50 THE AMERICAN WHALEMAN 



the negro. The Indians of Nantucket, Martha's Vineyard, 

 and Long Island were accustomed to pursue whales in canoes 

 even before the advent of the white manj and when the 

 colonists first undertook a crude and hesitant form of boat 

 whaling from the shore, they employed not only the Indians 

 themselves, but also some of their methods and implements.* 

 As the industry grew and larger vessels made longer and 

 longer voyages, the Indians continued to be shipped as hands. 

 Even after the Revolution the cry of the Nattick Indians, 

 "Awaite Pawana" ("Here is a whale"), continued to ring out 

 over waters far removed from the shores which had witnessed 

 the aboriginal conflicts between birch bark and flukes. 



The weak-willed red men of Nantucket succumbed so rap- 

 idly to disease and dissipation, induced largely by an excessive 

 use of "fire-water," that the last member of the tribe died 

 in 1822. But the Chilmark Indians of Gay Head, Martha's 

 Vineyard, and of Montauk Point, Long Island, were of sterner 

 stuff. Commonly referred to as Gay Head Indians, these 

 men constituted a valuable and picturesque element in hun- 

 dreds of whaling crews. With few exceptions, contemporary 

 writers spoke of their skill and daring with respect and ad- 

 miration. Consequently they were great favorites for the 

 position of boatsteerer, though they seldom rose to be mates. 



Negro whalemen seem to have been comparatively rare, at 

 least on Nantucket vessels, until after the Revolution. Then 

 the growing demands of the industry led to their importation 

 from the mainland in considerable numbers. Living in a 

 small area on the southern outskirts of Nantucket known as 

 New Guinea, they were much given to drunkenness and im- 

 providence j but some of them soon became excellent seamen. 



Contemporary accounts indicate that some of the whaling 

 owners and masters were guilty of sharp practices in their 

 treatment of both blacks and Indians. Certain Nantucket 

 negroes were shamefully exploited through exorbitant charges 

 which were made to exceed the amounts of their lays, or earn- 

 ings. The resultant debt to the owner was then used, wher- 

 ever it seemed advisable to prevent possible escape, as a 

 pretext for imprisonment during the short periods spent 



8 See Spears, J. R., "The Story of the New England Whalers." 



