May 30, 1903.] 
FORESt_ ANi) _STHEAM. 
428 
his voice just as we came in. John gave him one 
look, then with a yell fell out of the door backward. 
"Well, what is the matter with you? Have you never 
seen a nigger before?" Baltimore asked. 
"No., he has not," I explained. 
"Well, what are you going to do with this boy, take 
him to the white man's country, too?" Baltimore asked. 
"Yes, I am, if you'll feed him for me." 
"Oh, I'll feed him. Do you like pie, Johnnie?" 
John did not know. 
"Yes, he likes it; if he don't I do; get it out." 
He brought out a pie he had made for the cabin and 
cut each of us a piece. 
John took a bite and found that he liked it. 
I had a small magazine on board that contained 25 
Sharps rifles and as many Colts pistols, with plenty 
of ammunition for both. The captain had given me 
charge of it early in the voyage. I went to it to show 
John a gun, for he never had seen one. The first 
^hing that took John's eye in the cabin was the library. 
He got hold of the big Webster dictionar3^ but could 
make nothing out of it. Then I showed him the baro- 
meter and explained how it could tell us when a storm 
was coming, and the chronometer, telling him that it 
gave us the time in England. Next I unrolled the 
chart and pointed out his island. He wanted New 
.Zealand and Norfolk Island, I found them for him. 
Then I had to explain the sextant. The captain got out 
ihis telescope for him, and then gave us a shotgun to 
olean. We took it on deck, and I had John fire it off. 
By this time dinner was ready. The captain had a 
custom of dropping down on some mess nearly every 
'lay to see if there were any complaints. There never 
ivas one; the ship had the name of being one of the 
best fed in the trade, but this custom of his may have 
been one reason why we did not have anything to 
■ romplain of; the steward never knew just when or 
Fvhere the old man would turn up to ask questions. 
He came past our mess to-day and asked me "What 
ire you going to do with this boy?" 
"1 had meant to take him home with us, sir, if you 
vill allow me to do it." 
"Well, I don't know that I have any objection to you 
taking him, but don't take him without seeing the gov- 
ernor about it first." 
After dinner I got a pistol, m}^ pockets full of am- 
munition and a barrel stave for a target, and taking 
a native boat, John and I went ashore, and after he 
had got all the boys in the village together we went 
out a. mile from town and proceeded to hold target 
practice. I had given the men smoking tobacco to- 
day, and the boys had most of them got hold of some 
by this time; some were smoking, the rest were trying 
to the moment we had got clear of the village. 
I put a boy on picket to let us know when the gov- 
ernor was coming, then after I had fired a few shots 
I let each boy shoot. After a while the picket gave 
the alarm; the governor was in sight. I had the boys 
get their cigarettes out of sight and lighted one myself 
to account for any smell of tobacco. When he found 
that none of us had been shot he was greatly pleased; 
he told me, as he left us, that he had no use for fire- 
arms. 
After the target practice we explored the whole isl- 
and. It is only about five miles across either way, and 
about twenty miles square; a mere speck on the ocean, 
so small that many of our maps do not show it at 
all; but as near as I can remember now my chart gave 
the latitude as 22 degrees 30 minutes south and 120 de- 
grees west longitude. There are no springs on the 
island. They have to depend for water on a small 
pond in the middle called Brown's waterhok. This is 
fed by rains, and as it does not rain here at times for 
a year, they are often rather short of water. No ship 
will ever take any unless it should be out of water alto- 
gether. 
Their largest animal now is the goat. They did 
have a few beef cattle years ago; but a number of 
years before I visited them the islanders had all left 
here, going to Norfolk Island, and after a time finding 
that if they remained there all were likely to die, they 
returned here, to find that meanwhile these cows had 
overrun the whole island; they had to kill them of?, 
not having room for them, but were sorry afterward 
that they had not kept some. But there is no room 
for the cattle; in fact, there was hardly room for them- 
selves now, and the governor wanted to send a colony 
to New Zealand. 
