Sealer's Song (II), The

DESCRIPTION: "The Terra Nova, Captain Kean, With two hundred and three men, Went through the gap this morning To try their luck again." A total of 20 ships and captains set out for the ice. The singer hopes they all return safely and with large loads of seals
AUTHOR: Johnny Burke (1851-1930), according to Ryan/Small-HaulinRopeAndGaff, but see NOTES
EARLIEST DATE: 1951 (MUNFLA/Leach)
KEYWORDS: hunting ship moniker nonballad
FOUND IN: Canada(Newf)
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Ryan/Small-HaulinRopeAndGaff, p. 79, "The Sealer's Song" (1 text\)
ADDITIONAL: Naboth Winsor, _Stalwart Men and Sturdy Ships: A History of the Prosecution of the Seal Fishery by the Sealers of Bonavista Bay North, Newfoundland_, Economy Printing Limited, 1985, p. 77, "The Ships That Sailed Today" (1 text)
Roud #7307
RECORDINGS:
Morris Houlihan, "Sealer's Song" (on MUNFLA/Leach)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "First Arrival -- 'Aurora' and 'Walrus' Full" (ships)
cf. "Arrival of the 'Grand Banks' and 'Virginia Lake' With Bumper Trips" (ships)
cf. "Arrival of 'Aurora,' Diana,' 'Virginia Lake' and 'Vanguard,' Loaded" (ships)
NOTES [3391 words]: Although this deals with the same subject, and even some of the same ships, as "The Sealer's Song (I)," and apparently are lumped by Roud, the two are clearly distinct: this deals with the departure of the ships, that with their return. The song is even closer, in terms of ships named, to "Captains and Ships" -- not surprising, since the two songs describe events separated by just three years. This song, as we shall see, is clearly from 1907.
There are two basic versions of this, one printed by Winsor ("The Ships that Sailed Today") and one by Ryan/Small-HaulinRopeAndGaff ("The Sealer's Song").
Although most sources, including Ryan/Small-HaulinRopeAndGaff, attribute this to Johnny Burke, it is not in his most extensive collection, Johnny Burke (William J. Kirwin, editor), John White's Collection of Johnny Burke Songs, Harry Cuff Publications, St. John's, 1981. For a brief biography of Johnny Burke, see the notes to "The Kelligrew's Soiree."
What's more, Winsor's text is credited to James Murphy and dated to 1907. It begins "I watched when they departed, 'Twas eight o'clock the hour, I saw them steaming down the shore With Tom Rose at the Cabot Tower. The echoes of their cheering In fancy o'er me steals As our young men so daring Went forth in quest of seals." It is in eight line-line stanzas rather than four, but the second stanza begins "The Terra Nova, Captain Kean, With two hundred and three men, Went through the 'gap' this morning To try their luck again" -- in other words, the same text as that of Ryan/Small-HaulinRopeAndGaff. The following verses of the two texts are not identical, but the differences are entirely what we would expect of oral tradition, with the text in Winsor in much better shape than that in Ryan/Small-HaulinRopeAndGaff.
James Murphy and Johnny Burke were collaborators; is it possible that Burke wrote the original, and Murphy perhaps re-wrote it? Or vice versa? And did Gerald Doyle, the source of the Ryan/Small-HaulinRopeAndGaff text, learn it orally and transcribe it incorrectly?
At least Winsor's date of 1907 is confirmed by the contents of the song.
I'm going to give a collation of the two, showing substantial differences. This doesn't extend to spellings and punctuation, or even to minor words, but it will show the differences. Each line is cited by stanza and line; keep in mind, again, that Winsor uses eight-line stanzas, which Ryan/Small-HaulinRopeAndGaff divide into standard four-line stanzas, so Ryan/Small-HaulinRopeAndGaff have almost twice as many stanzas.
