25? WHALING AND FISHING. 



reconciled to the strange diet, I had a not uncom- 

 fortable place on board. The only thing against 

 me was my color. To my misfortune I was the 

 whitest man on board, and with the exception of 

 the captain and chief mate, the only one who \vas 

 purely white. This caused me to be looked down 

 upon by my black friends, who, when I would 

 commit any little extravagance, such as making 

 myself a wooden spoon wherewith to eat my rice, 

 (they used their fingers, in the Adamic style) , or 

 washing my hands and face at the close of a day's 

 work, shrugged their shoulders in pitying con- 

 tempt, and declared that nothing better was to be 

 expected from a man of my color. Nevertheless, 

 as they found me ready to take my share of what- 

 ever work was going on, and always disposed to 

 converse to the best of my ability, they voted me 

 in the main a good fellow, much better than the 

 common run of white folks. And as I entertained 

 mj own opinion as to their merits, I could afford 

 to be amused at their ideas of me. 



My ignorance of their barbarous jargon seemed 

 to them, however, the oddest of my peculiarities, 

 and they could never laugh enough at my nr's- 

 takes. I had long ago learned the propriety in 

 such cases, of laughing with the crowd, and prac- 

 ticed largely upon this theory now ; not, however, 

 without an occasional internal malediction on the 

 gtapidity of these fellows, who could so easily 

 ignore all knowledge not possessed by themselves 

 With the captain 1 was shortly a favorite, 



