330 THE ISLAND OF NANTUCKET. 



or any nationality. Such was the skill and daring of 

 the islanders in this pursuit that they carried their em- 

 ployment, hazardous enough under the most favorable 

 aspects, to an extreme that seemed audacious, and won 

 the plaudits even of those who were their rivals in the 

 business. 



What England and France were unable to accom- 

 plish with a monopoly of trade and heavy bounties, 

 whalemen of the United States carried on successfully 

 without assistance from their government and in the 

 face of all competition. Among the foremost were 

 the seamen of Nantucket. Their keels vexed every 

 sea, and the American flag floated from the mast-heads 

 of their ships in every port. Pushing their pursuit 

 into unknown seas, large numbers of the islands of 

 the Pacific were discovered, and their locations deter- 

 mined by these pioneers of the sea. At once produ- 

 cers and factors, their trade extended from China in the 

 west to the shores of the Mediterranean in the east; 

 and they traded as well in the teas and silks of the 

 Occident as in the fruits and wines and manufactured 

 goods of the Orient. They brought as curiosities the 

 dresses of the Esquimaux and the weapons of the 

 natives of the Pacific islands ; the trinkets of the Jap- 

 anese and the natives of the lands bordering Behring's 

 Straits, and the papyrus books of the people of India. 

 At home, when peace reigned, the people were all 

 busy, happy, and prosperous, the warehouses were 

 crowded with goods, and the streets thronged with 

 teams and foot passengers. At the wharves lay a 

 large fleet of vessels -taking in or discharging cargoes 

 or refitting for new voyages. The cheery din of the 



