-fishery by the Hollanders,
Zealanders, and Danes; from whom they derived many terms still extant in the
fishery; and what is yet more, their fat old fashions, touching plenty to eat
and drink. For, as a general thing, the English merchant ship scrimps her crew;
but not so the English whaler. Hence, in the English, this thing of whaling good
cheer is not normal and natural, but incidental and particular; and, therefore,
must have some special origin, which is here pointed out, and will be still
further elucidated.
    During my researches in the leviathanic histories, I stumbled upon an
ancient Dutch volume, which, by the musty whaling smell of it, I knew must be
about whalers. The title was Dan Coopman, wherefore I concluded that this must
be the invaluable memoirs of some Amsterdam cooper in the fishery, as every
whale-ship must carry its cooper. I was reinforced in this opinion by seeing
that it was the production of one »Fitz Swackhammer.« But my friend, Dr.
Snodhead, a very learned man, professor of Low Dutch and High German in the
college of Santa Claus and St. Pott's, to whom I handed the work for
translation, giving him a box of sperm candles for his trouble - this same Dr.
Snodhead, so soon as he spied the book, assured me that Dan Coopman did not mean
»The Cooper,« but »The Merchant.« In short, this ancient and learned Low Dutch
book treated of the commerce of Holland; and, among other subjects, contained a
very interesting account of its whale-fishery. And in this chapter it was,
headed »Smeer,« or »Fat,« that I found a long detailed list of the outfits for
the larders and cellars of 180 sail of Dutch whalemen; from which list, as
translated by Dr. Snodhead, I transcribe the following: -
 
400,000 lbs. of beef.
60,000 lbs. Friesland pork.
150,000 lbs. of stock fish.
550,000 lbs. of biscuit.
72,000 lbs. of soft bread.
2,800 firkins of butter.
20,000 lbs. Texel &amp; Leyden cheese.
144,000 lbs. cheese (probably an inferior article).
550 ankers of Geneva.
10,800 barrels of beer.
 
Most statistical tables are parchingly dry in the reading; not so in the present
case, however, where the reader is flooded with whole pipes, barrels, quarts,
and gills of good gin and good cheer.
    At the
