WHARVES 341 



In 1824 occurred another memorable disaster to the 

 crew of a Nantucket whaling ship. The crew of the 

 ship " Globe " mutinied, killing the superior officers 

 and some of the men. But eight of the crew returned 

 alive to Nantucket to tell this tale of horror. The 

 others — those who were not killed by the mutineers — 

 were massacred by the natives of the Mulgrave Islands, 

 to which place the vessel had been taken by the con- 

 spirators. 



The business of whaling from Nantucket reached its 

 culmination in 1842, when eighty-six ships and two 

 brigs and schooners belonged to the port, having a 

 capacity of 36,000 tons. From this time the pursuit 

 from Nantucket declined. Losses by a terrible visita- 

 tion of fire, the stampede for the gold mines of Cali- 

 fornia, the scarcity of whales, the expense of fitting 

 and increased dangers of the Arctic fishery, the 

 decline in the value of the product, the discovery of 

 petroleum, all served to cause the downfall of whaling, 

 not only in Nantucket but in other ports. In 1869 the 

 last whale ship sailed from the port of Nantucket; and 

 the business, so far as the island's interest is concerned, 

 is a thing of the past. Nantucket's mariners now sail 

 from other ports, and the stories of their skill and dar- 

 ing are stories of by-gone years. 



Wharves. 



There are five wharves belonging to the town, each 

 of which has a history; Straight Wharf, the oldest 

 of them, having been built for more than one hundred 

 and fifty -years. Hundreds — aye, thousands — of 

 vessels have loaded and unloaded their freights here, 



