The Madisonian. [volume] (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]) 1837-1845, 1840-12-10
WHOLE NO. Ala.

land: and here arose several conflicting claims
TO the right of property in this dead monster
the Indians claiming il by right Of finding the
whites on the ground OF their ownership Of the
island, and the officers OF the clown Selling by
virtue Of the well-known principle OF the laws
OF England, giving to the king certain property
which is discovered 10 have no visible owner,
and in discussion which Mr.. Justice Blackstone,
if we remember right, specially designates
stranded whale. The matter was, however, al
length adjusted, and the white men who first
found il were permitted TO hold the property, The
whale having been previously Invested Of his
teeth.
To Christopher Hussey, Nantucket whale
man, belongs the honor of capturing the first
spermaceti whale, and his feat was first per-
formed during the year l7l2, SO far as it can be
ascertained. This man, while cruising near
the shore for right whales the species which
had been the principal kind captured by the
Nantucket whalemen, was blown off from the
shore and falling in with school Of that species,
he succeeded in capturing one, and towing him
into port This event gave a new impulse TO
| the whale fishery upon the ocean, for vessels Of
thirty tons were soon built for the purpose Of ex-
tending this traffic. These vessels were fitted out
for cruises OF about six weeks, and carried few
| hogsheads, capable OF containing the bubber Of
only one whale, which after they had captured
| they returned home, when the owners took the
blubber and prepared the oil for market, despatch
| ing the vessel upon another voyage. The boil
| ing was done in try houses, which were erected
near the landing, and the outfits and apparatus
were placed in warehouses; situated near the
| same place. The substitution of vessels for
boats constituted a new epoch in the expeditions
| of these Nantucket whaemen as the whales
were expected to be diminished and in l7l5,
| the number of vessels engaged in the whaling
business from this port was six, all OF them
sloops of from thirty to forty tons burthen, and
| producing fll0O, amounting in our currency to
$4 1888 SO.
| Such was the germ Of the whale fishery in
this country, and circumstances transpired which
were calculated TO extend its operations. Larger
vessels were soon introduced as motive for the
business increased, and the enlargement of their
number OF course required an additional number
| of men, SO that the island could not furnish the
| force TO man their ships. The deficiency was
however, supplied by seamen from Long Island,
as well as from various parts Of Cape Cod But
the consumption of oil did not increase with the
augmentation of the number of the ships and
the quantity Of oil which was Obtained In
deed, the domestic sale was frequently dull, and
the whale fishermen began TO look TO foreign
market. Boston, at this time, furnished the
chief depot for the oil Of the Nantucket whale
men, and 1t was customary for the merchants of
that city to order large quantities Of whale oil
from Nantucket and to export il 10 England in
their own vessels, from which traffic they deriv-
ed considerable ptofit, the oil of the island hav-
ing obtained very high reputation in Europe.
This fact aroused the people of Nantucket
TO their true interest, and they Immediately
adopted measures to export the products of
the fishery themselves, and accordingly TO reap
the profits. But although the prospects of sue
cess appeared bright, they moved with great
caution in this matter, knowing that the failure
of their enterprise would be attended with disas-
trous consequences. Accordingly, about the
year 1745 small vessel was loaded and de-
spatched to Europe with cargo Of oil. The
expedition was successful, and their shipments
TO England and other foreign ports were increas-
ed. This new field Of enterprise was attended
with double advantage, for while they secured
large profits on these voyages il was found that
the articles in the foreign ports to which their ships
were consigned, consisting of iron, hardware,
hemp, and sail-cloth, were precisely of the kind
which they wanted for the trade, and, being pur-
chased at cheap rate, they were admirably
adapted to their return cargoes.
But in the year 1855, the loss Of several fine
ships, with their crews, by the perils of the sea,
or by oapture-for il is well known that we were
then at war with France-threw temporary
blight over the traffic, although r continued to
increase, The ships were enlarged in size from
thirty TO one hundred tons burthen and more, as
whales had become scarce upon their own rang
ing grounds near the shore, and larger vessels
were required 10 advance further into the ocean.
number Of the larger class of vessels was de-
spatched TO Davis's Straits and the Western Is
lands, being provided with complete outfits and
while few made great voyages others came
home clean from the ignorance that then pre-
vailed respecting the courses of the winds, the
proper feeding grounds of the whales and of all
those other facts which could only be acquired
by experience. Whaling continued TO be the
main occupation ofthe inhabitants of that island,
while the attempts which were made to carry
on this pursuit in other parts of the country ap-
pear to have failed