. New England; a human interest geographical reader. nd givechase whenever they saw a whale. If they succeededin making a capture, the yield of oil and whalebonemade it a rich prize. But the whales, which for atime were plentiful in the near waters, became in-creasingly shy. Ships had to go after them, and longerand longer voyages had to be undertaken until vesselswould fit out to go to the most distant seas, whencethey would not return for three or four years. Nantucket developed into the chief whaling port ofAmerica, and its whaleships in their voyages visitedall the waters of the globe. The
. New England; a human interest geographical reader. nd givechase whenever they saw a whale. If they succeededin making a capture, the yield of oil and whalebonemade it a rich prize. But the whales, which for atime were plentiful in the near waters, became in-creasingly shy. Ships had to go after them, and longerand longer voyages had to be undertaken until vesselswould fit out to go to the most distant seas, whencethey would not return for three or four years. Nantucket developed into the chief whaling port ofAmerica, and its whaleships in their voyages visitedall the waters of the globe. They wandered far fromthe lanes of commerce, and their captains discoveredno less than thirty of the islands of the Pacific. OneNantucket whaleship was lost on the coast of the Fiji Nantucket and Marthas Vineyard 109 Islands, and all the crew, with a single exception, weremurdered and probably eaten. The worlds whaling industry long ago began todecline, partly because of the decrease in the numberof whales, partly because of the discovery of petroleum. The whaler Greyhound and its use for lighting purposes, and very few Americanvessels now make voyages after whales. In the heyday of its prosperity as a whaling portNantucket had ten thousand inhabitants. The is-lands present permanent population is less than threethousand. But there is a great inflow of summer vis-itors. It claims that it is one of the best of the nationshealth resorts. To be on Nantucket is like being on I lo New England a ship anchored in the ocean. It is twenty-four milesfrom the nearest mainland, and the air cannot helpbeing pure. One custom which still survives in the old port isthat of the curfew. Each evening the bell in the an-cient church tolls its warning for everybody to get offthe streets, and for all house lights to be put out, andfor people to go to bed. There is also a risingbell,as it is called, rung at seven oclock, and a twelve oclockbell at noon. Two watchmen used to go on duty at the churchafter
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