administers hearty thwacks on the heads of
his employees; and, as they are closely shaven, their crowns possess
no protection from the blows), commence a monotonous melody, which
they continue for several minutes, before touching the bag; then, as
many seizing it as can get hold, they swing it on the cart or scales
arranged for its reception: during which operation they consume more
time in handling one bag than one-third their number of our men would
do in disposing of a dozen bags on the wharves at home.

Besides this, they are the barbers, coopers, and stone-cutters of
the port. I saw boys, of ten years and upwards, and possessing the
most effeminate bodies, with mallet and chisel, working away at the
last-named business like good fellows.

In coopering they pursue a novel mode of operation: one getting on top
of the cask and holding the driver on the hoops, whilst the other uses
the hammer. This is done, of course, after the head has been adjusted;
previously to which the helper stands in the center, and arranges the
staves.

Barberizing, from the universal practice of shaving the head, seems
to be a thriving trade. The person undergoing the operation squats
cross-legged, whilst the barber works around him, removing his hair in
a very short time. I think this a most excellent custom in this hot
climate, so conducive to the fostering and increase of vermin.

From this class servants are selected, who perform all the various
functions of waiters, footmen, runners, &c. There are few women and
children imported, in comparison with the number of adult males:
possibly, owing to the greater usefulness of the latter. Their costume
varies--some wearing the turban; but generally a plush cap is worn,
ornamented with gilded or silvered braid, arranged in fanciful forms.
All wear the breech-cloth--the upper and lower portions of the body
remaining bare. They live any and every where--the ground-floors of
the dwellings throughout the city being crowded with them; and ten or
a dozen will occupy one apartment, with scarcely moving or breathing
room--sleeping on the bosom of mother earth, and covered only with
their breech-cloth, which is of the lightest texture. They receive
very trifling wages; but as they live principally upon rice and curry,
which cost scarcely anything, they are able in the course of their
apprenticeship to save what is, to them, a considerable sum of money.

These people are anything but temperate as regards the consumption
of ardent spirits; but I never saw one of them display the slightest
approach to intoxication. Their favorite beverage is the fiery arrack,
(distilled from rice,) which they buy for a trifle, and consume in
large quantities.

And now we come to the most influential, wealthy, and thrifty people
in the port. I refer to the Creoles, the issue of a union of some one
of the white races with the East Indian. They are mostly French, and
nine-tenths of the mercantile business is conducted by them. Their
distinguishing traits are--industry, neatness, and exact business
qualifications. They are also enterprising, and possess all the
politeness and suavity of Monsieur himself. It is not at all unusual,
on going into their business-places, to be waited upon by a bevy of
saffron-colored clerks, whilst at one side sits the maternal relative,
dressed in the handsomest manner, but with a skin as black as ebony.
The Creoles treat these relatives, notwithstanding the difference of
color, with a degree of filial affection pleasing to witness.

These Creoles, on account of their wealth, and character as substantial
men and good citizens, are much respected, even more so than the
white residents, and are freely admitted to all the privileges and
immunities possessed by the latter.

In speaking of the Malabars, I omitted to describe a funeral procession
in which they were the participants. The corpse was borne in a coffin,
on a hurdle, supported on the shoulders of six men. Preceding the
coffin was a musician with a horn in the shape of the letter S, from
which the operator produced more noise than music; next came two
drummers with their instruments, and then two tambourine players--all
uniting in making as much din as possible. Those in the procession
not engaged in discoursing the melody, were dancing and shouting.
This manner of testifying grief seemed rather odd, and diametrically
opposite to all my preconceived notions of these people, as I had
judged them to be incapable of any joyous demonstration; but it seems
they can act a farce, although they choose a rather sombre occasion to
indulge it. I have not, however, done with the funeral, not having as
yet mentioned its most peculiar feature. Over the coffin was erected a
bower of twigs and green plants, intended to represent, as nearly as
possible, a temple. I followed the procession to the cemetery, which
is an unenclosed piece of ground, situated just outside the European
cemetery, and unmarked by a single headstone. Just previous to arriving
at the cemetery, the policemen, who accompany all such funerals,
obliged them to desist from their merry-making. At the grave, which was
not more than four feet in depth, the bower was opened, and a young
chicken taken from it, which a near relative placed in his bosom very
carefully. This form, I suppose, has something to do with the doctrine
of the transmigration of souls--these foolish people imagining that
the spirit of the deceased is obliged, after death, to take refuge in
the body of some animal; and the chicken is carried thus, so that the
spirit of the defunct may easily find a tenement. All this seems to us
supremely ridiculous; but, on the other hand, these people are just as
much amused at our forms of worship as we are at the unreasonableness
of theirs--education and the early instillation of traditionary or
other precepts, making a believer of any race in the doctrine of their
forefathers.

And now the question arises, how these Malabar and Madagascar natives
came here in such numbers. Fortunately, it is very easily solved. Their
presence is the natural fruit of the French and English apprentice
system--a mode of procedure as much blacker and more disgraceful to
the nation engaged in it, than the slavery of our Southern States,
inherited from these same nations, as the pirate’s bloody pursuit is
to that of the legitimate merchantman. I will merely state the manner
in which these people are _purchased_. An English, or French vessel,
runs into some out of the way port in Madagascar, lets go her anchor,
invites the king aboard, makes him presents of articles trifling in
value to us, but in the eyes of the savage of intrinsic worth. After
flattering his vanity and cupidity they broach their object in visiting
the coast. The king, nothing loath, invites the supercargo ashore,
and shows him the flesh and blood he has for sale. The merchant in
human slavery carries ashore old condemned muskets, kegs of powder,
jack-knives, hoop iron, trinkets, beads, and calico (these being the
articles most sought after by them). He then selects the most fitting
objects for his purposes, and, after considerable chaffering on both
sides, the purchases are taken aboard ship to be conveyed to a foreign
country, ostensibly for a term of years, but really for as long as
their owners choose to detain them. At the same time the purchasers do
not know whether they are prisoners of war or the king’s own flesh and
blood; neither do they care, their object being to gain money by making
merchandize of a free people. The governor of Mauritius receiving so
much per head, as a perquisite, for each one that is imported into the
colony, holds out every inducement for their introduction into the
island; and I should judge, from the crowded state of the ships that
arrived with them as cargoes, that the trade was most thriving. In
fact, at the time we lay here, this was the only freight procurable,
shipmasters complaining that they could not find employment for their
vessels; some of them having laid here for months without being able to
engage a freight. I should think that at least two thousand of these
pseudo apprentices arrived whilst we were here; they embraced for
the most part the natives of the Malabar coast, and of the Island of
Madagascar. I omitted, in my description of the latter, to remark upon
their fondness for ornament; scarce one of them can be seen, male or
female, young or old, whose arms or ankles are not covered with silver
wristlets and anklets; those whose finances will not admit of their
wearing: the precious metals for ornamental purposes, use those made
of clay, neatly ornamented and gilded. Many of the women wear jewels,
which, by some contraction of the skin of the forehead are so arranged
as to always remain there. They are worn in its center, directly over
the bridge of the noise; they are diamond- or lozenge-shaped, and, for
the most part, of an emerald green.

One day, whilst strolling up an avenue contiguous to the wharf, I
was attracted by a crowd assembled around a walled enclosure; taking
the privilege of my nation (curiosity), I elbowed my way through the
mixed assemblage, and saw (“tell it not in Askalon, publish it not in
Gath,”) two English auctioneers, in a country under England’s control,
and governed by England’s laws, mounted on their rostrums, selling
what they call in the British Isles, their fellow-men, co-equal in all
respects to themselves. To say that I was surprised would convey but
a faint idea of my feelings--I was really astounded. After recovering
somewhat from my astonishment, I was so thoroughly convinced of the
ridiculousness of England’s so often vaunted philanthropy, that, had
I been in a proper place, I could have indulged in a hearty burst
of laughter. As it was, I could not, without an effort, control my
risibilities. This feeling soon gave way to that of indignation at the
recreant sons and daughters of our own soil, who disgrace our country,
after having been nursed and rocked in the cradle of liberty--as soon
as they are out of their swaddling clothes, turning upon and stinging
their nurse, and for the sake of political or monetary personal
aggrandizement, publishing wishy-washy novels containing such perverted
descriptions of our Southern slavery system, as to induce foreigners to
think our boast of liberty and a free government is but a farce. Such
persons do not merit being dignified by the notice of honest men, which
they court; and, whether it be in the form of a favorable mention or
a criticism, is all one to them, so long as it gives them publicity.
As they cater for the morbid literary appetites of the sycophantic
courtiers of the Old World, who are only too eager to pick holes in our
beautiful and, to them, unattainable system of government, a notice, to
these horror fabricators, answers all the purposes of an advertisement;
so I shall bid them farewell, only exhorting Americans to cry shame on
such scorpions.

To return to the slave-mart. As I before said, there were two rostrums
erected, on each of which an auctioneer was busily employed crying the
merits of the merchandise, and eagerly soliciting a bid; both were
crying the same article--the second repeating, word for word, all that
his superior said in regard to the price and quality of the article put
up.

The slaves were gathered and arranged in groups close by the rostrums.
Neither sex had any other covering than the breech-cloth, so as to
display the muscular system to the utmost advantage. The purchasers,
who for the most part are French planters, walk in amongst them,
examine their muscles, teeth, and joints, make them leap to show their
activity, and in every way that their experience suggests satisfy
themselves with respect to the availability of the slave. Their almost
nude condition displays to advantage their erect and symmetrical forms,
and in the women particularly, those points for which the females of
the East are so justly celebrated.

The only saving clause in the whole transaction was, that, in case any
of the slaves had a family, the purchaser was compelled to buy them all
together, or not at all.

Instead of having the gloomy faces and downcast mien that one would
naturally expect to see in rational beings under such somber auspices,
these people, with the thoughtlessness, or recklessness, of their race,
were laughing and joking apparently with heartfelt glee. The younger
portion engaged meanwhile in little love-passages; and I was struck by
the coquettish archness with which the young women naively avoided the
too pressing advances of their admirers, by gracefully shaking their
beautifully-formed heads, adorned with the glossiest of ebon hair, and
at the same time accompanying it with the most roguish expression from
their deep black eyes, while merrily laughing and displaying their
pearly teeth. At such times, and on such occasions, the beholder,
albeit he may belong to a superior race, is apt to forget his
prejudices, and think that the poor slave before him is susceptible of
truly loving, and of being loved, as well as the fair representatives
of his own race.

After purchasing as many as he wants, the planter arranges his slaves
in Indian file, proceeds to the warehouses where he purchases his
supplies, and each member of the file poises some article or other on
his or her head; and thus they march to the plantation, where they are
to remain until the expiration of their servitude--never coming to the
town, unless accompanying their owner.

These people are very expert in carrying burdens on their heads, and
in this way we may account for their erect carriage. At any minute in
the day women and children may be seen carrying earthen jars containing
molasses or oil, threading the crowded thoroughfares, and bringing
their loads safe to their destination--a feat not to be accomplished by
those unaccustomed to the practice.

On the principle that sparing the rod spoils the child, (for these
people are viewed only as children,) their owners are not at all
reserved in the use of this instrument of chastisement; and along
with the gangs at labor may the overseer be seen applying it without
remorse. As the blow generally falls on the skull, I can see little
reason for a preference of this to the method of punishment by lashes
on the back in vogue in our Southern States. This, however, is not
their only way of punishment. I saw several instances of gross personal
abuse. In one case I saw the slave thrown down, and dragged by the
waistband over the sharp points of the macadamized street, with nothing
to protect his buttocks from laceration except several thicknesses of
calico. The poor fellow, apparently aware of its uselessness, made no
complaint. This occurred, not in an obscure place--not in the purlieus
of the town, but in a public street, where people were constantly
passing, and who, if any feeling at all were expressed by them, only
laughed at the ludicrousness of the scene. A police-officer stood
looking on apathetically, as though the whole affair were a matter of
course.

Impelled with a desire to know what Englishmen thought of the
apprentice-system, I put the question to every intelligent one that
I could get at. In nine cases out of ten my auditor would waive the
question by starting some other subject of conversation; but by the
employment of a little finesse I generally managed to corner him,
when, upon argument and hearing explanations of our system, he would
confess that there was but a shade of difference between the two.
One candid specimen of the John Bull character, whom I accidentally
formed an acquaintance with, (and one, too, who had made the tour
of our Southern States from Delaware to Texas--a man of strong mind
and superior intelligence, and from the knowledge he possessed of
the subject, also a man of observation,) stated that our slaves were
better housed than the apprentices under the control of magnanimous and
philanthropic Britain! Verily, England should look at home; and, if she
can, apologize, and legislate for her factory-system, which heretofore
has been the set-off advanced by Americans to her abuse of our
slavery-system. Here is the same system, with such a close affinity to
ours, that she cannot apologize for or mitigate it, without rendering
us justice, and thereby exposing her previous hypocrisy and selfishness.

Strange--strange, very strange--it is, that the philanthropists of
the United Kingdom have never taken cognizance of these facts. What a
splendid theater Mauritius presents for the Address drawn up by the
Ladies of Great Britain and sent to the Ladies of the United States,
(which, however, to the honor of our countrywomen be it said, was
contemptuously rejected,) and signed by I do not remember how many
thousands of the mothers, daughters, and wives of Merry England and
her dependencies; which ladies, in a body, had the most disinterested
wish for the amelioration of the condition of the black races held in
thraldom by their white cotempories, (or, to use the words of Lucy
Stone, they had “a fellow-feeling in their bosoms for the oppressed of
all nations,” though whether the “fellow” ever found these martyrs I
do not know). Here, I repeat, is an excellent field for their Address;
though, as to whether it will meet with the same contumelious reception
as it did in the “land of the free,” or meet with a reception adequate
to its fitness for the city of Port Louis, a trial only can determine.
Perhaps the editor of the Thunderer could bring the feasibility of such
a proceeding to the notice of those fair reformers through the columns
of his widely-circulated journal.

In writing the above description of the apprentice-system, I have not
only embodied my own, but the collective convictions of the whole crew
of the vessel; and, as two-thirds of them were from Massachusetts,
their opinions, if not my own, are worthy of belief: beside, there
was no Southerner aboard, to convert us to Southern opinions--not one
of us having been reared to the southward of Mason and Dixon’s line;
so that no personal interest or feeling sways our description of this
evil. Hence I think that our observations are entitled to the regard of
those who laud the freedom, philanthropy, and disinterestedness of the
government of the British Islands at the expense of our own; and if I
can enable but one of them to see and confess the error of his or her
ways, I shall consider my labor well repaid. And here I now leave this
subject.

I cannot imagine why whalers visit this port in preference to others
where they could be much better supplied. To be sure the American
consul is resident, and through him they can draw money to the
extent of their necessities; but, on the other hand, provisions are
excessively dear, and so are all other supplies needful for shipping.
Two articles are cheap--liquors and segars; the latter being made from
tobacco grown on the island. Instead of being filled, as with us, and
enclosed in a wrapper, the natives make them entirely of wrappers. They
are very mild, and can be purchased for a song; everybody smokes them
and the consumption must be immense. The plug tobacco is of American
manufacture, and, from the duty imposed upon it by the government,
commands a high price.

Notwithstanding the cheapness of liquors, there is but very little
intoxication to be seen amongst the community, although all seem to
indulge, more or less, in its use. The favorite drinks are the lighter
wines, such as the claret and Vermouth; these are pleasant, but are
detrimental to a healthy condition of the bowels, and, therefore,
excessive indulgence in them in this climate is purchased at a dear
rate.

