The boys' book of whalers

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Chapter I

'"T^HAT'S the queerest looking craft I've ever -■- seen," declared Harry Bennet as he turned from a long survey of the strange vessel on the horizon ahead.

The yacht, on which Harry was cruising, was tacldng across the mouth of Buzzard's Bay and the ship which had attracted his attention was coming out of the Bay before the brisk northerly wind. Her dingy patched sails were bellying out like dun-colored balloons; a little mountain of white water was about her high, bluff bows and her lofty sides towered, like the walls of a house, far above the green waves. Her low, stout masts, immensely long and heavy spars, uptilted bowsprit and ornate figure-head gave her a very ancient appearance, and through his glasses,

Harry had noticed that her davits were crude wooden affairs, and that there were numerous boats swinging from them.

At Harry's words, the sailing-master, — ^an old salt from Cape Cod, — ^turned and squinted at the vessel. ''Aye, I reckon ye ain't seed many o' sech craft," he remarked. " Yonder's a whaler, — reg'- lar old timer too. New Bedford ship. I ain't seed none o' her kind fer nigh twenty year. Reckon the war's made ile go so sky-high they're a-fittin' out o' all the ol' hookers."

"A whaler ! " exclaimed Harry. " Why, I thought whaling was a thing of the past, — ^that is, in these waters. Of course I knew the Scotch had steam whaling ships in the Arctic and that on our Pacific coast they killed whales with guns and towed them to refineries by tugboats. Say, Captain, run over near so we can have a good look at her. My, but she's a funny old tub ! "

Shifting the helm a point or two, Captain I^ed eased off the yacht's sheets and the little yawl tore through the water towards the bark.

Presently, they were within hailing distance and Harry noted with interest the details of the whaling ship. She was bark-rigged, but short and tubby and seemed to liave a deck cluttered and littered witli all sorts of odds and ends, while the crew, or at least those who stared curiously at the passing yacht, looked far more like a crowd of tramps and gutter snipes than like sailors.

By now, Harry's father, and his cousin Bob, had come from below and all three watched the old bark as she bobbed and plunged along on her course.

Caj)tain Ned hailed her through a megaphone, asking her name and where bound, and a tall, lanky man, with ragged beard and a stiff Derby hat, sprang to the taffrail and shouted : " Bark Betsey, New Bedford. Western Ocean and South Seas. Three years." ^

" Gosh ! Does he mean they're to be gone three years? " exclaimed Bob.

" I expect he does," replied his uncle. " Whaling cruises often last three or four years."

" "What are all those boats for and what's that big gangway in her side? " inquired Harry.

" The boats are whaleboats, — used In capturing whales and the gang-way is where they cut in the blubber on the grounds."

" On the *■ grounds/ " repeated Harry. " I didn't know tliey caught whales from shore."

Mr. Bennet laughed and Captain Ned gave a loud guffaw.

" ' Grounds ' in whalemen's parlance means those parts of the sea where whales are liable to be found," explained his father. " But if you are interested in whaling, ask Captain Ned about it," he continued. " I laiow very little myself."

" Reckon I can't tell ye much," declared the Captain when the boys turned to him for further information. " All I knows is what I I'arned knockin' around New Bedford an' Nantucket. We're boun' fer New Bedford an' that's the spot fer ye to I'arn all about whales an' whalin'. They've got a museum there, — Old Dartmouth Historical S'ciety, I b'lieve they calls it, — ^what's chock-a-block with whalin' gear an' ye'U find a heap o' ol' whalemen at the Seamen's Home an' knockin' about town. They'll jes' enjiy spinnin' yarns fer ye."

*' Well, I'm going there," declared Harry. " I mean to find out all there is to know about those ships and how they catch whales. Somehow, just thinking of that old bark going off for three

THE BOYS' BOOK OF WHALEBS

years gave me a sort of thrill. I'll bet they have some adventures on their cruises."

" Beckon they do,'^ agreed old Ned. " Ye'll find records o' a heap o' mutinies an' pirates an' wracks an' being stove in an' sech, over to the! museum."

" I'll bet you could tell us some of those too," declared Bob. "Nov;^, Cap'n Ned, be a good sport and tell us some whaling stories. We won't be in New Bedford for hours and there's nothing else to amuse us."

" Wall," replied the old sailor with a grin, " I 'spect I won't get no rest 'til I does, so I might jes' as well. But I ain't no whaleman, an' as I said afore, I don't know much about the game. When I was a kid, old New Bedford was jes' a whalin' town and not much else. Why, I recollec' the time when Merrill's wharf was that full o' bar'ls o' ile ye couldn' hardly see the mas'heads o' the ships 'longside. An' ships! — why, boys, I'm a-tellin' o' the Gospel truth when I says I've counted of nigh a hundred ships 'longside that ol' dock, an' all square-riggers too. Nowadays, 'less times have changed a lot sence I was here last, ye can't find a dozen altogether, an' them jes' o'nary Portugee schooners. But ye

was askin' me fer to spin ye a yarn. Well, I

reckon 'bout the bes' yarn I ever heard 'bout the

whalers was 'bout a niut'ny aboard o' a Portugee

schooner, the Pedro Yarela, — like as not ye'll see

her 'longside the docks to New Bedford — ^what

was about the funniest sort o' mut'ny ever I

heard on. 'Cordin' to the yarn, the Yarela sailed

with about as rotten a crew o' scallywags as ye

could find an' 'bout six months arter they'd

sailed all hands was jes' dog-tired o' whalin' an'

pinin' for home an' the slums. Not bein' proper

sailormen, an' a passel o' cowards, th^y didn't

dare kill none o' the officers, but jes' decided to

fix things so's the v'yage would have to end.

Every night, the rascals on watch would heave

overboard everything they could sot ban's on.

First thing 'twas the handspikes to the vdn'-

lass; nex', the blubber-tackles an' carp'nter's

tools; then the harpoons an' lances, 'til purty

soon, there weren't nary a bit o' gear left. Even

the grin'stone went, an' afore they Imowed it,

the cap'n found that even if they did raise a

whale 'twouldn't do 'em a mite o' good cause they

couldn't catch it. Course the skipper swore and

THE BOYS' BOOK OF WHALERB

threatened, but lie might jes' as well saved his breath, 'cause nothln' he nor the crew could do'd bring the gear back from the bottom o' the sea. Fin'ly, seein' as how 'twasn't a mite o' use, the skipper claps the whole bunch in irons and sails off to the Azores. Jes' as luck would have it, a Yankee man-o'-war was in port an' the skipper o' the Varela turns his mut'neers over to the cruiser. Well, the long an' the short o' the matter was, that the gang was brought back to the States an' tried fer mut'ny, an' thet's where the funny part comes in. The jedge jes' couldn't convict 'em, 'cause 'cordin' to law, they hadn't committed no mut'ny. Hadn't refused to obey orders nor threatened nor attacked an offiLcer, an' nary a officer could prove the crew had throwed the gear over the side. So all the Court done was to give 'em each ten days in jail fer a bit o' justice."

Both boys were highly amused at this story of a novel mutiny and begged the sailing-master for another yarn, until after a bit, he related the story of Marshall Jenkins, which is one of the most amazing adventures ever recorded in the annals of whaling.

" This 'ere yarn was tol' to me by a ol' whaling cap'n who swore 'twas true," announced Captain Ned. "An' I reckon 'twas, 'cause I've met a lot o' chaps since what's heard the yarn an' one lad said he'd seen a ol' log in the museum with the same yarn in it. Well, 'cordin' to the story, long back in '70 this chap Jenkins went in on a sparm whale an' made a good strike with his iron, — that's the har-poon, ye know — ^but 'stead o' tearin' off with the boat in tow like they gen'rally does, this 'ere ol' whale jes' nat'rally got riproarin' mad, and turnin' round, snapped the boat in two, and grabbin' Jenkins in his jaws dove down to the bottom o' the sea, — ' sounded,' — as the whalers say. Well, o' course his mates all thought Jenkins was gone to Davy Jones' locker all right, an' they dumb up on the two halves o' their boat a-waitin' for their ship to pick 'em up. They hadn't been there more'n a minute when up comes Mr. Whale right 'loiigside and spits Jenkins out an' plumb into the fore part o' the broken boat. An', by crickety, that chap weren't none the worse, 'ceptin' for a few bruises, and was back to whalin' again inside a f ortni't ! "

