Life With A Fisherman
Chapter 6: Learning Lamp Oil

Well, the next morning came fast. It was like the sun never went down. As I reached Salty, I could see the captain in waist- deep water loading things into the boat. “Ahoy, young Cappy,” he said smiling, with his corncob pipe hanging from his lips. “Get in and off we will be,” he shouted. I waded out to Salty and off we went with raft in tow. There were four empty barrels tied on the raft. I asked what they were for. He smiled as he was setting a black powder rifle at the bow and covering it so not to get wet. “The barrels are for seal, and the rifle is for getting seal,” he said. I had no idea what he was talking about, but I knew I’d know soon enough. So I just smiled, and as we were leaving the bluff harbor, the captain told me to take us into Edgartown harbor. “I have a letter to mail,” he said with a smile. I sailed us right into the harbor and docked. Captain Ben had been teaching me every day, and I was getting to be a very good sailor. And I will say, it was not easy sailing with a raft in tow. Not at all. Captain Ben climbed onto the dock and said, “Stay here with the boat; I’ll be right back.” He went into the post office to the office of the post master. “Hello, Missy,” he said as he reached her desk. “Well, hello there, Captain Ben. How have you doing? It’s been a while.” They were old friends. It seemed that he knew everybody. And he was very well liked by all. “I have a letter to mail, and I’d like it mailed in six years,” he said. “Oh my,” Missy said as she looked at the envelope that had “To Cappy” written on it. “Can you do that, Missy?” “Why yes, I can, I’ll put it into your box to mail six years from now. “Oh no,” Captain Ben shouted. “It needs be delivered on the 16th birthday of Cappy. November 30th, six years from now.” “I can do that for you, Captain. I’ll put notes on it to be sure it’s delivered,” And into a box the letter went. “Thanks, Missy,” Captain Ben yelled as he headed back to the dock .

I had no idea what he had done, but he told me to remember this day and off to sea we went. “It’s off to the shoal waters we go,” he shouted as he sipped a mug of rum. The winds were with us as he showed me the way to the “Lands of the Seals,” as he put it. We left the harbor and headed southwest around what is called Cape Poge. We were out about nine miles from the island. This was the farthest I had ever been from home. I was a little nervous, but I knew I was in good hands with the captain. “There they are,” he said in a low voice. I looked to our starboard and could just make out a little piece of sand. As we sailed closer to the little island, I could see seals laying in the sun. “They are harp seals, and they are oil for my lamps,” the captain whispered to me. “Be quiet and get us into range.” I had no idea what he was up to, but as we were in range of the seals. There were over 200 seals laying on that beach. It was breathtaking to see them so close. The captain slowly looked for the right seals, then pulled the rifle to his shoulder. KABOOM! He fired and reloaded so fast. KABOOM! again . He did this four times. He took four of the biggest and oldest seals, saying they would not make it another year. The other seals scurried to the water and swam off as I was thinking to myself what a marksman Captain Ben was with that rifle. He said to me with a big smile, “We have oil for the lamps, young Cappy. Let’s fetch our harvest. Bring us to land.” I pulled Salty in and anchored her in the shallow water. Captain Ben told me to never swim out here with or near the seals. “Why,” I asked? “I’ll tell ye later, Cappy!” he shouted.

(Picture of four seals on the island with boat and raft anchored on the beach) Clip art 13062648

The seals were about 200 pounds each. “They are enough oil for the season,” he said. He then taught me how to harvest the seals. We skinned the seals and cut all the blubber from the skin. Then we cut it into two-inch strips and filled a barrel. “This is our oil,” he said. “As it sets in the barrel for a few days, it will dissolve into oil.” Then we cut up all the meat the same way and filled two barrels. “This, we will take home to the smoker,” he shouted. “Now for the skin.” I looked in the last barrel, and there were wooden chips in it. I asked, “What are the chips for?” “Those are oak chips, young Cappy. We will soak the skins with the chips and water to tan them. After the skins are in the water for a few days, we will stretch them in the sun to dry out, then beat them to soften them up. After that, they can be used for making mittens and slippers for the cold winter days. The oak tree has titanic acid in it, and that is used for tanning furs.” I asked him how he knew how to do this. He replied that years ago, when he was sailing the shores of Alaska, he had learned this from the Eskimos. We loaded all the barrels and firmly tied them down on the raft. The sun was setting, and the moon was starting to shine. “Bring us home, young Captain Cappy,” he shouted. I went very still for a moment. He called me Captain. Captain Ben called me Captain Cappy. He looked at me and smiled. “EYEEE,” he said, “in my eyes, you’re a captain now. Use the stars how I’ve taught you and take us home. I felt like I was walking on water. I lifted our anchors and headed out into the dark. I used the stars to navigate us part of the way, then I saw a flash of the Cape Poge lighthouse First erected in 1801, the lighthouse helped guide ships through the shoal waters and shallows of Muskeget Channel and into Edgartown Harbor. All the sailors called it the shining light, and it can be seen nine miles out. It has led many a sailor to safety.

