136 THE AMERICAN WHALEMAN 



on January i, 1844 — an annual average per man of almost 

 thirty pounds/^ Tobacco was the standard means of alleviat- 

 ing the pangs of an unsatisfied or outraged stomach and the 

 insufferable monotony and discomfort of long months at sea. 



A more violent means of reaction lay in the use of strong 

 drink. In the earlier days of whaling, whiskey and rum con- 

 stituted a regular and supposedly indispensable part of every 

 outfit J and throughout each voyage the men were given a def- 

 inite allowance, at intervals and in quantities specified by the 

 master. But during the course of the decade 1 830-1 840 the 

 temperance movement made some headway on American whal- 

 ers, in spite of active opposition and the deadening influence of 

 tradition. When a certain Captain West refused to carry 

 whiskey on a voyage from New Bedford in 1831 he was con- 

 sidered so crack-brained that he was able to obtain a crew only 

 after the greatest perseverance. Major Williams, the pioneer 

 temperance owner of New London, met with similar opposition 

 in his early attempts to eliminate liquor from his outfits. 

 Both owners and masters, however, soon learned that the ab- 

 sence of strong drink on shipboard was a material aid in pre- 

 serving discipline and efficiency, as well as a means of economy. 

 After 1840, consequently, there was a steady increase in the 

 number of whalers sailing without intoxicants j and in a few 

 years more this number became a clear majority. 



This did not mean, of course, that there was no strong drink 

 whatever on board. The captain and mates usually had a 

 certain quantity for medical and hospitable purposes, as well 

 as for personal consumption. Many foremast hands, too, 

 smuggled small amounts into the forecastle when they came 

 aboard. But it did mean that liquor was no longer doled out 

 to the men, and that after the first few days away from port, 

 when their meagre supplies had been exhausted, they were 

 forced to remain sober.-^^ 



Facilities for the care of the sick and injured were extremely 



13 Grinnell, Joseph, "Speech on the Tariff, With Statistical Tables on the 

 Whale Fishery." This pamphlet is a revised reprint of a speech delivered in 

 the National House of Representatives, May i, 1844. 



1* For a discussion of drink and temperance on the whalers see Brown, J. T., 

 in "Fisheries and Fishery Industries of the U. S." (Goode, G. B., Editor), VII, 

 p. 228; Olmsted, F. A., "Incidents of a Whaling Voyage," p. 12; and White- 

 car, W. B., "Four Years Aboard the Whaleship," p. 123. 



