August 19, 2025 • 21 mins
Owen Chase (October 7, 1797 – March 7, 1869) served as the First Mate of the ill-fated whale ship Essex, which met a tragic fate when it was rammed and sunk by a sperm whale on October 28, 1820. In the aftermath, Chase penned the gripping account titled Narrative of the Most Extraordinary and Distressing Shipwreck of the Whale-Ship Essex, published in 1821. This harrowing tale not only chronicles the desperate survival of the crew but also served as a profound inspiration for Herman Melvilles iconic novel, Moby-Dick. (Summary from Wikipedia)
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Section three of the Shipwreck of the whale ship Essex
by Owen Chase. This LibriVox recording is in the public
domain recording by Phil schampf Chapter two the wreck. I
have not been able to recur to the scenes which
are now to become the subject of description, although a
considerable time has elapsed without feeling a mingled emotion of
(00:25):
horror and astonishment at the almost incredible destiny that has
preserved me and my surviving companions from a terrible death.
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
(00:45):
and protection we were conducted through a series of unparalleled
suffering in 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
(01:08):
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.
(01:33):
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 naught. But that can save us now? But I
proceed to the recital. On the twentieth of November, cruising
(01:54):
in latitude zero degrees forty minutes south longitude one hundred
nineteen degrees zero minutes west, a shoal of whales was
discovered off the lee Bow. The weather at this time
was extremely fine and clear, and it was about eight
o'clock in the morning that a man at the masthead
gave the usual cry of there she blows. The ship
(02:17):
was immediately put away, and we ran down in the
direction for them. When we had got within a half
mile of the place where they were observed, all our
boats were lowered down, manned, and we started in pursuit
of them. The ship, in the meantime was brought back
to the wind, and the main topsail hoove a back
to wait for us. I had the harpoon in the
(02:38):
second boat, the captain preceded me in the first. When
I arrived at the spot where we calculated they were,
nothing was at first to be seen. We lay on
our oars in anxious expectation of discovering them come up
somewhere near us. Presently, one rose and spouted a short
distance ahead of my boat. I made all towards it,
(03:01):
came up with and struck it. Feeling the harpoon in him.
He threw himself in an agony over towards the boat,
which at that time was up alongside of him, and
giving a severe blow with his tail, struck the boat
near the edge of the water amidships and stove a
hole in her. I immediately took up the boat hatchet
and cut the line to disengage the boat from the whale,
(03:23):
which by this time was running off with great velocity.
I succeeded in getting clear of him, with the loss
of the harpoon in line and finding the water to
pour fast in the boat. I hastily stuffed three or
four of our jackets in the hole, ordered one man
to keep constantly baling, and the rest to pull immediately
for the ship. We succeeded in keeping the boat free
(03:45):
and shortly gained the ship. The captain and the second
mate in the other two boats kept up the pursuit
and soon struck another whale, they being at this time
a considerable distance to leeward. I went forward, braced about
the maniard, and put the ship off in a direction
for them. The boat which had been stove was immediately
hoisted in, and after examining the hole, I found that
(04:09):
I could, by nailing a piece of canvas over it,
get her ready to join in a fresh pursuit sooner
than by lowering down the other remaining boat, which belonged
to the ship. I accordingly turned her over upon the
quarter and was in the act of nailing on the
canvas when I observed a very large spermacedy whale, as
well as I could judge, about eighty five feet in length.
(04:32):
He broke water about twenty rods off our weather bow,
and was lying quietly with his head in the direction
for the ship. He spouted two or three times, and
then disappeared. In less than two or three seconds. He
came up again, about the length of the ship off,
and made directly for us at the rate of about
three knots. The ship was then going with about the
(04:54):
same velocity. His appearance and attitude gave us at first
no alarm. But while I I stood watching his movements
and observing him but a ship's length off coming down
for us with great celerity, I involuntarily ordered the boy
at the helm to put it hard up, intending to
sheer off and avoid him. The words were scarcely out
(05:15):
of my mouth before he came down upon us with
full speed and struck the ship with his head just
forward of the fore chains. He gave us such an
appalling and tremendous jar as nearly threw us all on
our faces. The ship brought up as suddenly and violently
as if she had struck a rock, and trembled for
a few seconds like a leaf. We looked at each
(05:36):
other with perfect amazement, deprived almost of the power of speech.
Many minutes elapsed before we were able to realize the
dreadful accident, during which time he passed under the ship,
grazing her keel as he went along, came up alongside
of her to leeward, and lay on the top of
the water, apparently stunned with the violence of the blow,
(05:57):
for the space of a minute. He then said suddenly
started off in a direction to leeward. After a few
moments reflection and recovering in some measure from the sudden
consternation that had seized us, I of course concluded that
he had stove a hole in the ship, and that
it would be necessary to set the pumps going accordingly.
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They were rigged, but had not been in operation more
than one minute before I perceived the head of the
ship to be gradually settling down in the water. I
then ordered the signal to be set for the other boats,
which scarcely had I dispatched before I again discovered the whale,
apparently in convulsions, on top of the water, about one
hundred rods to leeward. He was enveloped in the foam
(06:40):
of the sea that his continual and violent thrashing about
in the water had created around him, and I could
distinctly see him smite his jaws together, as if distracted
with rage and fury. He remained a short time in
this situation, and then started off with great velocity across
the bows of the ship to windward. By this time
(07:02):
the ship had settled down a considerable distance in the water,
and I gave her up for lost. I, however, ordered
the pumps to be kept constantly going, and endeavored to
collect my thoughts for the occasion. I turned to the boats,
two of which we then had with the ship, with
an intention of clearing them away and getting all things
ready to embark in them if there should be no
(07:23):
other resource left. And while my attention was thus engaged
for a moment, I was aroused with the cry of
a man at the hatchway, here he is. He's making
for us again. I turned around and saw him about
one hundred rods directly ahead of us, coming down, apparently
with twice his ordinary speed, and to me at that
moment it appeared with tenfold fury and vengeance in his aspect.
(07:48):
The serf flew in all directions about him, and his
course towards us was marked by a white foam of
a rod in width, which he made with the continual
violent thrashing of his tail. His head was about half
out of water, and in that way he came upon
and again struck the ship. I was in hopes when
I described him making for us, that by a dexterous
(08:10):
movement of putting the ship away immediately, I should be
able to cross the line of his approach before he
could get up to us, and thus avoid what I
knew if he should strike us again, would prove our
inevitable destruction. I bawled out to the helmsman hard up,
but she had not fallen off more than a point
before we took the second shock. I should judge the
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speed of the ship to have been at this time
about three knots, and that of the whale about six.
He struck her to windward, directly under the cathead, and
completely stove in her boughs. He passed under the ship again,
went off to leeward, and we saw no more of him.
Our situation at this juncture can be more readily imagined
(08:53):
than described. The shock to our feelings was such as
I am sure none can have an adequate conception of
that were not there. The misfortune befell us at a
moment when we least dreamt of any accident, and from
the pleasing anticipations we had formed of realizing the certain
profits of our labor, we were dejected by a sudden,
(09:14):
most mysterious and overwhelming calamity. Not a moment, however, was
to be lost in endeavoring to provide for the extremity
to which it was now certain we were reduced. We
were more than a thousand miles from the nearest land,
and with nothing but a light open boat as the
resource of safety for myself and companions. I ordered the
(09:35):
men to cease pumping and everyone to provide for himself.
Seizing a hatchet at the same time, I cut away
the lashings of the spare boat, which lay bottom up
across two spars directly over the quarter deck, and cried
out to those near me to take her as she
came down. They did so accordingly, and bore her on
their shoulders as far as the waste of the ship.
