Natural Resources

The natural resources collections offer centuries of evidence about how Americans have used the bounty of the American continent and coastal waters. Artifacts related to flood control, dam construction, and irrigation illustrate the nation's attempts to manage the natural world. Oil-drilling, iron-mining, and steel-making artifacts show the connection between natural resources and industrial strength.

Forestry is represented by saws, axes, a smokejumper's suit, and many other objects. Hooks, nets, and other gear from New England fisheries of the late 1800s are among the fishing artifacts, as well as more recent acquisitions from the Pacific Northwest and Chesapeake Bay. Whaling artifacts include harpoons, lances, scrimshaw etchings in whalebone, and several paintings of a whaler's work at sea. The modern environmental movement has contributed buttons and other protest artifacts on issues from scenic rivers to biodiversity.

This model represents the fishing schooner Dauntless, built at Essex, Mass., about 1855. Its hull is of the “sharpshooter” type, meaning the bottom has a sharp V-shape, as distinct from the rounded hulls of most fishing craft built in New England.
Description
This model represents the fishing schooner Dauntless, built at Essex, Mass., about 1855. Its hull is of the “sharpshooter” type, meaning the bottom has a sharp V-shape, as distinct from the rounded hulls of most fishing craft built in New England. The model shows the typical deck arrangement for a schooner sailing to or from the offshore fishing grounds, with the dory boats nested together and lashed bottom-up on the deck. All of the sails are set, including the jib and flying jib on the vessel’s long bowsprit.
Fishing on the shallow banks stretching from Georges Bank east of Massachusetts to the Grand Bank off the coast of Newfoundland was a dangerous enterprise. Thousands of lives were lost in the race to catch more fish and deliver them to market before the competition. The demand for fast schooners led to designs that favored speed over safety. The Dauntless is an example of a mid-century schooner with a fast hull and a great deal of sail. The sailing rig would have required crewmen to venture out on the bowsprit to furl the jib, a dangerous proposition, especially in rough weather.
Details of what happened to the Dauntless and its crew in September 1870 are unknown. But the schooner was lost at sea with all hands aboard, while making a passage to the Bay of St. Lawrence from Gloucester. Those lost included Jas. G. Craig, master, John La Pierre, Martin Costello, John Todd Jr., George Todd, Daniel Herrick, Edward Smith, James Smith, James Welch, George Goodwin, and two others, whose names are unknown.
Date made
1894
date made
1855
model built
ca 1855
schooner was lost at sea
1870-09
master of schooner's crew
Craig, Jas. G.
sailor
La Pierre, John
Costello, Martin
Todd, Jr., John
Todd, George
Herrick, Daniel
Smith, Edward
Smith, James
Welch, James
Goodwin, George
ID Number
TR.076244
catalog number
076244
accession number
028022
Every whaling voyage began with assembling a crew from whatever labor pool was available in a port city at a particular time. In New Bedford in late May 1876, 31 men signed to work aboard the 106-foot bark Bartholomew Gosnold for its next voyage.
Description
Every whaling voyage began with assembling a crew from whatever labor pool was available in a port city at a particular time. In New Bedford in late May 1876, 31 men signed to work aboard the 106-foot bark Bartholomew Gosnold for its next voyage. Less than half were from the United States; the rest were from Portugal, England, Ireland, Germany, France and Scotland. The two Frenchmen and one of the eight Portuguese were listed as blacks; the remaining men were of light or brown complexion. Four each of the crew were in their forties and thirties; 16 were in their twenties, and six were in their teens. Three of these teenagers, all from the New Bedford area, were only 16 years old when they shipped out.
date made
1876-05
ID Number
TR.103009.03
catalog number
103009.03
accession number
12006
The most dangerous act in the dangerous business of whaling was “spading flukes.” The whaleboat drew up close alongside a desperate, unpredictable whale on the water surface, and a crewman used a boat spade or fluke lance to sever the whale’s tail tendons.
Description
The most dangerous act in the dangerous business of whaling was “spading flukes.” The whaleboat drew up close alongside a desperate, unpredictable whale on the water surface, and a crewman used a boat spade or fluke lance to sever the whale’s tail tendons. This effectively immobilized the prey, for the whale couldn’t swim without its tail.
