Old Whaling Days

Written in 1895 by Captain William Barron. (211 pages) It is a personal narrative of his varied experiences in the Northern regions during his 17 years in the Whaling, and Sealing industry working out of Hull from his apprenticeship through his sailing as Captain of a whaling ship.

The Publisher has copy-edited this book to improve the formatting, style and accuracy of the text to make it readable. This did not involve changing the substance of the text.

CONTENTS

CHAPTER I.
Entering Life ---- Bound for Davis's Straits ---- The First Whale ---- Returning Home ---- News of Cholera at Hull
CHAPTER II.
Second Voyage ---- The Remuneration of Whalers ---- A Succession of Reverses ---- Rock "Noseing"
CHAPTER III.
Third Voyage ---- Dancing with the Esquimaux ---- A Melancholy Accident ---- Funeral of one of the Crew ---- Black Lead Island
CHAPTER IV.
Adverse Experiences ---- Another Death in the Arctic Seas ---- Sir John Franklin Expedition ---- An Awful Squeeze
CHAPTER V.
The Fifth Voyage ---- More Experiences ---- The Selection of Boats' Crews
CHAPTER VI.
The Last Voyage ---- Change of Master ---- Capturing Polar Bears
CHAPTER VII.
Conclusion ---- Advice to Apprentices
CHAPTER VIII.
A Captain's Anxieties and Cares ---- First Voyage as an Harpooner ---- Tales of the Press-Gang during the War with France
CHAPTER IX.
Old Truelove ---- Greenland Sealing ---- Melville Bay Squeezes ---- Loss of the Princess Charlotte ---- Whaling and Dangers of Whaling
CHAPTER X.
Fitting out the Emma ---- Striking a Rock ---- Melville Bay Troubles ---- Wrecks of Gipsy and Undaunted ---- Left Alone ---- Description of Sword Fish ---- Visiting Strange Places
CHAPTER XI.
Through Melville and Return ---- Disputes with the West Land Esquimaux ---- Astonishment and Endurance of Natives ---- Their Kindness to the Americans ---- Struck by a Whale ---- Return Home
CHAPTER XII.
A New Venture ---- Counting Chickens before they are Hatched ---- Taking the Pack ---- Getting Stove Death of the Doctor ---- 1st of May Proceedings ---- Encounters with Bears ---- Testing a Bomb-Lance on a Finner Whale
CHAPTER XIII.
Hard Times ---- Drooping Spirits ---- A Floating Island ---- Brooming ---- Mirages Once More nearly Trapped
CHAPTER XIV.
Appointment as Master ---- Heavy Swell ---- Providential Escape from an Iceberg ---- Early Ice Pressures ---- Disappointment and its Consequences ---- Melville Bay and Its Dangers ---- Wrecks ---- Successes and Reverses
CHAPTER XV.
First Experience in a Steam Whaler ---- Sealing on the Newfoundland Coast ---- Hospitality of its People ---- Broken Propellers ---- Wrecks on the Coast ---- Successful Whaling in Pond's Bay ---- A Pleasant Voyage
CHAPTER XVI.
Back in a Sailing Vessel ---- Toils and Disappointments ---- Danger from Bergs and Longing for Steam ---- Unfair Fishing ---- Native Traditions handed down
CHAPTER XVII.
In a Steamer again ---- Success at Sealing ---- History of Jan Mayen's Island ---- Sealing Grounds ---- Mode of Killing Seals ---- Thick Ice
CHAPTER XVIII.
Greenland and Its Difficulties ---- Return to Shetland ---- Davis's Straits and Its Troubles ---- Difference in Steamers and their Power ---- Melville Bay again ---- Looking for Whales ---- Farewell to the Land of Perpetual Ice and Snow
APPENDIX


Excerpt:
.....A person who admires scenery has many opportunities of observing it from the crow's nest of a whaler, especially when the ship is not on the whaling grounds. There his mind is centered upon his occupation, and his eyes ache with the constant use of the spyglass; yet there are times afforded for study, and grand sights to be seen from that elevated place. Now supposing the ship is made fast to an iceberg, close to the land, waiting for an opening of the ice, and the time midnight, weather clear and calm, the sun shining beautifully. In the offing nothing is to be seen but close packed ice and numerous icebergs of all shapes and sizes. All is so quiet that stillness appears oppressive, yet the beauties of nature are so varied as to wear off that quietness.....

.....We shot several bears, and brought two on board alive. One of them was not quite half grown. After securing it to a ring bolt in the deck, and in the act of taking the other on board, a man accidentally let go the rope which held the former and the deck was cleared in a very short time. Some of the sailors took refuge in the rigging, others below, and it was really laughable to see how quickly Bruin had the deck to itself. Though only a small animal, no one cared for a bite. It was immediately lassoed and secured in a cask for transportation home. A fine bear would fetch about £35 from a zoological garden.

Also contains an Appendix, and nautical whaling Glossary