Logbook For Grace Robert Cushman Murphy Time Incorporated, NY 1965

In July of 1912, the author sailed as a naturalist aboard one of the last of the Yankee Whaling Sailing Ships on a journey to South Georgia. At this time steam ships had already replaced the sailing ships, petroleum whale oil, and European ships dominated the industry. The book is the result of a careful logbook Murphy kept during the year long voyage to share his adventures with his new bride Grace.

Robert Cushman Murphy was a naturalist and one of the world's great authorities on birds. His later work the Oceanic Birds of South America is a classic in the field of ornithology. In this book he records observations on whaling, and the natural history of South Georgia. While his job was to collect birds for his employer,the American Museum of Natural History in New York, he also describes their natural history.

The sailing whale ships took only the smaller whales. They devastated the Right Whale populations and did much to reduce the Sperm Whales. They also took Pilot Whales and slaughtered Elephant Seals on the island of South Georgia. It was the steam ships that slaughtered the great whales including the Humpback and Blue Whales.

It was a life of hard work and poor food for the sailors and officers alike. Indeed two crew members died on this trip and were buried at sea.

Read this book just because it is fun and to learn more about the early whaling ships and why whaling had such a devastating effect on the survival of whales and Elephant Seals.

Page Author: Emmalee Tarry