WEBVTT - Sea Snack: Cannibalism on a Boat!

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<v Speaker 1>School of Humans. Hey, guys, I just ate a snack.

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<v Speaker 1>Guess what it was. It was my colleagues. Ah, just kidding.

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<v Speaker 1>I mean, I work in podcasting. There is no reason

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<v Speaker 1>for me to have to eat my colleagues as of

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<v Speaker 1>right now. Because the thing is, I also work on

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<v Speaker 1>a true crime show, and sometimes I'm like, are we

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<v Speaker 1>gonna run out of murders? Are we gonna have to

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<v Speaker 1>make our own? Well? I need to cannibalize my fellow

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<v Speaker 1>producers to make exciting content for the hordes of true

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<v Speaker 1>crime fans in order to get on the Apple Podcast charts.

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<v Speaker 1>It's a competitive market. You gotta hustle, you gotta grind

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<v Speaker 1>those bones like my colleagu's bones. Guys, I'm just kidding.

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<v Speaker 1>Don't cancel me, not this early in the season. But

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<v Speaker 1>I'm only mentioning this because there are some professions throughout

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<v Speaker 1>history where you might find yourself in a situation where

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<v Speaker 1>you have to eat a colleague or two. It might happen. Specifically,

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<v Speaker 1>one profession where this happened was whaling. And I don't

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<v Speaker 1>mean whaling like a banshee after drinking a bottle of

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<v Speaker 1>wine because a guy named Kevin ghosted you. I mean

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<v Speaker 1>being a person who goes out into the ocean and

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<v Speaker 1>hunts and kills whales, beautiful innocent whales with a harpoon.

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<v Speaker 1>That's whale for Please, No, not my brother Jonathan.

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<v Speaker 2>No.

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<v Speaker 1>I just think that would be funny if like, there

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<v Speaker 1>was a whale out there named Jonathan. That would be like,

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<v Speaker 1>because they're a big, majestic creature. But he's like, yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>you can just call me John. But I do feel

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<v Speaker 1>like being a whaler. I think it's probably pretty stressful job,

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<v Speaker 1>like a lot more stressful than making a widtle podcast,

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<v Speaker 1>because not only do you have to catch a big

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<v Speaker 1>old whale, you also have to be on a boat

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<v Speaker 1>with twenty of the same people for months and months

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<v Speaker 1>and months, and the wi fi is terrible, especially because

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<v Speaker 1>it is the early nineteenth century, and the thing about

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<v Speaker 1>eating your crewmates not only was this a thing that

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<v Speaker 1>happened from time to time, it was also socially acceptable

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<v Speaker 1>because when you're on a boat far out from land,

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<v Speaker 1>anything can happen. You might get lost in the middle

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<v Speaker 1>of the ocean, you might run out of food, you

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<v Speaker 1>might get attacked by a big ass whale who's tired

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<v Speaker 1>of whalers, and your only hope it's arrival. Is eating

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<v Speaker 1>your fellow sailor eating some seamen if you will so, Yes,

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<v Speaker 1>we have finally reached an episode about hannibalism. Cannibalism that

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<v Speaker 1>was deemed necessary because a whale fucked up about they music.

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<v Speaker 1>This is American filth, and I'm your host, Gabby Watts.

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<v Speaker 1>Every week I tell you a filthy story from American history.

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<v Speaker 1>Today's episode see snack. No no, no, no no no.

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<v Speaker 1>Probably some of you smarty pants had already guessed this,

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<v Speaker 1>but this episode is about the ship the Essex. You

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<v Speaker 1>might know that accounts from its last voyage provided some

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<v Speaker 1>spicy inspiration for Herman Melville's Moby Dick. But I went

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<v Speaker 1>to a public high school. Guys, I didn't read Moby Dick.

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<v Speaker 1>Call me Ishmael. Why my name is Gabby? Anyway, let's

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<v Speaker 1>get into the content before I spiral. The Essex was

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<v Speaker 1>built in Amesbury, Massachusetts. It was a three masted ship

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<v Speaker 1>built from white oak. The wood was known for its strength,

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<v Speaker 1>which is ironic in this case because it's gonna be

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<v Speaker 1>thugged up. Originally, merchants used this ship for trade, but

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<v Speaker 1>then it was turned into a whaling vessel. But whaling

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<v Speaker 1>was dangerous. While the ship itself was large, it had

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<v Speaker 1>to be outfitted with smaller boats. Once a crew spotted

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<v Speaker 1>a whale, they would hop into the smaller boats and

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<v Speaker 1>chase the mammel down. Ropes connected the harpoons to the boat.

