1 00:00:01,280 --> 00:00:04,279 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff You Missed in History Class, a production 2 00:00:04,360 --> 00:00:13,720 Speaker 1: of I Heart Radio. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. 3 00:00:13,760 --> 00:00:17,120 Speaker 1: I'm Tracy Bee Wilson and I'm Holly Fry. I think 4 00:00:17,200 --> 00:00:20,680 Speaker 1: some themes have developed in our podcast over the last 5 00:00:20,720 --> 00:00:25,560 Speaker 1: few months, including travel and solitude because it's and we're 6 00:00:25,560 --> 00:00:27,800 Speaker 1: still in the middle of this pandemic that's keeping a 7 00:00:27,880 --> 00:00:30,600 Speaker 1: lot of us home and away from most other people. 8 00:00:31,520 --> 00:00:33,680 Speaker 1: So today we're continuing on with that theme. We have 9 00:00:33,840 --> 00:00:37,040 Speaker 1: Joshua Slocum, who was the first person known to sail 10 00:00:37,240 --> 00:00:41,239 Speaker 1: around the world alone, so you know, he has some 11 00:00:41,240 --> 00:00:43,280 Speaker 1: some things in common with some other folks we've talked 12 00:00:43,280 --> 00:00:47,720 Speaker 1: about recently. Unlike lighthouse keeper Ida Lewis, he did not 13 00:00:47,800 --> 00:00:52,640 Speaker 1: always enjoy that solitude, and also, unlike cyclist Annie Londonderry, 14 00:00:52,720 --> 00:00:56,560 Speaker 1: he probably did actually do the thing that he became 15 00:00:56,640 --> 00:01:00,600 Speaker 1: famous for. To be clear, he may. Entity has a 16 00:01:00,680 --> 00:01:05,080 Speaker 1: long history of taking ocean voyages in small vessels, and 17 00:01:05,120 --> 00:01:09,160 Speaker 1: the biggest example is Polynesian wayfinding, which goes back thousands 18 00:01:09,160 --> 00:01:13,160 Speaker 1: of years and uses celestial bodies, ocean swells, birds and 19 00:01:13,240 --> 00:01:17,800 Speaker 1: sea life, and other observations to navigate just immense distances 20 00:01:17,880 --> 00:01:22,440 Speaker 1: without instruments. The Polynesian Voyaging Society has been reviving and 21 00:01:22,480 --> 00:01:26,920 Speaker 1: preserving those methods since the nineteen seventies, including taking sea 22 00:01:26,959 --> 00:01:29,880 Speaker 1: voyages and canoes that are between sixty and seventy feet 23 00:01:30,280 --> 00:01:32,720 Speaker 1: or eighteen to twenty one long. Those have a crew 24 00:01:32,800 --> 00:01:35,200 Speaker 1: of twelve to sixteen people, so they are not very 25 00:01:35,240 --> 00:01:39,480 Speaker 1: big today. Of course, there are also round the world 26 00:01:39,600 --> 00:01:43,280 Speaker 1: yacht races, and single handed sailing has just become its 27 00:01:43,280 --> 00:01:47,800 Speaker 1: own whole thing. But when Joshua's locum was living the 28 00:01:47,880 --> 00:01:52,000 Speaker 1: idea that a person would or even could sail around 29 00:01:52,040 --> 00:01:56,440 Speaker 1: the world in a small boat alone, basically for fun, 30 00:01:57,200 --> 00:01:59,640 Speaker 1: it was just baffling. I did want to note up 31 00:01:59,680 --> 00:02:02,360 Speaker 1: at the top that towards the end of this episode 32 00:02:02,360 --> 00:02:05,160 Speaker 1: will have a brief discussion of a sexual assault allegation, 33 00:02:05,640 --> 00:02:10,280 Speaker 1: so for background. Joshua Slocum was born on February four 34 00:02:10,560 --> 00:02:13,800 Speaker 1: to Sarah and John Slocum. John was a farmer and 35 00:02:13,840 --> 00:02:17,600 Speaker 1: Sarah was the daughter of a lighthousekeeper. Joshua was their 36 00:02:17,680 --> 00:02:22,200 Speaker 1: fifth child of eleven, nine of whom survived childhood for 37 00:02:22,320 --> 00:02:25,720 Speaker 1: reasons that are not entirely clear. At several points during 38 00:02:25,760 --> 00:02:28,840 Speaker 1: his life, Slocum claimed to have been born in various 39 00:02:28,919 --> 00:02:32,880 Speaker 1: places in Massachusetts. This was simply not true. He was 40 00:02:32,960 --> 00:02:36,200 Speaker 1: actually born in Nova Scotia. For the first few years 41 00:02:36,240 --> 00:02:38,840 Speaker 1: of Joshua's life, the family lived on a farm in 42 00:02:38,919 --> 00:02:41,360 Speaker 1: Mount Hanley, and then when he was eight, they moved 43 00:02:41,360 --> 00:02:44,880 Speaker 1: out to Briar Island and John opened a boot shop there. 44 00:02:45,480 --> 00:02:48,360 Speaker 1: When Joshua was about twelve, John pulled him out of 45 00:02:48,400 --> 00:02:51,720 Speaker 1: school to put him to work pegging boots. This was 46 00:02:51,800 --> 00:02:54,800 Speaker 1: really not an unusual age for a working class boy 47 00:02:54,880 --> 00:02:59,240 Speaker 1: to leave school, but Joshua did not want to peg boots. 48 00:02:59,280 --> 00:03:02,760 Speaker 1: He was just fascinated by the sea. The reason for 49 00:03:02,840 --> 00:03:05,880 Speaker 1: the move to Briar Island was probably to be closer 50 00:03:05,919 --> 00:03:10,959 Speaker 1: to Sarah Slocum's family. Her health is generally described as frail, 51 00:03:11,360 --> 00:03:13,400 Speaker 1: As is so often the case, we don't really have 52 00:03:13,520 --> 00:03:17,240 Speaker 1: much detail beyond that several people did describe her as 53 00:03:17,280 --> 00:03:20,480 Speaker 1: being worn out from having so many children so close together, 54 00:03:21,040 --> 00:03:24,919 Speaker 1: something that people also said about her own mother. Sarah 55 00:03:25,040 --> 00:03:27,799 Speaker 1: died in eighteen sixty at the age of forty six, 56 00:03:28,000 --> 00:03:30,920 Speaker 1: less than two weeks after giving birth to her last child. 57 00:03:31,760 --> 00:03:36,200 Speaker 1: Joshua was sixteen years old when she died. Joshua's relationship 58 00:03:36,280 --> 00:03:40,280 Speaker 1: with his father had never been particularly smooth, He told 59 00:03:40,280 --> 00:03:43,760 Speaker 1: his friends a story about making a model ship in secret, 60 00:03:44,080 --> 00:03:46,760 Speaker 1: which his father destroyed when he found it, and then 61 00:03:46,880 --> 00:03:50,720 Speaker 1: gave Joshua what was, in his words, a thrashing. At 62 00:03:50,760 --> 00:03:53,360 Speaker 1: the age of fourteen, Joshua ran away from home to 63 00:03:53,440 --> 00:03:56,120 Speaker 1: be a cook on a ship, but in his words, 64 00:03:56,160 --> 00:03:59,480 Speaker 1: the crew quote mutinied at the appearance of my first 65 00:03:59,480 --> 00:04:01,680 Speaker 1: stuff and chucked me out before I had a chance 66 00:04:01,720 --> 00:04:05,440 Speaker 1: to shine as a culinary artist. Although this first attempt 67 00:04:05,520 --> 00:04:08,880 Speaker 1: to leave home didn't really last. After his mother's death, 68 00:04:08,960 --> 00:04:12,160 Speaker 1: Joshua left again. He did odd jobs before joining the 69 00:04:12,200 --> 00:04:15,400 Speaker 1: crew of a merchant vessel. Slocum worked his way up 70 00:04:15,440 --> 00:04:20,000 Speaker 1: through the ranks on various ships. On April eighteen sixty four, 71 00:04:20,080 --> 00:04:23,719 Speaker 1: he was issued a Seaman's Protection certificate. This was a 72 00:04:23,760 --> 00:04:26,479 Speaker 1: document that had been created in the eighteenth century to 73 00:04:26,560 --> 00:04:29,960 Speaker 1: try to protect American sailors from being pressed into service 74 00:04:30,000 --> 00:04:33,880 Speaker 1: for the British. It contained a sailor's vital information and 75 00:04:33,960 --> 00:04:38,320 Speaker 1: also served as proof of citizenship. It's not entirely clear 76 00:04:38,400 --> 00:04:41,000 Speaker 1: whether Slocum claimed to have been born in the United 77 00:04:41,040 --> 00:04:43,800 Speaker 1: States in order to get one of these certificates, or 78 00:04:43,839 --> 00:04:46,680 Speaker 1: if he had actually become a citizen the process was 79 00:04:46,760 --> 00:04:49,359 Speaker 1: just a lot less formal and involved then than it 80 00:04:49,440 --> 00:04:52,479 Speaker 1: is today. As all of this was going on, he 81 00:04:52,600 --> 00:04:56,000 Speaker 1: also changed the spelling of his last name from Slocum, 82 00:04:56,120 --> 00:04:59,280 Speaker 1: ending in b e two Slocum s l O c 83 00:04:59,560 --> 00:05:02,680 Speaker 1: U M. Slocum reached the rank of captain by the 84 00:05:02,720 --> 00:05:05,960 Speaker 1: age of five. Had he sent most of his money 85 00:05:05,960 --> 00:05:08,120 Speaker 1: back home to try to help his family. He actually 86 00:05:08,200 --> 00:05:10,920 Speaker 1: sent so much of his pay that sometimes he had 87 00:05:10,960 --> 00:05:14,400 Speaker 1: to go borrow money to outfit himself for his next voyage. 