212 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



securing tliis article appears to have been t he sli ip ^lllidiice, which sailed 

 from New Hedford in IHO:) for Patagonia, and rc^turned home in 1804 

 with a full cargo of oil. This was the pioneer of a large number of 

 vessels sailing to the Patagonian coast for sea-elephant oil. 'i'hat 

 coast seems to have been abandoned about 1820 for the South Shet- 

 land Islands, wldcli foi- seventeen ^ears furnished many cargoes to the 

 fur-sealers sailing from Stonington. Since 1837 Desolation or Ker- 

 gnelen Island has fui-nished the great bulk of the sea-elephant oil. 

 Heard Island has furnished numy cargoes since 1857, but on account 

 of the (^xi^osed situation of that island vessels do not usually go there 

 when a cargo is obtainable elsewhere. South Georgia, South Shet- 

 lands, and the Patagonian coast also have many sea-elei)liants and 

 arc occasionally visited b}* the hunters, but the great bulk of the 

 catch has been obtained at Desolation Island. 



Although the taking of sea-elej)hant oil originated with the Nan- 

 tucket whalers, it has been peculiarl}" a New London industiy since 

 1820, the neighboring ports of Stonington and ]\[ystic furnishing a 

 number of vessels during certain seasons. From 1820 until the pres- 

 ent time 9-t per cent of all the voyages have been made by vessels 

 from these three ports, and 80 per cent have been made by the New 

 London vessels. The fleet was largest in 1858 and 1859, 18 vessels, 

 with an aggregate tonnage of 4,527 tons, being employed in 1858, and 

 20 vessels, Avith 4,4(il tons measurement, in 1859. 



The last vessel to return with a cargo was the brig Leonora, which 

 arrived in 1902 with 2,900 barrels of oil and a quantity of hides. In 

 1900 the schooner Robert S. Graham brought in 2,(500 1)arrels of oil 

 and 70 liides, the oil selling at 38 cents per gallon and the hides at 

 $2 each. In 1898 the bark Swallow, of Boston, returned ^y\\\\ 2,000 

 barrels of oil, the i^roduct of 4,000 sea-elephants secured during the 

 three months of the summer of 1897-98. 



According to Capt. Jara^es W. Budington, of Groton, ('onn., to whom 

 we are indebted for most of the subjoined data relative to methods of 

 capture and of oil-rendering, sea-elephant blubber is somewhat Avh iter 

 than whale blubber, and i-anges in thickness from 1 to 8 inches, accord- 

 ing to the size and condition of the individual. It is thickest on the 

 mah^s, especially the "March bulls," from the neck of whicih 10-inch 

 blubber has been secured. On the cows the thickness is from 2 to 3 

 inches and on the pups it is much less. 



Much A'ai'iation exists in the yield of oil from sea-elephants. The 

 quantity secured f)'om the March bulls taken shortly aftei- they land 

 is very large, amounting sometimes to 220 gallons from a single indi- 

 Aidual. Only a small number of this variety is secui-ed. The Novem- 

 ber bulls yield from 100 to 120 gallons each early in the season, but 

 after remaining on the shore for months, abstaining from food, they 

 become emaciated, and yield scarcely more Hum 30 gallons. The prod- 

 uct from f(unales and pups is much smallei-, some of the pups yielding 

 only 4 or 5 gallons, especially when the season is well advanced, thus 



