The Loss of the Ship Essex, Sunk by a Whale by Thomas Nickerson & others.. (1/2)

[midnight_birth]

Title: The Loss of the Ship Essex, Sunk by a Whale: First-Person Accounts.
Author: Owen Chase and Thomas Nickerson (notes, edited and compiled with introduction by Nathaniel and Thomas Philbrick).
Genre: Non-fiction, nautical history, survival.
Country: U.S.
Language: English.
Publication Date: 1821 and ~1870s (this collection, notes and introduction 2000).
Summary: In 1820 the Nantucket whaleship Essex, thousands of miles from home in the South Pacific, was rammed by an angry sperm whale. The Essex sank, leaving twenty crew members in open boats for ninety days, only eight of which were finally rescued. This is a collection of 2 major first-person accounts, as well as 3 letters, 2 commentaries and 4 excerpts. Narrative of the Most Extraordinary and Distressing Shipwreck of the Whale-Ship Essex (1821) by Owen Chase is the definitive first-person account of the tragedy, by the ship's first mate, in charge of one of the rescued boats. My First Voyage at Sea and Subsequent Loss of the Ship Essex (~1870s) by Thomas Nickerson is the account of the disaster written later in life by the cabin boy, who, at fifteen and on his first voyage, was also the youngest member of the crew. (Only the 2 main narratives in this post, refer to PART 2 for supplementary material).

My rating: 8.5/10.
My review:


♥ Chase's Narrative, written with the help of a skilled ghostwriter, is something else altogether. It is more than a gripping survival tale; it is also an excellent work of self-promotion, depicting the author as a forceful and compassionate leader while glossing over his key role in pushing forward a plan that would doom most of the crew to a slow and terrible death.

~~from Introduction by Nathaniel and Thomas Philbrick.

♥ There are common sailors, boat-steerers, and harpooners: the last of these is the most honourable and important. It is in this station, that all the capacity of the young sailor is elicited; on the dexterous management of the harpoon, the line, and the lance, and in the adventurous positions which he takes alongside of his enemy, depends almost entirely the successful issue of his attack; and more real chivalry is not often exhibited on the deck of a battle-ship, than is displayed by these hardy sons of the ocean, in some of their gallant exploits among the whales. Nursed in the dangers of their business, and exposed to the continual hazards and hardships of all seasons, climates, and weathers, it will not be surprising if they should become a fearless set of people, and pre-eminent in all the requisites of good seamen. Two voyages are generally considered sufficient to qualify an active and intelligent young man for command; in which time, he learns from experience, and the examples which are set him, all that is necessary to be known.

♥ They would learn, also, what respect is due to the character and standing of a captain of a whale-ship, which those of the merchant service affect so much to undervalue. If the post of danger be the post of honour; and if merit emanates from exemplary private character, uncommon intelligence, and professional gallantry, then is it due to a great majority of the shipmasters of Nantucket, that they should be held above the operations of an invidious and unjust distinction. It is a curious fact that one does exist; and it is equally an illiberal, as an undeserved reproach upon them, which time and an acquaintance with their merits must speedily wipe away.

♥ The town of Nantucket, in the State of Massachusetts, contains about eight thousand inhabitants; nearly a third part of the population are quakers, and they are, taken together, a very industrious and enterprising people. On this island are owned about one hundred vessels, of all descriptions, engaged in the whale trade, giving constant employment and support to upwards of sixteen hundred hardy seamen, a class of people proverbial for their intrepidity. This fishery is not carried on to any extent from any other part of the United States, except from the town of New-Bedford, directly opposite to Nantucket, where are owned probably twenty sail. A voyage generally lasts about two years and a half, and with an entire uncertainty of success. Sometimes they are repaid with speedy voyages and profitable cargoes, and at others they drag out a listless and disheartening cruise, without scarcely making the expenses of an outfit. The business is considered a very hazardous one, arising from unavoidable accidents, in carrying on an extermination warfare against those great leviathans of the deep; and indeed a Nantucket man is on all occasions fully sensible of the honour and merit of his profession; no doubt because he knows that his laurels, like the soldier's, are plucked from the brink of danger. Numerous anecdotes are related of the whalemen of Nantucket; and stories of hair-breadth 'scapes, and sudden and wonderful preservation, are handed down amongst them, with the fidelity, and no doubt many of them with the characteristic fictions of the ancient legendary tales. A spirit of adventure amongst the sons of other relatives of those immediately concerned in it, takes possession of their minds at a very early age; captivated with the tough stories of the elder seamen, and seduced, as well by the natural desire of seeing foreign countries, as by the hopes of gain, they launch forth six or eight thousand miles from home, into an almost untraversed ocean, and spend from two to three years of their lives in scenes of constant peril, labour, and watchfulness. The profession is one of great ambition, and full of honourable excitement: a tame man is never known amongst them; and the coward is marked with that peculiar aversion, that distinguishes our public naval service. There are perhaps no people of superior corporeal powers; and it has been truly said of them, that they possess a natural aptitude, which seems rather the lineal spirit of their fathers, than the effects of any experience. The town itself, during the war, was (naturally to have been expected,) on the decline; but with the return of peace it took a fresh start, and a spirit for carrying on the fishery received a renewed and very considerable excitement. Large capitals are now embarked; and some of the finest ships that our country can boast of are employed in it. The increased demand, within a few years past, from the spermaceti manufactories, has induced companies and individuals in different parts of the Union to become engaged in the business; and if the the future consumption of the manufactured article bear any proportion to that of the few past years, this species of commerce will bid fair to become the most profitable and extensive that our country possesses. From the accounts of those who were in the early stages of the fishery concerned in it, it would appear, that the whales have been driven, like the beasts of the forest, before the march of civilization, into remote and more unfrequented seas, until now, they are followed by the enterprise and perseverance of our seamen, even to the distant coasts of Japan.

