There She Blows! Or, The Log of the Arethusa

by William Hussey Macy

We slacked away and sterned off a little. Presently there was a commotion and lifting of the sea as it were, close ahead of us, and with a roar as he broke water, the ponderous "junk" of a "ninety-barreller" was forced up into view; he straightened, showing us his vast breadth of beam, and then with a thundering flap of his immense flukes upon the water, which half-drowned us all in the spray, he started to windward, towing us after him! Astonishment held us all mute for a moment, but the mate, seeing that he was fairly "harnessed," soon recovered his usual coolness.

"Clear away my lance!" said he to the bowman, as he placed the second iron in the crotch ready for darting. "We're fast to him, Blacksmith, but how, the Lord knows, I don't. If that's the whale that you struck, he has grown out of all knowledge within a quarter of an hour!"

The old man and second mate were coming to the rescue, having soon perceived the state of affairs. They were as much puzzled, of course, as we were; but, if we had hooked to the schoolmaster, that was enough for the present. The second boat was soon fast, and when we hauled up to lance, the mystery was explained. The large whale had fouled the line with his lower jaw, and the strain had drawn the iron from the little one. The monster in his struggles had rolled over and we had been hauling the line across his jaw, till we had got the slack all in, and the harpoon and pole had formed a toggil across his "jole" at the corner of his mouth. In an hour's time we hauled him alongside the ship, well pleased with the exchange we had involuntarily made of a calf for a full-grown bull.

We had cruised this ground over, working down to leeward of Ocean and Pleasant Islands, which lie somewhat detached from the main cluster of the group, and, then taking the advantage of a westerly monsoon, which brought us back to Byron's Island, we cruised it all over again. We had taken about six hundred barrels of sperm oil, and it was nearly time for us to be making a port, as we intended to take the next season "on Japan."

We had been in sight of one of the islands one afternoon, and several canoes came off for a short time, but the weather had been overcast and rainy, and we had no observations of the sun; and as we had but an indifferent one the day before, we were in doubt from what island the canoes came. We knew we must be somewhere in the vicinity of Simpson's and Henderville's Islands. The wind was light the first part of the night, and we stood on the southern tack till midnight, when we wore ship, and headed back to the northward. This was done in our watch, and when we went below at three in the morning, it was cloudy weather with light rain squalls. Nothing had been seen; the wind was light and the sea unusually smooth, as it seemed to us, indicating that we were under the lea of one of the islands. The second mate was cautioned to keep a good lookout ahead and off the lee bow, and we went below, feeling no uneasiness as it would be daylight in an hour. The captain had been on deck at about two, and he thought from appearances and from the strength of the current, that we must be to the westward of our reckoning, and now under the lee of Woodle's Island, and, if so, we had sea-room enough for the present.

The heat kept me awake for some time after I turned in, or rather lay down on my chest-lid, for I could not endure the temperature in the bunk, and the weather was too damp to take my jacket and pillow on deck, or into one of the quarter-boats as I was in the habit of doing when it was fine and dry. I could hear Mr. Dunham and Fisher moving about and talking over me, for a short time; then all was still, and overcome by drowsiness I fell asleep.

A trembling movement of the ship with a grinding sound beneath me brought my feet to the floor with a bound; my trousers and hat were seized at the same instant, and the mate, Mr. Bunker, and myself reached the deck all at once, crowding each other on the stairs. The captain was already there. None of us asked another what was the matter; we seemed to wake with an instinctive understanding of the whole truth in its painful aggregate; and our first glances around were merely to take in the details of the situation.

Cocoanut trees were looming on the starboard bow, seeming in the gray light to overhang the ship, and gradually receding along the beam and quarter, as the land trended to the south-east. All was clear blue water off the lee bow, but day had broken, and a line of cocoanut trees against the western skies indicated another island within a few miles off the lee beam. We had run on the lee end of one of the islands, for the line of the reef, as marked by the color of the water, was only one point off the port bow. A quarter of a mile more off would have carried us all clear, and into the channel between the two. The wind was very light, and partially embayed as we were it was so smooth that there was little or no breaker near the ship, and she scarcely moved after the first shock of running on the reef.

I had taken these few hasty notes while we were hauling everything in aback, with the hope of forcing her astern, but the power of her sails was not sufficient with so light a breeze. The pumps were tried, but showed no leak, and the hand lead was passed along for sounding. No questions were asked, no fault found, though we all understood well enough how it happened. As I have before intimated, the second mate, though so good an officer in all other respects, had the fatal weakness of falling to sleep at his post. I knew as well as if I had seen it myself, that after stirring about a short time and setting a lookout, he had sat down and dropped off into the land of Nod. Of course, if the officer of the deck sleeps, all the rest will be likely to follow his example; Jack not being disposed to take upon himself any cares for which an other is better paid. I have no doubt to this day, that, at the moment the ship struck, every man was asleep, both above and below deck, but the captain, who was just coming up the stairs.