THE DUTCH WHALERS PREDOMINANT 175 



of the islands of Fohr and Sylt. During the height 

 of the whaling season these islands were deprived of 

 their able-bodied male population every summer. 

 Old men and young boys took part in the Greenland 

 voyages. Jens Jacob Eschels started on his first 

 whaling voyage as a cabin boy at the age of eleven 

 years two months and twenty-five days. In the 

 second voyage a boy was generally promoted to he d 

 cabin boy, and subsequently cook's mate, then 

 ordinary and lastly able seaman. 



Intelligent men were promoted boatsteerer and 

 ship's officer, the final rank being that of " Com- 

 mandeur," as the captains of the whalers were 

 described. A ship's master or captain had to possess 

 " Burgerrecht," but with the rapid growth of whaling 

 it was impossible to find sufficient men with this 

 qualification, so it became customary to style a 

 whaling captain " Commandeur " to avoid friction 

 with the captains of the mercantile marine. The 

 Commandeur had general command of the expedi- 

 tion, the navigating officer being the " Steurmann " 

 who never left the ship, not even when all the boats 

 were away after whales. Many seamen of sixty or 

 even seventy years of age were found on these 

 Greenlanders, some of whom had previously been 

 ship's officers or even Commandeur. Some of these 

 men made very many voyages to the whaling. On 

 Kohler's ship there was a " Schiemann " making 

 his forty-seventh consecutive voyage. That these 

 Frisians regarded whaling as a life-long occupa- 

 tion is certain. They were exclusively whalers, 



