THE "CHAMPION" IN THE PACIFIC--FIRST WHALES CAUGHT--CUTTING IN AND
TRYING OUT--VARIOUS PLACES VISITED--A CHASE AND BATTLE--A PRIZE TAKEN--
THE PRIZE PARTS COMPANY--THE BOATS IN CHASE OF WHALES--WALTER'S BOAT
DESTROYED--THE MATE AND WALTER ON THE WRECKED BOAT--A FIRE SEEN.
Walter had been rapidly gaining a knowledge of navigation and
seamanship; he had now to learn something of the business of
whale-catching. The _Champion_ carried six boats, which were so built
as to possess the greatest amount possible of buoyancy and stability as
well as to be able to move swiftly. They were about twenty-seven feet
long by four wide, and sharp at both ends, so that they could move both
ways. At one end, considered the stem, was a strong, upright, rounded
piece of wood, called the loggerhead; at the other, or bow, a deep
groove for the purpose of allowing the harpoon-line to run through it.
The most experienced hands among the crew were busy in preparing the
boats for active work. In each boat were stowed two lines, two hundred
fathoms in length, coiled away in their respective tubs ready for use;
four harpoons, and as many lances; a keg, containing several articles,
among which were a lantern and tinder-box; three small flags,
denominated whifts, for the purpose of inserting into a dead whale, when
the boats might have to leave it in chase of others; and two cirougues--
pieces of board of a square form with a handle in the centre, so that
they could be secured to the end of the harpoon-line, to check the speed
of the whale when running or sounding. Six men formed the crew of each
boat: four for pulling, and two being officers; one called the
boat-steerer, and the other the headsman.
Hitherto not a whale had been caught; but they were in hourly
expectation of falling in with some. A sharp lookout was kept for them;
a man for the purpose being placed at each masthead, while one of the
officers took post on the fore-topgallant-yard. Day after day passed
by, and still no whales were seen, till the men began to grumble at
their ill-luck. Still they could not blame the captain, for he was
doing the utmost in his power to fall in with them. The boatswain,
however, took the opportunity of urging the rest of the crew that, since
they could not find whales, they should go in search of an enemy, and
try and pick up a prize. Tidy, as before, managed to hear what was
going forward, and informed the captain. Notwithstanding this, he kept
to his resolution to search for whales, and not to attack any of the
enemy's merchant-vessels, unless they should fall directly in his way,
or come in chase of him. He trusted to the number of true men on board,
and cared very little for the grumbling of the rest.
At length, one forenoon--the ship being only a few degrees south of the
line, off the coast of Peru, as she was standing on under easy sail, the
crew engaged in their various occupations, or moving listlessly about
the decks overcome by the heat of the sun, which was very great, some
grumbling, and nearly all out of spirits at the ill success of the
voyage--the voice of one of the lookouts was heard shouting--
"There she spouts!"
The words acted like a talisman. In one moment, from the extreme of
apathy, the crew were aroused into the utmost activity.
"Where away?" asked the captain in an animated tone.
"On the weather bow," was the answer. "There again! there again!" came
the cry from aloft, indicating that other whales were spouting in the
same direction.
The crew were rushing with eager haste to the boats, each man to the one
to which he belonged. The captain went away in one; the whale-master
and two of the officers in the others,--for five only were lowered.
Walter and Alice were on deck, as eager as any one. Walter was about to
slip into one of the boats when the first mate saw him.
"No, no, my lad; the danger is too great for you. The captain has not
ordered you not to go; but I am right sure he would not allow it."
Walter felt much disappointed, as he was very anxious to see the sport.
He would not have called it sport for the poor whales, had he witnessed
the mighty monsters writhing in agony as harpoons and spears were
plunged into their bodies.
Away dashed the boats as fast as the hardy crews could lay their backs
to the oars, the captain's boat leading, while the ship was heading up
towards them. All hands on deck watched their progress, till they
looked mere specks on the ocean, although the backs of the whales and
their heads could be seen above the surface as they spouted up jets of
breath and spray.
Walter was surprised to see the third mate and surgeon with pistols in
their belts and cutlasses by their sides, while Nub and Tidy and several
other trustworthy men gathered aft, also with cutlasses, pistols, and
muskets in their hands.
"Why are you all armed?" asked Walter. "I thought there was no fear of
the mutineers playing any tricks."
"We obey the captain's orders," answered Mr Lawrie.
"I thought that as Hulk is dead, and the boatswain is away, none of the
rest would venture to mutiny."
"The boatswain is cunning as well as daring, and while the captain and
most of the other officers are away, he might come back and induce those
he has won over to take possession of the ship," answered the surgeon.
"Your father is right to take precautions, though there may be but
little chance of anything of the sort happening."
"We must not tell Alice, or she may be alarmed," observed Walter. "If
she observes that you are armed, I will tell her that our father
directed it should be so."
The captain's boat had in the meantime reached one of the whales, just
at the moment that the monster, rising above water, had begun to spout.
Two of the boats remained with him, while two others went in search of
another whale. The captain's boat dashing up rapidly towards the
creature, he stepped to the bows, harpoon in hand. Hurling it with all
his force, he fixed it deeply into the body of the whale; while one of
the other boats coming up, a second harpoon was struck into its body.
"Back off, all!" was the cry, and the crews pulled away with might and
main. The lines were run out to get to a distance from the now
infuriated creature, which, seeing its foes, gave signs of making at
them with open mouth; but they, pulling round towards the tail, avoided
it; and the whale, no longer seeing them, lifting its flukes, dived far
down into the depths of the ocean. The first lines being nearly run
out, others were added on, which also rapidly ran out--a few fathoms
only remaining. A third boat, which had been keeping pace with them,
was now called up, that her lines might be added to those already out.
Just then, however, the lines slackened, and the crews quickly hauled
them in. It was a sign that the whale was once more coming to the
surface. The mighty creature soon appeared, sending out from its
spout-holes jets of blood and foam, and dyeing the water around with a
ruddy hue. Again the boats approached, hauling themselves along by the
lines made fast to its body, to inflict further wounds with the spears
ready in the officers' hands, when the whale again made towards them.
It soon stopped, and began to lash the water furiously with its flukes,
writhing and rolling in agony. Once more it ceased struggling,
apparently exhausted; and the boats dashing up, more spears were struck
into its body. The pain caused by the fresh wounds made it leap above
the surface, and roll and lash the water with its flukes with greater
violence than before, till the whole sea around was a mass of foam
tinged with blood. The whale was in its "flurry." These mighty
exertions could not last long, and at length it lay an inert mass on the
surface. Another whale was captured much in the same manner; when the
boats, taking the creatures in tow, pulled towards the ship, the crews
singing in chorus a song of triumph.
All on board had been eagerly looking out for their arrival. At length
both were towed up, one being firmly secured by lashings to one side of
the ship, and one to the other side, preparatory to the work of cutting
in and trying out; that is, taking off the blubber or fat which
surrounds the body, and boiling it in huge caldrons on deck.
Walter eagerly examined the monsters which had been brought alongside.
They were sperm whales, which produce the oil so much valued for making
candles. The head, as it was lifted out of the water, looked very much
like the bottom end of a gigantic black bottle. This, the mate told
him, was called the snout, or nose, and formed one-third of the whole
length of the animal. At its junction with the body was a huge
protuberance, which the mate called the "bunch" of the neck; immediately
behind this was the thickest part of the body, which, from this point,
gradually tapered off to the tail, or "small." At this point was
another protuberance, of a pyramidal form, called the "lump," with
several other small elevations, denominated the "ridge." The end of the
small was not thicker than the body of a man; it then expanded into the
flukes, or, familiarly speaking, the tail,--the two flukes forming a
triangular fin somewhat like the tail of a fish, but differing from it
inasmuch as it was placed horizontally. The two flukes were about
twelve feet or rather more in breadth, and six or seven in length. The
whole animal was about eighty-four feet long, and the extreme breadth of
the body between twelve and fourteen feet; thus the whole of the
circumference did not exceed thirty-six feet. The mate said he had
seldom seen whales larger. Though the upper part of the head was very
broad, it decreased greatly below, so that it resembled somewhat the
cutwater of a ship; thus, as the animal when moving along the surface
raises its head out of the water, it is enabled to go at a great speed,
the sharp lower part of the jaw performing the service of the stem of a
ship. The mouth extended the whole length of the head, the lower jaw
being very narrow and pointed,--no thicker in proportion than the lid of
a box, supposing the box to be inverted. It had but a single blow-hole,
about twelve inches in length, resembling a long S in shape. In the
upper part of the head, the mate told him, there is a large
triangular-shaped cavity called the "case," which contains oil of great
lightness, thus giving buoyancy to the enormous head. This oil is the
spermaceti; and from the whale alongside, the mate said that probably no
less than a ton, or upwards of ten large barrels of spermaceti, would be
taken out. The throat, he asserted, was large enough to swallow a man,
though the tongue was very small. The mouth was lined throughout with a
pearly white membrane, which, when the whale lies below the surface with
its lower jaw dropped down, attracts the unwary fish and other
sea-creatures on which it feeds. When a number swim into the trap, it
closes its jaw, and swallows the whole at a gulp.
