WHALE FISHERY OF NEW ENGLAND 53 



Benjamin F. Butler. Davis, the author of "Nimrod of the Sea," men- 

 tions a quarrel on board the "Chelsea," which ended by the men all 

 signing a "round robin" to return to duty, and in order that no name 

 should head the list the signatures were set down in a circle, like the 

 spokes of a wheel, from which possibly comes the word "ringleader." 



The most fearful mutiny happened on the "Globe" of Nantucket, 

 in 1822. A boat-steerer called Comstock laid a plot which resulted in 

 the death of all the officers of the ship, and those who were not killed 

 outright were thrown overboard. Comstock then took charge of the 

 ship, and stated that if any man disobeyed him, he would be put to 

 death by being boiled in the "try-pots." The ringleader was finally 

 killed by some of the crew, and the ship brought into port. 



Captain Warrens, of the whaler "Greenland," in 1775, told a most 

 thrilling narrative, which shows the perils of Arctic whaling, and is the 

 most weird and grewsome of all whaling yarns. While becalmed one 

 day he sighted a vessel with rigging dismantled, and he immediately 

 lowered and rowed over to her. Upon boarding the ship he found 

 seated at the cabin table the corpse of a man. He held a pen in his 

 hand, and the log book was on the table in front of him. The last 

 entry was "Nov. 14, 1762. We have now been enclosed in the ice 

 seventeen days. The fire went out yesterday and our master has been 

 trying ever since to kindle it again without success. His wife died this 

 morning. There is no relief." Other corpses were found in the cabin 

 and a number of sailors in the forward part of the ship. The vessel 

 had been frozen in the ice for thirteen years ! 



There are many exciting accounts of accidents to whaleboats, and a 

 few are worth mentioning. Captain Sparks, of the "Edward Lee" 

 of Provincetown, in 1881, chased a whale and finally lost him. He 

 and his crew endeavored to find his ship, but for some reason were un- 

 able to do so. The nearest land was one thousand miles away, and 

 with no food or water the prospect was not very encouraging. For 

 six days they sailed on, when by good fortune they killed a whale, and 

 finally were picked up and brought to land. 



Another incident shows how a whale will sometimes fight. Captain 

 Morse, of the "Hector" of New Bedford, had his boat attacked 

 by a whale, which grabbed the bow in its mouth, shaking the crew 

 and implements in all directions. The mate came to the rescue, 

 and the whale at once started to chase his boat, snapping its jaws less 

 than a foot behind the stern. The crew rowed desperately and suc- 

 ceeded in dodging its attacks, until finally the animal turned over to 

 get more air, and a well-driven lance luckily killed it. The harpoons 

 of the "Barclay" were found in it, and it was learned that this same 

 whale had killed the "Barclay's" captain only three days before. An- 

 other incident shows the fierceness of the attack of a fighting whale. 

 The "Osceola 3rd," of New Bedford, shot thirty-one bombs into a 

 whale before it was killed. 



Captain Davis, in "Nimrod of the Sea," mentions an occurrence in 

 which a whale attacked one of the men who had been hauled from the 



