Arctic Harpooner A Voyage on the

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Robert Ferguson (Editor)
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ARCTIC HARPOONER
 ARCTIC
HARPOONER
A Voyage on the Schooner
Ahhie Bradford
1878-1879

By
ROBERT FERGUSON
Edited by
LESLIE DALRYMPLE STAIR
Illustrated by
PAUL QUINN

UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA PRESS: PHILADELPHIA: I938

 Copyright 1938

UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA PRESS

Manufactured in the United States of America

LONDON
HUMPHREY MILFORD
OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS
 DEDICATED TO

the Grandchildren
of
Captain Robert Ferguson
 PREFACE
HE first book relating some of R o b e r t Ferguson's adventures
T c o v e r e d a w h a l i n g v o y a g e to the Atlantic and Indian Oceans
in the y e a r s 1880 to 1884. A s there w a s an abundance of material,
both incident and detail, it was published in diary f o r m . *
T h i s second b o o k covers an earlier v o y a g e to H u d s o n B a y
that lasted o n l y sixteen months. W h i l e the A r c t i c diary is f u l l of
incident, its brief notes required elucidation and enlargement. It
was believed that, to do full justice to Captain F e r g u s o n , a nar-
rative w o u l d be m o r e readable than a d i a r y , provided w o r d s and
style f o r e i g n to the diarist w e r e avoided and the same simple di-
rect m o d e of expression w a s retained that he used w h e n telling
his friends of his travels.
A t the outset of this v o y a g e R o b e r t F e r g u s o n w a s not y e t
t w e n t y - t h r e e y e a r s old, having been b o r n at G r e e n o c k , Scotland,
on September 29, 1855. H e l e f t home to g o to sea at the age of
seventeen, about nine years a f t e r the f a m i l y had settled in Phila-
delphia.
His diaries c o v e r o n l y those v o y a g e s made b e t w e e n the years
1875 and 1885. In the ledgers containing them are also a n u m b e r
of tales told him b y others, some of w h i c h are included here be-
cause t h e y are particularly apt and pertinent. F o r instance, N o r -
man M a c D o n a l d ' s story tells of places, men, and vessels not o n l y
mentioned on this v o y a g e of the Abbie Bradford, but b y L i e u -
tenant W i l l i a m H . G i l d e r in Scbivatka's Search and b y F e r g u s o n
in Harpooiier.
It is n o t e w o r t h y that c o m p a r a t i v e reading of the w o r k s of
m o r e recent travelers to the H u d s o n B a y area shows no conflict
w i t h the observations of R o b e r t Ferguson. A m o n g these m a y be

* Harpooner, by Robert Ferguson, edited by L. D. Stair, and published by

University of Pennsylvania Press, 1936.
vii
vili PREFACE
mentioned: the reports of the Neptune and Diana Expeditions for
the Dominion Government, Sails over Ice by Captain Bob Bartlett,
The Fifth Thüle Expedition, by Knud Rasmussen, and Arctic
Adventure, by Peter Freuchen.
The observations on the Hudson Bav Eskimos are not only
confirmed bv Gilder, Rasmussen, and Freuchen, but also con-
tribute interesting and intimate information regarding their life
and customs. Comparison with the writings of Vilhjalmur Ste-
fansson, who wrote mainlv of natives much farther to the west-
ward, shows a similarity in customs. Robert Ferguson's friends
and family all tell of his great love for the North and the Eskimos.
This warm feeling was continually evidenced in his conversations
and throughout his diaries.
Hunting was necessitated not only for food, but because fresh
meat was considered a preventive and cure for scurvv. The
diarist did much of the hunting, and his notes on Arctic mam-
mals and the ways of hunting them are interesting and accurate.
The inclusion of many Eskimo words in the original diary is
natural, considering the time that Ferguson spent with the na-
tives. The Eskimo language at that time was not a written one.
It was phonetic, and because of peculiar guttural sounds not heard
in any other language, no two people spelled the sounds alike. Such
few Eskimo words as are found in this volume have been retained
as closely as possible to Ferguson's spelling as representing the
way that he heard them. Comparison with the list of Eskimo
words in Schwatka's Search shows a remarkable similarity, prob-
ably because it comprises mainly those of the Iwella and Kinne-
patoo tribes. Comparison with Schultz-Lorentzen's Dictionary of
the West Greenland Language, a standard work of the basic-
tongue, indicates mainly tribal differences. Birket-Smith's list,
compiled for the Fifth Thüle Expedition, includes words used
by the same tribes in the area that Ferguson visited years before,
except that the spelling is that of a modern philologist and clearly
indicates that the Eskimo words used bv Ferguson are Iwella
(Aivilik) with a few that are undoubtedly Kinnepatoo (Qair-
nirmiut).
For sheer pluck and nerve, to the whalers who braved the
PREFACE ix

fierce gales, high tides, swift currents, uncharted waters, and dan-
gerous ice of Hudson Bay and Hudson Strait, in their tiny top-
sail schooners less than one hundred feet long, full credit must
be given, especially when it is considered that many of these
vessels were not particularly designed to withstand heavy ice
conditions. The rig of a topsail schooner was probably better
suited to meet sailing conditions in ice-infested waters than any
other, as headway could be checked almost instantly.
T h e harbor of Marble Island has been used by American whal-
ers f o r their winter quarters for many years. It is a landlocked
harbor surrounded by high hills that protect the ice-bound ships
from the terrific gales and shifting ice. T h e Orray Taft, the
wreck which lav in this harbor and is frequently mentioned b y
Ferguson and Gilder, w as found there, a ship in her prime, by
Norman .MacDonald in 1855.
T h e Franklin Search Party, with Lieutenant Frederick
Schwatka in command, was fitted out by private subscription
under the direction of the American Geographical Society to
search for the relics of the Sir John Franklin Expedition, which
perished in King William I .and in 1H45. Lieutenant William H.
Gilder, second in command, was engaged by the New York
Herald to act as its correspondent. T h e schooner Kothen, Captain
Harry, brought the expedition to Depot Island and later wintered
at Marble Island with the Abbie Bradford, on which Ferguson was
one of the harpooners.
One of the natives who accompanied the Franklin Search Party
was Joseph Ebicrbing (Eskimo Joe). He was well known by
Ferguson from a previous voyage and is frequently mentioned
in the diary. Other natives mentioned by Gilder are Aniow,
"Prince Albert" and "Alex T a y l o r , " concerning whom much
is told by Ferguson.
T h e writer wishes to acknowledge with many thanks the as-
sistance rendered by Mr. William H. Tripp of the Old Dartmouth
Historical Society for the verification of dates, names, and ship
data; the American Museum of Natural History for access to
its library; Mr. D. C. W y s o r for information obtained from the
National Museum of Canada and charts from the Hydrographie
X PREFACE
Service of Canada; and Mr. Robert Bruen Ferguson, son of Cap-
tain Ferguson, and Mr. Irwin J. Fisher for their careful reviews
of the manuscript.

L. D. S.
Bay side, Long Island, Ν. Y.
 CONTENTS
Chapter Page
PREFACE VII

I. FROM NEW BEDFORD TO I C E L A N D A N D T O HUDSON STRAIT I

II. THE PASSAGE T H R O U G H HUDSON STRAIT INTO HUDSON BAY I 3

III. W HALING IN HUDSON BAY AND ROES W E L C O M E 24

IV. THE FRANKLIN SEARCH PARTY AND THE END OF THE

WHALING SEASON 36

V. GETTING INTO WINTER QUARTERS AT MARBLE ISLAND 47

VI. THE BEACHCOMBER'S STORY OF A B R U T A L OFFICER 57

VII. FROZEN IN FOR T H E W I N T E R 70

VIII. WINTER VISITORS 83

IX. A DF.ER H U N T A N D OTHER EXCURSIONS 97

X. INTERESTING NATIVE CUSTOMS I09

XI. CUTTING T H E S H I P S O U T OF T H E ICE 12 1

XII. A CARIBOU AND M U S K OX H U N T I N G TRIP I 32

XIII. OUI OF T H E HARBOR I N TO O P E N WATER AGAIN 141

XIV. WHALING IN ROES W E L C O M E AND REPULSE BAY 150

XV. T H E SHORT W H A L I N G SEASON C O M E S T O A CLOSE I 59

XVI. I AREU'ELL T O N ATIN E F R I E N D S AND MARBLE ISLAND 170

XVII. THROUGH HUDSON STRAIT AND THE STORY OF NORMAN

MAC DONALD I 77

XVIII. THE VOYAGE BACK H O M E TO N E W BEDFORD 20J

 T H E CREW OF T H E
ABBIE BRADFORD
Leaving New Bedford, May 8, 1878

Captain—Elnathan B. Fisher
Mate—E. A. Potter
Second Mate—Joseph (Anton) Cruise
Third Mate—George H. Pollard
Harpooner—Frederick T . Lane
Harpooner—Orrick Smalley, Jr.
Harpooner—Robert Ferguson
Cooper—James L. Smith
Steward—John J. Pete (Finny Lee)
Coo¿—Chas. H. Walker (Ace Kent)