"You see, Walter," observed the mate, "the sperm whale differs very much
in this respect from the Greenland whale, which has a remarkably small
gullet, and a quantity of whalebone in its gills, through which it
strains its food, so that nothing can get into its mouth which it cannot
swallow. Now, the sperm whale has no whalebone in its jaws, and could
manage to take in a fish of fifty pounds, or, for that matter, one of a
hundred pounds, provided it had no sharp prickles on its back.
"Now, look at the eyes, how small they are, compared to the size of the
animal. They have got eyelids, though; and they are placed in the most
convenient spot, at the widest part of the head, so that it can see
around it in every direction. Just behind the eyes are the openings of
the ears; but they are very small,--not big enough to put in the tip of
your little finger. Just astern of the mouth are the swimming paws; not
that the whale makes much use of them, for it works itself on by its
flukes, but they serve to balance the body, and assist the female in
supporting her young."
While Walter had been looking at the whales, the crew had been busy in
preparing for the operation of "cutting in," or taking off the blubber.
Huge caldrons, or "try-pots," had been got up on deck, with pans below
them for holding the fire.
The first operation was to cut off the head; which being done, it was
hauled astern and carefully secured with the snout downwards. Tackles
being secured to the maintop, were brought to the windlass, when one of
the crew being lowered on to the body of the whale with a huge hook in
his hand, he fixed it into a hole cut for the purpose in the "blanket,"
or outer covering, near the head. Others being lowered to assist him,
they commenced cutting with sharp spades a strip between two and three
feet broad, in a spiral direction round the body. This strip, as it was
hoisted up by the tackles, caused the body to perform a rotatory motion,
till the whole of the strip or "blanket-piece" was cut off to the
flukes; which "blanket-piece," by-the-by, the mate told Walter, was so
called because it kept the whale warm. As soon as this was done, the
shapeless mass, deprived of its fat, was allowed to float away, to
become the prey of numberless seafowl and various fish. A hole being
now cut into the case of the head, a bucket was fixed to a long pole and
thrust down, and the valuable spermaceti bailed out till the case was
emptied, when the head was let go, and, deprived of its buoyant
property, quickly sank from view.
The next operation was to boil the spermaceti, and to stow it away in
casks. The blanket-piece being cut up into small portions, they were
thrown into the try-pots; the crisp pieces which remained after the oil
was extracted, called "scraps," serving for fuel. This last operation
is called "trying out."
Four days elapsed before both the carcasses were got rid of, and the oil
stowed away in casks in the hold. Fortunately the weather remained
calm, or the operation would have taken much longer. This was
considered a very good beginning, and the captain hoped he should hear
no more grumbling.
