KINGSMILL's GROUP.--SINGULAR WHALING INCIDENT.--HARD AND FAST.--A
PERILOUS POSITION.
We now made our cruising-ground for a time among the islands of
Kingsmill's group, setting the starboard and larboard watches again,
as it was necessary to keep sail on the ship day and night, to avoid
drifting off the ground altogether. This necessity is owing not only
to the prevalence of the trade wind which blows in the same general
direction at all times, except when replaced for very short periods by
the "westerly monsoons," so called; but also to a current, varying more
or less in force, which sets to the westward all through this chain of
islands. These circumstances, in connection with the low and dangerous
character of some of the islets, as well as their uncertain position
on the charts, demanded great vigilance in the night watches, and the
strictest orders were given to the officers in this particular.
The scenes at Byron's Island were repeated at others with little
variation in general outline; for, almost as soon as land was seen,
the triangular sails would also make their appearance; and but few
days passed without communication and traffic with some of them. I
soon learned to judge of the age of a cocoanut before buying it,
for, as there is but one step from the sublime to the ridiculous,
so it requires but a short stage in the growth of the nut to change
the milk from Olympian nectar into the most insipid slops; while I
was careful not to rush blindly into _tikee moee-moee_ speculations
without investigating the matter to the very bottom. My little stock of
rarities in conchology was much augmented by small additions made at
various times; and I had rather more hats, as well as bigger ones, hung
up in my bunk, than the Arethusa had in her slopchest; for some of my
first purchases in this line would have set loosely on Daniel Lambert.
These little episodes, interspersed with the excitement of whaling
adventures, served effectually to break the monotony of a long cruise
at sea, and to make the time pass quickly and pleasantly. Sperm whales
are frequently seen, and we were successful, as a general thing,
in taking them. The whales here ran small in size; the cows seldom
yielding above twenty barrels, oftener fifteen or sixteen. Now and
then a school would be met with, accompanied by one old eighty-barrel
patriarch, or _schoolmaster_, as he might be not inaptly termed. Of
course, our principal efforts were directed to capturing this fellow,
if possible. In one instance, we succeeded quite unexpectedly, and in a
very singular manner.
We lowered in pursuit of a school of small whales, no large one having
been seen among them before we left the ship. The whales in some way
took the alarm before we got up to them, and when the mate called
me up, they had all gone down but one cow with a small calf. I drew
back my iron for a dart, but the cow had already pitched, and was too
far from me to make a safe thing of it. "Strike the calf!" said Mr.
Grafton; and, with a twinge of conscience at the cruelty of the deed, I
threw an iron at the infant whale, who seemed hardly able to carry it
off in his back. However, down he went, and we gave him line freely,
as we were fearful of drawing the iron. We felt pretty sure that when
he rose again, we should have a chance at the mother; and that chance
was good of the rest of the school "bringing to." In such a case, we
might get a good "cut" of oil, by striking a whale which, alone, was
of little or no value. He had "sounded out" forty or fifty fathoms of
line, when the strain suddenly relaxed, and the line hung slack. "We
are loose!" cried the mate, "haul in line!" then shouted to the other
two boats, who were hovering near us, to "Pull ahead!" They sprang to
their oars to take the next chance at the school when they should rise,
while we gathered in our stray line quite leisurely. Presently our
line seemed to be foul of something, which offered a strange kind of
resistance to our efforts; it did not bring up firmly, but seemed to be
grating or chafing against something, so that we still gained on it,
though making slow progress.
"What can be the matter?" I asked.
"I don't know," said Father Grafton. "I can't account for the line
acting this way." Just then there was another heavy surge upon it, then
that peculiar grating and slipping, and we got in two or three more
fathoms of it. "Something is under us," said he. "Slack line and stand
by your oars!"
We slacked away and sterned off a little. Presently there was a
commotion and lifting of the sea as it were, close ahead of us,
and with a roar as he broke water, the ponderous "junk" of a
"ninety-barreller" was forced up into view; he straightened, showing
us his vast breadth of beam, and then with a thundering flap of his
immense flukes upon the water, which half-drowned us all in the spray,
he started to windward, towing us after him! Astonishment held us all
mute for a moment, but the mate, seeing that he was fairly "harnessed,"
soon recovered his usual coolness.
"Clear away my lance!" said he to the bowman, as he placed the second
iron in the crotch ready for darting. "We're fast to him, Blacksmith,
but _how_, the Lord knows, _I_ don't. If that's the whale that you
struck, he has _grown_ out of all knowledge within a quarter of an
hour!"
