FROM DOLDRUMS TO STU'N'S'LS 37 



At the same time the new and rich whaling grounds of the 

 Pacific were being explored. The first sperm whaler to enter 

 the Pacific was the British ship Amelia, owned by Charles 

 Enderby of London, but manned largely by ex-Nantucket 

 whalemen. Sailing in 1788, this vessel returned in 1790 with 

 a full cargo and a glowing account of the newly-discovered 

 grounds. During the following year no less than six Amer- 

 ican whalers rounded Cape Horn and found countless targets 

 for their harpoons and lances. In the van of this small fleet 

 was the ship Beaver, of Nantucket, Paul Worth, Master, which 

 sailed in August, 1791, and returned on February 3, 1793. 

 (In the later days of the industry, when Pacific voyages re- 

 quired from thirty-five to fifty months in which to produce a 

 "full ship," such a cruise would have been considered little 

 short of miraculous). And once around Cape Horn, the in- 

 trepid whalemen extended the scope of their explorations so 

 rapidly that by 1800 the cachalot was being pursued along the 

 whole western coast of South America. 



Very soon after the Beaver dropped anchor, however, the 

 fishery began to experience new difficulties. The promising 

 French market was destroyed by the outbreak of the French 

 Revolution J and once again prices slumped dangerously be- 

 cause of the over-supply of oil brought into port by an en- 

 larged and far-cruising fleet. In such an industry as whaling, 

 with its long voyages and peculiar equipment, it was impos- 

 sible to adjust the scope of the operations to political and eco- 

 nomic changes with any speed or flexibility. Enlargements or 

 decreases in the size of the fleet were usually one season, and 

 sometimes two, behind their dominant causes; and conse- 

 quently, as in this instance, oil continued to flow into port 

 long after the need for it had passed. 



This time, however, the political and military chaos in 

 Europe threatened a rapid and efficient trimming away of the 

 surplus American whaling tonnage. British and French na- 

 val craft and privateers rendered the seas precarious for all 

 merchant vessels; and neither nation was then in a mood to 

 grant special favors to the United States. French privateers 



4 to 8, inclusive, are devoted entirely to the interests and activities of the 

 island, 



