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Very vivid and detailed account of a 19th century whaling voyage from Nantucket, Massachusetts aboard the ship Maria, described in a journal spanning 174 pages by one of its crew members, William E. Johnson. Journal is among the most exciting and detailed ones we've encountered, with dramatic accounts of life at sea, including almost getting swallowed by a whale, as well as content from Texas shortly after the Texas Revolution.
Book is titled on the first page, "Journal of a Whaling Voyage to the Pacific Ocean on Board the Ship Maria of Nantucket in the Years 1832-33-34-35 & 36 by William E. Johnson Containing An account of the several Ports which the Ship has touched at during the her Voyage". The subsequent page lists the crew of approximately 21 men, headed by the Master Captain Alexander Macy, followed by the statement, "The Maria is owned by Seth & Charles Mitchell of Nantucket, she is a fine Ship of 365 tons…she has been 4 voyages to the Pacific Ocean".
The journal follows with the heading at top of each page beginning with "Passage from Nantucket to Edgar". Each day is documented in the journal, with exciting passages of whales chased and sometimes captured, including a captivating account of a whale battling the boat reminiscent of "Moby Dick". The weather, wind patterns, latitude and longitude, etc. are also documented, such as on 10 January 1833 when it's noted that the boat transitioned form the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean. Ports where the ship docked are also described in detail, including description of the town, its history and inhabitants.
A wonderful full page sketch of a sperm whale is drawn near the end of the journal, with details of the animal such as "20 feet from tip to tip", "70 teeth" and "Head contained 48 brls., 17 of which was bailed out with a bucket."
A typical entry at sea is Johnson's description of a large water spout, "…saw a great many fin back whales…saw a very large water spout about two miles…it was coming towards us very fast, and we were obliged to put the ship before the wind in order to clear it, it made a very grand, if imposing appearance, and although it was two miles from the ship we could see the white foam, & hear the roaring of the Ocean very plain. Water spouts are very dangerous, both on sea & land, if one not half as large as the one we saw this morning, should come in contact with a ship it would be instant destruction for her. It was in sight about 30 minutes, and then disappeared…"
On 11 February 1834, Johnson describes a pair of "singular" whales that almost swallow the boat whole: "At 7 A.M. saw two large WHALES to leeward, bore down for them & at 10 A.M. lowered the boats, we chased them till 5 P.M. sometimes almost near enough to dart at them, & sometimes a great distance off. They acted very singular indeed. At 5 P.M. Capt. Macy resolved to make the last trial, the whale was to leeward of him, but going very quick. Capt. set his sail, & in a few moments was on top of him, no sooner had the boatsteerer darted, than the whale returned the compliment, by a tremendous blow with his Flukes (or tail) which nearly capsized her & tore[?] her badly. Men, oars, & pieces of boat were seen flying together in the air, the other boats soon arrived on the field of battle & picked them up. The waist boat now attempted to fasten to him, but no sooner did he perceive the boat coming, then he made for her with his jaws extended, but by the skillful management of the officer, he did not get her into his mouth, but struck her a violent blow with his head, which knocked them all overboard excepting two. They boatsteerers, however succeeded in fastening to him, but those who remained in the boat were obliged to cut the line, in order to save their crew, he now gave chase to the Eastbound boat, but by hand pulling, we avoided him & made out to get past. The waist boat now made her second trial, but the whale came at her as before & knocked part of her crew overboard - but they were soon picked up & the boat remained fast. We now succeeded in giving him a few good lances & he died after making some of the most violent struggles that I ever witnessed, the noise of his Flukes striking against the water was distinctly heard on board the ship, & she was 3 miles off at that time. The sea was dyed with blood for a great distance, around the scene of action. The Officers & crew who have been a number of Whaling voyages all say that he was the worst whale they ever saw. We all of us escaped getting hurt in a very Providential manner, although we were in the most imminent danger for sometime. At sunset had him well secured alongside…"
On 31 December 1834, Johnson reflects on the success of the year, writing in part, "We are now brought to the close of 1834, and the many dangers, which sailors, especially those who are engaged in whaling are unavoidably exposed to, will soon be forgotten…During the last 12 months we have been very successful even beyond our expectations in the pursuit of whales 30 leviathans have we taken which produced 1100 brls. of oil, this being added to what we took the year previous makes a sum of 1550 brls…we may encourage every reasonable expectation of seeing our friends at home 'ere the expiration of the coming year. During the present year we have sailed over a vast expanse of water touching at different ports in N. & S. America, & at different Islands in the Pacific. Our gallant ship has withstood the shock of many a severe squall, & tremendous gale, & is still in an excellent state for service. We have spoken 25 ships engaged in the same laudable business as ourselves, a number of them have taken very little, or no Oil, & none have exceeded us. They have been afflicted with sickness, some with death, & all of them have had a number of crew desert. With us health, peace & plenty have been our constant attendants, accidents have been few, & only one of a serious nature…"
Despite their success, on 27 May 1834 Johnson describes losing a whale, in part, "in the morning at 8 A.M…a large SPERM WHALE. We lowered our boats & set signals for the Ohio, she being a long distance astern. Continued chasing the whale to [?] until we lose the view of him in a squall. The boat then came on board & got dinner. We raised another WHALE…the Ohio also saw him at the same time. 7 boats were lowered & our Starboard boat soon got alongside of him, but by some means he was lost & the Ohio's boats immediately fastened to him. We came on board, made all [?] & left the Ohio, & her whale as fast as possible. Capt. Macy was very angry with the mate for losing the whale, & he (the Mate) justified himself in fact our ship resembled a little Bedlam for some time. I think there must have been some fault either in the Officer or Boatsteerers, perhaps both & I also think: had not our Officers thought we were mated with the Ohio, we should have got the whale or else he would not have been got at all. The Whale will probably make 80 brls."
In one of the 1834 passages, Johnson describes the "Sandwich Islands" (present day Hawaii) while docked at Maui (written "Mowee" in his journal). He writes in part, "…their extent & population was calculated in 1822 as follows: viz. Owyhu 97 miles in length, by 78 in breath [sic]; population 150,000. Mowee, 48 by 29 pop. 65000…the distance between the extreme Islands is 390 miles. There are missionaries stationed at almost all of the Islands & their labours have been attended with great success. A great many of the natives can read & write, & their quick comprehension of Arithmetic is remarkable. They are about the common sense, well built, tho not memorable for any great bodily strength. Their colour is rather darker than that of the Mulattoes. The females are fair, modest & in general virtuous, are very neat about their persons, & in their household affairs, & have made considerable progress in the arts of civilized life. They have a kind of cloth which is made of the bark of a tree, it resembles paper in books, but is much stronger, of this they make clothes for daily use. Sundays excepted."
At the end of the Journal a "New Expedition" is begun, lasting from 1836-1837, with time in New Orleans described as well as "Passage to Texas" with interesting content regarding the Texas Republic just months after the Texas Revolution. Some content from this excursion reads in part, "…[left] for Galveston having become disgusted with lounging about, doing nothing & preparing to enter the Texian navy…in the glorious cause of liberty, for which it is so nobly struggling. At 3 P.M. got underway…& proceeded down the 'Father of Rivers' as far as the current saw fit to take us. We have on board 15 passengers, who, by the way are as fine as any fellows as ever I happened to fall in with & everything bids fair for a delightful passage for we lack nothing to cheer the mind, or please the appetite, having provided ourselves with ever [?] of small stores that can be found in the well supplied market of N. Orleans. We continued on down the river uninterrupted till 7 o clock…Reader; did you ever see, or hear of a beautiful little creature that is occasionally seen on the banks of the Mississippi; an insect that has caused more cursing & swearing & more scratching, more ill humour & more expense than any other creature of its size in the world called the mosquitoe…"
The author then writes about the condition of slaves in the area, "…We are constantly passing some of the most beautiful sugar plantations in this part of the country…on some Plantations we saw 30 & 40 houses for negroes, built very neat, & laid out in regular order, presenting the appearance of small vilages [sic] & from neatness of some of them I should think owners took more interest in the comfort & welfare of his negroes than he did about his own. The slaves here I think are really in an enviable condition; for what more can any sensible man wish for than a delightful home some one to supply every wont in sickness, or health & at the same time be entirely exempt from care? Compare their situation with that of the unhappy negroes at the north; & what vast difference…there they are dirty, ragged, without food, clothing or home, addicted to the grossest vices, continually rioting in the streets disturbing the peace of all good citizens, filling the…prisons with criminals & finally affording almost constant employment for the hangman. But setting aside the condition of the negroes, the lower class of people at the north are not so happy as our slaves are here, there the poor man works from day light till dark for a paltry dollar, which must support a wife & family & if he is taken sick they have nothing…This is a true picture, deny it; who can? The cold hearted demagogue; ye who are agitating the subject of abolition, for the sake of popularity, even at the risk of disunion, & the ruin of your country…"
Johnson then continues, "We thought it would be no more than dutiful to our respects to 'Mother Earth' before committing ourselves to the tender cares of the Ocean, therefore half a dozen of us succeeded in getting ashore but we had made but little progress towards the interior before we were met by several noble snakes of the 'David Crockett Species' big the biggest kind, which made us decamp in a hurry, 'and no mistake.' We got off, & glided down the river as before about 3 o'clock we passed the Towboat Porpoise with 2 large ships, 2 Brigs, & 2 Schooners attached to her, going at the rate of 3 1/2 knots per hour against a 5 knot current, I reckon this would have made our Grandmothers stare…at 5 am passed Fort Jackson so called in honour of a man who was once President of the U. States…it looks very desolate about it now, so I suppose there no soldiers here, it has the appearance of being very strong…At 7 o'clock came to anchor at the mouth of the river we shall lay till tomorrow morning in order to see our way out. In the meantime I shall retire to my berth, & endeavor to dream of…all the pretty girls that I ever had the pleasure of gallanting with…I woke up this morning about 8 o'clock, hearing a most tremendous noise & where, in the name of all the saints in the calendar do think I found myself?…in the Gulf of Mexico, out sight of land, going at the rate of 8 knots per hour on a S.W. course with a fresh breeze from the Eastward…Nothing of importance occurred during the time was spent. Variously, as by eating, drinking good liquor, smoking, vomiting, sleeping, spinning long years, etc. etc. etc…After spending a twelfth month on shore 'mid the busy hum & confusion of men, 'mid scenes horridly disgusting, breathing a polluted atmosphere; after all this, how delightful to get away on the 'deep, deep blue Sea'; how enchanting to be racked by the gently undulating Ocean; to inhale the pure invigorating breeze; to trace out figures in the vast vault above that apparently are formed by innumerable brilliants stars…"
Soon after, Johnson describes battling a treacherous storm, "I heard a noise on deck as though all the elements had combined for Earth's destruction, & instantly concluded that we had been struck by a white squall. I gathered myself up as soon as possible from among a mass of human beings that were heaped up to Leeside of the Cabin, & crawled on the deck for the purpose of aiding all in my powers. I found everything much worse than I had expected, it was raining, hailing, & blowing with the utmost fury, accompanied with tremendous thunder & lightning; our vessel was running at a fearful rate directly onshore which could not be very far off. The sails were flying in every direction & we expected every moment when our masts would be jerked out of her. I jumped aft & took the helm, keeping her directly before the wind, which had by this time veered round so that we could lay along shore, we were now in 3 fathoms water so that in all probability had the wind continued to blow in its first direction but a few minutes longer we should have been ashore. In about an hour & a half it became very moderate, in the meantime I had the pleasure of standing at the helm in the hail & rain, with nothing on except shirt & drawers, which was not at all comfortable…"
This section of the journal runs eight pages and contains much more interesting Texian content shortly after the newly formed Republic of Texas. For the main voyage, some of the page headings include, "Passage Around Cape Horn", "Cruising on the Coast of Chile", "Charles Island", "Cruising Near the Equator", "Port of Arica", "Passage to the Sandwich Islands", "Sandwich Islands", "Passage to the Coast of Japan", "Passage to St. Barbara", "Passage towards Cape St. Lucas", "Cruising on the Coast of Mexico", "Arrival at the Gallipagos [sic] Islands", "Passage to the United States".
Journal measures 8" x 12.5". Text block almost entirely detached from later bound marbled boards. Light toning and some foxing, but overall journal is well preserved with no dampstaining to interior and is quite legible. Very good condition. An exciting and immersive reading experience from start to finish.