USA > Massachusetts > Bristol County > New Bedford > History of New Bedford and its vicinity, 1620-1892 > Part 42
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90
" We proceeded on our voyage or cruise to the Vasquez ground and New Zealand section, in sight and out of sight of 'French Rock,' a small island or rock rising perpendicularly from the ocean several hun- dred feet high, located north of North Cape of New Zealand, which was formerly a favorite feeding ground for the sperm whale. Cruising here for several months, then further south for right whales, and after taking several, the captain put away for ports on the Chilian coast. About this time high words having arisen (in adjective form) between the cap- tain and first officer, the master by his privilege of position ordered the mate off duty.
" Now, the first officer off duty, the second officer became the execu- tive officer of the deck. He very soon had trouble with the crew in which the captain requested some aid of the disrated first officer. Order being restored and the second mate, making due apology to the master, was reinstated.
440
HISTORY OF NEW BEDFORD.
" Making our passage to the eastward, when in the longitude of Pit- cairn Island the ship was put to the north and at 8 A. M. on the next day we made the land, appearing more like a sail or ship in the long distance. On nearing, we found the island to be nearly 2,000 feet high, and about five miles in circumference, with a ledge of rocks making off a few rods from the north and south points. When within two miles of the island five of the natives came off in their canoes, the canoes be- ing dug out of a tree ten or twelve feet long and about two feet wide with keel from three to four inches broad.
" The natives, before coming on board, very politely asked permis- sion of the captain. They speak very good English when talking to English or Americans, but not intelligible at all to me when talking to each other, owing to their talking so very quickly. At 9 in the morn- ing I went on shore, and found it very tiresome in walking up the long, steep hill or cliff. Their houses are built of boards, planed, the sides and ends. The sides ship and unship on account of its being very warm. The roofs are thatched with the leaves of the trees. We found the people very friendly and hospitable, the young married and single women very diffident. They are tall-the most of them-and hand- somely shaped. Their every day dress is a loose gown, with no shoes, bonnet or handkerchief. Their children are very pretty and healthy, and are good scholars. The boys at ten and eleven had gone in the arithmetic as far as the rule of three. The men are well made, tall, with good features, and are very strong. They are very fair and honest in all their dealings. Their principal industry is in cultivating the ground. The island is equally divided among all the people. In trading with ships every family sells an equal share. The women are very strong. I met several coming from the mountain. When down to the village I took the load from some of their backs, and counted five large water- melons as one load. 'These women are between the age of thirty and forty, and the mothers of ten or twelve children. An American lady could hardly come up to that. The girls are marriageable at the age of twelve, and mothers of fine children at thirteen. Rather too young for our folks.' The above in quotation marks is a copy from my jour- nal written in the fall of 1839 at the time of our visit to the island. When the boats returned to the ship with the captain, he was accom-
441
WESTON HOWLAND'S NARRATIVE.
panied by John Adams, the son of John Adams, one of the survivors of the Bounty, and Christian, the son of Lieutenant Christian, the leader of the mutiny. By invitation of Adams I spent the night at his home. His family at this time consisted of wife and one daughter, and I re- ceived the most hospitable treatment in their simple and womanly man - ner. The boats, coming in in the morning, were loaded with the prod- ucts of the island, when I returned to the ship.
" And now I come to the circumstance which has been one of inter - est to me. The reader will bear in mind that the writer was off duty by direction of the master. To my surprise, when on board ship, Christian and Adams invited me to the cabin. There they stated that they had learned from the captain of the difficulty existing between the master and myself. Their desire at this meeting was in a Christian spirit to bring about a settlement of the difficulty, with my return to duty, endeavoring to convince me that the first approach could not and should not be made by the captain, but if I would give them one word of desire to soften the relations with the captain the whole difficulty would be amicably settled and the voyage pursued with the right spirit between the master and myself. We will bear in mind that the sons of the mutineers were about double the age of the writer. The writer's answer to these sons of that lonely island of the South Pacific was that the interest of the owners, captain and myself would be better served by our separation, and when arriving in port would take my discharge. In the mean time (which would be short) if ordered to duty I should obey ; otherwise, would remain as I was. The earnest, honest and simple pleading of these men would be more interesting were I able to give it in detail in their own earnest manner; and recollecting that one of them was the son of John Adams, the other of that high- spirited, well educated, and of good family record, Lieutenant Christian, that could not brook the indignities put upon him by that tyrannical commander, Bligh, of the Bounty, and bringing about what is righttully termed the mutiny on that English government ship-yet doing all this without any sacrifice of life, until the judgment comes ' As ye sow so shall ye reap.' Nearly all of these sons of the ocean met their end in violent death-three of them at the yardarm, the rest, except John Adams, by the hatchet or club of the natives with whom they cast their lot. 56
442
HISTORY OF NEW BEDFORD.
" Now leaving the island of Pitcairn and the people, who were at that time, 1839, without spot or blemish, a highly moral and virtuous people, and after a pleasant run, we arrived at our port on the coast of Chili, where the first officer received his discharge, with an order on the own- ers for his part of the cargo. Taking passage for home on a good American ship, the chief mate of which was taken sick a short time out, the writer filled his place until his recovery. All of which was so sat- isfactory to the captain and that gentlemanly merchant, owner, and agent of the ship, that he would not receive the money stipulated for the passage."
In 1847 the ship Titan of New Bedford, put into Sydenham's Island (one of the King's Mill group) to recruit. While the captain with his boat's crew were ashore purchasing a fluke chain, the natives, incited by a renegade Spaniard, attacked and captured the ship, killing one of the mates and several of the crew. The second mate, with his men, escaped in a boat. The ship worked off shore and the natives left her. She was afterward carried into Papiete, one of the Society Islands. The United States and Alabama, both of Nantucket, touched at the King's Mill group and succeeded in rescuing the survivors. In all, five were killed and seven wounded.
The ship Ann Alexander, Capt. John S. Deblois, which belonged to New Bedford, sailed from port June 1, 1850. On August 20 Captain Deblois, having reached the whaling ground known as the " Off-shore Ground", discovered whales at about nine o'clock in the morning. The boats were immediately lowered, and by noon the mate's boat was fast to one. The whale ran a short distance, and then turning, rushed at the boat, seized it in its jaws, and in an instant had smashed it to frag- ments no larger than a common chair. Captain Deblois immediately hastened to the rescue and took the mate's crew into his own boat, which then contained eighteen men. In the mean time, the disaster having been observed from the ship, the waist boat was dispatched to assist. When it arrived the crews were divided, the mate taking com- mand of the waist, and the captain continuing with his own (or the star- board) boat. The attack was recommenced, the mate's boat being in the advance. No sooner had the whale perceived this demonstration, than he again turned upon the mate, and before anything could be done
443
A PUGNACIOUS WHALE.
to avoid the assault, the second boat had shared the fate of the first. Again Captain Deblois picked up the swimming crew and ordered his men to pull for the ship. The situation had become exceedingly critical, for the whale still maintained his hostile demonstrations towards the now greatly over-loaded boat. They had proceeded but a little distance on their return, when he was discovered with jaws widely open, in hot pur- suit. Situated as they were, six or seven miles from the ship, with an enraged whale in pursuit, and no rescuing boat at hand, destruction seemed inevitable. But to their surprise and joy, the monster passed without harming them, and they sooned regained their vessel. Again on board, a spare boat was sent to pick up the oars of the demolished ones, and on their return the attack was renewed upon the cetacean from the ship. As she passed him a lance was thrown into his head. This but served to still more infuriate him, and he again assumed the of- fensive, making for the ship. As he came near the vessel was hauled on the wind, and the whale allowed to go past, after which Captain Deblois again advanced his ship to the attack. When within about fifty rods of the whale, it was discovered that he had settled some distance below the surface of the water. It being about sundown, the attack so far as the sailors were concerned was given up. Not so, however, with the whale. Captain Deblois had been standing on the knight- heads, iron in hand, ready to strike when the ship had got near enough, the vessel moving through the water at the rate of five miles an hour. Be- fore time enough had elapsed for him to change his position, he discov- ered the monster rushing toward the ship at a speed of fifteen knots, and in an instant he struck her a terrible blow about two feet from the keel, and just abreast of the foremast, shaking her with as much violence as though she had struck a rock, and breaking a large hole through her bottom, through which the water poured in a rushing stream. As soon as the extent of the damage was discovered by Captain Deblois, he or- dered the anchors cut away and the cables got overboard, that the ship might be lightened as much as possible. One anchor and cable was cleared, but the other chain, being made fast around the foremast, was not cast off. The captain also hastily secured his chronometer, sextant, and charts, though the water had invaded the cabin to a depth of three feet. The boats were cleared away, and such articles of necessity as it
444
HISTORY OF NEW BEDFORD.
