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A HISTORY OF THE
WHALE FISHERIES

FROM THE BASQUE FISHERIES OF THE
TENTH CENTURY TO THE HUNTING OF THE
FINNER WHALE AT THE PRESENT DATE

J. T. JENKINS, D.Sc., PH.D.

(Superintendent, Lanes, and Western Sea Fisheries)

AUTHOR OF "SEA FISHERIES," UA TEXT BOOK OF OCEANOGRAPHY "

WITH REPRODUCTIONS FROM
PHOTOGRAPHS, AND OLD ENGRAVINGS

LONDON

H. F. & G. WITHERBY

326 HIGH HOLBORN, W.C.

1921

To
DR WALTER SAISE

PREFACE

IT is difficult to give within brief compass a detailed
history of the whale fisheries, and hitherto no
attempt has been made to do so in the English
language. Since whaling falls into four or five
well-defined, and more or less independent, phases
it is possible to give a brief, and, allowing for the
disconnection of the periods, consecutive account of
the main aspects of this important fishery.

There is no authoritative account of British
whaling which can be compared with M tiller's
" Geschiednis der Noordsche Compagnie " for the
Dutch fishery ; Brinner's " Die deutsche Gronland-
fahrt " for the German whalers, or Tower's " History
of the American Whale Fishery " ; each of which
gives a fairly complete account of special periods of
whaling. It is to be hoped that further research
may be directed to certain aspects of whaling which
have hitherto received inadequate attention. There
is material for several theses which might reason-
ably be proposed for research degrees by post-
graduate students at our Universities. Further
references to the subject are given under the
heading " Bibliography " (p. 315).

47950.

6 PREFACE

Necessarily some of the subject-matter is only of
interest to the specialist, but whaling is so unique in
many respects — in the romance of the life of the
whalers, and in the natural history of one of the
most remarkable groups of living creatures — that
even detailed studies of the subject are not without
interest.

The romance of the whalers' life can only be
realised by a perusal of the original writings of the
whalers. In this book the main facts of the
progress of the whaling trade have been marshalled.
In many, if not in most cases, these facts speak for
themselves. If within the next few decades whaling
is not become entirely extinct, owing to the practical
disappearance from the seas of the globe of the
animals whose presence is necessary to its continued
existence, it is imperative that further steps should be
taken to regulate the industry by international action.
Otherwise a most interesting group of marine
animals will be hunted to the verge of extinction,
and a great natural asset rendered worthless to
enrich a small group of speculators and capitalists.
This book has been written in the hope that, before
it is too late, steps will be taken to control this
ruthless destruction.

J- T. J.

CONTENTS

PAGE

PREFACE ...... 5

CHAPTER I

WHALES AND THEIR CLASSIFICATION

The migrations of whales — The Greenland Right Whale —
The Biscayan Whale or Nordcaper — The Californian
Grey Whale— The Humpback— The Finners . „ \ 1 1

CHAPTER II
THE ECONOMICS OF WHALING
The regulations for the protection of whales . . ... 39

CHAPTER III
THE EARLY HISTORY OF WHALING (TO 1623)

The Basque whalers — The discovery of " Greenland " (Spits-
bergen)— The first British whalers— ^The Spitsbergen
fishery— The whales found there — The disputes between
the English and the Dutch — Edge's description of the
fishery * * » * * v » •'. • • 59

CHAPTER IV

THE DUTCH WHALERS PREDOMINANT (1623-1750)

The methods of the Dutch whalers at Spitsbergen — Smeeren-
burg — The French at Spitsbergen — The English Mus-
covy Company — Anderson and Gray's description of the
fishery — The German whalers — The pre-eminence of the
Dutch . . ... * . . • .119

8 CONTENTS

CHAPTER V

THE BOUNTY SYSTEM

PAGE

The whalers apply for State assistance — The South Sea
Company and the Whale Fisheries — Development of the
British whaling industry as a result of the bounty
stimulus — Description of Arctic whaling voyages . . 177

CHAPTER VI

THE SOUTHERN FISHERY

The capture of the Sperm Whale — Commencement of a
southern fishery — The voyages of Colnett, Beale, and
Bennett . . « . * . ,_ .. ... 207

CHAPTER VII

THE AMERICAN WHALE FISHERIES

•<

Importance of whales to the early colonists — Gradual exten-
sion of the fishery — Firmly established in 1775 — Set-
back caused by the Revolution — Gradual recovery —
Checked again by the war of 1812 — Subsequent rapid
expansion — Mid-nineteenth century American whaling
fleet the largest ever known — Gradual decline of the
industry, and the reasons for it . •« f . . 4 . 223

CHAPTER VIII
THE LAST PHASE OF WHALING

The introduction of steam — The harpoon gun and the capture
of Rorquals — The disappearance of the old right whalers
— The Norwegian whalers — Gradual extension of their
operations — The Scottish and Irish whaling stations —
Antarctic whaling 256

APPENDICES V . 301

BIBLIOGRAPHY % . 315

INDEX 333

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

PAGE

THE SPITSBERGEN FISHERY (DE JONG, I7Ql) Frontispiece

EDGE'S MAP OF " GREENLAND" (SPITSBERGEN) Facing 58

EDGE'S DESCRIPTION OF THE SPITSBERGEN

FISHERY. I. * „ 64

EDGE'S DESCRIPTION OF THE SPITSBERGEN

FISHERY. II. * „ 80

EARLY TYPE OF DUTCH WHALER, WITH WHAL-
ING IMPLEMENTS (VAN OELEN) . . . „ 128

THE NORTHERN FISHERY, SECOND PHASE, THE

ICE FISHERY (ZORGDRAGER) „ l6o

THE AMERICAN WHALER. A SHIP ON THE
NORTH-WEST COAST CUTTING-IN HER

LAbl KHatll WHAL.C. . * •

* » >

THE " ARCTIC " WITH BOATS FAST TO
(1875) ...

A FISH
* • »>

256

PLANS OF A WHALING STEAMER OF MODERN
TYPE „

264

MODERN WHALING GUN, LOADED
HARPOON, AND READY TO FIRE

WITH
• »>

272

MODERN WHALING STEAMER. IN THE FORE-
GROUND TWO FINNER WHALES ARE BEING
TOWED TO THE FACTORY SLIP „ 280

MODERN WHALING — THE CHASE . . . „ 288

A HISTORY OF THE WHALE
H! FISHERIES

CHAPTER I

WHALES AND THEIR CLASSIFICATION

The migrations of whales — The Greenland Right Whale — The
Biscayan Whale or Nordcaper — The Californian Grey Whale
— The Humpback — The Finners.

" WHALES are in many respects the most interesting
and wonderful of all creatures; there is much in
their structure and habits well worthy of study,
much that is difficult to understand, and much that
leads to great generalisations and throws light upon
far-reaching philosophical speculations."

It is not proposed to enter into the anatomy or
classification of the order Cetacea; to which whales,
porpoises and dolphins belong; save in so far as
such knowledge is required to understand the
probable effects of whaling on the future existence
of many species of this order of animals. A brief
account, suitable for the general reader, may be
obtained from such a work as " An introduction to
the study of Mammals " by Flower and Lydekker,

12 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

from which the above quotation is taken. But
since zoological knowledge is not so generally
distributed as zoological specialists imagine, it may
be well, even at the risk of being thought plati-
tudinous, to recapitulate some of the leading
characteristics of the order Cetacea.

Whales, porpoises and dolphins are mammals or,
in the popular acceptation of the term, animals and
not fish, that is to say they belong to that class of the
animal kingdom which is characterised (among
other things) by being warm-blooded, by having a
prolonged organic connection between the mother
and the unborn young, by the suckling of the young
after birth, by the possession of hair and by a high
brain development.

Among mammals, whales are further distin-
guished by their fish-like body, the absence of a
distinct neck, by the reduction of the fore-limbs to
the form of paddles or flukes, by the absence of
externally visible hind limbs, by the presence of a
thick layer of fat (blubber) immediately beneath the
skin serving to retain the heat of the body, by the
opening of the nostrils near the vertex of the head
instead of at the tip of the snout. In nearly all
Cetacea there is a median dorsal tegumentary fin.
The eyes are small and there is no external ear.
The bones are spongy, the cavities filled with
oil. The brain-case is nearly spherical; teeth are
generally present, but in one group in the foetal
condition only.

The larynx is of peculiar shape, being elongated

WHALES AND THEIR CLASSIFICATION 13

to meet the posterior nares, forming a continuous
canal down which air passes from nostrils to lungs.
Cetaceans must rise to the surface to breathe, but
the expiration occurs at longer intervals than in
land mammals.

The water vapour expelled along with the air
from the lungs condenses into the cloud visible
when the whale " spouts " or " blows," which is
nothing more than the ordinary act of respiration.

The testes are abdominal and there are no
seminal vesicles. The mammce are two in number,
the nipples being placed in depressions on each side
of the vulva. The principal ducts of the mammary
gland are, during the period of lactation, much
dilated, forming large reservoirs in which the milk
collects. From these reservoirs it is ejected by the
action of a compressor muscle into the mouth of the
young, and by this means the process of suckling in
and under water is facilitated.

Usually one young is born at a time, rarely two
and never more than two.

The sexes are easily distinguished. Details of
the reproductive organs and " pairing " have been
published for porpoises by Meek.1 Off the east
coast of England porpoises pair in July and
August, and they are frequently taken at this time
by the salmon net fishermen of Cullercoats. The
summer inshore migration of these creatures is
doubtless for the birth of the young and pairing.

1 " The Reproductive Org-ans of Cetacea," by A. Meek,
Journal of Anatomy, Vol. lii., p. 186.

14 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

The period of gestation is not known with any
certainty, but is generally supposed to be from ten
months to over a year.

For the common Fin-whale (Balceno-piera
musculus, L.) it is supposed to be about eleven
months; for the Blue Whale (B. sibbaldi, Gray)
from eighteen to twenty months.

Cetacea are generally gregarious, swimming in
" schools," formerly many thousands being met
together. They are timid, inoffensive animals,
Affectionate in their disposition, especially the
mother towards the young.

All are predaceous, living on animal food. One
form alone, the Killer Whale or Grampus (Orca
gladiator), eats other warm-blooded forms, such as
seals. Some feed on fish, such as herring, others
on the plankton or drifting organisms of the surface
layers of sea water, such as small Crustacea, while
still others live on deep-sea cephalopods. In size
there is great variation, some of the smaller dolphins
scarcely exceeding four feet in length. The
question of size has an important bearing on the
future of the species, since whalers in the waters of
the British Islands find it does not pay to kill
Cetacea under forty feet in length.

Cetacea formerly abounded in all known seas,
some species being also found in the larger rivers
of South America and Asia.

Considerable information as to the species found
in British seas and their relative abundance has
recently been obtained from the Annual Reports of

WHALES AND THEIR CLASSIFICATION 15

the whaling stations in Scotland and Ireland and
from a return of stranded Cetacea published
annually by the British Museum.1

The Cetacea are divided into two sub-orders: the
Mystacoceti the Whalebone or True Whales; and
the Odontoceti the Toothed Whales. (We are not
concerned with extinct forms).

The Mystacoceti are distinguished by the absence
of teeth, the presence of baleen or " whalebone,"
the form and size of the mouth, a symmetrical skull,
a distinctly developed olfactory organ, and other
pecularities which may be ascertained in any work
on comparative anatomy. The essential character-
istic is that the palate carries two longitudinal
series of transverse horny plates, with their free
edges frayed out into a hair-like fringe, forming a
uniform mat-like surface during life.

Lydekker enumerates five genera and nine
species of Whalebone Whales, and of these seven
species are (or were) sufficiently abundant to be the
objects of commercial exploitation.

For practical purposes Neobalczna marginata, a
small whale of Australian and New Zealand
waters, and Rhachianectes glaucus, the Grey
Whale of the North Pacific, may be ignored, the
former from its small size (under twenty feet), the
latter from its rarity.2

1 British Museum (Natural History), " Report on Cetacea
stranded on the British Coasts," by S. F. Harmer. Seven parts
issued up to ig2i, i.e., for years ig 14-20.

2 But see " Present Condition of the Californian Grey Whale
Fishery," by C. H. Townsend, U.S. Fish. Comm. Bull . Vol vi
for 1836-87. (See aflso p. 253.)

16 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

The three remaining genera, the Right Whales
(Balcznd), the Humpback Whales (Megaptera) and
the Rorquals or Finners (Baltznoptera) are all
pursued by commercial whalers. Some representa-
tives of all three genera are found in waters
surrounding the British Isles, the Finners or
Rorquals being the commonest.

Lydekker recognises two species of Right Whale,
the Greenland or Arctic Right Whale (Balcena
mysticetus) and the Southern Right Whale (Balcena
australis}. The Southern Right Whale is sub-
divided into so-called species or varieties according
to their geographical distribution, e.g., the B. bis-
cayensis of the North Atlantic, B. japonica of the
North Pacific, B. australis of the South Atlantic,
and B. antipodarum and B. novce-zealandice of the
South Pacific.

The variety known to the whalers as the Nord-
caper (B. biscayensis) is the only Right Whale
taken in the seas off the British Islands. It is by
no means uncommon off the Hebrides, twenty being
taken there in 1908, twenty-one in 1909, and five
in 1910. In this year the Nordcaper was taken for
the first time on the Shetland grounds, four
specimens being captured. In 1911 there were no
Right Whales taken anywhere in Scottish waters,
eleven in 1912, one in 1913, and five in 1914.
There was no whaling in the five following years on
account of the war.

The species of Balaena or Right Whale are most
readily distinguished from the other whales by their

WHALES AND THEIR CLASSIFICATION 17

smooth throat and the absence of a dorsal fin. In
the Humpback and Finners or Rorquals the skin of
the throat is plicated. The Right Whales were
probably the first to be the subject of chase by
man, and the Atlantic Right Whale (B. biscayensis)
was pursued by Basque fishermen from the earliest
times of which we have any record of whaling
(from the tenth to the sixteenth centuries).

The Greenland or Arctic Right Whale is
probably the same species as the " Bowhead " of
the Okhotsk Sea and Behring Strait, and is there-
fore circumpolar in range. It attains a length of
from forty-five to fifty feet, and although a truly ice
whale, has for centuries been the object of an
extensive fishery. It has never been reported in the
waters off the British Islands.

The Southern Right Whale, which is distin-
guished from the former species by possessing a
smaller head in proportion to its body, had also been
extensively hunted by whalemen. If we admit,
with Lydekker, that all the varieties are really only
one species, then it is seen that this whale is very
widely distributed in the temperate seas of both
northern and southern hemispheres.

The Humpback (Megaptera hoops), which grows
to about fifty feet, resembles the Rorquals in
having throat-grooves and a dorsal fin, but differs
in its very long flipper (pectoral fins), from ten to
fourteen feet in length, having the outer surface
white and the front edge scalloped. The whalebone
is black.

18 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

This species is relatively abundant in British seas,
fifty-nine being captured in Scottish waters in the
eleven years 1904-14. In 1863 a young female
humpbacked whale was stranded on a sandbank
in the Mersey opposite Speke (not in the Dee, as
stated by Lydekker). This species probably derives
its name from the low hump-like character of the
dorsal fin.

The Rorquals, Fin-whales, Fin-backs, Finners
or Razorbacks are species of the genus Balsenoptera.
They form the mainstay of the whale fisheries in
British waters, where four species occur.

Rorquals are of extremely wide distribution,
being found in all seas except in extreme Arctic and
Antarctic regions. The name Rorqual is derived
from the Norse Rorq-val, signifying a whale with
pleats or folds in the skin. Compared with the
Humpback, the Rorquals are long and slender, the
furrows of the throat are more numerous and closer
set, the pectoral fin is comparatively small, and the
tail much compressed before it is expanded into
flukes.

Owing to their great activity these whales were
not much pursued until the introduction of the small
modern steam whalers with gun and explosive
harpoon.

Of the four British species the smaller or lesser
Fin-whale or Rorqual (Balcenoptera rostrata) rarely
exceeds thirty feet, and is exempt on that account
from the attention of the whalers.

Of the other three, the Blue Whale (Sibbald's

WHALES AND THEIR CLASSIFICATION 19

Whale — Balcznoptera sibbaldi) is the largest of all
living creatures. It attains a length of eighty or even
eighty-five feet. It spends, like the other species of
the Rorqual, the winter in the open sea, approaching
the land at the end of April or beginning of May.

The Common Rorqual or Finner (Balcznoptera
musculus) grows to seventy feet, and is the
commonest of all the large whales on the British
coasts. It feeds on fish, and is frequently seen
among the herring shoals.

Rudolphi's Rorqual or the Sei Whale (Balcenop-
tera borealis) is a smaller edition to the common
Finner, attaining -a length of from thirty-eight to
fifty feet. Until recently it was considered the
rarest of European whales, but in 1906 no less than
three hundred and twenty-six specimens of this
species were taken by the whalers in Scottish waters.

Hundreds of Rorquals are annually captured in
British waters (see Appendix V), and every year
specimens are stranded on our coasts.

The sub-order of the Odontoceti comprises the
toothed whales, in which calcified teeth are always
present after birth. These teeth are generally
numerous, though in some cases only a few are
present. There is no baleen or whale " bone."
The upper surface of the skull is more or less
asymmetrical. The olfactory organ is rudimentary
or absent. For details of the anatomical differences
between this and the preceding sub-order of the
Mystacoceti a textbook on Comparative Anatomy,
such as Flower and Lyddeker, should be consulted.

20 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

The Odontoceti are represented by three living and
one extinct families, of these one family only, the
Sperm Whale (Physetendcs)^ is of any considerable
economic importance.

Two Physeterids have been the object of a
considerable fishery, the Sperm Whale or Cachalot
(Physeter macro cephalus) and the Bottlenose
(Hyper oo don restrains).

The Sperm Whale is one of the largest of animals
equalling, if not exceeding, in bulk the Greenland
Right Whale, which it further resembles in having
been from the early days of whaling the object of
an important fishery. The Sperm Whale is very
widely distributed, being found (until it Became
scarcer through over-fishing) in " schools " in all
tropical and sub-tropical seas, but only accidentally
in arctic or sub-arctic water. Occasionally
stragglers appear in the waters of the British Islands,
and are caught by the commercial whalers working
these waters, or even washed ashore. In the ten
years 1904-13 no less than sixty-six Sperm Whales
were captured by the whalers in Scottish waters ; in
Irish waters in the years 1909-13 the number was
forty-four. On 23rd May, 1917, a Sperm Whale
was stranded at Latheron, Caithness.

Details of the Sperm Whale fishery are given
below. The so-called " Southern " fishery of the
British, the Pacific fisheries of British and American
whalers were mainly for this species. Although not
extinct, this species has been so much hunted and
harassed that it no longer serves as the sole object

WHALES AND THEIR CLASSIFICATION 21

of a fishery, though, as already stated, it is still not
infrequently captured with other species, even in the
waters surrounding the British Isles.

Of the other Physeterids the only one of economic
importance is the " Bottlenose " (Hyperoodon
rostratus\ a regular inhabitant of the North Atlantic,
where it passes the summer in Spitsbergen waters,
going farther south in winter. Captain Gray1
says: " These whales are occasionally met with
immediately after leaving the Shetlands in March
and north across the ocean till the ice is reached."
They are met with from the entrance to Hudson
Strait and up Davis Strait as far as 70° N., and
down the east side round Cape Farewell, all round
Iceland, north along the Greenland Ice to 77° N.,
also along the west coast of Spitsbergen, and east to
Bear Island. In the period 1905-13 twenty-four
Bottlenose Whales were captured in Scottish waters.
The second family of Odontoceti, the Platanistidae,
are small Cetacea, inhabiting the rivers and estuaries
of certain rivers in the tropics. They are of no
commercial importance.

The third and last family, the Delphinidas, com-
prise the porpoises and dolphins of our waters as
well as the Narwhal of Arctic seas. None of the
members of this family is the object of a regular
fishery, except the Pilot Whale, Ca'ing Whale or
Grindhval of the Faroes and the Shetlands, which
at times is the object of a regular fiord fishery well
described by Miiller.2

1 Proceedings Zoological Society, 1882.

3 " Whale Fishing- in the Faroe Isles,"- by Sysselmand H. C.

22 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

This statement is, however, not strictly correct,
since the White Whale or Beluga (Delphinapterus
leucas) was fished for by the early English whalers
at Spitsbergen, but not by the Dutch.1

It was described under the name of " Sewria " by
Thomas Edge in 1609. The White Whales were
captured in the bays by nets or driven ashore by the
same means. In 1670 there is a record of a
Greenland ship arriving in Yarmouth Roads with
" about twenty-four tons of oil made from white-
fish."2 The Russian trappers, who frequented
Spitsbergen in the nineteenth century, were provided
with long nets which they used in such places as
Cross Road and Green Harbour, for the capture of
White Whales in the event of a school approaching
their station in the open season of the year.3

In the first place, are whales to be considered
as coastal or deep-sea animals? According to
Vanhoffen4 whales are generally seen in coastal or
bank areas and rarely in the open ocean or deep
sea ; the reason being that they find more abundant
food in the former localities. Recent information as
to the distribution of plankton (the floating organ-
isms which form the food of the Whalebone Whales)
shows that it is found much more abundantly over
the continental shelf and shallow banks than over

Miiller, " Fish and Fisheries," Prize Essays, International
Fisheries Exhibition, Edinburgh, 1883.

1 Zorgdrager. Bloyende Opkomst,, ist edition, p. 162.

3 State Papers, Domestic, 1660-70, p. 433.

3 Conway, " No Man's Land," p. 255.

* Anat. Anz., Bd. xxii., 1899, p. 396.

WHALES AND THEIR CLASSIFICATION 23

deep water. This plankton, even when it does not
serve as the direct food of certain species of whales,
nevertheless forms the basis of the food supply of
the cephalopods and fish on which these whales
feed.

Guldberg1 agrees with this theory provided that
too narrow an interpretation is not placed on the
word " coastal." Unquestionably the food problem
is the one which mainly governs the movements of
whales, and therefore they are most often met with
in localities where such food is most abundant. The
coastal areas and banks are naturally very extensive,
and not susceptible of being closed (either partially
or wholly) to whaling operations by the governments
of the countries off whose shores they lie. For
instance, the Kodiac ground in the Pacific Ocean is
a very extensive area covering hundreds of square
miles. There is, however, one whale which is
unquestionably not to be regarded as coastal in its
habitat, and that is the Cachalot or Sperm Whale.
When a whale is found to live mainly or exclusively
on a given species of plankton the distribution of
the whale corresponds with the distribution of that
species. The second factor in the distribution of
the whale is reproduction. The female whale seeks
out a quiet area for the birth of her young and for
the first few months of its life. Pairing also, for the
most part, takes place in quiet weather, although
there are very few authentic observations of this.
A third factor is the water temperature.

1 Biol. Cenlralblatt.y xxiii. and xxiv., 1903- j.

24 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

One of the most important whales to the earliest
northern whalers was the Polar or Greenland, or
Right Whale, the Bowhead of the Americans
(Balcena mysticetus). This whale appears to make
regular seasonal migrations. In summer it is found
in the farthest northern waters, e.g., in 75° to
78° N. Latitude in Baffin Bay. In winter it
migrates farther south, being found as low as 65°
N. Latitude on the east side of Greenland, or even
in 58° N. on the west side. It frequents the water
between the ice-floes where abundant Pteropoda
(Clio borealis) and Entomostraca are met with.
Although it is found in more open water in summer
it never moves far from the ice.

In former times, as will be seen from the sequel
(Chapter III) this whale was very abundant off
Spitsbergen. According to Martens, it was found in
spring in the west near Jan Mayen and Greenland,
but in summer in open water east of Spitsbergen.

It is doubtful whether the Greenland Right
Whale was found off the northern Norwegian coast
in earlier historical times. At any rate the earliest
whalers, who probably fished in these waters,
distinguished between this whale and the " Nord-
caper." The Greenland Right Whale is not found
now in Scandinavian waters, though the balance of
evidence is that it was so found in the seventeenth
century, at any rate in severe winters.

A true migration of the Greenland Right Whale
is mentioned by Brown (1875) who describes
hundreds as moving together from Paul's Bay

WHALES AND THEIR CLASSIFICATION 25

(Baffin Land) to Lancaster Sound. Scammon
gives the ground of the Bowhead, as the American
whalers call this whale, in winter at 55° N. or
in Okhotsk Sea 54° or 53° N. Latitude, while in
summer it keeps to the edge of the ice.

Off Northern Asia, from Nova Zembla eastward,
the Greenland Right Whale is not met with.

In the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth
centuries, from 1611 onwards, there was a regular
fishery in Arctic waters between Spitsbergen and
Greenland for this whale, but it has now practically
disappeared in these waters. This is unquestion-
ably due to over " fishing " on the part of the
whalers. First of all the bay fishery at Spitsbergen
was exhausted (about 1623), then the open water
between Spitsbergen and the ice off Greenland,
then Davis Strait and Baffin Bay were in turn
exploited. In 1896 the Scottish whaling fleet of
nine ships obtained only eleven species of this whale.
In 1901 six Scottish whaling steamers caught four-
teen Greenland Whales. The history of the whale
fisheries shows clearly that in the Arctic region
between Northern America and Europe this species
of whale has almost become extinct. In the
American-Arctic regions this same whale (Bowhead)
still holds its own to some extent, since whaling only
commenced here two hundred years after the
Spitsbergen fishery. Moreover, the whaling season
north of Behring Strait is a much shorter one.
There were then originally three chief areas in
which this whale was found :

2fi A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

(1) The eastern — Spitsbergen-Greenland area.

(2) A western — Greenland - Arctic - North -

American area.

(3) The American-Asiatic area. (Behring

Sea.)

The first area has now been fished to death, the
second has only a few whales still left, whereas in
the third the whale holds its own fairly well. No
census of this whale is possible ; we have no accurate
idea of its former abundance. The recovery of a
species of whale of the dimensions of the Greenland
Right Whale from the effects of over-fishing is
extremely slow. The females carry the young for
probably at least a year; then there is a period of
helplessness and dependence on the mother during
the time of suckling. Possibly the mother only
bears one young every second year. There are
many factors, most of which cannot be estimated,
but on the whole the evidence is in favour of a very
slow recovery.

The second important whale to the old whalers
was the Nordcaper (Balcena biscayensisy which
formerly frequented the European and American
coasts of the North Atlantic. This whale was
probably hunted by the Biscayans in the eleventh
and twelfth centuries, although their principal fishery
seems to have been in the fifteenth and sixteenth
centuries. The chase went more and more to the

1 Or according to some authorities a variety of Balcena
australis.

WHALES AND THEIR CLASSIFICATION 27

north as the whales became scarce and shy through
excessive hunting, until ultimately the chief whaling
grounds were off Iceland and ythe North Cape of
Norway. The Biscay ans, who called this whale
" Sarda " (the Norwegian names were Nordcaper or
Slettibakka) hunted it from October to February.
In the summer it went farther north where it was, like
the Greenland Right Whale, hunted by the Dutch
and other early Spitsbergen whalers. In these waters
it is now extremely rare. Stranded Nordcapers
have been found in the Mediterranean at Taranto
and Algiers. The Norwegian whaling records from
1884 to 1891 show that this whale is still found in
summer in Icelandic waters. Its range is from the
'Azores and Bermudas in the south to Bear Island in
the north. The whalers distinguished this species
from the Polar or Greenland Right Whale as early
as 1611, the latter being more valuable and also
more easy to kill. The earliest American whalers
caught the Nordcaper on the New England coasts
in the early years of the seventeenth century. The
season here lasted from early November to March
or April.

Before America was colonised it is probable
that occasional specimens of this whale were killed
by the Indians. Certainly, the earliest colonists
captured it off the coasts of New Hampshire,
Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island.
The period of prosperity of this whaling ranged,
in New England, from 1750 to 1784. The acci-
dental discovery of a Sperm Whale off this coast

28 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

and the developments it led to are described later
(Chapter VII).

Probably there were two main groups of the
Nordcaper (B. biscayensis)\ one on the American
and the other on the European coasts of the
North Atlantic. The European stock first became
reduced. The history of nineteenth-century whal-
ing shows that this whale, like its near relative, the
Greenland Right Whale, has sadly diminished on
its old feeding grounds. More recently it appears
to have increased in numbers. It is certainly of
migratory habits, being found in winter to the south,
and in summer to the north.

In the northern half of the Pacific is found the
Japan Whale or the Right Whale of the north-west
coast, but whether this is a variety of the Nordcaper
or is identical with the Southern Right Whale
(Balcena australis] is doubtful. This whale ranges
from the Aleutian Islands in the north to the coasts
of Japan and Oregon. The Japanese and the
American Pacific whalers both hunted this species.
In Scammon's time (1874) it was very abundant off
the Pacific coast of the United States. Its chief
habitat was the celebrated " Kodiac Ground " from
Vancouver Island north-west to the Aleutian chain,
and from the west coast to 150° W. Longitude.
There were large shoals also in the southern part
of Behring Sea, off the coast of Kamschatka and in
the Sea of Okhotsk.

Off the American north-west coast this whale was
hunted by the American whalers in summer from

WHALES AND THEIR CLASSIFICATION 29

April to September inclusive; in spring from
February to April south of 29° N. Latitude in the
Bay of St Sebastian Viscaino and round the Cerres
Islands.

The Southern Right Whale (Balcena australis) is
regarded by some cetologists as the same species as
the Nordcaper and the Japan Whale. A century
and a half ago the southern waters were full of these
whales. The American whalers alone caugh.
193,522 whales of this species in southern water?
from 1804 to 1817. In spite of the fact that millio
of dollars were made and thousands of whales kill ,,
we have not sufficient information for a correct
zoological differentiation of this species. This
whale is also migratory, leaving and seeking colder
and warmer water according to the season. It is,
on the whole, a whale of temperate seas and possibly
not found to any extent in Antarctic waters,1 although
other species are at present found there in great
abundance, where they are the object of incessant
slaughter by the Norwegian whalers; the last phase,
in the History of Whaling.

The California Grey Whale (Rhachianectes
glaucus) is an inhabitant of the Pacific coasts of the
North American continent. From November to
May it is found off the coast of California, where the
female enters the lagoons to give birth to the young,
the male remaining outside off the coast. Later the
male enters the lagoons (at the end of winter) and
then the male, female, and young are seen migrating

1 Racowitza. Expedition. Antarctique Beige, 1903.

30 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

to the northward, swimming close inshore. The
California Grey Whale is a true coastal species.

In the summer it frequents Behring Sea and
Okhotsk Sea. In autumn it is again noticed, from
October to November, off the coast of Oregon. It
does not appear to migrate below 20° N. Latitude.
This whale is also known to the Japanese under the
name " Kokujira." It was also hunted by the
Indians, on its migration, in the Straits of Fuca
(Vancouver), and near Charlotte Island.

The Nordcaper and California Grey Whale are
essentially plankton feeders.

According to Andrews1 the annual migration of
the California Grey Whale occurs as regularly as
the seasons. On both sides of the Pacific the
migrations take place almost at the same time.
Along the Korean coast near the end of November
single pregnant females appear, travelling steadily
southwards; a little later both males and females
are seen, finally males bring up the rear, all having
passed by 25th January.

During the latter part of the nineteenth century
the hunting of the whale by small steamers specially
built to carry a harpoon gun, has led to an enor-
mous destruction of Finner Whales or Rorquals
(Balcenop tended). Many thousands of these
whales have been killed by the harpoon gun (see
p. 272).

Of the Balsenopteridae the Humpback (Megaptera
hoops) is one of the most important. It was known

1 " Whale hunting with gun and Camera," New York, 1916.

WHALES AND THEIR CLASSIFICATION 31

to the old Norwegians as " Skeljungr." It is of
wide distribution, being found in the southern and
northern parts of the Atlantic Ocean, in the Indian
and Pacific Oceans, in the latter as far north as
Behring Strait. Probably there is only one species
of Humpback, though at different times several
species have been described by cetologists.

The Humpback is found in August and
September in high northerly latitudes. In
November it migrates to the south, and after the
winter is over, north again. In February it is
abundant off the Bermudas, leaving there in May
for Greenland, Baffin Bay, and the Finmark
coast (Norway).

At the end of the summer, it leaves northern
waters again and seeks the African coast or the
West Indies. The Humpback crosses the Equator
off the Peruvian coast. According to Scammon,
individual Humpbacks are recognised by the
whalers ; off Greenland the same individuals are met
with from year to year, and they even have their
nicknames.

Hjort has recently collected important informa-
tion on the migration of the Humpback,1 which in
the North Atlantic feeds on either a small crustacean
or a small fish (Osmerus arcticus), preferring the
former. Hjort analysed the whalers' catches for
1896 and 1898, and found that the Humpback
approaches the Norwegian coast at two different
seasons of the year, firstly in February and March,

1 Fiskeri og Hvalfangst i det Nordlige Norget Berg-en, igo2.

32 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

and secondly in June and July. The Humpback
swims quietly and slowly in summer, but otherwise
in winter when it moves to the westward with the
speed of a steamer, and approaches the coast as
nearly as possible. Many whalers believe that it
rubs itself on the stones of the coast to free itself
of parasites. Certain it is that the whole Varanger
Fiord in the month of March simply bubbles or
boils with these whales.

On the Finmark coast the Humpbacks are
noticed to have their stomachs empty in the
migration period. The females are pregnant, being
near the birth period.

At the beginning of April they are found feeding
on fish. Where they go when they leave the
Norwegian coast is not certain, possibly to the
African coast, or the Cape Verde Islands or the
Azores.

The spring migration of the Humpback from the
Norwegian coast is concerned with its reproduction.
The female probably carries her young for eleven
months. Whether pairing takes place soon after
the birth of the young, as in the seals, is not known.
The Bear Island whalers have observed the young
suckling when twenty feet long. The larger young
ones follow their mother even in the subsequent year
when they leave the Finmark coast. Where the
northern Humpback goes in the season from autumn
to the following January or Febuary is not known,
because the whaling season finishes in September.
The Humpback is also found off the Greenland

WHALES AND THEIR CLASSIFICATION 33

coast in summer in Davis Strait and Baffin Bay
from 62° to 76° N. Latitude, leaving the open water
at the end of summer.

Recently whaling has been tried off the New-
foundland coast. In 1902 there were two whaling
steamers working in these waters, and from the ist
January to the igth April they caught five Hump-
backs; but from the 2Oth April to the end of
August, over one hundred. They were most
abundant in May and June. They probably pass
through these waters on their way north.

The Humpback appears to be distributed into
groups or races in the different seas of the world,
each group possibly frequenting a more or less
limited but still somewhat extensive area. There
are two such groups in the Atlantic, one in the
north, the other in the south. There may be one
(or two) groups in the Indian and several in the
Pacific Oceans. Each group has its own migration
paths. The North Atlantic group is found between
the old and the new world from June to late autumn
(or possibly to the following February or March) in
high latitudes off the coasts of Greenland, Iceland,
Jan Mayen, and northern Norway. In autumn they
probably scatter in shoals looking for the best
feeding-places. The females are still accompanied
by their young. The best feeding-places are
probably in the " Florida Current " or Gulf Stream,
off the Norwegian coast. Both in November
and in February the favourite food of the Hump-
back, the small Crustacea Boreo-phausia and Nycti-

34 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

phanes norwegicus are still abundant in 67^° N.
Latitude.

There are only very few records of the appearance
of the Humpback in winter. In April and May
they are also absent from the Northern Whaling
grounds.

There are few records of the Humpback in the
^uth Atlantic. In the North Pacific it is well
\r i^wn to the coastal inhabitants. The chief hunt-
ing grounds of the Indians were the Bays of
Magdalena, Balena, and Monterey. The visits of
the Humpbacks here are regular, in autumn they all
leave for the south, and in summer they move
northward.

In Antarctic regions the Humpback appears to be
the commonest whale. There are two main groups
apparently, the South American, and the South
Australian.

The most recent account of the migrations of the
Humpback is that given by Risting1 and Olsen,2
the former dealing with northern seas, the latter with
the conditions off the east and west coasts of South
Africa.

Risting concludes that the Humpback's migra-
tions, both north and south of the Equator, are
divisible into a feeding migration towards the Polar
Seas and a breeding migration into warmer regions.
These migrations are so regular that once the

1 Hval-fangsten i 1912. Bergen, 1013.

8 Orjan Olsen. See a report in N^twen ^-die Hefte, 1912,
Berg-en,

WHALES AND THEIR CLASSIFICATION 35

whalers have found a station from which the Hump-
back can be hunted its extermination is easier than
that of any other species. The percentage of
Humpbacks, to total whales captured in the Ant-
arctic waters of the Falkland Dependencies, sank
from 968 in 1910-11 to 2-5 in 1917-18.

On its breeding migration the Humpback moves
with great speed, keeping at the same time close to
the land. The migration westward of the Hump-
back along the Finmark coast, already referred to as
taking place in February and March, is that of
individuals coming from the east sea, where they
must have spent the winter. At this time the
females are nearly ready to give birth to their
young. The second appearance off the Finmark
coast is from June to August. In the meanwhile
they have been observed off the coast of North- West
Africa in April and May, where they are accom-
panied by the newly-born young. In their return
journey they pass the whaling stations off the Faroes
and Hebrides. Comparatively small numbers of
this species are killed by the whalers in Scottish
(Appendix V) and Irish (p. 281) waters. In
autumn, when the water becomes colder, the Hump-
back migrates northward into the eastern parts of
the northern sea, where it passes the winter, and
here its food consists partly of herring.

A similar migration appears to take place on the
American side of the Atlantic, where the Humpback
is abundant in Greenland waters during summer
and early autumn. At its inception, whaling in

36 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

Antarctic waters was almost entirely dependent on
the Humpback. Here the plankton on which this
whale feeds begins to become abundant in Novem-
ber, and this food is carried by the currents towards
the coast of the great South Polar Island groups.
The Humpback now puts in an appearance, being
at first in poor condition, but as the summer
advances it rapidly gets fatter, being at its best from
February to April. With the approach of the
southern winter the Humpback moves north into
warmer waters where the young are born and pair-
ing takes place. The females captured off South
Georgia and the South Shetlands in summer are
nearly all pregnant. In its northern migration the
Humpback approaches the coasts of the continents
where it is found from the middle of May, or even
earlier, off South America and Africa. The migra-
tion lasts till the end of July, the Humpback even
going north of the Equator.

The large proportion of Humpbacks captured by
whalers off the Natal coast is referred to below
(p. 295). Towards the end of August the south-
ward migration along these coasts begins, and this
lasts until November; the females now being
accompanied by their young. Similar migration
takes place in the Pacific on both sides of the
Equator. Off the African coast the birth of the
young Humpbacks takes place in the warm
Mozambique current. According to Olsen, the first
Humpbacks arrive at the breeding-places off Portu-
guese West and East Africa at the beginning of

WHALES AND THEIR CLASSIFICATION 37

June, the majority arriving in mid-July. The
females and young are seen moving south off Angola
as early as the end of August, and the majority
have left the African coast by October. A similar
migration of Humpbacks takes place between
New Zealand and the adjacent waters of the
Antarctic.

Here again the northward migration is for
breeding purposes.

In the genus Balaenoptera (Finner Whales) are
found the largest living creatures.

In the North Atlantic waters four species are
distinguished (see above, p. 18).

The Blue Whale (Balcenoptera sibbaldi) is the
largest of all living animals. It lives mainly on
small pelagic Crustacea (Boreophausid), and is a
true plankton whale. It can devour one thousand
litres of Crustacea at a meal. Many thousands of
this whale have been taken off the Norwegian coasts
since 1865. The Blue Whale is of migratory
habits. It appears in the north in spring, in many
years appearing in the Varanger Fiord on 8th May.

It also appears off Iceland in spring, and off
Newfoundland in February. Where it goes in
winter is not known. The Blue Whale is also found
on the Japan grounds.

The Sei Whale (Bal&noptera borealis) is also a
true plankton whale, and is found from Biarritz to
the North Cape. The majority of the whales
captured off the Faroes belong to this species. The
common Finner (Balceno'ptera musculns or physalus)

38 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

is distributed over the whole Atlantic Ocean. The
lesser Finner (B. rostratd) has a very wide distri-
bution. Both these whales are fish-eaters. The
common Finner follows the shoals of herring and
" lodde " (Osmerus\ and approaches the coasts at
the same time that they do.

Reference is made below (p. 56) to the
legislation affecting the hunting of whales in
Norwegian waters. According to Guldberg, this
prohibition of hunting the whales in Norwegian
waters can only damage the local whalers, without
protecting the whales, since they all migrate over
large areas.

What of the future of these whales? An
extinction of the Finners is perhaps hardly
possible, although the number of individuals of
these species is unquestionably diminishing rapidly.
In the case of the Right Whales and Sperm
Whales it is already a thing of the past for vessels
to fit out solely for their capture. Only by inter-
national regulation can the future of the whales
and the continued prosperity of whaling itself be
secured.

The migrations of the toothed whales, the
Cachalot (Chapter VI) and the Bottlenose (p. 269)
are dealt with elsewhere.

CHAPTER II

THE ECONOMICS OF WHALING
The regulations for the protection of whales.

ORIGINALLV -vhr.!-.s were hurfed fo? their oil
Their bodies are covered, immediately uiider th<L
skin, with a layer of fat or blubber, which in a
large specimen is from twelve to eighteen inches
thick. In young whales this blubber resemblej
hog's lard, in old ones it is of a reddish colour.
This was formerly considered to be the valuable
part of the whale, but, as will be seen, very little of
the whale's carcass is now wasted. The blubber
yields by expression and boiling nearly its own
weight of a thick viscid oil (train oil). The word
train has nothing to do with railways, but is derived
from the Dutch " Traan," a tear, i.e., a drop. Th •
oil was originally used in the old-fashioned
offensive " whale oil " lamps as an illuminant.
Early in the nineteenth century it became gradually
displaced by other illuminants.

A full account of the uses of whale oil is give,a
by Scoresby (1820). Up to that date it was
largely used in the lighting of the streets of towns,

40 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

and the interior of places of worship, houses, shops
and factories. It was extensively employed in the
manufacture of soft soap and in the preparation of
leather and coarse woollen cloths, in the manu-
facture of coarse varnishes and paints, and as a
lubricant for machinery. A gas was manufactured
from whale oil in 1816 or 1817, and in 1819
Ipswich, Norwich and other towns in England
lighted their streets with gas made from oil.

The discovery of petroleum in America in 1859
decided the fate of whale oil as an illuminant.

Modern methods of extraction of oil and its uses
are dealt with below.

A superior kind of oil was found in the head of
the Sperm Whale.

In this whale the valuable part was the spongy
mass dug from the cavity of the head.

Spermaceti may be defined as a neutral, inodorous
and nearly tasteless fatty substance extracted from
the oily matter of the head of the Sperm Whale by
filtration and treatment with potash-ley. It is
white, brittle, soft to the touch with a specific
gravity of 0-943 at 15°, melts from 38° to 47°.

Spermaceti was formerly used in the manufacture
of candles, being mixed with beeswax to preyent
granulation. It is also used in the manufacture of
unguents and ointments.

At one period in the history of whaling whale-
bone was the most important product of the fishery.
" Whalebone " is a substance of horny nature
adhering in thin parallel laminae to the upper jaw

THE ECONOMICS OF WHALING 41

of certain species of whales. It acts as a strainer
in the whale's mouth, detaining its food. Some
three hundred of these plates are found in the mouth
of an adult whale, their length being in the Green
land Whale from ten to twelve feet. They art
very flexible, strong, elastic and light.

The yalue of the " bone " lies in the fact that
when softened with hot water or by heating before
a fire, it retains any given shape, provided it is
secured in that shape until cold.

Whalebone at one time commanded a very high
price, since it served as a base for the rigid stays
and expanded hoops of our great-grandmothers.
The Dutch have at times obtained seven hundred
pounds a ton for it, and it is said their export trade
to England for this one article alone reached the
annual sum of a hundred thousand pounds. In
1763 its price was five hundred pounds per ton.
In the early part of the nineteenth century its price
varied from sixty to three hundred pounds, seldom
falling to the lowest rate and rarely exceeding a
hundred and fifty pounds. Scoresby estimated the
price for the five years ending 1818 at ninety
pounds per ton, but in July, 1830, it was quoted a*
a hundred and sixty to a hundred and eighty pounds
per ton.

Towards the end of the nineteenth century the
American fishery depended almost exclusively on
whalebone.1

1 " Whalebone — Its Production and Utilisation," by Charles
H. Stevenson, U.S.A. Bureau of Fisheries Document, No. 626,
Washington Governine; i '.• '. .g ^ ace, :g

42 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

Ambergris, another product of the whale fishery,
is now regarded as a secretion from the intestines
of the Sperm Whale, a result of disease. It may
be defined as a light, inflammable, fatty substance,
opaque in lustre, ashy in colour, with variegations
like marble, and giving forth a pleasant odour when
heated. It is now used exclusively in the prepara-
tion of perfumes, haying the property of adding to
the strength of other perfumes.

Ambergris is comparatively rare, and is worth
more than its weight in gold.
x In a modern factory very little of the whale's
body is wasted. Burfield1 has described the modus
operandi at a modern whaling factory.

In July, 1920, the author visited the whaling
station at Bunaveneader (Hebrides), and from
personal observation from information kindly
supplied by Mr Herlofson, the manager there, and
from Burfield, the following summary is compiled.

The chief products now are : Oil, whalebone,
meat (both food for human beings and cattle),
manure, bonemeal, salted meat, and spermaceti;
with two subsidiary products ambergris and sperm
teeth. Oil is still the most important product.
To extract it every part of the animal, except the
whalebone and sperm teeth, is boiled for twenty-
four hours. The whale is towed to the factory from
he place where it was killed, and anchored to a
buoy until the factory is ready for it. A large chain

1 Belmullet Whaling- Station. Report of the Committee of the
British Association, Section D, Dundee, 1912.

THE ECONOMICS OF WHALING 43

is then attached round the tail connected to a steel
warp, and the whale is slowly hauled up the flensing-
slip by means of a steam winch. The animal is
drawn up on its side or back ; owing to the distension
of the abdomen by the accumulation of gases the
whale floats in this position. The flensing plane
has to be strongly built, since a sixty foot whale
weighs from seventy to eighty tons.

The first process is the stripping off the blubber
" blanket." This is done by the blubber-flensers,
whose work consists exclusively in stripping off the
blubber and taking out the baleen. The blubber
is cut through along the mid-dorsal and ventral
lines, two cuts being also made on each side.
There are thus three strips taken off each side of
the whale. A chain fastened to a steel-wire rope
is attached to the head end of each of these strips,
the blubber being taken off from the head end
towards the tail by the assistance of a steam winch,
the flensers using their knives to ensure the blubber
coming off without the meat.

The blubber is now cut up into manageable
blocks by labourers. The blocks are further
divided by a revolving circular knife ; and are thus
transferred into fairly small pieces into the boilers
as soon as removed from the whale.

After the blubber is removed a " meat-flenser "
cuts off the whale's head, which is chopped up
separately. The carcass, from which the intestines
have been removed, is also dealt with by the meat
flenser, who strips the meat from the bones, the

44 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

whole of the meat being taken off in four strips,
two on each side. Finally he cuts up the backbone,
and the whole of the meat and bones in manageable
pieces is raised by elevators and tipped into boilers.

The blubber-boilers are open, but the meat and
bone boilers are closed, the pressure of the steam in
the latter helping to extract the less abundant oil.
The blubber is given three successive boilings, the
average duration of each being eight hours.

After each boiling the contents settle, the oil
being run off into vats. At the third boiling the
boiler is closed at the top, the steam pressing the
contents to ensure complete extraction of the oil.
Ultimately all the fat disappears, a dark mud
remaining. All the oil, blood and scraps which
accumulate when the whale is being cut up, are
gathered together and boiled, and at one factory in
1911 no less than two hundred barrels of No. 4
oil were obtained in this way, the value being
about six hundred pounds.

The oils are classified according to quality:

1. Spermaceti (from head of Sperm Whale).

2. Sperm blubber oil.

3. No. i oil (from blubber of Fin- whales).

4. No. 2. oil (from second boiling- of blubber of Fin-whales).

5. No. 3 oil (from meat and blubber in closed boiler).

6. No. 4 oil (from bones, scraps, and sperm meat).

Most of the oil is used for soap-making, but
during the war it was sold to manufacturers of
explosives for extraction of glycerine. The lower
grades are chiefly used for the manufacture of
lubricating greases.

THE ECONOMICS OF WHALING 45

A rough average of the yield of the four
commoner species of whale captured at British
stations is :

Barrels.

1. Rudolphis Rorqual or Seihval (Balanofitera borealis) . 10

2. Common Fin-whale (B. musculus) 15-70

3. Blue Whale (B. sibbaldi) 50-70

4. Sperm Whale (Physeter macrocephalus) . . . f ,-80

The whalebone plates are separated, scrubbed, and
soaked in warm soda solution, washed in warm wat^r
and dried in the open. When dry they are packed
in sacks. The baleen from the Fin-whales giver,
fourteen sacks to the ton. Most of the whalebone
goes to Paris, where it is used in the form of fint:
threads woven into silken fabrics for stiffening
purposes.

The residue from the meat and bones is dried b
a large rotating cylinder. The dried products,
which have a not unpleasant smell and look like
coarsely ground coffee, are packed in sacks and
exported to Norway, where it is used as cattle-food
(the meat only). A mixture of meat (two parts)
and bone (one part) is used as manure.

The meat of most of the Balsenopteridae, when
fresh, can be eaten, and some factories specialise in
canning this for sale as human food.1

The water formed by the condensation of the
steam in the boilers was formerly discharged into
the sea. This water is of a gluey nature, the glue

1 Whales and Porpoises as Food. With thirty-two recipes.
U.S. Department of Commerce Bureau of Fisheries. Economic
Circular, No. 38. Issued 6th November, 1918,

46 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

being particularly abundant in the dark skin situated
between the epidermis and the blubber.

This, in the form of the dark mud mentioned
above, was formerly thrown away, but steps are now
being taken to utilise it.

Before passing on to consider the regulations
which have been, and which might be, made for the
protection of the various species of whales, it is
necessary briefly to summarise the effect of whaling
on the abundance and distribution of those species
which have been most persistently hunted.

In all cases where whales have been the object of
a regular fishery the operations of the whalers have
had one inevitable result, and the sequence of
events in each case presents a remarkable similarity.
In every case the commencement of whaling is
marked by a great abundance of whales, and the
industry has been for a time exceedingly prosperous.
Sooner or later a decline has set in, and naturally,
with improved methods of killing, the period of
decline has set in earlier and proceeded more rapidly
in the later phases of whaling. Contrast the
lengthy period during which the fishery for the
Greenland Whale persisted, with the remarkably
rapid decline of the Humpback fishery in the Ant-
arctic region to the south of the South American
coasts. The Greenland Whale, though easier of
capture than the Humpback, defied the primitive
efforts of the whaler of Spitsbergen for a couple of
centuries ; the Humpback, a more agile species than
the Greenland Whale, and consequently more

THE ECONOMICS OF WHALING 47

difficult of capture, could not defy the modern steam
whaling methods of the Norwegians in the waters
of the Falkland Island Dependencies for a decade.