" My, that is a whopper ! " exclaimed Harry. 8

'* You don't mean to say you expect us to believe that, do you? "

" It's quite true," declared Mr. Bennet, who had been listening to old Ned's story. " I saw the account of the marvelous incident in the original log. But here's New Bedford ahead, boys."

Chapter II

ALMOST tlie first thing that the boys did, after arriving in New Bedford, was to hunt up the Old Dartmouth Historical Society and its wonderful museum of whales and whalers. Here they found themselves in a new world and in the midst of most interesting and fascinating objects of which they had never dreamed. Here, in a special building, was a model of a famous whaler, complete in every detail and just one-half, natural size. In another room was a whaleboat with all its gear just as it would be when the hardy whalemen were about to go after a whale. In cases and on shelves were a thousand and one objects used by whalers ; models of their boats and appliances, ornaments and curios brought by them from far distant lands; handiwork of the men; harpoons, lances and other weapons; relics of famous ships; old logbooks and records, and paintings and pictures galore. It was all so wonderful and so confusing that, as

Harry put it, the only way was to begin at the beginning. But tlien the question arose as to what and where the beginning was. Bob suggested that they begin with the oldest specimens, and while they were discussing this matter the genial curator approached and intxuired if he could be of any service.

The boys at once told of their newly-aroused interests in whaling and their desire to learn all that they could of the industry while they were in New Bedford.

" There's an immense amount of detail to learn," said the curator. " But it's all very interesting and mighty important as well, although ninety people out of one hundred would not think so, and haven't the least idea that whaling, — if, in fact, they ever heard of it, — has any bearing on the history or progress of the United States. But, as a matter of fact, whaling has had a tremendous influence on our history, our commerce and our country."

" Well, we would like to begin at the very beginning and learn all we can," Harry assured him. " From what we've seen here we know it must be just full of interest, and we'd love to look

over the old logs and read about the adventures tlie men had. Our sailing-master told us one or two stories he'd heard, and if they're all as good as those the logs must be as exciting as any book."

" I'll be very glad to tell you everything I can, and you're welcome to read the logs and old papers," replied the curator. " But if you want to start at the very beginning, and won't be bored, I'll first give you an outline of the early days of whaling and what it meant to the United States."

Assuring their new-found friend that nothing would please them more, the boys seated themselves at the curator's request and listened attentively to his story of the whalers.

" We owe the whalers a great deal," he began, " although few people realize the fact any more than they realize what a prominent part they took in the history and prosperity of the United States, the riches they brought or what an important part they played in the exploration, civilization and trade of the world. A whale ship was the first vessel to carry the Stars and Stripes into a British port, and the first time our flag

was ever seen on the western coast of South

Aanerica was when it was flown from a whaling ship's masthead. Long before any merchant ship or man-o'-war had carried Old Glory to far distant lands the flag was known to the natives through seeing it flaunted by the New England whalers. In many an unknown and uncharted island the savages first saw white men when a Nantucket or New Bedford whaler dropped anchor off their shores.

"Almost fifty years before the famous ride of Paul Kevere the New England whalemen had explored and navigated Davis Straits, and within a dozen years after the Declaration of Independence, a Nantucket whaling ship, — the Penelope — had ciniised farther north than was reached by any vessel for a hundred years thereafter. Years before Perry had opened Japan to the commerce of the world, whaling vessels had visited its shores and one whaleman had lived in Japan and had taught the natives English.

