In one of the most spellbinding accounts of men who go down to the sea in ships, the modern reader is given a seat in the whale boat of Owen Chase as he and his fellow crew and their Captain make way in three boats after the wreckage of the Whaleship Essex.
The account of how the Essex was wrecked inspired the infamous book Moby Dick and countless movies, including the newest, In the Heart of … Heart of the Sea.
The perils of sea, storms, nefarious intent of evil men and fate combined to bring an end to a long whaling voyage – typically hard and grueling enough without suffering an attack by a furious and vengeful sperm whale.
The story, told in a first-person narrative by Owen Chase, the first mate of the Essex, was first published in 1821 and served to inspire Herman Melville to write his fictional book of the attack by the whale.
The perseverance and determination of the crew, mate, and captain to use each and every tool and morsel available to them in salvage from the wrecked Essex to outfit their flimsy whaleboats for a voyage of more than 2,500 miles back to the South American coast is remarkable in many ways.
Every ounce of energy and civility rapidly evaporated after two months at sea. The story not told by Melville may be the best part though the attack by the whale is still impressive if one imagines being on the small ship as the leviathan repeatedly bashes in the hull.
In addition to the stirring account by Owen Chase are parts of the account by cabin boy Thomas Nickerson.
Nickerson returned to the seas on whale ships following the Essex shipwreck, one of just a few known to have been sunk by a whale. After he retired to running a boarding house in Nantucket was when Nickerson finally wrote his account of the Essex and the plight of the crew. Nickerson only put pen to paper when challenged by a visiting author.
When the writer, Leon Lewis, escaping from his creditors, became acquainted with Nickerson, he encouraged him to write down his tale of the incredible Shipwreck of the Whaleship Essex. Nickerson did so and entrusted the manuscript to the erstwhile writer who promised to get it published and then fled to England.
Over one hundred years later the Nickerson account The Loss of the Ship “Essex” Sunk by a Whale and the Ordeal of the Crew in Open Boats; was discovered in an old trunk and authenticated by the Nantucket Historical Association and published in 1984, a century after Nickerson wrote it.
Nickerson’s story told of the incredible attack on the Essex while two of the whaleboats were in the hunt to harpoon their prey. The first attack crashed the vessel and rocked it hard. Then, Nickerson wrote that the monster whale turned and rammed the Essex again, causing it to heave, break apart and sink.
The crew began their search for land and eventually found a small island that was rather poor in resources. The sailors, with the exception of three men who decided to stay on the island, left in search of a better island, the mainland or perhaps a ship.
Chase described how during the 90-day journey to the coast of Chile, the men were forced to eat one of their fellow sailors who had died. Nickerson was less than specific about the act of cannibalism and was on the same whaling boat with Chase. The other boat commanded by Capt. Pollard had, but four men left alive and too weak to continue. Finally, they decided to draw lots to determine who would have to be shot so that the others could live. The young cousin of the captain was the loser in that drawing and was killed. Only eight of the crew of twenty survived.
It was later revealed that the three men who stayed behind on the island were rescued, and two of the boats made it to Chile. The tale that they told, mainly through Chase’s account, laid the basis for one of the greatest sea stories ever in print or the movies – Moby Dick.
This account by Chase includes actual news coverage of whale attacks and cannibals.
more
Having read Chase’s account in other publications, I did not find anything new in that portion of the book. That portion alone makes this book worth reading. Although dryly written, and just a brief recitation of facts, it is very good to be familiar with it. Nickerson’s account which followed was interesting, but far too brief. In this Kindle version at least, it may have had a portion omitted. However the various newspaper articles, brief writings, etc. which were included pretty much as filler were for me the real value of this book. They were all interesting and supplied a lot of background information about the industry, times, and perspectives. That is what makes this a great work to read.
If you are a fan of maritime history. This is a must read. Intense, incredible, grotesque, but makes you wonder what you are capable of in a survival situation.
I was a little wary being the book was so old but I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was an interesting and exciting story and well worth the read.