88 00:05:14,600 --> 00:05:17,520 Speaker 1: On one of these voyages, he became seriously ill with 89 00:05:17,600 --> 00:05:20,320 Speaker 1: something that he described as a fever. This might have 90 00:05:20,360 --> 00:05:23,480 Speaker 1: been malaria, and it seemed to recur at several points 91 00:05:23,560 --> 00:05:26,720 Speaker 1: during his life. Slocum's career as a captain took him 92 00:05:26,720 --> 00:05:30,880 Speaker 1: all over the world, particularly around the Pacific Ocean, on merchant, 93 00:05:31,080 --> 00:05:35,760 Speaker 1: cargo and fishing vessels. On January eighteen seventy one, he 94 00:05:35,839 --> 00:05:40,480 Speaker 1: married Virginia Albertina Walker known as Jenny, in Sydney, Australia. 95 00:05:40,839 --> 00:05:43,440 Speaker 1: Jenny was an American from New York, and it seems 96 00:05:43,440 --> 00:05:46,159 Speaker 1: as though her family had moved to Australia during the 97 00:05:46,200 --> 00:05:50,799 Speaker 1: gold rushes. It's not clear exactly when or how Joshua 98 00:05:50,920 --> 00:05:53,479 Speaker 1: and Jenny met, but less than a month after he 99 00:05:53,640 --> 00:05:57,239 Speaker 1: arrived in Australia, they were married. She had not turned 100 00:05:57,320 --> 00:05:59,760 Speaker 1: twenty one yet, so she had to have a certificate 101 00:05:59,800 --> 00:06:03,039 Speaker 1: that gave her father's consent for her to marry. Even 102 00:06:03,080 --> 00:06:06,240 Speaker 1: though one of these certificates was issued, it seems like 103 00:06:06,320 --> 00:06:09,440 Speaker 1: the couple were so eager to get married that their 104 00:06:09,480 --> 00:06:13,200 Speaker 1: wedding wound up looking almost like an elopement. Her father 105 00:06:13,400 --> 00:06:15,800 Speaker 1: only saw the end of the ceremony because he heard 106 00:06:15,839 --> 00:06:18,440 Speaker 1: what was happening and he ran to the church and 107 00:06:18,520 --> 00:06:21,920 Speaker 1: got there just before it was over. Joshua and Jenny's 108 00:06:21,960 --> 00:06:24,840 Speaker 1: relationship seems to have been one of love at first sight, 109 00:06:25,279 --> 00:06:28,599 Speaker 1: and biographers have described them as soul mates. She went 110 00:06:28,640 --> 00:06:31,800 Speaker 1: to see with him, which was an incredibly rough environment. 111 00:06:32,520 --> 00:06:36,200 Speaker 1: His accounts describe her backing him up against mutineers armed 112 00:06:36,200 --> 00:06:40,120 Speaker 1: with pistols or revolvers, also using those same weapons to 113 00:06:40,200 --> 00:06:46,680 Speaker 1: kill sharks. Jinny sounds amazing he does. Aside from all that, 114 00:06:46,800 --> 00:06:50,040 Speaker 1: in general, a ship could be a violent place. As 115 00:06:50,040 --> 00:06:53,000 Speaker 1: we've talked about on the show before, social systems and 116 00:06:53,080 --> 00:06:56,560 Speaker 1: prejudices that were entrenched on land were often a lot 117 00:06:56,600 --> 00:06:59,960 Speaker 1: more relaxed at sea, So for example, crews were often 118 00:07:00,200 --> 00:07:03,240 Speaker 1: racially integrated, and people of color could rise to a 119 00:07:03,320 --> 00:07:05,320 Speaker 1: higher rank than they might have been able to do 120 00:07:05,440 --> 00:07:08,919 Speaker 1: in other settings. At the same time, it was inherently 121 00:07:09,000 --> 00:07:12,800 Speaker 1: dangerous work, and sailors had very few rights and protections. 122 00:07:13,600 --> 00:07:17,119 Speaker 1: Corporal punishment was accepted as a way to discipline the crew. 123 00:07:17,920 --> 00:07:21,000 Speaker 1: In the nineteenth century. Many sailors had been coerced or 124 00:07:21,040 --> 00:07:24,040 Speaker 1: forced into the job, or they just had no other choice, 125 00:07:24,400 --> 00:07:27,400 Speaker 1: and once they became sailors, they got into a cycle 126 00:07:27,520 --> 00:07:30,560 Speaker 1: of spending a stretch of time at sea, then returning 127 00:07:30,560 --> 00:07:34,040 Speaker 1: to port, where unscrupulous landlords and tavern owners robbed them 128 00:07:34,080 --> 00:07:36,880 Speaker 1: of their money, leaving them no other choice but to 129 00:07:36,880 --> 00:07:41,440 Speaker 1: go to sea again. Slocum's reputation within this system is 130 00:07:41,480 --> 00:07:44,920 Speaker 1: described as somewhere on a spectrum between tough but fair 131 00:07:45,320 --> 00:07:49,080 Speaker 1: and abusive and tyrannical, depending on whose account you read. 132 00:07:49,680 --> 00:07:52,400 Speaker 1: Stan Grayson, who's the author of the biography A Man 133 00:07:52,480 --> 00:07:56,440 Speaker 1: for All Oceans, suggest that Slocum's biggest issue and all 134 00:07:56,440 --> 00:07:59,080 Speaker 1: of this, might have been not doing more to rein 135 00:07:59,280 --> 00:08:02,480 Speaker 1: in his ship its cruelest mates. The mates were the 136 00:08:02,520 --> 00:08:06,720 Speaker 1: ones who were actually tasked with maintaining discipline, but tempering 137 00:08:06,800 --> 00:08:10,400 Speaker 1: a mate's behavior could also be really challenging, since anything 138 00:08:10,440 --> 00:08:13,040 Speaker 1: a captain might do on that front ran the risk 139 00:08:13,080 --> 00:08:17,360 Speaker 1: of undermining the mates authority with the crew. Regardless, Slocum 140 00:08:17,440 --> 00:08:21,760 Speaker 1: face charges on several occasions for alleged mistreatment of his crew. 141 00:08:22,560 --> 00:08:25,560 Speaker 1: One of these incidents happened upon arriving in San Francisco 142 00:08:25,720 --> 00:08:28,360 Speaker 1: after his very first voyage with his wife on board. 143 00:08:29,080 --> 00:08:32,440 Speaker 1: He was accused of beating a stowaway and convicted at 144 00:08:32,440 --> 00:08:34,560 Speaker 1: a trial that he did not attend because it was 145 00:08:34,600 --> 00:08:38,679 Speaker 1: held after he had already set sail again bound for Alaska. 146 00:08:38,960 --> 00:08:42,000 Speaker 1: These kinds of trials were quite common, though, and sometimes 147 00:08:42,040 --> 00:08:46,560 Speaker 1: they stemmed from totally unfounded charges. During his career at See, 148 00:08:46,640 --> 00:08:50,160 Speaker 1: Slocum was convicted in some cases and acquitted in others. 149 00:08:50,720 --> 00:08:53,320 Speaker 1: We should also note that as I was researching this, 150 00:08:53,559 --> 00:08:56,640 Speaker 1: the account that came down farthest on the cruel and 151 00:08:56,760 --> 00:09:01,040 Speaker 1: tyrannical end of the spectrum cited ocams having left a 152 00:09:01,040 --> 00:09:04,440 Speaker 1: man in irons for fifty three days as an example, 153 00:09:05,320 --> 00:09:08,280 Speaker 1: But that account omitted the part where the man in 154 00:09:08,400 --> 00:09:11,960 Speaker 1: question had forged documents to cover up his criminal path 155 00:09:12,120 --> 00:09:14,400 Speaker 1: so that he could come on as the ship second mate. 156 00:09:14,760 --> 00:09:17,560 Speaker 1: And then he had planned a mutiny. He had been 157 00:09:17,640 --> 00:09:20,240 Speaker 1: left in irons to restrain him until they could get 158 00:09:20,240 --> 00:09:23,720 Speaker 1: to a port. Nevertheless, this also went to court, and 159 00:09:23,760 --> 00:09:26,760 Speaker 1: the court found for the mate, who was named Henry Slater, 160 00:09:27,160 --> 00:09:30,200 Speaker 1: and they ordered Slocum to pay a fine of five dollars. 