A Dead Whale or a Stove Boat

Remarks Sunday 2nd of August 1868, 420th Day

Rain and wind all day from the ENE and though we are in warm climates it is so very cold when you are wet with rain.

O my dear although this is my second voyage it is still very strange to be out on the warm water and not see the coming and going of the seasons. Every time the month changes I think about what it must be like at home and I miss it so terribly and worry that I am forgetting what it looks like. Out here on the water everything is the same except for squalls and wind. It must be the heart of the summer for you isn’t it? But soon the weather will turn. For now I pray that you are staying cool and in a month I will have to pray that you are staying warm and dry. 

Every day here is so long and we have been months without seeing any whales though I try to bear it with good cheer. It is Sunday and I am often homesick on Sunday as you know. When I start sighing about you Tobey won’t talk to me. I asked him if he had anyone he loved back home in Virginia and he told me he’d cut my tongue out if I ever asked him that again. I don’t think he meant it and he’s half a foot shorter than me and probably sixty pounds lighter so I won’t worry even if he did. It’s funny that some men want to do nothing except talk about home and some men would rather talk about anything else. Sadly there is very little to talk about around here but we make do! I worry about you my darling are you doing well? Is your mother well? And your brother Tom? O I wish you could tell me. Barometer 29.7.

Remarks Monday 3rd of August 1867, 421st Day

Early part of the day fair breeze from the N but later turned to ENE. All are trying to find some way to pass the time even though there is the usual work it does not stop the mind from going terrible places. I myself when I have to go down below to the hold to fetch one thing or another I see all the empty space down there for oil that we don’t have and feel how light the ship is and I think about what this means for my lay though I try to be grateful for our safety and what provisions that we still have. O my dear if we do not find any oil I will come home to you empty handed and worse than that I will have lived without you for four years when I could have been empty handed at home and married with you for that time. I know my mood will change when we find whales which if God smiles on us will happen soon.

When the men are bored there is often trouble and although I understand it I wish it would not happen. Willie and Charles came to blows though I do not know what they were fighting over and Charles almost threw Willie overboard and did break his nose there was blood all over the deck. I had to stop Tobey from getting drawn in because he is a friend of Willie’s and would have fought Charles too. I didn’t want to see Tobey whipped and Charles and Willie both got other hell from the first mate. After a big fight like that the whole ship is quiet and even men who were not fighting find some way to lick their own wounds whatever those may be. I think this is better than talking about it forever let us all let bygones be bygones. Maybe I should not even write it down. 

O when will we see another whale I feel useless on this ship I am a harpooner! But the Good Lord will send us whales when He wills it so I must be cheerful and at least be glad that we have plenty of water to drink and fair weather. If we see no whales here we will go back North at last. There was good fishing earlier in the season so it seems that the master was tricked into letting us stay in these grounds for too long. At least we are not the only ships in this terrible predicament here there are several others whose sails we have seen over and over going through these same waters.

Of course although one feels a kinship with his fellow man and most especially with his fellow whaleman on another boat if we should both happen to see the same whale at the same time I fear when we lower our boats out both crews will leap at each other rather than the whale and we’ll both lose him for that. I described this fine mess to Tobey and he asked me what happens if two boats are rowing for the same whale. I told him Well we’ll just have to row faster than them and faster than the whale too but in the end it’s God’s will.

Barometer 30 and rising. As I said at least fair weather is something to be glad about.

Remarks Tuesday 4th of August 1868, 423rd Day

Morning cloudy with not much wind but it lightened by the afternoon and we had a fair breeze from the NNW.

Spent most of my watch up high on lookout for whales which although it is sad to see nothing is still my favorite duty. Up so high you feel like you are almost a bird and the air is fresh and clean. Even when it rains I do not mind watching for whales.

O my dear did I ever tell you that my father was a whaleman when he was young? I must not have because you never asked me why I went to sea the first time. I think you just gathered it was about the money. Well it was as this is a good way to make a living if you are a careful man which I am so I will get to take home a better part of my lay to you. But I had the idea to go to sea because my father when I was a boy told us about his time on a whaler. Of course he only went on the one voyage and it was only two years but I think he had enough stories for a lifetime. I am now on my second voyage and have not found it so exciting but I am a quieter man than my father was. Sometimes I think he must have lied about how many whales there were or some of the other things he said in his stories but he loved to tell them so what does it matter to me. There must have been more whales when he was young since his journey was only two years and now us poor whalemen will be signed on for four or five. And we will come home with even less pay for the same amount of oil because the longer you are on the ship the more chances you have to let your money get away from you. 

