on february 2, 1876, the schooner "pilgrim" was in latitude 43° 57' south, and in longitude 165° 19' west of the meridian of greenwich.
this vessel, of four hundred tons, fitted out at san francisco for whale-fishing in the southern seas, belonged to james w. weldon, a rich californian ship-owner, who had for several years intrusted the command of it to captain hull.
the "pilgrim" was one of the smallest, but one of the best of that flotilla, which james w. weldon sent each season, not only beyond behring strait, as far as the northern seas, but also in the quarters of tasmania or of cape horn, as far as the antarctic ocean. she sailed in a superior manner. her very easily managed rigging permitted her to venture, with a few men, in sight of the impenetrable fields of ice of the southern hemisphere. captain hull knew how to disentangle himself, as the sailors say, from among those icebergs, which, during the summer, drift by the way of new zealand or the cape of good hope, under a much lower latitude than that which they reach in the northern seas of the globe. it is true that only icebergs of small dimensions were found there; they were already worn by collisions, eaten away by the warm waters, and the greater number of them were going to melt in the pacific or the atlantic.
under the command of captain hull, a good seaman, and also one of the most skilful harpooners of the flotilla, was a crew composed of five sailors and a novice. it was a small number for this whale-fishing, which requires a good many persons. men are necessary as well for the management of the boats for the attack, as for the cutting up of the captured animals. but, following the example of certain ship-owners, james w. weldon found it much more economical to embark at san francisco only the number of sailors necessary for the management of the vessel. new zealand did not lack harpooners, sailors of all nationalities, deserters or others, who sought to be hired for the season, and who followed skilfully the trade of fishermen. the busy period once over, they were paid, they were put on shore, and they waited till the whalers of the following year should come to claim their services again. there was obtained by this method better work from the disposable sailors, and a much larger profit derived by their co-operation.
they had worked in this way on board the "pilgrim."
the schooner had just finished her season on the limit of the antarctic circle. but she had not her full number of barrels of oil, of coarse whalebones nor of fine. even at that period, fishing was becoming difficult. the whales, pursued to excess, were becoming rare. the "right" whale, which bears the name of "north caper," in the northern ocean, and that of "sulphur bottom," in the south sea, was likely to disappear. the whalers had been obliged to fall back on the finback or jubarte, a gigantic mammifer, whose attacks are not without danger.
this is what captain hull had done during this cruise; but on his next voyage he calculated on reaching a higher latitude, and, if necessary, going in sight of clarie and adelie lands, whose discovery, contested by the american wilkes, certainly belongs to the illustrious commander of the "astrolabe" and the zelee, to the frenchman, dumont d'urville.
in fact, the season had not been favorable for the "pilgrim." in the beginning of january, that is to say, toward the middle of the southern summer, and even when the time for the whalers to return had not yet arrived captain hull had been obliged to abandon the fishing places. his additional crew—a collection of pretty sad subjects—gave him an excuse, as they say, and he determined to separate from them.
the "pilgrim" then steered to the northwest, for new zealand, which she sighted on the 15th of january. she arrived at waitemata, port of auckland, situated at the lowest end of the gulf of chouraki, on the east coast of the northern island, and landed the fishermen who had been engaged for the season.
the crew was not satisfied. the cargo of the "pilgrim" was at least two hundred barrels of oil short. there had never been worse fishing. captain hull felt the disappointment of a hunter who, for the first time, returns as he went away—or nearly so. his self-love, greatly excited, was at stake, and he did not pardon those scoundrels whose insubordination had compromised the results of his cruise.
it was in vain that he endeavored to recruit a new fishing crew at auckland. all the disposable seamen were embarked on the other whaling vessels. he was thus obliged to give up the hope of completing the "pilgrim's" cargo, and captain hull was preparing to leave auckland definitely, when a request for a passage was made which he could not refuse.
mrs. weldon, wife of the "pilgrim's" owner, was then at auckland with her young son jack, aged about five years, and one of her relatives, her cousin benedict. james w. weldon, whom his business operations sometimes obliged to visit new zealand, had brought the three there, and intended to bring them back to san francisco.
but, just as the whole family was going to depart, little jack became seriously ill, and his father, imperatively recalled by his business, was obliged to leave auckland, leaving his wife, his son, and cousin benedict there.
