no THE AMERICAN WHALEMAN 



whalemen were reported to have gone ashore several times for 

 the avowed purpose of driving away the missionaries and burn- 

 ing their homes. Fortunately their plans were frustrated by 

 the natives, who protected their benefactors."^ Many a sub- 

 sequent massacre of whites was directly traceable to the hatred 

 and resentment engendered amongst the islanders by these un- 

 provoked assaults upon their women. Not infrequently the 

 aggressions of the whalemen changed well-disposed natives 

 into bitterly vindictive enemies who were incapable of dis- 

 criminating between individuals in their hatred of the white 

 race as a whole. Taken all in all, the atrocious behavior of the 

 whaling crews in the South Seas constituted one of the most 

 shameful chapters in the long story of Anglo-Saxon ex- 

 pansion."^ 



While their companions on regular shore leave were con- 

 ducting themselves in this infamous manner, those whalemen 

 who failed to complete a voyage, but left their vessels per- 

 manently in a foreign port, were in positions even less enviable. 

 If they were deserters there was the probability of pursuit, 

 capture, and punishment, or of the cowering terror and slink- 

 ing hardships of a hunted animal. If they had been left 

 behind by their captains (a practice by no means unknown in 

 whaling), there was the task of obtaining a berth on another 

 vessel, and in the meantime the necessity of finding precarious 

 food, clothing, and shelter."^ Even if they had been honor- 

 ably discharged by mutual consent, they were confronted with 

 the problem of future employment and livelihood. And in 

 remote, isolated spots which were known only to natives, 

 whalemen, and "beach-combers," and where it was often neces- 

 sary to wait for weeks even for the dubious privilege of ship- 



26 Harris, John, in his work "Zebulon: or, The Moral Claims of Seamen 

 Stated and Enforced," p. 69, gives some discussion of the relations existing 

 between natives, missionaries, and whalemen. 



^^ See Wilkes, Lieutenant Charles, U.S.N., "Narrative of the U. S. Exploring 

 Expedition During the Years, 1838 . . . 4J2," for a forceful and authoritative 

 discussion of the relations between whalemen and the natives of the South 

 Seas. 



28 Because of the right to confiscate the effects and the lay of a deserter, cer- 

 tain unscrupulous masters were sometimes tempted to force an occasional hand 

 into the position of a deserter in order to secure the lay. See Chapter V, on 

 Forecastle and Cabin, for a more detailed discussion of this point. 



