THE WHALE FISHERY. 141 



These unauthorized cap lures were not confined exclusively to the French, for in 1800 the Spanish 

 authorities at Valparaiso, emulating- the hostility to a power ostensibly at peace with them which 

 the French had shown, .seized and condemned tlir whale ships Miautonomah, of Norwich, and 

 Tryal, of ISantuekct."* 



THE WAR OF 1812 AND ITS EFFKCTS ON THE WHALE FISHERY. " From this time till the 

 opening of the second war with England whaling was pursued with a gradually-augmenting fleet. 

 And this in the face of the uncertainties which the increasingly critical state of affairs between 

 the United States and England occasioned. In JSOU Xautucket added five ships to her fleet, and 

 Xew London sent her first large vessel,t and in 180G the quantity of oil imported into the country 

 was considerably in excess of the consumption. 



"The embargo act of 1807 almost suspended the pursuit, not so much by actual proscription 

 as because of the impossibility of effecting insurance upon the vessels, but it soon received another 

 impetus on account of the prospect of a general peace throughout Europe. 



"The commencement of the war of 1812 found a large portion of the whaling fleet at sea. 

 Trusting that the causes of contention between England and America would be removed without 

 the necessity of a final appeal to arms, many owners had fitted out their ships. This was particu- 

 larly the case at Nautucket, from which port a large proportion of the fleet had sailed for the 

 Pacific Ocean on voyages varying from about two years to two years and a halt'.f AVith the recep- 

 tion of the news of the declaration of war a large portion of the vessels in the North and South 

 Atlantic, and some of those in the Pacific, turned their prows homeward, hoping to make the 

 home port before the seas swarmed with letters-of-marque and national vessels of war. Many of 

 these vessels from Nantucket, on arriving home sailed thence immediately for Boston, Newport, 

 Xew Bedford, or some other fortified port, where they could ride out the storm of war in security. 

 After the month of July, 1812, was ushered in, reports of the capture of whaling vessels came 

 thick and fast to Nautucket. First came the news of the taking and burning of the schooner 



ou the part of a Government bouud to protect them and their interests, all felt that seeming injustice as a personal 

 matter. In a letter to the Hon. George McDuffie, giving an account of the claims of Nantiicket in this behalf, unh- 

 lished in the Warder of May 'JO, 1846, the following is described as the actual condition of the claimants and character 

 oltho demands: 



" 'Ship Joanna. Coffiu, taken with 2,000 barrels of oil on board ; value of ship and cargo, $40,000 ; one of the origi- 

 nal owners still living seventy-five years old and poor ; one of the crew also living, poor ; the master and mate died 

 recently, poor; children still surviving; rlnim mrrraold. Ship Minerva, Fitch, 1,500 barrels of oil on board; value, 

 $30,000; one of the original owners living sixty-eight year old, 7100)-; master still alive seventy-eight years old. with 

 small means and many dependents; one of the crew alive, /mor : claims ni-nr sold. Ship Active, Gardner, 3,000 barn-Is 

 of oil on board ; value, .^")0,000; same owners as Minerva witli i aptain ; Captain Gardner died two years ago, at the 

 age of eighty-five, leaving a large family and grandchildren; dtiims never soJfl. Ship Arm, Coffin (in merchant serv- 

 ice); loss of ship, $10,000 ; the captain left a large family in slender circumstances; one of "the underwriters died a 

 few years since in the almshouse, who, at the time of the capture, stood high among Nantucket merchants; claims 

 ii i i-ir sold.' 



" Speaking in the interest of the whale fishery, it may be safely asserted that the people of Nantucket view with 

 regret and disappointment what they consider the gross injustice showed to them (with others) in putting off, upon 

 untenable pretests, the settlement of these demands. The stern logic of poverty and the almshouseis keener than the 

 sophistries of politicians. The Fox, of New Bedford, Capt. Coffin Whippey, captured in 1796 with 1,500 whale and 

 500 sperm, was another case. In 1853 Captain Whippey captured a second time in 1798 was living, but dependent 

 upon charity." 



" * The Miautonomah was a new ship, on her tirsi voyage." 



" t In 1794 the ship Commerce, of East Haddam, was fitted for a whaling voyage, and sailed from New London on 

 February (j of that year. In 1770 Capt. Isaiah Kldridge, of the sloop Tryall, of Dartmouth, spoke, among other whale- 

 men on the Davis Strait ground, Thomas Wioctmi (Wigginf), of New London." 

 See Macy, 161-2-3." 



.1 When war seemed inevitable the ship-owners of Nantucket held a nuetiug to take into consideration the. snli- 

 jecr oflmv. to In ^ secure the- fleet from rapture. It was proposed to request the British minister at Washington to 



use his influence with his Government to .ihtain from Iliein in iniiy from capture of whale ships liL-loiiging to tho 



island. This plan was ultimately abandoned, the majority of tLu owners being of tta opinion that 'the prospect of 

 success was too faint to warrant the attempt.' (Macy, 165.)" 



