Now, 200 years after Melville's birth, visitors can follow the author’s footsteps through the town he immortalized in his writing. He visited the island afterwards, though, on a two-day trip in July of 1852, to explore the landmarks and meet with Captain George Pollard Jr., who captained the Essex. Interestingly, as well-traveled as Melville was, visiting places like Hawaii, England, Tahiti and Jerusalem, he hadn’t even been to Nantucket prior to writing Moby Dick. Moby Dick, published in 1851, wasn’t recognized for the masterpiece it is until the 1920s, when critics and scholars began to recognize its allegorical qualities about 19th-century American life. When Melville had a heart attack and died on September 28, 1891, he was a far cry from the famous writer he is today. The story fascinated him his entire life, and when he took to the sea himself-first, at age 20, as a cabin boy on a merchant ship sailing across the Atlantic and later working on whaling vessels, an adventure that got him caught by cannibals, arrested for mutiny, and eventually enlisted into the Navy- he formed a base level of experience to compose an allegorical novel about the event. Could they make it before their limited food and water ran out? “The Boat” as it appeared in the original 2015 exhibition at the Nantucket Whaling Museum.In 1820, when Herman Melville was just a year old, a whale attacked the Nantucket whaling ship Essex, causing the captain and crew to be stranded for months and resort to cannibalism to survive. Pollard and his mates possessed the skills needed to sail themselves to safety, but their plan to head against the prevailing winds through waters not frequented by whalers and traders was a calculated risk. How many warm hearts has ceased to beat in consequence of it?”-Thomas Nickerson “It was decided that we should go up the coast as they term’d it. The first mate’s trunk contained sheets of writing paper, lead pencil, suit of clothes 3 small fish hooks, jack knife, whetstone, and a cake of soap. Joy’s boat also lacked navigational tools, the salvaged ones being in the other boats.Įach boat carried oars, paddles, harpoons, lances, line tubs, and a steering oar. All the Nantucketers sailed with Captain Pollard and Chase, while Joy’s crew were all off-islanders, including most of the black men. Preserving the ship’s whale-hunting hierarchy, the captain and mates each commanded a boat and kept their accustomed boatsteerers with them. Fearing cannibals, mates Chase and Joy objected and convinced Pollard they should sail south and then east more than 3,000 miles back to South America’s familiar shores. After efforts to right the Essex failed, Pollard decided his men should sail southwest with the prevailing winds to the Society Islands-2,000 miles or about 30 days away. With their ship wrecked in the middle of the ocean, Captain Pollard and his crew crowded into three small boats. and constructed of the lightest materials.”-Owen Chase “At best, a whale-boat is an extremely frail thing. Ship Essex as she appeared Novemat noon, waterlogged and abandoned, with the boats taking their leave. They rigged their boats for sailing using spars, rope, and canvas cut free from the Essex, and they built up the boats’ sides with cedar planks to deflect high waves. They salvaged supplies and provisions from the wreck. After efforts to right the ship failed, the crew worked for two days preparing for the long passage ahead. Steward William Bond saved two sea chests and some navigational instruments from the sinking Essex, while others managed to free the spare whaleboat. MS106 Folder 1 Preparing for a Long Boat Journey when the shrouds were cut and the masts broken and falling with all sails set, the ship at an angle of 45 degrees and water logged. and Owen Chase Ship Essex as she appeared at 9:30 A.M. “ ‘We have been stove by a whale.’ ”-Captain George Pollard Jr. They were also more than 1,000 miles from land. No whaling vessel had ever been attacked and sunk by a whale before. The pounding of their hammers echoing through the water may have provoked the whale’s attack. Chase and his crew returned to the ship to make repairs. Owen Chase had harpooned one, which promptly smashed his boat with its tail. Most of the crew were in the boats at the time, pursuing whales. The Essex promptly filled with water and rolled over, a total wreck. After the first blow, the furious whale swam off a short distance, turned, and charged again, smashing a hole in the ship’s bow. On November 20, 1820, an enraged sperm whale, 85-feet long and weighing about 80 tons, rammed the Essex with its giant head. Ship Essex as she appeared on the morning of Novemat 8:30 A.M.
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