They raise everything that will grow in that climate, 
and it is growing twelve months in the year; winter 
is unknown; they only have a rainy season instead. 
They always have plenty to eat and some to give to 
any ship that calls. 
As small as this island is, it has been found more 
than once by shipwrecked men, who have been kept 
imtil they found a chance to leave; one or more never 
left, but remained here until they died. I can think of 
worse places than this for a man who had no family at 
home to remain in. Only that it was at that time cut 
off from the rest of the world, except when a whaler 
called, I should have stayed there myself; they tried 
hard to keep me. 
The next day John came aboard dressed in his new 
clothes. His mother had made trousers, shirt and 
jacket, but had put no pockets in them. Marblehead, 
the ship's tailor, put pockets in the jacket and anchors 
on the collar; then went to work and made the boy a 
sailor suit of white cloth, with gilt buttons on the 
jacket. John got inside of this suit as soon as it was 
finished. 
After dinner I got out all my needles and scissors 
and all the steward had left of his private venture. 
We were going home now, so he let me have at cost 
the things he had carried to trade among the islands — 
muslins, calico, silk, thread, ribbons and woolen cloth. 
Making these up in two bundles I gave one of them to 
Johns mother, and asked her to give the other to 
Amelia Young; but she said Amelia would think far 
more of them if I gave them to her. John's father 
consented to my taking the boy home with me. "I 
give him to you; take care of him," he said. 
"I will take the same care of him that I would of 
my own brother," I told him, "and see that he gets 
back here if he wants to come. I did not intend to 
ship again, but I can if I want to, and may now; if 
I don't our steward will bring him back for me; I 
started out here this time with $200 in gold, and have 
most of it yet and have all my pay coming to me when 
we get back, and while I have money he has it. I 
meant to go back to our army when I got home; I 
was in it a good many years, and if John wants to go 
along I can have him taken as a trumpeter.. I expect 
I will have a row with the governor before I get John, 
though." 
"You go at father real rough," John's mother ad- 
vised; "that is the only way to get along with him. 
He will be disappointed, too; he told me he was going 
to keep you here and marry you to Amelia Young." 
"Oh, he is counting his chickens before they are 
hatched; if he is not careful I may take her with me 
along with John." 
I went up to the school to give Amelia her present 
and bid her good-by. 
"You are not going," she said; "the governor is go- 
ing to keep you ; he told me so ; 'he wants you to teach 
these boys; I can take the girls." 
"He can't get me. The captain would not let me stay 
or I might stop here. I may come again, though, and 
stay here." 
"Well, I wish you would, we want you." 
Next I went to the governor and found him in a 
peck of trouble; I had given the boys about three dozen 
jackknives, and he said that in a week they would have 
everything on the island that could be be cut, cut down; 
they were at it from morning to night; he saw nothing 
but a boy and a knife everywhere he went. 
"Well, let them cut, that is what those knives were 
made for. I called to tell you that I am going to 
take John home with me." 
"The captain promised that he would not take any of 
my boys or men with him." 
"He is not taking him, I am." 
"Well, you won't; he can't go." 
"Can't he? I say he can and will. Now you don't 
want the boy to spend his life on this island, do you?" 
"I have spent my life on it, and my father spent his 
on it, too." 
"Y^es, I know he did; and had your father belonged 
to any other country but England, he would not have 
been let spend his life here; he, most likely, would 
have finished his life from a ship's yardarm." 
"Have you a family at home?" 
"No, I was never married." 
"Then stop here; I will get you a wife and when I 
die you will be governor." 
"Who will you get me?" 
"Any of these young women here; any one you may 
want." 
"How would Amelia Young do?" 
^^Yes, I can get you her. Do you want her?" 
"She may not want me." 
"Oh, that will be all right. I can tell her to take 
you. Anythmg I want here is done. I'll get you 
her." 
"No, sir; I could not stay, even if I wanted to, and 
I don't; the captain would not let me. By the way, 
governor, since you won't let me have John, have you 
any objection to my taking Amelia Y^oung with me?" 
