The world owes many discoveries to the energy and determination of whaleship captains. Over four hundred islands in the Pacific were discovered and named by American whalemen, and the history of New Zealand is closely connected with the visits of New England whalers. Australia, too, was opened to the world by the whalemen. It was to a certain extent due to the testimony of Captain Bryant, a whale captain of Mattapoisett, that Alaska was purchased by the United States government. That there was a northwest passage was also discovered by American whalemen in this way: the date and name of a ship were always marked on its harpoons, and in several instances whales were captured in the Pacific by ships that were known to have been cruising not long before in the Atlantic. It was Captain Timothy Folger, of Nantucket, who charted the Gulf Stream at the request of Benjamin Franklin, to whom he was related, and this drawing was engraved on an old chart and preserved in London. In this way English mariners discovered how to avoid the swift current and thereby gain much time. Our seamen in the early days were not very kindly treated by the Japanese, but, finally, several whalemen secured their good will by teaching them English. This encouraged the American government to send out Commodore Perry’s expedition, which succeeded in making our first treaty with Japan, thus opening that country to Western civilization. It was difficult to make discoveries ahead of our whalemen. In 1834 two Russian discovery ships approached a forlorn little island in the Antarctic Ocean and the commander was about to take possession in the name of his Czar. There was a dense fog at the time, but when it cleared away they were very much surprised and vexed to see a little Connecticut ship at anchor between their two vessels. The name of this whaler was the “Hero” of Stonington, captained by Nathaniel B. Palmer, who was only twenty-one years of age and was just returning from his discovery of the Antarctic Continent. The Russian commander was so impressed by the achievement of this youthful captain that he cheerfully acquiesced in naming the place Palmer’s Land. This name has since been changed to Graham Land. It is an undisputed fact that the whalers prepared the way for the missionaries. ABOARD A “BLUBBER HUNTER”