According to James Temple Brown, who wrote the 1883 catalog of the Smithsonian’s whaling collection, the fluke lance was exceedingly rare and was regarded as “a monstrosity by all the fraternity”. This rare inscribed example was used aboard the starboard whaleboat of the bark Sea Fox.
Date made
ca 1880-1889
authored whaling reference material
Brown, James Temple
maker
Driggs, James D.
ID Number
TR.056358
catalog number
056358
accession number
012298
By the later 19th century, guns had replaced most hand harpoons and lances, since they were far more efficient and deadly to the prey. They also could be shot from a safer distance from the prey than the hand tools could be wielded.
Description
By the later 19th century, guns had replaced most hand harpoons and lances, since they were far more efficient and deadly to the prey. They also could be shot from a safer distance from the prey than the hand tools could be wielded. The darting gun was one of the more popular types. Loaded with different darts, this versatile weapon could be used both for harpooning and killing whales.
This particular gun was displayed at the 1883 International Fisheries Exhibition in London, England. After the display ended, it was donated to the Smithsonian by its inventor, Capt. Eben Pierce of New Bedford, Mass.
date made
1880s
guns replaced hand tools
late 19th century
displayed at the International Fisheries Exhibition
1883
maker
Pierce, Eben
ID Number
TR.316550
catalog number
316550
accession number
66767
The bony substance from the mouths of whales known as baleen is formed of keratin, like human hair and nails. It hangs in long, parallel sheets from the upper jaws of the blue, right, and minke whales, as well as other lesser-known species.
Description
The bony substance from the mouths of whales known as baleen is formed of keratin, like human hair and nails. It hangs in long, parallel sheets from the upper jaws of the blue, right, and minke whales, as well as other lesser-known species. Its hairy fringe filters food from seawater.
Dried out, baleen’s strength and flexibility made it ideal for buggy whips, corset busks, and umbrella ribs before the advent of plastic. A whale’s bone could actually be worth more than its oil. This man’s large umbrella has a wooden shaft, heavy hinged baleen ribs made in short sections, and an ivory handle. Marked “G. Hobbs, Barre,” it belonged to the donor’s grandfather, who lived in Barre, Massachusetts, until around the end of the Civil War.
Date made
ca 1835-1865
user
Hobbs, George
ID Number
AG.169283.01
accession number
169283
catalog number
169283.01
This brass bell was used to summon the crew to meals on a Gloucester (Massachusetts) fishing schooner in the late 19th century. Each sailing schooner shipped a cook along with eight to twelve fishermen and a captain.
Description
This brass bell was used to summon the crew to meals on a Gloucester (Massachusetts) fishing schooner in the late 19th century. Each sailing schooner shipped a cook along with eight to twelve fishermen and a captain. Before heading out, the cook provisioned the schooner with food for the trip. George W. Scott served as a cook on the schooner Ocean King in 1879, around the time this bell was in service. His journal lists the following provisions for a four-month journey: 5 barrels beef, 1 barrel pork, 1 barrel hams, 10 barrels flour, 50 gallons molasses, 15 bushels potatoes, and 200 pounds butter.
The cook on a Gloucester schooner produced three large meals a day. Meal times followed the rhythm of work and were likely to change depending on the catch and the weather. Fishing always came first, and a good cook was able to work around changes in the routine. The schooner fare was similar to meals served in the crew’s home towns across New England and Atlantic Canada. Breakfast might consist of doughnuts, pancakes, potatoes, and porridge. The main meal of the day was dinner (lunch), and typically consisted of meat, soup, fish, baked beans, pudding, cakes, and bread or biscuits. Supper might have been leftovers.
Fishing in the North Atlantic was hard work, and three meals were usually not enough to keep the crew satisfied. So the cook left bread, pie, and leftovers in a cupboard where the crew could grab snacks between fishing duties. All meals were announced by the loud ringing of the bell. At meal times the captain and half the crew would eat at the table in the galley set by the cook. The other half would continue working until the second shift was signaled by the ringing of the bell. A good cook was one who could clear the table, wash the dishes, and reset the table in mere minutes, while keeping the hot food coming.
date made
1882
1883
Associated Date
late 19th century
cook on the schooner "Ocean King"
Scott, George W.
