THK WII.\U<; FISHERY. 107 



been fitted for whaling from tliis port : il so, their ident ilical ion is iinpossilile. In 1760, however, 

 tlnve sloops were lilted out by Joseph Conkling, John Foster, and others. They were named Good- 

 luck, Dolphin, and Success, ami their cruising ground was in the vicinity of 36 north latitude." 



RHODK ISLAND AVII AI.KIIS. "The reports regarding 1,'liode Island are equally meager. 

 Occasional reports are to lie [bund of the arrivals of whaling-vessels. Imt no report of where they 

 cruised or what success they met with, and no records exist at the custom-house to help clear up 

 the historical mist. Warren comes into notice at this period as quite a thriving whaling-port. 

 The Boston News Letter of October :_'.'!, 17G(i. says : - Severa.l Vessels employed in the Whale Fish- 

 ery, from the industrious Town of Warren in Rhode Island Colony, have lately returned, having 

 met with considerable success. One Vessel, which went as far as the Western Islands, brought 

 home upwards of 300 Barrels of Uil. Some Vessels from Newport have also been tolerably success- 

 ful. This Business, which seems to be. carried on with Spirit, bids fair to be of great Utility to 

 that Government." " 



VIRGINIA WHALERS. " Williamsburgh, Va., felt the stimulus caused by success in this busi- 

 ness ; and in the early spring of 1751 several gentlemen subscribed a sum of money and fitted out 

 a small sloop, called the Experiment, for whaling along the southern coast. On the 9th of May, 

 1751, she returned with a valuable whale, This was the first vessel ever fitted for this pursuit 

 from Virginia, and whether she continued for any length of time in the business is unknown. The 

 encouragement of the first success undoubtedly caused another venture." 



BEGINNING OF WHALING INDUSTRY AT NEW BEDFORD. " In the vicinity of New Bedford 

 whaling probably commenced but little prior to 1760. In that year William Wood, of Dartmouth, 

 sold to Elnathan Eldredge, of the same town, a certain tract of land, located within the present 

 town of Fairhaven, and within three-quarters of a mile of the center of the town, on the banks of 

 the Acushnet Eiver, ' Always Excepting and reserving ***** that part of the same 

 where the Try house and Oyl shed now stands.' How long these buildings had been standing at 

 the date of this deed is unknown, but the fact of their being there then is indisputable, and, as it 

 was not the habit in those days to put up useless buildings, they were undoubtedly applied to the 

 purpose for which they were built. That they were considered valuable property is evident from 

 the fact of their being reserved, lu 1765, four sloops, the Nancy, Polly, Greyhound, and Hannah, 

 owned by Joseph Russell, Caleb Russell, and William Talluian, and from 40 to 60 tons burden, 

 were employed in the whale fishery.* lu Ricketsou's ' History of New Bedford' is published a 

 portion of a log-book of the whaling-sloop Betsey, of Dartmouth, in 1761. The early portion is 

 missing, the first date commencing July 27. These small vessels usually sailed in pairs, and, so 

 long as they kept in company, the blubber of the captured whales was divided equally between 

 them. Hence the reports, in which the captains' names are always given instead of the names of 

 the vessels, which rarely occur, often return the vessels in pairs, with fine same quantity of oil to 

 each. The following are a few extracts from this journal as published : ' August 2d, 1761. Lat. 

 l.Vi4, long. .">.;. .J7 Saw two sperm-whales; killed one. Aug. 6th. Spoke with John Clasbery ; 

 he had got 105 bbls.; told us Seth Folger had got 150 bbls. Spoke with two Nantucket men; 



Kic ki-iscui's llisiriry <n' NYw Bedford, p. :>-. Mr. Ricketson .says: 'To Joseph Russell, the founder of New Bed- 

 lord, is also attributed the limior of b(ring the pioneer of the whale-fishery of New Bedford. It is well authenticated 

 by ihe statements of several rot mporaries, lately deceased, that Joseph Russell had pursued the business as early as 

 the year l?r.r>.' From what particular portion of the then town of Dartmouth (which also included what is now known 

 as New Bedford, and Fairhaveu) lie titled out his vessels, is uncertain. At that time the land on which stands the 

 <-ity of New Bedford was unpopulated by the whites, and not a single house marked the spot where, within less tlian 

 a century thereafter, stands the city from which w.is lit red out more whaling-vessels than from all the other American 

 ports combined." 



