112 The Story of the New England Whalers 



economy found in the use of larger ships, together 

 with the discovery of new fields, really saved the 

 American whale industry from extinction. 



And yet, curiously enough, the progress that 

 called for larger ships sounded the death knell 

 of the Nantucket whale fishery. The myth of the 

 red whalers was true, Nantucket was a moc- 

 casin full of sand thrown out to sea by the giant 



thing went well. The "owners' share was much more than 

 the ship was worth " (quoted by Weeden) : 



Ship Lion, Nantucket, 1807 



