Format: PDF
Finding aid URL: https://archives.lafayette.edu/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/californ.pdf
The whaling ship California played a role in the business of whale fishery in New Bedford, Massachusetts in the nineteenth century. The California ship’s log is a one hundred and four page journal that documents a whaling voyage dating from August 25, 1858 to October 14, 1860. Most of the daily entries consist of reports on the weather, whale killings, and sightings of other ships. In a typical entry, the captain of the ship, Charles West, notes the date, weather conditions, and latitude and longitude of the ship. A particularly interesting account of shipboard violence is covered in the entries dating from October 25, 1858 to November 4, 1858 when a dispute broke out between two men and one man was killed.