Memorials of the Sea Part 6

FOOTNOTES:

[E] Up to the end of the eighteenth century my Father's successes, with but rare exceptions, were at the head of the list of the whole of the northern whalers, both of Davis' Strait and Greenland. But about this period Captain Marshall, in the Davis'-Strait branch, began to take the lead of all compet.i.tors there.

[F] Some of our readers may require to be informed, that an ordinary merchant ship, not having "letters of marque" for acting as a privateer, can have no claim on any property which the bravery of her captain and crew might take from an enemy. So that, in the event of capturing an a.s.sailant, as might have been possible in the case referred to, the hard blows and damage must be borne by the merchantman, whilst the prize would fall due to the first ship of war incidently met with, or otherwise to the sovereign or public officers at home.

[G] _Blubber-straps_ are usually made out of whale-line, but some of thicker cordage, and consist of a length of about two fathoms for each strap, the ends of which being spliced together, const.i.tute a flexible ring of rope. A hole being cut through the commencing end of the slip of blubber to be raised, the strap, being of course double, is inserted therein, and the two ends, brought together from the opposite sides of the blubber, are looped over the hook of the tackle, and so the attachment for heaving up made complete. It may here be added, that the tackles for flensing are fixed aloft to a strong rope, along which the blocks are distributed, extending (but not very tightly stretched) from the mainmast-head to that of the foremast, called the _guy_. The considerable height of this attachment of the tackles (or, technically, "speck-tackles") permits a long slip of blubber to be hove up in continuity, whilst the distribution of the blocks thereon admits of the two tackles being worked either jointly or separately without interference.

CHAPTER IV.

THE SHIP "RESOLUTION," OF WHITBY.

SECTION I.-_Continued Prosperity:-the Results, comparatively and generally, of this fresh Enterprise._

The change of command which, in the progress of our Memorials, comes now under consideration, was brought about by two circ.u.mstances;-the great inconvenience of a family residence at Whitby, whilst my Father was sailing from, and returning to, London; and the incidental formation of a co-partnery at Whitby, which my Father was invited to join, for the building and equipment of a new Greenland ship from that port.

The advantages, in point of comfort and convenience alone, were such as to render the change in ship and port to which this scheme pointed, highly desirable; and most earnestly and imploringly was the proposition of the parties at Whitby supported by my long discomforted and pining mother. But the conditions submitted to my Father were equally acceptable. It was designed that the co-partnery should consist of the holders of eight equal shares, of 1000_l._ each; that Messrs. Fishburn and Brodrick, the designed builders of the ship, should hold two shares, five other inhabitants of Whitby, as arranged among themselves, each a share, making seven, and my Father the eighth. His wages and perquisites, too, on the liberal and advanced scale as allowed him by the Messrs. Gale, were to be continued.

Without difficulty, and with but little loss of time, the arrangements were all completed, and the owners of the Dundee, who were justly esteemed for their honourable and generous dealing by their Captain, had due and respectful notice given them of the intended change, and were easily made sensible of the propriety of it, as far as regarded his personal well-being.

In the "Resolution," a fine, substantial, and in all respects well-built ship of 291 tons burden, was comprised the property of the new co-partnery.

The cost of the ship, with casks and all other stores, was 6321_l._ 3_s._ 4_d._ The provisions for the voyage, together with insurance, and the advance wages usually paid to the men, amounted to 1470_l._ 4_s._ 1_d._ Thus the total expenditure in preparation for the voyage was 7791_l._ 7_s._ 5_d._, leaving a small balance out of the sum subscribed in the hands of the managers.

The proceedings on board the ship, with the results of this adventure, for, and during the whole time of my Father's command (a period of eight years), are in considerable detail before me, being comprised in a regular series of journals kept by myself. For young as I was when the Resolution commenced her career of adventure-being then but thirteen-I was regularly installed, and by no means unwillingly, in training for the whale-fishery as a profession, as one of her apprenticed hands.

On the 21st of February, 1803, the ship was launched, and duly "christened"

the "Resolution;" and on the 21st of March, she left her moorings in the harbour and proceeded to sea. We made the ice on the 2d of April; on the 12th were in lat.i.tude 78 40' N. in sight of the "Middle Hook of the Foreland;" and on the 18th "struck" and killed our first whale. The 20th was a prosperous day, for so early a period of the season, adding two more large fish to our commencing cargo. The 29th, however, was very different, being a day of mortifying adventure. We had obtained shelter, during a gale of wind, under the lee-side of a "field,"-a large and continuous sheet of ice extending beyond the reach of vision from the mast-head,-where several whales, (chiefly old ones, with their cubs or calves,) were met with. Four of them-comprising two old and two cubs-were harpooned during the day.

