When I reached New York, in consequence of my inexperience I could
get no berth on shipboard, as they only wanted to employ able seamen,
so I was advised to go to New Bedford, where green hands were more
wanted, and where, I was told, I could go free of expense.
Accordingly, next morning, in care of an agent, I started on board a
vessel bound for that port. When I arrived there, I was told I could
only go before the mast as a raw hand, as a great responsibility
rested upon the cook, or steward, of a whaling vessel, bound upon a
long voyage, one of which places I preferred and solicited.
I soon saw there was no chance for me with that master, so I went
to the office of Mr. Gideon Allen, who was fitting out a ship for
sea, and wanted both cook and steward. I approached him with much
boldness, and asked if he would like to employ a good steward, to
which he replied in the affirmative, asking me at the same time if I
was one.
I told him I thought I was. So, without much parleying we agreed
upon the price, when he took me down to the vessel, gave to my charge
the keys of the cabin, and I went to work as well as I knew how.
The following day the Captain, Mr. Aaron C. Luce, come on board with
Mr. Allen, who introduced me to him as the captain of the ship, with
whom I was going to sea. The captain looked at me very suspiciously,
as much as to say, you know nothing of the duties of the office you
now fill.
At the house where I boarded was a cook, who, in consequence of
deformed feet, could not obtain a berth, as the captains and ship
owners thought he would thereby be disenabled for going aloft when
necessity required it. This man told me that if I would get him a
place as cook, he could and would give me all needful instruction in
reference to my office.
I was pleased with an offer which promised so well for me, and
accordingly recommended him to Mr. Allen for cook, who, supposing I
knew the man, and that all was right, hired him.
The Milwood, on which we were to sail, was a splendid vessel, called
a three boat ship. She was arranged to carry 3500 bbls. of oil, with
a crew numbering twenty-five hands, with four principal officers,
captain and three mates, and three boatswains, who are termed
subordinate officers. All things being in readiness, the hands were
summoned on board, when, at the pilot’s command, she was loosed from
her moorings at the dock, floated out of the harbor, and with well
filled sails, stood out to sea.
The thoughts of the voyage and of the responsibilities which I had
taken upon myself, were anything but pleasant. I knew that I was
wholly ignorant of a steward’s duties, and consequently expected to
incur the captain’s just displeasure for my assurance and imposition,
since at sea every man is expected to know his own duty, and fill his
own station, without begging aid from others. But again I reflected
that God was all sufficient, at sea as well as upon the land, so I
put my trust in him, fully confident that he would bring me out more
than victorious.
As I bid my family farewell, and left the American shore, I thought
over the following lines:
Jesus, at thy command,
I launch into the deep;
And leave my native land,
Where sin lulls all to sleep.
For thee I would this world resign,
And sail to Heaven with thee and thine.
Thou art my pilot, wise;
My compass is thy word;
My soul each storm defies,
Whilst I have such a Lord.
I trust his faithfulness and power,
To save me in a trying hour.
Though rocks and quicksands deep,
Through all my passage lie;
Yet Christ will safely keep,
And guide me with his eye.
My anchor, hope, shall firm abide,
And everlasting storms outride.
Soon after the pilot left us I became very sea sick, and unable to
attend to my duties, which, consequently, all devolved upon the cook,
he having promised to assist me. But of this he soon grew tired, and
complained to the captain, hoping to get my place; so he told him I
was a greenhorn, had never been to sea before, and knew nothing of a
steward’s office.
The captain, who had been deceived by my sickness, now came into the
cabin very angry, and said to me, “What is the matter with you?” I
told him I was sick.
“Have you ever been at sea before?” he asked. I told him I never had,
upon which he asked how I came to ship as steward? I answered, “I am
a fugitive slave from Maryland, and have a family in Philadelphia;
but fearing to remain there any longer, I thought I would go a
whaling voyage, as being the place where I stood least chance of
being arrested by slave hunters. I had become somewhat experienced in
cooking by working in hotels, inasmuch that I thought I could fill
the place of steward.”
This narrative seemed to touch his heart, for his countenance at once
assumed a pleasing expression. Thus God stood between me and him, and
worked in my defence.
He told me that had circumstances been different, he should have
flogged me for my imposition; but now bade me go on deck, where I
could inhale the fresh air, and I should soon be well. I did so and
soon recovered.
The captain became as kind as a father to me, often going with me to
the cabin, and when no one was present, teaching me to make pastries
and sea messes. He had a cook book, from which I gained much valuable
information.
I was soon able to fulfill my duty to the gratification and
satisfaction of the captain, though much to the surprise of the whole
crew, who, knowing I was a raw hand, wondered how I had so soon
learned my business. But I could never suit the mate, do the best I
could, for he wanted me put before the mast, and for more than four
months kept a grudge against me. The cook also, disappointed in not
getting my place, often complained of me to my enemy, the mate. And
not satisfied with this, he had the baseness to forbid my going to
the galley to look after my cooking, and it was often spoiled. But
I bore all with patience, as I knew that I had two good friends, in
the captain and God. This trouble was, however, soon removed, for the
cook was taken sick before we reached Fayal, where he was left in
charge of the American Consul, to be sent home.
