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Oliver S. Chase, a Young Nantucketer "In Search of
by Andre Aubuchon
(Continued from an article begun in our April issue.)
OLIVER HAD MOVED to Providence to make his fortune, but in his six months with the Neptune Company, he was unable to win a promotion. He was not able to contribute to the support of his parents from the forty dollars he received every month, and the gifts he had sent to his sister and her children became less frequent. As early as November, 1865, he had written to Lizzie: "I wish I could do more for them (his parents), and I hope the day is not far off when I shall be able to." Despite his wishes, he found himself so hard-pressed that he failed to send the traditional New Year's gifts home to Nantucket, though his sister had made him a generous present.
"Yes," Oliver wrote to Lizzie, "the box and contents came along all right and safely, and came very acceptable to me, and I thank you very kindly for all. It will be quite beyond my power to pay such kindness, but yet I will hope that, at no distant day I may be enabled to at least partially return your kind favors."
Remarking on the ties Lizzie had sent, he added: "These long ones are just what I want, and I shall be pleased to wear them as occasion demands."
It must be admitted that Oliver did not scrimp and save, and that he was a spendthrift by the standards of frugal Nantucketers. He travelled, went to dances and lectures, and bought the most fashionable clothing. The description of his wardrobe suggests that he was a "dandy". In one letter he described a necktie he had purchased: "Dark blue with spots (diamonds)...very pretty. It goes on like a butterfly making it have the appearance of being a scarf." In the same letter, he explained that he had paid twelve dollars - more than one week's pay - for boots: "They are a daisy pair. They are of the best French calf skin..." He penciled in, "and are paid for...",as if he thought it wise to mollify a sister who might
criticize his extravagance.
There was no indication that Oliver had given thought to increasing his income or decreasing his expenditures until in a letter to his brotherin-law, Josiah Barrett, he announced that he was visiting Boston to see about a position with Sylvanus Crosby & Co., ship chandlers and importers in Callao, Peru. Young Chase had apparently been seeking a better position, for he was soon to be offered a clerical position on Cape Breton Island. He had heard of the Callao opening through Andrew Whitney, a Nantucket native living in Boston, who in turn heard of the position direct from the Boston branch of the Crosby business. Sylvanus Crosby was the son of Matthew Crosby, one of Nantucket's richest ship owners and whale oil merchants and the son-in-law of Zenas Coffin, Nantucket's most successful whaleship owner. The Peru branch of the Crosby family was indirectly involved in whaling for the mainstay of their business was outfitting American whaling vessels in the Pacific.
Oliver accepted the position of bookkeeper and commercial correspondent with, as he wrote to Josiah Barrett, "the understanding that I can give it up if I meet to (sic) strong opposition from my folks." With a salary of $1000 the first year and $1200 for the two remaining years of the three year agreement, the position seemed to offer a comfortable income and the chance to set aside funds for his parents' support and with which to start a business. The only points against the position were that it was for three years and that it would take him to a distant country. To a young man, these considerations were outweighed by the chance for adventure and wealth. "With my present salary," he wrote, "I can do little or nothing for the folks, but if I go to Callao, I can provide in a very comfortable manner for both my parents and myself."
The agreement concerning the position was signed by Oliver and by Matthew Crosby, Jr., the Boston representative of the family. The agreement, written in terse and formal language, began: "It is understood that you are to go to Callao, Peru, S. A., on the steamer which is to leave New York, April 11th next, going as a first class passenger all the way and going direct should not sickness prevent your doing so." It provided for such contingencies as sickness and a devaluation of Peruvian currency.
There is no written record of what transpired on Oliver's visit to Nantucket between March 22 and April 7. It can be assumed that he had sufficient time to renew old friendships and to visit with his parents, sister, nieces and nephews. The parting must have been sorrowful, but the
knowledge that Oliver had achieved a good position and that he would only be twenty-six when he returned from Peru must have assuaged the sorrow.
