26o FOLLOW THE WHALE 



foundations of an entirely new whaling industry — the greatest of all, 

 the one which has lasted until today and the one which so far sur- 

 passes all previous efforts put together that it would render them all 

 worthless of mention were it not for their purely historical interest. 

 Nonetheless, these innovations sounded the death knell of the old in- 

 dustry and that of the sailing ships. In fact, they brought about an 

 almost complete eclipse of American seamanship, because this coun- 

 try clung stubbornly to sail for thirty years while the rest of the 

 world converted to steam and placed their naval activities, their 

 merchant marines, and even their whaling enterprises on this entirely 

 new basis. While the British and Norwegians were perfecting the 

 steam chaser and even experimenting with the factory ship, the 

 Americans were indulging in ridiculous experiments with four- 

 thousand-ton wooden sailing ships and monstrosities with twelve 

 masts. The first American steam whaler did not sail till 1880, and 

 when steam was finally adopted in this country, it was too late either 

 to save the industry or even to find a sufficiency of whales to fulfill 

 the remaining meager needs of industry for speciaUzed animal oils. 



In the meantime the port of New Bedford alone had added to its 

 whaling fleet, having increased its number from 254 in 1847 to 329 

 by 1857. Those of all other ports declined rapidly. Almost all of them 

 were operating in the North Pacific and during this period a great 

 disaster occurred: the major part of the combined Yankee fleet was 

 caught in the North Pacific ice in 1870 and lost. 



As high-seas whaling shrank, the fleet coalesced and adopted a 

 regular annual schedule. It wintered in San Francisco and then sailed 

 north in spring to await the breakup of the ice in the Bering Sea. It 

 then pushed north through the straits, pursuing the whales into the 

 leads among the Ice-front and into the bays and inlets to the east 

 along the Siberian coast via the Wrangel, Siberian, and Laptev Seas, 

 on the one hand, and along the Canadian coast into the Beaufort Sea, 

 on the other. Thus, it extended its operations as far as Cape Chelyus- 

 kin to the west and to the coasts of Banks Island in the east. In the 

 fall it retreated slowly south, fishing all the time, and then returned 

 to San Francisco, or went south to Honolulu or Panama, to refit 

 and unload those cargoes which were destined for the eastern sea- 

 board. 



With the introduction of steam, the whalers took to wintering in 