" It was Captain Folger, a Nantucket whaleman, who first discovered the flow and direction of the Gulf Stream, and it was from his rude sketches that Benjamin Franklin had a map

made, — a map which revolutionized the commerce between Eiiroije and America forever after. Brave to recklessness, accustomed daily to taking most fearful risks and to fighting against the mightiest creature in the world, splendid seamen and loving danger, the whalers often performed most marvelous feats of heroism and bravery for which they got no credit. It was the crews of two whaling vessels, from this little town of New Bedford, who saved the garrison of San Jos6, California, in 1846. When the government buildings at Honolulu were burned it was whalemen who saved the town, and whenever a war broke out the stout-hearted, sturdy whalers were always prom]3t to enlist, and much of our success in famous old naval battles was due to the whalemen serving on American ships.

" I wish I could honestly tell you that all the whalemen were brave, noble-hearted, patriotic and honest men, but unfortunately there were all sorts and conditions of men among them as in every other trade or profession. Many of them were utterly mercenary and would undertake anything or commit any act no matter how brutal, dishonest or abominable it might be for the sake of money to be gained, and they drew tlie line at actual piracy only through fear of

the consequences should their acts become

knoTm. As long as whales were to be had they

usually stuck to whaling, as it was the trade they

knew best and was the safest and surest in the

end. But many of them saw far larger profits

in less legitimate enterprises and chief among

these was slaving. No one will ever know how

many poor, miserable blacks were transported

from Africa to be sold as slaves in the West

Indies and South America on the oil-soaked,

stinking whale ships. But it is certain, and a

well-known historical fact, that many a New

Bedford and New England fortune was made on

the profits of slaving, although those who made

the money were ostensibly whalers. It was a

very easy matter for a whaler to start on a

cruise, visit the African coast, carry a cargo of

•^ black ivory,' as the slaves were called, to the

West Indies and then, after cruising on the

whaling grounds, return with a cargo of oil. In

the earlier days when slavery was recognized by

nearly all nations this was of course looked

upon as a perfectly honorable way of adding to

a ship's profits and in later years, :when slavery still existed but the exportation of slaves from Africa had been abolished or rather forbidden, it was still a most diflicult and well-nigh impossible matter to prove that a whale ship had engaged in * blackbirding ' as it was called. The men, if they told, would not be believed and if they were it meant they would be held, if not as accessories as witnesses, and the class of men who shipped on whale ships had no desire to be held by the law even as witnesses and of course the whalemen never told of their own deeds when sober.

" Of all the slave ships the whalers were the worst and the conditions under which the negroes were brought across the sea were appalling and almost incredible. The real slavers were fast ships, their holds, though dark, ill ventilated or not ventilated at all, were at least roomy, their only cargo was slaves and the rascals who operated them had had experience in carrying slaves and to a certain extent knew how to care for them.

" Of course the agonies the poor blacks endured were awful. They were shackled in the

foul hold with no sanitary arrangements, they

THE BOYS' BOOK OF WHALER^

were deatlily sick, they were ill fed, they were sometimes kept below decks for days at a time if tlie weather were bad and if they sickened they were often tossed overboard to save the trouble of doctoring them or to avoid the spread of disease. But after all, it was to the slavers' interests to make the quickest possible runs. Every slave lost was so much money from their pockets and the more slaves they could bring to market and the better the condition in which they arrived the more they could demand for them. As a result, these true slavers did all they could, or knew how, to keep their human freight alive and in fairly good shape until the slave markets of Cuba and the West Indies were reached. Then, when the British and other nations proclaimed the slave trade illegal and proceeded to capture and sink every slaver they found these men were largely forced out of their nefarious trade. A pure out and out slaver was easily recognized and even if, as often happened, they were searched and no slaves found upon them, they were liable to seizure under suspicion. But with the whalers, conditions were very different and