Once the decline has set in, no ameliorative
measures which have yet been tried have been
efficacious in stopping it, with the inevitable result
that there has followed a total cessation of whaling
for that particular species, or for the particular area.
Moreover, in no case has the cessation of whaling
taken place sufficiently soon to render possible the
recovery of the whales to any appreciable extent.

The successive phases in the history of whaling
described in the succeeding chapters have been, for
the most part, only possible because either a new
species has been attacked, or a new haunt of . a
previously attacked species has been discovered.
In the latter case, it is more than probable that a
distinct variety of the original species has been the
object of the fishery, though of this there i .,
unfortunately, no positive evidence. The Atlantic
Right Whale, or Biscay Whale or Nordcaper, was
the object of the first regular whale fishery, that of
the Basques, which originated probably a thousand
years ago in the Bay of Biscay. It is probable that
early whaling voyages, of which all record is now
lost, by the Basques, in pursuit of this whale, took
place to the Norwegian coast on the one hand, and
to Newfoundland on the other.

Most probably, the earliest voyages of the
Bretons to the Newfoundland Banks for the cod
fishery were preceded by voyages of the Basques

48 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

to the same region for whales, and it seems likely
that the former may have first heard of the resources
of the Grand Banks from the Basques. At any rate,
the Basques were essentially whalers, and the
Bretons fishers of cod. ,

The Biscayan Whale was hunted to the verge of
extinction when, fortunately for its persistence as a
species, the Greenland Whale was discovered in
Spitsbergen waters in the early years of the seven-
teenth century. The Biscayan Whale has never
recovered from the effects of its early persecution.

Similarly the Southern Right Whale, of which the
Biscayan Whale is regarded as a variety by many
balaenologists, has been hunted to the verge of
extinction, and only a miserable remnant of the
former enormous schools are now found in its old
haunts in southern waters.

The second great whale fishery was for the Green-
land Right Whale, and it originated in Spitsbergen
waters. A detailed account of this fishery is given
in a subsequent chapter. Originally a bay fishery
in Spitsbergen waters, it soon became an open sea
fishery, and even as early as the commencement of
the eighteenth century the whalers were compelled
to go as far as Davis Strait to make satisfactory
captures. This second period, i.e., the real
Greenland fishery (as distinguished from the first
" Greenland," really a Spitsbergen fishery) lasted,
like its predecessor, for nearly a century, and was
followed by the third and last hunt for the Green-
land Right Whale, that of the Americans in the

THE ECONOMICS OF WHALING 49

extreme North Pacific and adjacent parts of the
Arctic Ocean. This industry declined in its turn,
so that this fishery is practically extinct in all three
of the regions where it formerly flourished. The
Greenland Right Whale has made no substantial
recovery even in those seas in which it has longest
been unmolested.

The next whale to be attacked was the Sperm
Whale. The great days of the Sperm or Cachalot
whaling have long since passed away, and although
the Sperm Whale is by no means extinct, since a
few individuals are captured in Scottish waters
every year, it cannot be said that, in spite of the
long cessation of Sperm whaling, the species has
made anything like a substantial recovery.

The Pacific Grey Whale was also formerly the
object of a special fishery, which, however, did not
last long.

Continual slaughter on the breeding-grounds soon
produced a marked effect, and the species became
so scarce that for a time it was thought to be
extinct.

There is, however, a fishery in Japanese waters
for the Pacific Grey Whale, but there are no records
of its reappearance off the Californian coast, where
it was formerly so abundant.

The White Whale (Delphinapterus leucas) was
hunted in Spitsbergen, though only sporadically,
from the earliest days of whaling. From 1869 to
1878 there was a regular fishery for it in Spitsbergen
waters, with the result that it has practically disap-

50 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

peared there, though it is still fairly abundant to the
north of Siberia.

In no case has it reappeared in the bays from
which it has been driven by excessive hunting.
The Rorquals and the Humpback, owing to their
greater activity and smaller commercial value as
individuals, were not hunted by the older whalers,
though on rare occasions an individual is recorded
as being killed with the old hand harpoon.

The extension of whaling to these whales was
rendered possible by the invention of the gun
harpoon. The decline of this fishery in all places,
where it has been tried for even a few years, is
remarkable.

In Newfoundland the first whaling station in
which modern methods were adopted was established
in 1897. In tne first ten years, 1898-1907, the
annual average slaughter of Rorquals was four
hundred; but while in 1903 three steamers took an
average of two hundred and eighty-six each, in
1905 fifteen steamers only averaged fifty-nine each.
The smaller companies were ruined, and the fishery
has steadily declined. Reference is made below to
the hunting of the Rorquals in the waters of
Finmark, and to the restrictive legislation enforced
by the Norwegian Government, partly, it must be
added, as a measure of protection for the herring
fisheries.

The last and most striking instance is the rapid
decline in the abundance of the Humpback in the
waters of the Falkland Island Dependencies.

THE ECONOMICS OF WHALING 51

Here the percentage captured by the whalers was
as follows:

IQIO-II 1911-12 1912-13 1913-14 1914-15 1915-16 1916-17 1917-18
96-8 90-9 53-8 18-6 15-6 22-9 9-3 2-5

Similarly the Fin-whale has recently shown a
decline :

1.8 5-3 4i-2 557 36-5 33-6 37'4 29-3

So that the Blue Whale has now become the
most important :

1-4 47 5-i 25-6 47-8 43-5 53-3 68-2

The actual numbers of Humpbacks captured in
the South Georgia whaling season from October to
March has declined from 5,299 in 1910-11, to 335 in
1916-17; the Finner from 1,852 in 1915-16, to
1,345 in 1916-17 ; while the number of Blue Whales
captured has increased from 76 in 1910-11 to 2,398
in 1915-16, and 1,920 in 1916-17. Not only was
the Humpback hunted on its feeding migration to
Antarctic waters, but it was also extensively captured
by whalers off the African coast when engaged in
reproduction.

It is convenient to consider here the various
legislative enactments and orders which have been
made by the maritime nations concerned to prevent
undue destruction and the gradual extermination of
whales. Most of the older enactments had for their
object the regulation of the fishery in the interest of
the seamen of the country making the enactment.
For instance, the charters, resolutions, placards,
and regulations relating to whaling in the Groot

52 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

Placaet-Boek and other collections of Dutch regula-
tions for the years 1597 to 1857 number at least two
hundred and fifty-two, but none has for its special
object the protection of the whale. The earliest
regulation refers to stranded whales, the whaling
regulations proper commencing in 1613 with an
order prohibiting whalers from engaging in foreign
service.

The territorial waters are usually, though
erroneously, considered to extend for three miles
from low water mark. Even were they to extend
for a considerable distance beyond this it is
obvious, since whales frequent the high seas, that
national legislation for the protection of whales
will be of little effect, and international regulation
is necessary.

Attempts have been made by various nations to
prohibit whaling in wide areas of open sea, except
to their own subjects ; instances of this are given in
the following chapters, both James I. of England
and the Count Maurice of Holland asserting such
rights to Spitsbergen waters.

The Danes also interfered in Spitsbergen
waters in 1615, 1623, and 1693. I*1 these earlier
assertions of authority no specific limit of sea,
assumed to be controlled, is defined.

The first definition was apparently, in December,
1692, when Denmark issued an edict declaring that
no one could, without royal authority, carry on
whale fishing within ten Norwegian leagues or
forty geographical miles of the coast. The

THE ECONOMICS OF WHALING 53

Russian Government issued an ukase in 1821, in
which it was declared that the pursuit of commerce,
whaling, and fishery, on the north-west coast
of America from Behring Strait to 51° N.
Latitude had been granted exclusively to Russian
subjects, and all foreign vessels were forbidden to
approach these coasts within less than a hundred
Italian miles. The execution of this ukase was
soon suspended, the Russian ships of war being
instructed to confine their supervision to an extent
of the sea within the range of cannon-shot from the
shore.

After this, British and American whalers
increased greatly in numbers in Behring Sea, and
the Russian officials frequently urged their
government to preserve the sea as a mare clausum,
and to prohibit foreign whalers from approaching
nearer the coast than forty Italian miles (1842).
The Russian Government objected, pointing out
that such extensive limits were contrary to con&en-
tions, and would lead to protests from other
nations " since no clear and uniform agreement has
yet been arrived at among nations in regard to the
limit of jurisdiction at sea." In 1847, the Russian
Government repeated their objections, but in 1852,
as a result of repeated complaints by the Russian-
American Company, instructions were issued to the
Russian cruisers to prevent foreign whalers from
entering bays or gulfs, or from coming " within
three Italian miles of the shores " of Russian-
America (north of 54° 41'), the peninsula of

54 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

Kamschatka, Siberia, the Kadjak archipelago, the
Aleutian Islands, the Pribyloff, and Commander
Islands, and the others in Behring Sea, and Sakhalin
and others, and it was declared at the same time
that while the Sea of Okhotsk, from its geographical
position, was a Russian inland sea, foreigners were
allowed to take whales there. Some of these claims
were revived by the United States Government
(which had in 1867 acquired Alaska by purchase
from Russia) at the Behring Sea arbitration in 1891.

These attempts at regulating the whaling industry,
though they had national interests in the forefront,
and the protection of the whales in the background,
are worth consideration, since they prove how
difficult it is for one nation acting alone to protect
an animal like the whale.

The Norwegian Government has made certain
enactments, having for their object the restriction or
prohibition of whaling in certain areas off the
Norwegian coasts, and although these regulations
were enacted more for the protection of the local sea
fisheries, which it is alleged were detrimentally
affected by whaling, than for the protection of the
whale, some of the provisions may be noted here.

In the Norwegian whaling law of June, 1896, a
close season for whaling was prescribed from the
ist January to the end of May, off the coast of
the counties of Finmark and Tromso. It was
likewise forbidden to hunt the whale in such a
manner as to leave it to chance whether the whale
was recovered or not. This regulation is more

THE ECONOMICS OF WHALING 55

explicitly defined in the Canadian Act of 1902,
Section 13 of which, reads:

" It shall be unlawful to use, in the catching of whales,
such methods by which it depends on chance alone
that a whale can be traced and found, or to use any
contrivance for the catching or killing- of whales which
does not include a harpoon with a whaling line attached
thereto, and fixed or fastened to the boat or vessel
from which the whale is captured or killed " ; under
penalty — (set forth).

A similar regulation prescribing, as the only
method allowable, a harpoon with a line attached,
fixed, or fastened to a steamer is inserted in the
Whale Fisheries (Scotland) Act 1907, and the
Whale Fisheries (Ireland) Act of 1908.

The Irish Act contains a further proviso whereby
by-laws may be made prohibiting the use of any
engine or implement in the pursuit, capture or
towing of whales, or any method of whaling which
in the opinion of that authority1 is injurious to the
fisheries. Close times are also provided in both
the Scottish and Irish Acts, and these of two kinds.
First, an absolute prohibition from the ist
November, to the 3ist March next following, and
a partial prohibition, within forty miles of the
Scottish and within twenty miles of the Irish coast,
during the local summer herring season, such period
not to exceed five weeks.

Since it does not appear that any of the Norwegian
companies working off the Scottish or Irish coast

1 i.e., the Central Authority in Ireland.

56 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

prior to the passing of these Acts fished between the
ist November, and the 3ist March, it follows
that this section of the Act affords no additional
protection to whales. Since the whaling companies
working from Scottish or Irish soil had to obtain
licences from the fishery authorities, the regulations
in the Act were capable of being enforced. In both
Acts there were prohibitions against any sort of
whaling within the three mile limit, against the
killing of the herring-hog (which is supposed to
indicate to the herring fishermen the presence of
herring shoals), and the killing of any whale
accompanied by a calf.

The increase of whaling in Scottish and Irish
waters by Norwegian subjects which led to the pass-
ing of these Acts was due in part at any rate to a
Norwegian law of 1904 which forbade for the period
of ten years the hunting of the whale within
Norwegian territorial waters off the counties of
Nordland, Finmark, and Tromso and the landing of
whales in these counties.

Further, a similar prohibition could by Royal
Decree be extended to the remaining seaboard of
the kingdom, or parts thereof.

A large expanse of sea in East Finmarken, the
Var anger Fiord, was closed to whalers for a distance
of one geographical mile outside a line drawn from
Kibergsnses on the north to Jacobs River on the
south. This arm of the sea is thirty-two miles
across at the entrance, extends inland for a distance
of fifty miles, and comprises an area of six hundred

THE ECONOMICS OF WHALING 57

and thirty square miles. The Norwegian minister
for Foreign Affairs stated that this fiord had always
been regarded as part of the territorial waters of
Norway.

There can be little doubt that in the future
whaling all over the world should be the subject of
suitable regulation, having for its main object the
protection of the few remaining Cetacea. The
Basque fishery of the Bay of Biscay and the " Green-
land " fishery alike came to an end because of over-
fishing. The modern Arctic fishery is also on its
last legs, and the great Cachalot fisheries are equally
moribund. Only in the Antarctic regions do whales
flourish, and even here they are now the object of
ceaseless hunting and shooting.

The great objection to whaling as at present
carried on is that so many pregnant females or
females with suckling young are killed ; while there
is, theoretically, a prohibition against killing the
latter in some areas, there is no effective means
whereby the whaler can identify a gravid female
while it is swimming in the water.

The whalers themselves say that long before the
whales become extinct, whaling will cease to be
profitable on account of the increasing scarcity of
the more valuable species. At present it does not
pay to kill whales under forty feet in length, and
this, of course, protects the smaller species, and the
young members of the larger kinds, but since young
whales up to forty-five or even fifty feet in length
have been seen accompanying the mother, in case

58 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

of the larger species, it follows that this size limit
it not very effective.

The whalers say that there is only a given
number of whales present on their hunting grounds,
of these they qapture a certain percentage. To
render whaling profitable a minimum number of
whales per steamer must be captured each season ;
this varies from thirty in British waters to three
times that number in the Antarctic, on account of
the greater cost of transport, etc., in those latitudes.

Consequently when the number of whales captured
per steamer on any given whaling ground falls
below the minimum number required to yield a
profit, the whaling will, ipso facto, be abandoned.
The whalers' argument is that this is in itself a
sufficient protection for the whales, and there is no
fear of absolute extinction of any species.

Probably there is some truth in this contention,
and for years to come there is no fear of the extinc-
tion of any cetacean. Nevertheless, all zoologists
should be on the alert, and should endeavour,
when opportunity occurs, to educate public opinion
on this subject, since it is only through the pressure
of public opinion on government that effective
steps can be taken to prevent the exploitation of one
of the most interesting groups of animals in the
interests of a small section of capitalists.

•W 1 5 -1 ><>irT

rfcu/ - S^rlc. 1

v > "• " V'o^rT^', |

=L/i

iH ^W .Wr^

EDGE'S MAP OF GREENLAND.

(Really Spitsbergen, circa 1611.)

CHAPTER III

THE EARLY HISTORY OF WHALING (TO 1623)

The Basque whalers — The discovery of " Greenland " ( Spits-
bergen)— The first British whalers — The Spitsbergen fishery
— The whales found there — The disputes between the English
and the Dutch — Edge's description of the fishery*

ALTHOUGH the general opinion is that the Basques
were the earliest whalers, Noel de la Moriniere1
says that this is a misapprehension and that the
Northmen were really the first in the field.

He quotes the voyage of Ochther,2 who travelled
towards the end of the ninth century beyond the
North Cape to Perm, and afterwards described his
journey to King Alfred. There was evidently a
hunting of whales and walruses in northern waters
at this time, but there is no evidence that it developed
into a regular fishery such as that of the Basques.

The Norwegians are stated to have used a
balista for the discharge of the harpoon with an
attached rope, thus anticipating the harpoon gun of
the English (1731). At the time of the Norman
invasion of France there is evidence of whaling in

1 Hi stoire generale des Peckes, 1815, Vol. i., p. 218.

3 Schneider. Sammlung vermischter Abhandlungen zur
Aufklarung der Zoologie und der Hand»lsgeschichtet Berlin,
1784-

60 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

the Channel. In a book entitled, " de la transla-
tion et des miracles des Saint Waast" A Life of
Saint Arnould, Bishop of Soissons in the eleventh
century, there is mention of a whale fishery by
means of the harpoon on the coast of Flanders
in 875.

According to Ducere,1 the history of the whale
fisheries of the Basques has yet to be written. In
this fishery the Bayonnais took part, and it is one of
the most interesting features in the ancient records
of the town of Bayonne. In early historical times
it is fairly certain that the whale fisheries were
carried on only off the north coast of Spain and the
south-west coast of France, i.e., in the Bay of
Biscay. Ducere says that it is still possible to trace
the remains of the watch towers and furnaces of the
whalers along the shores of the Bay of Biscay,
the former naturally being used for the look-
out, the latter for boiling the blubber. There
is documentary evidence of a fishery off Biarritz in
the thirteenth century, and the seal of the town2
contains a representation of a " chaloupe " harpoon-
ing a whale. In the Middle Ages the Basques
seemed to have picked up a living on the coast,
partly by different kinds of fishing and partly by
pillaging their neighbours. They killed whales

1 Dictionnaire Historique de Bayonne, Commission des
Archives Municipals Ville de Bayonne, par Edouard Ducere.
Bayonne, IQII. 2 Vols.

3 See " La Marina de Castilla," by Fernandez Duro.
Madrid, 1892. The seals of Bermeo, Lequeitio, and Castrour-
diales, which are reproduced on p. 218, show views of the old
Basque Whale Fisheries.

EARLY HISTORY OF WHALING 61

when the latter approached the shore, towing the
body to the land to extract the oil. Later they
fitted out rowing boats and killed the whale on the
open sea. Fischer1 says the whaling was at its
apogee in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, as
indicated by the number of documents relating to it.
Up to this time it was entirely free. According to
the judgments of Oleron, the fishermen of Cape
Breton (near Bayonne), Plech, Biarritz, Guetary,
Saint Jean de Luz, and of the Labourd country
were exempt from all dues. They gave to the
church the whales' tongues, but this was a voluntary
gift. The first attempt to interfere with these
fishermen was by the kings of England, who, as
Dukes of Guyenne, usurped the seignorial rights.

In 1197 King John gave Vital de Biole and his
heirs and successors the sum of fifty angevin livres,
to be levied on the first two whales captured annually
at Biarritz, in exchange for the rent of the fishery at
Guernsey.

An act of the Abbey of Honce in 1261 announced
that permission was granted to pay a tithe on the
whales landed at Bayonne. This tithe was a con-
version of the previous free gift of whales' tongues.
In 1257 William Lavielle gave to the bishop and
chapter of Bayonne a tithe of the whales captured
on the ocean by the people of Biarritz, and this was
apparently paid until 1498. Although there is

1 " Ce*tacees du sud-ouest de la France," P. Fischer. Actes
de la Societe Linneenne de Bordeaux, Vol. xxxiv., 1881,
Bordeaux.

62 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

documentary evidence in the Archives of Bayonne
and elsewhere as to the existence of a flourishing
fishery as early as the twelfth and thirteenth
centuries, a fishery which must have persisted until
the seventeenth century, since the earliest har-
pooners engaged in Spitsbergen were Basques,
there is but little evidence as to the manner in which
the fishery was carried on. The term " Baleinier "
occurs frequently in marine documents of Bayonne
in the Middle Ages. It referred to a special type
of vessel, very seaworthy, as ships went in those
days, of eighty to one hundred tons burden, devised
originally for the whalers, but extended in its use,
firstly by the pirates, and secondly on the voyages of
discovery of the fifteenth century.

Fischer gives a long list of references to whales
and whaling, but these are mostly acknowledg-
ments of the lordship of the coasts and the seas and
the inhabitants thereof; or documents of a similar
nature.

In the sixteenth century the flesh, and especially
the tongue of the whale, was sold in the markets of
Bayonne, Cibourre, and Biarritz. The blubber
was salted and sold inland, in the east of France.
The first detailed description of the Basque whaling
is that by Ambroise Pare, who visited Bayonne when
Charles IX. was there in 1564.

The whale is taken in several places in winter,1

1 But Clayrac fixes the time of the appearance of the whales
off the coasts of Guienne and Biarritz as the September equinox.
See Us et coutumes de la mer, Rouen, 1671.

EARLY HISTORY OF WHALING 63

especially on the coast of Bayonne, near a little
village called " Biarris," distant three leagues from
that town. Near this village there is a rock upon
which, for many years past, there has been a tower,
on which a look-out is kept, by day and night, for
whales. (There is now a lighthouse on this rock,
overlooking the Chambre d'amour.) The whales
are recognised by their spouting. As soon as one
is observed, the look-out sounds a bell, upon which
warning all the village run prepared with the
necessary apparatus for the slaughter of the whale.
There were several vessels and skiffs utilised for
this. Apparently some were manned exclusively
by those who killed or attempted to kill the whale on
the high sea. Other boats specialised in the
attempt to drive the whales ashore, where they were
dispatched by the whole population of the village.
Dead whales found floating in the sea were also
towed ashore and utilised. After the whale was
struck with harpoons it was killed with lances.
Each harpooner was rewarded by the result of his
efforts as determined by the number of his harpoons
found in the whale's body. The females were
considered easier prey than the males pour ce
qu'elles sont soigneuses de sauver leurs petits.

The flesh is not esteemed, except the tongue.
Originally the oil was extracted on land, the whales
being towed ashore and then cut up and the blubber
boiled down.

The discovery of the possibility of boiling down
the oil at sea, " trying-out " as it is called, is

64 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

due to a captain of Cibourre named Francois
Sopite.

The whalebone is used for ladies' stays and
knife handles, the skeletons to make enclosures for
gardens, the vertebrae as chairs and seats in houses.

In the seventeenth century and possibly even in
the sixteenth, this Basque fishery had declined.
Probably the whales were getting more shy and
difficult to capture as the result of persistent fishing.
Clayrac records them as passing Biarritz regularly
towards the end of the seventeenth century (1671).

The Basques fished for whales before the
invention or use of the mariner's compass. Never-
theless, they fished in the open sea to the west and
are said to have attained in 1372 the banks of
Newfoundland, where they encountered whales in
abundance. This whale they called the Sarda, to
distinguish it from the species commonly found in
the Bay of Biscay. The word Sarda in the Basque
language signifies a whale that keeps together in
schools.

Continuing their voyages the Basques reached the
Gulf of St Lawrence, where they discovered another
different species of whale which they called the
<: Grand Bay Whale," a name used by Thomas
Edge in his classification of Spitsbergen whales.

When the Gulf of St Lawrence became
impoverished, the Basque whalers pushed on to the
edge of the ice off Greenland, where they captured
the Greenland Whale which appeared to them to
be the same as that of the Gulf of St Lawrence.

EARLY HISTORY OF WHALING 65

They noticed that the thickness of the large whale of
the north was double that of the Sarda, its whale-
bone longer, and that its oil was clear, whereas that
of the Sarda was always cloudy.

Thomas Edge, who took charge of the first
English whaling expedition to Spitsbergen, received
instructions as to the voyage in which two distinct
species of whales are mentioned ; one is unquestion-
ably the Greenland Whale, and the other the
Sarda. This Sarda is the Nordcaper of the
Dutch, but is it the same as the Sarda of the
Basques? Most probably it is, and the Basques
were mistaken in thinking that the whales of the
Bay of Biscay and the whales they met off the
Grand Banks were two distinct species.

Prior to the first voyages of Columbus (1492) and
John Cabot (1497) to America there was an
extensive fishery for sea fish at Iceland, a fishery
participated in by British, Bretons, and Basques,
and probably not confined to Icelandic waters but
extending both to Greenland and the Grand Banks
of Newfoundland.

The traces of these fishermen's voyages, under-
taken when the science of . navigation was in its
infancy, are scattered and fragmentary. The actual
references to whaling are of the slightest, but are
nevertheless sufficient to indicate that there was
some whaling prior to the great Spitsbergen fishery.

In the will of John Sparks of Cromer (1483), there
is mention of a " Bloberhouse " ; l in the Carta

1 Rye. " Cromer, Past and Present," p. 51.

66 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

Marina of Olaus Magnus (1539) there is a represen-
tation of an English whaler.

Actual records of whaling voyages in the sixteenth
century are rare, though a French Basque named
Savalet told Lescarbot that he had made forty-two
voyages, and Echevete the Spanish Basque had
made twenty-eight voyages across the Atlantic to
the Newfoundland coast, and as the Basques were
predominantly whalers it is very probable that some,
if not all, of these voyages were for whales.

The Basques, moreover, had the best ships at this
period, and were therefore better able to hunt the
whale. English vessels were small, their average
size being less than fifty tons; the Bretons and
Normans had also poor vessels, whereas a Basque
ship of four hundred tons with a crew of forty men
is recorded. Ordinary fishing vessels at this period
had flush decks, three masts, the foremast being
very far forward, the mizzen very far aft; the sails
were three big lug sails, the ballast sand and the
cook-room a solid structure of brick and mortar
built on the ballast.

On the whole the available evidence tends to
show that the Basque whalers regularly visited the
Newfoundland bays toward the middle of the
sixteenth century. According to Harrisse the
presence of Basques at Newfoundland is not attested
before I528.1

The Spanish authorities in general agree with

1 Decouverte et evolution carlo gra-phique de Terre-Neuve et
des Pays Circonvoisins, I4Q7, 1501, 1769, par Henry Harrisse,
Paris, 1890,

EARLY HISTORY OF WHALING 67

this. The fishermen of Guipuzcoa frequented the
banks of Newfoundland, but not certainly before
1530. Navarrete, who investigated the subject,
fixes the first voyages at about 1541. Towards
1550, the evidence is more definite, and we have
the name of a commander of a whaler Jean de
Urdaire, who afterwards became admiral. Theie
is good documentary evidence that from 1557 to tne
end of the seventeenth century Biarritz, Caberton,
Pasajes, Renteria, Saint Jean de Luz, Saint Sebas-
tian and Zubibura continually sent ships to
Newfoundland both for whaling and cod fishing.
At this time the Basque cod fishermen left the
Cantabrian coast towards the end of March or
beginning of April, returning from mid-September
to October. The whalers left in mid- June, and
returned in December or early January, their larger
and better vessels enabling them to withstand the
storms of winter.

Although there must have been a considerable
trade in whale oil between the Basques and Great
Britain in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, there
is not much evidence of it.

Late in the sixteenth century there is positive
evidence that the soap-makers used whale oil, and
that there was trade with Bayonne and other ports
for this product of the fisheries.

Guerau de Spes, writing on the 5th August, 1569,
to the Spanish King, says, " Three ships of St Jean
de Luz have put into Bristol loaded with Biscay
iron, and are now leaving for their own country with

68 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

a cargo of cloths, pewter and others things, all of
which are destined to be taken into Spain. The
want of oil here is so pressing that they are getting
oil from rape-seed to dress their wool, and they say
they can manage with it. There is little of the
. eed, however, yet, and no matter how active they
may be in sowing it the out-turn of cloth by means
of it will be small and poor. They are trying also
to utilise the oil which they obtain from boiling
sheep's feet. Their great hope is to get soap and
oil from Spain through France and from the Easter-
lings, who I am told have already left for the
purpose."1

In 1578 we have a further reference to the whale
fisheries. Bernardino de Mendoza was ordered by
the Spanish King to make inquiries into a yoyage
made by the English two years previously " to the
country called Labrador, which joins Newfoundland,
where the Biscay men go in search of whales."2

This same year there are numerous complaints
about the soap-makers using fish oil and train oil in
the manufacture of soap.3

These complaints led to the Privy Council
forbidding the London soap-boilers to use in making
soap, or even to have in their possession " any more
blubber oyle, pumpe oyle, trane oyle, whale or other
fishe oyle."

About this time there was a dispute between

1 State Papers, Spanish, 1568-70, p. 186.

2 Ibid., p. 567-

* State Papers, Domestic, 1547-80, p. 605.

EARLY HISTORY OF WHALING 69

Laurence Mellows and the " sope-makers " of the
City of London, which was referred by the Privy
Council to the Controller of Her Majesty's House-
hold and the two Chief Secretaries of State.1
Mellows demanded eighteen pounds per ton for his
seed oil, and the soap-makers would only offer
thirteen pounds. The Council ordered the soap-
makers to take from Mellows eighty tons of seed oil
at sixteen pounds the ton, civil gage, and fifty-one
tons of whale oil at sixteen pounds the ton, Biscay
cask, and to pay ready money for the same. Upon
doing this the soap-makers could at their liberty use
both train and whale oil in making of soap for a
period of eighteen months. On the i4th December,
1579, the Privy Council ordered the Lord Mayor
to induce the soap-makers to buy one hundred tons
of seed oil from Mellows, and to report on his
success to the Council.

On i9th April, 1602, seven ships went from St
Jean de Luz to Newfoundland for the whale
fisheries, and many more for the fishing.3 There
is evidence scattered through the State Papers of
this time of a considerable impressment of Biscayan
whalers and mariners to strengthen the Spanish
fleet.

Spitsbergen was known and spoken of up to the
times of Scoresby (1820) as East Greenland.
Consequently early references to the " Greenland "
whale fishery must be taken to include references to

1 Ads of the Privy Council, 1578-80, p. 50.

" State Pa-pers, Addenda, Domestic, 1547-65, p. 178.

70 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

Spitsbergen, in fact the earliest references are
exclusively to the latter.

The first attempts to establish a whale fishery in
Spitsbergen were the occasion of considerable
disputes between the English and the Dutch, both
of whom claimed territorial jurisdiction over Spits-
bergen and the adjacent seas by right of discovery.
The Dutch claim was based on the discovery of
Spitsbergen by Van Heemskerk in 1596, that of the
British Muscovy Company on the discovery of the
same land by Willoughby in 1553. The British
claim was strongly supported by King James I.,
notwithstanding the statement supporting the other
side which had been drawn up by Plancius. Sir
Hugh Willoughby set out in 1553 to discover the
north-east route to " Cathay," and perished at the
river or haven called Arzina in Lapland. Richard
Chancellor, pilot-major under Willoughby and
captain of the Edward Bonaventure^ one of
Willoughby's fleet, had better luck and was the
discoverer " of the kingdome of Moscovia by the
North-east in the year 1553."

Early in the seventeenth century English whalers
began to fish at Spitsbergen, where whales were
found in enormous numbers. The voyagers of the
Muscovy Company had reported this in the previous
century. Anthonie Jenkinson, who made his first
voyage to Russia in 1557, reported " thus proceeding
and sailing forward, we fell in with an island called
Zenam, being in the latitude of 70 degrees. About
this island we saw many whales, very monstrous,

EARLY HISTORY OF WHALING 71

about our ships, some by estimation of sixty feet
long, and being the ingendring time they roared
and cried terriblie."1

The Muscovy Company was the first of the great
English Joint-stock Corporations of foreign trade.
It was incorporated by a charter signed on the
6th February, 1555, under the name of " Merchants
Adventurers of England for the Discovery of lands,
territories, isles, dominions and seigniories, unknown
and not before that late adventure or enterprise
by sea or navigation commonly frequented. V2
Sebastian Cabot was made the life governor.
" After his death the same fellowship shall in places
convenient and honest assemble together to elect
and choose one Governor or two and twenty-eight
of the most sad, discreete and honest persons " ;
of whom four were to be Consuls, and the remaining
twenty-four assistants to the " saide Governour."

The Company was afterwards re-incorporated by
statute, and the corporate name shortened to
" Fellowship of English Merchants for Discovery
of New Trades " (i2th February, I576-;).3

The Company, as its popular name indicates, was
mainly engaged in the trade to Russia by the north-
east, and the whaling business was subsidiary to
this. In the re-incorporation referred to the Queen
granted a monopoly of the right to kill whales and
make train oil for a period of twenty years to Sir

1 Hakluyt, " Voyages," Dent's Everyman Edition, Vol. i., p. 410.

9 Ibid., p. 318.

8 Patent Rolls, ig Eliz., Part XII.

72 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

Roland Heyward and Sir Lionel Duckett. (See
Appendix I., p. 303).

In Hakluyt's "Voyages" (1575) there is a
request of an honest merchant to a friend of his to
be advised and directed on the course of killing the
whale. A number of questions relative to whaling
are set forth and duly answered.

" The whaler should be of two hundred tons, with
a crew of fifty-five men, and should set out in April
for Wardhouse and be furnished with four kintals
and a half of bread for every man, with two hundred
and fifty hogshead to put the bread in. The
further specification includes : One hundred and
fifty hogsheads of cidar, six kintals of oile, eight
kintals of bacon, six hogsheds of beefe, ten quarters
of salt, a hundred and fifty pounds of candles,
eight quarters of beans and pease, saltfish and
herring a quantity convenient, four tunnes of
wines, half a quarter of mustard seed and a querne,
a grindstone, eight hundred empty shaken hogs-
heds, three hundred and fifty bundles of hoops, and
six quintalines, eight hundred pairs of heds for the
hogsheds, ten estachas called roxes for harping
irons, ten pieces of arporieras, three pieces of
baibens for the javelins small, two tackles to turn the
whales, a halser of twenty-seven fadom long to turne
ye whales, fifteen great javelins, eighteen small
javelins, fifty harping irons, six machicos to cut the
whale withall, two doozen of machetos to minch the
whale, two great hookes to turne the whale, three
pair of can hookes, six hookes for staves, three

EARLY HISTORY OF WHALING 73

dozen of staves for the harping irons, six pullies
to turn the whale with, ten great baskets, ten lampes
of iron to carry light, five kettles of a hundred and
fifty li. the piece, and six ladles, a thousand of
nailes for the pinnases, five hundred of nailes of
carabelie for the houses and the wharfe, eighteen
axes and hatches to cleave wood, twelve pieces of
lines and six dozens of hookes, two beetles of
rosemarie, four dozen of oares for the pinnases, six
lanterns, five hundred of tesia. Item, gun powder
and matches for harquebushes as shal be needfull.
Item, there must be carried from hence five
pinnases, five men to strike with harping irons, two
cutters of whale, five coopers and a purser or two."

To this is added a note of certain other necessary
things belonging to the whale fishing, received of
Master Burrow, who was captain general of a fleet
of thirteen vessels on a voyage to the Narve in
Liefland in 1570.

" A sufficient number of pulleys for tackle for the
whale. A dozen of great baskets. Four furnaces
to melt the whale in. Six ladles of copper. A thous-
and of nailes to mend the pinases. Five hundred
great nails of spikes to make their house. Three pair
of boots great and strong, for them that shall cut the
whale. Eight calve skins to make aprons or
barbecans."1

It is evident that prior to the Spitsbergen whale
fishery, whales were killed and captured off the

1 Hakluyt's, " Voyages," Dent's Everyman Edition, Vol. ii.,
p. 162.

74 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

Norwegian coast at Vardohuus, in addition to an
important fishery at Newfoundland, of which nearly
all trace has been lost.

Anthony Parkhurst, a merchant of Bristol, writing
to Hakluyt on the i3th November, 1578, says:

"He had made four voyages to Newfoundland,
and had searched the harbours, creeks and lands
more than any other Englishman. That there
were generally more than one hundred sail of
Spaniards taking cod, and from twenty to thirty
killing whales; fifty sail of Portuguese; one
hundred and fifty sail of French and Bretons, mostly
very small; but of English only fifty sail."

Sir Richard Whitbourne, who first visited New-
foundland in 1583, says:

" We were bound to the Grand Bay (which lieth
on the north side of that land) purporting there to
trade then with the savage people (for whom we
carried sundry commodities), and to kill whales and
to make trayne oil as the Biscaines do there yearly
in great abundance. But then our intended voyage
was overthrown by the indiscretion of our captaine
and faintheartednesse of some gentlemen of our
company, whereupon we set saile from thence and
bare with Trinity Harbour in Newfoundland, where
we killed great store of fish, deere, beares, beavers,
scales, otters, and such like, with abundance of sea-
fowle, and so returning to England we arrived safe
at Southampton."

There are frequent references to the abundance
of whales off the Newfoundland coast at this time.

EARLY HISTORY OF WHALING 75

In the account of the voyage of the Mangold
of M. Hill of Redrife unto Cape Briton and beyond
to the latitude of 44 degrees and a half; in 1593,
written by Richard Fisher, Master Hilles man of
Redrife, there is reference to whales.

" In our course to the West of Cape Briton we
saw exceeding great store of scales, and abundance
of porpoises, whereof we killed eleven. We saw
whales also of all sortes as well small as great ; and
here our men took many herded coddes."

In " a briefe and summary discourse upon the
intended voyage to the hithermost parts of
America; written by Captaine Carlile in April,
1583," for the information of the merchants of ihe
Muscovy Company and others, there is reference to
the prospect of good fishing for whales in northern
regions.1

One of the earliest voyages by an English ship
to the whale fisheries was made by the Grace of
Bristol,2 a barque of thirty-five tons, owned by
M. Rice Jones, whereof Silvester Wyet, Shipmaster
of Bristol, was master. This voyage was up
into the Bay of St Lawrence, to the north-
west of Newfoundland as far as the Island
of Assumption, for the barbs or fins of whales
and train oil. The Grace, with a crew of twelve
men, left Bristol on the 4th April, 1594. In St
George's Bay (north side of Nova Scotia) they
found the wrecks of two large Biscayan ships which

1 Hakluyt's, " Voyages," Dent's Everyman Edition, Vol. vi.,
p. 80.
•Ibid., p. 98.

76 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

had been cast away three years earlier, from which
they extracted seven or eight hundred whale fins;
all the train oil was lost though the casks remained.
After this Wyet was informed that whales which
had been wounded in the Grand Bay and escaped
capture eventually stranded on shore on the Isle of
Assumption or Natiscotec " which lieth in the very
mouth of the great river that runneth up to Canada."
So he sailed across without, however, meeting with
any stranded whales. They then went back to
Newfoundland to fill up with codfish, returning
safely " first in Combe and staid there a seven night,
and afterward in Hungrod in the river of Bristoll
by the grace of God the 24 of September, 1594."

Prior to the voyage of the Grace it appears to
have been customary for English privateers to lay
in wait for Spanish ships on the return voyage from
Newfoundland, whither they went for fish and
train oil. Thus in April, 1591, the ship of Peter
de Hody, merchant of Bayonne, returning from
Newfoundland laden with dry and green fish and
fourteen hogshead of train oil, was taken by a ship
of war appointed by Sir Walter Raleigh and brought
to Uphill near Bristol.1 The same year the ship
Holy Ghost of St Jean de Luz belonging to
Martin, Adam, John and Michael Haurgues, laden
with fish and oil from Newfoundland, was captured
by the Elizabeth Bonaventure and Dudley,
English men-of-war, and taken to Milford and there
Sold. She appears to have been improperly

1 State Papers, Eliz.t Domestic, Vol. ccxlii., p. 231.

EARLY HISTORY OF WHALING 77

moored since she became a wreck in the haven.
This episode was followed by petitions to the Privy
Council and a case before Dr Caesar, Judge of
the Admiralty.1 Some of the oil was eventually
sold to a shoemaker at Haverfordwest.

The manufacture of train oil in England cannot
at this time have been important, since in May,
1594, a licence was granted to Elizabeth Matthews,
widow, for twenty-one years on surrender of the
licence granted to her late husband, Richard
Matthews, yeoman of the poultry to have the
making of train oil of blubbers and fish livers for a
rent of twenty shillings. The shoemaker and
other inhabitants of Scarborough petitioned to the
Council against this grant of monopoly.2

Spitsbergen, the scene of the first extensive
whaling enterprises and even to-day visited prac-
tically every year by whalers, was discovered by
Willem Barendts (Barents). Barents'3 log is still in
existence, as are also affidavits by Arent Martenssen
of Antwerp and Anthoine Classen Herman, ship's
captain, of Leyden, who took part in the expedition.4

In previous years, especially in 1594 and 1595,
expeditions were sent out from Holland, with
financial assistance from the Dutch Government, to

1 State Papers, Eliz., Domestic, 1591-94, pp. 248-251.

* Ibid., 1581-90, p. 709.

' Extract uit het scheeps journal van Willem Barendsz,
betreffende de ontdekking van Spitsbergen. Printed by
Muller, N.C.

4 Getuigenissen van twee reisgenooten, van Jan Cornelisz.
Rijp over de noordpoolreis van 1596-97. Printed by Muller,
N.C.

78 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

seek a passage to China by the north-east route.
These expeditions failing in their main object, the
Government declined to assist the expedition of 1596,
which was therefore financed by private enterprise.
Barents sailed from Vlieland on the i8th May,
1596, and after touching at Bear Island on the
9th June, they thought they saw land on the I4th
but were not certain till the I7th, when they
undoubtedly discovered Spitsbergen. Probably the
ships (there were two of them) were not fitted out
for whaling, and the solitary reference to whales by
Barents is on the I5th June, when he records
" Passions une grande Balalne morte, sur lequel y
avoit plusiers meauves" Herman records a land-
ing when they found among other things " des dens
de Baleines"

The first mention of train oil in the accounts of
the Muscovy Company is in the years 1604-6.
This was obtained from Cherie Island (Bear Island)
from " Sea-Morses " (Walrus). In 1604 the good
ship God Speed of sixty tons set sail from
London with Thomas Welden as master; who also
went in 1605 and 1606.

In 1609 Jonas Poole in the Lioness e sailed from
Cherie Island, where he " set up a pike, with a white
cloth upon it, and a letter signifying our possession
for the right worshipfull Company trading to
Moscovie." By this time sea-horses were becoming
scarce, though Poole observed " the multitude of
whales, that shewed themselves on the coast of
Greenland." In 1609 the gain was thirty per cent,

EARLY HISTORY OF WHALING 79

although the voyage in 1608 had shown forty per
cent profit.

Apparently it was in 1610 that the Muscovy
Company first made a serious attempt to exploit the
whale fishery in Arctic waters. In that year the
Company set forth a voyage to Cherry Island; and
for a further discovery to be made towards the
North Pole in the ship Amitie of seventy tons, of
which Jonas Poole was master, having with him
fourteen men and a boy. With her was the
Lionesse, Thomas Edge commander. On the
9th March Poole weighed and put to sea (blessed
bee God). They saw the North Cape on the 2nd
May and on the 6th encountered much ice, being
then in the neighbourhood of Cherry Island. On
the 1 6th May they saw land (Greenland or
Spitsbergen as it is now called). They saw great
store of whales particularly in Deere Sound and to
the northward of Knottie Point. Those in charge
of this expedition were censured by the Company
for having brought home blubber instead of oil, the
dividend paid for 1610 being only twenty per cent.
At this time train oil was in great demand for the
manufacture of soap so the Company at once
decided to fit out a whaling expedition for 1611.

The two vessels sent out were the Elizabeth and
the Mary Margaret, the former a small bark of fifty
tons under the command of Jonas Poole, the latter
a ship of one hundred and fifty tons commanded by
Steven Benet (Edge being on board as agent of
the Company). The former was fitted for

80 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

discovery, the latter for whaling, and fortunately the
instructions given by the Company to the masters
are still extant.

Poole was told to find whether the said land
(Spitsbergen) be an island or a main, and which way
the same doth trend, either to the eastward or the
westward of the Pole, as also whether the same
be inhabited by any people, or whether there be
an open sea farther northward than hath been
already discovered. His further instructions were
to sail in company with the Mary Margaret " till
God send you to the places where she may make
her voyage, which by your report should be at a
place named by you the last yeare 1610, Whale
Bay." " And God sending you to the said place,
we would have you to stay there the killing of a
whale, or two or three, for your better experience
hereafter to expedite that businesse, if through
extremitie of the ice you should be put from your
discoveries/'

While the whale killing was in progress Poole was
told to search the coast with his sloops for whale
fins (really the whalebone), morses teeth, amber-
gris or any other commodities. " And in this
your coasting the land, we doubt not but you will
endeavour with your Shallops to gather up all the
whale fins you can finde, to kill the Morses which
you can come on by land, and to reserve the teeth
and blubber to the most advantage that may bee,
the better to bear out the great charge which you
know we are at in these Discoveries. And to that

EARLY HISTORY OF WHALING 81

end we have laden in you eleven tunnes of emptie
caske."

After a certain time spent in this voyage of
discovery the Elizabeth was ordered to rendezvous
at the place where she left the Mary Margaret, and
if the time of year permitted to melt their blubber
into oil " to avoid the great trouble and incon-
venience you know we fell into the last yeere 1610
by bringing the same hither in blubber."

If the Mary Margaret was full fished and gone
before the Elizabeth returned, Edge was instructed
to leave a copper at Cherry Island. The detailed
instructions specify that the ships should proceed
together on the outward voyage to Cherry Island,
kill morses there if possible, and then go on together
to Whale Bay. On the return journey they were
again to rendevous at Cherry Island, waiting the
one for the other until the last day of August.
They were to fill in the time of waiting by killing
morses or searching the island for lead ore, or any
other minerals. Since previous voyages had been
spoilt owing to the ships returning home through
fear of shortage of food the Company on this
occasion set down the amount of provender supplied,
to wit, " Beefe, 22C. 3 quarters, 18 li. Bisquit. 3oc.
Beere 14 tunnes. Fish, 200 of Haberdin,1 and
halfe a hundred lings. Cheese 3000 weight. Butter
three firkins. Oyle three gallons. Pease ten
bushels. Oate-meale five bushels. Candels, sixe
dozen. Aquavitae, thirtie gallons. Vinegar, one

1 Dried, salted cod, originally prepared at Aberdeen.

82 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

rundlet of twentie gallons." This was estimated to
last them seven or eight months, and of course they
could pick up fish, fowl and beasts as they went
along.

Jonas Poole was appointed grand pilot; Steven
Benet, master of the Mary Margaret, having to
follow his directions.

The Commission to Thomas Edge1 to go as
Factor in the Mary Margaret for the killing of whale
and morses upon the coast of Greenland or any
other place in the North Ocean dated the 3ist
March, 1611, is probably the earliest set of
instructions for a whaling voyage and is quoted here
in some detail.

The adventures and losses in the first voyages
are enumerated. Of two prior voyages to Cherry
Island the first resulted in a loss of one thousand
pounds, by reason of one Duppers, a brewer of
London, together with certain men of Hull going
thither and " glutting the said place." The second
Xoyage (1609) by reason of ice was also unsuccessful,
resulting in a loss of five hundred pounds. For
this reason Edge is urged to encourage and stir up
his mind to do his utmost endeavour to further the
business in this his third employment, that the
Company might recover the losses it had sustained.
" And for that end we have made choice of you
again to goe as our factor." Six men of Saint John
de Luz accustomed to the killing of the whale were
engaged for the voyage ; " whose names are as

1 Purchas, "His Pilgrims," Vol. xiv., p. 30 (1906 edition).

EARLY HISTORY OF WHALING 83

followeth, videlicet, Juan de Bacoyne, Juan de
Agerre, Martin de Karre, Marsene de Horisada,
Domingo de Sarria and Adam de Bellocke."
Edge was warned to use them " very kindely and
friendly during this their yoyage," but at the same
time to omit no opportunity of learning " that
businesse of striking the whale, as well as they."
" And likewise to know the better sorts of whales
from the worser, whereby in their striking they may
choose the good, and leave the bad."

The kinds of whales, eight in number, are next
enumerated.

' The first sort of whales is called the Bearded
Whale, which is black in colour, with a smooth
skinne, and white under the chops ; which whales is
the best of all the rest ; and the elder it is, the more
it doth yield. This sort of whale doth yeelde
usually four hundred, and some five hundred finnes,
and between one hundred and one hundred and
twenty hogsheads of oyle." Obviously this is the
Greenland Right Whale.

1 The second sort of whale is called Sarda, of the
same colour and fashion as the former, but some
%what lesse, and the fins not above one fathom long,
and yeeldeth in oyle, according to his bignesse,
sometimes eightie, sometimes a hundred hogsheads."
This whale is the " Nordcaper."

' The third sort of whale is called Trumpa, being
as long as the first, but not so thicke, of colour grey,
having but one trunke in his head, whereas the
former have two. He hath in his mouth teeth of a

84 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

span long, and as thicke as a man's wrist, but no
fins; whose head is bigger than either of the
two former, and in proportion far bigger than
his body. In the head of this whale is the
spermaceti, which you are to keep in caske apart
from your other oil ; you may put the oyle you find
in the head and the spermaceti altogether, and marke
it from the other oyle, and at your comming home,
we will separate the oyle from the spermaceti. The
like is to be done with the oyle of this sort of whale
which is to be kept apart from the oyle of the other
whales. The reason is, that the oyle of this sort of
whale being boyled, will be as white and hard as
tallow, which to be mingled with the other oil being
liquid, would make the same to show as footie oil,
and so consequently spoyle both, and be of little
value ; you are therefore to be very carefull to
keepe the oyle of this sort of whale apart, as well of
the head as of the body, for the reasons before
mentioned. In this sort of whale is likewise found
the Ambergreese, lying in the entrals and guts of the
same, being of shape and colour like unto Kowes
dung. We would have you therefore your selfe to
be present at the opening of this sort of whale, and
cause the residue of the said entrals to be put into
small caske, and bring them with you into England.
We would have the master also to be by at the
opening of this whale and to be made privie of the
packing of those barils. And although it be said,
that the Ambergreese is onely in this whale and in
none other, yet we would not have you be absent at

EARLY HISTORY OF WHALING 85

the opening of any other; but if you see cause to
make a reservation of the entrals of every whale
that you shall perceive to be cause of the least
suspect to have any of the said Ambergreese, being
a matter, as you know, of good worth, and there-
fore not slightly to be regarded. The teeth likewise
of this sort of whale we would have you cause to
be reserved for a triall; as also any other matter
extraordinarie that you shall observe in the same.
This whale is said to yeelde in oyle fortie hogs-
heads, besides the spermaceti." This is the Sperm
Whale which was occasionally encountered even
in fairly high latitudes on the way to and from
Spitsbergen.

" The fourth sort of whale is called Otta Sotta,
and is of the same colour as the Trumpa, having
finnes in his mouth all white, but not above halfe a
yard long, being thicker than the Trumpa, but not
so long ; he yeelds the best oyle, but not above thirty
hogsheads.

" The fift sort of whale is called Gibarta,1 of
colour blacke like the two first, saving that it hath
standing upon the top of his backe, a finne half a
yard long. This whale is as big as the first; his fins
little or nothing worth, being not above halfe a yard
long; and he yeeldeth about twelve hogsheads of
oyle, all of which his backe yeelds ; as for his bellie
it yeelds nothing at all.

" The sixt sort is called Sedeva, being of a whitly

1 A Finner, see Browne, Goode, The Fishery Industries of
the United States, Sec. I., pp. 29-30

86 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

colour, and bigger than any of the former, the finnes
not above one foot long, and he yeelds little or no
oyle. The seventh is called Sedeva Negro, of
colour blacke, with a bump on his backe ; this whale
yeelds neither oyle, fins nor teeth, and yet he is of a
great bignesse.

