Finding but little could be done amongst the whales on this ground,
early in December we resumed sea watches, and steered a course for the
coast of New Holland, intending to cruise off its southwesternmost
point for sperm whales. On the fifth of the same month, whilst pursuing
our course to the eastward, we sighted the Island of Amsterdam, in 40°
South latitude, 77° East longitude. At daylight the ensuing morning,
we lowered away three boats, each member of their respective crews
provided with fishing-tackle, for the capture of much smaller members
of the finny tribe than our usual game. Before arriving at the island,
we saw, and gave chase to an otter, but he eluded our pursuit. This was
the first animal of the kind I had ever seen; it absorbed my attention,
whilst in sight, to the exclusion of all other novelties. His face, in
expression, reminded me of that of a pug dog, in which opinion all my
companions united. I also saw here the first of those peculiarities,
viz. penguins, or waugans, as they are called by seamen--their hoarse
cry and long immersion in water excited my wonder and attention. Here
also were the osprey, sea hen, albatross, monimoke, right and sperm
whale birds, and numerous minor specimens of the family, flying in and
out of their eyries in the cliff, carrying food to their young, and
occasionally disputing for the possession of the finny prey, which
they capture with much dexterity. Sometimes they wheeled in circles
around our boat, apparently viewing us as intruders on their domain.
On approaching the island, we found it a rock-bound precipice, almost
inaccessible, with a scanty vegetation dispersed over its summit. It
has a desolate appearance, is uninhabited, and only visited by whalemen
and those unfortunates whom Neptune, in his furious mood, casts upon
its desolate shore. On the cliffs a few goats were to be seen, set
ashore some time since by the humane captain of a whaler, who opined
that they would increase, and afford sustenance to any shipwrecked
mariners who might be cast away here.
We went close to the rocks, over which huge breakers gambolled, and
made our boats fast to the kelp. Then out lines, and on the instant
were busily engaged in hauling in noble fish, varying in weight from
five to twenty pounds, of all varieties and colors: cod, trumpeter, and
many species unknown to us, white, black, blue, yellow, and red. In the
course of a few hours we had secured as many as we wanted; the other
boats experiencing like success, the fish biting with the greatest
avidity; it only being necessary to bait, heave the line overboard,
and haul up, and, ten chances to one, before it reached the surface, a
fish was attached to it. On an eminence on the island, a royal mast is
erected, it having been the signal pole of the crew of the whale-ship
Tuscany, of Sag Harbor, which went ashore on this island.
It appears that the English ship Meridian, returning from Australia,
was cast away here. The principal part of the passengers and crew
reached the island, and scaled the cliff; here they remained for
several days, existing on a wild cabbage that is indigenous to the
island. They were much depressed, until one morning they descried a
ship beating up for the island. She proved to be the whaling barque
Monmouth, of Cold Springs; her captain, all honor to him, and no less
to his faithful messenger, sent one of his crew across the island to
communicate with the distressed ones. He directed them to cross the
island, as at the side they then were it would be impossible to land
a boat. This, although comparatively a short distance, they were all
one day and part of the next accomplishing--the rugged, steep way,
their enfeebled condition, and the presence of ladies and children,
delaying them. The Monmouth’s boats, as soon as possible, conveyed
them aboard their vessel, where they received every attention their
condition required, and were conveyed to the Mauritius, where they
were disembarked. Now for the romantic part of the story. It appears
that in the general confusion, several bags of English sovereigns,
that were carried from the wrecked ship ashore, were deposited, as
it was supposed, in a secure place, and left on the island. This was
communicated to the captain of the Tuscany, and, as the report goes,
he had run close in with his ship, landed, and found the money; but at
the moment of his grasping it, he discovered his ship in a perilous
position. The second officer, who was left in charge, from incapacity
or ignorance, had run her ashore. Circumstances occurred, during his
stay on the island, that rendered it impossible to bring away the gold,
the existence of which, whether chimerical or otherwise, is still a
favorite theme amongst the whalemen who frequent this latitude; and in
January, 1856, a whale-ship that then lay at the Vasse, had engaged one
of the Tuscany’s former crew, and anticipated having a search for it.
Our second mate went ashore, near the spot where the Tuscany was
stranded, captured a right whale bird, and procured a number of eggs.
