His CAPTORS. 107 



Maury's Theory. Probable Duration of Northwest Whaling. 



that ocean. The last three whales which were 

 taken yielded together over six hundred barrels. 



It is the opinion of Lieutenant Maury, of the 

 United States National Observatory, that all 

 the whales in the Pacific Ocean have particu- 

 lar resorts at certain seasons of the year, where 

 the whalers may generally expect to find them, 

 just as the shad, salmon, herring, and other 

 fish are periodically found. He is endeavoring 

 to work out this conclusion, and to fix the lo- 

 calities of whales' resorts by a comparison of 

 the logs of a vast number of whalers. It is 

 easy to see that, if he should succeed, it will be 

 of great importance to the whaling interest, as 

 it will reduce the expense of outfits by short- 

 ening the time of voyages, and making their 

 results more sure and speedy. 



If we inquire into the probable duration of 

 this Northwest whaling, including this Arctic 

 opening, there seems good reason to believe, 

 from the extent of ocean it embraces, greater 

 than all the other cruising grounds together, 

 that it will continue good at least twenty or 

 twenty-five years from its commencement. An 

 experienced captain thinks that as there is not, 

 nor is likely to be, any bay whaling on this 