" The eight sort is called Sewria, of colour as
white as snow, of the bignesse of a Wherrie, he
yeelds not above one hogshead or two of Oyle, nor
any finnes, and is good meat to be eaten."1

Descriptions of the different species of whales by
the Dutch will be found in an early pamphlet of
Saeghman's2 and in Zorgdrager.3 The latter (in
1720) distinguished six or seven species, viz.,
Vinvisch (Balena vulgaris\ Walvisch {Balena verd),
Zwaard-Zaag of Tand-Vische (Balena Orca vel
dantata), Noortkaper (Physter), Potyisch (Cete) and
Eenhoorn of Hoornvisch (Narwal). A short
digression is here made to give the various names in
vogue from time to time for the whales of Arctic and
sub- Arctic waters.

Other accounts of the different species of whales
met in northern waters are given by Von Troil4

1 This is the White Whale (Delphinapterus leucas). It grows
to a length of about twelve feet. White whales were taken by
the English, whenever possible. Twenty-four tons of oil were
made from white whales in 1670. They were driven ashore by
means of nets, and consequently were only taken in the bays.

a Kort verhael van de Gedaente der Walvisschen, En hare
Namen, en voorts waer, en hoe, deselve in Zee gevangen warden.
Miiller, " Noordsche Compagnie," p. 377, from " Drie Voya-
gien Gedaen na Groenlandt," Amsterdam, G. J. Saeghman.

* Bloyende Opkomst, ist edition, p. 80.

* W. von Troil, " Bref rorande en Resa til Island," 1772,
Upsal, 1777.

EARLY HISTORY OF WHALING 87

(1772) and Leems1 (1767), the former dealing with
the Icelandic names for whales and the latter with
Danish Lapland.

According to Von Troll the natives of Iceland
divided whales into two classes, those with, and
those without, teeth (tusks).

Those without teeth are divided further into
skidis fiskur or smooth bellied and reydar fiskur or
wrinkle bellied (roughly, True Whales and Finners).
Among the skidis fiskur, who have whalebone
instead of teeth, the Slettbakr (Balana biscayensis)
whose back is flat, is the largest, and some have been
caught one hundred yards ( ?) in length.

The Hnufubakr (probably Megaptera boops) has
a hump on his back, and is next in size, from seventy
to eighty yards (?) long. Of all the known whales
the Steipereidur (Balcenoptem sibbaldi), which
belongs to the class of the reydar fiskur, is thought
to be the largest, as there are some one hundred and
twenty yards (?) in length. Then follow the Hrafn
reydur and the Andarnefia.2 They are all considered
as very dainty food, and the Icelanders say the flesh
has the taste of beef.

The whales which have teeth instead of whalebone
are also divided into two classes, those which are
eatable and those which are not. The names of
these are given but not sufficient detail to enable one
to identify them with certainty.

1 Knud Leems, " An Account of the Laplanders of Finmark,"
originally published in Danish and Latin, Copenhagen, 1767.

3 Lindeman states that the Andarnefia is the Bottlenose, which
is, however, a toothed whale.

88 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

Leems distinguished seven species of whale met
with in the sea off Finmark. Of these it is possible
to distinguish at least four with reasonable certainty,
namely, the Ror Hval (a finner), the Nord Kaperen
(B. biscayensis], the Springere (Dolphin), and Niser
(Porpoise).

To return now to the events of 1611, Edge is
next admonished to be industrious and diligent and
to avoid negligence and idleness, and to see " that
every one be imployed in some businesse or other
in helping to kill the whale, or in searching the bayes
along the coast for whales, ambergreese, morses
teeth, or any other strange thing, that may be found
upon that coast, or in killing the morses, beares, or
anything that may make profit toward our great
charges." The Mary Margaret is ordered to keep
in touch with the Elizabeth, and finally Edge is
instructed, " You have with you an order set downe
by the Lords of his Majesties privie Counsell, for
the maintaining of our Charter; which we would
have you make knowne to any of our Nation, that
you may chance to meet withall either at Cherie
Hand, or upon any of those coasts. And if any
stranger do offer you violence, or doe disturbe you
in your trade, you may both defend yourselves, and
maintaine your trade to the uttermost of your
powers."

Fortified by these detailed instructions, the Mary
Margaret and the Elizabeth set sail from Blackwall
on the nth April, 1611, accompanied by the
Resolution on a Russian trading voyage and the

EARLY HISTORY OF WHALING 89

Amitie, seventy tons, bound for Nova Zembla " to
see if they could make a voyage by way of trade, or
by killing of Mohorses." Although whaling had
undoubtedly been prosecuted in northern waters
prior to this, the Mary Margaret was probably the
first vessel to take part in the " Greenland " whale
fishery.

Their voyage was certainly not devoid of incident.
Before they reached latitude 65° north, the Mary
Margaret and Elisabeth separated owing to bad
weather. Poole reached Cherie Island on the I3th
May, and on the i4th spoke the Amitie, on the i6th
the Mary Margaret with whom he kept company
until they reached " Greenland." On the 29th
May they anchored in Crosse Road (see chart, p, 58)
where " we found almost all the sounds full of ice,
that the Biscainers could not strike one whale,
although they saw divers, which as they said were of
the beste kinde of whale."

They cruised about, and on the I2th of June the
Biscayners killed a small whale which yielded twelve
tons of oil " being the first oyle that ever was made
in Greenland." On the 25th June the Mary
Margaret found a large number of sea-morses in Sir
Thomas Smyth's Bay. The crew landed, killed five
hundred, leaving a thousand more living on shore.
The next day most of the men went ashore to work
and make oil of the morses, leaving the master and
ten men on board. Some ice drifted into the bay
forcing the ship ashore, " where shee, by the master's
weake judgment was cast away, and all their bread

90 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

spoyled not fit to eate." The ship being lost beyond
hope of recovery, the crew made ready to leave the
place in their boats. Fifty men in all, they left in
four small sloops and the ship's boat on the i5th July.
After proceeding for some thirty to forty leagues to
the southward the boats separated. One sloop and
the ship's boat being together, met with a ship of
Hull, to whom they imparted the information that
their ship was lost and that they had left on land
goods to the value of some fifteen hundred pounds.
The Mary Margaret's men now proceeded with the
Hull boat back to Foule Sound to take in the
Company's goods and to kill some sea-morses.

This Hull ship, the Hopewell, Thomas
Marmaduke, master, got back to the wreck of the
Mary Margaret, where they were ultimately found by
Jonas Poole in the Elizabeth, as will appear in the
sequel.

The main part of the shipwrecked crew of the
Mary Margaret, including Thomas Edge, the
factor, and Steven Benet, the master, held on their
course to the southward to Cherry Island, which
they reached safely on the 29th July, having been at
sea in their sloops for fourteen days, " and comming
into the Hand with a great storme at north-west
with much difficultie they landed on the south side of
the Island." Here they found the Elizabeth in the
north road, three miles away, " being at that time
weighing anchor to set sayle for England."

Poole, who was unquestionably a man of resource,
on learning how matters stood with the Mary

EARLY HISTORY OF WHALING 91

Margaret, immediately lightened his ship, putting
" neere one hundred morse hides on land, and some
emptie caske, and haled up a shalop. After haul-
ing up the remaining sloops of the Mary Margaret
at midnight I set sayle for Greenland, carrying with
mee two Biscaine shallops, determining there to try
the blubber of those morses we had killed, and bring
it to oyle, and to bring all the oyle, teeth and finnes
which they had gotten in that country."

P««le left Cherry Island in the Elizabeth on the
ist August, and arrived at Foule Sound in
" Greenland " on the 14$!, where he found the Hull
ship, the Hopewell, busily engaged in salvage work.
As soon as the Elizabeth was moored Poole set to
work to make the best of things. He determined to
get out the blubber and send it ashore to be made
into oil, and also to take home the oil and whale-fins
as being the more valuable cargo, leaving the morse-
hides and blubber to the next year. The accounts
given by Edge and Poole of this same incident differ
in details, though there is an agreement in the main.
For instance, Edge gives the date of arrival of the
Elizabeth at Foule Sound as the I4th August,
Poole gives the date as the 3rd.1 At any rate, Poole
lightened his ship too much during these operations,
so that " the ship began to held, and with all a great
many men went to leeward, there being at that time
above forty on board." Poole says he had at this
time on board " about nine and twentie tunne weight,

1 But they may have estimated the date, one by the old, the
other by the new method.

92 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

and to any unpartiall man's judgment, sufficient to
shift a bark of sixtie tunnes."

At any rate, the position suddenly got worse, " the
hides which lay in the hold slid to leeward, and
brought her altogether downe, then every man made
shift to save his life, and I being farre from the
hatches, could not get up so soone as others did.
At which time I saw death before mine eyes two
wayes, one if I stayed in hold, I was sure to be
drowned ; the other if I went up the hatches, I was
in election to be slaine ; for downe at the hatches fell
hogsheads of beere and divers other things, the least
of them being sufficient to beate a mans bones."
However, Poole escaped, " and, blessed bee God,
no man perished at that so dangerous an accident."
With their boats they now made for the Hull ship,
their sole hope of rescue. There they found small
comfort, for Duke told them plainly they were not
to come aboard, " and caused pikes and launces to
be brought to keepe us out." However, Edge
persuaded the Hull man to be reasonable, so that
Poole got aboard, " having mine head broke to the
skull, and my brow that one might see the bare
bones, and by mine eare I had a sore wound, likewise
the ribs on my right side were all broken and sore
bruised, and the • collar-bone of my left shoulder is
broken, besides, my backe was so sore, that I could
not suffer any man to touch it." An arrangement
was eventually come to with the Hull ship whereby
the goods which were saved were taken in at the
rate of five pounds the tunne. On the 2ist August

EARLY HISTORY OF WHALING 93

they left Greenland in the Hopewell, ninety-nine
men in all, arriving at Hull on the 6th September.

This venture, though unsuccessful in itself, held
out such great promise for the future that the
Muscovy Company determined to embark thoroughly
in the whaling trade, a resolution which was speedily
copied by various " interlopers " in which term
were included not only foreigners but also British
subjects, e.g., Hull men, not authorised by the
Muscovy Company. .

In 1612 the Right Worshipfull the Muscovie
Merchants sent out two ships, the Whale, one
hundred and sixty tons, and the Sea-horse, one
hundred and eighty tons, under the command of
John Russell and Thomas Edge. Leaving Black-
wall on the 7th April they arrived at Cherry Island
on the 3rd May, where they found a Dutch ship, in
which " one Alan Salowes an Englishman was
pilot." The Muscovy Company's servant wished
to detain Salowes, but eventually he was allowed co
depart. On the 22nd May off Black Point and on
the 23rd off Cape Cold they saw great store of
whales. A few days later they met the Dutch ship
again, in company with the Diana of London
" whereof one Thomas Bustion dwelling at
Wapping Wall, was master." The HopewelL
of Hull, still in charge of Thomas Marmaduke, was
also at the whaling this year, and they* claimed to
have sailed to 82° north. There was also a ship
from San Sebastian in charge of Nicholas
Woodcock, an Englishman, as pilot, so there were

94 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

at least six ships at the whaling this year, two of
the Muscovy Company's vessels and four inter-
lopers, two English and two foreign. The intro-
duction of the foreign element appears to have been
due to English renegades, since the Hollanders
" came to Greenland with one ship, being brought
thither by an Englishman, and not out of any
knowledge of their owne discoveries, but by the
direction of one Allan Sallowes, a man imployed by
the Muscovia Companie in the Northerne seas for
the space of twentie yeeres before ; who leaving his
country for debt, was entertayned by the Hollanders
and imployed by them to bring them to Greenland
for their Pylot." Similarly the Spanish ship was
piloted by the Englishman Woodcocke, who, how-
ever, was subsequently arrested on complaint by the
Company, and imprisoned for sixteen months in the
Tower.

The Muscovy Company's ships were very
successful this year, getting seventeen whales as well
as some sea-horses, of which they made one hundred
and eighty tons of oil " with much difficultie ; as
not being experimented in the businesse." The
Company for both periods (this and the preceding
year) paid two dividends of ninety per cent.1

In 1613 great preparations were made, the
Muscovy Company alone fitting out five ships and a
pinasse for the whaling. These ships were the
Tigre, Admiral; the Matthew^ Vice- Admiral ; the
sea-horse called the Gamaliel, Rear- Admiral ; the

1 Scott, " Joint Stock Companies to 1720," Vol. ii., p. 53.

EARLY HISTORY OF WHALING 95

Desire ; the Annula ; the Richard and Barnard ;
with the John and Francis, to follow. In all
expeditions consisting of more than two vessels, one
was appointed to lead, the " Admiral," the other to
look out astern, the " Vice- Admiral." By day the
Admira! carried a signal and by night a distinguishing
light. The officer in command of the fleet was the
General, and he sailed in the Admiral. The second
in command was the Lieutenant-General, he sailed
in the Vice-Admiral. Both of these officers had
letters patent from the Sovereign, authorising them
to enforce martial law. The journal of this voyage
was kept by the famous William Baffin, who after-
wards (in 1615) went as pilot of the Discovery in
search of the north-west passage.

Hearing that a number of foreign ships were
fitting out for the fishery, the Company took the
precaution of applying for a Royal Charter from
King James, to exclude all others, natives and
foreigners, from participating in the fishery. It was
urged that the industry would be highly beneficial
to the country, since every hundred pounds
adventured brought trade estimated at five hundred
pounds. The claim was based on the right of first
discovery and the advantageous character of the
occupation.1 The petition was accepted and a
grant embodying the views of the company made on
the 1 3th March, 1613.

This year the Company's ships were under the

1 " The Humble Petition and Remonstrance of the English
Merchants for the Discovery of New Trades," Lands, MSS.
No. 142, f. 301.

96 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

command of Benjamin Joseph and Thomas Edge.
Leaving Queenborough on the i3th May, they
reached Greenland in eighteen days. On the 3ist
they saw a ship which proved to be a ship of Saint
John de Luz " which had leave of the Companie
to fish," and from whom they learnt that there were
eight Spaniards on the coast. They also saw
another ship, supposed to be a Frenchman, with
Allan Sallas as pilot. On the 2nd June they
boarded a small pink and ordered the master and
pilot thereof aboard the English General's ship.

The master's name was Clais Martin of Home,
his ship being for Dunkirk, and with him was
another ship, whose master was Fopp, also of Dun-
kirk. According to Edge there were fifteen sail of
large ships besides four English interlopers
engaged in the whaling this year.

In addition to those mentioned above Baffin
records meeting four foreigners on the 6th June at
Poopy Bay, of whom two were Hollanders from
Amsterdam with a commission granted by the Grave
Maurice to fish in that country; one a Rocheller and
the fourth a vessel from Bordeaux. When they saw
our Kings Majestie's Commission they told our
General that they would depart this coast. The
English were at this time in great strength. The
Jacques of Bordeaux agreed with the English that if
he were permitted to fish he would hand over half
the whales he killed. The Rocheller and the small
ship from Biscay agreed (8th June) to leave the
coast. On the Qth the English ordered the two

EARLY HISTORY OF WHALING 97

Dutch ships, the Dunkirker, the Rocheller and the
Spanish ship from Saint Sebastian out of Green
Harbour.

Two Dutch ships were encountered on the loth
at Low Sound, where on the loth June the English
" went on shoare to set up the Kings Majesties
Armes upon a low point of land, lying a great way
off, called Low-nesse. We set up a Crosse of
wood and nayled the Armes upon it." On the I3th
the English again molested a number of foreign
ships in Home Sound, compelling them to leave,
which they did on the following day, when the
English again went on shore and sent up the King's
Arms.

In short during the whole of the time of the
fishery there were constant altercations ending with
the foreigners submitting with bad grace, since they
were inferior in strength, and leaving or at least
making the pretence of leaving. There was one
large ship of Biscay of seven hundred tons " which
we expected would have fought with us."

It was in company with two ships of Amsterdam,
the masters of which were Cornelius Calias and
William Vermogon, Admirals, and John Jacob, Vice-
Admiral, " these two would gladly have stood out
with us, if the Biscaine would have assisted them."
In spite of the enormous waste of time in wrangling
with the foreigners, by the I7th July the Company's
ships had secured thirty-eight whales (of which
eight had been handed over by the Frenchman
according to agreement) and one hundred and sixty

98 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

tons of oil had been prepared. Disputes were,
however, continuous, and on the ist August
" for pilfering and some perempterie two of the
Rochellers were ducked at our yard arme, the one
on the one side, and the other on the other."

On the 1 4th August six of the ships left for home,
namely, the Tigre, the Gamaliel, the John and
Francis, the Annula, together with the Bordeaux ship
which had fished under permission, and the Biscay
ship which had fished in Sir Thomas Smyth's Bay.
On the 1 6th off Cold Cape they fell in with a ship of
Alborough belonging to Master Cudner of London,
the master being named Fletcher. This was one
of the four English interlopers referred to by Edge.

On the whole the voyage produced but poor
results for the Muscovy Company, the financial loss
being between three and four thousand pounds.

On their return home to Amsterdam the despoiled
Dutch ships complained of the ill-treatment to which
they had been subject, and representations were
made through the ordinary diplomatic channels to
King James, who at this time was a convinced
believer in the doctrine of mare clausum. The
Dutch founded their case partly on the right of
prior discovery and partly on the general principle of
freedom of navigation and fishery.

In all there are six separate accounts of the
whaling at Spitsbergen in 1613. These are the
accounts by Edge and Baffin published by Purchas ;
the " Histoire du Pays nomme Spitsberghe " by
Hessel Gerritsz, an account by Robert Fotherby, a

EARLY HISTORY OF WHALING 99

note in manuscript in the British Museum entitled
" A briefe Narration of the Discoverie of the
Northern Seas and the Coasts and Countries of
those parts as it was first begunn and continewd by
the singular Industrie and charge of the Company
of Muscovie Merchants of London," and finally the
" Corte Deductie ende Remonstrantie van wegen
de Bewinthebbers ende Participanten vande
respectiue oude Noortse Compagnien ouet Delft,
Hoorn, Enckhuijsen, Vlissingen ende Veere, ouer-
gegeuen aende Hooge ende Mogende Heeren de
Staten Generael Vereenichde Nederlandtse Pro-
vintien."1

Of these the most valuable account from the whal-
ing standpoint is that by Fotherby. This account is
in manuscript in the possession of the American
Antiquarian Society, and contains illustrations of
the whale fishery together with a description of
the fishery. It is really the original description of
Fotherby's first voyage (of three).2 This account
has been reprinted twice, and in addition quoted
extensively by Conway (" No Man's Land ").

The Dutch version of the occurrences at Spits-
bergen in 1612 and 1613 is given by Hessel
Gerritsz van Assum.8

1 See Miiller. " Noordsche Compagnie," p. 3^3.

3 " Transactions and Collections of the American Archaeological
Society," Vol. iv. (1860), p. 285; reprinted by the Hakluyt Society
in a volume entitled " The Voyages of William Baffin," London,
1881.

' " Histoire du pays nomine" Spitsberghe. Monstrant comment
qu'il est trouvee, son naturel et ses animauls, avecques la
triste racompte des maux, que nos pecheurs tant Basques que
Flamens, ont eu a souffrir des Anglois, en 1' este passee P An

100 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

The Dutch ship this year, 1612, was commanded
by Willem van Muijden of Amsterdam, with whom
was another ship from Saardam, which, however,
only went to Bear or Cherry Island to shoot or catch
walrus. In 1613 Van Muijden had two ships, in
which were engaged twelve Basque sailors from St
Jean de Luz; three master-harpooners, three boat-
swains, and the remaining six for the preparation of
oil and cutting up the whales. There was also a
barque from Amsterdam in which was Thomas
Bonaert, an Englishman, and a few Dutchmen, the
majority of the crew being, however, Englishmen.
There were also two barques from Saardam. As
already related, the English persistently molested
the Dutch. Eventually, Muijden showed the
English Admiral his Excellency's (Count Maurice)
Commission, which stated that he was at liberty to
fish, and to defend himself against all who wished to
harm him. The Admiral read it, kissed it, and
admitted its genuineness, but said he was obliged to
execute the charge he had from his king, which was
still greater, and which gave him the right to hold
for His Majesty, and for their enjoyment, all
countries and lands already discovered, and to be
discovered, within a line running from the north-west
and one from the north-east, drawn with a compass

de grace, 1613." Escrit par H. G. A. " Et en apres une
protestation centre les Angloys, et annulation de touts leurs
frivols argumens, parquoy ils pensent avoir droict, pour se faire
Maistre tout seul, dudict pays," Amsterdam, 1613. (English
translation in Hakluyt Society's " Early Dutch and English
Voyages to Spitsbergen in the Seventeenth Century," London,
1904.)

EARLY HISTORY OF WHALING fOl

placed upon their map midway between Trondhjem
and Iceland.

The English Admiral, therefore, not only forbade
Muijden to fish anywhere, but took away from him
all that he had already caught. The Dutchmen's
adventures are related in detail. On the 28th July
the English Admiral made Muijden a present of
twenty pipes of lard and twenty-one wattles for the
eighteen and a half whales which he had captured.
And he still retained in his service the vessel from
Saardam, which went here and there for him,
looking for wood along the banks and bringing the
blubber to the Foreland to the other English ships.
This vessel was also given a quantity of blubber for
its pay, and came home. According to Gerritsz the
Muscovy Company accumulated incredible wealth
from the despoiling of the Dutch ships.

As will be seen, this success of the English in
1613 was only temporary.

It was evident there would be a keen struggle in
1614, and both sides made great preparations.
The Dutch, evidently placing little faith in their
diplomatic representations to King James, deter-
mined to resort to force to defend their interests.
Early in 1614 a new Dutch Company was formed
and a charter of monopoly obtained for three years,
a period subsequently extended to ten.1 They
obtained the exclusive right " to trade and fish from
the United Netherlands on or to the coasts of the

1 This charter is printed in full in " Zorgdrager," ist edition,
PP. 173-175.

102 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

lands between Nova Zembla and Fretum Davidis,"
including Spitsbergen, Beer-en-Eiland and Green-
land. A tax of last-money, i.e., a contribution
towards the expenses of the common defence based
on the tonnage of the vessels participating in the
fishery, was levied, and fourteen Dutch whalers set
off, convoyed by four men-of-war of thirty guns each.

The Muscovy Company also made a big effort for
1614, and they sent out thirteen great ships and
two pinasses for Greenland, under the command
of Benjamin Joseph and Thomas Edge, all the ships
being well appointed with artillery for defence, as
well as the other necessaries for fishing and dis-
covery. The log of one of these ships, the
Thomasine, was recorded by Robert Fotherby, and
from it the following extracts are made. William
Baffin was on board the Thomasine for this voyage.

On the 1 4th June the Thomasine first encountered
the Dutchmen, eleven sail being met off the Fore-
land, " one of them came roome towards us, and
struck her top-sayles twice, whereby we supposed
they tooke us for some of their fleete."

Apparently the Dutch were content to leave well
alone, so long as they were not molested. At
Maudlen Sound Fotherby went ashore and set up a
cross with the King's Arms nailed thereon, under
which he nailed a piece of sheet lead, with the arms
of the Muscovy Company engraved on it. Then
cutting up a piece of earth, he said in the hearing
of the men there present : " I take this piece of earth,
as a signe of lawfull possession (of this countrey of

EARLY HISTORY OF WHALING 103

King James his New-land, and of this particular
place, which I name Trinitie Harbour) taken on the
behalfe of the Company of Merchants called the
Merchants of New Trades and Discoveries, for the
use of our Sovereigne Lord James, by the grace of
God, King of Great Brittaine France and Ireland,
whose Royall Armes are here set up, to the end
that all people who shall here arrive may take notice
of his Majesties right and title to this countrie, and
to every part thereof. God save King James."
Later they went ashore on Red Beach, where they
found no commodities as they expected to have
done, " for here had the Hulmen been in 1612 as
we might know by fires that they had made, and
gathered the fruites that many yeares before had
brought forth. Thus as we could not find that
which wee desired to see, so did we behold that
which we wished had not been there to be scene,
which was great abundance of ice." At a subse-
quent visit to the same spot they set up a cross and
nailed a sixpence thereon with the King's Arms.

The English ships returned half laden, while the
Dutch also made a poor fishing. The Muscovy
Company, being deprived of the assistance of
royalties from foreigners licensed to take part in the
fishing, had to reduce their dividend from thirty per
cent in 1613 to eleven per cent in 1614.

In 1615 the Muscovy Company sent out two large
ships and two pinasses under the cofnmand of
Benjamin Joseph and Thomas Edge. On one of
the pinasses, the Richard, twenty tons, of London

104 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

was Robert Fotherby, who kept a log of the
voyage.

This year the Dutch sent out fourteen ships, of
which three were States men-of-war of great force ;
they killed whales in Horn Sound, Belsound, and
Fairhaven as they were far too strong to be
interfered with by the English. The King of
Denmark also sent out three men-of-war to demand
toll from the English which, however, was not paid.
These were the first Danish ships that went to
Greenland being piloted thither by James Vaden,
an Englishman.

In a letter written by Fotherby to Edge, dated
from Cross Road, i5th July, 1615, there is a
reference to a meeting with three ships and a
pinasse of the King of Denmark. Fotherby, it
must be remembered, was on a very small craft with
a crew of ten men. He was " courteously enter-
tayned " by the Danes, who asked him by what
right he fished there. Fotherby told them by
virtue of the King of England's patent granted to
the Muscovy Company of Merchants. The Danes
then entreated and finally compelled him to accom-
pany them to meet Edge. Eventually matters
simmered down, the Danes being apparently
satisfied with their inquiries, " for they seeme to
pretend that the right of this land belongs to the
King of Denmark, and neither to English nor
Hollanders."

This year the English again returned half laden,
but the Dutch made a successful voyage.

EARLY HISTORY OF WHALING 105

In 1616 the Muscovy Company sent to Green-
land eight large ships and two pinasses under the
command of Thomas Edge. " This yeare it
pleased God to blesse them by their labours, and
they full laded all their ships with oyle, and left an
over-plus in the countrey, which their ships could
not take in." By the middle of August they had
from twelve to thirteen hundred tons of oil, and
all the ships arrived safely in the Thames in
September. The Dutch had four ships which made
a poor voyage.

Encouraged by this success the Muscovy
Company sent out in 1617 fourteen ships and two
pinasses to the whale fishing. At this time the Com-
pany was showing signs of financial weakness and in
January, 1617, it was resolved to send books to the
freemen for subscription of a new stock, to be paid
up during the ensuing four years, those who failed to
take up stock to be excluded during that time.

Moreover, King James himself infringed on the
privileges of the Company. On May 24th he granted,
by letters patent under the great seal of Scotland, to
Sir James Cunningham, his heirs and associates con-
stituting the Scottish East India Company, the right
to trade to the East Indies, the Levant, Greenland,
Muscovy and all other countries and islands in
north, north-west, and north-eastern seas.1

The Muscovy Company was chiefly concerned
since it was intended in the first instance to take up
whaling.

1 State Papers, East Indies, i., 65.

106 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

The actual fishing was again very successful this
year in spite of the presence of numerous foreigners
and interlopers. Edge himself met with a Dutch
ship of two hundred tons, from which he learnt that
there were ten Dutch ships on the coast with two
men-of-war. Edge warned him not to fish and
told him to inform the others, that if he met with him
or any Dutch ships hereafter he would take from
them what they had got. Hearing later that the
Dutchmen had killed a few whales in Horn Sound,
Edge ordered his Vice-Admiral to proceed thither,
" put the F lemmings from thence and take what
they had gotten." This the Vice-Admiral proceeded
to do, much to Edge's subsequent dissatisfaction,
since the goods taken from the Dutch ships were
not worth twenty pounds.

A small English ship of sixty tons with a crew of
twenty men under William Heley was more
fortunate. Detailed for the purpose of discovery
they discovered Witches Island (in 79° north) and
also " tooke a ship of Flushing,1 called the Noah's
Arke (Master John Versile) in Horn Sound, having
out of him two hundred hogsheads of blubber and
two whales and a half to cut up, a great copper, and
divers other provisions, and sent him away ballasted
with stones." Two other Dutchmen and two Danes
escaped before Heley appeared on the scene. This
year the Company's ships captured one hundred and
fifty whales, yielding over one thousand eight

1 The Noordsche Companie was this year (1617) enlarged by
the addition of Zealand partners.

EARLY HISTORY OF WHALING 107

hundred tons of oil, " beside the blubber left for want
of caske."

In 1618 the Dutch made another determined
attempt to wipe off old scores, and since the Muscovy
Company were heartened by the great success of the
previous year it looked as if there were to be lively
times at the whale fisheries.

The Muscovy Company and Sir James Cunning-
ham's Company joined forces, the East India
Company promising the former a loan of one hundred
thousand roubles on condition that the whale
fisheries should be carried on jointly1 for eight
years. According to Edge this put the Muscovy
Company to great trouble and cost " in taking of all
the provisions they had bespoken, and paying ready
money for the same, having no use thereof, but
great part spoyled, and came to little good." There
can, however, be little doubt that the Muscovy
Company were now hard up, since they were com-
pelled to borrow money from persons not free of the
Company. Ultimately, thirteen ships and two
pinasses were sent forth again under the command
of Captain Edge. The Dutch were represented by
twenty-three well-appointed ships, who commenced
to fish alongside the English, setting two boats to
the English one, " with a full purpose to drive the
English from their Harbours, and to revenge the
injurie (as they termed it) done them the yeere
before."

A letter from Master Robert Salmon dated Sir

1 State Papers, Domestic, James I., xcviii., 2, 9.

108 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

Thomas Smyth's Bay, the 24th June, 1618, throws
some light on the proceedings. After relating the
killing of thirteen whales, which yielded but little oil
on account of the difficulty of working in the ice,
Salmon goes on : " Here is five sayle of Flemmings
which have fourteen and sixteene pieces of Ordnance
in a ship ; and they doe man out eighteene shallops
so that with theirs and ours there is thirtie shallops
in the bay, too many for us to make a voyage ;
there is at least fifteene hundred tunnes of shipping
of the Flemmings ; we have reasonable good quarter
with them, for we are merry aboord of them, and
they of us, they have good store of Sacks, and are
very kinde to us," yet a little further he says " the
Company must take another course the next yeere
if they mean to make any benefit of this country,
they must send better ships that must beat these
knaves out of this country."

The Dutch had, however, evidently intended to
continue at the whale fishing, since every ship had
Count Maurice's Commission.

Master Sherwin, writing in Bell Sound (29th June,
1618), is also annoyed by the Dutch, " let them all
go hang themselves, and although you be not strong
enough to meddle with them, yet the worst words
are too good for them, the time may come you may
fce revenged on them againe." Two of the Dutch
ships came along, but Sherwin handled them
carefully " for fear of after-claps " ; had it been later
in the year " we would have handled them better."
" Now they be gone for Home Sound, I would that

EARLY HISTORY OF WHALING 109

they had all of them as good a pair of homes grow-
ing on their heads, as is in this country." From
which it would appear that Master Sherwin was not
devoid of humour.

Finally, James Beversham, writing to Master
Heley from Fairhaven (i2th July, 1618), complains
that the Biscainers have stolen one of the sixteen
whales they had killed.

Heley was himself by this time in much greater
straits, since five of the Dutchmen, namely, the
Fortune of Camphire, four hundred tons, with
eighteen cast pieces beside brass bases and
" murtherers/' Captain Hubreght Cornelisson; the
Saint Peter of Flushing, three hundred tons, with
eighteen cast pieces, Captain Cornelius Cooke ; the
Salamander of Flushing, two hundred tons, fourteen
cast pieces, Captain Adrian Peeterson; the Cat of
Delph Haven, with sixteen cast pieces, Abraham
Leverstick being Captain and General of the
Zealanders, and William Johnson of Milliworth in a
ship with fourteen cast pieces, after much conference,
on the i Qth July forcibly set on Heley who was in
the Pleasure, attended by one English ship and a
pinasse. The Dutchmen plied their ordnance,
small shot and " murtherers." The English ships,
in spite of their resistance, were forced to anchor or
run ashore, their ships being rifled, and their casks
burnt.

After this, the remaining English ships dispersed,
their voyage being " utterly overthrowne." They
returned empty, the Muscovy Company putting their

110 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

loss at over sixty-six thousand pounds besides the
spoiling of the ships and the loss of the men.

On their return the English whalers made formal
complaint, and the proceedings at the Foreland, Bell
Sound and Horn Sound were the subject of separate
affidavits.1

The statement of events at the Foreland is sworn
to by William Heley (London), aged twenty-four
years or thereabouts, Robert Salmon of Deptford,
Stephen Smith of Gravesend and John Headland
of London. At the Foreland it is evident there
was considerable wrangling between William Heley,
who was the chief representative of the English,
and Hubreght Cornelisson, the Admiral of the
Flemings.

Heley, though with a numerically inferior force,
and with unarmed ships, seems to have attempted to
prevent the Dutch from fishing, although the latter
were present in overwhelmingly greater force.
Heley learnt that this year the Dutch sent nineteen
ships to Jan Mayen Island (Hudson's Touches) and
that the twenty-three for Greenland (Spitsbergen)
were to be distributed as follows: To Horn Sound,
five; Bell Sound, seven; Green Harbour, three;
the Foreland, five; and Fairhaven, three. There
was a man-of-war to ride close to the English Vice-
Admiral's side, and if she stirred, then to go with
her. It appeared that the Dutch had information of

* State Papers, Domestic, James I., Sept., 1618, Vol. xcix.,
No. 40. Ibid., July-Aug., 1618, Vol. xcviii., Docket 44. (Re-
printed in " Early Dutch and English Voyages to Spitsbergen,"
Hakluyt Society, 1904.)

EARLY HISTORY OF WHALING 111

the number of vessels being fitted out in England
in the winter of 1617-18 by the Muscovy Company,
and were determined to overpower them. Amongst
the amenities we read that Cornelius de Cock of the
Saint Peter said that " our King of England was a
Scotchman, and that his picture stood at Flushinge
with an emptie purse by his side " ; a statement
characterised in a marginal note as " a gross and
intolerable abuse to his Ma'ty."

The further proceedings at the Foreland,
culminating in the attack of the I9th July, are set
forth in great detail in the affidavit of Heley and the
others.

The events at Bell Sound are sworn to by
Thomas Edge of London, Thomas Sherwyn of
Wapping, John Thornbush of Wapping, John
Martin of Rodrith, John Ellis of Wapping, and
John Barker of Radcliffe ; and those at Horn Sound
by John Johnson of Lymehouse, William Dridle of
Redritge, and William Henderson of Lymehouse.
At both places the English endeavoured to persuade
the DutcrTto desist from fishing, but the latter were
in great force and took no notice of the English
protests, except to produce their commission from the
" Grave Morrice," the Prince of Orange. It seems
unnecessary to recapitulate all the details of these
transactions.1

The effect of these events on King James, who
was now thoroughly steeped in the doctrine of

1 " Early Dutch and English Voyages to Spitsbergen,"
pp. 42-65.

112 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

" Dominium Maris," can be imagined. Diplomatic
protests were promptly made to the Dutch, who sent
ambassadors to England in November to treat on
the points at issue.

A detailed account of the discussion of the legal
points at issue is beyond the scope of this work.
King James appointed two groups of commissioners
to treat with the Dutchmen, a Scottish group to deal
with the herring fisheries, and the English group to
deal with other matters in dispute, including the
whale fishery. Pusillanimous James tried to bluff
the Dutchmen, but without success. The English
case was based on the contention that Spitsbergen
belonged to the king, on the prior fishing there, and
on the depredations of the Dutch in 1618. The
Dutch claimed Spitsbergen by right of discovery,
but in order to arrive at a modus vivendi, they
proposed three alternatives :

(1) That all nations should fish for whales at
Spitsbergen, sharing the bays and fishing stations
between them.

(2) That fishing should be carried on by the
English and Dutch with an equal number of vessels
of equal size.

(3) That the island should be divided into two
equal parts by an imaginary line, the Dutch to have
one part, the English the other.

James would have none of this, and insisted on
his right to the sea at Spitsbergen. On the practical
point he gave way, consenting that the Dutch should
fish at the Island for three years longer.

EARLY HISTORY OF WHALING 113

In 1619 a joint undertaking of the Muscovy and
the East India Companies engaged in the Spits-
bergen whale fishery, nine ships and two pinasses
being sent out under the command of Captain Edge.
The Dutch were also strongly represented.
Misfortune dogged the footsteps of the English
companies. A letter from John Chambers to
W. Heley from Bell Sound, i6th June, 1619, relates
a disaster which had occurred to one of the English
ships. By this time Salmon had killed ten whales
" whereof eight are made into oyle, which hath made
one hundred and eleaven tuns and a halfe, the other
two were killed the fourth of this present, being very
large fish, not doubting but they- will make sixe and
thirtie or fortie tunnes ; we have the hundred tunnes
aboard, the rest Master Barker taketh in." The
voyage was a great loss to the companies, and as
the Dutch brought home large quantities of oil and
sold it at low rates, the English companies were
compelled to hold theirs over for twelve months and
then sell it at a very low price. Moreover, one ship
was lost near Yarmouth on the return voyage.

By this time the position of the Muscovy
Company was desperate, so that in 1620 a fresh
undertaking was formed, new capital being provided
by Ralph Freeman, Benjamin Deicrowe, George
Strowd and Thomas Edge. The liabilities and
assets of the old concern were taken over for a sum
of twelve thousand pounds. This included a claim
against the Dutch for damage in 1619 amounting
to twenty-two thousand pounds.

114 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

In 1620 seven ships were sent out under the
command of William Goodlad and William Heley.
Owing to the great number of Dutch and Danish
ships the English were compelled to pass from
harbour to harbour, so that they eventually returned
half laden with about seven hundred tons of oil.

In 1621 eight ships departed, seven for the
whaling and one for discovery, with a partial success,
eleven hundred tons of oil being obtained.

In 1622 the Greenland section of the Muscovy
Company's trade was put up to auction and sold
for an annual sum of five hundred and twenty
pounds. The purchasers formed a separate con-
cern known as the " Greenland Adventurers."
Eight ships were sent to the whaling and one for
discovery.

Bad luck again attended them. One of the
largest ships was wrecked on the coast of " King
James Newland " and twenty-nine of the crew lost.
The remainder returned with one thousand three
hundred tons of oil.

Purchas prints three letters concerning the
whale fisheries of 1623, from Nathaniel Fanne,
Master Catcher and William Goodlad. The last
named was Admiral, William Heley being Vice-
Admiral.

This year the Dutch were represented by very
large ships, up to five hundred tons burden, furnished
with material for the building of houses and taber-
nacles at Spitsbergen, for the living quarters of the
shore gang, and preparation of the train oil.

EARLY HISTORY OF WHALING 115

The Dutch Company (Noordsche Compagnie)
about this time enlarged its sphere of operations
considerably.

It is estimated that in the reign of James I.
(1603-25) there were in existence from one thousand
two hundred to one thousand four hundred English
ships, of which eighteen were engaged in whaling
and discoveries in Arctic seas. Marsden's list
includes the following names of whalers : Desire,
Dragon, Elizabeth, George, Gods Speed, Hope-well,
Jacob, Mary Anne, Mary Margaret, Matthew,
Patience, Rainbow, Samaritan, Samuel, Sarah,
Tiger and Unity}-

Towards the end of the reign of James I. the
merchants of Hull complained of the falling off of
their trade, and in evidence given by John Ramsden,
before the Trades Committee of the Privy Council,
it is stated " that the summer trade in fish being
ruined by the King of Denmark and the Ward-
house ... we did seek to revive again by searching
and finding out the land called Greenland, where
we were the first that found that country, and gave
the first hazard of any Englishman to kill the
whale, which we hoped would retrieve our fortune;
but the Russia Company of London do exceedingly
disturb us therein. Another special cause of decay
we humbly suppose to be the strict restraint thereof
by the Company of Merchant Adventurers and the

1 For further details see R. G. Marsden, " English Ships in
the Reign of James I." Trans. Roy. Hist. Soc.t xix., pp. 310-55,
igos, and also Rendel Harris, " The Last of the Mayflower."
Manchester University Press, 1920.

116 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

Eastland Company of London, who abridge and
monopolise the whole trade of these countries into
their own hands, though many of them are of small
ability and hinder often those that are better able."1
One of the best early descriptions of the whale
fisheries is that of Edge (see illustrations, pp. 64 and
80). First of all the ordinary species of whale is
described. " The whale is a fish or sea-beast of
a huge bignesse, about sixtie five foot long, and
thirtie five foot thicke, his head is a third part of all
his bodies quantitie, his spacious mouth contayn-
ing a very great tongue, and all his finnes, which
we call whale finnes. These finnes are rooted in
his upper chap, and spread over his tongue on both
sides his mouth, being in number about two
hundred and fiftie on one side, and as many on the
other side. The longest finnes are placed in the
midst of his mouth, and the rest doe shorten by
their proportionable degrees, backward and for-
wards, from ten or eleven foot long to foure inches
in length, his eyes are not much bigger than an
Oxes eyes, his body is in fashion almost round
forwards, growing on still narrower towards his
tayle from his bellie ; his tayle is about twentie foot
broad, and of a tough solid substance, which we use
for blockes to chop the blubber on (which yields
oyle), and of like nature are his two swimming
finnes (and they grow forward on him). This

1 " Causes of the General Decay of Trade and Scarcity of
Money in the Town of Kingston-on-Hull, as laid before the
Privy Council by John Ramsden, Merchant," 1622 (from
Hartley's, Hull).

EARLY HISTORY OF WHALING 117

creature commeth oftentimes above water, spouting
eight or nine times before he goeth downe againe,
whereby he may be descried two or three leagues
off."

This gives the whalemen their opportunity.
When the whale is observed blowing, the shallops
are sent out after him. It is unnecessary to quote
Edge's description in full, since as Purchas says
" You may see this story of the whale killing
presented lively in the Map, which Captain Edge
hath liberally added to this relation." After the
whale has been harpooned by the harping-iron he
is lanced, and " in lancing him they strike neere the
finnes he swimmeth withall, and as .lowe under
water neere his bellie as conveniently they can;
but when he is lanced he friskes and strikes with his
tayle so forcibly, that many times when he hitteth
a shallop hee splitteth her in pieces."

" The whale having received his deadly wound,
then he spouteth bloud (whereas formerly he cast
forth water) and his strength beginneth to fayle
him." The whale is next towed to the ship, across
the stern of which it is laid. The blubber is next
cut off, " then to race it from the flesh, there is a
crane or capstan placed purposely upon the poope
of the ship, from whence there descendeth a rope
with a hooke in it ; this hooke is made to take hold
on a piece of blubber; and as the men wind the
capsten, so the cutter with his long knife looseth the
fat from the flesh, even as if the lard of a swine
were to be cut off from the leane." The blubber is

118 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

next towed ashore to the cookeries, where it is
boiled (see p. 80). The fins are then severed from
one another with axes, cleaned, and packed in
bundles of fifties.

This description of Edge's applies to the period
of the bay fishery, when the whales were abundant
close to the shore. At this time whales were
present in enormous numbers in Spitsbergen waters.
They arrived oh the west coasts and in the west
bays of Spitsbergen in the early summer, travelling
eastward. They entered the bays in large schools,
staying a considerable time, until the excessive
hunting drove them out into the open sea, where
the chase and capture were far more difficult than
in the landlocked and smooth waters of the bays.

Segersz, who wintered on Spitsbergen in 1633-
34, says that the whales deserted the bays on the
2;th October, 1633, returning on the 27th April,
I634-1

1 Segersz, Jacob, van Brugge. Journael of Dagh Register,
gehouden by Seven Matroosen, In haer Overwinteren op Spits-
bergen in Maurits-Bay Gelegen in Groenlandt A zedert het
vertreck van de Visschery-Schepen de Geoctroyeerde Noordtsche
Compagnie, in Nederlandt, zijnde den 30 Augusty, 1633, tot de
wederkomste der voosz. Schepen, den 27 May, Anno 1634.
Beschreven door den Bevel-hebber Jacob Segersz, van der Brugge.
Amsterdam, 1634. Eng. Trans. Hakl. Soc., " Early Dutch and
English Voyages to Spitsbergen," 1904.

CHAPTER IV

THE DUTCH WHALERS PREDOMINANT (1623-1750)

The methods of the Dutch whalers at Spitsbergen — Smeerenburg
— The French at Spitsbergen — The English Muscovy
Company — Anderson and Gray's description of the fishery —
The German whalers — The pre-eminence of the Dutch.

ACCORDING to Jansen,1 the Dutch whalers (1613-
1750) did not keen regular written logs. It was not
the custom of fisherme" ' . do so, and it was only
towards the middle of the nineteenth cc -tun th, t
vessels engaged in the Dutch 1 ernng fisl -ry ker
logs. The whalers went out and home every yeai,
keeping only a slate and no log. The accounts that
have been published were written from memory, and
were in some cases greatly amplified 6y those who
received them. Fogs prevented accurate observa-
tions, and when the fog cleared away boisterous
weather drove down the ice from the region of the
Pole and compelled the whalers to run before it.
Many whalers were lost, and the States General were
compelled to make a law to regulate the manner in

1 Notes on the Ice between Greenland and Nova Zembla;
being the results of investigations into the records of early Dutch
voyages in the Spitsbergen seas. Proc. Roy. Geog. Soc.,
Vol. ix., London, 1864-5.

119

120 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

which the whalers were to assist those who had lost
their ships.1

As a rule whalers did not venture beyond 80°
N. Latitude, but entered the west ice at 79° or 79^°
N., neither higher nor lower.

The Dutch navigators from 1613 to the end of the
eighteenth century were whalers and not explorers.
The first period the bay fishery (shore fishery) led
to the building of Smeerenburg as an oil boiling
establishment. The whalers at this period went
straight to Smeerenburg and plied their calling there
as described by Zorgdrager (infra). A shore
fishery was established on Jan Mayen in ,1617, and
though successful at first, the whales were never so
abundant there as at Spitsbergen.

About 1626, when the shore fishery was falling
off, the Noordsche Compagnie sent out voyages
ostensibly to seek the north-east passage, but really
to try and discover new whaling grounds. The
results of these voyages were kept secret for this
reason.

When the whales were much harried and
commenced to leave Spitsbergen they went round
the north-west point towards the east, whither the
whalers followed them. The new whaling ground
was called to the eastward, and the whales caught
there were said by the whalers to be different from
the species that took flight to the north-west and west

1 Reg-lenient van de Groenlandtsche visscherye, over het berg-en
der g-oederen en hetgeene daeren dependeert, nevens haer Ed.
Gr. Mog-. Resolutie van approbatie, 22 Jan., i6gs. Gr. Plac-
boek, iv., 1355.

THE DUTCH WHALERS PREDOMINANT 121

in the ice-bearing southerly current (Greenland
current).

The ice between Spitsbergen and Greenland was
called West-ice, and the whales in it West-ice
Whales. After the slaughter at Smeerenburg these
West-ice Whales became very cunning and shy.
The other whales, though not differing in appearance,
were more abundant in unusual years when the ice
east of Spitsbergen and Nova Zembla drifted in
greater quantity and with smaller and flatter floes
much lower down than in ordinary years. Such
an unusual year in which there was great abundance
of this peculiar whale was called a south-ice year,
and the whale a South-ice Whale. This South-ice
Whale was not so shy and cunning as the West-
ice Whale, and was even, after a hundred
years' slaughter, still more easy to catch than the
other.

From this it would appear that south-ice years
have been exceptional, otherwise this whale would
have changed its habits, like the West-ice Whale.

The whaling ground to the eastward, north of
Spitsbergen, was called " Waigat " (blow-hole)
because the southerly wind blows strongly through
it. The Waygat or Waigat was the north end of
Hinlopen Strait.

De Straet van Hinlopen was first marked on
Blaeus map (1662); at the same time Colom, Valk
and Schenk call it Waygat. The two names were
used interchangeably from that time down to
Scoresby's day (1820). Martens writes in 1671,

122 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

" It is unknown whether the haven of this Weigatt
(blow-hole) goeth through the country or no."

In some years this Waygat was blocked with ice,
and then the whalers went back round the west ice
and anchored at Disco and about the south-east
point of Spitsbergen, sending their boats into the ice
because there were no whales in the open water.
These boats had great difficulty in towing the dead
whales, with oars and sails, out of the ice on the east
coast towards their ships. If a gale from the east or
north-east brought this ice into motion, the ships
weighed anchor and retreated into Wybe Jansz Bay.

Whaling was first made a free trade about 1650,
by this time the west-ice fishery was being
established.

The west-ice fishery was divided into high and
low latitude fishery, the former between 79^° and
73° N. Latitude and the latter lower down. At its
period of greatest prosperity from one hundred to
two hundred ships went along the Greenland ice up
to Spitsbergen Voorland (on Prince Charles Island)
or straight to 79° or 79^° N., very seldom higher or
lower, and thence steered west in the ice-bearing
southerly current that is in an ordinary year.

In a south-ice year they did not go so high, but
steered east as soon as they found it was a good
year for the South-ice Whale. How this was
ascertained was doubtful. " Having ascertained
from the shape of the ice, its height, size and form,
that we were in the south-ice, and that it was a south-
ice year, we steered towards the east."

THE DUTCH WHALERS PREDOMINANT 123

The worst year on record was 1668 when the
Dutch ships failed to get higher than the Voorland.
In an ordinary year the vessels went two hundred
and twenty-four miles from Spitsbergen before the
real ice fields were found, some thirty-six miles long
with smooth water. Sometimes over one hundred
ships were attached to the same field. They drifted
south with the ice ; when free, if full, they went
home, if not, they went back again to 79° N. to make
the same circuit again, or to the old whaling grounds
to the eastward to Disco or Nova Zembla.

If, after a mild winter, there happened to be a hot
summer and winds favourable for scattering the ice,
then there was a good deal of open water in the ice-
bearing current of Greenland, and consequently few
whales, for they avoided open water. When the
Dutch whalers had been unsuccessful in the west
ice and were induced to go to Nova Zembla, it was
probably because there was too much open water,
and if this assumption be correct, then they only
went to Nova Zembla in favourable years.

The most favourable year for going north that
way must have been a south-ice year when the ice
north and east of Nova Zembla came down towards
the North Sea, and in those south-ice years all the
Dutch whalers got plenty of whales in the south ice
and did not go north. In some years, when the
Dutch whalers had been unsuccessful in the west ice
the opening in the ice near Nova Zembla was some-
times so great that no ice could be seen.

The general opinion in the seventeenth and

124 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

eighteenth centuries was that every winter the water
round the Pole was frozen more or less down to 76°
N. Latitude, according to the severity of the weather.
The whales were supposed to remain in winter near
the edge of the ice pack, where the food was scanty,
so that the whales captured in the early part of the
season were thin. There was an extensive barrier
between Spitsbergen and Nova Zembla.

