 There followed a succession of whaling ships of which he served as captain, including the "Mary D. Hume", the "Thrasher", the "Grampus", the "Balaena", and the steam whalers the "Newport" and the "Narwhal".Leavitt arrived in the Canadian Arctic in the late nineteenth century as the New England and San Francisco-based whaling fleet pursued their targets into the frozen northern seas.The oil-bearing bones in the heads of bowhead whales were highly sought-after and brought large profits to the whalers.