![]() ![]() He would spend the rest of his life as a night watchman on Nantucket.Ī local writer wrote an account of the ordeal entitled Narrative of the Most Extraordinary and Distressing Shipwreck of the Whale-Ship Essex.Īnother account of their epic journey was written by Nathaniel Philbrick in his novel “In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex.” His aunt became distraught at the idea that Pollard was still alive as a consequence of her son’s murder.Ĭaptain Pollard was then given command of the whaleship Two Brothers and this voyage also ended in disaster when the ship ran into rocks off French Frigate Shoals and sank. Soon they were reunited with the survivors of his first mate’s boat, who had been rescued by the British merchant ship Indian.Ĭaptain Pollard returned to Nantucket on August 5, 1821. Then on FebruCaptain Pollard and his remaining men were rescued by the whaleship Dauphin and taken to Valparaiso. The next to lose the drawing was Barzillai Ray. The lot fell to Pollard’s cousin Owen Coffin and he was shot and his remains were eaten. It was at this point that in order to survive their ordeal the men resorted to cannibalism.Īs other crew members died, their bodies were eaten in turn until only four men were left alive on Captain Pollard’s boat.Īfter while, a sailor named Charles Ramsdell proposed that lots should be drawn to determine who should be killed so that the rest might survive.Ĭaptain Pollard at first resisted this suggestion but then gave in to the majority. On January 20, 1821, as the two whaleboats were running out of provisions another sailor died. Then during a gale one night the first mate’s boat became separated from the other two. He was transferred to Pollard’s boat and shortly thereafter died.Īnother sailor was given command of the third whaleboat, and the three boats sailed on. Sailing east towards South America, Captain Pollard and his first mate had seen the second mate’s health decline. Three of the men opted to remain on the island and were eventually rescued by the trading vessel Surry.Īs it turned out, Pollard and his men had actually landed on Dulcie Island, not Henderson Island as the three crewman left behind were rescued from Dulcie Island. On December 20, near starvation, the crews of the three whaleboats reached Henderson Island but after seven days decided that the island did not have the resources to sustain them and they reluctantly set sail again. However, on the grounds that very little was actually known about these islands, his first mate and second mate disagreed, proposing instead to sail south far enough to pick up a band of variable breezes that would take them to South America.Ĭaptain Pollard reluctantly yielded to their arguments. Pollard suggested sailing to the Society Islands, which were further away but presumed to be safer. The closest islands were the Marquesas Islands, about 1,200 miles west of their position but in those days the inhabitants there were believed to practice cannibalism. Pollard estimated they had enough provisions to last around 60 days. He outfitted the three whaleboats with sails using the Essex’s spars and masts.Ĭaptain Pollard also retrieved what provisions he could and divided them equally with his first mate and second mate in charge of the other two whaleboats. He immediately ordered his crew to chop off the masts in order to allow the ship to remain upright for a longer time. When Captain Pollard returned to his ship, he found her capsized. Pollard’s crew abandoned ship, taking the navigational equipment and the captain’s sea chest with them. The Essex began taking on water following a second collision with the huge whale. Then the Essex was attacked and struck by a huge sperm whale, estimated to be 85 feet in length and weighing some 80-tons. On November 20, 1820, in a remote area, some 1,500 nautical miles west of the Galapagos Islands, Captain Pollard began hunting small whales out of sight of the Essex. This mishap was caused in part by miscalculations on the part of Captain Pollard and his officers.Ĭaptain Pollard declared the damage was so extensive that they should return to Nantucket for repairs, but his first mate and second mate persuaded him to go forward to the Azores and replace the whaleboats there.Īfter a difficult passage around the Cape Horn of Africa, the Essex arrived in the Pacific Ocean in January of 1820. Two of Essex’s five whaleboats were lost and another was damaged. The Essex set sail on Augand within four days the ship was struck by a sudden storm and suffered a knockdown, having been rolled almost 90 degrees onto her side. Essex leaving Nantucket, August 12th, 1819 (painting by Anthony D.
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