MEMORIES OF EDGAR MULRAINE

Photographs

Recordings

Mulraine first went on the sea as a whaler in the 1940s. From older whalers, such as his father, he heard stories and jokes about events that happened at sea. He was famous for telling a story of what happened when a captain (who stammered) had two young whalers in his boat and they encountered a large killer whale; the captain was afraid his boys were too small to handle the big whitefish. Speaking with Alfred Mason, Mulraine tells the end of this story:

A Small Crew and a Large Whale

Recording Transcript Mason: ... the crew them was too small for him, you know. The guys them who he had as crew, they was too small; the killer whale was so big. Mulraine (laughing): say...ahm, he had an impediment, you know. So he had two small fella in the blackfish boat with him...and they met the whale: "Man, strike de whale!" He say when he look back, and he see Thomas Frederick, and he see Danny Mason, the whale lift 'e tail and he say "G-G-God Save the King!"

The whale went "flukes," lifted its tail, and dove.

Before motor launches became widespread, a common experience at Barrouallie and other leeward ports was the sight and sound of a large passage boat (canoe) under way, bound to or from Kingstown. Mulraine, who had travelled on these passage boats, remembered the chanting of the hard-labouring oarsmen as they rowed:

Passage Boat Chant

Mulraine's spirited performance as the bulldog of the Barrouallie Whalers became a favorite feature of every performance. From his years of experience with his own dogs and others (he had scars to prove it!) he knew how to make a convincing attacker, and he could expertly bark on the upbeats of the song "Bulldog Na Bite Me." Here's a little snip, with Veron Harry singing the solo:

Bulldog Barking

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