In 1707 a Dutch whaling captain named Cornelis
Gillis found, towards the end of the season when
looking for whales to the eastward, enough open
water to go up north among the seven islands and
beyond 81° N. From thence 4ie steered east and
south-east round N.E. Land. In the parallel of
great island he saw high land at a distance of one
hundred miles from N.E. Land.

In some years the Dutch whalers drifted to within
a few miles of Greenland in 72° N., but although
they often wanted to go ashore, the Whaling
Company prevented it. The Dutch whalers have
fyeen near the coast of Greenland opposite Iceland.

Usually the Spitsbergen season closed late in
August or early September.

Since in 1624 a well-laden Dutch ship, which left
the fishing grounds in advance of the remainder of
the fleet, was captured on the homeward jpurney by
a Dunkirk privateer,1 it became the custom for all
the'fleet to assemble together at a given rendezvous
at the end of the season and journey home together
for mutual protection.

1 Wassenaer Histt. verh.> fol. 86.

THE DUTCH WHALERS PREDOMINANT 125

In 1633 the Dutch fleet left Spitsbergen on
the 3Oth August,1 and Jan May en on the 26th
August.2 In 1634 they left Spitsbergen on the
ist September,3 but generally they left about the
middle of August.

At this time the Spitsbergen harbours were shared
between the different nations engaged in the whale
fisheries.

The English, Dutch, French, and Danes each
had their own harbour, where the oil was prepared
and the fins cleaned. In the huts the superfluous
gear, such as spare boats, were laid up for the
winter.

The division of the bays was a source of much
trouble. In the first instance the English made an
exclusive claim to all the bays and harbours, and, in
any case, being the first at the fisheries, they had
naturally seized the best fishing places. Reference
has already been made (p. 112) to the proposals of
the Dutch negotiators in the winter of 1618-19. The
different nations frequented selected localities to
which they gradually -acquired a sort of prescriptive
right.

The English claimed from Crosse Roade and
Deere Sound right down to Home Sound. There
were English huts (at that time called tents) at the
north end of Foreland Sound at both sides, in
Greene Harbour, Bell Sound, and on the south
shore of Horn Sound. The Dutch occupied

1 Van der Brug-ge. Journal, Hakl. Soc.t 1904, p. 87.
3 Van der Brugge. Twee fournalen, p. 3.
' Ibid., p. 22

126 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

harbours north of the English, their principal resort
being the bay at north-west angle of Spitsbergen,
which they called Mauritius Bay.

The two islands to the west of it, shown on
Edge's map, but not named on it, are now known as
Amsterdam and Danes Islands ; on the former,
Hackluits headland is marked. On the east part of
the south shore of Amsterdam Island the Dutch
built their village of Smeerenburg or Blubbertown.
At the commencement of the fishery the Noordsche
Compagnie was mainly an Amsterdam venture, but
at each renewal of the charter other towns were
admitted. Each town had a chamber or committee,
and the united chambers formed the company. The
older chambers had larger shares and better stations
than those admitted later. Each chamber had its
own " tent " at Smeerenburg, with a complete
equipment for the fishing. The Amsterdam tent had
the best position at the east end of Smeerenburg.
In order to the west were the following tents:
Middleburg, Flushing, the Danes, Delft, and
Hoorn.

The Danes afterwards separated from the Dutch.
Enkhuisen also had a tent and Van der Brugge
mentions a Veere tent.

Each chamber probably had a capstan of its own
for hauling in the whales and the ships to their
moorings, and for hoisting the blubber and casks.
The ships were moored in a row with their sterns to
the shore, and room between each for a rowing-boat
to pass.

THE DUTCH WHALERS PREDOMINANT 127

Zorgdrager1 gives a detailed account of the Dutch
operations at Spitsbergen at the time when they
first took the lead at the Northern whale fisheries.
The ships anchored in Dutch Bay, off the flat of
Smeerenberg, in a row one behind another, or so
near to one another that a sloop could just pass
between to tow the oil-casks from ashore on board.
An anchor was let go from forward into the bay and
the ship made fast astern with a rope to the shore,
either to the foundations of the kettles (coppers), or
to some large stone, or to the jawbone of a whale,
whereof some are still (1720) to be seen in various
places as high piles set up for the purpose on the
beach. Lying here, as in a desired and safe haven,
three or four miles inland from the sea, preserved
and protected from all winds, they pursued their
fishery with convenience and enjoyment, rowing
their sloops round and to the ships in the bay,
which in those days was generally full of fish, as
their doings and remains sufficiently manifest irt
various accounts of this fishery, otherwise they
would not have settled themselves so solidly by
their oil cookeries and laid up their ships so com-
fortably at anchor. Besides, they brought up
double crews of sixty, seventy, and even eighty
men, which were apportioned some to the sloops to
kill the fish and tow them to the oil cookeries on the
shore, others to remain on land and cut up the
blubber from the fish, chop it up small, boil down

1 Zorgdrager. Bloyende Ofikomst, ist edition, Amsterdam,
1720, p. (in my copy) 174-5; obviously a misprint for 184-5.

128 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

the oil, fill it into casks, and roll them down to the
water. Others again were on the ships to bring
the casks alongside, hoist them aloft with a pulley,
and lade them into the ship.

At this time (1623) there came yearly a small
fleet of ships from Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Hoorn,
and other places, which were arranged in a row
along the flat of Smeerenburg, each by its own
cookery. Thus there were Amsterdam, Hoorn,
Rotterdam, and other oil cookeries with their ware-
houses and cooperies, wherein a quantity of Green-
land implements were stored, casks made, bound
and taken away, many things kept ready for future
use, and stored away, when the ships sailed home.

According to Miiller,1 the Danes left Smeeren-
burg in 1623, their place being taken by the Hoorn,
Enkhuisen and Flushing men from 1625 onwards.
This place lay to the west of the Amsterdam " tents."
The Danes protested, but without effect.

In 1626 there were five big Dutch tents at
Smeerenburg. In 1633 all the chambers of the
Noordsche Compagnie had tents there.2 Amster-
dam alone, had two large tents, the other towns,
such as Middleburg, Veere, Flushing, Enkhuisen,
Delft, and Hoorn, one each.

All these cookeries and warehouses (Zorgdrager,
p. 191) along the flat of Smeerenburg resembled
the neighbourhood of a small town, which conse-
quently was named Blubbertown, after the industry.

->'-^:

" Geschiednis der Noordsehe Compagnie," p. 143.
3 Ibid., p. 144.

THE DUTCH WHALERS PREDOMINANT 129

It is not clear how many oil cookeries and ware-
houses there were in all. In 1720 the foundations
and ruins of eight or ten oil-coppers were distinguish-
able, and those of the warehouses. The rest were
all decayed by the passage of time so that no trace
remained.

Seeing that the ships, as previously stated,
brought up double crews, it was very dull, not only
on the ships and boats, but also on shore. There
came up, therefore, as in a camp, some sutlers, who
sold their wares, such as brandy and tobacco and
the like, in their own huts or in the warehouses.
Bakers also went there to bake bread. In the
morning when the hot rolls and white bread were
drawn from the oven, a horn was blown, so that
some enjoyment was then to be had at Smeeren-
burg.

In addition to the buildings for the carrying on
of the whalers' business, there .was a church and a
fort with several batteries.1

The great days at Smeerenburg were those
following 1633, when the place was annually
visited by over a thousand whalers, in addition to
what may be considered the camp-followers.

There is evidence that the buildings at Smeeren-
burg were commenced in 1619; twenty years later
the place was in a condition of decay.2

During the time the fishing was confined to the
Dutch chartered companies, the number of ships

1 Miiller. " Noordsche Compagnie," p. 147.
3 Miiller, p. 148.

130 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

employed was annually about thirty ; soon after the
fishery was thrown open this number considerably
increased. There is no detailed account of the
conditions at Smeerenburg at the period of its
greatest prosperity. Dirck Albertsz Raven of
Hoorn1 describes a few days spent there in 1639,
when, according to Miiller, decay had already set
in. Raven's ship was wrecked in the ice off
Spitsbergen, most of the crew losing their lives.
The survivors were taken off by another Dutch
whaler, of which Gale Hamkes was master. Gale
Hamkes' ship, the Oranje Boom, put into Smeeren-
burg harbour. " On the 4th July we came into
West Bay; the sloops of Gale Hamkes then
brought us to our tents, where we at once set to
work and got ready our three sloops with all their
accessories, wherewith we afterwards still caught
three whales. On the 26th our one sea-fisher came
to us in the Bay, with a good quantity of blubber.
On the 22nd August our second sea-fisher also came
to us in the Bay, with his ship full of blubber, whereat
we were very glad ; we then divided our men on the
two ships, and got ready to depart again." It is
evident at this time that whales were captured
partly at sea and partly in the bay.

It is impossible to give a full account of each

1 Journael ofte Beschrijvinge van de reyse ghedaen by den
Commandeur Dirck Albertsz. Raven nae Spitsbergen in den
Jare 1639, ten dienste van de C. Heeren Bewindt-hebbers van de
Groenlandtsche Compagnie tot Hoorn. Waer in verhaelt wordt
sijn droevighe Schip-breucke sijn ellende opt wrack, en sijn
blijde verlossinge. Met noch eenighe ghedenckweerdige
Historien. Hoorn, 1646.

THE DUTCH WHALERS PREDOMINANT 131

year's proceedings at the Spitsbergen fishery. In
1624 five English ships going to the fishery met
two Zeelanders, and would have attacked them, but
for the opportune appearance of a Dutch man-of-
war.1 More Dutch ships, to the number of twenty,
arrived, so the English were compelled to retire.
One of these Dutch ships was a small vessel of
eighty tons, in charge of Simon Willemsz, with
Jacob Jacobsz of Edam as pilot, with instructions
to sail along the north coast to Cape Tabin, and
try for a north-east passage. They could not have
gone very far, since they were back in time to take
part in the season's fishing. The Dutch made a
good voyage this year, but sending a laden vessel
home imprudently in advance of the others, she
was captured by a Dunkirk privateer and held to
ransom for ten thousand guilders.

In 1625 the Muscovy Company sent twelve
ships to the fishery, under command of Captain
William Goodlad, who, arriving at Whale Head,
found that nine ships of York and Hull had been
there and taken away the Company's shallops left
over from the previous season, burned their casks
and spoiled their material for the fishery, besides
demolishing their houses and fort. On his return,
Goodlad applied to the Privy Council for warrants

1 Claes Wassenaer. Historisch verhael alder g-hedenck-
weerdichste Geschiedenisse, die hier en daer in Europa, als in
Duitsch-lant, Vranck-rijk ... en Neder-lant, Asia, America en
Africa, van den beginne des jaers 1621 tot Octobri des jaers
1632, voorg-evallen sijn. (Met platen kaarten en portretten.)
Tot Amstelredam, by Jan Evertsz, Kloppenburgh, 1622-4,
J. Hondius, 1624, en Jan Jansz, 1625-35, 21 din., 7 bdn., 4to.

132 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

against Richard Prestwood and Richard Perkins
" the principal agents in this contempt."

From this time onwards the British whale
fisheries at Spitsbergen declined gradually. The
whales in the Bays were now scarce and shy, so that
it became the custom of the Dutch and Basque
whalers to seek them on the edge of the ice to the
northward and westward. The English whalers
clung to the Bays long after fishing there had ceased
to be profitable, and this, combined with squabbles
at home between the " Company " and the " Inter-
lopers/' led to the disappearance of the British
whalers, so there is a distinct gap between the first
period of British whaling and the effort by the South
Sea Company to resuscitate the trade in 1724.

In 1626 Charles I. licensed Nathaniel Edwards
and his partners as a Scottish Company, and their
competition had to be bought off by the Greenland
Company ; for instance, materials for the equipment
of the whalers were bought by the latter from
Edwards. The competition of the Hull inter-
lopers was a further drawback. In the interests
of King Charles's soap monopoly the use of
of Greenland oil for soap-making was prohibited,
so that the conditions were not very favourable for
the growth of an industry already threatened by
the severe competition of the Dutch.

The " Society of Soapinakers in the City of
Westminster in the County of Middlesex " had the
monopoly of soap manufacture and the right of
search. Proceedings had soon to be taken against

THE DUTCH WHALERS PREDOMINANT 133

the old soap boilers, who, in disobedience to the
proclamation, used fish oil, and refused to have
their soap tried or marked by the assay-master, and
who also, though not a body corporate, presumed to
assemble in taverns in London and to confer about
the sale of their soap and the buying of fish oil from
the Greenland Company.

In 1633 a charter incorporated the Governor and
Company of the English Colony of Rhode and
Proxidence Plantations in New England in
America. This grant encouraged whale killing.

The French, apart from the Basques, participated
but slightly in th- Spitsbergen whaling. Even
the Basques went mainly as harpooners in Dutch
and English vessels, until the seamen of those
nations had learnt the art of killing the whale.
Still there were a few attempts, both by the French
and by the Basques, to take part in this lucrative
fishery.

A " Compagnie du Pole Arctique " was founded
secretly in Paris in 1609, not for discovery, but for
occupation, and for securing a short passage to the
East Indies. It seems to have been fantastically
conceived and nothing came of it.

Apparently it was due, to some extent at any rate,
to the initiative of this company, that the three
Basque ships, La Grace-de-Dieu of St Jean de Luz,
Les Quatre-fils-Aymon of Rochelle, and the
Jacques of Bordeaux, went to the Spitsbergen
fishery of 1613 (see p. 96), where whales were
reported to be comme carpes en un vivier!

134 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

Reference has already been made to the exploits
of these vessels, which were commanded by Mignet
de Haristiguy, Michel d'Etchepare, and Silhouette.
These vessels fished in Bell Sound, which was even
then known as the Bay of the French, this pointing
to the existence of previous expeditions. AllVecord
of these expeditions is now lost, and in fact there is
little evidence that the French participated to any
extent in the first phase of the Spitsbergen fishery.

The history of the early French adventures in the
Spitsbergen whale fishery is obscure, although some
research into the history of the subject has recently
been undertaken, notably by Hamy.

In 1621 there was founded a society in France
entitled " Royale et Generale Compagnie du com-
merce pour les voyages de long cours es Indes
occidentales, la pesche du corail en Barbarie et celle
des baleines." The history of this French company
is imperfect; the records of the voyages have
disappeared, leaving hardly a trace behind. The
great French market for whale oil at this time was
Havre de Grace, whither the Bayonne ships, for
example, took their cargoes. The leader in French
whaling enterprise was Jean Vrolicq, whom we first
hear of in 1631, entering into partnership with
Johann Braem of Copenhagen who had obtained a
charter from Christian IV., giving him the right to
send six ships to Spitsbergen.

Vrolicq, who had already applied to the French
King for a charter, fished in partnership with the
Danes in 1631. The following year Vrolicq went

THE DUTCH WHALERS PREDOMINANT 135

to Spitsbergen under the sole patronage of the
French King and Cardinal Richelieu, where he
attempted to fish in the Bay of Basques, south of
Magdalena Bay. He was, however, ordered off by
the Dutch, so he went to Iceland whence he made
a poor voyage. On his return to France he
complained, so the French Government made repre-
sentations at the Hague, strongly supporting his
right to take part in the Spitsbergen whale fishery.
The States General eventually recommended the
Noordsche Compagnie to allow him to fish outside
the limits of their fishery. In 1633 and 1634
Vrolicq was again at Spitsbergen, but he was
interfered with by the Dutch and eventually ruined.

Fourteen French ships went to the fishery in
1636, but these were all captured by the Spaniards
in the autumn of that year when they sacked St Jean
de Luz, Cibourre, and Soccoa. In 1637 a Danish
warship drove the French ships out of Spitsbergen
waters so that the Havre Company, having sustained
a loss of one hundred and sixty thousand livres, was
forced into liquidation. The French were unwill-
ing to drop out altogether from such a lucrative
trade, so in 1644 Cardinal Mazarin founded the
Compagnie du Nord etablie pour la pesche des
ballaines, which in 1648 amalgamated with the Com-
pagnie de mer de St Jean de Luz. So for a few years
longer the French flag was seen in Arctic waters.
The charter was renewed in 1669, but shortly
afterwards the Company abandoned the business.

In the seventeenth century the Dutch developed

136 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

two extensive fisheries, the Grand Fishery, which
was the herring fishery in the North Sea, and the
Small or Lesser Fishery, which was the whale
fishery at " Greenland " (really Spitsbergen). The
former was the subject of minute regulation, the
latter, though subject to various orders, was com-
paratively a free fishery, except that at first it
was confined to the Noordsche Compagnie. The
whalers, unlike the herring fishermen, could fish when
and where they pleased. The Dutch Government,
at the same time, was interested in the development
of the whaling, and made frequent grants of convoy
to and from the fishing grounds. There were also
prohibitions on the export of whaling ships and
implements, and the whalers were forbidden to take
service in foreign ships. In time of war the whalers
were not allowed to leave port, and they were not
exempt from the financial and other burdens placed
on the fishing trade in general. For instance, the
whalers were ordered to carry home the whole of
their blubber, oil, and whalebone, and sell them in
the Dutch markets, for the conservation of the
custom-house duties and the market tax.1

Except for this regulation there does not seem to
have been any regulation on the fishing; there was
no fishing season prescribed by law, neither were
there any rules for branding the produce, i.e., the
barrels or casks of train oil.

1 Placaet, waerby den Groenlandts-Vaerders g-elast wert tot
conservatie der neeringen, licenten, convoyen ende veylgelt, hier
te Lande met haer ghevang-en visch, traen, etc., te komen,
sender eerst elders te mogen Zeylen. Groot Plac.-boek., i., 683.

THE DUTCH WHALERS PREDOMINANT 137

The whalers, until the Bounty system was
introduced, had to rely solely on their own energy
and initiative. There was never any code of
regulation for the whaling at all comparable to the
code for the herring fishery.

Nevertheless, the herring fishery was the first to
decline ; the whaling continued to flourish long after
there was an unmistakable decline in the former
fishery. During the wars which were so frequent
at this time the herring fleet, which fished the North
Sea, was far more liable to attack by privateers than
the whalers in the distant waters at Spitsbergen.
In fact, the latter were only liable to attack on the
outward or homeward journey, particularly the
latter. For their protection during these voyages
the convoy system was adopted.1

The war with England in 1652-4 was prejudicial
to the " Greenland " trade. In April, 1652, before
hostilities commenced, the Dutch resolved to con-
tinue in the whaling during the coming season, and
took steps to secure the supply of able seamen. In
July the advisability of calling home the whaling fleet
was considered, but for the time the Dutch Govern-
ment warned the whalers to keep together for safety.

Although it appears that the whaling was kept
going in 1652, it was forbidden the following year,2

1 Rapport van de Raadpensionaris van de bedenking der
Generaliteit om de geheele visscherije op te ontbieden, van haar
neering tot preservatie hunner apparente schaade en ruine door
de engelsche vloot; ook de Groenlandsvaarders adverteeren, haar
bij form van admiraalschepen te voegen om de gedreygde
swaarigheid te ontgaan, 21 July, 1652.

3 Waerschouwinge ende verboth, waerby omme pregnante

138 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

not only to keep the ships safely in port, but because
the men were required for the navy.

The " Greenland " warehouses in Amsterdam are
described by Filips von Zesen.1 They belonged to
the Greenland (Noordsche) Company, and were
situated in the Keisers-gracht. The Greenland
Company originally boiled down their oil at
Spitsbergen, but other traders, not members of the
Company, at this time brought the blubber home
to boil it down. The land in the Keisers-gracht
was bought by the Company in 1620, and it is
probable that the warehouses were erected soon
after, when the Company was at the height of its
prosperity.

The warehouses were spacious and well suited for
the accommodation of the requisites of the fishery
and the general merchandise of the Company.
There were great stone cisterns2 in the cellars for
the storage of train oil, which was better preserved
there, and less subject to leakage than in vats.
These warehouses are illustrated in Conway's "No

redenen den Walvisch-vanghst voor het jaer 1653, g-eschorst
wordt, 25 Maart, 1653. Gr. PLac.-boek., ii., 506.

1 Beschriebung- der stadt Amsterdam, darinnen von derselben
ersten ursprunge bis auf g-egrenwartigen Zustand, ihr unter-
schiedlicher anwachs, herliche vorrechte, und in mehr als 70
Kupferstiikken entworfene fiihrnemhste Gebeue, zusamst ihrem
Stahtswesen, Kaufhandel und ansehnlicher macht zur See, wie
auch was sich in und mit Derselben markwiirdiges zugetrag~en
vor augen gestellet werden Zu Amsterdam, Gedrukt und verlegt
durch Joachim Noschen. Im Jahr, 1664. See also Muller,
Noordsche Compagnie," p. 121.

3 " Gemetzelde Bakken." See Le Moine de VEs-pine and
Isaac de Long. De Koophandel van Amsterdam, Rotterdam,
1780, Vol. ii., p. i g8.

THE DUTCH WHALERS PREDOMINANT 139

Man's Land." They are still in existence and in a
good state of preservation. Practically all trace of
the blubber-houses or cookeries, which must have
been built all over the West European coast from
Liibeck to the north of Spain, has now vanished.
After the period of the bay fishery at Spitsbergen
was over, all the whalers, with the exception of the
Basques, brought the blubber home to be boiled
down. The first German oil cookeries were erected
at Hamburg in 1 649 ; not much is known about them,
but they were developed and increased until 1675,
when they were burnt down. In 1753 Conrad von
Uffenbach described those on the banks of the Elbe
near the Altona gate at Hamburg. These blubber
factories, which belonged to Mennonites, are fully
described and figured by Uffenbach.1

The first Dutch cookeries were built at Oostzanen,
on the Twisk near the Overtoom, they are illustrated
in Conway's " No Man's Land."

The Noordsche Company lost their monopoly in
1642, and immediately the Dutch whaling showed
signs of rapid improvement. Meanwhile the
English trade languished. The Civil War exer-
cised a detrimental effect on the commerce of the
country, and from this even the whaling was not
exempt. The disputes between the Monopolists
and the Interlopers dragged along interminably.

After the Dutch whaling became free to all
(circa 1645), a great number took part in it, and for
that very reason the increased quantity of whale

1 " Merkwiirdige Reisen durch Niedersachsen," 1753.

140 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

products caused a fall in price, which again jeopar-
dised the whale fisheries.

It became customary, in order to avoid the
customs duty of two per cent, to land the oil and
bone in foreign countries, but this was forbidden
by a law of 1652, according to which all Dutch
whalers were required to land their cargoes at their
home ports. In 1661 all the Dutch whalers were
forbidden to go into foreign service, or to sell their
sloops, casks, sails, harpoons, or other gear to
foreigners. The trade was assisted in 1675 by the
passing of two orders, one of which admitted the
Dutch whaling products free, and the other taxed
foreign imports into Holland with double the
original duty (of two per cent). There was an
immediate and marked revival, and soon after
about two hundred and fifty Dutch ships set out
annually to the fishery.

Each ship had to deposit six thousand guilders
caution money before • starting, as a security that
it would return with its cargo to the home port.
In war time the whale fishery was either forbidden,
the sailors being pressed into the naval service, or
the whaling fleet was permitted to start under
adequate naval protection.

Commissaries were appointed from South and
North Holland, from among the leading men in
the trade to see that the regulations were carried
out.

The whaling trade generally seems to have been
run on a slender margin of profit. True, there

THE DUTCH WHALERS PREDOMINANT 141

were enormous prizes to a favoured few, but, on the
whole, the profit was small, and many were able to
take part in the trade simply because they supplied
the goods which the whalers required. Had they to
purchase these goods instead of supplying them at
cost price, it is doubtful whether they could have
kept on with the trade.

During this period of the Dutch predominance
the British whalers were engaged in a series of
disputes which may be referred to briefly.

In 1645 the Greenland Company (the successors
of the Muscovy Company) petitioned Parliament,
which gave notice to all the ports throughout
England, by their burgesses, that all should come in
and join the Company in guarding the harbours (in
Spitsbergen), giving assurance to Parliament to set
out yearly a certain proportion of ships. Three
months' consideration was given, but, owing to the
hazardous nature of the trade, none came in except
York, Hull and Yarmouth. It was therefore stipu-
lated that no new adventurers of only two or three
years' standing should now be admitted, since
London, Hull and Yarmouth have, at great cost,
defended Bell Sound, Home Sound, Green Har-
bour, Cross Road, Mettle Bay, and Sir Thomas
Smyth's Bay. The late intruders, Warner, Whit-
well, and others, have for two years only sent into the
Company's harbours two or three small vessels, which
not only refused to join them to keep out the French
and Dutch, but brought in Dutch strangers to
manage their stock and adventure, the consequences

142 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

of which will be most dangerous to English
navigation.

The dispute between the Greenland or Mus-
covy Company and the " Interlopers," as they
were called, was really an important trade
quarrel between monopolists on the one hand
and free traders on the other. Briefly, the
Muscovy Company claimed the sole right to the
whale fishery at Spitsbergen on the following
grounds :x

Their discovery of the trade and its protection
from the Dutch, their chartered rights confirmed by
the Navy Commissioners and the Committee for
Trade, and their vested interests. In 1654 a strong
effort was made to put an end to these everlasting
disputes, which naturally exercised a detrimental
influence on the whaling trade. A petition to the
Protector was drawn up (i7th January, 1654), by
Francis Ashe, Governor of the Muscovy Company,
in which an appeal is made for regulations for the
trade, so that rival interests should not clash in
certain harbours, and more harbours might be
opened up for whaling. The Company wished to
retain possession of Home and Bell Sounds, urging
that private adventurers could not succeed, because
the erection of storehouses is needful to store the
oil of a successful year, which will occur every three
or four years, when the whales come in shoals, and

1 To give full details of this dispute would require a special
volume. See The Calendar of State Papers, Domestic, from
1611 to 1671.

THE DUTCH WHALERS PREDOMINANT 143

compensate for two or three losing years, and these
storehouses involve great expense which could not
be faced by private individuals.

The free adventurers (Edward Whitwell and
Richard Eccleston of Hull being the leaders)
chiefly Hull men, commenced an agitation. They
appeared before the Committee of the Council of
State appointed to inquire into the question, and
in addition printed a broadside addressed to
Parliament and every member thereof. They
were not above introducing politics into the
dispute.

" We conceive the right which such as seek to
ingrosse the trade and harbours to themselves,
pretend to have, is onely grounded upon a monopo-
lising pattent; which came from prerogative power,
and not consistent with the freedome of a Common-
wealth and the members thereof. In the late
King's time the Company used all unjust, illegal
and arbitrary means possible to suppress all but
themselves."

The free traders' claim was based on the plea that
the trade was discovered by Hull men forty years
ago ; that there is ample room for all who desire to
fish, and that it is inconsistent with the public wel-
fare to restrain the fishing to fifty people, who
enhance the price of oil by their inability to bring in
a sufficient quantity, that Bell Sound, one of the
harbours claimed by the Muscovy Company, is
thirty miles long by fifteen broad, and Green
Harbour still larger, and that by the admission of all

144 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

there would no longer be any need to import oil
or fins from Holland, and the state would be
strengthened by the increase of shipping.

In reply, the Greenland Company stated that
where several ships fish in the same bay there are
bound to be disputes and quarrels.

According to the Company's agents the whales at
this time came into the bays in schools of from two
to three hundred " to gender, feed, and rubb them-
selves," staying many days. The schools consisted
of families of two, three or four together; when one
was struck with a harpoon the other members of the
family dispersed, but whales not of the family paid
little attention. " So that when one interest is
onely there, they can take or pursue such as are
most likely to goe first out, and to follow the rest
at leisure ; whereas if there be divers interests,
each party disturbs the fish wheresoever it
appeares, having onely respect to their owne
profitt, and so suddanily scares or drives away
the whales."

In the light of modern opinion the demands of the
Greenland Company seem quite unreasonable, and
it must have been evident to the Company that
Parliament would not exclude the free traders
entirely from the fishery. The free traders wanted all
the harbours open to everyone, first comers to have
a choice of place, and only a certain number of boats
to fish in each harbour. Eventually a compromise
was arrived at.

Twelve ships of an aggregate tonnage of three

THE DUTCH WHALERS PREDOMINANT 145

thousand tons were to be sent to the fishery ; five to
fish in Bell Sound, three in Horn Sound, two in Ice
Sound (Green Harbour), two in Cross Road and Sir
Thomas Smyth's Bay. There were four hundred
and twenty seamen and one hundred and sixty
landsmen distributed as follows: two hundred and
fifty men at Bell Sound, one hundred and forty men
at Horn Sound, one hundred and ten men at Ice
Sound, and eighty men at Cross Road and Sir
Thomas Smyth's Bay. The shipping was to be
supplied in the following proportion: the London
Company, one thousand six hundred tons ; Hull and
York, four hundred tons ; Horth for Yarmouth, five
hundred tons ; Whitwell and partners, three hundred
tons, and Batson and partners (with L. Anderson),
two hundred tons. The dispute dragged on without
much prospect of being settled in time for the
approaching season, so the London and Hull
adventurers petitioned to be allowed to send up six
ships with a pinasse.

This was the year in which the Dutch sent up
seventy sail escorted by three men-of-war.

Soon after this the British whaling trade became
practically moribund, and the home market for oil
depended on captures made by privateers from the
foreign whalers, and on the home-grown supply of
rape seed. There are numerous references in the
State Papers of this period to this privateering, of
which a few may be quoted.

In September, 1666, the Constant, Warwick, and
Victory put into Plymouth with three French prizes

146 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

from Greenland, laden with whale oil, one of them
being upwards of two hundred and fifty tons, and
containing fourteen pieces of ordnance. In May,
1667, the Mermaid brought in two French prizes in
ballast, bound for Greenland. This was not
customary, as it paid better to seize full ships on the
return voyage. In August a French ship laden
with oil was taken off the coast of Holland and
brought into the Humber by the Hampshire and the
Oxford. The same month a Scottish privateer
brought into Scarborough a Dutch prize of two
hundred tons from Greenland, laden with oil and
whalebone. On 3rd October a Frenchman laden
with oil is in the roads off Deal, and on the 5th a
Frenchman (a prize) with Greenland oil has gone up
the Thames, and this presumably refers to the same
vessel.

In 1668 the Greenland traders in Holland had
such bad luck in their fishing that rape seed " rises
apace " and great quantities are shipped from Hull
to Holland, four vessels partly laden therewith
having sailed by 4th October, and more daily were
making ready. In 1671 Hull reports that " in rape
seed it fails much of our expectation by reason the

Holland Greenland fleet are so well fished that the

)

price has fallen to nothing."

When the Greenland Trade was eventually thrown
open by statute in 1672 the trade was quite lost, and
wholly engrossed by foreigners.

In 1658-59 the Dutch helped the Danes in their
war against Sweden, and in the latter year whaling

THE DUTCH WHALERS PREDOMINANT 147

was first of all forbidden,1 and then permitted under
certain conditions.2

Shipowners and captains in the trade were to put
fifteen hundred able seamen at the disposal of the
Dutch Admiralty, or buy them off at fifteen florin
per head. These repeated wars adversely affected
the Dutch whalers to such an extent that it became
customary to put the ships under a foreign flag.
This was forbidden again in i66i.3

At this period (circa 1660) we have two interest-
ing manuscripts describing the " Greenland " whale
fishery, by Anderson 4 and Gray,5 the latter
illustrated by small sketches.6 The former manu-
script is in the British Museum, the latter in the
Register Book of the Royal Society. The Royal
Society of London, which was incorporated by
charter in 1662, interested itself in Spitsbergen and
its whaling.

Both accounts are of great interest, as they prove
that the English followed the bay fishery (in Bell

1 Placaet, in welcke de Walvischvang-st, ende vaert daerop tot
nader orde geschort werd. Gr. Plac.-boek., ii., 507.

a Nader Placaet, in welcke onder seeckere limitatien de vaert
op Groenlandt toegelaten en andere equipagien ter zee bij
provisie ende tot nader ordre verboden werden. Gr. Plac.-
boek., ii., 507.

3 Placaet, houdende verbodt, om schepen te laten bevrachten,
omme by uytheemsche natien tot den walvischvang-hst g-heetm-
ployert te worden. Gr. Plac.-boek., ii., 2639.

4 An account of Greenland from Capt. Lancelott Anderson,
a Hull merchant who has made thirty-three voyages thither.
British Museum, MS. Sloane, 3986, ff. 78, 79.

8 Register Book of the Royal Society, Vol. ii. (1662-3), p. 308.
8 These sketches, as well as the two manuscripts, are repro-
duced in the Geographical Journal, London, June, 1900.

148 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

Sound) long after it had been abandoned by the
Dutch and French.

Lancelott Anderson was a whaling captain of
Hull. He was on the whaling ship which rescued
in May, 1631, the eight English whalemen who had
been left behind on Spitsbergen the previous year,
and were the first to winter there.1 He is also
mentioned in a list of those engaged in the whaling
in 1654. His account of the whaling follows :

" First, that they usually went out of Hull in the
beginning of May, and that it proved three weeks or
four voyage to the place they went to which lay in
78 gr. of Latitude.

" Secondly, that they saild between great masses
of ice of seventeen or twenty fathomes thick part of
which stood out high above the level of the main
mast, off which ran spouts of fair fresh water, when
the sun shind upon them. To some of these
masses of ice (which were of far lesser bulk) they
often times fastened their ships by the Ankor when
the winds were higher than ordinary to hinder it for
running too swiftly that it might not split itselfe upon
those great ices.

" Thirdly, that they caught their whales in some
large Bay or other and particularly in the Bay call'd
Bell Sound.

" That they always swome to them in their Boates
with harping irons of this shape O— -2> to strike them,

1 V God's Power and Providence shewed in the Miraculous
Preservation and Deliverance of Eight Englishmen," London,
1631. Reprinted, Hak. Soc., 1855.

THE DUTCH WHALERS PREDOMINANT 149

and always strive to avoid their tayles (because with
that part they strike and if they hitt a boate will
break it in pieces) but if you bear up to their head
and foreparts, then are you more secure.

' The whales are there of quick hearing (though
they have but little ears) and if they bee suddenly
surprised will quake and shiver, and strive to avoyd
you by sinking down in the sea.

" After they are struck they presently dive and
run down towards the Bottom.

" Now their harping irons are fastened to a Cord
(which lyes coyled up in the Boate, so that it may
not run fould) of three hundred fathoms. Which
the whale will draw all after it and they follow hir
with the Boate which way soever shee draw the
cord, and it be not of length enough they are ready
(with another Cord in another Boate) to fasten to the
end of it before the whale has drawn it quite out to
its full Length both of which may extend to one
thousand fathom.

" The whale will toyle and weary hirselfe thus till
she be weary or not able to stay longer under water
(and she will sometimes stay one hower or more
under water before shee appear at all) yea and will
run under great Hands of Ice which are floating
there, but will come back againe to the open sea and
aire.

" Lastly, when shee is dead and floates they lett
hir alone for two or three days in which tyme shee
swells and so a greater part of hir Back appears on
the water.

150 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

' Then they goe to hir and cut off Collops of hir
back as deepe as the fatt reaches and as far as the
water permitts, which done they turn up one side
and then the Belly and lastly the other side and so
spades hir round and then leaving the rest of the
body (except the whalebone which they take out of
hir mouth) to the mercy of the sea.

' Then they take these Collops and Boyle
them in their Coppers and so the fat runs all into
oyle.

" And an ordinary whale will yield twelve tun of
oyle, some twenty tun (if large and taken at a
seasonable time)."

Mr Gray was one of the crew of the Salutation,
Captain Mason, which was at the Spitsbergen fishery
in 1630. He wrote an account of the whale fishery,
which is in the Register Book of the Royal Society
(1662-3), entitled, " The Manner of the Whale-
fishing in Greenland, given by Mr Gray to Mr
Oldenburg for the Society."

" We have according to the bignesse or smalnesse
of our ships, the more or fewer Boates ; a ship of two
hundred tuns, may man six boats; A vessel of
eighty or one hundred tuns, four boats ; A vessel of
sixty tuns, three boats or more, not lesse ; three boats
being as few as may be with convenience to kill a
whale. Each boat hath six men; A Harpeneir,
Steersman, and four Oars; to which men the
merchant giveth (besides their wages) for every
thirteen tuns of Oyle (which we call a whale) when
there is so much for each boate, to the Harpenier

THE DUTCH WHALERS PREDOMINANT ,151

6 li. ios., the Steersman 3 li., and to each Oar 305.,
in all for each boat 15 li. ios., which we call whale
money.

" We have several men and boats upon several
convenient places, which we call Look-outs, that
constantly remain looking out <by turnes for the
Whale, which when we fish in Harbour, cometh into
a smooth Bay, where there is a good Harbour for
our ships; and having discovered the Whale, which
swimmeth with her back above the water, or is
descried by the water which she bloweth into the
Air, one Lookout maketh signes to another, by
hoysing up a basket upon a Pole, and then all the
boats row after her, and having opportunity to row
up with her before she goeth down, strike a Harping-
iron into her, to which is a stafie joyned being about
six foot long, called a harping-staffe, to the Socket
of which Iron is a white rope, with an eye seazed
very fast; This Rope is about five fathoms long,
which Lying upon the forepart of the Boat (which
we call a Shallop) always coyled over a little pin,
ready to take up, to give scope to the iron, when it
is thrown at the Whale; and to this hand-rope is a
warpe of three hundred fathoms seazed, to veer after
the whale, lest, when she is struck, by her swift
motion (which is often down to the ground, where
the water is sixty, seventy, or eighty fathom deep)
she should sink the boat.

* Thus having gotten our Iron into her, our boats
row where they think she will rise (after she hath
been beating her selfe at ground) and get two or

152 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

three more irons into her, and then we account her
secure.

' Then when she is neer tired with striving
and wearied with the boats and ropes, we lance her
with long Lances, the Irons and stands wereof are
about twelve or fourteen foot long, with which we
prick her to death ; and in killing her, many times
she staveth some of our boats, beating and flourishing
with her tayle above water, that the boats dare scarce
come nigh her, but oftentimes in an hours time she
is dispatched. Thus having killed her, our boats
tow her (all of them rowing one before another, one
fast to another like a team of Horses) to the ships
stern, where, after she hath layn twenty-four hours
we cut off the blubber, and take the finns (which we
commonly call the whalebone) and her tongue out of
her mouth, and with a great pair of slings and tackle,
we turn her round, and take all that is good off her,
and then we turn her carcass adrift and tow the
blubber (cut in pieces) to the shore where works
stand to mannure it.

" Having made fast the blubber to the shore, we
have a Waterside-man who stands in a pair of boots,
to the middle leg in water, and flaweth such flesh as
is not clean from the blubber; Then we have two
men with a barrow, that when the Waterside man
hath cut it in pieces about two hundredweight, carry
it up to a stage standing by our Works, like a Table ;
then we have a man with a long knife, who we call a
Stage-cutter, who sliceth it into thin pieces about
halfe an inch thick, and a foot long or longer, and

THE DUTCH WHALERS PREDOMINANT 153

throws it into a Cooler, we call a slicing-cooler,
betwixt which and another cooler (called a chopping-
cooler) we have men called choppers placed ; five or
six men, who upon blocks cut about a foot and halfe
square (made of the tayle of the whale, which is very
tough) do take the sliced blubber and chop it very
small and thin, not above a quarter of an inch thick,
and an inch or two long; and thrust it off from the
blocks into the Chopping-cooler, which holds two or
three tuns.

" Then upon a platforme is built a Copper-hole,
about four foot high, to which there is a stokehole,
and on this Copper-hole is a broad Copper which
containeth about a Butt, hanged with mortar and
made tight round the edges. And over the stokehole,
upon an Arch, stands a Chimney which draws up the
smoke and flame. And we have one we call a
Tubfiller who with a Ladle of Copper, whose handle
is about six foot long, taketh the Chopt blubber out
of the chopping-cooler and puts it into a hogshead
made with straps for that purpose, and he drawes
this hogshead from the chopping-cooler's side to the
Copper and putteth it in ; under which having once
kindled a fire of wood and boiled a Copper or two
of Oyle, the scruffe which remains after the oyle is
boiled out of the blubber (which we call fritters) we
throw under the Copper, which makes a fierce fire
and so boyleth the Oyle out of the blubber without
any other fewell.

' Then when we find that it is boyled enough, we
have two men which we call coppermen who with

154 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

two longhandled copper ladles take both oil and
fritters out of the Copper, about halfe, and put it
into a Barrow (we call a Fritter-barrow) made with
two handles and barrell-boards set about halfe
a-quarter of one inch from the other, through which
the oyle runneth and the Fritters remain ; from which
the oyle being drained whilst another Coper of oyle
boils, they are cast into the stokehole and burnt, and
the barrow stands ready again on the first Oyle-
cooler, to receive what is taken out of the next
Copper. Out of this barrow the oyle runs into a
great thing we call a Cooler made of Deal-boards,
containing about five tuns, which is filled within an
inch of a hole (made in the side for the oyle to run
into the next spout) with water to cool the oyle, and
so the oyle runs upon the water, through this hole
into a spout about ten or twelve foot long, into
another cooler filled as aforesaid and out of that,
through a long spout into a third filled as aforesaid
and out of that, in a long spout into a Butt laid under
the end of this spout, which being full, the hole of
the Cooler, next the Butt is stopt till another Butt is
laid under, and then the plugg being taken out, it
filleth another, till we have done boyling. Then we
fill up our Oyles, when they are thoroughly cold, and
marke them and roule them into the water, rafting
twenty together, and so tow them aboard, hoyst
them into our ships, and stow them to bring them
home.

" And for our finns, which grow in two Gumms in
the whales mouth (whereof in a whales mouth, great

THE DUTCH WHALERS PREDOMINANT 155

and small are about six hundred, four hundred and
sixty whereof being merchandable) we cut them one
by one out of the gumms and having rubbd them
clean we bind them up sixty in a bundle, and so
taking account of them ship them aboard in our
Long-boat.

" Upon the shoar we have a Tent for our Land-
men, built of stone, and covered with Deals, and
Cabbins made therein for our Blubber-men to lodge ;
And we have a great Working-tent with a Lodging-
room over it, where, about six Coopers work to get
ready Cask to put the Oyle into."

The Germans first participated in the whale
fishery in 1640, by which time the first prosperous
period (the bay fishery) was over. The first oil-
houses were built in Hamburg in 1648 ; in 1674 there
were nine in existence. Hamburg whalers did well
in the period 1669-98, especially in the years 1669,
1671, 1672, 1673, 1682, and 1697. In these years
the average was from seven to eleven whales per
ship. Whaling at this time does not appear to have
been such a hazardous occupation as one would
have thought, for of one thousand five hundred and
forty-nine ships which voyaged to the Arctic regions,
only fifty-six, i.e., three and a half per "cent, were
lost. The merchants, however, frequently sustained
other losses owing to the action of privateers. One
of the oldest accounts of the German fishery is given
by Martens in 1671. l Martens, in the capacity of

1 Friedrich Martens. " Spitzbergische Reise-beschredbung,"

156 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

ship's-barber (doctor) made four journeys to Spits-
bergen in whalers, and his book, unlike many whaling
treatises, is an account of his own personal experi-
ence. His first ship was called Jonah in the Whale
(Jonas im WalfiscK). They left the Elbe on the
1 5th April, 1671 ; on the 27th they sighted the ice,
Jan Mayen being ten miles distant bearing south-
west by west. Many ships were engaged at this
time in this neighbourhood, and it was customary for
the vessels to hail one another, the most frequent
question being as to the number of fish (whales)
caught. In his reply Martens quaintly says, after
giving the number, " sollte er auch nock einen
oder mekr> als er hat, dazu setzen, schadet eben
nichtsr

When the complement of whales was obtained the
ship flew a special flag, illustrations of which are
given by Martens. On the 7th May the Jonas
im Walfisch sighted Spitsbergen, on the I4th
there were twenty ships whaling in 75° 22' north.
On the 1 5th they sighted their first whale,
but failed to secure it, on the 3Oth they were
successful.

After rescuing the crew of a wrecked whaler they
obtained their second (i3th June) and third (22nd

Hamburg, 1675. First translated into English by Sir John
Narborough and others, and published in 1694, as an account
of several late voyages and discoveries to the south and north,
etc. Dedicated to Samuel Pepys.

Also translated and published in the Hakluyt Society's publi-
cations for 1855. A collection of documents on Spitsbergen
and Greenland, under the title " Voyage into Spitsbergen and
Greenland."

THE DUTCH WHALERS PREDOMINANT 157

June) whales. After securing five more " fish "
they sailed for Bear Harbour, where twenty-eight
ships were at anchor, twenty Dutch and eight
Germans. They returned home on the 2 ist August.
The fishery conditions at this time are not well
described. Zorgdrager1 gives a general account of
the extent of the whaling grounds, which comprise
the waters from Davis Strait, past Greenland,
Iceland, Spitsbergen to Nova Zembla. Martens
says the whales are more abundant in the spring
towards the west, off Greenland and Jan Mayen,
later they move east to Spitsbergen. According to
Zorgdrager there was a considerable fishery north
of Jan Mayen in 74° north from 1611 to 1633.
In the eighties of the seventeenth century there
was a prosperous fishery in Gael-Hamkes Bay in
Greenland.

The ice fishery has been well described by
Martens and Zorgdrager, for the period at the end
of the seventeenth and the commencement of the
eighteenth century. The treatment of the whale's
carcass was apparently evolved by the Dutch, the
other nations copying their methods.

1 The full title of Zorgdrager' s book, which was published at
Amsterdam in 1720, is, " Bloyende Opkomst der Aloude en
Hedendaagsche Groenlandsche Visschery, waar in met eenege
g-eoeffende ervaarenheit de geheele omflag deezer Visscherye
beschreeven, en wat daar in dient waargenomen naaukeurig
verhandelt wordt." A German translation (with different illus-
trations) was published at Leipzig in 1723, under the title,
" Alte und neue Groenlandische Fischerei und Walfischfang."
A second enlarged edition was published at the Hague in 1727,
a third edition at Amsterdam in 1728, and a second German
edition at Niirnberg in 1750.

158 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

The types of vessel in use at this time were of the
following dimensions :

Ship 100 feet long- by 26 by u£ carried 4 boats and 28 men.
ioo „ ,, 28 by 12 „ 5 ,, 35 ,,

112 „ ,, 29 by 12^ ,, 6 ,, 42 ,,
118 „ „ 30 by 12* „ 7 „ 50 „

The hull of the vessel was strengthened to resist
ice pressure, and provided at the bow with an iron
" breast-plate " which corresponded in function
with the false or ice stem described by Scoresby.

Fitting-out began in March with the preparation
of the so-called hard bread, consisting of two-thirds
rye and one-third wheat. At the beginning of
April the soft bread was made. A ship with thirty-
five men and five boats required for the voyage :
fifteen casks of hard bread, sixteen sacks soft bread,
twenty-eight sacks peas, eight tons meat, thirteen
quarters butter, one thousand pounds cheese, five
hundred pounds bacon, nine hundred pounds stock
fish, twenty-eight barrels of beer, two and a half
ankers of brandy, and so on. The empty casks for
the reception of the blubber were prepared and
placed in the hold, the interstices being filled with
firewood for subsequent use in boiling the oil at the
factories on shore. The two lowest rows of casks,
about two hundred in all, were filled with water.
The fore-part of the hull was strengthened inside.
At the end of March the master appeared to take the
vessel over, and to make ready for sea. The
mustering of the crew usually took place at some
water-side inn. Zorgdrager specifies in full detail

THE DUTCH WHALERS PREDOMINANT 159

the fishery equipment of the whaler, including four
hundred and fifty new casks, sixty new whale-lines,
fifty oak harpoon stocks, cloth for sails, forty new
and ten old harpoons, fifty new lances, ten blubber
knives, and so on.

His list is so meticulously correct that he does not
forget the porcelain coffee service and the mirrors
and serviettes for the cabin. Evidently the old
whaling masters were by no means uncivilised.

Between the 6th and 8th April the crew were
mustered in the captain's cabin before the owner
and skipper. Advances in pay were made. The
captain received one hundred to one hundred and
fifty guilders, and twenty-five guilders towards his
equipment. His share was also fixed at from twenty
to twenty-five guilders per whale and a percentage
on the oil. The mate (steersman) received sixty to
sixty-five guilders advance and an agreed percentage
on the oil, the harpooners fifty to fifty-five guilders
advance and a percentage on the oil, but nothing
for the whalebone. The monthly pay of the crew
was carpenter, thirty-six to forty guilders, boatsmen
twenty-eight, cook twenty-eight, butcher twenty-
eight, barber (doctor?) twenty-six, quartermaster
(Schiemann), who looked after the lines, twenty-five,
experienced seamen eighteen to twenty, younger
seamen fourteen to fifteen, cooks' assistants twelve,
and cabin boys ten to eleven guilders. The steers-
man of each boat capturing a whale received in
addition three guilder. On the I5th to 2Oth April'
the ships put to sea, those for Davis Strait, however,

160 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

starting a month earlier than this. When the vessel
reached the latitudes of 61° to 66° north, the
whaling apparatus was got ready, the distribution of
the various duties at the whaling also being settled.
For the flensing the cutters, harpooners, a " blubber
king " and " blubber queen " were appointed.
Each harpooner had his boat provided with se^en
lines, each one hundred and twenty fathoms long,
of the best hemp. The whaling apparatus was at
this time primitive, Martens describes the harpoons
and lances, the best harpoons being of steel. Zorg-
drager divides the fishery into three main parts :
(i) The capture of the whale. (2) The flensing.
(3) The treatment of the blubber.

The officers and harpooners keep a sharp look out
for whales. The crew are also on the qui vwe for
a dead whale, the first sighting of which was re-
warded with a ducat. As soon as a whale is seen the
cry " Val Val," is raised, and the men tumble into
the boats. When the boat is near enough to the
whale, the harpooner throws his weapon. Attached
to the harpoon is a line of the best hemp, the " Voor-
ganger," to which five other lines can be attached in
succession, after which another boat can be called
up, and its lines in turn attached. The line is
wound round a bollard (Slupsteven), a wet cloth
being kept at hand to prevent the bollard from
taking fire from the friction of the lines. Care has
to be taken that the line passes out over the bow and
not over the side, as in the latter case there is
danger of capsizing.

THE DUTCH WHALERS PREDOMINANT 161

A whale can run out ten lines of one hundred and
twenty-five fathoms each, after which it is compelled
to come to the surface. This gives the opportunity
for the discharge of a second harpoon, and for
lancing with the six foot lances. Eventually the
whale is killed. Sometimes two boats from different
ships share in the killing of the whale, in which case
the ships take half shares. The tail is now cut off,
a hole made in the whale's body, which is then towed
alongside the ship by five or six boats. It is now
made fast, the tail end forward and the head aft.

A fish of fifty kardels blubber gives two hundred
and forty to two hundred and fifty Maas barten
(bone of not less than eleven feet long) and about
two hundred Untermaas barten. The blubber is
put on board into the hold (Flensloch) and must be
prepared within forty-eight hours.

