188 H7-:rOKT of commissioner of fish and FISnFKTES. 



Sperm oil and \vliiil<' oil then served lu^arly all llu' diversilied uses 

 for ^\ili<•h oil was T(H[iiire(l, the chief except ion beinii,' lealln'r-dressinji;, 

 foi- wliieli neatsfool and cod oils were laru:ely employed. The pi-in- 

 cii)al uses were as illnminant, lubricator, in corda,ue-manufac1iirc, 

 screw-cnllinu'. and si eel-tempering. The sti-eets of the prineii)al cities 

 were liiihicd with the oil, and theaters and i)ul)li(' buildings were 

 lighte<l with gas made from the foots. A stock anecdote at the time 

 referred to foi'cign sailors climbing up the posts of tlie Xew Yoi'k 

 street lamps to drink the whaU^ oil, thus lea\ing the city in darkness. 



The extcMit of the lislieries soon began to tell on the abundance of 

 tlie whales, necessitating much longer and more costly voyages, and 

 conscquentl}^ higher prices for the products. Witli the increased price 

 came tlie active search for substitutes, and. colza oil and lard oil were 

 largely employed. The competition, however, liad little effect on the 

 market for wliale products until the adoption of petroleum as an illu- 

 minant, and subsequentlj' as a lubricant. Its dangerous qualities 

 at first greatly checked its use, but as improved methods of i-efining 

 were introduced it was (piite generally adopted and proved most influ- 

 ential in decreasing the profits of the whale fishery. 



The restricted market and the reduced price resulted in a gradual 

 decrease of the Avhale fishery. Various agencies accelerated this 

 decrease, while others retarded it. Among the former may l)e men- 

 tioned the destructive influences of the civil war, including the sink- 

 ing of o(i vessels in blockading Charleston TTarbor, and the burning 

 of 46 vessels, with outfit, supplies, and cargoes by privateers; also 

 the loss of -V-'t sliii)s in the ice of the Arctic Ocean in 1S71, and a similar 

 abandonment of J L* vessels in 1870. Among the agencies tending to 

 retard the decrease in the fisherjMs the greatly enhanced value of 

 whalebone, whitdi increased from 13 cents per pound in 1833 to $7 per 

 pound in 1801. Indeed it is the whalebone market alone which sus- 

 tains the present right-whale fisheries of the Avorld. The table on 

 page 204, showing the annual product of sperm oil and whale oil from 

 1860 to 1902, inclusive, presents a fair idea of the gradual reduction 

 in extent of the .Vmerican whale fisheries. Owing to the decreased 

 extent of the fishery, sperm whales are increasing in numbers and 

 are apparently more abundant at pi-esQut than at any time since the 

 fifties. The bowhead and right whales, however, are doubtless more 

 scarce than at any time since their capture became an object of com- 

 mercial pursuit. 



In 1901, the 20 sperm-whalers cruising in the Atlantic Ocean met 

 with good success, especially those on the llatteras and Charleston 

 grounds, securing 12,550 bairels of oil, according to the WlKilemeii's 

 Shipping List, an average of ii27 barrels to each ncsscI. The same 

 season in the Arctic and North Pacific, liowever, was the pooi-est for 

 many years. Tlie fleet there consisted of 11 steamers and 6 barks. 

 Three steamers were lost, and the total catch was only 43 bowheads 

 an<l 13 right whales, as compared with 80 bowheads and 14 right 