Starboard Watch Port Watch

John H. Francis George H. Estes
Dudley Davenport Mordant H. Manchester
George W . Howard Charles F. Augur
Frank S. Stevens Wm. W . Shiverick
Lofton J. Smith Salem F. Grew
*Ben Cummings •Leroy Wood
•Carl Ludwig •Frank Cornell
•Frank Hawkins

Note:—All of the above names arc included in both Robert Ferguson's diary
and the New Bedford Whalemen's Shipping List, except those marked with
an asterisk, which are included in the diarv onlv. The names in parentheses
above are from Robert Ferguson's List.
 CHAPTER I

FROM NEW BEDFORD TO ICELAND AND

TO HUDSON STRAIT
A letter fro?n Captain Fisher—In New Bedford again-
Buying goods for trading—The Abbie Bradford—Leaving
New Bedford—Stormy weather—Green hands sick—Boat
practice—The east coast of Greenland—The first whale
of the season—Cutting hi—Boiling oil—Bad storms—Ice-
land—Passing Cape Farewell on the way to Hudson Strait.

HIS is a tale of whaling in the icy waters of Roes Welcome

T at the northern end of Hudson Bay; of hunting walrus,
seal, bear, caribou, and musk ox with the Eskimos; of living with
the happv, genial natives to study their habits; and of the long
winter evenings on board a ship that was housed in to withstand
temperatures that froze up the thermometer.
I want to tell you about all those things in the order that they
happened. We used to sit around the stove in the winter evenings
and tell many a tale of our own experiences and others that had
been told to us. A few of the tales that had been told to me
were written in my diary as soon as I could after I heard them,
and before I could forget. And, because some of those stories tell
of places, ships, and men that fit in with my own experiences, I
am going to tell them to you, for I think you will find them as
interesting as I did myself.

• · · · ·
On my return from a voyage as quartermaster on the American
liner Pennsylvania about the first of May, 1878, I found a letter
waiting for me at Philadelphia. It was from my old friend, Cap-
tain Ε. B. Fisher, of the schooner
I
Abbie Bradford, with whom I
2 FROM N E W B E D F O R D T O
had been on a whaling voyage to Hudson Bay in 1876. The letter
was over a week old and said that he expected to sail again for
the North, leaving New Bedford about the end of the first week
in May, and hoped that I could go with him.
I required no urging, for I liked the excitement of whaling
and hunting in the cold North. After spending a day with my
folks in Philadelphia, I hurried on my way to N e w Bedford.
The little schooner Abbie Bradford was lying alongside Mer-
rill's wharf, looking very small as compared to the liner that I
had just left. Captain Fisher was not on board, but it did not take
me long to find him.
He seemed glad to see me and said, "Hello, Scottie, will you be
sailing with me?"
I replied, "Yes, sir, I am looking forward to it."
"You won't find any of your old shipmates on board. I have
an entirely new crew. Get your things together, my boy, for
we'll be sailing bright and early on Wednesday morning, the day
after tomorrow."
I needed some warm clothes, but only bought a few, as I fig-
ured on finding some of my old Eskimo friends up north from
whom I would be able to get all of the warm fur and skin clothes
that I wanted. Those would better withstand the icy blasts than
anything I could buy in New Bedford. Buying as much as I
could afford, I stocked up the best I could with small things
that would go in my chest and that I knew the natives would
want, such as beads, needles, thimbles, pocket knives, scissors, and
looking-glasses. Some were for gifts to my native friends, but I
figured to use the rest to trade for skins, furs, and winter cloth-
ing.
There were a lot of whaling ships in the harbor that looked
as if they would soon be leaving. So I looked around in all of
the most likely places to see if I could find any of my old ship-
mates, but most of them were either at sea or else had quit it to
go back home. I went on board to stow my purchases in my
sea chest and to find out who had signed up for the voyage.
Just as the captain had said, there was not a soul on the ship
who had been with us when we left N e w Bedford on the previ-
ICELAND AND T O HUDSON STRAIT 3
ous voyage two years before. I wondered where all those boys
had got to, and wished that I could run across some of them to
talk over old times. W e had had some thrilling times together.
Of course you will want to know something about the Abbie
Bradford. She was a two-masted topsail schooner built in the year
i860 at Scituate, .Massachusetts. Her waterline measurements were:
length, 87.4 feet; beam, 23.4 feet; and depth, 9.2 feet. She had a
gross tonnage of 114.74 tons. For a ship to withstand the Arctic,
she was staunch, but not specially built for heavy ice. That meant
that we would always have to be very careful of the ship when
in the ice, and be sure to get into winter quarters before the ice
froze solid.
T h e sun was shining bright on the morning of May 8, 1878,
and the wind was fair. B y ten o'clock all of the men and all of
the ship's papers were on board. There were a lot of people to
see us off and say goodbye. I had no girl, nor was any member
of my family there, but the other men of the crew came in for
many a tender parting.
Orders came to set the fore-topsail and head sails. Heading
down the harbor, the Abbie Bradford, with Captain Ε. B. Fisher
in command, passed Fort Phoenix and Clark's Point with all sails
set, bowling along with a good breeze. W e cleared up the deck
and coiled up all the rigging on the belaying pins. A f t e r we got
everything straightened up, including our own belongings, we
had dinner, although it was not much of a one. I figured that
the cook and the steward had not yet found their bearings.
A f t e r passing through Buzzard's Bay and getting well out into
Long Island Sound, we found enough swell off Block Island to
make the ship pitch a little. It was not long before the green
hands began to feel squeamish. Their faces turned gray or
yellowy-greenish as they hurried to the rail or made off to their
bunks. Beyond Block Island, as we got clear of the land, the
breeze freshened, causing the ship to throw considerable spray.
W e had to take in the flying jib and gaff topsail. I furled the
topsail myself.
A t four o'clock all hands were called to pick the watches. It
was the time when the men were equally divided into the port
4 FROM N E W BEDFORD T O
and starboard watches. T h e chief mate always had first pick and
headed the port watch. T h e second mate, who headed the cap-
tain's, or starboard watch, took second choice. T h e first and sec-
ond mates then chose the men for their watches alternately, until
all were chosen. After the watches were picked, the men were
assigned their places in the whaleboats. T h e y might be shifted
around later as found out from boat practice, some men fitting
certain positions better than others.
T h e foremast hands were all green men with the exception of
Jack Francis and Fred Augur, who had been to sea before. Not
counting Cornell and Wood, who were young farmers from up
near Ithaca, N e w York, all the rest of the crew were local boys
from around New Bedford. When supper, such as it was, came at
six o'clock, there were not many of the boys forward who wanted
any.
A nasty drizzle of rain coming on in the evening, we three
boatsteerers clewed up the fore-topsail and furled it because the
green hands could not yet be trusted aloft. T h e sea kept getting
rougher and rougher. T h e poor greenies were all seasick down
below and feeling bad. I felt sorry for them. It was my first
watch on deck at eleven o'clock and I had to keep an extra
sharp lookout for ships as it was a nasty night. Just before chang-
ing watch at three o'clock when I was about to go down below,
the mainsail had to be reefed.
Although it was still blowing strong when I was called for
breakfast, a man was sent to masthead on lookout for whales. For
the rest of the voyage, we would have a lookout up aloft all the
time from daylight to darkness when the weather was not too
stormy. T h e man at masthead would be relieved every two hours.
As the wind became stronger and stronger, we had to call down
the lookout. T h e ship rolled heavily on the big swells. Water
slopped over the lee rail and sloshed all over the deck. W e had
to take in the jib and the mainsail. Since the green hands were all
sick down below, we were rather shorthanded. After sunset, it
blew still harder, a small gale, and how she rolled and pitched!
T h e following morning the wind died down considerably and
the weather cleared. W e set mainsail, foresail, jib, fore-staysail,
ICELAND A N D TO HUDSON STRAIT 5
and placed a lookout at masthead. W e broke out beef, pork,
beans, rice, dried apples, vinegar, molasses, flour, hardtack, and
sundries from the hold. T h e foremast hands had not yet entirely
recovered from their seasickness, but w e had them all on deck
to learn the rigging and the compass. I made several paper
sketches of the points of the compass for the greenies so that they
could learn the bearings.
T h e officers and harpooners were busy getting their boats all
ready f o r service. T h e whalelines were overhauled and coiled
down in their tubs with the nippers fastened to the end of each
whaleline. T h e mast, sail, oars, and paddles were checked over
to see that they were sound. All of the whaleboat fittings, includ-
ing the water keg, boat keg, boat spade, compass, hatchet, knives,
bailer, waif, and everything else, were put in their proper places.
As soon as the irons (harpoons) and lances were sharpened, keen
as razors, and had their poles fitted to them, they were stowed
where they belonged in the boats. All hands were kept busy, in-
cluding the cooper, who made some deck buckets.
T h e next day came in with fine weather, so two men were
sent to masthead to scan the ocean for whales. A s the wind was
light and the sea smooth, w e lowered all three boats to give the
new men practice. T h e green hands were very clumsy, fairly
tumbling into the boats. Noise or clumsiness would not do in the
whaleboats or on board a whaler. Each man would have to learn
to climb into a boat as quietly as a cat. Rowing around for a
while, it was a poor showing that the new men made. Some of
them had to be changed around in their places. T h e smartest man
was always made bow oarsman. H e had to be fast and clever to
take down the mast and sail quickly after a whale was struck,
f o r both of those things had to be kept clear of the whaleline as
it ran out a-whizzing. It was also his duty to attend the officer
when he was busy lancing a whale, always keeping a lance ready
f o r him. Furthermore, he had to haul on the line to keep the boat
close up to the whale.
T h e tub oarsman was told to see that the water keg was kept
full of water at all times. T h e after oarsman was instructed to see
that the bread bag was always kept full of hardtack; that the
6 FROM N E W BEDFORD T O

