1 00:00:02,560 --> 00:00:05,760 Speaker 1: You're listening to American Shadows, a production of I Heart 2 00:00:05,880 --> 00:00:19,840 Speaker 1: Radio and Grimm and Mild from Aaron Bankey. Collins Line 3 00:00:19,880 --> 00:00:22,680 Speaker 1: Steamship Company, at the bottom of Twelfth Street next to 4 00:00:22,720 --> 00:00:26,320 Speaker 1: the East River in New York was busy. In fact, 5 00:00:26,360 --> 00:00:30,440 Speaker 1: in eighteen fifty alone, the company launched three luxury ships, 6 00:00:30,680 --> 00:00:35,000 Speaker 1: the Arctic, the Baltic, and the Pacific. Owned by Edward 7 00:00:35,040 --> 00:00:37,960 Speaker 1: Knight Collins, the company had set out to compete with 8 00:00:38,080 --> 00:00:42,000 Speaker 1: English luxury ships. The Arctic and her sister ships were 9 00:00:42,000 --> 00:00:46,560 Speaker 1: designed for speed and style. While Collins didn't have the 10 00:00:46,600 --> 00:00:50,280 Speaker 1: capital necessary to build them himself, had managed to convince 11 00:00:50,400 --> 00:00:53,519 Speaker 1: the wealthy investment bank and trading firm Brown Brothers and 12 00:00:53,560 --> 00:00:58,160 Speaker 1: Company to finance him. Collins also secured a government contract 13 00:00:58,240 --> 00:01:01,320 Speaker 1: to carry mail and passengers between New York and Britain. 14 00:01:02,240 --> 00:01:05,920 Speaker 1: The combination of luxury, speed and business quickly earned the 15 00:01:05,959 --> 00:01:09,520 Speaker 1: line the reputation of being the grandest transatlantic ships of 16 00:01:09,560 --> 00:01:14,080 Speaker 1: their day. On September thirteenth of eighteen fifty four, the 17 00:01:14,160 --> 00:01:17,119 Speaker 1: Arctic docked in Liverpool, as it had done several times before, 18 00:01:17,600 --> 00:01:20,959 Speaker 1: and the crew began preparations for the ship's return voyage. 19 00:01:21,400 --> 00:01:25,000 Speaker 1: Several prominent passengers were about to embark, including relatives of 20 00:01:25,040 --> 00:01:29,119 Speaker 1: both the Collins and Brown families. Also joining the passengers 21 00:01:29,200 --> 00:01:33,760 Speaker 1: was Captain James Luce's sickly son Willie. The passengers and 22 00:01:33,800 --> 00:01:37,920 Speaker 1: crew enjoyed a pleasant journey until September. On the ship 23 00:01:38,000 --> 00:01:40,880 Speaker 1: encountered dick fog along the Grand Banks, just off the 24 00:01:40,880 --> 00:01:45,280 Speaker 1: Canadian coast. Captain Loose ordered lookouts to watch for other ships. 25 00:01:46,280 --> 00:01:48,760 Speaker 1: The fog was so thick that the watchman didn't see 26 00:01:48,760 --> 00:01:51,680 Speaker 1: the French steamer, the Vesta, until it was too late. 27 00:01:52,440 --> 00:01:55,240 Speaker 1: Although the crew sent up an alarm, neither ship had 28 00:01:55,240 --> 00:01:59,000 Speaker 1: time to avoid the collision. The Vesta's steel halls sliced 29 00:01:59,000 --> 00:02:03,280 Speaker 1: into the Arctics would framework, and Captain Loose believed his 30 00:02:03,280 --> 00:02:06,000 Speaker 1: ship could limp to the nearest port and the Arctic 31 00:02:06,040 --> 00:02:09,959 Speaker 1: invest up. Each continued on their path. Not long afterward, 32 00:02:10,080 --> 00:02:13,760 Speaker 1: the luxury steamer began taking on water and the crew panicked. 33 00:02:15,160 --> 00:02:18,600 Speaker 1: Although there were laws forbidding crew from abandoning their passengers, 34 00:02:19,000 --> 00:02:21,800 Speaker 1: not one of the Arctics crewmen cried out women and 35 00:02:21,880 --> 00:02:25,959 Speaker 1: children first. It's aligned captains and crews of board sinking 36 00:02:26,000 --> 00:02:30,200 Speaker 1: ships have shouted countless times. On the Titanic. The band 37 00:02:30,240 --> 00:02:33,519 Speaker 1: played while women and children were loaded into the available lifeboats. 38 00:02:34,440 --> 00:02:37,360 Speaker 1: The things were different on the Arctic, and the ship 39 00:02:37,400 --> 00:02:40,600 Speaker 1: had six lifeboats capable of holding a hundred and eighty people, 40 00:02:41,080 --> 00:02:44,760 Speaker 1: but the crew had other ideas. They ignored the captain's 41 00:02:44,760 --> 00:02:48,720 Speaker 1: shouts to properly load the lifeboats. In the chaos, the 42 00:02:48,760 --> 00:02:52,040 Speaker 1: crew pushed through the line of waiting passengers. The men 43 00:02:52,120 --> 00:02:54,400 Speaker 1: shoved away the women and children trying to get into 44 00:02:54,440 --> 00:02:58,120 Speaker 1: the lifeboats, even though they knew the passengers would die 45 00:02:58,160 --> 00:03:01,799 Speaker 1: in the frigid water. The crew abandoned everyone on board 46 00:03:02,080 --> 00:03:05,440 Speaker 1: and refused to help save the ship. When all the 47 00:03:05,520 --> 00:03:08,720 Speaker 1: crew had climbed into the lifeboats, they launched away half filled, 48 00:03:09,120 --> 00:03:12,799 Speaker 1: leaving behind the passengers to fend for themselves, and people 49 00:03:12,880 --> 00:03:15,800 Speaker 1: desperately tried to string along rafts that might at least 50 00:03:15,880 --> 00:03:20,160 Speaker 1: keep the children afloat. Among the three hundred and fifty 51 00:03:20,200 --> 00:03:23,560 Speaker 1: people who drowned were Edward Colin's wife and two children, 52 00:03:23,919 --> 00:03:27,000 Speaker 1: and several