far worse. These ships were slow — they were

X7 built for seaworthiness and not speed, their holds reeked with whale oil, they were filled with casks and supplies for whaling, their officers knew nothing of handling slaves and as it was a side venture the captains and their crews looked upon it as a sort of gamble and cared very little whether or not they got their black ivory into port alive or in what condition. As a result, the miserable blacks that fell to the lot of a whaler slaver were lucky when they died. They were thrown into the reeking hold, packed in like sardines, shackled and uncared for. Only barely enough rotten water and wormy, mouldy food was given them to maintain life and each day all those who were too ill, weak or exhausted to stand were thrown to the sharks like so much garbage. If one-tenth of the original number of slaves survived the long passage the whalemen were satisfied, for the profits, especially after the trade was forbidden, were enormous. And if conditions were such when all went well, imagine what it was when a whaler engaged in the illicit trade was sighted by a man-of-war and was chased. Then the only way to save themselves was to leave no evidence on board

i8 and liurriedly tlie trembling, shuddering, moaning blacks were routed up, shackled together with heavy chains and thrown into the sea in groups. By the time the corvette arrived and the whale ship hove-to no evidence was there to prove slaves had ever been carried, and as a whaler might be anywhere on legitimate business and as there were always casks, gear and usually some oil aboard it was almost impossible to prove a case. As a result, nine-tenths of the whale ships that engaged in slaving went free, but many were taken, the captains and officers convicted and sentenced and the ships confiscated. It is one of the blackest pages in the history of New England and the worst of it is that it did not cease even when the hue and cry to abolish slavery in our Southern States went up. Even while our Northern people were rabidly denouncing slavery and ' Uncle Tom's Cabin ' was inflaming the minds of New Englanders with the horrors of slavery, money contributed to the cause was being earned through transporting slaves on New England ships. Many a righteous deacon who publicly decried the sins and disgraces of

our Southern planters for holding slaves was

J9 pocketing his share of the profits from running a cargo of blaclt ivory into some South American port, and many a puritanical old New England family was being supported by the same nefarious business. No doubt many of the members of the whalemen's families were quite blameless and innocent of the source of the money they spent, for it is not likely that even the most calloused and hardened old reprobate of a whaler confided the secret of his successful and profitable voyages to his wife and family or even to his cronies, but nevertheless it was on the whole an open secret and many a whaleman boasted of his escape from men-o'-war and of getting slave cargoes into port.

" I do not know if any one can say when the last whaler carried a cargo of slaves, but that it continued to be a lucrative and not uncommon venture up to the time of the Civil War is easily proven. In the New Bedford Shipping List of December 3rd, 1861, appears the following :

" ' SENTENCE OF SAMUEL P. SKINNER " ' In the U. S. Court in Boston on Friday,

SO convicted of fitting out the Barque Margaret Scott of New Bedford for the slave trade, to pay a fine of one thousand dollars and to be confined at hard labor for a term of five years in the jail at Taunton.'

" In that same year another ship — the Brutus of New Bedford, fitted for a slave voyage and was successful in putting a cargo of 650 negroes ashore in Cuba. However, we may be thankful that her owners did not escape scot free, for one was convicted and sentenced to several years' imprisonment and the others were fined heavily. By that time, of course, every effort was being made to suppress the trade and scores of seized whaling ships were moored in Boston and other ports. And as a most fitting end to the careers of these ships and as a just retribution, the condemned vessels were loaded with stone, sent south and were sunk to blockade the Confederate ports.

" But I am getting a bit ahead of the beginning of whaling. Whaling began almost with the landing of the Pilgrims and Cape Cod was settled principally because whales were common

in its waters. By 1639 one of the most important revenues of Massachusetts was from whaling, and Avitliin the next two years Long Island had been settled by whalers. The industry was so important to the colony that the town of Southampton was divided into four wards of eleven people each whose sole duty it was to secure and cut up the whales that came ashore. But at that time no whaling had been done from ships, all the whales being captured close to shore by means of small boats. In fact, it was not until 1688 that the first whaling ship, the brigantine Happy Return, sailed from Boston for the Bahamas and Florida on a search for sperm whales. But within a dozen years a fleet of hundreds of barks, brigs, schooners and sloops were engaged in the business and were scattered over the seven seas. As a result, many of the little coast towns and villages of New England were famous throughout the world, and in many a far-distant land, and to many a savage or strange race, the names of New Bedford, Gay Head, Nantucket, New London or Sag Harbor were more familiar than New York or Boston. " But of all these ports New Bedford was the

most famous as headquarters for the whalemen, and the town was practically built up and developed througli Avhaling and the industries dependent upon it.

