HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN WHALE FISHERY. 137 



"Unfortunately, for the first time since whaling, there were no whales, 

 On the 13th of June, we lowered for a whale going quick into the ice, 

 Cape Agchen bearing southwest 90 miles, and before getting the boats 

 clear, the ice packed around us. From that time until the 20th, so 

 close and heavy was the ice packed around us, that we found it impos- 

 sible to mov T e the ship. With our sails furled, we drifted with the ice 

 about 12 miles per day toward Cape Agchen, the ship lying as quiet 

 as in a dock, but on the 22d, when close under the cape, a gale set 

 in from the southward, producing a heavy swell and causing the 

 ship to strike heavily agaiust the ice. We saved our rudder by hook- 

 ing our blubber-hooks to it and heaving them well taut with hawsers 

 to our quarters. Had the current not taken an easterly shore course, 

 the ship must have gone on shore. The wind blowing on shore, which 

 was distant less than half a mile, 5 to fathoms of water under us, 

 ship rolling aud pounding heavily against the ice, weather so thick 

 we could not see 50 yards, made it rather an anxious time. For 

 36 hours I was expecting some sharp-pointed rock would crash 

 through her sides. On the 24th, finding only 4J fathoms water, little 

 current, with the larger pieces of ice around, we let go an anchor and 

 held her to a large floe of ice. Here we broke our sain pson- post off in 

 the deck. On the morning of the 25th the weather cleared up, showing 

 our position to be at the head of a small bay about 15 miles east of 

 Cape Agchen. Here for two days we lay becalmed and ice-bound. On 

 the second day the ice loosened, when we took our anchor and by 18 

 hours' hard work succeeded in kedging about 4 miles seaward ; a breeze 

 then springing up from off shore, w T e spread sail aud passed into clear 

 water. We spent a short time in the straits, but saw nothing of the 

 bowhead kind. Passed into the Arctic July — , and found most of the 

 fleet catching walrus ; about a dozen ships (this one among the number) 

 went cruising along the northern ice for bowheads. After prospecting 

 from Icy Cape to near Herald Island, aud seeing not a whale, I returned 

 to the walrus fleet. The first ship I saw was the Vineyard, with 175 

 walrus : since then I have not seen or heard from her. This walrusing 

 is quite a new business, aud ships which had engaged in it the previous 

 season and came up prepared were very successful. While at it, we 

 drove business as hard as the best of them, but soon became convinced 

 that the ship's company (taken collectively) were much inferior to many 

 others ; they could not endure the cold and exposure expected of them. 

 I have seen boats' crews that were properly rigged, kill and strip a boat- 

 load of walrus in the same length of time another (not rigged) would 

 be in killing one and hauling him on the ice. We took some 400 ? 

 making about 230 barrels. About August 5, all the ships went in pur- 

 suit of bowheads, (most of them to Point Barrow). When off the Sea 

 Horse Islands we saw a few whales working to the westward, just 

 enough to detain us ; we took two making 200 barrels; the weather 

 cold, and a gale all the time. In September I worked up about 70 