The old man and second mate were coming to the rescue, having soon
perceived the state of affairs. They were as much puzzled, of course,
as we were; but, if we had hooked to the schoolmaster, that was enough
for the present. The second boat was soon fast, and when we hauled up
to lance, the mystery was explained. The large whale had fouled the
line with his lower jaw, and the strain had drawn the iron from the
little one. The monster in his struggles had rolled over and we had
been hauling the line across his jaw, till we had got the slack all
in, and the harpoon and pole had formed a toggil across his "jole" at
the corner of his mouth. In an hour's time we hauled him alongside the
ship, well pleased with the exchange we had involuntarily made of a
calf for a full-grown bull.
We had cruised this ground over, working down to leeward of Ocean and
Pleasant Islands, which lie somewhat detached from the main cluster of
the group, and, then taking the advantage of a westerly monsoon, which
brought us back to Byron's Island, we cruised it all over again. We had
taken about six hundred barrels of sperm oil, and it was nearly time
for us to be making a port, as we intended to take the next season "on
Japan."
We had been in sight of one of the islands one afternoon, and several
canoes came off for a short time, but the weather had been overcast
and rainy, and we had no observations of the sun; and as we had but an
indifferent one the day before, we were in doubt from what island the
canoes came. We knew we must be somewhere in the vicinity of Simpson's
and Henderville's Islands. The wind was light the first part of the
night, and we stood on the southern tack till midnight, when we wore
ship, and headed back to the northward. This was done in our watch,
and when we went below at three in the morning, it was cloudy weather
with light rain squalls. Nothing had been seen; the wind was light and
the sea unusually smooth, as it seemed to us, indicating that we were
under the lea of one of the islands. The second mate was cautioned
to keep a good lookout ahead and off the lee bow, and we went below,
feeling no uneasiness as it would be daylight in an hour. The captain
had been on deck at about two, and he thought from appearances and from
the strength of the current, that we must be to the westward of our
reckoning, and now under the lee of Woodle's Island, and, if so, we had
sea-room enough for the present.
The heat kept me awake for some time after I turned in, or rather lay
down on my chest-lid, for I could not endure the temperature in the
bunk, and the weather was too damp to take my jacket and pillow on
deck, or into one of the quarter-boats as I was in the habit of doing
when it was fine and dry. I could hear Mr. Dunham and Fisher moving
about and talking over me, for a short time; then all was still, and
overcome by drowsiness I fell asleep.
A trembling movement of the ship with a grinding sound beneath me
brought my feet to the floor with a bound; my trousers and hat were
seized at the same instant, and the mate, Mr. Bunker, and myself
reached the deck all at once, crowding each other on the stairs. The
captain was already there. None of us asked another what was the
matter; we seemed to wake with an instinctive understanding of the
whole truth in its painful aggregate; and our first glances around were
merely to take in the details of the situation.
Cocoanut trees were looming on the starboard bow, seeming in the gray
light to overhang the ship, and gradually receding along the beam and
quarter, as the land trended to the south-east. All was clear blue
water off the lee bow, but day had broken, and a line of cocoanut trees
against the western skies indicated another island within a few miles
off the lee beam. We had run on the lee end of one of the islands, for
the line of the reef, as marked by the color of the water, was only one
point off the port bow. A quarter of a mile more off would have carried
us all clear, and into the channel between the two. The wind was very
light, and partially embayed as we were it was so smooth that there was
little or no breaker near the ship, and she scarcely moved after the
first shock of running on the reef.
I had taken these few hasty notes while we were hauling everything in
aback, with the hope of forcing her astern, but the power of her sails
was not sufficient with so light a breeze. The pumps were tried, but
showed no leak, and the hand lead was passed along for sounding. No
questions were asked, no fault found, though we all understood well
enough how it happened. As I have before intimated, the second mate,
though so good an officer in all other respects, had the fatal weakness
of falling to sleep at his post. I knew as well as if I had seen it
myself, that after stirring about a short time and setting a lookout,
he had sat down and dropped off into the land of Nod. Of course, if the
officer of the deck sleeps, all the rest will be likely to follow his
example; Jack not being disposed to take upon himself any cares for
which an other is better paid. I have no doubt to this day, that, at
the moment the ship struck, every man was asleep, both above and below
deck, but the captain, who was just coming up the stairs.