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<v Speaker 1>Than when the men had tied the whale down, they

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<v Speaker 1>would kill it with the lance before towing it back

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<v Speaker 1>to the main ship. Blubber and oil, Baby, it makes

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<v Speaker 1>the world go round. The Essex was at first known

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<v Speaker 1>as a lucky vessel. By the time of the adventure

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<v Speaker 1>I'm talking about today, the ship was about twenty years

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<v Speaker 1>old and it had made many successful and profitable voyages.

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<v Speaker 1>The eighty seven foot long vessel was set to sail

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<v Speaker 1>on August twelfth, eighteen nineteen. It carried twenty one men,

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<v Speaker 1>including first time captain George Pollard Junior. Also heading on

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<v Speaker 1>what was supposed to be a two and a half

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<v Speaker 1>to three year voyage was first mate Owen Chase, second

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<v Speaker 1>mate Matthew Joy, and Pollard's cousin Owen Coffin. Coffin was

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<v Speaker 1>about ten years younger than Pollard, and Pollard had promised

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<v Speaker 1>Coffin's mom that he would keep him safe. Ah foreshadowing.

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<v Speaker 1>The plan was to leave Nantucket and head to the

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<v Speaker 1>South Pacific Ocean, but the sea had other plans for

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<v Speaker 1>these guys. Off the bat, they were hit with some

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<v Speaker 1>bad luck. Literally two days into the trip, a storm

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<v Speaker 1>knocked the Essex on its side and the ship got damaged.

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<v Speaker 1>One of the sails was broken, and two whale boats

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<v Speaker 1>were missing. Pollard was like, Yo, we should head back.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm not feeling too good about this trip. His first mate, Chase,

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<v Speaker 1>was like, nah, we're good. I think we should keep going.

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<v Speaker 1>Pollard was like, fine, we'll keep going. The ship was

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<v Speaker 1>able to sail to Cape Horn in a few weeks,

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<v Speaker 1>but the waters around the tip of South America were

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<v Speaker 1>pretty fished out, so off they went again. No whales

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<v Speaker 1>for the Essex. Finally, two months later, the ship spotted

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<v Speaker 1>their first whale south of Rio de Janeiro and YadA, YadA, YadA.

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<v Speaker 1>More traveling was done until they entered the South Pacific,

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<v Speaker 1>and January eighteen twenty the Essex reached the waters of Peru.

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<v Speaker 1>It was only then that they finally started catching the

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<v Speaker 1>big game. The crew caught and killed ten whales. Then

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<v Speaker 1>in late May, Pollard decided to head into deeper waters

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<v Speaker 1>because that had proven lucrative for other whalers. They stopped

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<v Speaker 1>at a little town in Ecuador in September eighteen t

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<v Speaker 1>need to prepare. At that point, one of the dudes

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<v Speaker 1>ditched the crew while they were there, so they ended

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<v Speaker 1>up being one man short. But whatever, it's just one guy,

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<v Speaker 1>what could go wrong. The Essex then headed to Hood

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<v Speaker 1>Island in the Galapagos, where they prepare a leak and restocked,

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<v Speaker 1>and I guess because they were bored or whatever, they

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<v Speaker 1>caught two hundred tortoises rip tortoises. In October eighteen twenty,

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<v Speaker 1>the men arrived at Charles Island. There they collected even

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<v Speaker 1>more tortoises, because two hundred sometimes that's just not enough tortoises.

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<v Speaker 1>And then one of the crew members, as a practical joke,

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<v Speaker 1>set a small fire on the island, and then turns

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<v Speaker 1>out that that small fire would wipe through the entire island.

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<v Speaker 1>It even caused the dudes themselves to turn tail and run.

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<v Speaker 1>Even years later, it remained a charred version of what

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<v Speaker 1>it once was. But you guys know, boys will be boys,

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<v Speaker 1>and boys will ruin an entire ecosystem. But back to

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<v Speaker 1>the store, The ship then left the safety of the

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<v Speaker 1>Galopagos Islands, and this is where the thing started going wayside.

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<v Speaker 1>It's November eighteen twenty and the crew spotted a whale

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<v Speaker 1>on the horizon. Some of the crew members jumped into

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<v Speaker 1>the whaling boats to go catch the whale. But twenty

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<v Speaker 1>three year old Chase, remember the first mate, stayed aboard

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<v Speaker 1>the Essex, and while he was just milling about, he

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<v Speaker 1>spotted some craziness in the distance. He was peering off

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<v Speaker 1>over the ship, like what the heck is that, and

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<v Speaker 1>then he suddenly realized that it was an enormous sperm

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<v Speaker 1>whale making a bee line for the ship. Now, a

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<v Speaker 1>big ass whale coming to attack your boat out in

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<v Speaker 1>the middle of nowhere. That's a big, oh shit moment.

