History of New Bedford and its vicinity, 1620-1892, Part 40

Author: Ellis, Leonard Bolles
Publication date: 1892
Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y., Mason
Number of Pages: 1170

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The discovery of the gold mines in California at this period was pro- ductive of serious results to the whale fishery in the North Pacific

419

EFFECTS OF THE CALIFORNIA GOLD FEVER.

and Arctic Oceans. Starbuck says: " Immediately after the discovery of the gold mines of California, desertions from the ships were numer- ous and often causeless, generally in such number as to seriously crip- ple the efficiency of the ship. In this way large numbers of voyages were broken up and thousands of dollars were sunk by the owners. During a portion of the time many ships were fired by their refractory and mutinous crews, some of them completely destroyed, others dam- aged in amounts varying from a few hundred to several thousand dol- lars. Crews would apparently ship simply as a cheap manner of reaching the gold mines, and a ship's company often embraced among its number desperadoes from various nations, fit for any rascality which might best serve them to attain their end. . They took no interest in the voyage, nor cared aught for the profit or loss that might accrue to the owners. In order to recruit, it became necessary, particularly during the next ten years succeeding the opening of the gold mines, to offer heavy advance wages, and too often these were paid to bounty jumpers, who only waited the time when the ship made another port, to clandestinely dissolve connection with her and hold themselves in readiness for the next ship. There were times, when the California fever was at its high - est, that the desertions did not stop with the men, but officers and even captains seemed to vie with the crew in defrauding the men from whose hands they had received the property to hold in charge and in- crease in value."

About 1859 the whaling gun was invented and introduced into the market. An advertisement appears in the Shipping List for that year in which this new instrument was recommended for its superior power in killing whales.

One of the legitimate results of the success of whaling at this time was the increased activity in every branch of mechanical industry. Especially was this true of ship-building in 1850. In 1851 forty eight ships were added to the New Bedford fleet, and nearly one-half of the entire oil importation of the country came to this port. The ship yards on both sides of the Acushnet River, those at Mattapoisett, Dartmouth, and Westport, were centers of activity, and from the shores of these places were launched many vessels that were added to the fleet. In December, 1852, there were six new ships being built or contracted for

420

HISTORY OF NEW BEDFORD.

in New Bedford. Many of these vessels were splendid specimens of the naval architecture of the period. The fame of these ships still remains in the community, and those that still exist are pleasant reminders of the golden age of the whale fishery.

In 1851 the first experiments in killing whales by electricity were made. Camphene, for lighting purposes, came into use at this time, and was naturally condemned in this community.

March 22, 1852, Lawrence Grinnell made a contract to supply the United States Government with 75,000 gallons of sperm oil at $1.183 per gallon. This item is a significant one, as it shows what quantities of this product were used in the lighthouses on the coast. For many years the oil was carried to the different stations by Capt. Joseph How- land, in the schooner Gazelle, and by Capt. Jonathan Howland, in the schooner Eliza. They were succeeded by Capt. Cornelius Springer, in the schooner Pharos, and by Capt. A. S. Hussey and Capt. J. Wash- ington Perry in the schooner Guthrie. The schooner Pharos was sub- sequently commanded by Capts. Jonathan Howland, jr., Jonathan A. Fuller, and John G. Ellis.

In 1852 there were 311 vessels of all kinds employed in the whale fishery from New Bedford, tonnage 104,005. In 1853, 318 vessels, with 107,512 tonnage. The business for the year 1854 was considered as pros- perons as that of 1851, which was greater than that of any year since 1847. At this time the merchant service was an important factor, there being in 1854, twenty-seven merchant vessels owned in New Bedford, and two in Fairhaven. In 1855 there were 319 vessels in the New Bedford fleet of whalers, tonnage 107.702. The prosecution of the whaling industry in New Bedford reached its highest point at this period, and the years 1856-58 witnessed the most flourishing events that characterized its history. The accession of new ships to the fleet, the increased expense of fitting them for sea, and the high premiums paid to officers dis- tinguished as successful whalemen seemed to be warranted by the steady demand for the product. The wharves on both sides of the Acushnet were teeming with life, and mechanics of every kind of industrial art that had any relation to the fitting of ships found ample employment at good wages. The returning ships, laden with full cargoes, kept them busy in refitting for new voyages. The streets were alive with sailors,

Ohn & Knowles

421

BEGINNING OF THE DECLINE.

their purses filled with ready money that was soon expended. Officers of ships, who had husbanded their hard-earned gains, bought or built homes, in which to enjoy their rest after long service on the seas. Pros- perity reigned triumphant for a time, the rich agents and owners grew more wealthy, and even those in humble station shared in the general good fortune. The high prices of oil were maintained, and it seemed as if there could be no limit to the onward progress of the whaling business.