The hand lead gave eight feet of water under the bow on the starboard
side. From this depth it was evident the reef rose abruptly; as,
ten feet ahead of us the rock was dry and our martingale was almost
touching it. Under the larboard bow we got ten feet, and a boat's
length from the ship the lead indicated five fathoms. The kedge anchor
was being prepared for service, for we could hear the voices of natives
on the beach, and doubtless the canoes would surround us as soon as
daylight should arrive, and the alarm be spread; so that whatever was
to be done must be done soon or we should have to fight an army of
hostile savages. But soundings taken thirty yards from the ship gave
sixty fathoms off the port bow, and at fifty yards distance no bottom
was reached with a hundred and fifty fathoms. No kedging could be done
in that direction to swing her bow off. We sent the boat astern with
no better success. The deep sea line failed to find any bottom, and it
was evident the ship hung by her bow only, on the very angle of a reef
which rose boldly from the depths of the ocean. Under the fore-chains
we had fourteen feet, which was enough to have floated the ship. We
had the satisfaction of knowing that a pull of a couple of fathoms in
either of two directions would place her in her native element, but how
were we to get it? Our kedge anchor was useless, owing to the great
depth of water on the off side and astern of us. A strong breeze acting
upon the head sails thrown aback would probably have done the work for
us.
Daylight, while it gave us a clear view of our position, also brought
new dangers, for several canoes were already hovering near, and others
could be seen shoving out all along the beach. We could see that the
men were all armed, and that no women were in any of the canoes. This
was sufficient evidence that they meant mischief, and would venture
an attack upon us in our crippled position, which they would not dare
make if we were under way. However, we knew their wholesome dread of
fire-arms, and trusted to be able to keep them at bay, if we could
contrive any purchase to haul the ship off the ledge. But one way of
doing this presented itself; and we at once set about the necessary
preparations for availing ourselves of it.
About two hundred yards from us, in a line nearly astern, a point or
projection of the coral reef made out in a south-west direction, the
rock being but little more than dry at high water; and in the scanty
soil on this point, three cocoanut trees had firmly rooted themselves,
one of them inclining so much seaward, that its lofty tuft of branches
must have almost brushed the sails of the ship as she passed in by
it. If a line could be carried to these trees, and brought in at the
taffrail to the capstan or windlass, we could heave the ship off,
without doubt; but the undertaking involved considerable risk. The two
cutting falls were unrove from the blocks and connected by a bend,
which formed a rope long enough for our purpose, and of sufficient
strength to bear all the strain that we should want to heave. This
was all placed in one boat, in two large coils well spread out on top
of the thwarts. Only one man was to go in this boat, at the steering
oar, and the position was assigned to me. The other two boats were
lowered, and manned with full crews, the second and third mates being
placed in command. All the fire-arms had in the mean time been loaded,
six-pounder and all; and most of the muskets were distributed in the
boats, as there was no fear of the savages making an attack on the ship
at present. They would wait to concentrate all their fighting force
before doing so.
When we had completed our preparations there were not more than twenty
canoes assembled, averaging about five men to each; and these were,
thus far, acting only as a squadron of observation; but two had made
their appearance ahead of the ship coming round the end of the reef,
being the advance guard of another fleet from the north side of the
island, while the number of triangular sails momentarily increasing off
the lee beam and quarter promised large reinforcements from the other
island. It was low tide when the ship ran ashore, and the flood was now
beginning to make; a couple of hours would, doubtless, give us water
enough to haul her off.
The second mate's boat, pulled in advance, towing the boat in which
I was steering, loaded with the hawser. Mr. Bunker, with the third
boat, followed close in my wake, as rear guard, carrying the end of a
light whale line which was paid out from the ship. The six-pounder was
trained for a covering fire, but no fire-arms were to be used, nor any
violence offered, except in case of the last necessity. The natives in
the canoes intently watched our movements, paddling a little towards
us, but resting again, as they saw the number of muskets in the two
boats. They, of course, understood our manoeuvre, but to oppose our
landing would involve more risk from the guns than they cared to run.
Thus holding them in awe, the operation was performed without a shot,
the first boat only being beached. The crew jumped out, pulled the end
of the hawser ashore by a piece of small line, hitched it securely
round two trees which grew close together, while the end of the whale
line was being bent to the other end of the coil; a wave of my hat gave
the signal to "haul away!" I laid the boat round, was taken in tow by
the third mate, and we returned to the ship paying out the hawser from
both coils at once.
