FISHERIES OF THE PACIFIC COAST. 
77 
among the old hands is to secure all the advance possible before sailing, 
and to draw upon the “ slop-chest” during the cruise as much as they 
are allowed to, for the majority of them think they will get nothing for 
their trip except the single dollar at the close of the season for u sign- 
ing clear.” The lay of officers, and particularly of the captain, depends 
largely upon their skill or success in capturing whales, but it is also 
influenced by the size of the vessel and the number of men in her crew; 
the lay on a large ship with a numerous crew is considerably “ longer” 
than it is on a smaller craft with fewer men. 
The “lay,” as stated, shows the proportional part of the catch 
received by each individual who u signs articles.” Thus a one-tenth 
lay — which is a very “ short” one— signifies that the person who “ signs” 
for it is to receive one-tenth of the proceeds of the voyage, while one 
who had a one-hundred-and-seventieth lay receives only that propor- 
tion of the catch, or one-seventeenth of the amount obtained by him 
who has the shorter lay of one-tenth. 
The lays given to the officers and men are generally as follows : 
Captain, to tV 5 chief mate, to ; second mate, to 3V; third 
mate, -fa to ; fourth mate, - 4 \ to ; carpenter, to ; cooper, - 8 \ 
to T ioj cook, -^0 to jio', steward, to T | F ; blacksmith, to rioJ 
donkey engineer on sailing ships, T ^o and $10 per month ; seamen, x ^o 
to 200* The first engineer on steam whalers gets $50 per month and 
m) lay ; second engineer, $25 per month and f £o lay j and the firemen, 
ih lft y- 
A peculiar feature of this lay system is that the men agree upon a" 
certain price for the oil and bone before sailing, this price being stated 
or fixed by the owners, and ordinarily amounting to only about half of 
what the products are actually worth. Wilcox learned that the price 
agreed upon is the basis for estimating the value of whale products in 
submitting returns to the customs officials, the result being that the 
figures are grossly erroneous.* This system of fixing prices, of course, 
makes the earnings of the whalefhen much less than they actually would 
be if full market value was the basis of settlement. It is more than 
probable that if the full market value of the products was paid the lay 
would be proportionately “ longer, ” so that the men would receive no 
more than now for their labor. 
* Writing from San Francisco concerning this matter, under date of January 25, 
1889, Wilcox stated that the returns sent in by him were made up from the books of 
owners and agents, and from personal interviews with them. He called attention to 
the fact that the custom-house returns placed the value of whalebone at $1.50 per 
pound, while he gave it as $3 per pound. The former was the price agreed upon by 
the sailors in signing shipping articles for the voyage, and the latter was from 25 to 
50 cents less than the market value, but used as the most correct basis for getting 
actual values after allowing for culls and shrinkage, both of which must he taken 
into account as materially affecting receipts. The price of whale oil as given to 
the custom-house was 18 cents per gallon, but it was really worth 35 cents. Thus 
there was a difference of $553,365 in the value of whale products as furnished to cus- 
toms authorities and the correct figures. 
