rfi
NO PROBLEM TOO BIG
Brainy Men of To-Day Are
Busy With Schemes of
Colossal Dimensions.
MILLIONS INSIGMFICAOT.
Business Combinations Eun Up Into
Eight and Nine Figures:
A HALF-BILLION EAILEOAD DEAL.
Tie Mental Strain Involved in the Electrio
Consolidation.
"WHT WE HATE KO GREAT UTEBATTJBI
rwarrrajr toe the msrATCH.l
At a dinner party in Itew Xork City a
few evenings ago there were gathered
around a table only 12 men, and yet.the ag
gregate personal wealth added to the value
of the properties which they represented
wonld amount to considerably more than.
500,000,000. Among the guests was Ohaun
eey M. Depew, and he was asked by one of
his fellow railroad presidents what, in his
opinion, was the most striking development
or indication of the day.
It had been agreed when the party sat
down to the table that no formal speech
making should interrupt the more cheerful
and informal chat which was expected to
fellow the dinner courses. But somehow
Mr. Depew was stimulated by this ques
tion, and almost unconsciously he delivered
an oration, informal enough, but intensely
interesting and full of pregnant suggestions.
iicd. P. Olcott.
Quick as thought he answered the questions
put to him by his friend as follows:
"The stupendous intellectual activity and
the capacity of the men of to-day to handle
with comparative ease problems and sub
jects that a generation ao could no more
have entered the comprehension of men
than the idea of railway traveling or elec
tric communication could have been ap
preciated or even vaguely understood by
the men of affairs at the beginning of the
century."
And with this as a text, Mr. Depew went
on setting forth some of the intellectual
activities of the time, so that when he had
finished he had delivered as charming an
oration as was ever heard from him at such
a festivity.
Why We Have No Great literature.
Somebody asked Hr. Depew why there
was no longer any great literature. He
said because it was not written.
"But why is it not written? Are there no
longer men of genius?"
"Ah, men of prodigious genius," he re
plied, "but genius nowadays is building
great bridges, constructing superb artificial
water ways, conquering prairies and moun
tains and bisecting them with railway
tracks, mastering the ocean and sending
steamships to Europe in .five days time.
They are engaged in conquering the desert
lands of the 'West and making grain grow
where only the saze brush used to flourish.
Tbe'y are doing as yountr Tesla did, dis
covering new forms of electrical develop
ment, but they are not writing books. Per-
haps the time will come when the great
J herald will tell the stories of these modern
exploits of genius, but the herald of to-day
is the pioneer of the surveying party, the
frontiersman, the genius who conceives the
JIShL
Thomas A. Edison.
new bridge, a new railway or how to better
an old o! e. That is the reason why busy
brains of to-day are not writing books."
A few illustrations will show how rich a
field Jlr. Depew had to draw upon for his
facts and examples:
A Grrat Railroad Combination.
After the close of tbe war there began to
be developed in the Southern States little
by little various railwav systems. These
roads were built with little regard to one
another, and to meet urgent need for speedy
communication. There came also a'great
development of neglected resources. It was
revealed that under the mountains of
Tennessee and Alabama magnificent depos
its of iron and of coal existed, and energy
was directed to tbe utilization of this
wealth. The planters, too, increased the
area of cotton, and by improved methods of
cultivation greatly enlarged the product.
These and the stimulation of other indus
tries in the South compelled the building of
railways, and so they went on constructing
one road after another until, almost before
the North realized it, the States south of
the Potomac and east of the Mississippi
were really gridironed with independent
railway systems.
It is a. theory of railroad men that the
imperative law of railwav a development
leads ultimately to the consolidation of in
terests which are common, and if this be
true it certainly found an exemplification in
the efforts of men of great ability, most of
them natives of the Southern States, to
bring these va-ious systems into one com
mon association. This development was
prodigious, and at last it was found that.
nearly y,000 miles of railwav and properties
and securities valued at not far from $600,
000,000 were allied and were also threat
ened. Prom various causes the peril be
came imminent. The financial world was
threatened with reverses, the results of
which must have been appalling, and
especially in the South. In 1873 the col
lapse of a single railway brought on a
mighty panio, fend, while such revulsion in
this case as causes panio was not antici
pated, yet it was feared that the disaster, if
It was allowed to. come, would prostrate
business and stagnate commerce.