There was another parting, perhaps as touching, for Lizzie Dodge, his landlady's daughter, had a special niche in Oliver's heart. Oliver had to say farewell to his roommate, Henry Robinson, and his pals, Baker and Holmes. The night Oliver returned from Nantucket, he "sat up with Mrs. Dodge and Lizzie until morning - having a pleasant chat with them." What they discussed cannot be known for certain, but the conversation must have turned to old times in Providence, to Oliver's future in Peru, and perhaps to their future.
The following night there was a supper which the Dodges gave for Oliver and his friends:
We had a supper about midnight and were at the table for nearly two hours. Baker and myself drank more lemonade than all the rest. We had singing - and playing cards - and a very pleasant time generally. The supper was very good. We had oranges, nuts, lemonade, and three or four kinds of cake. The party broke up about half past two this morning.
The next day there were still more visits to be paid: to the Clark girls, to Baker, to Aunt Eliza and Uncle George, before Oliver took leave of Lizzie. Oliver's descriptions of what he saw as soon as the train pulled out of the Providence station took on the style of a man of the world. He described Stonington, Mystic, New London and other towns along the shore route to New York. A brief report of his hotel, located near Wall Street, followed.
At ten the next morning, young Chase had time to jot off a brief pencil note before boarding the steamer, "Costa Rica", bound for Panama: "Everything is allright (sic) with me. With love to you all," he wrote to his parents. This laconic note concealed alike his great hopes for the future and the intense sadness at parting from loved ones for three years. As he watched from the deck the skyline of Manhattan recede, he must have wondered what the next three years would hold in store.
The first three days of his voyage must have proven reassuring to a young man whose previous seafaring experience had consisted of trips between Nantucket and the mainland and of sailing in Nantucket harbor. Hecombatted boredom by reading, writing letters, sitting in the fresh air,
and socializing with the other 139 passengers on board. Delighted at being "surrounded by seemingly respectable and refined society", he became acquainted with his two cabin mates, a naval officer from East Boston and a businessman from New York."
The passengers enjoyed sumptuous meals: "Turkey, chicken, fish and pie, cake, figs and other nice things too numerous to mention..." at one dinner. The company was stimulating, and the tragedian, Edwin Forrest was a passenger as well as Latin American ladies and gentlemen, business, naval officers, and sightseers. Oliver's discerning eye and facile pen produced one of his classic vignettes: one lady on board was "...fair looking and seems quite pleasant and agreeable - but very much affected and rather airy, as wives of rich men generally are."
As the S. S. Costa Rica plied its course midway between Cape Fear and Bermuda, past Cape Canaveral, off the west coast of Cuba, off the east coast of Hispaniola, by San Salvador to Panama, Oliver covered his introspection by a bluff and chatty style. "I am getting to be quite an old tar, and am feeling quite at home here on the steamer," he wrote to his father, Captain Nathan Chase. He wrote, too: "I have disappointed Mary Fuller's prediction that I should be seasick," after he had been at sea for two days.
At times, however, doubt and anxiety showed through young Chase's cheery facade. "Here from the broad and trackless deep," he wrote, "with my mind relieved from care and from business perplexities, I can give full scope to my thoughts - and musC upon the past, the present, and the not unpropitious future." As days passed, his letters took on the laconic style of ships' logs, observing only meteorological and navigational phenomena, and giving silent testimony to the boredom of the seafaring life.
From his arrival, Oliver formed unfavorable impressions of Peru and her people. To Lizzie, he wrote: "Give my love to Josiah and tell him to have no idea of seeking employment out here. . .Tell him that coolies have spoilt wages here and. . .no man, that is, no civilized man, can live for less than fifty dollars a month." On board the Costa Rica, Oliver has posited "pecuniary independence and domestic happiness" as his goals. Given a salary of $1000 a year, living expenses of more than $50 a month, and the duty of sending horn $20 or so with every letter, pecuniary independence eluded him.