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<v Speaker 1>Chase estimated that the whale swam towards them about three

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<v Speaker 1>knots before smashing into the ship head on with quote

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<v Speaker 1>such an appalling and tremendous jar as nearly threw us

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<v Speaker 1>all on our faces. And now, sperm whales are normally big,

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<v Speaker 1>scaredy cats, but for some reason, this whale was not.

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<v Speaker 1>And some people think the reason that the whale attacked

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<v Speaker 1>is because the hammering that they were doing on the

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<v Speaker 1>ship sounded very similar to the clicks that other mail

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<v Speaker 1>whales make, and so this whale might have been like, oh, no,

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<v Speaker 1>there's another guy in my territory. I gotta go beat

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<v Speaker 1>the shit out of him. Whatever it was, the whale

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<v Speaker 1>wasn't having it. The whale hit the ship a second time,

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<v Speaker 1>taking no mercy. The crew that was still on board

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<v Speaker 1>dropped the additional whaling boats and tried to fill them

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<v Speaker 1>up with navigational tools and bread and water. By the

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<v Speaker 1>time that Pollard and the other whaling boats got back

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<v Speaker 1>to the Essex, it was nothing but a shipwreck. And

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<v Speaker 1>now he and his crew are stranded almost two thousand

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<v Speaker 1>miles out to see and there are not enough rations

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<v Speaker 1>for them to survive. After the break, the real filth

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<v Speaker 1>comes in BRB, and we're back just in time for

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<v Speaker 1>things to turn from bad to worse. Also, I feel

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<v Speaker 1>like it's only fair to warn you up front this

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<v Speaker 1>is where things start getting really gritty, like really gritty,

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<v Speaker 1>so you know, if you need to probably like don't

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<v Speaker 1>eat during this part. It's kind of gross unless you're

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<v Speaker 1>a freak like me. Huh. So anyway, the Essex is destroyed.

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<v Speaker 1>There are three whaling boats left filled with twenty men,

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<v Speaker 1>and each of these boats were only twenty feet long.

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<v Speaker 1>All the dudes are freaked. Pollard is scared as heck.

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<v Speaker 1>At this point they got to make some decisions. Pollard

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<v Speaker 1>wanted to head for what he believed was the closest land,

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<v Speaker 1>the Marquesas and Society Islands, but the rest of the

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<v Speaker 1>crew was like, uh, can live there. I don't want

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<v Speaker 1>to go there, which, lol is going to be very ironic.

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<v Speaker 1>They were like, if we want to survive, we should

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<v Speaker 1>head south with hope that the winds will like move

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<v Speaker 1>our little boats along, or maybe another whaling ship will

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<v Speaker 1>see us. And the thing is, those islands that the

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<v Speaker 1>crew was so afraid of going to supposedly had traders

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<v Speaker 1>traveling to them without any issue. All ten fingers and

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<v Speaker 1>toes intact, promised no missing legs. So instead of going

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<v Speaker 1>there to land, they started heading south, and to no surprise,

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<v Speaker 1>it fucking sucked. The salt water, ruined the bread. They

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<v Speaker 1>had nothing to drink. They were stuck in the sun.

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<v Speaker 1>I mean, you think falling asleep of the beach with

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<v Speaker 1>no sunscreenings the bad. They were just out in the

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<v Speaker 1>sun on a boat. Crispy and then if that wasn't

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<v Speaker 1>bad enough, Pollard ship got attacked again. People aren't one

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<v Speaker 1>hundred percent sure, but it's assumed that it was a

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<v Speaker 1>killer whale this time. If so, that leaves the score

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<v Speaker 1>whales to human zero. I can hear the thunderous applause

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<v Speaker 1>from the depths of the ocean. Yes. They eventually belly

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<v Speaker 1>flopped onto land two weeks later at Henderson Island. Other

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<v Speaker 1>than some fresh water, there was like no food. They

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<v Speaker 1>were there for a week. Three men chos stay behind

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<v Speaker 1>to test their luck on the island, but the rest

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<v Speaker 1>of them decided to hit the high seas again, which

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<v Speaker 1>is going to be a massive mistake. It's mid December

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<v Speaker 1>and the remaining crew have been at sea for weeks,

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<v Speaker 1>and then when it gets to January, the lack of

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<v Speaker 1>rations takes its toll. The first person to die, ironically,

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<v Speaker 1>is one of the men who voted against sailing to

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<v Speaker 1>the closest islands for the fear of cannibals. It's January tenth,

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<v Speaker 1>eighteen twenty eight. Second mate Matthew Joy meets his untimely demise.