The whalers usually returned home in September,
October, or November at the latest. The Dutch
made several attempts to winter in the North, at
Spitsbergen and Jan Mayen (1633-4); Spitsbergen
(1630-1) successfully, and 1633 unsuccessfully; in
the latter case the men died of scurfy due to the
lack of fresh provisions.

During the next three decades, as already
described, the Dutch followed the whale fishery
with, on the whole, considerable success, while the
English took a very minor part. Already the
whales were becoming scarce in Spitsbergen waters,
and the ships had to go farther out to sea to make
their captures. The three Dutch wars with

162 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

England 1652-54, 1665-67, and 1672-74, interfered
considerably with the Dutch whalers, but the trade
was resumed in 1675. The next ten years were
very prosperous for the Dutch. There was a slight
falling off until 1691, when the fishery was again
prohibited on account of the war.

Feeble and unsuccessful attempts were made by
the English in 1672 and subsequent years to wrest
this valuable monopoly from the Dutch. In 1672
an Act of Parliament allowed British whalers to
land their products free;) colonials were admitted at
a reduced rate, .while foreigners had to pay a
customs duty of nine pounds per ton for oil and
eighteen pounds per ton for whalebone.1

In 1693 Sir William Scaven formed the " Com-
pany of Merchants of London trading to Green-
land " with a capital of forty thousand pounds,
afterwards increased in 1703 to eighty-two thousand
pounds.

According to Anderson,2 in 1696 the new Green-
land Company, which had been established in 1693
with forty thousand pounds as its original capital
stock, had afterwards increased its capital to eighty-
two thousand pounds, the completion to be made at
any time before the year 1703.

By reason of the war with France, and the scarcity
of seamen, the company could not employ all its
capital in this trade, so it was enacted that the
company, during its term of fourteen years, ending

1 " History of Commerce," Vol. ii., p. 521.
* Ibid., p. 626.

THE DUTCH WHALERS PREDOMINANT 163

in 1707, should be free of all duty, custom or impos-
ition whatsoever, for any oil, blubber or whale-fins
caught and imported by them during the said term.

The company, however, was so unfortunate partly
through bad management, partly through real losses,
as to expend their whole capital some years before
the expiration of their term, so that they broke up
entirely. This failure was all the more surprising
because in 1697 the Dutch whale fishery was univer-
sally successful. The superintendent of this fishery
reported that when lying in one of the bays with his
ship, the Four Brothers, having a cargo of seven
fish on board, a richly laden fleet assembled at that
place, consisting of one hundred and twenty-one
Hollanders with one thousand two hundred and
fifty-two whales, fifty-four Hamburgers with five
hundred and fifteen whales, fifteen Bremeners with
one hundred and nineteen whales, and two
Embdeners with two whales, and not a clean ship
among them.

Elking1 attributes the ill success of the English
to the following:

(1) The ships were commanded by persons
unacquainted with the business, who interfered with
the fishery, whereas the chief harpooner ought to
have commanded at this time.

(2) The captains had fixed pay ; they should have
been paid by share.

(3) The blubber taken home was slovenly and

1 Elking, " A View of the Greenland Trade and Whale Fishery,
with the National and Private advantages thereof," London, 1722.

164 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

wastefully managed in boiling, and the fins were ill
cleaned; so that the products offered for sale only
fetched an inferior price.

(4) The lines and fishing instruments were
injured from want of care and frequently embezzled.

(5) The ships were extravagantly fitted; an
exorbitant price paid for materials and large sums
spent on incidentals, which ought to have been
saved.

(6) The last ship sent out was unfortunately
wrecked, after securing eleven whales, a misfortune
which accelerated the ruin of the company.

In a translation of " divers passages " from De
Witt's " True Interest and Political Maxims of
Holland and West Friesland," published by the
authority of the States General and translated into
English in the year 1702, advocating free trade, it
is stated that the authorised Dutch Greenland
Cpmpany made heretofore little profit by their
fishing, because of the great charge of setting out
their ships, and that the train oil, blubber, and whale-
fins were not well made, handled, or cured, and
being brought hither and put into warehouse, were
not sold soon enough, nor to the Company's best
advantage. " Whereas, now that everyone equips
their vessels at the cheapest rate, follow their fishing
diligently and manage all carefully, the blubber,
train oil, and whale-fins are employed for so many
uses in several countries, that they can sell them
with that conveniency, that, though there are now
fifteen ships for one which formerly sailed out of

THE DUTCH WHALERS PREDOMINANT 165

Holland on that account, and consequently each of
them could not take so many whales as heretofore;
and, nothwithstanding the new prohibition of
France and other countries, to import those com-
modities, and though there is greater plenty of it
imported by our fishers, yet those commodities are
much raised in value above what they were whilst
there was a Company; that the common inhabitants
do exercise that fishery with profit, to the much
greater benefit of our country than when it was
under the management of a Company carried on by
a few. For however much these members sell their
commodities dearer than if that trade was open or
free, all the other inhabitants that gain their subsist-
ence immediately or by consequence by a foreign
competition must bear the loss. Indeed, our fisher-
men, dealers in manufactures, owners of freight
ships, are burdened by all manner of imposts; to
impress them yet more in their necessity by these
monopolies of Guilds and yet to believe that it
redounds to the good of the land, because it tends
to the benefit of such companies, is to me incompre-
hensible. These Guilds are said indeed to be a
useful sort of people, but next to those we call idle
drones, they are the most unprofitable inhabitants of
the country, because they bring in no profit from
foreign lands for the welfare of the inhabitants of
Holland."

Further details of the Dutch whale fishery during
this period are given in an Appendix (p. 308).

Towards the end of the seventeenth century

166 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

practically all the Dutch seaports were engaged in
the Greenland whaling. Van Oelen gives the
names and ports of , all the Dutch ships which left
for the whaling at Greenland in 1683. The leading
ports at this time and the number of vessels fitted
out from each is given here.

Amsterdam, thirty-four ; Rotterdam, thirty-two
and a " hooker " ; Hoorn and Saardam, twenty-nine
each; Ryp, twenty; Jispi, seventeen; Dordrecht,
fourteen; Saendyck, twelve; Enckhuysen, Meden-
blick and Uytgeest, six each; Texel and Edam, five
each; Stavoren and De Coog, four each; Delf-
shaven, Zeelandt and Knollendam, three each;
Schiedam, Westsanen and Haarlingen, two each;
and finally De Creyl, one ship.

This year Hamburg also sent fifty ships to the
whaling, and sometimes the German ships numbered
eighty. The Dutch names at this time are very
curious, some vessels, e.g., De Brewery of Hoorn, if
they lived up to their names would doubtless be
popular amongst the seamen.

Some Dutch whalers went a great many times to
the fishing, the record for a Dutch Commandeur
being held by Roelof Gerritsz. Meyer, who went
forty-four times, capturing two hundred and eighty-
seven whales.

At the end of the seventeenth and the commence-
ment of the eighteenth centuries English whaling
was practically extinguished, yet the Dutch, in the
ten years, 1699-1708, equipped one thousand six
hundred and fifty-two ships, which caught eight

THE DUTCH WHALERS PREDOMINANT 167

thousand five hundred and thirty-seven whales, the
produce of which sold for over twenty-six million
florins, of which four and three-quarter millions was
clear gain.

The publication in London in 1721 of a list of
ships employed in whaling to " Greenland " and
Dayjs Strait appears to have aroused interest.
This list was :

From Holland 251 ships.

From Hamburg: 55

From Bremen ... 24

From Biscayan Ports 20

From Bergen 5

At any rate, shortly afterwards the South Sea
Company took the matter up, with what success the
next chapter shows.

In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries the
Dutch fleet left the Y and the Zaan every April for
Spitsbergen. In war-time the fleet was protected
by warships, i.e., in 1697 the whalers were protected
by a Dutch and Hamburg convoy. After 1718 the
whalers visited Davis Strait. A list of the whale
ships from 1719 to 1770 gives the names of forty-
four Dutch ports participating in the whale fishery.
The Dutch statistics were :

1669-1778 — 14,167 ships. 561 lost. That is four per cent.

In 1733 the Dutch East Indian Company
imported whalebone into Holland from the East
Indies. The Dutch Greenland adventurers immedi-
ately protested against this, alleging it would ruin
their trade if permitted to go on. Their statement,

I
168 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

which gives great detail, is of interest, though
naturally, it must be discounted a little since it is
obviously partisan.

The Dutch Greenland merchants say that at this
time, at an expense per ship of ten thousand guilders,
the total was one million eight hundred thousand
guilders, or, as they put it, eighteen tons of gold,
which must be paid out even if not a single whale be
caught. Provisions and gear cost five hundred and
forty thousand guilders, advances of pay to captains
and crew, etc., one million two hundred thousand
guilders. A usual catch is about forty-four thousand
quartels of blubber and one hundred and twenty
thousand pounds of whalebone, besides walrus teeth
and seal-skins, the total value being two million one
hundred thousand guilders. Of this, one hundred
and fifty thousand guilders must be allowed for the
cost of working up the products for the market,
showing a total income of one million nine hundred
thousand guilders. Of this, one million three
hundred and fifty thousand guilders represent the
goods sold abroad, and three hundred thousand
that consumed at home.

An empty ship represents a loss of twelve thousand
six hundred florins.

The Davis Strait fishery commenced in 1719. In
the first ten years the Dutch sent seven hundred
and forty-eight ships. The Hamburgers sent four
ships in 1719, the Bremeners two in 1725. The
chief fishery was on the south side of Disco Island
where, until quite recently, the whalers of Dundee

THE DUTCH WHALERS PREDOMINANT 169

and Peterhead commenced their season's fishing.
The Dutchmen usually made first for South Bay in
Greenland in 67° 10' N., where the ships also
assembled for the return journey. In Disco and
Liefde Bays there were at this time very rich whaling
grounds; even in the mid-nineteenth century the
British and American whalers fished regularly up to
Melville Bay. According to De Jong,1 L. Feykes
Haan in July, 1715, found the strait was closed with
ice at 72° N. ; the fishery was nevertheless carried
on in these regions up to 79° N. There must at
this time have been a considerable Dutch trade with
Greenland. In 1691, on account of war (the French
defeated the allied British and Dutch fleets off
Beachy Head this year), the States General forbade
the Dutch whalers to set sail to Greenland; and
King Christian V. of Denmark issued a decree
prohibiting whaling at Greenland to all but Danish
subjects. In the following year Hamburg was com-
pelled to conclude a treaty with Denmark to enable
her citizens to fish in Davis Strait. In 1709 Great

1 " Nieuwe Beschryving der Walvischvangst en Haring-
visschery," by D. de Jong-, H. Kobel, and M. Salieth.
1791.

De Reste's book, " Histoire des peches des decouvertes et des
establis semens des Hollandais dans les mers du Nord," 3 vols.,
Paris, 1801, is a translation of De Jong, with some of the illus-
trations different The first volume was ready in 1791, and the
second almost ready when the revolution broke out. De Reste
got into bad odour with the revolutionists (ces Cannibals as he
calls them), who objected to his association with the old govern-
ment, and he only escaped narrowly, the executioners surround-
ing his house in the Rue du Cherche-Midi half an hour after
his escape. Eventually his work was completed, and published
in the ninth year of the Republic.

170 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

Britain, France, and the Netherlands combined to
shut the Hanseatic towns out of the whale fishery.
The Hanse towns made diplomatic protests which
were, however, feeble and unavailing, so they decided
on their own convoy system, a decision which was
helped by the losses their ships had sustained in the
Mediterranean trade owing to the attack of Algerian
pirates. Usually twenty, thirty or even forty ships
assembled around the convoyer, the captain of which
assumed the responsibility of Admiral of the Convoy.
This warship carried a crew of from one hundred
and thirty to one hundred and fifty, and sixty to
eighty soldiers. There was also a chaplain, a
surgeon, a " botteler," and a cook. According to
contemporary accounts the proceedings aboard these
conveyers were of a puritanical description. There
was morning and evening prayer, and on Sundays
a sermon and communion in addition. Drinking,
brawling, " Lastern," and swearing were forbidden,
and cards, dice, and " Weiber " were not allowed on
board. In 1691 the Bremen convoyer was a ship
one hundred and twelve feet by twenty-nine feet by
twelve. She carried fourteen twelve, one eight,
nine six, ten four, and four three pounders, as well
as four metal cannon of three pounds ; eight bombs,
one hundred and eighty hand grenades, thirty-one
casks of powder of each one hundred pounds, and
twenty-one pounds musket balls, forty-two muskets,
forty-six pistols, and so on.

In 1777 Cornelis Ris attempted to found a poor
house at Hoorn, with a school in which useful

THE DUTCH WHALERS PREDOMINANT 171

practical subjects were taught. Laspeyres1 describes
this interesting practical example of combining
philanthropy with commercial desires. The cost of
keeping the school going depended partly on the
alms of the charitable and partly on the profits to
be derived from whaling. A whaling company was
formed, the membership being fixed at one hundred
florins. Anyone unable to risk the loss of this sum
is advised to stand out, since the possibility of a
total loss cannot be overlooked. The company was
formed, and the whale fishing was successful as
described in subsequent writings by Ris, who,
nevertheless, put the goodwill and assets of the com-
pany at nil. In 1777 he petitions for exemption
from certain taxes, but in 1779 the company was still
successful, since there is a " Lobgedicht " of that
date which describes it as flourishing.

In addition to the account of Martens, which is
the best, there are other descriptions of whaling
voyages to Spitsbergen in the latter part of the
eighteenth century. There is an account by Maarten
Mooi 2 of a journey to " Greenland " in 1786 in the

1 Laspeyres, E. Geschichte der Volkswirthschaftlichen Ans-
chauung-en der Niederlander, Leipzig-, 1863. Preisschrift der
Fiirstlich Jablonowskische Gesellschaft. The papers of Ris
referred to are not in the British Museum.

a Maarten Mooi, Journael van de reize naer Groenlandt,
g-edaen door commandeur M. Mooi met het schip Frankendaal,
behelzende zijne uitreize van Amsterdam 22 April, 1786, bezetting-
in het ijs, zedert den 10 Junij, het voorg-evallene met de com-
mandeurs H. C. Jaspers, M. Weatherhead, W. Allen en Volkert
Klaassen of Jong- Volkert Knudsten, welke twee Eng-elsche
comm. beide hunne schepen verloren hebben; de g-elukkig-e ver-
lossing- van den Altonaasvaarder Gottenberg-er en van hem M.
Mooi, met veel aanmerkelyke byzonderheden, Amsterdam, 1787

172 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

Frankendaal of Amsterdam. It is a description of
£ more than ordinarily interesting whaling voyage
of the period, since they were beset in the ice from
the loth June to the 27th November. Practically
contemporaneous with this is the account taken from
the journal of Jitrgen Roper? published at Altona
in 1778. The titles of these works sufficiently indi-
cate their contents.

It was customary when there were exceptional
circumstances attending a whaling voyage at this time
for an account to be published on the vessel's return
home. Among these are the accounts of voyages by
Jac. Janssen on the Frau Elizabeth of Hamburg in
1769, by Marten Jansen on the Witte Paard in 1777,
and by Hidde Dirks Kat in 1777 and 1778. To this
period may also be referred the earlier voyage of
Johann Michael Kiihn, published in 1741 . It is im-
possible to quote from all these voyages. The titles
are given in the Bibliography at the end of the book
(p. 318). Doubtless a diligent search through the
various Dutch libraries would yield further references
to voyages of this period.

Posselt's book (note p. 181) gives a good account
of the conditions under which the German whale
fishery was carried on towards the end of the
eighteenth century. Posselt was Prediger zu St
Johannis auf Fohr, a small island off the Schleswig-

1 Wahrhafte Nachricht von den im Jahre 1777, auf den Wall-
fischfang nach Gronland aufgegangenen und daselbst verung-
liickten fiinf Hamburger Schiffen, gezogen aus dem Journal des
Kiipers Jiirgen Roper, auf dem Schiffe genannt Sara Cecilia,
Kommandeur Hans Pieters, Altona, 1778.

THE DUTCH WHALERS PREDOMINANT 173

Holstein coast, the home of a colony of Spitsbergen
whalers. His information was collected from the
whalers direct. For the ten years previous to 1796
it was only the English who were successful at this
fishery. The reasons he gives are (i) the greater
courage and skill of her seamen, (2) the better builo
of her boats which can hunt the whale in the opeu
sea even in bad weather, and (3) the ice-free harbour^
of Britain enable the whalers to start off early so that
they get the best fishing ; the Dutchmen and Hani-
burgers only arriving when the whales have been
hunted a lot and are scarce and shy. Posselt says
the " Greenland Law " permitted the whaler who was
fast to a whale to have the sole right of its capture.
This he regards as natural, and " it is only the proud
English who look upon themselves as Lords of the
Ocean and all its inhabitants, who disobey the law
and according to general complaint they do so
frequently."

When the English first went to Spitsbergen for the
whales in 1609 they took with them Biscayan
harpooners, and when in 1724 the South Sea Com-
pany decided to resuscitate the whaling industry they
had to seek foreign assistance, since, by then the
original industry had died out, and there was no one
in the country skilled at the trade of hunting, killing,
and cutting-up whales. This time the English
sought expert assistance from the Frisian islanders,
and it is interesting to see how these men kept in the
trade while it had disappeared entirely in the neigh-
bouring island of Great Britain.

174 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

Probably these Frisians learnt their trade in the
first instance in the early voyages of the Noordsche
Compagnie. The islands of Sylt and Fohr were
always unable to sustain a large population, and it
was long customary for the adult males to seek
employment as sailors in foreign or foreign-going
vessels. The Frisians probably shipped in the first
place as " green-hands," the expert work being done
by the Basques. In 1634 there was a serious
dispute between the French and Dutch as to the
Spitsbergen fishery, and the French Govern-
ment forbade the Basques to ship in the Dutch
whalers.

This, like many arbitrary acts of government, prob-
ably produced an entirely different effect from what
was intended. The Frisians after about twenty years'
experience of the business were probably nearly as
expert as the Basques, and this order of the French
Government merely facilitated the substitution of
Frisians for Basques as harpooners and specksioneers
on the Dutch ships. This same year (1634) there
was a tremendous inundation of the Frisian coast,
causing enormous damage and widespread distress ;
forcing more men than ever to seek employment
abroad. The whaling trade at this time, expanding
rapidly in Holland, absorbed large numbers of these
men, who were thus enabled to earn a much better
living than if they had remained at home and followed
agricultural pursuits. Contemporary writers give
moving accounts of the annual setting-out and return
of practically the whole of the adult male population

THE DUTCH WHALERS PREDOMINANT 175

of the islands of Fohr and Sylt. During the height
of the whaling season these islands were deprived of
their able-bodied male population every summer.
Old men and young boys took part in the Greenland
voyages. Jens Jacob Eschels started on his first
whaling voyage as a cabin boy at the age of eleven
years two months and twenty-five days. In the
second voyage a boy was generally promoted to he d
cabin boy, and subsequently cook's mate, then
ordinary and lastly able seaman.

Intelligent men were promoted boatsteerer and
ship's officer, the final rank being that of " Com-
mandeur," as the captains of the whalers were
described. A ship's master or captain had to possess
" Burgerrecht," but with the rapid growth of whaling
it was impossible to find sufficient men with this
qualification, so it became customary to style a
whaling captain " Commandeur " to avoid friction
with the captains of the mercantile marine. The
Commandeur had general command of the expedi-
tion, the navigating officer being the " Steurmann "
who never left the ship, not even when all the boats
were away after whales. Many seamen of sixty or
even seventy years of age were found on these
Greenlanders, some of whom had previously been
ship's officers or even Commandeur. Some of these
men made very many voyages to the whaling. On
Kohler's ship there was a " Schiemann " making
his forty-seventh consecutive voyage. That these
Frisians regarded whaling as a life-long occupa-
tion is certain. They were exclusively whalers,

176 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

and this fact is still recorded on tombstones in
Fohr:

" Ich schiffte auf dem Meer
nach Gronland hin und her
die Fahrt ist abgethan,
ik bin in Kanaan,
wo Wellen, Eis und Wind
nicht mehr zu finden sind."

A navigation school was established for young
whalers by Pastor Petri on Fohr as early as 1620-
78. In 1733 at least twenty-five per cent of the
Dutch crews were Frisians from the islands of Sylt,
Amrum, Rom, Hooge, and Nordmarsch. At the
h nght of the fishing's prosperity about three thousand
Frisians took part annually, of whom one thousand
five hundred were from Fohr and seven hundred
from Sylt. When signing on the whalers the names
of the Frisians were entered in the Dutch form, so
that when they subsequently engaged in Hamburg
whalers they were erroneously thought to be of
Dutch origin.

CHAPTER V

THE BOUNTY SYSTEM

The whalers apply for State assistance — The South Sea Company
and the Whale Fisheries — Development of the British whaling-
industry as a result of the bounty stimulus — Description of
Arctic whaling- voyages.

AT the very commencement of the eighteenth
century a petition was presented to Parliament by
the merchants who had raised a joint stock for
recovering, and effectually carrying on the Green-
land whale fishery with vigour, in which application
was made for certain special privileges.

Notwithstanding the encouragement given by the
previous Acts (4 and 5 William and Mary; 7 and 8
William; i Anne, 1702), the Greenland whale
fishery had been neglected by the English and
carried on to a vast extent by the Dutch,
Hamburgers, and others, employing near four
hundred sail of ships in such service ; by which they
were enabled to import to this Kingdom vast
quantities of whalebone and oil, and vend the same
at exorbitant prices, whereby the subject was
aggrieved and large sums drawn out of the
Kingdom. The Greenland whale fishery is of a

177 M

178 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

different nature from all other fisheries, and requires
the utmost application of a separate distinct
company with a considerable joint stock to bring it
to perfection.

The joint stock raised by 4 and 5 William and
Mary to form a body corporate for the Greenland
trade, and the 7 and 8 William, excusing them from
duty, failed because of their small stock, want of
experience, and opposition of foreign ships in
Greenland Seas, of which there were a hundred or
more. So the Act of Anne, 1702, made it lawful for
any of Her Majesty's subjects to obtain the
privileges of this Company.

" The present Undertakers will, by the great
number of adventurers and the extensiveness of
their stock, be enabled to surmount the difficulties
which overwhelmed the earlier company, whose
capital was but forty thousand pounds, and they
therefore apply for a bill giving them preference
over others " ; as they claim to know the procedure
of the former company having their books in their
possession, they are first in the field and " that the
design manifestly tending to the increase of nayjga-
tion, and the benefit of all His Majesty's subjects, it
is humbly hoped, will receive countenance and
encouragement."

In a broadside (1720) entitled " Reasons Humbly
submitted to the Honourable House of Commons
for A Clause to prevent His Majesty's being de-
frauded of the great Customs on Whalebone/' it is
stated that those who design to defraud the customs

THE BOUNTY SYSTEM 179

of the duty on whalebone take care to have the fins
cut up fit for use before they are imported, and so
being made up in small parcels, usually cast the
same overboard, in some marked place, where it lies
until a convenient opportunity occurs of taking it up
unobserved. This is very generally practised by
those who cut their fins beyond the sea.

In a further broadside of this time are set forth
reasons humbly offered to the Honourable House of
Commons against laying any impositions on whale-
bone caught and imported by the Greenland
Company. The Company say that on the en-
couragement of certain Acts for the development of
the Greenland trade (25 Car. II., 4 and 5 William
and Mary, 7 and 8 George I.) they have, noth with-
standing all the difficulties, discouragements, and
vast losses by them sustained, continued their
endeayours for the recovery and settlement of the
said trade.

They complain they cannot carry on the same
on equal terms with other nations, for they cannot
fit out their ships, nor victual their men at such easy
rates as other nations, and yet are forced to employ
and pay extraordinary wages to foreigners to help
and serve them in their fishery.

The Company import but a very small part of the
whalebone consumed in this country ; they import all
the fins, pieces, and chucks, good and bad, which are
all extremely moist and green, and which daily do
much diminish in weight, so any imposition would
rise very high.

180 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

So the Company petitions Parliament for
exemption from any custom, duty, or imposition
whatsoever on oil, blubber, or whale fins taken,
caught, and imported into this country in any ships
or vessels belonging to the Company.

These agitations and petitions of interested
parties ultimately led to Parliament granting certain
privileges to British whalers. These privileges
were taken advantage of by the South Sea Com-
pany with what result the following pages
show.

The South Sea Company, which had been
established in 1711, with a yjew of restoring public
credit and providing for the extinction of the floating
national debt, which at that time amounted to ten
million, had obtained a monopoly of trade to the
southern seas. The Company after much debate,
having before their eyes the former unsuccessful
attempts on the part of several companies to engage
in the Greenland whale fisheries, decided in 1724
to engage in this fishery.1 The better to ensure
success the Company obtained an Act of Parliament
(10 Geo. I. cap. xvi.) whereby the duty of three
pence per pound on whale fins was repealed and
whale fins, oil and blubber, caught and imported in
British ships, whereof the commander and at least
one-third of the mariners were British subjects,
should be custom free for seven years, from
Christmas, 1724. By an Act of Parliament two

1 The " Court Minutes " Book of the South Sea Company is
in the British Museum. MSS. Dept. No. 25,501.

THE BOUNTY SYSTEM 181

years later this freedom from custom duty was
extended to " Davis's streights and the seas
adjacent," and comprised seal oil, seal skins or any
other produce of seals, or other creatures, taken or
caught in any of the said seas.

It was, however, too late to make a start in 1724,
so the Company directed twelve fine ships of three
hundred and six tons each, to be built on the Thames,
and proper quantities of hemp from Riga and cask
staves from Hamburg to be got ready for the
ensuing spring. The Company also hired the
Duke of Bedford's great wet dock at Deptford, for
the use of their ships and stores, and for curing their
oil and whale fins.

In 1725 the South Sea Company commenced
operations. The twelve ships brought home
twenty-five and a half whales, and although this
barely sufficed to pay expenses, it was the best year
of the eight during which this fishery was carried
on preceding the passing of the first Bounty Act.
Owing to the fact that for many years prior to this
the English had given up the whale fisheries, it was
necessary to procure all the skilled men, such as
commanders, harpooners, boat-steerers and blubber-
cutters from Holstein.1 ^ One hundred and fifty-two
Holsteiners cost the Company over three thousand
and fifty-six pounds, whereas three hundred and
fifty-three British subjects employed on the same

1 See K. F. Posselt, " Ueber den Gronlandischen Wallfisch-
fang aus miindlichen Nachrichten Fohringer Seeleute," g-esamlet
von K. F. P., Kiel, 1706.

182 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

ships only cost three thousand one hundred and
fifty-one pounds.

In 1726 twelve more ships were built for
the Company, and the whole twenty-four were
sent out to the whale fishery at Greenland and
in Davis Strait, capturing sixteen and a half
whales.

The following year (1727) the Company built an
additional ship and sent out twenty-five to the
fishery with, disastrous results. Two of the ships
were lost, the remaining twenty-three bringing home
twenty- two and a half whales.

A half whale results when two whalers of different
nationality strike the same whale which is by custom
divided.

In 1728 the same twenty-three vessels procured
eighteen whales, undoubtedly a losing voyage.
The next year one of the twenty-three was lost, the
remaining twenty-two bringing home twenty-seven
and a half whales, the net loss this year exclusive of
wear and tear being over six thousand nine hundred
pounds. In 1730 the same twenty-two ships
brought home twelve whales, the net loss being eight
thousand nine hundred and twenty-one pounds.
In 1731 one of the twenty-two was lost and the
other twenty-one ships brought home fourteen
whales, which was still a losing voyage. At this
time there was invented a gun for shooting harpoons
with gunpowder, at a greater distance than they
could be thrown by hand. This invention was tried
\\ ith " some success."

THE BOUNTY SYSTEM 183

At this time the whale fisheries of New England
employed about one thousand three hundred tons
of .shipping.

The year 1732 witnessed the last attempt of the
South Sea Company to prosecute the Greenland
whale fishery unassisted by bounty. Their twenty-
one vessels brought home twenty-four and a half
whales, also a very unsuccessful voyage.

The balance sheet after eight years effort, is
interesting :

£ s. d

Total issues or disbursements in 8 years .... ... 262,172 9 6

Sales of oil, etc., and also of the ships ...... 84,390 6 6

Total loss ... £177*782 3 o

At this time it was calculated that if a Greenland
ship brought home the produce of three whales only
it would be a successful voyage, but the South Sea
Company whalers did not average one whale per
ship, taking one year with another. Whalers
reckoned that one good year would make up th
deficits of six bad years, so it is particularly un-
fortunate that the whole of the eight years of this
interesting experiment were alike bad.

The Company now endeavoured to persuade the
Government to grant a bounty to assist them, as it
appeared evident to the Directors that otherwise
the fishery must be abandoned.

The first Act of Parliament granting a bounty for
the whale fisheries was passed in 1733, but too late
for the Company to take part in the fisheries of that

184 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

year. Two ships fitted out privately engaged in the
fishery. A statistical return showing the number of
ships fitted out for the Greenland whale fishery,
together with their tonnage and the amount of
bounty paid, is given in the Appendix (p. 306) from
the commencement in 1733 to the year 1824, when
the bounty ceased.

The bounty first offered consisted of an annual
sum of twenty shillings per ton on all ships fitted
c at in Great Britain, of two hundred tons and
upwards, for the whale fishery, and navigated
according to law. Just previous to this the
^utch were very successful at whaling, for the
forty-six years ending 1721 they employed five
thousand eight hundred and eighty-six ships,
capturing thirty-two thousand nine hundred and
3even whales, which at an average valuation of
five hundred pounds gives a total of over sixteen
million sterling.

According to the Custom House returns four
vessels participated in the^fishery in 1736, of these
one ship brought home seven whales while one
hundred and thirty Dutcn ships caught six hundred
whales. The number of British vessels engaged in
die whale fisheries increased but slowly, so in 1740
the tonnage bounty was increased to thirty shillings
per ton, the additional bounty of ten shillings to con-
tinue " during our then war with Spain only," during
which time it was also enacted that no harpooner,
line-manager, boat-steer er, or seaman should be
impressed.

THE BOUNTY SYSTEM 185

Even under this increased bounty the fisheries
remained stagnant (p. 306), so that in 1749 a further
increase in the bounty was decided upon. The ton-
nage bounty was now fixed at forty shillings per ton,
and immediately there was an increase in the number
of ships fitted out, the average for the ten years
1740-9 being 37 ships, and that for the ten years
1750-9 43-3. This bounty was also extended to
ships built in the British colonies i~ North America,
of two hundred tons and upwards, on their arrival
from the whale fishery at some port in Great BrKain,
subject to certain conditions set out in the Act. In
1755 the Bounty Act was amended so as to provide
that every ship should have on board an apprentice
for each fifty tons burthen, anH that no bou
shall be payable for i grtaier u^iage lor any
one ship of more than four hundred tons, and ship!
under two hundred tons were to be entitled to the
bounty.

By 1759 it may fairly be claimed that a regular, if
small, Greenland whale fishery had been established
for British vessels. Thirty-four British vessels took
part in the fishery, the aggregate tonnage being
ten thousand three hundred and thirty-seven, while
this same year one hundred and thirty-three Dutch
ships brought home the produce of four hundred
and thirty-five whales, a little more than three
and a quarter whales per ship. The Ham-
burgers with sixteen ships only captured eighteen
whales.

By this time also there was a small Scottish whale

186 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

fishery as is seen from a reference to the Custom
House returns for Scotland. Although the table
(Appendix II.) distinctly refers to Great Britain, it
is obvious that the return deals with England only,
since only English ports are specified in the detailed
statement, and since there is a separate table for
Scotland. It was in 1750 that the first Scottish
whale ship, a Leith vessel, applied for the bounty.
The number of Scottish vessels participating in the
benefits of the bounty system was never large ; there
was a steady increase from 1750 with one ship to
1762 with fourteen (the maximum being sixteen in
1755 and 1766), and thence a gradual decline to
1784. Leith, Dunbar, and Dundee were the chief
ports engaged in the whale fisheries at this
period.

The increase in 1 749 of the tonnage bounty for
whalers to forty shillings a ton induced many seaport
towns to fit out one or more vessels for the whaling,
but except in the case of London, Hull, and Whitby
with only transient success. Bristol, for instance,
though it was engaged for several years in the whaling
industry, never sent out more than three vessels in
any one year. It is recorded that in 1750 two whales
were brought to the Sea Mills Dock at Bristol, and
the blubber boiled down there. About this time a
Joint Stock Company was formed in Bristol, the
capital being divided into ninety shares, all of which
were taken up. The Company fitted out two ships,
the Bristol and the 'Adventure, and Felix Farley's
Journal of the i8th July, 1752, reports the feturn of

THE BOUNTY SYSTEM 187

the ships from Greenland with a catch of five whales
valued at two thousand pounds, " which with the
bounty money of forty shillings per ton makes their
voyage a very successful one." This cargo was also
landed at the Sea Mills Dock. A third ship, the
St Andrew, was sent out in 1755 and 1756, so
encouraging were the results. In March, 1757, an
advertisement for men to sail in the ships puffed the
healthiness of the voyage, stating that of ninety men
in the Bristol and Adventure only one had died a
natural death in six voyages, two others being acci-
dentally killed. Perhaps the fact that the Adventure
had been held in the ice for over ten weeks in 1756
was better known in the port than the Company
imagined. At any rate the trade soon began to
fall off, and in March, 1761, the Company was
wound up.

The first participation of Liverpool in the Green-
land and Davis Straits whale fishery is unrecorded.
In 1764 three vessels were engaged in the trade, but
it was not until 1775 that the first Greenland ship was
built in Liverpool in Mr Sutton's yard.1 This year
sixty-five vessels sailed from English ports for the
whale fishing. In 1786 thirteen vessels were sent
out from Liverpool. In 1788 twenty-one vessels
with a total tonnage of six thousand four hundred and
eighty-five tons were employed in the trade, the
tonnage ranging from two hundred and twenty to

1 " Liverpool, its Commerce, Statistics, and Institutions, with
a history of the Cotton Trade," by Henry Smithers, Liverpool,
1825.

188 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

four hundred. In 1789 seventeen vessels were fitted
out from Liverpool, four of which were lost. In
1793 eleven vessels sailed of a total tonnage of
two thousand nine hundred and seventy-eight.
From 1810 to 1816 two vessels were engaged
each year, the James, Captain Clough, and the
Lion, Captain Hawkins. In 1818 there were
still two vessels, the James and the Fame\ with
the latter the name of Captain Scoresby, Junior,
is associated.

The trade was, however, never very successful;
for the nine years 1814 to 1822 inclusive the average
number of vessels was only two, the number of whales
captured averaged seventeen, and the tons of oil
brought home averaged one hundred and seventy-
seven. In 1817 both Liverpool vessels, the Lion
and the Lady Forbes, were lost, the crews in
each case being saved. In 1821 Manby made his
voyage to Greenland in a Liverpool ship (p. 205).
At this time the trade was firmly established at
lull.

In 1772 we have detailed account of a Whitby
ship's voyage.1 The Volunteer was a ship of four
'iundred tons, carrying eight boats with six men to
each boat ; the total ship's company being sixty-three.
At this time the bounty was forty shillings per ton
for Greenland whalers, limited to a maximum tonnage
of four hundred.

" An authentic relation of a voyage to Greenland in 1772 of the
Volunteer of Whitby, by a Gentleman, Surgeon of the said ship.
Durham, N.D.

THE BOUNTY SYSTEM 189

The rates of pay at this period are as follows :

Bounties.

For

every
Fish.

For
every
ton of
Oil.

For

striking
a Fish.

Monthly
Pay.

£ s. d.

s. d.

£ s. d.

Captain

22 I O

33®

6 o

—

First Mate .. ..

—

o 10 6

—

3 10 o

Second Mate ....

—

o 10 6

—

200

Spectioneer .. ..

990

o 10 6

6 o

—

Harpooner . . ..

880

—

5 3

10 6

—

Carpenter .. ••

—

o 10 6

—

3 10 o

Carpenter's Mate

—

050

—

2 IO O

Boat Steerer .. <-• 4.

—

050

—

2 O O

Line Manager

—

026

—

i 15 o

Seaman

—

026

—

I 10 0

Surgeon . .

—

I I O

—

3 10 o

Cook

—

026

—

I 10 0

The rate of pay, as is customary in nearly all
branches of fishing, depends to some extent on a
share in the profits of the voyage and only partly
on a fixed wage. Even the cook's and doctor's
earnings depended largely on the success of the

198 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

voyage. The Volunteer left Whitby on the 24th
March, 1772. They saw a Sperm Whale in 69°
2O; N. on the I9th April, which is a high latitude
for that species. On the 26th they saw two whales,
one close to the ship, of very large size but not of
the black kind, " these kind of whales have fins on
their backs, and are seldom if ever caught, it being
dangerous to attempt it for as soon as they are struck
they are so strong and swift in nature that no boats
can get up to the assistance of the boat that is made
fast to them before they are gone, and there is great
danger of the boats oversetting." " I never heard
of any that attempted striking any of that kind but
a Dutchman some years since, but he was never
more heard of, so that it was suspected the whale had
run him quite off, and he had perished in the
attempt."

Evidently the British whalers of this time left the
Finner severely alone.

The ice fishery was still flourishing at this time,
the Volunteer being hi sight of fifty vessels at a
time.

The Volunteer returned to Whitby on the
1 9th August, having captured five whales which
yielded one hundred and eighty-six butts of blubber,
estimated! to boil to about sixty-five tons of oil which
would sell at the lowest estimate at twenty pounds a
ton, so that the oil would yield one thousand three
hundred pounds. The whalebone of which they
had between four and five tons would yield two
thousand three hundred pounds at five hundred

THE BOUNTY SYSTEM 191

pounds a ton. The voyage therefore yielded
four thousand pounds, to which bounty money
amounting to eight hundred pounds would be
added.

Another account of a Whitby ship's voyage about-
this period is given by John Laing1 who went to
Spitsbergen in 1806 and 1807 on the Resolution, in
response to an advertisement which was put on the
College Gate at Edinburgh, asking for a surgeon
for a ship engaged in the North Sea whale fishery.
The Resolution was captained by Scoresby senior,
Scoresby junior being chief mate. Already the
whaling trade at Whitby was declining, and it was
only the skill and perseverance of the Scoresbys that
prolonged what was really an artifically created
trade.

Laing's account is very readable, but is remark-
able for two things only. In 1806 the Resolution
reached, on 28th May, the latitude of 81° 50' north,
and it was apparently an extremely mild season
since " had our object been the making of
discoveries, there was not, apparently, anything to
have prevented us from going a goo3 way farther
to the north." They also met with a party of
Russian trappers who used to make periodical
visits to Spitsbergen about this time and were the
pioneers of the Spitsbergen hunters of the twentieth
century.

1 " A Voyage to Spitsbergen, " containing- an account of that
country, .the zoology of the North, of the Shetland Isles, and of
the whale fishery. Edinburgh, date ? Also an edition published
in London in 1815, with slightly different title.

192 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

Bacstrom1 made two voyages to Spitsbergen for
the purpose of killing the black whale fish (1779 and
1780). The first yoyage was in the whaler Sea
Horse, the second in the Rising Sun, a vessel of four
hundred tons, with a crew of ninety men, armed with
twenty nine-pounders mounted on the main deck;
with nine whale boats. Bacstrom was surgeon.
They left London at the latter end of March, 1780,
calling at Lerwick, where there were twenty or more
English " Greenlanders " at anchor. It was
customary to call at Lerwick to take aboard fresh
provisions for the voyage. The custom at this time
was to sail thence to 79° or 80° north and then make
fast to the ice. In June they killed seven large
whales, and went with them into Magdalena Bay to
cut the blubber up into small bits to fill the blubber-
butts, which is called making-off. After this they
sailed north to 82° and beyond, the season being
exceptionally open. They saw no whales here, so
put the ship about for Smeerenburg Harbour, where
they saw plenty of Finners, White Whales and
Unicorns, " which is a sign that the season is over
for killing the Black Whale, which then retires to the
northward."

They landed at Smeerenburg and saw the remains
of some brickwork, which had been a furnace,
obviously the remains of the old Dutch cookeries.
According to the Russian trappers who were
encamped in the vicinity, " In winter time the Black

1 S. Bacstrom, " Account of a Voyage to Spitsbergen in the
year 1780." The Philosophical Magazine, July, 1799.

THE BOUNTY SYSTEM 193

Whales come into the harbour and play close inshore
where we kill now and then one with harpoons fired
out of a swivel." The Rising Sun left for England
in July, arriving in the Greenland Dock, London, in
August.

It was in the second half of the eighteenth
century that Hull commenced to take a prominent
part in the northern whale fishery.1 The first ship
from Hull for the northern fishery set out in 1598,
and there are records of Hull whalers in 1610, 1612,
and 1613.

In 1618 King James privileged the Hull
merchants with a grant of the Jan Mayen Island
whale fishery. The earlier efforts were, however,
somewhat spasmodic, and it was not until after the
passing of the Bounty Act of 1750 that a regular
fishery was established from Hull.

In 1753 a whaling company was established there
with a subscription of twenty thousand pounds.
From 1754 to 1762 the Hull merchants sent vessels
every year to the whale fishery, but the circumstances
were not favourable. During most of the time
England was at war with France, so the whalers
had to be well armed and protected by warships.
In 1758 the Humber and York of Hull, returning
from Greenland, were captured off the coast by
French frigates and taken to Dunkirk. In 1761
the Hull whaler Leviathan, which carried a letter
of marque, recaptured a ship off the Scottish coast

1 See Hull Museum Publications, No, 31, " Hull Whaling
Relics," Hull, 190$,

194 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

from a French prize crew. In 1762 the Samuel of
Hull whilst engaged in the ordinary trade was
captured by the French. Subsequently there seems
to have been a decline, partly due to the losses aboy.e
enumerated, and partly to the American war (1774-
81) when most of the Hull whalers were taken up by
the Government for transport service. In 1779
only four whalers left Hull, and ten Whitby, all
well equipped with guns.

In 1784 the Truelove, the most famous of all
whalers, made her first voyage as a whaler from
Hull. This vessel had so remarkable a career that
she deserves more than passing reference. She was
built and launched at Philadelphia, U.S.A., in 1764,
captured by a British cruiser in the American war
and sold by the Government about 1780. First
employed in the wine trade between Hull and
Oporto, she started a whaling career in 1784. She
survived the disastrous seasons of 1835 and 1836,
making her seventy-second and last whaling trip in
1868.

In 1873 she made the voyage to Philadelphia,
where the citizens held a demonstration and
presented her with a flag in honour of her birth
there, one hundred and nine years before. Accord-
ing to Barren,1 who was apprenticed in the barque
in 1849, the Truelove was of two hundred and
ninety-six tons register, and in shape much like the
barque in which William Penn arrived in America
at the time he made the treaty with the Indians,
1 " Old Whaling Days," Hull, 1895,

THE BOUNTY SYSTEM 195

The sides batter in to the top of the gunwales, this
making the vessel much broader at the water line
than the deck. Her bulwark was called pigsty
bulwark, i.e., every other plank out to allow the
water to run freely off the deck. The following
description appeared in her papers : " One deck,
three masts, length from main stem to stern post,
ninety-six feet; breadth at the broadest part above
the mainwales, twenty-seven feet half an inch ; depth
of hold sixteen feet two inches; square rigged,
standing bowsprit, square sterned, carvel built, no
galleries, no figure-head."

The Truelove saw practically the whole of the
Hull fishery from beginning to end.

By 1786 the industry was thoroughly well
established at Hull, twenty vessels being fitted out
for the fishery. Three of these met with extra-
ordinary success. Whales were abundant in those
days, since the Gibralter killed eleven whales, the
Manchester ten, and the 'Molly six in one day.
There are detailed statistics of the Hull whale
fisheries from 1772 to 1833 (see Appendix VI.).
One of the drawbacks to whaling at this time was the
importunities of the press gang, which used to wait
for the whalers on their return from the Arctic and
board them at sea. Instances of this occurred in
1794, 1797, and 1798, so that it became customary
to land some of the crew at Dunbar, leaving on
board barely sufficient men to navigate the vessel
back to the Humber.

In 1798 most of the whalers were captured by

196 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

French and Dutch privateers. In the following
year the Molly made a record voyage, returning
to Hull after an absence of only eighty-seven
days.

The first three decades of the nineteenth century
were the high water mark of Hull whaling. At the
commencement of the century the capture or
destruction of the Dutch ships led to the growth
and prosperity of the trade from Hull and other
ports. According to Scoresby " the greatest cargo
ever brought into Hull from Greenland was pro-
cured by Captain Sadler in the Aurora " in 1805;
twenty-six whales yielding six hundred butts of
blubber and nine tons of bone, the blubber when
boiled yielding two hundred and forty-four tons of
oil.

The following year the Truelove made her first
voyage to Davis Strait, her previous twenty-one
Arctic voyages being to the Greenland Seas in the
direction of Spitsbergen.

The first participation of Hull in the Southern
fishery took place towards the end of the eighteenth
century. In 1812, twenty years after Colnett's
exploratory voyage, the Comet (Captain Scurr) left
for the fishery. She took three hundred barrels of
sperm oil and put into Talcahuano at the time of the
war between the Chilians and the " Patriots." She
was requisitioned from time to time and detained for
over a year. Afterwards she resumed fishing, made
a successful voyage, returning to Hull after an
absence of three years a.nd three months.

THE BOUNTY SYSTEM

197

Towards the end of the eighteenth and com-
mencement of the nineteenth centuries, there was
still a considerable Arctic whale fishery from the
Dutch ports and Hamburg.

In a letter to Lord Auckland1 from the Hague
dated 2nd December, 1791, Mr H. T. Spencer
describes the condition of the Dutch fishery. The
statistics show the following returns for the years
1787-91 :

THE DUTCH WHALE FISHERIES.

1787

1788

1789

1790

1791

Ships.

Greenland
Davis Straits . .

59
8

58
ii

50
14

5i
15

48
M

Fish.

Greenland
Davis Straits . .

2i5i
42

158*

423i
5ii

i°5

I?*'

Casks

of Blubber.

Greenland
Davis Straits . .

5741
1725

2941
903

7222
960

2815
456

2941
716

Quardels
of Blubber.

Greenland
Davis Straits . .

5409
1785

2815
897

6488
1388

2554
446

2473
716

Of these ships thirty-four have come home empty
from Greenland, eleven from Davis Strait and
three have been lost. Amsterdam alone sent in the

1 Auckland Papers, Vol. xxix., correspondence Oct. -Dec., 1791
British Museum Add. MSS. 34,440, ff. 291-302.

198 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

year 1787, twenty-five ships; in 1788, twenty-three
ships; in 1789, nineteen ships; in 1790, eighteen
ships, and in the year 1791, seventeen ships. At
this time the ships engaged in the Dutch whale
fisheries were about one hundred and twelve feet
long, twenty-eight and a half feet wide, with a depth
in the hold of twelve and a half feet, between decks
« even and a quarter feet ; the burden being one
10 two hundred lasts or three hundred and sixty to
four hundred tons.

The expense of an Arctic voyage was about nine
thousand eight hundred florins, made up of ordinary
outfit and victualling, two thousand nine hundred
florins, wages advances, one thousand three
1 jndred florins, and further wages, five thousand
six hundred florins. It will be noted that there is
no account of the cost of repairs, insurance, and
other expenses. Details of the wages paid to the
crew, who work on shares, are given, but as
hey follow similar lines to those already given
>y Zorgdrager there is no need to recapitulate

them.

At this period the whale fishery was subsidised by
the Dutch Government; a ship that returns empty
biing allowed five thousand florins compensation,
or alternatively fifty florins for every cask of blubber
snort of a hundred, so that a ship that returns with
but fifty casks of blubber receives two thousand five
hundred florins. Exact notes of the quantity of
whalebone were unobtainable. A full-sized fish is
estimated to yield one thousand five hundred

THE BOUNTY SYSTEM 199

pounds, but as they have generally run small for
several years the fish of these catchings have
yielded on the average only from seven hundred and
fifty to eight hundred and fifty pounds. The
Dutch ships at this period were not provided wiih
instruments for the capture of seals, nor are the
men at all trained to that business. Spencer states
that the quantity of oil and fins exported fiom
England to Holland this year was " very incon-
siderable," though of importance the four preceding
years.

" Your Lordship will premise from the above
statement that this is, upon the whole, a losing
trade, and that the last year has been less
productive than any of the former. It is, however,
compensated to some sharers by supplying their
ships with tackle, provisions, etc., and the hope of
great gains induces others to risk their money in
this speculation." Then follow detailed statistics of
the fishery, as well as some collected from German
sources.

An interesting side-light on the condition of the
German whale fishing at the commencement of the
nineteenth century is given by Kohler,1 a sail-
maker of Rirna, who took part in an Arctic voyage
in i8oi.l?<K6hler, one of the world's unconscious
humorists, writes in a naive fashion eighteen years
after the event. He warns his readers not to take

1 Reise ins Eismeer und nach den Kiisten von Greenland und
Spizberg-en im Jahre 1801, nebst einer g-enauen Beschreibung-
des Walfischfang-es von F. G. Kohler, Seilertneister in Pirna,
mit zwei Kupfertafeln, Leipzig1, 1820.

200 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

part in the Greenland fishery on any account, and
his book is certainly the most unsophisticated, and
in many respects the most intimate account of a
whaling voyage. In a company of eighteen ships
he sailed on the three-master Greenland from
Altona on the i6th March, 1801. From the
outset Kohler makes no attempt to conceal his
apprehensions; in many features he resembles
Tartarin de Tarascon, that inimitable character of
Daudet.

Of the crew of forty-two, only five were Germans,
so it is evident that the German whaling trade at
this time was carried on mainly by " Dutch, Danes,
and Jutlanders." Kohler's opinion of sea life is
worth recording, " es ist ein Gott recht wohlge-
falliges Leben, so lange dass Schiff ruhig auf dem
Meere schwimmt."

The ship's crew was divided into three watches,
each having four hours on duty and eight hours off.
Like Martens on an earlier occasion he describes
the method of announcing the results of their
fishing to passing whalers. " On these occasions I
have often remarked the pride of the English.
Every English ship waits until the other ship has
first given its account of the fishing, so that they
(the English) always give a pair of fish in excess.
On one occasion, as I stood on the poop to give the
signal our captain said, ' Give the number ten and
you will see that the English ship will announce
eleven or twelve/ And so it happened." But he
pays the English a compliment. " As seamen they

THE BOUNTY SYSTEM 281

are skilful navigators, and I have often observed
with pleasure how on their ships they set to work
with skill and agility."