members of the Brown family, including the president 53 00:03:27,040 --> 00:03:30,120 Speaker 1: of the bank. Captain Loose managed to cling to a 54 00:03:30,120 --> 00:03:33,560 Speaker 1: piece of the ship until rescued. He arrived in New 55 00:03:33,639 --> 00:03:37,320 Speaker 1: York with a hero's welcome. Understandably, the rest of the 56 00:03:37,360 --> 00:03:41,720 Speaker 1: crew received a much less favorable greeting. Outrage over the 57 00:03:41,760 --> 00:03:45,160 Speaker 1: treatment of the passengers reached a fever pitch, prompting most 58 00:03:45,200 --> 00:03:49,000 Speaker 1: of the crew to flee the state. Not one member 59 00:03:49,040 --> 00:03:51,320 Speaker 1: of the crew was charged in any court of law, 60 00:03:51,760 --> 00:03:56,440 Speaker 1: nor held accountable for their actions. Sometimes the horrors are 61 00:03:56,440 --> 00:04:01,680 Speaker 1: too great, and we look the other way. I'm Lauren Vogelbaum. 62 00:04:01,720 --> 00:04:16,680 Speaker 1: Welcome to American Shadows. In the early eighteen hundreds, while 63 00:04:16,720 --> 00:04:19,280 Speaker 1: the rest of the world's economy sank into a downturn, 64 00:04:19,720 --> 00:04:23,320 Speaker 1: the island of Nantucket, Massachusetts was fast becoming one of 65 00:04:23,360 --> 00:04:27,240 Speaker 1: the richest communities in America. Over seventy ships called its 66 00:04:27,240 --> 00:04:31,120 Speaker 1: harbor's home. They came and went through the seasons, bringing 67 00:04:31,120 --> 00:04:34,400 Speaker 1: back sizeable catches enough to keep the town residents living 68 00:04:34,440 --> 00:04:39,240 Speaker 1: in high style. Life hadn't always been easy or prosperous, though. 69 00:04:39,880 --> 00:04:42,640 Speaker 1: In the sixteen hundreds, most of the colonists farmed or 70 00:04:42,720 --> 00:04:46,839 Speaker 1: raised livestock. When more people arrived and land became scarce, 71 00:04:47,120 --> 00:04:51,039 Speaker 1: the community turned to something less land consuming and more profitable. 72 00:04:51,640 --> 00:04:56,560 Speaker 1: Whaling had first come upon the idea after finding two 73 00:04:56,680 --> 00:04:59,960 Speaker 1: beached sperm whales, which you or I might find tragic 74 00:05:00,360 --> 00:05:02,919 Speaker 1: or a little gross, but at the time was a 75 00:05:02,960 --> 00:05:07,520 Speaker 1: bit like stumbling across gold. Once they killed the creatures, 76 00:05:07,560 --> 00:05:11,120 Speaker 1: they drained them of what's known as Sperma ceti, waxy 77 00:05:11,200 --> 00:05:13,960 Speaker 1: odorless oil found in a large sack in the animal's 78 00:05:13,960 --> 00:05:16,720 Speaker 1: head that had become very valuable due to its use 79 00:05:16,760 --> 00:05:21,320 Speaker 1: in lanterns, cosmetics, and as a mechanical lubricant. Cape cod 80 00:05:21,400 --> 00:05:24,880 Speaker 1: native Ichabod Paddock was happy to teach nantucketers everything he 81 00:05:24,960 --> 00:05:28,000 Speaker 1: knew about whaling and to make it safer and more 82 00:05:28,040 --> 00:05:31,760 Speaker 1: profitable for the colonists. The method included enslaving the native 83 00:05:31,760 --> 00:05:34,800 Speaker 1: Wampanog people to dispatch the whales and tow them back 84 00:05:34,800 --> 00:05:39,120 Speaker 1: to shore. From then on, captains and their crews slaughtered 85 00:05:39,120 --> 00:05:42,000 Speaker 1: the whales that gathered at the cape every fall, and 86 00:05:42,320 --> 00:05:46,919 Speaker 1: by the seventeen hundreds, the whales numbers dwindled. Undeterred, the 87 00:05:47,000 --> 00:05:49,880 Speaker 1: men used bigger vessels and ventured further out to sea. 88 00:05:51,240 --> 00:05:54,919 Speaker 1: Whales are smart, are the ones that survived taught younger 89 00:05:54,960 --> 00:05:59,360 Speaker 1: generations to avoid the vessels. They even changed their migratory patterns. 90 00:06:00,120 --> 00:06:04,920 Speaker 1: It wasn't enough. The whalers hunted ruthlessly, endangering a few 91 00:06:04,920 --> 00:06:10,640 Speaker 1: species survival. With whales becoming scarce nantucketers built even bigger vessels, 92 00:06:10,680 --> 00:06:14,720 Speaker 1: manned by even larger crews to scour the seas. They 93 00:06:14,760 --> 00:06:17,039 Speaker 1: traveled from the Arctic to the west coast of Africa, 94 00:06:17,240 --> 00:06:20,080 Speaker 1: and from South America to the Falkland Islands in search 95 00:06:20,120 --> 00:06:24,560 Speaker 1: of their prey. During the peak of whale season fifteen 96 00:06:24,600 --> 00:06:28,000 Speaker 1: to twenty, large ships, men, dozens of sluts and schooners 97 00:06:28,120 --> 00:06:33,240 Speaker 1: dotted Nantucket's harbor. Labyrinths of anchors, tripods, spars, and oil 98 00:06:33,279 --> 00:06:37,599 Speaker 1: casks filled the wharves. Sailors and artisans crowded the streets, 99 00:06:37,760 --> 00:06:42,239 Speaker 1: and horse drawn carts came and went constantly. Nantucket native 100 00:06:42,320 --> 00:06:46,800 Speaker 1: Thomas Nickerson found the sites and sounds comforting. As a child, 101 00:06:46,920 --> 00:06:49,720 Speaker 1: he had played on the docks and waterfront, clambering onto 102 00:06:49,760 --> 00:06:54,679 Speaker 1: aging whale ships, shimmying along the ratlines, and climbing the rigging. Now, 103 00:06:54,760 --> 00:06:57,120 Speaker 1: with his childhood behind him, he was ready