But the enormous quantities of oil and whalebone that were landed on the wharves by the returning ships soon overstocked the market ; prices fell, voyages that had formerly yielded great profits were settled at a loss, disaster came to many firms, and the condition of prosperity was changed to one of serious anxiety. Of sixty-eight whalers that arrived at New Bedford and Fairhaven in 1858, forty-four made losing voyages. The average price of sperm oil in 1855 was $1.7716; in 1858, it was $1.21; whale oil in 1855 was 791/2 cents; in 1858, 54 cents. It is a singular fact that whalebone in 1855 was quoted at 45 14 cents, and in 1858 at 9634 cents, a rise of more than 100 per cent. It was a gleam of light from out of the darkness of the time. It would seem as though it pointed with no uncertain significance to the fact that this product of the whale fishery was to assume greater importance in the market. Who could have predicted that whalebone would be the chief article sought from the fisheries, and that it would be quoted in 1891 at $6.50 a pound ? The reader may judge of the great business incident to the whaling industry at this period, by the following list of articies used in fitting out the sixty-five whale ships that sailed from New Bedford in 1858, the gross value of which was $1,950,000: 13,- 650 barrels of flour, 260 of meal, 10,400 of beef, 7,150 of pork, 19,500 bushels of salt, 97,500 gallons of molasses, 39,000 pounds of rice, 1,300 bushels of beans, 39,000 pounds of dried apples, 78,000 pounds of sugar, 78,000 pounds of butter, 19,500 pounds of cheese, 16,300 pounds of ham, 32,500 pounds of codfish, 18,000 pounds of coffee, 14, 300 pounds of tea, 13,300 pounds of raisins, 1,950 bushels of corn, 2,600 bushels of potatoes, 1,300 bushels of onions, 400 barrels of vinegar, 2,000 pounds of sperm candles, 32,500 barrels of fresh water, 1,200 cords of wood, 260 cords of pine, 1,000,000 staves, 260,000 feet heading, 1,000 tons of iron

422

HISTORY OF NEW BEDFORD.

hoops, 33,000 pounds iron rivets, 520,000 pounds sheathing copper and yellow metal, 15,000 pounds of sheathing nails, 52,000 pounds of cop- pering nails, 400 barrels of tar, 759,000 pounds of cordage, 450 whale boats, 32,500 boat boards, 65,000 feet pine boards, 36,000 feet oars, 8,500 iron poles, 22,500 pounds flags, 23,000 bricks, 200 casks of lime, 205,000 yards of canvas, 13,000 pounds of cotton twine, 234,000 yards assorted cotton cloth, 130,000 pounds of tobacco, 39,000 pounds white lead, 5,200 gallons linseed oil, 400 gallons turpentine, 13,000 pounds paints, 2,600 gallons of new rum, 1,000 gallons of cther liquors, 120 casks of powder, besides clothing, etc. The advance wages alone amounted to $130,000.

The causes are manifold that led to the decline of the whale fishery. While the whale fishery furnished the lighting power for the world, it seemed as if whale oil were the only thing that would answer this pur- pose. But the high prices of this oil forced the introduction of substi- tutes, and the first was lard oil. While this did not fully take the place, it became a serious factor in the market. But the discovery of the oil wells of Pennsylvania was the important blow to the whale fishery, and though its introduction was resisted and impeded, the improved product was soon freed from its dangerous character, and petroleum came to stay. Not a long time elapsed before factories for the refining of crude petroleum were established in this city, the home of the whale fishery.