R/S 3.1, "Next came the stout ship Aurora"; Winsor 3.1, "There sailed the stout Aurora"
R/S 3.3, "And Capt. Bob Winsor"; Winsor 3.3, "With Captain 'Sam-Bob' Winsor"
R/S 4.1, "She aspied (sic.) a bold-eyed stranger"; Winsor 3.5, "Chased by the bold ice Ranger"
R/S 4.3, "No notice to her danger"; Winsor 3.7, "No novice to that danger"
R/S 5.1-2, "Darius Blandford sails the Vanguard The pride of Baine Johnson's ships""; Winsor 4.1-2, "Darius leads the Vanguard Of Baine, Johnsone's ships"
R/S 6.1-3, "There is another that can find them Where e're there to be found, That's bully young Bill Winsor"; Winsor, 4.5-7, "As good as they can find them -- I know where one is found -- 'Tis bully young Will WInsor"
R/S 7.1, "Joe Barbour sails the Iceland"; Winsor 5.1, "There's Barbour in the Iceland"
R/S 8.3-4, "You won't find one no smarter For to sail the Southern Cross"; WInsor 5.7-8, "There's not a man much smarter To sail the Southern Cross"
R/S have the two stanzas starting "George Barbour" as stanzas 9-10 (i.e. they would be stanza 6 in Winsor); Winsor has them as stanza 7 (i.e. they would be 11-12 in R/S)
R/S 9.3, "Jobie Kean commands the Eric"; Winsor 7.3, "Job Kean commands the Erik"
R/S 10.1, "That lucky ship Dianna" (sic.); Winsor 7.5, "While the lucky ship Diana"
R/S 11.3-4, "The first on charge is Harry Dawe[,] The latter by Jobie Knee"; Winsor 6-3-4, "The first in charge of Harry Dawe, The last by 'Jobey' Knee"
R/S 12.1, "John Parson in the Newfoundland"; Winsor 6.5, "The Newfoundland with Parsons"
R/S 13.3-4, "Our good friend Baird and Gordon Sent George Hand in the Labrador"; Winsor, 8.3-4, "And my friends, both Baird and Gordon, Sent George Hann in the Labrador."
R/S 14.1-3, "Jacob Kean command the Virginia Lake Makes up the twenty ships And my best wish may they all return"; Winsor 8.5-7, "While Jacob Kean in the Virginia Lake, Completes the twenty ships; And the wish of all -- may they return"
Winsor's is the better text (although even it appears defective at a few points), but scholars who are looking at this song will probably be looking at the Ryan/Small-HaulinRopeAndGaff version, so I'm going to analyze its text rather than Winsor's (with reference to Winsor). Taking the ships in order:
The Terra Nova is the subject of "The Terra Nova." The Captain Kean who commands her is clearly Abram Kean (the subject of "Captain Abram Kean"); he commanded the Terra Nova 1906-1908 and then, when all the steel sealers were lost in World War I, again in 1917-1926 and 1932-1933; two of his sons commanded her in 1927 and for one of two trips in 1929 (Feltham, p. 134). The song correctly states that she carried 203 men (in 1907); this is also the figure on p. 74 of Chafe.
There were two sealers named Eagle. For these two ships, see the notes to "The Ice-Floes." The second Eagle was commanded by Joseph "Joe" Kean, the oldest of Abram's eight sons, from 1907 to 1911 (Chafe, p. 99). Joseph Kean is also mentioned in "Captains and Ships"; he died in the wreck of the Florizel (for which see "The Wreck of the Steamship Florizel").
For the Aurora, see "First Arrival -- 'Aurora' and 'Walrus' Full." Her captain Dan Green is also mentioned in "Captains and Ships." He commanded the Aurora 1906-1911; she was his last command (Chafe, p. 98).
The Algerine is the subject of "The Loss of the Algerine." S. R. Winsor (called "Bob Winsor" in Ryan/Small-HaulinRopeAndGaff's text, but apparently the same as the "Sam Winsor" of "Captains and Ships," and given the correct nickname "Sam-Bob" in Winsor's text; for the Winsor Family, see "Captains and Ships" and "First Arrival from the Sea Fishery S. S. Fogota, 1912") commanded the Algerine 1907-1908 (Chafe, p. 98). Chafe, p. 74, confirms the song's statement that Algerine was supplied (outfitted) by Bowring Brothers.
For the Vanguard, see "Arrival of 'Aurora,' 'Diana,' 'Virginia Lake,' and 'Vanguard,' Loaded"; for the family of her skipper Darius Blandford, see "Sealer's Song (I)." Darius Blandford (1843-1917) commanded the Vanguard 1907-1909, losing her in the last of those years. Ironically, given the song's wish that he live long, his career was short -- having first served as a captain in the Iceland in 1898, he never commanded another sealer after the loss of the Vanguard, although the crew was rescued by the Algerine (Feltham, p. 151). Chafe, p. 74, confirms the song's statement that she was supplied by Baine, Johnston & Co. There is an 1899 photo of Darius Blandford, along with other sealing stalwarts such as Abram Kean and Arthur Jackman, on p. 25 of Winsor.
