302 NOTES. 



has been occasioned by the grinding conditions as to the re- 

 muneration which the ship-owner imposes, who is chiefly 

 anxious to enrich himself, or perhaps some favourite officer in 

 his employ, while the poor seamen are left to endure privations, 

 and expose themselves to hazards of life and limbs in bootless 

 disinterestedness ; or whether the rapid extension of this enter- 

 prise has called for men faster than the good and worthy could 

 be furnished ; or, perhaps, from the joint influence of all these 

 causes combined, it must be conceded that a lamentable dete- 

 rioration of character in the crews of whale ships has been 

 witnessed. 



They are now made up to a great degree, and, of course, 

 with some honourable exceptions, of the very refuse of human- 

 ity, gathered from every quarter, escaped from poor-houses 

 and prisons, or gleaned from the receptacle of vagrancy and 

 lazar-house corruption, with a large admixture of foreigners of 

 all languages, complexions, and character. 



Such constitute the experienced portions of the crew. To 

 them you may add one third or one quarter part more of land- 

 lubbers, or raw hands, made up of very heterogeneous mate- 

 rials. Here will be found the young, roving adventurer, who 

 pants for opportunity to see the world ; he has heard marvel- 

 ous stories of the facilities of foreign observation furnished in 

 this service, while, at the same time, visions of easily- acquired 

 wealth, golden harvests to be here reaped, have filled his mind, 

 and he hurried from the interior to ship himself on board a 

 whaleman. The reckless and impatient, who spurn all salutary 

 control, are also here, thinking this is just the place to indulge 

 unbounded license. 



Here also you will find the spoiled sons of over-indulgent 

 parents, who, having made themselves intolerable by their 

 vicious propensities, and constantly in danger of bringing dis- 

 grace on themselves and their connections also, by their in- 

 temperance, their fits of passion, or unbridled licentiousness, 

 are sent on a whaling voyage as a school of reform ! To each 

 of these a small advance of cash is made, on signing the ship- 