(09:57):
The steward had in the meantime Gonda into the cabin
twice and save two quadrants, two practical navigators, and the
captain's trunk and mine, all which were hastily thrown into
the boat. As she lay on the deck with the
two compasses which I snatched from the binnacle. He attempted
to descend again, but the water by this time had
(10:18):
rushed in, and he returned without being able to effect
his purpose. By the time we had got the boat
to the waist, the ship was filled with water and
was going down on her beam ends. We shoved our
boat as quickly as possible from the plank. Sheer into
the water, all hands jumping in her at the same time,
and launched off clear of the ship. We were scarcely
(10:40):
two boat lengths distant from her when she fell over
to windward and saddled down in the water. 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
(11:01):
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
(11:21):
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 was deposited,
would of itself, in ordinary circumstances, have consumed as much
(11:41):
time as that if the whole ship's crew had been
employed in it. My companions had not saved a single
article but what they had on their backs. But to
me it was a source of infinite satisfaction, if any
such could be gathered from the horrors of our gloomy situation,
that we had been fortunate enough to have preserved our compasses, navigators,
(12:02):
and quadrants. After the first shock of my feelings was over,
I enthusiastically contemplated them as the probable instruments of our salvation.
Without them, all would have been dark and hopeless. Gracious God,
what a picture of distress and suffering now presented itself
to my imagination. The crew of the ship were saved,
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consisting of twenty human souls. All that remained to conduct
these twenty beings through the stormy tears of the ocean,
perhaps many thousand miles were three open light boats. The
prospect of obtaining any provisions or water from the ship
to subsist on during the time was at least now doubtful.
(12:44):
How many long and watchful nights, thought I, are to
be passed, how many tedious days of partial starvation are
to be endured before the least relief or mitigation of
our sufferings can be reasonably anticipated. We lay at the
time in our boat, about two ship lengths off from
the wreck, in perfect silence, calmly contemplating her situation, and
(13:08):
absorbed in our own melancholy reflections. When the other boats
were discovered rowing up to us, they had but shortly
before discovered that some accident had befallen us, but of
the nature of which they were entirely ignorant. The sudden
and mysterious disappearance of the ship was first discovered by
the boat steerer in the captain's boat, and with a
(13:29):
horror struck countenance and voice, he suddenly exclaimed, oh my God,
where's the ship. Their operations upon this were instantly suspended,
and a general cry of horror and despair burst from
the lips of every man, as their looks were directed
for her in vain over every part of the ocean.
(13:50):
They immediately made all haste towards us. The captain's boat
was the first that reached us. He stopped about a
boat's blinked off, but had no power to utter a
single syllable. He was so completely overpowered with the spectacle
before him that he sat down in his boat, pale
and speechless. I could scarcely recognize his countenance. He appeared
(14:11):
to be so much altered, awed, and overcome with the
oppression of his feelings and the dreadful reality that lay
before him. He was in a short time, however, and
abled to address the inquiry to me, my god, mister Chase,
what is the matter? I answered, We have been stoved
by a whale. I then briefly told him the story.
(14:34):
After a few moments reflection, he observed that we must
cut away her masts and endeavor to get something out
of her to eat. Our thoughts were now all accordingly
bent on endeavors to save from the wreck whatever we
might possibly want, And for this purpose we rode up
and got on to her. Search was made for every
means of gaining access to her hold, and for this
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purpose the lanyards were cut loose, and with our hands
we commenced to cut away the masts that she might
write up again and enable us to scuttle our decks,
in doing which we were occupied about three quarters of
an hour, owing to our having no axes, nor indeed
any other instruments but the small hatchets belonging to the boats.
(15:17):
After her masts were gone, she came up about two
thirds of the way upon an even keel. While we
were employed about the masts, the captain took his quadrant,
shoved off from the ship, and got an observation. We
found ourselves in latitude zero degrees forty minutes south longitude
one hundred and nineteen degrees west. We now commenced to
(15:40):
cut a hole through the planks directly above two large
casks of bread, which most fortunately were between decks in
the waist of the ship, and which being in the
upper side when she upset, we had strong hopes were
not wet. It turned out according to our wishes, and
from these casks we obtained six hundred pounds of hard bread.
