THE WHALE FISHERY. 273 



the unfortunate man would be carried out before any assistance could be rendered him ; or by 

 fouling in the chocks the danger of being towed under the water is imminent. We have many 

 published accounts of instances where men have been snatched from the boats so suddenly that the 

 survivors were not aware of their sudden removal. Cheever mentions instances where two boats 

 were carried down and the entire crews lost. One was lost on " False Banks," and another, belong- 

 ing to the whaling bark Janet, of Westport, with the captain, who was acting as a boat-header, 

 and the crew of five men, were all carried dowu and drowned by the boat-line getting foul while 

 fast to a whale. It is seldom, however, that a whole boat's crew is lost in this manner. 



It is not my intention to reduplicate the long list of- accidents that has been made up by the 

 various writers in whaling literature, but I shall refer to several mishaps that have occurred to 

 whalemen with whom I am more or less acquainted. 



Gapt. Amos C. Baker, the present keeper of Clark's Point Light, near New Bedford, was 

 badly used up by a right whale, and from him I obtained the following account of his accident 

 and subsequent sufferings. He says: "When I was third mate of bark Awashonks, of New 

 Bedford, we were cruising for right whales on the coast of Patagonia. On October 13, 1864, we 

 raised two about noon ; the first, by the way, we had seen siuce we left Port St. Catharine's, Brazil. 

 We got dinner and lowered three boats the mate's, the second mate's, and the third mate's. The 

 whales were together, coming toward the bark and boats, and we took them head and head. The 

 second mate got slightly fast to one by the lip. Both whales sounded, and shortly afterwards 

 broke water together, the fast one fighting hard and sending the white water almost mast-head 

 high. I tried to strike the loose- whale, but he would settle every time that 1 got within two dart's 

 of him. Meantime Mr. Norton, the mate, having struck the fast whale, he and the second mate 

 sterneij off to wait for the whale to get quiet. I got tired of trying for the loose whale, and went 

 into the suds and struck the fast one ; but I came very near getting cracked. The whales sounded 

 at a short distance; when the loose one broke water he was comparatively quiet. I asked Mr. 

 Norton if I should cut line and strike the loose one again. His answer was, 'I don't like to say 

 either way.' However, I cut my line and chased the loose whale a short distance, but finally 

 gave it up and came back to the fast whale, which was fighting hard, and sending the white water 

 in all directions. I pulled in ahead and took it quartering on the head, and Tom, my harpooner, 

 sent two more irons into him. Tom and I shifted ends; I set my lance down in his life twice and 

 the next thing 1 remember I was lying on one-half of the boat. I felt no pain at first, but could 

 not move. It so happened that the part of the boat I was on did not roll over with me ; had it 

 done so, I should have been drowned. But it was not to be so. I was in the most trying and 

 dangerous situation. The part of the wreck I was on was foul in the line. I tried to cut the line, 

 but I could not move, and every time the whale kicked, he would 'yank' me and the wreck of 

 the boat right up to his flukes. I expected that he would crush me every moment. I then noticed 

 the after oarsman hanging on the steering-oar, which was attached to the part of the boat I was 

 on. I implored him to cut the line. He crawled up and cut us from the whale. I next saw the 

 whale spout thick blood. About this time the mate's boat ran alongside of me. He was still 

 last. I told him I was badly hurt and could not move. He replied, 'Mr. Fisher' the fourth 

 mate, who had come dowu in the starboard boat ' will pick you up. He is right here.' I saw Mr. 

 Fisher with the rest of my crew, excepting the one who was with me. The bow-oarsmau was badly 

 cut and bruised. When they took hold of me to lift me into the boat I began to realize how badly I 

 was hurt. I thought that they would kill me. Of course they handled me as gently as they could; 

 but it seemed to me that they were very rough. The ship was about 2 miles off, and every stroke 

 the oarsmen made seemed like taking my life. We reached the ship at last, and Captain Wing said, 

 SEC. v, VOL. ii 18 



