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Steam Whaling in the Western Arctic, by John Bockstoce (New Bedford, Old Dartmouth Historical Society, 1977. 127 pp., illus., $15.00). During the latter part of the nineteenth century and on into the first decade of the twentieth, the American whaling industry, beset by falling demand for whale oil due to the increased avai lability of petroleum and vegetable oils, played out its last great chapter in the Arctic, There the bowhead with its important balleen was still plentiful, providing a tempting hunting ground for the beleagured fleets. The entire industry changed to meet the demands· of this harsh, hazardous climate where ice constantly threatened and sometimes destroyed the stoutest ships. Among the innovations were the important advent of auxiliary steam to augment sails as power, and such devices as explosive cannon-fired harpoons previously shunned by the thrifty Yankees. Steam Whaling in the Western Arctic is the story of this final epoch. With the general decline in whale oil profits many owners sold off their interests and invested in textiles. Those that remained sought to modernize in the struggle to continue operations in their traditional field. William Lewis of New Bedford was one of these. His ship Mwy and Helen was the first steam powered American whaler; she returned her investment to her owner in one voyage and thereby revolutionized the industry. San Franciscan entrepreneurs saw in this the possibilities for profit and entered the field they would later dominate through the establishment of the Pacific Whaling Company. Motivated by the innovative drive of Cape Cod born Captain Josiah Knowles, Pacific Whaling streamlined and smoothed out all phases of the western Arctic whaling operations. The establishment of the Artie Oil Works in San Francisco by the owners of Pacific Whaling completed the shift from New England of this traditionally Yankee enterprise. Sailing ships still hunted in the Arctic, but being dependent on the wind to get out of the region before the ice froze over each winter, they were compelled to leave the fisheries far earlier than their steam powered companions. In 1889, the first attempt to winter over was made. This led to the establishment of the famous Herschel Island station. Arctic winters, shipwrecks, desertions and the establishment of a four team baseball team are all part of this intriguing story. By 1895 the bowheads were nearly
SEA HISTORY, FALL 1977
fished out, and the decline in the final phase of the American whaling story began. Gasoline-engine powered schooners were introduced, but could not forestall the end of this brutal industry, and within a very few years the last whaler had returned from her final voyage. Lavishly illustrated with photographs, drawings, paintings and sail and hull plans and including a valuable chronology of commercial wintering voyages, 1850-19 IO, this fine compilation fills a major gap in the story of America's involvement with the sea. DA YID 0. DURRELL Four Masted Schooners of the East Coast, by Paul C. Morris (Orleans, Mass., Lower Cape Publishing, 1975. 190 pp., illus., $19.95). The great schooners that coursed back and forth along the East coast were principally carriers of bulk cargo. Huge yet capable of being handled with a fraction of the crews needed for comparably sized square riggers, their story coincides with the last years of commercial sail. The most successful of the later types had four masts, of which a total of five hundred and twenty one were Eastern owned and American built, primarily along the Maine coast. Cargoes included ice from the Kennebec, coal, lumber, phosphate and fertilizer; general cargo had been usurped by steamers. The schooners were designed for this bulk type of hauling, and they generally did it quite well. Their eventual decline was due more lo changing economic times rather than any failings on the part of the ships.
Four Masted Schooners of the East Coast provides an intimate glimpse into the world of these magnificent dinosaurs. More than 150 photographs along with drawings by the author show them in their glory at launchings and their bedraggled later years. In addition, the appendixes list the builders in the U.S. and Canada and the ships, their dimensions and historic data in detail. An extensive erata has corrected much of the inaccuracy that drew criticism from scholarly circles when the book first came out. DOD The Anatomy of Nelson's Ships, by C. Nepean Langridge; rev. E. Bowness, A.M.R.l.N.A. (London, Argus Books, Ltd., 1977. 283 pp., illus., £10.50 net U.K.). A hefty volume with a misleading title since its main theme is a detailed account
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SAILOR HISTORIAN The Best of
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