262 The Story of the New England Whalers 



more than three gallons of water, and they would 

 have perished speedily in their open boats but for 

 the fact that they were picked up by another 

 whale ship. 



Of course whale-ship owners always cautioned 

 their officers not to do such reckless things; they 

 all said that needless risks were to be avoided; 

 but the fact was that if the mate had succeeded 

 when he made that last attack he would have 

 sailed on his next voyage as a shipmaster, and 

 very well he knew it. 



Memorable in a different way was Captain 

 Sparks, of the Provincetown whaling schooner 

 Edward Lee. During the afternoon of May 14, 

 1 88 1, Captain Sparks and his mate lowered their 

 boats in pursuit of whales. By good luck and 

 good work the mate soon killed one which he 

 secured alongside the schooner and then began 

 the usual work of cutting in the blubber. Cap- 

 tain Sparks went after a whale that was shy, and 

 it led him such a race that when he at last gave 

 up all hope of securing it, and tried to find his 

 way back, he was, through some error of his own 

 or upon the schooner, unable to do so. 