♥ Our passage thence to Cape Horn was not distinguished for any incident worthy of note. We made the longitude of the Cape about the 18th of December, having experienced head winds for nearly the whole distance. We anticipated a moderate time in passing this noted land, from the season of the year at which we were there, being considered the most favourable; but instead of this, we experienced heavy westerly gales, and a most tremendous sea, that detained us off the Cape five weeks, before we had got sufficiently to the westward to enable us to put away. Of the passage of this famous Cape it may be observed; that strong westerly gales and a heavy sea are its almost universal attendants; the prevalence and constancy of this wind and sea necessarily produce a rapid current, by which vessels are set to leeward; and it is not without some favourable slant of wind that they can in many cases get round at all. The difficulties and dangers of the passage are proverbial; but as far as my own observation extends, (and which the numerous reports of the whalemen corroborate,) you can always rely upon a long and regular sea; and although the gales may be very strong and stubborn, as they undoubtedly are, they are not known to blow with the destructive violence that characterizes some of the tornadoes of the western Atlantic Ocean.

♥ A whale had come up directly under her, and with one dash of his tail, had stove her bottom in, and strewed us in every direction around her. We, however, with little difficulty, got safely on the wreck, and clung there until one of the other boats which had been engaged in the shoal, came to our assistance, and took us off. Strange to tell, not a man was injured by this accident: Thus it happens very frequently in the whaling business, that boats are stove; oars, harpoons, and lines broken; ancles and wrists sprained; boats upset, and whole crews left for hours in the water, without any of these accidents extending to the loss of life. We are so much accustomed to the continual recurrence of such scenes as these, that we become familiarized to them, and consequently always feel that confidence and self-possession, which teaches us every expedient in danger, and inures the body, as well as the mind, to fatigue, privation, and peril, in frequent cases exceeding belief. It is this danger and hardship that makes the sailor; indeed it is the distinguishing qualification amongst us; and it is a common boast of the whaleman, that he has escaped from sudden and apparently inevitable destruction oftener than his fellow. He is accordingly valued on this account, without much reference to other qualities.

♥ Frequently, in my reflections on the subject, even after this lapse of time, I find myself shedding tears of gratitude for our deliverance, and blessing God, by whose divine aid and protection we were conducted through a series of unparalleled suffering and distress, and restored to the bosoms of our families and friends. There is no knowing what a stretch of pain and misery the human mind is capable of contemplating, when it is wrought upon by the anxieties of preservation; nor what pangs and weaknesses the body is able to endure, until they are visited upon it; and when at last deliverance comes, when the dream of hope is realized, unspeakable gratitude takes possession of the soul, and tears of joy choke the utterance. We require to be taught in the school of some signal suffering, privation, and despair, the great lessons of constant dependence upon an almighty forbearance and mercy. In the midst of the wide ocean, at night, when the sight of the heavens was shut out, and the dark tempest came upon us; then it was, that we felt ourselves ready to exclaim, "Heaven have mercy upon us, for nought but that can save us now."

♥ Amazement and despair now wholly took possession of us. We contemplated the frightful situation the ship lay in, and thought with horror upon the sudden and dreadful calamity that had overtaken us. We looked upon each other, as if to gather some consolatory sensation from an interchange of sentiments, but every countenance was marked with the paleness of despair. Not a word was spoken for several minutes by any of us; all appeared to be bound in a spell of stupid consternation; and from the time we were first attacked by the whale, to the period of the fall of the ship, and of our leaving her in the boat, more than ten minutes could not certainly have elapsed! God only knows in what way, or by what means, we were enabled to accomplish in that short time what we did; the cutting away and transporting the boat from where she wad deposited would of itself, in ordinary circumstances, have consumed as much time as that, if the whole ship's crew had been employed in it.

♥ The scenes of yesterday passed in such quick succession in my mind that it was not until after many hours of severe reflection that I was able to discard the idea of the of the catastrophe as a dream. Alas! it was one from which there was no awakening; it was too certainly true, that but yesterday we had existed as it were, and in one short moment had been cut off from all the hopes and prospects of the living! I have no language to paint out the horrors of our situation. To shed tears was indeed altogether unavailing, and withal unmanly; yet I was not able to deny myself the relief they served to afford me. After several hours of idle sorrow and repining I began to reflect upon the accident, and endeavoured to realize by what accountable destiny or design, (which I could not at first determine,) this sudden and most deadly attack had been made upon us: by an animal, too, never before suspected of premeditated violence, and proverbial for its insensibility and inoffensiveness. Every fact seemed to warrant me in concluding that it was any thing but chance which directed his operations; he made two several attacks upon the ship, at a short interval between them, both of which, according to their direction, were calculated to do us the most injury, by being made ahead, and thereby combining the speed of the two objects for the shock; to effect which, the exact manœuvres which he made were necessary. His aspect was most horrible, and such as indicated resentment and fury. He came directly from the shoal which we had just before entered, and in which we had struck three of his companions, as if fired with revenge for their sufferings. ..At all events, the whole circumstances taken together, all happening before my own eyes, and producing, at the time, impressions in my mind of decided, calculating mischief, on the part of the whale, (many of which impressions I cannot now recall,) induce me to be satisfied that I am correct in my opinion. It is certainly, in all its bearings, a hitherto unheard of circumstance, and constituted, perhaps, the most extraordinary one in the annals of the fishery.

