P a g e 2 G h o s t T o w n s a n d H i s t o r y o f M o n t a n a N e w s l e t t e r Denizens of the deep spawned both fascination and terror for mankind throughout history. The depths of the sea were often seen teeming with monsters, real and imagined. History and mythology abounds with nightmarish creatures, ranging from the Biblical great whale of Jonah, to the Leviathan - a dragon of the sea, and the Scylla of Homer - a six-headed, twelve-legged serpentine monster. From Scandinavia in the 1600s came the legend of the Kraken, a giant squid-octopus type creature that could grab sailors or envelope entire ships in horror. A strange and mystifying world existed under the sea and it was not until the 1800s that some of these rumors began to be dispelled by scientific reason and exploration. But the monstrous whale - that was no figment of imagination! Larger than any land animal that ever existed; they had been hunted at least as early as 3000BC. But in the 18th and 19th century, hunting of whales became a prolific and highly profitable, albeit a dangerous commercial enterprise. Normally a peaceful mammal, whales become enraged when stalked and hunted. Herman Melville’s novel Moby Dick, even though fictional, was based on actual historic accounts of the whale Mocha Dick, and the whale that rammed and sunk the whale-ship Essex in 1820. Other equally stimulating novels and newspaper accounts tantalized the public with awe and curiosity about these great beasts. Whale oil, baleen, and other whale byproducts were used in all sectors of American life in the 1700-1800s - including the production of soap, leather, textiles, and paints. This high-grade oil lubricated machinery and equipment, both commercial and domestic. Prior to the advent of kerosene, whale oil lamps illuminated homes and businesses across the country. A waxy substance called spermaceti, collected from the heads of sperm whales, produced the brightest and cleanest burning candles ever made. Whales and whaling was a vital part of the nation’s economy and well-being. By the 1860s, Atlantic whale populations had been seriously decimated by over a century of intensive slaughter, and the whaling industry mostly shifted to the Pacific Ocean and Arctic Sea to conduct their bloody business. Voyages would last two to three years, exposing men and ships to increasing danger and hardships, while decreasing profits. With the completion of the transcontinental railroad in 1869, and the ability to transport whale products across the country, the heart of the whaling industry moved from New Bedford and Nantucket Mass. to San Francisco. “Old salts” on the eastern seaboard, left high and dry economically, and who knew no other trade, would occasionally tow a dead whale into port and have it ignominiously dragged up on shore or a dock for display. They charged the public a dime or so to view the huge behemoth in order to help line the captain’s
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