ID Number
AG.054697
accession number
012158
catalog number
054697
In the later 19th century, guns with explosive charges shooting the harpoons took the place of hand tools for catching and killing whales. They were much safer, for they could be shot at a whale from greater distances than a hand lance could be applied.
Description
In the later 19th century, guns with explosive charges shooting the harpoons took the place of hand tools for catching and killing whales. They were much safer, for they could be shot at a whale from greater distances than a hand lance could be applied. They also penetrated the whale’s skin deeper and were harder for the animal to dislodge.
Gun harpoons were also far more efficient, for the steam whalers could approach the prey directly and did not need labor-intensive whaleboats and their highly trained crews any longer.
Designed to be fired from a shoulder gun, this nonexplosive style of harpoon was invented by Oliver Allen of Norwich, Conn. to fasten to whales prior to killing.
date made
mid-1800s
harpoons replaced hand tools
late 19th century
patentee
Allen, Oliver
inventor
Allen, Oliver
ID Number
AG.056230
catalog number
056230
accession number
012333
patent number
5949
This odd tool was used to scrape the flesh off the bones from a freshly caught whale. It was the last step in processing the whale’s body before the bone was partially dried on deck and then stowed below in the cargo hold.
Description
This odd tool was used to scrape the flesh off the bones from a freshly caught whale. It was the last step in processing the whale’s body before the bone was partially dried on deck and then stowed below in the cargo hold. Once the ship was back in port, the bone was placed on end in large yards to dry further.
The bone and baleen—rows of bony strips in a whale’s upper jaw that filter food from seawater—from a whaling voyage could yield as much as $50,000, or even greater profits than the oil itself. Baleen served a wide variety of purposes from buggy whips to umbrella ribs to women’s corset stays.
date made
1880s
ID Number
AG.057778
catalog number
057778
accession number
012278
Whaling crews used mincing knives to cut the blubber strips into thin slices down to, but not through, the thick whale skin. This process increased the surface area of the blubber and helped it melt faster in the try-pots.
Description
Whaling crews used mincing knives to cut the blubber strips into thin slices down to, but not through, the thick whale skin. This process increased the surface area of the blubber and helped it melt faster in the try-pots. Cut in this fashion, the sections of whale blubber and skin were known as “bible leaves” because they resembled the pages of a book.
date made
1876
collected
1876
ID Number
AG.025912
accession number
005019
catalog number
025912
Cod liver oil was used in northern European fishing communities for centuries as a remedy for ill health, before it became recognized by the medical establishment.
Description
Cod liver oil was used in northern European fishing communities for centuries as a remedy for ill health, before it became recognized by the medical establishment. Its popularity spread quickly in the United States after Edinburgh physician John Hughes Bennett published the first English-language treatise on cod liver oil in 1841. The oil was used to treat “wasting diseases” such as consumption (tuberculosis), and as a remedy for rickets. By the mid-19th century, the New England coast was producing 24, 000 gallons of the oil annually.
Yet despite its acknowledged medicinal value, the problem with cod liver oil remained its vile, nauseating, oily taste. To mask the taste, the oil was given in coffee, milk, or brandy, or taken with a pinch of salt, smoked herring, or tomato catsup. Pharmaceutical manufacturers created emulsions, made by mixing the oil with an emulsifying agent such as powdered acacia, water, sugar, and flavoring.
This bottle of cod liver oil emulsion was made around 1910 by the Whitman Chemical Company of Boston. The label states that it is one-third cod liver oil and 7% alcohol. It also contains hypophosphites, compounds of phosphorous, which were also thought to be effective in treating tuberculosis. At the time this bottle was manufactured, the value of cod liver oil as a medicine was questioned by many doctors. However, it remained popular as a general tonic and nutritive supplement, especially for children.
The use of cod liver oil would change dramatically after the discovery of vitamins and the role they play in promoting healthy growth and preventing diseases such as rickets (caused by a deficiency of Vitamin D). Cod liver oil is one of the best natural sources of vitamins A and D.
Date made
ca 1910
maker
Whitman Chemical Company
ID Number
1984.0782.045
accession number
1984.0782
catalog number
1984.0782.045
Explosive lances were designed to kill a whale by exploding inside its body. Many different types were invented in the late 19th century. When they worked properly, they were extremely efficient.They could either be shot out of guns or set at the end of darting guns.
