Four years aboard the whaleship Embracing cruises in the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, and Antarctic oceans, in the years 1855, '6, '7, '8, '9

In June, 1855, having decided upon embarking on a whaling voyage, I took the steamboat from Philadelphia to Tacony, thence by railway to New York, where, after a delay of a few...

The next day after leaving Flores we passed within sight of Fayal. This island presented a gorgeous appearance; the many vineyards on the sloping side of the mountains, looking...

Finding but little could be done amongst the whales on this ground, early in December we resumed sea watches, and steered a course for the coast of New Holland, intending to cru...

And now we will return to our old barque, that we left beating out of Geographe bay, having distanced both her competitors, and established her reputation as a fast ship. At nig...

Soon after our sails were stowed, a canoe from the town came alongside. In it were two Malays, who had a cargo of green and ripe cocoa-nuts, bananas, sugar-cane, tamarinds, pine...

Finding, after a short stay, that the ground was deserted both by ships and whales, we pursued our course to the southward, intending to double Cape Leuwin, thence to the eastwa...

Early on the morning of January 26th, we spoke and gammoned the barque La Belle Anna, from Melbourne to Mauritius. Through the kindness of her captain, who accommodatingly delay...

On the 7th, after having, during the preceding week, seen and lowered for whales several times, our masthead’sman sung out that the James Allen’s boats were whaling. She was som...

At 8 o’clock on the morning of the 6th we hove up our anchor, got under weigh, and, with a fair wind, stood down the river--leaving Hobartown in the distance--bound on another l...

We now directed our ship’s head to the westward, and fell in with the barques Cherokee and Pamelia. The former had sailed from home some two years previous; but, mutiny breaking...

On the 16th of February, after having added three new men to our crew, (two of them Englishmen, the third a Swede,) we hove short, and at 3 P.M. stood out of the bay. On arrivin...

After leaving the Abrolhas’, we had a strong westerly breeze, which required us to carry sail pretty stiffly, to avoid the shore; in the course of which process we sighted the W...

At two o’clock in the afternoon of October 11th we weighed our anchor, and, with a fair wind, stood out to sea. Twenty-four hours afterwards we sighted a school of sperm whales,...

At daylight, February 1st, we hove in sight of the Isle of St. Helena, the world-renowned prison-rock of Napoleon Bonaparte, the conqueror of Europe. At a distance, this isle lo...

But I have digressed long enough. I now return to the old Pacific and her inmates, as she was when we crossed the line, or a few degrees to the southward of it; at which time we...

After speaking these coasting crafts, our course was still onward and homeward. At noon we saw land; it was greeted with three as hearty cheers as ever swelled American throats....