bailer was handy in its place; and how to hand the canvas nippers
to the boatsteerer when holding the whaleline. T h e bailer was
used to wet the whaleline when it ran out around the loggerhead
so fast as to start smoking, otherwise the line might become
burnt, either weakening or spoiling it.
T h e new men were tired when we got back to the ship. Their
backs and legs were stiff and sore. Their hands, being pretty soft,
were blistered. However, the exercise did them good and gave
them good appetites for supper. During dogwatch, all of the
men were on deck getting acquainted with each other. On the
whole, they seemed like a good and sturdy bunch of men.
For several days the new men were busy learning how to coil
down the whalelines in the proper manner; how to sharpen the
irons and lances; and how to keep all things in their right places
in the boats. T h e y were also kept busy studying the points of the
compass and learning the rigging. Some of them began to go aloft,
learning how to reef and furl the sails. By this time they had
entirely recovered from their seasickness and felt fine and happy,
except for a few who were a bit homesick.
Every day that the weather permitted, we took the men out
for boat practice and taught them how to handle the oars prop-
erly, to pull or go astern when told; to set the mast and sail, and
to do those things without making the least bit of noise. T h e y
were still awkward and clumsy, but had improved a lot as they
got placed in positions where they could work to their best ad-
vantage. It was hard work, but it made them eat and sleep well.
So far the only whale that we had seen was a finback. W e did
not count that one as finbacks were too fast and dangerous to
take. W e often saw porpoises, but they did not come close enough
to the ship to get a dart at them.
On the seventeenth of May we had a storm which became
worse through the day. B y night we were lying-to under storm
trysail and jib. All of the boats were hoisted on the upper cranes
and had extra gripes put on to prevent them from being carried
away. T h e hatches were all battened down. Everything that was
loose had to be lashed down good. It was too rough all day to
have a lookout at masthead. Everything was sopping wet, as the
ICELAND AND T O HUDSON S T R A I T 7
sea was very high and sloshing all over the deck. There was no
danger, for the Abbie Bradford was a good ship and we had lots
of sea room.
After five long days of rough, stormy weather, it turned out
fine and warm. All of the bovs got busy drying out their clothes.
Anywhere you looked, vou could see clothes hung out to dry.
The captain remarked to me, "Scottie, it looks just like a
washerwoman's back yard!"
The long stormy days had been discouraging to the men, but
with better weather they were much more chipper. After sup-
per we had a regular concert. George Estes, Dudley Davenport,*
and George Howard were all good singers. When Howard felt
like it, he could be a regular comedian, making the fellows laugh
until the tears came.
One day we passed a large four-masted ship from Dundee,
Scotland, heading south. She was a beautiful sight with a cloud
of canvas, double topsails, double topgallant sails, royals, sky-
sails, and stunsails spread from her royal yards to the water's
edge. Her painted ports and figurehead were fine to see. For a
short while, we rnn alongside of her, but the beautiful ship went
three feet to our one and just as steady as a house. All of the boys
jabbered for a long time about that fine ship with her wide spread
of canvas.
As we got into the track of ocean-going liners, we had to keep
a sharp lookout night and day, especially if the weather was a
bit foggy. On the last day of May, we saw five large steamers,
two brigs, three barques, and five ships, all going to and from
England. The very next day we did not see a single ship, so we
must have passed out of the ship track.
In spite of a heavy swell, we lowered all of the boats to give
the men practice, not only in the morning, but also in the after-
noon. The new men were getting quite handy in the boats and
did right well. Their muscles were toughening up. One could
tell that, because at dogwatch the men were not too tired to
* A f t e r this voyage, when Ferguson brought the barque Daylight home to
Boston from St. Helena, he found Dudley Davenport again as a clerk in the
Boston Custom House. See Sept. 27, 1883, in Harpooner.
8 FROM N E W BEDFORD T O

sing songs and play games. For the first time on the voyage, we
felt the cool wind sweeping down over us from off the Arctic
ice. T h e ship was headed to the west of Iceland and toward the
coast of Greenland.
Five weeks out of New Bedford and not a whale! W e ought to
have had one as we were on good whaling ground off some
islands on the east coast of Greenland. T h e hills were snow-
capped and streams of water could be seen tumbling down the
high, almost perpendicular rocks. Being so far north, the days
were long and the nights short. T h e weather was very bleak, and
all of the men felt it. In those northern latitudes, we had to shorten
sail and lie hove-to all night.
A t sunset, on June eleventh, we saw a right whale, but it was
too late to lower the boats. W e must have got into the middle
of quite a school of whales, for they could be heard spouting in
different directions all around us any time during the night. One
whale came right up close to the ship and lay there spouting for
at least twenty minutes. It was tantalizing to all hands listening.
Those were the first right whales that we had encountered on
the voyage. All hands were excited and anxious to chase whales
on the morrow.
T h e next morning, the twelfth of June, men were placed on
lookout at three o'clock, but it was not until nine that a whale
was sighted about a mile off. W e hauled aback the foreyard,
lowered the boats, and gave chase. T h e second mate, Mr. Cruise,
soon got fast. T h e whale ran around for a long time with two
boats dragging behind. T h e men finally hauled line up to the
whale and killed it. Being green, they made mighty hard work of
getting the whale alongside the ship. By the time the cutting gear
was up in place and all rigged, it was seven o'clock in the eve-
ning. Then we had dinner and supper all in one. Most of us soon
went down below for rest, wet and very tired.
All hands were called at three o'clock the next morning to
get the cutting tackle hooked and guyed out. T h e cutting stage
was put over the side with its guys hauled out. In spite of a
rough sea, we started to cut in. It was not easy work on account
of the ship rolling so much. W e got the falls forward and to the
ICELAND AND T O HUDSON STRAIT 9
windlass. W h e n readv, we hooked the falls on to the head. I tied
the monkey rope around my waist and went overboard to un joint
the head in the icy water. T o do that, when it was overhead and
out of water one minute, and under water the next, was not easy.
It was very cold. I stuck my feet into the warm carcass. T h a t
kept them warm and I did not feel the cold so much until I came
up on deck again after the head was freed from the bodv. I felt
better after I changed clothes and had a cup of hot coffee.
N e x t we started to cut in the bodv blubber from the carcass
in blanket pieces twenty or twentv-five feet long. T h e whale was
turned over and over until all of the blubber was peeled off. Be-
cause the ship was rolling so much, the blanket pieces kept slatting
all round the deck. W o e be to a man if one of those big pieces
ever hit him! T h e deck got so slippery from the water and
grease that the men could hardly hold their feet. I went to work
in the waist to help stow the blubber down below. W h e n the
carcass was stripped, it was let go adrift. T h a t done, we hoisted
the head in on deck and lashed it to the lash rail at the main
rigging so that it would not roll around. T h e deck was scraped
¡ind cleaned with lifters made from the whale's fins. T h o s e were
like rubber squeegees, only better. After everything was made
snug and the men had their supper, thev were sent below to get
some rest, except two to keep watch.
It was a rough night with a gale of wind blowing. W e had
done well to get the whale cut in when we did. A t ten o'clock
I lay down on my sea chest using mv sea boots for a pillow and
soon fell asleep. I was awakened later by some of the boys snor-
ing so loud that I had thought it was thunder rumbling. Poor
fellows! T h e y were tired out, not being used to the hard work
and the greasy, slippery decks. T h e y had been soaked from the
cold wet spray coming over the rail, and had many a fall on the
slimy deck.
T h e rough weather continued and prevented us from boil-
ing oil. All we could do was to get the whaleboats and their gear
ready for whaling again. T h e deck pots and the mincing machine
w ere all made ready to start.
O n June fifteenth, as the storm moderated some, one gang was
IO FROM N E W BEDFORD T O