"And now, boys, before I begin to describe the whaling ships and the lives of the whalers, you must learn something about the various kinds of whales and their ways, for there were a great many different kinds of whaling, and for each sort of whale the methods, implements and weapons were specially designed.

" Perhaps you may think of whales as fish, and many old sailors and whalemen speak of them as such ; but in reality whales, as well as their relatives the porpoises, dolphins and grampus, are warm-blooded mammals which bring forth their young alive and suckle them like any four-footed land mammal. Moreover, they breathe air and possess lungs and are obliged to rise frequently to the surface of the sea to ' spout ' or * blow ' and it is their exhaled breath which forms the little puff of vapor which betrays the presence of whales to the whalemen. In fact, the ancestors of whales actually lived upon the land and the so-called ' fins ' are really flippers or front legs

adapted to a life in the sea, while the hind legs have been gradually lost, until now tlie only trace wliich. remains are small bones completely hidden under the flesh.

" While there are a great many kinds of whales, only a few were hunted by the old New England whalemen, although nowadays, steam whaling ships, harpoon-guns and bomb-lances have made possible the capture of many kinds of whales which the old-time whalers did not consider worth while. The most important whales, to the New England whalemen, were the sperm whalesj howheads and right whales^ but they also took the finbacks, humpbacks and sulphur-bottom whales, and when nothing else was available, they captured grampuses, porpoises, white whales and the narwhal or unicorn whale. Very often, too, they visited the remote islands of the Antarctic and South Indian Oceans and captured sea-elephants.

" Of all the whales the sperm whale and right whale were the most hunted as they were the most valuable ; the sperm whale for its blubber, oil and the waxlike oily substance called ' spermaceti ' contained in a cavity of the head,

while the right whale provided oil and whalebone. Sperm whales are denizens of temperate and tropical seas, while the right whales and bowheads live in the Arctic and Antarctic waters, and while the two latter are really distinct, they are so much alike that a description of one will do for both. Although the oil of these whales was never as valuable as that of the sperm whales, yet the * bone ' or baleen was formerly about the most valuable of whaling products, and as a result the right whale and bowhead fisheries were among the largest and most important of the whaling industry. To the ordinary person, the most noticeable difference between the right whales and bowheads and the sperm whales is that the sperm whale has an enormous, square-ended head with the mouth near the lower side, while the bowheads and right whales have rounded heads with the mouth near the top. But really the greatest difference lies in the jaws and the manner of feeding. The lower jaw of the sperm whale is long, slender and pointed and is armed with many huge, sharp-pointed and strong teeth, — as you will see by examining the jaws in the other room, —

whereas the right whales and bowheads, and, in fact, all other whales, possess no teeth, but have a curious horn-like material growing from the upper jaw in the form of a thick fringe. This is the so-called '^ bone ' and serves the whales as a strainer, for these creatures live upon tiny marine animals which they capture by filling their mouths with water and then closing their jaws and forcing the water out through the *bone,' leaving all the small creatures that were in the water in the whale's mouth. The sperm whale, on the other hand, dives to the bottom of the sea and lives upon cuttlefish or squids which he bites to pieces with his sharp teeth. This difference in habits and structure of jaws makes a vast difference in the way the several varieties of whales were hunted. Thus, the right whales and bowheads cannot see ahead and cannot defend themselves with their jaws, while the sperm whales cannot see backwards and can easily bite a whaleboat in two with their powerful, armed jaws. Both kinds, however, can strike with their tails or flukes and do tremendous damage, although the right whale's tail is the far more dangerous of the two and can be swung from eye