to go 104 00:06:57,200 --> 00:07:01,359 Speaker 1: to sea. Nickerson wasn't the youngest. Some of the boys 105 00:07:01,360 --> 00:07:03,520 Speaker 1: were just nine or ten years old when they first 106 00:07:03,560 --> 00:07:07,760 Speaker 1: hunted whales. He was the youngest of the current crew, though, 107 00:07:08,040 --> 00:07:11,440 Speaker 1: at fourteen years of age, he had chosen to follow 108 00:07:11,440 --> 00:07:14,360 Speaker 1: in his father's footsteps and become a whaler instead. Of 109 00:07:14,400 --> 00:07:18,680 Speaker 1: working in shops or businesses on the mainland. Leaving home 110 00:07:18,760 --> 00:07:22,040 Speaker 1: was hard, but he wouldn't be alone. Nickerson would be 111 00:07:22,120 --> 00:07:26,680 Speaker 1: joined by lifelong friends Barzillai, Rae Owen Coffin, and Charles Ramsdell, 112 00:07:27,000 --> 00:07:31,720 Speaker 1: all aged between fifteen and eighteen, and like his friends 113 00:07:31,720 --> 00:07:36,920 Speaker 1: and their families, Nickerson believed in Quakerism, which preached pacifism. 114 00:07:36,920 --> 00:07:39,720 Speaker 1: While that may seem at odds with whaling when sea 115 00:07:39,760 --> 00:07:43,200 Speaker 1: creatures aren't human, and the children were raised to believe 116 00:07:43,240 --> 00:07:45,800 Speaker 1: the hunt was a noble and grand way of life. 117 00:07:46,640 --> 00:07:49,960 Speaker 1: Their parents read them bedtime stories about killing whales and 118 00:07:50,000 --> 00:07:53,880 Speaker 1: the cannibals the brave soldiers evaded on remote tropical islands, 119 00:07:54,360 --> 00:07:57,720 Speaker 1: the pervasive myth among European colonists about native peoples in 120 00:07:57,760 --> 00:08:02,280 Speaker 1: the America's one mother proudly boasted that her nine year 121 00:08:02,280 --> 00:08:05,000 Speaker 1: old son used a fork to harpoon the family cat. 122 00:08:05,800 --> 00:08:08,040 Speaker 1: Like the whaling men, he shouted to the fleeing cat, 123 00:08:08,240 --> 00:08:11,040 Speaker 1: Pay out, mother, pay out, there, she sounds through the window. 124 00:08:13,000 --> 00:08:15,760 Speaker 1: Men wore pins on their lapels to signify how many 125 00:08:15,760 --> 00:08:19,120 Speaker 1: whales theyd slaughtered. The higher the number, the more suitable 126 00:08:19,120 --> 00:08:22,920 Speaker 1: a husband. They were considered. Their time at sea often 127 00:08:23,040 --> 00:08:25,760 Speaker 1: months or years at once, was worn like a badge 128 00:08:25,760 --> 00:08:29,360 Speaker 1: of courage. While the men were gone, the women kept 129 00:08:29,400 --> 00:08:32,320 Speaker 1: the town going. They raised the children, and kept the 130 00:08:32,320 --> 00:08:35,839 Speaker 1: house inside and out. When the chores were done, they 131 00:08:35,920 --> 00:08:39,000 Speaker 1: oversaw the island's business and kept the social calendar going. 132 00:08:39,840 --> 00:08:43,040 Speaker 1: With the men at sea, Nantucket became a matriarchal society, 133 00:08:44,320 --> 00:08:48,560 Speaker 1: but whaling had its costs. In eighteen ten, there were 134 00:08:48,600 --> 00:08:51,920 Speaker 1: four hundred and seventy two fatherless children on the island. 135 00:08:52,880 --> 00:08:55,080 Speaker 1: One quarter of the women could expect to lose a 136 00:08:55,160 --> 00:08:58,680 Speaker 1: husband to the sea, but none of this deterred Thomas 137 00:08:58,679 --> 00:09:02,200 Speaker 1: and the others. The boys gathered on the dock in 138 00:09:02,200 --> 00:09:05,440 Speaker 1: the late summer of eighteen nineteen. The sea and the 139 00:09:05,480 --> 00:09:09,040 Speaker 1: whales were waiting. They had been raised their whole lives 140 00:09:09,080 --> 00:09:11,600 Speaker 1: for this moment. They were ready to board the Essex 141 00:09:11,720 --> 00:09:15,160 Speaker 1: for what the locals called and Nantucket's sleigh ride. But 142 00:09:15,840 --> 00:09:23,840 Speaker 1: sadly they would get so much more than that. The Essex, 143 00:09:24,080 --> 00:09:27,080 Speaker 1: coming in at eight seven feet and weighing two hundred 144 00:09:27,080 --> 00:09:30,959 Speaker 1: and thirty eight tons, wasn't particularly large for a whaling ship, 145 00:09:31,960 --> 00:09:34,480 Speaker 1: and though she had brought in a steady profit, the 146 00:09:34,520 --> 00:09:37,400 Speaker 1: twenty year old ship had been mostly neglected for the 147 00:09:37,440 --> 00:09:41,720 Speaker 1: past fifteen years. A rock and naval shipworms had taken 148 00:09:41,760 --> 00:09:44,719 Speaker 1: their toll on the wood, but she also suffered from 149 00:09:44,720 --> 00:09:48,640 Speaker 1: what sailors called iron sickness, the decay and corrosion of 150 00:09:48,640 --> 00:09:52,560 Speaker 1: the iron on board. Though passed her prime, the Essex 151 00:09:52,600 --> 00:09:56,120 Speaker 1: had made her owners and many captains rich. The owners 152 00:09:56,120 --> 00:09:58,839 Speaker 1: figured that the ship had one, maybe two more hunting 153 00:09:58,880 --> 00:10:02,280 Speaker 1: trips in her before send in her to the scrap yard. Still, 154 00:10:02,440 --> 00:10:06,480 Speaker 1: they made a few modest repairs before the journey. Locals 155 00:10:06,520 --> 00:10:08,680 Speaker 1: noted that a comet appeared in the sky as the 156 00:10:08,720 --> 00:10:12,640 Speaker 1: repairs began in July nineteen, and