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EMBRACING
CRUISES IN THE PACIFIC, ATLANTIC, INDIAN,AND ANTARCTIC OCEANS,
IN THE YEARS
1855,’6,’7,’8,’9.
BY
WILLIAM B. WHITECAR, Jr.
PHILADELPHIA:
J. B. LIPPINCOTT & CO.
LONDON: TRÜBNER & CO.
1860.
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Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1859, by
J. B. LIPPINCOTT & CO.,
in the Clerk’s Office of the District Court of the United States for the Eastern Districtof Pennsylvania.
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TO
MY FATHER,
WHO HAS EVER ENCOURAGED MY LITERARY EFFORTS,
AND
THE FIRST TO DIRECT THEM IN A PROPER CHANNEL,
THIS VOLUME
Is Respectfully Dedicated by
THE AUTHOR.
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Having been one of the crew of an American whaleship, I cruised on theocean for the four years of my life that have just elapsed. Duringthis long period it frequently occurred to me, and excited my wonder,how little knowledge of the whaling-service in its practical featureswas possessed by the people ashore, excepting a small portion ofthose residing in cities whose maritime trade is represented almostexclusively by whaleships.
My convictions as to the utility of an exposition of one’s dailyexperience in this service—of the good, bad, and indifferent fortune,as well as the perils of a pursuit which engages so many of ourAmerican youth—were so forcible, that[Pg viii] I was led, at the moment ofembarking on my voyage, to keep a log-book or journal, in which, atthe expiration of each nautical day, I noted the different employmentsof the crew, manner of sailing the vessel, incidents arising in thecapturing of whales, general personal treatment, amount and quality ofprovisions, and the phases of the weather in different latitudes.
Thus a description of life at sea alone came within my originalintention; but as I progressed, and became more interested in myself-imposed task, (which, by the way, enabled me to occupy pleasantlywhat would otherwise have been weary and unprofitable hours,) it seemedto me, that my journal would not be complete, unless I should alsodescribe the seaman’s bearing when ashore, at liberty, and unrestrainedby discipline; and, as such a description involved adventures invarious localities of the globe, I at first was unconsciously betrayedinto a still farther enlargement of my task: namely, to incorporatethe most striking (or, rather, those in which I was most interested)features and characteristics of the countries and people we visited.
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My object, however, was merely to complete a narrative which mightbe read to my relatives and friends, in th