Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly volume 17.djvu/394



386 LETTERS OF ELIHU WRIGHT

which may inform you that I am well and 1 have enjoyed my health two months past much better than I did the first part of the voyage. We are now lying at Worahoo, one of the Sand- wich Islands, where we anchored the 12th of March. We fell in with the ship Eagle on the 16th of Feb., six days after I wrote you last by the ship Equator, Capt. Barnet, in Lat. 1-40 South 120 W. Long. Found all well on board 900 bis. Job has been frequently on board and on the 17th we were in a shoal of whale with the Eagle's crew. Stannard looks as tough as a whiteoak. As for my part, I got dry jokes and wet jacket. Jno and myself were in the chief mate's boat. We rowed to leeward and struck a large whale. She up flukes and let have & we found the boat traveling upwards. She then reacht her flukes over the gunwale of the boat and struck me across the back and landed me aft acrost the thwarts, bruis- ing my shins to no small rate. Our boat was filled with water but the fish slatted out the Irons and left us to bail our boat at leisure though something difficult as it was very rugged as every sea breaking acrost the boat we could not see our ship's loftiest spars except when on the top of a swell, although no more than a mile distant. This is the second time but I calculate for better luck in Japan. As for oil, we have suffi- cient to use in the binnicle. We have taken but two whale this side of the Cape which made us 30 bis. We saw planty of whale in 185 West Lat. 8 North, but the weather was so very rugged that we could not save whale, so directed our course for this place, which I hope soon to leave as we have been here almost a month. Been ashore almost every day. We have got plenty of sweet potatoes which cost 2$ per barrel. Plenty of cabbage and some other kinds of garden sauce.

Benjamin Prosseter, of Killingsworth, is in here in the Phoenix 1,000 bis. Roderic Strong is here in the Alexander 1700. Alfred and Hillias Pratt are in here in the Plowboy 1200. As for our crew, there has four left us since we have been here. Two they have brought on board in Irons, the