that a swarm of 157 00:10:12,679 --> 00:10:17,119 Speaker 1: grasshoppers had invaded the turnip fields. The people of Nantucket 158 00:10:17,120 --> 00:10:21,400 Speaker 1: were a suspicious bench, if not slightly superstitious, and so 159 00:10:21,480 --> 00:10:24,120 Speaker 1: when the Essex set out to sea in August, the 160 00:10:24,160 --> 00:10:27,720 Speaker 1: community began to talk. Nothing good could come from these 161 00:10:27,760 --> 00:10:32,200 Speaker 1: bad omens, certainly meant for the ship and crew. Unaware 162 00:10:32,240 --> 00:10:36,439 Speaker 1: of the gossip, new Captain George Pollard felt confident he 163 00:10:36,520 --> 00:10:38,679 Speaker 1: had spent the past four years on the Essex as 164 00:10:38,720 --> 00:10:42,160 Speaker 1: the first mate, and no one knew her better. Another 165 00:10:42,240 --> 00:10:45,240 Speaker 1: long timer, Owen Chase, had been promoted to first mate. 166 00:10:46,440 --> 00:10:49,720 Speaker 1: At night, Nickerson and the others settled down on mattresses 167 00:10:49,760 --> 00:10:53,360 Speaker 1: stuffed with mildewed corn husks. The night and the breeze 168 00:10:53,400 --> 00:10:57,160 Speaker 1: were a welcome relief from the daytimes punishing heat. For 169 00:10:57,280 --> 00:11:01,760 Speaker 1: two days the seas were relatively smooth. A squall hit 170 00:11:01,800 --> 00:11:05,920 Speaker 1: them on August fourteenth, Young Coffin assured Nickerson that all 171 00:11:05,960 --> 00:11:09,440 Speaker 1: would be well. Captain Pollard was also his cousin, and 172 00:11:09,480 --> 00:11:12,120 Speaker 1: if anyone could navigate the Essex through a storm, it 173 00:11:12,240 --> 00:11:16,160 Speaker 1: was him. When the worst of the storm had passed, 174 00:11:16,400 --> 00:11:18,440 Speaker 1: two of the four whaling boats that hung off the 175 00:11:18,440 --> 00:11:21,880 Speaker 1: port side had been swept away. The spare boat on 176 00:11:21,880 --> 00:11:24,480 Speaker 1: the stern had been crushed, leaving the crew with just 177 00:11:24,679 --> 00:11:29,480 Speaker 1: two functioning boats. Several sails, including the top gallant, were torn, 178 00:11:29,880 --> 00:11:34,280 Speaker 1: rendering them almost useless. Pollard wanted to turn back, but 179 00:11:34,520 --> 00:11:37,920 Speaker 1: Chase disagreed, insisting that the ship was fine and they 180 00:11:37,960 --> 00:11:41,800 Speaker 1: could find spare whale boats once they reached Portugal. After 181 00:11:41,880 --> 00:11:45,760 Speaker 1: some debate between the men, Pollard relented and they continued. 182 00:11:47,120 --> 00:11:49,840 Speaker 1: At first, the captain and first mate took to lying 183 00:11:49,880 --> 00:11:52,559 Speaker 1: to the crew, telling them the winds prevented them from 184 00:11:52,559 --> 00:11:55,760 Speaker 1: turning around. Only later did they tell them the truth. 185 00:11:57,000 --> 00:11:59,959 Speaker 1: When the crew sailed into the Azores and Archipelago off 186 00:12:00,040 --> 00:12:03,720 Speaker 1: Portugal to resupply, they discovered that spare boats were hard 187 00:12:03,720 --> 00:12:07,360 Speaker 1: to come by. After finding just one, the crew got 188 00:12:07,400 --> 00:12:11,760 Speaker 1: back to business hunting whales. A lookout spotted a pot 189 00:12:11,760 --> 00:12:15,080 Speaker 1: of whales somewhere between Rio de Janeiro and Buenos Aires. 190 00:12:15,880 --> 00:12:18,480 Speaker 1: Pollard ordered several men set out on two of the 191 00:12:18,520 --> 00:12:22,240 Speaker 1: remaining boats. The men complied, racing to reach the pod 192 00:12:22,360 --> 00:12:27,000 Speaker 1: first for bragging rights. Nickerson was on first, mate Chase's boat, 193 00:12:27,200 --> 00:12:31,640 Speaker 1: and they reached the whales first. A novice harpooner fumbled 194 00:12:31,760 --> 00:12:34,280 Speaker 1: and didn't quite manage to secure one of the whales. 195 00:12:35,360 --> 00:12:38,040 Speaker 1: As Chase barked more orders, a whale came up from 196 00:12:38,120 --> 00:12:41,000 Speaker 1: under them. The whale rammed the boat, splintering it to 197 00:12:41,080 --> 00:12:45,000 Speaker 1: bits and tossing the men into the sea. Nickerson treaded 198 00:12:45,000 --> 00:12:49,320 Speaker 1: water among the swimming whales, terrified that attack. Instead, the 199 00:12:49,320 --> 00:12:53,240 Speaker 1: whales swam off. Paullard swung his boat around and rescued 200 00:12:53,280 --> 00:12:56,440 Speaker 1: the men. It would be days before they spotted the 201 00:12:56,440 --> 00:13:00,800 Speaker 1: pot again. This time the harpoon found its mark. The 202 00:13:00,840 --> 00:13:03,120 Speaker 1: men cheered and called out as they embarked on their 203 00:13:03,120 --> 00:13:07,000 Speaker 1: first Nantucket sleigh ride. The goal was to tire out 204 00:13:07,040 --> 00:13:09,559 Speaker 1: the harpooned whale, allowing them to get close enough to 205 00:13:09,600 --> 00:13:12,560 Speaker 1: stab it, and then slashed the tendons and tail before 206 00:13:12,640 --> 00:13:17,440 Speaker 1: running a lance into its lungs of brutal death. Nightfall 207 00:13:17,480 --> 00:13:19,720 Speaker 1: approached by the time. The men towed the whale back 208 00:13:19,720 --> 00:13:23,439 Speaker 1: to the Essex, butchered it and drained the oil. Then 209 00:13:23,600 --> 00:13:28,400 Speaker 1: they celebrated. In November, the crew spotted a large mail 210 00:13:28,440 --> 00:13:32,000 Speaker 1: sperm whale heading straight toward the Essex. It rammed them, 211 00:13:32,240 --> 00:13:34,640 Speaker 1: the impact, tossing the men off their feet and tearing 212 00:13:34,679 --> 00:13:37,400 Speaker 1: a hole into the ship. As the crew tried to 213 00:13:37,400 --> 00:13:39,880 Speaker 1: stop the water from pouring in, the whale ran the 214 00:13:39,920 --> 00:13:43,959 Speaker 1: ship once more. While the Essex took on water and terrified, 215 00:13:44,000 --> 00:13:46,800 Speaker 1: men loaded themselves in their supplies into the remaining boats. 