Why am I thinking about this you ask me Well it is because last night I had a dream. It was a very strange dream and I still remember it even though I woke up at 4 A.M. and it is 10 ½ P.M. now and I cannot sleep because I do not want to dream about it again. In the dream I was a sperm whale with my sharp teeth which I was very proud of. I think every whaleman has dreamed about whales but when I was dreaming of it I became so lonely. I went through the ocean looking for my wife and I could not find her no matter how long I swam. There was no one there but me and above me always was the bottom of our bark so that I could hardly come up to spout. It made me feel so melancholy I did not know what to do and I do not even think I can tell Tobey. I am always trying to make him laugh so I would say something to him like Do you think that whales get married. And that would be the wrong thing to say. So I have to tell you my dear even though you are so far away and I miss you so terribly.

God willing we will find whales soon maybe there is one right under our boat!

At 7 ½ P.M. the barometer was 29.8.

Remarks Wednesday 5th of August 1868, 426th Day

Saw a spm. whale heading to the N.

Remarks Sunday 9th of August 1867, 430th Day

O my dear it has been a difficult few days even though we caught a whale. I should be thankful for that. 

As I said in my last entry we saw a whale and we lowered the boats to chase him but we lost him. Still we were able to turn the ship towards where he was going and thank the Good Lord that there were no other boats in that direction because even though there was a whale there are so few and I do not want to fight for them. It is difficult enough to fight the whale.

The next day we all anticipated a whale and it is difficult to sit still at a time like that you understand. It would have been terrible to wait so long and see a whale and not catch one so we all hoped to finally have a reward for our time at sea.

Caught sight of the whale at 6 ½ A.M. and lowered boats. Tobey, Jack, John, and KJ were rowing with me and the first mate steered though we first approached under sail. I was next to Tobey and I told him not to worry though o my dear I was as worried as anything. We approached slowly at first to not scare him off and going so slow in the boats makes everything feel so much more terrible it gives a man too much time to think. I have darted many whales before but it has been some time and o it would have been terrible if I missed because we are all looking forward to a catch. We were not the first boat to reach the whale the B boat got to him first. Antonio darted the whale from three fathoms but the dart must have been loose and he missed the second dart because the harpoon came out as soon as the whale started to pull and their ropes were just in the water and they could do no more. 

We almost lost the whale but the first mate yelled to row as hard as anything or he would kill everyone in the boat. O my dear Tobey is just a little thing but he rowed like you have never seen anybody row before. The whale was angry at having been darted and he was trying to escape us. But we kept pace with him and when he came up for air the next time we found him again.

We could not get close to him in our boat because the thrashing of his tail was so great and I felt I had almost no chance of darting him from so far away. O my dear when you dart a whale you want to be so close to him you can reach out your hand and touch him so that you can get the harpoon fixed in deep but we had no hope of that. But the Good Lord gave me a Good Arm which served me well. I threw with as much strength as I could and while I do not think I am a better harpooner than Antonio I did strike the whale with my first dart and as quick as I could I took the second and got it in there too.

The whale was as angry as I’ve ever seen and o my dear it is terrifying to be pulled through the water when he tries to escape. You may think it is a pleasure for those in the boat to go on a sleigh ride but there is no pleasure in it. I was nearly thrown overboard and I was sure our little boat would be stove in or bitten in half or flipped over and we would all be drowned. All I did was cling on for my life and try to steer as best I could and pray that we would not be stove in and killed.

When you are catching a whale the only thing you can feel is how small you are next to him. I imagine that when I die and stand before the throne of God I will feel the same way. Although I am a harpooner and a good one and I have seen it done and done it myself many times I still do not understand how any man catches a whale. He is just so large I really cannot tell you how big my dear. As big as a train car or bigger. But God has given us hands to hold tools and with that we can take them. All the whale has is his teeth and it seems that they are not enough. If the Good Lord cared for whales as much as he does for us men he would have made it a fairer fight. But I should not ask the Lord for trouble plenty of men have been killed by whales! I think we have all come very close to being swallowed up! And I do not think Jonah was swallowed by a spm. whale his teeth are too sharp to ever let a man go.

