HISTORY AND DETAILS OP WHALING. 279 



its support. Such is the outfitting and infitting business in its 

 relations to whaling. 



There are many establishments of this sort, in those places 

 where whaling is carried on, whose principal business is to fit 

 out recruits for whale ships. Hundreds, and perhaps thou- 

 sands, of young men from the country, who have a desire to go 

 to sea, and particularly whaling, naturally direct their steps 

 to seaport places. There are others, also, who compose the 

 floating, shifting, and in many cases the vicious class of young 

 men, such as are found in all our large cities and prominent 

 seaport towns ; these, as a last resort, and in keeping with 

 their roving and roaming habits, enlist in the whaling service. 

 Such, too, are generally poor, wanderers it may be from good 

 homes, becoming associated with bad company, and having no 

 particular means of helping themselves in the time of emer- 

 gency ; therefore they are willing to be assisted in any way by 

 others. Indeed, a change to them is a new fortune. 



Advertisements or handbills sent abroad from place to place, 

 proclaiming the want of seamen, are the measures usually 

 adopted, besides some others, for collecting the materials which 

 supply, to a considerable extent, the whaling fleet with " green 

 hands." The outfitters take the general charge of these men, 

 pay their board bills and other incidentals while in port, or 

 before going to sea, and thus supply agents of ships in want 

 of seamen. Scores and hundreds are shipped in this manner 

 who never see the vessels in which they are to sail until they 

 go on board for the voyage. 



The outfit is supposed to embrace such articles of clothing, 

 as to quality and value, which seamen need for the cruise, 

 whether longer or shorter, according to the time for which they 

 are shipped. There is scarcely one young man, unless he has 

 had some previous information on this point, or is otherwise fa- 

 miliar with the facts, who knows what he most needs in the 

 line of clothing for a voyage of two, three, and four years. 



The outfitter, however, is supposed to know just what the 