Description
Explosive lances were designed to kill a whale by exploding inside its body. Many different types were invented in the late 19th century. When they worked properly, they were extremely efficient.
They could either be shot out of guns or set at the end of darting guns. These devices resembled harpoon handles, to which the explosive lances were fixed. Once a plunger touching the whale’s skin moved a specific length, it triggered an explosive charge that shot the lance into the whale’s body.
date made
late 1800s
patent date
1879
explosive lances were invented
late 19th century
patentee
Pierce, Eben
manufacturer
Brown, Frank E.
ID Number
AG.316544
catalog number
316544
accession number
066767
After a whale was captured and killed, its carcass was towed by the whaleboat to the side of the mother ship for processing.
Description
After a whale was captured and killed, its carcass was towed by the whaleboat to the side of the mother ship for processing. Cutting up the whale was done by crewmen standing on a wooden plank, or cutting stage, rigged out over the side of the ship so that they could stand directly over the body. Crewmen used this canvas “monkey belt” to secure themselves while they stripped the whale of its blubber. It was dangerous and slippery work. If a sailor slid into the water he risked drowning or being attacked by sharks looking for an easy meal.
date made
1883
ID Number
AG.057716
catalog number
057716
accession number
2009.0184
After harpoons fastened the whale and whaleboat together, a whale was given plenty of time and rope to dive, try to swim away, and otherwise wear itself out.
Description
After harpoons fastened the whale and whaleboat together, a whale was given plenty of time and rope to dive, try to swim away, and otherwise wear itself out. Once the exhausted animal returned to the surface to breathe, the whaleboat approached it, and a hand lance, also known as a killing iron, was used to actually dispatch the animal.
Hand lances had long shafts, to allow the point to penetrate deep into the whale’s body in search of the thick neck arteries. The tips of the killing irons were leaf or oval shaped and extremely sharp, so that they cut on the way in and on the way out, and were easier to remove and stab repeatedly. Cutting the neck arteries prevented the animal from deep diving and hastened its bleeding to death.
This nickel-plated example was manufactured and donated by Luther Cole of Fairhaven, Mass.
Date made
1880s
maker
Cole, Luther
ID Number
AG.056357
accession number
012326
catalog number
056357
Scoops and bailers are essential tools for fishermen who work out of small boats. Water inevitably finds its way into vessels and bailing becomes a frequent but necessary chore.
Description
Scoops and bailers are essential tools for fishermen who work out of small boats. Water inevitably finds its way into vessels and bailing becomes a frequent but necessary chore. This scoop, carved out of one piece of wood, was used prior to 1883 by cod fishermen from Gloucester, Massachusetts, to bail out their dories.
Small, flat-bottomed dories were not used in the American commercial cod fishery until after 1850, when trawl-line fishing expanded. Dories were ideal for the purpose: they could be nested together on the deck of the larger, fishing schooner until needed. On the water, they were light and easy to handle, as well as stable. When fishing long trawl lines, fishermen would leave the relative comforts of the schooners to work in pairs as dorymates. Because they were away from the schooners for many hours, the fishermen carried provisions and gear in the dories, including water, food, oars, a mast and sail, anchors, buoys and markers, several trawl tubs, pen boards for holding the fish, several scoops and bailers, fog horns, a compass, and more.
This dory scoop was displayed at the 1883 International Fisheries Exhibition in London. The United States’ portion of the display was organized by the U.S. Fish Commission and included a wealth of gear, models, photographs, fishery products, and everyday objects used by American fishermen. The international exhibition was on view between May 12 and November 1, during which a daily average of 18,545 people toured the buildings and grounds. When the exhibition closed, the collections that represented the United States were sent to the Smithsonian Institution and a catalog was published: Descriptive Catalogues of the Collections Sent from the United States to the International Fisheries Exhibition, London, 1883, Constituting A Report Upon the American Section. Prepared under the direction of G. Brown Goode, U.S. Commissioner, and a staff of associates. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1884.
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
AG.025222
catalog number
025222
The words “BAKER NEW BEDFORD.” appear on the back of this cast-iron sperm whale, which has two mounting lugs on the bottom for fastening to a flat surface.
