RECRUITING ON THE BEACH
Disillusioned by hard work, indifferent food, and miserable conditions of living in general, men were constantly deserting the whaleships, especially in the South Seas—where the islands presented a seemingly idyllic existence to the hard driven sailor man.
Whaling captains did their best to repair these losses by recruiting among the beachcombers and deserters from other ships, but the inducements held out were no different to those with which they were only too well acquainted, and met with little success, except in cases where idleness and monotony gave way to a desire to get home again.
Many of these runaways, however, were so steeped in the soft living in the islands that they deserted again at the first opportunity.