♥ Our work was very much impeded by the increase in the wind and sea, and the surf breaking almost contiunually into the boats, gave us many fears that we should not be able to prevent our provisions from getting wet; and above all served to increase the constant apprehensions that we had, of the insufficiency of the boats themselves, during the rough weather that we should necessarily experience. In order to provide as much as possible against this, and withal to strengthen the slight materials of which the boats were constructed we procured from the wreck some light cedar boards, (intended to repair boats in cases of accident,) with which we built up additional sides, about six inches above the gunwale; these, we afterwards found, were of infinite service for the purpose for which they were intended; in truth, I am satisfied we could never have been preserved without them; the boats must otherwise have taken in so much water that all the efforts of twenty such weak, starving men as we afterwards came to be, would not have sufficed to keep her free; but what appeared most immediately to concern us, and to command all our anxieties, was the security of our provisions from the salt water.

♥ At best, a whale-boat is an extremely frail thing; the most so of any other kind of boat; they are what is called clinker built, and constructed of the lightest materials, for the purpose of being rowed with the greatest possible celerity, according to the necessities of the business for which they are intended. Of all species of vessels, they are the weakest, and most fragile, and possess but one advantage over any other-that of lightness and buoyancy, that enables them to keep above the dash of the sea, with more facility than heavier ones. This qualification is, however, preferable to that of any other, and, situated as we then were, I would not have exchanged her, old and crazy as she was, for even a ship's launch. I am quite confident, that to this quality of our boats we most especially owed our preservation, through the many days and nights of heavy weather, that we afterward encountered. In consideration of my having the weakest boat, six men were allotted to it; while those of the captain and second mate, took seven each, and at half past 12 we left the wreck, steering our course, with nearly all sails set, S.SE. At four o'clock in the afternoon we lost sight of her entirely. Many were the lingering and sorrowful looks we cast behind us,

♥ We agreed to keep together, in our boats, as nearly as possible, to afford assistance in cases of accident, and to render our reflections less melancholy by each other's presence. I found it on this occasion true, that misery does indeed love company; unaided, and unencouraged by each other, there were with us many whose weak minds, I am confident, would have sunk under the dismal retrospections of the past catastrophe, and who did not possess either sense or firmness enough to contemplate our approaching destiny, without the cheering of some more determined countenance than their own.

♥ The stomachs of two or three revolted at the sight of the blood, and refused to partake of it; not even the outrageous thirst that was upon them could induce them to taste it; for myself, I took it like a medicine, to relieve the extreme dryness of my palate, and stopped not to inquire whether it was any thing else than a liquid. After this, I may say exquisite banquet, our bodies were considerably recruited, and I felt my spirits now much higher than they had been at any time before.

♥ Strange as the extraordinary interest which we felt in each other's company may appear, and much as our repugnance to separation may seem to imply of weakness, it was the subject of our continual hopes and fears. It is truly remarked, that misfortune more than any thing else serves to endear us to our companions. So strongly was this sentiment engraved upon our feelings, and so closely were the destinies of all of us involuntarily linked together, that, had one of the boats been wrecked, and wholly lost, with all her provisions and water, we should have felt ourselves constrained, by every tie of humanity, to have taken the surviving sufferers into the other boats, and shared our bread and water with them, while a crumb of one or a drop of the other remained. Hard, indeed, would the case have been for all, and much as I have since reflected on the subject, I have not been able to realize, had it so happened, that a sense of our necessities would have allowed us to give so magnanimous and devoted a character to our feelings. I can only speak of the impressions which I recollect I had at the time. Subsequently, however, as our situation became more straightened and desperate, our conversation on this subject took a different turn; and it appeared to be an universal sentiment, that such a course of conduct was calculated to weaken the chances of a final deliverance for some, and might be the only means of consigning every soul of us to a horrid death of starvation. There is no question but that an immediate separation, therefore, was the most politic measure that could be adopted, and that every boat should take its own separate chance: while we remained together, should any accident happen, of the nature alluded to, no other course could be adopted, than that of taking the survivers into the other boats, and giving up voluntarily, what we were satisfied could alone prolong our hopes, and multiply the chances of our safety, or unconcernedly witness their struggles in death, perhaps beat them from our boats, with weapons, back into the ocean. The expectation of reaching the land was founded upon a reasonable calculation of the distance, the means, and the subsistence; all which were scanty enough, God knows, and ill adapted to the probable exigences of the voyage. Any addition to our own demands, in this respect, would not only injure, but actually destroy the whole system which we had laid down, and reduce us to a slight hope, derived either from the speedy death of some of our crew, or the falling in which some vessel. With all this, however, there was a desperate instinct that bound us together; we could not reason on the subject with any degree of satisfaction to our minds, yet we continued to cling to each other with a strong and involuntary impulse.

♥ It was a dreadful night-cut off from any imaginary relief-nothing remained but to await the approaching issue with firmness and resignation. The appearance of the heavens was dark and dreary, and the blackness that was spread over the face of the waters dismal beyond description. The heavy squalls, that followed each other in quick succession, were preceded by sharp flashes of lightning, that appeared to wrap our little barge in flames. The sea rose to a dreadful height, and every wave that came looked as if it must be the last that would be necessary for our destruction. To an overruling Providence alone must be attributed our salvation from the horrors of that terrible night. It can be accounted for in no other way: that a speck of substance, like that which we were, before the driving terrors of the tempest, could have been conducted safely though it.

♥ I had taken into custody, by common consent, all the provisions and water belonging to the boat, and was determined that no encroachments should be made upon it with my consent; nay, I felt myself bound, by every consideration of duty, by every dictate of sense, of prudence, and discretion, without which, in my situation, all other exertions would have been folly itself, to protect them, at the hazard of my life. For this purpose I locked up in my chest the whole quantity, and never, for a single moment, closed my eyes without placing some part of my person in contact with the chest; and having loaded my pistol, kept it constantly about me. I should not certainly have put any threats in execution as long as the most distant hopes of reconciliation existed; and was determined, in case the least refractory disposition should be manifested, (a thing which I contemplated not unlikely to happen, with a set of starving wretches like ourselves,) that I would immediately divide our subsistence into equal proportions, and give each man's share into his own keeping. Then, should any attempt be made upon mine, which I intended to mete out to myself, according to exigences, I was resolved to make the consequences of it fatal. There was, however, the most upright and obedient behaviour in this respect manifested by every man in the boat, and I never had the least opportunity of proving what my conduct would have been on such an occasion.

