The Harriet Hoxie was an 1851 clipper in the California trade. She was known for carrying cargoes of whale oil

Whale oil

Whale oil is the oil obtained from the blubber of various species of whales, particularly the three species of right whale and the bowhead whale prior to the modern era, as well as several other species of baleen whale...

 from Honolulu, and for importing the first Brown Leghorn chickens to the United States.

Voyages

In 1852, New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

 to San Francisco, 120 days net, under Capt. P.E. Rowland. She put into Valparaíso

Valparaíso

Valparaíso is a city and commune of Chile, center of its third largest conurbation and one of the country's most important seaports and an increasing cultural center in the Southwest Pacific hemisphere. The city is the capital of the Valparaíso Province and the Valparaíso Region...

 under jury rig for repairs for 12 days. Her best day on this trip was 311 mi., 16 knots.
In 1853, New York to San Francisco, 140 days, under Capt. Manwaring. She spent 30 days off Cape Horn

Cape Horn

Cape Horn is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile, and is located on the small Hornos Island...

, and lost a fore yard.
In 1855, Philadelphia to San Francisco, 128 days, under Capt. Manwaring.

First whale oil charter from Honolulu

"Sept. 7, 1852, ship Harriet Hoxie, 671 tons, Rowland master. 11½ days from San Francisco, to load oil

Whale oil

Whale oil is the oil obtained from the blubber of various species of whales, particularly the three species of right whale and the bowhead whale prior to the modern era, as well as several other species of baleen whale...

 and bone

Baleen

Baleen or whalebone is a filter-feeder system inside the mouths of baleen whales. The baleen system works when a whale opens its mouth underwater and then water pours into the whale's mouth. The whale then pushes the water out, and animals such as krill are filtered by the baleen and remain as food...

 for New Bedford

New Bedford, Massachusetts

New Bedford is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States, located south of Boston, southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, and about east of Fall River. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 95,072, making it the sixth-largest city in Massachusetts...

, sailing in November. This was probably the first clipper chartered for this service, to permit whaleships to continue their cruising. Prior shipments of this nature had been largely done by whalers returning east if they had cargo space, otherwise, the lucky "full" ships had to break up their cruise and go home with their catch before the three years' voyage they usually outfitted for was up."

Imported first Brown Leghorn chickens

"In 1850 a Captain Gates on the ship Harriet Hoxie brought from Leghorn

Livorno

Livorno , traditionally Leghorn , is a port city on the Tyrrhenian Sea on the western edge of Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of approximately 160,000 residents in 2009.- History :...

, Italy, to Mystic, Connecticut the first recognized importation of Brown Leghorns. They were left with Mr. Russell Brown, a stable-keeper, who bred and disseminated them over New England."

Shipment of law books

During the wild and lawless Gold Rush

California Gold Rush

The California Gold Rush began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The first to hear confirmed information of the gold rush were the people in Oregon, the Sandwich Islands , and Latin America, who were the first to start flocking to...

 era of San Francisco, in 1853, an ad ran in the "Daily Alta California", announcing a shipment of "Law Books! Received by Lecount and Strong, per clipper Harriet Hoxie.

Description by a stowaway

A description of a voyage on the Harriet Hoxie around the Horn, from Hawaii

Hawaii

Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...

 to New London, Connecticut

New London, Connecticut

New London is a seaport city and a port of entry on the northeast coast of the United States.It is located at the mouth of the Thames River in New London County, southeastern Connecticut....

, was written by N. Bryon Smith, a former crew member of the whaler Nile, of Greenport

Greenport, Suffolk County, New York

Greenport is a village in Suffolk County, New York, United States. It is located on the north fork of Long Island. The population was 2,048 at the 2000 census....

, New York. Smith stowed away on Harriet Hoxie in Hawaii in order to return home.