24 THE WHALE AND 



Yankee Whale Fixings. Cape Cod Enterprise. 



into in the year 1672, between one James Lo- 

 par and the settlers there, " to carry on a. de- 

 sign of whale fishing." But whether the first 

 proper whaling harpoon used in America was 

 wrought there or on Cape Cod can not be as- 

 certained. From this time onward, whenever 

 whales were descried in the bay or offing from 

 the rude look-outs constructed along shore, no- 

 tice was instantly spread, and they were at- 

 tacked by boats then manned mostly by the In- 

 dians, who early evinced an aptitude and fond- 

 ness for this business. Shore- whaling seems to 

 have reached its height by 1726, during which 

 year eighty-six whales were taken, eleven in one 

 day. It was continued with declining success 

 up to 1760, and for seventy years preceding 

 that date not a single white man is known to 

 have lost his life in the hazardous pursuit. 



As early as 1700, they began to fit out ves- 

 sels from Cape Cod and Nantucket to " whale 

 out in the deep for sperm whales." These grad- 

 ually crept along, emboldened by experience, 

 north to the Labradors and south to the Ba- 

 hamas, where New Providence became famous 

 as a whale-fishing station, through the skill and 

 daring of New England enterprise, while, as 