161 00:09:31,000 --> 00:09:34,199 Speaker 1: Joshua and Jenny actually raised a family in the middle 162 00:09:34,200 --> 00:09:35,959 Speaker 1: of all this, and we're going to talk more about 163 00:09:36,000 --> 00:09:46,560 Speaker 1: that after we have a quick sponsor break. For several years, 164 00:09:46,720 --> 00:09:49,120 Speaker 1: whether he was working on someone else's ship or one 165 00:09:49,120 --> 00:09:52,760 Speaker 1: of his own, Joshua Slocum sailed with his whole family 166 00:09:52,880 --> 00:09:55,360 Speaker 1: on board with him, and that was something that attracted 167 00:09:55,400 --> 00:09:59,800 Speaker 1: some attention, and the Boston Journal in one Captain John 168 00:10:00,000 --> 00:10:04,320 Speaker 1: You recounted an earlier encounter with them. Quote, one day 169 00:10:04,360 --> 00:10:07,200 Speaker 1: a bark was seen sailing up the bay, a queer 170 00:10:07,200 --> 00:10:10,360 Speaker 1: old craft for modern sailors to look at. And what 171 00:10:10,400 --> 00:10:14,800 Speaker 1: was stranger still, she flew the American flag. Curiosity was 172 00:10:14,840 --> 00:10:17,480 Speaker 1: at work at once to find what she could be for. 173 00:10:17,640 --> 00:10:20,480 Speaker 1: As she glided by, there might also be seen a 174 00:10:20,600 --> 00:10:24,440 Speaker 1: lady's son hat and children's curly hair just above the 175 00:10:24,480 --> 00:10:28,240 Speaker 1: old fashioned bulwarks. The captain and his bark hailed from 176 00:10:28,280 --> 00:10:31,839 Speaker 1: San Francisco. He carried his wife and three children. He 177 00:10:31,920 --> 00:10:36,320 Speaker 1: was a roving genius in every respect. The bark in 178 00:10:36,360 --> 00:10:39,520 Speaker 1: this story was the amethyst which Slocum bought in eighteen 179 00:10:39,559 --> 00:10:42,800 Speaker 1: seventy eight. Um and Drew saw them when they were 180 00:10:42,880 --> 00:10:47,480 Speaker 1: arriving in Manila. The Slocum family ultimately included seven children, 181 00:10:47,679 --> 00:10:51,320 Speaker 1: four of whom survived infancy. They were Victor born in 182 00:10:51,360 --> 00:10:55,800 Speaker 1: eighteen seventy two, Benjamin Amar born in eighteen seventy three, 183 00:10:56,080 --> 00:10:59,960 Speaker 1: Jesse Helena born in eighteen seventy five, and James Garfield 184 00:11:00,000 --> 00:11:03,160 Speaker 1: old and known just as Garfield, born in eighty one. 185 00:11:03,800 --> 00:11:06,320 Speaker 1: Although she did have her sister on board as a 186 00:11:06,360 --> 00:11:10,080 Speaker 1: companion at some points, for many of these deliveries, Jenny 187 00:11:10,120 --> 00:11:13,239 Speaker 1: gave birth on a ship full of men without a midwife, 188 00:11:13,280 --> 00:11:16,800 Speaker 1: a doctor, or even another woman on board as an attendant. 189 00:11:17,600 --> 00:11:21,040 Speaker 1: Jenny was both mother and teacher to the children. This 190 00:11:21,120 --> 00:11:24,640 Speaker 1: included having Joshua nailing upright piano to the ship's deck 191 00:11:24,720 --> 00:11:27,600 Speaker 1: so she could teach the music, and on Sundays she 192 00:11:27,679 --> 00:11:31,000 Speaker 1: saw to it that they had Sunday school Once again. 193 00:11:31,080 --> 00:11:36,480 Speaker 1: Jenny sounds amazing like I wish I had her fortitude. 194 00:11:38,240 --> 00:11:41,120 Speaker 1: By the eighteen eighties, though it was becoming harder for 195 00:11:41,200 --> 00:11:44,480 Speaker 1: Slocum to find work. He had developed a reputation for 196 00:11:44,559 --> 00:11:49,480 Speaker 1: being an exceptional navigator and trader, but his experience and 197 00:11:49,559 --> 00:11:54,960 Speaker 1: his passion were specifically in sailing ships, and steamships were 198 00:11:55,000 --> 00:11:58,240 Speaker 1: starting to take over. In eighteen eighty one, Slocum bought 199 00:11:58,240 --> 00:12:01,079 Speaker 1: a share in the Northern Light, which was powered by 200 00:12:01,200 --> 00:12:04,200 Speaker 1: sale but also had a small steam engine on board 201 00:12:04,240 --> 00:12:06,720 Speaker 1: that could be used for things like lifting cargo and 202 00:12:06,760 --> 00:12:11,680 Speaker 1: pumping water. Slocum liked the labor saving aspects of this engine, 203 00:12:11,679 --> 00:12:15,320 Speaker 1: but he stridently resisted the idea of becoming the captain 204 00:12:15,360 --> 00:12:19,000 Speaker 1: of a full on steamship. In eighteen eighty three, aboard 205 00:12:19,040 --> 00:12:22,320 Speaker 1: the Northern Light, the family saw the volcano Krakatoa on 206 00:12:22,400 --> 00:12:25,360 Speaker 1: what they thought was a full eruption, but they were 207 00:12:25,400 --> 00:12:28,200 Speaker 1: a few days away by the time the eruption really peaked. 208 00:12:28,840 --> 00:12:31,400 Speaker 1: Although they were crossing the Indian Ocean at that point, 209 00:12:31,440 --> 00:12:35,080 Speaker 1: they weren't affected by the tsunamis that followed. They did 210 00:12:35,160 --> 00:12:37,480 Speaker 1: face a major storm as they arrived at the Cape 211 00:12:37,480 --> 00:12:40,200 Speaker 1: of Good Hope, but it wasn't until they reached port 212 00:12:40,280 --> 00:12:43,480 Speaker 1: that they realized that they had narrowly avoided being killed 213 00:12:43,520 --> 00:12:47,520 Speaker 1: by the volcano. In eighteen eighty four, Joshua Slocum sold 214 00:12:47,559 --> 00:12:50,200 Speaker 1: his share in the Northern Light and bought a hundred 215 00:12:50,200 --> 00:12:52,920 Speaker 1: and eighty three ft or forty two meter vessel called 216 00:12:53,000 --> 00:12:56,320 Speaker 1: the Aquidneck. He wanted to have a boat of his 217 00:12:56,400 --> 00:12:58,720 Speaker 1: own and to use it to provide both a home 218 00:12:58,880 --> 00:13:01,840 Speaker 1: and an income for him self and the family. But 219 00:13:01,920 --> 00:13:04,439 Speaker 1: this is really where things started to just go wrong 220 00:13:04,520 --> 00:13:06,400 Speaker 1: for him. It seems like he bought this boat and 221 00:13:06,400 --> 00:13:08,240 Speaker 1: then he just could not catch a break for a 222 00:13:08,280 --> 00:13:11,520 Speaker 1: long time afterward. On July twenty five of that year, 223 00:13:11,640 --> 00:13:14,720 Speaker 1: Jenny died suddenly while they were docked at Buenos Aires. 224 00:13:15,600 --> 00:13:18,520 Speaker 1: The cause of her death is unclear, but her children 225 00:13:18,559 --> 00:13:22,520 Speaker 1: described her as having had a weak heart. Joshua arranged 226 00:13:22,559 --> 00:13:25,280 Speaker 1: to have Jenny's body buried in an English cemetery in 227 00:13:25,320 --> 00:13:28,640 Speaker 1: Buenos Aires. He also bought a headstone, which he had 228 00:13:28,679 --> 00:13:34,959 Speaker 1: engraved with Virginia, wife of Captain Joshua Slocum, died July four, 229 00:13:35,320 --> 00:13:38,920 Speaker 1: age thirty five years. Based on the timeline of when 230 00:13:38,920 --> 00:13:41,719 Speaker 1: they got married, she was probably actually thirty four, But 231 00:13:42,679 --> 00:13:46,040 Speaker 1: I'm I'm not gonna disagreeving man for his engraving choices. 232 00:13:46,960 --> 00:13:49,880 Speaker 1: Her children said that her pet canary Pete, did not 233 00:13:50,040 --> 00:13:52,400 Speaker 1: sing for a long time after her death, and they 234 00:13:52,440 --> 00:13:55,200 Speaker 1: described their father as being like a boat with a 235 00:13:55,200 --> 00:13:59,560 Speaker 1: broken rudder. He never really recovered, and he turned to 236 00:13:59,600 --> 00:14:02,080 Speaker 1: the spirit Toualism movement to try to reconnect with his 237 00:14:02,200 --> 00:14:05,199 Speaker 1: late wife, but that did not really bring him any peace. 