216 00:13:47,480 --> 00:13:50,839 Speaker 1: They were miles from land, and somewhere beneath them was 217 00:13:50,880 --> 00:14:01,000 Speaker 1: a very large and very angry whale. There lifeboats leaked 218 00:14:01,760 --> 00:14:04,720 Speaker 1: in a matter of days. The saltwater dampened the biscuits 219 00:14:04,800 --> 00:14:08,120 Speaker 1: and endangered the rest of the food as well. Captain 220 00:14:08,160 --> 00:14:11,600 Speaker 1: Pollard wanted to head to the nearest landfall islands near Tahiti. 221 00:14:11,760 --> 00:14:17,080 Speaker 1: About thirty days away. First mate, Chase, disagreed. He argued 222 00:14:17,120 --> 00:14:20,440 Speaker 1: that everyone knew the island had cannibals who would surely 223 00:14:20,440 --> 00:14:24,800 Speaker 1: eat them. Instead, he insisted they head to South America. 224 00:14:25,120 --> 00:14:28,040 Speaker 1: The captain relented control to his first mate once more. 225 00:14:29,200 --> 00:14:32,240 Speaker 1: Pollard and Chase each had navigational equipment in their boats, 226 00:14:32,600 --> 00:14:37,000 Speaker 1: and crewmin Matthew Joy followed in the third Nickerson began 227 00:14:37,040 --> 00:14:39,840 Speaker 1: to realize their odds of survival. After they've been rowing 228 00:14:39,960 --> 00:14:44,720 Speaker 1: for nearly a month, everyone was dehydrated and starving by 229 00:14:44,720 --> 00:14:47,920 Speaker 1: the time they reached Henderson, a small inlet with nothing 230 00:14:47,960 --> 00:14:52,600 Speaker 1: on it except sea birds, shellfish, and brackish water. A 231 00:14:52,640 --> 00:14:55,160 Speaker 1: few days later, they had eaten most of the sea birds. 232 00:14:56,080 --> 00:14:59,680 Speaker 1: Pollard and Chase ordered everyone back into the boats, three 233 00:14:59,680 --> 00:15:02,320 Speaker 1: of them and refused, opting to take a chance a 234 00:15:02,400 --> 00:15:07,520 Speaker 1: passing ship would spot them with limited food. The others agreed. 235 00:15:08,400 --> 00:15:10,200 Speaker 1: They took some of the birds and fish they had 236 00:15:10,240 --> 00:15:14,400 Speaker 1: caught and set off again towards South America. As the 237 00:15:14,440 --> 00:15:17,320 Speaker 1: days dragged on, the hot sun and lack of water 238 00:15:17,440 --> 00:15:22,520 Speaker 1: took their toll, men began to die. To lighten the boats, 239 00:15:22,560 --> 00:15:26,760 Speaker 1: their bodies were tossed overboard. For a month, the men 240 00:15:26,880 --> 00:15:30,320 Speaker 1: drifted and rowed, still hopeful they'd make it to Easter Island. 241 00:15:31,040 --> 00:15:34,280 Speaker 1: They knew nothing of the inhabitants. If it had cannibals, 242 00:15:34,600 --> 00:15:36,720 Speaker 1: no one had heard about it, and at this point 243 00:15:36,880 --> 00:15:42,560 Speaker 1: they didn't care. On January third, eighty squalls pushed the 244 00:15:42,560 --> 00:15:46,040 Speaker 1: boats further away from the island. The men had finished 245 00:15:46,080 --> 00:15:49,560 Speaker 1: the last of their food. They had one saving grace. 246 00:15:50,240 --> 00:15:53,560 Speaker 1: The storm had supplied them with water enough that each 247 00:15:53,560 --> 00:15:58,320 Speaker 1: man could have one cup per day. On January four, 248 00:15:58,600 --> 00:16:01,400 Speaker 1: Matthew Joy died and the men buried him at sea. 249 00:16:02,400 --> 00:16:05,400 Speaker 1: Chase ordered a man named Hendricks to take over Joy's boat. 250 00:16:06,720 --> 00:16:10,400 Speaker 1: Days later, a dense fog rolled in, and by morning 251 00:16:10,720 --> 00:16:14,880 Speaker 1: Chase had lost track of the other boats. After a search, 252 00:16:15,040 --> 00:16:17,880 Speaker 1: he decided to continue their course and hope for the best. 253 00:16:18,920 --> 00:16:21,920 Speaker 1: One night, Chase forgot to lock the supply chest and 254 00:16:21,960 --> 00:16:25,080 Speaker 1: one of the men stole extra food. He threatened to 255 00:16:25,160 --> 00:16:29,280 Speaker 1: kill the man if he stole another bite. The next night, 256 00:16:29,560 --> 00:16:32,960 Speaker 1: the exhausted men awakened to something huge hitting the boat. 257 00:16:33,840 --> 00:16:37,840 Speaker 1: They watched as a shark circled. Normally, such an encounter 258 00:16:37,840 --> 00:16:40,680 Speaker 1: would have sparked fear, especially given what the whale had done, 259 00:16:41,440 --> 00:16:46,960 Speaker 1: but the men were hungry, very hungry. Chase grabbed the harpoon. 