THE AMERICAN WHALE-FISHERY. 271 
stars, or crescents ; or a large letter or number designated the ship to which they 
belonged. The diversity of colors, and the different tastes displayed in painting 
the boats, added another pleasing feature : some were pure white, others black, 
still others of a lead color; or fancifully striped with tri- colors, or with the bow 
red, blue, or green, while the rest of the craft would be of a contrasting shade. 
Sometimes a huge eye on either side of the stem, or a large circle, would be the 
designating mark ; all these combined making up an extended group of dashing 
water-craft, especially pertaining to the California coast and fishery. 
As the success of a whaling -voyage depends chiefly (when whales are plenti- 
ful ) upon the officers being good whalemen, there is frequently more or less con- 
tention among captains and agents to obtain those of unquestionable skill ; so that 
the "crack" men of the harpoon and lance have often dictated their own terms as 
to their lay and bonus ; and in former years the advance wages and extra pay 
received by officers of great reputation as right -whalemen and devil -fishermen, 
might be considered enormous. But it was not always that these "bonus men" 
proved to be equal to the reputation which they perhaps had obtained either by 
accident or purely good fortune. Ill luck sometimes robbed a good whaleman of 
his prestige, and many a game man for a Eight Whale of the North-western Coast 
found himself quite unequal to the task of "turning up" a California Gray. We 
recollect an instance which occurred on board a New London ship, where the mate 
returned on board after a hard chase and combat with an old cow and her calf in 
one of the shallow estuaries. As this officer approached his captain, to give an 
account of his mishaps, he became greatly excited; but at last he said: "I didn't 
know, sir, that the whale was within fifty fathoms of me, when up we went — and 
there ain't enough left of the boat to kindle the cook's fire." On another occasion, 
a famous New Bedford captain flew into a fit of passion at his "bonus mate," for 
coming on board with a staved boat, instead of bringing alongside a dead whale. 
Words ran high with the "old man;" but his chief officer seemed to take things 
philosophically. He remained silent until his commander had vented his spleen, 
when he replied as follows: "Look a-here, Cap'n Simmons, I don't ask no odds 
of any living man that can pull an oar or dart an iron. I can catch as many 
whales as the next one, ef ye'll give me a fair show. I don't say as I cud do any 
more ; but did'nt I bring as many whales to the ship, down to the Rosemerry 
Islands, as all the rest of your boat- headers that was counted as bein' great on a 
Humpback? And what kind uv whales did they git, anyhow? — calves, and old 
cows that had been sucked down till they was too poor to skin — why, the 
blubber on 'em wouldn't make coal-tar ef you biled it a week; and the most of 