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<v Speaker 1>He's given a true sailor's burial and his body is

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<v Speaker 1>tossed to the sea. Obet Hendrix takes command of the

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<v Speaker 1>small whaling boat. The next day, a storm separated first

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<v Speaker 1>mate Chase's boat from Hendrickson Pollard. Chase's boat started out

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<v Speaker 1>having the worst luck. On January twentieth, the first of

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<v Speaker 1>Chase's small crew dies. It was a normal death, nothing

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<v Speaker 1>weird to see there, just a normal starvation, dehydration, exhaustion death.

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<v Speaker 1>But then three weeks later, Isaac Cole dies and he

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<v Speaker 1>did not go easy into that dark knight. No, no, no,

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<v Speaker 1>he went batshit crazy at that point, though, who could

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<v Speaker 1>blame the guy. None of these men had had a

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<v Speaker 1>substantial meal or water for weeks and had been staring

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<v Speaker 1>at the same endless blue for months. But back to

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<v Speaker 1>Cole and whatever was still functioning in that head of

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<v Speaker 1>his he stands up, asks for a dinner napkin, and

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<v Speaker 1>then falls into convulsion. By the next morning, he's as

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<v Speaker 1>dead as a doornail wire doornails dead, I don't know.

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<v Speaker 1>At this point, Chase asked the rest of his crew.

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<v Speaker 1>He was like, so, do you guys want to eat

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<v Speaker 1>this body or what? And not a single person objected.

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<v Speaker 1>He actually wrote about this in his book Shipwreck of

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<v Speaker 1>the Whale ship Essex, and in that book he described

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<v Speaker 1>the cannibalism. He said, the men quote separated limbs from

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<v Speaker 1>his body and cut all the flesh from the bones,

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<v Speaker 1>after which we opened the body, took out the heart,

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<v Speaker 1>and then closed it again, sewed it up as decently

0:14:52.325 --> 0:14:57.805
<v Speaker 1>as we could, and committed it to the sea. Then,

0:14:57.965 --> 0:15:00.845
<v Speaker 1>just to be civilized, they used a flat stone upon

0:15:01.005 --> 0:15:06.165
<v Speaker 1>which they roasted the man's organs. Talk about a spread.

0:15:06.245 --> 0:15:10.165
<v Speaker 1>It was time to feast. Chase also wrote about how

0:15:10.165 --> 0:15:13.525
<v Speaker 1>they cut the dead man into thin strips. Some of

0:15:13.525 --> 0:15:15.485
<v Speaker 1>those strips were hung on the boat to dry in

0:15:15.525 --> 0:15:18.245
<v Speaker 1>the sun so they could have food for later, just

0:15:18.285 --> 0:15:24.085
<v Speaker 1>a little sailor jerky. After this cannibalism, this left three

0:15:24.405 --> 0:15:30.885
<v Speaker 1>remaining men on Chase's boat. As for Hendrick's crew, his

0:15:31.005 --> 0:15:34.965
<v Speaker 1>men fell like dominoes. From January twentieth to the twenty seventh.

0:15:35.285 --> 0:15:38.005
<v Speaker 1>Three of Hendrick's men died and all three of them

0:15:38.245 --> 0:15:42.085
<v Speaker 1>were eaten. Their names were Laws and Thomas, Charles Schorter

0:15:42.205 --> 0:15:45.925
<v Speaker 1>and Isaac Sheppard. And since Hendricks and Pollard's boats were

0:15:45.925 --> 0:15:50.485
<v Speaker 1>so close together, the human hamburger helper was shared all around.

0:15:52.725 --> 0:15:54.725
<v Speaker 1>And this is also when things are getting even more

0:15:54.765 --> 0:15:57.805
<v Speaker 1>fucked up because loss in Charles and Isaac, all of

0:15:57.845 --> 0:16:01.085
<v Speaker 1>them were black. And then on Pollard's boat, another black

0:16:01.125 --> 0:16:04.165
<v Speaker 1>man died. His name was Samuel Reid. He died on

0:16:04.245 --> 0:16:08.685
<v Speaker 1>January twenty eighth. He was also eaten. And now historians

0:16:08.685 --> 0:16:11.005
<v Speaker 1>aren't sure if this was all a coincidence, the fact

0:16:11.005 --> 0:16:13.605
<v Speaker 1>that all the black crew members died, but I think

0:16:13.605 --> 0:16:17.125
<v Speaker 1>we can speculate that based on the rest of the

0:16:17.165 --> 0:16:20.045
<v Speaker 1>history of the United States of America, it maybe was not.