(16:02):
Other parts of the deck were then scuttled, and we
got without difficulty as much fresh water as we dared
to take in the boats, so that each us supplied
with about sixty five gallons. We got also from one
of the lockers a musket, a small canister of powder,
a couple of files, two raps, about two pounds of
boat nails, and a few turtle. In the afternoon, the
(16:25):
wind came on to blow a strong breeze, and having
obtained everything that occurred to us could then be got out,
we began to make arrangements far safety. During the night,
a boat's line was made fast to the ship and
to the other end of it. One of the boats
was moored at about fifty fathoms to the word. Another
boat was then attached to the first one about eight
(16:47):
fathoms astern, and a third boat the like distance astern
of her. Night came on just as we had finished
our operations, and such a night as it was to us,
so full of feverish and distracting in quietude, that we
were deprived entirely of rest. The wreck was constantly before
my eyes. I could not, by any effort chase away
(17:10):
the horrors of the preceding day from my mind. They
haunted me the live long night. My companions, some of
them were like sick women. They had no idea of
the extent of their deplorable situation. One or two slept unconcernedly,
while others wasted the night in unavailing murmurs. I now
(17:31):
had full leisure to examine with some degree of coolness
the dreadful circumstances of our disaster. 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 catastrophe
as a dream, alas it was one from which there
(17:53):
was no awaking. 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
(18:16):
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 endeavor to realize,
by what unaccountable destiny or design, which I could not
at first determine, this sudden and most deadly attack had
been made upon us by an animal two never before
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suspected of premeditated violence, and proverbial for its insensibility and inoffensiveness.
Every fact seemed to warrant me in concluding that it
was anything 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 directions, were
(19:00):
calculated to do us the most injury by being made
ahead and thereby combining the speed of the two objects
for the shock to affect which the exact maneuvers which
he made were necessary. His aspect was most horrible, and
such as indicated resentment and fury. He came directly from
(19:21):
the showal which we had just before entered, and in
which we had struck three of his companions, as if
fired with revenge for their sufferings. But to this it
may be observed that the mode of fighting which they
always adopt is either with repeated strokes of their tails
or snapping of their jaws together, and that a case
(19:42):
precisely similar to this one has never been heard of
amongst the oldest and most experienced wailers. To this, I
would answer that the structure and strength of the whale's
head is admirably designed for this mode of attack, the
most prominent part of which is almost as hard and
as as tough as iron. Indeed, I can compare it
(20:03):
to nothing else but the inside of a horse's hoof,
upon which a lance or harpoon would not make the
slightest impression. The eyes and ears are removed nearly one
third the length of the whole fish from the front
part of the head, and are not in the least
degree endangered in this mode of attack. At all events.
(20:23):
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,
(20:47):
and constitutes perhaps the most extraordinary one in the annals
of the fishery end of section three,
Section three of the Shipwreck of the whale ship Essex
by Owen Chase. This LibriVox recording is in the public
domain recording by Phil schampf Chapter two the wreck. I
have not been able to recur to the scenes which
are now to become the subject of description, although a
considerable time has elapsed without feeling a mingled emotion of
(00:25):
horror and astonishment at the almost incredible destiny that has
preserved me and my surviving companions from a terrible death.
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
(00:45):
and protection we were conducted through a series of unparalleled
suffering in 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
(01:08):
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.
(01:33):
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 naught. But that can save us now? But I
proceed to the recital. On the twentieth of November, cruising
(01:54):
in latitude zero degrees forty minutes south longitude one hundred
nineteen degrees zero minutes west, a shoal of whales was
discovered off the lee Bow. The weather at this time
was extremely fine and clear, and it was about eight
o'clock in the morning that a man at the masthead
gave the usual cry of there she blows. The ship
(02:17):
was immediately put away, and we ran down in the
direction for them. When we had got within a half
mile of the place where they were observed, all our
boats were lowered down, manned, and we started in pursuit
of them. The ship, in the meantime was brought back
to the wind, and the main topsail hoove a back
to wait for us. I had the harpoon in the
(02:38):
second boat, the captain preceded me in the first. When
I arrived at the spot where we calculated they were,
nothing was at first to be seen. We lay on
our oars in anxious expectation of discovering them come up
somewhere near us. Presently, one rose and spouted a short
distance ahead of my boat. I made all towards it,
(03:01):
came up with and struck it. Feeling the harpoon in him.
He threw himself in an agony over towards the boat,
which at that time was up alongside of him, and
giving a severe blow with his tail, struck the boat
near the edge of the water amidships and stove a
hole in her. I immediately took up the boat hatchet
and cut the line to disengage the boat from the whale,
(03:23):
which by this time was running off with great velocity.