♥ "Patience and long-suffering" was the constant language of our lips: and a determination, strong as the resolves of the soul could make it, to cling to existence as long as hope and breath remained to us.

♥ About eleven o'clock my boat being ahead a short distance of the others, I turned my head back, as I was in the habit of doing every minute, and neither of the others were to be seen. It was blowing and raining at this time as if the heavens were separating, and I knew not hardly at the moment what to do. I hove my boat to the wind, and lay drifting about an hour, expecting every moment that they would come up with me, but not seeing any thing of them, I put away again, and stood on the course agreed upon, with strong hopes that daylight would enable me to discover them again. When the morning dawned, in vain did we look over every part of the ocean for our companions; they were gone! and we saw no more of them afterwards. It was folly to repine at the circumstance; it could neither be remedied, nor could sorrow secure their return; but it was impossible to prevent ourselves feeling all the poignancy and bitterness that characterizes the separation of men who have long suffered in each other's company, and whose interests and feelings fate had so closely linked together.

♥ An accident occurred at night, which have me a great cause of uneasiness, and led me to an unpleasant rumination upon the probable consequences of a repetition of it. I had laid down in the boat without taking the usual precaution of securing the lid of the provision-chest, as I was accustomed to do, when one of the white men awoke me, and informed me that one of the blacks had taken some bread from it. I felt at the moment the highest indignation and resentment at such conduct in any of our crew, and immediately took my pistol in my hand, and charged him if he had taken any, to give it up without the least hesitation, or I should instantly shoot him!-He became at once every much alarmed, and, trembling, confessed the fact, pleading the hard necessity that urged him to it: he appeared to be very penitent for his crime, and earnestly swore that he would never be guilty of it again. I could not find it in my soul to extend towards him the least severity on this account, however much, according to the strict imposition which we felt upon ourselves it might demand it. This was the first infraction; and the security of our lives, our hopes of redemption from our sufferings, loudly called for a prompt and signal punishment; but every humane feeling of nature plead in his behalf, and he was permitted to escape, with the solemn injunction, that a repetition of the same offence would cost him his life.

♥ When I perceived this morning that it was calm, my fortitude almost forsook me. I thought to suffer another scorching day, like the last we had experienced, would close before night the scene of our miseries; and I felt many a despairing moment that day, that had well nigh proved fatal. It required an effort to look calmly forward, and contemplate what was yet in store for us, beyond what I felt I was capable of making; and what it was the buoyed me above all the terrors which surrounded us, God alone knows.

♥ My fellow sufferers murmured very much the whole time, and continued to press me continually with questions upon the probability of our reaching land again. I kept constantly rallying my spirits to enable me to afford them comfort. I encouraged them to bear up against all evils, and if we must perish, to die in our own cause, and not weakly distrust the providence of the Almighty, by giving ourselves up to despair. I reasoned with them, and told them that we would not die sooner by keeping up our hopes; that the dreadful sacrifices and privations we endured were to preserve us from death, and were not to be put in competition with the price which we set upon our lives, and their value to our families; it was, besides, unmanly to repine at what neither admitted of alleviation nor cure; and withal, that it was our solemn duty to recognise in our calamities an overruling divinity, by whose mercy we might be suddenly snatched from peril, and to rely upon him alone, "Who tempers the wind to the shorn lamb."

♥ Not one of us had now strength sufficient to steer, or indeed to make one single effort towards getting the sails properly trimmed, to enable us to make any headway. After an hour or two of relaxation, during which the horrors of our situation came upon us with a despairing force and effect, we made a sudden effort and got our sails into such a disposition, as that the boat would steer herself; and we then threw ourselves down, awaiting the issue of time to bring us relief, or to take us from the scene of our troubles. We could not do nothing more; strength and spirits were totally gone; and what indeed could have been the narrow hopes, that in our situation, then bound us to life?

♥ Our sufferings were now drawing to a close; a terrible death appeared shortly to await us; hunger became violent and outrageous, and we prepared for a speedy release form our troubles; our speech and reason were both considerably impaired, and we were reduced to be at this time, certainly the most helpless and wretched of the whole human race.

♥ We kept his corpse all night, and in the morning my two companions began as of course to make preparations to dispose of it in the sea; when, after reflecting on the subject all night, I addressed them in the painful subject of keeping the body for food!! Our provisions could not possibly last us beyond three days, within which time, it was not in any degree probable that we should find relief from our present sufferings, and that hunger would at last drive us to the necessity of casting lots. It was without any objection agreed to, and we set to work as fast as we were able to prepare it so as to prevent is spoiling. We separated his limbs from his body, and cut all the flesh from the bones; after which, we opened the body, took out the heart, and then closed it again-sewed it up as decently as we could, and committed it to the sea. We now first commenced to satisfy the immediate cravings of nature from the heart, which we eagerly devoured, and then eat sparingly of a few pieces of the flesh; after which, we hung up the remainder, cut in thin strips about the boat, to dry in the sun: we made a fire and roasted some of it, to serve us during the next day. In this manner did we dispose of our fellow-sufferer; the painful recollection of which, brings to mind at this moment, some of the most disagreeable and revolting ideas that it is capable of conceiving. We knew not then, to whose lot it would fall next, either to die or be shot, and eaten like the poor wretch we had just dispatched. Humanity must shudder at the dreadful recital. I have no language to paint the anguish of our souls in this dreadful dilemma.

