HISTORY AND DETAILS OF WHALING. 281 



fitter, who secures the numher that is wanted, gives them an 

 outfit, as before noticed, and places them on board a day or two 

 before the ship sails. This course is now usually adopted with 

 reference to ordinary seamen or green hands. Thus we see 

 the operation of the outfitting system. 



We would respectfully suggest in this connection, that in 

 our opinion, this method of supplying ships with " fresh 

 hands " is one of the most prolific sources of unhappiness, dis- 

 cord, and every evil work, which not unfrequontly take place 

 between officers and crews. The very lowest dregs of society 

 in this way are thus placed on shipboard as foremast hands ; and 

 among them there will be found those of desperate characters, 

 and prepared for every work of disturbance and crime. 



The infittlng may be stated in the following brief manner. 

 "When a ship arrives in port from a whaling voyage, there are 

 individuals ready to go on board before she approaches the 

 wharf, or even casts anchor in the outer harbor, whose object 

 is to supply seamen, or those whom they have formerly out- 

 fitted, as soon as they come ashore, with new clothes ; or, in 

 other words, to give them a regular infit. These individuals 

 are called by agents, whalemen, and others, "runners,"' or 

 "sharks," and are connected with the outfitting and infitting 

 establishments. The seamen are soon provided with new suits 

 of clothing from head to foot, which they greatly need after 

 a three or four years' voyage around the Horn. The results of 

 the voyage, however, if any thing shall be due to the returned 

 seamen at the time of settlement with the agent, are held 

 available to the outfitter ; he looks to this source wholly, to 

 meet this additional bill of clothing, or infit, which he has 

 against the young whaleman. 



If this were all upon which the "sharks" were disposed to 

 lay their hands, it might be construed into a virtue, perhaps, 

 instead of a fault. But could the history of large numbers of 

 returned seamen, both whalemen and others, be only partially 

 opened and spread out before the public eye, as it not unfre- 



