26 THE AMERICAN WHALEMAN 



tucketers were willing to admit that the people of Cape Cod 

 had attained a "greater proficiency in the art of whale catch- 

 ing than themselves." ^ 



Nantucket herself, the future queen of the industry, lagged 

 somewhat in her beginnings. The first whale killed by the 

 islanders was secured only because it injudiciously remained in 

 the harbor for three days, thereby giving the inhabitants time 

 to devise a crude harpoon and to press the attack. Soon' there- 

 after, in 1672, a contract was made with a certain James Lopar, 

 a Cape Cod whaleman, who agreed to move to Nantucket and 

 to engage in whaling for one-third of the proceeds, while the 

 remaining two-thirds went to the town. But eighteen years 

 later the business had shown so little progress that another 

 Cape Cod man, Ichabod Paddock, was engaged to give instruc- 

 tion in the latest whaling methods. 



With the turn of the century, however, Nantucket rapidly 

 took the lead in the system of boat-whaling from the shore 

 which characterized the earliest American phase of the fishery. 

 This method was essentially the same in all localities. Large 

 spars, serving as lookout stations, were erected at prominent 

 points along the coast j and the boat crews were quartered in 

 small huts nearby, within easy earshot of the lookout man. 

 When whales were sighted the alarm was given and the boats 

 put out in pursuit. Very often the harpooner and one or 

 two other members of each crew were Indians j and the Indian 

 method of attack, employing long-continued harassing tac- 

 tics, was followed with but few modifications. If the chase 

 ended in success the great carcass was towed laboriously to the 

 shore and hauled up on land near a rude try-works, where the 

 blubber was stripped off and the oil tried out. 



In spite of the short range and comparative crudity of this 

 scheme of operations, it was effective. In 1726, for instance, 

 no less than eighty-six captures were made off the coast of 

 Nantucket alone. The danger, too, was far less than that 

 encountered on the subsequent longer voyages j for Obed 



^ The best accounts of the early colonial whaling are to be found in Macy, 

 Obed, "History of Nantucket"; Starbuck, A., "History of the American Whale 

 Fishery"; Scammon, C. M., "Marine Mammals of the Northwestern Coast of 

 North America"; and Jenkins, J. T'., "History of the Whale Fisheries." The 

 first two are particularly valuable. 