was possible to get were put in them. The captain made another, but ineffectual attempt to get into the cabin, and then ordered the boats to shove off. He was the last man to leave the ship, which was already on her beam ends, with her topgallant yards under water, and he was obliged to throw himself into the water and swim to the nearest boat. When clear of the vessel, and beyond the influence that her sudden sink- ing would have on the surrounding water, an examination was made of the stores, which were found to consist of but three gallons of water, for not a mouthful of provisions of any kind had been saved. Their boats each contained eleven men, and such was the condition of them that it required unremitting bailing to keep them afloat. The next morning at daylight, the vessel being still above water, the captain, who alone dared venture on board, succeeded in cutting away her masts with a hatchet. This being done, she righted. The crew then went on board, and with the aid of their whaling spades, cut away the cable which still hung around the foremasts ; and when that went overboard, the ship sat nearly upright. Holes were now cut in the decks, with the hope of saving some provisions, but all that could be got was five gallons of vinegar and twenty pounds of bread. It must have been with indescribably heavy hearts that these wrecked mariners set off from the so lately gallant ship, that had been for many months their home, and to which they must have become attached, as every true sailor does to his vessel. On the wide waste of waters, in boats which at their best were but frail shells, but which now were in poor condition and leaking, with but twelve quarts of water and not one full day's stock of food, their situation was indeed appalling. The terrible alternative was forced upon them that unless a speedy rescue could be effected, the time was near at hand when the lives of one or more of their' number must be sacrificed, that the others might survive. With what horror must they have recalled the terrible tale of the loss of the Essex, and remember how, one by one, her crew wasted away and died, or how, when the fearful lottery of death was drawn, a miserable wreck of a man, a mere animate mass of skin and bones, yielded up his life to prolong that of his companions. Happily this was not to be their fate. Steering northerly, hoping to reach a rainy latitude, and thereby to prolong with water that life which they had no food to sustain, on the 22d of August they sighted a sail,
445
WRECKS AND MISHAPS.
signaled it, and to their indescribable joy were seen. Soon they trod the deck of the ship Nantucket, Capt. Richard C. Gibbs. Five months later this pugnacious whale was taken by the Rebecca Simms, of New Bed- ford. Two of the Ann Alexander's harpoons were found in him, and his head had sustained serious injury, pieces of the ship's timbers being imbedded in it. Disease had robbed the whale of his propensity to re- sist attack, or of any further "carrying of the war into Africa." He yielded to his captors from seventy to eighty barrels of oil.
On the 21st of October, 1851, the ship Junius, of New Bedford, was lost on a reef in Mozambique Channel. The crew left the ship, unable to secure any provisions except four salt hams. All but one boat's crew landed at St. Augustus Bay, about 200 miles from the scene of their ship- wreck, having been in their boats six days and nights, without water, and with no food except the hams, which to men in their situation were but little better than no food. The missing ones were subsequently rescued.
On March 4, 1854, the ship Canton, of New Bedford, was wrecked on a reef in the Pacific Ocean, situated in south latitude two degrees forty- five minutes, and 103 degrees west longitude. The crew gained the shore of a small barren island, and there subsisted as best they could for four weeks. During this time, in the best procurable shade, the ther- mometer denoted a temperature of 135 degrees by day, and ninety-four by night. Long existence there was out of the question, since their only source of supplies was the wreck of their vessel, and it was de- termined to endeavor to reach the King's Mill group of islands, some 800 miles distant. Having procured a very limited stock of bread and water, they started in four boats, reducing themselves to an allowance of one- half pint of water and half a biscuit per day to each man. During the night the boats were kept together, but in the day time they separated as widely as was prudent, to increase their chance of seeing a sail. On their perilous voyage they encountered considerable severe weather, and passed the islands where they intended to stop. When at length, after a voyage of forty -five days, they landed at Sypan (one of the Ladrones) not one of their number was able to stand. Here they caught birds and fish and obtained cocoanuts, but no water, and they again started, this time for Timais, distant about thirty miles. Arrived off there, the
446
HISTORY OF NEW BEDFORD.
commander refused to allow them to land, thinking they were pirates. He even ordered his soldiers to fire upon them, but they finally con- vinced him who they were, and he supplied them with bread and wa- ter. Four days after, they landed at Guam, having sailed in their boats about 3,500 miles.
