HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN WHALE FISHERY. iJo 



Ocean (brig), Rauger, Fame,* Rose, Renown,* Sterling, Edward, 

 Gardner, Monticello, Chili, Rebecca, and others, and it may be easily 

 imagined that the prospect for the islanders had but little in it that ap- 

 peared encouraging. ISTew Bedford, too, although at this time her in- 

 terest in this business was far less than that of Nantucket, suffered 

 from the capture of her whaling-vessels.t 



Again did war put an eflectual stop to the pursuit of whaling from 

 every port of the United States save Nantucket, and again were the in- 

 habitants of that town, knowing no business except through their ship- 

 ping, compelled to strive to carry their commercial marine through the 

 tempest of fire as free from complete destruction as possible. A new 

 source of danger presented itself. Prior to the declaration of war be- 

 tween Great Britain and America our whalemen on the coast of Peru f 

 had often suffered from piratical acts of the Peruvian privateers, being 

 continually plundered and cut out from Chilian ports whither they had 

 gone to recruit. The chronic state of afitairs on this coast being one of 

 war, the Government of the United States had sent the Hon. Joel R. 

 Poinsett, of South Carolina, to those parts to see that American com- 

 merce was suitably protected, but for several months his remonstrances 

 had been worse than useless. The declaration of war between England 

 and the United States gave the Peruvian corsairs a fresh i^retext for the 

 exercise of their plundering propensities. They claimed that they were 

 the allies of England, and as such were entitled to capture the vessels 

 of any power with which she was at war. An expedition was equipped 

 by the authorities of Lima and sent on its marauding waj". This army 

 succeeded in capturing the towns of Conception and Talcahuano. In 

 the latter j)ort was a large number of American ships, many of them 

 whalemen, who, having obtained their cargoes of oil, had put in to re- 

 cruit with provisions and water before making the homeward voyage. 

 Among these were the ships Criterion, Mary Ann, Monticello, Chili, 

 John and James, Lima, Lion, Sukey, Gardner, President, Perseverance, 

 «vnd Atlas, of Nantucket. 



This was in April, 1813. These vessels were detained in the harbor 

 by the Limian armament, which consisted of two men-of-war, with about 



* The Fame was used in the Euglish fishery, and the Renown under the name of 

 '•'Adam," while engaged in the same pursuit under the same flag, went ashore on Deal 

 beach and bilged in 1824 or 1825. 



In 1812 the brig Nanina, Capt. Valentine Barnard, of New York, sailed to the Falk- 

 land Islands on a sealing and elephant-oil cruise. The British ship Isabella having 

 become wrecked, her crew were rescued by the Nanina, and showed their gratitude to 

 Captain Barnard by seizing his vessel and setting him, with Barzillai Pease, Andrew 

 Hunter, and E. Pease, of his crew, ashore on New Island, one of the group. A protest 

 signed by the four was published in the Hudson Bee, and also in the supi)lement of 

 Niles' Register for 1814. 



t The ship Sally, Clark master, was captured while homeward bound with 1,200 

 barrels of sperm-oil on board. Value of vessel and cargo $40,000. The Triton also was 

 captured, involving a loss of $16,000. 



i These vessels belonged almost exclusively to New Bedford and Nantucket. 