kept busy cutting up blubber into horse pieces, which in turn

were minced bv another gang at the mincing machine. T h e
weather being so bleak and raw, it felt mighty good to stand in
front of the fires under the pots. After the oil was boiled out of
the blubber, what was left was used for firing the pots. Whale
scraps were good fuel and made a hot smoky fire. For that rea-
son, from a distance a whaler was often mistaken for a smoking
steamer. T h e minced blubber was forked into either of the two
trv pots, each of which held about four barrels, or a total of about
a hundred and twenty-five gallons. As the oil was tried out it
was bailed into the coolers until cool enough to put into the casks.
If hot oil were put into the casks, it would shrink the staves and
keep the cooper busy driving up the hoops to prevent the casks
from leaking. If the weather was too hot, the deck might be all
littered up with casks of oil not cool enough to stow away. At
other times, the casks of fresh water down in the hold were
pumped out to receive the oil which, if sufficiently cool, was run
down into them with a hose. If the sea got rough enough to make
the ship roll badly, oil might slop over the pots into the fires
underneath and set the ship on fire.
W e worked steadily all through the night until the last of the
blubber was put into the pots. All of the whalebone was split
out of the gum, bundled, and taken down below. It was just as
well that we finished boiling when we did, because the wind got
to blowing up so strong, and kicking up such a rough sea, that we
had to set the storm trysail and storm jib to steady the ship. W e
also gave the deck a good scrubbing with Ive so that it would
not be so slippery. Spray was being thrown over everything and
the pots had to be covered up. I told the man who was on look-
out to stand up on top of the tryworks to keep from getting
drenched. All hands stayed below except one officer, one har-
pooner, one lookout, and the man at the wheel. W e had our
usual dinner of salt beef, salt pork, baked beans, bread, tea, and
duff.
Early on the eighteenth of June it looked like a heavy blow
coming, on account of the glass falling fast. Captain Fisher called
all hands to stow oil down below and to hurry and get done before
ICELAND AND T O HUDSON STRAIT

the storm broke. All oil was down below by the middle of the
afternoon, some sixty barrels. If the whale had not been a " d r y
skin," we would have had eighty barrels of oil instead of sixty.
W e took eighteen hundred pounds of bone from the head.
It was Iuckv that we finished all our work, for by seven o'clock
the ship, with all hatches battened down and hardly a stitch o f
canvas on her, was K ing down with the wind shrieking and howling
through the rigging like a fiend in agony. T h e sea was one mass
of foam. T h e spray stung so like hail that you could not face
the wind for fear o f being blinded. However, we had plenty o f
sea room. T h e captain stood on deck all night alongside of the
wheel. I stood on watch on the main deck up to my knees in
water, until Captain Fisher called me to come up to the quarter-
deck beside the wheel. I fastened a rope around my waist and tied
it to a ringbolt in the taffrail while I stood there. T h e men below
could not get out, as all of the hatches were battened down. It
was as dark as pitch except for the phosphorescence in the water.
W h a t an awful night that was! In the morning the steward
brought the captain and me some hot coffee that touched the
right place.
F o r five days the storm raged. N o t until the twenty-third of
J u n e did it ease. W e managed to get the storm jib and storm t r y -
sail on her, and kept off before the wind trying to get to the
leeward of an island. T h e rigging was all covered with ice. I took
the wheel, and that soon warmed me up enough so that I had to
peel off my coat. It was too cold to stand still in one place all the
time, but if you were at the wheel, it kept you moving mighty
lively in those high seas. I was three hours at the wheel. All the
while, the captain stood alongside o f me, with a big fur coat on
that reached clear down to his heels.
W h e n we rounded to under the lee of the island, the water was
smooth and there was hardly any wind. W e hove to, put the t r y -
sail on the mainmast, and she lay like a duck. It was an iron-
bound coast, and bold, with steep high rocks. All hands came up
on deck to get a breath of fresh air and have a smoke. W e ate
the first good meal in five days, for we had been just getting along
on hardtack, molasses, and coffee.
12 T O HUDSON STRAIT

Three days later we were cruising along the rugged, wild-

looking coast of Iceland. From masthead, I could see a little vil-
lage of small stone houses. There were some small fishing boats
hauled up on the beach. Great flocks of eider duck and other
birds were to be seen all along the coast.
Iceland belongs to Denmark and is a very large island, said to
be about forty thousand square miles in extent. It is mostly a
high plateau two thousand feet above sea level. This table-land is
dotted with a hundred volcanic peaks, some of them over six thou-
sand feet high. A large portion of the higher land is covered with
snow and ice, forming many glaciers. Lava has flowed from many
of the volcanoes. This makes much of the land barren and deso-
late. T h e only mineral of any importance is sulphur, and there are
many sulphur springs.
T h e principal town is Reykjavik, quite a large town with a
good harbor. There is no railroad on the island. It is a healthy
place to live, in spite of the strong bitter winds that blow down
from the north. T h e people raise some cattle and sheep, but
mostly catch cod and herring for a living.
It was the second time that I had been up there. W e did not go
on shore. After breakfast, all hands were called to set the fore-
sail, mainsail, fore-staysail, jib, flying jib, and topsails. It was the
twenty-sixth day of June. T h e ship then bore awav to the south-
west for Cape Farewell on the southernmost point of Greenland.
All hands were glad to leave the dismal, stormy place. T h e sea was
still running high, but it was more of a ground swell, and the
water was not breaking over the rail any more. After passing
Cape Farewell, we headed for Hudson Strait, looking for whales
all the while, but without success.
 CHAPTER II

T H E PASSAGE THROUGH HUDSON

STRAIT INTO HUDSON BAY
Fields of ice—Icebergs—Perilous progress—Boxed hi by
bergs—Almost crushed—Maris hair turned white—The
ship's bow stove—Shifting weight—Conference about
abandoning ship—Patching the bou;—How Fisher Strait
got its name—Walrus Rock.

