116 CAPTAIN ZACHAEY G. LAMSON 



true, and no one can question the ve- 

 racity or competency of the witnesses, 

 the number of seamen in the United States 

 from 1800 to 1812 was much greater than 

 that given by any authority the writer has 

 seen. The writer infers, though it is not so 

 stated, that this estimate includes not only 

 able seamen but every officer and man 

 needed to man the ship. The smaller the 

 vessel the more hands needed proportion- 

 ally. 



Vessels employed in the cod and whale 

 fisheries carried one man to every six tons, 

 exclusive of officers. Coasting vessels car- 

 ried fewer hands proportionally than those 

 engaged in registered trade. The writer 

 has collected statistics of forty-four large 

 vessels in registered trade where the ton- 

 nage and number of seamen employed 

 were both given. The combined tonnage 

 of the vessels amounted to 14,877 tons, 

 manned by 912 seamen, exclusive of cap- 

 tains. The vessels averaged about three 

 hundred tons each. The number of sea- 