0:16:25.525 --> 0:16:28.565
<v Speaker 1>As of beating your shipmates wasn't bad enough. Another storm

0:16:28.605 --> 0:16:31.445
<v Speaker 1>came through the next day and sent Hendrick's boat one

0:16:31.485 --> 0:16:35.805
<v Speaker 1>way and Pollard's the other. Now each whaling ship was

0:16:35.885 --> 0:16:39.725
<v Speaker 1>left to fend for itself. There were four men left

0:16:39.765 --> 0:16:42.645
<v Speaker 1>on Pollard's boat, but the men decided if they didn't

0:16:42.685 --> 0:16:46.205
<v Speaker 1>eat they would die. It's been nine weeks since the

0:16:46.405 --> 0:16:48.565
<v Speaker 1>Essex took a nose dive into the sea with the

0:16:48.605 --> 0:16:52.845
<v Speaker 1>help of the whale, and it was teenager Charles Ramsdale

0:16:52.845 --> 0:17:01.765
<v Speaker 1>who suggested that they do the custom of the sea. Now,

0:17:01.805 --> 0:17:04.205
<v Speaker 1>this was an old sea custom that dated back to

0:17:04.245 --> 0:17:07.405
<v Speaker 1>the first half of the seven venteenth century. It's the

0:17:07.525 --> 0:17:11.365
<v Speaker 1>idea that if sailors found themselves stranded in remote waters

0:17:11.405 --> 0:17:15.445
<v Speaker 1>with no food or water, the public would be sympathetic

0:17:15.485 --> 0:17:20.445
<v Speaker 1>to cannibalism as a way to survive. Basically, if a

0:17:20.485 --> 0:17:24.685
<v Speaker 1>shipwrecked sailor acknowledged that they had eaten human flesh to survive,

0:17:25.645 --> 0:17:30.885
<v Speaker 1>everyone would be like, ah, that's fine. Sailors would draw

0:17:31.005 --> 0:17:32.965
<v Speaker 1>straws to see who is going to be the next

0:17:33.005 --> 0:17:36.685
<v Speaker 1>pig on a stick. But of course, like with most things,

0:17:36.725 --> 0:17:40.365
<v Speaker 1>that's not really how it went. It was the survival

0:17:40.405 --> 0:17:42.725
<v Speaker 1>of the fittest, with the strong preying on the weak.

0:17:43.925 --> 0:17:47.965
<v Speaker 1>If it was passengers versus sailors, passengers got eaten first.

0:17:48.405 --> 0:17:51.605
<v Speaker 1>Boys were eaten before men, and of course if you

0:17:51.645 --> 0:17:56.845
<v Speaker 1>were black, you were eating before your white counterparts. Also,

0:17:57.165 --> 0:18:00.325
<v Speaker 1>everything else had to be consumed before resorting to eating

0:18:00.365 --> 0:18:06.965
<v Speaker 1>each other, like everything shoes, candles, leather goods, blankets, What

0:18:07.125 --> 0:18:11.525
<v Speaker 1>doesn't hit that spot like a good cotton blanket, yum yum.

0:18:11.925 --> 0:18:14.885
<v Speaker 1>The dead also had to be eaten first, you know,

0:18:15.085 --> 0:18:19.165
<v Speaker 1>if they hadn't already been dropped as fish food. So

0:18:19.245 --> 0:18:22.005
<v Speaker 1>with the drawing straw system, though, the person who would

0:18:22.085 --> 0:18:24.805
<v Speaker 1>draw the shortest straw was the person who got eaten,

0:18:25.365 --> 0:18:28.725
<v Speaker 1>and then whoever drew the second shortest straw would be

0:18:28.805 --> 0:18:31.085
<v Speaker 1>the one who has to kill the guy with the

0:18:31.165 --> 0:18:36.885
<v Speaker 1>shortest straw. All very straightforward. Those are the rules. So

0:18:37.005 --> 0:18:40.565
<v Speaker 1>back to Pollard's small crew. There are four of them left,

0:18:40.685 --> 0:18:44.165
<v Speaker 1>and Ramsdell says, yo, dudes, we need to draw the straws.

0:18:44.605 --> 0:18:48.005
<v Speaker 1>Everyone agrees, and then, in a wild twist of fate,

0:18:48.765 --> 0:18:53.885
<v Speaker 1>Ohen Coffin, Pollard's younger cousin, draws the short straw in Ramsdell,

0:18:54.125 --> 0:18:59.725
<v Speaker 1>who was Coffin's friend, draws the second shortest. Pollard is upset.