Kohler describes the process of committing the
body of a dead seaman to the deep, explaining that
the corpse is not tied to a board, but sunk by means
of a stone or other heavy substance. " Der
Seeman halt es,fur Schande und Schimpf wenn sein
Korper auf der See herum schwimmen sollte."
The cook-house (galley) next occupies his attention.
" There is no fear of my making my readers' mouths
water. At four o'clock in the morning we get
coarse groats with some butter, and so one morning
like another. Dinner shows very little variation.
On Sunday grey peas with pickled meat, Monday
yellow peas and Stockfish, Tuesday grey peas and
meat, Wednesday yellow peas and Stockfish,
Thursday the same, Friday grey and meat, Satur-
day yellow and Stockfish ; and so the loathsome
grey and yellow change about one week with the
other." Only twice did they get white beans and
twice sauerkraut; they rejoiced for several days
when it was anything but peas. On the 28th May,
the captain's birthday, they had a feast with twenty-
two bottles of wine, with which they drank the King
of Denmark's health. The captain also supplied
a few potatoes for some of the crew, and Kohler
was in luck's way for once, for he got a whole
potato and a piece. " Das war ein kostlicher
Leckerbissen."

The ship's bread was bad, and often so old as to

202 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

be full of worms. It looked exactly like peat, and
had to be washed before it could be eaten. The
water was as bad as the bread, since the empty
water casks were filled with whale oil, and after a
perfunctory cleaning used for water again in the
following year. " Manches Pass stinkt wie eine
Kloake und dennoch darf kein Tropfen davon
vergossen werden."

The feeding conditions on merchant vessels
generally were at this period extremely bad, and it
does not appear that whalers were much worse off
than other sailors. The whalers were overcrowded,
poorly ventilated, and very wet when there was any
sea on. The sleeping quarters were dark, and
provisions as a rule of inferior quality. The men
were often without a change of clothing and
suffered much from scurvy and skin diseases.
Probably the whalers were, if anything, rather better
off than the average merchant seaman.

There were, at any rate, possibilities of varying
their food. Occasionally whale flesh was tried;
Martens tried it, but preferred beef. J. J. Janssen,
whose crew were compelled to eat whale flesh, took
to it well. Sometimes seagulls were eaten; bear's
flesh was also eaten. Christian Bullen, who wrote
the first account of a German whaler's voyage to
Greenland, complained that it tasted to him
" grimmiglick wie ein Bar.1' Bullen was, however, a
consistent grumbler, the only dish that pleased him
being " seal's heart with liver and lights."

In the bays of Spitsbergen the whalers obtained

THE BOUNTY SYSTEM 203

many fat ducks (Bergenten) and enormous numbers
of birds' eggs. Reindeer were sometimes shot, and
a plant known as " Greenland salad " gathered as a
preventive against scurvy. The chief drink was
beer, branntwem being reserved for extraordinary
occasions. Tea and coffee were also drunk, each
man providing his own supply.

Their amusements when laying to among the ice
are graphically described by Kohler. They had
gymnastics and trials of strength, and the Germans
(wir Teutschen) played many a joke on the
Jutlanders, and it was their delight to master those
under whose orders they were at the time. " Ich
will euch nur sehen, sagte der Kapitan, als wir
Teutsche einst recht Munter waren wenn wir
wieder ins Warme kommen."

Finally, when they saw their first whale off
Spitsbergen, Kohler says he was so unfortunate as
to be in the boat which set out to harpoon it.
" Mein Herz klopfte als wir fortrudeten ; ich fing an
zu beten, und je naher wir dem Ungeheuer kamen,
desto deutlicher horten sein blasen und meine Angst
stieg." When they got near the whale got restive
and caused some commotion, with the result that it
escaped. Kohler openly rejoices at this (Ich war im
Herzen froti) although the captain was greatly
disappointed with the loss, since he estimated the
whale at eight thousand thalers.

On the whole Kohler's description of the whaling
grounds and operations is good. It is only when
his personal feelings are concerned that his descrip-

204 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

tion becomes biased, as in the case of the whale
which, in its struggles, smashed up three of the
" shaloups " and kept the others, in which Kohler
was engaged, fighting from twelve to sixteen hours
until it was killed. During this time, as Kohler
laments, they were without bread or water, and
thought that every minute would be their last.
The Greenland caught three whales in all, from
which they extracted sixty-four, forty-five, and two
barrels of oil. The first whale, which was fifty feet
long, was captured in August towards the end of
the voyage. This was the beast that smashed the
three sloops above. The forty-five kardels whale
was an easier capture, the third was a young whale,
still a suckling. Dead whales were occasionally
met with. Kohler's ship found one. As they
proceeded to flense it, Kohler complained of the
abominable stink. One of the ship's company
replied that this stink was quite bearable, and
nothing to the smell of a dead whale they had
encountered on a previous voyage, the odour of
which was so powerful that " der Mannschaft waren
die Kopfe von den scharfen Ausdunstungen
angeschwollen." From which it would appear that
the crews of whaling ships occasionally indulge in
a little exaggeration.

This pleasant reminiscence did not satisfy
Kohler, who goes on to lament " Das Walfisckaas
st'inkt uberhau-pt sehr widrig" but the most abomin-
able of all is the smell of those whales which have
expired for some days prior to their flensing. Had

THE BOUNTY SYSTEM 265

Kohler been contemporaneous with Mark Twain
they might have compared notes in this respect on
the relative merits of dead whales and Limburger
cheese.

On the 23rd August, being then ice-free, they set
sail for home. Kohler says it was impossible to
describe their feelings of joy at this welcome news,
the ship's doctor breaking out into poetry to com-
memorate their farewell to the world of ice.
Ultimately they reached Heligoland where they
declined a pilot, owing to the expense (eighty-eight
thalers to Cuxhaven). They held on, and running
away from an English convoy, went ashore, only
getting off with some difficulty.

Kohler's pay for his services on this voyage
(performed under circumstances of the greatest
danger) amounted to ten shillings.

In 1821 Manby1 made a voyage to Greenland in
Scoresby's ship, the Baffin, from Liverpool, for the
express purpose of trying a new gun harpoon. Up
to this time there was great prejudice among the
whalers against the use of gun harpoons, the hand
harpoon being invariably preferred.

At this time it is evident the Greenland whale
fishery was rapidly declining ; due in the first place
to the substitution of coal gas for oil gas, and in a
lesser degree to the diminution of the whales and
the losses of ships crushed amongst the ice.
Manby remarks on the superior advantages of oil

1 G. W. Manby, " Journal of a Voyage to Greenland in the
year 1821," London, 1823,

206 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

gas : " The advantage of gas produced from oil,
compared with that obtained from coal, is so great
that it is astonishing that oil gas is not in general
use. The gas from oil has no bad nor disagreeable
quality, it gives a far more brilliant light than the
other, one cubic foot of gas from oil going as far as
twice that quantity of coal gas, and it is, moreover,
much cheaper. That from coal, on the contrary, is
extremely offensive to the smell, dangerous to the
health on being inhaled, and injurious to furniture,
books, plate, pictures, etc." In spite of all these
advantages whale oil gas was soon worsted in the
struggle. There is, however, a considerable volume
of evidence that at this time the real drawback to
whaling was the increased difficulty of taking
whales. To remedy this, the gun harpoon was
invented, but it does not appear to have been tried
on the voyage, though Scoresby expresses a guarded
appreciation of it, remarkable in one respect since
he foreshadows the use to which the gun harpoon
was put many years later, i.e., " for attacking wicked
fish, fish at the edge of packs, finners, razorbacks,
etc., these destructive implements might be of
uncommon service." As will be seen later, the
improved gun harpoon of the Norwegians has led
to an extensive fishery of F inner Whales.

CHAPTER VI

THE SOUTHERN FISHERY

The capture of the Sperm Whale— ^Commencement of a southern
fishery — The voyages of Colnett, Beale, and Bennett.

THE first Sperm Whale taken by American fisher-
men was captured in 1712 by a Nantucket whaleman
who had been blown out to sea by a strong northed}'
wind.1 This led to an improvement in American
whale boats, which had been previously engaged if;
coastal whaling. In 1730 there were twenty-five
vessels of from thirty to fifty tons engaged in deep-
sea whaling./ The improved oil obtained from the
Sperm Whale induced whalers to endeavour to fit
out vessels exclusively for this fishing, and ultimately
originated the great southern fishery. The Ameri-
can whalers are said to have extended their opera-
tions as follow: Coast of Guinea 1763; Western
Islands 1765; coast of Brazil 1774. American
tradition says that the first whaler to cross " the line "
arrived home on the day of the Battle of Lexington
and Concord (iQth April, I775).2 This, however,
does not agree with Burke's famous speech on
American affairs (1774), when he stated that

1 Macy, " History of Nantucket," p. 44, 1836.
a Tower, " History of the American Whale Fishery," p. 28,
Philadelphia, 1907.

207

268 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

American whalers " are at the Antipodes, and
engaged under the frozen serpent of the south."

In 1775 the first British attempt was made at the
southern fishery.1 Ships of from one hundred to one
hundred and nine tons burthen were sent to South
Greenland, the coast of Brazil, the Falkland Islands,
and the Gulf of Guinea, but as the principal resorts
of the Spermaceti Whale were not then known they
met with little success.

In 1776 the Government extended the benefits of
the bounty system to the southern whale fishery, and,
consequently, the Custom House returns show the
number and tonnage of vessels fitted out in Great
Britain. The table opposite shows the number and
tonnage from the commencement of the bounty
system up to 1783.

A statistical table for the southern whale fishery
for the years 1800 to 1834 is given by McCulloch
(see Appendix III.).2

It will be noticed that there is a marked discrep-
ancy between the number of ships at sea and the
number of ships returned in any year.

According to McCulloch the southern whale
fishery consisted (in 1835) °f three distinct branches ;
the chase of the Spermaceti Whale (Physeter
macro cephalus], that of the common black whale of
the southern seas, and that of the sea elephant or

1 Beale, " Natural History of the Sperm Whale," p. 143,
London, 1839.

a " Dictionary of Commerce," 1832 edition. Supplement,
1835. P- 57-

THE SOUTHERN FISHERY

209

southern walrus. According to information collected
by Scoresby the fishery for the Spermaceti Whale
was conducted off the coasts of Chile, Peru, and Cali-
fornia, in various parts of the Pacific about the
Gallipagos and Marquesas islands, in the Indian and

SOUTHERN WHALE FISHERY.*

Year.

No. of
Ships.

Tonnage.

Place from
whence fitted
out.

Bounty paid.

1763 to 1775

Nil.

—

1776

1977

London

—

1777

2103

£2400

1778

3038

1500

1779

467

500 j

1780

771

2000

3i7

i»

—

1781

340

Liverpool

1400

IOO

Poole

—

(

660

London

—

1782 J

IOO

Bristol

1400

150

Cowes

—

(

660

London

—

•783 |

280

Poole

—

IOO

Bristol

—

1 From Third Report on the State of the British Fisheries,
1785, App., pp. 132 and 133.

3 There would be no returns in the Custom House Books,
because no bounties were paid. Nevertheless it is certain
vessels took part in this fishery in 1775.

210 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

China Seas particularly about the island Timor.
The Right Whale, which was hunted by the Sperm
whalers, was found on the Brazil Bank from latitude
36° to 48° S., in the former parallel in the months
of November, December, and January, in the latter
in February, March, and April. In the same months
they are to be found in the Derwent River, New
Holland, also about the Tristian Islands; and in
June, July, August, and September in Walwick
(Walfisch) Bay and other inlets on the African coast.
They are also found near the island of St Catharine
(Brazil), in some of the bays to the westward of
Cape Horn, and to the north of Coquimbo on the
west coast of South America.

Detailed descriptions of early whaling voyages in
the southern fishery are given by Colnett1 (1792),
Beale2 (1830-3), and Bennett3 (1833-6).

The term " southern " was applied to the Atlantic
fishery, in fact to all voyages which were not to
Greenland (Spitsbergen), these latter being distin-
guished as the northern fishery. As already men-
tioned the bounty system originally applied only to
the northern fishery but was extended to the southern
in 1776.

1 " A Voyage to the South Atlantic and round Cape Horn
into the Pacific Ocean for the Purpose of Extending the
Spermaceti Whale Fisheries, and other Objects of Commerce,"
London, 1798.

3 " The Natural History of the Sperm Whale," to which is
added a sketch of a south-sea whaling voyage, by Thomas
Beale, London, 1839 (2nd edition).

8 " Narrative of a Whaling Voyage round the Globe from the
year 1833 to 1836," 2 Vols., London, 1840.

THE SOUTHERN FISHERY 211

Although the southern fishery was at first confined
to the Atlantic, after a time whalers rounded Cape
Horn, and hunted whales in the Pacific. Precisely
when this first occurred is not known. One of the
earliest, if not the earliest English whaling voyage
to the Pacific was that of Colnett, but there is some
reason to think that the Spaniards were there before
him for the same purpose. A search of the records
at Madrid would probably give further information
on this point. We know from the voyage of Anson
round the world (1740-4) that there was an extensive
Spanish trade in the Pacific at this time. Many of
the earlier Spanish voyages were precisely through
those areas where the Sperm Whale was most
abundant.

The same year that Colnett was fitting out in
London for his whaling voyage to the Pacific, Sanez
Reguart1 published his monumental work on the
Spanish fisheries. This dictionary contains in the
third volume under the heading " Harpon " one of
the most complete and best illustrated accounts of
whaling as practised in the eighteenth century.
Special reference is made to the attempts of the
Spaniards to resuscitate their whale fisheries by
means of a company founded to fish for whales off
the Patagonian coast and the Straits of Magellan,
Chiloe, and the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish Com-
pany was given a charter by Charles IV. in 1789.

1 " Diccionario historico de los artes de la pesca nacional,"
Madrid, 1791-5. 5 Vols., 4to. The third volume containing the
section on whaling was published in 1792.

212 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

There is, therefore, reason to think that the
first Spanish whaling in the Pacific preceded the
British.

Colnett was a naval officer, who had taken part
in one of Cook's voyages. In 1792 the merchants
of the city of London, interested in the South Sea
Fisheries, prepared a memorandum, and submitted
it to the Board of Trade, in which they planned a
voyage round Cape Horn to discover whaling
grounds for whalers who had rounded the Cape.
The Admiralty were induced to look with favour on
the scheme, H.M. sloop the Rattler was sold to the
merchants, and Colnett was nominated to take com-
mand of her, being granted leave for the purpose.
A crew of twenty-five men were engaged, and the
vessel was equipped and made ready for sea by the
nth November, 1792. Colnett purchased a half-
share in the vessel, the other half of the undertaking
being in the hands of Messrs Enderby & Sons,
^at that time the largest firm in the whale fishery.
Owing to trouble with the French at this time there
was a delay in clearing the Rattler, and she was sent
to Portsmouth to await her commander, who joined
her on the 24th December, 1792. In the meanwhile,
owing to the bounty offered by the Admiralty to
seamen for enlisting in the navy, the crew of the
Rattler was depleted by the desertion of three sea-
men, who left to join the navy. Three landsmen
were secured in the Isle of Wight, and the Rattler
set out on her voyage with a crew of seventeen
officers and men, three landsmen, and five boys ; her

THE SOUTHERN FISHERY 213

normal naval complement being one hundred and
thirty men!

The sloop arrived at Rio de Janeiro on the 24th
February, 1793, where they repaired and took on
board provisions, including " two live bullocks," and
on the 5th March set out for the voyage round Cape
Horn in company with another whaler, the Mediator.
The Cape was doubled on the nth April, 1793, and
a course set for the coast of Chile. On ist May they
saw Sperm Whales off Mocha Island, where the sea
was covered with them. The crew of the Rattler
killed six, four of which were secured alongside, but
the weather turning bad, only two were saved.

Colnett next decided to cruise off Mocha Island
for several days, during which time large numbers
of Sperm Whales were seen. The Rattler, however,
only killed two additional whales here, of which one
was secured. Thence a course was set to 26°
30' N., keeping the coast in sight, but as far as
St Felix and St Ambrose Islands no further whales
were seen (2Oth May, 1793).

Subsequently they sailed to the Peruvian coast
near Lima and thence to the Gallipagos Islands.
Up to this time their search for whales had not been
very successful, so they doubled back to Peru, and
then sailed in a general northerly direction along
the west coast of Mexico. They cruised off the
Cocos Islands which was the most northerly point
recommended by the Admiralty, but Colnett disre-
garded his instructions and explored the coast as far
north as the Gulf of California, including the islands

214 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

of Socoro, Santo Berto, and Rocka Partida. " This
was an undertaking that few who had suffered, as I
had done, from the yellow fever in the prisons of
New Spain, as well as from all the horrors of a
rainy season on that coast; and it was very evident
that if successful in killing them in the rainy season,
it must be much more easily done in the dry
season." On the iQth August off Point Angles
(Mexico) they encountered a large school of Sperm-
aceti Whales, none of which was captured. Here
they cruised for sixteen days, killing three whales.
The heart of one was cooked in a large " sea-pye,"
and afforded an excellent meal. On the 4th October
they made the coast of California, where they found
the " species of whale on this coast is of no value."

Between Cape Corrientes and the Maria Islands
they saw large numbers of Spermaceti Whales, but
were again unfortunate, only killing two. On the
return journey, near Quibo (January, 1794), they
fell in with several Spermaceti Whales, killing four.
This induced Colnett to prolong his cruise in this
neighbourhood until the 8th February, but with-
out further success. By this time Colnett recognised
that his whaling business had definitely failed,
largely, it would appear from the unskilfulness of
his crew, and he decided to return to the Gallipagos
for salt for salting seal skins which he proposed to
get at the St Felix and St Ambrose Islands. While
at the Gallipagos, however, in April, they saw many
Spermaceti Whales, especially young ones. They
killed five here, and Colnett believed he had dis-

THE SOUTHERN FISHERY 215

covered the general rendezvous of these whales from
the coast of Mexico, Peru, and the Gulf of Panama
who came there to calve.

He definitely recommends these islands as the best
meeting place for British whalers seeking the Pacific
grounds. The Rattler returned to England after an
absence of twenty-two months. It does not appear
that the voyage was successful from a whaling stand-
point, though much surveying was done, and this
doubtless proved useful to subsequent whalers.

Thomas Beale was a Surgeon and Demonstrator
of Anatomy to the Eclectic Society of London. On
the 1 6th October, 1830, he left England on board the
South Sea whaler, Kent. They sailed straight for
Cape Horn, passing it on the 5th January, 1831, and
thence up along the west coast of South America to
Valparaiso and Coquimbo. The latter town was left
on the 1 6th February, 1831, and a course set for the
Pacific whaling grounds, along the Peruvian coast.

The whalers appeared to be in no particular hurry,
and it was not until the 28th March, 1831, that they
left Monta Christa, four days afterwards encounter-
ing their first school of Sperm Whales. Four of
these were killed, nearly six months after leaving
England. The course was now for the Sandwich
Islands, sighted on the 4th May, 1831, en route for
the Japan grounds which the captain desired to reach
in June.

The " off-shore " Japan fishery lies in the Pacific
Ocean between 140° to 160° E. and 28° to
32° N. latitude, the best time of the year being from

216 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

the beginning of June to the end of September,
during which time the usual catch is from eight
hundred to one thousand four hundred barrels of
sperm oil, though up to two thousand barrels have
been taken.

From June to September Beale's ship fell in with
large numbers of whales on these Japan grounds,
seeing them every day for weeks.

At this time the ships employed in the whaling
industry were vessels from three to four hundred tons
burthen, with a crew of twenty-eight to thirty-three
officers and men, including a surgeon. They started
from London at all times of the year fully provi-
sioned for three years. Each whaler carried six
whale boats, each about twenty-seven feet long by
four beam; sharp at both ends for rapid motion in
any direction. Near the stern was an upright
rounded piece of wood, the " loggerhead," at the bow
a groove exactly in the centre, through which the
harpoon line ran. Each boat was provided with two
harpoon lines of two hundred fathoms length, coiled
in tubs ready for use, three or four harpoons, two or
three lances, a keg with lantern, tinder-box, and
other small articles, two or three small flags, the
" whifts " to be inserted in the dead whale for ready
detection in case the whale was abandoned for chase
of a second, and one or two " drougues," quadri-
lateral pieces of board with a central handle by which
they are attached to the harpoon line to increase its
resistance when running out, and so to check the
speed of the whale in sounding or running. Each

THE SOUTHERN FISHERY 217

boat had a crew of six men, two of whom in the stern
and bow respectively were the " headsman " and
" boat-steerer."

Four boats were generally used in the chase
under the command of the captain and mates
respectively. The headsman has command of the
boat, and steers it until the whale is reached. The
boat-steerer pulls bow oar, until near the whale, when
he quits the oar and strikes the harpoon into the
animal. The line attached to the harpoon runs
between the men to the stern of the boat, and after
passing two or three turns round the loggerhead is
continuous with the coils lying in the tubs in the
bottom of the boat.

The boat-steerer now comes aft, and steers the
boat by means of an oar passed through a ring
attached to the stern, he also watches the line. The
headsman at the same time passes forward and takes
up the lance to plunge into the whale at the first
opportunity.

During the time the ship* is on the whaling
grounds, men are placed at each mast-head, who are
relieved every two hours; an officer is also on the
fore-top-gallant-yard, so that there are four of the
crew constantly on the look-out from the most
elevated parts of the ship.

In mid-September the weather changed for the
worse and whales became scarce, until at the end of
the month they disappeared. A course was then
set for the Bonin Islands in 141° 30' E.
Longitude, and 26° 30' N. Latitude, where several

218 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

whales were taken. Beale thought that the whales
were now migrating south-west (October, 1831).
The Bonins were left on the loth December,

1831, for New Guinea, and, after passing to the
windward of the Ladrones, they fell in with the
Carolines on the 24th December, " a range of large
islands scarcely known, and not even placed
correctly on the charts."

On the ist January, 1832, the Kent crossed
the Equator for the third time, and made New
Ireland on the 6th, having passed St John's Island
on the 5th. On the 7th they found themselves
in St George's Channel, separating New Ireland
(Neu Mecklenburg of the late German colonies)
from New Britain (late German Neu Pommern).
No whales were met with here, so the course was
continued to the southward, towards the north-east
of Australia, passing the Louisiade Archipelago en
route. Here again no whales were encountered.
On account of the lack of success, the course was
now set in a northerly direction and Bougainville
Island reached on the 2Oth January, 1832.

Here, on the 22nd January, the first whale, since
the Kent left the Japan grounds, was taken, yielding
sixteen barrels of oil. The Ladrones were now the
next objective, New Ireland being sighted on the
29th January, and St John's on the 3ist.

The line was again crossed on the 8th February,

1832, and Rota, one of the Ladrones, sighted on the
2ist, Guam the chief island being reached on the
following day. Here the Kent remained some

THE SOUTHERN FISHERY 219

time to refit; only leaving for the Japan grounds on
the 6th April.

The Bonins were again reached on the 2ist April,
in which neighbourhood the Kent continued to
cruise for whales. By this time there was consider-
able friction between Beale and the captain of the
Kent on account of the latter's brutal treatment of
the crew; so when the London south-sea whaler,
Sarah and Elizabeth , was fallen in with, off the
Bonins, on the ist June, 1832, Beale effected an
exchange with the surgeon of that vessel. The
Kent subsequently went to the Japan fishery, But
met with little success. Off the coast of California
they were equally unsuccessful, ultimately reaching
England after a voyage of three and a half years
with only half an average cargo. The Sarah and
Elizabeth was much more fortunate, for in about
six weeks after Beale joined her six hundred
barrels of sperm oil were obtained, sufficient to
complete the cargo. The ship then went north-east
to the Sandwich Islands, sailing into latitude 40°
north in order to take advantage of the north-east
trades.

During this part of the voyage large numbers
of Sperm Whales were encountered, apparently
migrating in schools to the southward. The
meridian of 180 was crossed in latitude 38° 39' north
on the 6th August, 1832; and one of the Sand-
wich Isles sighted on the 3<Dth. The course was
now homeward bound, but via the Friendly Islands
and the neighbourhood of New Zealand. On the

220 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

26th October when near the latter islands the
course was set direct for Cape Horn, which was
sighted on the i8th November, 1832; Beachy Head
being sighted on the 3rd February, 1833. Beale
had been away two years and four months, the
Sarah and Elizabeth thirty-two months only, a very
successful and, for those days, brief yoyage.

The narratives of Colnett and Beale give a
personal touch to the history of the southern whale
fishery, and their accounts are supplemented by
Bennett, who sailed from London on the I7th
October, 1833, on the south-seaman Tuscan. The
Tuscan was a whaler of the usual type, being about
three hundred tons burthen. Contrary to the
experience of the Rattler and the Kent, the Tuscan
met with Sperm Whales in the Atlantic in the latter
half of November, in latitude 9° N. and 23°
W., one of which was killed and secured.

A second encounter with Sperm Whales also
occurred in the Atlantic in 38° S. and 51° W.
(off the South American coast) on the 24th
December, when another was captured. Bennett
rounded Cape Horn on the i9th January, 1834.
Early in February, when near Juan Fernandez, the
first Sperm Whales in the Pacific were seen.

The course of the Tuscan was now to Pitcairn
Island, Tahiti, Society Islands, Raiatea, thence to
the Sandwich Islands from April to 22nd May, 1834.

Subsequently the Tuscan met with schools of
Sperm Whales to the north-east of the Sandwich
Isles in 40° N., two specimens being secured,

THE SOUTHERN FISHERY 221

each of which yielded fifty barrels of oil. The
course was now set for the Queen Charlotte Islands
off the west coast of North America in 50° N.,
but no whales were encountered there.

Returning south they saw a solitary Sperm
Whale on 23rd July in latitude 31° N. and 153° W.
A few days later many Cachalots were observed,
and several secured. The ground north of the
Sandwich Islands seems at this time to have
swarmed with Sperm Whales, and the Tuscan was
very successful between 23° and 31° N. and 154°
and 1 60° W.

A return was now made to the Sandwich group,
where they remained until the 2Oth October, 1834,
on which date they left again, steering north to get
advantage of the prevailing westerly winds from
the American coast and the Equator. Off Guada-
loupe and Cape St Lucas (California) a fleet of
American south-seamen were cruising; from here
on an indirect course to the Marquesas many
Cachalots were seen, and a few captured by the
Tuscan.

Bennett devoted much space in his journal of
the voyage to a description of the various Pacific
Islands touched at, together with an account of
their history, and the manner and customs of their
inhabitants, and the whaling episodes occupy a
relatively small portion of the description of the
voyage, but there is an Appendix with a detailed
account of the whale fishery.

In the nineteenth century the French Government

222 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

assisted both cod and whale fisheries, by means of
bounties. Nearly twenty-five and a half million
francs were giyen as bounties to industries in one
year, to which must be added nearly three and a
Half million francs for the fisheries.

The law of the 22nd July, 1851, was voted to
keep in existence the French whale fishery, consist-
ing at that time of seventeen vessels with six
hundred men. Fishing was encouraged in two
ways. The markets in France and the colonies
were exclusively reserved and bounties (budget de
secours) were paid. Lajonkiere1 complains that the
French whalers were no good (malpropres et
indisciplines). This system of bounties produced
poor results, and was unsuccessful in resuscitating
the French whale fisheries.

1 " Des primes a la peche."

CHAPTER VII

THE AMERICAN WHALE FISHERIES

Importance of whales to the early colonists — Gradual extension
of the fishery — Firmly established in 1775 — Set-back caused
by the Revolution — Gradual recovery — Checked again by the
war of 1812 — Subsequent rapid expansion — Mid-nineteenth
century American whaling fleet the largest ever know —
Gradual decline of the industry, and the reasons for it.

THE American whale fisheries, at one time t\
greatest in the world, originated, like that of tl i
Basques, as a coastal and inshore fishery. Captai
John Smith in 1614 found whales so plentiful alon
the coast of New England that he turned from tl>
original object of his voyage in order to pursue ther
Richard Mather, who went to the Massachusetts Ba
colony in 1635, saw " mighty whales spewing up
water in the air like the smoke of a chimney, of such
incredible bigness that I will never wonder that th
body of Jonah could be in the belly of a whale."

The earliest references in the history of the Masse
chusetts Bay colony refer exclusively to drift whale j
which had been cast ashore, and it is uncertain whe i
the inhabitants first took part in the capture of these
cetacea at sea. It is certain, however, from contem-

223

224 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

porary records, that the fishing had been inaugurated
before the end of the seventeenth century. In 1688
Secretary Randolph wrote home to England : " New
Plimouth Colony have great profit by whale killing.
I believe it will be one of our best returns, now
beaver and peltry fayle us." Whaling was early
recognised as a regular vocation in the Connecticut
and New York colonies. It seems probable that the
first organised prosecution of the whale fishery by
Americans was made by the settlers at the eastern
end of Long Island. Sometime between 1650 and
1670 the practice of taking only drift whales, that
had been cast ashore by the sea, was superseded
by the taking of whales by harpooners from small
open boats. These boats were designed for whaling
along the coasts ; they were fitted out for voyages
Casting two weeks, but did not venture far out to
sea, the men usually camping on shore for the night.
The only other place to engage in whaling prior to
1700 was Nantucket. Here the whales came right
( nto the harbour, and early efforts were made to
rapture them by means of harpoons. With the early
years of the eighteenth century Nantucket rapidly
1'ecame the foremost whaling station. At first
whales were so plentiful that all the oil required
could be obtained without the boats having to go out
of sight of land. Naturally at this time all the
captured whales were towed ashore where the trying
out works were erected. A look-out was kept from
a prominent place on the land, and when a whale was
seen the boats were sent out in pursuit. Many

THE AMERICAN WHALE FISHERIES 225

Indians were employed, each boat's crew being
composed partly of aborigines.

As already related, in 1712 one of the whalemen
was blown out to sea where he captured a Sperm
Whale, the first of the species taken by American
whalers. This led eventually to a great develop-
ment of the whaling industry. The people of Nan-
tucket immediately began to build whaling sloops of
about thirty tons burden to whale in deep water.
These vessels were fitted out for cruises of six weeks'
duration, the blubber being stripped off, stored
aboard in hogsheads and brought back to the trying
out works on shore. By 1715 Nantucket had six
sloops engaged in this fishery; by 1730
twenty vessels of from thirty to fifty
About this time schooners were introcpced, and the
size increased up to seventy tons. Tfce shore fishery
now reached its maximum development, the whales
near the coast becoming gradually scarcer and
scarcer owing to over-fishing.

The introduction of sperm oil, so superior to all
other oils, was a great stimulus to the development
of the industry. With the addition of larger vessels
to the fleet longer voyages were made and more
distant areas visited. At first it was the custom of
the whalers to go to the southward where they fished
until July. Then they returned, refitted, and
finished the season to the eastward of the Grand
Banks. Davis Strait was visited by American
whalemen in 1732, and in 1737 the Boston News
Letter records the voyages of several vessels to that

226 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

neighbourhood. It will be understood from the pre-
ceding chapters that the Atlantic was fished for
Sperm Whales, the order of development of* the
grounds being Carolina coasts, Bahamas, West
Indies, Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean Sea, Azores, Cape
tVerde Islands, and the coast of Africa, whereas in
Arctic waters it was the Right Whale which was
sought. This development was very gradual;
according to Macy the Nantucket whalers extending
their operations as follows: coast of Guinea 1763;
Western Islands 1765 ; coast of Brazil 1774.

The chief product of the fishery in the seventeenth
and opening decades of the eighteenth centuries was
whale oil. When Sperm whqiing was commenced
whalebone was not consideredito be of much value.
The oil trade naturally developed at first between
the colonial ports (as they then were) ; in 1720 there
is record of an export of a cargo of Nantucket whale
oil in London, but whether that was the first venture
is liot certain.

With the development of whaling which followed
the enterprise of the deep-sea whalers, the export
trade in whale products grew rapidly since the
whalers obtained far more than was required to meet
the limited colonial demand. There is evidence
about 1730 of a regular export trade in train and
whale oil and whalebone to England and British
West Indian ports. In 1737 a dozen vessels were
fitted out at Provincetown for the Davis Straits
fishery, some of them of one hundred tons burthen.
" So many men are going on these voyages that not

THE AMERICAN WHALE FISHERIES 227

more than twelve or fourteen men will be left at
home." After 1741 the whalers were interfered
with by French and Spanish privateers, and for some
years the voyages to the distant grounds were inter-
rupted ; at any rate, there are no records of the Davis
Straits fishery. The participation of England in the
war of the Austrian succession gave France ana
Spain an opportunity of preying on English and
English colonial commerce, and this was precisely
the time at which the New England whaling interests
were developing rapidly. This development was
naturally hindered by the presence of these privateers
off the North American coast. Under this pressure
of adverse circumstances the Davis Straits fishery
was entirely abandoned, the Western Isles fishery
seriously crippled, so that the bulk of the whalers'
operations was confined to the vicinity of the Grand
Banks and the Bahamas.

In 1748 the colonial fishermen benefited by a
Bounty Act passed by the British Parliament. This
bounty amounted to twenty shillings per ton; Li
order to receive it the vessels had to be built ami
fitted out in the colonies, and to fish in Davis Strait
and the vicinity from May to August unless they
secured a full cargo or met with an accident.

At first the colonial whaling vessels were manned
almost exclusively by colonists and Indians. As the
fishery developed the supply of hands became inade
quate, so that in 1750 the Nantucket vessels had to
secure men from Cape Cod and Long Island.

The whaling industry gradually spread along the

228 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

coast including before the revolution, Cape Cod
towns of Wellfleet, Barnstable, and Falmouth;
Boston and Lynn ; the Rhode Island towns of New-
port, Providence, Warren, and Tivertpn; New
London (Connecticut) ; Williamsburg (Virginia) ;
Martha's Vineyard, and New Bedford (then Dart-
mouth), all fitting out vessels for the whaling.

At the time of the outbreak of the Revolution
whaling had become firmly established in what were
then the American colonies. At New Bedford whal-
ing probably commenced about 1755. Ten years
later there were four sloops employed, and in 1775
eighty vessels with a tonnage of six thousand five
hundred.

In 1755 the colonial whalemen were restricted by
an embargo placed on the Banks' fishermen, and this
was continued in 1757 when the Nantucket whalers
were given permission to resume their whaling
voyages. The Gulf of St Lawrence and Straits of
Belle Isle were opened to the colonial fishermen in
1761. By 1762 Nantucket alone had seventy-eight
vessel^ engaged in whaling. About this time the
British Parliament laid a duty on all whale products
exported to England from the colonies with a view
to assist the British whalers in their struggles against
the supremacy of the Dutch.

British whalers were also granted a bounty in
which the colonists did not share. Shortly after the
colonists were forbidden to send their exports to any
other markets so they were practically compelled to
pay the English duties. Both the colonial and

THE AMERICAN WHALE FISHERIES 229

London merchants protested against this, sending
petitions to Parliament, but it was not until 1767 that
conditions were much improved.

Just before the Revolution broke out the America^
whale fishery was very prosperous. The annual pro
duction from 1771 to 1775 was estimated at not less
than forty-five thousand barrels of sperm oil, eight
thousand five hundred barrels of whale oil, am;
seventy-five thousand pounds of bone. Sperm oil
fetched forty pounds per ton, head matter fifty
pounds per ton, whale oil seventy dollars per ton,
and whalebone fifty cents per pound on the average.
Most of the exports went to Great Britain where the.
increasing consumption of oil in lamps and in vario .•/•
industries led to a large demand for whale product?.

The revolution of 1775 put a stop to whaling, and
the trade in oil and bone practically ceased, except
to the West Indies. The previous year the colonial
whale fishery had reached its high-water mark with
a fleet of three hundred and sixty vessels of thirty-
three thousand aggregate tonnage. Of these at
least three hundred sail belonged to Massachusetts
ports. In 1775 in order " to starve New England "
the British Parliament passed an Act to restrict
colonial trade to British ports, placing an embargo
on fishing on the banks of Newfoundland or on any
other part of the North American coast. When
hostilities commenced the only port to carry on
whaling was Nantucket, the people of which town
were compelled to endeavour to follow this industry,
since it was the only one which yielded them any

230 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

means of subsistence. The history of whaling
during the War of Independence is therefore an
account of the struggle of the Nantucket men against
adverse circumstances. Early in the war the British
vessels made several forays along the New England
coast, capturing and burning the whale ships, and
destroying property on shore at Nantucket, Martha's
Vineyard, and Dartmouth.

The privations at Nantucket were so excessive
that in 1781 the British Admiral granted the islanders
permission to etnploy twenty-four vessels unmolested
by the British cruisers.

In 1783 the Continental Congress granted permits
for thirty-five vessels to engage in whaling, but very
soon after the treaty of peace was signed.

The end of the war found the whaling industry
practically extinct.

Except at Nantucket the whalers were ruined, and
even there not much had been saved. When war
broke out one hundred and fifty vessels were fishing
i;om Nantucket. In 1784 only two or three odd
>hips remained; one hundred and thirty-four had
been captured or destroyed by the English and
fifteen lost by shipwreck.

The recovery of the American whalers for the
first two decades after the signing of peace was
slow. The. whales were less shy and more easily
Billed, and whale products fetched good prices for

few years after the war. The boom was short-
lived, and prices dropped considerably. The
British market was to all intents and purposes closed

THE AMERICAN WHALE FISHERIES 231

by an alien import duty of eighteen pounds per ton.
Oil which fetched thirty pounds per ton before the
war now barely made seventeen pounds, and since
twenty-five pounds was the minimum required by
the whalers in order to clear their expenses it
follows that the industry languished. A number
of the American ports which had entered the
whaling business speedily withdrew from it, and it
was due to the courage and enterprise of the
Nantucket men that at this stage the industry did
not expire.

When the state of the industry appeared hope-
less, the Massachusetts legislature came to the
rescue, and in 1785 passed a Bounty Act. For
every ton of oil imported into the States the whale-
men were to receive a bounty of five pounds on
white spermaceti oil, sixty shillings on brown or
yellow sperm oil, and forty shillings on whale oil.
The vessel had to be owned and manned wholly by
the inhabitants of Massachusetts, and landed at a
port in that state. During the war the lack of oil
had induced the people to use tallow candles, so
that the increased landings of oil which were the
result of this bounty could not be absorbed by the
population, with the result that over-production led
to a sharp fall in prices.

Scammon states that by 1787-9 there were only
one hundred and twenty-two vessels engaged in
whaling from Massachusetts ports, and even this
list includes small vessels not engaged in reguta"
voyages.

232 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

At this time the English were trying hard to
build up a whaling trade, paying heavy bounties for
the purpose. A commercial treaty with France in
1789 opened up a prosperous trade, but after a few
shipments thither the outbreak of the French
Revolution upset all calculations, and^nce more
the whaling industry received a check. Under the
stimulus of this French trade the American whalers
extended their voyages in the Atlantic, and even
rounded Cape Horn in their search" for whales.
The first American whalers to enter the Pacific did
so in 1791, about four years after English ships had
ypen'ed up Pacific whaling. After 1792 the ship-
xments of whale products from America to France
lid not pay costs, and this branch of the trade
ceased. In 1798 the prospects of war between the
United States and France induced French
privateers to prey upon American commerce,
including the whalers.

From this time to the war of 1812, the whaling
ii dustry fluctuated considerably. Up to 1806 or
1807, the Fleet was gradually developing from
year to year, but after that the decline was
steady.

The embargo of 1807 stopped the exportation of
whale products and thus kept down the price of oil
and candles in the States. In 1810 things appeared
more settled, and whaling was extensively resumed,
so that when war broke out between the English
and the Americans in 1812 a large number of
whalers were at sea, some in the Pacific, whither

THE AMERICAN WHALE FISHERIES 233

they had gone on voyages of two and two and a
half years' duration. Some of the vessels returned
on receiving the news of the outbreak of war, to be
laid up for its duration. Others were captured at
sea. Nantucket and New Bedford, the chief
whaling ports, suffered severely. The war again
affected whaling in an adverse manner, though the
early years of the nineteenth century witnessed the
rise of several influences which benefited the
whalers. The general increase in prosperity of
America 4ed to a demand for whale oil, and sperm
candles in preference to tallow candles. There was
an increasing demand from all the seaports on the
coast, the export trade, especially to the West
Indies, developing rapidly.

The war lasted three years (1812-5)^ and again
the whaling trade shrank to zero, except at Nan-
tucket, where perforce a little coastal whaling was
indulged in, and an occasional vessel sent out on a
longer yoyage.

At the close of the war in 1815, the Nantucket
whaling fleet numbered twenty-three vessels; in
1819 there were sixty-one, and in 1821 eighty-four.
The success of the Nantucket whalers stimulated
other ports to follow their example, and there was a
general recrudescence of American whaling at this
time. The Pacific whalers, which up to this time
had frequented only the " onshore grounds," in
1818 first visited the " offshore grounds." In 1820
the first vessels sailed for the Japanese coasts ; by
1822 from thirty to forty vessels were whaling there.

234 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

Nantucket and New Bedford were now the leading
whaling ports.

Between 1820 and 1835 tne development of the
American whaling was steady; towards the latter
portion of this period, owing to the generally
prosperous condition of the industry, a large number
of ports engaged in the enterprise. In 1835 there
were nearly thirty ports, with .whalers numbering
from two or three to over two hundred sail. Growth
by this time was exceedingly rapid, the total number
of whalers rising from two hundred and three in 1829
to four hundred and twenty-one in 1834.

The two decades following 1835 marked the
zenith of the American whale fisheries. This year
whaling was commenced by a Nantucket vessel
along the north-west coast of America. In 1848 a
Sag Harbour whaler passed through Behring Strait
into the Arctic, this being the last whaling ground
opened up4 by the American whalers. In 1835 the
Nantucket fleet went mainly to the Pacific, after
1840 it went almost exclusively there, and by 1850
the New Bedford fleet had followed its example.

By this time new uses had been found for whale-
bone, and the oil was steadily and increasingly in
request as an illuminant for sperm candles and
whale oil lamps. In fact, it was not until the dis-
covery of petroleum in 1859 that there was any
serious ri^al to whale oil in this respect. This
discovery, however, sealed the fate of American
whaling. The struggle between the two oils was
short and sharp. Kerosene came rapidly in

THE AMERICAN WHALE FISHERIES 235

general use, lubricating oils were manufactured
from the residuum, and the introduction of the wax
or paraffin for making candles finally sealed the
battle.

But before this happened the American whale
fisheries were founded on whale products. From
1835 to !86o the whaling fleet averaged six hundred
vessels annually with an aggregate tonnage of
190,500. The annual imports averaged 117,950
barrels of sperm oil, 25,913 barrels of whale oil, and
2,323,512 pounds of bone — a total annual value of
over eight million dollars.

In 1846 the fleet numbered six hundred and eighty
ships and barques, thirty-four brigs, and twenty-two
schooners, with a total tonnage of 233,262. The
value of this fleet exceeded twenty-one million
dollars, whfle the whole business interests connected
with the trade were estimated at seventy million
dollars, giving employment to 70,000 persons. After
1847 tne Price °f sperm oil never fell below a dollar
a gallon for thirty consecutive years.

Although 1846 was the year when the largest fleet
was employed, the real value of the fishery con-
tinued at a high level for many subsequent years.
Between 1846 and 1856 sperm oil rose from eighty-
eight cents to $1-62 per gallon; whale oil from
thirty- four to seventy-nine cents; and whalebone
from thirty-four to fifty-eight cents a pound. In
1857 a financial crisis in the country brought a
sudden slump in the price of oil, and this was really
the beginning of the end of American whaling, as a

236 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

decline set in, gradual at first, but more rapid
later.

The whaling boom of 1846-7 coincided with the
opening of new grounds for Bowhead Whales in
the Seas of Okhotsk and Kamschatka, the Arctic
fishery commencing two years later.

Detailed statistics and records of American
whaling voyages are available.1 Many ships saw the
whole of the fishery through practically from
beginning to end. Quite a number of the New
Bedford whalers were in commission for over fifty
years, the four heading the list being the ship Maria
(ninety years), the ship Rousseau (eighty-seven
years), the barque Triton (seventy-nine years), and
the ship Ocean (seventy-five years). The Maria,
which was built by Ichabod Thomas on the North
River in Pembroke, Mass., in 1782, sailed the seas
of the globe until 1872, when she was broken up at
Vancouver Island.

The record of the New Bedford whaler Lagoda
is of great interest since she participated in the
fishery in the boom years, and was only sold by her
owners when the decline had unmistakably set in.
The Lagoda made twelve voyages between October,
1841, and July, 1886, of which ten resulted in a
profit, and two (the tenth and twelfth) in a loss ; the
net gain to the owners being $652,000. The
dividends on the individual yoyages were in
percentages: 29-6; 120-5; 669; I77>25 100596-9;

1 Old Dartmouth Historical Sketches, Nos. 2, 14, 43, 44, 45,
and 50, New Bedford, Mass., U.S.A.

THE AMERICAN WHALE FISHERIES 237

363 5; 219; 115-2; loss; about 10; loss. Of course
it must be remembered that the voyages lasted
several years, but even so, in the case of the seventh
voyage, which lasted forty-four months, the average
monthly profit was eight and a quarter per cent.

Some idea of the relative importance of the
various fishing grounds may be obtained from a
consideration of the statistics for 1847. About sixty
small barques, brigs, and schooners fished in the
Atlantic for Sperm Whales, and there was one ship
at Davis Strait. Thirty- two barques cruised in
the Indian Ocean for Sperm Whales, and there was
one schooner similarly employed in the Pacific. A
dozen whalers were engaged in the merchant service
or as tenders to the fleet.

The remaining six hundred vessels were on the
various grounds of the North and South Pacific, a
fifth engaged in Sperm whaling, the rest in both
Sperm and Right whaling. Within fifty years of
the discovery of the Pacific whaling grounds over
six-sevenths of the American whaling fleet were
engaged there.

At this time a large number of American ports
were engaged in whaling. In 1847 there were
thirty-four American ports at which whalers were
registered. The total number of vessels was seven
hundred and twenty-seven with a tonnage of
230,218. The chief ports were New Bedford, two
hundred and fifty-four; Nan tucket, seventy-five;
New London, Conn., seventy; Sag Harbour, N.Y.,
sixty-two; Fairhaven, forty-eight; Stonington,

238 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

Conn., twenty-seven; Warren, R.I., twenty-three;
Provincetown, eighteen; and Mystic, Conn., with
seventeen ships.

After 1847 there was a gradual decline in the
number of whaling vessels, the smaller ports drop-
ping out rapidly.

The following table gives the number of vessels
and the aggregate tonnage for each tenth year after
1846, when the number of yessels was a maximum :

No. of Vessels. Tonnage.

1846 736 233,262

1856 635 199,141

1866 263 68,535

1876 169 38,883

1886 124 29,118

1896 77 16,358

igo6 42 9,878

Although the smaller ports declined after 1847,
New Bedford continued to increase its fleet until
1857, when its maximum was attained with three
hundred and twenty-nine sail, valued at twelve
million dollars, giving employment to ten thousand
seamen.

Soon after the introduction of the mineral oils
referred to above, and which of itself was beginning
to prove a severe handicap to the American whalers,
the outbreak of the Civil War proved a formidable
blow to industry. At this time most of the fleet was
at sea, some of the vessels being in the Pacific on
voyages of four years' duration. The Atlantic
whalers soon felt the effect of the war, some of them
being captured by Southern privateers as early as

THE AMERICAN WHALE FISHERIES 239

1862. The "Shipping List" for 1862, states:
" That Southern pirate, Semmes, has already made
frightful havoc with whaling vessels, and his
piratical ship — the Alabama — threatens to become
the scourge of the seas." This privateering con-
tinued throughout the war, especially by the
Alabama, and the Shenandoah. The latter entered
Behring Sea, capturing and burning twenty-five
whalers, taking four others for transport.

Fifty whalers were lost in the war ; another forty
were purchased by the Government to form the
Charleston stone fleet, which was sunk in the attempt
to blockade Charleston harbour. The decline in
the whaling fleet during the Civil War was fifty per
cent in vessels and sixty per cent in tonnage (514
vessels to 263; 158,745 tons to 68,535).

After the end of the Civil War there was a revival
of whaling, partly due to the prevailing high prices,
and San Francisco now began to take part (1869)
in the whaling trade, though by this time the Atlantic
whaling ports showed a marked and serious decline,
Nantucket — to give one example — practically
dropping out altogether.

From 1869 to 1880 the rise of San Francisco as
a whaling port was very gradual, the number of
vessels averaging eight; after 1880 the growth was
rapid.

The English first used steam in whalers in 1857,
but it was not until 1880 that the Americans adopted
it, when it speedily effected a revolution in Arctic
whaling. Prior to this, the Arctic fleet had wintered

240 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

at San Francisco or some other Pacific port, either
re-fitting or engaging in short cruises in neighbour-
ing waters, e.g., in the " lagoon whaling " in the
arms of Magdalena Bay. In 1848 no less than
fifty boats were engaged in lagoon whaling, the
yessels being anchored and the whales captured by
boats, thus recalling the early days of the Spits-
bergen fishery. In spring the vessels went north,
and waited for the ice to break up in Behring Strait.
In the autumn the cargoes were transhipped to the
east from San Francisco, Panama, Honolulu, and
other ports.

With the steam whaler it was customary to remain
in the Arctic during the winter so as to be the first
in the field when the ice broke up in the spring.

By 1893 one-fourth of the vessels whaling in the
North Pacific and Arctic wintered off the mouth of
the Mackenzie River.

With the opening of the transcontinental railways,
the importance of San Francisco as a whaling port
increased, and, although New Bedford still
possessed the larger fleet, a great many of its
vessels carried on the trade with San Francisco as
headquarters.

Originally all the refining of the Pacific oil was
done at New Bedford, but in 1883 refineries were
built at San Francisco together with works for the
manufacture of sperm candles. Since 1880, then,
there has been a gradual supersession of the eastern
by the western ports. The San Francisco fleet
grew- while all the other fleets declined, so that in

THE AMERICAN WHALE FISHERIES 241

1893 there were thirty-three vessels at that port, of
which about twenty-two were steamers. What
really happened was a transfer of the whaling
interests. Instead of being owned in New Bedford
and New London and working out of 'Frisco, the
eastern interests were transferred to vessels
registered at the latter port.

For the ten years ending 1905 the whaling fleet
averaged fifty-one sail with a tonnage of 10,184,
yielding whaling products yalued at a million
dollars.

In 1906 there were three whaling ports employing
fleets, namely, New Bedford — twenty-four vessels,
tonnage five thousand six hundred and eighteen;
San Francisco fourteen vessels, tonnage three
thousand six hundred and twenty-six ; and Province-
town three vessels, tonnage three hundred and forty.
Norwich, Connecticut, had one brig with a tonnage
of two hundred and ninety-four, its first reappear-
ance as a whaling port after a lapse of seventy years.

A few American whalers still follow Sperm
whaling in the Atlantic, but the bulk of the fleet,
practically all the large vessels, work the Arctic
grounds from San Francisco.

One cause of the downfall of whaling has been the
uncertainty of the business. In no other occupation
does the element of chance enter so largely. In
1866 two New Bedford ships each made a profit of
one hundred and twenty-five thousand dollars on a
capital of twenty-five thousand dollars.

On the other hand, out of sixty-eight vessels due

242 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

to arrive at New Bedford and Fairhaven in 1858,
forty-four were calculated as making losing voyages,
the total loss being one million dollars. In 1871
the entire Arctic fleet was destroyed by pack ice with
a loss of over two million dollars, thirty-four vessels
becoming a total loss.

