Bark Kathleen Sunk By A Whale

Excerpt

Having been requested to give an account of the sinking of the Bark Kathleen by a whale I will do the best I can, though I think that those who have read the papers know as much or more about it than I do.

We sailed from New Bedford the 22d October, 1901, and with the exception of three weeks of the worst weather I have ever had on leaving home, everything went fairly well till we arrived out on the 12-40 ground.

The day we arrived there we raised a large whale and chased him most all day but could not seem to get any aim of him. We lost the run of him at last in a rain squall.

A few days after, the 17th of March, 1902, was one of the finest whaling days I have ever seen, smooth water and a clear sky. When they were going up to mast head I told them to look sharp for some one was going to raise a whale before night.

We steered different courses during the fore-noon and at 1 p.m. the man aloft raised a white water which proved to be sperm whales, and there was a lot of them, some heading one way, some another.

When we got within a mile of them we lowered four boats, and soon after Mr. Nichols, the first mate, struck a whale, the other whales went to leeward and I followed them with the ship till I was sure the boats saw them.

Mr. Nichols then had his whale dead about one mile to windward, so I came to wind on the port tack, but it took us some time to get up to the mate, as we could not carry any foretopsail or flying jibs as the topmast had given out.

I stood on the port tack a while and then tacked. When we got braced up the dead whale was one point off the lee bow. I saw we were going to fetch him all right. Mr. Nichols had wafted his whale and was chasing some more. By that time, about 3 p.m., the lookout called out that the three boats to leeward were all fast. Of course we were all glad to hear that. I ran the ship alongside of the dead whale and after darting at him two or three times managed to get fast and get him alongside. Just then it was reported that the boats to leeward were out of sight. That worried me some so I told the cooper to get the fluke chain on the whale and I would go aloft and see if I could see the boats.

At this time Mr. Nichols had given up chasing and was coming on board. I got up to the topmast crosstrees and sat down. I then heard a whale spout off the weather beam and glancing that way, saw sure enough a large whale not more than five hundred feet from us, coming directly for the ship.

Mr. Nichols was then alongside, just going to hoist his boat. I told him there was a whale, a big fellow, trying to get alongside and to go and help him along and he did help him along. He took him head and head and did not get fast. I don't know why. He certainly was near enough, the boatsteerer said too near, and did not have a chance to swing his iron.

Instead of that whale going down or going to windward as they most always do, he kept coming directly for the ship, only much faster than he was coming before he was darted at. When he got within thirty feet of the ship he saw or heard something and tried to go under the ship but he was so near and was coming so fast he did not have room enough to get clear of her....