n the last day o f J u n e , I was awakened b y the continual noise

O of ice grinding alongside and hurried on deck. N o clear
water could be seen a n y w h e r e , nothing but fields o f ice in all
directions, ahead, abeam, and astern. F r o m masthead I could see
about t h i r t y large icebergs o f all shapes and sizes, some only
t w e n t y feet high, while others appeared to be nearly t w o hundred
feet high, resembling enormous snow-white castles and cathedrals.
As only one-ninth of an iceberg appears above the surface, the
bulk of some o f them must have been tremendous. W i t h o u t
doubt we were in the ice fields o f f the mouth o f Hudson Strait.
It was slow g o i n g and w e had t o feel o u r w a y carefully, keeping
out o f the w a y o f the big cakes and fending off the smaller ones.
W e planned t o get the hawser on the rudder to keep it f r o m be-
ing carried a w a y b y the ice, as soon as w e could find a large
enough floe t o tie up to.
F o r t w o days m o r e w e f o u g h t our w a y toward Hudson Strait.
W e passed t h r o u g h m u c h heavy field ice speckled with many
bergs before w e w e r e able t o make out B u t t o n Island on the
L a b r a d o r side, and Cape Best on Resolution Island t o the north.
T o get into Hudson B a y , w e would have to fight ice fields f o r
seven hundred and fifty miles. T h e ice was a moving, grinding
mass, driven b y winds that w e r e often very strong and which
c a m e from all directions on a c c o u n t o f the high hills. In many
13
'4 T H E PASSAGE THROUGH HUDSON

places in the Strait the currents were s w i f t and sometimes as much

as five knots.
Because of the high tides that ran as high as twenty feet in some
of the bays and inlets, the ice was always on the move. A l l of
those things made Hudson Strait a dangerous place f o r a sailing
vessel. A s f o r the compass, it could not be trusted on account
of varying as much as six or seven points. T h e man at the wheel
always had to look ahead and be careful where he steered the
ship. Sometimes, when wind and current w e r e both against us,
w e did not even have steerage w a y . A t other times, the swirling
movements of the water made the schooner roll around like an
oval football on a lumpy field. T h e a w f u l noise of the ice cakes
grinding against each other and against the sides of the ship made
it hard to sleep at night.
Captain Fisher, M r . Pollard,* and I took turns up aloft pilot-
ing the ship through the ice. A s soon as the chance came, the
captain pulled the ship alongside of a large cake of ice, where
w e quickly made her fast with ice hooks. W e then got the hawser
on the rudder, making it fast with a fish-tackle on each side so
that w e did not need to be afraid anv more that the ice would
carry a w a y our rudder.
I was getting used to the snow and ice and it did not feel so
cold to me. W h e n the sun shone bright on the snow, it was
blinding. A l l of us had to wear goggles to keep f r o m snow-
blindness.
On the Fourth of J u l y w e were about t w o miles f r o m the
r o c k y coast on the Labrador side of the Strait. Torrents of water
were seen rushing down over the rocks into the sea, making such
a noise that it was plainly heard on the ship. A t times ice could
be seen falling down f r o m the rocks into the water with big
splashes.
Although it was our National Holiday, w e had salt beef f o r
dinner just the same. T h e sun was so bright and w a r m that the
men had their dinners up on deck. W h e n G e o r g e H o w a r d was
asked to say grace, these were the words he used:
• When Ferguson was on the Kathleen, he met George Pollard at the
Azores. See September 23, 1880, in Harpooner.
S T R A I T I N T O HUDSON BAY 15
Old horse, old horse, what brought you here
From off the plains to Portsmouth Pier?
Worked in a cart for many a year
Till broken down by ill abuse,
Then salted down for sailor's use.

Afterwards there were speeches, comic and otherwise.

T h e next morning was fine and clear with broad daylight at
three o'clock. U p on the foreyard, I found an opening in the ice
that let us through for several miles. Then we came bang up
against solid ice that stretched from shore to shore. Scattered
here and there in the pack were a few big bergs with sides so
straight and sheer that they might have been cut with a knife.
W e had fair headway past Dyke Head and three small islands.
Green Island lay on our port quarter. T h e island was anything
but green, all barren rock with patches of snow and ice here and
there. I came down from masthead as hungry as a bear and did
full justice to a pot of beans. After being blocked for two days
by the pack, the ice finally opened up. W e released the ice hooks
from the big floe that we were hooked up to and went on in a
blinding snow storm. T h e snow flakes, or rather chunks of flakes,
were soft and damp. T h e y were the largest that I had ever seen,
nearly as big as your fist. T h e deck was covered in no time. A t
eight o'clock in the evening the sun came out bright again, but
the wind swung around to the north and it rapidly got colder.
On the tenth of July things went from bad to worse. There
was no wind. Consequently we drifted wherever the current took
us. There was one huge iceberg nearly four hundred feet long
on one side of us. It seemed to be fast on the bottom. On the
other side was another, not quite so high and only about two
hundred feet long. That berg was drifting with the current
slowly toward us! Both of them towered above our masts. T h e
smaller berg drifted closer and closer. There was still no wind!
W e just had to stand there and watch that berg approach nearer and
nearer. It finally closed in astern of us and against the big berg.
T h e current then started to swing it in forward, with its heel
resting against the big berg for a pivot. W e were in between the
16 T H E PASSAGE T H R O U G H HUDSON
jaws of a gigantic pair of pincers. As it slowly swung, we thought
our end had come!
Luckily, the smaller iceberg was curved concave toward us
and that part of it which was under water must have stuck out,
perhaps against the same sort of a projection on the larger berg.
The smaller berg at last came to a stop, leaving only a very nar-
row cleft forward between the two bergs. Although both bergs
were very close to the sides of the ship, we saw that the upper
portions were not going to crush us.
Here we were, absolutely locked in, with no way to get out!
From the deck we could not even see out. We were caught in a
perfect pocket. Had the bergs come five feet closer together,
we would have been crushed like an eggshell! For the sake of
comparison, the Abbie Bradford was only about twenty-four foot
beam, and drew a little over nine feet of water.
The captain gave strict orders for everybody to be careful and
make no noise, because even that might cause ice to topple down
on us from above and crumple up the ship. If that happened, no
one would ever know what became of us. The captain certainly
looked worried. He would not leave the deck. Well, as for me, it
was the toughest scrape that I had ever been in!
I went below to get some sleep. I got to thinking about what
might happen if one of the bergs rolled over. If a big chunk of
ice fell off the top, the berg might lose its balance and make it
roll over. Awful thoughts and fears raced through my mind.
What a terrible feeling, waiting to be crushed to death, and with
no hope of getting away from it! After saying a prayer, I turned
in and had a sound sleep. I woke up feeling good and with all
fear gone.
On the second day after we had been boxed in, some of the
men told me that for two nights they had been unable to get
any sleep for fear of what might happen at any moment.
When I went up on deck, the captain asked, "Scottie, would
vou be afraid to go aloft and take a look around?"
I answered, "I have no fear any more!"
Without making anv noise, I went aloft very cautiously clear
up to the truck. When I came down I told Captain Fisher, "You
ι8 T H E PASSAGE T H R O U G H HUDSON

can only see through a narrow gap ahead and nowhere eke. T h e
bergs are much higher than our masts. Even the smaller berg is at
least twelve feet higher than the truck."
T h e captain said, " I f the small berg is that tall, then the big one
must be forty or fifty feet higher. Our truck is not quite ninety
feet above the water. W h y , Scottie, that means that the big berg
which is stranded on the bottom must be nearly one hundred and
twenty fathoms deep! I wonder how that checks up with the
soundings on the Admiralty chart?"
I remarked, "Captain, don't vou think vou ought to go below
and get some rest?"
"I guess I'd better, Scottie."
Captain Fisher had been on deck for three days and two nights,
pacing back and forth, never eating anything cooked, just hard-
tack.
W e had two more days of anxious, torturing misery, and then
it looked to me as if the narrow gap was widening! I pointed
for Captain Fisher to look. T h e bergs were actually swinging
apart, but so slowly that it could hardly be noticed.
"You are right, Scottie," the captain whispered, "the gap is
getting wider."
After several long weary hours of watching, the opening be-
came wide enough to let us out, but the current held us back
against the big berg. Of course we had no wind. T h e bergs shut
that off. W e lowered two boats and towed the ship into the clear.
T h e water ahead looked to be free of ice for some distance. T h e
two boats were hoisted on board and we got all sail on the ship.
I tell you, that was a big relief to all of us!
T h e hair of one of our men, who had made many voyages to
the north, had turned snow-white after this scrape. Yet he was
a brave man, a quiet, good man, and a fine harpooner.
At three o'clock in the morning of July sixteenth, three days
later, I came on deck just as Mr. Pollard was going up on the
foreyard to pilot the ship. There was not much ice, only a few
scattered cakes. It gave us plenty of steerage way, but at the same
time we had to be careful not to strike any of the cakes. As I was
standing on the quarterdeck directing the steering, Mr. Potter,
STRAIT INTO HUDSON BAY 19
the mate, came and asked me to bring him a cup of coffee. I went
into the galjev and brought it, boiling hot. Just then, the third
mate, Mr. Pollard, sang out, "Starboard. Put your wheel down."
T h e man did put the wheel down, but he was standing on the
port side of it, so he swung the ship in the wrong direction.
Mr. Pollard yelled quickly, " H a r d a sta'board!" But as he spoke,
the ship crashed into a large cake of ice!
I jumped to the wheel, but too late. T h e port bow was stove
at the water's edge. Alen came running aft out of the forecastle
saying that the water was pouring in fast. I called as loud as I
could f o r all hands fore and aft to come and help me. Taking
a tarpaulin off the tryworks and tying some iron weights to it,
w e went forward and quickly dropped it over the side to cover
the stove place. T h e pressure would hold the tarpaulin in place,
thus preventing the water from coming in too fast.
" G o o d bov, Scottie," the captain said, " v o u don't lose your
head anyhow."
W e soon had a gang moving the anchors aft. W e also took
twenty-seven tons of coal out of the peak and carried it aft on
the starboard side to shift the weight and raise the hole out of
water. While that was going on, the harpooners took the lines
out of the whaleboats. T h e boats were stocked with provisions
and water, all ready to lower in case of necessity, and provided
with everything needed f o r a long trip.
Using the ice hooks, the ship was hooked up and made fast
alongside of a large cake of ice. With the weight shifted aft, the
place where the bow was stove was raised about a foot out of
water.
T h e captain called the three officers and Jim Smith,· our
cooper, down into the cabin and held a consultation as to what
would be the most advisable thing to do; to abandon ship and
g o back in the whaleboats to St. John's, Newfoundland, or to
try to mend the bow. It was not believed safe to try to work
the ship back home with that hole in her. T o try to reach St.
John's in the whaleboats would be an awful long pull.
* On the voyage of the Kathleen, Ferguson met Jim Smith at the Azores.
See September 13, 1880, in Harpooner.
20 T H E PASSAGE THROUGH HUDSON

