THE WHALEMAN ASHORE 97 



which lacked much in quality and in excellence of preparation! 

 Seldom, if ever, did the boarding-house keepers serve fresh 

 meat, in spite of the fact that salt beef and salt pork were the 

 inevitable monotonous, scurvy-producing standards of ship- 

 board food throughout endless months at sea. 



While still on land, too, the green hands were given their 

 "first lesson in Lunars." This initiation into whaling life re- 

 quired that all of their fellow-boarders be taken to the nearest 

 saloon for a cigar and a drink. Everyone had either a "close- 

 reef" (some strong drink such as whiskey or brandy) or a "sea- 

 breeze" (some milder concoction such as beer). Afterwards 

 there were songs, yarns, and toasts, in which the new men 

 were admonished to 



Be cheery y my lads^ may your hearts never jail 

 While the hold harfooner is striking the whale! 



The last and strongest link in the chain of persons interested 

 in securing men for the whaling forecastles was the outfitter. 

 This individual may be characterized briefly as the enterpre- 

 neur of the labor supply phase of the industry. He was the 

 intermediary between the agents of the vessels and the ship- 

 ping-agents, boarding-house keepers, catering parasites, and 

 men themselves. Usually, too, he was the organizer, guiding 

 spirit, and main beneficiary of the system of commercialized 

 exploitation which fed upon the whalemen's earnings. And 

 in many instances he acted as shipping-master as well. In this 

 capacity he was called upon to advance considerable sums by 

 paying the shipping-agents and boarding-house keepers for 

 their services before he was able to collect his own profits. 



But his main business was that of a merchant. His store 

 or shop, crammed with articles likely to be desired by whale- 

 men, formed the base of supplies for the outfits which were 

 sold to all hands just before embarking. And the prices he 

 charged for his goods yielded a rate of profit which was more 

 than sufficient to repay him for his many activities, the unde- 

 niably heavy risks which he assumed, and the sting of the un- 

 complimentary epithet, "landshark," which was generally ap- 

 plied to him.^ 



8 So widely was this term employed that at one time the New Bedford Out- 