There is no scarcity of money, most of the exchanges being made in
the metallic currency of Great Britain, and as our Scrimshawing, or
to use a less outlandish term, our different manufactures from the
bone and ivory procured from the whale, were to these people great
curiosities, they commanded good prices. It was not unusual to get from
twenty to thirty shillings for a bone cane; and jagged knives, used
by the pastry cook for filagreeing the edges of his pies and tarts,
were eagerly bought up at a pound the pair. Consequently, all our
boys who possessed numbers of these articles were well supplied with
the rhino. The reason these articles are so eagerly sought for in this
port, is that no whalers are fitted out or belong here; neither is
there any market for the sale of whale oil--the inhabitants universally
burning the oil expressed from the cocoa-nut; and as the cocoa tree is
indigenous to the island, and grows in great profusion, it is readily
obtainable at a low rate. The captain of the Nauticon, who lost his
ship among the Seychelle Islands, is here, and has been importuned over
and over again by the merchants of the port, to return to the United
States, build and fit a vessel with all necessary accouterments, and
bring her here to sail as a colonial whaler belonging to Port Louis.
The future must decide as to whether he coincides with them so far as
to act out their wishes; but it is easily seen that such a proceeding
must necessarily be remunerative, as no sooner has a whaler left the
port than she is on the very best sperm whaling-ground in the Indian
Ocean, and the prevalence of the trade-winds and general good weather
for nine months of the year, render it an eligible cruising ground.

There is an excessive jealousy existing between the French and English
residents--the French considering themselves as the rightful owners of
the soil, lords to the manor born; whilst the English plume themselves
upon the conquest of the island, and consider possession nine points
of the law. Little intercourse, apart from their business relations,
exists between the two nations, and the same feeling prevails, not
only among the residents, but among the sailors of ships belonging to
the two countries. Sunday night, generally, is the occasion of broils
between them, and these, the police informed me, were the most serious
disturbances they had to contend with.

The German sailors were the merriest of any nation whom I saw on
liberty--gathering in little knots, and singing the songs of their
fatherland with the utmost good-fellowship, and not without melody.
They were very exclusive in their associations, and mixed with none but
their own circle of shipmates.

The markets of Mauritius were filled with fruit of the various kinds
to be found in tropical climates--the pine-apple, cocoa-nut, banana,
oranges, lemons, and limes, all being found here in abundance. The
favorite condiment of the blacks is the sugar-cane, which they suck
in pieces as long as themselves; and two youngsters may be seen,
each supporting and sucking away at either end of a piece of green
sugar-cane a fathom in length.

This city differs very much from Hobartown in two of its striking
features. In the latter city, at every corner is to be seen a
mendicant; in Port Louis I did not see a single person soliciting
charity. The other feature that I refer to is the absence of all
itinerant hawkers, except the cake venders, who are the only class of
petty tradesmen who make a depot of the streets for the sale of their
goods; whilst in the capital of Van Diemen’s Land, as I have remarked
elsewhere in my notice on it, at every step one is beset by these
pertinacious leeches, anxious to make a sale.

But in another point there is a perfect resemblance between both
cities--that is the presence of a regiment of British infantry; a
provision that Great Britain never neglects in any of her colonies,
governing her subjects by appealing to their fears of the bayonet,
wielded by a hireling and remorseless soldiery. This regiment is about
leaving its station here for the seat of war in India. I conversed
freely with several of its members, and although they displayed no
symptoms of fear at the prospect of being engaged with an enemy, still
there was a total lack of enthusiasm or patriotism. From the atrocities
so glaringly held before the public by the English journals, as
committed by the Sikhs on British residents in India, I had expected to
find an eagerness on the part of the gentlemen with the red coats, to
avenge their countrymen and countrywomen so barbarously maltreated; but
so wags the world, one half caring not or feeling not for the miseries
or misfortunes of the other half.

How I shall change the subject from a consideration of the biped
portion of the population to an analysis of the condition and quality
of the quadrupeds. On account of the trouble and expense attending
the procreation of the horse, he is here quite a dignified animal,
and is only used by the aristocratic portion of the population for
the lightest draughting. His high price, too, ensures his careful
treatment; and all who can afford to keep a carriage, whose business
requires its use all day, change the animal and put a fresh one in the
traces at noon. The reason why the horse commands so high a price here
is, that the Government interdicts the introduction of mares into the
island; whether the climate is prejudicial to the breed of the animal,
or Great Britain, in her forethought, vetoes their importation, for the
purpose of securing a market for the surplus stock of her Australian
colonies, is a point which, in the absence of any authority, I am
unable to decide.

The vehicles are of English construction, and are moderately light;
the rattan body, which is so conducive to ventilation and comfort in
warm weather, being in general use. Their harness, too, is of European
manufacture--made light, to conform with the oppressiveness of the
climate.

And now that we have pretty thoroughly reviewed the town and its
purlieus, we will return to our proper element, and give an account of
what transpired in the harbor during our stay. First we will notice
the whaling barque, Belle of Warren, which came in to post letters;
of the boat’s crew who went ashore for this purpose, one did not
return, having taken leg bail for security. I saw him ashore several
times afterward, and he was wandering about without a discharge and
without a home, looking destitute and woebegone. The Belle remained
but a few days; meantime the whaleship Martha made her appearance, for
the purpose of landing her third mate, who goes to the hospital to be
treated for a pulmonary affection. The Martha reports that the portion
of the whaling fleet which went to the northward humpbacking, were as
unsuccessful as ourselves; seeing nothing, and, consequently, doing
nothing. This goes to strengthen our theory of the absence of whale
feed on the coast during the preceding season. The Martha made as short
a stay as the Belle--both vessels having, like us, seen sperm whales
near the Island of Rodrique, and both intending to return there. Hence
their haste to leave port.

The next whaler that made her appearance was the barque Columbus,
of New Bedford: she, like the Martha, had accomplished nothing
humpbacking, but on her passage from New Holland to this port,
had captured three hundred and fifty barrels of sperm oil, in the
vicinity of the Island of Rodrique. Like us, the Columbus came in for
provisions, and to give her crew liberty. Her crew comprised, for the
most part, men who had been shipped in Hobartown; and they had scarcely
set foot ashore when they were squabbling.

Soon after the Columbus’s arrival, the barque Mechanic, of Newport,
came in. She was seventeen days from Angiers, and, although there was
no sickness on board, was compelled, by a law of the port, to go into
quarantine until the expiration of twenty-one days from the time of her
leaving Angiers, that being the time set by the law. After performing
the quarantine she was hauled into the inner harbor to undergo repairs.

And now, for the time being, we have done with American whalers, and
come to one sailing under the flag of England--the brig Elizabeth
and Jane, of Hobartown. She was fitted out as a tender for some
larger vessel, and sent to Desolation for the capture of whales,
sea-elephants, and seals, indiscriminately; she had a Yankee mate, and
was intended by the Hobartown merchants to be the pioneer of a fleet to
compete with the Yankees in the procuring of oil, which trade has, for
many years, been a prolific source of wealth to those engaged in it;
the bleak shores of Kerguleus land being a favorite resort for those
creatures so eagerly sought for by the whaleman. Scarcely had the brig
arrived at the scene of her anticipated operations before she commenced
leaking so badly, that the crew were kept continually pumping, day and
night; necessitating her being carried into port, and either being
thoroughly repaired or condemned as unseaworthy. On bringing her into
Mauritius, the captain preferred a complaint to the authorities against
his men, charging them with mutiny and threatening his life. Before
the authorities had time to act upon his information, about one half
of the crew took one of the boats, went ashore, and got drunk. A fight
followed as a matter of course, and in this condition they were easily
captured by the police. Those who were left aboard were brought ashore
in irons; but they did not seem to mind the manacles, all of them being
convicts, who, no doubt, had been accustomed to such bracelets before.
After landing, they were conveyed to the jail, where their companions
were already lodged. The following morning they were brought before
the magistrate, who, after hearing both sides of the case, dismissed
the charge as unfounded and frivolous, at the same time adding some
wholesome advice to the master of the vessel for the future government
of those under his command. A few days after the brig was condemned as
unseaworthy.

We will now return to our own vessel and crew. As I stated in the
former part of my journal, we shipped Irishmen in Hobartown, and
Englishmen in Vasse. During the time they have been aboard we have
been thoroughly convinced of their utter uselessness--their indolence
preventing their acquiring sufficient insight into a seaman’s duties
to render them a useful part of the ship’s company; and our captain
was anxious to get rid of them. On the first liberty-day, two, whom we
shipped at Vasse, overstaid their liberty, and were informed by the
captain that he would not receive them aboard again. On the same day,
one, whom we shipped in Hobartown, was discharged for inability to do
duty. W. B. Wood, whom we brought from New Bedford, was also discharged
sick. Joseph A. Lewis and John Cunningham, discharged sick, and sent to
the hospital. Wood and Cunningham were both of our original crew; the
remaining one, whom we shipped at Vasse, deserted. A seaman, shipped in
Hobartown, was discharged with the consent of the contracting parties;
one, shipped in Vasse, in January, 1857, and who, during the time he
has been aboard, has been acting as fourth mate, was discharged with
his own consent; and one, whom we got in Hobartown, is in jail--so that
we are ten less in number than when we dropped anchor on the day of our
entering the harbor. In their places we have shipped five men, all of
whom are Americans, and have been whaling before. I said that we had
shipped five, but two of the five came aboard without any agreement
with the captain. These two were policemen, who had become disgusted
with wearing her majesty’s button, and on their hinting their wish to
get afloat again, our boys readily offered to assist them. Besides
these, we shipped a lad of fifteen as steerage-boy.

Although we had thus replaced the ten with but five men, we found, as
soon as we got into blue water, that we had a much more effective crew
than we had had at any time during the preceding sixteen months. The
ten discharged and deserted comprised all the useless material in the
ship--the foreign portion of them, in fact, being worse than useless;
for, together with their incapacity, they had a propensity to growl,
and made both themselves and those with whom they were associated
uncomfortable. Their thievishness, too, had still adhered to them,
notwithstanding their penal servitude. One of them, we discovered after
leaving port, had on his dismissal carried away with him a considerable
portion of the cooper’s tools. This was Leonard, professedly a cooper
by trade.




CHAPTER XIII.


At two o’clock in the afternoon of October 11th we weighed our anchor,
and, with a fair wind, stood out to sea. Twenty-four hours afterwards
we sighted a school of sperm whales, consisting of cows and calves.
After some little manœuvering, we lowered away all four boats; but the
whales going to windward, the captain and mate, after an hour’s chase,
deemed farther pursuit useless, and returned aboard. The other boats,
however, continued the chase; and at about 5 P. M. the third mate’s
boatsteerer fastened, killing the whale with his irons. Whilst hauling
up to him, the line became entangled in the jaws of another whale,
and was severed. The third mate then lanced and killed three more;
but night coming on, and the weather becoming rugged, he was unable
to save any of them, and obliged to return to the ship empty-handed.
The mate, in the interim, had fastened to a cow, and killed her and
her calf, both of which were saved; but it was midnight before we had
them secured alongside. These two were the most diminutive whales it
has been our fortune to capture. The cow, which was the first female
of the species we have had alongside, was about thirty-five feet in
length, and of much inferior bulk to the male. Her skin was smoother,
glossier, and of a deeper color; and, taken altogether, she was a much
handsomer fish than the bull sperm-whale. The calf was about fifteen
feet long--lacking none of the peculiarities of the older fish, except
the teeth, which as yet were not cut; but on getting the jaw on deck we
penetrated the gum, and found perfectly-shaped teeth, about an inch and
a half in length. The following day we cut them in, and tried them out.
They yielded, altogether, a trifle over twenty barrels of oil.

After taking these whales, we ran several degrees to the eastward, and
spent a week in cruising, during which we saw whales three times--in
each case going to windward eyes out, without giving us the shadow of
a chance to lower for them. We retraced our course, and on the 23d
passed Mauritius. The following day we coasted along the Isle Reunion,
or Bourbon--an island under the dominion of France, and so beautifully
fertile as to be called the Garden of the Indian Ocean. From hence the
Mauritians obtain most of their agricultural supplies, and quite a
fleet of coasting vessels is employed in the carrying trade between the
two islands. Some idea may be formed of the amount of this trade when I
quote the remark of one of the citizens of Port Louis, that, “were it
not for the productions of Bourbon, all the inhabitants of Port Louis
would starve to death.” All the tillage and other laborious work on
this island is performed by the natives of Madagascar, introduced here
by the French, under the same apprentice-system as that practised by
Great Britain.

The island, like Mauritius, is composed principally of very high land,
some points being elevated many thousand feet above the level of the
sea. A volcano, for the name of which I am at a loss, towers far above
all. It being a moonlight night when we passed, we saw but little of
its eruption, which is continual--lighting up the surface of the ocean
for miles. This island has since been made the French Naval Depot for
the Indian Ocean.

There is no good harbor on this island, which, together with the fact
of there being no resident American consul, is the reason for the
rarity of whaleships visiting it.

The three islands, Bourbon, Mauritius, and Rodrique, were first taken
possession of by the French, and for many years were known as the
French East India Islands. During the wars between France and Great
Britain, Mauritius was the naval depot for the former power, from
which her cruisers were fitted out for the annoyance of the East
India commerce of the enemy; but during the time of Napoleon, (when
England’s operations were restricted to the ocean,) as an offset to the
conqueror’s successes on land, the wooden walls of Old England were
busily employed in making captures of the various colonial possessions
of France, both in the East and West Indies. Many of these, subsequent
to the negotiations for peace, were restored. But Mauritius was too
important a place to let slip, after being once occupied; wherefore a
British regiment became part of its population, and the meteor-flag
of England waved over its battlements. This group is often called the
Mascarenha Isles.

On Sunday (October the 31st) we spoke the ship Brewster, of
Mattapoissett. A few days before, she had a man killed by a sperm
whale: the officer in command of the boat having been foolhardy enough
to run on the fish whilst in his flurry, his amidship oar’s man was
instantly swept from time into eternity by a stroke of its flukes; but,
fortunately, no others of the crew were injured.

October the 25th we sighted the southern part of the Island of
Madagascar, which was to be our cruising-ground for the next two
months. It is anything but a comfortable latitude to make a prolonged
stay in; for, on an average, once every twenty-four hours, violent
rain-storms of from one to four hours’ duration thoroughly drench
the crew and vessel. These squalls are attended with any quantity of
thunder and lightning, which adds very much to the disagreeableness of
their visitations.

This ground is the point to which we endeavored to beat up three years
ago, with the intention of whaling, before visiting New Holland. It
bears a good reputation as to the presence of whales; but the fish are
noted for their fighting on being struck, so that it is no easy matter
to make a capture, after once striking. Whether we should have been any
the more successful had we visited and cruised on this ground in the
earlier portion of our voyage, deponent, from his ignorance, saith not.

I omitted to mention that on account of the extension of the term of
our voyage, meat had been purchased in Mauritius; also, ten barrels
and a half of colonial beef (of a very inferior quality) packed in
Melbourne, and thirteen barrels of American pork purchased from the
ship Robert Patton, of Boston: which, together with what we already had
aboard, was deemed amply sufficient for our consumption on the short
cruise off Madagascar, and during our passage home.

The time of our leaving for home was now set to be New Year’s Day,
1859. This period, so long and devoutly prayed for, we were assured
would not under any circumstances be again postponed, and we hoped that
it would not; for we had been out very long, and all were thoroughly
convinced that longer cruising for whales would be entirely useless.
To be plain; all wanted to get home. The whole ship’s company, too,
felt and expressed the opinion, that the voyage was unlucky, and they
wished to begin a new one, under better auspices. Our continual ill
fortune in not seeing whales, and having our boats stoven, had so
deeply engendered this feeling that a general lukewarmness prevailed,
which could only be dissipated by a notice from the masthead that sperm
whales were about, when indeed all would again become as eager as we
were at the commencement of the voyage.

There were now, of the thirty who sailed from home in the vessel, but
twenty-one remaining; yet even this is a much larger proportion of
the original crew than is usually carried home from a voyage of such
length as ours. The cabin had lost one of its members; the steerage was
intact--the same boatsteerers remaining as when we first set sail; and
of the foremast hands ten, besides the cook, remained: making twenty
one in all. We had now been so long together, that the withdrawal of
one of our number would produce a feeling like that caused by the
separation from a member of one’s own family; and it was not without
much regret that we thought on having parted with the two of our
original crew in Port Louis.

