The Search for New Rookeries 

 and the Fate of the Clothier 



While the Cecilia was landing the men for the salting up of these camps along 

 the south coast of Livingston Island, the two captains, John Davis and Chris- 

 topher Burdick, learned firsthand from Captain Pendleton and his Stonington 

 men of the sealing season to date. It is apparent that the newcomers found 

 that the Stonington men were chiefly concentrated on the southwest shore of 

 Livingston and that there were a number of English vessels which had already 

 established camps on the north shore. This led them to make an exploratory 

 cruise of their own. On December 13, 1820, Captain Burdick recorded in the 

 log of the Huntress: 



". . . Captain Davis and myself with seven men went up Yankee Sound 

 to the westward in a Boat [whaleboat], to Sea if we could Sea any 

 place for Seal about 12 miles up the Sound, which brought us out on the 

 West Side found a Scotch Brigg to anchor She had her men on Shore 

 on a Bech But there was no Seal up found no passage out to the West- 

 ward through this Sound for anything more than a boat being full of 

 rocks at 2 p.m. returned to our vessels with fifteen Seal the Shallop not 

 returned. So Ends." 



This exploratory cruise is of more than passing interest. It was similar to 

 the one which Captain Palmer had accomplished three weeks before. Fortu- 

 nately both log entries are preserved, but it is unfortunate that Captain Burdick 

 did not give the name of the "Scotch brigg." It could have been the Jane of 

 Leith under that excellent master, Captain James Weddell.^^ 



On the following day, December 14, the Huntress' log notes that a strange 

 whaleboat came into Yankee Harbor. It proved to be from: "Captain [Alex- 

 ander] Clark's fleet from Stonington and reported the Loss of Capt. Clark's 

 ship the Clothier which ran on a Rock in attempting to make a harbor about 

 15 miles to the westward of where we lay; the rest of his fleet had harbored 

 close by the ship and was saving what they could." The Clothier had been 

 wrecked on December 9, and her loss was a serious setback to the fortunes of 

 the second Stonington fleet. 



This fleet probably reached a rendezvous here a day or so after the Express 

 and Hero had joined the Fanning-Pendleton fleet at Rugged Island. As the 

 brigs Emeline and Catherine (the other members of Clark's fleet), were at 



[35] 