238 00:14:06,120 --> 00:14:09,560 Speaker 1: Before they set sail again, Slocum decorated Jenny's grave with 239 00:14:09,640 --> 00:14:12,480 Speaker 1: flowers and arranged to have a photographer take a picture 240 00:14:12,520 --> 00:14:15,360 Speaker 1: for her family. Then he and the children made their 241 00:14:15,360 --> 00:14:19,640 Speaker 1: way to Baltimore. The three youngest children stayed there with family, 242 00:14:19,800 --> 00:14:22,200 Speaker 1: while Victor stayed with his father aboard the ship when 243 00:14:22,200 --> 00:14:25,280 Speaker 1: he set sail again. Victor was actually the only one 244 00:14:25,320 --> 00:14:27,440 Speaker 1: of the Slocum children who went on to pursue a 245 00:14:27,480 --> 00:14:31,880 Speaker 1: career at sea. On February twenty eight six, Slocum got 246 00:14:31,920 --> 00:14:35,600 Speaker 1: married again, this time to his cousin Henrietta Elliott, who 247 00:14:35,640 --> 00:14:38,440 Speaker 1: was known as Hetty. He was forty two and she 248 00:14:38,600 --> 00:14:42,080 Speaker 1: was twenty four. This really seems to have been more 249 00:14:42,160 --> 00:14:44,880 Speaker 1: of a practical match than his marriage to Jenny, at 250 00:14:44,920 --> 00:14:48,040 Speaker 1: least from Slocum's point of view. She was a pretty 251 00:14:48,080 --> 00:14:51,400 Speaker 1: young seamstress from Boston, and he had four children, who 252 00:14:51,440 --> 00:14:55,640 Speaker 1: now ranged in age from four to fourteen. Slocum hope 253 00:14:55,680 --> 00:14:58,000 Speaker 1: that in addition to being a mother to his children, 254 00:14:58,800 --> 00:15:03,360 Speaker 1: that Hetty could also be his companion at sea. This, however, 255 00:15:03,560 --> 00:15:06,120 Speaker 1: was not to be. When they set sail again, ben 256 00:15:06,200 --> 00:15:09,600 Speaker 1: Amar begged to be left behind. Jesse, who was the 257 00:15:09,640 --> 00:15:12,280 Speaker 1: only girls, stayed behind with the family on land, as 258 00:15:12,320 --> 00:15:16,720 Speaker 1: well as for Joshua, Hetty, Victor Garfield, and the crew. 259 00:15:17,120 --> 00:15:20,520 Speaker 1: The trips started with them sailing through an enormous gale 260 00:15:21,040 --> 00:15:23,840 Speaker 1: which damaged the ship, including the galley, and then for 261 00:15:23,960 --> 00:15:27,440 Speaker 1: some time afterward they could only eat cold food. This 262 00:15:27,640 --> 00:15:31,880 Speaker 1: voyage included being quarantined in Brazil, unable to deliver the 263 00:15:31,920 --> 00:15:35,000 Speaker 1: cargo they had with them because of a cholera outbreak there. 264 00:15:35,440 --> 00:15:38,560 Speaker 1: On top of all that, this crew included men who 265 00:15:38,560 --> 00:15:41,920 Speaker 1: had served their time in prison for everything from theft 266 00:15:42,080 --> 00:15:44,960 Speaker 1: to murder, and some of them hatched a plot to 267 00:15:45,160 --> 00:15:48,200 Speaker 1: kill the whole family and take over the ship. That 268 00:15:48,280 --> 00:15:51,720 Speaker 1: plot was foiled only because Hetty had been too anxious 269 00:15:51,760 --> 00:15:54,000 Speaker 1: to sleep the night they were going to carry it out, 270 00:15:54,760 --> 00:15:57,680 Speaker 1: and this led to a violent confrontation in which Joshua 271 00:15:57,840 --> 00:16:01,200 Speaker 1: killed one of the perpetrators. He was tried for murder 272 00:16:01,200 --> 00:16:03,720 Speaker 1: and acquitted because it had clearly been a case of 273 00:16:03,760 --> 00:16:07,920 Speaker 1: self defense. While Joshua was on trial, the Aquidneck went 274 00:16:07,960 --> 00:16:11,200 Speaker 1: on with its voyage under a temporary captain, and Hetty 275 00:16:11,240 --> 00:16:14,600 Speaker 1: and Garfield stayed on shore. When Slocum caught up with 276 00:16:14,640 --> 00:16:18,320 Speaker 1: the ship after his acquittal, port officials wanted to treat 277 00:16:18,360 --> 00:16:20,840 Speaker 1: the change in command like the sale of the ship, 278 00:16:20,960 --> 00:16:23,880 Speaker 1: and that would involve the crew all being paid, dismissed, 279 00:16:23,920 --> 00:16:27,600 Speaker 1: and replaced. Although they ultimately worked it out, the crew 280 00:16:27,640 --> 00:16:30,600 Speaker 1: had to spend an extra night in port. One of 281 00:16:30,640 --> 00:16:34,560 Speaker 1: them contracted smallpox and started showing symptoms after they had 282 00:16:34,600 --> 00:16:38,440 Speaker 1: set sail. This of course started an outbreak on board, 283 00:16:38,520 --> 00:16:40,480 Speaker 1: and while they tried to get back to shore to 284 00:16:40,480 --> 00:16:44,400 Speaker 1: seek medical help, they ran into a hurricane. Some of 285 00:16:44,400 --> 00:16:46,400 Speaker 1: the crew died, and the whole ship had to be 286 00:16:46,480 --> 00:16:51,520 Speaker 1: disinfected afterward. Hetty and Garfield rejoined the party after all 287 00:16:51,560 --> 00:16:54,560 Speaker 1: of this, and then in December of eight seven, the 288 00:16:54,600 --> 00:16:57,760 Speaker 1: Aquidneck hit a sand bar off the coast of Brazil 289 00:16:57,920 --> 00:17:01,800 Speaker 1: and was wrecked. Slow Him had never ensured the vessel, 290 00:17:01,880 --> 00:17:05,199 Speaker 1: possibly because insurance was just too expensive and it was 291 00:17:05,320 --> 00:17:09,320 Speaker 1: almost a total loss. They were rescued by a passing vessel, 292 00:17:09,600 --> 00:17:11,960 Speaker 1: and Joshua built a sort of lean too hut for 293 00:17:12,000 --> 00:17:14,440 Speaker 1: the family to live in while he built a new 294 00:17:14,520 --> 00:17:17,560 Speaker 1: boat from local materials and what he could salvage from 295 00:17:17,560 --> 00:17:20,439 Speaker 1: the aquid nick. The result was a vessel that he 296 00:17:20,480 --> 00:17:23,119 Speaker 1: described as a canoe, which was designed sort of like 297 00:17:23,119 --> 00:17:26,639 Speaker 1: a Chinese junk, and he christened it the Liberdad because 298 00:17:26,720 --> 00:17:30,800 Speaker 1: they set sail for home on which was the day 299 00:17:30,840 --> 00:17:34,000 Speaker 1: the law went into effect that abolished slavery in Brazil. 300 00:17:34,880 --> 00:17:37,879 Speaker 1: That voyage home took fifty five days. They spent the 301 00:17:37,920 --> 00:17:40,840 Speaker 1: winter in Washington, d c. And got back to Massachusetts 302 00:17:40,840 --> 00:17:44,479 Speaker 1: in the spring of eighteen eighty nine. This wreck nearly 303 00:17:44,680 --> 00:17:49,560 Speaker 1: ruined Slocum financially. He sold the Liberdade to somebody to 304 00:17:49,720 --> 00:17:51,840 Speaker 1: donate to the Smithsonian, just to try to make a 305 00:17:51,840 --> 00:17:54,479 Speaker 1: little money, and then he did odd jobs around the 306 00:17:54,520 --> 00:17:57,560 Speaker 1: docks to try to make ends meet. He also wrote 307 00:17:57,600 --> 00:18:00,480 Speaker 1: his account of the whole journey, called The Age of 308 00:18:00,520 --> 00:18:03,800 Speaker 1: the liber Dodge, to try to make some money. Petty, 309 00:18:03,960 --> 00:18:07,520 Speaker 1: who was pretty much done with long distance sea voyages 310 00:18:07,600 --> 00:18:10,520 Speaker 1: after this, suggested that maybe he might become a farmer. 