The Devils Hunt

Sit ye lad

And have a drink

And buy a pint for me.

I'll tell ye a tale

as black as ink

Of my last trip to sea

Have ye heard o' the Essex lad?

Perhaps ye heard the tale?

She was a grand and stately ship,

Stout of mast and sail.

Aye the Essex was a mighty ship

And of her we did regale

And on her decks we sailed the sea

to hunt the great sperm whale

We set out from the grey waters

off Nantucket sound

And made our course for Africa

then dared to go around

Battered by the storms were we,

Our top gallant there, was shorn!

We fought and wrestled with the sea

A'fore we finished with the Horn!

Into the Pacific blue went we

And gave a great wassail!

We made our harpoons ready

To hunt the mighty whale!

'Twas a sunny morning then

That fate did turn about

Yet blissfully unaware were we

That ‘twas our doom thereout

From high atop the masthead

There came the mighty shout

Thar she blows! The lookout shouted

And pointed to the spout!

The hearties set out in the boats

And put their backs into the oars

Choose they did a massive beast

And let their harpoons soar.

The giant whale took a blow

And then it took three more!

It writhed and bled

and thrashed the waves

And gave an evil roar!

In utter disbelief we stared

As the beast did come around

And crashed into the Essex

With a terrifying sound

Timbers groaned and splintered

As our mighty ship was stove

The whale paid us the devils debt

And then away it dove.

Many a brave lad lost his life.

When the Essex sank that day

They were first to pay the price

We all were bound to pay.

For we who lived were left adrift

A thousand miles from land

And the devil cackled laughing

At the fate for us he planned

Of water we had aplenty

For rains kept pouring down

But our maggots feast of hard tack

Was too little to go 'round.

Days and nights we drifted

Or' the unending waves

While hunger gnawed at our bellies

Setting our minds into a craze.

Until in evil desperation, driven mad

by hungers pain, we drew our lots

and choose two lads, one to be a killer

and another who would be slain!

Ye cannot imagine the horror

And none can forgive the deed

We ate our fill of human flesh

To satisfy our need.

So I say to thee young hearty

if ye must go to sea.

Haul good and honest cargo

But leave the great whales be!

By David Leroy