On examining the bird, we found that the substance composing its jaws
exactly resembled right whalebone, and its tongue was precisely similar
in shape to that of the right whale. These peculiarities I had often
heard attributed to the bird, but considered them fabulous, as did
most of our ship’s company; although many of them had been engaged in
whaling for years, but never previously had an opportunity of making an
examination. Having procured as many fish as we could take care of for
the nonce, at eleven o’clock we returned to the barque and commenced
cleaning and salting them. In the afternoon we sent another boat in,
and when all were taken care of we found that we had seven barrels, and
visions of good fare rose before us; but alas, for the uncertainty of
human expectations--three months afterward the whole of them spoiled,
and we were forced to consign them to Davy Jones’ locker.
The next morning after our fishing excursion we saw right whales and
the Island of St. Paul’s. The whales we lowered away for and chased,
without success. The Island of St. Paul’s lies in the same longitude as
Amsterdam, but is a degree farther north. Like Amsterdam, it is barren,
but is occupied by a French company, whose agents reside here for
the purpose of fishing. They cure their catchings, and at periodical
seasons a vessel visits them, bringing them supplies and carrying away
their accumulations of fish. From the quantity and quality of their
prey in the vicinity, I should think the business must be lucrative,
and, indeed, it ought to be, to compensate for the isolation men must
feel in this out of the way spot. This island being only sixty miles
distant from Amsterdam, is easily distinguished on a clear day.
Nothing occurred from this time until Christmas day, when, of course,
we who were brought up to the southward of the New England States,
expected some observance of the time-honored customs of the day; but
what was our surprise to see the work going on as usual; no difference
being made, except breaking out a cheese, and distributing it amongst
the crew, fore and aft. This humble fare, being so long deprived of,
we hailed with acclamation, and partook of with avidity. This method
of observing Christmas was persisted in during the voyage; on one,
however, nothing either in the fare, or relaxation of discipline,
served to mark the anniversary; on another we were agreeably surprised
by the steward’s making mince pies for the whole ship’s company. New
England men pay very little heed to the coming of Christmas day,
they having been accustomed from childhood to regard Thanksgiving as
a much more important holiday; and as they cannot tell at sea when
Thanksgiving day comes, the only holiday left is the Fourth of July;
and two out of the three recurrences of this glorious day, whilst I
was aboard the ship, were unmarked by a single circumstance to note
it; I well remember the mate’s answer to one of the crew, who in reply
to his order to get up the spun yarn machine, laughingly said that it
was Fourth of July. The curt answer was, “Yes! it is Fourth of July
at home, but not here.” In the evening, after the quarter watch was
set, the accordeon, drum, fife, tamborine, fiddle, and triangle, were
pressed into service, and all the national airs performed thereon with
great glee.
The New Year found us on the coast of New Holland in sight of Cape
Leuwin. This portion of Australia presents rather an indifferent
appearance, viewed from the ocean; it being barren, apparently, over
a great part of its extent, and where vegetation does appear, it is
low and scanty. Off this cape is a great resort for sperm whales, and
at almost all seasons of the year American whalers are to be seen,
standing off and on, patiently awaiting the appearance of the cachalot.
At the time that we reached this ground, the ships were just resorting
here from the coast of Africa and Island of Madagascar, we spoke and
gammoned a number, varying from eight to thirty months from home, and
having from one hundred to two thousand barrels of oil aboard. On the
fifth, a gale of wind having but just abated, leaving a heavy swell on
the surface of the ocean, we saw sperm whales. We lowered for them at
7¹⁄₂ o’clock A. M.; at 8 the starboard boat fastened to a large one,
and a moment afterward we followed with the waist boat. The larboard
boat, in trying to imitate us, was struck by the whale’s flukes and
stove. She filled, and her crew were obliged to swim for their lives
to the bow boat, in which they were conveyed to the ship. They had
managed to get one iron into the whale before being stoven; but the
boatsteerer, undaunted, when up to his waist in water, darted his
second iron at the animated target, striking his mark, but not with
sufficient force to fasten solid. Their line entwining around ours,
prevented us hauling on to and despatching him; and whilst we were
dallying, away he went to windward, towing us faster than a steamboat,
the water breaking completely over us. Our boat was one-third full all
the time, and it was only by unremitting bailing, by two of our number,
that we kept her afloat. This continued for hours, until the ship was
only seen as a speck in the horizon. The whales were darting here,
there, and everywhere--ahead, astern, and under us--and the officer
only prevented their getting afoul of us by repeated lancings; whilst
our boats were tossed to and fro. The boatsteerer of the starboard
boat was pitched out, but he caught the gunwale and soon recovered his
position. Immediately after the line ran foul, our boat capsized and
was taken down. I jumped, as soon as I found that she was going over,
kicked off my shoes, and swam for the other boat, the line of which
had been cut as soon as they discovered our mishap. On getting into
the boat, I found that three others were all right, and directly our
second mate made his appearance and was assisted in. He stated that
the line had become twisted around his ankle, but, fortunately, he had
the sheath-knife in his hand when he went down, and cut himself loose.
