FOUR YEARS ABOARD THE WHALESHIP.

Having been one of the crew of an American whaleship, I cruised on the ocean for the four years of my life that have just elapsed. During this long period it frequently occurred to me, and excited my wonder, how little knowledge of the whaling-service in its practical features was possessed by the people ashore, excepting a small portion of those residing in cities whose maritime trade is represented almost exclusively by whaleships. My convictions as to the utility of an exposition of one’s daily experience in this service—of the good, bad, and indifferent fortune, as well as the perils of a pursuit which engages so many of our American youth—were so forcible, that I was led, at the moment of embarking on my voyage, to keep a log-book or journal, in which, at the expiration of each nautical day, I noted the different employments of the crew, manner of sailing the vessel, incidents arising in the capturing of whales, general personal treatment, amount and quality of provisions, and the phases of the weather in different latitudes. Thus a description of life at sea alone came within my original intention; but as I progressed, and became more interested in my self-imposed task, (which, by the way, enabled me to occupy pleasantly what would otherwise have been weary and unprofitable hours,) it seemed to me, that my journal would not be complete, unless I should also describe the seaman’s bearing when ashore, at liberty, and unrestrained by discipline; and, as such a description involved adventures in various localities of the globe, I at first was unconsciously betrayed into a still farther enlargement of my task: namely, to incorporate the most striking (or, rather, those in which I was most interested) features and characteristics of the countries and people we visited....