Oliver's position with Sylvanus Crosby & Co. was tenuous. Like Nantucket, Callao had recently been blighted by a localized economic depression. At one time, Callao and the other Pacific ports of South America had been used to outfit American and European whaling, trading and naval vessels. The growth of San Francisco and the building of the railroad across the Isthmus of Panama had rendered Valparaiso, Paita, and Callao superfluous for the purposes of international commerce. As late as the early 1850's, the firm of Sylvanus Crosby & Co. had outfitted as many as twenty or thirty vessels at a time, but in 1866, they were fortunate to get two or three a month.
The leisurely pace of life served as meager compensation for the paucity of work. Oliver reported to the Crosby store, located on the ground floor of Sylvanus' house, at eight and worked on accounts, or filled orders, or put the stock in order until noon. After a three or four hour siesta, Oliver returned to the store until early evening. Only when vessels were actually being outfitted, or when the mail for the United States was being sent did Oliver have to increase his hours and hurry his pace.
Oliver's first acquaintances were made among members of the foreign community, predominantly English and German. Much to his dismay, there were few "Yankees" in Callao. Oliver spent Sunday evenings at a German dance hall, and when his sister chided him for reneging on his strict Sabbatarian upbringing, he replied: "Sunday is not observed in this country as a religious day, but as a day of amusement generally" He could not resist remarking that he had met his Providence sweetheart, Lizzie, on a Sunday in a dance hall.
There were several plays in English given by touring companies from such distant places as Australia, San Francisco, and England. A month after his arrival, Oliver together with Frank Crosby, two years his senior, an Australian, and an Englishman attended one such play. The same summer, The Hunchback and Faint Heart Never Won Fair Lady were performed. Band concerts sponsored by the city on two evenings a week added to the entertainment and the many religious and civic feasts added color to Callao. The great gayla was Carneval (i.e. Shrove Tuesday or Mardi Gras), when during the festivities, young ladies threw water at eligible young men. Oliver was not amused by such frivolity, but he undoubtedly enjoyed the more sedate promenades which fashionable society held to be de rigeur before dinner.
Oliver's letters told the unfortunate story of his increasing disen-
chantment with Peru and Peruvian society. "Do not think," he wrote on October 7, 1866, "that I would assume to hold myself above them (Peruvians). No, I do not judge them; 'tis not my place. They may be far better than me morally, but I am bad enough without any further additions." On May 10, 1869, he wrote: "Tis no place for a white man anyhow. I am utterly disgusted with this d—nd heathenish country." In case his kin had forgotten his interests, he added: "For it is decidedly heathenish to live without the society of women. . ." Having been in Callao for a year and a half, he gave his final judgment: "And now the man who tells me that this is a beautiful country to live in, I will tell him he lies. 'Tis a miserable country, and not fit for a white man."
The tenor of such observations suggests that Oliver disliked the country simply because it was foreign to him, or, put simply, because its customs were so different. Even small matters unduely upset him. Somewhat peeved, Oliver remarked: "We have no pies and but little soft bread in this country." Not only in culinary matters, but in areas of culture and way of life, Oliver judged Peru severely when its usages contrasted sharply with those of New England.
Young Chase seems to have made no effort to be accepted into Peruvian society, though it is not clear if his comparative poverty, tenuous social status, and foreign upbringing would have made such an effort vain. Oliver, a man of considerable intellectual ability and personal charm, adamantly refused to learn Spanish. Though he had been but two months in Peru, he reported that the language was impossible to master, and that Sylvanus Crosby, thirteen years a resident of Callao, had himself given up the task. It must be wondered if Oliver had reasons, unknown to himself and his friends, for not wanting to learn the language, and for cutting himself off from society.