I wonder sometimes if the Good Lord had left us in the Garden of Eden if we wouldn’t have made ourselves an axe to chop down the Tree with. Though what we would have built with the wood I can’t say. Perhaps a whaling bark!

O my dear I am saying all of these silly things to you because if I fill the page with silly things I will feel guilty enough about wasting paper to not write down the rest. I should be asleep it is very late and all hands must be up early tomorrow for more work. But I do not think I can sleep. It is not so easy. I don’t know if I have ever written about all the whaling in detail before. I usually think it is too grim and I am usually too tired and want to spare my pages besides. But today I am in the mood to tell you about it so I will. O my dear if you don’t want to read it you should move forward a day or so and you will be spared the telling. It just gives me a little comfort to write today.

The first mate is the lancer on my boat you know, and though he is a hard man to know he is a good whaleman and a good mate and a good lancer. He has a steady hand and a keen eye for what to do. When the whale is tired from running and pulling us as far as he can take us we get our chance to kill him. I keep the boat as steady as I can while the mate takes his lance and he stabs into him right into his heart or his lungs. Although I would like to be the first mate for the better lay this is one task I could not envy him. It is a harder job than harpooning to be sure. A harpoon is just one throw or two throws if you can get the second dart in but lancing goes on and on until the whale spouts blood and we know he has a mortal wound or ten.

Well once he has tried his best to kill us and has spouted all his life out his head and he is still he is dead and we hook on the chains and tow him back to the ship. It is a tremendous labor.

And even if we have been on the chase all day as soon as the whale is fastened to the side we must at once start cutting there is no time to rest. Often where there is one whale there are more so we must clear this one away as quick as we can if we want to have an easy time to catch and process another and finish all we can on this one before the sharks eat half of it down. 

The officers cut the fat from the body in thick and long strips and roll the body over and over like unwrapping bandages. On the head of course there is the sperm which is most valuable and must be kept clean and separate from the rest of the fat. We can cut off the head and even can stand inside the head case to bail that out.

All the rest of us poor fellows on deck have a miserable time chopping up what they cut off the whale. Though it is a less dangerous job cutting up the fat than being off the side cutting the whale himself. The deck smells like blood and oil and everything is slippery with it. It is a dark smell with the whale oil especially once we’ve cut enough to get to boiling. It’s not like a tame little whale oil lamp or candle when you have so much of it. O my dear it is like nothing else it fills your mouth and everything you eat tastes of it. The sharks must be able to smell us from miles and miles downwind because they all come up running to get their pound of flesh from the body we have hanging over side. But it is what brings in the money so I have to think of it as a good smell.

The fat is so slippery that it is hard to even hold hold your knife as you chop it’s a wonder that more men don’t lose fingers while cutting or slip and fall overboard. The weather was poor too and all day long our boat was pushed from side to side. Although I do not like the first mate I was greatly afraid that he and the others when the boat leaned while they were cutting and turning the whale that they would be swept overboard and lost. There are many sharks in the water to eat the whale so if any man fell in that would be the end of him I’m sure.

The whale’s jaw is now on the deck and the teeth are as big as my hand. We got the spade in to the gums and used the windlass to haul that long strip of flesh and teeth up off the bone. It is easier to cut the teeth out that way than using your knife to cut them off one by one. And we may want to keep the jaw bones in any case. 

I always take some of the teeth for me and Tobey. He’s a greenhand so he gets the last pick so I save mine for him. As a boatsteerer I had a pick of any I liked after the master and mates came through and took their share. Although they have no value at home the master made sure to save some as he says they can be traded with natives for water and provisions as they like them for jewelry and other things. But there were plenty that we as the crew could have remaining. I believe the master is hopeful that we will catch more whales and we do not know if we will end up at those islands anyway. For us the teeth make good scrimshaw and Tobey will be very happy to have some more. When he is in a good mood he says he will make me a picture of a woman so I don’t have to be so lonely thinking of you and I tell him that I didn’t need any such thing. Tobey’s drawings are very funny but o my dear I would be a little ashamed to bring one home to you. You must forgive me for laughing at the things he does sometimes I hope the Lord will as well as they are a little sinful.

I have now taken so many hours to write this entry that it is near time for my watch again and all the boiling continues. I shall be glad when we are done boiling and all the oil is all stored up and we’ve scrubbed everything clean again. O it is so troublesome to walk around when the deck is so slippery. I guess this whale has given us around 60 bbls. of oil which is very good and we cannot complain.

Barometer 29.9.