There She Blows! Or, The Log of the Arethusa

by William Hussey Macy

"Now, I shouldn't be at all surprised," said Mr. Grafton, "if that was the game whale that dragged me so far on the road to Davy's locker. They've killed him so quick that I think he must have been more than half-dead when they struck him; and besides, that would account for his not being seen by any of us, as his spout would be very faint and broken. She must have been very near to the whale herself, before she raised him."

"I have no doubt it was a wounded whale," answered the old man; "and if so, it may or may not be ours. If our iron is not in him of course we have no claim; and I presume they'll take care that it sha'n't be in him, when they take him alongside. But you and Mr. Dunham may as well go aboard and keep company, and I'll make Worth a visit when he flukes the whale, and see what discoveries I can make."

"There's our boat to windward coming down," said the mate, "and that's Captain Taber in the stern of her, or else I don't know him. So that's the Leonidas. Come, pull ahead, boys, and let's get home again, we can do no good here. It'll be Worth's turn to blow now, as it was ours off the Western Islands."

We jogged leisurely to windward, and by the time we had our boats secured, the Pandora was hauling her whale alongside, while all the captains' boats were clustered round her, to learn the particulars of the affair, the others returning to their respective ships. One of the stranger's boats pulled across our stern just within hail, and the mate asked what ship it was. The officer answered us without stopping his boat, and all we could make out of the sound was "Arrowroot."

"Hard up and let her go off!" said the mate to the man at the helm. "We'll run to leeward, so the old man wont have to pull up hill. Arrowroot," said he, musingly, "what name can it be that sounds like that? O, I know now who it is," with a laugh, as the truth occurred to him, "it's the Lalla Rookh, of New Bedford. I knew she was on the ground here somewhere."

It was evening before the old man returned, and lights were set by all the ships; for the four captains had improved this occasion for a gam, and much time was consumed in detailed accounts of their adventures during the season, and in examining the Pandora's "medical stores" and testing their quality. The only effect upon our worthy captain was to make him rather more talkative than usual.

"I could not lay any claim to the whale," he said, "though I have little doubt that it is the same that towed you over the bows by the leg. The whale floated, jaws towards the ship, when he was fluked, and there was the iron hole in his starboard side, just about as it was in our whale. The whale was badly wounded when they raised him, and spouting very faintly. He dropped his two lee boats in the water when he saw his sails shivering, and they went right down to leeward with their paddles, not setting any sails, and, keeping in range of the ship, we knew nothing till after they were fast. The Lalla Rookh being more out ahead of him, could see the boats, and, of course, lowered hers, but they could see no sport at that distance when they lowered. Well, I cornered Mr. Ray up pretty sharp, and he admitted there was an iron hanging in the whale when he struck him, but he says it worked out before they got him fluked. Perhaps it did, and perhaps they helped it a little. I think I should have been sorely tempted to do so under similar circumstances. As it is, he has got eighty or ninety barrels of oil, and no one else can touch it, as there is no 'craft' to claim it by."

The general rule, as established among whalemen is, that "marked craft claims the fish so long as he is in the water, dead or alive." The irons are usually marked with the ship's name, or a convenient abbreviation of it, cut with a small chisel on the flat of the shank, near the head, and if this be found it claims the whale, provided the claimant arrives before the whale is peeled of his blubber. But if another ship has succeeded in cutting him in, no claim can be made. In case the claimant appears during the process of cutting, and a mark is found, he has a right to cut off the blubber square with the plankshear, and take what is below it, but can claim nothing that has been raised above it. Such is whaler's law, as settled by established usage; and perhaps nothing could be devised that would be more just than this.

A few days after this, we played another of those tricks that are so amusing to talk of, being perfectly justifiable in this as in any other business where there is competition and the rule is to "take care of number one." It was a calm day, one of those hot calms that every whaleman must have experienced who has been "on Japan" in July and August, and which sometimes last unbroken for a period of several days, during which the heat seems more fierce and unendurable than one has ever found it within the tropics. One ship was in sight about two miles distant from us, showing marks of an Englishman about her rig and general appearance. She had shown her signal, but as there was no wind to open it we were none the wiser for seeing it.

We raised a large whale about three miles off, and had the run of his movements two or three risings before we put our boats in the water, so that we knew pretty nearly where to "prick for him." We took our paddles after we had pulled about half the distance we wished to go, and jogged more slowly in this way, but with less noise. Meanwhile the strange ship had put four boats down, and they were coming with their oars pulling with a will, so as to stand an equal chance with us. The whale had one rising after we had lowered, and again "turned flukes" undisturbed, and now the crisis was to come on his next appearance. We had spread our chances so as to be ready for him, knowing very nearly where he would appear. The strange boats came on, "smashing in" with their oars, and showing no intention of heaving up or of taking their paddles. The old man took to his oars and pulled near to us.