There She Blows! Or, The Log of the Arethusa

by William Hussey Macy

CHAPTER VIII.

BOILING.—CUTTING THE LINE.—DUTCH COURAGE.—"MAN OVERBOARD."

The "case" having been stripped of its oleaginous treasures, was cut adrift, and the Arethusa, with the yards again trimmed to the breeze, stood on her course to the southward. The "junk" was then cut up and thrown into casks, to save all the oil that was continually oozing from it, and the fires were started for boiling. "Try-watches" were set at night, by dividing the time into two equal portions, each watch taking the whole five or six hours on one stretch. The Portuguese Manoel and myself were appointed to work in the blubber-room, which is, perhaps, the best station in trying out, as the fortunate incumbent has but one department to attend to, and being under deck, is not exposed to the weather. Besides, he is much of the time "out of sight out of mind," and, by cutting fast for an hour or two, may gain upon his work so as to find time for "slants" of sleep or "catnaps," so termed, till roused again by the cry of "horsepieces!" at the hatchway. Now and then, Father Grafton, in going the rounds, would stoop over the hatchway, and peer in between decks, with a call to the sleepers:

"Halloo, Blacksmith! Manoel, what are you doing away in there?"

"Leaning, sir!" would be the ready reply of the Portuguese; which was strictly true. He was "leaning" against a cask, sound asleep.

A whaleship trying out at night presents one of the most weird and striking pictures that can well be imagined. But to enjoy it in full, the observer must take his station near the mainmast, looking forward, and this during his watch below, as his duties would otherwise subject him to certain interruptions which sadly mar the poetry of the thing. Alone, on the face of the waters, rides your floating home; the darkness around her intensified and rendered more opaque by the glare of light from the try-fires, and utterly impervious on the lee-beam and quarter from the thick clouds of smoke continually floating off in that direction. The brawny forms of the boatsteerers, thrown into strong relief in the centre group, as they tend the fires and the seething caldrons, which require their constant care and attention to ensure a fine quality of oil; the "mincer" on the left, industriously flourishing his broad, keen knife in the firelight; the cooper, fudging at a leaky cask, half hidden in darkness under the lee of the "cooler;" the deckhands flitting about at their various duties, appearing and vanishing in gloom, like spirits dancing in an ever-changing light, now livid, now lurid; now dying away till the smoke pall seems almost to envelop the whole picture, then suddenly bursting forth again with startling brightness, as the boatsteerer throws a fresh greasy scrap on the "back arches," and runs his long pike under the fires to stir up "Old Hallett;" the brilliant glare upon the rigging and sails of the foremast, seeming to reveal each lay of the cordage, each thread of the canvas, with a fidelity and minuteness of detail far exceeding that produced by daylight; all together form a scene to which no description can do justice, but of which every whaleman must acknowledge having felt the influence. The captain and the officers who are not on duty on the first watch seem to loiter round the mainmast, as though unwilling to lose the pleasure of the view even to seek necessary rest; and to enjoy their pipes with more than ordinary zest, as they call up reminiscences of large fares taken on former voyages, or count the tiers of sturdy ironbound casks already filled and lashed along the rail, and glancing between decks at the blubber yet uncut, make calculations and estimates of the probable yield of the whale. All is cheerfulness and hope at such times, and the prospects of the voyage seemed to partake of the brightness of the caboose fires. Wives and children are remembered with new affection at such moments; and each feels nearer to home and friends at each recurring sound of the light-driven bung, and the inspiring cry, "Away cask!" Truly is it remarked by old whalemen that the most delightful parts of a voyage are "boiling" and arriving home.

The weather continued fine during the whole time occupied in boiling and stowing down, so that I may say I saw the first whale killed and taken care of under very favorable circumstances, and treating lightly the croaking hints of the oldsters, thus formed an opinion of whaling in general which subsequent experience did not altogether confirm.

Our good ship sped merrily on her voyage, and, after taking the trade winds, still more rapid progress was made. The equator was crossed without any of those time-honored ceremonies of initiation into old Neptune's realms which have formed the staple of so many yarns by old voyagers. Indeed, it is hardly to be supposed that the green hands would be subjected to much abuse or rough treatment from their equals in rank, where they themselves form the majority of the ship's company. Mr. Dunham, however, did not let the occasion pass without attempting a practical joke. Having the first watch on deck, he came forward, and calling a young greenhorn from Connecticut, who rejoiced in the ironical appellation of "Black Hawk," perhaps from his utter want of resemblance, in any one particular, to that illustrious chieftain: