The first Sunday intervening after our departure from home, proved a bright, beautiful day, the sun rising in gorgeous splendor. After breakfast the chief mate went throughout the crew, and gave to all who were not already provided, a Bible or Testament, also tracts and religious papers. These books, I believe, were supplied by a Tract Society, in New Bedford, who customarily place the word of God aboard every ship that leaves the harbor. The books were all received with thankfulness; and I will here take occasion to state that I never heard a sailor speak irreverently of the Bible. Men aboard ship I have heard do so, but only in three instances, and in those cases they were neither sailors nor landsmen—incapable of filling a respectable position on either element; therefore their opinions were of little weight.
Directly after we got outside, the peculiarity of the great Yankee nation began to manifest itself, and divers trades and speculations were set afloat; the ship’s company having been transformed into an Israelite assemblage worthy of South Street, Philadelphia, or Chatham Street, New York, bartering for and exchanging old and new clothes. Money is not a medium aboard a whale-ship, and the possessor of it usually stows it away in the corner of his chest as so much dross, of no value to him. Tobacco takes its place and is the currency; an article being valued, not at so many dollars, but at so many pounds and plugs of tobacco—thus substituting a vegetable for a metallic currency; and as most men coming to sea, whether they use the weed or not, provide themselves with a considerable quantity of it, some of the old hands accumulated quite a stock; several of them numbering their acquisitions by the hundred pounds. As they did not assign a motive for hoarding it, I wondered at the propensity, but was not enlightened until we made an Australian port, where, on account of the inferior article imported, and the high duty, making the price per pound treble of the best tobacco in the States, theirs, by smuggling it ashore, was readily disposable at a good return.
Gambling, too, soon developed itself, and after a hard day’s work, or when the gale was piping through the ringing, and the waves surging and hissing in ocean’s cauldron, rendering the vessel’s motion unsteady, so that the participators in the game could scarce retain their seats, I have seen a half-dozen seated around a chest (or, in sailor’s parlance, donkey), a pile of tobacco in the centre, shuffling a pack of dirty, greasy cards, playing bluff or all-fours, and watching the game as if their very existence depended on the winning or losing a few pounds of tobacco. By this operation the green hands were the losers, of course; those who had been to sea before working together, and always making the game profitable to themselves; therefore, those who had not strength of mind to refrain, were soon stripped of all their tobacco; and I remember, one evening, seeing a man, after losing all his stock, pull his shirt off his back and sell it for tobacco to continue the game. This being speedily dissipated, his under-shirt was disposed of in the same way. We, who did not take part in the game, stood it as long as we could, as the usual attendants to a game of chance, high words and quarrelling were rife; we finally began to complain, when the captain, to avoid disturbance, offered a pound of tobacco for every pack of cards that should be brought to him. This had the desired effect, and we had the satisfaction of seeing the cards hove overboard and lightly floating astern. We congratulated ourselves on this amelioration of discomfort; but an inventive genius from New Jersey, becoming, as he said, oppressed with ennui, manufactured a set of dominoes from a sperm whale’s jaw; another contrived dice; whilst a third made a checker-board; a fourth originated a sweat-table; and thus we were attended by this evil throughout the voyage—the only intermission being Sundays and the time occupied in capturing and taking care of whales.
