A typical whaling voyage lasted several years, and several months might pass out on the ocean between whale sightings.
Sailors had a lot of time on their hands. They looked for ways to relieve their boredom and forget their feelings of homesickness. Many whalemen took up scrimshaw, and those who became particularly skilled were called “scrimshanders.”
Scrimshaw is a form of art in which engravings are carved into sperm whale teeth (or occasionally whalebone). Sperm whale teeth are a kind of ivory, like elephant or walrus tusks, and make good carving surfaces. Unlike other parts of a whale, the big cone-shaped teeth—up to two pounds each in some of the largest individuals—had no value but were small enough to stow away in the ship’s tight quarters. After the valuable parts of a whale were harvested, the teeth were free for the taking.
This story is from the September 2017 edition of Cobblestone American History Magazine for Kids.
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This story is from the September 2017 edition of Cobblestone American History Magazine for Kids.
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Putting the Pieces Together
Americans needed to begin to put the past behind them, come together, and plan for the future in the spring of 1865. But Abraham Lincoln, the man best equipped to lead them and who had hoped to restore the country as smoothly and peacefully as possible, had been assassinated.
LAST SHOTS
The last Confederate forces in the Civil War didn’t surrender in the spring of 1865 or on a battlefield.
AND IN OTHER 1865 NEWS
A group of African Americans stop at the White House’s annual public reception on January 1, where they shake hands with President Abraham Lincoln.
A Plot to Kill President the
For several months, actor John Wilkes Booth’s band of conspirators had plotted to capture President Abraham Lincoln and hold him hostage in exchange for Confederate prisoners.
Let the Thing Be Pressed
In June 1864, Union Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant began a nearly 10-month campaign in Virginia.
HEALING THE NATION
President Abraham Lincoln took the oath of office for the second time on March 4, 1865.
A Helping Hand
The spring season is hard in any agricultural society. Plants and animals are too small to eat.
WAR SHERMAN-STYLE
As far as Union Major General William T. Sherman was concerned, the Civil War had gone on long enough.
PEACE TALKS
The fall of Fort Fisher made clear that the Confederacy’s days were numbered. Southerners were tired and hungry.
FORT FISHER'S FALL
Outnumbered Confederate soldiers inside Fort Fisher were unable to withstand the approach of Union troops by land and the constant Union naval bombardment from the sea.