311 00:18:11,119 --> 00:18:14,000 Speaker 1: But all Slocum really wanted to do was captain a 312 00:18:14,119 --> 00:18:19,199 Speaker 1: sailing ship. In one Captain Ebenezer Pierce offered Slocum a 313 00:18:19,240 --> 00:18:24,000 Speaker 1: boat which, in his words quote, wants some repairs. That 314 00:18:24,040 --> 00:18:26,960 Speaker 1: boat was an old oyster sloop called the Spray, which 315 00:18:27,000 --> 00:18:29,920 Speaker 1: was sitting derelict in an empty lot. It was in 316 00:18:30,119 --> 00:18:33,960 Speaker 1: such poor condition that when Slocum started rebuilding it, passers 317 00:18:34,000 --> 00:18:37,240 Speaker 1: by asked if he was breaking it up. His work 318 00:18:37,320 --> 00:18:40,080 Speaker 1: on this project took thirteen months, and in the end 319 00:18:40,200 --> 00:18:42,680 Speaker 1: he had a thirty six ft nine inch that's about 320 00:18:42,720 --> 00:18:46,520 Speaker 1: eleven point one meters sloop that was entirely his own. 321 00:18:47,359 --> 00:18:50,320 Speaker 1: Making money with it continued to be a challenge, though, 322 00:18:50,520 --> 00:18:54,199 Speaker 1: especially considering that the Panic of eighteen three started shortly 323 00:18:54,240 --> 00:18:57,840 Speaker 1: after he was finished. Late that year, he accepted the 324 00:18:57,840 --> 00:19:01,720 Speaker 1: command of a warship called the Destroyer, which was part 325 00:19:01,720 --> 00:19:04,520 Speaker 1: of a US mercenary fleet that was sent to Brazil 326 00:19:04,640 --> 00:19:07,879 Speaker 1: to deal with the mutiny within the Brazilian navy. This 327 00:19:08,080 --> 00:19:11,280 Speaker 1: voyage did not go very well. The ship leaked and 328 00:19:11,400 --> 00:19:14,080 Speaker 1: was beset by all kinds of other problems, and then 329 00:19:14,119 --> 00:19:18,040 Speaker 1: when they got there, Brazilian President Floriano Pachoto, who had 330 00:19:18,080 --> 00:19:19,879 Speaker 1: asked for the aid in the first place, did not 331 00:19:20,000 --> 00:19:22,960 Speaker 1: want to pay for it. The destroyer was later sunk, 332 00:19:23,240 --> 00:19:27,600 Speaker 1: and in Slocum wrote Voyage of the Destroyer about this 333 00:19:27,680 --> 00:19:32,560 Speaker 1: whole not amazing experience. It was around this time that 334 00:19:32,640 --> 00:19:35,800 Speaker 1: Slocum started thinking maybe he could make money by taking 335 00:19:35,800 --> 00:19:38,600 Speaker 1: a solo voyage around the world and writing about it. 336 00:19:39,200 --> 00:19:41,199 Speaker 1: No one had ever done that before, at least that 337 00:19:41,240 --> 00:19:43,760 Speaker 1: we know of, and we're gonna talk more about this 338 00:19:43,840 --> 00:19:54,440 Speaker 1: idea after we first pause for a sponsor break. Joshua 339 00:19:54,480 --> 00:19:58,240 Speaker 1: Slocum's solo voyage around the world started from East Boston 340 00:19:58,480 --> 00:20:02,040 Speaker 1: in April of five. Hetty came to the dock to 341 00:20:02,080 --> 00:20:05,920 Speaker 1: say goodbye. She brought Joshua's son Garfield and daughter Jesse 342 00:20:06,080 --> 00:20:10,200 Speaker 1: with her. We really don't know Hetty's feelings on all 343 00:20:10,280 --> 00:20:13,359 Speaker 1: of this, or about her husband in general at this point, 344 00:20:13,480 --> 00:20:16,280 Speaker 1: but it was clear that she did not want to 345 00:20:16,359 --> 00:20:19,560 Speaker 1: join Joshua on any kind of long sea voyage ever. Again. 346 00:20:20,400 --> 00:20:23,320 Speaker 1: Garfield was the youngest of Joshua's children at this point. 347 00:20:23,359 --> 00:20:27,200 Speaker 1: He was fourteen, and by that age his oldest brother, Victor, 348 00:20:27,280 --> 00:20:30,440 Speaker 1: had been working alongside their father at sea, So it's 349 00:20:30,520 --> 00:20:33,280 Speaker 1: likely that Joshua just didn't think his children really needed 350 00:20:33,320 --> 00:20:37,440 Speaker 1: them around that much. Anymore. At first, Slocum turned northward, 351 00:20:37,480 --> 00:20:40,840 Speaker 1: heading to Nova Scotia, checking the seams and repairing some 352 00:20:40,920 --> 00:20:44,280 Speaker 1: damage along the way. He also bought a tin clock 353 00:20:44,400 --> 00:20:47,119 Speaker 1: to use in place of a chronometer. He did have 354 00:20:47,240 --> 00:20:49,520 Speaker 1: a chronometer, but it hadn't been used in a while, 355 00:20:49,600 --> 00:20:53,840 Speaker 1: and it was going to cost fifteen fifteen dollars to 356 00:20:53,880 --> 00:20:57,040 Speaker 1: have it cleaned and rated. As we've talked about on 357 00:20:57,040 --> 00:21:01,240 Speaker 1: our previous episode called the Discovery of Longitude, regular clocks 358 00:21:01,280 --> 00:21:05,080 Speaker 1: tended to lose their accuracy at sea, but Slocum was 359 00:21:05,160 --> 00:21:09,160 Speaker 1: using this little tin clock in conjunction with other navigational methods, 360 00:21:09,200 --> 00:21:13,359 Speaker 1: including lunar navigation. But he was very good at um. 361 00:21:13,440 --> 00:21:17,760 Speaker 1: He he was deeply annoyed by multiple small, small in 362 00:21:17,880 --> 00:21:20,240 Speaker 1: quotation marks. I mean it's in a long time ago. 363 00:21:20,359 --> 00:21:21,919 Speaker 1: That was worth a lot more money. But like he 364 00:21:22,000 --> 00:21:24,399 Speaker 1: was very annoyed by like various expenses that it was 365 00:21:24,400 --> 00:21:27,160 Speaker 1: going to take, but that fifteen dollars for the chronometer, 366 00:21:28,160 --> 00:21:33,920 Speaker 1: fifteen fifteen dollars. Slocum crossed the Atlantic, and then after 367 00:21:33,920 --> 00:21:38,120 Speaker 1: setting sail again from Whorta, Portugal, he was stricken with 368 00:21:38,240 --> 00:21:41,439 Speaker 1: what might have been food poisoning. He mentioned eating some 369 00:21:41,520 --> 00:21:44,000 Speaker 1: plums and white cheese that had been given to him 370 00:21:44,000 --> 00:21:47,480 Speaker 1: by the American consul general. While he was there, he 371 00:21:47,560 --> 00:21:51,760 Speaker 1: had terrible cramps, and he's he hallucinated one of Christopher 372 00:21:51,800 --> 00:21:56,360 Speaker 1: Columbus's crew, the pilot of the Pinta, who assured Slocum 373 00:21:56,359 --> 00:21:58,879 Speaker 1: that he would keep the spray on a steady course. 374 00:21:59,600 --> 00:22:04,520 Speaker 1: I love that story. Slocum did recover, but not long 375 00:22:04,560 --> 00:22:07,639 Speaker 1: afterward he learned that the Mediterranean Sea was having a 376 00:22:07,640 --> 00:22:11,399 Speaker 1: problem with pirates, so rather than risking it, he turned 377 00:22:11,400 --> 00:22:14,439 Speaker 1: around and he went back across the Atlantic to circle 378 00:22:14,480 --> 00:22:18,600 Speaker 1: the world in the other direction instead. I also love 379 00:22:18,640 --> 00:22:21,400 Speaker 1: the idea that like just going back across an entire 380 00:22:21,440 --> 00:22:25,080 Speaker 1: ocean was gonna be safer than going through the Mediterranean 381 00:22:25,080 --> 00:22:29,160 Speaker 1: and its pirate problem. Although he made stops along the way, 382 00:22:29,359 --> 00:22:32,480 Speaker 1: some of them quite lengthy, Slocum's time at sea was 383 00:22:32,600 --> 00:22:36,879 Speaker 1: really lonely, and that loneliness often wore on him. To 384 00:22:37,000 --> 00:22:40,520 Speaker 1: keep himself company, he had conversations with the moon, and 385 00:22:40,600 --> 00:22:43,000 Speaker 1: he gave orders to an imaginary crew that then he 386 00:22:43,040 --> 00:22:46,440 Speaker 1: would carry out himself. He also sang, and he read 387 00:22:46,480 --> 00:22:50,000 Speaker 1: a lot. He brought a sizeable library with him on board, 388 00:22:50,240 --> 00:22:55,160 Speaker 1: including works by Longfellow, Shakespeare, and Darwin. Suddenly his life 389 00:22:55,160 --> 00:22:59,879 Speaker 1: sounds like a Tom Waits song. To me, it's the 390 00:23:00,040 --> 00:23:04,560 Speaker 1: conversations with the Moon. After crossing the Atlantic, Slocum turned 391 00:23:04,600 --> 00:23:07,600 Speaker 1: south down the coast of South America, stopping