An Intellect nal Athlete Called In.
In this emergency some of the ablest
financier! who ever had the handling of
colossal problems were appealed to, and
chief among these was Mr. Fred P. Olcott.
This gentleman had first gained financial
repute by his administration of the finan
cial department of Hew York State. Ha
was its Controller for three years. 'When
Mr. Olcott's term expired he was chosen
head of a great banking institution and
there began to reveal extraordinary capac
ity as an organizer, or more properly reor
ganlzer, of great financial properties which
were threatened with ruin. This requires
-?:,
Andrew B. Green.
a capacity for reading the meanings con
cealed behind guresrand almost intuitive
perception of the etrning powers of cor
porations, an instant perception of sources
of weakness and opportunities for strength,
but above all it entails the power to com
mand the confidence of great capitalists,
one of the most difficult things for a finan
cier to achieve. Jay Gould has most of
these qualities,but sadly lacks one. Mr. J.
Pierpont Morgan possesses them all to the
highest degree, so that he is probably es
teemed both in this country and in Great
Britain the ablest constructive financier of
his generation. Mr. Olcott has solved suc
cessfully several delicate and difficult prob
lems involving many millions, and conspic
uously that prolonged vexation, the Virginia
State debt question.
When they appealed to Mr. Olcott, there
fore, to undertake to bring these great
Southern railway properties out of the con
dition of chaos and despair, the greater
financiers felt that if it could be done it
would be.
A Mamtpotb. Project Mow Under Way
The problem was one of extraordinary
difficulty. It involved an understanding of
the State laws of five States, a knowledge of
various issues of securities, which seemed
when tabulated as perplexing as a labyrinth;
it required a knowledge of the earning
capacity of many individual lines of railway,
and it entailed a thorough understanding of
the methods of railwav management.
So Mr. Olcott found himself confronted .
with all these things and with the task of
bringing order, security and confidence for
properties representing$500,000,000and near
ly 10,000 miles of railway. He called to his
assistance several of the financial geniuses
of New York, and day after day and night
after night these busy and brilliant brains
pondered over the problem, while other
financiers, great and small, looked on with
the most intense interest At last Mr. Ol
cott and his associates announced only a few
days ago that they had solved the problem,
or, at least, were now able to show the way
W. d. Whitney.
in which it could be solved, and with the
co-operation of the security holders they
should be able to save these great properties
and bring them through a state of con
valescence to perfect health. Moreover,
bankers who controlled manv millions of
dollars were ready to subscribe $14,000,000
hard cash in order to assist the consumma
tion of this project
Whether it succeeds or not at this writing
is not known, for the time has not yet
arrived when success or failure is to be
announced. That, however, does not enter
into the consideration as suggested by Mr.
Depew. The history simply shows what
the greatest geniuses of finance, not only in
New York but throughout the country, "are
just now thinking about
In Scientific Commercial Xilfe.
The great men whose brains are striving
to make of commercial utility some of the
great scientific discoveries of this end of the
century's days are thinking now of the de
velopment of electricity as a business com
modity; and one of the great achievements
of the winter and early spring has been
the bringing into harmonious relations two
of the great corporations which have fol
lowed the discoveries and application of
such discoveries to commercial need of two
of the greatest of American electricians,
Thomas A. Edioon and Professor Thomson.
Edison of late has been employing his busy
brain in a single direction.- He seems to be
fascinated with his invention of extracting
by means of magnetism iron ore from the
foreign material with which it is associated
when brought lrom the ground, and enor
mous as has been the money value of other
of his Inventions, it is his option that they
will fall into comparative insignificance be
side the profits which this invention will
bring to him.