T h e captain asked the cooper if he thought that he could

mend the bow. He replied that the only pieces of lumber he
had were some two-inch by eight-inch planks seven or eight feet
long, and that he had no spikes whatever.
T h e cooper further said, "I'll have to give it up, f o r I have
nothing to work with to bend the planks into place. I would
need a lot of tools and spikes." Later, I heard from the cooper
that the officers had quite an argument about it. In fact, it was he
who told me what was said at the consultation.
T h e steward came up to me on deck and said, "Scottie, the
captain wants to see you down in the cabin."
I found everybody standing around the cabin table looking v e r y
glum. Of course, I thought that the captain had called me below
to find out how the bow came to be stove in.
I asked, "Captain, did you send for me?"
"Yes, Scottie, I sent for vou to find out if you could mend the
bow and stop the leak. T h e cooper says it cannot be done with
the tools we have."
Turning to the cooper, I asked, "What have you in the w a y
of materials?"
"Only some two-inch by eight-inch planks seven or eight feet
long, and there are no spikes at all," he replied.
" I won't need any spikes. I'll use trunnels," I told him.
"But how will you bend the planks?" the cooper asked.
" I don't know now, but when the time comes, I shall have a
w a y of bending them," I answered, not telling him that I already
had several ideas of how it might be done.
Captain Fisher ordered all hands on deck to be under my or-
ders until the job was finished. A f t e r the cooper fetched what
tools he had, I got him to sharpen them up good. I then set some
of the men to making trunnels (treenails). Others were put to
planing and beveling the ends of the planks. Next I had a heavy
blanket brought and had it completely covered with tar. It was
to be handed to me when called for. I got down on the ice cake
close to the stove bow and spread some thin boards to stand on.
All of the broken wood around the opening was cleared away.
When that was done to my satisfaction, I called f o r the blanket
STRAIT INTO HUDSON BAY 21

and some more tar. T h e hole was then covered with the blanket,
first smearing the edges with tar. T h e end o f one plank was put
into place and trunneled tight, but unluckily it split, and some
oak wedges had to be driven in. T h e other end of the plank stuck
out seven or eight inches from the ship. It had to be bent into
place and was done by first boring a hole in the plank and then
a corresponding hole through the side of the ship. A rope was run
through the hole in the plank and knotted on the outside. I had
the third mate run the ship's end of the rope through a snatch-
block fastened to a timber in the fore-peak scuttle, and then
through a fish-tackle up along the mast and to the windlass. W h e n
the men heaved on the windlass, it bent the unfastened end of the
plank right into place. T h e end was then well trunneled into
position before the rope was slackened. W h e n the first plank was
firmly in place and found to hold good and tight, I saw a broad
smile come on the captain's face.
" B y ginger!" he said. " Y o u thought that out all right, S c o t t i e ! "
T h e other planks followed suit until they were all in place. I
then took some three-eighth inch thick hoop iron, t w o inches
wide, and punched some holes in the strips. I asked the captain
to let me have some lance shanks to cut up for spikes. T o make
a spike, I had one of the men heat one end o f a lance shank in the
cook fire and hammer a head on it, holding the piece in the vise.
W h e n cold, the spikes were pointed by grinding them on the
grindstone. T h e strips of hoop iron were spiked on with our
home-made spikes fore and aft over the new planks that now
covered the stove place. T h e iron strips were to serve as fenders
to prevent the ice from tearing out the new patch. Finally, every-
thing was well caulked and painted.
I heard the captain sav to the cooper, "See, that's a Scotchman
for y o u ! "
W h e n the j o b was finished, I had been working steadily for
forty-eight hours, only stopping long enough for an occasional
drink of coffee. Luckily, it was daylight and good weather all
o f the time. It was a job that just had to be done before a storm
came.
W h e n it was all over, the captain said, "Scottie, it's a good job,
22 T H E PASSAGE T H R O U G H HUDSON
well done. N o w come up on deck and get a bite to eat. Then go
and get some sleep."
He gave the steward orders not to call me, just to let me sleep
until I awakened myself. W h e n I woke up, it was twenty hours
later. Going up on deck, I found everything all right and the ship
sailing up the Strait.
W e had made fairly good headway. Charles Island was astern
and Salisbury and Nottingham islands were ahead. T h e ice began
to get heavy and lumpy again. Some of the heavy ice must have
come down from Fox Channel. However, the hands were in good
spirits. As for the captain, I had not seen him looking so happy
in weeks. T h e hummock ice got so high that we had to put some
of the boats up in the rigging, and two of them in on deck, for
fear that the ice would crush or carry them away. W e got stuck
fast in the floe and pack ice. It got to blowing and making music
in the rigging. So we furled all the sails and put ice hooks out
on the ice.
T h e captain told the mate, Mr. Potter, not to stand watch
any more at night, and that either Mr. Pollard or I would take his
place. Mr. Potter seemed to be gone in the head. I wondered if
the time when we were boxed in between the two bergs had
preyed on his mind so that it gave way. I hoped that he would
get better, as he was a fine man and had been an able whaling
captain for many years. I was shifted to the port watch with
Mr. Pollard and helped him throw the ice away from the bow.
For a couple of days we moved along very slowly. T h e wind
had shifted to the west and started the ice moving, grinding,
crunching, and tumbling about. W e came along the edge of the
ice floe abreast of Mansel Island looking for open water, and
gradually worked our way toward Southampton Island.
T h e captain came up on deck to take a look around, and said
to me, "Don't work in too close to shore, Scottie. T h e ice might
crush us against the rocks."
I pointed out to him a clear place that I wanted to reach. It
turned out to be open water as far as we could see. W e set all
sail and got to going good. Once in a while I wondered about
STRAIT INTO HUDSON BAY 23
the patch on the bow and if it would hold. So far it had given
us no trouble.
On J u l y twenty-fourth, with a fair steady wind from the north
and smooth water, we entered Evans Strait. U p to thirteen years
ago, it was known as Evans Inlet, and supposed to be merely an
inlet on the eastern side of Southampton Island. A t that time, our
captain, Ε. B. Fisher, found that he could go all the way through
to the west and into Hudson Bay. W h e n the British Admiralty
learned of that, they named the west end of the strait after
him, Fisher Strait. Captain Fisher's discovery divided the island into
two islands, Northampton and Southampton.* T h e r e was a large
rock in the middle of the Strait called W a l r u s R o c k . It w as well
named, for I saw about thirty large walrus on it and many more
swimming around in the water looking at us with their round
fiery eyes. T h e r e were also several others sleeping on a big cake
of ice.
As we would soon be whaling in the open water of Hudson
Bay, we put the crow's nest up on the topmast. It consisted o f a
board to stand on and some iron rings with canvas around them
to keep the cold wind away from the lookout when he stood in-
side looking for whales. W h e n whaling, a lookout had to be in
the crow's nest from sunrise to sunset, each man being relieved
every two hours. It had to blow pretty hard before the lookout
was called down from above.