The tub oarsman got in with his hand seriously cut, evidently by a
lance which he must have come in contact with under water. As soon as
we counted those in the boat, the amidship oarsman was found to be
missing, and as we knew that he could not swim, we were apprehensive
that he was drowned; but on the instant his head made its appearance,
and I shoved him an oar, with which he supported himself until picked
up. After finding all safe, we laughed at the accident, and looking
around for the whale, discovered him apparently taking a view of
us--his profuse bleeding rendering it impossible for him to sound.
On our approach he gradually receded from us stern foremost. We were
twelve in a boat, almost out of sight of the ship, and had anything
happened to our boat at this stage of the operation, some, if not
all of us, would have lost the numbers of our mess; but Providence
protected us, and we came off harmless. On going on to the whale to
lance him, the monster would roll on his side, display his enormous
jaw, and attempt to seize the boat with it. This was repeated a number
of times, when those in the ship, which had been gradually nearing us,
discovering only one boat, and that full of men, they lowered away two
boats. One went in pursuit of the capsized boat, while the other came
to our assistance, and fastened to the whale, discharging three-bomb
lances into him. These caused him to roll and groan, but not producing
a fatal effect, our boat returned to the ship for more, which were
likewise deposited in his carcass; but it was not until sundown that
he rolled fin out, and was brought alongside. We secured him for the
night, and the next morning proceeded to cut him in. This is a very
different operation from cutting-in a right whale; the two species
being totally dissimilar. The first move with the sperm whale is to
separate the head from the body, and when the jaw is loose, heave it
in. Cutting off the head consumes, if a large whale is the subject,
from two to four hours, according to the dexterity of the manipulator;
if a proficient handles the spade, it is a work of but little trouble,
but if a bungler, he wearies everybody’s patience out beside his own.
The head, when completely clear, is made fast to the ship’s quarter
by a strong chain, and the body then hove in. When the small is
cleared away, the head is hooked on to and hove out of the water, then
separated into two portions, known as the case and junk, and separately
hove in. If the whale is very large the case is bailed overboard, so
as not to endanger the ship’s spars by so heavy a heave--in this case
we hove it in. Whilst heaving in our last body piece, to which the
flukes were attached, they swung around and knocked the second mate and
a boatsteerer overboard, with spades in their hands. They soon were
recovered and on deck safe again.
We now had him all aboard. The jaw was dragged forward and secured,
and several employed in cutting the blubber from the pans; it measured
twenty feet in length and had in it forty-eight ivory teeth, many
of them weighing a pound or more. The case was then opened, and a
boatsteerer jumped into and prepared to dip out the unctuous matter,
which in this part of the head is fluid; for what purpose designed I
know not, but no doubt it is a provision of Providence that has its
uses, although we cannot discern them. From this vast receptacle for
oil we bailed some twelve barrels of the pure spermaceti. The junk
was then cut into horse pieces, and these, with the other blubber
from around the head and jaw, were rendered out and stowed in casks
marked “head;” it being by far the most valuable portion of the whale,
and commanding a better price. The head of the sperm whale generally
yields about two-fifths of the oil procured from the entire fish. After
finishing with the head matter, we proceeded with the residue the
same as with the right whale formerly mentioned. On boiling the body
blubber, we found it exceedingly poor, and were not at all surprised at
the whole yield being only seventy-two barrels--his size auguring at
least a hundred. He was seventy-five feet long.
In appearance, this whale does not bear the slightest resemblance to
the right whale--its massive head differing from the latter; neither
has it the bonnet, as the right whale, infested by barnacles and
vermin; its body is not so thick; it is longer, and on the back, near
the small, a ridge rises which is known as the bump; the flukes, too,
are smaller; and the skin, instead of being black as ebony, is of a
slate color, frequently mottled with white--around the head presenting
an appearance like marbling; beneath the skin, on the head, is found
short, stiff, hair, and between the hair and skin an alkaline substance
which is a solvent for oil--it is used for washing clothing and the
paint work.
After our whale was stowed below and finished with, we remained off
the Leuwin for a few weeks, seeing whales but once, and then just at
nightfall. So the captain said, one fine morning, that he thought he
had waited long enough for the whales, and that now they might wait
for him. He ordered the helm hard up, and we went bowling away before
a ten knot breeze toward Vasse--a settlement situated in Geographe
Bay, a short distance to the northward of Cape Leuwin. Soon we could
see the breakers dashing and surging over the inhospitable coast, and
at 7 o’clock P. M. let go our port anchor in three and a half fathoms
of water, about three miles distant from the shore. We found several
other whalers at anchor, and two more came in the same evening. From
the ship the country looked low, sandy, and bushy. The next day we went
ashore for the purpose of procuring fresh water, and found that we had
an onerous task; as the casks were towed ashore and rolled about a
quarter of a mile to the wells, over a sandy, uneven road, into which
the pedestrian sank knee deep at every step. On arriving at the wells,
the water had to be dipped up by bucketsful from a depth of twelve
feet; nor was the water very good, it being produced from the sea by
filtration through the sand, which deprived it of its saline matter.
On filling our casks, finding it impossible to roll them through the
sand, we took our raft rope and laid it in a continuous line, rolled
a cask upon it, brought the end of the rope over it, and thus, all
hands taking hold, we succeeded in parbuckling them, one by one, to the
beach. I had often heard it sung that Jordan was a hard road to travel,
and whilst engaged in this occupation, beneath a burning sun and over
the scorching sand, I thought that it would not have been inappropriate
to substitute Geographe for Jordan; as a harder road to travel I defy
any one to point out. Thus we toiled, day after day, until we had four
hundred barrels of water in our ship’s hold, when liberty commenced.
This is always a season of rejoicing amongst sailors, but it would be
impossible to give a perfect description of the manner in which they
enjoy themselves, and the mad pranks they cut whilst their liberty
lasts. Imagine, if you can, a school of the most mischievous urchins
let loose, with perfect freedom to enact all the mischief they are
capable of, and you can form a faint idea of Jack ashore in a foreign
port. Some have hired horses and are riding double, one facing forward,
the other in the opposite direction, kicking, spurring, and urging the
nag onward, occasionally getting a fall which is productive of nothing
but a hearty laugh, the loose sand protecting the dismounted cavalier
from injury; and ten chances to one, after recovering his feet, the
unseated one would grasp the animal’s tail to mount again. I remember
a case of one of our crew, who, burning to distinguish himself, went
ashore, hired a horse, and rode off into the bush at full speed. The
beast, being better accustomed to bush ranging than his rider, in the
course of an hour made his appearance alone; and, on search being
instituted, the gay horseman was discovered hanging in the forked
branch of a tree, in such a position that he could not extricate
himself without assistance, and even then his garments were rather the
worse for wear.
The oldsters, when ashore, of course, resorted to the grog shop and
got merry; the younger ones, burning to emulate them, were soon half
seas over, and rolling around in too heavy a style even for a sailor.
The first day, however, settled the affair, as on the following one
the youngsters discovered that the way of the transgressor is hard;
for they had to pay the penalty of a disordered stomach and severe
headache. On the next liberty-day Bacchus had but few votaries.