0:19:00.285 --> 0:19:04.005
<v Speaker 1>Coffin is family, and remember he had promised Coffin's mother

0:19:04.165 --> 0:19:07.125
<v Speaker 1>that he'd get the kid back in one piece, and

0:19:07.165 --> 0:19:12.925
<v Speaker 1>now he's like, I gotta eat him. Fuck. Pollard offered

0:19:12.925 --> 0:19:16.365
<v Speaker 1>to take Coffin's place. The Coffin refused. He was like, nah, man,

0:19:16.525 --> 0:19:18.485
<v Speaker 1>I got the short straw. This is how it goes.

0:19:19.805 --> 0:19:21.765
<v Speaker 1>I just hope you get to eat all the juicy bits.

0:19:22.645 --> 0:19:24.925
<v Speaker 1>Ramsey was also not happy about this. He didn't want

0:19:24.925 --> 0:19:28.285
<v Speaker 1>to shoot his friend again. This was also weird because

0:19:28.325 --> 0:19:30.685
<v Speaker 1>they had a fourth guy on the boat who evidently

0:19:30.725 --> 0:19:32.725
<v Speaker 1>had no problem with any of this. I mean, they

0:19:32.725 --> 0:19:36.445
<v Speaker 1>could have probably just ganged up on him and eaten him,

0:19:36.685 --> 0:19:38.805
<v Speaker 1>but I don't know. They're like, we gotta believe in

0:19:38.845 --> 0:19:42.565
<v Speaker 1>the straws. I guess it took a long time for

0:19:42.685 --> 0:19:45.925
<v Speaker 1>Ramsdell to pull the trigger. In fact, Coffin kind of

0:19:45.925 --> 0:19:48.485
<v Speaker 1>had to encourage him to do it, and so they

0:19:48.565 --> 0:19:59.605
<v Speaker 1>killed him and they ate him hmm, cousin Jerky. As

0:19:59.605 --> 0:20:02.125
<v Speaker 1>for the other sailor who was with Pollard's small crew,

0:20:02.845 --> 0:20:06.805
<v Speaker 1>he died and was eaten five days later. By this time,

0:20:06.845 --> 0:20:10.325
<v Speaker 1>three hundred miles separated chasing Pollard's boat, and Pollard is

0:20:10.365 --> 0:20:15.885
<v Speaker 1>faring way worse. Now there's only him and Ramsdell. Not

0:20:15.965 --> 0:20:19.365
<v Speaker 1>a great thought. Then they're so hungry that they're trying

0:20:19.405 --> 0:20:21.965
<v Speaker 1>to break up their crewmate's bone once it gets their narrow.

0:20:23.365 --> 0:20:27.205
<v Speaker 1>Now it's almost the end of February. They're floating out

0:20:27.245 --> 0:20:30.445
<v Speaker 1>in the middle of the ocean, when suddenly an American

0:20:30.485 --> 0:20:35.325
<v Speaker 1>ship comes into view. It's called the Dauphin. The crew

0:20:35.325 --> 0:20:38.125
<v Speaker 1>on the boat spot him and Ramsdell, but they were

0:20:38.165 --> 0:20:39.885
<v Speaker 1>so far gone at this point that they're like, no,

0:20:39.925 --> 0:20:41.565
<v Speaker 1>we don't like this. We want to be left out

0:20:41.605 --> 0:20:46.285
<v Speaker 1>to sea, leave us alone. Who are these devils? When

0:20:46.325 --> 0:20:49.565
<v Speaker 1>the crew members of the Dauphin picked them up, Pollard

0:20:49.605 --> 0:20:52.885
<v Speaker 1>and Ramsdell stuffed their pockets with their dead crewmates bones,

0:20:53.525 --> 0:20:56.165
<v Speaker 1>and it's said that the delirious men were seen sucking

0:20:56.205 --> 0:20:59.565
<v Speaker 1>the bones of their dead messmates, which with they were

0:20:59.645 --> 0:21:04.565
<v Speaker 1>loathed to part. So Pollard and Ramsdell have been saved.

0:21:05.045 --> 0:21:07.445
<v Speaker 1>A week or earlier, after eighty nine days at sea,

0:21:07.645 --> 0:21:10.485
<v Speaker 1>Chase's crew was spotted by the English ship the Indian,

0:21:11.045 --> 0:21:15.205
<v Speaker 1>and its three crew members were rescued. So as of now,

0:21:15.325 --> 0:21:17.365
<v Speaker 1>from the twenty men that were on the Essex, five

0:21:17.405 --> 0:21:21.965
<v Speaker 1>of them have survived the unforgiving seas. The two many

0:21:22.045 --> 0:21:26.925
<v Speaker 1>crews were reunited in Valparaiso, Chili. Once they were there,

0:21:26.965 --> 0:21:29.765
<v Speaker 1>the Australian ship Surrey was sent to see if the

0:21:29.805 --> 0:21:32.245
<v Speaker 1>three guys who had stayed on that island were alive,

0:21:33.605 --> 0:21:36.725
<v Speaker 1>and lo and bold, all three dudes had made it

0:21:37.965 --> 0:21:41.845
<v Speaker 1>unlike their counterparts. They'd been cooking up shellfish and bird eggs.