Kerosene was first distilled in New Bedford in 1858. Abraham H. Howland, William C. Taber, Joseph C. Delano, John Hicks, William Penn Howland, Henry T. Wood, and Weston Howland erected a factory at the foot of South street. They commenced operations with a cargo of bog- head coal from Scotland. The oil was distilled from retorts, and a successful business was at once established. The petroleum fields of Pennsylvania were discovered in 1859, and the refining of this product engaged the attention of Weston Howland, who, after repeated ex- periments, discovered a process by which burning oil was successfully distilled and refined. August 1, 1860, Mr. Howland purchased Fish Island, erected a factory thereon, equipped it with stills and machinery, and placed on the market the first refined burning oil distilled from the products of the oil fields of Pennsylvania. The works were destroyed by an explosion in 1861, in which disaster two of the employees lost

423

EFFECTS OF THE CIVIL WAR.

their lives. The factory was immediately rebuilt, and a profitable busi- ness was continued for several years.

Cotton-seed oil also came into the market as a strong rival of whale oil, and is extensively used even at the present time.

Other causes were operating to reduce and weaken the enterprise that, from the beginning of its history, had been the chief source of the prosperity of New Bedford.

The War of the Rebellion, like all other wars in the country's his- tory, was felt at once by the whale fishery. No commercial interest of the North, perhaps, was in a more unfortunate condition at the time when Sumter was fired upon. The financial distress that had fallen upon the business in 1857 was still having its demoralizing effect, and the merchants were bravely struggling with the adverse condition of affairs. The large fleet of whalers was scattered over the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, and they proved easy victims to the rebel privateers, which soon began their depredations on the maritime commerce of the North. In the chapter on the civil war, there has already been given a list of the New Bedford vessels destroyed. Those cruising in the At- lantic Ocean were the first to receive attention from the noted Alabama, and some twenty vessels were captured or destroyed during the early part of the war. When a vessel had been captured, the rebels would wait till night had fallen, then set fire to her, and pounce upon the ves- sels that quickly came to the aid of the unfortunate craft. Among those captured and burned by the Alabama were the ships Benjamin Tucker, Osceola, Virginia, and Elisha Dunbar, of New Bedford. In 1865 the privateer steamer Shenandoah entered the Pacific Ocean and began its raid on the whale ships in Behring Straits. In June there were captured and burned five ships, the Isabella, Gypsey, Catharine, General Williams, and W. C. Nye. On the 27th the ship Brunswick, of New Bedford, was in a dangerous position, being badly jammed in the ice. The vessels near her went to her relief, and while engaged in this humane undertaking, the Shenandoah put in an appearance and de - stroyed nine of them, Hillman, Isaac Howland, Nassau, Brunswick, Waverly, Martha 2d, Congress, Favorite, and Covington. "Capt. Thomas G. Young, of the Favorite, a Fairhaven ship, was determined not to sur- render his ship without an effort at resistance, and although a man of

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HISTORY OF NEW BEDFORD.

seventy years of age, he exhibited a brave and determined spirit, worthy of a Yankee captain. He loaded all his bomb-guns and fire- arms, and calling his crew to the defence, took position on the cabin roof and awaited the approach of the Shenandoah's boat. He ordered the of- ficer to ' keep off,' which he prudently complied with, for the determined attitude of the captain was suggestive, and he returned to the Shenan- doah to report. The privateer trained a gun on the Favorite, and the af- fair now assumed a serious condition. Captain Young's officers, con- vinced that resistance was useless, argued in vain with the sturdy old man, assuring him that it would result in a needless sacrifice of life. He was not to be changed in his attitude, for he said he would gladly die if he could but shoot Waddell, the commander of the Shenandoah. Find- ing their remonstrance of no avail, they secretly removed the caps from the loaded guns, and taking to the boats, left him to defend alone his vessel, in which he had all his fortune invested. Waddell sent another boat, with orders to capture the plucky captain. Its officers ordered Young to haul down his flag, to which request he forcibly replied that he would 'see him d-d first.' 'If you don't, I'll shoot you,' said the officer. 'Shoot, and be d-d,' was the sturdy reply from the brave old man. The boat's crew then boarded the Favorite and Captain Young proceeded to attempt the discharge of his guns. Imagine his feelings when he discovered the fact that the caps had been removed, and his guns were useless. One would suppose that such a display of pluck and energy would have been generously recognized, but such was not the fact in this case. His captors robbed him of his money, watch, and even took his shirt-studs, and placing him in irons, put him in con- finement." 1

Capt. Ebenezer F. Nye, of the ship Abigail, of New Bedford, per- formed a noble service, manning two of his boats, and sending them to notify other vessels of the fleet that the Shenandoah was upon them, thus giving many a chance to escape its clutches. Captain Nye's ship was destroyed by the privateer, but his brave act will be long remem- bered in this community. The Shenandoah captured and burned thirty- four whale ships and bonded four others, the Milo, General Pike, and James Maury, of New Bedford, and the Nile, of New London.