260 00:16:47,400 --> 00:16:49,920 Speaker 1: If you could kill the shark that have food. He 261 00:16:50,000 --> 00:16:52,560 Speaker 1: tried a few times as the shark continued to circle, 262 00:16:52,640 --> 00:16:56,400 Speaker 1: but was too weak to penetrate the animal's skin. After 263 00:16:56,440 --> 00:16:59,720 Speaker 1: several more jabs, in one last lap, the shark swam 264 00:16:59,760 --> 00:17:03,320 Speaker 1: off yeah. The next day, another man on his boat died. 265 00:17:04,000 --> 00:17:08,240 Speaker 1: Chase had run out of hope and options. Far away, 266 00:17:08,600 --> 00:17:12,359 Speaker 1: Pollard and his men suffered the same fate. Without supplies, 267 00:17:12,800 --> 00:17:15,280 Speaker 1: he and his men could do nothing to save themselves, 268 00:17:16,119 --> 00:17:22,240 Speaker 1: well almost nothing, you see, even miles apart, The two 269 00:17:22,240 --> 00:17:27,040 Speaker 1: men came to the same conclusion, stop throwing the bodies overboard, 270 00:17:28,400 --> 00:17:31,840 Speaker 1: and for the first time and far too long, the 271 00:17:31,880 --> 00:17:36,639 Speaker 1: survivors eight. Then they waited for land and for the 272 00:17:36,680 --> 00:17:44,040 Speaker 1: next crewmate to die. On February six, Pollard's men were 273 00:17:44,080 --> 00:17:47,120 Speaker 1: on the brink. Their supplies were gone and no one 274 00:17:47,119 --> 00:17:50,800 Speaker 1: had died in three weeks. They decided to draw Straws, 275 00:17:51,680 --> 00:17:56,200 Speaker 1: whoever lost, would sacrifice themselves to feed the others. To 276 00:17:56,320 --> 00:18:01,520 Speaker 1: Pollard's horror, his cousin Owen Coffin lost another draw. Straws 277 00:18:01,560 --> 00:18:03,800 Speaker 1: decided the Coffin's best friend would be the one to 278 00:18:03,840 --> 00:18:07,800 Speaker 1: pull the trigger. With the deed done, the men didn't 279 00:18:07,840 --> 00:18:13,560 Speaker 1: waste a single moment. Seventeen days later, Pollard and Ramsdell 280 00:18:13,680 --> 00:18:16,920 Speaker 1: cleaned the marrow from the bones of their last murdered crewman. 281 00:18:17,400 --> 00:18:22,320 Speaker 1: When an American ship, the Dauphin, came across them. Three 282 00:18:22,400 --> 00:18:26,560 Speaker 1: hundred miles away, Chase Nickerson and another crew member managed 283 00:18:26,600 --> 00:18:29,480 Speaker 1: to catch the attention of an English ship. The men 284 00:18:29,520 --> 00:18:32,800 Speaker 1: who stayed behind on the small inlet survived on birds, eggs, 285 00:18:32,800 --> 00:18:37,200 Speaker 1: and shellfish for another month before an Australian ship rescued them. 286 00:18:37,240 --> 00:18:40,480 Speaker 1: The third boat was later found with just three skeletons 287 00:18:40,520 --> 00:18:46,359 Speaker 1: on board. The eight survivors were reunited in Valparaiso. After 288 00:18:46,400 --> 00:18:49,960 Speaker 1: they recovered, they boarded a ship again headed home to Nantucket, 289 00:18:50,800 --> 00:19:07,080 Speaker 1: but they would never be the same. During the trip home, 290 00:19:07,280 --> 00:19:10,679 Speaker 1: Pollard joined the captain for dinner. Throughout the meal, he 291 00:19:10,720 --> 00:19:14,800 Speaker 1: recounted his harrowing ordeal. The captain returned to his room 292 00:19:14,840 --> 00:19:17,640 Speaker 1: and wrote everything down, noting it had been the most 293 00:19:17,680 --> 00:19:22,200 Speaker 1: distressing story had ever heard. The crew arrived home without 294 00:19:22,200 --> 00:19:25,919 Speaker 1: fanfare or mention. No one wanted to talk about what 295 00:19:26,000 --> 00:19:29,320 Speaker 1: the men had had to do to survive. No one, 296 00:19:29,440 --> 00:19:34,320 Speaker 1: that is, except Pollard's family. They rejected him for having 297 00:19:34,359 --> 00:19:37,639 Speaker 1: eaten his cousin. Coffin's mother refused to be in the 298 00:19:37,640 --> 00:19:40,960 Speaker 1: same room with him. He briefly served as the captain 299 00:19:41,000 --> 00:19:43,680 Speaker 1: of another whaling ship the two brothers, but after it 300 00:19:43,760 --> 00:19:47,400 Speaker 1: sank in Ee, no shipping company would hire him and 301 00:19:47,440 --> 00:19:51,480 Speaker 1: no crew would work with him. Meanwhile, Chase wrote and 302 00:19:51,520 --> 00:19:54,960 Speaker 1: published a book about those dark months at sea. He 303 00:19:55,080 --> 00:20:00,000 Speaker 1: included every gory horrifying detail. For a while, the books 304 00:20:00,000 --> 00:20:04,400 Speaker 1: sales helped support his family. Years later, Chase's son, William, 305 00:20:04,480 --> 00:20:08,120 Speaker 1: followed in his footsteps and became a whaler too. While 306 00:20:08,119 --> 00:20:10,960 Speaker 1: the story had become legend, existing copies of the book 307 00:20:11,000 --> 00:20:14,840 Speaker 1: were rare. On one of his trips, William Chase met 308 00:20:14,880 --> 00:20:17,919 Speaker 1: another whaler of the same age who wasn't from Nantucket. 309 00:20:18,760 --> 00:20:21,120 Speaker 1: Though the story had traveled far and wide, his new 310 00:20:21,160 --> 00:20:24,879 Speaker 1: friend wanted to hear all the details. The more the 311 00:20:24,920 --> 00:20:28,560 Speaker 1: young crewmen learned, the more intrigued and fascinated he became. 