Among the dangers encountered by the whalemen in the Pacific Ocean is that of the insidious attacks of the boring worm. The least exposed place on the planking, where the copper may have been chafed off, serves as a rallying point for the teredo. Soon the vicinity of the break becomes honeycombed with its habitations, and fortunate it is for the sailors if a warning leak drives them into some haven for repairs while yet the damage is repairable. A noteworthy instance of the havoc made by these " toilers of the sea" occurred on the ship Minerva 2d, of New Bedford, Captain Swan, in 1857. In August, 1856, while off King's Mill group, she touched on a reef, the water at the time being perfectly smooth, and but little wind blowing. So trifling was the sens- ation of the contact, that Captain Swan gave himself no thought that any damage was sustained, and the voyage was continued as usual till February, 1857, when, in a heavy gale, the vessel was found to leak 250 strokes per hour. She reached Norfolk Island on the 19th of March, but was blown off by heavy gales, which continued for three days. The leak meanwhile increased to 1,000 strokes, and Captain Swan bore away for Sidney. On the 29th of March she was leaking 2,400 strokes (or about 16 inches) per hour, and Captain Swan had the forehold cleared to examine the cause of the trouble. Upon cutting through the ceil- ing several holes were found in the bottom, through which the water was rushing furiously. These the men, though standing in the water up to their middles, succeeded in plugging up and covering with canvas and blankets well tarred. Over these a stream chain was coiled, to pre- vent the plugs from bursting in from the force of the water, and the pumps were kept going day and night. The ship reached Sidney on the 7th of April, and was taken upon the marine railway. It was found that two sheets of copper had been rubbed off, and the planks laid bare were completely eaten to a shell by the worms. "No person, not an eye-witness," said the captain, " would have believed the planks would have held together, and it was certainly wonderful that in plugging the
447
WHALING INCIDENTS.
whole plank was not driven out, in which case every soul on board must have been drowned before the boats could have been lowered."
In 1857 the ship Junior, of New Bedford, Captain Mellen, sailed on a voyage to the Indian and Pacific Oceans. On Christmas Day Captain Mellen served to each of the crew a small glass of spirits. To all ap- pearances this act was appreciated and reciprocated in sentiment by the crew. This being accomplished, Captain Mellen returned to his cabin, and soon he and his officers were calmly slumbering in their berths, little dreaming that hands that had just received the token of good feeling would soon be reeking with their blood. The larger part of the crew, who also had no suspicions of the cold-blooded schemes of their com- rades, also turned into their bunks and slept. About I o'clock in the morning of December 26 the ringleader of the mutiny, Cyrus Plummer, with four of his associates, all armed with cocked guns and extra loaded, entered the cabin, having first stationed five others outside, to prevent aid reaching the officers in case they gave the alarm. With the muz- zles of their guns almost touching the bodies of their victims, the con- spirators, at the word from Plummer, fired. Three bullets pierced the body of the captain, who was almost instantly killed. The first mate, shot by six balls, survived. The third mate was killed with a whaling spade or lance, as he rose, wounded by the murderous muskets. Alarmed by the discharge of the fire-arms, the remainder of the crew rushed to the deck, where they were confronted by the whole force of the muti- neers. The loyal portion of the crew had no resource but to submit. When within about twenty miles of the coast of Australia, Plummer and his accomplices, taking two whaleboats, and rifling the ship of everything they could find of value, left the vessel. Eight of them were subse- quently captured.
INCIDENTS RELATING TO NEW BEDFORD WHALING VESSELS.
Capt. Prince Sherman, of the ship Parker, was lost from a boat while fast to a whale, December 14, 1841. March 11, 1845, the ship Tacitus was lost in a hurricane on the Island of Roratonga. March 9, ship Lucas, Captain Borden, was driven ashore on the Island of Madagascar. The crews in both cases were saved. May I, the ship Maria Theresa,
448
HISTORY OF NEW BEDFORD.