Despite his short sealing career, Blandford was a successful sea captain; having commanded the Dundee of the Alphabet Fleet. (For the Alphabet Fleet, see the notes to "the Wreck of the Steamship Ethie." A report at the time says that "Captain Darius Blandford is a genial host, and good humour beams from is countenance at all times. His principal aim is to make passengers enjoy the voyage" (Hanrahan, p. 4).
The original Bloodhound was, along with the slightly larger Wolf, the very first Newfoundland steamer to be used for sealing, in 1863 (Busch, p. 66; Chafe, p. 24; Feltham, pp. 70, 160; O'Neill, p. 916). She vastly exceeded the hauls of most sail-powered ships that went before her, averaging about 5900 seals per year before sinking off the coast of Labrador on April 4, 1872 (Feltham, p. 160; Mowat/Blackwood, pp. 44-45, gives an account of the several ships lost that year, fortunately with relatively slight loss of life). This was, to repeat, a higher total than the brigs that had preceded her, but a pitiful total compared to what the steamers would average over the coming decades. Nonetheless, after her loss, another Bloodhound was built in the following year (O'Neill, p. 916).
The reference in this song is clearly to the second Bloodhound, which made her first sealing trip in 1873, although she spent only a few years at it until being sold abroad, returning to Newfoundland ownership in 1904 (Winsor, p. 35). O'Neill, p. 916, says that this second Bloodhound lasted until 1917 (although on p. 971 he incorrectly says that she foundered in 1880), when she was lost off Point La Haye while carrying coal (Winsor, p. 35), so song's reference to her as "old" makes sense; even though she was the "new" Bloodhound, by the time of this song, she was one of the older steamers. The captain listed for her by Ryan/Small-HaulinRopeAndGaff, "Bill Windsor," is probably an error for William Winsor (no "d"), a member of a family of well-known sealing captains already mentioned above under the Algerine. Winsor's text correctly calls him "Will Winsor." William Winsor (for whom see "First Arrival from the Sea Fishery S. S. Fogota, 1912") commanded the second Bloodhound 1907-1908; Jacob Winsor commanded her 1909-1911 as his last command; Jesse Winsor (the "Jessie Winsor" of Ryan/Small-HaulinRopeAndGaff; Winsor has the name right) was her skipper 1913-1914, and also ended his career after giving her up (Chafe, pp. 96. 98). There is a photo of the Bloodhound facing p. 36 of Chafe, and one on p. 26 of Ryan/Drake; Winsor, p. 35, has a photo of her alongside the Thetis from 1910.
For the Iceland see "Captains and Ships." Joseph "Joe" Barbour never commanded her (Chafe, p. 87), but James Barbour (whose only previous command had been the Diana in 1897) commanded the Iceland 1904-1907. (There are photos of both Joseph and James Barbour on p. 71 of Winsor), and Winsor's text omits the name "Joe," calling the captain simply "Barbour."
The Greenland was infamous for her part in the Greenland Disaster (see "The Greenland Disaster (I)"; see also "The Sealing Trip of the S. S. Greenland 1891"). The most famous Captain Bragg was Robert Bragg, who commanded the Walrus 1886-1891, 1902-1903 and the Ranger 1892-1897, but he never commanded the Greenland. Neither did Captain John Bragg, who commanded the Florencia for one year but took only 2090 seals and was not employed again (Winsor, p. 102). So the captain here must be Dan Bragg, an inexperienced skipper whose only previous command was the Southern Cross in 1905-1906 (Chafe, p. 88). Bragg lost the Greenland on his 1907 trip, his first year as her captain. Bragg was given the Iceland in 1908, but never commanded again after that. Thus it was reasonable to ask Bragg to show what he could do -- but what he did was fail.
For the Southern Cross see "The Southern Cross (I)." There is a photo of Peter Carter on p. 184 of Feltham , one on p. 76 of Winsor, and another on p. 80 of Ryan/Drake. His was a most unusual career for a sealing captain. Born in 1869 (Ryan/Drake, p. 80), and long associated with the cod fishery, he became a sealing captain relatively late, commanding the Southern Cross in 1907 (Chafe, p. 89). He didn't get another command until 1925, then served every year until 1931, missed 1932, and served three final seasons in 1933-1935. In 1933, he set a record for seals taken, mostly because he found a large patch of older seals. He died in 1959 (Ryan/Drake, p. 80). Although his 1933 trip set a record and made him famous, the seasons at the end of his career cannot be the subject of the song, because too many of the vessels mentioned had been lost by then.