We continued off the Island of Madagascar up to November 27th, without
aught to mar, or rather improve, the general and almost uninterrupted
bad weather--thunder and lightning storms following each other with
scarce any intermission. During this time we occasionally saw a
whale-ship, and, if the weather permitted, failed not to while away a
part of this dreary period in gammoning. One day, whilst so engaged,
we learned that the chief mate of the ship Martha, of Fairhaven, had
lost his life in much the same manner as did the seaman belonging to
the Brewster. The mate was not seen to leave the boat, neither was any
other of the boat’s crew injured; but it appears that the boat had
been rashly carried into a perilous and unwarrantable situation by
the mate, and, in the bustle attendant to extricating the boat under
such circumstances, it is supposed that whilst the others were busy in
trimming boat and attending to the line, the whale, by a sweep of the
flukes, struck the officer so suddenly and so severely as to put it
out of his power to give an alarm, whereby to attract their attention.
Undoubtedly his death was instantaneous; but little exertion on the
part of the whale would be required to supply a sufficiency of force to
crush vitality from the frame of the strongest or proudest of the human
race.

This accident is attributed to carelessness, and, from my own
observation, I should say that at least two-thirds of the fatal
accidents that occur to whalemen, in pursuit of their prey, result from
gross carelessness or recklessness on the part of the boat-header.
Some years ago it was unusual to hear of a fatal accident to those
engaged in the pursuit of the whale. At that time the fish were plenty,
and boatheaders, as a class, were cool, sagacious, and experienced men,
who had been accustomed to and occupied in the whaling business for
years. These men would not risk their boat and crew to almost certain
destruction to strike a whale, or to be the first boat fast, or to
get a fatal lance before another boat arrived; but, working carefully
and securely, they bided the time until a fit opportunity presented
itself, and then, guided by their long experience, applied the lance
expeditiously and fatally. This race of whalemen has, however, been
supplanted by another of younger men, who were brought into the field
by the prolific grounds of the Arctic Ocean and Ochotsk Sea, inhabited
as they were by myriads of bowhead whales that had never been chased
or interfered with by whalemen; consequently, they had not learned
from the past to use all the expedients furnished them by nature to
avoid and combat against the wiles and stratagems of men. Hence,
little else was necessary to capture the bowhead but to have a boat
and crew, pull alongside the fish, dart the irons into him, and, ere
the bewildered creature had recovered from his astonishment, drive in
the lance and kill him; but now that the bowhead has grown more wary,
and to take him is a work of difficulty and danger, ships do not make
such remunerative voyages in their pursuit as formerly; therefore their
owners, instead of directing their vessels only to the Arctic and
Ochotsk, began again to turn their attention to the, for a few years,
comparatively neglected grounds of the Indian Ocean; but they do not
venture without many misgivings as to the probable success of their
vessels. A few ships are fitted out, they sail, and in the course of
a few years return with excellent cargoes--the whales, having enjoyed
somewhat of a respite, again resorted to their former haunts. All
is now hurry and bustle in New Bedford and the other whaling ports.
These voyages act as an incentive to further operations--mechanics are
incited, by liberal offers, to extreme exertion; and in a short time
the vessels are ready for sea. The north-west whalemen have also heard
of these voyages; they apply for berths, and the owner, or agent, in
making inquiry as to their qualifications, learns that he or they got
so many whales during the last voyage. In the absence of information,
the shipper, supposing that if the applicant can strike and kill one
description of whale, he will have no trouble in capturing the others,
engages him at a good price, which he commands on the strength of
his reputation. The ship sails; but when the north-wester gets into
the Indian Ocean, he finds many ships, but few whales, and those few
requiring different manipulation on his part, if he wishes to capture
them, than those with which he is better acquainted. He strives to
become familiar with their habits, but, unfortunately, the whales being
chased daily, and almost hourly, by some one or another of the various
vessels that occupy every nook and corner of the ocean where there is
any likelihood of seeing fish, afford him but few opportunities of
adding to his stock of experience; so that it is not until near the
close of the voyage that he becomes _au fait_ in the discharge of his
duties. By this time the golden opportunity has passed, and, but a few
months remaining, he strives to make up by rashness what he lacks in
skill, exposing himself and crew in situations against which his better
judgment, in cooler moments, would revolt; but this is a losing game,
as his crew, who, with equal opportunities and equal intelligence, well
know when a whale is approached in the proper manner, and, following
the precept that self-preservation is the first law of nature, hesitate
to pull anywhere and everywhere, without satisfying themselves that
they are right, which they would not if they had full confidence in
their officer. Hence, the want of a perfect understanding between the
boatheader and crew is another prolific source of accidents. To sum
up, every day increases the difficulties and dangers presented to
those whose calling is the pursuit of the whale: the fish are either
becoming much less numerous, or else they are retreating to the frozen
North or South, where the climate forbids man’s encroaching. They are
also becoming more wary, and it is only by the most careful management
that a boat can approach so as to strike them; they taking the alarm
at the least variation in the motions of the waves, and the slightest
noise being sufficient to alarm them. Formerly, if we are to believe
tradition, such was not the case; and certainly the following anecdote,
which, I engage, will be told for many years to come by men who will
attest to its perfect reliability, will, to some minds--though I must
confess they will be of small caliber if they give credence to it--go
to substantiate such a premise, to wit:

It formerly was the practice to provide each boat from a whale-ship
with a number of bricks. On lowering for, and approaching within a
respectable distance of the whale, the boatsteerer was directed to
heave one of these bricks at him. If he took no notice of the insult,
he was pronounced perfectly safe and tractable, the boat was then laid
on and the irons darted; but if, on the contrary, he used his flukes
or fins, and made the white water fly, the boat was pointed for the
ship; the fishermen being perfectly satisfied with the display of his
belligerent powers without a nearer approach, and very well contented
to await a more safe and favorable opportunity of increasing their
store of oil.

On the 27th of November we gammoned the ship Plover, of New Bedford;
her mate and his boat’s crew being on board our ship, and our captain
and a boat’s crew aboard of her. At 3 o’clock in the afternoon, our
masthead’s man sung out for sperm whales. After a short observation our
mate lowered away, and in less than ten minutes fastened. Immediately
the Plover’s mate and our second mate dropped their boats, and several
boats from the Plover pulled for the scene of operations. After some
little difficulty, a second boat fastened. Our mate, going on to lance
the whale, had his boat crushed to pieces, the whale having turned
towards him suddenly and grasped the boat in his jaw, making it a wreck
in a moment; the crew were pitched head over heels into the water,
whilst the boat, being so much damaged, as to be useless, floated away
without being taken notice of. The crew were soon picked up, and in
other boats were trying to revenge their sense of injury on the whale.
The third mate of the Plover now essayed to lance the whale, but with
no better success, his boat being stove in the same manner. Our second
mate next tried and succeeded; the other boats, having encircled the
whale, diverted his attention, and we turned him up. The whales on the
Madagascar ground are notorious for their belligerent propensities,
and I have been assured by old habitues of the vicinity, that if a
boat-header escapes once in three times from having his boat stove,
more or less, he is either an admirable manager, or a wonderfully lucky
fellow.

The Plover is but five months from home, and her crew had previously
done no whaling--she having taken no oil; therefore it was amusing to
watch the woebegone and rueful countenances with which the boats’ crews
obeyed the order of their officers to pull up to the whale, whilst, on
the contrary, when ordered to pull in the opposite direction, their
faces would brighten up with an expression of heartfelt relief; and
then to look at our own fellows, inured to all the vicissitudes of
this adventurous pursuit, taking everything as coolly as if engaged in
the most ordinary occupation; making sport of hardships and a jest of
danger; eager as the most insatiate sportsman to be in at the death;
assisting their boat-sheader to the utmost, anticipating his orders,
and acting out all his requirements; so that boat, officer, and crew,
seemed to be a nicely constructed machine, working by a secret spring
actuating the muscles of each of its occupants with the self-same
power. Even when their boat was stoven they had a jest to crack at
the greenhorns. Poor fellows, they were much more entitled to our
commiseration than derision; we have been through the mill, and have
seen and suffered, whilst they, unless circumstances should very much
favor them, are doomed to a three years’ stay in the Indian Ocean,
where, if “forthcoming events cast their shadows before,” they are
fated to discover that their one stoven boat is but a foretaste of what
they will experience in that line before their time is up.

Before we saw the whale we observed a ship some five miles to windward,
with her boats down, and another about the same distance to windward of
her, manœuvering as if for whales. We subsequently ascertained that,
between noon and the time we struck, five vessels had attempted to
capture this whale. All these vessels being in a direct line with our
own ship, the whale following a straight course and going to windward,
they gave up the chase as useless. We only succeeded by dropping our
boat when he was a short distance to leeward, and at a time when the
sun’s rays favored a near approach to him. He was a noble fellow, and
well worthy the trouble we had with him.

After turning the whale up, we took him alongside our ship. When ships’
boats in company take a whale, it is customary, either to give one
party the head and the body to the other, or else to release the ship
whose boat fastened first from all further trouble with the prize:
her companion taking the whale alongside, cutting him in, trying him
out, and then either stowing down, or rafting half the oil to her
companion. In case she stows it down, one-half of the barrels are
branded with the other vessel’s name, and credited to her account.
In the present case, Captain Perkins of the Plover wishing to make
through us a consignment to the owners, we took the whale, and a
boat’s crew of his assisted us to cut in. After trying out, one-half
the oil, amounting to forty-six barrels, was stowed between decks
in casks brought from his ship for the purpose and duly branded. We
engaged to carry it home as freight, charging six cents per gallon for
the carriage. We had also twelve hundred pounds of right whalebone on
freight, from the ship Martha, of Fairhaven. This freight-business pays
no one but the owners, and perhaps the captain: the proportion of it
that any one else gets being so small as to make it a trifling object.

On the same day that we stowed, we gammoned the barque Iowa, of
Fairhaven. She had been very successful, having filled up with
humpbacked oil at the Rosemary Islands. She was but a short time
from Mauritius, and brought us the sad news of the demise of John
Cunningham, of New Bedford, whom we had left at the hospital in
Mauritius. The cause of his death was to some degree enveloped in
mystery. It appears that on the day previous to his decease he applied
to the resident physician of the hospital for a discharge, stating as
his reason for it the many deaths that were daily occurring in the
same ward in which he was (the dysentery having assumed a fatal type
just after our leaving the port). The physician told him that he was
loath to discharge him as yet, for his stricture was not entirely
removed; but, after some urging on Cunningham’s part, the doctor
directed him to apply on the following day, and he would make out his
discharge. The morning following his attendants found him dead in
his bed, without an external sign to show why the spirit had fled.
The physicians, at a loss to account for so sudden and unexpected a
termination, held a post-mortem examination upon his body, and finding
all the organs free from disease, they gave in as their opinion that
he had died from fright. Poor fellow!--his health aboard ship had been
almost uninterruptedly good, and he bade fair to live as long as any
of us. But Providence, for His own wise purposes, saw fit to call him
away from life to (I trust) a better and happier sphere; and although
in this world he will no more hear the storm whistling through the
rigging, or the sudden boom of the tempest-tossed ocean, yet I hope
that he

  “Shall find pleasant weather,
  When He who all commands
  Shall give, to call Life’s crew together,
  The word to pipe all hands.”

This young man was the eldest son of a widow in New Bedford. His father
was for years engaged in whaling, and some eight years since, whilst
master of the ship Florida, was drowned in the surf, off the Island of
Rorotongu, in the Pacific Ocean; and now his poor relict is called upon
to weep over the untimely end of her eldest boy, in a foreign hospital,
unattended by a single friend to soothe his dying-pillow. He whom she
looked upon as the stay of her declining years, like her husband,
engaged in the same perilous pursuit, and died thousands of miles from
home, under painfully afflicting circumstances.

He was the third who has been called away out of our bonnie crew, who
in July, 1855, sailed from New Bedford full of life and hope: all at
that date feeling assured of returning with a well laden ship and
full crew--with stores of curiosities, gleaned from foreign ports, as
keepsakes for the loved ones at home: all were sanguine, and certainly
expected to make a good voyage and return by July, 1858.

But “man purposes--God disposes;” as a proof of which, let us review
our relative positions now, and then. One of our men was discharged,
sick, in King George’s Sound; from thence he went to Melbourne, since
which we have heard of his death. Our second mate was discharged at
Vasse, went home as mate of the barque Pamelia, and is now, I hope, in
the full enjoyment of every blessing, surrounded by an affectionate
family. Three of our original number deserted, and through the example
and influence of evil-minded associates, allowed themselves to be made
parties to the origination of a false report, according to which our
vessel had foundered on a tempestuous night, and the greater number of
the crew set afloat in open boats off the inhospitable coast of New
Zealand. Poor John Walters has gone to his long home! the blue waves of
the South Pacific having closed over him whilst in the discharge of his
duty. We learn from the Iowa’s report, that another one of our original
crew, whom we discharged at Port Louis, has shipped aboard the barque
Agnes, of New York, bound to Batavia for a cargo, thence homeward.
And, lastly, Cunningham too is gone! Whilst we, who are left, have
been forty months from home, and are still battling with the ocean’s
elements--alas! in pocket, poor indeed, and hopefully longing for home.

We also learned from the Iowa, that the New Yorker, whom we left at
Port Louis, had been discharged from the Hospital, perfectly recovered;
and that he, together with an Irishman, also discharged there by us,
had solicited and obtained employment in the police-force of that port.

The rest of those whom we left at Port Louis, never having done
anything to entitle them to remembrance, we neither know nor care what
has become of them, with the exception of our late fourth mate, who
deserves mention singly on account of his utter uselessness. From the
same source, we learn that he shipped, and left Mauritius in the barque
Eagle, as boatsteerer. In this new position he will, no doubt, act with
about as much credit to himself, and receive as unenviable a name and
reputation, as he did among us.

A few days subsequent to the above date we saw and gammoned the
barque Coimbra. She had sailed from Mauritius a few days after our
leaving; but, owing to the sickness of her captain, was forced to
return, and remain ten additional days. The captain of this vessel,
quite an original, hailed from New Brunswick, and was a veritable Blue
Nose--long, lank, and parsimonious. He has had during the voyage three
different crews, who for some reason or other left him after a cruise
or two. Early in the voyage a veto was put by the authorities of Vasse
upon his entering any port on the coast of New Holland, owing to his
having carried a prisoner away in his vessel. This prisoner, who was
a thief, doing a good business at Freemantle, report says, paid one
thousand dollars for the accommodation. The captain of the Columbus had
little or no trouble with him--merely carrying him outside, and then
transferring him to a merchant-ship. Being debarred from entering these
ports, where the cost of recruiting ships is comparatively trifling,
and having kept his crew out of port as long as a wholesome dread of
the scurvy would allow, he, with an eye to economy, made the following
address to his men, to wit: “Boys, I would like to go into a good port,
where we could all enjoy ourselves. Such a port is Hobartown; but the
limits set to my expenses by my owners will not allow of my indulging
in such an outlay as lying with the ship in that harbor would occasion;
but, if you by subscription pay a certain sum apiece out of your
earnings, I will go there.” Several of the ship’s company assenting, a
document was drawn up, and most of them attached their names: agreeing
to contribute towards the port-expenses sums varying in amount from
two to twenty dollars. One of the foremast hands demurring to this
arrangement, the old fellow told him that he would get it out of him
some way or other; and so he did, by persisting in tormenting him until
his victim was glad to pay the two dollars, and thereby gain somewhat
of an exemption from further bad treatment.