I succeeded in getting clear of him, with the loss
of the harpoon in line and finding the water to
pour fast in the boat. I hastily stuffed three or
four of our jackets in the hole, ordered one man
to keep constantly baling, and the rest to pull immediately
for the ship. We succeeded in keeping the boat free
(03:45):
and shortly gained the ship. The captain and the second
mate in the other two boats kept up the pursuit
and soon struck another whale, they being at this time
a considerable distance to leeward. I went forward, braced about
the maniard, and put the ship off in a direction
for them. The boat which had been stove was immediately
hoisted in, and after examining the hole, I found that
(04:09):
I could, by nailing a piece of canvas over it,
get her ready to join in a fresh pursuit sooner
than by lowering down the other remaining boat, which belonged
to the ship. I accordingly turned her over upon the
quarter and was in the act of nailing on the
canvas when I observed a very large spermacedy whale, as
well as I could judge, about eighty five feet in length.
(04:32):
He broke water about twenty rods off our weather bow,
and was lying quietly with his head in the direction
for the ship. He spouted two or three times, and
then disappeared. In less than two or three seconds. He
came up again, about the length of the ship off,
and made directly for us at the rate of about
three knots. The ship was then going with about the
(04:54):
same velocity. His appearance and attitude gave us at first
no alarm. But while I I stood watching his movements
and observing him but a ship's length off coming down
for us with great celerity, I involuntarily ordered the boy
at the helm to put it hard up, intending to
sheer off and avoid him. The words were scarcely out
(05:15):
of my mouth before he came down upon us with
full speed and struck the ship with his head just
forward of the fore chains. He gave us such an
appalling and tremendous jar as nearly threw us all on
our faces. The ship brought up as suddenly and violently
as if she had struck a rock, and trembled for
a few seconds like a leaf. We looked at each
(05:36):
other with perfect amazement, deprived almost of the power of speech.
Many minutes elapsed before we were able to realize the
dreadful accident, during which time he passed under the ship,
grazing her keel as he went along, came up alongside
of her to leeward, and lay on the top of
the water, apparently stunned with the violence of the blow,
(05:57):
for the space of a minute. He then said suddenly
started off in a direction to leeward. After a few
moments reflection and recovering in some measure from the sudden
consternation that had seized us, I of course concluded that
he had stove a hole in the ship, and that
it would be necessary to set the pumps going accordingly.
(06:17):
They were rigged, but had not been in operation more
than one minute before I perceived the head of the
ship to be gradually settling down in the water. I
then ordered the signal to be set for the other boats,
which scarcely had I dispatched before I again discovered the whale,
apparently in convulsions, on top of the water, about one
hundred rods to leeward. He was enveloped in the foam
(06:40):
of the sea that his continual and violent thrashing about
in the water had created around him, and I could
distinctly see him smite his jaws together, as if distracted
with rage and fury. He remained a short time in
this situation, and then started off with great velocity across
the bows of the ship to windward. By this time
(07:02):
the ship had settled down a considerable distance in the water,
and I gave her up for lost. I, however, ordered
the pumps to be kept constantly going, and endeavored to
collect my thoughts for the occasion. I turned to the boats,
two of which we then had with the ship, with
an intention of clearing them away and getting all things
ready to embark in them if there should be no
(07:23):
other resource left. And while my attention was thus engaged
for a moment, I was aroused with the cry of
a man at the hatchway, here he is. He's making
for us again. I turned around and saw him about
one hundred rods directly ahead of us, coming down, apparently
with twice his ordinary speed, and to me at that
moment it appeared with tenfold fury and vengeance in his aspect.
(07:48):
The serf flew in all directions about him, and his
course towards us was marked by a white foam of
a rod in width, which he made with the continual
violent thrashing of his tail. His head was about half
out of water, and in that way he came upon
and again struck the ship. I was in hopes when
I described him making for us, that by a dexterous
(08:10):
movement of putting the ship away immediately, I should be
able to cross the line of his approach before he
could get up to us, and thus avoid what I
knew if he should strike us again, would prove our
inevitable destruction. I bawled out to the helmsman hard up,
but she had not fallen off more than a point
before we took the second shock. I should judge the
(08:32):
speed of the ship to have been at this time
about three knots, and that of the whale about six.