♥ Matters were now with us at their height; all hope was cast upon the breeze; and we tremblingly and fearfully awaited its progress, and the dreadful development of our destiny.

♥ At about seven o'clock this morning, while I was lying asleep, my companion who was steering, suddenly and loudly called out "There's a sail!" I know not what was the first movement I made upon hearing such an unexpected cry: the earliest of my recollections are, that immediately I stood up, gazing in a state of abstraction and ecstasy upon the blessed vision of a vessel about seven miles off from us; she was standing in the same direction with us, and the only sensation I felt at the moment was, that of a violent and unaccountable impulse to fly directly towards her. I do not believe it is possible to form a just conception of the pure, strong feelings, and the unmingled emotions of joy and gratitude, that took possession of my mind on this occasion: the boy, too, took a sudden and animated start from his despondency, and stood up to witness the probable instrument of his salvation.

♥ On the fourteenth, the whole stock of provisions belonging to the second mate's boat, was entirely exhausted, and on the twenty-fifth, the black man, Lawson Thomas, died, and was eaten by his surviving companions. On the twenty-first, the captain and his crew were in the like dreadful situation with respect to their provisions; and on the twenty-third, another coloured man, Charles Shorter, died out of the same boat, and his body was shared for food between the crews of both boats. On the twenty-seventh, another, Isaac Shepherd, (a black man,) died in the third boat; and on the twenty-eight, another black, named Samuel Reed, died out of the captain's boat. The bodied of these men constituted their only food while it lasted; and on the twenty-ninth, owing to the darkness of the night and want of sufficient power to manage their boats, those of the captain and second mate separated in latitude 35°S. longitude 100°W. On the 1st of February, having consumed the last morsel, the captain and the three other men that remained with him, were reduced to the necessity of casting lots. It fell upon Owen Coffin to die, who with great fortitude and resignation submitted to his fate. They drew lots to see who should shoot him: he placed himself firmly to receive his death, and was immediately shot by Charles Ramsdale, whose hard fortune it was to become his executioner. On the 11th Brazilla Ray died; and on these two bodies the captain and Charles Ramsdale, the only two that were then left, subsisted until the morning of the twenty-third, and were snatched from impending destruction.

~~Narrative of the Most Extraordinary and Distressing Shipwreck of the Whale-Ship Essex by Owen Chase.

♥ I had very little difficulty in obtaining liberty of my friends to accompany them on their voyage to the Pacific Ocean and as I had been thus far brought up in that nursery for seamen where children from the time they can lisp are taught to look toward Cape Horn for a support and to idolize the form of a ship, couldnot have been easily turned from my purpose. And it was perhaps the most pleasing moment of my life when I at the age of fourteen years went for the first time onboard that ship.

♥ On the 12th of August 1819 our capt[ain] came onboard and gave orders to weigh the anchors and get the ship under way, an order that all were overjoyed to hear and hastend to obey, little thinking that this stately ship with many of its cheerful crew would return to our native land no more forever.

♥ And although but a few hours before I had been so eager to go this voyage, there seemed a sudden gloom to spread over me as the land receded from our view and sunk beneath a western horizon. Then it was that I for the first time realized that I was alone upon a wide and an unfeeling world even at that tender age without one relative or friend to bestow one kind word upon me.

♥ We were now arraigned for supper, and indeed it was my first supper upon the ocean, and it seemed truly a novelty to me. All were seated in a circle around our kid or tub of salt meat, with each man his tin cup of tea and holding in our hands a huge piece of salt junk and cake of hard biscuit. All seemed to enjoy their meal as well as though they had been seated at table in a palace groaning under its weight of costly viands. Indeed I have often known the affairs of a nation as warmly and as ernestly discussd as though our whole countrys destiny had depended upon the decision of their argument in that same little circle.

♥ It really seems that providence had designed me for a sailor for I have never been for a moment in my whole carreer the least sea sick, and upon this occasion I could readily join with those onboard who were not sick in laughing at those who were less fortunate than ourselves. All who have made a voyage at sea must know that for those who are sea sick there is not the least sympathy existing in their more fortunate shipmates for all know that however disagreeable it may be, there is no actual danger attending it, hence their lack of sympathy[.] It is nevertheless most perplexing to the sufferers.

♥ The first determination of the captain was to return home and get a supply of boats etc but after some little reflection and a consultation with his officers it was deemed most prudent to continue on our course and trust to fortune and a kind providence to make up our loss, which was accomplished in due season.

As I have before stated the wind had changed to north west which was directly against us to return. Their opinion was that it would remain in that quarter for a long time and greatly delay the prosecution of our voyage. That at least was their excuse, but I presume the fact was that they feared to return lest the men should have been discouraged and would avail themselves of the first opportunity to escape.

♥ Add to this our men had been kept all day without their dinner and of course had no desire to encounter such another regatta as in the morning. We presume our captain didnot go all day without food himself but as he couldnot feel the wants of others we presume he didnot heed them.

But after all I have no doubt but this little neglect of his has been of some service to many of us and kept us from falling into the same error ourselves[.] For it has so happened many times since when I have had command myself that I have had many excursions with my boat and men but I certainly have never forgotten to provide them with means of getting something to sustain them.

♥ After taking our new boat onboard we again set sail for the harbour. This newly purchased boat proved to be the very one that so miraculously conveyed a part of our ships company togather with myself across the great Pacific Ocean and saved some of us at least from a watery grave. These boats are built of very light thin cedar boards not half an inch in thickness. They are about twenty feet in length and five feet wide but they are very buoyant and lively at sea, hence their safety.

