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About The Oregon scout. (Union, Union County, Or.) 188?-1918 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 22, 1891)
L U4BA BELLE LEE. A ROMANCE OF THE SEA. "Written for Tub i-'coi-T, by C. P. Hinckley. CHAITI.R m. T(T)T E left the "Clara Belle Lee," on y y May 5, lSf0, lying with her main topsail aback and the wheel lashed down, wilh three large sperm whales alongside, to be cut in and tried out on the following morn ing. At the first sign of lawn tho crew were nil on deck. Hot cofleo was served out' by the cook and steward, and tho business of cutting in com menced. The chase and capture of whales is line sport, but the cutting in and trying out is hard, disagreeable . work. By 7 a. m. on tho morning of the Gth, wc had one of our whales cut in and the body cast adrift. Wo stood watching the immense carcass as it slowly drifted astern. Old Bill Fran cis heaved a sigh as ho watched it dis appear, and said : "If I only had that carcass beached on the Shimo shore at Nantucket, I would have sonio money." "Yes, Bill," answered Mr. Hussey, "and marry the widow Chase, hey?" "Oh I don't know about that," an swered Bill. "Tho widow and I do not speak now as wc pass by." "Well, Bill, you must keep up a good heart, for if we make a groat voyage you will have money enough then, and I may yet sec you rolling down Or ango street, dressed up to kill, with a girl on each arm wing and wing with stunsails out aloft and alow, and the widow Chase looking out of her window, green with envy, wishing the had not given you the mitten." "Darn her eyes!" roared outold Bill, "she never gave me the mitten ! I left her and went and shipped on this bloody old hooker." After the laugh was over at Bill's excitement on tho tender subject of tho widow Chase, Mr. Hussey said: "Well, Hill, that is the report or. the island, that she tired you. But what was the trouble, anyway? You were escorting her around last winter, and ever body said you were about to mar ry."" "That is all people know about it," said Bill as ho slowly fished out from the depth of his pocket a long eel skin purse, and after hauling out numerous articles, at last found what he wanted a note written in a lady's hand and as he presented it to Mr. Hussey, growled out: "Read that, sir. That infernal note - was the commencement of all our troubles." Mr. Hussey took the note and read: Dukk William : Do you love mo as much as yon did at u quarter to twelve last night? Say vou do. dearest, and it will give me spirit to ko down and tackle those cold beans left over from yesterday. We all roared with laughter as Mr. Hussey finished reading the note. Old Bill was mad at our mirth, and tho angrier ho became tho more it made us laugh, lie was shedding his linen preparatory to "put a head on some of us," as he expressed it, when Captain Collin, who had managed to command his countenanco better than some of us, spoko up and said: "Bill, no fighting, or I will stop your watch below. Come, tell us what an swer you mado to the widow's letter." "Very well, sir. I mean no disre spect; hut those darn young horse marines referring to us youngsters havo no respect for their elders. I an swered back : Duau Si-sax: I do, Tackle them beans. And she tackled them with such effect that she was sick for a week, in soro distress from indigestion. The beauty of it was she laid it all to me," growled old Bill, "an' allowed that if I had not told her to go for the beans she would not have como so near dy ing. How did I know she was such a hog?" said Bill. "However, wo patched up our differences and everything went on smoothly until about ton days ago. We had set up, courting, tho widow and I, on that night until about 12 p. in., when on leaving her homo I fell down tho long front steps, in tho dark ness, and severely cut myself with a daguerreotypo picture of tho widow that I carried in my hip pants pocket. I struck on this, in a sitting posture. When I found out what hurt mo so, I was so mad I could not 6pcak. The widow came to tho door with a light to seo if I had killed mysolf. But when she found where I carried her picture sho was so angry with me she would not spoak, and went into tho house, slamming tho door behind her. I have not seen tho widow 6ince. I went down to Dr. King's and rung him up, and paid him a fancy price to pick out tho pieco. Tho next morning I shipped as an A. B. on board of tho 01am Belle Leo and here I am. for better or worse, and tho widow can go to tho devil." Wo were all much amused at Bill's courtship. The captain spoke up and said : "Let tho men havo their breakfast, Mr. Swain, before cutting iu another whale ; and, steward, give Bill a cake, a whole cake and pic, for ho certainly takes the enke, with his confounded love yarns." J After breakfast things were lively on board of tho ship. The fires were started in the tryworks and the thick black smoke from tho fire, made by burning scraps of tryed out blubber, hung like a pall over the ship until a light puff of wind would carry it oh" down to leeward. A new whale was under the gang way; twenty men at the windlass heav ing in the long heavy blanket pie ces; old Bill Francis doing nothing but sitting on the windla s bitts, singing shanties sea songs with the whole windlass orew roating hi on the chorus; the long, ponderous yards of tho ship, with the sails hanging in fes toons from the yards by the buntlines and clewlines; the squeaking of the mincing machine ; the fires snapping and cracking under the pots; the hoarse commands of tho ollicors; the noise of the saws of tho carpenters; the ring of the coopci's hammers, as they walked around tho jmmensooak casks, driving on tho iron hoops solid before filling them with oil; men at the after hatch breaking out between decks to to make room for the oil ; the after part of tho ship lumbered up with casks of water and provisions taken from the hold, all combined to make a picture, onco witnessed, never to be forgotten. The sharks were around the ship, feeding on the whales. Hundreds of them. All sorts and sizes, from the immense bone shark, thirty feet long, to tho smaller blue shark, shovel-noso sharks, man caters and ground sharks. All were there, filled to repletion, ly ing with their snouts thrust out of the water onto the sides of tho whales, with no sign of life about them. Not a fin would move. They laid quiet and still, full as a tick with blubber, their cold, fishy, deadly eyes stareing you straight in tho eye, without a blink. I stared at one big fellow until he commenced to sfacinate me and 1 had to withdraw my eye from his or I verily believe I should have jumped overboard to him. Tho little sucking fish, which his a curious apparatus on the crown of its head, by means of which it can fix itself firmly to any other body, designed by the Creator, to give this little fish the means of resting when tired, is quite a curiosity. Just think of the felicity of liis being able to cuddle down cosily on the back of a whale and when ho wakes up from his comfortable nap, to find him self at his journey's ends The pilot fish, jwho swims under the shark, were there, joining in tho revel a regnlar Tim Finnigan's wake. "S-a-i-1 0-h!" was sung out from the lookout aloft. "Whero away?" was hailed from the deck. "Off' the weather quarter, sir," came back the answer from aloft. "Heave away lively, boys, at that windlass," sang out Capt. Collin, "the sooner wc get tho jackets off them the sooner wo can make sail for Berinun da, and lay in our supply of potatoes and onions." "Yes," said Mr. Chadwick, "and see the Bermunda girls, hey, Bill?" "No women for me, Mr. Chadwick. They will not do," said old Bill. "Tho bible, Mr. Chadwick, says that woman was the last thing that God made, and he did not make her until Saturday night, and then was in such a hurry to finish her that ho make her out of a rib. Anybody can co how tired he was." "The widow Chase has soured you on women, Bill, I can seo plainly," said Mr. Hussey. "Now for my part, considering tho material God had to work wilh, I think he did a vory good job when he made woman." "That is a whale ship, sir, up to windward," sang out tho lookout aloft, 'and sho is running off for us." Soon we could see her from tho deck, a largo four-boat ship, painted white, and looming largo on tho hori zon, a noble sight, indeed. She was evidently bent on Bpcaking us. Cloth by cloth tho canvass whitened the yards as sho drew nearer to us, moun ted the stays and arched liko tho pin ions of sea birds from tho bowsprit and jiboooms until tho ship in tho keen brilliant sunshine showed as a surface of snow, with some of the iridcsccnsc of foam in her glittering complexion, from tho line of gold on her milk white sides, to whero tho littlo royals rounded, yearning from under tho shining buttoons of tho truck; her top gallant forcastlo black with men watching us and evidently oxcited by our having whales alongside; her offi cers standing on the quartci deck and in the waist; her captain sitting in the j starboard boat with his speaking trum- j pet in hand. Our captain was stand- j ing by tho wheel house, trumpet in I hand. Mr. Swain was standing