Description
The words “BAKER NEW BEDFORD.” appear on the back of this cast-iron sperm whale, which has two mounting lugs on the bottom for fastening to a flat surface. These features suggest that it was a shop sign for one of the many stores in New Bedford, Massaschusetts that provided items to whalers needed for their dirty and dangerous business. In the 1878 New Bedford city directory, the only person listed with the surname Baker was Ansol Baker, a machinist.
New Bedford was the largest American whaling port in the industry, which flourished until the Civil War and lasted into the early 20th century.
Date made
19th century
possible owner of sign
Baker, Ansol
ID Number
CL.25052
catalog number
25052
accession number
2009.0157
catalog number
2009.0157.01
The first step in catching a whale was throwing at least two sharp harpoons into its back, to ensure that the whaleboat was securely fastened to its prey.
Description
The first step in catching a whale was throwing at least two sharp harpoons into its back, to ensure that the whaleboat was securely fastened to its prey. Harpoon shafts were made of soft wrought iron, so that they would bend and not break off when twisted, which risked losing the wounded whale.
A line at the bottom of the harpoon’s wooden handle attached it to the whaleboat. Once in the whale’s flesh, the sharp toggle tip swiveled sideways, making it harder for the tip of the weapon to pull out. Whales normally dove deep after the first prick, to try and escape the sharp jab from the surface of the ocean. This harpoon shaft was twisted by a descending whale.
date made
1882
maker
D. & D.
ID Number
AG.056237
catalog number
056237
accession number
012284
This model represents a typical Massachusetts whaleship of the mid-19th century, fully rigged and ready for a long cruise that might last for as much as four years. The name “U.S.
Description
This model represents a typical Massachusetts whaleship of the mid-19th century, fully rigged and ready for a long cruise that might last for as much as four years. The name “U.S. Grant, Edgartown” on the ship’s stern is fictional—no ship by that name ever sailed for the whaling fleet. The ship’s bottom is lined with copper sheathing, to keep out the teredo navalis, a tropical worm that bored into the wood of ship’s hulls and weakened the structure, as the termite does to wooden structures on land.
The whaleboats are the most prominent features. After whales were sighted by lookouts perched at the mast tops, the boats were dropped over the sides of the mother ship to chase them. Also over the side are the cutting stages, where the whale’s fat, or blubber, was sliced off the body in long strips.
The main feature on the ship’s deck is the try-works, or giant pots set into a brick framework, where the whale’s blubber, was boiled down into oil. After the blubber became liquid, it was drawn off to cool and then poured into heavy barrels and stored below in the ship’s cargo hold.
This model was purchased in 1875 at Edgartown, on the island of Martha’s Vineyard, Mass.; it was one of the first objects in the Smithsonian’s National Watercraft Collection.
Date made
1875
model was purchased
1875
ID Number
TR.025726
catalog number
025726
accession number
4353
Half hull ship models were carved by shipwrights to a shape negotiated with the future owners of the ship.
Description
Half hull ship models were carved by shipwrights to a shape negotiated with the future owners of the ship. Once finished, the builder lifted the curved shape of the outer hull off the model and scaled it up to the dimensions of the full-sized ship on the floor of the molding loft. Then the ship’s timbers were cut to fit the lines drawn on the floor and lifted into position in the ship’s framework.
African American shipwright and former slave John Mashow built the whaler Jireh Swift in 1853 at Dartmouth, Mass. near New Bedford. The vessel measured 122 feet in length and 454 tons. Its first voyage was to the northern Pacific and lasted nearly four years. The ship collected 45 barrels of sperm oil, 2,719 barrels of whale oil and 14,900 lbs of whalebone. Swift’s second voyage, to the same grounds, lasted more than four years and netted much more oil and bone for her owners. Nearly three years into her third voyage, on 22 June 1865 she was captured in the Arctic by the Confederate raider Shenandoah and burned, for a loss of more than $40,000.
Date made
1853
maker
Mashow, John
ID Number
TR.076323
catalog number
076323
accession number
015358
maker
Guy Cotten
ID Number
2007.0178.09
catalog number
2007.0178.09
accession number
2007.0178

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