I will now endeavor to give a slight description of the town of
Vasse. The town and bay take their name from a French vessel and her
master--the town from the captain, and the bay from the vessel. She
was cast away here years ago, and remnants of her timbers are still
to be seen. After half a mile’s wading through the sand, we came
to the outskirts of the town; the first house was a grog-shop, the
second a smithery, the third a grog-shop, and, half a mile farther on,
another groggery; so that it was easily to be seen that the Maine Law
had not yet gone into operation in this vicinity. Three grogshops,
in a village of about one hundred inhabitants, are rather more than
one would suppose were needed; but all seemed to be doing a thriving
business, everybody, men, women, and children, indiscriminately
going to the bars and drinking miserable spirits, for which they pay
six-pence sterling, equivalent to twelve cents of our money, per glass.
Then again, within a compass of a few miles, numerous sawyers are
employed, who, after laboring hard for two, three, or six months, and
accumulating a sum of money, resort to the village, and, to use their
own expression, proceed to knock their earnings down. This they soon
effect, and return to their old employment, when forced to, for want
of funds to continue their carousal. The ticket of leave men, too, who
are mostly employed in this section by the government, in repairing
roads and public works at certain seasons of the year, are allowed a
short time for recreation; and recreation to this people is only known
in intoxication, and hence they too are amongst the publican’s best
customers.
The aborigines are a slender made people, with faces and bodies as
dark as a negro’s, but with straight hair. Their features, to me, are
unpleasing, and they heighten the disgusting expression by besmearing
the cheeks, forehead, and the fore part of the hair with a reddish
clay, resembling Spanish brown, mixed with oil. They are very filthy,
being alive with vermin. Their only clothing consists of a kangaroo
skin, with the hairy side turned in, thrown over the shoulder; this
they call a bouka. The paint they put on their faces they call
willagee. Their weapons consist of a hard piece of wood, shaped like
a half moon, called a boomerang, which they send whizzing through the
air, striking any object they aim at with the most unerring precision.
The spear, too, they dart with exceeding accuracy from a diamond-shaped
piece of wood which they call a womara; they also dart it from the
hand. One morning I had half a dozen children darting for small pieces
of tobacco, which they invariably struck. They have a passion, like all
uncivilized nations, for rum and tobacco. The former they are debarred
from using, from the fact that the government inflicts heavy penalties
on any person who supplies them with the smallest quantity of alcoholic
stimulant. Our fellows, in several cases, got a bottle and carried it
into the bush, and gave them small quantities for the fun of seeing
and hearing them dance and sing; and, indeed, a very small portion of
spirits causes them to act more like demons than members of the human
family.
One afternoon I witnessed a sham battle between about a score of them,
equally divided. Twigs were substituted for their spears; the latter
being pointed, and armed with glass attached by means of a red gum,
are rather dangerous weapons to play with. They charged each other,
rallying and retreating, and, when opportunities presented, darting
their weapons, all the time making a hoarse guttural sound, and
becoming much excited. The sport continued for some time, and, after
they had finished, tobacco was given to them. One of them demurring
at the quantity in rather an outrageous style, was cooly knocked head
over heels, and this arousing a combatant spirit amongst our crew, the
whole of the natives, in a few moments, were flying as if for dear life
from the vicinity. From observation on different occasions, I should
say that the men are possessed of no courage; the women fight brutal
battles with each other, armed with sticks, and never succumb until
powerless from exertion or injury. But few, if any, of the females whom
I have seen, were not covered with welts, thicker than one’s finger, on
the back and breast, the result, no doubt, in many instances, of these
encounters: but they have a custom, I am told, of abrading their flesh
on the death of a relative, and to this cause is assigned most of the
scars they are covered with. They, like the men, are dressed with the
bouka or kangaroo skin, and are squalid, dirty, lewd, and ignorant.
Anything, a chew of tobacco, or a mouthful of biscuit, will cause
these libels on the name of women to forget the allegiance due to their
lords.
In the summer these people sleep in the open air, making, towards
sundown, a fire in the bush, and sleeping with their feet to the fire.