Carter was popular with his men, though, which may explain why he is referred to as unusually smart. Jesse Codner, who sailed with him, said he "was the loveliest old man ever you see the like of, and he brought in just as many seals as the other fellows. And he looked after his men" (Ryan-Last, p. 149). Don Fowler also called him a "fine old man," and Arthur Rideout said "He was an all-right old lad" although he added that "He drank a lot" (Ryan-Last, p. 220).
The Neptune (one of two sealers of that name, but there is no doubt which one is meant) is the subject of "Neptune, Ruler of the Sea." George Barbour is discussed in "The Greenland Disaster (I)." He commanded the Neptune 1905-1908 and also 1916-1925 (Feltham, p. 93).
The Eric (actually Erikas correctly spelled in Winsor's texts) was sunk by a German U-boat while hauling coal on August 25, 1918, and was captained by Job Kean from 1902 to 1913; for both, see "Captains and Ships."
For the Dianna (properly Diana; here again, WInsor has the spelling right), see "Arrival of 'Aurora,' 'Diana,' 'Virginia Lake,' and 'Vanguard,' Loaded"; that entry also explains why she was called lucky. Alpheus Barbour of the Barbour dynasty commanded her from 1898 to 1908 (Chafe, p. 88). This is the only song I know to mention him by name, but note the mention of George Barbour above; see also "The Nimrod's Song" for another Barbour, Baxter. Alpheus Barbour had his first command in the Walrus in 1896 and his last in Bloodhound in 1915 (Ryan-Ice, p. 498). He is another of the captains pictured in 1899 on p. 25 of Winsor, as is George Barbour; there is another picture of both on p. 71 of Winsor. The whole dynasty, as the song says, was from Bonavista Bay.
The Adventure is the subject of "I Am a Newfoundlander." She had a relatively short sealing career; Henry Dawe commanded her 1906-1910, and Jacob Kean 1911-1915 (Chafe, p. 98). (There were actually two Captains Henry Dawe; this is the Henry Dawe of Bay Roberts.) Dawe first commanded in the Mastiff in 1879 and ended his career with this stint in the Adventure. This Henry Dawe is also mentioned in "The Sealing Trip of the S. S. Greenland 1891," "I Am a Newfoundlander," "The Bully Crew," and "Arrival of the 'Grand Lake' and 'Virginia Lake' With Bumper Trips," as well as being mis-called "Captain Doyle" in "Captains and Ships." Chafe, p. 31, says that he was a popular captain.
For the Grand Lake, see again "Arrival of the 'Grand Lake' and 'Virginia Lake' With Bumper Trips." Job Knee (the first of two captains of that name, who first commanded the Falcon in 1889 and was still sailing in 1923; Chafe, p. 93) commanded her in 1906-1908, when he lost her. He is also mentioned in "Captains and Ships." There is a photo of one or the other Job Knee on p. 75 of Winsor.
The Newfoundland is the ship of the Newfoundland Disaster of 1914, discussed in "The Newfoundland Disaster (I)." She was the first command of John Parsons, who had charge of her from 1906-1908 before moving to other ships (Chafe, p. 94). He is also mentioned in "Captains and Ships."
The Panther is also mentioned in "Captain Bill Ryan Left Terry Behind"; Jesse Winsor (the correct spelling; he was another member of the Winsor family mentioned above) commanded her 1906-1908, when she was lost; he also held commands in 1909 and 1912-1914 (Chafe, p. 96). For Jesse Winsor, and all the Winsors, see the notes to "First Arrival from the Sea Fishery S. S. Fogota, 1912." The song is correct in saying he was from Wesleyville; Ryan/Drake, p. 78, shows William Winsor's Wesleyville home.
The Walrus, one of the very first sealing steamers, is also mentioned in "First Arrival -- 'Aurora' and 'Walrus' Full," and obviously was listed under several of the captains above. Jacob Winsor -- yes, another member of the Winsor family! -- commanded her in 1907 and 1908; she was lost in the latter year (Chafe, p. 105). Chafe, p. 74, confirms that, in 1907, she was supplied by Bowring's.
