Xvi FOREWORD. 



land the blubber and sail out again to the sperm grounds. 



While this was by no means the end of shore-fishing, 

 which continued profitable for many years, it was the 

 opening up of the romance of whale-hunting. Once they 

 had found their way to the deep sea the whalers ventured 

 with every voyage farther and farther from shore. Ves- 

 sels of larger capacity were built to accommodate the 

 blubber from a number of whales. 



According to Spears, the whalemen discovered that warm 

 river in the cold seas — the Gulf Stream. It would cer- 

 tainly seem that one of them — Captain Folger — was the 

 first to chart it at the request of Benjamin Franklin. And 

 they discovered that along the margins of the stream great 

 quantities of whale food, or brit, was to be found floating, 

 and that consequently, whales were plenty. This led them 

 to follow the Gulf Stream to Cape Hatteras, to Cuba, to 

 the Bahamas. 



In 1743 the whalers began to carry their own try-pots, 

 protecting the deck from risk of fire by placing a reservoir 

 full of water beneath the furnaces. It was now possible 

 to try out the sweet blubber as it was cut in from the 

 whale, and the oil, properly boiled and cooled, could be 

 kept in perfect condition for years. This removed the last 

 obstacle to long voyages. 



Moreover, British governors were displaying an incon- 

 venient tendency to try to squeeze personal profit out of 

 the whaling business. The masters found it expedient to 

 betake themselves to the open seas over which the cupidity 

 of royal governors could have no control. 



Hence, the Nantucket whaler was found at the Azores, at 

 Madeira, on the coast of Africa, in Patagonia, in Brazilian 

 ports, and e\ 2n as far south as the Falkland Islands. To 

 the north they penetrated to the mouth of Baffin's Bay, to 



