24 TEE CRUISE OF THE "CACHALOT:' 



all trades," it was the custom to mix quantities such 

 as we had just obtained with better class whale-oil, 

 and thus get a much higher price than it was really 

 worth. 



Up till this time we had no sort of an idea as to 

 where our first objective might be, but from scraps of 

 conversation I had overheard among the harpooners, I 

 gathered that we were making for the Cape Verde 

 Islands or the AQores, in the vicinity of which a good 

 number of moderate-sized sperm whales are often to be 

 found. In fact, these islands have long been a nursery 

 for whale-fishers, because the cachalot lovos their steep- 

 to shores, and the hardy natives, whenever and wherever 

 they can muster a boat and a little gear, are always 

 ready to sally forth and attack the unwary whale that 

 ventures within their ken. Consequently more than half 

 of the total crews of the American whaling fleet are 

 composed of these islanders. Many of them have risen 

 to the position of captain, and still more are officers 

 and harpooners ; but though undoubtedly brave and 

 enterprising, they are cruel and treacherous, and in 

 positions of authority over men of Teutonic or Anglo- 

 Saxon origin, are apt to treat their subordinates with 

 great cruelty. 