A powerful corporation, however, had
been created commercially to develop some
of his electric inventions, while in the New
England States another great corporation
controlled the patents which were the visi
ble results ot the studies and discoveries of
Prof. Thomson. Between these two cor
porations the. bulk of the business of furn
ishing electrio light, power and the ma
chinery which utilizes such factors was con
trolled. Edison and Prof. Thomson are
able to pull aside the curtain which hides
some of the mysteries of nature and give to
the world the comforts and the blessings
which flow from such discoveries, but it re
quired another order of talent to make
these discoveries commercially successful.
Therefore when Edison and Thomson had
finished, the work of the business men be-
an, and some of the ablest of busy business
rains have undertaken this part of the
ioint development All winter they have
Deen thinking about a union of interests,
and a f e w weeks ago this was accomplished.
Th? naion represents probably 50.000,000
of capital and the control of the major part
of the electric business of the United 8tates.
No one not associated with these men can
conceive the tremendous intellectual strain
required to bring about such consolidation.
It is another one of those things with which
the busy brains of men of genius have been
engaged during the past few months.
Whitney' Snrfsca Boad Achievement
"When "William a Whitney finished his
term as Secretary of the Navy many
thought that his career was practically
finished, for it had been crowned with
tTHB
political honors and he was already a very
rich man. Yet It seems as though his busi
ness career only began when he bade good
by to the Navy Department A man ot
extraordinary ability,. esteemed by many
politicians as "having the capacity tobeooma
the ablest politician of his party did he de
sire to pursue politics, ne seems to nave
preferred another field for his energies, and
to have associated with himself a group of
business men whose achievements Illustrate
their brilliant capacity. These men have
been busy thinking, and as a result of their
energies It has been announosd within a
few days that they have secured control of,
within a single exception, the great surface
car lines in New York. There are nearly
100 miles of rail. The capital invojved is
nearly 150,000,000. and is likely to be J100,.
000,000 before their plans are consummated.
For these brainy men, it is now believed,
have- each towering business ambition that
they look for control not only of the New
Yore street railway system, which is a ver
itable" gold mine, but for the systems in
many of the larger cities of the country.
They have already secured control in Phila
delphia, and, if reports are true, to some ex
tent in Chicago. When their schemes are
perfected these men will be in possession of
properties, whose yearly income would be
simply stupendous, and it is believed, to be
a part of their plan to abandon entirely
horse power and to substitute for it, as they
have already on Broadway in New York,
cable power or electricity. Whitney and
his associates illustrate in their undertak
ings the tendency toward colossal achieve
ment, which Keeps busy brains in this day
to the highesttension and calls for the most
admirable and remarkable of resources.
Andrew B. Green's Busy Brain.
Mr. Andrew H. Green and those associat
ed with him are employed just now upon a
stupendous plan which if consummated will
vastly extend the area of New York City,
make it equal to the metropolitan distriot
of London, annihilate as a municipal corpo
ration the city of Brooklyn and other small
er cities within 15 miles of City Hall, New
York, and make one city containing nearly
3,000,000 of Inhabitants.
Mr. Green has been devoted to this
scheme for more than 30 years, and he has
converted to his view some of the ablest
men of puhlio spirit who live within the
area which he contemplates including in his
great metropolitan city. It is Mr. Green's
idea that the law of combination or consolida-
Etthu Thomson.
tlon applies as inevitably to aggregations of
individuals to form cities as it does to rail
ways or to other mercantile or commercial
enterprises. Philadelphia, Chicago, Boston,
have all, he says, revealed in their experi
ences the tendency of such law, and it is
his belief that the time is not far distant
when the greatei New York, as it is called,
will furnish the most splendid example of
metropolitan existence in the world. At
all events, he and his associated men of
brains are busy thinking about this matter,
busy agitating it and busy in their efforts
to secure a favorable law from the New
York Legislature.
A Colossaf Bridge Undertaking.