312 00:20:29,600 --> 00:20:31,840 Speaker 1: When the two worked together on a whaling ship headed 313 00:20:31,840 --> 00:20:34,440 Speaker 1: to the Pacific, he was delighted that Chase gave him 314 00:20:34,440 --> 00:20:38,880 Speaker 1: a copy of his father's book. The curious crewmen eagerly 315 00:20:38,920 --> 00:20:42,040 Speaker 1: read it covered a cover. The story stayed with him 316 00:20:42,080 --> 00:20:44,440 Speaker 1: for some time before he wrote and published a work 317 00:20:44,440 --> 00:20:48,040 Speaker 1: of fiction based on these true events. It took him 318 00:20:48,080 --> 00:20:51,639 Speaker 1: eighteen months to write. When the novel they viewed, the 319 00:20:51,720 --> 00:20:54,960 Speaker 1: young whaler turned author visited Nantucket for the first time. 320 00:20:55,840 --> 00:20:58,199 Speaker 1: The island was in its heyday, it had become the 321 00:20:58,200 --> 00:21:02,200 Speaker 1: whaling capital of the world. Before he left, he got 322 00:21:02,240 --> 00:21:05,439 Speaker 1: the chance to meet with Captain Pollard. It was just once, 323 00:21:05,640 --> 00:21:07,919 Speaker 1: but the novelist remembered the captain as one of the 324 00:21:07,960 --> 00:21:11,560 Speaker 1: most humble and unassuming men he had ever met. To 325 00:21:11,640 --> 00:21:15,640 Speaker 1: Hermann Melville, Pollard was nothing like his character Captain Ahab. 326 00:21:17,119 --> 00:21:21,359 Speaker 1: Moby Dick wasn't an instant success. By the time Melville died, 327 00:21:21,440 --> 00:21:24,199 Speaker 1: the book was out of print. It took a hundred 328 00:21:24,280 --> 00:21:27,240 Speaker 1: years before William Faulkner commented that he wished he had 329 00:21:27,240 --> 00:21:31,760 Speaker 1: written it himself. After a slow beginning, that opening line 330 00:21:31,800 --> 00:21:34,960 Speaker 1: of call me Ishmael quickly became one of the most 331 00:21:35,000 --> 00:21:40,320 Speaker 1: memorable phrases in literature, and with it, Moby Dick became 332 00:21:40,400 --> 00:21:43,600 Speaker 1: one of the most famous stories of the sea ever told. 333 00:21:54,359 --> 00:21:57,080 Speaker 1: There's more to this story. Stick around after this brief 334 00:21:57,119 --> 00:22:12,440 Speaker 1: sponsor break to hear all about it. The archaeologists met 335 00:22:12,520 --> 00:22:16,399 Speaker 1: the fourteen year old girl in twelve they've been working 336 00:22:16,440 --> 00:22:20,080 Speaker 1: on the Jamestown Rediscovery project at Preservation, Virginia when they 337 00:22:20,080 --> 00:22:24,000 Speaker 1: came across her. Skeleton. Jane, as they called her, was 338 00:22:24,119 --> 00:22:27,080 Speaker 1: found in a cellar along with the remains of butchered animals, 339 00:22:27,560 --> 00:22:31,800 Speaker 1: all bearing marks on their bones from human teeth. Young 340 00:22:31,920 --> 00:22:36,080 Speaker 1: Jane had been eaten, as history has it, The colony 341 00:22:36,119 --> 00:22:40,000 Speaker 1: had started as a promising endeavor. In sixteen o six, 342 00:22:40,080 --> 00:22:42,960 Speaker 1: the Virginia Company, which hoped to find gold and silver, 343 00:22:43,240 --> 00:22:47,240 Speaker 1: sponsored its creation. England hoped the riches they'd find would 344 00:22:47,320 --> 00:22:50,639 Speaker 1: help them become the world power, taking the title from Spain. 345 00:22:52,440 --> 00:22:55,280 Speaker 1: Three ships left England in December of sixteen o six, 346 00:22:55,760 --> 00:23:00,320 Speaker 1: the season Constant, the Discovery, and the god Speed aboard 347 00:23:00,320 --> 00:23:03,800 Speaker 1: where a hundred and four colonists, including former Mercenary Captain 348 00:23:03,880 --> 00:23:07,479 Speaker 1: John Smith. It took the ships four months to make 349 00:23:07,520 --> 00:23:10,920 Speaker 1: the journey, stopping at three ports before arriving in America 350 00:23:11,040 --> 00:23:16,480 Speaker 1: on April sixteen o seven. They named the area Cape Henry, 351 00:23:16,520 --> 00:23:19,080 Speaker 1: and the expedition crew immediately set out to find a 352 00:23:19,080 --> 00:23:22,639 Speaker 1: more suitable place to establish a colony. They explored an 353 00:23:22,680 --> 00:23:26,080 Speaker 1: area around what's now called Chesapeake Bay and came upon 354 00:23:26,080 --> 00:23:28,560 Speaker 1: a river they named the James River in honor of 355 00:23:28,640 --> 00:23:33,080 Speaker 1: King James the First. In mid May of sixteen o seven, 356 00:23:33,240 --> 00:23:35,760 Speaker 1: they selected a peninsula in the middle of the James River. 357 00:23:36,440 --> 00:23:39,119 Speaker 1: The strip of land forty miles inland from the Atlantic, 358 00:23:39,440 --> 00:23:42,080 Speaker 1: was a solid choice for a fortress. The curve in 359 00:23:42,119 --> 00:23:45,159 Speaker 1: the river made the area easily defensible, and the channel 360 00:23:45,200 --> 00:23:49,520 Speaker 1: provided easy access to supply and trading ships. They also 361 00:23:49,600 --> 00:23:52,359 Speaker 1: chose the land due to the lack of indigenous peoples there. 362 00:23:53,400 --> 00:23:56,240 Speaker 1: Native Americans considered the land a poor choice for either 363 00:23:56,280 --> 00:24:01,199 Speaker 1: agriculture or comfort. It was marshy, egg by mosquitoes, and 364 00:24:01,240 --> 00:24:06,239 Speaker 1: the brackish water wasn't suitable for drinking. The colonists had 365 00:24:06,280 --> 00:24:09,680 Speaker 1: arrived during a drought. They didn't understand the marsh of 366 00:24:09,760 --> 00:24:13,040 Speaker 1: a problem, and they didn't find the site's isolation in 367 00:24:13,080 --> 00:24:17,480 Speaker 1: small size as problematic as the Native Americans had. However, 368 00:24:17,640 --> 00:24:21,720 Speaker 1: they did learn that mosquitoes were abundant and drinking water scarce. 