280 HISTORY AND DETAILS OF WHALING, 



young man needs. He is therefore provided with a sea 

 chest, and in the chest, his stock, or outfit of clothing, is sup- 

 posed to be placed by the outfitter, according to the amount 

 for which the respective agents of ships wanting men will be 

 responsible, and for which agents will settle with the outfitters 

 after the sailing of their ships. Outfitters are thus limited by 

 agents of ships as to the amount of the bills of clothing 

 charged against each seaman respectively. The amounts of 

 the bill of goods, or outfit, authorized by an agent, and so un- 

 derstood by the outfitter, will average from sixty to one hun- 

 dred and twenty-five dollars to each seaman, or some of the 

 lower officers, as boat steerers or fourth mates. Besides, all 

 the expenses which the outfitter has been at in procuring men, 

 and while on their hands before the ship sails, are charged in 

 the several bills against the seamen. 



After the sailing of the ship, the outfitter presents his bills 

 to the agent, which he has against the men whom he has fur- 

 nished for the ship, and these bills are immediately settled. 

 Now, the amount of the bills thus paid to the outfitter is 

 charged by the agent of the ship to each seaman, according to 

 his bill of outfit, or which the outfitter has against him. In 

 the transfer of the bills from the outfitter to the agent who set- 

 tles them, the agent adds twenty per cent, to each seaman's 

 bill ; and thus the seaman, by this change, becomes indebted to 

 the owners of the ship in which he sails. 



The outfitter, however, must see his men on board of the 

 ship before she sails ; if they are not there, or if they have 

 taken " a land tack," which they sometimes do, clothes and 

 all, the outfitter is the chief and only loser in the affair. 

 Special care, therefore, is taken by the outfitter, that the chests 

 of clothing belonging to seamen shall accompany them when 

 they go on board to go to sea. 



Again, seamen are furnished for the whaling fleet by another 

 method : an agent, for example, wishes to procure a certain 

 number of whalemen ; and for this purpose he sends to an out- 



