WHALE FISHERY OF NEW ENGLAND 



"Why should I?" said he; "I am only to be gone two years." 



About 1730 "try- works" were built on the vessels instead of on the 

 shore, and the oil was boiled and stowed away at sea, thus allowing 

 the ships to make much longer voyages. At this time Nantucket 

 owned as many whaleships as all the other ports of America combined. 

 Whaling continued to increase, and the sterile island was turned into a 

 prosperous community, when the Revolution came on, and for the time 

 'being practically put an end to the industry. Nantucket was the only 

 port that carried on whaling during the war :f the island simply had to 

 whale or starve, as the inhabitants knew nomher occupation. Most 

 of their vessels were eventually captured or lost by shipwreck, and over 

 twelve hundred of their men were either killed or made prisoners. The 

 end of the war found the island's business hopelessly wrecked; but, 

 with their usual pluck and determination, the Nantucketers once more 

 built up a profitable fleet. So impoverished were they that the govern- 

 ment for one year levied no taxes. 



At the close of the war a Quaker, called William Rotch, was Nan- 

 tucket's greatest whaler, and even he became so discouraged with the 

 prospects at home that in 1785 he left the island in his ship, the "Maria," 

 for London. He endeavored to make some" arrangement with the 

 English government to import some whaling families from Nantucket, 

 but, failing to do so, repaired to France, where he succeeded in making 

 an agreement with Louis XVI. A great many families moved to 

 France, and carried on the pursuit from Dunkirk in Normandy. Rotch 

 soon returned to Nantucket, and later moved to New Bedford, where 

 he died. The old Rotch counting-house was later used as a club-room 

 for Nantucket whaling captains, and is even now being used as such. 

 In the old prosperous days this was jocosely called the House of Com- 

 mons, while another club, which was used by the ship owners, was 

 named the House of Lords. 



Immediately after the war, the ship "Bedford," one of the Rotch 

 vessels, was loaded with oil, and sent to England under command of 

 Captain Mooers. This was the first vesseJ to display the American 

 flag in a British port. It is related that one of the crew of the ship 

 was hunchbacked, and when on shore one day a British sailor clapped 

 his hand on his shoulder, and said, "Hello, Jack, what have you got 

 here?" "Bunker Hill, and be d d to you," replied the Yankee. 



The redoubtable Nantucketers resumed their whaling at the close 

 of the Revolution, and their energy and skill were again yielding rich 

 profits when the War of 1812 almost annihilated the island's fleet. 

 But as it was another case of whale or starve, Nantucket continued 

 to send out a few whalers, and was the only American port during 

 the war that dared to brave the risks of British capture. 



About this time, in one of the Pacific ports, an incident occurred 

 which showed in an amusing light the ready wit and intrepid courage of 

 an American whaleman. He had in some way displeased an English 

 naval officer, who, feeling himself highly insulted, promptly challenged 

 the Yankee, who accepted and, being the challenged party, had the 