by his I sido with the ship's spyglass leveled J on tho rapidly approaching ship. "They havo all negroes forward, sir," he said at last. "Well," answered Captain Coffin, "it must be one of Joe Stni buck's ships then, for he ships negroes if obtaina- j ble." "That is the 'Mogul,' sir, Captain j Veedcr," sang out Mr. Hussey. j "I know her now. She sailed from ! Nantucket last September, before this 1 ship was launched from the railways." I The "Mogul" soon swept gracefully by our stern, about forty feet oil. "Ship ahoy 1 What ship is that?" came sounding through tho trumpet with a roar. i "Tho 'Clara Belle Lec.'of Nantuck et, Coinn," answered our captain through his trumpet. "I hope I see you well, Captain Veedcr." "Very well, 1 thank you. How is Captain Collin?" "Very well, thank you. Will you come on board, Capt. Vccder?" "Not now; some other time," an swered the ''Mogul's" captain. "1 seo you have been at it. Which way did the whales go?" "Down to leeward" answered Capt. Collin. By this time the "Mogul" had swept by us and it was hard to understand one another. "How long are you out from homo?" roared Capt. Vccder. "Four days out liOO bbls. sperm," answered Capt. Coffin. The answer seemed to surprise those on board the "Mogul." Wo could seo them talking together, and as Capt. Veedcr stepped out of his boat onto his ship's deck, he swung his trumpet at us, and his answer was : "Bully for you!" They had only taken li0 bbls. of oil in seven months, though they made a good voyage later on. "As the "Mogul" sailed off' down to leeward of us we stirred our lires vig orously and hurried her up in the thick black smoke from our tryworks "to grease her up a little for luck" as Mr. Hussey expressed it. By one o.clock in tho afternoon our whales were cut in and the carcasses cast loose from tho ship. All sail was made and wo squared away for Ber munda. The wind had raised through the day and it was now blowing quito hard, and a heavy soa running. The "Mogul" was still in sight, far down to leeward. "Tho 'Mogul' is maneuvering down there as though sho saw whales," was roared out from aloft. "Keep tho ship oft' for her, Mr. Swain," sang out Capt. Collin. "Stew ard, bring me my glass," and, taking his spyglass lrom tho steward's hand, he slung it over his shoulder by the lanyard attached, and hurried up the mizz.cn rigging, whore, sitting with his legs thrown over tho niizzon topmast crosstrees, he looked long and steadily at the "Mogul," almost hull down to leeward. "Her boats aro down," at last said Captain Collin, "and pulling towards us, but I seo no whales. Ah, r.ow 1 do!" ho exclaimed, "a lone whale coming right for us, threo miles off'. Crack all sail on ship, Mr. Swain! Work lively, boys, or those niggers will get that whale before our eyes, and that will bo a fine yarn to go back home. Tho Nantucket girls will all throw off on you if that thing happens, so work lively !" Tho ship was soon under a cloud of canvass, thrashing through it at a live ly rate, tho water raising in foam to our hawser holes as wo Hew through the angry seas, and wo very soon less oned tho distance between us and the "Mogul." In a vory short time we could see the whale from the deck, coming to windward, with tho "Mo gul's" boats trailing along a bhort dis tance, behind, their crows working hard at their oars. Ono of tho boats was some distance ahead of the oth ers, and very close to the whale, but not gaining on him much. "Let tho Hhip como to the wind," roared out Captain Coffin from aloft. "Bank tho fires in tho tryworks. Hoist and swing tho boats, and work lively or they will havo tliat whale. Mr. Swain, you need not lower. Mr. Chad wick, lower away tho boats and try hard to cut out that whule?" "Ayo, aye, sir," answered Mr. Chad wick, and tho boats were lowered and away from tho ship in no time It was blowing heavy. Tno boats put two reefs in their sails and dashed down towards tho whalo, coming about ono rnilo off', head on. Wo watched them from tho ship with breathless interest. "They havo mado a mistake, Capt, Coffin," sang out Mr. Swain to Capt. Coffin, aloft. "They will not get thero before tho 'Mogul's' boat. They should havo braced their boats masts with their short warps, and carried all sail." "I b'jlicvo you are right, Mr. Swain," said Capt. Collin, anxiously. "Lower away in your boat and sec if you can get there. Hut be careful, it is dan gerous work going down, head on, to that whale in ihe breeze and sea." "Aye, ayo, sir. 1 will be careful." and the larboard boat dropped into the sea. Then was seen the nnson why Mr. Swain ranked so high as an