in Buenos 392 00:23:07,680 --> 00:23:10,640 Speaker 1: Aires to visit Jenny's grave before making his way through 393 00:23:10,640 --> 00:23:15,119 Speaker 1: the Magellan Straits. That was, even in the best of circumstances, 394 00:23:15,160 --> 00:23:17,919 Speaker 1: a treacherous route, but he was in a very small 395 00:23:17,960 --> 00:23:20,800 Speaker 1: boat powered only by sale, which meant there was a 396 00:23:20,840 --> 00:23:24,200 Speaker 1: real risk of being blown backward, something that caused him 397 00:23:24,200 --> 00:23:27,320 Speaker 1: to have to sail back through the same territory. He 398 00:23:27,400 --> 00:23:31,440 Speaker 1: also had several encounters with the indigenous Fuegian people, who 399 00:23:31,440 --> 00:23:35,720 Speaker 1: he describes repeatedly in his writing as savages. They were 400 00:23:35,800 --> 00:23:38,959 Speaker 1: known to attack and plunder ships, and Slocum had been 401 00:23:39,000 --> 00:23:41,840 Speaker 1: advised to take somebody with him through the Straits. For 402 00:23:41,880 --> 00:23:45,080 Speaker 1: this reason, he did not really want to do that, though, 403 00:23:45,119 --> 00:23:47,480 Speaker 1: since the whole point was to be able to say 404 00:23:47,520 --> 00:23:50,680 Speaker 1: he had done the whole journey alone. He did talk 405 00:23:50,760 --> 00:23:54,160 Speaker 1: to some potential shipmates, but he ultimately did go by himself. 406 00:23:54,680 --> 00:23:57,359 Speaker 1: So when he was in Fuegian territory, he made a 407 00:23:57,440 --> 00:23:59,600 Speaker 1: dummy out of his clothes so that it would look 408 00:23:59,600 --> 00:24:03,000 Speaker 1: from a distance like someone else was aboard. He also 409 00:24:03,040 --> 00:24:05,960 Speaker 1: scattered carpet tax across the deck, which had been given 410 00:24:06,000 --> 00:24:08,879 Speaker 1: to him by another captain for that purpose while he 411 00:24:08,960 --> 00:24:12,439 Speaker 1: was sleeping. In the end, he thwarted at least two 412 00:24:12,520 --> 00:24:15,080 Speaker 1: attempted invasions of the ship, and he made it through 413 00:24:15,119 --> 00:24:19,400 Speaker 1: the Magellan straight. It took him sixty two days. It's 414 00:24:19,880 --> 00:24:21,960 Speaker 1: when you look at a map, it's easy to imagine 415 00:24:22,000 --> 00:24:26,240 Speaker 1: that you would just sort of zips it through there. Nope, 416 00:24:26,320 --> 00:24:29,920 Speaker 1: it was like, did you go two ft per day? Yeah, 417 00:24:29,800 --> 00:24:32,440 Speaker 1: when he got blown backward, he got blown a significant 418 00:24:32,480 --> 00:24:35,720 Speaker 1: distance like that. You can read his whole account of 419 00:24:35,720 --> 00:24:37,480 Speaker 1: it is in the public domain at this point, so 420 00:24:37,680 --> 00:24:40,360 Speaker 1: like you can read it in his first person account. 421 00:24:40,359 --> 00:24:43,040 Speaker 1: But yeah, I did not imagine it taking that long 422 00:24:43,080 --> 00:24:45,720 Speaker 1: to get through there until I read this once he 423 00:24:45,800 --> 00:24:49,640 Speaker 1: was in the Pacific. Slocum's adventures included visiting the island 424 00:24:49,760 --> 00:24:53,439 Speaker 1: that likely served as the inspiration for Robinson Crusoe, and 425 00:24:53,520 --> 00:24:57,240 Speaker 1: in Samoa. In April of eight he spent several days 426 00:24:57,280 --> 00:25:00,959 Speaker 1: with Robert Louis Stevenson's widow, Fanny. She gave him her 427 00:25:01,040 --> 00:25:05,320 Speaker 1: late husband's sailing directories. He also spent ten months in 428 00:25:05,359 --> 00:25:09,680 Speaker 1: Australia giving lectures and doing some repair work on the spray. 429 00:25:09,800 --> 00:25:12,399 Speaker 1: Once he was back in the Atlantic Ocean, he visited 430 00:25:12,440 --> 00:25:15,600 Speaker 1: the island of St. Helena, where someone gave him a goat. 431 00:25:16,040 --> 00:25:18,640 Speaker 1: That's a goat with a g He didn't really want 432 00:25:18,680 --> 00:25:21,040 Speaker 1: to have animals on board, but he also didn't want 433 00:25:21,040 --> 00:25:24,240 Speaker 1: to be rude. But then the goat eight not only 434 00:25:24,320 --> 00:25:27,760 Speaker 1: Slocum's hat but also one of his nautical charts, so 435 00:25:27,800 --> 00:25:31,040 Speaker 1: he gave it away. At his next opportunity, on May 436 00:25:31,119 --> 00:25:35,440 Speaker 1: eighth of eight, Slocum crossed his previous path across the Atlantic. 437 00:25:35,480 --> 00:25:38,560 Speaker 1: At that point he had technically become the first person 438 00:25:38,720 --> 00:25:43,040 Speaker 1: known to circumnavigate the globe alone, but he didn't think 439 00:25:43,040 --> 00:25:45,439 Speaker 1: that he was really done until he was back in 440 00:25:45,480 --> 00:25:48,600 Speaker 1: the United States. He got to Newport, Rhode Island, on 441 00:25:48,680 --> 00:25:52,040 Speaker 1: June eighteen ninety eight, and then back to fair Haven, 442 00:25:52,040 --> 00:25:56,600 Speaker 1: Massachusetts on July three. He had traveled forty six thousand 443 00:25:56,680 --> 00:26:00,880 Speaker 1: miles or seventy four thousand kilometers in US over three 444 00:26:00,960 --> 00:26:05,200 Speaker 1: years two months, and at first people did not really 445 00:26:05,240 --> 00:26:08,240 Speaker 1: believe that he had done it. The whole idea was 446 00:26:08,280 --> 00:26:11,800 Speaker 1: still considered to be absurd and impossible, but he had 447 00:26:11,880 --> 00:26:15,680 Speaker 1: meticulously kept logs, and he had papers stamped by port 448 00:26:15,720 --> 00:26:20,240 Speaker 1: officials and other authorities all over the world. Unlike some 449 00:26:20,320 --> 00:26:22,359 Speaker 1: of the other stories we talked about in the show, 450 00:26:23,280 --> 00:26:27,520 Speaker 1: his story and the evidence he had all matched up. Yeah. 451 00:26:27,560 --> 00:26:31,320 Speaker 1: He used those logs to write Sailing Alone Around the World, 452 00:26:31,520 --> 00:26:35,679 Speaker 1: which was published serially in Century Illustrated monthly starting in 453 00:26:35,720 --> 00:26:39,160 Speaker 1: September of eight Then it came out as a book 454 00:26:39,200 --> 00:26:43,320 Speaker 1: in March of nineteen hundred. Critic Van Wyck Brooks called 455 00:26:43,320 --> 00:26:47,119 Speaker 1: it quote a nautical equivalent of Throw's account of his 456 00:26:47,240 --> 00:26:50,880 Speaker 1: life in the hut at Walden, and it became very popular. 457 00:26:51,760 --> 00:26:56,000 Speaker 1: You can read several papers of people analyzing whether they 458 00:26:56,040 --> 00:26:58,880 Speaker 1: actually think it's fair to compare this book to Walden, 459 00:26:59,720 --> 00:27:03,600 Speaker 1: but that was Fanwick Books's opinion. Because of the success 460 00:27:03,640 --> 00:27:06,480 Speaker 1: of this book, Slocum got to meet Mark Twain, who's 461 00:27:06,560 --> 00:27:11,240 Speaker 1: writing he greatly admired in e He also met President 462 00:27:11,280 --> 00:27:14,280 Speaker 1: Theodore Roosevelt, who said of the book, quote, I entirely 463 00:27:14,320 --> 00:27:17,840 Speaker 1: sympathize with your feeling of delight in the sheer, loneliness 464 00:27:17,880 --> 00:27:21,240 Speaker 1: and vastness of the ocean. It was just my feeling 465 00:27:21,280 --> 00:27:25,280 Speaker 1: in the wilderness of the West, Slocum started delivering lectures 466 00:27:25,320 --> 00:27:28,800 Speaker 1: about his voyage, and along with his book sales, he 467 00:27:28,840 --> 00:27:31,760 Speaker 1: was able to get on pretty good financial footing. He 468 00:27:31,880 --> 00:27:34,680 Speaker 1: tried to launch a venture that he called the College Ship, 469 00:27:34,800 --> 00:27:37,439 Speaker 1: which was a proposed two year voyage around the world 470 