The Labrador is also mentioned in "Captains and Ships" and in "Success to the Hardy Sealers." She first went to the ice under George Hann (1850-1942) in 1892, and remained his ship all the way until 1908; she then served under Baxter Barbour in 1909. Chafe, pp. 88, 101, and Winsor, p. 50, say Barbour commanded her in 1910 also, but Chafe, p. 74, says she was under George Hann in 1910. D. Martin took her over in 1911-1913; she was lost in the latter year (Chafe, p. 101; Winsor, p. 50, says she was caught in a blizzard in early march and ran aground; she was a total loss although all the crew survived). Hann (called "George Hand" in Ryan/Small-HaulinRopeAndGaff but by his correct name "Hann" in Winsor's text) himself spent almost his entire career in the Labrador; his only other service was as captain of the Leopard in 1890-1891 (Chafe, p. 91); although his mention in the song seems to be an error, with Barbour the actual commander of the ship, it's noteworthy that Chafe made the same error; clearly Hann was strongly associated with the Labrador. Captain Hann is shown in the already-mentioned photo on p. 25 of Winsor, and there is another photo on p. 50 of WInsor. The latter page also has a photo of the Labrador herself.
For the Virginia Lake, see "Arrival of the 'Grand Lake' and 'Virginia Lake' With Bumper Trips." Jacob Kean (nephew of the famous Abram Kean; Kean, p. 19) commanded her in 1907-1909, succeeding the famous Captain Samuel Blandford, under whom he had been the second-in-command (Ryan-Ice, p. 191); she was lost in 1909 (Chafe, p. 104). She was Kean's first command, although he did so well (more than 20,000 seals in his first two years) that he had no trouble getting ships despite that. Jacob Kean (1864-1939) was still going to the ice as late as 1936, but spent most of his career commanding coastal steamers (starting in 1911; Tarver, p. 229). He had also worked some of the same mail ships as Uncle Abram (Kean, p. 19). The sealers had curiously mixed opinions of him; John Crawford says "He was as knowledgeable a man as was going out there," but Paul Healey described an indecisive man who was "just about crazy" and wondered if there was "something wrong" with him. Stephen Mullins called him a "wicked, wicked man" but also a "good man" and concluded he was "one of the uneasiest men in the world." Gordon Thorne said he "wasn't much of a captain." William Way said he was "all right" (Ryan-Last, pp. 307-309). It sounds to me as if he might have struggled with depression or some such (not unlikely, given that... some sort of curious psychological problems... ran in Abram Kean's family.).
The song claims to list twenty ships, but Ryan/Small-HaulinRopeAndGaff's text lists only 19 (Terra Nova, Eagle, Aurora, Algerine, Vanguard, Bloodhound, Iceland, Greenland, Southern Cross, Neptune, Eric, Diana, Adventure, Grand Lake, Newfoundland, Panther, Walrus, Labrador, Virginia Lake). It appears based on verse four (which lists a captain but not a ship) that the missing ship was commanded by "a Bishop." This must be either Noah Bishop or Edward Bishop, since they were the only Bishops to command a sealer. Noah Bishop commanded the Algerine 1909-1912 (Chafe, p. 88) -- but it can't be him, since the Algerine is accounted for. Edward Bishop commanded the Algerine in 1906, the Ranger in 1907-1908, the Terra Nova in 1909, and the Eagle every year from 1912 to 1926 (Chafe, p. 88; Feltham, p. 47). All of those ships except the Ranger are accounted for in the song. So the ship must be the Ranger (and hence the year must be 1907). This implies that the fourth verse has been corrupted; we should emend "Ranger" for either "stranger" or "danger." And, in fact, the Winsor's text as we saw in the collation above, has "Chased by the bold ice Ranger" for "She aspied a bold-eyed stranger." Thus Winsor's text has the full set of twenty ships.
The reference to the Greenland under Bragg, as well as the Southern Cross under Carter, forces us to date this song 1907, and the combination of the other dates confirm this: every ship listed went to the ice in 1907, and several were not around for the 1908 hunt, and the Havana of 1906 is not mentioned. This backs up the 1907 date fourn in Winsor.
There were in fact 23 ships that went to the ice in 1907, not just 20 (Chafe, p. 74); the song has the Greenland, which is not in Chafe's list (presumably because she did not return), but omits the Nimrod, the Kite, and the Viking - RBW
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