♥ In attempting to land upon the beach whilst at this island and in the best part of the harbour our boat was instantly capsized or overset in the surf which breaks almost incessantly, and thrown upon the beach bottom upwards. The lads didnot much mind this for none were hurt but they were greatly amused to see the captain get so fine a ducking. I know of nothing that a sailor wouldnot encounter willingly where life wouldnot be too greatly endangerd if he can but turn the laugh upon his captain or officers.

♥ It may be of service to some of our young men who may be about to begun the whaling business. It may be the mean of saving to them hundreds of dollars at the end of those long voyages, for voyages they fall short of clothing they must go to the slop chest for a supply. Here they will have a large profit to pay to the owners of the goods. Many times they are charged one hundred p[e]r cent on the first cost.

As I donot design in this work to give a description of catching whales or reducing them to oil, I will briefly state that in this our first attempt the buisness being new to us, we didnot much like to have ourselves so filthy and greasey and as often as our watches changed we threw of[f] our old clothes and took new ones from our chests[.] And by the time the oil of our first whale was train and run into casks nearly all our clothes was thrown aside upon deck and neglected untill it was nearly all spoiled and became unfit for use and finally thrown into the sea. By this means many of us were thrown upon the tender mercies of a slop chest to supply our wants during the remainder of our voyage and had we not have lost our ship there is reason to believe that at the end of the voyage our slop chest would have made a draft upon us to the amount of seven-eights if our earnings. This shouldnot have been.

Every man engaged in this buisness should select for himself on his outward passage two suits of clothing for cold weather whilst pass Cape Horn[.] He will then finds himself comfortable whilst in that cold climate, and after passing into a more moderate climeate they should be closely examined and put in good order and placed in the bottom of his chest there to remain until the homeward passage, and not use them upon any ocasion untill he finds himself again in a cold region. By this means he can secure to himself health and vigour, and not be drawn up with rheumatic pains for want of a little times precaution. His thin clothing should be divided into suits bearing a proportion to each years requisition.

If they will do this I think we shallnot hear so much of cheating amongst ship owners or outfitters, for I don't believe in all my knowledge of ship owners, that a single case has occurrd wherein the ship owner has knowingly cheated his men. In nine cases out of ten where this complaint has been made it can be traced to want of care on part of the seamen. I admit they are many times duped and robbd by those around them when they come on shore[.] Those land sharks can stuff them and make them believe them their friends and all else are their enemies.

The name also of cruelty and hard usage onboard those ships has spread widely abroad. This I believe to be greatly exaggerated and misplaced. I must say in one point I think the ship owners are somewhat to blame[.] Perhaps in many instances they are unconscious of it themselves. I will state my reasons for thinking so and trust I may be excused for my presumption. In the first instance they endeavour in obtaining a crew for their ship to get them for as small a lay or proportion of the voyage as possible which often times with ordinary success will scarcely pay for their outfits. By this means no doubt many a good ship has had their voyages ruined and the owners themselves became the sufferers for want of a little liberality on their part at the beginning[.]

It is well known that most of our young men from the country come down to the sea coast under great anticipations and considerable excitement with but little regard to the result of what their profits may be[.] They enter onboard those ship[s] for a whaling voyage and once at sea they find time to reflect upon what the proceeds of the voyage will probably be by which at best with the usual lays can be but very little and oftentimes nothing at all after deducting their outfits[.] They therefore make up their minds to cut stick in the first port to which they may chance to arrive.

They wish to have some excuse for absconding for they donot wish their friends to know they have made such a thoughtless engagement[.] They therefore tell all with whom they meet that they left in consequence of hard usage onboard their ship. Let anyone who may think differently upon this subject ascertain the lays of each man onboard some one of these ships which may arrive and see what proportion is paid to her seamen. But let them not include captain nor officers; I think them sufficiently paid.

Again the charge of tyranny onboard those ships comes from another class and which is too often the case many young men who are so wild, insolent and dissipated that their parents cannot keep then at home and send them onboard a whale ship to reform them. Here then we see a task for the captain and officers to perform. Here is a young man who perhaps has been reard with the most tender care, and has scarcely ever received a word in anger or a frown from the brow of his parents in opposition to his general conduct[.] He has been subject to his midnight revelry and perhaps almost every other kind of vice. Here we find him suddenly transferred from his debauchery to the discipline of a ship, which in its mildest form is tyranny to him. Here I think it is but natural to think that he will receive every check upon his conduct as an infringement upon his liberty and proclaim any one a tyrant who has dared to thwart him in his wild carreer. From such as this the cry often goes forth that the ship is worse than state prison and her captain and officers worse than negro drivers.

In many instances of this kind I have known the parents of such youths to enter suit against the captain and his officers and in many instances to have recoverd heavy damages, when they couldnot have kept the boy at home for their multiplicity of evil actions. To parents I would say who may chance to have such a lad in their family[,] keep them at home. A long voyage onboard a whaler will rarely benefit them if ever, and will be of the utmost disadvantage to the ship.

On the contrary, should this meet the eye of any young man of steadey and correct habits, who may wish to enjoy a change of climate and have some knowledge of sea life, let him make a voyage in a whaler around into the Pacific. He will find in it, although long, many pleasing scenes worthy a place in his memory in after years. And if he will throw off whatever of prejudice he may have entertaind previously he will find in it many pleasing scenes, and spend a very agreeable three years[.] He will meet with many kind and intelligent captains and officers who will instruct him in all he may wish to acquire.

♥ The authorities of Chili very soon despatched a force to put down the band of pirates at Auroco, and very soon succeeded in dispersing or capturing them. The governor made his escape in an open canoe along the coast to the northward, and landed a little south of Valparaiso. Then being destitute of provisions and wishing to go farther north he asked alms of a muleteer who was hunting cattle. This fellow having seen him in his better days and remembering his countenance, having heard of the reward upon his head, immediately threw his lassau over his head as he would have done a bullock and started his mule at full run, un[t]ill he had so far worn down His Excellency as to be able easily to tie him and bring him to town handing him over to justice and reaping his own reward. His head was struck off and his body quarterd and distributed in four of the principal cities of Chili and hung in gibbets. Several years after the event spoken of I saw his head and one arm at the city of Conception.