A knowledge of Spanish could do no harm, yet Oliver rationalized to himself and his family why it was impossible to learn the language. It is likely that his prejudices so warped his opinion of Peru that he subconsciously feared the closer contact with Peruvian society which would compel him to modify his opinions. The mores, or to speak more generally, the way of life of the better classes was not to his liking. Peruvian society offered nowhere near the freedom for courtship and friendship between un-married men and women that New Englanders took for granted. The dances, long walks, lectures, parties, dinners and excursions which had been a cherished part of his life in Providence eluded him in Callao. All the simple sharing of the youthful experiences which Oliver had enjoyed with so many Providence damsels were closed
to him. Intimacy of any kind with a Peruvian lady could not exist outside of marriage.
Young Chase implied that Peruvian mores deprived him of the company of serious young men of his age. The strict segregation of the sexes tended to create a society where young men were either rakes or responsible heads of families. As for the latter, even if this course were open to him, he was not ready to marry a Peruvian. If Oliver was a gallant young blade who enjoyed the company of young ladies, he was assuredly no wastrel. His tastes and temperament did not incline him to associate with "fast" young men, but his lack of wealth and position precluded acceptance by established families. Almost a generation older than Oliver, Sylvanus Crosby had not included him in his circle of foreign residents. As far as can be known, Oliver's only close friend was a Hungarian tailor, Simon Roth, who had practiced his trade in San Francisco during the Gold Rush and who spoke English fluently.
He dismissed absolutely the possibility of marrying a Peruvian: "Think not, dear sister, that your brother," he wrote, though he may have many faults - can ever so far forget his country, his home, and his parents, his sister, and his many loved and cherished relatives and his friends as to forego them all and marry in this country." With marriage out of the question, Oliver expressed his attitude in a colorful metaphor: "What I have to do with the ladies in the meantime is nothing in particular. It is well enough for the mariner to take soundings even if he don't (sic) enter port. It is his best policy to keep his 'reckoning' straight and to know where he is and how his course lay."
Unable to find innocent pleasures which had so occupied his time in Providence, Oliver put on the mask of a stern and unrelenting Puritan. He had from his arrival narrowed his perception of the paths that lay before him so that the choice lay simply between duty and dissipation. For Oliver, it was drunkenness and philandering or respectability and hard work. In an early letter from Callao, he had observed that "A man who uses tobbaco or liquor is a rare sight." He boasted, also: "I do not yield to the temptations around me - keeping aloof from all dissipation, I spend.... my evenings reading, writing, in social conversation and so forth..." He did not explain what he meant by "and so forth", but the context clearly indicated that it did not carry the same meaning as it would have during his years in Providence.
It is impossible to avoid having some sympathy for the young man who had manifested in his Providence letters such enjoyment of life. The
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secret to his enjoyment of life had been the carefree but balanced pursuit of pleasure, and the recognition that pleasure, physical as well as intellectual, is not to be despised. Most likely, Oliver was so torn by duty which required his leaving Providence to seek his forturne in Callao that he subconsciously determined to punish himself. From his voyage on the Costa Rica, he thought only of returning home: "...But let us hope," he wrote, "for brighter days, let us look forward to my return." Having been in Callao for twenty months, he could still write of hoping to find an acceptable position in Providence.
Two weeks after his arrival, he wrote to Lizzie: "My letters home and from my friends in Providence constitute the chief, and I may add the only real happiness I can now enjoy." By each vessel, he received letters from his parents, Lizzie, the Dodge sister and Providence friends. He read the Boston and Providence papers, and his comments on American politics, particularly the impending impeachment of Andrew Johnson in 1868, suggest that he followed the news carefully. He read the Inquirer and Mirror for details of Nantucket life and to follow the lives of his friends. Isolated remarks in his letters to Lizzie show that Oliver worried that his lady friends in Providence would "triffle" with other young men. The marriages of several of his friends compounded his anxiety that Lizzie Dodge would marry another man while he was away.
To be concluded in the October issue of Historic Nantucket.
Dr. Andre Aubuchon is the Archivist working at the Peter Foulger Museum, where he is cataloguing the Manuscript Collections of the Nantucket Historical Association.