But that is not the only thing in the way
of municipal economies that Mr. Green is
agitating. He is a bridge builder in spirit,
and is one of those men who have genius for
affairs ,who is striving to throw a colossal
span across the Hudson river, giving New
York, or the Island of Manhattan, a high
way to the continent Such a scheme as he
proposes, and has in fact advanced so far
that the financing of it has begun, involves
the bringing into New York City of the 14
trunk lines of railway which now stretch
from the western banks of the Hudson,
some of them across the continent Such a
bridge as he eontemplates would be the
most splendid triumph of modern mechanical
engineering. It wonld he a combination of
the suspension and cantilever system, and
wonld furnish the longest span in the world
a span, in fact, which at the time of the
building of the Brooklyn bridge would have
been regarded as impossible, or at least
dangerous.
But the bus engineers of the present day
have been thinking about great things as
well as the financiers, and they are now
able to construot bridges which even 20
years ago would have been deemed as purely
a flight'ot fancy as is the story ot Jack and
the beanstalk. Thus in the science of mu
nicipal economics busy men are engaged in
studying mighty problems and in revealing
on their part that there are no limitations
to the capacity of the human intellect in
grappling with the problems of modern
civilization.
So we might go on, as Mr. Debew did for
an hour, in describing other achievements
and attempts at achievement of the men of
genius of to-day. E. J. Edwabds.
ANIMALS THAT 1(0 HOT HEINE.
Quite a Number Get Enough Water With
tbe Food They Select
Mr. Blanford, in his hook on Abyssinia,
says that neither the doreas, nor Benett's
gazelle (two allied species), ever drink.
Darwin states in his "Voyage of a Natural
ist," that, unless the huanacoes, or wild
llamas ot Patagonia, drink salt water, in
many localities they must drink none at all.
The large and interesting group of sloths
are alike in never drinking. A parrot is
said to have lived in the Zoological Gardens.
Regent's Park, for 52 years without a drop
of water.
It is often said that rabbits in a wild state
never drink. The late Kev. J. G. Wood
doubted whether this idea was correct, and
recorded tbe fact that they feed on the her
bage when it is heavy with dew, and, there
fore, practically drink when' eating. In the
autumn and winter, when sheep are feeding
on turnips, they require little or no water.
t
HIGHER EDUCATION 70S WOMEN.
The Ohio State University Disputes a Claim
of an Eastern College.
It was recently announced that one of the
New England colleges will hereafter admit
ladies to postgraduate study, and the state
ment was made that this institution was
thus entitled to the honor of being the first
to take this important step.
The author of the statement is not well
informed. Miss Annie W. Sabine began a
postgraduate course at the Ohio State Uni
versity in 1884, and received the degree of
Master of Arts after a course of two years
in history and English literature. Several
other ladies have pursued studies in this
department ot the University.
Suicides for Sensation.
There is in Paris a class of suicides, who
make every arrangement for studied effect
They are known to the police as suicides a
sensation. To spite some persons, and
make themselves shudderingly remembered,
all the' detail is thought out Numberless
letters of farewell are written, an elaborate
will is prepared, the rooms are put in order,
and tbe best clothes donned. Poison or the
fumes of charcoal are preferred by 'this
class; the, revolver and drowning dlsfignres
the features oo mucb and, spoils the effect
And this form of suicide seems to be largely
on the increase.
PITTSBURG D35FATOH,
CURSED BY SOLDIERY.
Host of the Trouble 1n Brazil Comes
From the Army and Navy.
THE PEOPLE HAYE NO YOICE.
A Battle of Newspaper Manifestoes With a
Bather Kovel Ending.
DISAS1B0US FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT
tcoaaxsroHDKfci 0 THE DISrATCH. J
Paba, BbaziIi, April 12. The Govern
ment censorship over cable news has prob
ably permitted considerable one-sided in
formation to have been sent out in explan
ation and extenuation of the latest act of
the President of the Brazilian Bepnblio in
suspending "official guarantees" at Bio
for 72 hours.
This is in effect a declaration of martial
law, and, if continued, may finally result in
an assumption 'of military dictatorship all
over Brazil. The case which led to this was
the recent action of the 13 military and
naval officers of high rank in publishing in
the newspaper a manifesto or protest
against the recent act of Marshall Floriana
Peixotto, Vice President and successor of
Deodora Ponieca, in deposing by Presi
dents! decree the Governor of the several
States who had been elected by the people,
but whose official conduct did not please the
"President of fee Eepublio" at Kio.
