286 HISTORY AND DETAILS OF WHALING. 



1 Thin Frock, 1 Tin Pot, 



6 Pairs Shoes, good, 1 Spoon, 



6 « Stockings, 1 Tin Pan, 



6 Jackknives. 1 Bed, (mattress,) 



Quilt, Blanket, Pillow, &c, &c. ; Hazor, Strop, Soap, Nee- 

 dles, Thread, Brush, &c. 



The chief purpose the writer had in view in bringing to- 

 gether these facts connected with the history and details of 

 whaling, was not only to interest the general reader, but that 

 young men from the country, and elsewhere, who are desirous 

 of engaging in this branch of employment, may know some- 

 what of its character and pecuniary importance in a commer- 

 cial point of view. 



Men of the first business talents are enlisted in this enter- 

 prise at home ; and a more hardy, thorough-going, energetic, 

 and generous class of men, as captains and officers of ships, do 

 not traverse the ocean. That there are exceptions to this gen- 

 eral rule, none will deny. Capriciousness, tyranny, crossness, 

 and inhumanity are exhibited by some upon the sea as well as 

 upon the land. He who cannot govern himself is ill prepared 

 to be the leader of others. 



It may be said that whalemen are at home on the ocean. 

 During the first fifteen or twenty years of their service, they 

 scarcely remain at home with their families and friends as 

 many months. It is no mean and unworthy profession, but 

 one highly honorable and creditable for any aspirant. 



Nor is the responsible position of a captain, or officer, at- 

 tained at once. Promotion comes not from the cabin windows, 

 but in a direct line from the forecastle. There must be a reg- 

 ular apprenticeship gone through with, before one can expect 

 to succeed in the hazardous undertaking of capturing the mon- 

 sters of the deep. It is a trade, and in this regard it is far dif- 

 ferent from the merchant seivice. In addition to good sea- 

 manship, — and, by the way, whalemen are acknowledged to 

 be among the best navigators in the world, — it is whale killing, 