Two other adverse circumstances for the whalers
were the discovery of gold in California in 1 849, and
the commencement of the manufacture of cotton
goods in New Bedford in 1846.

It was customary for the Pacific whalers to touch
at a Pacific port to refit, and during the gold boom
whole crews of whalers deserted, so that shipping on
a whaler came to be recognised as a cheap means
of reaching the goldfields from the eastern states.
The whaling capitalists lost large sums of money
through their ships being laid up owing to these
desertions. The cotton manufacture afforded a
steadier yield to capital than the enormously fluctuat-
ing whaling industry, so there can be no question
but that its establishment in New Bedford led to
the withdrawal of capital from the latter, to say
nothing of the diversion of new capital that other-
wise might have been devoted to the development
of whaling.

In the fifties and sixties of the nineteenth century
the Pacific whalers made Honolulu their rendezvous.
Twice a year the harbour was full of whalers, firstly
in March, when they fitted out for the summer season
in the Arctic, in Behring Strait, off Japan, and in
the Sea of Okhotsk, and secondly in November,

THE AMERICAN WHALE FISHERIES 243

when they fitted out for the Sperm whaling in
tropical and sub-tropical waters. Some of the
vessels fitted out exclusively for the Sperm whaling,
and did not take part in the Right Whale fishery of
northern waters — these were known as the " Sperm
Whalers."

After fitting out in November and December in
Honolulu the vessels engaged in Sperm whaling left
late in December or early in January, usually taking
the following route: southwards to the Marshall,
Solomon, and Caroline Islands, and then northwards
to Marian and Bonin groups in Japanese waters.
Off Japan there were two courses. Some vessels
went into the Sea of Okhotsk, others to the Arctic
through Behring Strait. Some vessels went direct
from Honolulu to the Marianne Islands, anchoring
off Tinian Island in February and March, and
sending out their boats after the Humpback. After
March the Japan grounds were abandoned.

A small fleet consisting mainly of brigs and
schooners sailed from Honolulu to the Californian
coast to take part in the Grey Whale fishery (p. 29).
At this time the Grey Whale was reported to be very
fierce and shy, and consequently difficult to capture.
The whalers attempted to capture the young ones
first, aiming to wound and not to kill. If the young
were wounded the mother endeavoured to protect it,
and so rendered herself liable to capture, but if the
young were killed outright the mother became so
desperate in her anger as to render any approach to
her on the part of the whale boats an absolute impos-

244 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

sibility. This whaling was dangerous, and a lot of
lives were lost at it.

In April these whalers returned to Honolulu,
leaving a few weeks later for the north.

A good average catch (in the sixties) in northern
waters was ten Bowheads or Right Whales, which
yielded one thousand barrels of thirty gallons each
of oil, and sixteen thousand pounds of whalebone.
Landed in Europe this oil fetched three pounds nine
shillings a barrel, and the whalebone three shillings
and sixpence a pound. At this time the winter
fishery for the Sperm Whales was not of much
account. A vessel that obtained one hundred barrels
of sperm oil was fortunate, though occasionally much
larger captures were made since the Sperm Whale is
naturally a gregarious animal.

When a Sperm Whale is in distress its companions
seek to succour it, the Right Whales on the contrary,
leave a stricken comrade. The Sperm whalers took
advantage of this, and once a whale had been struck
the other boats endeavoured to kill as many of the
school as speedily as possible.

The Sperm Whales in the schools are stated at
this time to be small on the average, the older larger
individuals keeping more to themselves.

The Bowheads were gradually driven farther and
farther north, right up into polar waters where the
sailing vessels could not follow them. The whales
kept more and more to the ice, leaving it later in
succeeding years, so that the whalers were compelled
to keep near the ice later in successive seasons.

THE AMERICAN WHALE FISHERIES 245

The Finners were not much chased in these waters
on account of the difficulty of taking them with the
hand harpoon.

The American whaling industry at the end of the
nineteenth century was in a bad way.

A small fleet still hunted the Sperm and Right
Whales in the North and South Atlantic. In 1892
this consisted of thirty-two ships ; in 1898 of fourteen
only. Of these four were from eighty to one hundred
tons, six of one hundred to two hundred tons, four
from two hundred to two hundred and fifty-five tons.
The crew consisted of fifteen on two vessels, sixteen
on five, twenty-five on six, and thirty on one vessel.
A sad decline from the hey-day of the American
Atlantic whale fishery. The vessels still fitted out
for a three years' cruise, and garnered their harvest on
the old whaling grounds. The decrease in the yield
of sperm oil from this fishery was from seventy-three
thousand seven hundred and eight barrels in 1860 to
twelve thousand five hundred and twenty in 1 898.

This industry was very rapidly dying out. The
West Indian fishery and that of the Southern Indian
Ocean was no longer followed by the Americans.
In fact, the only fishery remaining to the Americans
of any magnitude was that from San Francisco,
which still sent out ships to the North Pacific and
Arctic-American Oceans.

The American fishery in Davis Strait and Hudson
Bay consisted of one vessel in 1890, one in 1892, five
in 1895, one m 1896-97, and two in the summer of
1897, both making losing voyages.

246 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

The first American whaler passed through Behring
Strait in 1848, and this polar fishery has been well
described by Scammon.

At the end of the nineteenth century the fishery in
polar waters was to a large extent coastal, in this
respect resembling the early days of Spitsbergen.
The ice off the north coasts of America and Asia
comes down much farther south than in Spitsbergen
waters, so that the whalers never went beyond 74° N .
in the former waters. The fishery off the north
coasts of Alaska and Asia was much more dangerous
than in Northern European waters, and the return
journey through the narrow Behring Strait much
more difficult than the homeward journey of the
Spitsbergen whalers, and consequently many more
ships were lost at this American fishery.

These American whaling steamers usually made
nine knots, sailing vessels with auxiliary engines six
only. The whaling grounds were much farther from
San Francisco than the Spitsbergen grounds from
Norway or Great Britain. From San Francisco to
the Diomede Islands in Behring Strait is two thou-
sand eight hundred and sixty miles, from thence to
the mouth of the Mackenzie a further eight hundred
and seventy. The first part of the journey was
usually made under sail alone, the coal being reserved
for battling through the ice. A few whalers went
even farther than the Mackenzie; one hundred and
seventy-five miles to Cape Bathurst, and even two
hundred and twenty miles farther to Banks Land.

The whalers aimed to reach the Gulf of Anadyr on

THE AMERICAN WHALE FISHERIES 247

the Asiatic side of the Strait in the middle of May.
In the middle of June they were able to enter the
Arctic, and this they usually did on the Asiatic side
as the ice conditions were generally more favourable
there. Whilst waiting for the ice to disappear from
Point Barrow, the whalers cruised westward along the
Siberian coast, occasionally getting a whale. After
this between-season they went for Point Barrow and
thence to Point Hope, north of Behring Strait, and
then east along the coast to winter quarters off
Herschel Island, which lies near the coast somewhat
to the west of the mouth of the Mackenzie. Some
went still farther to the north-east to Franklin Bay.

Those vessels which wintered off Herschel Island
generally got free of the ice by the loth July, whereas
those frozen up in Franklin Bay were fast until
August. Usually there is open water from Point
Barrow to Cape Bathurst, north-east of Franklin
Bay, for three summer months.

Steamers find very little difficulty in making this
passage, but for sailing vessels it is troublesome.

In autumn the whalers went west to Herald Island
in north-east of Behring Strait in 70° N. and 171° E.

The details of this fishery show that even at the
end of the nineteenth century it was possible to make
profitable voyages, though on the whole there is an
evident decline.

The statistics show clearly that the American
whalers at this time hunted the whale chiefly for the
whalebone, and on many occasions took no trouble
to recover the oil. This is seen when the number

248 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

of whales killed is compared with the number of
barrels of oil obtained in the earlier and later years :

AMERICAN NORTH PACIFIC WHALING FLEET

Ships.

Whales killed. Barrels of oil obtained.

1890

197

15,220

1891

212

12,625

1892

240

11,610

1893

309

6,440

1894

106

6,650

1895

2,480

1896

124

4,435

1897

3,230

1898

iS7

2,975

It is perhaps hardly necessary to point out that
this is an extravagant method of fishing and a great
waste of natural resources.

The average yield of a Polar Right Whale in 1897
was estimated in oil at thirty cents a gallon, and four
dollars a pound for whalebone, those being the prices
at San Francisco. The total value of the whale was
about eight thousand dollars (one thousand six
hundred pounds). Against this must be set the very
high cost of fitting out ships for this fishery. A sail-
ing vessel with four boats had a crew of thirty-eight
men, a steamer with five boats forty-four men. They
were provisioned usually for a year. Only the
engineers were paid by wage, the others by " lays,"
i.e., a share in the profits. These lays varied at this
time from an eleventh in the case of the captain, to
a hundred and fiftieth for a greenhand or cabin boy.

The first engineer received one hundred and
twenty-five, the second ninety dollars monthly.
Insurance was high from ten per cent for steamers,

THE AMERICAN WHALE FISHERIES 249

to sixteen per cent for sailing vessels. The cost of
fitting out a steamer for a season was estimated at
fifteen thousand dollars; the first cost of such a
steamer from twenty to twenty-five thousand dollars.
To fit out a sailing vessel cost eight thousand
dollars. This was much cheaper than the expense
of a steamer, for the latter the coal alone cost from
six to ten dollars a ton. Before starting from
'Frisco each sailor received an advance of forty
dollars, each boat-steerer from fixe hundred to one
thousand dollars. If the ship returned clean, i.e.,
empty, then the crew were paid off on return at the
rate of one dollar per man. A whale which yielded
from fifteen to seventeen hundred pounds of whale-
bone usually gave from seventy to ninety barrels
of oil. A certain amount of trade was done with the
natives, Esquimaux, and Indians, along the coast.
On an average, a whaler could reckon on getting
from seven to eight hundred pounds of trade bone
from the natives in exchange for meal, biscuit,
provisions generally, knives, and old whale boats,
the latter being much sought after.

There is much information of this fishery in the
San Francisco newspapers of the last decade of the
nineteenth century. Though of great interest, the
details cannot be quoted here. There was also a
small Russian whale fishery at this time in the North
Pacific. It does not appear to have attained any
considerable magnitude.

Although not an American fishery, it is
convenient to mention here that one of the few

250 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

remaining, flourishing whaling industries was that
for the Cachalot or Sperm Whale, at the Azores,
by the inhabitants, who killed the whale not far
from land, towing the carcass ashore for treatment.
In 1898 there were no less than twenty-nine whaling
companies working at the Azores. The hunting
was done by means of small sailing boats — three
feet long — each with a crew of six. Of the six, one
was officer and steersman, one a harpooner, the
other four sailors. The crew of these boats were
paid by share, the boats themselves being the
property of the various companies. The statistics
of the number of wHales killed and the amount of
spermaceti obtained are not available, but from 1895
to 1897 no less tnan 480,000 litres of whale oil were
exported from the Azores.

An intimate view of life in American whalers may
be obtained by a perusal of the works of Olmstead,
Ross Browne, and Nordhoff. There are also a
number of other writers ; in many cases it is difficult
to separate fact from fiction.

It was customary to recruit the whalers' crews
from landsmen, the captain and officers alone being
experienced seamen and whalers. Advertisements
of the following type were scattered broadcast over
the eastern states in the hey-day of the American
whale fisheries :

" WANTED LANDSMEN. — One thousand stout young men,
Americans, wanted for the fleet of whale ships now
fitting out for the North and South Pacific Fisheries.
Extra chances given to Coopers, Carpenters, and
Blacksmiths.
None but industrious young men, with good recom-

THE AMERICAN WHALE FISHERIES 251

mendations, taken. Such will have superior chances
for advancement. Outfits, to the amount of seventy-
five dollars, furnished to each individual before
proceeding to sea.

Persons desirous to avail themselves of the present
splendid opportunity of seeing the world, and at the
same time acquiring" a profitable business, will do
well to make early application to the undersigned."

It is to be feared that the treatment of these green-
horns was in general of a very brutal nature. Their
earnings, too, were contemptible. The system of
payment was by " lays." Average lays varied from
about a twelfth for the captain to a hundred and
seventy-five for a greenhand. It was by no means
uncommon for an ordinary seamen to receive two
or three dollars, or even nothing at all, as his
share after a long and hazardous voyage. He had,
of course, been kept, and received advances
during the voyage ; what the food and conditions
were like can be estimated by reading the works
above named.

Olmstead's book was published at New York in
1841, and describes a voyage made in the barque
North America of New London.

J. Ross Browne's book, which, in many respects,
is the best personal description of a voyage in an
American whaler, was published at New York in
1850; Browne joined a New Bedford whaler as a
landsman or greenhand (in 1842). The brutalities
to which the greenhands were subjected is relieved
by the humour of some of the scenes on board, one
of the seamen, Bill Man by name, who had
previously been a scene shifter in a Bowery theatre

252 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

in New York, being by no means without humour
when drunk.

NordhofFs book was published at Cincinnati in
1856, and is a description of whaling life by a man
who had previously been a sailor.

In 1918 owing to the prevailing shortage of the
world's food supply, the American whaling
companies were encouraged to save and market
whale meat, and the United States Bureau of
Fisheries issued a pamphlet on the use of whales
and porpoises as food.1 The west coast whaling
companies provided a cold storage and distributing
plant, with a capacity of about three thousand tons,
a five hundred ton freezing plant, a refrigeration
steamer, and a cannery with a capacity of fifty
thousand cases. In 1918 a beginning was made
with thirty thousand cases of canned meat, and for
1919 an output of fifty thousand cases of canned
meat, and one thousand tons of frozen meat is
expected.

The equipment and method of canning are
similar to those used in Pacific coast salmon
canneries, with certain differences in the preliminary
handling. The whales for canning are hauled out
on a special concrete slip, constantly flooded with
fresh running water, and here the meat is removed
in the same way as for freezing. After cooling it
is placed in mild brine for about thirty-six hours,
which removes all blood, at the same time elimin-

1 Whales and Porpoises as food. U.S. De-pi, of Commerce,
Bureau of Fisheries Economic Circular, No. 38. Issued
6th November, 1918.

THE AMERICAN WHALE FISHERIES 253

ating the gamy taste. The strips of meat are then
passed through a salmon cutter of ordinary type,
which cuts up pieces of the right size, for one pound
flat cans. The cans are then put through the
exhaust box for thirty minutes, sealed and cooked
in the retort for an hour and twenty minutes, after
which they are ready for labelling and shipping.

The fishery for the California Grey Whale by
the Makahs or Cape Flattery Indians has been well
described by Swan.1 Since their methods are
distinct from those of Europeans, and have been
independently evolved, a short description is
appended.

The harpoon consists of a barbed head, attached
direct to the rope or lanyard. The rope, which is
five fathoms long, is made of twisted whale's sinews,
and is about an inch and a half in circumference,
covered with twine wound around it very tightly.
This rope is exceedingly strong and very pliable.

The harpoon head is a flat piece of iron or copper,
usually a saw blade or a piece of sheet copper with
a couple of barbs of elk's or deer's horn secured to
it, and the whole covered with a coating of spruce
gum.

The staff is made of yew in two pieces, joined in
the middle by a neat scarf, firmly secured by a piece
of bark tied tightly round it. The length is
eighteen feet, thickest in the centre at the join, and
tapering at both ends. To be used the staff is

1 James G. Swan, " The Indians of Cape Flattery, at the
Entrance to the Strait of Fuca, Washing-ton Territory," Wash-
ing-ton, 1869, No. 220, Smithsonian Contributions to Knowledge.

254 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

inserted into the barbed head, and the end of the
lanyard fastened to a buoy, which is simply a seal
skin taken from the animal whole, the hair being
left inwards. The apertures of the head, feet, and
tail are tied up airtight, and the skin inflated like a
bladder.

When the harpoon is driven into the whale, the
barb and buoy remain fast to him, but the staff comes
out and is taken into the canoe. The harpoon
thrown into the whale's head has but one buoy
attached, but those thrown into the body have as
many as can conveniently be tied on; when a
number of canoes join in the attack it is not unusual
for thirty or forty of these buoys to be made fast to
the whale, which cannot then sink, and is despatched
by lances. The buoys are fastened together by
means of a stout line made of spruce roots, first
slightly roasted in hot ashes, then split by knives
into fine fibres and finally twisted into ropes, which
are very strong and durable. These ropes are also
used for towing the dead whale to the shore.

The whaling canoe invariably carries eight men,
a harpooner, steersman, and six rowers. The canoe
is divided by sticks, which serve as thwarts, into six
spaces. The fishery is, of course, carried on near
the land, and it is customary to have a look-out on
a conspicuous position, and this look-out signals to
the canoes when one of their number has struck a
whale, so that all may join in the kill. When the
whale is dead, it is towed ashore, as near a village
as possible, and hauled up on the beach. When the

THE AMERICAN WHALE FISHERIES 255

tide recedes all hands attack the carcass with knives,
and remove the blubber in blocks about two foot
square. The blubber, after being cut up into small
pieces, is boiled to extract the oil, which is skimmed
from the pots with clam shells. The blubber is then
hung in the smoke to dry, and when cured looks
very much like citron. It is somewhat tougher than
pork, but sweet and not of unpleasant taste.

CHAPTER VIII

THE LAST PHASE OF WHALING

The introduction of steam — The harpoon gun and the capture of
Rorquals — The disappearance of the old right whalers — The
Norwegian whalers — Gradual extension of their operations —
The Scottish and Irish whaling- stations — Antarctic whaling.

THE first two steam vessels employed in Arctic
exploration were the Pioneer and the Intrepid, which
under the command of Sherard Osborn took part in
the search for Franklin in 1850.

The experience gained by these vessels led the
whalers to attempt the introduction of steam into the
Arctic whalers with extraordinary results. The first
attempts were made in the fifties of the nineteenth
century, when ships fitted with auxiliary steam
engines engaged in combined sealing and whaling
cruises in northern waters. The seals were looked
for at the west ice off Greenland, and subsequently
the ships went to the whale fishery at Davis Strait.

The first Hull whaling steamer set out in 1857;
in 1858 there were several steamers mainly engaged
in sealing, but it was not until 1859 that a really
determined effort was made to establish a steam
sealing and whaling trade. The results were almost

256

THE LAST PHASE OF WHALING 257

uniformly unsuccessful, and steam whaling suffered
a serious setback.

One of the Peterhead whalers attracted much
attention. The Empress of India, built of iron, was
specially fitted out for the trade. She was strongly
fortified, being twelve feet thick forward and carried
eleven boats. The bottom of the captain's gig was
bronze. No expense was spared in her outfit, her
crew consisting of one hundred and ten men. All
the crew expected to make a small fortune, and
looked on the old sailers with contempt. Some of
the officers were so sure of getting full of seals that
they made all their plans for the future ; they were
going to fall in with the north end of the main body
of seals and sweep through the centre, leaving the
rest for those who were fortunate enough to be in
their company. However, the first piece of heavy
ice penetrated their port bow, and they foundered
in four hours, all hands being saved by the despised
sailers.

Several iron steamers of Hull, the Emetine,
Gertrude, Corkscrew, Labuan, and Wildfire, pro-
ceeded to the seal fishery, but most of them came
back empty and damaged. According to Barren this
year proved that iron steamers, however strongly
built, were not suitable vessels to contend with the
Greenland pack ice. A few years later (1861)
Barron changed his opinion, and now writes that
" this year would prove the death-blow to sailing
vessels. Men having experienced the great differ-
ence between steam and sail, few will go hereafter

258 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

in a sailing ship if they can possibly get into a

steamer."

In the Davis Strait and Baffin Bay fishing it was
customary for the whalers to commence operations
off Resolution Island off the south-west extremity of
Baffin Land, and afterwards make up through Davis
Strait and Baffin Bay to the whaling grounds off
Melville Bay and down Lancaster Sound on the east
side of Baffin Bay. Now the entrance to the north
water was often closed in Melville Bay by pack ice of
varying density even though there was open water
beyond (to the northward). Working through this
pack ice was a laborious and lengthy job for a sailing
vessel, though the time varied considerably from
year to year according to the state of this drift ice.
For a steamer the passage of this ice was in any but
the most extraordinarily severe seasons a matter
which could be accomplished with certainty and
safety in a few days, and it was this fact which, more
than any other, proved the immense superiority of
the steamer over the sailer. This is quite clearly
brought out by Barron in his account of his voyage
in 1 86 1, when he was master of the famous True love.
" After toiling all day we only succeeded in getting a
mile. The s.s. Narwhal came to our relief, and
towed us into clear water without the least difficulty.
This showed the superiority of steam over sailing
vessels."

Markham,1 writing of his experiences at the Arctic

1 " A Whaling Cruise to Baffin Bay and the Gulf of Boothia,"
by A, H. Markham, London, 1875.

THE LAST PHASE OF WHALING 259

whale fishery in 1873, proves in a remarkable manner
how much the introduction of steam power in whaling
ships has reduced the risk of navigation in Baffin Bay
and Barrow Strait. Markham took a passage in the
Arctic of Dundee, a vessel of five hundred tons and
seventy horse power. The Dundee fleet this year
consisted of ten vessels all equipped with steam
power. Seven were ships varying from three hun-
dred and fifty-eight to four hundred and thirty-nine
tons and from sixty to seventy horse power. Of the
seven, six were built for the trade, the seventh being
a converted ship. The three barques varied from
two hundred and seventy-eight to three hundred and
ninety-four tons, and from thirty-six to sixty horse
power. All three had been converted into steamers
for the whaling trade. Incidentally it may be noted
that while Markham describes the Arctic as a ship
the illustrations in his book show her to be barque
rigged. At any rate she voluntarily entered the ice
in Davis Strait until there were some fifty miles of
heavy pack ice between her and open water, and then
when no more whales were to be found she fought
her way by steam power through the ice fields until
the open sea was again reached.

The middle ice, which for over half a century
had proved a serious obstacle to the whalers, was
easily overcome even by the moderately powered
vessels of the Dundee fleet of 1873. The old
whaler under sail thought himself lucky in travers-
ing it once in three years, with an enormous amount
of labour, in from a month to sixty days. The

260 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

Arctic and her sister vessels had for nine years suc-
cessively got through this middle ice in as many
hours.

The crew of the Arctic consisted of fifty-five men,
a fourth part of whom were Shetlanders, most of the
remainder being Scotsmen, principally Highlanders.
They carried eight harpooners, including the mate,
second mate, and specksioneer (the officer under
whose direction the whale was cut up). There were
eight boat-steerers, including the boatswain and skee-
man, the latter being the officer who superintends
between decks the stowing away of the blubber in
tanks. The word is derived from the Dutch
" Schieman," the captain of the forecastle. There
are also eight line-managers.

When all the boats were away whaling there only
remained on board the captain, doctor, engineer,
ship-keeper, cook, and steward. The men were paid
by a combination of wage and share in profits.

At this period the vessels left Scotland in the first
half of May, earlier or later according to whether
they took part in the sealing or not. They all
stopped at the Shetlands to complete the crew and to
obtain fresh provisions. Then a course was made
for Cape Farewell, the south point of Greenland,
where the whalers commenced the so-called south-
west fishery in the Frobisher Straits area north of
the Labrador coast. Then they followed the plan
outlined above for the Hull whalers, working their
way through the ice in Melville Bay to the north
water, thence to Lancaster Sound and Prince Regent

THE LAST PHASE OF WHALING 261

Inlet. In August and September the whales were
followed on their southerly migration to Home Bay
and Cumberland Sound on the east side of Baffin
Land. The return voyage commenced in the early
days of November, though some lucky ships occa-
sionally obtained full cargoes in September or
October. Some ships, both British and American,
wintered in Cumberland Sound in order to be ready
for the early summer fishery.

The voyage of the Arctic was a very successful
one, thirteen female and fifteen male whales being
captured. The weight of whalebone was fourteen
tons seventeen hundredweights, and that of the oil
two hundred and sixty-five and a half tons, the total
value being eighteen thousand nine hundred and
twenty-five pounds.

The Scottish whalers at this time brought the
blubber back to Dundee in large tanks. There it
was filled into casks and taken to the boiling yards
to have the oil extracted. This was done by steam
in large coppers holding sufficient blubber to yield
ten tons of oil. The seal blubber is so fresh when
landed that it is necessary to wait six or eight weeks
until it is so decomposed that the oil might be
extracted easily. But in 1873 the Dundee Seal and
Whale Fishing Company fitted up machinery for
cutting and crushing the blubber, so that it could be
utilised as soon as landed. For some purposes the
oil thus reduced is more valuable. After boiling the
oil is allowed to settle in coolers, and then run into
storing tanks ready for delivery as required.

262 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

Prior to the introduction of steam there was a
marked decline in the Arctic whale fishery as shown
in the statistical returns from 1830 onwards.
Towards the end of the sailing days it was only the
Norwegians who took part in it to any extent. The
English and Scottish fishery gradually declined. In
1831 the greater part of the English fleet (nineteen
vessels) was lost in the ice in Melville Bay. The
harbours taking part in the whaling trade declined
until practically only Dundee and Peterhead were
left. In 1 830 there were ninety-one Scottish whalers
hailing from thirteen ports; in 1857 tne number had
declined to sixty from seven ports, and in 1868 to
thirty vessels from six ports, and of this thirty Peter-
head and Dundee claimed twelve each. The
Dundee vessels at this time were steamers which
visited the Greenland coasts for seals, and subse-
quently went round into Davis Strait for the whale
fishery. Dundee's interest in this fishery persisted
beyond that of other Scottish towns since her chief
industry, the jute manufacture, required the whale
and seal oil, so that the town's two main industries
were in a sense interdependent. Dundee's require-
ments at this time (circa 1858) were two thousand two
hundred tons of oil annually.

In 1868 the Scottish whaling fleet consisted of four
steamers and eight sailing ships from Peterhead, the
former of two hundred to two hundred and ninety-
five tons, the latter from one hundred and thirty to
three hundred and eighty tons ; two sailing vessels
of two hundred and ninety-two and two hundred

THE LAST PHASE OF WHALING 263

and ninety-seven tons from Fraserburgh ; eleven
steamers (two hundred and seventy-eight to four
hundred and fifty-five tons) and one sailing ship from
Dundee, and one steamer of four hundred and fifty-
two tons from Kirkcaldy. This was the year in which
Hull finally dropped out of the whaling industry.
At this time the Scottish fleet in part went sealing
and whaling between Greenland and Spitsbergen,
another part, especially the Dundee steamers, went
first to the sealing grounds off Jan Mayen, and
returned home starting off in the middle of May for
their second voyage to the whaling grounds in Davis
Strait up to Cumberland Strait, wintering there so
as to be ready for the early fishing in the following
spring. In 1868 fifteen ships which took part in
the sealing and whaling off Greenland caught only
three whales and fifty-one thousand eight hundred
and sixty-three seals, altogether six hundred and
thirty-seven tons of oil. Ten of the ships returned
quite empty, a very bad result. In Davis Strait the
results were better, ten steamers catching one hun-
dred and four whales with an oil yield of eight
hundred and eighty tons; the Cumberland Strait
ships got twenty-two whales and eight hundred and
eighty White Whales; of these ships two had
wintered out and were away eighteen months. The
vicissitudes of the whale fishery are enormous; in
1867 the Dundee whalers in Davis Strait only caught
two whales; in 1868 they caught seventy-nine.

Modern whaling dates from the year 1880. At
that time the Right Whale (Balcena mysticetus)

264 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

valuable on account of its whalebone, was nearly
extinct, and whalers sought principally the Sperm
Whale, the other species not being much utilised.

Fin and Blue Whales and the common Rorquals
were of little or no value for whalebone, and their
oil was of small account. Their great activity
rendered their capture by the old methods of har-
pooning extremely hazardous. Whaling appeared
to be dying out completely, when a harpoon gun,
invented by Svend Foyn, a Norwegian sailor,
came into use. This gun was invented by Foyn in
1860, but does not appear to have come into common
use until twenty years later. This invention was
considerably improved in the course of time, but the
earlier guns were muzzle-loaders of steel with steel
coils and mounted on swivels. Its length was about
four feet, and it was fired at a distance of twenty-five
to fifty yards, the gunner trying to hit the whale
between the ribs as near the spinal column as
possible.

The gun-harpoon consisted of the shell with
charge, the barb-holster and pole. The shell was
screwed to the barb-holster, which contained a glass
filled with sulphuric acid. To the pole a rope was
attached, of four hundred fathoms' length and
weighing about three thousand pounds.

The whole apparatus when it left the gun was
solid; when the harpoon penetrated the whale the
barbs turned so as to crush the glass tube, the sul-
phuric acid escaping, and causing the shell to
explode.

Fig. I.

^_d!tew*?~»^

Tj»
J >"

PLANS OP A WHALING STEAMER OF A MODERN TYPE.

THE LAST PHASE OF WHALING 265

This harpoon gun rendered the capture of the
smaller and more active species of whale a com-
mercial possibility, so that what they lacked in
weight of oil as individuals, they made up in
quantity. Some of these Finners and Rorquals
could be captured fairly near to the land, so it
became customary to build small, but seaworthy
steamers, whose sole function was to shoot the
whale, and then tow it ashore to a factory, where
all the subsequent operations were carried out.

About the year 1880 the Norwegians built
steamers of iron, of about thirty-two registered tons,
and twenty-five to thirty-five nominal horse power
for this purpose. About thirty feet in length, with
a beam of twelve to thirteen feet, and a draught of
eight to nine feet, these steamers were rigged as
fore and aft schooners. Below deck there was
accommodation only for engine, cabins, and stowage
for warps, etc., the whales being towed ashore.

The crew consisted of nine men, viz., the captain,
three engineers, steward and three sailors; the
speed was nine knots.

These vessels were subsequently much improved
(p. 264).

Longitudinal section, deck-plan and below-
deck plan of a modern type of whaling steamer :

i. LONGITUDINAL SECTION: —

i. Store-room. 2. Ballast tank. 3. Crew's quarters.
4. Store-room. 5. Hatchway. 6. Space for harpoon
lines. 7. Fresh - water tank. 8. Reserve bunker.
Q. Coal Bunker. 10. Boiler. n. Galley. 12. Chart-
room. 13. Chain locker. 14. Engine-room. 15. Cabin.

266 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

16. Fresh-water tank. 17. Tank. 18. Dining-room.
19. Skylight. 20. Meat safe. 21. Compass. 22. Speak-
ing tube. 23. Engine-room telegraph. 24, 25, and
26. Airpipe for signalling, etc. 27. Harpoon gun.
28. Steam winch for the harpoon lines.

2. DECK PLAN:--.

i. Pump. 2. Signal apparatus (to bridge). 3. Speaking
tube. 4. Rings. 5. Bits. 6. Gangway to crew's
quarters. 7. Chain brake. 8. Mast. Q. Locker.
10. Chain locker. u. Hatch. 12. Steam winch.
13. Bunker lids. 14. Lavatory. 15. Lid. 16. Salt-water
pump. 17. Steps to bridge. 18. Bath-room. 19. Bunker
hatch. 20. Funnel. 21. Entrance to engine-room.
22. Engine-room skylight. 23. Boat. 24. Lifeboat.
25. Gangway. 26. Galley. 27. Coal-room. 28. Provi-
sion-room. 29. Fresh-water pump.

3. BELOW DECK PLAN: —

i. Ballast tank. 2. Bench. 3. Table. 4. Crew's
quarters. 5. Hatch to store-room. 6. Engineers'
cabin. 7. Writing-table. 8. Chain locker. Q. Mast.
10. Accumulator for the harpoon line. u. Fresh-water
tank. 12. Reserve bunker. 13. Bunker. 14. Ventilator.
15. Fan for ventilator. 16. Oil tank. 17. Store-room.
18. Captain's cabin. IQ. Writing-table. 20. Wardrobe.
21. Store-room. 22. Lavatory. 23. Table. 24. Har-
pooners' cabin.

Before proceeding to consider the last phase in
the history of whaling, the Norwegian fisheries of
the twentieth century, it is desirable to summarise
the position at the end of the nineteenth century,
when whaling appeared to be dying out all over the
world.

In the European Arctic waters the capture of the
Greenland Right Whale had long been abandoned.
Vessels fitting out for the Arctic " fisheries "
captured seals, walruses, and any other oil or skin-
yielding animals, which would help to make a
voyage profitable. Amongst these creatures was

THE LAST PHASE OF WHALING 267

the White Whale, which appeared in the waters of
Spitsbergen and Nova Zembla as soon as the ice
began to break up in June. In schools of about
two hundred individuals they entered the bays,
where the female gave birth to the young in June
and the first half of July. The White Whale's
visit to Spitsbergen waters is not a food migration,
since at this time the stomach is empty. The
young when born are from four to five feet long
and of a dark brown colour. This colour gradually
becomes paler until in the adult it is quite white.
The White Whale is valuable, not only on account
of the oil it yields, but also for its skin, which can
be concerted into excellent leather.

When a school is met with in the bays, an effort
is made, by surrounding them with boats, to drive
them into shallow water, where they are driven on
shore or captured by nets. On one occasion fifty
whales were driven ashore, killed, and the blubber
removed within thirty hours.

The coastal fishery for Finners had by now com-
menced in Finmark, Tromso, and Iceland. The
whales were killed by means of an explosive
harpoon fired from a gun fixed in the bows of a
small steamer. These steamers gradually under-
went an evolution to the type figured, described,
and illustrated above. The whales being killed,
were towed ashore to a coastal station for treatment.
The Finmark fishery, which commenced about
1889, was concerned with four species of Finner
Whale; the Blue Whale, which was estimated at

268 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

this time to be worth one hundred and fifty pounds,
of which the whalebone furnished sixty pounds ; the
common Finner (B. musculus) worth one hundred
and twenty-five pounds (whalebone fifteen pounds) ;
the Humpback worth also one hundred and twenty-
five pounds ; and the Sei Whale worth forty to forty-
five pounds, to which the whalebone contributed
ten pounds. These estimates are, of course,
averages.

In 1896 there were twenty-nine steamers off
Finmark, and eighteen off Iceland, engaged in the
slaughter of Finner Whales. In 1897 the
numbers were respectively twenty-fi^e and twenty-
three.

In 1896 the number of Finners slaughtered was
two thousand, in 1897, it was one thousand nine
hundred.

The average number of Finners killed per
annum by the Norwegians was :

For the whole area: — 1876-1885 347

1886-1895 1,107

1896 2,081

1897 1,888

In Finmark alone, thirteen thousand four hundred
and ninety-one whales were killed in twenty-seven
years. A third whale fishery practised in northern
waters at this time was that for the Grindhval or
Pilot Whale, which was captured by the inhabitants
of the Faroes, Orkney, and Shetland Islands.
From 1801 to 1879 no less than seventy-eight
thousand two hundred and ten Pilot Whales were so
killed; an annual average of nine hundred and ninety.

THE LAST PHASE OF WHALING 269

The hunt for the Bottlenose Whale commenced,
according to the Norwegian official fishery statistics*
in 1 88 1, when a vessel, which was specially fitted
out for this fishery, captured thirty-one Bottlenose
Whales. In 1884 nine vessels, one of which was
a steamer, captured two hundred and eleven Bottle-
nose Whales. These vessels were quite small, the
average crew being about ten men. The Bottle-
nose does not swim in schools, usually a small
number of individuals, from three to six, swimming
together, keeping to water in which the average
temperature is 39° F., i.e., where the Gulf Stream
and Arctic waters mix. The first hunter of the
Bottlenose was the well-known Scottish whaler,
David Gray, who, in 1881, in the steamer Eclipse,
captured twenty of this species. The oil of this
whale is of superior quality, and the chase for it
consequently developed very rapidly, so that by
1891 there were seventy Norwegian ships in the
trade, killing two thousand whales of this species
annually. The Bottlenose, in July, was found
between 72° and 64° N. Latitude and 2° and
12° W. Longitude, wKere the temperature of the
water varied from o° to 8° C. In this area the
vessels engaged in the chase of the Bottlenose
cruised to and fro. It was especially numerous
on the boundary of the Gulf Stream and Arctic
waters, where the temperature varied greatly in
small areas. According to the whalers the Bottle-
nose goes north in spring and early summer, in mid-
summer it migrates south, where it is captured off

270 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

the Faroes in July. The Bottlenose feeds entirely
on cephalopods.

The Scottish fishery in Arctic waters and between
Greenland and North America has a long and
interesting history. By 1898 this industry was
obyiously moribund. Mainly, and originally
exclusively, devoted to the capture of the Green-
land Right Whale, the Scottish whalers, towards
the end, omitted no opportunity of making a
paying voyage, and consequently were not above
taking the White Whale, the Narwhal, and the
Bottlenose; even seals were captured.

The Greenland Right Whale, the White Whale,
and the Narwhal, are exclusively Arctic creatures.
In 1870 an average Greenland Whale was worth
from one thousand two hundred to one thousand
five hundred pounds. Since then the price of oil
has materially diminished — the whalebone, on the
contrary, increased in price.

According to David Gray the Peterhead whalers
killed from 1788 to 1879 no less than four thousand
one hundred and ninety-five Greenland Whales;
the Dundee fleet for the similar period capturing
four thousand two hundred and twenty. These
statistics should be contrasted with the slaughter
of the Finners by the Norwegian whalers, which
at the end of the nineteenth century reached the
annual figure of two thousand.

The decline of the Scottish whaling fleet towards
the end of the nineteenth century was most marked.
In 1868 there were thirty-nine vessels, of which

THE LAST PHASE OF WHALING 271

fifteen were steamers. In 1873 Dundee sent out
ten steamers of three hundred to four hundred tons,
and thirty-six to seventy horse power. The
voyage of the Arctic described by Markham, has
already been referred to (see p. 256).

The last years of the nineteenth century showed
the Scottish Arctic whaling fleet to have practically
reached its vanishing point:

No. of vessels. No. of whales captured.

1890 17 12

1891 12 17

1892 ii 9

1893 7 33

1894 9 20

1895 8 17

1896 9 ii

1897 10 13

1898 7 8

In 1901 there were five steamers from Dundee
and one from Peterhead. By this time the whalers,
finding it did not pay to confine themselves
exclusively to whaling, captured any other animal
which would help to make a profit. The total
catch of these six steamers was fourteen and a
half Greenland Whales, seven hundred and thirty-
eight White Whales, four hundred and twenty
walrus, three thousand four hundred and thirty
seals, one hundred and forty-nine polar bears,
yielding altogether two hundred and sixty tons of
train oil and one hundred and sixty-three and a
half hundredweights of whalebone, the price of the
latter being one thousand two hundred and fifty
pounds per ton.

272 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

Coastal whaling has been practised in Japan for
centuries, and the industry there is at least as old
as the earliest Basque fishery. The whale is
extensively used as human food in Japan. There
are several Japanese books dealing with this fishery,
notably one published by Koyamada at Yedo in
1829. In 1889 the Japanese whale trade was worth
seven thousand five hundred pounds. Since then
the Japanese have adopted the modern type of
whaling steamer, and the industry has developed
considerably.

Before the end of the nineteenth century
attention was directed to the last virgin field for
whalers — the Antarctic.

In the autumn of 1891 the Tay Whale Fishing
Company of Dundee sent four of their steamers to
the Falkland Islands, and thence to the Antarctic,
where they remained from December, 1892, to
February, 1893. The Scottish oceanographer and
explorer, W. S. Bruce, was on board one of these
vessels, the Balcena. Many seals but no whales
were captured, and the voyages were not successful
financially. Right Whales were not observed, but
Blue and Bottlenose Whales were numerous. In
1893 a Hamburg company sent a steamer to try
whaling and sealing in the Antarctic, and in 1894
two additional steamers. These vessels occupied
themselves exclusively with sealing; only a few
Bottlenose Whales were seen.

The next attempt was Norwegian, on the steamer
Antarctic, from 1893 to 1895. This vessel, which

THE LAST PHASE OF WHALING 273

together with its outfit, cost five thousand pounds,
was well equipped with boats, gun harpoons, and all
the apparatus necessary for the capture of the Sperm
or Right Whale. On their voyage to Kerguelen
they encountered large schools of Finners, for the
capture of which their equipment was not suitable.
After a between-season's Sperm whaling, the
Antarctic set off in winter (Antarctic summer), of
1894 to a cruise in the Antarctic opposite Australia.
Many Finners were again seen.

As a result of an expenditure of over five thousand
pounds the Norwegians concluded that the Right
Whale was not present in summer-time in the
Antarctic pack ice in sufficient numbers to make
commercial whaling profitable. In fact, they do
not appear to have reported the Right Whale at all
in Antarctic waters. The whales they saw off Cape
Adare (South Victoria Land) in January, 1895, were
Finners.

Only half a century before this Ross (1843), on
his return journey to Cape Town from the Ant-
arctic, mentions seeing from five hundred to six
hundred whalers fishing off Kerguelen for Right
Whales. Most of these ships were American, and
the bulk of them made good voyages. Such an
enormous destruction had taken place that in 1893
only a few small vessels prosecuted this fishery with
doubtful success.

The voyage of the Antarctic, however, made it
clear that with suitable equipment a profitable fishery
for Finners could be carried on in the Antarctic, since

274 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

hardly a day passed without these whales being
observed. The great development of this fishery
followed in the twentieth century.

The modern development of whaling through the
instrumentality of small specially built steamers for
the killing and capture of the whale was extra-
ordinarily successful for a time. From its com-
mencement in 1880 in northern Europe it made
enormous strides. From Norway it extended to
Iceland (1889), the Faroes (1892), and ultimately
to the British Isles. A Norwegian company com-
menced in the Hebrides in 1895, but it was not until
1903 that the industry became firmly established in
the Hebrides and Shetlands. This was a direct
result of the prohibition of the pursuit, shooting or
killing of whales by the Norwegian Government in
the territorial waters of the districts of Nordland,
Tromso, and Finmarken, or the landing of whales in
these districts for a period of ten years from the
ist February, 1904. This legislation was due to the
protests of the local fishermen of those districts
against the whalers, culminating in the " Mehavn
Riots." The fishermen believed that the presence
of whales was coincident with the appearance of fish
off the coast, and they attributed the decline of the
fishing to the great destruction of the former by the
whalers. Whatever view be taken of the fishermen's
complaints, there can be no doubt that this legislation
caused the migration of the whalers to the British
coasts.

In 1903 two Norwegian companies, the " Nor-

THE LAST PHASE OF WHALING 275

rona " and the " Shetland," commenced operations
on Ronas Voe, a narrow winding inlet of the sea
on the north-west of Mainland (Shetlands). In
1904 two other companies set up stations in the
Shetlands, the " Alexandra " (Norwegian) at Colla
Firth, and the " Olna " (Danish) at Olna Firth.
The first three had one steamer each in 1904, and
the last named four.

In 1904 two stations were also started in the
Hebrides, one being Norwegian, the other a Dane.
At first these companies worked without any restric-
tions, but speedily complaints were heard from the
local herring fishing interests; so that in 1904 the
Secretary of State for Scotland appointed a Com-
mittee of Inquiry into whaling and whale curing in
the north of Scotland.

The whale first sought by these Norwegians was
the large Finner (Balcznoptera musculus) which is
found from thirty to eighty miles from land to the
north and north-west of the Shetlands. The next
important species was the Sei Whale (B. borealis)
with occasional Sperm, Blue, Bottlenose, Hump-
back, and Northcaper Whales. (See return,
Appendix V.) The complaints of the local fisher-
men were of two main kinds: (i) That the harrying
of the whales injured the herring fishing. (2) That
the treatment of the carcasses caused a nuisance and
danger to health.

The latter complaint is clearly one which is capable
of being properly controlled and, indeed, the whaling
companies practically admitted that any serious

276 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

nuisance was solely due to the difficulties attending
the inauguration of the industry. At the same time
it is obvious that any treatment of huge carcasses
such as those of the whale is bound to be associated
with offensive odours, and the works are only allow-
able in remote districts as far as possible from human
habitation. The real ground of complaint was that
of interference with the herring fishing, an important
industry in the Shetlands. In 1903 there were one
hundred and fifty-seven herring curing stations in the
Shetlands, the total herring cured amounting to
four hundred and sixty-six thousand and forty-
eight barrels ; employment being afforded to
seventeen thousand four hundred and ninety-one
persons.

The herring fishermen object to the killing of the
whales because the spouting of the whale is often
an indication of the presence of the shoals of herring.
There is, however, some conflict of opinion as to
whether the whale indicating the presence of the
herring is of the same species as that sought by the
whalers. The whalers state that their operations
are carried on as a rule above thirty-five miles from
the land, whereas the herring fishery of the Shetlands
is in the main carried on within that distance. The
whalers specialise in the capture of the F inner, and
they state that it is the smaller " Herring Hog,"
worthless from their point of view, that points out
the herring shoals to the Shetlanders. Other points
urged by the herring fishermen were that the whales
drive the herrings towards the shore and the nets,

THE LAST PHASE OF WHALING 277

and that the whaling steamers disturb the shoals
both with their propellers and their harpoon
guns.

The Departmental Committee took evidence at
several places in the Shetlands and at Peterhead.
They also visited and inspected the Colla Firth and
Ronas Voe whaling stations. As a result of their
inquiries they decided that while unrestricted whaling
might be a possible danger to the herring fishing,
there were no valid reasons for the total prohibition
of whaling. The latter would probably lead either
to the establishment of floating factories or to the
working of the Shetland grounds from the Faroes
where the whalers would be beyond British control.
The Committee believed that the new industry might
prove to be beneficial, and afford a source of employ-
ment to the inhabitants of the Shetlands. Whaling
ought, however, to be restricted. " Unrestricted
whaling would be an evil on other grounds than its
possible danger to the herring fishery. It could not
last long. The Basque and the Greenland whaling
industries came to an end by the practical extermina-
tion of the species pursued. With the means of
destruction now brought to deadly perfection the
same fate would overtake the Finners off our coasts
in a very short time. That would be an evil in
itself, and, while a few companies might go
out of the business with a large profit, the local
industry would be brought into being only to
perish in a few years, and leave the inhabitants worse
off than ever." It should be clearly understood that

278 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

the capital and labour of these companies is entirely
Norwegian. The local inhabitants are only em-
ployed in insignificant numbers as labourers and
unskilled workers. Even the stores are brought
from Norway.

The Committee made the following recommen-
dations :

That no person or company shall kill whales off
the coast of Scotland or land them in Scotland with-
out a licence from the Secretary of State for
Scotland.

That the licensee shall be a British subject or a
company registered in Great Britain.

That a licence duty of substantial amount (that
in Canada is five hundred pounds) be imposed and
paid to the County Council, on which the cost of
inspection shall be a first charge.

That no licensee shall haye more than one
steamer, to be registered in Great Britain, and that
tow-boats shall be prohibited.

That the six existing companies may obtain
licences for three years, but liable to be withdrawn
within that period on payment of compensation, and
subject to these other regulations.

That for three years no more licences be granted.

That the licensee shall be bound to make such
returns on any matter connected with the whaling
business, as the Secretary of State for Scotland
shall require.

That the regulations shall not apply to the
capture of the small " Ca'ing " Whale, but that

THE LAST PHASE OF WHALING 279

that shall be subject to regulation by the Local
Authority under the Public Health Acts.

That regulations for the treatment of carcasses
of whales in the stations or factories shall be made
by the Local Authority with the approval of the
Local Government Board.

That such regulations shall include provisions
(a) that any whale brought to the station shall be
carried into the factory and flenched within forty-
eight hours after the arrival of the steamer, and all
the meat removed from the bones, and the bones
boiled within sixty hours, (b) that no part whatever
of the carcass, including the blood, is to be returned
to the sea or exposed on the beach or ground except
as regards the blood, in such quantity as the Local
Authority may consider unavoidable and innocuous.

That whaling shall be prohibited within the
three mile limit of the territorial waters.

That whaling shall be prohibited from ist
November to the 3ist March.

That no person shall pursue or kill a whale
within a mile of a boat anchored or engaged in
fishing, or half a mile of any other boat.

That it shall be lawful for His Majesty by Order
in Council to prohibit the capture and killing of
whales during the summer herring fishing, within
forty miles from land, and the landing of whales
captured and killed within that limit for such
period, not longer than five weeks, as he may
prescribe.

That it shall be unlawful to kill whales under

280 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

forty feet in length, or whales accompanied by a
calf.

Many of these recommendations were embodied
in the Whale Fisheries (Scotland) Act of 1907,
which empowered the Scottish Fishery Board to
exercise a general control over the industry.

Whaling is only allowed under licence from the
Board ; the conditions under which the industry may
be carried on are prescribed, as are the penalties
to be imposed for infringements of the regulations.
The Board are also authorised to collect statistics
of the industry.

In 1919 the Scottish Fishery Board appointed
another Committee to inquire into the Scottish
Whaling Industry. This Committee reported
early in 1920, and recommended that, having
regard to the practically unanimous belief of the
fishing industry, and the inhabitants of Shetland
generally, concurred in by the fishing and curing
interests of both Scotland and England as to the
injurious effects of whaling operations, such
operations from stations in Shetland should now
be prohibited; and they further recommended that
the Whale Fisheries (Scotland) Act of 1907 should
be amended, so as to exclude whaling from
Shetland.

In 1920 there were three whaling stations at work
in Scotland, at Bunaveneadar in the Island of
Harris, at Olna Firth and Colla Firth in the
Shetlands. There was one whaling station in
Ireland, at Elly Harbour in County Mayo. All

THE LAST PHASE OF WHALING 281

are under Norwegian management. The whaling
stations at Bunaveneadar and Elly Harbour cannot
possibly be injurious to the herring fisheries.

RETURN OF WHALING COMPANIES—IRELAND-

WHALES CAPTURED.

1909

1910

I9II

1912

1913

19141

1920

Blue (B. sibbaldi) ..

Finner (B. musculus)

101

Sei (B. borealis)

—

Humpbacks
(Megaptera boops) . .

—

Right (Balaena
biscayensis)

—

Sperm (Physeter
macrocephalus)

100

120

131

125

1 Only one company was engaged in whaling in 1914. There was no
whaling in Irish waters in the period 1915.19.

A similar Whale Fisheries Act was passed for
Ireland in 1908. It gave the Department of
Agriculture and Technical Instruction power to
issue licences for the establishment of whaling
stations in suitable places, and to impose restrictions
for the better control of the industry. The same
year a licence was issued to the Arranmore Whaling
Company to establish a factory in the Inishkea

282 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

Islands. This Company had been at work prior to
the passing of the Act, and its operations during
1908 resulted in the capture and treatment of
seventy-six whales of five species. This work gave
considerable employment to the islanders. A
licence was also issued to the Blacksod Whaling
Company for a station to be erected at Ardelly
Point, County Mayo.

The results of the operations of these two
companies are given in the above table.

In 1904 there were six Norwegian whaling
stations at the Faroes with ten whaling steamers.
The station at Lojpra on Sudero was the most
successful, its whaling grounds being ten to fifteen
miles to the southward towards the Shetlands,
where, indeed, whalers from the Shetlands were
encountered. The best month for whaling is
August.