Their Idea of a Republic.
It will be seen that these people have but
faint conception, as yet, of tbe "liberties"
granted to them by a republican form of
government It will be remembered that
Fonseca was deposed because he attempted
to dissolve the Congress that failed to con
firm all of his official acts. The cry then
was "TJsurption." The misrepresentations
sent forth to the world created considerable
sympathy with the "struggling Congress,"
who were supposed to represent the people
in the defense of their rights; yet this same
Congress that had compelled the resigna
tion of Eonseca immediately passed resolu
tions granting to his successor, Peixotto
(who, by the way, had previously agreed to
sustain Eonseca), practically unlimited
power as a military dictator, claiming that
on account of the unfamiliarlty of the peo
ple such act was in the nature of a military
necessity.
The new President promptly uses his
authority and summarily deposes several
fovernors of States, in one instance at Ceara
y a bombardment of the palace by the naval
forces. The present trouble comes unex
pectedly from the military and naval officers
who were supposed to be friendly to Peix
otto. They do not quietly or officially pro
test, but the first notice Peixotto has is
this, the newspaper manifesto.
Novel Way of Suppressing BebelUon.
The President in reply publishes a decree,
placing these 13 protesting military and
naval authorities on the "retired list" with
a big "pension" most of the officers being
young mep. Two of those who had signed
the declaration, fearing the consequences,
backed out, and the following day published
a retraction. They were for this act re
warded by being transposed from the "re
tired" to the "reserved," or as they term
it, "second-class list"
Subsequently, two of tho thirteen, Vice
Admiral of the navy and Eduardo Walden
kolk, and Major General Jose Almeida
Barretto printed a manifesto, declining the
retirement and refusing point blank to
recognize the authority of the President to
place them in retirement These are two of
the most distinguished officers of the Bra
zilian armv and navy. Walkenkolk was a
member of Eouseca's Cabinet, as a Minister
of Marine, and is well and favorably known
in tbe United States, where he has spent
some time. Barretto has a famous military
career. Soldabanha da Gama, a Bear Ad
miral, who has been recognized as a mon
archist and heretofore mistrusted, has to-day
been taken into the fold anda appointed tb
an important position in Rio. A demon
stration was made at the lodging of a deputy
from Bahia against Peixotto, and in favor
of Fonseca, but reports say it was quelled
by the Tenth Infantry.
The Soldiers Slake the Trouble.
Briefly stated the facts are: All the
trouble comes from the military and naval
officers, who are quarreling among them
selves, and it will end in a Kilkenny cat
fight The Brazilian people are generally
quiet, and, in their calm and indifferent
manner, look on and awaiting develop
ments. They say the military will eat each
other up and then peace will be established
in Brazil. It is well known that the revo
lution in the Empire did not come from
the people, but through the army and navy
officers, sustained by a few leaders. The
leaders, being weak, were dependent upon
the military, and they dictate to the Presi
dent The more respectable element of Brazil
ians have kept entirely aloof from the po
litical entanglements of the new govern
ment . The military in this Bepublio is not
subordinate to the civil. A change must
come soon because of the general discontent
in army and navy neither side can trust
the military.
Exchange continues to decline rapidly
under tfie direction of the English bankers.
Tbe unstability of the Government is given
as the cause for this, but the fact is the bal
ance ot trade is in favor of England.
Brazil's Debts and Resources.
All Imports are paid for in gold coin; all
debts contracted when the inilreis was at or.
near par 'are now collected at the low rate
of exchange, nearly doubling the indebted
ness. In thelast year of the reign of Dom
Pedro, the milrels was at par (54 cents).
During the two years of republican dicta
torship, it has ste'adily declined to less than
one-half its par value. This is the political
pulse which tells of the healthfulness of the
Brazilian body politic
Yet Brazil cannot become bankrupt It
has in abundance the prime articles, coffee,
sugar, cocoanuts, rubber ami hides, which
pay the States large export duties, and all
imports pay a duty to the general govern
ment, and everything used is imported.