When we had been about three weeks out, we captured a sperm whale,
which furnished eighty-five bbls. of oil, which we sent home from
Fayal, where we remained just long enough to discharge the oil, and
take on board a fresh supply of water and vegetables, which required
about three days.
Shortly after leaving this place, while the captain was aloft one
day, the mate became so much exasperated with me as to beat me. He
took hold of me, whereupon I threw him down, but did not strike him.
Upon entering the cabin, the captain found me in tears, and inquired
the cause. I told him that, do the best I could, I was unable to
please the mate, who had been beating me now, for no cause of which I
was conscious. He told me to do my duty to the best of my ability,
and he would take care of the rest.
He then went upon deck, and inquired of the mate of what I was
guilty deserving a flogging; who replied that I was unfit to be in
the cabin, and ought to be before the mast; that I was too much of
a gentleman to be at sea. Whereupon the captain told him not to
lay a finger upon me again, for I was his steward, and the mate
had no control over me, which he wished him, the mate, to plainly
understand. The captain allowed I was green enough, but said that I
was willing to do the best I knew; that when the mate first went to
sea, he was as green as I was, and that every man must have a chance
to learn before he could do his duty.
The mate accused the captain of partiality to me, upon which the
captain gave him to understand that he was master of the vessel, and
should treat each man as he deserved, from the mate to the cook.
After this I soon fell in favor with the mate and all the crew. The
mate was a resolute man, and a good whaleman. Being steward I was
not obliged to go in the boats for whales unless I chose, or unless
some one of the hands was unable to go, whose place I was to fill, of
necessity.
The manner of arranging the boats in a ship of this character, is as
follows: Three boats, ready fitted, are kept swinging in the cranes
alongside the ship; these are called the starboard, larboard and
waist boats. Each is manned by six men, including the officer, and
each has its regular crew. The captain commands the starboard, the
first mate the larboard, and the second mate the waist boat. The
third mate commands the captain’s boat, when the latter does not go.
Each boat carries five oars, the officer steering, while the
harpooner, who is termed the boatswain, rows the bow oar, until the
whale is fastened with the harpoon, which operation is performed by
this person. This being done, the boatsteerer goes aft and takes the
officer’s place, while that person goes forward to kill the whale;
which is done with a sharp spear, about six feet long, called a lance.
The harpoon is sharp, and barbed at one end, so that when it has
once entered the animal, it is difficult to draw it out again, and
has attached to its other end a pole, two inches thick and five feet
long. Attached to this is a line 75 or 100 fathoms in length, which
is coiled into the bow of the boat. Sometimes these lines have two
harpoons attached, so that if one misses the whale, another can be
ready to take effect, before the creature is beyond their reach. The
lance is fixed to a line in a similar manner, by which it may be
drawn out of the animal, as it is repeatedly thrust into him, until
he is killed by bleeding to death; a process sometimes requiring two
or three hours for its completion.
The boats remain beside the dead animal until the ships come to them,
for they are generally unable to tow him to the ship, in consequence
of his great weight. When brought alongside the vessel, a chain,
called the fluke chain, is fastened around his tail, which is towards
the bow of the vessel, by which means he is made secure to it. From
his carcass are then cut large junks of oily substance, called
blubber, which is from twelve to eighteen inches in thickness, and is
the only fleshy part of any value. These junks are hoisted upon deck,
and placed in cauldron kettles, that the oil may be tried and pressed
from them; after which, the refuse is thrown upon the fire and used
for fuel.
There are five different kinds of whale: the sperm, the right, the
humpback, the finback, and the sulphur bottom, of which but three
are much caught, the sperm, the right and the humpback. The first
is found in warm climates, the last in temperate, but the right in
cold. Two men are generally placed aloft as “lookouts,” while the
ship is cruising for whales, which may often be seen at a distance of
two miles, usually by their spouting, which is sometimes repeated as
often as every half minute. The whale can neither stay long above nor
below the water, without changing.
When the whale is discovered, the signal is given to the captain, or
the officer upon the deck watch, in the following manner: The man
aloft says, “There she blows.” The officer inquires “Where away?”
“Two points of the weather beam, sir,” is the reply, or whatever
direction the animal may be. This signal is repeated every time the
whale spouts, until the officer goes aloft, to determine of what kind
the animal is.
Part of the crew are always on the watch, while the others are asleep
below. Orders are now given to call all hands on deck, which being
done, each boat’s crew stations itself by its boat, until orders
are given for lowering them away. When within reach of the whale,
the officer in command gives orders for the harpooner to throw his
instrument, which he does until the animal is fastened. The whale can
only be killed by lancing him under the fin, which is the work of
much skill and practice.
The whale is a monster, terrible in his fury, but harmless when
left alone; able to shiver the boat in atoms by one stroke of his
tail, and when in agony roaring like a lion in the forest. Hence the
officer in the boat should have as much skill in the art of whaling,
as a military commander in the art of warfare, since the safety of
the crew rests with him.