* Present-day maps show the northerly island as Southampton and the

more southerly one as Coates Island.
 CHAPTER III

WHALING IN HUDSON BAY AND

ROES WELCOME
The second tóbale—The first Eskimos come on board—
Ferguson's native chum arrives—Ferguson presents a
knife to his chum—The story of hoiv Ferguson got the
Toledo blade in Cuba—Gamming the brig A. J. Ross.

n July twenty-sixth, with Fisher Strait behind us, we sailed

O into Hudson Bay and a smooth sea with no ice and fine
weather. From masthead I saw a few seals, some walrus, and one
large polar bear on the shore ice. T h e bear was trying to fish up
a seal for its breakfast. I went below for a nap, but was soon
awakened by the welcome c r v from above, " T h e r e she blows!
There she blows!" I dressed in a few minutes, found the deck
alive with men getting the boats ready, and saw one lone whale
working slowly to the south. After hauling aback the foreyard to
stop the ship's headway, the larboard and waist boats were low-
ered.
T h e whale sounded, but at the first rising the second mate got
fast with both irons in good and solid. It was rather a simple
job, for he had no trouble killing it in short order. In less than
two hours the whale, with the fluke chains on, was alongside the
ship. T h e fluke chains are heavy chains that are passed around
the base or small of the whale's tail to keep the whale alongside.
W e got out the cutting gear, the falls, the guys, and put the
cutting stage over the side. After dinner we started to cut in the
blubber and peel it off the carcass. T h e head was un jointed and
hoisted in on deck. W e finished cutting in about ten o'clock,
started the tryworks, and got the fires going good and hot, while
the men cut up and minced the blubber.
*4
26 W H A L I N G IN HUDSON BAY
That whale was only the second one taken since leaving N e w
Bedford nearly twelve weeks back. Whales were what we wanted,
so every man on board was working with a will; cutting up the
blanket pieces into horse pieces, which were in turn minced in
the mincing machine; keeping the pots full of blubber; firing the
pots; bailing the hot oil into the cooler; separating the whalebone
from the gum; and bundling the bone.
Someone saw three kayaks (canoes made of skin) coming off
shore toward us. When they reached the ship, three Eskimos
clambered on board. One of them, as soon as he saw me, came
running along the deck up to me and said, "Scuttle, koon-ee-
gloo!" In the Eskimo language, that meant to rub noses and
showed a liking for you, a good deal like a handshake does with
our own folks. This native, a very fine fellow, whom we all called
"Charlie," I knew very well from my last voyage of two years
ago. Charlie and I had become regular chums after we had been
out hunting together a few times. His Eskimo name was too long
and too hard to pronounce, so we nicknamed him "Charlie" for
short. After we got through rubbing noses, all the rest of the boys
gave me the laugh but I did not care.
Charlie remarked, "Li-pun-go oo-mee-ak," meaning that there
was another ship in the bay.
I asked him, "What ship is it?"
He replied, "Ah-mee-ah-soot." (I don't know.)
"Do you need any tobacco, Charlie?"
He nodded, so I gave him some. In return, he took the koo-Iee-
tang (outer deerskin coat) off his back and wanted me to take it.
I said, "No, Charlie, that's all right. I'm giving you the tobacco.
You put your coat on again. Now then, tell me, is there anything
else that you need?"
He shook his head and told me that he was married now, and
that I knew his koo-nee. That word really meant "doe" in his
language, but I understood that it meant his wife.
" W h o is she?"
"Netick," he replied.
I knew Netick. She was a very fine young woman. I gave
Charlie some needles of different sizes and a thimble, telling him
AND ROES WELCOME 27

to give them to her as a present from me. T o him I gave a big

box of matches and a good knife with a sheath.
On seeing me give away the knife, one of the mates, George
Pollard, asked, "Bob, are vou giving that good knife to that na-
tive?"
"Sure I am. He is my Eskimo chum and a fine fellow. He will
have much more use f o r it than I will. There's quite a story about
the way I got that knife. Remind me of it some evening and I'll
tell vou all about it."
Charlie needed powder too, but because he had nothing to give
me in return, seemed to be kind of sorry or sad about it. I went to
Captain Fisher, and asked him if he would sell me some powder to
give to my old Eskimo friend. T h e captain gave me five pounds
but would not charge a cent for it. It pleased Charlie very much
when I gave him the powder. I told him that if he would get
me plenty of took-too (deer), I would give him some more. When
anybody spoke of took-too, caribou were always meant, for there
were no other kinds of deer in that part of the country. In addition
to the powder, I gave him all the hardtack that I could wrap up
in an old shirt of mine.
M y native friend, who could talk a little English, said, " N e x t
moon, when small, look f o r ship off Yellow Bluff or Whale
Point. Have deer, salmon, and new clothes for you."
T h e sea was getting quite rough, and as he was a good eight
miles from shore, Charlie climbed down into his canoe and said,
"Tah-boo-tee" (goodbye).
H e left feeling very happy, laughing part of the time, or shout-
ing "tah-boo-tee" every once in a while. He and his kayak rode
the waves just like a duck. T h e other two natives followed him
in their kayaks, which were loaded down deep with whale meat.
W e stood at the rail for a while watching them dip their paddles
deep, making good time, and listening to them singing or shout-
ing, "Tah-boo-tee, tah-boo-tee!"
Charlie was a native whom I had helped when up there on my
last voyage. He was an outcast from the Kinnepatoo (Quair-
nirmiut) tribe from up Ferguson River way. His tribe hunted
caribou mostly, and as compared with the Iwella (Aivilik) tribe,
28 W H A L I N G IN H U D S O N B A Y
did but little hunting along the seacoast for walrus and seal. Their
main hunting grounds Were inland, south and west of Chesterfield
Inlet and Baker Lake.
At the time I first ran across him, he was a young man about
twenty-two years old who did not seem to have a friend. I gave
him a flintlock musket, some powder, and some knives. That gave
him a start in life. Late in the season, he brought in more deer
than any other two natives, but would not give them to anyone
but me. He was a splendid hunter and not afraid of anything. I
once saw him tackle a large polar bear with onlv a knife, his koo-
lee-tang wrapped around his left arm, and let the bear hug him.
He had an old Eskimo woman not onlv make me mittens and
stockings of the best of deerskin, but deerskin clothing and kum-
mins (moccasins) as well. T o repav him, I gave him a lot of things
from my sea chest just before leaving to go back home to New
Bedford. Like most of the Eskimos up there, Charlie was as hon-
est as could be. He was verv good-natured, and would share his
last scrap of food with vou. There was nothing that he would not
have done for me.
After supper that night, when all of us harpooners were sitting
around talking, George Pollard reminded me that I was going to
tell the story of how I got the knife that I gave to Charlie. Well,
it was a mightv fine knife about twenty inches long, with rather a
broad blade that had a verv keen edge, and came to a sharp point.
I got it from an old Spaniard to whom I had rendered a service in
Santiago, Cuba. He said that it was a Toledo blade, and you know
the Spaniards turned out wonderful knives in Toledo. Seeing that
I admired it, he presented it to me just before I left for home.
N o w for the storv.
* * * * *