Unlike the Argentine, who have only hides
and tallow, Brazil's natural resources are
unlimited, agricultural possibilities un
touched. In the one article of crude rubber alone,
from the Amazon, the values exceed
(2,500,000 per month, three-fourths
of which goes to the United States,
but only one-fifth of the imports come from
the United States in exchange.
J. Obion Kkebt.
A VEEY HIGH-PEICED SEED.
One of the Followers or Shiva Offers Nearly
50,000 for It
A wonderful seed, called Ekumkhi Bud
rakshi, regarded with veneration by the fol
lowers of Shiva, and of such uncommon
rarity as to be practically unobtainable, has
been catalogued for sale in Calcutta. Most
marvelous stories in regard to the origin of
this seed are current It is said to be pro
duced in Nepaul, and according to the laws
there, if anyone except a priest is found in
possession of the seed he will be beheaded.
The tree on which this seed is said to grow
is the only one in the territory of Nepaul,
and is guarded by soldiery, whose heads pay
the penalty ot the slightest indiscretion.
It is said that many years elapse before
any seed of the kind is produced by this
tree, and out of a million of the seeds pro
duced it is very rarely that three of the
genuine ones, recognized as sacred, are
found. The one on sale is said to be a genu
ine one, and it is added that a Hindoo gen
tleman has made an offer of 10,000 it the
vendors would certify it to be genuine. All
the vendors say is that the seed has been
sent to them as genuine. .
Boachzs, bedbugs, eto, are Instantly and
eternally eradicated by Buglne. 85 oents.
BUJNDAT,- .MAT 1,
AW BL9WS I
OR, FOUR YEARS ON A NEW BEDFORD WHALER.
WBITTEN TOR THE DISPATCH
BY CAPTAIN j. H. B. ROBINSON.
The Straightforward Tale of a Plain Sailor Man's Actual Adventures
During a Long Cruise in the Stormiest Seas of the World.
CHAPTER J.
HOW I SHIPPED.
In the year 1876, having just returned
from the west coast of Africa, which; by
the way, was my first experience "plough
ing salt water," I was trying to settle down
on shore again and work at my trade, but
failing health determined me to try the sea
once more.
I had had enough of the African trade, so
I concluded that "blubber hunting" was
the laziest way in which to build up my
constitution and at the same time see a
little of the world. Thus, one day in Sep
tember, I found myself standing on the pier
in New Bedford, in a cold, drizzling rain,
looking at a bluff-bowed, clumsy bark of
about 350 tons, painted a dirty yellow, with
"Triton" on her stem.
As I was looking curiously up at her
single topsail yards and other old-fashioned
peculiarities, a well-dressed, middle-aged
man approached, and, with an insinuating
smile, said:
"I see you're looking at the old Triton?"
"Yes," said I. "There is no law to pre
vent it, is there?"
"No, no, of course not," he replied.
"Looking for ahance to Bbip?"
"Where is she going and how long is the
voyage?" I asked.
"Three years in the Atlantic. I am one
of the owners. Ever been to sea?"
"I have made one voyage In a palm-oil
trader," said I, "and was offered a second
mate's berth when, we got back."
"Just the man we want Where do you
belong?"
"Nantucket," I replied.
"Nantucket I Why, man, any 'scrap
islander' will make a good whaleman. Come
right up to my store and sign the papers.
I'll give you the 175th lay. Come along."
I followed him to his large clothing store
on Union street, where I signed the ship's
articles sailor like without reading them.
I was told the ship sailed in two weeks, and
I was about to leave for the steamer to re
turn home, when, with a bland smile, he
said:
"Now, Mr. Barker, you will want an out
fit I keep everything you'll need and a
chest to put it in, and you can have all you
want When the voyage is over we will
deduct It from vour wages."
I had never been on a whaler, bnt I was
CHILDREN'S CARRIAGES
FROM $5 TO $50.
