284 THE AMERICAN WHALEMAN 



the average rate of profit obtained in right whaling was about 

 6.S% per annum, while that secured in sperm whaling was 

 only about 1.3% yearly."^ 



Quite different, these average rates of profit, from those 

 secured by such rarely fortunate vessels as the Lagoda! But 

 if figures of 1.3% to 6.S% per annum are to be taken as a 

 rough average, it is evident that there must have been a large 

 number of moderate losses and at least some heavy ones in 

 order to offset so effectively the soaring rates of the exception- 

 ally successful whalers. And in truth, the records of whal- 

 ing afford numerous instances of precisely such heavy losses. 

 The disastrous seasons of 1837 and 1858^ the Arctic destruc- 

 tion of 1 871, when virtually the entire fleet was swept awayj 

 the heavy toll exacted by the extreme northern latitudes again 

 in 1876J the depredations of the Confederate cruisers Shenan- 

 doah and Alaba?na during the Civil Warj and the lists of ves- 

 sels which were wrecked or reported missing with all hands — 

 these were only the outstanding cases among a long line of ca- 

 tastrophes which outweighed many bonanza voyages.^^ 



The financial results of American whaling, then, covered 

 the whole range between ruinous losses and magnificent profits. 

 But, though the available figures do not warrant precise and 

 conclusive assertion, it is evident that the cases at each extreme 

 offset each other so effectually that the long-run, normal rate 

 of profit for the industry as a whole was an essentially modest 

 one. And this was true in spite of the fact that many consid- 

 erable fortunes were begotten of the union of forecastle and 

 counting-room. 



Net Returns plus value of the vessel 6,220 



Deduct cost of original equipment, including vessel and interest 5, 500 



Leaves as profit £ 720 



21 This discrepancy between the average rates of profit in the two branches 

 of the industry was largely responsible for the drift away from sperm and into 

 right whaling — a movement which became marked during the decade of the 

 forties and continued throughout the ensuing years. The greater profitableness 

 of right whaling was due in part to the increasing demand for whalebone and 

 for heavy lubricating oils, and in part to the progressive penetration of the 

 Arctic whaling grounds. The whales found in the Arctic were not only more 

 numerous than those frequenting warmer waters, but they also yielded more oil 

 per animal of a given size, because of their heavier coats of blubber. 



22 See the following chapter for a more detailed account of the severe tonnage 

 losses which occurred during and after the Civil War. 