ollicer and Wiialeman. Ho was quick to think and act, always showing good judg ment and nervo on trying occasions. Wo fastened a short warp to tho head of our boat mast and hauled it down taught and fastened it to a boat thwart making tho mast as stone again, set our boat sail with no iwfs iu it, shoved out our jib to windward on a boat hook, and went scudding away after our boats, wing and wing, Hying through tho water at a fearful rate, over one sea and through another. In two minutes wo were as wet as though wo had fallen overturn d and all hands bailing out water that poured into the boat in sheets. At times it seemed as though we would ilivo her under en tirely. But thogo Nantucket made whalo boats the world can't beat for ; safety and buoyancy. They are regu lar life boats. Our stoutoak boat mast swayed and bent under the tremen dons press of sail we were carrying, and wo thought every minute it would go by the board; but thanks to our foresight iu staying our mast with our short warp, it held fast. The strain on the boat was fearful. Cracks opened in her sides and the water came in, but still wc held on. I glanced up at Mr. Swain and could see by tho ex pression of his face, tho closely shut mouth, tho glare of his eye and by tho look of stern determination on his countenance that we would get (hero or go down. But, still, it was any body's whalo. One of tho "Mogul's" boats was very close to the whale and gaining all the time. Tho large six foot buck niggers were laying hack on their oars manfully, their ollicer at his steering oar, with his hat. oil' and heav ing on the aft oarsman's oar with all his strength, to help his boat along, swearing at his men ono minute and begging them tho next, to pull hard. Soon wo were up with our own boats, who, seeing thoy had no show of get ting thero, let lly their sheets and came to the wind, watching us. All rivalry was forgotten. in the face of such incomparable seamanship, and thoy swung their hats and let out a tremen dous shout, and yelled and yelled again, to cheer and encourage us on as the heavy waves, hissing and lifting away, fell in shoots like satin from tho sharp stem of our boat. Our boatsteerer crouched in tho bow. Mr. Swain stood liko a figure of iron at tho steering oar ; tho rest of us linn on thwarts, with faces looking forward at tho rapidly coining whale, with coun tenances hardened into stone, knitted brows and every musclo swelled and sot. Our larboard boat Hew by. Not a glance did wo direct at our boats wo had no time A slight wave of Mr. Swain's hand, in acknowledgement of this cheer, was all. "I believe that is a whito whalo, Clay," said Mr. Swain and it proved so. White whales aro rare and usually alono and very ugly. The aro not white but ot a lead color. "Stand up, Clay, and get your iron ready. Keep cool, my boy, and do not get excited. Got both irons in if you can. If you boys jump overboard you can stay there for I will not pick you up." And tho boys in innocence believed him, and stayed with tho boat as long as thero was any boat to stay with liko good fellows. Tho "Mogul's" boats, seeing thoy had no show, slapped tho water with thoir oars to scare tho whalo, but thoy wero too lato, for wo dashed alongside of that whalo in no time, and Clay sent both irons into his body to tho scu scing. Our boat mast snapped short off' as wo fastened to tho whalo, and wo were buried up in tho folds of tho fal len canvas, it bothered us badly. If tho whale had sounded or rim wo should havo had to cut loose from him. But ho had no intention of running, not he. When he felt tho irons ho stopped quickly, lifted his hoad out of tho water, showing his long rows of ivory teeth, and cutting his immense flukes away from us with a savago sweep, brought them back again to wards us with a rush and whirl of water, knocking our beautiful larboard boat into kindling wood in no timo, killing Clay and the tub oarsman or sinking thorn so that thoy novor rose to tho surface, for wo novor saw them again and loft tho rest of us swim ming for doar life towardaour our oth er boats coming rushing down to our rescue. (JONTtNOKI) ON fii:0ON) I'AGt;. Tho Latest; l j V Largo lnnie of Fall and Winter ('mul- Just Bccoivrd. iiiiaii ill and j-imMr - ' "f rA Specialty.- And None but the most Skillful Artists "Kiimlovful. 1 "TftE NEW YORK." KvervtlihiR in the Millinery Line Constantly on Hand. Al-o ni'imiii' A" .rtnu-nt of Ladies' Rflisses' and OhilcSrens' Shoes. Trices Clieititor than any other house in the county. Call and be Convimvd. Mrs. L. B. 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