three months had passed away—three long months of separation, which were extremely painful to mrs. weldon. meanwhile her young child was restored to health, and she was at liberty to depart, when she was informed of the arrival of the "pilgrim."
now, at that period, in order to return to san francisco, mrs. weldon found herself under the necessity of going to australia by one of the vessels of the golden age trans-oceanic company, which ply between melbourne and the isthmus of panama by papeiti. then, once arrived at panama, it would be necessary for her to await the departure of the american steamer, which establishes a regular communication between the isthmus and california. thence, delays, trans-shipments, always disagreeable for a woman and a child. it was just at this time that the "pilgrim" came into port at auckland. mrs. weldon did not hesitate, but asked captain hull to take her on board to bring her back to san francisco—she, her son, cousin benedict, and nan, an old negress who had served her since her infancy. three thousand marine leagues to travel on a sailing vessel! but captain hull's ship was so well managed, and the season still so fine on both sides of the equator! captain hull consented, and immediately put his own cabin at the disposal of his passenger. he wished that, during a voyage which might last forty or fifty days, mrs. weldon should be installed as well as possible on board the whaler.
there were then certain advantages for mrs. weldon in making the voyage under these conditions. the only disadvantage was that this voyage would be necessarily prolonged in consequence of this circumstance—the "pilgrim" would go to valparaiso, in chili, to effect her unloading. that done, there would be nothing but to ascend the american coast, with land breezes, which make these parts very agreeable.
besides, mrs. weldon was a courageous woman, whom the sea did not frighten. then thirty years of age, she was of robust health, being accustomed to long voyages, for, having shared with her husband the fatigues of several passages, she did not fear the chances more or less contingent, of shipping on board a ship of moderate tonnage. she knew captain hull to be an excellent seaman, in whom james w. weldon had every confidence. the "pilgrim" was a strong vessel, capital sailer, well quoted in the flotilla of american whalers. the opportunity presented itself. it was necessary to profit by it. mrs. weldon did profit by it.
cousin benedict—it need not be said—would accompany her.
this cousin was a worthy man, about fifty years of age. but, notwithstanding his fifty years, it would not have been prudent to let him go out alone. long, rather than tall, narrow, rather than thin, his figure bony, his skull enormous and very hairy, one recognized in his whole interminable person one of those worthy savants, with gold spectacles, good and inoffensive beings, destined to remain great children all their lives, and to finish very old, like centenaries who would die at nurse.
"cousin benedict"—he was called so invariably, even outside of the family, and, in truth, he was indeed one of those good men who seem to be the born cousins of all the world—cousin benedict, always impeded by his long arms and his long limbs, would be absolutely incapable of attending to matters alone, even in the most ordinary circumstances of life. he was not troublesome, oh! no, but rather embarrassing for others, and embarrassed for himself. easily satisfied, besides being very accommodating, forgetting to eat or drink, if some one did not bring him something to eat or drink, insensible to the cold as to the heat, he seemed to belong less to the animal kingdom than to the vegetable kingdom. one must conceive a very useless tree, without fruit and almost without leaves, incapable of giving nourishment or shelter, but with a good heart.
such was cousin benedict. he would very willingly render service to people if, as mr. prudhomme would say, he were capable of rendering it.
finally, his friends loved him for his very feebleness. mrs. weldon regarded him as her child—a large elder brother of her little jack.
it is proper to add here that cousin benedict was, meanwhile, neither idle nor unoccupied. on the contrary, he was a worker. his only passion—natural history—absorbed him entirely.
to say "natural history" is to say a great deal.
we know that the different parts of which this science is composed are zoology, botany, mineralogy, and geology.
now cousin benedict was, in no sense, a botanist, nor a mineralogist, nor a geologist.
was he, then, a zoologist in the entire acceptation of the word, a kind of cuvier of the new world, decomposing an animal by analysis, or putting it together again by synthesis, one of those profound connoisseurs, versed in the study of the four types to which modern science refers all animal existence, vertebrates, mollusks, articulates, and radiates? of these four divisions, had the artless but studious savant observed the different classes, and sought the orders, the families, the tribes, the genera, the species, and the varieties which distinguish them?
no.
had cousin benedict devoted himself to the study of the vertebrates, mammals, birds, reptiles, and fishes?
no.
was it to the mollusks, from the cephalopodes to the bryozoans, that he had given his preference, and had malacology no more secrets for him?
not at all.