369 00:24:22,400 --> 00:24:25,320 Speaker 1: The plus growing crops in a drought proved more difficult 370 00:24:25,359 --> 00:24:28,880 Speaker 1: than they anticipated. That arrived too late in the year 371 00:24:29,000 --> 00:24:32,119 Speaker 1: for a successful harvest, and were unaware of the amount 372 00:24:32,119 --> 00:24:35,119 Speaker 1: of labor it took to establish a fort. During the 373 00:24:35,160 --> 00:24:38,840 Speaker 1: first nine months, all but thirty eight colonists died from 374 00:24:38,880 --> 00:24:43,399 Speaker 1: either starvation or disease. The Powhatan people brought food to 375 00:24:43,440 --> 00:24:46,560 Speaker 1: the colonists of Jamestown and often traded with the colony 376 00:24:46,640 --> 00:24:50,320 Speaker 1: for items brought in on supply ships, but the relationship 377 00:24:50,400 --> 00:24:53,160 Speaker 1: began to sour when the terms of the trade changed 378 00:24:53,280 --> 00:24:58,480 Speaker 1: and the colonists became increasingly hostile. Powetans stopped trading and 379 00:24:58,600 --> 00:25:02,440 Speaker 1: sending food. Without their help, and without the proper land 380 00:25:02,520 --> 00:25:06,480 Speaker 1: to grow crops and raise livestock, starvation set in once more. 381 00:25:07,760 --> 00:25:11,000 Speaker 1: The colonists called sixteen o nine to sixteen ten the 382 00:25:11,040 --> 00:25:15,560 Speaker 1: starvation time. The Virginia Company sent another nine ships with 383 00:25:15,600 --> 00:25:18,960 Speaker 1: food and additional supplies, but a hurricane struck the fleet 384 00:25:19,200 --> 00:25:23,040 Speaker 1: and they never arrived. The company sent more ships. These 385 00:25:23,080 --> 00:25:28,040 Speaker 1: carried three hundred new colonists, but very few supplies. Captain 386 00:25:28,080 --> 00:25:31,240 Speaker 1: Smith returned to England after an injury, leaving George Percy 387 00:25:31,320 --> 00:25:36,440 Speaker 1: in charge. This new council president was left with a problem. 388 00:25:36,480 --> 00:25:39,120 Speaker 1: Either the colonists venture away from the fort and onto 389 00:25:39,119 --> 00:25:44,680 Speaker 1: Powetan territory to gather food or starve Percy chose to 390 00:25:44,800 --> 00:25:48,720 Speaker 1: ration supplies. Some of the colonists chose to hunt on 391 00:25:48,800 --> 00:25:54,440 Speaker 1: Powhatan land and were killed or taken hostage. Greatly outnumbered, 392 00:25:54,520 --> 00:25:57,879 Speaker 1: the colonists turned to every animal within the fort is food. 393 00:25:58,960 --> 00:26:02,080 Speaker 1: When not even a mount was left, they ate shoe leather. 394 00:26:03,160 --> 00:26:07,040 Speaker 1: It didn't take much longer for them to turn to cannibalism. 395 00:26:07,160 --> 00:26:10,600 Speaker 1: When Percy's letters were found, anthropologists learned that they began 396 00:26:10,640 --> 00:26:13,399 Speaker 1: with the recently deceased, then moved on to digging up 397 00:26:13,400 --> 00:26:19,159 Speaker 1: graves and eventually murder. In the case of Jane, the 398 00:26:19,200 --> 00:26:22,320 Speaker 1: analysis indicated her flesh had been stripped from her bones. 399 00:26:22,880 --> 00:26:25,639 Speaker 1: Her skull had even been cracked open to access her brain. 400 00:26:27,000 --> 00:26:29,359 Speaker 1: When the ship The Sea Venture arrived at the fort 401 00:26:29,440 --> 00:26:33,680 Speaker 1: in May of sixteen, crewmen were met with a horrifying sight. 402 00:26:34,800 --> 00:26:37,560 Speaker 1: The captain realized that the supplies who had brought wouldn't 403 00:26:37,560 --> 00:26:40,440 Speaker 1: be enough to sustain the colony, and made the decision 404 00:26:40,480 --> 00:26:45,320 Speaker 1: to return to England with the survivors. Governor Lord Delaware 405 00:26:45,640 --> 00:26:48,520 Speaker 1: blocked their entry and ordered them to return to Jamestown 406 00:26:48,520 --> 00:26:52,879 Speaker 1: and rebuild, this time with the help of the Algonquin peoples. 407 00:26:52,920 --> 00:26:55,359 Speaker 1: The colonists learned how to survive in the New Land 408 00:26:55,600 --> 00:27:01,439 Speaker 1: and produced decent enough crops to sustain themselves in sixteen eleven. Eventually, 409 00:27:01,480 --> 00:27:06,720 Speaker 1: the comists abandoned the settlement, choosing instead to relocate to Williamsburg, where, 410 00:27:06,920 --> 00:27:18,840 Speaker 1: of course, they thrived, putting their dark past behind them. 411 00:27:18,880 --> 00:27:23,080 Speaker 1: American Shadows is hosted by Lauren Vogelbaum. This episode was 412 00:27:23,119 --> 00:27:27,240 Speaker 1: written by Michelle Muto, researched by Ali Steed, and produced 413 00:27:27,240 --> 00:27:31,520 Speaker 1: by Miranda Hawkins and Trevor Young, with executive producers Aaron Mankey, 414 00:27:31,880 --> 00:27:35,800 Speaker 1: Alex Williams, and Matt Frederick. To learn more about the show, 415 00:27:35,960 --> 00:27:38,919 Speaker 1: visit grim and Mild dot com. From more podcasts from 416 00:27:38,920 --> 00:27:43,000 Speaker 1: iHeart Radio, visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or 417 00:27:43,000 --> 00:27:44,680 Speaker 1: wherever you get your podcasts.