Five Years in New Zealand | Page 6

myself, I was instantly sent rolling over to the two old ladies,
creating a shout of laughter from all hands. The squall lasted about half
an hour, and was succeeded by a fine night and a spanking breeze.
[Illustration: HARPOONING A SHARK.]
Another bit of excitement was the harpooning and capture of a shark
which had been following the ship for days. This is always an omen of
ill-luck with sailors, who are very superstitious, believing that a shark
under such circumstances is waiting for a body dead or alive, and will
follow the ship until its desire is appeased. They are always, therefore,
keen to kill a shark when opportunity offers. Fortunately, for our
purpose, a calm came on while the shark was visiting us, and he kept
moving about under the stern in a most friendly manner. The plan of
operations was as follows:--A large junk of pork was made fast to a
rope and suspended from the stern, letting it sink about a foot under the
surface. C----, Smith, and I were in the captain's boat, with three sailors,
under the orders of Lapworth, who had taken his stand immediately
above with a harpoon. The shark came up, nibbling and smelling at the
pork, so close to us in the boat that he almost rubbed along the side
without apparent alarm or taking any notice of our presence. He was a
monster, nearly nine feet in length, and as he came alongside, his back
fin rose some inches above the surface. He did not seem inclined to
seize the pork until Lapworth had it quickly jerked up, when the brute
made a dash at it, half turning as he did so, and at the same instant
received the harpoon through his neck. I recollect the monster turning

over on his back, Lapworth swinging himself over into the boat, a little
organised commotion among the men, and in a few moments running
nooses were passed over head and tail, and he was hoisted on deck and
speedily despatched. The body was cut up and divided amongst the
crew, some of whom were partial to shark steak. A piece of the
backbone I secured for myself as a memento of the occasion.
As if to bear out the superstition I have mentioned, a few days
subsequently a death, or rather two deaths, did actually take place; they
were the twins and only children of a Scottish shepherd and his wife,
both on board. Pretty little girls of eight, as I remember them, playing
about the deck, and favourites with all, they died within a day of each
other. The father was a gigantic fellow, and I have pleasant
recollections of him in after years, when time and other children had
helped to assuage his and his wife's grief for the loss of their two
darlings at sea by one stroke of illness.
There is something more affecting in a burial at sea than one on land. In
this instance the little body was wrapped in a white cloth, to which a
small bag of coals was fastened, and laid upon a slide projecting from
the stern of the vessel ready for immersion. The captain read the Burial
Service, all on board standing uncovered. At the words "Dust to dust,"
etc., the body was allowed to slide into the sea--where it immediately
disappeared. The mother was too ill to be present, and the father's grief
was severe, as it might well be, to witness his child laid in so lonely a
resting place in mid-ocean without sign or mark. The following
evening a similar scene was enacted when the body of the other little
sister was committed to the deep, and the father had to be taken away
before the service was completed.
No ceremonies I ever beheld impressed and affected me so much as the
burial of the little twins at sea.
While in the Tropics we had occasional calms, sometimes lasting for
two or three days; the sea was like molten glass, and the sun burnt like
a furnace. On such occasions we were permitted to row about within a
reasonable distance of the ship, so that if a breeze suddenly sprang up
we might not be left behind. Once this very nearly occurred, when we

had rowed a long way off, after what was supposed to be a whale
spouting. We suddenly felt a gentle breath of air, and noticed the glassy
surface giving place to a slight disturbance. We were a mile off the ship,
but could distinctly hear the summons from aboard, and noticed the
sails filling. We rowed with all our strength, stripped to the waist, and
succeeded in getting up when the ship was well under weigh. It was a
stiff piece of work, and