When about midway between the shore and the ship, having paid all out
and thrown the bight clear of the boat, I was startled by a man under
water swimming towards the hawser. I called to Mr. Bunker to "heave
up," for it instantly occurred to me what his purpose was. He was
nearly under the head of my boat, and gradually rising towards the
surface as he approached his object. My boat-spade, keen as a razor,
with a light warp attached to it, lay convenient to my hand. I seized
it with a nervous grasp, feeling that it had fallen to my duty to shed
the first blood in this affair. The savage was coming up; already his
arm was outstretched to grasp the hawser. I could see a knife gleaming
in his other hand. My spade descended with careful aim upon his right
arm, his ugly head rose to the surface in a pool of blood, and with an
unearthly yell he struck out with one arm towards the canoes, holding
aloft the stump of the other, cut clear off between the shoulder and
the elbow!
The hawser was safe for the present; another minute and it was hauled
taut and taken to the windlass, the tension bringing it above the
surface. A boat's crew, well armed, remained on the point to protect
that end; and in order to divide it at any point, the person attempting
it must raise his head out of water and expose himself to almost
certain death; for keen eyes were sighting loaded muskets both from the
taffrail and the beach. We hove a severe strain at the windlass, but it
was evident we could not start her yet; we must wait the rise of the
tide, and, in the mean time, our chief attention must be devoted to the
protection of our hawser. If our enemies could divide this, they would
gain time and assemble a large force so as to overpower and massacre
the whole of us. The division from the north side of the island were
apparently all in sight now, and were forming a junction with their
comrades, the whole force amounting to about forty canoes with two
hundred fighting men, their arms being clubs and spears of wood, set
thickly with rows of shark's teeth. We made no attempt to prevent the
junction of the two fleets, for we did not mean to waste a charge of
powder, but reserve it for an emergency. If we could protect our hawser
and get another hour or two of flood tide, we did not fear a legion of
them when under way; and this we hoped to effect before the arrival of
the fleet from Woodle's island, which numbered some thirty canoes more.
The women and children of the island, with a few old men whose fighting
days were gone by, had all assembled on the beach at a short distance
from the ship, anxiously waiting the progress of events. They kept up a
terrible yelling and shouting to the warriors in the canoes, apparently
urging them on to attack us. After a time, becoming emboldened by
impunity, a party of them ran down on the rocks ahead of the ship, and
saluted us with a volley of stones, some of which came in over the
bows, falling among us. To get rid of this annoyance the six-pounder,
with only a charge of powder and wad was now trained in that direction
and fired over their heads. The effect was all we could have desired;
the rabble retreated to what they considered a safe distance, and
ventured no more within range.
From time to time we tried a little additional strain on the hawser,
and at length had the satisfaction of feeling the ship tremble and
waver a little under our efforts. On sounding now we found thirteen
feet as far forward as the fore-swifter, and it was evident we hung by
only a few feet of the keel from the cutwater aft.
"The hawser does not pull in the direction that we could wish it did,"
said the old man, now in consultation with the mate at the taffrail.
"It'll pull her off without doubt if we can wait half an hour or more.
But in that time, those devils will get here from Woodle's, and we
shall be surrounded with enemies. Besides, I am getting anxious about
Mr. Dunham and his crew, who are held at bay there on the point. You
see, the hawser pulls rather too much to seaward and grinds her
starboard bow hard against the ledge. I think by the feeling of her,
that if that could be slacked up suddenly her stern would swing in, and
perhaps she might slide off sideways."
"I think so too," said Mr. Grafton. "But it's a ticklish thing,
because, as soon as that hawser is slacked into the water, they'll make
an attempt to cut it, if they've got another knife among them, which is
doubtful. It would be bungling work cutting it with any of their own
instruments."
"We must risk it, at any rate," said the old man, after considering a
moment. "Those canoes will be here in a few minutes, and then we shall
have a general attack. We'll try it, and if she does not swing as we
expect we'll heave right in again, and wait the tide as we have been
doing. Stand by to come up that hawser at the windlass! Sharp eyes out
now at the taffrail! Keep your guns ready, and if you see a head come
up near that hawser, _don't miss him!_"
He waved his hand to the windlass bits; the fall "rendered" round the
barrel with a heavy surge, and the ship swung, as he had expected. Her
stern trended in shore till she was about half broadside on; and her
bow, sliding and grinding on the rocks, forced itself partly off, but
hung again, now without motion.