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Bulletin of the United States Fish Commission
AN ACCOUNT OF THE WHALE FISHERY OF NANTUCKET, MASS.,
ONE HUNDRED YEARS AGO.'
The vessels most proper for whale fishing are brigs of about 150 tons burthen, particularly when they are intended for distant latitudes; they always man them with thirteen hands, in order that they may row two whale-boats, the crews of which must necessarily consist of six - four at the oars, one standing on the bows with the harpoon, and the other at the helm. It is also necessary that there should be two of these boats, that if one should be destroyed in attacking the whale the other, which is never engaged at the same time, may be ready to save the bands. Five of the thirteen are always Indians; the last of the complement remains on board to steer the vessel during the action. They have no wages; each draws a certain established share in partnership with the proprietor of the vessel, by which economy they are all proportionally concerned in ' the success of the enterprise, and all equally alert and vigilant. None of these whalemen ever exceed the age of forty; they look on those who are past that period not to be possessed of all that vigor and agility which so adventurous a business requires. Indeed, if you attentively consider the immense disproportion between the object assailed and the assailants; if you think on the diminutive size and weakness of their frail vehicle; if you recollect the treachery of the element on which this scene is transacted, the sudden and unforeseen accidents of winds, &c., you will readily acknowledge that it must require the most consummate exertion of all the strength, agility, and judgment of which the bodies and the minds of men are capable, to undertake these adventurous encounters. As soon as they arrive in those latitudes where they expect to meet with whales, a man is sent up to the mast-head; if he sees one he imme- diately cries out, "Awaite Pawana" (,,Here is a whale"). They all re- main still and silent until he repeats Pawana (a whale), when in less than six minutes the two boats are launched, filled with every implement necessary for the attack. They row toward the whale with aston- ishing velocity; and as the Indians early became their fellow-laborers in this new warfare, you can easily conceive how the Nattick expres- sions became familiar on board the whale-boats. Formerly it often hap- pened that whale vessels were manned with none but Indians and the master; recollect, also, that the Nantucket people understand the Nat- tick, and that there are always five of these people on board. There are various ways of approaching the whale, according to their "From "Letters of an American Farmer," &c. London. 8°. 1782. Pp: 162-171. ---------------------------------------- 1SO BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. peculiar species; and this previous knowledge is of the utmost conse- quence. When these boats are arrived at a reasonable distance, one of them rests on its oars and stands off as a witness of the approaching engagement; near the bows of the other the harpooner stands up, and on him principally depends the success of the enterprise. He wears a jacket closely buttoned, and round his head a handkerchief tightly bound ; in his hands he holds the dreadful weapon, made of the best steel, marked sometimes with the name of their town, and sometimes with that of their vessel, to the shaft of which the end of a cord of due strength, coiled up with the utmost care in the middle of the boat, is firmly tied; the other end is fastened to the bottom of the boat Thus prepared they row in profound silence, leaving the whole conduct of the enterprise to the harpooner and to the steersman, attentively following their directions. When the former judges himself to be near enough to the whale, that is, at the distance of about fifteen feet, he bids them stop; perhaps she has a calf, whose safety attracts all the attention of the dam, which is a favorable circumstance; perhaps she is of a danger- ous species, and it is safest to retire, though their ardour will seldom permit them; perhaps she is asleep - in that case he balances high the harpoon, trying in this important moment to collect all the energy of which he is capable. He launches it forth - she is struck; from her first movement they judge of her temper, as well as of their future suc- cess. Sometimes in the immediate impulse of rage she will attack the boat and demolish it with one stroke of her tail; in an instant the frail vehicle disappears and the assailants are immersed in the dreadful element. Were the whale armed with the jaws of the shark, and as voracious, they never would return home to amuse their listening wives with the interesting tale of the adventure. At other times she will dive and disappear from human sight, and everything must then give way to her velocity, or else all is lost. Sometimes she will swim away as if untouched, and draw the cord with such swiftness that it will set the edge of the boat on fire by the friction. If she rises before she has run out the whole length, she is looked upon as a sure prey. The blood she has lost in her flight weakens her so much, that if she sinks again it is but for a short time; the boat follows her course with an almost equal speed. She soon reappears; tired at last with convulsing the element, which she tinges with her blood, she dies, and floats on the surface. At other times it may happen that she is not dangerously wounded, though she carries the harpoon fast in her body, when she will alternately dive and rise, and swim on with unabated vigor. She then soon reaches beyond the length of the cord and carries the boat along with amazing velocity; this sudden impediment sometimes will retard her speed, at other times it only serves to rouse, her anger and to ace accelerate her progress. The harpooner, with the ax in his hands, stands ready. When he observes that the bows of the boat are greatly pulled down by the diving whale, and that it begins to sink 'deep and to take much water, he brings the |