46 WHALING ANI TliJHING. 



not before visited, and animal od with all of a Bailor's 

 happy carelessness and desire for novelty, the 

 thought that I had engaged myself for so long a 

 time, troubled me. But " sufficient for tlie day is 

 the evil thereof," is a maxim upon which the 

 sailor, more than perhaps any one else, acts, 

 throughout life, and in accordance therewith, I 

 drove away the clouds gathering over my thoughts 

 as I contemplated the blue hills, every moment 

 growing paler in the distance, and enjoyed the 

 glorious sunshine, and fresh, pure breeze of one 

 of the finest days in summer. 



Our crew, now that one could see them all to- 

 gether, formed a motley set. A four boat 

 ship carries generally twenty -three or twenty -four 

 hands, in the forecastle, a cooper, cook, four boat- 

 steerers, ship-keeper, steward three mates and cap- 

 tain ; making in all thirty-six men. The captain, 

 two mates, and three of the boatsteerers were 

 Americans. The third mate, and one of the boat- 

 steerers were Portuguese, natives of Fayal, as 

 were also four of our crew. A great many of 

 these Western Island Portuguese are found in 

 American whaleships, where they are much liked, 

 being very quiet, sober men, and generally good 

 wnalemen. The rest of the crew I find enumer- 

 ated in my log, as follows : two lawyer's clerks., 

 one professional gambler, one runaway from his 

 father's counting house in New York, (this was 

 also an amateur gambler), one New York " butcher- 

 boy " his name w&sMose six factory hands, from 