The little ones, of but trifling value, were captured; but both the "mothers" escaped. One of them had been so energetically a.s.sailed as to receive four harpoons,-a condition from which the capture generally results,-when she made a most determinate advance beneath and beyond the ice. She ultimately escaped, carrying away with her a spoil (a painful and deadly boon, indeed, to herself) of a harpoon, with twelve attached lines, comprising a total extent of 1440 fathoms, or about a mile and two-thirds, in measure! The next day, however, yielded us some compensation, in the capture of another _large_ fish, a result altogether not a little inspiriting, where the attainment of an amount of six whales, before the expiration of the month of April, was a circ.u.mstance rarely, if ever, realized before. Our thirteenth fish was killed on the 8th of June; but, though we persevered about ten days longer, and had well nigh captured another fish, in which two harpoons were struck, we made no accession to our not full, but, as the season went, most satisfactory cargo.

In looking over my journal for materials for this abstract, it was singularly interesting and pleasant to the feelings to find, under date of the 27th of June, when the good ship Resolution was on her homeward pa.s.sage, a written recognition, which I remember to have received from my Father, of the Divine hand and Providence in respect of the successes obtained. It is comprised in this brief but appropriate Collect:-"O most merciful Father, who of Thy gracious goodness hast crowned our labours with success, we give Thee humble and hearty thanks for this, Thy special bounty, beseeching Thee to continue Thy loving kindness unto us, that we may enjoy the fruits of our labours to Thy glory and our comfort, through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen."

The proceeds of this first voyage in oil were 163 tuns: the _Whitby_ average of the same year (exclusive of the Resolution's cargo) being only 62 tuns, and the greatest catch among the rest of the Whitby fleet being eight whales, yielding 139 tuns of oil. Hence, with relation to the average of the port,-six ships,-my Father's success stood in the ratio of 28 to 1, or nearly three to one!

But subsequent voyages-the next three especially-proved regularly and increasingly prosperous; the cargoes of the years 1804, 1805, and 1806, yielding a produce of rather more than 600 tuns of oil, derived from the capture of eighty-seven whales. The entire proceeds of my Father's enterprises in eight voyages, in this successful ship, amounted to 194 whales, yielding 1617 tuns of oil, or an average of twenty-four whales and one-fourth, with 202 tuns of oil per voyage!

His compet.i.tors from the same port, during the whole of this particular period, comprising 78 ships a year, obtained, on the eight years' average, only sixty-eight fish, yielding 6464 tuns of oil; whilst the united cargoes of the most successful ship of each year, amounted but to 138 whales, 1228 tuns of oil; this select amount being exceeded by nearly a third part, by my Father's individual catch; and the general average being exceeded in the proportion of two and a half to one!

But it was hardly to be expected that, whatever might be my Father's peculiar superiority, as compared with the general body of compet.i.tors, no one, out of many hundreds of different commanders, should be found successfully to emulate, within a long series of years, even his extraordinary enterprise.

Yet, closely as two or three individuals commanding in the Greenland fishery might approximate, or occasionally exceed, his successes, it is remarkable that no one, within any of the periods of the Henrietta, the Dundee, or the Resolution, or within the whole period of nineteen years, ever went beyond him!

My Father's most successful compet.i.tor, within the longest period of cotemporary enterprise, ending with the year 1810, was Mr. Angus Sadler, of Hull. From 1796 to 1810 (fifteen voyages) they fished in the same region, the Greenland Seas, my Father obtaining 2693 tuns of oil, and Mr. Sadler 2539. In the eight voyages of the Resolution, however, the compet.i.tion was singularly close; Mr. Sadler bringing home the produce of only two whales in number less, and the exact same quant.i.ty (1617 tuns) of oil. But, in this comparison, my Father was at great disadvantage from the inferior size of his ship,-the Aurora, of Hull, which Mr. Sadler commanded in several of his most prosperous voyages, being of the burden of 366 tons, and the Resolution only of 291. This difference of capacity was very important, enabling Mr. Sadler, in two or three different voyages, to bring home a quant.i.ty of produce exceeding by some sixty or seventy tuns, altogether, the capabilities of stowage of the Resolution,-which ship, five years out of eight, having been what was called "a full ship," might, no doubt, have obtained some greater cargoes, and, by consequence, a better position in the compet.i.tion, had her capacity been larger.

