The Loss of the Ship Essex, Sunk by a Whale by Thomas Nickerson & others.. (2/2)
Title: The Loss of the Ship Essex, Sunk by a Whale: First-Person Accounts.
Author: Aaron Paddack, Jethro Macy, Herman Melville, Thomas Nickerson, Commodore Charles Goodwin Ridgely, Charles Wilkes, Rev. Daniel Tyerman & George Bennet, Esq., Thomas Chappel, Edward Dobson, (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, 1831, 1851, 1876 (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. The Paddack Letter (1821) attributed to Diana's captain Aaron Paddack, who was presumably witness to Captain Pollard's account right after rescue, on the Dauphin, provides a detailed account of the disaster. The Macy Letter (1821) is attributed to Jethro Macy of Nantucket, who spoke to Owen Chase in the days after his arrival in Nantucket, and recorded his impressions. Annotations to the Narrative of the Most Extraordinary and Distressing Shipwreck of the Whale-Ship Essex (1851) by Herman Melville are a series of annotations Melville made while he was writing Moby Dick, and later on in life, while reading Chase's narrative, and of his impressions on meeting Chase himself. Nickerson's Letter (1976) from Thomas Nickerson to Leon Lewis was written in reply to specific questions Lewis had about the disaster after reading Nickerson's narrative, specifically pertaining to the sacrifice of Owen Coffin. Excerpt from Letterbook by the USF Constellation (1821) by Commodore Charles Goodwin Ridgely is a record he made of his impression of the survivors of the Essex. Excerpt from Autobiography of Rear Admiral Charles Wilkes, U.S. Navy, 1798-1877 by Charles Wilkes is the author's (then a 24-year-old midshipman in the U.S. schooner Waterwitch) account of his meeting with Captain George Pollard in August of 1822, then commanding the whaleship Two Brothers. Excerpt from Journal of Voyages and Travels (1831) by Rev. Daniel Tyerman and George Bennet, Esq. mentions when Bennet met Captain George Pollard in the Society Islands, shortly after the latter lost his second whaler at sea. Excerpt from an Account of the Loss of the Essex, Pamphlet No. 579., contributed to by Thomas Chappel is an account by the boatsteerer of the Essex who, along with two others, decided to stay behind on Henderson Island when the boats stumbled upon it, and later rescued. Excerpt from the Journal of the Surry (1821), attributed to Edward Dobson, the first mate of the Surry, the ship that rescued the 3 men that stayed behind on Henderson Island. Extracts: Memories and Apocrypha is a miscellany of variety of sources, not all reliable, that mention the Essex disaster. (Only the supplementary material in this post, refer to PART 1 for the 2 main narratives).
My rating: 8.5/10.
My review:
♥ Somewhere about the later part of A.D. 1841, in this same ship the Acushnet, we spoke the "Wm Wirt✽" of Nantucket, & Owen Chace was the Captain, & so it came to pass that I saw him. He was a large, powerful well-made man; rather tall; to all appearances something past forty-five or so; with a handsome face for a Yankee, & expressive of great uprightness & calm unostentatious courage. His whole appearance impressed me [pleasurably?]. He was the most prepossessing-looking whale-hunter I think I ever saw.
♥ Since writing the foregoing I-sometime about 1850-3-saw Capt. Pollard on the island of Nantucket, and exchanged some words with him. To the islanders he was a nobody-to me, the most impressive man, tho' wholly unassuming, even humble-that I ever encountered.
♥ All the sufferings of these miserable men of the Essex might, in all human probability, have been avoided had they, immediately after leaving the wreck, steered straight for Tahiti, from which they were not very distant at the time, & to which, there was a fair Trade wind. But they dreaded cannibals, & strange to tell knew not that for more than 20 years, the English [missionaries?] had been resident in Tahiti; & that in the same year of the shipwreck-1820-it was entirely safe for the [illegible] to touch at Tahiti.
But they chose to stem a head wind, & make a passage of several thousand miles (an unavoidably roundabout one too) in order to gain a civilized harbor on the coast of South America.
♥ For, while I was in the Acushnet we heard from some whale-ship that we spoke, that the Captain of the "Charles Carroll"-that is Owen Chase-had recently received letters from home, informing him of the certain infidelity of his wife, the mother of several children, one of them being the lad of sixteen, whom I alluded to as giving me a copy of his father's narrative to read. We also heard that this receipt of this news had told most heavily upon Chace, & that he was a prey to the deepest gloom.
~~Annotations to the Narrative of the Most Extraordinary and Distressing Shipwreck of the Whale-Ship Essex by Herman Nelville.
