34 A YEAR WITH A WHALER 



It is difficult for a landlubber to understand 

 how sailors on shipboard can be kept constantly 

 busy. The brig was a veritable hive of industry. 

 Thejwatch on deck when morning broke pumped 

 ship and swept and flushed down the decks. Dur- 

 ing the day watches, in addition to working the 

 ship, we were continuously breaking out sup- 

 plies, keeping the water barrel on deck filled 

 from casks in the hold, laboring with the cargo, 

 scrubbing paint work, polishing brass work, 

 slushing masts and spars, repairing rigging, and 

 attending to a hundred and one details that must 

 be looked after every day. The captain of a 

 ship is one of the most scrupulous housekeepers 

 in the world, and only by keeping his crew busy 

 from morning till night is he able to keep his 

 ship spick and span and in proper repair. Whale 

 ships are supposed to be dirty. On the contrary, 

 they are kept as clean as water and brooms and 

 hard work can keep them. 



The food served aboard the brig was nothing 

 to brag about. Breakfast consisted of corned- 

 beef hash, hardtack, and coffee without milk or 

 sugar. We sweetened our coffee with molasses, 