We must rapidly pass over the events of several weeks. Two ports in the
northern part of Peru were visited, in order to dispose of to the
inhabitants some of the goods brought out, and to obtain fresh
provisions. It was a work of some risk, as the _Champion_ would have to
defend herself against any Spanish men-of-war which might fall in with
her. After this, she touched at the volcanic-formed Galapagos Islands,
situated on the line, at some distance from the continent. Here a
number of huge tortoises were captured,--a welcome addition to the
provisions on board. The ship remained some time in port, that the
rigging might be set up, and that she might undergo several necessary
repairs. From this place she sailed northward, touching at the Sandwich
Islands,--then in almost as barbarous a condition as when discovered by
Captain Cook. The inhabitants, however, had learned to respect their
white visitors, and willingly brought them an abundance of fresh
provisions. Captain Tredeagle was too wise not to take precautions
against surprise. Some of the worst of the crew, however, grumbled
greatly at not being allowed to visit the shore, and showed signs of
mutinous intentions; their ringleader, as before, being the boatswain.
By constant watchfulness and firmness the captain managed to prevent an
actual outbreak; and having taken on board an ample supply of fresh
provisions, and filled up with wood and water, he sailed for the
south-west,--intending to try the fishing-grounds off the Kingsmill and
Ellis's groups, and thence to proceed to New Guinea and the adjacent
islands.
After the _Champion_ had been some weeks at sea, a sail was seen to the
westward: whether a friend or a foe, could not be discovered; but she
was apparently of no great size. The crew loudly insisted that chase
should be given, and that she should be overhauled, many even of the
better-disposed joining in the cry.
"I warn you, my men, that if a foe, though small she may be strongly
armed, and you may have to fight hard for victory--not probably to be
gained till several lives have been lost."
"We want prize-money, and are ready to fight for it," shouted the crew.
"I am willing to please you, though it is my belief that we shall be
better off in the end if we keep to our proper calling. Even if we come
off victorious, our crew will be weakened; and while we are repairing
the damage we receive we might be filling our casks with oil."
"One rich prize will be worth all the whales we can catch," shouted the
crew.
The captain yielded, and all sail was made in chase of the vessel in
sight. The stranger soon discovered that she was pursued, and set all
the canvas she could carry to escape.
The _Champion_ sailed well, and carried a strong breeze with her, while
the vessel ahead had but a light wind. The former soon came up with the
chase, which hoisted French colours. She was a brig, and from her
appearance many thought that she was a man-of-war. If so, though much
smaller, she might prove a formidable antagonist, or turn out a Tartar.
It was too late, however, to escape, and their best chance of gaining
the victory was to put a bold face on the matter. Shot and ammunition
were got up from below, the guns were run out, and the crew went to
their quarters ready for battle. Many surmises were hazarded as to the
character of the vessel. It soon became evident that she was not a
man-of-war; but she might be a privateer, and if so, would prove a tough
customer. That such was the case was soon evident. She now got the
breeze; but instead of setting all sail to escape, she hauled her wind,
and stood away on a bowline, manoeuvring to obtain the weather-gage.
This Captain Tredeagle was too good a sailor to let her obtain; and
seeing that she could not do so, she stood boldly towards her
antagonist.
Captain Tredeagle told Walter and Nub to carry Alice down below, to
remain in the lower hold, the safest part of the ship. She was very
unwilling to go, and begged that she might stay on deck to share the
danger to which he might be exposed.
"It is impossible," he answered. "I should have my thoughts fixed on
you instead of on the enemy; and should you be wounded, I should never
forgive myself."
"Come, Miss Alice. Enemy soon begin to fire, and time you out of harm's
way," said Nub, taking her hand to lead her below.
"May I return, father?" asked Walter. "I cannot bear the idea of hiding
away while there is fighting going forward."
Captain Tredeagle hesitated. "I must not place my son out of the way of
dangers to which the rest of the crew are exposed. They will look down
upon him if I did."
"You may return," he answered.
"Thank you, father, thank you," said Walter, springing after his sister
and Nub.
He soon came back. "Alice is now all right," he said. "Nub has been
telling her that we probably shall not have much fighting, as the battle
will soon be over, and we shall no doubt take the enemy."
The brig was soon within range of the whaler's guns, and showed her
readiness for the fight by firing the first shot, which came crashing
through the bulwarks, and striking one man to the deck.
