superior to that of any other people, that they have
acquired a monopoly of this commodity. Such were
their feeble beginnings, such the infancy and the progress
of their maritime schemes; such is now the degree of
boldness and activity to which they are arrived in
their manhood. After their examples several companies
have been formed in many of our capitals, where every
necessary article of provisions, implements, and timber,
are to be found. But the industry exerted by the
people of Nantucket, hath hitherto enabled them to
rival all their competitors; consequently this is
the greatest mart for oil, whalebone, and spermaceti,
on the continent. It does not follow however
that they are always successful, this would be an
extraordinary field indeed, where the crops should
never fail; many voyages do not repay the original
cost of fitting out: they bear such misfortunes
like true merchants, and as they never venture their
all like gamesters, they try their fortunes again;
the latter hope to win by chance alone, the former
by industry, well judged speculation, and some hazard.
I was there when Mr.——had missed
one of his vessels; she had been given over for lost
by everybody, but happily arrived before I came away,
after an absence of thirteen months. She had
met with a variety of disappointments on the station
she was ordered to, and rather than return empty, the
people steered for the coast of Guinea, where they
fortunately fell in with several whales, and brought
home upward of 600 barrels of oil, beside bone.
Those returns are sometimes disposed of in the towns
on the continent, where they are exchanged for such
commodities as are wanted; but they are most commonly
sent to England, where they always sell for cash.
When this is intended, a vessel larger than the rest
is fitted out to be filled with oil on the spot where
it is found and made, and thence she sails immediately
for London. This expedient saves time, freight,
and expense; and from that capital they bring back
whatever they want. They employ also several vessels
in transporting lumber to the West Indian Islands,
from whence they procure in return the various productions
of the country, which they afterwards exchange wherever
they can hear of an advantageous market. Being
extremely acute they well know how to improve all the
advantages which the combination of so many branches
of business constantly affords; the spirit of commerce,
which is the simple art of a reciprocal supply of
wants, is well understood here by everybody.
They possess, like the generality of Americans, a large
share of native penetration, activity, and good sense,
which lead them to a variety of other secondary schemes
too tedious to mention: they are well acquainted
with the cheapest method of procuring lumber from
Kennebeck river, Penobscot, etc., pitch and tar,
from North Carolina; flour and biscuit, from Philadelphia;
beef and pork, from Connecticut. They know how
to exchange their cod fish and West-Indian produce,