THE AMERICAN WHALE -FISUERY. 9^r. 



2o'o 



which did not experience many changes ; men were lost through casualties, died of 

 disease, deserted, or were exchanged, sometimes discharged, and fi-equentl}' a smart 

 j'outh would be promoted to an advanced position before his first voyage termi- 

 nated. Anyone who gave promise of the requisites for a good whaleman had but 

 little difficulty in shipping as a boat-steerer on the second voyage. At first, as 

 has been previously stated, the colonial whaling -craft were manned almost exclu- 

 sively by the colonists and Indians ; but at length the fleet became so numerous, 

 that, in a majority of cases, it was only practicable to obtain Americans for the 

 principal officers, the rest of the ship's company being made up, as one might say, 

 of all nations ; and not unfrequently, in the forecastle, would be found runaway 

 American youths of the best blood, ambitious farmers' sons from the interior, who 

 were intent on becoming sea-captains, together with criminals in disguise, and 

 hapless emigrants from the old country — Portuguese from the Azores, and negroes 

 from the Cape de Verdes''' — altogether making up a motley crew, which could only 

 be controlled by strict discipline. Much lias Ijcen written about the duplicity and 

 sharp dealing of the owners of whaling - vessels, and the heartless severity of 

 whaling - captains ; but it is found that the authors of these glaring complaints 

 were usually impracticable or discontented characters, who went drifting about 

 the world with no fixed y^urpose of action, being generally dissatisfied with them- 

 selves and everyone with whom the}' came in contact — more especially if subjected 

 to their control ; or they were of that class wlio imagined they could make a con- 

 venience of the vessel to sail around the world — their chief oljject being to gratify 

 their curiosity in sight- seeing, regardless of the faithful discharge of tlieir duties — 

 or, to say the least, they took no interest in the success of the voyage ; hence 

 their view of everything pertaining to whaling presented no pleasing features. 

 Unfeeling and unprincipled men are sometimes found holding the responsible posi- 

 tions of mates and masters of whaling -vessels, as may be found in all other 

 branches of the marine service; but that the majority of whaling -masters are 

 unjust and tyrannical to those under their command, is a libel on their humane 

 characters. It is not surprising that the discontented adventurer regards the prac- 

 tical discipline on shipboard as severe, and the commanding bearing of the officers 

 as unnecessary. On the other hand, the officers, who have learned by tlieir pro- 

 tracted schooling in a hardy and perilous profession that the success of the voyage 



*It lias been a. general custom for outward- of vegetables and fresli provisions; and at such 



bound "whalers to call at the Azores, or at the times they made up their complement of men, 



Cape de Verdes, if the season of the year was if full crews had not been shipped at home 



favorable, for the purpose of obtaining supplies ports. 



