182 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 



to 70 feet in length; the fin-hack, an American whale — never killed, as 

 being too swift; the sulphur-bottom, river Saint Lawrence, 90 feet long — 

 they are but seldom killed, as being extremely swift; the grampus, 30 

 feet long — never killed, on the same account; the killer or thrasher, 

 about 30 feet — they often kill the other whales, with which they are at 

 perpetual war; the black-fish whale, 20 feet — yields from 8 to 10 bar- 

 rels; the porpoise, weighing about 1G0 pounds. 



In 1760 they fitted out 125 whalemen ; the first 50 that returned 

 brought with them 11,000 barrels of oil. In 1770 they fitted out 135 ves- 

 sels for the fisheries, at thirteen hands each ; 4 West Indiamen, twelve 

 hands ; 25 wood vessels, four hands ; IS coasters, five bauds ; 15 Lon- 

 don traders, eleven hands. All these amount to 2,158 hands, employed 

 in 197 vessels. Trace their progressive steps between the possession of 

 a few whale-boats and that of such a fleet. 



The moral conduct, prejudices, and customs of a people who live two- 

 thirds of their time at sea must naturally be very different from those 

 of their neighbors, who live by cultivating the earth. That long ab- 

 stemiousness to which the former are exposed, the breathing of saline 

 air, the frequent repetitions of danger, the boldness acquired in sur- 

 mounting them, the very impulse of the winds, to which they are ex- 

 posed; all these, one would imagine, must lead them, when ashore, to 

 no small desire of inebriation, and a more eager pursuit of those pleas- 

 ures of which they have been so long deprived, and which they must 

 soon forego. There are many appetites that may be gratified on shore, 

 even by the poorest man, but which must remain unsatisfied at sea. Yet, 

 notwithstanding the powerful effects of all these causes, I observed 

 here, at the return of their fleets, no material irregularities ; no tumult- 

 uous drinking assemblies ; whereas in our continental towns the thought- 

 less seaman indulges himself in the coarsest pleasures ; and, vainly 

 thinking that a week of debauchery can compensate for months of absti- 

 nence, foolishly lavishes in a few days of intoxication the fruits of half 

 a year's labor. On the contrary, all was peace here, and a general de- 

 cency prevailed throughout; the reason, I believe, is that most every- 

 body here is married, for they get wives very young ; and the pleasure 

 of returning to their families absorbs every other desire. The motives 

 that lead them to the sea are very different from those of most other 

 sea-faring men ; it is neither idleness nor profligacy that sends them to 

 that element; it is a settled plan of life, a well-founded hope of earning 

 a livelihood; it is because their soil is bad that they are early initiated 

 to this profession, and were they to stay at home, what could they do? 

 The sea, therefore, becomes' to them a kind of patrimony ; they go to 

 whaling with as much pleasure and tranquil indifference, with as strong 

 an expectation of success, as a landman undertakes to clear a piece of 

 swamp. 