in a violent gale, lost her first officer and three seamen. February 27, a mutiny occurred on the ship Sharon, of Fairhaven, during which Captain Norris was brutally murdered and the ship was in full possession of the mutineers. She was recaptured through the shrewd bravery of the third officer, Benjamin Clough. The first and second officers were in a boat near the ship, when Clough dropped over the side of the ves- sel, and entered the cabin through a window. He shot one of the mutineers who stood in the companion-way, and with the aid of the two officers captured and put in irons the other mutineers. April 24 bark Frances, Captain Taber, with 380 barrels of oil on board, was burned at Mauritius. March 22, 1848, bark Pacific 2d, Captain Little, was lost on a reef at Pernambuco. April 30 ship Hope, Captain Tucker, was wrecked near Cape Brett. January 28, 1849, bark London Packet Captain Howland, was lost on the Cape de Verd Islands. Five or six of the crew were drowned. 1850, ships Isabella, Hercules, and Charles Drew were lost. July 13, 1851, ship America, Captain Seabury, was lost in the ice. December 29, 1853, Capt. James L. Nye and two sea - men of bark Andrew were killed by a whale off the coast of Peru. Jan- uary 26, 1855, ship Logan Capt. Moses Wells, was lost on Sandy Island Reef, and four men were drowned. The survivors landed on the Feejee Islands. June 5, 1856, ship Mount Vernon was stove and sunk by ice in Ochotsk Sea. March, 1857, ship Alice Mandell was lost on Pirate Shoals, China Sea. Two men lost. In 1856 ship Canada was lost on the coast of Brazil through the intemperance of Brazilian officials. She was subsequently paid for by the Brazilian government. May 20, 1859, Capt. Martin Palmer, of bark Kingfisher, was taken down by a foul line, and drowned. May 24, 1859, ship Caroline was wrecked on Minerva Shoals. One man was lost. Ship Twilight Capt. S. Hatha- way, was lost at the Island of Hevaoa, June 1, 1859. The crew had serious trouble with the natives, but they were protected by the resi- dent missionary. In 1860 first mate John C. Clark of ship Gayhead was taken out of a boat by a whale. His body was recovered after hauling in 150 fathoms of line. In 1860 ship Rapid met with a series of misfortunes. She was set on fire by the crew, struck on a rock, and ran into the Jeannette. September, 1860, the bark Superior was burned by the natives of the Solomon Islands, and all but six of the crew were
449
REMARKABLE VOYAGES.
massacred. In 1862 the ship Reindeer was attacked by the natives in the Arctic. In 1863 the bark Smyrna was burned by her crew at St. Helena. In 1864 the bark Plover was lost on a reef north of the Feejee Islands. April 3, 1867, the bark Canton Packet was lost in a typhoon off Japan. Five men were lost. The vessel struck on Cape Syra and broke in two in ten minutes. November 14, 1867, the bark Andrews, Captain Russell, was lost at Harrison's Point, Cumberland Inlet In 1870 bark Alto, Captain White, was lost on a reef near Falkland Islands. In 1872 the crew of the Java 2d, mutinied, killed the third mate (J. W. Jones), beat and tied up the first mate, and escaped while Captain Kempton was on shore. In 1876 bark Catalpa, Capt. George S. An- thony, fitted ostensibly for a whaling voyage by John T. Richardson, was sent to Australia and effected the rescue of Fenian prisoners.
SOME GREAT VOYAGES MADE BY NEW BEDFORD WHALERS.
In June, 1823, the Wilmington and Liverpool packet, Captain Rich- mond, Pacific Ocean, 2,600 barrels sperm oil, the largest amount pro- cured by any New Bedford ship up to that date. Value $65,000. 1830, ship Magnolia, Capt. George B. Worth, voyage of forty-one months, 3,45 I barrels sperm oil. Value $85,000. 1838, ship William Hamil- ton, Capt. William Swain, 4,181 barrels sperm oil. Value $109,269. 1842, ship America, Captain Fisher, 400 barrels sperm, 4,300 barrels whale oil, and 45,000 pounds bone. Voyage twenty-six months. Value $66,478. 1849, ship Russell, Captain Morse, voyage three years and four months, 2,650 barrels sperm oil, value $92,000. 1850, ship Coral, Capt. Humphrey W. Seabury, voyage three years, 3,350 barrels sperm oil, value $126,630. 1850, ship Envoy, Capt. W. T. Walker, cost of outfits about $8,000, obtained 5,300 barrels sperm and right- whale oil, and 75,000 pounds bone. Value $138,450. 1852, ship Saratoga, Capt. Ephraim Harding, voyage thirty-three months, 230 barrels sperm, 4,022 barrels whale oil, and 68,000 pounds bone, value $124,000. 1853, bark Favorite, Captain Pierce, voyage three years, 300 barrels sperm and 4,300 barrels whale oil, 72,000 pounds bone, value $116,000. 1853, ship Montreal, Capt. Frederick Fish, voyage thirty-two months and fifteen days, 195 barrels sperm, 3,823 barrels of whale oil, 31,700 pounds
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.