This is not a solitary case of such sharp business-operations. A
certain captain once boasted aboard our barque, that by his finesse
in settling with those whom he discharged in Hobartown he had made the
clear sum of two thousand dollars for his owners; in other words, that
by misrepresenting the quantity of oil taken, he had cheated his crew
out of so much money. A most creditable boast! Of a piece with such
conduct was also his mode of serving out meat. A barrel was broken out,
brought on deck, and divided into so many portions as were equivalent
to his idea of a day’s allowance (which was about one-third of that
prescribed by law). It was then tied together, and strung up on deck;
whence if a remnant of it disappeared, it was charged to the steward
and cook.

We saw the vessel under the last-mentioned individual’s command on the
first day of December. She was then bound home, and had but ten barrels
of meat aboard for the consumption of the crew during the passage,
which, as she had been out about four years, will consume at least
ninety days. This quantity of meat would last us with the same number
in the ship’s company as she has, but thirty days. For such conduct
this man could not plead non-success, as he had on board one of the
best cargoes on the ocean--his quantity of oil being no less than two
thousand barrels, of which sixteen hundred contained sperm oil.

On learning that the Coimbra was bound direct for home, several of us
put letters aboard of her, and as she kept off and receded from our
sight we naturally wished that we were pursuing a course in the same
direction, and were agreeably astonished the next morning (December
5th) to find our captain keep off to the southward, and learned that
we were bound round the Cape. In the afternoon we saw the Coimbra,
overhauled and passed her; our studding-sails giving us a great
advantage over her when the wind is free. The following day, in order
to compete with us, she made and bent studding-sails; but this was as
far as she could go, and we were still to windward of her, as we had
made and bent mizzen, maintopmast, and maintopgallant staysails, which
gave us a slight advantage.

On account of the length of time, and the chafing of whales alongside
and under the ship, the copper was in a desperate condition. Looking
at her bottom, when the sea was calm and clear, nothing could be seen
but an irregular bunch of vegetable matter; looking, from her waterways
to the kelson, as much like a collection of old rags, as anything else
that I could compare it to, whilst in many places whole sheets of
copper were gone, and in others it was rolled up in scrolls. I hooked
up a piece, and, on examination, found it of an almost transparent
thinness. All these inequalities in the surface of the bottom naturally
tended to retard the speed; and, consequently, when whalers start for
home, they strive to make amends for all deficiencies by a greater
spread of canvass, and venture to carry it longer than any other class
of vessels afloat, relying on the number and skill of their men to
prevent disaster in time of emergency.

We kept on with a light fair wind to the southward and eastward for
some days, and, from the agreeableness of the weather, augured a
pleasant passage around; but when opposite Cape l’Agulhas the wind
hauled ahead, and we had it first light and clear, then strong and
cloudy, with showers of rain and thick fog. For the benefit of those
who imagine that sailors have but little to do when afloat, I will
copy from my log-book the proceedings of several days (whilst in this
baffling weather), _verbatim et literatum_.

_December 16th._--This day opens with a strong breeze from the
eastward, cloudy. At midnight running before it, with maintopgallant
sail, fore, and foretopmast studding sails set. At 1 o’clock A. M.
the breeze increasing to a gale, we took in the studding-sails and
topgallantsail; at three, double-reefed the topsails; at 6 A. M. the
wind hauling forward, loosed and set the mainsail; at 8, were obliged
to furl it; at 9, shook a reef out of each topsail, and set jib,
spanker, and mainsail; at 11, the wind hauled to the S. S. W., clewed
down the topsails and close-reefed them--thus remained for the balance
of the day.

_December 17th._--At 1 A. M. shook a reef out of each topsail; at 4¹⁄₂,
struck by a squall that hove her down rail to, hauled up the courses,
kept the ship off to haul down the jib, which was done, and furled the
sail; then furled the spanker, luffed to, close-reefed the topsails
and furled the mainsail amid torrents of rain; at 3 P. M. furled the
foretopsail; at 6 P. M., after having shipped a sea that filled it
full, took in the bowboat; at 6¹⁄₂, furled the foresail; at 7, clewed
down the maintopsail, shook out the reefs and reefed it over; at 7¹⁄₂,
loosed the foretopsail, shook out the reefs, reefed it over, sheeted it
home and set it.

_December 18th._--At 1¹⁄₂ A. M., furled foretopsail; at 4, set
close-reefed foretopsail and foresail; at 7, made all sail; at 3 P. M.,
furled the light sails, and double-reefed the foretopsail; at 7 P. M.,
shook the reefs out, and set the flying-jib and maintopgallantsail; at
10, furled the light sails and double-reefed the fore topsail, and at
midnight double-reefed the maintopsail.

Here was work enough for three days, and hard work, as any one may
discover, who doubts the fact, by, like me, participating in it; but
handling, reefing, and steering, are by no means all the employments
of the seamen when afloat. Everything being kept taut, the strain on
the rigging, in heavy weather, is tremendous, so that some little thing
or other always needs repair; and in fine weather the sailor is sent
with his marlinespike, slush, and tar-bucket, into the rigging, where
he not unusually stays a whole watch, busily employed in putting a
seizing here, or seizing on a ratline there, repairing the service, or
other chafing gear. These, with other duties of a like description,
keep a merchantman’s crew continually on the move; but where there are
so many, as with us, the labors are performed without making the task
irksome to any.

Wishing, in doubling the Cape, to near the land, so as to take
advantage of the westerly current (which here is said to run with a
speed of four knots hourly), we done all we could to hang on; but the
wind forbade us arriving at this desired position; and as we drifted
considerably to the southward, we were two degrees from Table Mountain
on the 21st, when, with a fair wind and plenty of it, a clear sky and
smooth sea, without let or hindrance, we passed into the blue waters
of the Atlantic Ocean; just three years, two months, and eleven days
from the time we passed from it into the Indian Ocean, with a prospect
of three years whaling before us; all buoyant with hope, and not a
doubt entering the thoughts of any that, by the time we were thus far
on our return passage, we should be full of oil. But it is needless to
say that such is far from being the case.

It cannot be supposed that we left the Indian Ocean, whose broad bosom
was our home for so many months, with any regret. Indeed, there was
little to endear it to the remembrance of any one who ever experienced
its changeable and heavy weather, and who has been obliged to visit its
miserable ports. We have had a pretty thorough acquaintance with it,
having navigated its entire length, and cruised, day after day, in its
waters, from latitude 8° to 42° south.

After entering the Atlantic Ocean we steered to the northward and
westward, until we arrived in latitude 32° south, longitude 7° east.
This locality is known as the Carroll ground, and is a favorite resort
of the South Atlantic whalemen. Here, as we had good weather, but
saw no whales, all hands were occupied in repairing and renewing the
rigging, to get the ship in order for a return home. It is a great
point of honor among seamen to return their rigging in as good, if not
better order than when they received it, with a view to commendation
from their owners; consequently the lower rigging was turned in anew,
particular care being taken to have everything as nice as possible:
blocks must be new-strapped, and neatly covered with canvas; all
service that looked in the least chafed, or white, must be removed;
the yards stripped and rigging-fitted; the ratlines taken off the
mizzen topmast and foretopgallant rigging; the rigging fore and aft,
alow and aloft, must be rattled down, and a coat of tar then applied to
all the hemp material; the paint-work, inside and out, from the copper
to the trucks must be renewed, and the spars scraped: then we will
be ready for home. All this must be done before the 27th of January,
at which time we are to leave the whaling-ground; so that we will
have nothing to occupy us after that date, except to make as speedy a
passage as possible to New Bedford.

On the Carroll ground we entered upon the New Year. On the 4th of
January we gammoned the ship Messenger, of New Bedford. She left the
Madagascar ground four days after us, and had been boxing off the
Cape for twenty-one days; so that we esteemed ourselves fortunate in
having escaped such miserable weather with no further detention than
we experienced. Her crew were affected by a peculiar malady, which
somewhat resembled moon-blindness: more or less of them had been
affected with it during the whole voyage; and at the present time there
were eight men in her forecastle who could not see each other after
dark, but whose vision during the day was perfectly good and clear.
One of them whilst aboard of our vessel complained of pain across the
temples in the daytime. He was the only one of those afflicted who
expressed a sense of pain or inconvenience, apart from loss of sight.
I have seen individual cases before, but never in such numbers aboard
a single ship. Their captain attributed it to moon-blindness; but
these men positively assured me that they had not slept with their
faces exposed to the moon’s rays. Again, it disappeared on their near
approach to land; and at one time they were completely relieved of it
by the use of Irish potatoes. The men themselves attributed the malady
either to the tarræ root, of which they had consumed a large quantity
on the voyage, or else to their water, which, as they stated, had been
for a long time brackish and unwholesome. I am inclined to think that
it originated from the bilge-water; for a similar case from this cause
came under my notice some years since.

Whilst amongst the Abrolhas’, I was called upon by the captain of
the Europa to administer to a Portuguese, whose eyes were affected
by sleeping in the moon’s rays. I bled him, and applied blisters to
the temples. This treatment produced almost instantaneous relief. I
informed the Messenger’s people of this; but their captain was one of
the old school, who believing that all the ailments mankind are heir to
can be cured by salts, would employ no other remedy; and, whether the
disease was a cold, a fever from a broken or dislocated member, or what
not, his prescription was a full dose of it, whereof he constantly kept
a large quantity on hand, of the denomination known as Glauber salts,
used ashore for horses.

On the 16th we gammoned with the ship Mary, of New Bedford. Her
captain requested me to go aboard of her, and administer to her
cooper, who had for a long time been very sick. In compliance with his
request I did so. In her steerage I found the wreck of an unusually
symmetrically-formed man, suffering from an affection of the liver.
I did what I could for him; but then, as the boat would not return
to our ship for several hours, I began to fear that the time would
pass tediously. My apprehension, however, was speedily banished by
the attention I found myself compelled to give to the yarns of my
patient, who, like all old seamen, was garrulous; and, as I was a
good listener, (of which I pride myself,) he was soon rehearsing his
manifold adventures from his youth upwards, embracing forty-five years
of sea life. He told me, that during this time he had served in every
situation aboard a whaler, from cabin-boy to master; and he mentioned
some half-a-dozen well-known whaling captains who had served their
novitiate in his boat. He stated, that during the South American
revolutions he had been privateering, and was for many years in both
the naval and merchant service. He had visited almost every country
of the globe to which commerce directs her conveyances: at times (to
use his own expression) flush, with plenty of money; at others, alone,
without a change of clothing, amongst semi-civilized nations. He was
a grandfather; and stated, that his first wife, with whom he had
lived for many years, had taken umbrage at his assuming the sailor’s
privilege of having a wife in every port, and left him. After the
legal forms had been gone through with, she consoled herself by taking
another spouse.

Her husband, not to be a whit behind her, took his ship home again,
sailed to the island of New Zealand, and in Mungunui married an
English girl, twenty years his junior. He then engaged in the English
whaling-service, wherein he accumulated considerable money, and after
the lapse of a few years returned to the States, taking his wife
and their two children with him. At home, he for some years rested;
but the continual yearning for the sea experienced by all who have
once been afloat, and not been disgusted with life thereon, induced
him, in his old age, to ship as cooper of the Mary. No sooner was he
afloat, however, than on exerting himself he found that his was not
now a system such as that which had carried him through so many years
of hardship and exposure. Fast living and imprudence had done their
work, and his constitution was gone. The bracing sea-air, instead of
invigorating, depressed and weakened him. Dispirited, he was at last
laid up, like a worn-out hulk, without power or will to be engaged in
aught but the most puerile employments. During his stay aboard the Mary
(rather over two years) he had not heard from home; and, being very
ingenious, he had, to occupy his mind and drive away heart-sickness,
employed himself by scrimschawing, and had completed a store of unique
and carefully-fabricated articles of various descriptions, from woods
he procured in the different ports he had visited, or from ivory and
bone.

The boat being now ready to return, I left the narrator, and went
aboard our own ship. I informed the captain that he must send him
into the nearest port, (St. Helena,) where he might procure rest and
good medical treatment. This he thought inexpedient; but, by dint of
pressing, I convinced him of the absolute necessity of such a course.
After carrying my point, I had the curiosity to ask him about the
cooper’s antecedents; because I had not given full credence to all
his story, inasmuch as old sailors are so famous for drawing a long
bow. The captain gave me a rehearsal of his past life, which fully
substantiated all that he had said of himself; and, after he had
finished it, I left him, with the conviction that I had seen the most
practical illustration possible of a career at sea, where Christianity
or morality had not held the helm. Here was a man, who had made
much more than a competency during life, and who had walked his own
quarter-deck, after having gained his position by his own unaided
personal exertion, reduced at the end of a life-time of battling
with the elements to a subordinate station--sick, debilitated, and
uncared-for--aged, weak, and careworn--far away from home, without
the fostering attentions of a wife or children to render the couch of
sickness other than a bed of thorns; and this lamentable situation
brought on, not by the villany or mismanagement of others, but,
according to his own confession, by his individual imprudence.

The Mary, like the Messenger, had on board some half-a-dozen persons
whose eyes were affected mysteriously. She was down by the head, and
had (as was also the case with the Messenger) been so trimmed on
the whole voyage, which trim facilitates the collection of putrid
water in the forward part of the ship’s hold; hence, by taking into
consideration these singular coincidents of the vessels, together
with the fact that no one who lived abaft the mainmast had been so
affected in either, the disease may, I think, be safely attributed to
bilge-water.

After gammoning with the Mary, we ran close in to the African
coast, and fell in with several Atlantic whaling-vessels. These
crafts are usually small, and carry but two or three boats. By the
class who go farther from home, they are facetiously denominated
Plumpuddingers. The length of the voyage ranges from six to thirty
months. From the specimens of these cruisers, I should say, that there
is little difference in their arrangements and those of the whalemen
of the Indian and Pacific oceans. One characteristic was, however,
distinctive; that is, the greater proportion of foreigners before
the mast. In one vessel (the Cornelia of Edgartown) there was not a
single individual of American birth in her forecastle; and on board the
Keoka, of Westport, there was a large proportion of dark skins from
the islands of the North Pacific. Their voyages are shorter, their
crews generally fare better than those of the larger ships, and, as was
my impression up to the time we fell in with them, they made better
ports--but this, upon inquiry, I found to be a mistaken idea; for those
on board the Keoka stated that they had not been into a port where
English was spoken during the whole time (some eighteen months) they
were from home; and, furthermore, that they had only visited Walfisch
Bay, a Portuguese settlement on the coast.

These vessels averaged about the same amount of oil, considering their
time out, as other ships of their profession in the Indian Ocean.
Their crews were, also, just as much discontented with whaling, and as
anxious to get home, as we were. In unqualified terms they expressed
their envy of us lucky fellows, as they termed us, who they supposed
would in a few months be in New Bedford. Our diminutive cargo did not
seem to act as a damper upon their wishes. They said that they did
not care, when it came to the question of getting home, whether they
had anything coming to them, or not. Neither did the prospect of cold
weather appal them; for one enthusiastic fellow assured me, that he was
willing to be landed on a snow-bank, in a costume but little preferable
to a straw-hat without trimming, for the sake of being delivered from
the monotonous life he was now leading.

After leaving these vessels, we squared our yards, and rolled before
the delightful southeast trades (the elysium of the seafaring-man)
towards St. Helena, taking it very easy--only sending aloft the
studding-sails on the foremast and foretopmasts, and at night jogging
along under easy sail in that direction: it being our intention to make
a short stay at that rock-bound isle for letters, and then to crack on
everything for home.

On arriving within a few degrees of the world-renowned prison-rock
of the great Conqueror, sail was reduced, and the ship luffed to the
wind. The moon being on the change, our captain, anxious to get one
more sperm whale, determined to let no means within his power remain
unemployed for that purpose.

