The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1892-10-09
-0m Of lie Most Successful
" halerg.
CAPT. SC0RESBY'S CAREER.
Great VOYAGES CT the Past-The Fluctuations
Which Have Occurred in the whal-
ing Industry.
Written for THE MORNING CALL.

arrived In San Francisco barber the other
Gay with the bone OF thrty-eight whales in
her hold It was remarked that this was the
greatest catch OF the Ba@na mysticetus
any crew had ever made in the Arctic. AS
matter of fact. memorable as the catch IS,
Il has been eXcelled. a Scotch whaler from
Peterhead captured in one season in 1914 no
fewer than forty-four whales in the Green
- land fisheries. These yielded 299 tuns of
SOL of % gallons each. The value Of the
oh a So per tun came TO e956S. Had this
catch been made to-day with Sc per pound
for whaleb0ne alone the value would have
been at least treble, and the fortunate
Peterhead captain would have realized q
fortune. Taking into account the fact that
this Arctic navigator had probably only a
small vessel without steam power his
achievements remarkable.
The Hume, therefore. stands second in
the record. Next to the Hume may come
the achievement Of one of the greatest of
whalers aud nayigators who ever sailed the
Arctic seas-Captain Scoresby, truly re-
markable man. In 1910 he captured thirty
Greenland whales, the yield from which
30 tuns-is ehronicled as the greatest ever
brought 10 Whitby il a single vessel.
ScOTesby altogether captured 80 whales
during his career.
interesting as that of any man who ever
went 10 sea. he was born at Cropton, near
Pickering, in the North Riding of York
shire, In 1879. The place is close to Whitby,
the biTthtOwn of Captain Cook, the circum-
( navigator Seoresby the father was a
whaler, with London as his port, and young
ScOresby received such education as he did
ashore at Blackwell. What that education
could have been may be inferred from the
statement that IN $500, when only 10 years
lie
fathers vessel, and was carried of to sea
on Greenland voyage. Perforce he was
made au apprentice, and his father became
schoolmaster as well as navigator. The boy
was a thorough sailor before he had become
man. Al Is years of age, such was his
ATTITUDE, lie was first mate Of his fathers
vessel.
In the intervals OF his voyages he attended
classes at the University of Edinburgh and
showed strong liking for natural history.
He had Professor Jameson as a mentor in
this field, and his own observations in vey-
ages induced him TO furnish papers to the
WeTnerian Society on Greenland ice, the me
te0rology OF the Arctic regions and the hab-
its Of the Greenland whale. So, before be
was 20 this ardent youth had schooled him.
self into literary style aud was a student
# nature. In 1909 he was BarpoOner on his
fathers vessel. In 1870 on his twenty-frst
birthday, be was made commander Of the
Uhaler Resolution aud sailed for Greenland
seas.
Il was on this voyage lie captured his
thirty whales. His character may now be
said 10 have been formed. He was deeply
lmoued with Gev0ut religious feeling He
maintained discipline on his vessel by kind
ness and considerate treatment OF his men.
There are few whalers in these days on
board Of which religious services are regu-
larry conducted. Sc0resby attended to
prayers as well as navigation and whale
hunting, and so strict was his observance
Il Sunday that he would not lower a boat
on that day, no matter how many whales
we're in sight
In 1913 he began to make experiments on
the ocean temperature al great depths, and
the fruits Of these and many other ObSerya-
tons came out IN one of the most charming
narratives ever penned, "The Arctic Re-
glOns. This work had a great effect in the
stimulation of Arctic discovery. His de-
scrption OF the habits Of the Greenland
whale and Of its anatomy may be regarded
one Of the first clear statements On the
-sn Elect. the scientific world had OBTAINED,
although whaling had been going on Tor
centuries. This is true even to the drawing
of the whale correctly. When the whale
began 10 be scarce IL its accustomed haunts
Sc0resby advised the Admiralty to offer re-
wards for fresh discoveries.
Il may be taken that ScOresby never was
idle when in Bsfins Bay or on any other
cruising ground. He made a careful sur
vey OF the east coast OF Greenland from
latitude IS deg. north to latitude GO deg 10
min. north. The nearest distance TO the
pole to which be ever got was 566 geograph-
zeal miles-a proximity which has since
been exceeded by other whalers, and Of
course By Arctic exploring vOyagers.
Scoresby in 1872 resolved to abandon whal-
ing and to become fisher Of men. He had
accumulated considerable means aud his
religious bent being still very strong he be-
gan studies at Cam bridge University with
a view to entering the ministry Of the
Church of England. In due time he took
his degree of Ma, ana afterward d. d.
His irst church was appropriately the
Mariners at Liverpool, and be must have
felt himself at home in II, for it consisted of
an old hulk m0Ored in the Mersey. After
ward he became Vicar of BradfoTd-a very
heavy charge in a pOpulous town, where he
wore himself out with the activity and zeal
Of his labors.
In 1874 ard in 1877 be visited America
aud carried on a series OF observations on
magnetism. With scientific research in
view he also visited Australia, where he
passed three years. The results were em-
bodied in two volumes, edited by General
Sabine Many contributions from his pen are
to be found in the philosophical TraDsac-
tons" the transactions Of the Royal So
ceiy Of Edinburgh" and the British AsSo-
citation. Soon after his return from
Australia Scoresby died in 1957--an honored
man who had lived grand life.
Since Scoresby's day there have been
= many books on the Arctic regions and many
on whaling as a pursuit and adventure
theme for bookmaking. Hundreds of
volumes have been written on the vOy-
ages OF explorers and their discoveries and
very thrilling reading some Of them make.
But confning attenti to the whale and its
capture. the reader will find that one of the
most interesting books he can possibly
study on the subject is Captain ScammOn's
Marine Mammalla CT the Northwestern
Coast" The drawings in this volume are
PROFESSIONALLY accurate. and there has
been patient sitting of information. Such
differences as there are between the right
whale Of Greenland (BalRna Sieboldi?
Cray and the boYhead (Balana Mystieetns)
are pointed out both pictorially and verb
ally. The differences are not very marked
to the non-scientific, and even the scientific
seem TO hold reserved opinions about seDa-
rating the bowhead and the Greenland right
whale.
Both are polar whales, but both have been
taken far soath Of the Arctic circle in the
Pacific and the Atlantic. In an article
published in LEGAL paper In 1873. when the
Jeannette was about to sail on Ter unf0rtu-
nate expedition. the experience of a number
of whaling captains familiar with Green
land and Boring Sea and the Arctic beyond
was presented. These hardy bal4na-hunters
were Captain Holman OF the bark Hunter /;
Captain Barnes, Sea Breeze; Captain Lap
ham, Progress; Captain Green, John How
land Captain Green, Dawn; Captain Smith.
New Bedford. and Captain Nye Of the
Mount WOllaston. The personal knowledge
of some Of these men went TO prove that
whales have been captured in the Berlng
Strait region with harpoons Embedded in
The flesh which had been hurled into them
in Greenland seas. Hence whales have al
ways known how to make the northwest
passaGe-a feat only accomplished COM
pletey by one navigator. Captain Mcclure.
The fishery beyond Bering Straits has
only been prosecuted since 1913. when Cap
tain Royce sailed his vessel into the Arctic
by this route Captain Holman records
that in 1870, off Wainwright Island, he cap
tured bowhead yielding 100 barrels of oil,
and found IN the carcass an iron marked