This year at least two Norwegian companies
fished in Spitsbergen waters, one taking eighty-two
whales, and the other forty-five whales, in each
case mostly Blue Whales (B. sibbaldi). The
whaling commenced in the middle of June, and
lasted till the 25th August. Several companies
worked off Bear Island, one steamer capturing
seventy whales, of which fifty were Blue Whales.

Newfoundland whaling companies at the time
were hayjng small whaling steamers built in
Norway, of length ninety-six feet and beam
seventeen feet. The crew, consisting of ten men,
were Norwegians. These steamers captured

THE LAST PHASE OF WHALING 283

whales off the Newfoundland coast, towing them
ashore, where the preparation of the products took
place. It was in 1904 that the Norwegians com-
menced their operations in South Polar Seas, a
company being formed at Buenos Ayres to establish
a station on South Georgia. A whaling steamer
of considerably larger size than usual (one hundred
and five by twenty by thirteen feet deep) was
built in Norway for the South Polar whaling.
This was necessary on account of the longer
distance to be covered. The steamer could carry
one hundred tons of bunker coal, and was capable
of towing six Blue Whales. There were also two
vessels (a barque and schooner) to transport pro-
visions and other material from Buenos Ayres to
South Georgia and carry oil back. The personnel
was entirely Norwegian, but the capital Argentine.

This year the Scottish whaling fleet from Dundee
consisted of seven vessels, which fished in Hudson
Bay and Davis Strait. They captured eleven
Greenland Whales (Black Whales) with one
thousand one hundred and fifty barrels of train
oil and twelve thousand five hundred pounds of
whalebone, as well as one hundred and sixty-eight
White Whales, one thousand one hundred and
thirty-five seals, one hundred and nine polar bears,
two hundred and eleven foxes, and thirty musk-ox.

In 1904-5 the first Norwegian wintering expedi-
tions to Spitsbergen took place. These expeditions
were for general hunting and fishing purposes, and
were not confined to whaling.

284 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

One expedition captured twenty polar bears,
one hundred and five foxes (of which forty-seven
were blue fox), nine hundred pounds of bird-down,
one hundred and thirty reindeer, and sixty-five ton
of blubber. This vessel filled up with whale
skeletons, which the whaler had abandoned the
previous summer as worthless. A second wintering
exgedition in Storfiord captured sixty-eight polar
bears, twenty-three foxes (of which twelve were
blue fox), one hundred reindeer, twenty-five seals
(Phoca barbatd), one walrus, three hundred skins,
and four hundred and fifty kilograms of bird-
down.

In 1905 the whaling at Iceland was excellent;
in Spitsbergen the whalers took from eighty-three
to one hundred and twenty-three whales, the latter
number including eighty-six Blue Whales, and
yielding four thousand seven hundred and eighty-
two barrels of blubber.

The total catch of whales by the Norwegians in
Spitsbergen in 1905 was five hundred and fifty-
three. The number of steamers at work was fifteen,
and the barrels of oil produced were seventeen
thousand four hundred and sixty, all of first quality.

The total Norwegian catch at Spitsbergen,
Iceland, the Faroes, and the Shetlands amounted
to two thousand five hundred and ten whales, and
seventy-three thousand three hundred and twenty
barrels of oil.

The whaling station started in the previous year
in South Georgia was extraordinarily successful,

THE LAST PHASE OF WHALING 285

one hundred whales being captured up to June,
1905 (six months' fishing), comprising Finners,
Blue, and Humpbacked Whales. This company,
the " Sociedad Argentina de Pesca " was managed
by a Norwegian whaling captain, Larsen.

Prior to 1906 the Norwegians had gone in
extensively for whaling off the Japanese and
Korean coast, but in that year the Japanese
Government forbade foreigners to whale in
Japanese waters. Whaling is only permitted to
Japanese companies flying the national flag. At
this time, off the Japanese coast near Sendai, the
Spermaceti Whale was still captured.

In 1906 the British Government issued an order \, '
regulating the whale fisheries of the Falkland
Islands and neighbouring waters. A permit or
licence to fish had to be obtained at a cost of
twenty-five pounds. There was a royalty on each
whale caught at the following rates: Right Whale
ten pounds; Sperm Whale ten shillings; other
whale five shillings. The Ordinance was repealed
and the whale industry is now regulated by
Ordinance 5 of 1908 and amending Ordinances.
A licence fee is payable, but no new licences are
granted, other than renewals of annual licences
already issued. The killing or shooting of any
whale calf, or any female whale, which is accom-
panied by a calf, is prohibited.

In 1910 whaling was successful at all the
customary stations, viz., the Shetlands, the
Hebrides, the west coast of Ireland, the Faroes,

286 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

Spitsbergen, Iceland, South Georgia, South
Shetlands, the Falkland Islands, Kerguelen, the
Chile coast, South and West Africa. As this was
one of the most successful years for the Norwegian
whalers, leading to an enormous development and
expansion in the next two years, a short resume is
given.

Seven companies were at work in the British Isles,
and these, with sixteen steamers, killed sqven
hundred and twenty-four whales, yielding twenty
thousand eight hundred and sixty casks of whale oil.
The average yield per steamer was one thousand
three hundred casks of oil, compared with one
thousand seven hundred and fifty in 1909, one
thousand three hundred and eighty-three in 1908,
one thousand five hundred and seven in 1907, one
thousand three hundred and eighty-eight in 1906,
one thousand four hundred and thirty in 1905, and
one thousand four hundred and seventy-seven casks
in 1904. In addition to this there was manure and
cattle food. Of the rarer whales, eight Sperm
Whales and seventeen Nordcapers were killed.

At the Faroes there were six companies engaged
with fourteen steamers, yielding ten thousand one
hundred and fifty casks of oil, the number of whales
is not given. The average per steamer was seven
hundred and twenty-five casks against eight hundred
and fifteen in 1909, seven hundred and three in 1908,
one thousand in 1907, eight hundred in 1906, one
thousand two hundred and forty-seven in 1905, and
one thousand and eighty-eight in 1904. In 1909

THE LAST PHASE OF WHALING 287

the Sei Whale formed eighty per cent of the total,
whereas in 1910 these whales were relatively fewer.
In 1909 the Common Finner (Balcend'ptera mus-
culus) was relatively scarce, whereas in 1910 it
formed over sixty per cent of the total whales
captured. Four Sperm Whales and two Nordcapers
were killed in 1910 at the Faroes. In Iceland six
companies worked with thirty-two steamers, killing
six hundred and forty-nine whales, which yielded
twenty-two thousand six hundred casks of oil.
Four of the companies had factories for the manu-
facture of guano. Four of the companies had their
stations on the east side of the island, and only two
on the west side. The average yield of oil per
steamer was seven hundred and fifty casks, compared
with one thousand and sixty in 1909, nine hundred
and seventy in 1908, one thousand three hundred and
seventy in 1907, eight hundred and sixty-four in
1906, and one thousand five hundred and forty-five
in 1905. The whales were chiefly Finners, but
several Blue Whales and Humpbacks were captured.
At Spitsbergen there were two Norwegian whaling
companies at work in 1910 with six steamers, killing
one hundred and sixty-five whales, yielding five
thousand four hundred casks of oil. One of the
companies had a shore station in Green Harbour in
Icefiord, the other company working a floating
factory. The average yield of oil per steamer was
nine hundred casks, compared with seven hundred
and sixteen in 1909, four hundred in 1908, six
hundred and nineteen in 1907, seven hundred and

288 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

five in 1906, and one thousand and sixty-six in 1905.
The floating factory had only twenty-seven casks of
oil per whale, whereas the shore station produced
thirty-six casks per whale. The ice conditions in
1910 were fairly good. Most of the whales captured
were Blue Whales, but four Bottlenose were among
the slain.

The total yield in northern waters in 1910 was
about fifty-eight thousand five hundred casks of oil,
and about sixty thousand sacks of guano and cattle
food.

In southern waters there was a marked increase of
whaling. In South Georgia six companies worked
with fourteen steamers, yielding one hundred and
three thousand casks of oil; two of the companies
also producing guano.

One of the shore stations erected here was the
largest hitherto known. Over four thousand whales
were killed, mostly Humpbacks, the average yield
per whale being twenty-six casks of oil.

At the South Shetlands there were three
Norwegian companies at work in 1910, with eight
steamers, killing one thousand five hundred and
sixty-one whales yielding thirty-two thousand five
hundred casks of oil. In addition, there was another
company worked by Norwegians with Chilian
capital, employing three steamers, killing four
hundred whales and yielding eight thousand casks of
oil. The majority of whales killed here were also
Humpbacks, but one hundred and fifty Blue and
three hundred Finners were among the slain. The

THE LAST PHASE OF WHALING 289

greatest catch was made on the coast of Graham's
Land, from whence the whales were towed to
Deception Island.

On the Chilian coast there was one Norwegian
company working with a shore station at Corral i
Valdivia. With two steamers they got seven
thousand casks of oil and about three thousand sacks
of guano. The whales killed were principally Blues
and Humpbacks; Sei Whales were also seen, but
not hunted. A second company had a station south
of San Pedro, and a third (Chilian) company worked
from Puntas Arenas. This last company obtained
four thousand casks of oil, killing amongst others
twenty Right Whales.

At Kerguelen one Norwegian company was at
work with a fixed station, hunting sea-elephants as
well as whales. Only eight-two whales were killed,
which yielded two thousand eight hundred casks of
oil, two steamers being engaged in the slaughter. A
floating factory, employing one whaling steamer,
utilised the carcasses of forty-one whales yielding
one thousand casks of oil. In South Africa a
company established stations at Durban and Saldana,
at which twenty thousand five hundred casks of oil
and large quantities of guano were prepared. Other
stations were established in Portuguese West
Africa; a summary of the Norwegian stations and
the dates of founding is given in Appendix VII.

A company at work in Newfoundland in 1909
employed seven steamers, killing five hundred and
eighteen whales (including eighty Blue Whales).

290 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

The Dundee Right Whaling Fleet is now reduced
to three vessels, which killed respectively five, three,
and seven Right Whales, returning with six thousand
five hundred, two thousand five hundred, and
fourteen thousand pounds of whalebone.

In 1910 the Norwegian Bottlenose Fleet consisted
of forty-two vessels, of which six ships from Tons-
berg killed one hundred and fifty-six whales, i.e.,
twenty-six each; twenty from Sandefjord killed six
hundred and fifty-seven whales or thirty-three each ;
thirteen from Aalesund killed three hundred and
forty-nine whales or twenty-seven each, and three
vessels from Stadten which accounted for forty-two
whales. Most of these whales were killed at Spits-
bergen. In 1909 there were thirty-eight ships, which
killed one thousand three hundred and seventy-eight
Bottlenose Whales.

The price realised for whaling products in 1910
was excellent. Most of the whale oil made in Japan
and Newfoundland was sold to the United States.
The world's production of whale oil can be estimated
at three hundred thousand casks in 1910. Of this
quantity about seventy thousand casks (barrels) was
disposed of in Christiania, one hundred thousand
casks or barrels were sold in Germany, Holland, and
Belgium, and a similar quantity in Glasgow. The
average price for quick delivery was forty-four ore
(about sixpence) per kilogram. Most of the oil of
the following season was sold in advance at
Glasgow at twenty-two pounds ten shillings per ton.

By 1911 it was estimated that over twenty

THE LAST PHASE OF WHALING 291

thousand whales were being slaughtered annually.
It is unnecessary to give detailed statistics each year,
those just given for 1910 give a fair idea of the
position at the end of the first decade of the twentieth
century.1

At the end of the first decade of the twentieth
century the whaling industry had practically passed
entirely into Norwegian hands.2 Prior to the out-
break of the great war (1914-8) this fishery had
attained extraordinary dimensions.

The prohibition of whaling off the Norwegian
districts of Nordland, Tromso, and Finmark by the
law of the 7th January, 1904, led to a great dispersal
of Norwegian whaling interests. This is seen to be
particularly noticeable in the southern hemisphere
from the following statistical table:

NORWEGIAN WHALING COMPANIES.
CATCH OF OIL.

Northern Southern

hemisphere. hemisphere.

igo6 47,200 barrels 4,200 barrels

1907 57,750 7,5oo

iQo8 69,000 21,000

iQog 57,ooo 7!»7oo

igio 45,500 137,600

igii 38,000 306,000

At the commencement of 1912 there were sixty
Norwegian companies at work, mostly with their
headquarters on the south coast of Norway at

1 For detailed statistics for igii, see C. Rabot, " La Nature,"
igi2. Translated into English in the Smithsonian Institution
Re-port for 1913 (1914)-

2 Hval-fangsten i. 1912. Sigurd Risting, Bergen, 1913.

292 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

Sandefjord, Larvik, and Tonsberg, though some
hailed from Christiania. Two firms were established
in the United States of North America and one in
Chile. The companies possessed in the aggregate
one hundred and fifty-seven whaling steamers of the
general type described (see p. 264) with eleven
transport vessels and thirty-seven floating factories,
thirty land stations, nine guano works with thirteen
factories for the preparation of canned whale meat
and cattle food products.

The capital of these concerns differs considerably.
That of the smallest was nominally one hundred and
twenty thousand kronen (about six thousand seven
hundred and fifty pounds), the largest two million
kronen (one hundred and twelve thousand five
hundred pounds). The dividends varied greatly,
but that of one company established on the South
Georgian coast was one hundred per cent.1

The chief whaling areas are in the northern
hemisphere, Alaska, the Shetlands, Ireland,
Iceland, the Faroes, the Hebrides, Spitsbergen;
in the southern hemisphere,2 the Australian coasts,
Chile, South-east Africa, West Africa (Elephant
Bay), East Africa (Mozambique), the South
Shetlands, South Orkneys, South Georgia, the
Sandwich Isles and Kerguelen.

Concessions are obtained for lengthy periods,

1 See Emil Diesen, " Tabellarisk Oversight over de vigtig-ste
norske hvalfang-erselskaper," Feb. ,^1912. (I kommission hos
Grondahl u Son, Christiania.)

8 T. E. Salvesen, " The Whale Fisheries of the Falkland
Islands and Dependencies," Scottish National Antarctic Ex-
pedition, Edinburgh, 1914, PP- 479-86, with 4 plates.

THE LAST PHASE OF WHALING 293

mostly for fifty years. Prior to the outbreak of
war the general opinion in whaling circles was that
future prospects were good, although, since the
industry is highly speculative, there is no certainty
about it. In many districts, especially in the
extreme south, success is dependent to some extent
on the weather, which in the Antarctic is extra-
ordinarily inclement.

A considerable fall in the price of whale oil
owing to increased production was at the time not
improbable. This price also depends to some
extent on what other oils are on the market, such
as cotton seed oil, linseed oil and others. In
1911-2 whale oil had declined in a comparatively
short time from twenty-four pounds to eighteen
pounds per ton.

The table (Appendix VII.) shows the position
of the Norwegian whaling companies in 1912,
following the boom year in 1911.

Generally speaking, one ton of whale oil fills
six barrels. The species of whale yield oil at the
following rate : Blue Whale (Balcenofotera sib-
baldi} fifty to sixty barrels; the Greenland Whale
sixty to seventy barrels; the Finner (Balcenoftera
musculus) thirty-five to forty; the Humpback
(Megaptera) twenty-five to thirty-five; and the Sei
Whale (Balceno'ptera borealis) five to ten barrels.
All these, it will be noted, are whalebone whales.
One ton of whalebone would be worth from thirty-
nine to forty-five pounds.

Recently the Norwegian whaling interests have

294 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

formed a combine " Den norske Hvalfanger-
lorening " under the direction of members from
Christiania, Tonsberg, Sandefjord, Laryik and
Haugesurid. Just before the war broke out, this
combine was seeking to get in touch with other
whaling companies and associations. Their main
object was to control the selling price of the articles
produced by the whaling companies.

Quite recently State control of whaling has been
Hr- inaugurated in those countries, the coastal waters
of which have been the resort of whalers. In Natal
the operations of whalers have of late been particu-
larly numerous. Commencing with the South
African Whaling Company of Sandefjord in 1908,
which paid a dividend of twenty-five per cent after
its first year's operations, a second Norwegian
Company — the Union Fishing and Whaling
Company — was founded in 1910. This company
was even more prosperous, paying a dividend of
fifty per cent after its first year's work.

The exports of whaling products from Natal
were :

In 1909, 27,414 pounds whalebone, value £325, to England.

171,693 pounds whale oil, value ,£11,184.
In 1910, 10,000 barrels and 1,600 tons oil.

700 tons fertiliser, and 1,600 tons whale meat for

preparation of the same.
37 tons whalebone.

For the whole of British South Africa, 1910:

879,852 pounds oil worth £61,403

Whalebone ,.. j, .*»- 1,840

Fatty Acids ... •.« 18,708

Miscellaneous ... ... ... ... ... 1,446

THE LAST PHASE OF WHALING 295

In 1911 a local company — African Whales, Ltd.
— was founded, in Park Rynie between Durban
and Port Shepstone, and proposals were afoot for
the formation of another company — the Durban
Whaling Company, Ltd. — at Durban. Early in
1912 there were four whaling companies in Durban,
with fifteen whaling steamers. The chief species
of whales off the Natal coast are the Humpback
(Megaptera doops), the Western Right Whale
(Bal&na australis), the Blue Whale, the Rorqual
or Sei Whale and the Sperm Whale. Of these the
Humpback is the commonest, the other four being
much scarcer.

The yield of the Natal whalers was :

1908 106 whales (including 104 Humpbacks).

1909 155 „ „ 149

1910 3d8 whales.

Up to this time whaling had been carried on near
the coast where the whales are found in the winter
months, from the middle of June to the middle of
November, and in the first two years with two, and
in 1910 with four steamers. In summer the whales
forsake the coast and seek colder waters. It is
reported that they are now getting more and more
shy and difficult to approach. There is a distinct
tendency on the part of the whales to abandon the
coast altogether, so that floating factories are
coming more into favour.

Whaling in Natal was in 1912 subject to a
licence fee of fifty pounds per annum, this super-
seding the older tax of five pounds per whale

2% A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

caught. There is no close time for whaling. Up
to 1912 there was no evidence of any falling off in
the numbers of the most numerous species, the
Humpback. There is some reason to believe that
the local Government is not prepared to grant
further concessions for whaling off the Natal coast.

The Portuguese colonies regulated whaling in
the Mozambique waters by a decree dated 27th
May, 1911, amended on 3ist August, the same year.
Up to that time the Government had granted seven
whaling licences for the Mozambique coast-line of
nine hundred miles.

Of these only one was at work, a Norwegian
company at Linga-linga in the district of Inham-
bane ; this company in its first year killed two
hundred and sixty-four whales, which were prepared
at a floating station.

A station at Angoche, after obtaining eight
thousand pounds worth of oil, removed to Mokambo
Bay on account of the lack of harbour facilities at
the former place. The New Transvaal Chemical
Company were about to start on an island off
Lorenzo Marques. The other four licences had
not been utilised up to the commencement of 1912.

Since the whaling industry in the Dependencies
of the Falkland Islands (i.e., South Georgia, the
South Shetlands, and the South Orkneys, being the
principal centres) is now one of the most important
of those yet remaining, a brief resume of the
conditions obtaining there is appended.

This whaling field has of recent years been more

THE LAST PHASE OF WHALING 297

productive than all the others in the world put
together, and its regulation is therefore a matter of
considerable importance.

Reference has already been made to the first
attempts at whaling in the Antarctic and to the first
company which worked at South Georgia in 1904.
The first whaling, in a modern sense, at the South
Shetlands, was in the season 1905-6. From 1909
to 1911 seven other leases were granted at South
Georgia. In both these localities whaling was
extraordinarily successful. By 1912-3 the number
of whale catchers in South Georgia had increased to
twenty-one, and in the South Shetlands to thirty-
two, to which totals the whalers were restricted by
the Government.

The following table gives the return of whales
captured at the Falkland Island Dependencies for
the nine last seasons for which the statistics are
available :

FALKLAND ISLAND DEPENDENCIES.

CAPTURE OF WHALES.
Right. Sperm. Blue. Fin. Humpback. Sei. Bottlenose.

iQog-io

3,391

—

IQIO-II

—

168

6,197

—

IQII-I2

1,261

2,321

7,936

—

IQI2-I3

2,277

4,899

3,474

—

I9I3-I41

2,441

4,288

1,598

I9I4-IS

4,203

3,894

1,489

—

I9I5-I6

4,871

5,102

i,797

—

I9I6-I7

3,820

2,208

399

—

I9I7-I8

2,268

i,77i

131

1 Statistics incomplete. 715 whales not accounted for in
detailed statistics.

298 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

During the war whale oil became of importance
as a source of glycerine, so Government restrictions
were relaxed and the number of whale catchers
allowed at South Georgia was temporarily increased
to thirty-two. Floating factories were, however,
diverted to war services elsewhere, and the number
of whale catchers at the South Shetlands fell off.
The whaling fleet suffered severe losses from
German submarines.

As will be seen from the above table, the great
majority of whales killed are Blue, Fin, and Hump-
back Whales. There has been a great decline in
the number of Humpbacks, and it would not be
detrimental to the industry if the slaughter of this
species were prevented for a number of years.
Experienced whalers can readily distinguish the
different species of whales, the Humpback, for
instance, being recognised by its spouting a very
short and broad jet of vapour.

It is doubtful how soon the ceaseless hunting of
the other Rorquals will lead to a serious diminution
in their numbers, but judging from the results in
other localities the time cannot be far distant when
other restrictions will have to be enforced if the
industry is to survive in this region, one of the last
haunts of the whale.

The practice of granting annual licences is
unquestionably correct, since it would be unwise for
the Government to tie itself down to granting
privileges for a term of years, by which time the
industry might become moribund. At South

THE LAST PHASE OF WHALING 299

Georgia the Humpbacks were not to be hunted
during the whaling season of 1918-9, and though
the F inner and the Blue Whale do not yet require
such protection, the statistics need careful study so
that Government action may be taken before it is
too late.

A close season would also appear to be desirable.
From the detailed statistics it is seen that the
whaling seasons slackens off considerably during
the Antarctic winter, and no hardship would be
involved if the period from the i5th May to the 3Oth
September were declared a close season. That the
dangers to the continued existence of the whale and
ipso facto of the whaling industry are not imaginary
a reference to the first chapter of this book will
prove.

The policy of the Government of the Falkland
Island Dependencies is also directed to the preven-
tion of unnecessary waste, since the uneconomical
use of material may involve the slaughter of three
whales where two would have sufficed to obtain the
same results. An extreme instance of the reckless
exploitation of a valuable natural asset is given
above in the description of the practice of the
American whalers off the Arctic coasts of America.

Evidence is forthcoming that the economy effected
is in inverse proportion to the number of whales
captured.

In seasons when whales are plentiful, the average
number of barrels of oil per whale of a given species
is conspicuously lower than in seasons when the

300 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

whales are less abundant. Floating factories are
less efficient in working up the products of the whale
than the shore stations, and consequently it is
desirable to restrict the use of floating factories as
far as possible. The fee for a whaling licence is
one hundred pounds ; for a floating factory not less
than one hundred pounds, or more than two hundred
pounds.

In 1921, owing to the great fall in the price of
whale oil, none of the Norwegian whaling companies
associated to the whaling combine (Den Norske
Hvalfangerforening) commenced operations at Ice-
land, the Faroes or the British Isles. One company,
Messrs H. M. Wrangell & Company, of Hauge-
sund, worked at the Faroes; this firm was not
a member of the combine. I am indebted to the
courtesy of Messrs Wrangell and their manager,
Captain J. Ellingsen, for a visit to this station at
Thorsvig in 1921. This year about ninety-seven
per cent of the catch were common finners, the
remainder being Blue Whales. Only one Nord-
caper had been taken up to the end of July, The
Sei Whale was not hunted owing to the abundance
of the larger and more valuable species.

A Spanish company, the Compania Ballerena
Espanola, opened a station early in 1921 near
Algeciras, early reports from this station recorded
abundance of whales.

LIST OF APPENDICES

GRANT TO THE FELLOWSHIP OF ENGLISH MERCHANTS FOR
DISCOVERY OF NEW TRADES, 1576-7.

STATISTICS OF THE BOUNTY SYSTEM AND THE GREENLAND
WHALE FISHERY, FROM THE COMMENCEMENT OF THE
BOUNTY IN 1734 TO ITS TERMINATION IN 1824.

Ill

STATISTICS OF THE BRITISH SOUTHERN WHALE FISHERY,
1800-34.

STATISTICS OF THE DUTCH WHALE FISHERY (iN DECENNIAL
PERIODS), 1670-1794.

STATISTICS OF WHALING IN SCOTTISH WATERS, 1904-20

VI
STATISTICS OF THE HULL WHALING, 1772-1852.

VII
RETURN OF NORWEGIAN WHALING COMPANIES, 1912.

301

APPENDIX I

GRANT TO THE FELLOWSHIP OF ENGLISH MERCHANTS
FOR DISCOVERY OF NEW TRADES (1576-7).

(Patent Rolls, 19 Elie., pt. xii.)

ELIZABETH by the Grace of God, etc., To all
manner our officers true liege men ministers and
subjects, and to all other our people as well within
this realm as elsewhere under our obeisance juris-
diction and rule or otherwise, to whom these our
Letters Patents shall be seen read or shewn.
Greeting.

We being given to understand by our faithful and
loving subjects Sir Rowland Heyward and Sir
Lionel Duckett, Knights, Governors of the Fellow-
ship of English Merchants for Discovery of New
Trades, that the said Fellowship do mind shortly to
attempt the killing of whales in the ocean and other
seas, for to make train oil to the great commodity
and benefit of this our Realm of England, And for
that purpose have already to their great costs and
charges procured certain Biscayans men expert and
skilful to instruct our subjects therein. We well
liking and allowing of this their attempt and enter-
prise as a thing likely to be very beneficial both for
the increase of our Navy and mariners and also for
furnishing of this our said Realm and Dominions

303

304 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

with so necessary a commodity, of our certain
knowledge free will mere motion special grace and
of our regal authority for Us our heirs and successors
by these presents do grant to the Governor or
Governors Consuls Assistants and Fellowship afore-
said and their successors for ever That they the
said Governors and their successors, by their factors
servants ministers deputies and assigns and none
other shall and may from henceforth for the space
of twenty years next ensuing the date hereof use
and exercise the killing of whales within any seas
whatsoever, and thereof to make train oil to their
most commodity and profit ; And further for Us our
heirs and successors, We do expressly enjoin
prohibit forbid and command all and singular person
and persons whatsoever as well denizens as strangers
and all other persons being in any wise subjects to
the Crown of England, being not of the said Society
or Fellowship, that they nor any of them shall kill
any whale to make train oil thereof, or shall hire or
set on work or cause or procure to be hired or set on
work directly or indirectly any person or persons to
kill any whale or make any oil thereof Upon pain
that all and every person or persons whatsoever
doing the contrary shall suffer imprisonment during
the will and pleasure of Us our heirs or successors
and not to be discharged thereof without special
warrant from Us our heirs or successors And also
to forfeit and pay to Us our heirs or successors the
sum of Five pounds of lawful money of England for
every ton of oil so made, one half to be to the use

APPENDICES 305

of Us our Heirs or successors the other half to the
use of the said Fellowship and their successors.
And to the intent this present grant may the better
effect to the encouragement of the said Fellowship
in this their enterprise and attempt our further will
and pleasure is and We straitly charge and command
all our Customs officers Comptrollers and other our
ministers of our ports that they nor any of them in
any wise during the said term of twenty years do
take any entry or make any composition of or for
any oil commonly called train oil which shall be
made of any whale that shall be killed or caused to
be killed by any Englishman or other person
inhabiting within this our Realm and brought into
this our Realm of others than the said Fellowship of
English Merchants for the Discovery of New
Trades or their successors factors or assigns upon
pain of our high displeasure. Provided always that
if the said Fellowship (etc.) by the space of four
years in time of peace shall discontinue or surcease
the killing of whales and making of train oil as is
aforesaid that then it shall be lawful to and for
every other of our subjects whatsoever to enterprise
and attempt the killing of whales and making of
train oil where they might lawfully have done it
afore this our special grant or license Anything in
this our special grant to the said Fellowship made to
the contrary notwithstanding.

In witness whereof, etc., witness ourself at
Westminster the XII day of February, per breue de
private sigillo.

306 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

APPENDIX II

THE BOUNTY SYSTEM OF THE

WHALE FISHERIES

(England only. The " British " or " Greenland " Fishery.)
ANNUAL AVERAGE

Years.

Rate of
Bounty.

No. of
Ships.

Tonnage

Bounty
Paid.

Remarks.

1734-9

20/- per ton

4'5

1,329

1,085

1740-9

30/- „ ,,

3'7

1,203

1,260

)3o/- per ton dur-
ing war with

Spain.

1750-9

4<>/- .. .»

43'3

13,812

27.175

1760-9

4<>/- .. .»

35*3

10,909

20,327

1770-6

4<>/- .. .»

65-2

19,652

36,046

1777-81

30/- ,, ,,

58-3

i6,775

25,096

1782-86

4°/- .» ».

94*2

28,756

57.49<>

1787-91

3°/- ,. ..

167*0

48,283

\ No information.

Documents

1792-94

25/- .. „

78-3

22,255

—

• destroyed in

Custom House

1795-1806

20/- „ ,,

71-8

20,901

—

J Fire.

1807-13

—

No documents
available.

1814-24

20/- „ ,,

130-0

41,482

40,156

NOTE. — The number of ships and tonnage (1733-84) are from a return
issued by the Custom House, London, of ships fitted out from Great
Britain for the Greenland Whale Fishery. The places from which the
ships were fitted out are in all cases given and the table clearly refers
to ENGLAND ONLY. Moreover, there is a separate return for
Scotland. The amount of bounty is from a separate table and refers
to the British Whale Fishery (1734-82). There is an additional table
showing the amount of bounty (all monies) paid in England for the
British Whale Fishery for 1783 and also for the Southern Whale
Fishery from 1777 to 1784. For 1789 and subsequent years the
statistics are taken from McCulloch " Dictionary of Commerce and
Commercial Navigation," London, 1832.

APPENDICES

307

W
CM

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308 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

APPENDIX IV
STATISTICS OF DUTCH WHALING

IN DECENNIAL PERIODS

Years.

Vessels
sailed to
Green-
land.

Whales
caught
Green
land.

Vessels
sailed to
Davis
Strait.

Whales
caught
Davis
Strait.

Remarks.

1670-79

981

5748

—

f War stopped whaling
(in 1672-74.

1680-89

1966

94871

—

1690-99

900

533i|

—

f War stopped whaling
(in 1691.

1700-09

1628

7935

—

1709-19

1407

4749i

—

1719-28

1504

3439

748

1251

1729-38

858

2198

975

1929

I739-I748

302

I04lJ

1047

5566

1749-1758

1337

4531

34<>

639*

1759-1768

1323

3016

294

820

1769-1778

893

3197

426

i339i

1779-1788

391

I698J

204

f War stopped whaling
(in 1781-2.

1789-1794

287

ion

Six years only.

NOTE. — The years 1709 and 1719 are included twice over in the
above table.

The statistics from 1670 to 1719 are from Zorgdrager " Bloyende
Opkomst der aloude en hedendaagsche Groenlandsche Visschery " ;
1719 to 1738 from Brandligt '• Geschiedkundige Beschouwing van
de Walvisch-visscherij " from 1737 to 1750 from the " Europische
Mercuur," the remainder from the " Nederlandsche Jaarboeken."

APPENDICES

ffi

H
H
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U

ffl

ro
ro

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J-x,

M M

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M

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Ivo

•<*•

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1 2

1 1

•

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£,

Balaeoptera mus

Iseoptera borealis

ose, Hyperoodon

lalseoptera sibbal

per, Balsena biscz
>ack, Megaptera

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H

ca ^J
0 CU

'S S

1 S

*!• A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

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(J
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APPENDICES

311

C/3

w
a

w
J

ffi

M H

g O

Cfl

H
U
E?

Q
O

a?
oo

1 1

«o

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CO

1 1

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1 1

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a
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1 1

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c«

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00

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w

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1 2

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CO

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oo

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M

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V?

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M O

M
M
CO

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o o

M O

fo
o
CO

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1
s

Manure . .

Salted meat
Spermaceti

312 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

APPENDIX VI

THE WHALING TRADE OF HULL

ANNUAL AVERAGES

Years.

Bounty.

No. of
Ships.

Value of Oil
and Bone.

Remarks.

1772-6

4O/- per ton

IO'

11,328

1777-81

30/- „ ,,

5'6

10,552

1782-86

4°/- „ „

10-4

20,209

1787-91

30/- „ „

27-6

33,4i8

1792-94

25/- ., »»

i8'3

32,522

1795-1806

20/- ,, ,,

29'3

102,826

1807-13

ao/- „ „

397

188,766

1814-24

ao/- „ „

54'5

215,203

1825-34

No Bounty

29-1

126,937

1835-44

I'2

2,129

1845-52

II'7

20,163

1 Munroe. Journal of the Statistical Society, London, March 1854, p. 34.

The years have been grouped to afford comparison with the pre-
ceding table of the whaling statistics for England under the bounty
system (App. No. 2). It will be seen that the Hull Whaling Trade
fluctuated considerably and apparently independently of the bounty
system. It was in 1834 that the great decline set in. The number of
vessels decreased from 27 in 1833 to 8 in 1834. The annual averages
of values of oil and bone are based on estimates made by Munroe and
are of doubtful reliability.

APPENDICES

313

Region.

Name of Company.

Headquarters.

Fo'ndcd

Capital.

Divu
F'm«r

lends
Last

Hebrides

Shetlands

Harpunen
Alexandra

Christiania
do.

1895
1904

200,000
182,000

20
IO

do.
do.

Norrona
Shetland

Sandefjord
Larvik . .

1903
in go's

350,000
170,000

Faroes

Emma ..

Tonsberg

1900

190,000

do.

Norddeble

Christiania

1897

250,000

do.

Sudero

Sandefjord

1901

400,000

do.

Verdandi

do.

1901

120,000

Iceland

Hekla ..

Haugesund

1902

400,000

J
15

do.

Talkna ..

do.

220,000

do.

Victor ..

Tonsberg

1890

400,000

do.

Victoria

do.

1912

150,000

Ireland
Spitzbergen
Arctic . .
WEST AFRICA

Blacksod
Nimrod
Oceana
Bas

do.
Larvik . .
Sandefjord
do.

1910
1906
1910
1910

164,000
145,000
200,000
350,000

—

5
5

do.

Haugesund

1911

528,000

do.

Kastor ..

Tonsberg

1911

800,000

do.

South Atlantic

do.

1911

800,000

do.
SOUTH AFRICA
South-east dp
East Africa .

Viking ..
South Africa . .
Mossel Bay . .
Capella

Sandefjord
do.
Tonsberg
Sandefjord

1909
1907
1911
1911

600,000
960,000
450,000
1,200,000

50
50

do.

•Mozambique . .

do.

1911

800,000

do.

Normanna

do.

1910

500,000

do.

Quilimane

Larvik

1911

700,000

Kerguelen
AUSTRALIA, S. & W

l^erguelen ..
Australia

Christiania
Tonsberg

1908
1911

968,000

1,000,000

do.

Dominion

Sandefjord

1911

850,000

do.

New Zealand . .

Larvik . .

1911

1,000,000

do.

West Australia

do.

1911

1,800,000

Tasmania . . . %

Spermaceti

do.

1911

700,000

do.

Antarctic

do.

1911

100,000

do.

South Pacific . .

Christiania

1912

800,000

___

N. America (east)

Norweg-Canadn.

do.

1911

400,000

do. (west)

Alaska ..

Sandefjord

1911

1,125,000

—

do.

Standard

do.

1911

—

do.

United States . .

do.

1911

1,500,000

S. America (east)

Brasilian

do.

1912

500,000

do. (west)

Corral ..

Bergen . .

1911

1,000,000

do.

Pacific ..

Sandefjord

1910

750,000

do.
South Georgia

Soc. Ballenera^
Bryde andDahls

do.
do.

1910
1908

500,000

—

do.

Condor

do.

1909

150,000

do.

Ocean ..

Larvik ..

1909

650,000

100

do.

Sandefjord

1906

400,000

do.
South Sbetlands

Tonsberg
Hektor

Tonsberg
do.

1907
1910

960,000
700,000

60
32

do.

Hvajen

Sandefjord

1910

—

do.

Nor

do.

1906

550.000

do.

Norge ..

Larvik

1910

650,000

do.

Odd ..

Sandefjord

1911

700,000

—

do.
South Orkneys

Sydhavet
Ornen

do.
do.

1908
1903

550,000
500,000

15
3°

25
60

do.

Rethval

Stabaek

1911

700,000

Brazil, S. Georgia
Tasmania, S. Shetland

Vik ..
LTaDoremus

Sandefjord
do.

1911
1910

1,000,000

—

E. Africa, S. Seas. .

Ostkysten

do.

1911

700,000

Okhotsk, S. America. Kosmos

do.

1910

700,000

—

BIBLIOGRAPHY

MOST of the important works published dealing with
the whale fisheries are included in the following list,
which is, however, by no means complete, since
references to periodical literature are for the most
part omitted. For the benefit of serious students
of the subject the following notes are given.

In the first place, the earliest organised whale
fishery — that of the Basques — has not yet been
properly investigated. Research at the Bibliotheque
Nationale at Paris or in the Archives of the Ministry
of Marine at Madrid would probably yield further
material for a proper appreciation of this trade in
relation to the maritime affairs of Northern Spain and
the Biscayan provinces of France during the time
when the Basque whale fishery flourished.

The connection of the oil trade of French towns
such as Bayonne with such English ports as Bristol,
which were early engaged in the soap trade and for
which whale oil was almost certainly used, has also
not yet been suitably investigated. Possibly some
of the older Bristol Archives or the books of the
older trading companies — such as the Society of
Merchant Adventurers of Bristol — would repay
perusal. So far as is known at present there is one

315

316 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

solitary record of a Bristol voyage to the whale
fishery of Newfoundland (1594) except for a
spasmodic effort on the part of Bristol in response to
the Bounty Act of 1 749.

Yet it is almost certain that Bristol, with its ancient
connection with the soap trade and its former
maritime supremacy, must have been closely con-
nected either with the whale fishery or its products.
The author has seen in the church of St Mary
Redcliffe at Bristol the " Rib of a whale from
Newfoundland "* which, according to the legend
current in the city, was the rib of a cow which
supplied the whole of the city with milk.

No connected account of the first British whale
fishery, that at " Greenland " (Spitsbergen), has yet
been written which can be compared with the corres-
ponding works of Miiller (Dutch) or Brinner
(German), and the second British venture in these
waters, that of the South Sea Company in 1724, is
still only accessible in manuscript form (in the British
Museum).

There is slight evidence that prior to the supposed
first British whale fishery at Spitsbergen, English
ships took part in whaling voyages to Norway or
Newfoundland. Diligent search may yet reveal
evidence of these voyages. Apart from the records
of actual whaling voyages, evidence of the train oil
and whalebone trade is to be sought in the Port
Books, a manuscript catalogue of which is to be

1 Figured in Traill and Mann, " Social England," Vol. ii.,
P. 673-

BIBLIOGRAPHY 317

found in the Literary Search Room at the Record
Office, London. The earlier Port Books (from
1275) will be found in the class of Exchequer, K-R,
Customs Accounts. The later Port Books, from
1565, are contained in one thousand four hundred
and sixty-four bundles which are indexed under the
port names.

A careful search of these MSS. would doubt-
less give evidence of an early trade in whale-
bone and trayne oil, e.g., there was a discharge of a
cargo including trayne oil by a ship of Holland at
Kingston-on-Hull in December, 1608, to one James
Scotus; on 22nd March, 1631, Richard Parkins
& Company, import two hundredweights of whale
fins (this man was afterwards prosecuted by
the Muscovy Company); on 5th September, 1633,
in the May e flower of Hull, Richard Parkins, junior,
from Greenland for the Company, one hundred and
twenty-two tons and a halfe of whaile oil, value three
thousand six hundred and fifteen pounds.

Another source of information is the Calendar of
State Papers. The student will find numerous
references indexed under such headings as: " Fish,"
" Fisheries," " Iceland," " Newfoundland," " Green-
land," and so on.

Another aspect of the case which merits careful
consideration is the history of the relations between
the authorised Trading Companies (e.g., the Mus-
covy Company) and the Interlopers, the chief of
whom hailed from Hull and London.

Later features of the whaling trade are naturally

318 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES

better known, but since a large amount of the
information is scattered in periodical literature, such
widely different sources as the San Francisco Call
and the Bamburger Wochenblatt giving valuable
material, it follows that here again further research
will prove profitable.

ADELUNG, JOH. CHR. Geschichte der Schiffahrten und
Versuche welche zur Entdeckung des Nordostlicfien
Weges nach Japan und China von verschiedenen
Nationen unternommen worden. Zum Behufe der
Erdbeschreibung und Naturgeschichte dieser Gegen-
den entworfen. Halle. J. J. Gebauer. 1768. 4to.
Met 19 gegrav. platen en kaarten.

AITZEMA, L. VAN. Saken van Staet en Oorlogh, in, ende
omtrent de Vereenigde Nederlanden (1621-1669).
s'Gravenhage, 1669. 6 vols. Folio.

ALDRICH, H. L. Arctic Alaska and Siberia or Eight
Months with the Arctic Whalemen. 1889.

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INDEX

ADMIRAL, 95, 170

Adventure, whaler, 187

Alborough, 98

Ambergris, 42

American whale fishery, 223-

Anderson, description of

whaling, 147-50
Andrews, R. C., 30
Annula, whaler, 95, 98
Antarctic, whaler, 272-3
Arctic Right Whale, 16-17
Arctic, whaler, 9, 259-61
Aurora, whaler, 196, 326
Azores, whaling at, 250

BACSTROM, 192
Balana antifiodarum, 16

australis, 16, 29, 295

— ' — biscayensis, 16, 17, 26-28,

88
japontca, 16

mysticetus, 16, 24-26

novce-zealandice, 16

Balano-ptera borealis, 19, 45,

275, 293

musculuSy 14, 45, 208,

275, 293

ro strata, 18

sibbaldi, 14, 19, 45, 293

" Baleinier," 62

Barents, 77-8

Barren, W., 257-8

Basques, 59-64, 66-7

Beale, 210, 215-20

Bearded Whale, 83

Beluga, 22

Bennett, 220-1 >

Blubber, 39, 43

Blue Whale, 14, 19

Bottlenose Whale, 20, 21, 269

Bounty system, 177-206, 231

Bowhead whale, 17, 24, 236

Brinner, L., 5

Bristol, 67, 75-6, 186-7, 3*5-6

Brown, 24

Browne, J. R., 250-1
Bullen, C., 202
Bunaveneader, 280-1
Burfield, S. T., 42

CACHALOT, 20

Ca'ing Whale, 21

Canadian Whaling Act, 55

Canning of whale meat, 252-3

Clayrac, 62, 64

Clio borealis, 24

Colnett, 210-15

Combine of whalers, 294, 300

Convoys, 170

Conway, 138-9

DAVIS STRAIT FISHERY, 168,

308

Delphinafiterus leucas, 22, 49
Delphinidae, 21
Departmental Committee on

whaling in Scotland, 277-80
Desire, whaler, 95
Diana, whaler, 93
Ducer6, E., 60

Eclipse, WHALER, 269
Economics of whaling, 39-58
Edge's description or the

fishery, 116-7
Elisabeth, whaler, 79-82, 88-

Elking, 163-4
Ellingsen, J., 300
Em-press of India, whaler, 257
Eschels, 175

FALKLAND ISL/ D WHALING,

50-1, 285,^296-9
Faroes, 286-7"
Fecundity of whales, 13
Finmark, 54, 267-8
Fin Whale, 14
Fischer, P., 61

Fitting out whalers, 72-3, 158-9
Flensing the whale, 43

333

334

INDEX

Flenslock, 161

Food, human, whales as, 252-

bod of whales, 14, 24, 30, 31,
33, 270
Fortune, whaler, log
Fotherby, R., gg, 102, 104
Four Brothers, whaler, 163
Foyn, S. , 264

Frankendaal, whaler, 172
Frau Elizabeth, whaler, 172
French whaling, 133-5, '74,

221-2

Frisians, 173-6
Fritters, 153

Gamaliel, WHALER, g4, g8

German whalers, 172-6

Grace, whaler, 75-6

Grace-de-Dieu, whaler, 133

Grampus, 14

Grand Bay Whale, 64

Gray, description of whaling-,

150-5

Greenland Company, 141, 144
Greenland Right Whale, 16,

24-26, 270-1.
Greenland, whaler, 200
Grey Whale, 15, 2g-3o, 243
Grindhval, 21, 268
Guldberg-, 23

HARPOON GUN, 264-5

Harisse, H., 66

Hebrides, whaling- at, 275-81

Herlofson, 42

Herring fishery and the

whalers, 275-80
Hjort, J., 31

Ho-pewell, whaler, go-g3
Hull, go-g3, 145-6, 186, ig3-6,

312, 317

Humpback Whale, 17, 30-37
Hvalfangerforening, 2g4, 300
Hyperoodon rostratus, 21

ICELAND, 135, 267, 287, 313
Interlopers, g3, i3g, 142
Ireland, whaling in, 280-1

Jacques, whaler, g6, 133
James I. and the Dutch, 111-2
Tames, whaler, 188
Jan Mayen, 157, 161, ig3
ansen, ng
Jansen, M., 172

Janssen, J., 172, 202

Japan, whaling, 215-6, 242-3,

272, 285
John and Francis, whaler,

95 » 98
Jonas im Walfisch, whaler,

156

KAT, H. D., 172
Kent, whaler, 215-20
Kerguelen, 28g, 2g2, 313
Killer Whale, 14
Kohler, igg-2O5
Kokujira, 30
Kuhn, J. M., 172

Lady Forbes, WHALER, 188
Lagoda, whaler, 236-7
Lagoon whaling, 240
Laing, J., igi
Laspeyres, 171
Lays, in whaling, 251
Leems, 87-8
Lion, whaler, 188
Liverpool, 187-8
London, g3, 145, ig2

MAAS BARTEN, 161
Making-ofF, ig2
Manby, G. W., 188, 205
Marsden, R. G., 115
Martens, 155-7, 202
Maria, whaler, 336
Markham, 2s8-g
Mary Margaret, whaler, 70,-

82, 88-g3

Matthew, whaler, g4
McCulloch, 208
Mediator, whaler, 213
Me garter a boops, 17, 30-37,

" Mehavn Riots," 274
Migrations of whales, 22-38,

269

Mooi, M., 171
Moriniere, N. de la, 50,
Morses, 78

Miiller, F., 5, 128, 316
Munroe, 312
Muscovy Company, 71, 7g, g3,

131, 141, 143
Mystacoceti, 15

NANTUCKET, 224-31, 233-4, 237
Narwhal, 21, 270
Natal, 2g4

INDEX

335

Neobalana marginata, 15
New Bedford, 228, 233-4, 236-7
Noah's Arke, whaler, 106
Noordsche Company, 126, 139
Nordcaper, 16, 26-28
Nordhoff, 250, 252
Norwegian whaling:, 264-300,
3i3

ODONTOCETI, 15, 19
Olmstead, 250-1
Olsen, O., 34, 36
Oranje Boom, whaler, 130
Ore a gladiator, 14
Otta Sotta, 85

^PACIFIC WHALING, 2 1 1-2 1

Pare, A., 62

Pay, rates of, 159, 189

Physeteridce, 20

Physeter macrocephalus, 20,
45, 208, 281, 309

Pilot Whale, 21, 268

Plans of whaling: steamer,
265-6

Pleasure, whaler, 109

Port Books, 316-7
v Portuguese colonies, 296

Posselt, 172-3

8UALITY OF WHALE OIL, 44
uantity of whale oil from
different whales, 45
Quatre - fits - Aymon, whaler,

Rattler, WHALER, 212-5 t
Rape seed, 68-9, 146
Raven, D. A., 130
Reguart, S., 211
Regulation of whaling-, 51-8,

274-85, 295-6
Rhachianectes glaucus, 15,

29-30
Richard and Barnard,

whaler, 95
Right Whales, 16
Ris, C., 170

Rising Sun, whaler, 192
Risting-, 34
Rorquals, 18, 19
Rousseau, whaler, 236
Rudolphi's Rorqual, 19

Saint Andrew, WHALER, 187
Saint Peter, whaler, 109-11

Salamander, whaler, 109
Sarah and Elizabeth, whaler,

219

Sarda, 64, 65, 83
Scammon, 246
Schiemann, 159, 175, 260
Scoresby, 39, 69, igi, 209
Sea Horse, whaler, 93, 192
Sedeva, 85
Sedeva negro, 86
Segersz, J., 118
Sei Whale, 19
" Sewria," 22, 86
Shetlands, whaling- at, 275-80
Sibbald's Whale, 18-19
" Skeljungr," 31
Slupsteven, 160
Smeerenburg, 126, 128, 129,

130, 192

Southern Right Whale, 17
Southern whale fishery, 207-22
South Sea Company, 180-3
Spermaceti, 40
Sperm Whale, 20, 208
Spitsbergen fishery, 70-176
Statistics, American, 238, 248

British, 209, 306, 307

Dutch, 197, 308
Falkland Island, 51, 297
Hull, 312
Ireland, 281
Norwegian, 268
Scotland, 271, 309-11
Swan, J. G., 253

Thomasine, WHALER, 102
Thorsvig, whaling station at,

300

Tigre, whaler, 94, 98
Toothed whales, 15
Traan, 39
Train oil, 39
Triton, whaler, 236
Troil, Von, 86-7
Truelove, whaler, 194-6, 258
Trumpa, 83
Tuscan, whaler, 220-1

UFFENBACH, 139

United States whale fisheries,

223-55
Untermaas barten, 161

VAL, 160

Value of whales, 268, 270

Vanhoffen, 22

336

INDEX

Vice- Admiral, 04-5
Vlieland, 78
Volunteer, whaler, 188
" Vqorganger," 160
Vrolicq, 134-5

WALRUS, 78

" Whalebone," 40

Whalebone Whales, 15

Whale, whaler, 0,3

Whaling- steamer plans, 265-6

Whitby, 1 86, 188-91

White Whale, 22, 4g, 267, 270-1

Witt, J. de, 164

Witte Paard, whaler, 172

YARMOUTH, 141, 145

Yield of oil from whales, ,45,

Yo^k, 141, 145
York, whaler, IQ3

ZESEN, F. VON, 138
Zorgdrager, 127, 157-61, 308

Printed for Messrs. H. F. &> G. Witherby by the
Northumberland Press, Ltd., Newcastle-on-Tyne.

14 DAY USE

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Full text of "A history of the whale fisheries : from the Basque fisheries of the tenth century to the hunting of the finner whale at the present date"

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