This halt in our homeward course was not received with a very good
grace. Except the captain, everybody else aboard our vessel had
calculated upon a direct passage homeward. But this was in perfect
keeping with his conduct throughout the voyage: at one time assuring
us that we would be bound homeward on a certain date, and inducing us
to write to that effect by his representations, in which at the time
of making them he was perhaps sincere. But he suffered his opinions
to be changed by the slightest cause. If he gammoned with a ship, he
found in her skipper an adviser, who recommended to him a prolific
whaling-ground--one on which, he was told, he could not fail to take
five hundred barrels of oil, probably, even altogether fill up. These
golden visions he received and credited, (although I cannot but
think that it was against his better judgment--for, certainly, if a
vacillating, he was not a stupid man,) and away he would go to the
promised El Dorado. Thus he exhausted his own as well as the patience
of every one else by a fruitless search for sperm whales that had been
long ago captured!

Where we were now stopping was the ground on which the barque Monmouth,
two years since, captured two hundred barrels of oil; and hence our
captain imagined that we would be likely to do the same; but in this
there was about as much probability of any success and remuneration at
all commensurate to the time and trouble expended, as the Kidd treasure
seekers have received for their laborious and chimerical search.

Under such phases of affairs, I have written some half-dozen different
times, stating to those whom I addressed that I would certainly be home
at the periods that had been severally and distinctly determined on.
Some of these letters bore the date of August, 1858; and I do not know
but that those who received them may have set down such disparities
to wilful misrepresentations, or a sickening anxiety on my part to
get home, leading me to believe in an early return, because it was
so much the more desirable, and in accordance with my hourly wishes.
But such, I can safely say, was not the case; for even now, at the
present writing, (January 31st, 1859,) I cannot, neither can any
other in the ship except the captain--all assurances to the contrary
notwithstanding--set a time, which they can firmly believe themselves
will be that at which we shall really start for home. So, I must be
absolved from the charge of writing at random; and the blame must rest,
where it should: upon the captain’s wavering, and his being so easily
influenced by others.




CHAPTER XIV.


At daylight, February 1st, we hove in sight of the Isle of St. Helena,
the world-renowned prison-rock of Napoleon Bonaparte, the conqueror of
Europe. At a distance, this isle looked not unlike other isles, despite
its notoriety. As we approached nearer, we found it distinctive in
all its features: high, frowning, and almost barren. A strange thing,
this, for so low a latitude, within the tropics, where Nature dons her
greenest garment, and smiles her sunniest smile: spreading rich and
plentiful productions over the earth’s surface. On approaching still
nearer, we found fortifications erected, which, as far as I am able to
judge, make the island impregnable; though what enemy would care to
take the trouble and expense of an expedition against so worthless an
object, I cannot imagine. After passing this chain of fortifications,
Rupert’s Valley gradually developed itself to our sight, and ensconced
on its narrow bosom we saw the city of Jamestown. From the water this
town presents quite a creditable appearance. The buildings being of
stone, and many of them of goodly size, give an air of solidity and
respectability to it, which I for one did not expect to find. On the
right of the town, viewed from the sea, is the far-famed Jacob’s
Ladder, consisting of I do not know how many steps, hewn out of the
solid rock, which affords the only means of ingress and egress to
the garrison occupying a fort at the summit of the elevation. There
is only a single narrow street laid out in the town--the narrowness
of the valley not admitting of any farther expansion. On the sides of
the acclivities are stone-walls, built for the purposes of travel.
They are wide, and admit of the passage of a vehicle upon them; but
a misstep will entail upon the unfortunate wight who should make it
certain death, as it would precipitate him into an abyss hundreds of
feet in depth. Shortly before our arrival an English seaman on liberty,
who had been carousing, was suddenly seized with the whim of drinking
his brandy on one of these airy places. In pursuance of this phantasy,
he procured a bottle of spirits, and, seating himself on the ledge of
the wall, with his feet suspended over the chasm, he was enjoying his
brandy and his position to his entire satisfaction. He could not be
removed by force, as such a proceeding would be productive of imminent
danger to him and his rescuers, and as he was proof against persuasion,
his shipmates were constrained to allow him to remain in his perilous
position, trusting for his preservation in Providence, who assists the
seaman out of so many difficulties and dangers. For a time he did very
well, and maintained an upright, and consequently a safe position; but,
as the spirits he had imbibed began to operate, his body swayed to and
fro, and finally, whilst about to take another drink from his bottle,
he lost his balance, and was precipitated down, far down, upon the
jagged rocks; from whence his body was taken, mangled almost out of the
semblance of humanity.

There is no harbor here--ships anchoring in an open seaway unprotected
from the winds; but as, during the greater part of the year, this
latitude is only visited by the south-east trade wind, a ship may
lay in this exposed position with impunity. Some twenty vessels lay
at anchor, three of which flew the stars and stripes; one of these
was the Messenger, whose crew was ashore on liberty; another was the
ship Thomas Glover, of Boston, bound home in a few days. The third,
a barque, whose name I did not learn, was in an extremely leaky
condition, and her captain, not wishing to have her condemned here, was
offering one hundred dollars bounty, and twenty-five dollars per month
for each man who would ship aboard to work her home; but if anything
else offers Jack Tar is shy about engaging himself aboard a leaky
ship, where the pumps are to be kept constantly going, day and night,
and, as her semi-water-logged condition renders her unsafe to carry a
press of canvass on, the probability is that a passage in her will be
an extended one. Then by the time she would get on our coast, heavy
weather might be looked for, and it, united with her leaky condition,
would render her anything but a comfortable craft.

The other vessels were English, French, Swedish, and Dutch. Inside of
all lay a number of condemned vessels, amongst them was the barque Ann,
of Sag Harbor, the same vessel we were in company with whilst engaged
in whaling on the coast of New Holland. After we left her she proceeded
to Desolation, where, from heavy weather, she received severe damages,
and, on arriving at St. Helena, a survey was had upon her and she was
condemned. The other condemned vessels lying here are, for the most
part, slavers, captured on the coast of Africa by the British squadron.

It not being our intention to make any stay here, without there was
sufficient freight for home to make it an inducement for us so to do,
we did not anchor, but stood off and on shore on alternate tacks. The
captain lowered away, taking with him the men who came aboard without
an agreement at Port Louis, for the purpose of shipping them before the
American consul. His principal object, however, was to get letters,
which we had directed to be sent here in numberless missives written
many miles to the westward, and on this account St. Helena has been,
for months, the wished-for port. Everybody expecting consecutive
letters filling up the void of the last eighteen months, since which
time none of us have received news of our families and friends, and,
from the many dolorous accounts we have heard of the financial affairs
of the country, everyone is interested to know what bearing such a
crisis had had upon his connections; hence our anxiety. After many
injunctions to send the boat off that night, the captain departed. We
patiently waited until sundown, when, no boat approaching, we began
to be uneasy. An hour later, we were chafing, almost the whole crew
were walking decks in an excited, uneasy manner; and, although they
did not curse the old man, they invoked anything but blessings upon
his head, innocent though he was. Next morning, when the boat arrived,
we found that from some misconception of orders, we should have stood
in, when we stood off, shore; and, consequently, the third mate was
kept chasing us in his boat from nightfall until three o’clock in the
morning, when, giving up the pursuit as hopeless, he went aboard the
Messenger, and, with his wearied crew, turned in.

On the letters being brought forth, I found that I had four; one of
August, 1855, left here by a ship that had carried it about the ocean
for years--the other three were of May, July, and November, 1858;
this last was inexpressibly welcome to me, as it brought everything
down to a comparatively late date, assuring me of a warm welcome home
whenever I did arrive. Of this, however unworthy, I had never doubted;
but it is a weakness of our nature to take delight in the rehearsal of
pleasant facts. The chief topic of interest, after being assured of
the welfare of my connections, and one that astonished and, to some
extent, perplexed me, was the birth of a niece, a child of my younger
brother. This was the first intelligence I had of his marriage, which,
however, was not unexpected; I had looked forward to it as a matter
of course; but that he should be blessed with issue ere I returned,
never once crossed my mind--though why, I know not. At first, I could
scarce believe it; but there it was, in black and white, the plainness
of the chirography forbidding a doubt of its authenticity; so there
was nothing left for me to do but to sit down and acknowledge myself
taken all aback by the intelligence. After a few minutes reflection, I
could not but laugh at my stupidity, or inadvertency, in never having
made a provision in my mind for such a contingency; however, so wags
the world; improbable events are fostered by the imagination, whilst
probable ones are allowed, through inattention, to escape notice.

After having thoroughly read over my letters, I had leisure to think
of my companions. Some, I could see by the expression of the eyes, and
nervous exhilarated step, had received good news from home; others, by
their troubled air, displayed their reception of unwelcome tidings;
whilst those who had received none, either walked alone with compressed
lip and lowering brow, refusing all sympathy, or strove by an affected
gayety to laugh off the carelessness of their people in not writing.

As the reception of a letter from home, by the seaman, after a long
cruise, exhilarates, and encourages him, developing all the best
principles of his nature, so, on the other hand, the least inattention
or slight on the part of his friends, depresses him; and, on arriving
in port where he has long expected intelligence; on being disappointed
he goes ashore and is ready to engage in any dissipation, apologizing
to himself for his departure from virtue, by the reflection that
nobody cares for him, or else they would take the trouble to write
to him. Mark a case in point. One of our crew, a Massachusetts boy
nearly approaching to manhood, had, for months, talked and thought of
nothing but his news and letters from home at St. Helena. He had, to my
knowledge, written some twenty-five letters; heretofore he had received
no letters from home, but thought, of course, they had written, and
their missives were aboard ships we had not seen. Meantime, he had
been at work for months, manufacturing trinkets and other articles
from ivory, for the purpose of presenting them to his friends and
relatives. On arriving at St. Helena, there was not a word or line from
home for him. I never saw a person so depressed; his trinkets were
given away or sold, and he asserted it as his firm determination, when
he did land in the United States, not to go home.

Mothers who wish to keep their sons in the path of virtue, and sisters
who cherish a brother’s memory, when far away upon the sea, would
do well to bear this fact in mind, and be careful to write, so that
at every civilized port the object of their solicitude may receive
intelligence from home; this, by a little inquiry at the outset of the
voyage, can be easily arranged. It does not make so much difference
about the reception of letters at sea, for there but few temptations
to the grosser paths of sin are experienced; but when, after a long
and arduous cruise, his ship enters port, he feels need of relaxation,
and, unless reminded of home and kindred, he easily falls a prey to the
wiles of the courtezan and the publican, who are ever on the alert to
entrap the unwary and inexperienced.

But it is time that I should return to my original topic--the
consideration of the Island of St. Helena and its residents. Not having
had opportunity to go ashore myself, I must see it through the eyes of
others and describe it from their lips. Here comes the boat’s crew; it
consists of six, who, although dressed alike and of the same country,
vastly differ in sentiment. First, we will ask the less refined of
the lot--those two whose reckless, careless air, bespeak them jovial,
hearty fellows, ever ready for a lark without thinking of or caring for
consequences--their answer to my inquiry as to what kind of place it
was, being characteristic of their class (which is largely represented
in the whaling fleet), “That Jamestown is a sailor’s paradise.” “Why
so, my hearty?” “Because there is neither lack of women nor wine.”

We will now turn to the next comer; he is a Western man, from
Milwaukie, Wisconsin, of Scotch parentage, has been with us all the
voyage, and is one of the best and most reliable men in the ship; to
a naturally strong mind, he unites an acute perception of men and
manners, and, withal, a high moral tone pervades all he says and does.

His statement was, that on going ashore he found a stepping-stone, some
twenty feet in width, in front of the town, for the convenience of
boats landing; they pulled to it and landed, but the swell continually
heaving in, rendered it impossible to moor the boat without certainly
calculating on her being stoven; so a couple of the boys, of whom
numbers were swarming along ashore, were entrusted with her, and our
fellows went on a cruise about the town. He described the town as not
unlike other colonial cities, with the usual number of government
buildings, and red-coated soldiery standing guard, as if to keep these
massive stone heaps from escaping. The inhabitants were of all colors,
from black to white, each moving in its particular sphere. The blacks
are slaves, captured by British cruisers, and sent here to labor and
pay the expenses of their capture. Some months since, a cargo of six
hundred of these Africans was landed in Rupert’s Valley; they were
awarded by the Government a twelvemonths’ stay at St. Helena; at the
expiration of the year they were to be sent to the British West Indian
possessions to be disposed of as apprentices. The other inhabitants of
St. Helena are bitterly opposed to the introduction of these creatures
into their quiet island, stating that they are indolent and insolent
to an extreme degree, and are firmly persuaded that the island is a
part of Africa and belongs to them. The inhabitants have petitioned
the queen for their removal, but she has declined complying with their
request.

D.’s principal object in going ashore was to deliver several letters,
which had been handed to him by natives of St. Helena, on board ships
in the Indian Ocean. One of the parties he found, and made a mother’s
heart glad by tidings of the good health of her son; after perusing
it, she loaded the bearer of the missive with thanks. Another party,
for whom he had a letter, was dead; this was from a son who had not
seen home or parents for six years. I heard him speak of his home
and his anticipated return; but, alas! he will find a cheerless
hearthstone--his parents dead, and none but strangers to yield him
sympathy.

These people, or rather those who are natives, are brunettes. A number
of the children, who were on our vessel, seemed to be perfectly at
home upon the water. Their voices are peculiarly sweet, and we were
enlivened by these youngsters singing a number of whaling and naval
songs; and the spirit with which they entered into the performance,
rendered a prophecy of their future callings in life a matter of
certainty and easy augury.

I have before me the St. Helena Almanac for 1858, which contains much
information regarding the island--its trade, and inhabitants. From it I
learn that the population numbers five thousand four hundred and ninety
souls, and to attend to the health of this population, there is but one
doctor of medicine; so here is a fair held for any Yankee disciple of
Esculapius who wishes for employment, and does not object to leaving
home to find it.

The amount of importation for the year 1856, reached the sum of one
hundred and one thousand five hundred and sixty-two pounds, of which
one-fourth was through American whaleships engaged in the South Sea
fishery; the balance was from all parts of the world. The exports
for the same time amounted to twenty-four thousand nine hundred and
twenty-five pounds, twenty-two thousand five hundred and eighty-five
pounds of which was to the United States. These facts show the
importance of the whaling trade to the revenue of the island.

This book also contains information relative to the
government-officers, the various churches, the telegraph department,
&c., of the island; yet, as we are in a hurry to get homeward, we will
not tarry for the consideration of further statistics, but return to
our ship.