I was attracted to this book as i was aware of the story of the Essex but I had also read extensively about the Whaling Industry of the port Of Hull (Yorkshire). which accounted for 40% of the British Whaling Industry. The book is an interesting collection of first hand account accounts and newspaper reports regarding whaling and the dangers men encountered. How accurate they are or how far embellished we cannot judge. With any historical documents one has to be aware of bias and personal interest.
It also presents a different mindset regarding the whales themselves. The reader should remember the climate of the time, when people were not so caring or aware in respect of conservation or the morality of inflicting great cruelty in pursuit of commodities and wealth. It is of its time and this compilation merely records without comment. Well worth a read by the general reader of one interested in this industry,
A true life narrative that causes a person to evaluate that person’s own attitudes and judgements.
This was a very difficult book to read. From a historical perspective, it deserves 5 stars because the detail and accuracy of the accounts are exceptionally good. But, the stories themselves are truly heartbreaking and the broken style of writing makes it a bit hard to navigate. The first half of the book contains two accounts given by sailors who survived on the ill-fated Essex voyage. The second half of the book is dedicated to a variety of accounts, pictures, and historical clippings around whaling in general which are scattered in format, but do provide great information. Surprisingly, I found that I was more disturbed by the actual destructive practices of sailors in relation to the Galapagos and other islands than I was about the cannibalism that took place in the main story of the Essex, or any of the stories in the cannibal chapter. I keep reminding myself that it was 1820, and these men were only seeking a living, but emotionally, it was hard to stomach the cruelty and total disregard they took in their efforts to “provision” their ships that it was hard to find much sympathy. Truly found myself congratulating the whales that caused so much destruction- their reactions were definitely provoked. Great history, but brace yourself for an emotional ride.
I really didn’t think I’d like this book, since it’s written in the dialect of the times. Yet I was mesmerized, despite having read Moby Dick years ago. I’ve read of forced cannibalism in the Donner Pass story, the Andes Mountain crash story, etc, and was not surprised that all the same desire-to-survive instincts were again in play.. Even more important was the psychologically important influence of each survivor’s will to go on despite day after day of no hope. In the epilogue are shorter episodes of whaling mishaps, all coming down to the same thing: these brave men, tiny in comparison to their prey, were willing to sign up for a whaling trip of over 2 years, to sail from Massachusetts, around the Cape of God Hope and north along Chile’s coast, in boats that could (and were) broken to splinters by the whales they hunted. Another surprise to me: maybe because whales are mammals, the Mama Whale is super protective of her babies; crossing between baby and mama is almost certain death; she will come after the hunter in an amazingly human fit of rage and determination. u
Great historical information. Having served in the Navy, I can relate to a lot of it.
The Wreck of the Whaling Ship Essex is a unique, fascinating, historical novel. While it is fiction, it is written in first person form by survivor Owen Chase years later, then packed away and not published for another 50 years making the information about 100 years old at its first published date. The language, which is kind of old fashioned, is easy to follow and not a hindrance. The story is riveting of their whaling ship being hit and sunk by an angry whale. Then afterwards there are numerous newspaper articles and photos/etchings included on whaling which are also excellent reads.
This work captures a long bygone era and brings it to life within its pages. It is fascinating to look back and, for me, sad to think of the loss of the whales. I will read it again!
Wow! Whaling at its best!
A real life survival story with all of the haunting and tragic problems that confound their fictional counterparts. How horrible to find yourself in that kind of situation
Interesting and informative about a different time
Truly informative and well worth reading.
This book is mainly just excerpts from writings by members of the crew of this ship, thus written in 19th-century English, which makes it hard to read. If it had been updated to modern language with only small quotes from the survivors, it would probably have been a good book. However, if you enjoy early 19th-century literature as well as history, it might be the book for you. I could not finish it.
If you are interested in the whaling business, then this book is right up your alley. I wanted to read it for information but was not the type of book I usually read.
I thought this would be different. Not bad just couldn’t get into it. History??