William B. Whitecar

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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.” ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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 ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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 ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”