PREFACE. 3a 



man becomes acquainted with the minutiae of a 

 seaman's duty; and from the great proportion 

 of the time spent at sea in vessels cruising for 

 whales, the crew become perfectly famihar with, 

 and wholly at home upon, the sea. 



The class of men, too, who sail from home in 

 our whaling-vessels, being generally well-informed 

 men, and having home-connections, understand 

 and appreciate our free institutions ; but it is 

 too often the case that, in the absence of any 

 special inducement to remain true to their en- 

 gagement, a large proportion of the original crew 

 desert from the vessel. To obviate this, the 

 government should attach a bounty to the earn- 

 ings of every sailor who remains in this service, 

 in the same vessel, for three years or more ; and 

 by this means foster a class of citizens accustomed 

 to danger and emergencies, not only in their 

 everyday occupation of battling with the ele- 

 ments, but by their famiharization with peril in 

 their conflicts with the Leviathen of the deep — 

 citizens, who would at all times be prepared to 

 take charge of our Navy, and defend the nation's 

 honor and privileges against the world ! 