He struck her to windward, directly under the cathead, and
completely stove in her boughs. He passed under the ship again,
went off to leeward, and we saw no more of him.
Our situation at this juncture can be more readily imagined
(08:53):
than described. The shock to our feelings was such as
I am sure none can have an adequate conception of
that were not there. The misfortune befell us at a
moment when we least dreamt of any accident, and from
the pleasing anticipations we had formed of realizing the certain
profits of our labor, we were dejected by a sudden,
(09:14):
most mysterious and overwhelming calamity. Not a moment, however, was
to be lost in endeavoring to provide for the extremity
to which it was now certain we were reduced. We
were more than a thousand miles from the nearest land,
and with nothing but a light open boat as the
resource of safety for myself and companions. I ordered the
(09:35):
men to cease pumping and everyone to provide for himself.
Seizing a hatchet at the same time, I cut away
the lashings of the spare boat, which lay bottom up
across two spars directly over the quarter deck, and cried
out to those near me to take her as she
came down. They did so accordingly, and bore her on
their shoulders as far as the waste of the ship.
(09:57):
The steward had in the meantime Gonda into the cabin
twice and save two quadrants, two practical navigators, and the
captain's trunk and mine, all which were hastily thrown into
the boat. As she lay on the deck with the
two compasses which I snatched from the binnacle. He attempted
to descend again, but the water by this time had
(10:18):
rushed in, and he returned without being able to effect
his purpose. By the time we had got the boat
to the waist, the ship was filled with water and
was going down on her beam ends. We shoved our
boat as quickly as possible from the plank. Sheer into
the water, all hands jumping in her at the same time,
and launched off clear of the ship. We were scarcely
(10:40):
two boat lengths distant from her when she fell over
to windward and saddled down in the water. 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
(11:01):
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
(11:21):
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 was deposited,
would of itself, in ordinary circumstances, have consumed as much
(11:41):
time as that if the whole ship's crew had been
employed in it. My companions had not saved a single
article but what they had on their backs. But to
me it was a source of infinite satisfaction, if any
such could be gathered from the horrors of our gloomy situation,
that we had been fortunate enough to have preserved our compasses, navigators,
(12:02):
and quadrants. After the first shock of my feelings was over,
I enthusiastically contemplated them as the probable instruments of our salvation.
Without them, all would have been dark and hopeless. Gracious God,
what a picture of distress and suffering now presented itself
to my imagination. The crew of the ship were saved,
(12:24):
consisting of twenty human souls. All that remained to conduct
these twenty beings through the stormy tears of the ocean,
perhaps many thousand miles were three open light boats. The
prospect of obtaining any provisions or water from the ship
to subsist on during the time was at least now doubtful.
(12:44):
How many long and watchful nights, thought I, are to
be passed, how many tedious days of partial starvation are
to be endured before the least relief or mitigation of
our sufferings can be reasonably anticipated. We lay at the
time in our boat, about two ship lengths off from
the wreck, in perfect silence, calmly contemplating her situation, and
(13:08):
absorbed in our own melancholy reflections. When the other boats
were discovered rowing up to us, they had but shortly
before discovered that some accident had befallen us, but of
the nature of which they were entirely ignorant. The sudden
and mysterious disappearance of the ship was first discovered by
the boat steerer in the captain's boat, and with a
(13:29):
horror struck countenance and voice, he suddenly exclaimed, oh my God,
where's the ship. Their operations upon this were instantly suspended,
and a general cry of horror and despair burst from
the lips of every man, as their looks were directed
for her in vain over every part of the ocean.
(13:50):
They immediately made all haste towards us. The captain's boat
was the first that reached us. He stopped about a
boat's blinked off, but had no power to utter a
single syllable. He was so completely overpowered with the spectacle
before him that he sat down in his boat, pale
and speechless. I could scarcely recognize his countenance. He appeared
(14:11):
to be so much altered, awed, and overcome with the
oppression of his feelings and the dreadful reality that lay
before him. He was in a short time, however, and
abled to address the inquiry to me, my god, mister Chase,
what is the matter? I answered, We have been stoved
by a whale. I then briefly told him the story.
