WHALE ; The Narrative of a Voyage

Recently discovered journal of a four-year long whaling trip-1849-53- written by a 16-year old whaler who, from the maturity of judgment and attitudes must have put it into this form in middle life. But his memory was acute and vivid- if not wholly enthusiastic- and he recalls in considerable detail the voyage of Charles W. Morgan, the famous New Bedford whaler which is now in the Marine Museum at Mystic, Conn. Haley was Harpooner, during those years in the South Pacific-particularly in the waters around New Zealand and the Fiji Islands. He tells of his first whale at 17, of other hits, misses and narrow escapes, of shore leave, of friendly and hostile natives, of tall tales told by fellow shipmates. Authentic whaling and sea lore, for both research students and the adventure market. The illustrations will be reproduced in gravure from the drawings of an unknown artist who decorated his journal of a similar cruise, '55-'58.