Excerpt from Huntress of the Seas

The cutting crews were just finishing up when one of the men leaned out too far and lost his balance. He toppled headlong into the sea below. Becky didn’t see the accident but was alerted by the cries for help. She turned to see the panicked man thrashing around in the water, frantically clutching one of the whale boat oars that had fallen when the boats were retrieved.

“That’s Zeb Parsons,” shouted Eddie. “He can’t swim.” Eddie grabbed a rope and tossed it towards the drowning man, but Zeb was too far away. As he made a desperate lunge for the rope, he lost his grip on the oar and sank from sight.

Before anyone could respond, Becky leapt over the rail, plunging headfirst into the icy waters and swimming furiously for Zeb. When she reached the spot where he had gone under, she took a deep breath and dove straight down. The water was murky, and she couldn’t see anything, but as she descended her hand brushed against something rough and she grabbed for it. It was Zeb.

Becky was a strong swimmer, but Zeb was a large man and he was struggling mightily. It took all her strength and courage to maintain her grip, and she wondered whether she would be pulled down. But the hours of rowing had built up her arm and shoulder muscles, and even with the extra weight she could tell they were slowly inching upwards toward the light. Becky’s lungs were about to burst when she finally reached the surface, where she was quickly pulled to safety.

“You must be crazy,” said Tom Percival, as he wrapped her in a blanket. “Zeb’s twice your size. You’re lucky he didn’t drown you.”

            

Huntress of the Seas is illustrated by Miranda Norris. Each chapter comes with its own drawing, and the story has its own distinctive logo.

Note: This story comes with a Power Point explaining the history of whaling.

Teacher's Guide

Whaling is one of the oldest human activities. Whales have been hunted by all coastal societies on every continent. They are the first animal mentioned in the Bible (in Genesis) and are found in several Biblical passages including the story of Jonah and the whale.

In the nineteenth century, whale oil was used in lamps to provide light in houses and businesses. The finer oil found in the head of the Sperm Whale (known as case oil) was used to lubricate delicate machinery, such as watches. Case oil was also used to make high-quality candles that did not smoke or give off an odor of any kind.

Americans dominated the whaling industry, and provided lamp oil for much of the industrialized world. Whaling declined after the Civil War, in part due to the depletion of whales worldwide, but largely because of the rapid development of kerosene after the first oil well was drilled in 1859 in Titusville, Pennsylvania.

In Huntress of the Seas, we meet fourteen-year-old Becky Meade, a stowaway on a whaling ship hoping to finding her brother who is somewhere in the gold fields of California. Disguised as a boy, Becky hopes to keep her identity a secret as she struggles to learn about life on a whaling ship. A story of hope and perservence, Huntress of the Seas provides a realistic view of the hardships of life in the nineteenth century.