On the afternoon of the 2d inst., having ran close in to land, we
were becalmed and in imminent risk of going ashore; but by lowering
the boats and strenuously pulling we managed to get the ship’s head
pointed seaward. A light breeze springing up, we were soon relieved
from our apprehensions. At 6¹⁄₂ o’clock P. M. the captain came off, and
immediately the order was given to square away for home. Every one
at once turned-to with a will: the yards were manned in a twinkling;
studdingsail booms and studdingsail rigging were rigged and rove aloft
and alow, until the masts wore, as it were, an entire sheet of canvass
from the royal yards to the deck, extending twice or thrice our beam,
and assisting to the utmost our expeditious return. But the wind was
aft and light, and our ship by no means kept pace with our impatient
desires. Yet directly onward she made her way, unmarked by incident,
until within a few degrees of the Equator. Here the doldorums (those
pests of the homeward-bound!) occasioned a delay which well nigh again
exhausted our patience. These doldorums are neither one thing nor
the other: they are not positive calms, neither are they gales. For
instance, one may wake at sunrise, find a pleasant breeze blowing, the
wind fair, sky clear, and not a sign in the horizon on which to base
a supposition of change: under this impression he will lounge around,
congratulate himself on the ship’s progress, and occupy his mind with
thoughts of home; but, pausing, he glances to the sails, and finds
them flapping from the scarcity of wind; and awakened from his reverie
by the cheerless booming of the canvass, he directs his attention to
the horizon, and finds haze or clouds in every quarter, portending
squalls, either of rain or wind. A minute later, the flapping sail
is hard aback, with a contrary wind; torrents of rain are falling;
squall follows squall, in rapid succession, each from a different
point--and thus they continue, until, having boxed the compass in
the course of an hour, the ship returns to her former position, and
lazily drags herself along for awhile, when the same scenes re-occur,
and so alternate day after day. For ten days were we in irons, (as
seamen term our situation,) during the whole of which time we made no
more than ten degrees--an average of two and a half miles per hour: a
pace that was far too slow to be easily endured by men who had been
for forty-four months past looking forward to this passage with such
intense interest. No idea of the uneasiness (I can use no better word)
of the crew can be formed by a person who has never witnessed a ship’s
company situated precisely as we were. Every mile--every degree of
the course was accurately measured and counted. All who were capable
might have been seen, with quadrant in hand, taking the sun’s altitude,
working up the ship’s time, comparing one day’s run with another, and
guessing what the performance of the next twenty-four hours would be;
whilst those not possessed of a quadrant watched with peering eyes for
the moment that would reveal the result of the operator’s calculations.
On turning out, before donning their apparel, the first questions of
the watch below, were--how is the wind? how many knots is she going?
what is the latitude? what the longitude?--all delivered in a breath.
If the answer was, “She is going along some eight or nine knots an
hour,” the interrogator took a long inspiration, thus evincing his
relief and inward satisfaction, and would then say, “Pull, girls,
pull!” But if the ship was plunging, and the spars and rigging creaking
from the pressure of their snow-white pinions, he would be delighted;
and, jumping on deck to assure himself that everything was drawing, he
would chuckle forth, in the height of his glee, “Give it to her, old
boy! She is all oak. She knows where she is bound to; so, pack on your
tappa--she will hear it!” If some one remarked that she was heeled down
very much, and sail was being dragged instead of carried, he was hooted
at for a soldier, and sent to the cook to learn seamanship. If the
officer of the deck started away or took in any sail, he was maligned
for a milksop, and fated to hear lots of grumbling, together with the
advice, given to him in an undertone, that he should stay at home, when
he got there, and send his big sister to sea to carry sail for him.

To obviate this uneasiness, many plans were resorted to, and the true
one was at length hit upon: the infallible one of labor. All hands
seemed suddenly transformed into a colony of curiosity-hunters. One
would be seen with a box of shells, cleaning them; another with a
Madagascar spear, polishing it, so as to be presentable; whilst others
had articles of ivory, bone, and wood, and were busily employed in
improving their appearance, so as to render them more creditable to
the donor. Every man in the ship had more or less of this description
of articles; the greater part of which had been constructed aboard
from the jaws and teeth of the sperm whales. Our occupation with
these things continued not only for hours, but for days, and in some
instances whole weeks.

Thus the time glided on, until we found ourselves hurried along by the
northeast trades. These delightful winds we encountered when but two
degrees to the northward of the line; and during their continuance we
had nothing to grumble at, as we had a fair wind and plenty of it.
From the testimony of former voyagers, who had run up and down these
trades, we expected that we would be favored with their continuance
until we should arrive in latitude 23 or 24° north; but in this, like
in most of our other pleasant anticipations, we were disappointed. When
we reached the fourteenth parallel of north latitude, they had almost
ceased; and then, forgetful of their benefits, we grumbled at their
scarce more than ephemeral existence. I well remember the expression
of one of our crew, delivered with approved bitterness of spirit. The
occasion of this was a mid watch at night, when all of the starboard
watch were grouped together by the windlass, discussing our experience
of the variability of the winds, while destined to some port or other
in the course of the voyage. The speaker, having heard the opinions
of several others, stepped into the center of the little knot, and,
with an emphatic gesture of the hand, said: “Shipmates! it is no use
talking: we are fated to meet with nothing but foul winds and head-beat
seas until we get home, and then the bad luck that has kept us company
for the past forty-four months may leave us. But there is, and has
been, a Jonah in the ship the whole voyage, from the time we left New
Bedford. The first we saw of it was in the Eliza Carrew’s coming in
contact with us; next, sperm whaling off New Holland. When bound to
Balli we had a head wind; bound to the Australian Bight we had one of
the dirtiest of dirty passages. To New Zealand we made a first-rate
passage; but, when there, what was our fortune? To get scarce any oil,
and lose one of our best men! Then, bound from there to Hobartown, we
had the wind smack in our teeth for two weeks, when, with a favorable
breeze, we should have performed the run in three or four days. Our
ill-success in whaling to the southward, and on our visit to the
Abrolhas’, is too glaring to need particularization. Our passage to
Mauritius was but a drawl, from the lightness of the winds. In doubling
the Cape we were Jacksoned a week--at the line the same ill-fortune
attended us. Now we have lost the northeast trades a week before we
ought to. Add to these our other malexperiences, such as men falling
from aloft, boats capsized and stoven, a sperm whale’s head lost. And,
to crown all, here we are, bound on to the North American coast in the
worst month of the year, with an unremunerative voyage. Now, in the
name of reason! how any one can expect good luck in the face of this
category I cannot understand: as for myself, I cannot.” And, with a
gloomy shake of the head, the speaker concluded, folded his arms across
his breast, and seemed resigned to the hard fate he had depicted for
himself. His manner, however, was such as to convince the most casual
observer that his was a spirit to combat manfully whatever further
misfortunes might befall us, through accident or any other cause. The
whole bearing of the man, in fact, showed a perfect confidence in the
ability of himself and his shipmates to resist every tide of evil
the great Neptune might send. His enumeration of our ill-successes
heretofore made his argument almost unanswerable; but still I essayed
to administer some consolation by quoting the old adage, “it is always
darkest before day,” and adding that from the fact of our former
misadventures we might reasonably look forward for corresponding good
ones in the future. Yet I awakened no sympathetic chord in the bosoms
of my auditors. My predecessor had something tangible to base his
prediction upon: a something, which, through its familiarity to the
minds of all, appealed directly to their hearts; and, although I took
the other side, I must confess that I myself was almost convinced there
was more probability in his than in my theory. I felt, indeed, that our
past crosses were sure prestiges of still more to come.

It may be supposed by some that such a conversation and prediction
would have a gloomy effect on the minds of persons with such vivid
imaginations as seamen; but, fortunately, (or unfortunately, whichever
it may be,) in ninety-nine cases out of a hundred neither good nor evil
makes any more lasting impression on their minds than water does upon
a duck’s back. For the moment, they become absorbed in the topic of
that moment; but look at them an instant later, you will see the same
careless bearing, and hear the merry jest passed around as gleefully as
ever. Verily, there is need of a “sweet little cherub to sit up aloft,
and keep up a watch over the life of Jack Tar”; for he will not look
out for himself. This very thoughtlessness, however, renders him all
the more useful aboard ship. Many times, if he should pause to think
of the danger to himself in the performance of a particular duty, his
hesitation would bring destruction upon the ship and its inmates. For
instance, it is blowing heavily: a topsail is clewed up--the ship will
not bear it, and the sail is flapping in a manner which will destroy
it in a few minutes, for it is sweeping abaft the yard. (Now this is
the only topsail that can be depended upon in case the ship on arriving
at the coast should be jammed on a lee-shore: for then nothing could be
saved except by its proper management and use.) Jack knows that under
precisely these circumstances hundreds of seamen have been torn from
the foot-rope while in the line of their duty, and hurled into the sea,
when the fury of the elements precluded the possibility of an attempt
to save them. Perchance in his last ship such an accident occurred:
mayhap his messmate was swept from the same yardarm he himself was on.
But he does not stop to think of all this: he springs into the rigging,
climbs to the yard, gets a foothold, and (at every step forced to throw
the sail over his head) arrives at the earing, when his task becomes
comparatively easy. Little by little he gathers up, passing his gasket,
and securing the sail, until all is snugly lashed along the yard in
such a manner that the wind has no effect upon it. His task now done,
he descends to the deck, as if nothing more than the most ordinary
occupation had been his; and he is ready and willing to go aloft again,
if necessity demands it.

It is ever thus at sea. The seaman’s life, day by day, hour by hour,
is exposed to peril, now in one form, now in another: from the heavy
sea sweeping the ship, the unruly canvas, the defective spar. The wheel
may throw and maim him, a stranded rope precipitate him to the deck;
or, in laying out of a tempestuous night upon the jib or flying-jib
boom he may miss his footing: he falls into the sea, the ship passes
over him!--Jack has furled his last sail, and dies far from home and
friends, without a tombstone to mark his resting-place: his body at
the mercy of the wave, whilst his spirit, we hope, ascends to a better
and happier state of existence, where he anchors in a bright haven of
peace, in vivid contrast with his life on earth, or rather on the sea.

God help the sailor! is the prayer of all who wish him well. And God
does help him, or else his would indeed be a comfortless existence.
The Creator gives him a merry heart, and a brave one too. The former
enables him to meet cheerfully the many discomforts incident to his
profession, whilst the latter prevents him from perceiving danger and
destruction in every blast that sweeps the ocean: together, they incite
him to hope almost against hope, and continue his exertions in the
storm, until absolute destruction overwhelms him. Who ever heard of a
seaman’s giving up in despair, even when the merest thread of hope only
remained? None. No, they are manly to the last; and they always have
at least the proud satisfaction of having performed their duty, even
though their exertions were all in vain. The pleasant poetess, Miss
Eliza Cook, has done them but justice, when she says,

  “The dark-blue jacket that enfolds the sailor’s manly breast
  Bears more of real honor than the star and ermine vest.
  The tithe of folly in his head may wake the landsman’s mirth
  But Nature proudly owns him as her child of sterling worth.”

Some persons ashore may think that I have allowed my feelings to
carry me away, and that in writing of a class of men, endeared to
me by association and a participation in the vicissitudes of their
everyday life, I have fallen into a rhapsody, or employed rodomontade;
whilst not a few readers will think that I have merely blown my own
horn. Yet I will appeal for corroboration of all I have written to
those who have seen Jack Tar on his proper element: whether, on the
sea, he does not display some of the noblest traits of humanity--not
merely physical excellencies, but high moral qualities? Whether he is
not there the most patient and courageous of human beings? Whether he
does not sing the same in storm or calm, and unflinchingly meet all
hardships with a cheerful spirit? I feel assured that all who have
thus seen him will attest to his good qualities. Ashore he is not the
same creature. The only apology I can offer for his excesses here is,
that such are naturally prompted by the liberation of his buoyant
spirit,--with a hardy frame and hot blood--from a long confinement and
abstinence aboard ship. It is from sheer wantonness that he exults in
the commission of his thousand-and-one frivolities; but which seldom
leads him into the perpetration of any criminal act.

But, let us take a sober second view of this matter, and see whether
Jack’s follies--crimes, too, if you please--are altogether of his own
immoral brewing. Of course there can be no question of this, if we use
the cold-blooded formal argument of the self-sufficient man, which is,
that inasmuch as he, like all the rest of mankind, is a free agent, his
shortcomings and misdeeds must necessarily be voluntary, and therefore
he alone should be held responsible for them. But, I would ask, does
not society in a measure assist in his demoralization? Are not its
respectable avenues closed to the foremast hand? Fathers and mothers
of families, do you, in your philanthropic moods, extend to the seaman
the same warm welcome into your families as you do to the landsman?
Does he, landing in a strange port, find those who take him into the
society of the virtuous, and thus place before him the opportunity of
passing his hours rationally, and so endeavor to prevent his becoming
the victim of irksome idleness, in whose train there usually is such
an execrable brood of ills? No!--I can answer from experience--you do
not. In your stead, out of consideration for his hard earnings, the
harlot and the publican meet him at every landing, and with Judas-like
greetings prevail on him to his destruction.

“Nobody cares for me!” one will hear from at least one-half the inmates
of every forecastle, and in the greater proportion of such cases it is
really too true. If the seaman has no immediate relatives, he finds
those whom he meets ashore solicitous to make his acquaintance only for
the sake of their own profit. To be sure, Seamen’s Homes, Bethels, and
Aid Societies, have done much, very much. God forbid! that I should
say a word that could be construed into a disparagement of the efforts
of these noble and benevolent institutions. But there is something
more than these needed to reclaim the outcast seaman for society, and
teach him truly that he has a character to maintain, as well as an
abiding interest in the commonwealth. In fact, to effect a permanent
amelioration of his condition, he must in his youth be educated and
disciplined with a view to his profession, become accustomed to revere
the ties and restraints of home and society, and be fully imbued with
the principles of national citizenship.

In this humane work, the influence of the gentler sex is vitally
essential. The time has long gone by when the seaman (the American
seaman in particular) was a rude, uncouth being--half fish, half man:
apparelled in a blue jacket and tarpaulin hat; his cheek pouched out
with a great chew of tobacco; his walk a swagger, and his language
redolent of oaths and tar. Such is a picture of Jack that has
been drawn (from time immemorial) by too many authors, whose very
particularizing, however, discloses to the initiated their ignorance
of the subject. Your true sailor, from the general stigma that
attaches to his class ashore, rather inclines to conceal, than make an
unnecessary display of his calling. I have now been afloat almost four
years; in one place or another, met with at least ten thousand seamen,
principally belonging to our mercantile and whaling marine; and,
although closely observing their habits, manners, and peculiarities, I
never saw the original of the false picture above presented--a familiar
one, it is true, to the readers of the yellow-covered nautical romances
of the day. So, ladies, you need not fear, that, in urging you to
extend a cordial greeting to Jack, I desire to favor the introduction
of a boorish clown into your refined circles. But I will leave that to
your own fair judgments. Compare him with the landsman: ten to one, you
will place them on an equality; and, if you have a sparkling of romance
in your character, you will give the Tar the preference.

To your parents, dear ladies, I would particularly address myself,
and say to them: it is your duty (I speak plainly) to hasten this
important matter, by which a noble class of your fellow-men may be
so greatly benefitted, both here and hereafter. Do not fear, that by
the introduction of the sailor into your families, you would nurse an
adder, who would take advantage of your courtesy, and either corrupt
your daughters, or entice your sons from home into his own perilous
pursuit. His high appreciation and admiration of virtue will secure for
the female portion of your family a degree of respect and attention
from him, that would be looked upon by the young bucks of the present
day with wonder and contempt; whilst his plain matter-of-fact and
common-sense descriptions of the sea and its perils, hardships and
pleasures, would divest the subject of the glowing imagery with which
it is clothed by the fertile fancy of your youthful son, and thus
enable him to see it in its true light. If the latter should then,
however, still be anxious to barter the comforts and luxuries of home
for the discomforts and privations of the sea, let him go! He was cut
out for a sailor, and will sooner or later arrive at eminence in the
profession of his well-advised choice.

But how, (methinks I hear you ask,) and by what means, is this good
work to be accomplished? It is quite easy, says another I imagine, to
see and describe the need of such a proceeding; but how is it to be
done? My answer is: I have accomplished what I originally intended,
namely, to indicate the great good to be done by such a movement.
It would be presumption, on the part of so young a man as myself,
to point out the means by which it may be effected. Older and wiser
heads are now engaged in this good work: men of much experience and
pure, active Christianity. But, if these should fail, or wish my
views, I will not hesitate to furnish my opinions and plans at some
future day, and with great pleasure respectfully submit them to their
consideration.




CHAPTER XV.


But I have digressed long enough. I now return to the old Pacific and
her inmates, as she was when we crossed the line, or a few degrees
to the southward of it; at which time we lost sight of the Magellan
clouds. Shortly after this the glorious Southern Cross disappeared from
our view. These two constellations had been for years our landmarks in
the heavens, (pardon the incompatibility of the expression,) and had
become so familiar that at night the horizon seemed to us incomplete
without them; but still we hailed their retirement from our view with
delight, for it was an earnest of home. For several nights afterward we
strained our eyes and patience in unavailing search for the North Star.
At last it was sighted by a close observer. It was hailed by a general
shout, that made the welkin ring; and hearts warmed as day after day in
our passage north we opened still farther the glories of the northern
sky; our own, with its fleecy scud and resplendent tints, shedding
refulgence on our free and happy land.