00:27:37,760 --> 00:27:41,120 Speaker 1: where students would learn seamanship and engineering while also getting 471 00:27:41,160 --> 00:27:45,640 Speaker 1: a liberal arts education. That sounds amazing, but there were 472 00:27:45,680 --> 00:27:48,320 Speaker 1: not enough interested students and professors to get that off 473 00:27:48,359 --> 00:27:51,639 Speaker 1: the ground though. In nine o one, Slocum took the 474 00:27:51,760 --> 00:27:55,119 Speaker 1: Spray up the Erie Canal for the Pan American Exposition 475 00:27:55,119 --> 00:27:58,840 Speaker 1: in Buffalo. He sold his books from on board, along 476 00:27:58,840 --> 00:28:02,639 Speaker 1: with the more inexpanded of publication called Sloop Spray Souvenir, 477 00:28:03,000 --> 00:28:07,680 Speaker 1: which Hetty had compiled. Stan Grayson, whose biography we mentioned earlier, 478 00:28:07,800 --> 00:28:10,639 Speaker 1: suggests that this was a little come upance for Hetty, 479 00:28:10,720 --> 00:28:13,920 Speaker 1: whose sisters had been really down on Joshua for their 480 00:28:14,080 --> 00:28:18,719 Speaker 1: entire relationship. Right under her name, it had three favorable 481 00:28:18,880 --> 00:28:23,040 Speaker 1: statements about her husband, the last being from Sir Edwin Arnold, 482 00:28:23,040 --> 00:28:27,119 Speaker 1: who said, quote the adventure is by far the most courageous, sustained, 483 00:28:27,160 --> 00:28:31,600 Speaker 1: and successful enterprise of the kind ever undertaken by mortal man. 484 00:28:32,200 --> 00:28:35,320 Speaker 1: All of this success allowed Slocum to buy a home 485 00:28:35,400 --> 00:28:38,280 Speaker 1: on land for the first time in nineteen o two. 486 00:28:38,720 --> 00:28:42,000 Speaker 1: That was a little farm on Martha's vineyard. The idea 487 00:28:42,080 --> 00:28:44,680 Speaker 1: that he might be a farmer, as Hetty suggested so 488 00:28:44,720 --> 00:28:48,360 Speaker 1: many years before, did not really last, though. In nineteen 489 00:28:48,400 --> 00:28:52,360 Speaker 1: o five Slocum started sailing to the Caribbean for the winter. Hetty, 490 00:28:52,480 --> 00:28:55,800 Speaker 1: having already made her thoughts clear on sea voyages, spent 491 00:28:55,840 --> 00:28:59,960 Speaker 1: the winters in East Boston. As someone who lives in Massachusetts, 492 00:29:01,000 --> 00:29:03,680 Speaker 1: This to me is so indicative of how much she was, like, No, 493 00:29:03,760 --> 00:29:06,680 Speaker 1: I am never getting on a boat of that sort again, 494 00:29:07,440 --> 00:29:12,120 Speaker 1: because she would rather have Boston winter than Caribbean winter. 495 00:29:12,520 --> 00:29:16,720 Speaker 1: Give me that boat, Give me that boat, baby. So 496 00:29:16,840 --> 00:29:19,640 Speaker 1: by this point Slocum was in his sixties, and he 497 00:29:19,720 --> 00:29:23,160 Speaker 1: seems to have been starting to decline. People who visited 498 00:29:23,200 --> 00:29:26,400 Speaker 1: him aboard the spray noticed that it wasn't as clean 499 00:29:26,600 --> 00:29:31,080 Speaker 1: or well maintained anymore. Slocum himself seemed to be increasingly 500 00:29:31,320 --> 00:29:35,360 Speaker 1: eccentric and unkempt. People were describing him with words like 501 00:29:35,560 --> 00:29:39,400 Speaker 1: dippy and cracked. More than one person who visited the 502 00:29:39,440 --> 00:29:42,400 Speaker 1: spray noticed that he had neglected to button his pants 503 00:29:43,040 --> 00:29:46,440 Speaker 1: after returning from the Caribbean in nineteen o six, Slocum 504 00:29:46,440 --> 00:29:50,040 Speaker 1: stopped in Riverton, New Jersey. A twelve year old girl 505 00:29:50,160 --> 00:29:52,680 Speaker 1: visited the spray with a friend and then told her 506 00:29:52,720 --> 00:29:56,000 Speaker 1: father she had, in the words of a newspaper quote, 507 00:29:56,160 --> 00:30:00,360 Speaker 1: suffered indignities there. The girl's father told the author at ease, 508 00:30:00,480 --> 00:30:05,480 Speaker 1: and Slocum was charged with rape. However, a doctor examined 509 00:30:05,520 --> 00:30:07,880 Speaker 1: this girl and found no evidence that she had been 510 00:30:07,880 --> 00:30:12,200 Speaker 1: physically harmed, and soon her father was walking back the accusation. 511 00:30:12,760 --> 00:30:15,600 Speaker 1: He wrote a letter describing the news coverage that was 512 00:30:15,640 --> 00:30:19,640 Speaker 1: calling it an assault as quote appearing to misstate the facts. 513 00:30:20,280 --> 00:30:22,360 Speaker 1: The letter went on to say that, to his and 514 00:30:22,480 --> 00:30:26,400 Speaker 1: his wife's extreme relief, in his words, after talking to 515 00:30:26,440 --> 00:30:29,360 Speaker 1: their daughter and having her examined by a doctor, she 516 00:30:29,520 --> 00:30:34,400 Speaker 1: was agitated, but not physically harmed. Slocum spent forty two 517 00:30:34,480 --> 00:30:37,320 Speaker 1: days in jail, after which he had a hearing before 518 00:30:37,320 --> 00:30:41,600 Speaker 1: a judge. The charge was reduced to indecent assault, and 519 00:30:41,640 --> 00:30:44,800 Speaker 1: the judge told him quote upon the request of the family, 520 00:30:44,960 --> 00:30:48,680 Speaker 1: I can deal leniently with you. Slocum said he had 521 00:30:48,760 --> 00:30:51,760 Speaker 1: no memory of the incident and that if anything had happened, 522 00:30:51,880 --> 00:30:55,200 Speaker 1: it must have been during some kind of quote mental lapse. 523 00:30:55,960 --> 00:30:58,640 Speaker 1: He entered a plea of no contest and was released 524 00:30:58,640 --> 00:31:03,600 Speaker 1: without further penalty, forbidden from ever coming to Riverton again. Yeah, 525 00:31:03,680 --> 00:31:06,160 Speaker 1: my read on all of this is that he did 526 00:31:06,200 --> 00:31:11,920 Speaker 1: not intentionally do anything, but simultaneously she was genuinely traumatized, 527 00:31:13,160 --> 00:31:15,840 Speaker 1: just like based on his pattern of behavior at the time. 528 00:31:16,400 --> 00:31:19,200 Speaker 1: Um he left aboard the spray the next day, and 529 00:31:19,240 --> 00:31:22,719 Speaker 1: then he continued on with his planned itinerary from before 530 00:31:22,760 --> 00:31:26,720 Speaker 1: he had been arrested, and that involved delivering rare orchids 531 00:31:26,760 --> 00:31:31,520 Speaker 1: to President Teddy Roosevelt. The president's son Archibald described the 532 00:31:31,600 --> 00:31:36,040 Speaker 1: spray as decrepit and quote the most incredibly dirty craft 533 00:31:36,120 --> 00:31:39,680 Speaker 1: I have ever seen. In November of nineteen o eight, 534 00:31:39,840 --> 00:31:44,000 Speaker 1: or possibly nineteen o nine, Slocum left Martha's Vineyard bound 535 00:31:44,000 --> 00:31:48,440 Speaker 1: for the Caribbean. He was never seen again. There were, however, 536 00:31:48,520 --> 00:31:52,240 Speaker 1: some unconfirmed sightings of him around the Caribbean, including one 537 00:31:52,280 --> 00:31:55,720 Speaker 1: sea captain who reportedly described a collision with a small 538 00:31:55,840 --> 00:31:59,040 Speaker 1: vessel off the coast of Venezuela. But what happened to 539 00:31:59,120 --> 00:32:02,520 Speaker 1: him is really a mystery. He was legally declared dead 540 00:32:02,600 --> 00:32:07,320 Speaker 1: in ninety four for all practical purposes. Joshua and Hetty 541 00:32:07,440 --> 00:32:09,920 Speaker 1: had been separated for a few years by the time 542 00:32:09,960 --> 00:32:15,000 Speaker 1: of his disappearance. She remarried in Her next husband died 543 00:32:15,000 --> 00:32:18,040 Speaker 1: in ninety nine, and then she died in nineteen fifty two. 544 00:32:18,600 --> 00:32:21,680 Speaker 1: Sailing Alone around the World has remained in print for 545 00:32:21,800 --> 00:32:24,520 Speaker 1: decades since it was first published, and today it is, 546 00:32:24,560 --> 00:32:28,040 Speaker 1: as Tracy mentioned, in the public domain. In addition to 547 00:32:28,120 --> 00:32:31,640 Speaker 1: its popularity at the time, it also inspired other writers, 548 00:32:31,760 --> 00:32:34,640 Speaker 1: including Jack London, who bought his own thirty eight foot 549 00:32:34,640 --> 00:32:38,200 Speaker 1: sloop in nineteen o three and named it the Spray. 