THE WHALE FISHERY. 107 



been fitted for whaling from this port : it so, their identification is impossible. In 1760, however, 

 three sloops were fitted out by Joseph Conkling, John Foster, and others. They were named Good- 

 luck, Dolphin, and Success, and their cruising ground was in the vicinity of 36 north latitude." 



RHODE ISLAND WHALERS. "The reports regarding Rhode Island are equally meager. 

 Occasional reports are to be found of the arrivals of whaling-vessels, but no report of where they 

 cruised or what success they met with, and no records exist at the custom-house to help clear up 

 the historical mist. Warren comes into notice at this period- as quite a thriving whaling-port. 

 The Boston News Letter of October 23, 1766, says : ' Several Vessels employed in the Whale Fish- 

 cry, from the industrious Town of Warren in Rhode Island Colony, have lately returned, having 

 met with considerable success. One Vessel, which went as far as the Western Islands, brought 

 home upwards of 300 Barrels of L)il. Some Vessels from Newport have also been tolerably success- 

 ful. This Business, which seems to be carried on with Spirit, bids fair to be of great Utility to 

 that Government.'" 



VIRGINIA WHALEES. " Williamsburgh, Va., felt the stimulus caused by success in this busi- 

 ness ; and in the early spring of 1751 several gentlemen subscribed a sum of money and fitted out 

 a small sloop, called the Experiment, for whaling along the southern coast. On the 9th of May, 

 1751, she returned with a valuable whale. This was the first vessel ever fitted for this pursuit 

 from Virginia, and whether she continued for any length of time in the business is unknown. The 

 encouragement of the first success undoubtedly caused another venture." 



BEGINNING OF WHALING INDUSTRY AT NEW BEDFORD. " In the vicinity of New Bedford 

 whaling probably commenced but little prior to 1760. In that year William Wood, of Dartmouth, 

 sold to Elnathan Eldredgo, of the same town, a certain tract of land, located within the present 

 town of Fairhaven, and within three-quarters of a mile of the center of the town, on the banks of 

 the Acushnet River, 'Always Excepting and reserving ***** that part of the same 

 where the Try house and Oyl shed now stands.' How long these buildings had been standing at 

 the date of this deed is unknown, but the fact of their being there then is indisputable, and, as it 

 was not the habit in those days to put up useless buildings, they were undoubtedly applied to the 

 purpose for which they were built. That they were considered valuable property is evident from 

 the fact of their being reserved. In 1765, four sloops, the Nancy, Polly, Greyhound, and Hannah, 

 owned by Joseph Russell, Caleb Russell, and William Tallman, and from 40 to 60 tons burden, 

 were employed in the whale fishery.* In Ricketson's ' History of New Bedford ' is published a 

 portion of a log book of the whaling sloop Betsey, of Dartmouth, in 1761. The early portion is 

 missing, the first date commencing July 27. These small vessels usually sailed in pairs, and, so 

 long as they kept in company, the blubber of the captured whales was divided equally between 

 them. Hence the reports, in which the captains' names are always giv.en instead of the names of 

 the vessels, which rarely occur, often return the vessels in pairs, with 4he same quantity of oil to 

 each. The following are a few extracts from this journal as published : ' August 2d, 1761. Lat. 

 tr. 54, long. o,i.5T Saw two sperm-whales; killed one. Aug. 6th. Spoke with John Clasbery ; 

 he had got 105 bbls.; told us Seth Folger had got 150 bbls. Spoke with two Nantucket men ; 



' * Ricketson's History of New Bedford, p. f>8. Mr. Ricketson says: 'To Joseph Russell, the founder of New Bed- 

 ford, is also attributed the honor of being the pioneer of the whale-fishery of New Bedford. It is well authenticated 

 liy the statements of several coteinporaries, lately deceased, that Joseph Russell had pursued the business as early as 

 the year 17r>:V From what particular portion of the then town of Dartmouth (which also included what is now known 

 as New BecU'ord, and Fairhaven) he fifed out his vessels, is uncertain. At that time the land on which stands the 

 city of New Bedford was unpopulated by the whites, and not a single house marked the spot where, within less than 

 a century thereafter, stands the city from which was fitted out more whaling-vessels than from all the other American 

 ports combined." 