And now, as we progressed day by day, it may be wondered, what were
the plans of our crew for the future: all having gained little else
than experience, and that not being a disposable commodity at our place
of destination. But, kind people! do not think that any one of us
felt poverty-stricken, or dependent on other than his own exertions
for support. A more self-reliable set of men never drew breath than
those who were now around me. One and all felt perfectly able to
maintain themselves respectably, if health were vouchsafed to them by
the Creator; and all had their plans. The first we will consider is
that of the Massachusetts men--they forming by far the largest class.
Although they mooted a hundred different channels in which they would
direct their energies, there was a strong under-current pervading the
whole, which bespoke whaling as their chief point, though many declared
this their dernier resort, only to be engaged in by them from extreme
necessity. Some of them thought that the whaling business was becoming
too poor to follow, and declared their intention of emigrating to
Oregon or Kansas, in quest of gold, should the accounts from those
regions continue to hold out the same favorable inducements they had
already done.

The second class whom we shall consider is, that formed of prodigal
sons--a proportionably numerous one. Most of this class had left home
with a desire to see the world, and a hope of returning with both
pockets full of money, to astonish the “old folks at home,” and, if
necessary, to be expended for their comfort. Their bright anticipations
not having been fulfilled, they were ashamed to go home; and, although
we may doubt the wisdom of such a course, there is an honorable pride
attaching to it, that cannot fail to command respect. Most of them
had companions to whom they were attached during the voyage, and they
determined that they would embark together to some foreign port or
other (those of the Mediterranean were the most popular) for four or
six months, when they would be sure of their monthly wages; and should
they carry out their resolves, they might then return to their homes.
This plan sounds foolish, and was foolish. No doubt they would be
welcome to their relatives, with or without money; but I must confess
that in the face of the warmest letters, and in the full assurance and
conviction of the heartiest welcome, I myself felt a reluctance in
returning, without something of moment to show, as a remuneration for
almost four years of exile.

The last class (very few in number) is, those who had no
homes--children of the sea. These did not take the same warm interest
in a return to the States as we did; or, rather, it is a different
interest--a mere sensual feeling: a desire to have a good spree, and be
off again. They had no settled plan, but were ready, as soon as their
money or credit became exhausted, to go here or there, as the caprice
of the moment or the prospect of gain might lead them. Poor fellows!
theirs was a hard prospective, and they felt it; for, when those, who
were so blessed, gathered around each other, and talked of a reunion
with parents, brothers, and sisters, they would walk moodily and alone,
or strive by a reckless air to show their contempt for the comforts
of home--but it was in vain. These now expected to follow the sea for
their bread, just as the farmer does his plough. In the absence of good
examples ashore, they had nothing to give them a strong bias to remain
there; they considered the ocean as the granary from which their daily
provision must be procured. God direct them wherever they may go, and
in whatever they may do!--that they may avoid the snares spread for
them by the designing at every step of the paths they must follow.

On the evening of March 17th we entered and crossed the Gulf Stream.
Our near approach to it had been indicated days before by the
appearance of the Gulf weed. This weed is inhabited by multifarious
marine animals. On being scooped up and placed in a bucket of water,
its tiny residents were to be seen swimming and plying about with the
intensest activity: crabs, lobsters, various kinds of fish, and the
meduca, together with many others that are nondescripts.

On arriving at the Stream we dipped up a bucketful of its water
from alongside, and found it quite warm. A short time afterwards we
repeated the experiment, and found a variation in the temperature.
Thus, at intervals of fifteen minutes throughout our passage across
it, we tested the water to the best of our ability; and although our
thermometer could not be fully depended upon, yet the result was still
decided enough to make me a convert to Professor Bache’s theory: that,
the Gulf Stream is a series of belts of water, varying in temperature,
instead of a body of water of uninterrupted equivalent warmth.

On the following day we experienced one of those southeast gales,
attended by fog, which are so common to the American coast in the month
of March. As long as we felt satisfied that we had an offing, things
went pretty well, and we rejoiced at the way the ship was making before
the gale; although, in the absence of sun, moon, and stars, we had
nothing by which to ascertain our whereabouts. At noon we spoke the
brig Pilotfish, of Boston, and found that by her reckoning we were
fifty miles farther to the westward than what our chronometer gave it;
however, we felt pretty well satisfied as to our own correctness until
night, when we shortened sail, (which throughout the day we had carried
to the extent of the vessel’s ability,) and luffed to the wind, hove
the lead, and sounded with the deep-sea line. At the same time the gale
increased to a hurricane, and, as we could not see a ship’s length
ahead, we were compelled, sorely against our inclinations, to heave the
ship to for the night.

At 3 o’clock A. M. the next morning we all at once felt a change in
the atmosphere, and, on inquiring the cause, found that the wind had
hauled to the westward. A few minutes afterward the fleecy scud drove
rapidly to the leeward, and the wind from the southwest bore down on
us with extreme violence. But not too violent for us. Oh, no! It was
hailed with delight. It was fair and strong; and, although we could
show only close-reefed topsails and foresail to it, we bowled away,
with it on our quarter, at the rate of twelve knots an hour. As we
gradually neared the land we saw a number of small coasting-crafts
laying-to, with the water sweeping over them--they not venturing to run
in such weather. Of these we spoke several, and ascertained from them
the bearings of Montauk Point. We found now that our chronometer was
indeed wrong, and that had we depended upon it we would most likely
have been by this time high and dry on some part of our own coast.
This variation of the chronometer was very strange to us. During the
whole voyage we had found it perfectly trustworthy; and, of course,
after so long an acquaintance with its exactness, we had learned to
place implicit confidence in it. At St. Helena it was correct, and
so also off Cape St. Roque only three weeks before. But the present
was precisely the case with it on the last voyage, when Captain James
Allen commanded the ship. Then, likewise, there had not been a mile’s
variation in it until he had crossed the Gulf Stream, homeward-bound,
when an error of fifty miles was discovered--a pilot-boat giving him
his true whereabouts. Now, the question is, what was the cause of this
singular variation? Was it the Gulf Stream, or what was it? Here is a
question for the savans, and should they solve it, I will be happy to
hear of their explanation.




CHAPTER XVI.


After speaking these coasting crafts, our course was still onward and
homeward. At noon we saw land; it was greeted with three as hearty
cheers as ever swelled American throats. All was bustle and excitement,
and naught but the discipline of a well-regulated ship kept our
enthusiasm within bounds. The watch below, wearied with exertion,
caught the gladsome cry, and, leaping from their berths, hurried on
deck as they were, and, without hesitating at the coldness of the
weather, sprang, half nude, into the rigging, to catch a sight of their
native land. One, more enthusiastic than the rest, made the foretop a
rostrum, and, hatless and shoeless, with his shirt flying in the wind,
he repeated in a loud voice, intelligible above the shrieking of the
gale, the beautiful lines of Sir Walter Scott:

  “Lives there a man with soul so dead,
  Who never to himself hath said--
  This is my own, my native land;
  Whose heart has ne’er within him burn’d,
  As home his footsteps he has turn’d
  From wandering on a foreign strand.
  If such there be, go mark him well,
  For him no minstrels’ raptures swell;
  Proud though his title, high his name,
  Boundless his wealth as wish could claim,
  Despite his power and his pelf,
  This wretch, concentered all in self,
  Living, shall forfeit fair renown,
  And doubly dying shall go down
  To the vile dust from whence he sprung--
  Unwept, unhonored, and unsung.”

Reader, have you ever read these lines before? Of course you have; so
had I before I went to sea; and then with me, as it must have been
with you, they had made my heart beat quicker, and my eye flash with
indignation at the recreant who could unmoved return to his native
shore. But it is impossible to describe our appreciation of the
beautiful text at such a moment as it was now presented to us; and in
the exuberance of our spirits we could have hugged the author to our
breasts and pronounced him sailor in feeling if not in practice. A
change, however, soon came over the spirit of our dreams; the yards
were squared, and, consequently, as we brought the wind aft, we were
enabled to show more canvas to the favoring gale, and in this outlet
we found a vent for our highly wrought feelings: reefs were shaken
out, gaskets cast off in a twinkling, and the yards and sails were
mastheaded, as if by magic, to the music of the merriest homeward bound
song in our category, although our fingers and other extremities were
benumbed with the cold. We were in hopes of getting in this night,
but still we had our misgivings; as, even should we come into close
proximity with Montauk Point, the weather was so boisterous that we
had little hopes a pilot would venture out upon such a night. So,
feeling that should we be necessitated to remain out another night, we
would need rest, our watch went below to seek consolation in Nature’s
great restorer--sleep; but in vain, slumber came not to our anxious
eyes, although wooed by every means in our power. We rolled our eyes,
we counted indefinite units, but all to no purpose; the one idea
preoccupied all our thoughts and forbade the intrusion of Morpheus on
its domain. At 2 o’clock a light-house was seen, which, at first, was
called Montauk light, but the land around it not agreeing with that in
the vicinity of Montauk, after some deliberation, it was pronounced
Fire Island light. This was a damper on all our spirits and dissipated
our air castles, which had been built with the provision of going
ashore within twenty-four hours; and long faces and dolorous sighs
were the attendants upon this decision. After a few minutes of painful
uncertainty, some one, whose memory was more retentive, called to mind
the fact of having seen in a newspaper a notice of the erection of
a new light between Fire Island and Montauk light. This view of the
subject was immediately endorsed by all hands, and a corresponding
buoyancy pervaded all; but as landmark after landmark was passed,
and still Montauk was not to be seen, we gave up all hopes of seeing
New Bedford that night, and were fearful that that much wished for
occasion might not occur for a fortnight or more; as these southerly
winds are not persistent, and no one knows how soon they may leave him
and be followed by a north-easter, which, at this season of the year,
lasts for weeks, and forbids all entrance into our destined harbor.
But just at nightfall, one, who had voluntarily perched himself on the
loftiest look-out on the fore royal mast, sung out, “Light ho!” and we
soon found that at last we had sighted the veritable Montauk Point
and light-house. This was cheering; but no pilot was to be seen, and
our only resort was to shorten sail, heave the ship to, and hang on
as closely as possible to the windward, so as to have no difficulty
in beating up at the approach of daylight. To this end we clewed up
and furled our light sails, reefed and furled the courses, clewed
down and close-reefed the topsails--and bitter work we had of it. The
weather, although not intensely cold to one accustomed to it, to our
tropical sensibilities was frigid; and as, during the day, we had been
enveloped by fog, our canvas was damp and heavy, and not to be handled
in a moment; so that it was a task of time, patience, exposure, and
danger, to reduce the old ship’s canvas to a spread commensurate to the
violence of the gale which now blew from west-north-west. In reviewing
my whole stock of sea experience, comprising over three years of actual
life upon the broad bosoms of four out of the five oceans of the globe,
I can call to memory no time at which I felt more depressed than during
the continuance of this night; not so much from the heaviness of the
gale, for I had weathered scores that were much heavier; not from the
short, breaking, combing sea, which, from being on soundings and in
shallow water, made it but a plaything in the heavy gust, and rendered
it trebly unpleasant, breaking upon and against the ship, keeping her
continually wet and uncomfortable; but this too was a matter of course
to me--I had had my jacket wet a hundred, ay, a thousand times, with
the salted spray of old ocean; nor was it from a sense of danger from
any or all of these combinations; but the wind gradually, yet steadily,
hauling to the northward, occasioned a dead weight; its remaining in
its present quarter, west-north-west, being our only hope of getting
in; and to be lying here within a few miles, almost in sight, of home,
without power to pursue our voyage thither, was a probation by no
means gratifying. I strove to shake off the feeling, calling to my aid
all the resources of manhood; but in vain. I then attempted to gain
some consolation from the old gray-headed seaman, who had for years
followed the coast in all its windings from Newfoundland to Florida;
but he, like me, was under the thrall of the same vague and undefinable
depression, and instead of administering consolation, went off into a
narration of how, time after time, he had made the same light with a
southerly wind, hove the ship to through the night, anticipating a run
in during the next morning, but at dawn the wind came out at north-east
with hail and snow, and for weeks nothing could be done but to lay to
and sweat it out. This was adding gall to wormwood, and the old fellow,
perceiving my lugubriousness, slapped me on the back, and said, “Cheer
up, my hearty! we have weathered many a gale together, and, please God,
we will make port to-morrow, when we can laugh at our forebodings of
to-night.” In this state of mental inquietude, at 11 o’clock at night
I went below, and with a prayer that the wind should favor us at dawn,
I threw myself in my berth, hoping to rid myself of the solicitude in
sleep, but fruitlessly; it was a mere repetition of the afternoon’s
performance. I rolled, tumbled, and almost worried myself into a fever;
several times I caught a moment’s nap, only to be visited by visions
in which the voices of home were calling me, and the outstretched
arms of loved ones, prompted by affection, were extended towards me to
welcome the wanderer home. But in vain did I struggle to reach them,
some invisible agency held me back despite my frantic efforts, and with
the sweat profusely dropping from my reeking brow, parched tongue and
straining eyeballs, I would awake to find it but a dream.

Thus passed the weary hours until 3 o’clock, when on the calling of the
watch I turned out, and took the helm. My attention, of course, was
directed first to the wind. My forebodings were too truly realized.
There it was, from the northwest; and, with gloomy resolution, I
resigned myself to the decree. Our officer of the deck, scarcely a whit
behind me, came to the binnacle for the same purpose. From his anxious
and careworn face I could see that he had experienced no refreshment in
sleep. Sympathizing with him, I forebore remark; but, after satisfying
himself, he turned to me, with a countenance on every line of which
was written mental torture, and in a tone that expressed his feelings,
he said, “There depart all our bright anticipations--God help me to
bear the disappointment!”--and then proceeded moodily to walk the
quarter-deck. Again he came, and related to me that on two former
occasions, in this same delectable month of March, he had been served
in precisely the same way, and wound up by saying, “I shall worry no
more! I am now satisfied that we will not get in before the first of
April; and so we may as well grin and bear it”

Unable to control my own thoughts, I perforce allowed them to run fancy
free, and whilst so engaged paid but little attention to the compass:
intuitively easing the helm when the vessel pitched from the surging of
the waves so as to endanger the spars, and occasionally when warned by
the flapping of the sails raising the wheel to keep her off from the
wind a trifle; until at length an unusually heavy sea, breaking over
the ship and drenching the decks, awoke me from my reverie.

Day had now began to dawn, and casually I glanced at the compass.
Could I be assured that the direction in which the magnetic needle
pointed was correct, or was it a mere phantasy of my overwrought brain!
I rubbed my eyes, and looked again. Could it be possible, or was I
in a lethargy, deceiving myself into a belief in the reality of a
wished-for fact! I shook myself, and stamped my feet, now grown cold
from inaction. Satisfied at length that I was in the perfect possession
of all my faculties, I ventured to glance again at the needle, and then
I received the fullest evidence that I was not deceived. I called the
second mate to me. He at first could scarce credit it--but, there it
was! The wind had hauled two points, and now was west-north-west, and
we had a prospect of delivery from all our somber soliloquies. Hurrah!
The captain was now called (he having gone below for sleep--the two
preceding nights he had been upon deck until utterly worn out). He
came up skeptical, but was soon a convert. “We cannot show much sail,”
said he, “but we will venture a little more. Shake a reef out of each
topsail. Loose the foresail.” (I had now been relieved from the wheel.)
Still she did not go fast enough. “Loosen the jib and spanker.” No
sooner said, than done. I sprang upon the bowsprit and out upon the
jib-boom, skinning my hands fearfully, and receiving a severe blow upon
the head from the jibsheet-block; both, at any other time, sufficient
to make me groan with pain; but now they passed almost unnoticed.
Without faltering, I cast the gasket off. The jib was foul. I had to
lay out, and to overhaul the hoops. It was done. The jib gradually rose
to its proper position. The sheet was then hauled aft by the strength
of the entire crew; but still it was not sufficient. A powerful tackle
was now attached to it, and with the aid of numerous arms (the captain,
cook, and every one else assisting) it was brought flat enough, and
thus secured. Arriving on deck, the clotted blood called my attention
to my lacerated hands; but it was no time to complain. Half-a-dozen
were so wounded. Our skins being dry, parched, and benumbed, the least
contact with any hard material produced an abrasion; which, however, no
one noticed: for the spanker was to be set, more reefs shaken out, and
the staysails loosened.