1 Starbuck.

425

THE DISASTER OF 1871.

Many interesting experiences of our seamen that relate to the oper- ations of the rebel privateers could be related in this chapter, but space forbids any enlargement on this topic. Enough has been given to show ho uch the whaling industry had been crippled by the destruction of so many vessels belonging to the New Bedford fleet. At the very beginning of the war the wharves were lined with ships, that were with- drawn from the service. The fear of capture, and the enormous rates of war risk demanded by the insurance companies, served to materially reduce the number of vessels engaged in whaling. These idle vessels soon found novel employment in the stone fleet, sunk in the harbor of Charleston. By this loyal service the New Bedford fleet lost twenty- five vessels.

At the close of the War of the Rebellion in 1865 the whaling enter- prise was renewed with vigor. The development of the petroleum fields, however, and the increased demand for this new lighting oil, made the merchants wary and considerate in these operations. Vessels that had been idle at the wharves were fitted and sent on their mission. New ships were built and added to the fleet, and prosperity again dawned upon the city. The comparative relation of the arctic fleet in 1858 to that of 1871 is significant and somewhat startling, for it reveals the rapid shrinkage of the business during these years. In 1858 the number of vessels in the North Pacific was 196; in 1871 there were forty. It is fair to presume that this proportion would hold regarding the number of vessels on other fishing grounds. Such was the condi- tion of affairs when the appalling disaster of 1871 occurred to the arc- tic fleet, and thirty-four vessels lay wrecked in the ice.

The following vivid description of this awful affair is taken from Har- per's Weekly, December, 1871.

"Early in May, 1871, the fleet arrived south of Cape Thaddeus, where they found the ice closely packed, and the wind blowing strong from the northeast. This state of affairs continued during the most of the month. June came in with light and variable winds, and foggy weather, but the ice opening somewhat the ships pushed through in sight of Cape Vavarine, where they took five or six whales, and for a short time heard many more spouting among the ice. About the mid- dle of June the ice opened still more, and the fleet passed on through

426

HISTORY OF NEW BEDFORD.

Anadir Sea, taking a few whales as they went. By the 30th of June the vessels had passed through Behring's Straits, preceded by the whales. Awaiting the further breaking up of the ice, they commenced catching walruses, but with comparatively poor success. During the latter part of July the ice disappeared from the east shore, south of Cape Lisburne, and the fleet pushed on to the eastward, following the ice, the principal portion of which was in latitude 69º 10'. A clear strip of water appearing on the east shore leading along the land to the north- east, they worked along through it to within a few miles of Icy Cape. Here some of the vessels anchored, unable to proceed farther on account of the ice lying on Blossom Shoals. About the 6th of August the ice on the shoals started, and several ships got under way. In a few days most of the fleet was north of the shoals, and, aided by favorable weather, they worked to the northeast as far as Wainwright's Inlet, eight vessels reaching there on the 7th. Here the ships anchored or made fast to the ice, which was very heavy, and densely packed, and whaling was carried on briskly for several days, and every encouragement given for a favor- able catch. On the 11th of August a sudden change of wind set the ice in shore, catching a large number of boats, which were cruising for whales in the open sea, and forcing the ships to get under way to avoid being crushed The vessels worked in shore under the lee of the ground ice, and succeeded, despite the difficulties of the situation, in saving their boats, by hauling them for a long distance over the ice, some of them, however, being badly stoven. On the 13th the ice grounded, leaving a narrow strip of water along the land up to Point Belcher. In this open water lay the fleet, anchored or fast to the ice, waiting for the expected northeast wind, that was to relieve them of their icy barrier, whaling being constantly carried on by the boats, though necessarily under many adversities. On the 15th of August the wind came around to the west- ward, driving the ice still closer to the shore, and compelling the vessels to work close in to the land. The drift of the ice inland was so rapid that some of the vessels were compelled to slip their cables, there being no time to weigh anchor. By this event the fleet was driven into a narrow strip of water, not over half a mile in width at its widest part. Here, scattering along the coast for twenty miles they lay, the water from fourteen to twenty-four feet deep, and ice as far as the lookouts

427

THE DISASTER OF 1871.

