Rensselaer Republican, Volume 14, Number 10, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 24 November 1881 — NANTUCKET WHALERS. [ARTICLE]

NANTUCKET WHALERS.

Upencott's Magazine. » Walter J- , the only son of a widow of Nantucket, set sail when 12 years old with the captain of a whaler. One dark and rainy night, when they were sailing on the Chinese seas, it began to blow very hard, and all hands were ordered aloft to shorten sail. In the darkness and rain the boy fell from the mast. Had he fallen upon the deck he would in all probability have killed; but he struck the back-stay—a rope drawn tight like the string of a violin—and rebounded into the water. Soon the cry came: “A man overboard!” The captain felt very sad when he learned that it was Walter J • He put the ship about and tacked back and forth, but nothing could be seen of the boy. Before giving np the search, however, he called the men aft and asked them whether anything else could be done, “for I don’t want to go back to Nantucket and say il something else had been done Walter! could have been saved.” No man, however, offered a suggestion, and, although the time had been long—half an hour—since the lad had fallen overboard, the

captain made a few turns more and called on the men for a, final decision whether anything could be done. He finally concluded to hold on his course when he heard one of the men say that he heard a cry. They listened, and soon heard a call. “Keep her away or you’ll soon run over me.” Half a dozen different, ropes «vere thrown by as many difierent persons, when the boy said: “Make a bowline, I’m too weak to hold on.” A bowline is a rope with a large loop firmly tied to it. It was thrown out, the lad put it over one leg, held on by his hands, and was drawn on ooard. He had fallen into the water with a suit of clothes, tarpaulin overalls and shoes

on. He was drawn out as naked as when he first appeared in the world, having managed, in spite of the great exertion of swimming, to divest himself of all his clothes, in order that they might not impede his movements. When asked how he had been able to endure so long, he answered that; he was on the point of giving up from fatigue, and was letting his feet go down, preparatory to sinking, when he thought of his mother and kept on. He is still living in Nantucket. Laban M was the oldest son of

quaker parents in Nantucket. His father had been successful in business, and the son, who was an excellent seaman, and. although very yeung, was already first mate, and was" going on a voyage for the sake of his parents. The ship went for whales into the North Atlantic ocean. One day a whale was seen spouting at some distance. The boats were immediately lowered, and as soon as they came near enough, a harpoon was thrown from the first mate’s boat, which struck the animal; In such cases the huge creature’s frantic plunge into deep water often caused the rope to which the harpoon is fastened to go out over the boat so fast that the water had to be thrown upon it to prevent its taking fire. As the rope ran out, by some terrible mischance the young man’s feet became entangled in it, and in an instaut he was drawn over the side of the boat and into deep water. He rose once, called out “Take care of the whale!” and with these self-forgetful words on his lips, sank forever from human sight. He was to have been captain on the next voyage. Job C was a whaling captain. His wife, tired of the monotony of life on the island, went with him upon one of his long voyages, and amused herself by learning navigation. Her husband was taken sick when the vessel was still in the Pacific ocean. As neither of the mates understood how to steer the ship, the plucky woman performed thisduty herself,and brought the vessel safely around Cape Horifiand home. Her hue band died while still far out at sea, but his wife is now living in Providence, R. I As may be imagined the whaling captains and men were not always anxious to leave the quiet of home and the society of their wives and children and go again to encounter \the perils and discomforts of voyages: that were often from three to seven y'ears in length. *4t is told of one Captain that when his wife found the flour getting low in the barrel she said to him: “Simeon, either thee or I has got to go around Cape Horn.” Simeon went Cromwell B was a Quaker captain bringing oils and candles' from Nantucket to Philadelphia. naate, however, was not a Friend. TJr> vessel was lying one Sunday manning at Chestnut street wharf when alargeship came up. The mate of tue incoming ship seemed determined to usurp the place of Cromwell B ’s vessel. «His quiet remonstrance having no effect, he went the cabin gang-way and called to his first officer, who was shaving below for Sunday: “Mate, I think thee will have to come up here and use some of thy language.” The mates soon appeared, half-shaved, and pourd forth a volley of oaths. The officer of the incoming ship said: “I guess we’ll have to move; they’ve got some one else on board besides that old Quaker.”