0:21:42.405 --> 0:21:45.565
<v Speaker 1>On April ninth, eighteen twenty one, they were officially rescued.

0:21:46.245 --> 0:21:48.245
<v Speaker 1>I'm sure the others were feeling some sort of way

0:21:48.285 --> 0:21:51.125
<v Speaker 1>about that. Oh, you didn't have to eat your fellow

0:21:51.165 --> 0:21:58.525
<v Speaker 1>crew mates. Okay, fine, but what about Hendrick's boat? The

0:21:58.605 --> 0:22:02.085
<v Speaker 1>guy who took over after second mate Joy died well,

0:22:02.125 --> 0:22:04.565
<v Speaker 1>no one really knows. A third boat was found years

0:22:04.605 --> 0:22:08.845
<v Speaker 1>later on Deucyland with three skeletons. However, no one knows

0:22:08.885 --> 0:22:11.805
<v Speaker 1>for sure if it was Hendricks Bolk. It's never been proven.

0:22:15.445 --> 0:22:18.045
<v Speaker 1>When the remaining crew made it back to Nantucket, pretty

0:22:18.085 --> 0:22:20.805
<v Speaker 1>much everyone forgave them. Oh you had to eat our

0:22:20.805 --> 0:22:23.445
<v Speaker 1>friends and family to survive, Cuca, cucka cool. No, I

0:22:23.485 --> 0:22:27.645
<v Speaker 1>totally understand that. I support you. That's fine. Remember it's

0:22:27.685 --> 0:22:29.765
<v Speaker 1>the custom of the sea. It's a get out of

0:22:29.845 --> 0:22:36.485
<v Speaker 1>jail free card. But the one person who wasn't getting

0:22:36.525 --> 0:22:41.245
<v Speaker 1>high fives for being back it was Pollard. Because Pollard

0:22:41.285 --> 0:22:44.525
<v Speaker 1>they saw him in a different way because Pollard he

0:22:44.725 --> 0:22:49.085
<v Speaker 1>ate his cousin and apparently that's too far. This was

0:22:49.205 --> 0:22:54.125
<v Speaker 1>viewed as gastronomic incests and it was totally inappropriate. I

0:22:54.245 --> 0:22:57.885
<v Speaker 1>love rules. This is crazy anyway. I'm sure none of

0:22:57.925 --> 0:23:00.565
<v Speaker 1>them really felt great about eating people. But after they

0:23:00.565 --> 0:23:04.565
<v Speaker 1>got back Chase he actually became a writer. He wrote

0:23:04.605 --> 0:23:07.965
<v Speaker 1>the narrative of the most Extraordinary and Distressing Shipwreck of

0:23:08.005 --> 0:23:10.685
<v Speaker 1>the whale ship Essex, and the thing is Chase. He

0:23:10.685 --> 0:23:13.165
<v Speaker 1>actually went on to keep killing whales in the Pacific.

0:23:14.165 --> 0:23:17.165
<v Speaker 1>It was also a ladies man. He got married four times,

0:23:18.445 --> 0:23:21.125
<v Speaker 1>and his second wife was actually the widow of Matthew Joy.

0:23:21.965 --> 0:23:25.565
<v Speaker 1>Remember Joy was Chase's second mate on the Essex and

0:23:25.645 --> 0:23:28.565
<v Speaker 1>the first dude to kick the can. Chase retired in

0:23:28.605 --> 0:23:31.685
<v Speaker 1>eighteen forty before dying in eighteen sixty nine. And the

0:23:31.725 --> 0:23:34.765
<v Speaker 1>thing is, before his death he went completely insane and

0:23:34.845 --> 0:23:39.085
<v Speaker 1>began hoarding food in his attic. And here's what happened

0:23:39.125 --> 0:23:42.965
<v Speaker 1>to the other guys. Captain Thomas Nickerson, who survived. He

0:23:43.085 --> 0:23:45.445
<v Speaker 1>kept working as a mate on whaling boats until he

0:23:45.485 --> 0:23:48.165
<v Speaker 1>and his wife went back to Nantucket during the eighteen seventies.