In winter they build rude huts of twigs and reeds, about four feet
high, and large enough for two or three individuals, and here they,
having in their hunting season collected provisions enough to subsist
on, huddle together and sleep away the rainy season, which usually
lasts about five months. Their food comprises almost everything that
is endowed with life--kangaroos, snakes, iguanas, and grubs being
their dainties; and if in the neighborhood where a bullock is killed,
they greedily flock to the spot, secure the entrails, and devour them
without cleansing. They are also very fond of the flesh of the whale;
and if by accident one comes ashore on the coast, or they take one at
either of the fisheries in the bay, they resort to the spot in great
numbers and devour the meat, fresh or putrid, without cooking. The
women back all the burdens, beside carrying the children; the child,
perfectly naked, sits astride on the mother’s shoulder, with the hands
firmly clasped in her hair, and in this manner they travel miles with
them. Some of the children carried in this way are of so light a
complexion, as to excite strong suspicion of amalgamation with some
of the whites in the neighborhood. The women, beside the child, carry
a bag, into which all the surplus provision is stored. Impelled by
curiosity, I one day bargained for a sight into one of these mysterious
receptacles, and for a plug of tobacco had revealed to my sight half a
dozen grubs, several snails, part of a toad, a snake, roots and herbs.
The snakes they will not eat without they have been present at the
time they were killed, being fearful that the snake, on being wounded,
should have bitten himself. These people are remarkable for accuracy
of vision and keen scent. For the former quality they are occasionally
carried out by whaleships, for the purpose of looking out from the
masthead; and I have been told by those who were shipmates with them,
that they could discern a spout or sail at as great a distance with the
naked eye, as a practised hand could with the glass. The last mentioned
quality causes them to be employed by the government in tracking
convicts who have taken to the bush, by captains of whaleships to
recover deserters, and by the settlers to track up their stray cattle.
In all these pursuits they are said to be infallible; although when
they arrive at the runaway, if he present a bold face to them, they
will not molest him; and unless they have a white man with them to urge
them on, they will retreat empty-handed. They have a wholesome dread of
fire-arms, and some of their race having seen a revolving pistol, has
impressed on most of them the supernatural character of the weapon; and
the “little fellow,” as they call it, is to them a great bug-a-boo.
On the strictest inquiry I could not discover that they had any
religion. The only inkling that I received of their ideas of hereafter,
was the fear they expressed of jing-ge, a word synonymous to the
English word devil; whether they have gleaned this idea from their
intercourse with the whites, or that it is traditionary with them, I
have no means of ascertaining.
These people are in the extremest degree indolent, and are only induced
to do even the slightest job or errand, by promising them a meal upon
its performance. If the employer good naturedly bestows the recompense
when they are partly through, or the black fellow has had anything to
eat previously, all efforts to induce him to return to the work are
futile--words and blows being equally useless. On the appearance of
whaleships in the bay, they resort to the town, and every member of
said ships on going ashore is importuned for hard bread and tobacco, or
an old jack-knife; and if the donor gives to all who ask him, he soon
finds his stock of edibles and patience entirely exhausted.
There are no musical instruments among them; their vocal music is
monotonous, and sounds harshly to the ear. At certain seasons of the
year they meet for the purpose of having a “corroborie” as they call
it, to which every member wears his best bouka; and when assembled they
vie with each other in grotesque grimaces and contortions, both of form
and feature.
These people are protected by the laws equally with the whites in
this section. Some few hundred miles to the northward, at a locality
known as Port Gregory, it is but a word and a blow; the blow, which is
generally fatal, coming first. In the latter neighborhood, depredations
committed on the settlers are the causes of their harsh treatment.
Some few of them, when young, have been taken, educated and clothed
in the European fashion, but in vain; they always prefer life in the
bush, with their own people, to all the advantages of civilization, and
only return to their benefactors when forced by hunger to do so. This
often happens, as they are exceedingly improvident. Their mode is, on
obtaining food, to gorge themselves to repletion, and then to sleep
or hulk about until Providence sends them another supply, or hunger
compels them to seek it.
These Australians contrast very unfavorably with our aborigines (the
North American Indians), being possessed of all their bad qualities,
without a single one of their redeeming traits; the same love of rum
and tobacco, and a mean habit of pilfering, without their perseverance
in the chase and bravery in conflict. I shall now, for the present,
bid them farewell, though, as my narrative proceeds, I will again have
occasion to revert to them.