Captain Ben had had his share of rum by this time and started telling me of his first shark attack. He had so many stories to tell of his life, and I loved listening to them. This man had lived what people dream about. He went on to say, “Many years ago, when I found that place of the seals. It was my first seal for my lamps. I had a boat just a little bigger than your boat Salty. I happened on them by chance. I was out here fishing for the big base and seen the seals laying on that sand bar. I had no gun, just my fishing poles and knife. I snuck up on the sand bar very slowly. There were seals all around me. I picked the one I wanted, and with a leap onto its back, I took the seal with my knife. And believe me, it wasn’t easy. I fought that big seal for a good 10 minutes or so. The seal was too big to put into the boat. I tied it to the side of the boat and headed to the bluff. It was dark out by this time and the moon was full. I was about halfway back and heard the water stir behind me. It startled me, that splash I heard. I was the only one out there. I had no idea what it was. Then I seen the fin. And I mean a big fin. It came out of the water about two foot. And it came up and bumped my boat. I looked into the water, and all I seen was a very big great white shark. And when I say big, I mean big. That shark was about 15- feet long with a mouth as wide as my boat. It circled me over and over. I had no way to fight it, and I thought, ‘This is it. I’m sure to be its next meal.’ Then it was gone. It stopped circling. For about 20 minutes, I just looked all around the boat. I knew it was near. I could feel it in my bones. Then out of nowhere, behind the boat, I heard the water breaking from its huge fin. It was coming fast right at me, and I mean fast. Within seconds, the great white hit the side of the boat and just about turned me over. I could do nothing but hold on for my life as the beast tore at the seal, tearing it from side to side. The seal was in its huge mouth, and it was turning the boat from side to side. It wouldn’t let go. I had to think fast as I looked into the evil eyes of that great white. I cut the ropes that held the seal. As I did that, the shark took the seal down into the water. I was shaking with fear. I quickly set the sails to the wind and got out of that area as fast as the wind could carry me. That shark could have — and would have — sank my boat if I didn’t give up that seal. And that’s why I tow the raft now, to keep my catch out of the water. Like I said earlier today, don’t ever swim in that area of the seals. Seals are sharks’ favorite food, and you could be mistaken for a seal by the sharks.

(Picture of the great white at the side of the boat with the seal) Sarah Art

Well, we reached the bluff and had our work cut out for us getting the seal meat to the smoker. We moved all the contents of the barrels on the raft to barrels on the wagon. Then it was off to the smoker with the meat. It was a very long night, but Mom was happy to get the salt out for preparing the seal for smoking. While we did this, Captain Ben fell into a sound sleep. It took a few hours to get all the meat salted, then we started smoking. Mom told me we would smoke it the same as we did with any other meat, and it takes around seven to eight hours. We moved the barrels of blubber to a cool, dark place out of any sun to let it set for a few days. Mom was very happy about the blubber. She said that not only is the oil good for the lamps, but it’s great cooking oil.

Mom smiled and told me that I was becoming quite the little fisherman. I thought to myself, “Yes, I am.” I looked at the once-thought-of mean, old Captain Ben that was fast asleep. He wasn’t mean at all. He was my best friend. My mentor. And he called me Captain Cappy. “Should we stretch the skins?” I asked mom. “No, they need to set in the barrel for three days before drying,” she replied. “Now, off to bed with you. I’ll take care of the smoker. You need some sleep.” And off to bed I went.