258 The Story of the New England Whalers 



experienced man was needed at the steering oar 

 until the whale was struck, and then he was needed 

 at the lance. Moreover, placing a man of less 

 experience at the harpoon gave him a good train- 

 ing. Young men of agility were often promoted 

 to the rank of harpooner during their first voyage. 

 Bullen was promoted still higher he became 

 fourth mate. The ambitious youth could have 

 his chance at all times in the whale fishery, even 

 in ships commanded by hard men, indeed, per- 

 haps sooner in them than in others. 



Of the incidents and accidents that have fol- 

 lowed the striking of whales, so many extraor- 

 dinary stories have been told that one comes to 

 think that the extraordinary is the ordinary event, 

 if such an expression may be allowed. It is in- 

 teresting to note, too, that in nearly every story 

 of the kind some one of the boat's crew appears 

 in the character of hero. Consider as an example 

 a tale told of Amos C. Baker, who was third mate 

 of the bark Awashonks in 1864, and afterward 

 for many years keeper of Clark's Point light- 

 house, near New Bedford. On October 13 of 

 the year mentioned, the Awashonks raised two 



