26 A History of the American Whale Fishery. 
seemed to favor, even to necessitate, the following of 
fishing pursuits. The island was comparatively sterile, 
making it difficult to gain a livelihood from tilling the 
soil, and being small in area, less than fifty square miles, 
meant a constant struggle with nature. It was but 
natural therefore, for a large proportion of the inhabi- 
tants to turn to the sea for their living, and whaling was 
the most attractive and profitable pursuit. Whales were 
so plentiful about the shores that at first the islanders 
secured all the oil they desired without venturing out of 
sight of land. 
“The south side of the island,’ says Macy,” ‘‘was 
divided into four equal parts, and each part was assigned 
to a company of six, which, though thus separated, 
carried on their business in common. In the middle 
of this distance (about three and one-half miles to each 
division) they erected a mast’? from which a lookout 
kept constant watch for whales at.sea. As soon as a 
whale was seen boats were sent out in pursuit, the whale 
when captured, being towed ashore where the blubber 
was tried out at the works on the beach. Many Indians 
were employed in these boat-whaling operations, each 
crew being composed partly of aborigines. It was not 
long before the Nantucket people were the most expert 
whalemen in the country, as a logical outcome of so 
ardently following this one pursuit. 
The year 1712 was epoch making in the history of 
whaling. In that year a Nantucket whaleman, named 
Christopher Hussey, while cruising along the coast, was 
blown out to sea by a strong northerly wind. Inthe 
course of his involuntary voyage he came across a number 
of sperm whales, and killing one, brought it home with 
him,™ the first sperm whale known to have been taken 
by American whalers. As early as 1688, however, a 
petition had been made to the Governor of New York 
* Macy, p. 44. 
Macy, p. 42. 