And, hurrah again! there came the pilot-boat. Now was the time: we
could not lose a minute. “Loosen topgallant-sails and royals!” (We
dared not set them; but should the wind have moderated, we would have
lost no time in casting off gaskets.) A few minutes more, and the
pilot-boat was alongside. “Is there New-Bedford pilot in the boat?” was
our hail. “Aye, aye!” came booming across the water. “Send down a boat,
with a barrel of pork and a tub of tow-line, and he will board you.”
This was soon effected. The pilot entered the boat, now half full of
water; but her crew knew bow to manage her. He was soon aboard the
ship, and without further delay took the command of her.

Captain Sherman’s vocation has gone--his responsibility is over: the
ship is now in American waters, with an American pilot aboard, who
gives his orders to the ever-willing crew. He is obeyed with alacrity,
as long as he makes sail; but no one wants to take any in--neither does
he. He is a perfectly competent man, and fortunately a driver. “Where
are your studding-sails? Pack them on whilst we have a chance. Never
mind a few yards of canvass, or a whole sail. Give them to her. Let her
have all she can spread: the wind may not hold half an hour.”

There she goes!--now she is moving! Block Island is passed. There, off
the beam, frowns Point Judith. Now for Cuttyhunk light. “Go along, old
ship!--cleave the waters, as never you did before. Soon you, as well as
we, will be at rest.”

Nobly did the old barque answer our appeal. She appeared endowed with
life--and, on she goes! The Cuttyhunk light is passed; Clarke’s Point
opens to our view, and some of the crew, who reside in the rural
districts, see familiar landmarks. “There I live,” you hear from one.
“There is the church-steeple--there, the sawmill--there, the almshouse.”

“Hurrah!”--now we near the city. There are new buildings, erected since
we left here. There is a new lighthouse. There is Fair Haven. There
is the shipping at the docks. And now we are closing-in with Clarke’s
Point. The wind is hauling--well, who cares--who cares now? We are
perfectly independent of the clerk of the weather. But we can go only
a few ship’s lengths farther: that is near enough--we are only three
miles from New Bedford.

“Now, then, round in on your weather-braces. Start away tacks and
sheets. Clew up everything. Haul down your jibs and staysails. Start
away your halyards, and let your yards come down by the run. Let the
spanker remain till she comes to the wind. Hard down the helm. Square
the main yard. Brail up the spanker--one minute more. Let go the
anchor.” The heavy cable runs out unimpeded, and once more we have a
firm hold on American bottom!

Our next duty is to furl the sails, and then our engagement is ended:
then we are free to do as we please; then we are released from all
discipline, except that enjoined by self-respect; then we once more
become members of society; then we will discard the blue shirt of
the sailor, and in the midst of long anticipated comforts forget our
manifold hardships and dangers; then we will take the preliminary steps
toward meeting friends and relatives, and in the joy of the moment we
are repaid for much that we have undergone of toil and exposure.

Our job aloft was an arduous one, having carried such a press of sail
up the bay and river, and then when a ship is at anchor she always
swings head to wind--consequently her sails are pressed aft by the
breeze, and it is only by considerable tugging and straining that they
are drawn up to the yard. However, this, like many other unpleasant
duties, could not last for ever. By dint of hauling and tugging, we
accomplished it, and descended to the deck, with the gratifying
consciousness that we should have no more of it to do for this voyage
at least, whatever the future may have in store for us.

Whilst aloft on the maintopsail yard, from which I had a good view
of the bay and the ocean beyond, I asked myself whether I should be
content ashore, or whether it was decreed that I should form one of
that great body of uneasy spirits who gain their livelihood by toil
upon the ocean. All my chequered life for the previous four years
passed in array before me, with its ills and its pleasantries; and,
although the former overbalanced the latter, I could not, without a
sigh of regret, bid farewell to old ocean.

On getting on deck, all hands were busily employed packing and securing
chests, donning their best suits, and making all necessary preparations
for leaving the ship. This leaving the ship was by no means a pleasant
operation. Her sturdy sides had so long afforded us protection from
the storm and wave, that she was endeared to us by a thousand ties.
Every spar and rope in her were as familiar to us as household words,
and each object begat some pleasant reminiscence; but we were too busy
reflecting on dearer objects to allow the old barque’s memory to make
us sad--so we continued our preparations in silence, scarce a word
being spoken, each heart being too full for utterance.

Fifteen minutes after a boat came alongside, which is technically known
as the shark’s boat. In it were the proprietors and agents of all the
outfitting firms of the city, black and white, Portuguese, Germans,
Irish, French, &c., each intent on getting a customer from amongst
our vessel’s crew. They jumped aboard, and endeavored by passing the
bottle around (with which they always go provided, knowing that the
sailor is much more easily gulled when half seas over), to get as
many to go with them to their places of business as possible; at the
same time they readily give their aid in packing and lashing their
customer’s chests, assiduously waiting upon him, and not allowing
him to get out of their sight for a moment--fearful of losing him.
After some little chaffering our chests and selves were all aboard
the boat and were rapidly approaching the city. A large concourse of
spectators had assembled on the wharves, comprising the runners of all
the most miserable and nefarious houses of the town. The captain of
the boat, anxious to disappoint them, ran to another wharf, to which
these harpies speedily conveyed themselves. As soon as we had landed,
each man went with his outfitter, or rather infitter, in order to be
thoroughly renovated in appearance and pocket. Although we landed on
Sunday, we had no difficulty in obtaining clothing, these outfitters
being provided for all such contingencies. After enjoying a thorough
wash, and getting into an entire suit of long togs, or landsmen’s
wearing garments, but little was left of the semblance of sailors to
us, except the rolling gait and embrowned countenances. Our next trip
was to the barber’s, where all superfluous hair was removed from heads
and faces, and a thorough scrubbing operation gone through with; which,
on viewing ourselves in the glass, gave us a pretty good opinion of
our personal qualifications, and we started for a walk. The first
things, of course, that attracted our attention, were the hoops in
female dresses; we had heard marvellous stories of the rotundity of a
fashionably dressed lady, but had never seen one. One of my informants
having told me six months before, whilst we were cruising off the
Island of Madagascar, that it was not unusual for a lady to wear hoops
thirty feet in circumference. In the occupation of mind attendant upon
getting ashore, I had totally forgotten the existence of hoops, but
was astonished at the corpulence of every woman I met, and I thought,
no, I won’t tell you what I thought; but you must imagine yourself in
the same position, and then what would you think? As yet I had not
passed close to a lady with hoops, but in turning the corner of a
street I came in contact with one, and in my endeavors to escape from
my embarrassing position, I made no allowance for the rolling motion
acquired aboard ship, and only made matters worse. In a few minutes,
however, I managed to get clear, though not without getting into the
lady’s arms, or she in mine, I do not now remember which; during said
contact I was convinced that the large size of the ladies was a work
of art and not of nature. This called my wandering memory back to the
descriptions of hoops that I had heard, and henceforth the solution of
the mystery was easy.

Having made such a poor attempt on my first promenade, I returned to
the house, situated on Union Street (I preferred a private house to a
hotel), where also were several other of my shipmates; and in talking
of old times we whiled away the hours, nor thought them irksome. When
evening came and we sat down to supper at the well-spread board,
enlivened by the genial and handsome face of our worthy landlady, we
began to realize what comforts and pleasures we had been deprived of
by our three years’ jaunt; instead of sitting down on a rude chest,
with tin pan and pot before one, and a sheath-knife to carve out the
salt junk that formed the greater part of our repast, here were the
various viands arranged in a clean and neat manner, inviting the
hungry and the gourmand to partake of them. After supper we smoked our
cigars, and, tired with the exercise of the day, retired early, and
enjoyed a night of refreshing slumber, uninterrupted by the hoarse
cry of “Starbowlines, ahoy!” “Eight Bells!” or the still less welcome
one of “All hands turn out and take in sail.” Then, again, each was
comfortably ensconced between clean sheets, on feather beds, totally
distinctive in all their relations from our own straw mattresses,
packed down by three years use, and well-worn, dusky-looking blankets.
All was comfort, and we appreciated it as only men can who for years
have been deprived of the many little et ceteras that make life
bearable.

The succeeding morning I proceeded to the telegraph office and
telegraphed home, receiving an answer that satisfied my fullest
longings. All my immediate family were alive and well; but such was not
the case with some of my less fortunate shipmates--several had lost
fathers, one a mother, others a sister or brother; in fact, there were
few but had to weep for a near and dear one gone, whom in the fullness
of their wishes they had hoped would have been the first to welcome
them home.

My shipmates, I said before, looked different from what they did
aboard ship; but some of them were exceptions to this rule. Several
had nothing coming to them, and could get neither clothing nor money;
pretty hard, was it not, after over three years hard work at sea for
one employer, to land without the wherewithal to purchase a meal’s
victuals.

There is a dark side to the whaling service, and I shall endeavor to
place it before the community in its true character, and I hope that
it may discourage those young men from embarking in it who think that
money can be saved on a whaling voyage, because there is so little
opportunity to spend it.

In the first place, when a green hand engages to perform a voyage,
he knows nothing at all about what clothing he requires. The shark,
perhaps, tells him that the ship, being bound to the Indian Ocean,
there is no necessity for him providing woolen clothing, and palms
off upon him an assortment of blue dungaree raiment, precisely like
the summer suits of the population our city supports at the Blockley
almshouse. One of these suits will last him about a week; but as he
gets into high southern latitudes he finds that he requires woolen
clothing, and goes to the slop-chest, imagining that he can get what he
wants at a reasonable price. If he inquires how much such an article
is valued at, the captain will tell him that he does not know; but,
nevertheless, he must have the clothes, and therefore takes them, and
thus his account goes on increasing during the voyage. Just before
the ship returns home, his bill is handed to him by the captain, and
what is his dismay to discover that he is indebted to the owners
of the slop-chest, one hundred dollars, or more, independent of the
outfitter’s bill. He finds a woolen shirt is charged to him at the
extortionate price of three dollars and a half; pumps, worth fifty
cents a pair, at a dollar and a half; the commonest kind of rawhide
boots, five dollars a pair; a frieze jacket, seven dollars; thread, six
cents a skein; and suspenders, such as could be bought anywhere else
for five cents a pair, aboard ship are sold for half a dollar. These
prices are not exaggerated, I copy them from my ship’s bill.

Beside these extortions an additional twenty-five per cent. is charged
on all money advanced in foreign ports by the captain to the crew; six
per cent. interest per annum is our legal rate, and I for one should
not grumble at paying for cash advanced at that rate; but some of our
money we only received seven months previous to our arrival home, and
I cannot but think that a charge of twenty-five per cent. for the use
of money a trifle over six months, is exorbitant and dishonest. Still
there are Shylocks in the world who would absorb the last dollar of
earnings from the sailor, after years of exposure to wind and weather
have rightfully earned for him his scanty wages.

I have not yet finished with the specifications of these overcharges.
The ship is not at home yet, and we only know what the bill aboard
ship amounts to; the recipient of it, although he is astounded at its
amount, adds it and the amount of his outfitter’s bill together, and
consoles himself with the thought that he has forty or fifty dollars
still due him; and thus persuaded, on the arrival of the ship he goes
ashore, confident of being able to pay his board for a week or two,
and have enough remaining to secure him a passage home, he goes up
to the owners and asks for a small sum of money for present wants.
They refuse him, saying that nothing is coming to him. He demands
a settlement. On obtaining it, in the first place he finds that
twenty-five per cent. interest has been charged on his outfitting bill,
next he finds a charge varying from ten to fifteen dollars for loading
and discharging the ship. In many cases, three per cent. for insurance
is packed on, and with these additional items the poor fellow is
brought in debt and knows not what to do. Then the agent claps him on
the shoulder and tells him to cheer up, as another ship will be ready
to sail in a few days, and, if he will sign his name upon her articles,
money and clothing will be advanced to him. Destitute and hopeless,
down goes his name, and a few weeks afterward he is at sea again, bound
on another three or four years’ voyage.

The average number of barrels of oil taken by sperm whalers, during a
four years’ voyage, is twelve hundred; if the ship carries four boats,
a green hand’s lay is the two hundredth part; this will give him six
barrels of oil, worth about forty-five dollars a barrel, amounting to
two hundred and seventy dollars. The ship’s and outfitter’s bills will
amount to at least two hundred and twenty dollars, leaving a residue
of fifty dollars or about a dollar a month over and above personal
expenses.

Even if the ship should get full of oil and return home in two years,
which, by the way, would be a miracle now-a-days, one of her crew
cannot, at the most, make more than half as much as the day-laborer
ashore.

These are facts, and are palpable enough to deter any and all who wish
to go whaling for the purpose of making or saving money; but there is
another class who think whaling must be the most delightful of all
pursuits from its pleasant adventures, its perils, and the facilities
offered by it for seeing foreign lands. This is all extremely
visionary, as any one who has ever made such a voyage will tell you.
All its adventures, and all its perils are matter of fact, stern
realities; for instance, you lower away in the boat, get alongside of
a whale, the boat is stoven and you are obliged to remain in the water
for an hour or two, until you are almost frozen; or if you are in warm
latitudes, with the pleasant reflection that at any minute a shark may
come along and snap off one of your limbs, how much pleasure would such
an adventure yield you? It would do to tell after you got home, to be
sure; and whilst you are telling it, ten chances to one, you will be
more fully reminded of it by a twinge of rheumatism, the sowing of the
seeds of which dates back to the very day of your adventure. No; there
is no fun in going on a whaling voyage; nobody goes a second time but
those who are compelled to; they see no adventure in it--it is the mere
perilling of life and limb to fill ship owners’ coffers.

Then, again, if you go for adventure’s sake, it does not exempt you
from other and more disagreeable duties that your sense of manliness
will revolt at. Go and look at the scavengers at work in the streets of
your native city, and ask yourself how you would like to participate
in their employment. But there is no such work aboard ship, some one
says. I know better; and so does any other sailor who ever was in a
ship where pigs were kept, or where the captain had a dog. Yes! he
knows it, for he has had a thorough acquaintance with such duty; and so
will any one else who is foolish enough to go to sea before the mast,
as a green hand.

Now I think I have presented the subject in its true light, and I will
conclude by advising all young men who can gain a livelihood ashore, to
stay at home. I have been through the mill, and am satisfied to remain;
and in reviewing my whole stock of sea adventures and incidents, I must
say the most pleasant of all is getting home safe, with a chest full
of curiosities, displaying them to appreciating friends, and spinning
yarns descriptive of them. Trusting that all my readers may arrive
as safe at their journey’s end, whether in a voyage to sea or in the
voyage of life, I will bid them adieu; also hoping that, in the perusal
of this book, they have whiled away their hours pleasantly, and gleaned
some little information concerning the whale and his pursuers.


THE END.




Transcriber’s Notes

Errors and omissions in punctuation have been fixed.

Page xi: “Leviathen of the deep” changed to “Leviathan of the deep”

Page 204: “demands a disciplne” changed to “demands a discipline”

Page 208: “a thorough alterative,” changed to “a thorough alternative,”

Page 236: “discrimation in withdrawing” changed to “discrimination in
withdrawing”

Page 258: “are diposed to” changed to “are disposed to”

Page 281: “our own satifaction” changed to “our own satisfaction”

Page 321: “mucular system” changed to “muscular system”

Page 353: “for all deficiences” changed to “for all deficiencies”

Page 408: “straw mattrasses” changed to “straw mattresses”



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