at the mastheads could see. Whaling was still carried on with the boats off Sea Horse Island and Point Franklin, although the men were obliged to cut up the whales on the ice, and tow the blubber to the ships. On the 25th a strong northeast gale set in, and drove the ice to a distance of from four to eight miles off shore, and renewed attention was given to the pursuit of the whale. Up to this time no immediate danger had been anticipated by the captains beyond that incidental to their usual sojourn in these seas. The Esquimaux, nevertheless, with the utmost friendliness advised them to get away with all possible speed, as the sea would not open again. But this was contrary to the arctic experience of the whalemen, and they resolved to hold their position. On the 29th began the series of conflicting circumstances which resulted in the de- struction of the fleet. A southwest wind sprang up, light in the morn- ing, but freshening so towards evening that the ice returned in shore with such rapidity as to catch some of the ships in the pack. The rest of the fleet retreated ahead of the ice, and anchored in from three to four fathoms of water, the ice still coming in, and small ice packing around them. The heavy floe-ice grounded in shoal water, and between it and the shore lay the ships, with scarcely room to swing at their anchors. On the 2d of September the brig Comet was caught by the heavy ice and completely crushed, her crew barely making their escape to the other vessels. She was pinched until her timbers snapped and the stern was forced out, and hung suspended for three or four days, being in the mean time thoroughly wrecked by the other vessels; then the ice relaxed its iron grip, and she sank. Still our hardy whalemen hoped that the looked- for northeast gale would come, and felt greater uneasi- ness on account of the loss of time, than because of the present peril. Their experience could not point to the time when the favoring gale had failed to assure their egress. Nothing but ice was visible off shore, however, the only clear water being where they lay, and that narrowed to a strip from 200 yards to half a mile in width, and extending from Point Belcher to two or three miles south of Wainwright's Inlet. The southeast and southwest winds still continued light from the former and fresh from the latter direction, and every day the ice packed more and more closely around the doomed vessels. Early in September the bark Roman, while cutting in a whale, was caught between two im-

428

HISTORY OF NEW BEDFORD.

mense floes of ice off Sea Horse Island, whence she had helplessly drifted, and was crushed to atoms. The officers and crew escaped over the ice, saving scarcely anything but their lives. The next day the bark Awashonks met a similar fate, and a third fugitive crew was distributed among the remaining ships The peril was now apparent to all. The season was rapidly approaching the end, the ice showed no signs of starting, but, on the contrary, the little clear water that remained was rapidly filling with ice, and closing around them. Frequent and serious were the consultations held by the captains of the beleaguered vessels. One thing, at least, was evident without discussion : if the vessels could not be extracted, the crews must be got away before winter set in, or the scanty stock of provisions they had could only postpone an inevit- able starvation. As a precautionary measure, pending a decision on the best course to adopt, men were set to work to build up the boats, that is, raise the gunwales so as to enable them the better to surmount the waves. Shoes (a copper sheathing being used) were put on them, to prevent, as far as possible, injury from the ice. The brig Kohola was lightened in order to get her over the bar at Wainwright's Inlet, upon which there were only five or six feet of water. Her oil and stores were transferred to the deck of the Charlotte, of San Francisco, but when dis . charged, it was found that she still drew nine feet of water, and the at- tempt to get her over the shoal water was abandoned. An expedition of three boats, under the command of Capt. D. R. Frazier, was now sent down the coast to ascertain how far the ice extended ; what chances there were of getting through the barrier; what vessels, if any, were outside ; and what relief could be relied on. Captain Frazier returned on the 12th, and reported that it was utterly impracticable to get any of the main body of the fleet out; that the Arctic and another vessel were in clear water below the field, which extended to the south of Blossom Shoals, eighty miles from the imprisoned crafts, and that five more vessels, then fast in the lower edge of the ice, were likely to get out soon. He also reported, what every man then took for granted, that these free vessels would lay by to aid their distressed comrades. It is a part of the whaleman's creed to stand by his mates. On hearing this reported it was decided to abandon the fleet, and make the best of their way, while they could, to the rescuing vessels. It was merely a

429

THE DISASTER OF 1871.

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History of New Bedford and its vicinity, 1620-1892, Part 40

Author: Ellis, Leonard Bolles Publication date: 1892 Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y., Mason Number of Pages: 1170

Author: Ellis, Leonard Bolles
Publication date: 1892
Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y., Mason
Number of Pages: 1170