HOPPER BROS. &
WILL NEVER BE UNDERSOLD. We meet every price, we meet any terms. We were here when others came, and will be here
when others go. We maintain that a MODERATE margin will be appreciated by the general public, and those whom we have sold to we'll sell m
to again, and they will tell their friends, and their friends who have been BIT by extortionate, high-priced establishments, will also appreciate OUR.,"
LOW PRICES and give us their
OUR
FURNITURE
DEPARTMENT
Is full to the brim with as
choice a line of goods as
you'll find in the city, and
POSITIVELY our prices
are lower. a All we can
say for them is that you
call and see the goods.
We have about one hundred
You must come soon if you desire a
possible to do their shopping before
PRESENT.
BOOKCASES FROM 812 TO 945.
1892.
9
brought up on an Island where whaling was
the principal industry since its settlement,
and I well knew the kind of outfit and the
outrageous prices I should be obliged to pay
finally, so I said politely:
"I don't want anything- I shall buy my
stuff at home tor cash."
For a moment he was speechless with sur
prise and baffled greed, and then his better
feelings evidently got the ascendancy, and,
tucking one thumb in his vest, and laying
his disengaged band on my shoulder, he de
livered himself as follows:
"Young man, I'm a 'shark.' It's my bus
iness to 'skin' sailors, but if yon have the
cash to buy elsewhere, dash me if I don't
advise you to do HI"
I will not weary you with aa account of
my final preparations or the parting with
my mother and sisters. Suffice it to say
that on August 20, 1876, we said goodby to
Yankee land and shaped our course for the
Azores Islands, where we were to ship sev
eral native Portuguese to complete our
crew.
It is only fair that I should give the
reader a general outline of the crew with
whom my lot was cast for what was, al
though unknown to me then, destined to be
a cruise around the world lasting over four
years.
The.Captaln was a long, lean Mattapolsett
man who had served with distinction in the
navy and at the close of the war returned to
whaling. He possessed the courage of a
lion and a good share of his strength, and in
addition was a first-class navigator and
thorough seaman, and, although rough, was
a kind man at heart The first officer was
from Falrhaven, a stout, red.faced man,
who, while full of courage, had no judg
ment whatever and was universally disliked.
The second mate was from Vineyard Haven,
a handsome young fellow, a splendid sailor
and keen whaleman, but love for strong
drink promised to ruin what otherwise
wonld have been a successful career. The
third officer ti as a Gay Head Indian in the
last stages of consumption, who was shipped
only because he owed the firm money
and would in this way cancel as much of the
debt as possible before he died. Poor fel
low I We buried him at sea in a few months.
The fourth officer was a Portuguese. The
four "harpooners," or "boat steerers" as
they are now called, were Portuguese, and
the cook and a large portion ot the crew
were also "gees," as sailors say. Then there
were two Germans, two Kanakas, a French
man, two Irishmen, a native of St. Helena,
and half-a-dozen Yankees and Canadians.
In all, we had 31 persons on board, includ
ing a carpenter, cooper, and blacksmith,
When we were clear of the land we
ARt WE
WELL
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stores in our line are complaining. Not so with us.
Why" Because we sell our goods at
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trade.
ONLY $14 SPOT CASH.
J I wd n fl
tB : .,
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rDONT FORGET TO ASK FOR IT FR0Md
THE PIONEERS OF LOW PRICES,
HOPPER BROS k CO
307 . WOOD STREET, 307
NEAR FOURTH AVENUE.
mustered on deck and divided into two
watches. I was chosen among the first by
the second mate and assigned to the star
board watch. I was also informed that I
was to pull the "midship's oar in the old
man's boat,"to which I sald"ay$, aye, sir,"
not having the slightest idea where the
honorable position might be. I soon found
out, however.
After we had been divided into watches
the port watch went below and the second
mate called out:
"Here, one of you starboard watchmen,
relieve tbe wheel and let that man go below
with his watch!"
I was about the only man able to get to
the wheel, sol went aft and took the spokes.
The mate watched.my performance for a
few moments, and then, seemingly satisfied
that I knew my business, went forward to
ascertain how many of his watch had ever
seen a ship before. A very sorry-looking
crowd they were. The majority had come
on board under the influence of liquor, and
nearly all the men were seasick. He found
only one man who could steer, and as a con
seqnence the latter and I had all that work
to do for some time, as the sea was too rough
for an amatenr to try his hand. But how
we lorded it overthegreenlesl We steered,
but nothing else, and the dirty work we
escasped, and loud was the grumbling from
the rest of the watch.
CHAPTER U.
THESE SHE BLOWS I
One morning, when we were about two
weeks out and had been partly instructed in
MT FIKST EXPEEIEJTCE
our duties should whales be seen, the look
out at the masthead discovered a school of
sperm whales about two miles away, and
for the first time I heard that thrilling, in
describable cry so dear to whalemen:
"A-h-h-h-hil-o-o-o-o-w-s I"
In an instant all was confusion. Half
dressed men came tumbling up from below,
and every one seemed suddenly gone mad,
while the "old man," as tbe Captain is al
ways called to his back seized his glass
and ran for the main rigging, shouting as
he went t
"Where away?"
"Two points forward the weather beam,
sir," was the reply. "A-h-h-h b-1-o-w-s !"
The old man went up the ratlines like a
cat, and as he swung himself into the look
out hoops he took one look in the direction
indicated. In an instant he hailed the
"On deck there I"
"Ay, ay, sir 1"
"Get the lines in the boats ! Haul aback
the main yard I See the boats' falls all
dear ! Steward, bring up the bomb guns
from the cabin lively there, now I"
We backed the main yard and cleared the
boats' falls, while the boat steerers put in
IN IT?
NO DISCOUNT. EXTRA FOR PACKING.
the lines and overhauled the harpoons. Ons
man's duty was to bring the bag of ship's1
bread, lantern, compass and water keg.f
without which no whaleboat ever leaves,
the ship, as sometimes they lose each otW
fordavs. , , . (
As or myself, I ran here and there ia
perfect bewilderment The wind was blow
ing very hard, the. bark was-under topsails,
and It seemed like courting death to lower
one of our frail boats in such a tremendonj,
sea, but I soon fonnd the Captain differed;
with my humble opinion as he sung ouS
from aloft:
"Stand by larboard, waist and bow boats.
Watch a good chance, Mr. iawire, and.
don't get stove alongside!"
A- .l. n -:.. Vnof t which T hJ
trip, and as one of the mate's crew, a thinj
sickly chap, said he was too ill to ssv i
volunteered in his place. The mate gladly
made the change, as I was an old oarsman, if
and stood 6 feet 4 besides.
We succeeded in escaping any disaster asj
the boat struck the water and having!
hoisted our "lug" sail, we found it was to'
be a race which should be first to reach the
whales. The huge animals were coming toj
leeward and we hoped to be able to sail up
to them, as they are very easily alarmed by,
any noise of oars. The mate paid morsj
attention to watching for the "fish" as h
called them than to the sailing of the boat
and I expected to find myself swimming for
life every time we rose on a sea. iwasf
TBTETG TO STRIKE OIT
told to stand up and see if I could sea
tbe whales en account of my great height,
and I was perched on the thwart with one
arm around the mast, when the boat gave a
fearful lurch and "jibed" over, and I foundi
myself in the water with the sail holding!
me under. I was dressed in thick clothing!
and heavy boots, and had I not been accu3-J
tomed to the water from boyhood must in
evitably have been smothered, but I swam,
under water till clear of the' sail, and theni
tried to reach the boat, which was floating!
off to leeward bottom up, and the rest cling
ing to her as best ther could. I succeeded
finally in reaching her, but ws were re
peatedly washed offby the hugh seas. Tol
add to our discomfort a heavy squall hap-j
pened along just then, the cold rain falling
in torrents and the wind roaring as if
anxious to destroy us. We could not sea
ten yards in any direction, and it was not,
until an hour or more that the squall liftedi
sufficiently for the other boats to hnd us and)
release us from what would soon have been'
certain death.
All this time the mate sat astride one end I
of the boat venting his feelings in a stream!
of profanity, which included everyone, evea
to the builders of the ship, and was only
fSij
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