Evening star., 1911-08-29
New Bedford's Once Great In
dustry Has DWindIed.
BRED RACE OF BOLD MEN
Hardships and Deeds of Daring
Were Commonplaees.
BROUGHT A VAST REVENUE
Sea Enriched Massachusetts Town
by More Than Quarter Of
Billion Dollars.

Billion Dollars.
BY WILLIAM z. CURTIS.
Special Correspondence Of The Star and th'
Chicago Record Herald.
NEW BEDFORD, Mass.
August 26, 1911.
The~dismantled hulks that lie along the
water front of New Bedford and Fair
haven are venerated by the people as
II they were relics of saints, for they
represent an industry that not only
brought great wealth to this community
but developed race of men unique for
courage, endurance and resourcefulness.
The old -whalers were God fearing men,
but they feared not man nor weather
and were >nevers daunted by danger or
adversity.
When they saw their duty they did 1t.
And the breed has not died out. As late
as 1895 occurred an exploit which Is almost
without parallel in the history OF sea-
manship. Capt. Fred Tilton, who still
lives In New Bedford, and is known to
all the American residents. was captain
OF one of the whalers in a fleet that was
caught in the ice off Point Barrow In the
Arctic ocean. They passed the winter
with patience and resignation. expecting
Icy prison. but the cold was unprece-
dented throughout the entire season:
every plan that could be devised to reach
open water failed, and every man in the
fleet realized that unless they were res
cued from the outside they would be
compelled to spend a second winter in
the ice and all would probably perish.
Long Trip Over Ice.
The summer passed with no progress
land with no sign of rescue, when Capt.
Tilton volunteered to make an effort to
reach civilization. He packed what pro-
visions he could carry on his back and
started alone across the ice on foot, Oc-
tober q, 1895. March q, 1sa9 he reached
Kodiak Island, after a tramp of 5000
miles. His provisions had been exhausted
thirty days before, and for an entire
month he had been living upon the little
vegetation he could find under the snow
but he got there and accomplished what
he went for. 1t was expected of him. and
he did it The whalers were rescued and
the captain doesn't see why people in
Alaska and California and his old neigh
bors at New Bedford made so much fuss
about it.
The oldest vessel in America Is the
whaler True Love, built in 1901 for
Stephen Girard. the famous Quaker mer-
chant OF Philadelphia, and founder of
the college that bears his name. She
Is ninety-1ve feet long. twenty-eight feet
beam, eighteen feet deep and registers
800 tons She was considered a fair
sised vessel for those days. and for more
than thirty years brought handsome
earnings to her owner. Shortly after his
death she was purchased by George How
land OF New Bedford, and converts ed into
whaler. She doubled the Horn a dozen
times before she was laid up.
The first whaler built in New Bedford
was launched in 1861 by Francis Rotch.
and her name was The Dartmouth. She
was one of the ships from which the tea
Was thrown overheard in Boston harbor.
Started In Nantucket.
Joseph Russell was the first whaler in
New Bedford. although the business
started at Nantucket many years before.
A monstrous whale came into the harbor
and cruised around there for three days.
The villagers became excited: the local
blacksmith wrought a harpoon, and a
dozen men went out with it in boat
to attack and capture the monster. 1t
was considered pity to waste the har-
poon. and those who had been engaged in
the exploit coasted around outside, look
ing for whales in small schooners, bring
ing home the blubber and trying out the
oil in big iron kettles over fires on the
beach.
Joseph Rotch was the first to organize
ships OF from forty TO sixty tons burden,
and sent them out in pairs. He then
built refinery and candle factory to
work up the raw material they brought
home. and gave his seamen a share of
the profits. Ten years later there were
nifty ships of larger size engaged in the
business. and the fleets continued to in
crease, until high-water mark was reach
ed in 1857. when 800 whalers, with
combined capacity Of 111.364 tons. sailed
frorn New Bedford, and brought home
that year $1O.367, ,1U worth of oil and
whalebone.
rels Of sperm oil, $1.25 gallon; 26O.114
barrels of whale oil. worth IS cents
gallon. and 5.O2.3O pounds of whale
bone. worth 35 cents per pound. If that
whalebone could have been sold at the
price IL brings today 1t would have been
worth $25.0OOOO0.
From that year the whaling business
continued to decline and when the civil
war began IL became so thoroughly
demoralized that II has never been able
to recover. Fifty New Bedford whaling
ships were captured and burned by Con-
federate cruisers at loss of several
sold their fleets. Others registered un-
der foreign flags. until at the close Of
the war the New Bedford feet had been
reduced to l54 vessels of 80. 4uS tons, and
the number continued to decrease until
the present day, when only twenty-four
vessels are busy in the Arctics. and they
brought in $4,000 worth of oil and
bone last year. Sperm oil sold for IS
cents per gallon, whale oil for IS cents,
which was about one-half the price il
brought fifty years ago, but whalebone
sold from AS to s. pound as COM
pared with 35 cents in 1851.
Historic "Stone" Fleet.
One OF the most interesting fleets that
ever sailed out of New Bedford harbor
IL called the "Stone feet" and was COM
posed of twenty-four whalers purchased
for the government just as they had
returned from their last voyages at an
average price of 5000 each L. II
Bartlett & Sons, firm of shippers
bought them, loaded them with stone
and hired just enough men to handle their
sails. The morning OF November ~, 1861
the stone fleet sailed out of the harbor
In command OF Capt. Rodney French, a
noted whaler. and afterward mayor oi
the city under sealed instructions. Ever
French himself did not know where he
was going until he was out OF sight OF
land. when he opened his envelope, and
started straight for Savannah anC
Charleston, where the whalers were scut
tied at the mouths OF hose harbors Il
obstruct navigation. The blockade wa.
incomplete but made navigation exceed
ingiy dangerous. Capt. French and hf:
crew saved one of the ships TO brint
them home and arrived the latter par
Of December to tell their strange stor,
to their neighbors.