Ship Models V South Sea Whaler. “scrimshaw” Model Poem by Cicely Fox Smith

Harpooner
Eliphalet Lobb
Was a crackerjack
At a scrimshaw job.

Wonderful smart,
So all hands said,
Were the bits of things
Eliphalet made -

Babies’ rattles,
Thimbles and reels,
Shuttles for tatting
And pastry wheels:

But the damndest thing
That ever he done
Was the South Sea whaler
The
Midnight Sun
-

Crow’s nest, tryworks
And all complete,
Carved out o’ whalebone
Neat as neat;

Boats and lances
And line tubs - well
Pretty near everything
Only the smell!

* * * * *

old-time spouter
and harpooner,
they’ve gone on their way
this many a year,

with the look-out’s hail
from the high crow’s nest
Nantucket sleigh rides
And all the rest;

Gamming and grousing
Work and fun,
In the South Sea whaler
The
Midnight Sun
.

The same that you see here,
White as snow,
Carved out of whalebone
Long ago,

By Harpooner
Eliphalet Lobb -
A crackerjack
At a scrimshaw job.