AT SEA: ON PASSAGE 135 



their food with such a relish that there was a report to it. They dined 

 ike lords; they filled their bellies like Indian ships all day loading 

 with spices. 



But in the forecastle etiquette and ceremony were entirely 

 eliminated. Breakfast was commonly served at seven o'clock, 

 dinner at twelve, and supper at five. At these hours the cook 

 dumped the salt meat into one wooden kid, the potatoes or 

 vegetables (if any) into another, poured the tea or coffee 

 into a large bucket, and vociferously demanded that the food 

 be taken forward by several of the foremast hands. This 

 done, it was deposited on deck or taken into the forecastle, ac- 

 cording to the state of the weather. Here the contents of the 

 kids and the bucket were fallen upon by the hands, each of 

 whom was equipped with his ever-present sheath-knife, a tin 

 plate, quart cup, fork, and spoon. 



In most cases an inherent sense of rough justice insured a 

 reasonably fair division of the food. Frequently, however, 

 the rule was, "First come, first served" j and on this basis there 

 was always a mad scramble for the kids, accompanied by a dis- 

 graceful amount of elbowing and jostling. In order to avoid 

 such scenes some one member of the crew was sometimes 

 chosen to divide the meal into equal parts. Having obtained 

 his share in one of these ways, each man consumed it in any 

 convenient spot on deck or in the forecastle. Thereafter the 

 tin utensils were replaced in the netting above his bunk, where 

 they were often cleaned by the cockroaches before the next 

 meal. 



After consuming coarse and often nauseating foodstuffs in 

 this barbarous manner, the sailor found solace in tobacco. The 

 typical veteran whaleman kept a quid of tobacco in his mouth 

 throughout most of the dayj and in the evening and at other 

 moments when not on duty he was seldom without his pipe. 

 Many men consumed between one hundred and two hundred 

 pounds of tobacco during the course of a three years' voyage. ^^ 

 It was stated that 515,844 pounds of tobacco were used in one 

 year by the 17,594 men of the American whaling fleet at sea 



12 Olmsted, F. A., "Incidents of a W^haling Voyage,'-' p. 83 ; and Jarman, R., 

 "Journal of a Voyage to the South Seas," p. 89. Many slop-chest accounts, too, 

 eerve to substantiate these figures, 



