The Wreck of the Whale Ship Essex
By Owen Chase
Introduction by Gilbert King
Zenith Press 2015
review by Tom Miller
On November 20, 1820 a small but intrepid ship named the Essex, captained by James Pollard and out
of Nantucket was hunting whales in the Pacific Ocean. She had just dispatched her whale boats which
were closing in on a pod of whales when the hunter became the prey. A bull whale, some eighty-five feet in
length, appeared on the surface of the ocean not far off the bow of the
ship. It paused as if studying a target,
then started moving toward the ship at great speed and rammed the vessel with
its head. The whale proceeded underneath
the Essex, swam some distance, turned
and at even greater speed rammed the ship once more holing the opposite side
causing it mortal damage. After
salvaging what they could Captain Pollard, First Mate Owen Chase, Second Mate
Matthew P. Joy and seventeen crew members left the wreck in three small and
less than substantial whale boats. Thus
began an impossible journey towards the western coast of South America some
three to four thousand miles distant.
Nearly one hundred days later only seven were still alive to be rescued
in three separate encounters. Toward the
end of their trials and in desperation they resorted to cannibalism.
The Wreck of the Whale
Ship Essex is First Mate Owen Chase’s account of the incident and the
subsequent ordeals that ensued. It was
first published by Chase in 1821 and has been republished several times in the
nearly two centuries that have elapsed since its release. His account spawned many excellent stories of
whaling, sailing, adventure and danger.
Most notable perhaps is Herman Melville’s Moby Dick and Nathaniel Philbrick’s In the Heart of the Sea which is currently in production as a movie
directed by Ron Howard. Melville’s
personal copy of Chase’s book has copious handwritten notes in his own hand
which indicate how much he may have relied on this original account as he
constructed his novel.
Philbrick’s approach is one of an historian. He researched the history and background of
Nantucket, the whaling industry, ship building and sailing and drew both on
Chase’s account and that of Thomas Nickerson who was the cabin boy and a mere
teenager when the Essex cleared
Nantucket in 1819. Nickerson was finally
convinced to put his recollection of the situation to paper nearly fifty years
after its occurrence and that account was misplaced until 1960 when it
resurfaced and lent a somewhat different perspective to the whole affair than
Chase’s.
So the question must be asked, “Why release a book first
published in 1821 and republished several times in subsequent years?” A simple answer is that this edition by
Zenith Press is a beautiful book. But
beyond that, Zenith has added texture with an introduction by Pulitzer Prize
Winner Gilbert King as well as a number of excerpts from Moby Dick and a variety of other tales of whaling exploits. Also there are some one hundred and fifty
pages of maps, charts and photography that are absolutely stunning. Many photographs are of the Charles W. Morgan, the last surviving
whaling ship of an American fleet of nearly 2,700 ships, which is today berthed
at Mystic Seaport in Connecticut. There
is nothing quite like the sight of a three master under sail.
This book then is a collector’s item. It stands on its own merit for those that
have a casual interest in whaling and sailing and the story of the Essex.
However, for the serious collector and historian of seafarers and those
who earned their living in such endeavors this is a piece that will enhance and
add value to their collection.
