THE WHALE FISHERY. 7 



v 



Brazil and return in nine months full of the oil peculiar to the whales of those seas; but, as has 

 been previously remarked, this has all changed, and the length of the voyage has become entirely 

 disproportioned to the quantity of oil returned. 



"Briefly, then, this is the case. Whaling as a business has declined: 1st, from the scarcity 

 and shyness of whales, requiring longer and more expensive voyages ; 2d, extravagance in fitting 

 out and refitting ; 3d, the character of the men engaged ; 4th, the introduction of coal oils. 



"Of late years sperm-whaling in the Atlantic OceanTiaS been revived with some success, but 

 the persistency with which any field is followed up makes its yield at least but temporary. It 

 may perhaps be a question worthy of serious consideration whether it is policy for the United 

 States Government to introduce the use of coal oils into its light-house and similar departments, 

 to replace the sperm oil now furnished from our whaling ports, and thus still further hasten the 

 ultimate abandonment of a pursuit upon the resources of which it draws so heavily in the da.y of 

 its trouble,* or whether this market the only aid asked from the Government may still continue 

 at the expense of a few dollars more per year."t 



2. WHALING-GROUNDS.:): 



DISTRIBUTION OP WHALES. A whale-ship leaving her home port mans her mast-head as 

 soon as she leaves soundings, and from that time is in constant hope of seeing whales. There are 

 certain portions of the ocean where whales abound, and many large tracts where vessels rarely 

 make a stop; still it is not unusual even in the more barren spaces to hear from aloft the welcome 

 cry "there she blows." Many of the grounds where vessels were formerly very successful are now 

 entirely abandoned and others are but seldom visited. There are now no sperm whalers from the 

 United States on the Indian Ocean or North Pacific grounds, and very few cruising in the West 

 Pacific Ocean, but nearly all of the vessels at present engaged in this branch of the fishery resort 

 to the grounds in the North and South Atlantic and the eastern part of the South Pacific Oceans. 



At an early period in the development of the whale fishery there was little difficulty in 

 securing a cargo in a short time. Whales were abundant near shore and in very many parts of 

 the ocean. They were taken in great numbers by the Dutch and by the English at Spitzbergen 

 and off the east coast of Greenland, upon grounds that have not been frequented for many 

 years. Later they were abundant in Davis Strait, where they were pursued by a considerable 

 fleet of vessels. They are still taken there in limited numbers by a fleet of about a dozen Scotch 

 steamers. Toward the close of the last century began the discovery of prolific grounds for right 

 whales in the South Atlantic, and of the famous South Pacific sperm and right whale grounds. In 

 the present century important fields have been discovered in the North Pacific and Arctic Oceans, 



* The London Mercantile Gazette, of October X2, 1852, said: "The number of American ships engaged in the 

 Southern whale-fishery alone would of themselves be nearly sufficient to man any ordinary fleet of ships-of-war 

 which that country might require to send to sea." Instances are not wanting, indeed, where whalemen have under- 

 taken yeoman's service for their country. Thus, in November, 184(i, Captain Simmons, of the Magnolia, and Capt. 

 John S. Barker, of the Edward, both of New Bedford, hearing that the garrison at San Jose', Lower California, was 

 in imminent danger, landed their crewt* and marched to its relief. Nor were their good services toward foreign gov- 

 ernments in peace less honorable to the country than in war, for when the Government buildings at Honolulu were 

 burning some years ago, and entire and disastrous destruction threatened, American whalemen rushed to the rescue 

 and quenched the flames, already beyond the control of the natives. During the rebellion, of 5,956 naval officers, 

 Massachusetts furnished 1,226, Maine 449, Connecticut 2C4, New Hampshire 175, Rhode Island 102, and Vermont 81. 



t Report U. S. Commission of Fish and Fisheries for 1875-'76. 



} Special acknowledgments are duo Capt. .H. W. Seabury, of New Bedford, Mass., and Capt. William M. Barnes, 

 of Nashua, N. H., for information on this subject. 



$ The east coast of Greenland has recently again become a cruising ground for the whalers of Norway and Scotland. 