0:23:49.045 --> 0:23:51.845
<v Speaker 1>And like Chase, he also wrote about what happened, but

0:23:52.085 --> 0:23:55.205
<v Speaker 1>he lost the notebook, but the account was actually found

0:23:55.245 --> 0:23:58.725
<v Speaker 1>and then published in nineteen eighty four. Then there's Captain

0:23:58.765 --> 0:24:02.365
<v Speaker 1>Charles Ramsdell, who also kept sailing on whaling ships. Then

0:24:02.365 --> 0:24:06.565
<v Speaker 1>there's Captain Benjamin Lawis he continued whaling as well, along

0:24:06.565 --> 0:24:09.965
<v Speaker 1>with some other side hustles. The thing is, it's crazy

0:24:10.005 --> 0:24:12.605
<v Speaker 1>that these guys kept whaling. I feel like after I

0:24:12.965 --> 0:24:15.245
<v Speaker 1>ate someone, I'd probably not want to be at sever again.

0:24:15.645 --> 0:24:18.725
<v Speaker 1>But Pollard he also was a captain again on another ship,

0:24:18.845 --> 0:24:24.325
<v Speaker 1>this one called the two brothers and Niggerson and Ramsell.

0:24:24.925 --> 0:24:29.245
<v Speaker 1>They chose to once again bored under Pollard's command, but

0:24:30.045 --> 0:24:33.525
<v Speaker 1>after being in the ocean for fifteen months, the two

0:24:33.565 --> 0:24:37.605
<v Speaker 1>brothers hit a coral reef during a storm, and again

0:24:37.645 --> 0:24:40.445
<v Speaker 1>the whole crew was stuck on small boats in the

0:24:40.485 --> 0:24:43.445
<v Speaker 1>middle of the ocean, but luckily they were rescued the

0:24:43.485 --> 0:24:52.005
<v Speaker 1>next day. After the wreck of the two brothers, Pollard's

0:24:52.005 --> 0:24:55.445
<v Speaker 1>career tanked. He was considered bad luck and never went

0:24:55.485 --> 0:24:59.805
<v Speaker 1>whaling again. He did one more voyage in the merchant service,

0:24:59.885 --> 0:25:02.205
<v Speaker 1>but then was like, man, I'm good and then he

0:25:02.285 --> 0:25:04.405
<v Speaker 1>just stayed in Nantucket to work as a grocer for

0:25:04.445 --> 0:25:07.445
<v Speaker 1>a few years and then a constable for thirteen years.

0:25:08.525 --> 0:25:12.245
<v Speaker 1>People seem to like him despite his bad luck. He

0:25:12.325 --> 0:25:13.845
<v Speaker 1>was married for more than fifty years and then died

0:25:13.885 --> 0:25:21.085
<v Speaker 1>in eighteen seventy. However, the Essex, obviously that stayed with him.

0:25:21.125 --> 0:25:24.165
<v Speaker 1>Pollard would spend every anniversary of the Essex wreck in

0:25:24.245 --> 0:25:31.925
<v Speaker 1>his room, fasting in honor of his dead crew. As always,

0:25:32.165 --> 0:25:34.925
<v Speaker 1>we learn a lesson from American filth, and that lesson

0:25:35.045 --> 0:25:41.005
<v Speaker 1>is did you guys get that? It says, give me

0:25:41.005 --> 0:25:50.005
<v Speaker 1>back my brother Jonathan. American filled is a production of

0:25:50.045 --> 0:25:52.725
<v Speaker 1>School of Humans and iHeart Podcast. This episode was hosted

0:25:52.725 --> 0:25:55.765
<v Speaker 1>and sound designed by Me Gabby Watson, written by Miranda Hawkins.

0:25:56.125 --> 0:25:58.365
<v Speaker 1>The theme song is by me and Jesse Niswanger. Our

0:25:58.405 --> 0:26:00.965
<v Speaker 1>senior producer is Amelia Brock, and our executive producers are

0:26:01.045 --> 0:26:04.325
<v Speaker 1>Virginia Prescott, Brandon Barr, and Elsie Crowley. You can follow

0:26:04.325 --> 0:26:06.325
<v Speaker 1>the show on Instagram at a Mayor and Filth pod

0:26:06.725 --> 0:26:08.525
<v Speaker 1>and be sure to subscribe to a review wherever you

0:26:08.565 --> 0:26:10.285
<v Speaker 1>listen to your podcast, and I hope you don't get

0:26:10.285 --> 0:26:11.965
<v Speaker 1>so hungry that you have to eat people.

0:26:12.245 --> 0:26:26.325
<v Speaker 2>Bye.

0:26:31.245 --> 0:26:32.125
<v Speaker 1>School of Humans