"Give it to them, my lads!" cried Captain Tredeagle; and the whaler's
broadside was fired at her opponent with an effect scarcely expected--
one of the shot going right through the brig's foretopmast, sending it
with all its sail and rigging overboard. The English crew cheered
lustily. Captain Tredeagle ordered the helm to be put down, intending
to shoot ahead of the brig and rake her; but before he could do so, she
fired her broadside, which came sweeping across the deck, killing two
men and wounding three others. It was her last effort, however; for the
whaler, passing ahead of her, poured in her broadside in return, rending
her mainmast, and killing several of her crew. Finding that all
resistance was useless, the French colours were hauled down.
Walter's first impulse was to rush below to Alice. "Good news! good
news!" he exclaimed; "we have taken a prize! Hurrah! hurrah! You may
come up into the cabin; but you had better not go on deck, for there are
sights there you would not wish to see."
Walter was right, for the three men lately killed lay stark and stiff on
the deck, which was sprinkled in many places with blood; while three
others severely wounded were under the doctor's hands. Besides this, a
portion of the bulwarks was knocked away; and, what was of still more
consequence, two of her boats were almost irretrievably damaged.
A boat was lowered, and the first mate pulled away to board the prize.
The damage she had received was severe; besides which, a number of her
crew had been killed and wounded. The captain and two of his officers
had also lost their lives. The prize was of less value than was
expected, as she had only a small assortment of articles on board, for
the purpose of trading with the natives. Captain Tredeagle's own crew
would of necessity be weakened to carry her into port; the nearest to
which he could send her being Sydney in New South Wales. Some time must
also be spent in rigging jury-masts and refitting her for the voyage: so
that, whatever others might have thought, he very much regretted having
fallen in with the brig, the battle proving, as in most instances when
nations or people fall out, a loss to both parties. He gave the command
to the third mate and six hands, all that could be spared; and they
would have, besides navigating the brig, to look after the prisoners,
most of whom remained on board.
Fortunately the weather remained calm, though even then it took three
days to prepare the brig for the voyage. A third of her crew were
received on board the _Champion_, they having volunteered to join her.
Both vessels then made sail, the _Champion_ accompanying the prize.
They had not got far, however, when the lookout at the masthead gave the
welcome cry of "There they spout! there they spout!"
"Where away?" asked the captain.
"On the weather bow," was the answer.
The captain made the signal for the brig to proceed on her voyage, and
ordered the _Champion's_ sails to be braced sharp up, to stand towards
the whales which were seen to windward. There was a fresh breeze, which
seemed likely to increase. After making a couple of tacks the ship was
hove-to, and the captain ordered two boats to be lowered,--he going in
one, and the second mate in the other. Away they pulled after the
whales, which, however, caught sight of them, and went off in all
directions. The captain made chase after one, which, taking several
turns, at length came towards him. Ordering his men to lie on their
oars, he stepped forward, waiting till the whale, a huge bull, came near
enough, when with unerring aim he struck his harpoon deep into its side.
The whale, smarting with pain, turned round, almost upsetting the boat,
and away it went dead to windward at a tremendous speed right against
the sea, which flew from the bows, covering her with showers of foam.
The second mate, who had gone away after another whale, observing the
course the first was taking as it came by, dashed up and fixed his
harpoon into the other side of the monster. Away went both the boats,
towed with undiminished speed, till in a short time neither could be
seen from the _Champion's_ deck. Scarcely had they disappeared when
several more whales were seen spouting at no considerable distance to
windward. The opportunity of catching them was not to be lost, and Mr
Shobbrok ordered the two remaining boats to be lowered,--he going in one
and the fourth mate in the other, leaving the ship in charge of the
surgeon.
Walter had long been anxious to see a whale actually caught; and not
allowing the mate time to refuse him, he jumped into his boat.
"Do let me go," he exclaimed. "The whales are not far off, and we shall
soon be back with a prize." The men in their eagerness had shoved off
and were giving way. Walter sprang aft to the side of the mate, who was
steering. "You won't be angry with me, Mr Shobbrok," he said; "I
promise not to come again, if you object."
"I trust that no accident will happen, my boy," answered the mate. "It
was for your own good alone that I wished you to remain on board,
otherwise I should have been glad of your company, and given you the
opportunity of seeing a whale caught."
