The Rise of Pacific Whaling. 65 
The dense Arctic fogs are a frequent menace to the boats 
until the fog lifts. The supplies are carried out from 
home by tenders which in turn bring back the oil and 
bone resulting from the season’s work. But an occasional 
closing in of the ice upon vessels but partly provisioned 
often means hardship and suffering for the whalemen. 
Thus in the past winter several vessels, having on board 
some 450 men were imprisoned at Herschel and at 
Bailey Islands, only about half provisioned.* The 
more serious side of the Arctic fishery, the disasters 
resulting from encounters with the ice, as in 1871 and 
1876, makes one of the saddest chapters in the story of 
American whaling. The losses resulting from this 
cause were a powerful factor in bringing about the decline 
of the business. In other words, the whale fishery of the 
future, whatever that may be, must almost inevitably be 
largely the San Francisco or Pacific coast industry, de- 
pending on a fair supply and a favorable market for 
whalebone. 
19 Manchester (N.H.) ‘‘Union,” July 15, 1906 ; ‘‘Whalemen’s Ship- 
ping List, 1906. 