It falls not within my present province, nor within the scope of my materials, to set forth the considerable successes of some other leading fishermen at the time of the Resolution's enterprises. I may merely notice, that Mr. Kearsley, of the Henrietta (trained under my Father), was the most successful of the other _Whitby_ captains; and that some enterprising men, commanding ships out of _Scotland_, began now, or soon after this, to take a high position in the prosperous cla.s.s.

The only other _general_ compet.i.tor of my Father's yet to be named, whose enterprises were cotemporary during the whole or greater part of his career, from 1792 to 1810, was Captain John Marshall, of Hull. Within the _western_ field of Arctic enterprise-the whale-fishery of _Davis'

Strait_-Captain Marshall stood pre-eminent. His successes there corresponded very much with those of my Father in the fishery of Greenland; and the total results did not materially differ. Whilst my Father's successes yielded, within the period referred to 2728 tuns of oil, Captain Marshall's, though deprived of the chance of one year's adventure in which he remained on sh.o.r.e, amounted to 2691 tuns. Had the full nineteen years been completed, his successes would, probably, have been the greatest. But the _services_, and the qualities required for them, differ so materially, as not to permit, in fairness, of an arithmetical comparison of the _mere quant.i.ties_ of produce. For success in the fishery of Davis' Strait, at the time under consideration, was a far more easy undertaking than in that of Greenland. This fact is satisfactorily derived from a comparison of the average success in the two fisheries. In seventeen years out of the nineteen under review, (there being no ship from Hull to Davis' Strait during 1792 and 1793,) the average success of 313 Greenland whalers from Hull was a produce in oil of 844 tuns, whilst the mean success of the Davis' Strait fishery, 190 ships, was for the same period 1243,-indicating, most clearly, that the latter fishery then afforded a better chance of a cargo than the fishery of Greenland, in the ratio of very nearly three to two![H]

Hence, my Father's success, when taken on the most extensive comparison with the fishermen of his day, stands decidedly conspicuous and pre-eminent. And this pre-eminence, it should be noted, was not only in the amount of the cargoes he obtained, but also in the shortness of the time occupied in his voyages; for whilst the general average of Greenland voyages of this period (as indicated, at least, by the extensive enterprise from the port of Hull,) comprised four months and nineteen days, the average of my Father's absence from sailing to his return was, in the Resolution's eight voyages, only three months and twenty-eight days!

It may not be uninteresting to some of our readers to be informed, before we conclude this section of results, of the actual realization in gross amount of value, and in profits divided amongst the partners, in this prosperous whale-fishing adventure. This, by reason of a complete abstract of the payments and receipts during the greater part of the Resolution's career, I am enabled to give with perfect accuracy:-

PAYMENTS.

Expenses on First Voyage, including Outfit _s._ _d._ of the Second 4008 18 4 Ditto for Second Voyage. 4476 2 6 Ditto for Third Voyage 4679 11 5 Ditto on Fourth and Fifth 9216 14 6 Ditto on Sixth 5823 14 4 Ditto on Seventh 4729 11 8 Ditto on Eighth 4722 11 5 -------------- 37,657 4 2 -----------------

RECEIPTS.

Proceeds of Cargo and Government Bounty (20_s._ per ton on the ship's measurement, or 291_l._) on the First Voyage 6864 10 5 Ditto, Second Voyage 6568 1 0 Ditto, Third 6287 10 9 Ditto, Fourth and Fifth 10,428 7 11 Ditto, Sixth 7157 8 6 Ditto, Seventh 8275 14 6 Ditto, Eighth 8195 16 10 ---------------- Amount of Receipts 53,777 9 11 Ditto Expenses 37,657 4 2 ---------------- Clear Profits 16,120 5 9 -----------------

This balance I have stated as "clear profits," because, in consequence of the perfect state of repair of the Resolution, the large augmentation in the quant.i.ty of her stores, and the increased cost of shipping, the value of the ship (augmented by the charge of outfit for the ninth voyage in the table of expenses) was scarcely at all deteriorated. Hence we derive for the clear profit on the original advance of 8000_l._,-a capital still existing,-during eight years continuously, the sum of 2015_l._ 0_s._ 8_d._ a year, or 25 per cent per annum.