In the winter of 1875 I shipped as a sailor before the mast with

old Captain Kellv on the Benjamin B. Church, a fine three-masted
schooner of over five hundred tons, bound from New Bedford
for Santiago, Cuba. The captain was taking his wife along with
him on this voyage. The schooner had a fine cabin and nice large
staterooms that were well fitted out and carpeted all over. There
AND ROES WELCOME 29
was a place at the foot of the cabin stairs where you could leave
vour oilskins and gum boots, so that you would not have to take
them into your stateroom. T h e table slid up to the ceiling out of
the way when not in use. A t one end of the cabin was another
small table with a big drawer for the charts, together with the
ruler and compasses. T h e r e was also quite a bookshelf of fine
books.
As the weather was verv good, the captain's wife whiled the
time away sitting on deck in a wicker chair. W e all enjoyed the
passage along the island of Cuba, looking at the feathery palm
trees waving in the tropical breeze. T h e water was smooth, only
broken by the schools of flying fish darting in all directions.
O n c e in a while you could see a dolphin chasing after them.
Again, there were schools of porpoises racing, sporting, playing,
and skipping along b y the thousands with their glossy sides
shining.
W i t h the island o f Jamaica on the port side and Cuba on the
starboard, we entered the harbor of Santiago. It \vas a beautiful
harbor with deep water and surrounded by high hills. T h e en-
trance was narrow with strong forts on each side. T h e r e was lots
of shipping there; small barques; brigs; t w o - and three-masted
schooners, mostly Yankees; and some fine ships. T h e Spaniards
and Cubans seemed to be doing a thriving trade, but they had a
bad feeling for all Americans. Because of so much gun-running,
they were suspicious of every vessel that came in, each of them
being carefully searched. Even the officers and men f r o m the ships
were closely watched whenever they went out for a walk. O n e day
I took the small boat, pulled across the harbor, and \vas about to
land when the guards told me to go back to my ship.
T h e scenery around Santiago harbor was grand. T h e city itself
was fine and had many large stores. Business was mainly done
along the waterfront on a wide street shaded with large trees. T h e
suburbs were built up with large handsome houses. T h o s e were
back up on the hills and were owned by wealthy Cubans of Spanish
descent. T h e population at that time was about sixty-two thou-
sand, including both blacks and whites. Some of the wealthy class
still had slaves to work around their places.
3o W H A L I N G IN HUDSON BAY
After we arrived, the captain and his wife went to stay with the
American Consul. On being asked that evening to fetch a hamper
from the cabin and take it to the captain's wife, I started out, and
was about halfway up the hill on which the Consul lived, when I
heard a peculiar muffled cry. Peering into the darkness at the
side of the road, I saw a girl struggling with a man who had
thrown a coat or something over her head! I dropped the hamper,
tripped up the ruffian, knocked him down and kicked him in the
ribs a couple of times. In falling, the rascal hit a stone and lay un-
conscious.
As I freed the girl, she screamed. I turned to pick up the
hamper and go on my way. Just then an old man came at me with
a knife in his hand! T h e girl held him back, jabbering all the while
in Spanish. Pointing at me, she shook her head. She pointed to the
man lying at her feet and nodded. T h e old man put his knife
away and apparently tried to make all kinds of apologies to me.
He must have thought at first that I had attacked the girl. W e
shook hands and I went on my way to deliver the hamper.
Later, when I was on my way back to go on board my ship, a
girl came up to me and said in English that her father wished to
speak with me. I then noticed that she was the same little girl who
had been in trouble up on the hill. W e went over to a store where
her father was standing in the door. He closed up the store and
we all went into a large dining room at the back. It was a mag-
nificent room furnished with everything of the very best. T h e
elderly Castilian was exceedingly nice to me, but I could not talk
Spanish and he could not talk English. His daughter had to talk
for both of us. T h e young lady was real good to look at and had
the most pleasant smile. She had beautiful eyes with long dark
lashes. T h e y seemed to pierce you through and through.
Her father was tall and thin, but broad shouldered. His hair was
beginning to turn gray and his skin was well tanned. His move-
ments were those of an old soldier. Although his expression was
very pleasant, yet he had the appearance of being stern.
He brought out some liquor and some glasses from a large
cabinet. When I declined to drink with him, he became very an-
gry. T h e girl looked frightened. T h e old man picked up the bottle
A N D ROES W E L C O M E 31
and pointed to the label. I told the girl to tell her father that I had
never drank liquor of any kind in all my life, nor used tobacco in
any form.
W h e n she told her father, he suggested coffee. I nodded m y
head. T h e young lady ordered a servant to get some. W h e n the
coffee came, it was delicious, and I drank two cups. It pleased the
old man to see me enjoy the coffee. There was also a glass of
goat's milk, rich and good. I drank that too. T h e daughter ex-
plained to me that it was an awful affront to refuse to drink in a
home when asked. H e r father wanted to know if I was an Ameri-
can. I told him that I was a Scotchman. At that he seemed glad,
grasped me by the hand, laid his other hand on my shoulder, and
gave me a pressing invitation to come up for dinner on Sunday. I
thanked him and accepted the invitation. I then said goodnight to
them both and went back to the ship.
On Sunday I received a warm welcome from the dignified old
Spanish gentleman. H e made me feel right at home. Through his
daughter he asked me many questions about my life and my peo-
ple. All this time I thought the little girl was about fourteen years
old. I was much astonished to find out that she was nineteen. I
told her that I was not quite two years older. T h e old man was
sixty-eight. H e had lived in Cuba seventeen years. His wife had
died when the little girl was only nine.
I was invited to come again on Wednesday evening and take the
young lady to a dance at some relative's home.
" T h a t will be good," I said. "I like to dance." After a very
pleasant evening, I returned to the ship, charmed by the courtesy
of those people.
On Wednesday afternoon I happened to see the girl coming
down to the dock and left the ship to meet her. She said that she
would enjoy looking around the ship. I showed her everything.
She was quite interested and said that I had pleased her very
much. Just as we were going on shore, Captain Kelly saw us.
Later, he asked me in a gruff voice, "Did you have that girl
on board?"
I replied, "Yes, sir."
He was very angry with me. W h a t could I say? I was in the
32 W H A L I N G IN HUDSON BAY
wrong. I should have asked permission from him first to bring
her on board, but he was not about at the time. T h e captain
thought that she was some common girl from the dance halls. I
assured him that she was a very fine young lady and that I knew
her father.
That evening I cleaned up good, put on some light clothes, and
reached the old Don's house about eight o'clock. T h e little Span-
ish lady was all dressed up in a dancing dress with a low-cut neck.
T h e dress came down to her ankles. Her skin was as white as a
lily and made a big contrast to her dark features. She was very
beautiful. I could hardly keep my eyes from her. She had on a
mantilla of some very fine stuff, lace mavbe. Her father told us to
have a good time. Noticing that she carried a stiletto, I asked
where it had been the night the ruffian had attacked her. She re-
plied that she had changed her dress just before starting out that
night and had forgotten to bring it along.
W e walked about four blocks to a large mansion that stood
about two hundred feet back from the street. It was all lit up and
strains of music were coming from the big house. Quite a number
of people were strolling on the veranda. As we went in, she
handed her cloak and my hat to a young girl who was some rela-
tive of hers. It seemed that the owner of the mansion was related
to her father. It was a grand fine place. I was introduced to sev-
eral people. T h e dancing floor was smooth and highly polished.
I judged that there were about fifteen couples dancing, mostly
young people.
While we were dancing the lancers I saw Captain Kelly and his
wife standing at the side looking on. T h e captain came over to
where the girl and I were sitting when the square dance was over.
I introduced him to the little Spanish lady and noticed his look of
astonishment.
He said, "Bob, my wife would like you to dance with her. If
that is the young lady who was on board the ship this afternoon,
I'm sorrv that I spoke so sharp."
"That's all right, sir. I shall be verv glad to have a dance with
your wife."
I excused myself from my partner, and asked Mrs. Captain
A N D ROES W E L C O M E 33

Kelly to dance with me. W e had a very pleasant dance together.

She was a good dancer, but not to be compared to the little Span-
ish lady.
When the dance was over, the captain's wife remarked, "What
a pretty girl you were dancing with! I may not be as good a
partner as she, but I hope w e mav have another dance later."
" I shall be looking forward to it," I replied.
Returning to Felicia, the little Spanish girl, we first had an old-
fashioned square dance followed by a Virginia reel. M v , how that
girl could step it! She was just as light as a feather on her feet and
as lively as a cricket.
I told her rather sorrowfully, " I have promised to give the cap-
tain's wife another dance. I hope YOU won't mind."
Felicia protested, "Only one, because I want you to dance the
fandango with me."
When we danced the fandango,* everybody stood watching us.
Without doubt, she was the most wonderful dancer I had ever
danced with. Everybody applauded and clapped their hands.
Felicia looked up at me and said something in Spanish that I did
not understand. I told her that never before did I know what it
was to have a really fine dancer for a partner. What a smiling
glance I got! Although I danced with quite a f e w of the other
young ladies, none of them were as graceful as my little partner.
When we returned to her home after the dance, her father was
waiting. I had to come in and have some coffee and cakes. I told
Felicia to tell him what a fine time I had had. T h e y both invited me
to come again soon and spend the evening.
T h e next day Captain Kelly came on board at three o'clock and
said that we would be sailing the following day at noon.
His wife remarked, " M r . Ferguson, I noticed that you had a
real good time last night. Y o u r partner was a very pretty girl and
a beautiful dancer. I also heard all about your adventure from the
girl's aunt. W h y didn't you tell us about it?"
I replied, " I was not sure that the young lady would wish it."
A s this was our last evening in port I went on shore to say
* Ferguson was reminded of this dance and mentioned it in Harpooner
under date of March 28, 1884.
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