(14:34):
After a few moments reflection, he observed that we must
cut away her masts and endeavor to get something out
of her to eat. Our thoughts were now all accordingly
bent on endeavors to save from the wreck whatever we
might possibly want, And for this purpose we rode up
and got on to her. Search was made for every
means of gaining access to her hold, and for this
(14:56):
purpose the lanyards were cut loose, and with our hands
we commenced to cut away the masts that she might
write up again and enable us to scuttle our decks,
in doing which we were occupied about three quarters of
an hour, owing to our having no axes, nor indeed
any other instruments but the small hatchets belonging to the boats.
(15:17):
After her masts were gone, she came up about two
thirds of the way upon an even keel. While we
were employed about the masts, the captain took his quadrant,
shoved off from the ship, and got an observation. We
found ourselves in latitude zero degrees forty minutes south longitude
one hundred and nineteen degrees west. We now commenced to
(15:40):
cut a hole through the planks directly above two large
casks of bread, which most fortunately were between decks in
the waist of the ship, and which being in the
upper side when she upset, we had strong hopes were
not wet. It turned out according to our wishes, and
from these casks we obtained six hundred pounds of hard bread.
(16:02):
Other parts of the deck were then scuttled, and we
got without difficulty as much fresh water as we dared
to take in the boats, so that each us supplied
with about sixty five gallons. We got also from one
of the lockers a musket, a small canister of powder,
a couple of files, two raps, about two pounds of
boat nails, and a few turtle. In the afternoon, the
(16:25):
wind came on to blow a strong breeze, and having
obtained everything that occurred to us could then be got out,
we began to make arrangements far safety. During the night,
a boat's line was made fast to the ship and
to the other end of it. One of the boats
was moored at about fifty fathoms to the word. Another
boat was then attached to the first one about eight
(16:47):
fathoms astern, and a third boat the like distance astern
of her. Night came on just as we had finished
our operations, and such a night as it was to us,
so full of feverish and distracting in quietude, that we
were deprived entirely of rest. The wreck was constantly before
my eyes. I could not, by any effort chase away
(17:10):
the horrors of the preceding day from my mind. They
haunted me the live long night. My companions, some of
them were like sick women. They had no idea of
the extent of their deplorable situation. One or two slept unconcernedly,
while others wasted the night in unavailing murmurs. I now
(17:31):
had full leisure to examine with some degree of coolness
the dreadful circumstances of our disaster. 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 catastrophe
as a dream, alas it was one from which there
(17:53):
was no awaking. 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
(18:16):
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 endeavor to realize,
by what unaccountable destiny or design, which I could not
at first determine, this sudden and most deadly attack had
been made upon us by an animal two never before
(18:38):
suspected of premeditated violence, and proverbial for its insensibility and inoffensiveness.
Every fact seemed to warrant me in concluding that it
was anything 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 directions, were
(19:00):
calculated to do us the most injury by being made
ahead and thereby combining the speed of the two objects
for the shock to affect which the exact maneuvers which
he made were necessary. His aspect was most horrible, and
such as indicated resentment and fury. He came directly from
(19:21):
the showal which we had just before entered, and in
which we had struck three of his companions, as if
fired with revenge for their sufferings. But to this it
may be observed that the mode of fighting which they
always adopt is either with repeated strokes of their tails
or snapping of their jaws together, and that a case
(19:42):
precisely similar to this one has never been heard of
amongst the oldest and most experienced wailers. To this, I
would answer that the structure and strength of the whale's
head is admirably designed for this mode of attack, the
most prominent part of which is almost as hard and
as as tough as iron. Indeed, I can compare it
(20:03):
to nothing else but the inside of a horse's hoof,
upon which a lance or harpoon would not make the
slightest impression. The eyes and ears are removed nearly one
third the length of the whole fish from the front
part of the head, and are not in the least
degree endangered in this mode of attack. At all events.
(20:23):
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,
(20:47):
and constitutes perhaps the most extraordinary one in the annals
of the fishery end of section three,
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