♥ Now as regards the casting of lots. As I had my information from Charles Ramsdell, who was one of the survivors of the cap[t]ains boat: he said that when their last morsel of food was gone and finding as they were, all must die, and for the sake of their friends should know their fate[,] I think if my memory serves me, that he Ramsdell made the first proposition to cast lots. Be that as it may, Captain Pollard wouldnot listen to it[,] saying to the others ["]No, but if I die first you are welcome to subsist on my remains" and that Coffin joined in the entreaty to cast lots[.] They then cut some blank paper checks [and] put them in a hat. The lot fell upon Coffin, which he distinctly declared to be a fair lot and that he wished to abide by it. Captain Pollard then declared that he would take the lot himself, but to this Coffin wouldnot listen for a moment[.] This was a trying moment truly[,] the son of a beloved sister, to fall by their hands. Who can doubt but that Pollard would rather have met the death a thousand times. None that knew him, will ever doubt. Neither of his companions but that shrank from the heart rending tryal. So they were compelld again to cast lots that who should draw the fatal trigger. As if the fate would have it, the awful die turned upon Captain Pollard[.] For a long time [he] declared that he could never do it, but finally had to submit.
Coffin then called to them to come near whilst he breathed a parting message to his dear mother & family[.] Then craving a few moments in silence he told them that he knew the lots had been fairly drawn and he submitted to his fate perfectly resigned, and we know the rest. Let us draw a vail over the fate of a shipmate we all loved so dearly and so well. Peace to his memory. Capt Pollard was not nor could he be thought to have dealt unfairly with this trying matter. On his arrival he bore the awful message to the mother as her son desired, but she became almost frantic with the thought, and I have heared that she never could become reconciled to the capt's presence. Captain Pollard has since lived on the island, greatly respected by all whose business [or] pleasure brought them in contact with and died lamented by a large circle of friends.
~~Nickerson's Letter to Leon Lewis by Thomas Nickerson.
♥ ..-the Hero brings the pleasing acct. that the master of the Essex, Pollard & one boy have been picked up by a Whale ship from New York. They were ninety two days in the boat & were in a most wretched state, they were unable to move when found sucking the bones of their dead Mess mates, which they were loth to part with. On the 15 the English Brig India arrived a prize to Lord Cochrane, she brought in the Mate one man & a Boy of the Ship Essex of Nantucket Pollard master, they stated that ninety two days previous while some of the boats were about striking whale, the ship when in Lat.d Long: a large whale attacked the ship stove in her bows, that they had been in the boat eighty six days, a great part of which time they had subsisted on the flesh of those that died..
♥ I should not omit to mention that a subscription was immediately put on foot by the American & English residents of Valp: for the relief of those poor fellows that wee brought in & between three & four hundred dollars was procured them, beside which my crew with that thoughtless liberality which is peculiar to seamen, subscribed each a months pay, but as that would have amounted to between two and three thousand Dollars & as these men were not then in want of any thing, & I intended sending them home in the Macedonian where they would have every comfort & no expence I would allow no more than one dollar from each man to be given them-..
~~Letterbook by the USF Constellation by Commodore Charles Goodwin Ridgely.
♥ Can any situation be conceived in such circumstances that require so much thought and action as was required within the short space of time allotted to them, to say nothing of the untoward disappointment of the interruption of successful issue of their hazardous employment, interrupted when their fondest hopes were about to be realized? A well appointed vessel, crew in all respects efficient, and the fondest hopes indulged in of providing for themselves and families in a short hour to be wrecked and they left to grapple for their lives on the broad Ocean.
♥ Of the boats only one was ever heard of, that of the Captain, who was picked up on the Coast of Chile after being 32 days at sea. The only two saved were the Captn and a boy. They had twice or thrice drawn lots, and intense suffering ensued. I cannot state the narrative of this, it is too horrible to be related as it was told me. The Captain and boy were merely alive when picked up and reached port. Their boat was nearly in pieces and all hope had long before passed from them. The Annals of wrecks at Sea never has given so disastrous a case; it fairly, in contemplation, causes One's heart almost to cease beating, but when narrated by one who had undergone it all, and miraculously, as it were, been preserved, I could not convey an idea of my feelings.
I expressed myself how he could think of again putting his foot on board Ship to again pursue such a calling, or hazard another voyage. He simply remarked that it was an old adage that the lighting never struck in the same place twice. He had recovered and returned home to Nantucket or New Bedford, I forget which, and was offered the Two Brothers for another voyage which he accepted. And there he was, bound probably for the Same Area of Ocean where he had encountered so much. It was to be expected that Some effect of his former cruise would have been visible in his manner or conversation, but not so. He was cheerful and very modest in his account, and very desirous to afford us all the aid we might be in want of, presented us with some vegetables, & potatoes especially-of which he had a large store in nettings affixed to his Cabin ceiling.
I took leave of him with hearty wishes for his success and a feeling of respect that I had by accident become acquainted with a hero, who did not even consider that he had overcome obstacles which would have crushed 99 out of a hundred. There was a vividness about his description of the Scenes he had gone through which recurs to me often. And, [I] scarcely can believe that the actor could have been the Narrator, so modest and unassuming was his account, and I feel satisfied most truthful. At the time I saw him I suppose he was about 35 years of age. I have not been able to trace him since, although I have made many inquiries.
~~Autobiography of Rear Admiral Charles Wilkes, U.S. Navy, 1798-1877 by Charles Wilkes.