A whole school of whales was in sight, several of them spouting
together. The mates steered for them, making sure of getting hold of a
couple at least. Some were spouting, others sounding, and others just
coming up again to breathe. Mr Shobbrok steered for one which had just
made its appearance above water; while the fourth mate's boat made way
towards another huge monster which had already been blowing for some
seconds.
The first mate's boat approached the whale he had selected. Stepping to
the bows, he plunged his harpoon into the creature's side; and then
taking one of the lances he thrust it deep into its body, singing out as
he did so, "Back off, all!"
At that instant Walter heard a cry from the direction of the other boat.
He looked round, when what was his horror to see that the boat had been
struck by the whale and lifted into the air! The next instant down it
came, dashed into fragments, while those in it were sent flying in all
directions. The first mate, in his desire to go to the rescue of his
shipmates, was on the point of heaving his own line overboard with a
drogue fastened to it, when the whale he had struck, lifting up its huge
flukes, sounded, nearly dragging him overboard as he let out the line.
The men were backing out of its way, when suddenly it slewed round its
tail. The men, well knowing their danger, made every effort to escape,
and believing that they had got to a safe distance, and that the whale
had gone down, pulled back to the assistance of their drowning
shipmates. Just then a tremendous blow was felt, and the boat, struck
amidships, was thrown into the air as the other had been, and smashed to
fragments. The two men in the centre of the boat must have been killed
instantaneously. Walter felt stunned for a moment, but, recovering his
senses, found himself struggling in the water, and close to the broken
stern of the boat, to which he clung fast. Only one person remained
floating above the surface. Walter called to him; and Mr Shobbrok's
voice answered, "Hold on, my lad; I'll be with you anon."
Walter saw that he was towing some of the fragments of the boat. The
whale had disappeared, possibly having carried down some of the men in
his mighty jaws. The first mate, after considerable exertion, reached
Walter.
"Thank Heaven, you have escaped!" he said, helping him up on to the
wreck of the boat. Fortunately the second line remained attached to it.
"We must put together a raft, Walter, and try to get back to the ship,"
said the mate. By means of the line he set to work, and lashed together
the different pieces of the boat which he managed to pick up, till he
had formed a raft sufficient to support Walter. The fragments of the
other boat still remained floating at no great distance. Pushing the
raft before him, he shoved it on till he reached the spot, when,
collecting them, with the assistance of four oars he had picked up he
formed a still larger raft, on which he, as well as Walter, could sit
securely. He had also got two other oars with which to urge on the
raft. Thus a considerable time was occupied, and it was now evening;
before long it would be quite dark, and the difficulty of finding the
ship much increased; they had less chance, also, of being picked up by
either of the two other boats on their return to the ship.
Walter had not uttered a word of complaint, and had done his utmost to
assist the mate. He could not help feeling how wrong he had been in
getting into the boat, knowing, as he did, that his father would
certainly have objected; and should he not find them, how grieved he
would be on getting on board the ship to discover that they had not
returned. The accident had occurred at too great a distance for those
remaining on board to see what had happened, though they might, perhaps,
conjecture that the boats had been destroyed.
The sun soon set, and darkness rapidly coming on, shrouded the
far-distant ship from sight. The mate and Walter had done their utmost
to impel the raft towards her; but gathering clouds obscured the sky,
and they had no longer the means of directing their course.
"It will be impossible to reach her during the night," said the mate at
length. "We are as likely to be pulling away from her as towards her;
and I have a notion that the wind has shifted more than once. The best
thing we can do is to lie on our oars and to wait patiently till the
morning. Take care, however, my boy, that you do not drop asleep and
fall off. Here, make a couple of beckets, and slip your arms through
them; they will awake you if you move in your sleep."
"I have no wish to go to sleep," said Walter; "I feel too anxious to do
that."
"You must not trust too much to that," said the mate. "Nature may be
too powerful for you; and you will be all the better for the rest."
Still Walter insisted on endeavouring to keep awake. He was sitting up
trying to pass the time with talking, when suddenly he exclaimed, "Look!
look, Mr Shobbrok! Where can that light come from?"
The mate gazed for some time, and then said solemnly, "Walter, I am
afraid the ship is on fire."