In the Trove archive ‘the key to Scotland’s past‘ is a diary of a whaling journal. Trove provides this introduction to the diary:
‘Whaling was very important in the 18C and 19C. Many products were used from the whales. The two most important were whale oil and whalebone (baleen). This is the first part of page 7 of the Diary of a Whaling Voyage from Aberdeen, probably written in 1831. It describes how a fellow crewmember once killed a female narwhal with a 5 foot long tooth. The author goes on to remark that narwhals are supposed never to have twins. The writer of this diary is not known, but its contents suggest that he was probably a doctor or a medical student. Its date and the name of the ship are also unknown, but it was most likely written in 1831. The name of the master is given as Captain Allan and records show that he was captain of the “Hercules” who left Aberdeen for the Davis Straits on 12 March 1831’
29 October 1831, Scotsman:
