Four years aboard the whaleship: Embracing cruises in the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, and Antarctic oceans, in the years 1855, '6, '7, '8, '9Whitecar, William B.
History
Four years aboard the whaleship: Embracing cruises in the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, and Antarctic oceans, in the years 1855, '6, '7, '8, '9
Whitecar, William B.
Sailors; Voyages and travels; Whaling
The rest of those whom we left at Port Louis, never having done
anything to entitle them to remembrance, we neither know nor care what
has become of them, with the exception of our late fourth mate, who
deserves mention singly on account of his utter uselessness. From the
same source, we learn that he shipped, and left Mauritius in the barque
Eagle, as boatsteerer. In this new position he will, no doubt, act with
about as much credit to himself, and receive as unenviable a name and
reputation, as he did among us.
A few days subsequent to the above date we saw and gammoned the
barque Coimbra. She had sailed from Mauritius a few days after our
leaving; but, owing to the sickness of her captain, was forced to
return, and remain ten additional days. The captain of this vessel,
quite an original, hailed from New Brunswick, and was a veritable Blue
Nose--long, lank, and parsimonious. He has had during the voyage three
different crews, who for some reason or other left him after a cruise
or two. Early in the voyage a veto was put by the authorities of Vasse
upon his entering any port on the coast of New Holland, owing to his
having carried a prisoner away in his vessel. This prisoner, who was
a thief, doing a good business at Freemantle, report says, paid one
thousand dollars for the accommodation. The captain of the Columbus had
little or no trouble with him--merely carrying him outside, and then
transferring him to a merchant-ship. Being debarred from entering these
ports, where the cost of recruiting ships is comparatively trifling,
and having kept his crew out of port as long as a wholesome dread of
the scurvy would allow, he, with an eye to economy, made the following
address to his men, to wit: “Boys, I would like to go into a good port,
where we could all enjoy ourselves. Such a port is Hobartown; but the
limits set to my expenses by my owners will not allow of my indulging
in such an outlay as lying with the ship in that harbor would occasion;
but, if you by subscription pay a certain sum apiece out of your
earnings, I will go there.” Several of the ship’s company assenting, a
document was drawn up, and most of them attached their names: agreeing
to contribute towards the port-expenses sums varying in amount from
two to twenty dollars. One of the foremast hands demurring to this
arrangement, the old fellow told him that he would get it out of him
some way or other; and so he did, by persisting in tormenting him until
his victim was glad to pay the two dollars, and thereby gain somewhat
of an exemption from further bad treatment.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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