128 Wn ALE-LAND AND ITS CUSTOMS. 



the carcass of an animal which has been killed 

 by such deadly poisons, and they a**e now wholly 

 discontinued. 



Whaling is a very ancient industry, as in the 

 ninth century the Norwegians sent their quaintly- 

 fashioned boats to Greenland in search of them. 



Other early maritime nations showed great 

 spirit in whale fishery, but so vigorously did the 

 Dutch pursue the industry, that in the latter 

 part of the seventeenth century they furnished 

 nearly all Europe with oil. 



The New England colonies entered upon the 

 enterprise at a very early date ; at first by 

 simply going out in boats on their own shores. 

 When in the eighteenth century these shores 

 had become deserted by whales, ships were fitted 

 out for the northern seas, New Bedford becoming 

 the most important whaling port ic the world. 



But this industry suffered during the Revolu- 

 tion, the War of 1812, the Civil War, and the 

 disasters of the sea, for thirty-four vessels from 

 New Bedford were wrecked at one time in the 

 north Pacific. But it was ruined at last by the 

 substitution of petroleum for whale oil. The 

 ship owners had to look for other ways of using 

 their great vessels. One of these was quite 

 unique. In the war of 1861, the United States 



