130 THE AMERICAN WHALEMAN 



sake of discipline, partly because the men on deck were anxious 

 to be relieved, there was always a stern insistence that the 

 foremast hands "tumble out" instantaneously. 



A Sunday on passage was commonly a welcome day of rest. 

 One phase of the regular week-day routine — posting look- 

 outs at the mast-heads — was carried on as usual, unless the 

 entire vessel was fairly bursting with oil and bonej but other- 

 wise only work incident to the actual handling of the ship 

 was performed. Those who had been foresighted enough to 

 save a little fresh water from their week's allowance enjoyed 

 the luxury of a shave and donned fresh clothing. Thereafter 

 each man, according to his tastes, made the most of the slender 

 recreational resources of a whaler. 



But holidays, other than Sundays, received scant attention. 

 Christmas, Thanksgiving, and the Fourth of July were the 

 only holidays enjoying any wide observance in New England 

 during the days of whaling prosperity j and even these were 

 ignored at sea, except for adding some luxury, such as cheese 

 or mince-pie, to the day's menu. 



One of the greatest evils of whaling life was the food. In 

 many instances it was not only unpalatable, but positively 

 nauseating. At best the meals were insufferably monotonous 

 and indifferently prepared. The average cook aboard a 

 whaler was so far from expert that in many instances the 

 coarse dishes which he served would have been more digestible, 

 if not more appetizing, in their raw state. Scarcity and poor 

 quality of the food formed the basis of more complaints than 

 any other phase of the whaling industry j and, significantly 

 enough, such complaints seem to have occurred most fre- 

 quently when the master of a vessel was also part owner.^ It 

 was only after whaling had entered into its later and decadent 

 stages that laws regulating the quantity and quality of food 

 served to seamen attained any real importance. 



The commissary department of a whaler functioned through 

 three sections or divisions — one catering to the officers, a sec- 

 ond to the boatsteerers, and a third to the foremast hands. 

 And usually there were significant differences in the meals pro- 



» See Wilkes, Charles (Lieutenant), "Narrative of the United States Explor- 

 ing Expedition," Vol. V, Chap. 12. 



