THE WHALEMAN ASHORE in 



ping on another whaler, this was a problem by no means easy 

 of solution. 



The worst plight o£ all, however, was that of the ill or in- 

 capacitated. Owing to the various fees and charges which 

 were required in discharging a seaman in a foreign port, it 

 was often less expensive for the owners to keep a man on board, 

 even though completely incapacitated for some time, than to 

 let him go. This was particularly true of the early stages of 

 a whaling voyage, when the hands were heavily indebted to 

 the owners because their slowly-growing lays were still ap- 

 preciably less than the sums which had been advanced for their 

 outfits. In many cases, consequently, men who were ill were 

 able to secure their discharges only after the most unpleasant 

 controversies with their captains."*^ Whaling officers experi- 

 enced great difficulty (and not without some reason) in distin- 

 guishing clearly between illness and malingering! 



But when and if a seaman was discharged, the American con- 

 sul became responsible for providing medical assistance, accom- 

 modations, and essential supplies, as well as for securing a re- 

 turn passage to some port in the United States. Some consuls 

 attempted to perform these troublesome and often aggravating 

 duties as well as circumstances permitted. Many others, how- 

 ever, were so strongly suspicious of the claims of the ordinary 

 seamen, and so notoriously apathetic in coming to their as- 

 sistance, that they failed miserably in providing either redress 

 of grievances or adequate care for the incapacitated hands who 

 came under their observation.^^ 



The greatest of all foreign whaling centers, however, was 

 Honolulu. This picturesque Pacific rendezvous of the whale- 

 men reached the height of its renown after 1850, when the 

 Arctic whaling was in full swing. Twice each year the spa- 

 cious harbor would be crowded for several consecutive weeks 



29 See Browne, J. R., "Etchings of a Whaling Cruise," pp. 102-104, for ma- 

 terial bearing on this point. The author cited one instance in which his cap- 

 tain stubbornly refused to grant a discharge to a sick shipmate until at length, 

 in desperation, the man offered his gold watch in return for the coveted release. 

 Thereupon he was finally put ashore at Fayal, after the master had paid a 

 four dollar fee to the port doctor, ten dollars in boat charges, and thirty-six 

 dollars advance wages to the consul. 



30 See Chapter V, on Forecastle and Cabin, for further material pertaining 

 to the consular treatment of seamen. 