♥ "With a very small morsel of biscuit for each, and a little water, we again ventured out on the wide ocean. In the course of a few days our provisions were consumed. Two men died; we had no other alternative than to live upon their remains. These we roasted to dryness by means of fires kindled in the ballast-sand at the bottom of the boats. When this supply was spent, what could we do? We looked at each other with horrid thoughts in our minds, but we held our tongues, I am sure that we loved one another as brothers all the time; and yet our looks told plainly what must be done. We cast lots, and the fatal one fell on my poor cabin-boy. I started forward instantly, and cried out, 'My lad, my lad, if you don't like your lot, I'll shoot the first man that touches you.' The poor emaciated boy hesitated a moment or two; then, quietly laying his head down upon the gunnel of the boat, he said, 'I like it as well as any other' He was soon dispatched, and nothing of him left. I think, then, another man died of himself, and him, too, we ate."
♥ Captain Pollard closed his dreary narrative with saying, in a tone of despondency never to be forgotten by him who heard it-"After a time I found my way to the United States, to which I belonged, and got another ship. That, too, I have lost by a second wreck off the Sandwich Islands, and now I am utterly ruined. No owner will ever trust me with a whaler again, for all will say I am an unlucky man."
~~Journal of Voyages and Travels by Rev. Daniel Tyerman and George Bennet, Esq.
Thomas Chappel of Plymouth, England, was the boatsteerer of Matthew Joy, second mate of the Essex. Chappel, along with two sailors from Cape Cod, decided to remain on Henderson Island rather than risk a 3,000-mile voyage to South America. It turned out to be a wise decision. Joy's whaleboat would never be heard from again, and only Nantucketers would make it out of Pollard's and Chase's boats.
~~Nathaniel and Thomas Philbrick.
♥ Among the rocks were several caves formed by nature, which afforded a shelter from the wind and rain. In one of these caves they found eight human skeletons, in all probability the remains of some poor mariners who had been shipwrecked on the isle, and perished for want of food and water. They were side by side, as if they had laid down, and died together! This sight deeply affected the mate and his companions; their case was similar, and they had every reason to expect ere long the same end; for many times they lay down at night, with their tongues swollen and their lips parched with thirst, scarcely hoping to see the morning sun; and it is impossible to form an idea of their feelings when the morning dawned, and they found their prayers had been heard and answered by a providential supply of rain.
In this state they continued till the 5th of April following; day after day hoping some vessel might touch at the island; but day after day, and week after week passed by, and they continued in that state of anxious expectation which always tends to cast down the mind and damp exertion, and which is so strongly expressed in the words of scripture, "Hope deferred maketh the heart suck." The writer of this narrative says, "At this time I found religion not only useful but absolutely necessary to enable me to bear up under these severe trials. If any man wishes for happiness in this world, or in the world to come, he can only find it by belief in God and trust in him: it is particularly important that seamen whose troubles and dangers are so numerous should bear this in mind. In this situation we prayed earnestly, morning, noon, and night, and found comfort and support from thus waiting upon the Lord."
This testimony of the benefits to be derived from religion is exceedingly valuable: hours of trial prove the vanity and uncertainty of all earthly enjoyments, and show the necessity of looking forward for another and a better world. The experience of believers of old taught them that they were but "strangers and pilgrims upon earth," and led them to earnest desires after another and a better country, that is, an heavenly. See Heb. xi. Prayer is the means which God has appointed where by we may draw near to him, asking for the blessings we need. He has promised to hear and to answer us in such a manner as shall be for our good: but let us always remember, that prayer does not consist in merely kneeling down, and uttering our desires with our lips, but prayer should be the earnest expression of the feeling of the heart, filled with a sense of its own misery and wretchedness, not only as to the things of this life, but still more deeply affected as to the concerns of our souls. We may be miserable in this world, and in the world to come also. We may be happy in this life and miserable hereafter. The one does not depend upon the other, nor are they in any way connected with each other. The prayer of the poor publican (as related in the 18th of St. Luke) was "God be merciful to me a sinner!" This will always be the first and principal desire of the soul, when awakened to a knowledge of its wretched and miserable state by nature and practice, and we would hope that such was the prayer of these poor men. Our Saviour himself has promised, that he will hear and answer such prayers: he graciously declares, "Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." He has also promised that he will give his Holy Spirit to those that ask him; and the soul that is led by the teaching of the Holy Spirit to draw near to the Saviour will find support under all the troubles of this life. It will find that peace which the world cannot give.
♥ The sufferings of these men were great, and their preservation remarkable: such circumstances afford instruction to every one. If you are inclined to say, there is no probability of your being similarly situated, remember that although not placed in a desert island, or in a small boat, destitute of the means of subsistence, yet all are placed in the midst of many and great dangers, as to this life.
~~An Account of the Loss of the Essex, Pamphlet No. 579., contributed to by Thomas Chappel.
♥ lunar observations: A complex method of determining the longitude without benefit of a chronometer. The navigator measures the angle between the moon and certain fixed stars or the sun. By comparing the angle observed to published tables of the predicted angles against Greenwich time, he can then ascertain the precise Greenwich time of the observation. Finally, by comparing this time with the local time of the observation, he can find the longitude of his position.
~~Notes by Nathaniel and Thomas Philbrick.