With this result, the enterprises of my Father in the Resolution, of Whitby (influenced, in a considerable degree, I believe, by a kindly and parental consideration for myself), concluded. For on the very day on which I completed my twenty-first year, he, at a Board of the co-partnery, specially summoned, formally resigned his command; and, on the same day,-the earliest at which, by reason of age, I could legally hold a command,-I was unanimously elected his successor.

Whilst thus retiring from the command of the Resolution, my Father was by no means disposed to abandon his stirring and highly remunerative occupation. At the very period of his retirement, indeed, the opportunity of a new and satisfactory connection was, incidentally by my own medium, opened to him, of which he forthwith availed himself.

But before entering on the relation of his subsequent enterprises, we shall proceed, according to our usual plan, to adduce a few incidents or circ.u.mstances, ill.u.s.trative, mainly, of character or talents, which are a.s.sociated with this period of our memorial history.

SECTION II.-_Treatment and Recovery of a half-frozen Seaman._

The peculiarity of the conflicts, and the severity of the climate, encountered by the Arctic whale-fishers, yield a characteristic novelty both to the incidents and accidents of their adventure. So that, although the incidents of whaling enterprise may, for the most part, possess such general characteristics as to admit of some cla.s.sification among themselves, they are at the same time novel, when considered in relation to the results of ordinary adventure; whilst, every now and then, an accident happens, or a circ.u.mstance is met with, which, taken on the broadest scheme of comparison, is found to be _sui generis_.

Such incidents afford special occasions for the exercise of inherent science and originality of intellect in those who have to deal with the results. And, I may add, every accident or occurrence of this kind, which claimed my Father's directing consideration, was, in all cases that I ever heard of, dealt with in a manner consistent with a condition of mind of inexhaustible resources in itself.

Several cases of this description happened, whilst I was myself present, during my youthful training as a seaman and a fisherman. The one referred to, in the t.i.tle of this section, was specially interesting.

Whilst the ship Resolution navigated an open lake of water, in the 81st degree of lat.i.tude,-something like the Baltic Sea in magnitude,-during a keen frost and strong northerly wind, a whale appeared, and a boat put off in pursuit.[I] On its second visit to the surface the boat came up with it, and a harpoon was securely struck. A convulsive and terrible heave of its ponderous tail, which succeeded the wound, struck the boat at the stern, and by its reaction projected the boat-steerer overboard. As the line attached to the harpoon drew the boat instantly off, the crew threw some of their oars towards him for his support, one of which he fortunately seized.

The auxiliary boats, as well as the ship, being at a considerable distance, and the fast-boat being rapidly drawn away from the imperilled seaman, the harponeer, under the instinctive impulse of humanity, cut his line with the view of yielding him succour. But no sooner was the sacrifice made than, to the great mortification of all in the boat, it was found to be useless; for, in consequence of the loss of oars, some being thrown towards the sufferer, and some broken or carried off by the stroke from the whale, the boat had become altogether unmanageable!

A considerable time elapsed before the headmost auxiliary boat reached the place: happily they were so far in time that the object of their anxious solicitude still floated, stretched over an oar, whilst retaining but little sensation.

On his arrival at the ship, being hauled up the side by ropes, with judicious help from his comrades in the boat, he was found to be in a deplorable condition. His clothes were frozen like a casing of mail, and his hair was consolidated into a helmet of ice.

My Father, having ordered him to be taken into the cabin abaft, gave his immediate attention, in guidance and precedence of the ship's surgeon, in a system of treatment which, under the circ.u.mstances, was, perhaps, the most judicious that could have been adopted.

Whilst placed on the cabin floor, where the temperature was moderate, but not high, the frozen clothing of the patient was forthwith removed, and his person dried with warm towels, and then industriously rubbed, by two or three hands at a time, with well heated coa.r.s.e cloths and flannels. There being great exhaustion, and all but a suspension of the circulation, stimulating cordial was administered as he was able to take it.

When the process of friction had been continued until sensation began to be restored, and the general faculties in some measure awakened, he was covered with dry under clothing, and placed, amid an abundance of warm blankets, in my Father's bed. After a few hours' sleep he awoke considerably resuscitated, but complained of a painful sensation of cold.