250 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES 



remaining, flourishing whaling industries was that 

 for the Cachalot or Sperm Whale, at the Azores, 

 by the inhabitants, who killed the whale not far 

 from land, towing the carcass ashore for treatment. 

 In 1898 there were no less than twenty-nine whaling 

 companies working at the Azores. The hunting 

 was done by means of small sailing boats three 

 feet long each with a crew of six. Of the six, one 

 was officer and steersman, one a harpooner, the 

 other four sailors. The crew of these boats were 

 paid by share, the boats themselves being the 

 property of the various companies. The statistics 

 of the number of wHales killed and the amount of 

 spermaceti obtained are not available, but from 1895 

 to 1897 no l ess tnan 480,000 litres of whale oil were 

 exported from the Azores. 



An intimate view of life in American whalers may 

 be obtained by a perusal of the works of Olmstead, 

 Ross Browne, and Nordhoff. There are also a 

 number of other writers ; in many cases it is difficult 

 to separate fact from fiction. 



It was customary to recruit the whalers' crews 

 from landsmen, the captain and officers alone being 

 experienced seamen and whalers. Advertisements 

 of the following type were scattered broadcast over 

 the eastern states in the hey-day of the American 

 whale fisheries : 



" WANTED LANDSMEN. One thousand stout young men, 

 Americans, wanted for the fleet of whale ships now 

 fitting out for the North and South Pacific Fisheries. 

 Extra chances given to Coopers, Carpenters, and 

 Blacksmiths. 

 None but industrious young men, with good recom- 