As this settlement is part of a penal colony to which Great Britain
consigns her malefactors, for from five years to the duration of their
lives, to atone for offences against the laws of their country, the
society is not, consequently, what we at home would call select; but,
such as it is, it has its aristocracy. Although the majority of the
inhabitants are convicts, some of whom have served out their term of
punishment, the word convict amongst themselves is never used--it being
apparently banished, by common consent, from their conversation. The
convicts here form three grades--the members of the first, comprising
those whose sentences have not been ameliorated, are under the strict
surveillance of the government, and employed on government work. The
second class are known as “ticket of relief holders;” these, for
uniform good conduct, receive this ticket, which entitles them to
choose their own employers and place of residence; but at the same
time they are expected to give information as to where they reside to
the police, and to be within doors at 8 o’clock in the evening. If
these ticket holders continue to conduct themselves in a praiseworthy
manner, they then receive a conditional pardon, which entitles them
to leave the country, but at the same time debars them from returning
to Great Britain or Ireland; or, if condemned in the colonies, from
returning to the place of conviction; permission is, however, accorded
to them to take up their residence in any other part of this colony,
or in any colony under the control of the English government--England,
by this precaution, guarding against the return of her prison
population to her own shore. Hence these men, knowing that the stigma
of conviction will cling to their skirts as long as they remain in
this country, anxiously desire to embark in whalers--the United States
being, in their eyes, the land of promise--and in this way numbers
of emigrants of very doubtful character land on our shores. It is
customary for whale-ships to engage some of these men; occasionally
discharging their entire original crew, and shipping these in their
places. We had a number of them during the voyage, and in this port we
shipped two. I cannot but deprecate the practice of introducing men
of such vicious antecedents, into a forecastle in which are American
youths, who, by intercourse with such people, begin quickly to have
very crude ideas of morality; and, unless there is some strong-minded
person, with a clear, cool head, to rebut their specious arguments,
they exercise an injurious influence on the minds of the young.
During the remainder of our stay in this port, we were engaged in
giving liberty, boating ashore goods that had been sold or exchanged
for potatoes--other vegetables not being procurable. Beef was furnished
sparingly, it being alleged that a sufficient supply of it could not
be procured; but as I then was, and since have been informed, that
thousands of cattle were within a short distance of the town, the story
requires confirmation to make it credible.
The articles chiefly disposed of here were Yankee notions--fancy shoes,
soap, calicos, saddles, and other such stores. Formerly the whalers
that resorted to these ports for provisions found a market for all
their surplus articles; but, at the present time, over-importation has
caused a total stoppage of their trade, except at ruinous prices. Every
whale-ship that comes into this vicinity brings tons of tobacco in her
outfit, and very little, if any, duty is paid upon it--it being mostly
smuggled ashore. On the starting of a ship for port, the foremast hands
always resort to the slop-chest for tobacco, which they carry ashore
and dispose of at three times its original price; thus eking out their
liberty-money to a respectable sum, and, much or little, expending it
quickly.
The excise is guarded by the police, who, as a matter of form, look
into every boat that comes in; but I have never seen any difficulty in
carrying ashore, anywhere in the colony, twenty or thirty pounds of the
weed about the person; and, once ashore, purchasers are readily found.
A few Americans are to be found here, in every case deserters from
whaleships; who invariably, if at all attentive to business, in the
course of a few years, accumulate an independence; but, unfortunately,
they are too apt to imbibe a taste for that curse of this country, rum,
and live from hand to mouth, until, becoming unsettled and weary, they
embark aboard another whaler, and in time get home, having little or
nothing due them, after a voluntary exile of eight or ten years from
home and friends.
On the second liberty-day, given to the larboard watch, Kedge Anchor
took French leave and fled to the bush for concealment. For some
days we saw nothing of him; but, after a week’s absence, he was at
the beach, very anxious to get aboard on any conditions. He returned
miserably filthy and covered with vermin; his clothing almost gone, and
what he had left was all of one color, from wallowing in his various
sleeping places. Whilst ashore, he was under the guidance of a fellow,
who, by flaming accounts of the condition of the country, induced him
to desert, intending to apply to our captain for his berth. On Kedge’s
return, he was greeted with laughter, in which he heartily joined; and,
as it was impossible to get angry at him, he escaped with a reprimand;
the captain at the same time assuring him, that if, at any future time,
he repeated the attempt, he would not allow him to return aboard. What
effect this had we shall discover as we proceed.