♥ Our men whilst onshore found in a cave or fissure of a rock, a roughly made box. Impelld by curiosity they hauled it out upon the rocks. They found it to contain the skeleton of a human being. There was no lid upon the box but they found laying upon the breast a very large stone which had broken in the breast bone and pressed it to the bottom of the coffin. This was undoubtedly the skeleton of some one of a sealing or fishing party who had died at this island, but there appears some little mystery as regards the stone found upon the breast.

♥ In speaking of his friends at home I have seen him weep most bitterly but would chide himself by saying ["]Ah well, my sacrifice has been great tis true but if I have done any good my design has been accomplished. I leave the rest with God.["]

I donot believe the good old patriarch had an enemy in the world. I have since seen him at a very advanced age on the island of Tumaco on the coast of Peru in the full enjoyment of his health and faculties. I carenot what was the professed faith of this man. I believe if there is a Christian permitted to live upon earth, father Francisco was that man[.] He proved it to the world in his walk through life, and after his death I believe his reward will be that of the righteous.

♥ I being the youngest boy onboard was chosen to make up the company in place of a hunters dog.

♥ We had with us an Englishman[,] a boatstearer named Thomas Chappel. He was very wild and fond of fun at whatever expence it might be produced. This lad took with him a tinder box, onshore unknown to any one and set fire to the underbrush and trees. This being the dry season it spread with fearful rapidity and burned freely crossing our paths in every direction and cutting off our retreat to the boats. On our return we were compelld to run the gauntlet there being no alternative. We were many of us forced to drop our heads and run through the blazing brush for many yards. Tis true we got a little singed in our hair and clothing but all came off with a whole skin. And it was well for him that we didnot know at the time whose trick it was, for I can assure you it took our lads some time to cool off, and the captain's wrath knew no bounds, swearing vengeance upon the head of the incendiary should he be discoverd.

There can be no estimate of the destruction caused by this fire to the animal creation. On my return to this place many years afterwards the ruin was still visible, wherever the fire raged. Neither trees, shrubbery, nor grass have since appeard, and judging from the extent of desolate ground, there must have been thousands upon thousands of terrapin, birds, lizards, and snakes destroyed and it probably burned untill the rainy season again set in.

♥ These, with the two compasses taken from the binnacle, was all, that we had an opportunity of getting into the boat, and get in ourselves when the ship capsized, with the mast heads in the water.

The scene at this moment-no one can ever realize to its extent, unless they have been in such a situation under simalar circumstances. What an association of ideas flashed across our minds on the instant. Here lay our beautiful ship, a floating and dismal wreck,-which but a few minutes before appeard in all her glory, the pride and boast of her cap and officers, and almost idolized by her crew, with all sails neatly set and trimd to the breeze presenting to the eye the fac similie of a ship about to leave the harbour on a summers day under the admiring gaze of hundreds to witness such a scene.

Here she now lays, snatched untimely from her stateliness, into a mere shadow of what she was, and our selves deprived of the home which her goodly sides had so long afforded us. Now at the least six hundred miles from the nearest land and that land too, in a direction rendering it impossible of approach being directly to the windward of us and as the trade winds blow in the same direction the whole year around of course left us no hope in that direction, and our only chance was in a more distant land in a more favourable position.

♥ Tonight is now upon us again, and we have veered our boats again astern of the wreck to await the return of daylight. All hands save myself are wraped in sweet sleep, and seem to be enjoying[,] unconscious of their awful condition, the soft side of a plank. I have been very wakeful through the night, catching occasionally a few moments repose but to the high rolling of the swell and constant tossing of our little boat, the creaking of spars and timbers about the wreck, I must attrribute my lack of rest, which others so well enjoy-Well, sleep on ship mates. It will refresh you for the coming day. You will need all your energies for the contest-I cannot expect rest to the body, when the mind willnot be composed[.]

♥ It being now near noon the captain wished to remain by the wreck that hour for convenience of getting an observation[.] He called the officers togather and held council with them as to the best route to be taken with the boats. His first desire was, that the boats should keep togather and make for the Society Islands, they being in a southwesterly direction and consequently far under our lee. And how truly unfortunately for us all that his first wish wasnot complied with, for in ten days at fartherest we could have been landed safely, probably without the loss of a single individual. The officers however differd in opinion upon that point, and urged upon him to go up the coast and when clear of the trade wind, they urged the probability of a speedy passage to the coast of Chili. Not wishing to oppose where there was two against one the Cap reluctantly yealded to their arguments and it was decided that we should go up the coast as they termd it. Fatal error. How many warm hearts has ceased to beat in consequence of it.

♥ We find by observation that the wreck has still been acted upon by a strong WNW current, and that during the night we have crossed the equator. How strange that we have received no visit from Neptune, but I fancy he is like the rest of us on those points, courts luxury and shuns miserey.

♥ We now having every thing in readiness at thirty minutes past 12=[noon] cast off our lines from the ill fated Essex and set all sails upon our boats which we have rigd as schooners and which makes a very handsome show on this our first start. But now how changed our feeling from yesterday. Now for the first time did the horror of our situation fall fully before us. Now it was that we could realize the slender thread upon which our lives were hung. Now could be seen the pale and wan features, the wild and vacant stare thrown upon each other and ever and anon, turning to view the fast receding remnant of the hulk, which had borne us so gracefully over the bosom of the ocean, as though it were possible that she could yet relieve us from the fate that seemed to await us, untill at last it sunk from our view beneath the horizon.