"No, you can take her, I'll let you have her, but I 
can't give you a hoy." 
We came out now and I said, "Well, it is no use, 
Johnnie, he won't let me have you." 
"I am going, anyhow," John told me. 
That evening at dark John's father, who had been on 
board taking supper with us, was going ashore, and 
asked John if he were coming. "No," he replied, "I 
am going to stay here after this." 
The next afternoon I told John's father what the 
governor had said, and added, "But if the captain don't 
stop me I am going to take him anyhow; so if he turns 
up missing you will know where he has gone to." 
Next morning after breakfast we got ready to leave; 
I took John forward to see me start the donkey en- 
gine and our anchors come in; and we began to move 
off. Going into the engine room my partner asked, 
"Have you seen the governor?" 
"Not to-day; I am not looking for him just now." 
"Then he is looking for you; he was here a moment 
ago." 
"Why, is he on board?" 
"Yes; he goes out to sea a few miles with every 
ship that calls here," 
The governor came down and said, "I am after 
John, I want to go ashore now." 
"All right, go ashore, but you don't get John. I have 
him now and mean to keep him." 
"I can't let you have him. I would hate to have to 
complain to the captain about you, but yon can't take 
him. Had you asked for any other boy I have, you 
might have got him. You have been kind to us and I 
would not refuse you, but I won't give you John." 
The governor went on deck and we followed him; 
the captain was standing forward of the foremast. I 
thought to send John to him; but as soon as -the boy 
saw him he took off his cap, and walking up to him 
asked, "Can't I go home with you, please, sir?" 
"No, Johnnie, the governor won't let me have you, 
guess. 
"Now you can go home with me, can't you?" the 
governor asked, grabbing him by the arm. 
"Just stop that right now, sir," the captain told 
him. "Y'ou must not abuse that boy for wanting to 
go with us; I won't have that." 
"No, certainly I won't abuse him; he is my favorite 
grandson, or I should have let vour young man have 
him." 
The ship was rounded to, and the governor's canoe 
was brought alongside; he and John got into it, and 
the governor bidding us good-by, paddled off, 
while we swung around and started again. I had 
turned to go below, when one of the white crew says, 
"Look, sir, your boy is going to swim back to us." 
John stood up in the canoe, he had thrown his cap off 
and was now pulling off his jacket, while the governor, 
who had stopped paddling, was dragging at him. They 
were likely to upset. The old captain made one of the 
quickest moves I had ever seen him make. Going 
with about one jump to our nearest boat, he called out, 
"Stand by, here, this boat's crew." The Kanaka crew 
took their places in the boat; it took us only about 
a minute to get a boat in when we were in a hurry, 
and we were in one now. I jumped in and sent one 
of the crew out again. If we picked them up I would 
get the mate to bring the boy back. 
But they did not upset. In a minute the governor 
got John to take his seat again; then waving his hand 
to us started off. So again we turned our nose to 
sea, and in an hour the little island was far astern. 
For nearly ten weeks after leaving the island we saw 
no whales. I was in hopes that the old man would try 
some other part of the globe next; I wanted to go to 
the coast of Japan, for I was in no hurry to get home, 
and would as soon stay out for the next two years; the 
life suited me, it might not have suited me, though, if I 
had been with some captains. 
At last we got two rather small ones, and three days 
after this ran into a school of about a dozen of them. 
This was Captain Williams' luck; we could find whales 
when no one else could. There were at least a dozen 
in sight from the "crow's-nest," and slowing down, our 
boats were called away. 
I was supposed not to have anything to do with 
these boats, and on some ships I would not be allowed 
one of them when it was after a whale; but early last 
spring, as soon as we had got on the whaling grounds 
and before we had seen a whale, I had got permission 
to go in Mate Robinson's boat, and the first time our 
boats were called away after the lookout had given 
his cry of, "There she blows; Oh blows!" I took my 
place in the boat as bow oar. I chose the bow so as 
to be able to see the crew and not make any mistakes. 
I had nothing to learn from them about rowing. I 
had been rowing a boat ever since I was ten years old, 
whenever I could find water enough to float one. But 
these whale boats were new to me, and then in the 
bow I could see the harpoon thrown and the lance 
used. We were lucky this day, and got one of the 
largest whales that had ever been taken in the South 
Pacific; the crew said he had been taken because a 
landsman had been in the boat; however, we got him, 
and ever after this, when the boats were sent away, if 
I was not on duty I took my place as bow oar for Rob- 
inson. But I was not satisfied yet, I wanted to go and 
kill a whale myself, but never expected to get a chance 
to do it; very few captains would give me a boat, even 
if all his mates were crippled, and our rriates hevef 
had had anything wrong with them until now. 
Just before we left Pitcairn's Island our fifth mate, 
Mr. Watson, was taken down with what we thought 
was the typhoid fever, and he still had it. When the 
boats had been sent away a few days ago he had not 
gone. I was in the engine room then and did not go, 
but I had been doing a good deal of thinking since. 
I wanted his boat next time. So to-day, when the 
boats were called and he came on deck to take him, the 
captain said, "I am not going to send your boat to- 
day, Mr. Watson; you are not fit to go." 
I was standing beside Mr. Robinson and said, "I 
have a notion to ask for the boat, sir." 
"Go and ask for it" he told me; "you will get it." 
Walking up to the captain, I said, "Will you please 
let me have Mr. Watson's boat to-day, sir? I think I 
can get you one of those whales; I should like to try." 
"Y'es, go ahead and try; you may not get one, you 
probably won't, but you can try, I like to see a man 
try, and try and bring that boat back again whether 
you get a whale or not." 
Running forward to the boat I called out, "Stand by 
here, No. 5." The boat-steerer ran and took his place, 
and the Kanaka crew came forward, but stood looking 
at me. 
"Get aboard, men ; be in a hurry about it." And tak- 
ing my place at the stern, I told the men, who stood 
at the falls, to lower away, and we were dropped into 
the water. Before I had left the deck I saw a large 
whale that was nearly astern of us and at least three 
miles away; he could only be seen when he rose on the 
swell. I steered for him, but when I had got to within 
less than a mile of him he began to move off, but left 
very slowly; he had not seen nor heard us yet. I 
looked down at my crew; they were pulling on those 
oars for all they were worth, and the sweat was rolling 
down their naked breasts. 
"Men," I told them, "I want that whale to-dav. Get 
him for me." 
"Oh, we get him, sir," my stroke declared. "We fol- 
low him all day, if you say so." 
After a while th^ whale stopped again, and we be- 
gan to close up on him very fast. I kept my eye on 
the boat-stecrer, he would nod to me when we were 
in close enough; we dare not speak nor make a noise, 
or the whale would be off again. * 
Soon the steersman gave me his signal to stop row- 
mg; I raised my left hand, and the oars came up to- 
gether while the boat moved still further forward, then 
stopped, and the steersman, drawing his arm back, sent 
the iron home. As soon as I saw it strike. I threw 
myself down and called out, "Stern all!" and my crew 
sent the boat astern in a hurry. The whale lay for a 
moment after he had got the iron, then throwing him- 
self half out of the water went down, but did not go 
far; he only took half of one line with him. These 
lines are 1,800 feet long, and I had seen a whale take 
nearly two of them out before he stopped. When he 
came up againg and began to blow, I saw that we had 
hurt him bad; the foul air and water he was expellino- 
was tinged with blood. 
Now he started towing us, and headed right for the 
ship; that was where I wanted him to go; we were 
all of four miles away from it now. 
He only ran a mile, then stopped. I thought there 
must be something wrong with him; I had seen them 
tow us five or six miles before now. 
"No, he is all right," the boatsteerer declared; "he 
is lazy, that is all. He counts you a whale, anj'how. 
This is the best day's work you have ever done, sir; 
this won't be the last time you will command this' boat 
if you sail with the old man again." 
Now we closed in on him again, and the boat-steerer 