When a week out from home a false alarm was raised of “There she blows! There she blows!” continued for some twenty or thirty times in succession, at intervals of about thirty seconds. The boatsteerer on the maintopgallant crosstrees, on being asked “Where away,” by the captain, answered, “Two points on the lee bow, about two miles off.” All hands were called, the lines put into the boats; they were then hoisted, swung and lowered, the crew following the boats down the sides of the ship, and leaping in the moment they touched the water; then shoving off and pulling in the direction of the fish. Soon the boatsteerer was ordered to stand up, then to give it to him, then to give him the other iron; and then we found that there had been no whales seen, but that the whole affair was arranged to familiarize us with boat duty, so that we might be acquainted with the rigmarole when occasion required. At first but little order or regulation was observed, each one pulling on his own hook; but after some little instruction we managed to make the boat go ahead without describing half a dozen circles before starting. As we became warm with the exercise, the old hands grew excited, and gave their short, quick orders of “Give it to him! Stern, stern all—hard! Stern, men, for your lives!” with as much enthusiasm as if a sperm whale was in reality spouting under the head of the boat. The day being fine all hands were delighted with the sport, particularly so our New Bedford boys; and after coming aboard and hoisting our boats to a merry song, no doubt more than one aspirant to the heading of a boat, went to his pillow to dream of future successes, and turn up whales in imagination by scores. Their ambition is pardonable, too, as, in the section of country in which they reside, a successful whaling skipper is looked upon as a much more important personage in the community than is a member of Congress; and I do not doubt that if the choice of the appellations Honorable and Captain were tendered to the youths of New Bedford and its vicinity, nine-tenths of them would prefer the latter; nor does he, in thus devoting himself to whaling as a profession, embrace an easy mode of gaining a livelihood. He must be no mere carpet knight, but must stand prepared to give and receive hard knocks; and combat, not only with the winds and waves (the task of ordinary sailors), but with the monarch of the seas—the great sperm whale; nor must he betray, no matter how perilous his position may hap to be during an encounter with leviathan, the slightest evidence of fear, as such a symptom would make him a butt for rude personal jokes, which would drive him, by their pointedness and sarcasm, out of the service; but he must view every position into which he is thrown, and every peril to which he may be subjected, with as much indifference as if it were of no importance to him, and he will acquire a reputation for fearlessness and coolness, which invariably, no matter what his faults may be, will gain him respect both from officers and crew; sailors, as a class, admiring reckless courage, and although they will always follow where an officer in whom they have confidence leads, the slightest suspicion of their leader’s capability or courage is sufficient to damp their ardor, and cause them to act with lukewarm efforts. I do not mean to cast a stigma on the well-won reputation of seamen for courage, but from the discipline of a well-regulated ship, the seaman is taught to look up to his officers, who, in his eyes, bear all the responsibility, and thus in a measure he regulates all his motions by that of his superior, and if anything goes wrong, imputes the error to its proper source. They possess an old and familiar proverb—viz., “Obey orders if you break owners,” and nine-tenths of seafaring men adopt it to the letter, and thus avoid blame.
Two weeks after leaving home we were startled at about six o’clock A. M., by the look-outs at the fore and maintopgallant cross-trees singing out, “There blows! there blows! there blows!” continuously, at intervals of about thirty seconds. After about ten minutes of vocal execution, they cried out, “There goes flukes,” emphasizing with great force the second word in the sentence. This was confirmatory of the presence of sperm whales, and as their yield is by far greater in value than that obtained from any other fish, we of course were anxious to capture one or more of them. After considerable manœuvring on our part, attended by excitement and bustle, three boats were lowered away. Several hours were fruitlessly spent in pulling and sailing, when the chase was given up as hopeless, the whales going faster to windward than we could pursue them. The weather was threatening, the sea boisterous, and therefore our seats in the boat were neither pleasant nor dry; consequently, at the expiration of three and a half hours, we returned to the ship. As I stepped aboard of her I felt that I had reached home, and ever after that, as long as I belonged to her, home and the old barkey were to me synonymous terms.
Whilst in the boats I saw a whale breach or leap bodily into the air, his vast bulk appearing in bas relief, suspended for a moment in mid air—the sky above, the sea beneath—and although it was not so perfect a display of the creature’s immensity and power as I often afterwards witnessed, still I was struck with the greatness of the Creator’s works in this, to us, almost unknown element.
Soon after our incursion on the sperm whale territory we lowered for blackfish, but were unsuccessful. This is not our legitimate pursuit, but is always done in good weather when a ship has a green crew; and in many instances the captain makes it a point to lower for and capture them whenever the opportunity presents itself. This is a beautiful fish, from twelve to twenty-five feet in length; always seen in immense numbers herding together, as if for mutual protection; they have a jet black, smooth, and shining skin, unmarred by a wrinkle, which in the sun presents a beautiful appearance, and from it they derive their name. The shape of their head reminds me of a pug-nosed dog. Unlike the sperm whale they have both jaws furnished with teeth. A full grown fish yields from two to five barrels of oil. Their meat is palatable to my taste, although I could not recommend it to an epicure ashore; nor would I, I think, partake of it anywhere but on board ship, when long deprivation from fresh food makes anything, not saturated by salt, a luxury. It is in appearance somewhat like beef, but coarser; it is minced with pork and fried in balls about the size of the sausage exposed for sale in our markets, and in this state its advent is hailed by all aboard with great gusto.
Their oil is very little inferior to that of the sperm whale; indeed, although I have never analyzed it, and speak merely from observation, I think if the same care and attention were paid to trying out the blackfish oil as is accorded to the preparation of sperm oil, it would be found that the oil of the former possesses all the good qualities of the latter. At least the experiment is worthy a trial.
On the 12th of August, 1855, we novices saw for the first time a foreign shore. Its appearance was detected by an experienced hand long before our eyes could discern it, and when, finally, they were pointed out to us, it was with no little difficulty that we could be led to believe the two islands other than clouds. They proved to be Corvo and Flores, of the Azore group, or as they are familiarly known, the Western Islands. They belong to Portugal, which rules them with an iron hand, carrying away the flower of the youth born here to support the throne in Europe. The next day we made land, and signaled the barque Henry Taber, that left New Bedford on the same day as ourselves. We passed her and stood close in to the Island of Flores. When within about ten miles of the land, a boat containing a dozen swarthy, grinning, chattering Portuguese, boarded us, who, immediately on touching deck, made for the forecastle, and dove into the bread barge, devouring all it contained and greedily inquiring for more. This modest demand not being complied with, they offered for sale fruits, comprising apples, oranges, lemons, limes, figs, melons, grapes and tomatoes; also straw hats, milk, and aguardiente. They brought us, amongst other edibles, an anomaly known to sailors as jackass cheese; it is in round cakes, about three inches in diameter, and of the color of cheese made from cow’s milk, although totally dissimilar in taste to any other cheese I have eaten. As regards its origin, whether produced from John Horse, goat, or cow’s milk, I cannot aver, neither do I care; but its general good taste and appetizing qualities I can vouch for from having partaken of it. After a short time another boat appeared, bringing us eggs and fowls (and knowing a sailor’s preference for potables), aguardiente and sour wine. These additions to our usual sea fare, made us an excellent meal. For all these dainties these people were willing to receive tobacco, which, on account of the monopoly of the trade in that article by the government, commands a high price. They are obliged to smuggle it ashore, but from the careless manner in which they stowed it away I should think that little surveillance is exercised towards the inhabitants by the excise officers; whilst an American or European is pretty thoroughly searched on landing, to see that he does not carry the contraband article.
At about ten A. M. the captain went ashore with a boat’s crew, for the purpose of purchasing stores for the ship, excellent potatoes and onions being produced in this genial climate, and from the little intercourse these people hold with the rest of mankind, can be obtained at a mere nominal price. On nearing the shore we found the coast rocky and precipitous, covered with herbage of the richest green; a heavy surf was beating on the rocks, but we landed by the assistance of the Portuguese, who fearlessly plunged into the water and hauled our boat ashore. We found on the beach a concourse of dark and light, young and old, male and female, assembled to meet us; all shoeless, and many of them hatless; all making a noise and bounding from cliff to cliff with little less agility than the goats, of which great numbers are kept for the sake of their milk and skins. On proceeding to the town, the name of which I never could discover, not having seen an American who knew, or a Portuguese who could tell me what it was, although I have asked the question frequently, always with the same result, we found that it was built without regard to order or regularity—the buildings of stone. Many plats of ground were surrounded by immense stone walls; some of these plats are not more than sixteen feet square, but are enclosed by walls two feet thick, reminding one of the masonry in the German castles of romance. At the town we saw little to attract except the merry appearance of the female, and scowling expression of the male inhabitants; the men looking upon us, it seemed, as intruders, and desiring but little intercourse with us; the women, although barefooted and with hair unkempt, their negligent dress exposing rather more of their persons than accordant with modesty, were more than affable; every article of our apparel that was exposed to their view being made by them a price for which they were willing to prostitute themselves; and so pertinacious were they, that it was with difficulty a sheath knife was wrested from one of them by a blushing boy of our party to whom their immodest offers (having but three weeks previously left the bosom of a virtuous family of mother and sisters), sounded like sacrilege, and, as he afterwards expressed himself, absolutely appalled him. We saw little evidence of cultivation in the town; but upon inquiry were informed, as well as their broken English could enlighten us, that the produce grew higher up—in the mountains. To scale these we were not adventurous enough; so we sat down, and, after some bargaining, procured boiled eggs, fruit, bread, and sour wine, on which we made a hearty repast. I observed about the town cows, pigs, and dogs, but neither jackass nor donkey; so I do not think the aforesaid long-eared gentleman possesses the right or title to claim the paternity of the world-renowned jackass cheese; although seamen, in a spirit of vagary, have given to it the appellation of that intellectual animal.