The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1856-10-09
Gbt Mctb 4atitit dM9alemen's Slipping &1st:
New Bedford.

De calleu q T1gnG SLudIC place.. II IS one d IL
richest and most enterprising cities in the world in
proportion to its population. An equal division of it's
taxable property among its inhabitants, would give to
each man, woman, and child, more than fifteen hun
dred dollars. There is not, however, that variety Of
business here, which is generally to be found in many
other places, that goes to swell the general prosperity
and increase the taxable property Of the people but
its success depends almost entirely upon one branch
of industry and that is whale fishing. Whale fishing,
therefore, becomes the all-absorbing theme OF every
child, boy, and man. It is their beings end ana
aiGa." From the cradle to the grave they think and
talk of nothing so much as the building and hitting
out whaleships-catching whales, and giving light to
the world, and of filling their own Golfer with gain.
But they should no. be blamed for this-no, not st
all--for in this mammon loving age, the man who can
make the most money is the best fellow and he that
Iags behind IN the contest for getting rich has no right
to complain. Young America has got out Of his small
clothes, and is already fulfilling the mission Of his
manhood with rapid strides. 1t the rate he ia now
gong on, he will be further advanced in the arts and
sciences, and every thing else which constitutes ma
tional greatness, at the age OF three hundred years,
than any of the old countries have been st the age Of
three thousand years.
New Bedford and Fairhaven have about four hun
dred vessels engaged IN whale fishing. 1t requires
the labor of about 1000 men to sail and take care Of
this fleet OF vessels at sea, and about 5000 more to
manufacture and repair the various kinds Of ship fur
nlture at home such as pumps, blocks, cordage,
sails, spars, masts, and other tackle. The OIL taken
and brought home, IN these vessels, amounts to about
7,OOO,OOO gallons annually and IS valued at 81, 000,-
OOO. When brought home it is IN q crude state, and
has to be purified or manuflc .ured, as it is termed,
before 1t is fit for use. This is q different branch of
business from whale fishing, and one which requires
a large amount of capital and extensive grounds,
buildings, vats, hydraulic presses, and other costly
fixtures. Stearic candles are made in great quantities
from the refuse OF sediment of the press. Sperm can
dies, sperm and whale oil, and whalebone are the
products of whale fishing. The oil manufactured in
Inc winter is called % winter strained,' and that in
the summer is called "summer strained.'' All the
work connected with tha catohiOr Of whalpS- and the
trying and manufacturing Of oil, in all its details, is
what would generally be called by you Gland lub-
oers, IN the country. rather greasy - and liter
ally speaking it would not be far from the truth, as
the men employed in it, are generally !drenched and
saturated with oil from head to foot, and would be
quite as 1mpervious to water as would be a duck or
goose yet to those who are bred to the business little
or nothing repulslve or Objectionable appears and
young men enter into it with as much ayidity as to
any OF the industrial pursuits. For although it is
rather greasy" it brings clean money, and. often
tunes IN great piles, as the numerous rich men of the
CITY can testify, who came here poor boys, without n
shilling IN their pockets, but who nov can count their
wealth by hundreds Of thousands. No city in the
world can boast OF so many magnificent mansions,
palaces, and villas, with surroundings of parks, lawns,
groves, and gardens-the fruits OF individual enter
prise-according to its population, rs can the city Of
New Bedford. But all men who embark in this bust
ness do not get rich, but on the contrary many are
ruined by the overwhelming disasters Of the sea.
There is an uncertainty about it, like all other bust
ness. L have seen some men who have spent the best
part of their lifetime in adventures at sea-, and every
one had proved a failure. Sometimes the vessel had
been wrecked OF rocks or shoals, or driven upon some
desOlate island where for months the most intense
suffering had to be endured, with the loss of all the
property which untiring industry had for years been
accumulating. !
On one occasion, while visiting this CITY some time
since, the ship George Washington, 6O9 tons bur
then, returned to port after an absence of AZ months,
with 1850 barrels of oil valued at $350,000. This
was the largest and richest cargo ever taken by a SIM
ole vessel. Men are NOT hired by tha month or dav |
on whale ships, as they are on merchant ships, but
they all go on shares-each drawing in proportion to
his qualification and responsibility. In this case the
captains 'slay'' was about $25, 600 the mates, boat |
steerers, and other officers and men, had their sslays''
graduated according to the scale agreed upon when
they signed the ships papers ; and the balance went
to the owners of the vessel.
The. best part of the city of New Bedford is located |
on the side and summit of a high range of land, of
easy and gradual ascent for three or four miles in
length, being joined to the main land on the north,
and terminating on the east, west and south, on the
waters OF the harbor. The south end, for about two
miles in length and one-half mile wide, lays in the
bay something III the shape of a beavers tail, with the
ripping waters 1aYinG its shore entirely around.
Upon this point ofland, on the extreme edge next to
the sea, the citizens have built one of the h-andsomest
roads IN New England, eighty feet wide, as smooth
and as level as q pond of ice. Upon this road the
people come out with their fast horses, turnouts and
equipages, and drive at all hours of the day and eve
ming. However hot and sultry the weather may be
or whatever may be the direction Of the wind, you can
always have the luxury CT cool sea breeze, while at
the same time you have q commanding view of the
harbor and its environS, with all the various kinds of
sailing craft which is constantly passing out and in,
from a full rugged first class whale ship, down to the
egg-shell fishing boat, as it goes bobbing over the
waves. This road is built and kept in repair merely
as a place of resort for citizens. and strangers who
want to enjoy a ride and a sea breeze at the same
time. This 8 point road" furnishes . good substitute
for the long, smooth, hard, sandy beaches which are
so frequently found ct our New England watering
places over which q horse and carriage may be
driven as easily and steadily as upon a carpeted floor.
I accepted an invitation from one Of my acquaint-
ances, to take a seat In a top buggy, and just take an
airing down on the point and [ found myself put
through at the rate of $40 while some others were a
little ahead of me. I found it a great luxury and one
which is not to be found every where. The New Bed
ford people. and the strangers boarding here, make
great use of it during warm weather. 1t is about
four miles in length, bounded entirely upon the ocean
which is constantly filing the air with salt spray as
it families and roars against the rocky base Of this
beautiful thoroughfare.
Upon this point of land the city alms-house is To-
eated-about one hundred feet above the level Of the
sea, with an open and extended view in all directions.
The situation is most admirably adapted to the pur-
pose for which it is used, and the city government
have spared no pains or expense in the erection or
the furnishing of the buildings. 1t is a splendid es-
Enlistment inside and out, and looks more like an
A." Ocean House., or an " Atlantic House, at some
watering place, than it does like an alms-house. I
was accompanied through the grounds and building
by the mayor and aldermen, and everything was