At 10¹⁄₂ A. M. on the morning of February 12th, the ship James Allen,
and barque Henry M. Crapo, hove up their ground tackle and stood out
to sea. The captain of the James Allen had been vaunting of the speed
of his ship, and confidently asserting that she would outsail any
ship or barque in the harbor, he issued a challenge. We hove up at 11
o’clock, half an hour later than he, and in the course of two hours
had both the Crapo and James Allen on our lee quarter. As we passed the
latter, our captain facetiously desired them to let go that _hawser_.
They were too badly beaten to answer without displaying their chagrin;
they therefore were discreet, and said not a word. As this ship was our
consort from this time until July, 1857, I shall describe her and her
appointments. Like us, she was built from an old fashioned model, but
was a much younger ship. Her captain was of a diminutive person, and
strove to atone for his small size by blustering; his first officer,
who, from all accounts, governed the ship, delighted in a display
of pugilistic powers, and kicked, cuffed, and boxed the men on the
slightest provocation. She was two months longer from home than we, and
up to this time had taken no oil. One circumstance that I omitted, in
my remarks on Vasse, was the fact of a collation and a ball, held on
board this ship whilst we lay there. Invitations were issued, and the
elite of the vicinity, for miles around, accepted them, and at about
3 o’clock P. M. were conveyed aboard the Allen by the boats of the
vessels in the harbor. All the vessels had their colors hoisted; the
captains and chief mates were the only guests from the vessels. When
the boats with their freight arrived alongside, a chair that had a whip
attached to it was lowered, the ladies, singly, placed in it, and,
reposing on the American flag, hoisted aboard. Here a canvass screen
was extended across the quarter-deck, just abaft the mainmast, and,
after a hearty repast, a negro fiddler, who is an American by birth,
and the principal headsman at the bay whale-fishery, was called into
requisition, and, with the assistance of a triangle player, discoursed
music for the dancers. Soon the whole assembly were tripping the light
fantastic toe, on the well-worn decks that had faced many a gale. The
scene was pleasing. The coils of rigging, the shrouds, and lower masts
dimly lit up by the globe lanterns, reflecting a striking picture,
and reminding one of the smugglers’ jubilees, after a successful run;
hardy, weather-beaten men, leading in the dance; fair maidens, I was
about to say--but the scathing sun of Australia allows very few females
to boast a fair complexion, although their nut-brown cheeks glow with
health. The respectability of these people I know nothing about, except
from hearsay; but that they were a motley collection I was assured of
the following day, by hearing an old resident, a female, describe their
efforts, or rather the efforts of some of the party, to appear covered
with finery--devoting days to scouring the country and collecting
it. My fair countrywomen must not think me embittered against their
sex, or that I am anxious to do them injustice--God forbid; as a man
and a sailor, I would scorn to do so; but as an American, I feel the
superiority of my countrywomen over all of the sex in other countries
that it has been my privilege to see; and to favorably compare these
females with those of my native country, would, in my eyes, be an
insult to the latter.
I must advert to another circumstance before taking final leave of the
Vasse for “fifty-six”--that is the existence of the whale-fisheries in
this bay; there being one here, and one thirty miles to the north-east,
at a town known as Bunbry. At certain seasons the right and humpback
whales resort to the various bays on this coast for the purpose of
producing their young. A look-out is stationed on an eminence ashore,
and several boat’s crews being near at hand, at the appearance of a
whale the alarm is given, and they start in pursuit. At times their
work is very easy, but if the whale should run out to sea, after being
struck, they are obliged to tow him to the shears, and frequently a
day and night are consumed in this arduous employment. If the whale is
attended by a calf, they always fasten to the latter first, knowing
that the mother, in her solicitude for her offspring, is very careful
not to use her tremendous flukes; or if a humpback, her sweeping fins:
but woe betide the boat, unless an experienced boat-header directs it,
that is in the vicinity when she discovers that her calf is dead. She
then remains close to the lifeless body, striking right and left with
flukes and fins, to avenge her loss; and as the slightest tap from
these formidable weapons would cause destruction, it requires all the
boat-header’s adroitness to avoid them. The officers, boatsteerers,
and, if they can by any means be procured, two-thirds of the crews are
Americans: we having a world-wide reputation for skill in this pursuit.