Sketches Afloat with the Whalers 267 



jist imagine, then, how glad we was when one of 

 the party by the name of Tom Bunker he 

 belonged to Nantucket sung out, 'Here's a 

 spring ! ' You see, sir, there was six of us all told, 

 and the old man had made us separate as far 

 apart as we could and yet be within hail, and so 

 go across the island for to survey it like and try 

 for to find wood and water. At Tom's hail, 

 hows'ever, we all come to at once and ranged up 

 to him, and sure enough, here was a little spring 

 of beautiful clear water. If you want to know 

 what first-class tipple is you must try spring water 

 arter you've been in a boat twenty-four hours 

 without any. Tom told us that afore he come 

 up with the spring he seen the whole ground alive 

 with some kind of creepin' animal, but what they 

 was he couldn't tell. Well, we didn't hyst that 

 in exactly, but we thought that maybe Tom's 

 bein' so long on the water without anythin' for 

 to drink had made him kind of loony, and so 

 he imagined he seen animals when he hadn't. 

 'What's funny about this here island,' says the 

 old man, 'is that there ain't no birds onto it. 

 I've landed on plenty of islands afore which didn't 