It now seemed to us that all had been relieved from a spell by which we had been bound and every countenance lit up as each involuntaryly utterd ["]Farewell, farewell.["] Very soon all resumed their natural cheerfulness, and now, that our minds were made up for the worst, half the struggle was over.

♥ As the wound lay below the surface of the sea, it required no little ingenuity to come at on the outside and make the repairs, necessary. We first hove the boat upon the opposite tack, thus bringing the leak as near to the waters edge as possible, and by placing the men all on the leeward side and thus we were enabled to make our repairs much easier than we had anticipated.

This little incident although it may seem small, was capable of causing amongst us the greatest excitement. It served to show to us in how frail a bark, lay all our hope of safety, and plainly too, could we trace the hand of providence, for had we not have saved by mere accident a small handfull of nails the writer would probably have adorned a tale rather than told it.

♥ Our own boat in particular being old and crazy complains of a general weakness through[h]out the whole frame, and were we at home we wouldnot feel safe to go ten miles in her. What did I say home, yes home. Can it be possible that such poor objects as we, have a home. Reach me my allowance of bread Bill, and let me partake whilst I think that I have a home[.] It may go farther and nourish better.

♥ Ever after this we found it very difficult to keep out boats togather owing to the darkness of the nights. Much time was lost in looking each other up, being compelld sometimes to tack frequently during the search, but for all that none were willing to separate for it is well know that misery loves company.

♥ This day the wind has hauled to east south east, with torrents of rain falling, and at midnight had increased to an awful gale with a frightful sea, which seems to threaten our total annihilation. We had kept gradually reducing our sails as the wind had increased, untill we were compelld to strike our masts also. The boats laying to very badly every sea seemed to threaten our destruction, but having done all in our power we threw ourselves down in the bottom of the boat to await the fate of sailors as became men, and trusting in our Maker to dispose of us as seemed best in high sight. The sky was blackened past conception to those who have not witnessd the same. The constant and vivid lightning seemed to envelope us in a fearful blaze, and the awful thunder of an angry element threatened every moment our final extermination. Nothing but an overruling hand of a Creator could have saved our frail barks from the horrors of that dreadful night, or from the vengeance of that pittiless storm. Towards noon the storm began to abate, and we again stepd our masts and got the boats head to the southward and they could lay more safely to the sea[.]

♥ By our meridian observation this day we were in the lattitude 17d:40m south having now the Society Islands directly to leeward and not more than six hundred miles to the west of us. We were in the influence of a brisk trade wind from S.east and of course could have landed probably in five or six days at fartherest safely with every man in good health. I presume the enquiry will now arise why did you not steer for them instead of attempting the dangerous voyage to the distant coast of Chili which to any reasonable mind must appear almost impossible to attain in such weak and unseaworthy boats. In answer I can only say there was gross ignorance or a great oversight somewhere which cost many a fine seamen their lives.

♥ When they returned and made report, it was agreed to land and hauled the boats upon the green under the woods. We then turned them bottom upwards thus forming a protection from the night dews or rain under which we could sleep comfortably and enjoy dreams of home and friends which most of our wretched shipmates were never to realize.

♥ Much of the time since our separation we have been depressed with melancholy reflections and forebodings. We had lost much, in the loss of our companions and this loss too, irreparable. Their presence had done much to alleviate at least our mental distress[.] Their fate too, being to us quite uncertain caused a double anxiety. They might for aught we could know have founderd during that awful night, and ourselves be the only survivors to tell the tale of woe. And we too might at any moment sink beneath this vast extent of ocean leaving scarcely a momentary buble to mark the spot or tell that we once was. All these reflections rushing over our weakend minds threw us into a despondency which couldnot be easily shaken off.

♥ We had moderate breezes with pleasant weather and passing through a large shoal of porpoises attempted to catch one with the harpoon, but could not muster strength sufficient to pierce through their rough hide, and they soon left us, appearantly in high glee leaping from the water and apparently in full exercise of every enjoyment. Poor devils, how much they are now our superiors and yet not to know it.

♥ The reader who isnot familiar with a sea life will probably think strange that with those frequent showers of rain we had caught no fresh water. To such in answer, I would say that we made frequent attempts to catch water with our sails spread horizontally, but the boats were very low and the sails were constantly wet with salt water and consequently filld with salt so as to spoil all the fresh water that fell. And although we used frequently to catch a pail full in a shower yet always found it too salt for use.

♥ Our minds were now filld with the most awful conjectures as to the future. With our provisions nearly exhausted, scarcely a hope remained for us to cling to, and all sunk in sullen silence in the bottom of the boat, untill aroused by the cheerful voice of the mate who again wished to remind us that all hopes werenot yet at an end, and that our duty to ourselves and to each other demanded our latest exertion. Even the strong fortitude of this remarkable man seemed to waver, but in no instance did it finally forsake him, untill the day of our delivery.

♥ Death seems truly to be hovering over us, and staring broadly in our face. But upon a consultation we agreed that let whatever would come, we would never draw lots after our food had quite gone for each others death, but leave all with God. We consented however at this time, in case one should die first the others could if they thought proper subsist upon our remains with the hope that some one might carry the news to our friends. But God designed it should be otherwise and again gave his protecting arm and saved us from the very jaws of death.

♥ They found a cave on the eastern part of the island during their perambulations[.] They were led by curiosity to enter it, when to their surprise they found seated side by side eight human skeletons, probably some ill fated mariners who had sought a place of safety like ourselves and proved less fortunate.

They had formed a design to again visit this cave with a hope to gain some farther intelligence into their fate by finding some mark either on the hills or sea shore, when they were defeated by the arrival of the Surrey.

~~My First Voyage at Sea and Subsequent Loss of the Ship Essex by Thomas Nickerson.