New Bedford, Massachusetts; its history, industries, institutions and attractions . The steam whaler is an outgrowth ofthe necessities of Arctic whaling. It was soon found of the firstimportance to enter and leave the frozen seas with the greatest expe-dition. To a brainy seaman of New Bedford the idea of the appli-cation of steam at once suggested itself. He saw at a glance itspossibilities — a quicker excursion to the Arctic, a longer stay withdiminished danger of being nipped in the ice, and a greath increasedfacility in pursuing the chase for the monster of the deep. With thecharacteristic
New Bedford, Massachusetts; its history, industries, institutions and attractions . The steam whaler is an outgrowth ofthe necessities of Arctic whaling. It was soon found of the firstimportance to enter and leave the frozen seas with the greatest expe-dition. To a brainy seaman of New Bedford the idea of the appli-cation of steam at once suggested itself. He saw at a glance itspossibilities — a quicker excursion to the Arctic, a longer stay withdiminished danger of being nipped in the ice, and a greath increasedfacility in pursuing the chase for the monster of the deep. With thecharacteristic enterprise and keenness of the hardy New Englander,he at once put his idea into practice. With ready money a steamerwas built which revolutionized the methods of whaling, increased thecatch, and was at once followed by others, until now the fleet ofsteam whalers is of prime importance in the industry. A descriptionof one of these vessels will suffice for all. The William Lewis, thelatest addition to the fleet of steam whalers, was built at Bath, Maine, TOE WHALE-FISHERY. 39. in the summer of iland has left New Bed-ford for the SandwichIslands, whence shewill sail for the Arcticocean in 1889. Thisvessel, which is barkrigged, is in some re-spects one of the finestof steam whalers. Of460 tons gross tonnage,she is 145 feet long,with 30 feet breadth ofbeam, and the depthof her hold is i6i- is built entirely oflive oak and whiteoak, copper and ironfastened. Her plank-ing is of white oak, andshe IS sheathed withtuo mch hickory topiotect her hull from GROUP OF OLD WHALERS. BARK ROSSEAU 40 NEW BEDFORD. the ice. Her stem is protected by heavy composition plates. Toprevent her from being crushed if pinched by the ice, she has threesets of pointers forward and two aft. She is provided with a Provi-dence steam windhiss which is worked by steam power and is a verypowerful labor-saving piece of mechanism. The vessel has a 4^ com-pound engine, of 22 inches diameter of high pressure
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1880, bookidbedfordmassa, bookyear1889
