III.
I have no doubt my little readers will wish they were members of the party under the apple tree, hearing the story which the Riverdale children enjoyed so much, and which produced a lasting impression on their minds; and for their benefit I will repeat it.
“When I was a young man, I went out on a whaling voyage. I suppose you don’t know much about whaling; so I will tell you. The oil which you burn in your lamps is the fat of the whale. It is ‘tried out,’ just as they do hog’s fat.
“A whale is a great big fish; some of them are a good deal longer than my barnthere. Ships that go out to catch whales are often three or four years away from home, and go off thousands of miles.
“The ship has a great many boats, which are hoisted up at the sides. The men go out in the boats, and when they catch a whale, tow it to the ship.
“Almost up at the top of the mast, and more than a hundred feet from the water,there are two sticks, which are called the cross-trees. When the ship reaches any part of the ocean where whales are found, men are sent up to the cross-trees to look out.
“When a whale is seen, one of the men calls out, ‘There she blows!’ This great fish draws water into his mouth, and then blows it up in the air; and this is what they mean by ‘blowing.’
“When the men on deck hear this cry, they find out where the whale is, and then get out the boats and go after him. They row up to the huge monster of the deep with very little noise, and then throw one or two harpoons into him.
“A harpoon is a kind of iron spear, with a wooden handle, to which a long rope is fastened. When the whalefeels the iron, he dives down into the deep, or runs away as fast as he can. Sometimes he drags the boat after him at a frightful speed, for many miles; and it often happens that the men in the boat have to cut the line, in order to saves their lives.
“When the whale is weak from loss of blood, and tired out, the boat again steals upon him, and a long lance is thrustinto his body. This kills him, if it is well done.
“Very often, when the men attack the whale, he turns upon the boat, and breaks it all to pieces with a single slap of his tail, or crushes it all to bits in his monstrous mouth. The sailors always have a hard time, and are often killed, in their efforts to conquer the whale.
“When they get the whalealongside the ship, they cut out the fat, or ‘blubber,’ in long strips, and hoist it on board the vessel. It is then chopped up in small pieces, and tried out in great kettles. The oil is put in barrels, and stowed in the hold.
“I have told you how to catch a whale, so that you may understand the story which I am now going to tell you.
“I sailed in the ship Jane, for the South Pacific Ocean, long before any of you were born; and I guess it was before either of your fathers was born. We went round Cape Horn, which is a very stormy place, and came near being cast away in a heavy gale.
“But when we got into the Pacific Ocean we had fine weather, and at last reached the ‘feeding ground.’ Thoughthe whale is a monstrous creature, he feeds upon animals called ‘squid,’ and small fishes. Of course he must live where he can find his food.
“One day I was up on the cross-trees, looking out on the ocean for whales. I had with me a boy of about twelve years of age. He was as pretty a boy as ever I saw. He had fair, brown hair, which curled in beautiful ringlets onhis cheeks and neck, just as Miss Flora’s does, only it was not so long.
“We all loved that boy, for he was a brave and noble little fellow. He was gentle and kind to the men, and always obeyed the orders of the officers at once. He was our pet, and we all treated him just like a younger brother.
“He could read well, and wrote a handsome hand, andwhen he first came on board the ship, I knew he couldn’t be the son of very poor parents, for he did not speak like boys brought up in the street, and his hand was as white and soft as that of a fine lady.
“One day I was up on the cross-trees, and George was with me, as I said before. We were on the lookout for whales, and he was just as anxious to discover one asthough he had been the captain of the ship. He had no hat on then, and his pretty brown locks blew out in the wind, just like Miss Flora’s here.
“Says I, ‘George, why did you come to sea?’
“‘Because I wanted to, of course,’ replied he. ‘What makes you ask that question?’
“‘Does your mother know where you are, George?’
“He looked sad when I spoke of his mother. I knew very well he must have run away from home, for a boy with such nice white hands as he had when he came aboard the ship, had no need to go to sea. He had never been brought up to work, but he never grumbled once at his duty, or the coarse food of the sailor.
“‘Ah, George,’ I said, ‘Iam afraid you ran away from your mother.’
“‘I did, Ben.’
“‘Haven’t you sent her a letter, so that she may know where you are?’
“‘No; I would not have her know I am aboard a whale ship for all the world,’ said he; and I was sure by the sad look on his face that he was sorry for what he had done.
“‘But you must write to her, George, the very first chance you get.’
“‘I can’t do that, Ben. It would kill her to know where I am. I have heard her say a great many times that she had rather lay me in the grave than have me go to sea in a whale ship.’
“‘But only think of her living for two or three years without knowing where youare! No doubt she wets her pillow with tears every night as she thinks of you. No, George; you must write to her, and let her know that you are alive and well. You can say in the letter that you are in a good ship, among good friends, and promise her that you will be a good boy. Perhaps she will feel easier then.’
“‘I can’t write to her, Ben.’
“‘But you must, my boy. If you don’t, I shall write to her by the first return ship I can find.’
“‘Please don’t; she will feel a great deal worse if you write.’
“‘I will not, if you will promise to write yourself.’
“‘I will, then. I don’t like to, though.’
“I could not bear the idea of having the little fellow’smother pining over him for years, and I knew she would feel better to know he was alive, even if he was in a whale ship.
“Pretty soon after we had this talk, I saw a whale far off on the sea. In a few minutes we had a boat out, and George and I were pulling away towards the great fish.—There comes Mr. Jones for the currants, and I will tellyou the rest of the story as soon as I have put them in his wagon.”
Sailing ship
The dying Sailor Boy.
The dying Sailor Boy.
The dying Sailor Boy.