Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1879-08-06
THE ARCTIC WHALERS.
The Bushes and it's Present Value.
Boston Advertiser


Dealers in whalebone and oil are
awaiting with much interest the arrival
in San Francisco of the Arctic trader
Gen. Harvey, looked for within ten
days. This vessel was dispatched from
the Golden gate in May last with stores
to the twenty whalers cruising in the
northern waters and to bring back their
seasons catch of oil and bone. Seven
teen of the fleet are New Bedford YES
sels-the other three are from San
FranciscO-so that the Gen. Harney's
arrival.has something Of a local interest.
Just now there are fifteen whalers at
the wharves in New Bedford, and
should the news from the Arctic be
that small catch had been taken, those
idle Whalers will probably all be dis
mantled, and be laid up until early
next spring, when, if the markets
improve, they will be fitted for the
usual three-years cruise. There are at
present 1856 vessels all told engag ed IN
whale-hshery, against 66S in 1854. New
Bedford continues to lead in the bust
ness. Counting the ten Scotch steam
whalers now at work in Baffin's bay,
not more than twenty-five are from
seaports outside of New Bedford. 1t
may be interesting to recall that when
the business was at its height in 1854,
New Bedford fitted out 41O, Nantucket
AZ, Provinceton 81, Fairhaven 40 and
New London IS. The previous year
the receipts of bone were 1862, 300
pounds, against 2O7 .259 in 1878, the
prices ranging in 1858 from 80 to 40
cents, against $3.50 to So the present
season. The receipts of oil were, in
1854, 2O8,0O0 barrels, against 10000 in
1878. In this year of heavy receipts
there were 552 vessels in the Arctic
fisheries. There is very little change in
the whaling grounds outside of the
Arctic seas. The whales run down
early in the summer into the
southern ATTITUDES to "calve," but
in returning they keep very much
closer to the ice, and in the Arctic
run under and alongside the fields and
bergs. For twenty years the whalers had
not followed the fish west of Point Bar
rows, but in 1875 the fleet went as far as
Camden bay, and four of the vessels
we're abandoned, since which time not
vestige of these vessels has been met
with. The fleet has never been so far
west since, Harrison's bay being consid-
cred we'll to the westward. But as New
Bedford parties are now building a steam
Arctic whaler at Bath, Me-, the first of
this class ever sent from the United
States, there may be great change in
the Arctic fishing grounds, and more
economic method of following the
schools discovered. This steamer will
fit away in September. 1t will 60 direct
to and cruise along both coasts Of
Patagonia, where the whaling this season
has been unusually fine; thence it will
run up along the off shore and the line
grounds, touching in at San Francisco,
after cruising through the Society and
Sandwich islands, discharging the catch :;
and by June next it will steam directly
into the Arctic seas.
The Indian ocean fleet and the two
vessels off the New Zealand coast have
been fairly successful, but the sperm sea-
son of the west coast of New Holland in
Australia, and the catch in the vicinity
Of the DesOlation islands, southeast of
Africa, at last accounts were poor. 1t
is in the last named locality, and also in
the Indian ocean, that the whalers look
in each catch for that knot of diseased
intestines known as ambergris, which
weighs from forty to two hundred
pounds, and is really more valuable
than the whole cargo of bone and oil.
The last lot brought into Bedford
was in the Caroline Gibbs, one hundred
and twenty-five pounds. The whale
was taken of the Tristan Islands, in the
South Atlantic, and the lot was sold for
$25, 900 to. Boston druggist. It may
be interesting to know that this most
disagreeatle stuff is used in the manu-
facture of perfumes. New Bedford out
filters claim that unless vessel can
take twenty-five hundred barrels of
sperm oil in three years, oil-fshing will
not pay. AS few have reached this
quantity in the voyages ending the past
year, more attention is being given to
catching the right whale in the Arctic,
in which the bone is more valuable.
The consumption of sperm oil has been
abridged principally by the introduction
of lard oil. Nothing would SO rejoice
the sordid heart of the whaleman as
hog cholera in the west. The failure
of the menhaden season this summer
is a bit Of encouragement to holders of
humpback and similar classes of whale
oil. This is thick oil that does not
strain clear, and is largely used by tam
ners and curriers'. The oils taken in
the South seas are somewhat similar,
but the Arctic oils are clear and hmpid,
and are used both for burning and lu-
bricating purposes. Sperm oil is used
almost exclusively as a lubricant, the
English spinners taking from us about
10000 barrels a year. Last fall, when
the catch was large and the market
dull, prices fell off to 85c. This seemed
SO very low that Englishmen came over
and bought on speculation out of New
Bedford about $4,000 barrels at sc.
But the market has since receded to
75c. with q stock of about $4,000 bar
rels on hand, and the spinners at Old
ham and other large English manufac-
turing centers idle on account of a
strike. The sale of whalebone is very
large in Paris and Berlin, where the