36 A YEAR WITH A WHALER 



among the sails. These things are the A B C of 

 seamanship, but they are not to be learned in a 

 day or a week. A ship is a complicated mechan- 

 ism, and it takes a long time for a novice to ac- 

 quire even the rudiments of sea education. Going 

 aloft was a terrifying ordeal at first to several 

 of the green hands, though it never bothered me. 

 When the cowboy was first ordered to furl the 

 fore-royal, he hung back and said, " I can't " 

 and " 111 fall," and whimpered and begged to 

 be let off. But he was forced to try. He 

 climbed the ratlines slowly and painfully to the 

 royal yard, and he finally furled the sail, though 

 it took him a long time to do it. He felt so 

 elated that after that he wanted to furl the royal 

 every time it had to be done; — didn't want to 

 give anyone else a chance. 



Furling the royal was a one-man job. ,The 

 foot-rope was only a few feet below the yard, 

 and if a man stood straight on it, the yard would 

 strike him a little above the knees. If the ship 

 were pitching, a fellow had to look sharp or he 

 would be thrown off; — if that had happened it 

 was a nice^ straight fall of eighty feet to the 