550 00:32:38,440 --> 00:32:41,200 Speaker 1: He wrote part of The Sea Wolf while aboard the Spray, 551 00:32:41,280 --> 00:32:43,640 Speaker 1: and later on went on a longer voyage that he 552 00:32:43,720 --> 00:32:47,080 Speaker 1: documented in The Cruise of the Snark. And we will 553 00:32:47,160 --> 00:32:50,560 Speaker 1: end the episode with a quote from Slocum quote, I 554 00:32:50,640 --> 00:32:53,840 Speaker 1: once knew a writer who, after saying beautiful things about 555 00:32:53,880 --> 00:32:57,440 Speaker 1: the sea, passed through a Pacific hurricane and became a 556 00:32:57,520 --> 00:33:01,040 Speaker 1: changed man. But where after all would be the poetry 557 00:33:01,080 --> 00:33:06,280 Speaker 1: of the sea were there no wild waves? That's Joshua Slocum. 558 00:33:06,520 --> 00:33:10,840 Speaker 1: I love his story. Obviously it's not all fun. It's 559 00:33:10,880 --> 00:33:14,040 Speaker 1: not all fun, but it's a really engaging story. Even 560 00:33:14,080 --> 00:33:18,520 Speaker 1: the difficult parts are really interesting and make you think, Yeah, 561 00:33:18,880 --> 00:33:23,200 Speaker 1: but mostly I love his first wife. Yeah, Jenny. Jenny 562 00:33:23,320 --> 00:33:26,440 Speaker 1: is where it's at. Man. Jenny seems great. UM. And 563 00:33:26,480 --> 00:33:28,960 Speaker 1: it's like from all the accounts that we have, it 564 00:33:29,040 --> 00:33:32,080 Speaker 1: really does seem like that they were just deeply in 565 00:33:32,160 --> 00:33:35,840 Speaker 1: love with each other immediately. She was on board with being, 566 00:33:36,280 --> 00:33:39,480 Speaker 1: you know, on on the boat with him all the time. UM. 567 00:33:39,560 --> 00:33:42,840 Speaker 1: And that he just he never really totally recovered after 568 00:33:42,880 --> 00:33:48,680 Speaker 1: her death. UM. I have a listener mail from Marcus. 569 00:33:48,680 --> 00:33:53,640 Speaker 1: Bring it on. It's about Canning. Marcus says, Hi, Tracy 570 00:33:53,680 --> 00:33:55,520 Speaker 1: and Holly. I'm hoping this was the right way to 571 00:33:55,560 --> 00:33:58,480 Speaker 1: contact you both to give a shout out to your podcasts. 572 00:33:58,920 --> 00:34:00,800 Speaker 1: I discovered stuff you mis in history class at the 573 00:34:00,840 --> 00:34:03,040 Speaker 1: beginning of the of last year, and it's been wonderful 574 00:34:03,040 --> 00:34:05,080 Speaker 1: to hear you both talk about one of my favorite 575 00:34:05,120 --> 00:34:08,759 Speaker 1: subjects on my morning commutes. I recently listened to the 576 00:34:08,800 --> 00:34:11,560 Speaker 1: Canning episode and it made me remember your previous episode 577 00:34:11,560 --> 00:34:14,000 Speaker 1: on home economics, which are two episodes I could really 578 00:34:14,000 --> 00:34:17,799 Speaker 1: relate to. You both had mentioned the cooperative extension programs, 579 00:34:17,840 --> 00:34:21,480 Speaker 1: which I work for. I'm gonna skip some of the 580 00:34:21,520 --> 00:34:26,680 Speaker 1: detail there because privacy, family and consumer science agents are 581 00:34:26,719 --> 00:34:29,880 Speaker 1: the successors to what was called the home demonstration or 582 00:34:29,920 --> 00:34:34,400 Speaker 1: home economics agents use extension agents. A majority of amazing 583 00:34:34,440 --> 00:34:38,960 Speaker 1: women would educate families on canning and preserving grown produce 584 00:34:39,040 --> 00:34:41,680 Speaker 1: and meats, how to keep an organized home, canning, the 585 00:34:41,719 --> 00:34:45,280 Speaker 1: weaving of furniture, and other cool things. Today, FCS agents 586 00:34:45,280 --> 00:34:48,480 Speaker 1: mostly focused on health and wellness, food and nutrition, financial 587 00:34:48,480 --> 00:34:52,200 Speaker 1: resource management, and food safety, although programs may differ upon 588 00:34:52,320 --> 00:34:56,000 Speaker 1: states and counties to meet community needs. My focus has 589 00:34:56,040 --> 00:34:59,320 Speaker 1: been on teaching good food safety courses to food service employees, 590 00:34:59,400 --> 00:35:02,200 Speaker 1: doing fun cooking classes with adults and kids, and still 591 00:35:02,320 --> 00:35:05,440 Speaker 1: preserving an important legacy of canning and teaching the prevention 592 00:35:05,520 --> 00:35:10,520 Speaker 1: of spoilage, micro organisms and harmful pathogens occurring in unsafe 593 00:35:10,520 --> 00:35:15,240 Speaker 1: canning methods like Custridian bodulinum or batuli is um. Canning 594 00:35:15,320 --> 00:35:17,319 Speaker 1: was also a skill my grandma passed down to me 595 00:35:17,719 --> 00:35:19,640 Speaker 1: and now I use in my job and I enjoy 596 00:35:19,680 --> 00:35:22,480 Speaker 1: getting too teach folks all this amazing material within family 597 00:35:22,520 --> 00:35:26,440 Speaker 1: and consumer sciences. Thank you for the wonderful podcast as always, 598 00:35:26,560 --> 00:35:30,360 Speaker 1: and shout out to Cooperative Extension. Looking forward to future episodes. 599 00:35:30,600 --> 00:35:34,240 Speaker 1: And I also attached some photos of canning peach pickles 600 00:35:34,280 --> 00:35:37,000 Speaker 1: for a video our county website this summer did, which 601 00:35:37,080 --> 00:35:40,200 Speaker 1: we're absolutely amazing. Take care, Tracy and Holly Marcus. Thank 602 00:35:40,239 --> 00:35:44,640 Speaker 1: you Marcus for this email and these pictures. Those do 603 00:35:44,960 --> 00:35:51,360 Speaker 1: look like some delicious peach pickles. UM, I am. I 604 00:35:51,360 --> 00:35:53,600 Speaker 1: don't know what. I think. I talked in the behind 605 00:35:53,600 --> 00:35:55,920 Speaker 1: the scenes on one of those episodes about taking classes 606 00:35:55,920 --> 00:35:59,880 Speaker 1: that are like agricultural extension service, UM. And the funny 607 00:36:00,040 --> 00:36:03,520 Speaker 1: thing is, I'm sure they offered classes that we're cooking related, 608 00:36:03,520 --> 00:36:05,479 Speaker 1: but the ones that I remember the most were things 609 00:36:05,520 --> 00:36:10,080 Speaker 1: that were about craft and sewing and stuff. So anyway, 610 00:36:10,080 --> 00:36:13,040 Speaker 1: thank you again Marcus for that email. If you would 611 00:36:13,080 --> 00:36:16,080 Speaker 1: like to write to us, which yes Marcus did by 612 00:36:16,120 --> 00:36:18,840 Speaker 1: the correct way, it's too email History Podcast at i 613 00:36:18,880 --> 00:36:20,920 Speaker 1: heeart radio dot com. That is the best way to 614 00:36:20,920 --> 00:36:24,040 Speaker 1: reach us. UM. We are on Facebook and Twitter and 615 00:36:24,080 --> 00:36:28,480 Speaker 1: Pinterest and Instagram. Our name there is all missed in History, 616 00:36:28,680 --> 00:36:31,960 Speaker 1: but email is the thing we're most likely to actually see. 617 00:36:32,719 --> 00:36:35,160 Speaker 1: And you can subscribe to our show on Apple podcast 618 00:36:35,280 --> 00:36:37,080 Speaker 1: and I heart radio app and anywhere else to get 619 00:36:37,120 --> 00:36:44,719 Speaker 1: your podcasts. Stuff you Missed in History Class is a 620 00:36:44,760 --> 00:36:47,960 Speaker 1: production of I Heart Radio. For more podcasts, from I 621 00:36:48,040 --> 00:36:51,239 Speaker 1: heart Radio, visit the I heart Radio app, Apple podcasts, 622 00:36:51,360 --> 00:36:53,400 Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.